Money beliefs that have changed since graduation

Personal finance is a topic that I’ve always held very closely to heart, especially so after graduating university. After earning my own income, I’ve worked to be more educated in this area so that I can make informed and intentional financial decisions because I knew of the downstream impact it could have on my future self.

Also, with the basic fresh grad pay that I was getting, it felt imperative to stretch every dollar I had. So it felt like any knowledge on money management would be extra useful for someone who didn’t command a high pay.

After being in the workforce for slightly over 6 years, I came to realise that my money beliefs have shifted quite a bit since I first stepped into the workforce. Thought it might be interesting to jot them down to see how much I’ve grown as a person.

1) Some things that seemed frivolous, are actually worth spending on

I was someone who was really strict with my own finances. I do my daily expenses tracking to make sure that my expenses were reasonable, though it’s not like the numbers would be shocking since I do not make any random big ticket purchases haha. Spending on “unnecessary” items was never in the equation. 

Fast forward to today, I am now more willing to part with my money on things that I feel makes me or my loved ones happy. This includes experiences, like going for a theatre production or trying out slightly more premium seats at the cinema. Or grabbing durians for my family (it’s really expensive to feed durians to a group of 5 haha). 

I’ve learnt that spending on things like that doesn’t mean that I’m being financially irresponsible or being too indulgent. It means making a conscious choice to enjoy and appreciate these moments in life, which is actually the very reason why I’m working hard to earn my keep to begin with.

2) Cheap is not always good

I was someone who was a big Taobao fan. I would look for alternatives on this wonderful Chinese shop and buy bags that were 1/5 the price of what I would find in stores in Singapore. I was really big on these cheap thrills, but looking back, it wasn’t as cheap as I thought given how I’m not really using any of these items anymore.

While there are probably items that are cheap and of good quality, the reality is that most of them unfortunately do not satisfy both categories at once. I realise that I was tossing out items pretty frequently, because the cheap clothing and bags I got were either not comfortable for me, or were spoiling earlier than expected.

Today, I still get some of my cute stationeries and homeware from Taobao. But for items like bags and clothing, I’m more willing to spend a little more on good quality material that would see me for the years to come. :)

P.s. I’m really enjoying leather bags and cotton/linen clothing! 

3) Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish

I was a hugeeee fan of discount apps and making small money through methods like doing surveys. I would spend so much time scrolling through diff apps to decide on where to have my next meal, and would always chionged when a new survey popped up.

And then I would somehow spend that hard earned $5 survey voucher so easily on some small frivolous purchase because it felt like “bonus money”. 

It took me a while to realise that the effort I was putting in to earn these bits of money wasn’t proportional to the value that I’ve gotten out of it. The great lengths I would go to earn that $0.50 was probably not worth that effort with the way I spent it. 

4) Growing your income > increasing your savings rate

I started off with an income of $3,100. Back then, I felt like that was more than enough for me. I could pay off my bills, save a little and even create different savings goals. It felt a little difficult to understand why people were on the endless wheel of wanting a higher income. 

While it was good in some sense that I was feeling contented and not on a hedonic treadmill, I realised that feeling fully content wasn’t the most ideal at that stage of my career as well. I could easily become complacent, and I needed more push to stretch myself in order to maximise my work and earning potential. 

With a not-so-high income, you could imagine that my savings were also moving at a rather slow pace. 

Over time, I found myself giving more thought into this whole career thing, and that saw me making some intentional moves in my career which led me to where I am today. The past six years saw me pivoting into entirely new fields with new responsibilities, in which I’ve gained new skills and might I say, allowed me to stay more relevant in today’s world. 

I am very grateful for the opportunities that have been given to me during this period, and while my current income might not seem high in any way to some, I am very proud of how far I’m come. 

5) You think you won’t invest FOMO-ly, but you would

I would like to think that I am a rather disciplined person… Until I wasn’t. Hahaha. In a world where we’re jam packed with new information every single day, it can get difficult to remain focused on your own thoughts and ideology. It became tougher when the field I was in required me to stay up to date with such news. In terms of investing, I took in a lot of hyped up news and ended up dabbling into different stocks, holding on to the idea that I was young and could take on more risk. I ended up holding a bunch of growth stocks which I now see as a portfolio of regret hahaha.

What I didn’t realise was that I was buying into the hype and was following the noise, which on hindsight seemed like the worst, yet most common mistake investors tend to make. I thought I knew better, but I ended up being just like everyone else. :’) 

Regardless, I’m still thankful that this happened relatively early so that I could get a clearer idea of my investment style, and the method I wish to take from here on. The difficult part is always staying on course, but this portfolio of regret serves as a very good reminder for me.

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Looking back, it’s interesting to see how much I’ve grown and how my mentality has changed towards personal finance. I used to think that this mindset that I have wouldn’t shift haha, but I guess this shows how we’re always evolving as individuals. The older we get, the more clarity we gain in the way we wish to spend our lives. And that’s the beauty of adulting (i think!).

Excited to see how different I’d be in another six years’ time! 

Finding my footing

I was 18 when I first set foot in the CBD for work. Back then, I managed to secure an administrative position in a private bank, earning $7/hour. I remember squeezing alongside adults decked in office attire – ladies in killer heels and body-hugging dresses, and men in neatly tucked shirts and pants. I also remember feeling engulfed by this overwhelming feeling of adulthood, thinking that that was what I was supposed to be working towards once I graduate from school.

 

“Is this it….?” 

 

I remember that there was this moment of realization that this didn’t seem like my way of living. Is this what adult life is all about? Rushing beside frantic working adults everyday after alighting from Raffles Place, feeling anxious as I fumbled for my card at the gantry, because I delayed my card-tapping by 0.2s which might be causing a potential queue to form behind me. Fighting for a seat during lunch at one of the crazily crowded hawker centres (because who can afford $12 salads everyday with a median salary?), hoping to be able to spot a newly-cleared table before the other eagle-eyed humans do. Wondering whether I need some tea to survive my post-lunch food coma. Looking at the clock and counting down to the end of work.

 

 

I remember 18-year-old me telling myself to never work in the CBD. I guess the idea of 16 years of education and ending up as one of them ‘corporate zombies’ just didn’t sit well with me.

 

Well, why the sudden reminiscence, you might ask?

 

Because that was what I just faced this morning. Just that in today’s situation, I’ve become one of the adults I vowed not to become. A corporate zombie.

 

I now work in the CBD, and walk alongside other busy-looking adults in the mornings. I’ve joined the peak hour crowd and am squeezing my way in MRTs to get to work. I now chope my lunch spots with tissue packs, and hop on equally packed trains to head home as the skies turn dark.

 

While this lifestyle has been going on for the past few months, the reality only kinda just hit this morning. Where I felt this sudden and momentary wave of disgust at myself as I recalled the thought 18-year-old me used to have.

 

Have I lost my direction?

 

I started my first job after graduation in the West. As such, my direction to work wasn’t of the general public, and so I didn’t have to squeeze on public transport. My subsequent jobs hovered around other areas in Singapore and was never based in the CBD. While I’ve always been in corporate jobs, I think being physically situated in the CBD reaffirms that feeling that I am INDEED just one of the others now.

 

Am I… losing myself?

 

Upon settling at my desk and on deeper thought, I realised that I have been pretty hard for myself.

 

Over the years, my career priorities have shifted. Right at the beginning, my focus was to just do what interested me. Money, career advancement, job opportunities and benefits weren’t things I thought about.

 

I’m thankful that I decided to be more introspective afterwards, and thought deeper into crafting my career. I realized that it wasn’t practical to just focus on one aspect in a role – there are many factors that affect a job. A job cannot be sustained with merely passion, it has to be able to pay the bills, it has to come with a decent supervisor, a healthy work environment etc. In fact, having just passion tend to lead to burn out, and that’s… really not ideal.

 

What does your job mean to you?

 

Over time, I discovered what a job meant to me. While we’ve been fed the romantic narrative that we should absolutely love what we do and thus not work a day in our life, I’ve come to realise that it is okay to be in a 9-5 role. It’s okay to not feel fiery passion in my role, and it’s enough to feel just okay (not hating on it sounds easy to achieve, but really, it’s pretty easy to start feeling that ‘meh’ in a role after some time), provides me fair compensation, allows me to feel like I’m contributing to society, and use that income I’m earning to fund my passions outside of work instead.

 

It’s okay to find my own balance and enjoy that. And that I can be an ordinary employee and still feel accomplished about my life.

Right now, my role is challenging yet not overwhelming. Allows me to grow in my own pace and learn new things. Allows me to head home on time and not type furiously in front of the laptop at 9pm. Allows me to take a guilt-free break while I’m on leave. Gives me an income that lets me live comfortably by my standards. Provides me colleagues that are relatively easy to work with. Allows me to stay relevant in the job market. Offers decent benefits so that I can visit the clinic without worrying (lol). 

 

Takeaways from a working millennial

 

I guess the main lessons I’ve gotten from my career path so far would be:

 

1) Always ask yourself what you value in a job. It doesn’t have to make sense to others, but you got to make peace with it.

2) Opportunities can sometimes happen when you least expect it. If you never try, you’d never know.

3) Try your best to not compare yourself with others. It’s almost too easy to do that these days with LinkedIn and all, but everyone is on a different path. Really. What we see is just a small segment of their lives.

4) It’s easy to forget our priorities after being in our jobs for a period of time. It might be useful to do a self-check-in every once in a while. :-)

 

In any case, while 18-year-old me might have gawked at the current me for tapping at the Raffles Place gantries every morning today, I am proud of how far I’ve come, and am truly appreciative of the opportunities that came my way, to be who I am today. 

 

Here’s to evolving career priorities, and finding our own voice in the midst of a very noisy crowd.

Would I ever be satisfied with my job?

 Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve popped by.

After realising my interest in writing and pivoting my career into the content space, I’ve ironically turned into one of those who have unknowingly made something they’re interested in into a job. 

That means tragically turning what I’ve previously enjoyed into something I find a chore.

Nevertheless, I’m trying to make it a point to jot my thoughts down here to make sure that future me would have something to laugh at.

Anyway, back to the main point of today’s post.

I’m currently covid positive, which means I’m stuck in my room nursing my health back while enjoying this mandatory solitude. 

Which means loads of space to think and ponder about life.

Woohoo!

Being away from work for a week also meant that I had some headspace to not think about work.

Which made me realise how much I don’t feel like heading back to work next Monday.

And then I suddenly felt pretty sad - am I supposed to have Monday blues for the rest of my life? 

Like… is this it?

As I’m typing right now, I’ve been working for almost 6 years full-time since graduation, and am on my third job.

I also thought I was the kinda person who would stick to my first job till my retirement years, but look where we are at haha. I guess I can even be considered a ‘job hopper’ to some based on the number of roles I had.

Looking back, I think my priorities towards a job have shifted so much over the years.

I’ve since learnt the dangers of mixing passion with work. And that it’s not all roses and butterflies if you do so. And it’s OKAY to not be 100% passionate with what you do at your day job.

That your day job can be just a vehicle for you to earn your keep and allow you to sustain your standards of living.

And was what gave me the push to move on from my previous role to my current one.

But… why do I feel like I still dread work? 

Am I just too demanding, or asking for too much?

I tried to compare what I used to have and what I have now.

I’m earning slightly more than my previous role, with lower stress levels and better work-life balance. 

But now that I’m doing something that doesn’t interest me as much, I can’t seem to feel motivated at work.

I can’t help but to feel like there should be more to this.

Am I the only one feeling this way?

Will I ever find the perfect balance in a job?

I guess there’s still so much for me to figure out in this career journey of mine.