Hitting a new personal finance milestone

Took some time to read my previous posts and feeling a little nostalgic. The thing about writing is that once you lose your momentum, it's hard to get it back. 

A quick status update since my last post which was the start of this year. And now we're inching towards the last quarter of the year. Time truly flies when you get older.

I'm currently in my 4th job since graduation, a number I wouldn't have expected as a fresh grad. I thought I would've stuck to my first and retired in it... Well life happens haha.

I wish I could say that I'm less lost as compared to 2018-2019 me (past posts showed my existential crisis) but I'm here to report that I'm still figuring life out. I guess it will stay this way for many more years to come, but I would like to think that I am slightly less anxious about the future now. Life is always unpredictable, and things can change in an instant. I've learnt that after witnessing health scares, sudden illnesses and deaths. That nothing is guaranteed, and all we have is now.

Anyway, I'm still onto the habit of tracking my finances on a monthly basis. As a regular salaryman clocking a 9-5 with no additional side hustles (unlike my very hardworking peers), the net worth climb is slow but I'm thankful that it has been steadily increasing. With the market being very optimistic these few months, I've managed to cross the half-million mark in terms of net worth! *pops confetti* A milestone that others won't bat an eyelid at, but something I'm really proud of. :') 

I do foresee some fluctuations if the market corrects + when I finally get my keys to my new place next year, but such goal posts motivate me to keep on striving and accumulate more assets so that I can have options in the future. 

It has been 9 years since I started working and I'm grateful to have a steady income in the midst of global uncertainty, esp in recent years. I am excited to look at where I'm at in 9 years' time, and hopefully what I've built these years would be able to give me more options by then. 

Setting goals for 2025 | Financial, personal targets

 It's officially the seventh day of 2025! My mind is still stuck in 2024, trying to convince myself that it's the new year already.

There was a sudden cloud of gloom while I was at work today. Not sure how it came about, but I guess it's partially caused by the new year. The end/start of a year always makes people more introspective, and I think it made me reflect a little more about my 2024 and it makes me want to take action on some things and keep myself accountable.

Since I'm in the mood, I've decided to write it down so that I can check back on them a year later. 

Financial goals

1) Find some way to earn side income

This mainly came from some self-pity when I thought about my salary hahaha. As someone who's very interested in personal finance, I'm sometimes embarrassed to say that my salary is not high, nor do I have any side gigs that brings me income. 

I've done the usuals - small paid surveys, interest from HYSAs, gov bonds etc. Though these extra cash were useful, I think it's time to think about bumping up my income a little further through other endeavours. The tough part is always scoping out what you're good at and what you can monetise, so I hope there's something I can eventually get started on this year.

2) Increase my investments

2024 was a year which I watched the stock market rally while I stayed at the sidelines. I think it was a very common investor mistake, staying out of the market while wishing that it would dip someday... only for it to go higher.

This has resulted in me holding more cash than I wished for. All because I've been waiting for that dip. That being said, I think it helped me understand my investment psychology a little more too. With that, I hope I'm able to invest more regardless of the market ups and downs this year.

3) Aim to have a higher increase my net worth compared to last year

This year has been a kind year for investing. While my income barely increased as compared to 2023, I managed to have the highest net worth increase in a year. 

For this coming year, I don't anticipate having a decent salary increase (based on how my company gives increments... it's really bad), unless I change jobs. This goal might be a stretch but it's something I hope to achieve through an increase in investments and maybe a lower spending rate.

Personal goals

4) Read at least five times a week

I love reading. Reading makes me feel like I'm peering into the brains of smart people who are specialised in their respective fields. I tend to read from my phone/ipad because I'm too cheap to buy a ebook reader haha. And because of that, I would easily get distracted by the other apps on the phone/ipad. Eventually, my reading habit went away.

This year, I aim to read more. My reading time goal is set at 10min, definitely not the longest but I think it's more sustainable to have a reasonable duration.

Started the year great because I've been reading almost everyday! Today's read was The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger M.D., a book I highly recommend (am rereading it!).

5) Get moving twice a week

As I'm in my 30s, I'm starting to feel the effects of getting older... especially being a rather sedentary person. I've read about the benefits of strength training and am definitely planning to go into that. 

I've once read somewhere that exercise is the only thing that you'll guaranteed to succeed. For investments, results are not guaranteed. In a relationship, there's no guarantee that you're get the love you give. For your career, success depends on so many factors as well. But if you put in the time and effort to work out, you are bound to see positive changes.

This is such a motivating thought haha.

6) Change job

Am starting to feel really stagnant at my current role. A company with incompetent management makes it a lot more uninspiring and dead end as well. Having changed a few jobs in the past, I'm more familiar with spotting signs on when it's time to leave a job. I know that my time is up but the market has been rather muted recently.

Keeping my fingers crossed that a suitable opportunity would pop up some time this year.

7) Be more intentional about my food intake

Another thing that only happened in my 30s is realising how calories are starting to show up on the body haha. With so much good food around me at work, it's very easy to be tempted by little treats that are packed with calories.

As someone who gets hungry easily, I'm hoping to be more intentional with my meal and snack choices because the sugars/oils/fats do add up. Here's to choosing more whole foods and ditching ultra processed ones more often this year!

Already looking forward to checking back in a year's time to see how I've fared haha. 

Money Habits in My 20s vs 30s - How Has It Changed?

Hello! Haven't been here for a while and just thought to pop by and pen down some feelings.

Just came back from a 3-week holiday and had to delay my monthly accounting for September. With Mr Stock Market recovering a little through the month, the numbers are looking slightly better. And as someone who has slight money dysmorphia (self-prescribed), it did provide a bit of relief. 

(On a sidenote, came across this ST article on money dysmorphia and I felt... seen?)

I've been a worry wart for most of my life. And being someone who grew up in a low-income household, money always seemed like something that was scarce and hard to come by. Naturally, finances was something I found myself worrying over - though not excessively - but sufficient to gnaw at the back of my mind sometimes. Which probably explains why I've been religiously tracking my expenses ever since I graduated. 

Anyway, I digressed. While working on my monthly accounting excel sheet, I did a quick scroll-through across the months to see how my savings/investments have grown over the years. As an ultra-average salaryman with no side hustles, I find myself oscillating between two moods frequently. One would be me scoffing at the numbers I see, knowing that my peers are definitely away ahead of me. But another would be a gentler, kinder version, reminding me of how far I've come. 

While looking through the numbers in the different columns (savings, investments, CPF), I am reminded of how much my personal finance views have evolved. Through different seasons, I've learnt more about myself and what works for me. So here I am, sharing how my saving & investing mindset has changed over the years.

Money habits in my 20s vs 30s

- Daily expenditure

In my 20s, I used to squeeze every dollar out of everything. I rarely ate meals which cost more than $20. Every restaurant meal would be discounted, and I would dig through diff discount apps to make sure I could shave some dollars off. I cooked often at work, which often only consisted of an egg and noodles.

Today, I eat salads that cost >$10. Hahaha younger me would've balked at that. I spend more on food, but I also see it as an investment. I'm investing in 1) my health, with higher nutrition levels, and 2) time with my loved ones, enjoying our time out and having good food during our meet ups. 

For other purchases, I realised I am now more willing to spend on things that I never used to in the past. Clothes or bags that cost >$40 but are made of better quality, or even workout classes. These are things that I see value in today, and think they're worth spending on.

- Savings accounts 

In my 20s, DBS Multiplier was my best friend. SSBs too! 

Today, UOB One is my best friend haha. SSBs are still in my portfolio, but T-bills and cash management accounts are in the mix as well. My liquid cash is spreaded out across more places today.

- Insurance 

In my 20s, I purchased my hospitalisation, critical illness and term life insurance.

Today, I still own the same plans. Just with CareShield Life (& its supplement) in the mix. :") Needless to say, premiums have been rising and so the money set aside has been increasing as well. But it's alright because it is still within 5% of my annual income. 

- Investing

Investing is something I'm glad that I started early in life. It's truly something that you need to experience it yourself before knowing your own style, tolerance, and comfort level. For me, I took a while to figure out my own investment style and what I preferred. 

In my 20s, I started investing into SSBs. I then moved to Singapore stocks, where I purchased blue chip stocks purely based on the recommendation of others. It was what people warned against but I did it anyway haha. I guess it had to happen for me to learn my lesson the hard way. 

A couple of years later, I joined in the masses to buy individual US stocks during the tech rally. Needless to say, that portfolio is still in the red today. I also dabbled into crypto (fomo, anyone?), burnt my hands badly and realised that I've fallen into usual trap of greed and overconfidence. Needless to say, I've learnt my lesson on this as well.

Today, I'm sticking to world indices via diversified ETFs. Also recently purchased some REITs because I'm interested in income investing and am starting from there. Am a safe and boring investor, but I intend to keep it this way. :)

Looking back, so much has changed in my personal finance journey. Now that I'm in my thirties, I do feel more financially secure with a bigger financial base. While many things have changed, lots have also stayed consistent. Things like always spending less than I earn, budgeting my wants and needs have all formed the core of my personal finance journey, and have became things that are second nature to me.

And while I still find big questions like 'Why can I retire?' rather intimidating, I'm grateful that my progress has been visible as I squirrel away my very average salaryman paycheck. 

Excited to see how my money habits will evolve years down the road as I approach my mid-thirties!

30 lessons I've learnt at 30

I turn 30 this month. If you were to ask 20-year old me, I would've dreaded this day. There's a lot of stigma when it comes to turning old, especially if you're a female. However, as I grow older, I slowly find myself being okay with it. Maybe turning old isn’t as scary as it seems.

There are so many things I’ve learnt over the years and I’ve seen articles detailing lessons that were recounted which have given me insight to the writer’s learnings and perspectives. And so I’ve decided to create my own version as well, which could be something worth looking back on in the coming years.

30 things I’ve learnt at 30:

1) Be kinder to yourself. We tend to be really hard on ourselves. One way I’ve learnt to measure this is to imagine how certain thoughts I have for myself would sound when it’s verbalised to someone else. With this, it’s surprising how self-critical I can get. If we’re never like this to others, why are we so unkind with ourselves?

2) Your metabolism slows down greatly after 25. You might think that this slowdown might come later (40s? 50s?), but it doesn’t. 

3) Sleeping early is not uncool. It is actually self-care. A sufficient night’s sleep can do wonders to the following day.

4) You might someday be affected by the hustle culture, especially as your peers start advancing the career ladder. But you don’t have to lean in to this culture. It might get difficult over time because society tends to get really loud on career achievements, but always check in with what you truly want from time to time.

5) Life doesn’t get less confusing. Think it might get clearer over time? News flash: it doesn’t. Learn to accept that life will always be filled with unknowns, and we don’t have to have it all figured out. Life is a journey, and that’s what makes it exciting.

6) Try not to get too attached to things, be it good or bad moments. Life can work in its own funny ways, where a single decision could change the entire trajectory of your life. Gently cradle each moment, and let it go when it passes.

7) Try meditation. The world is really noisy, but if our inner selves are at peace, it quietness down.

8) Remind yourself that you can’t control what happens, but you can control how you react to it. Our reactions also show a lot about how we are as an individual.

9) Surround yourself with books. We’re so lucky to have access to so many great books! You’re learning from individuals who have distilled their life’s learnings into these treasures.

10) Recognise that life would come with both good and bad days. Bad days don’t mean a bad life. It’s okay to feel sad, dejected, or down. But have faith that things will also get better. At the same time, embrace happiness as it comes, but don’t be too fixated in having certain goals as our goalpost of happiness.

11) It’s okay to have fun as adults. You don’t have to be serious all the time. Let loose, be silly. Do spontaneous stuff. Experience new things. Make new memories.

12) What you don’t ask, you don’t get. I used to be really scared of everything, thinking I wasn’t ‘qualified’ enough to ask for certain things in life. But I realised that to increase my luck surface area, I gotta shoot the shots I wish to take. Sometimes, we’re our own only obstacles. 

13) Happiness isn’t about positive or negative feelings. It is about the absence of desire for external things. The fewer desires, the more I can accept the current state I’m in, the more present I am, the more content I can be. - Naval Ravikant

14) Find ways to practise gratitude. It allows you to view situations differently once you have that integrated in your system. 

“Your capacity for gratitude is inversely proportional to your sense of entitlement.” - Mark Brooks

15) Be a minimalist. A maximalist has no upper limit for satisfaction, whereas a minimalist needs very little to be satisfied. - Juliana Chan

16) Believe in the power of compounding. It may feel dreadfully slow at the start, but you’ll reap magical results over time. 

17) Money doesn’t have to be scrimped and saved. Be willing to splurge on experiences that you think is worth it.

“The purpose of life is to experience things for which you will later experience nostalgia.” - FedSpeak

18) Your calendar is a better measure of success than your ban account. - James Clear

19) Write your obituary, then work backwards to live it. - Warren Buffett

20) The way people make you feel when you interact with them tells you everything you need to know about them. - Robin Sharma

21) It’s really important who has access to your energy and time. These two precious resources are finite, so spend it on people who matter.

22) Don’t take criticism from people you won’t take advice from.

23) Purge your social media apps. Unfollow accounts that drain your time and energy. Too much time has been spent on doomscrolling, so find ways to avoid them.

24) Invest in your relationships and don’t take them for granted.

25) Spend more time with your family members, especially your parents. As we’re becoming adults, they’re getting older.

26) The quality of your life depends on the quality of your relationships. - Esther Perel 

27) We sometimes expect too much from our partners. Instead of seeking everything from one person, we could seek different things from different people. That can make us less resentful as well. 

28) Don’t be afraid of growing old. Some people don’t get to do it. So embrace that tiny wrinkle and strand of grey hair. 

29) When life gets overwhelming, take three long and deep breaths. It helps to provide a quick mental reset.

30) Use money to gain control over your time, because not having control of your time is such a powerful and universal drag on happiness. The ability to do what you want, when you want, with who you want, for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance. - Morgan Housel

Saving my next $100,000 - How’s it going?

The concept of $100,000 by 30 has been so popular in recent years. As someone who was mildly obsessed with personal finance, it was an idea I subscribed to too because of how this goal seemed within reach back then as a fresh graduate.

With my ‘always-below-the-median’ meagre salary, finding ways to stretch every dollar became my personal mission. I was a big fan of food discount apps and cashback deals, and would also feel so pleased with myself for not having to fork out the full price for any restaurant meals.

Slowly but surely, I reached the holy number that I (and honestly every other person out there) have set out to reach.

Not gonna lie, seeing that figure in my finance tracking sheet did feel good. It gave me that little ego boost, and I even felt a little smug about it. It showed that even corporate peasants like me could do it.

So what do humans do when they’ve achieved something? They look for a new goal.

If you’re someone who frequently reads financial blogs, you would’ve come across advice that mentioned that the second $100,000 tends to come slightly easier. This is due to the beauty of magical things like compound interest and having a larger base to work with.

Having achieved the first goal after slightly under 4 years in the workforce, I naturally took it for granted to achieve the second in a timeframe that was less than that. 

Now that it has been 3 years since my first milestone, I’m here to report that…..

.

.

.

.

.

I have not reached my next $100,000, and I’m not even close HAHA.

Who says the second time would be easier?!?! Hahaha ok lah, I took a while to reflect on the whys and here’s what I have concluded.

 

#1 Took a pay cut

Shortly after my first $100,000 achievement, I switched jobs and took a 25% pay cut. It was actually quite a drastic cut, especially when I didnt have a high pay to begin with. Since my job was still my main income, having this cut significantly affected my savings rate.

#2 Bad investment decisions 

The COVID period was a period of many rash financial decisions. Being surrounded by noise of how the market has bottomed in 2020 fuelled my FOMO and I began investing in many growth stocks, hoping that they would ride the wave and that I would be able to make some money out of it. 

Suffice to say, my portfolio has still in the red till this day, and I look at my account from time to time to remind myself to not succumb to human greed. 

Besides that, I’ve also joined the crypto world and staked some of the coins on popular platforms that have ceased to exist today. My only consolation was being lazy when everyone was staking LUNA on Anchor Protocol for the juicy rates back then. 

Nevertheless, all these bad decisions made have taught me a really painful lesson. I realised how easy it was to be part of the herd mentality, and thinking that I knew better. It took me this to remind myself that building wealth takes time and patience. 

“The fastest way to get rich is to go slow.”

- Morgan Housel

#3 Lifestyle inflation

Being a tired working adult, I must say that my desire to stalk sites for deals and discounts have fallen quite a bit. While I still dont frequent restaurants, my cost per meal has definitely increased over the years. Besides that, having friends who are having higher earning power does increase meal costs at times. 

Also, working in the CBD now has definitely made it more difficult to have meals below $5. Can’t believe that used to be my budget. I’m happy to get anything below $10 now. :”) And work from office days have definitely increased, which really adds up to my expenses. 

While I might not have achieved my financial goal on a timeline that I’ve expected, I think the past few years of financial lessons have helped to shape my views and mindset towards finances better. Sometimes, we learn better from our battered and bruised knees, and in any case, I’m grateful to have had been through this at a relatively early stage in life so I can better prepare myself for the future. 

Tracking my income growth since graduation

There’s something about the end of the year that makes you particularly reflective. We tend to do a yearly round up or set new year’s resolutions, hoping that the next year would finally be the year that we make it.

While I didn’t set any new targets for the year, I decided to still do something to take advantage of the do-something-to-feel-like-im-adulting-right feeling that I was having. 

And being the slight psycho that I am (I might be the only person I know who enjoys tracking my net worth monthly), I decided to reorganise my personal finance sheet - by extending the number of tabs I have to include more aspects in life. 

Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels like my life’s more put together after noting down life’s figures on an excel sheet? Haha. 

Anyway, after drawing inspiration from a few finance YouTubers/bloggers, I decided to track the following in this holy personal finance sheet that I now proudly own:

- Financial portfolio (what I’ve always been tracking monthly, aka my net worth and where my savings/investments are at)

- Breakdown (graphs of my financial portfolio so that I can see my allocations visually)

- Insurance

- Salary tracking

- Monthly salary allocation

- Monthly expenses

It’s nowhere as comprehensive as what others have, but good enough for me to work with.

I can go into detail what each tab consists of, but this post is mainly to cover my findings of my salary growth since I graduated 6.5 years back.

I am ashamed to say that while I have always been big on personal finance, I have never truly looked into my yearly income and how it changes over the years. 

So creating this tab actually took quite some time because I had to dig out past contracts and salary slips lol. Some numbers are also slightly off as I didn’t have monthly salary slips, but I based it on my monthly bank statements and they shouldn’t be too far off.

Ok to set some expectations, I am:

- In my late 20s

- Working for 6ish years (since 2016)

- Not a hustler (which means I’m a commoner and not one who chionged for promotions etc lol)

- Did a career switch and took a pay cut in between

How much did my income grow (or shrink) over the years?

Note: Figures represent monthly gross salary, and do not include bonuses and allowances

I started off with my first job at $3,100. It was at a government agency, and I didn’t graduate with good results which probably caused my starting pay to be lower than my peers.

Stayed in the same job for almost 4 years, which explains the slow climb in pay.

I did a job switch in 2020, which essentially was a career switch. I took a pay cut, one greater than the graph above because I had to forgo my bonuses. This essentially brought me back a few years again in terms of my salary.

After slogging out for a year plus, I switched jobs and had a pay bump. And then did another switch which brings me to where I am today.

Am I satisfied with my income growth?

To be very honest, with my peers around me switching jobs and getting 20-30% salary bumps each time, I slowly fell into the insidious rat race as I unknowingly found myself comparing what I had with what they were getting.

This caused a feeling of lack which stayed on within me, as I felt like what I was earning was never enough.

It didn’t help whenever online articles showed how fast the incomes of fresh graduates climbed every year, and these people were receiving crazy annual packages as they land jobs in highly coveted fields. Truth to be told, there were times where I felt sorry for myself.

It was only after this very exercise of revisiting my previous salaries, digging through old contracts and salary slips which kinda grounded me again. It pulled me back to reality, reminding me of what I have been through to get to where I am today. Noting each month’s income down brought me down the memory lane of the numerous difficult decisions I had to make, including forsaking overseas opportunities and leaving a comfortable job to deal with uncertainties - and these are moments worth celebrating. 

It’s quite interesting how I started this exercise with the sole purpose of kaypoh-ing my own income growth, but I ended up feeling so grateful and sentimental haha.

Final thoughts

Firstly, I recommend doing this because it’s so fun! And refreshing haha. I also recommend starting this earlier so that you don’t have to go through the logistical/administrative nightmare like I did.

Also, I think it’s so easy to tag our self-worth to how much we’re earning. To our positions at work. I remember not caring about anything when I first started work. I didn’t feel small when I earned $3k. Weirdly, I feel more inadequate with my current income. Comparison is indeed the thief of joy, and so I’m going to actively remind myself of my identity and value - which definitely extends way beyond who I am at work.

May we never forget how far we’ve come. Here’s to celebrating our own progress and growth. :-)

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.

——————

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.

Can I Really Retire Early?

I began this whole personal finance journey proper only after graduation, when I got my first proper 9-5 job. I had this whole ‘the world is your oyster!’ mindset, and I felt like I could finally have the freedom to exercise my own financial choices, and be fully responsible for it.

When I first came across the idea of FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early), I was hooked. You mean, it’s possible to not slog away 40 years of my life and then reach the point of retirement? What wonderful amazing idea is this! 

Wow, now THAT sounds real tempting. 

I started reading up sites and blogs, looking through articles which were written by people who were already on this journey, and I was feeling super pumped. 

Not just random people living in the States too, there were articles written by Singaporeans, as this FIRE trend started taking over globally. 

Something about people practising it in Singapore which makes it more.... relatable? 

Like, even Singaporeans ARE achieving it! It’s proven! It’s possible! 

Also found variations of FIRE (Fat FIRE, lean FIRE etc) and with these variations, you could set a goal for yourself to create more leeway, which makes it slightly more realistic or achieveable.

There were a few things which these sites mainly focused on, which were stuff like:

1) Frugality (in terms of spendings and lifestyle) 

2) Focusing on delayed gratification 

3) Saving xx% of your income 

4) Having a diversified investment portfolio

It usually revolves around these points (probably more, just off the top of my head). I read on and felt like even though it seemed that it could be doable (with a truckload of discipline exercised), it just seemed really tough. 

I mean, I have an always-below-the-median pay. Most of these people who are well on track for this journey are making it by leaping through promotion hoops at work, they are bright people who have high incomes and are able to save a large chunk of their income by living way below their means, and then achieving independence at 35 or something.

It was pretty discouraging, especially when you know you’re just an average joe who’ll only earn an average keep. 

However, determined to at least give this whole journey a shot, I decided to break this whole seemingly unattainable journey down into little digestible pieces. The road is long, and I didn’t want to give up just right at the start. 

I started little goal posts for myself, little achievable targets which might keep me encouraged and to keep going.

I'm gonna start sharing what some of my targets are in the next couple of blog posts.

P.S. They aren't BIG things, just something an average salaryman like me can handle. Little baby steps.

Keep ya posted! ;)

Changing My Job in the Midst of COVID-19 (& Impending Recession?)

Here we are, already in the middle of 2020.

Time is sure flying by in the scariest speed possible.

Here’s one thing about Aging - nobody tells you how your perception of time changes.

I truly understand why they say that time waits for no man lol. Once you’re in your 20s, you just gotta blink once and the next thing you know - you’re someone in your mid-30s, being all astonished because you’ve survived unknowingly in the workforce for more than 10 years.

BAAAM. #adulting

Now, now. I almost forgot how Dec 2019 was like. I guess I was a different person back then. I was still comfortably in the govt sector, and happily collected my AWS.

Who knew how much the world would’ve changed in a span of.... 5 months?

Worldwide pandemic. Markets hitting a new low. Us being forced to accept lifestyle changes as new norms.

It felt so surreal. It was as if the world were suddenly moving at twice the speed.

In the midst of all these, I was struggling with my own personal choices. What a time to be making life-changing decisions, huh? My brain can be such a joker sometimes.

Remember my post on my career?

So, I took a leap of faith..... and left my first job.

What a scary time, really.

And as of today, I've been at my new workplace for a month.

(Happy monthsary to me!)

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Onboarding at my new workplace was a whole new experience.

I had a kind delivery from the company's HR, where I received my work laptop and company tees.

I stared at the tees, still slowly trying to absorb the fact that I was going to join this company that I have been a fan of.

The first week went by in a blur.

I slowly got used to the new laptop, while trying to be up to speed with the new jargon and applications I had to use.

Besides a complete shift in industries, I was now facing a completely new job role, while juggling this new change with the COVID-19 work-from-home situation.

It was definitely overwhelming.

I struggled to keep afloat, regularly checking my Google calendar to make sure that I wasn't missing out on any Zoom calls or Google Hangouts.

I was pushing myself to an edge, forcing myself to adapt as quickly as I could, in order to be a more efficient worker, and in some way, I wanted to prove that I wasn't a waste of company's resources - especially in a time like this, where companies were trying their best to save costs.

I would be lying if I were to say that this whole job transition was a breeze.

But I'm incredibly thankful for patient colleagues, who have been trying their best to teach me everything they could, in this very new and strange work environment.

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Onboarding in the time of COVID-19 also robbed me the ability to create regular first impressions with my new colleagues.

Goodbye to regular hellos and handshakes, and Hello faces on computer screens and communication channels.

We are now in a slightly awkward phase of 'knowing, yet no knowing' each other. Building rapport is definitely more challenging without seeing one another physically, but yet again, very thankful for them for being encouraging and patient despite having a mountainous load of work on their backs.

I can't wait to meet them in person and get to know them proper. :-)

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I know that I'll be looking back at this in a couple of years down the road, and laugh at how memorable and special this situation is.

But I just want to note it down here to remind myself of my progress and my efforts, and that leap of faith I took to make that career switch at this extremely scary period of time, and that I am proud to have made this jump, because I know that this decision will provide me with new challenges, and help me grow in ways I wouldn't have if I were to choose to remain comfortable.

Ah, another experience for the memories.

Losing Track of Your (Financial) Purpose

The thing about drafting a blog post is that it isn't like posting instastories - you don't get that instant gratification, and if you let your thoughts sit around for a bit, the feelings of jotting it down start dissipating.

So that kinda explains my (almost) 2-month long hiatus from this space. I had these fleeting thoughts about life and such (#adulting, y'know. life thoughts errday everyday), but my mentally exhausted self couldn't find that motivation on weekdays. We all read articles on the routines of billionaires, them waking up in the wee hours of the morning and breaking their days into chunks of productive work, and I'm like "ok. I can never be like them.".

Anyway, I woke up this Sunday morning to lovely weather, and felt extra happy to snooze in bed without an alarm. I ate my breakfast at 10:30, and while working through the meal, I had a sudden thought about the productivity these billionaires had. Though I mostly enjoy sleeping in on the weekends, I do sometimes think of how these hours spent in bed could potentially be turned into hours of productivity, and ultimately becoming little building blocks of my eventual 'success'.

It's weird but I kinda feel like I'm losing track of my financial goals.

I started my post-graduation journey feeling very motivated, excited to use my youth as my advantage, to learn as much as I could so that I could have a 'head-start' with these newly gained knowledge. However, it feels like thoughts like these have taken a backseat recently. The desire to swim against the current has always been purely self-driven - people around me seem settled with the fact that they are going to be part of the norm. Advancing through the career ladder, settle down with kids, retire at 65 with a fat cpf account. I have always felt like the only one wanting to do something different, and lead another version of life. I've been seeking motivation from people online, keeping a lookout for a like-minded community, which undoubtedly provides a level of reassurance and inspiration.

However, on days where I don't remind myself of what I ultimately want, I feel like I slip comfortably back to square one. Sometimes, I have thoughts of being okay with where I am. Hustling along with life, safe in this comfort zone. Getting used to the notion of having Monday blues, and looking forward to weekends. And this scares me. It scares me knowing that if I don't want something hard enough, I might just lose sight of it.

All these while, I have been focusing on saving, learning the basics of investing, learning to stretch my dollar through the various apps, finding tips and tricks of credit card rebates and such. Even though it always feels shiok to see that money credited to your Shopback account, or seeing the figures in your bank account slowly climbing up, it sometimes feels like I'm getting nowhere with it.....? Not sure whether it even makes sense. It's like you are painting this huge painting with this incredibly tiny brush, and you wonder how long it's gonna take for the painting to be completed. Or whether it'll even turn out to be a decent painting.

And it feels like if I don't remind myself of this big goal that I have, I might just slip back to being a regular wage slave, struggling to survive in SG. Clocking in and out through my daily life, doing what I told myself I should never do. :'(

What a scary thought huh?

This journey is indeed a marathon. So how do you keep the momentum, and the drive to do so?

Career Crossroads in my 20s?

It’s the end of another work week. 

After exclaiming my weekly ‘TGIF lo!!!’, I packed my bags, gleamed at my schedule of no plans, headed home for a hearty home-cooked dinner, and had a comforting bath before getting nicely nestled in bed.

While performing my daily millennial ritual of social media scrolling, I came across this meaningful video by SoImJenn, featuring Grab on raising the awareness of inclusivity of the PWD community, through their Grab for Good campaign.

Here’s the video:

After watching the video, I got all teary. It’s amazing how such videos remind me of how fortunate we are, and the littlest things that we often overlook.

However, the strongest feeling I got from this video was actually - what the heck am I doing with my life?

In fact, this question has been boggling my mind for the past couple of weeks, or even months. This actually came as a surprise to me - I have always thought of myself to be satisfied with where I was, contented with my day-to-day duties, and then one day, my brain decided to switch gears and it suddenly became..... confused. I became confused.

Confused about two words - my purpose.

It started off as a small speck of thought. It would occasionally peek in, while I was in the shower (y’know, shower thoughts), while I’m on the train to work, or become I fall asleep at night. These thoughts would just come and go, occasionally weaving through the slivers of my mind. 

And then it got more common. I found myself questioning things more often. I began to look at different situations and was thinking about how things might, or could have been. 

I know, it’s freaking weird to say this - but am I on my career crossroads? I’m barely 3ish years into the workforce, am I even allowed to verbalise this, or feel this way?? Is there such a thing as being too young to say that? Shouldn’t people only feel it when they have hustled for many years, and when they are in the midst of their mid-career crises? 

I feel almost ashamed for feeling like that. :’(

And there’s just this voice in my head, which I call ‘The Logical Mel’. It usually tells me: 

“STOP BEING AN IDEALIST!!! STOP THINKING SO MUCH! YOU ARE JUST COMPLICATING THINGS. JUST GO WITH THIS SAFE & CONVENTIONAL LIFESTYLE!”

My peers are mostly on their second on third jobs. Everyone around me seems to know what they want - they seem to have their plans in place, everyone has their game going, and nobody seems to be questioning their current way of living. 

This makes me a lot more doubtful of myself. It’s difficult to reach out to a goal which is of the minority, it feels like a real lonely journey. 

While I can’t shake off this nagging feeling, I’m rooted by so many fears. 

1. Am I being ungrateful for leaving something I don’t dislike?

This is at the top of my list. The fact that I don’t dislike my job. I used to think that that itself should make me stay somewhere, because that’s already something that’s hard to come by. There are so many people who dread heading to work, because they really really dislike facing what they do on a daily basis. I don’t dislike what I’m doing, there are some aspects which are still interesting. Which makes the situation a whole lot trickier.

You see, if you hate your job, you’ll be so compelled to leave it. But here I am, slowly getting comfortable/used to my area of work, having my own group of colleagues to hang out with, and I’m not completely sucky at what I do. 

Leaving something that's termed as an iron rice bowl is also pretty damn scary. When I see people streaming in for interviews at my company, it reminds that people are actually fighting for a spot like me. Is it...... worth giving up?

However, I think  I don’t feel mentally stimulated at work. Most of the time, I’m just following through work processes, and getting them done to achieve KPIs. And that itself is worrying to me. Isn't that akin to being a corporate slave? If I were to get complacent at this age, I can’t imagine how I would be in 5 years time....? 10 years time......? The fact that humans get more reluctant to leave their comfort zones as time passes, really scares me. 

2. Fear of letting my parents down

This. Another one. I feel like I can't afford to 'make a mistake', if that even makes sense? I know that this shouldn't be the biggest concern, but I would never want to let my parents down. They've given me so much all these years, and it is my wish to be able to provide them financially, if I were to have the means to do so.

Leaving something which provides me financial security and certainty is damn freaking intimidating. Being armed with a local undergraduate degree does come with its advantages. My parents have put me through college with their hard-earned money, and that provided me with an opportunity to be on a slight pedestal for certain opportunities. It was because of them, that I got this privilege. Throwing that away just seemed really ungrateful..... you know?

By making such a decision, am I being really selfish?

3. Fear of it being just an idealistic bubble

Am I just being too idealistic? Is it too idealistic for me to hold on to the belief that there should still be more to life than just this? Is it wrong to think that there should be more purpose in what we spend 8h every weekday on? Or is it just too good to be true?

There's this concept about Ikigai by the Japanese.

For the uninitiated, Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being." (From Wiki). In short, achieve the centre of the venn diagram, and you'll wake up feeling full of purpose, and have a sense of purpose and meaning to life. 

And I'm completely convinced by it. That's definitely the 'best case scenario', but shouldn't we actively work towards it? I strongly believe having purpose is what drives people to do better, do good and feel fulfilled. 

But with this concept being predominantly in cities with a slower pace of life, is it too idealistic to strive towards this way of life?

4. Fear of not being (good) enough?

I am looking for something that keeps me excited and motivated. I want to serve the community, and to give back to people. I want to spend the bulk of my time doing something that I know is helping in improving someone's life, be it in a small or big way. 

I was listening to a podcast recommended by someone on Dayre (@qinqin, hello if you see this!), which is called the LITO podcast. It is started by a duo, Danny and Rebecca. On the show, they talk about relatable topics such as mental health, doing joyful work, passion etc etc. I found myself looking forward to every episode, and resonating well with the thoughts shared by the speakers. The topics and their way of speaking were very digestible, and easy to listen to. I found it particularly enjoyable because of the way they showed their vulnerability, and they were very willing the challenges they faced along the way, and what it took to get them to where they are at now. It is very inspiring. :-) 

As you can imagine, the both of them are #goals now. They are working on what they are passionate about, and you could tell from their voices. They are such happy people, it's amazing. However, it took them hard work, grit and courage for them to get to where they are right now.

In one of the earlier episodes, there was a brief mention on self-doubt. I remembered thinking to myself - hey! Seems like.... it's normal? It's like a hurdle of fear you have to cross, to take that leap of faith before reaping its results. 

But the fear is sooooo, so daunting. 

What if I'm just not good enough in whatever I wish to do?

Do I try harder, fail, try harder again, before losing hope because I'm just not enough for it?

Do I regret my choices afterwards?

Privilege - Having the Choice To Quit Your Job

Headed out bright and early this morning to meet my friend, and decided to take a shortcut by passing through the mall. It was about 9:30 in the morning, and the mall was still half asleep. The shutters were still up for most of the stores, and it was quite peaceful and quiet, unlike the usual scene we see in malls these days (crowded!).

Caught a glimpse of the retail store I used to work for, back in the university days. It looked exactly like how it was 6 years ago, when I did the morning shift. I momentarily recalled my stint there for a couple of months, and I slightly winced at the thought of that. 

I remembered counting my spending back then by hours. This plate of chicken rice? It costs 0.5h of my pay. That new facial cleanser? 3h of my pay. I remember watching the time pass during the lull period, thinking to myself: wow time CAN indeed come to a standstill lol. Money was indeed hard earned. You’re literally trading your time for $7/h, selling off time you could have spent hanging out with family and friends, doing something you like, or just be a happy couch potato.

You look at your friends going on long holidays and have gorgeous photos online. Instead, you spend these hours packing up the mess that customers made. You spend it facing people who look past you, as though you are 5 levels below them. You spend it wondering why (some) humans are just rude and inconsiderate towards strangers who serve them with a smile. You would feel mentally and emotionally trampled on, but you also live for moments when customers greet you with the widest smiles, when parents allow their little kids to sneak a little play with you. When customers are extra appreciative and polite when you assist them with their queries. It’s like you see this bad side of people, and you get comforted by the good side too.

I also started noticing things that I didn’t as a regular shopper. Now I think about the hard work of these employees before and after store hours. The back-breaking work to get the store ready, and also the clean-up after everyone leaves. It’s amazing how terrible being a retail assistant could feel sometimes, yet how it taught me to be more understanding and tolerant towards people.

Okay, back to the main stream of my thoughts.

Recalling how I used to feel from my retail job, I  compared it to how I feel towards my current office job. I'm currently at my third year mark of my first job after graduation - at this point, your peers around you start asking you: when are you switching jobs? The culture of 'job-hopping' is prevalent and unlike the past, it is now widely accepted. Job switches are currently seen as gaining of experiences, instead of being disloyal or career-ruining. Instead of comfortably settling in a job4life, millennials are taught that stagnancy in a company is baaaad.


When this memory of my part-time stint flashed across my mind, idk whether it sounds strange, but I had this sudden immense gratitude. Look at people around us, slogging their lives out and clocking 12h shifts, or even juggling two jobs. Quitting a job was never a choice, at least not for reasons that we now think of. For personal development, for a refreshing change. It is such a privilege to be in my shoes to have such 'worries', to ponder over things I would think would govern the next five years of my life, yet in a macroscopic perspective, seems so...... insignificant.

I don't have to worry about quitting without fearing the inability to purchase groceries or my next meal. I don't have to worry about quitting because I can't pay my bills. Even though I love to save $ and am a cheapo in certain ways, I have the luxury of spending a few hundred dollars on a musical/concert ticket, or buy a new wallet without any second thoughts. It is... a privilege to be able to live like that.

May I always remember this privilege, especially during difficult times at work. Albeit some not-too-pleasant encounters here and there, I no longer have to face unexpected nasty strangers (I can just ignore irritating colleagues hahaha). I no longer have to brave through shifts just to ensure I have pocket money next week. :-)


Such random thoughts I have even just by crossing a mall. Goodness haha.

Why I value Personal Finance so much

When I was little, I didn’t think of money much. All I knew was there was always food on the table, I would get my weekly pocket money, I would get chunks of money during Chinese New Year which would be stashed away in my POSB account. Money never seemed like an issue, perhaps I was just a kid - the parents would never talk about money in front of us. I had art classes, piano lessons, and almost went into ballet classes - I remembered not liking how the class was, so mama didn’t sign me up.

Primary school was.... fun? A breeze? I had this confidence when friends who learned piano asked - 'So, which grade are you?', and I would answer with utmost pride - 'Grade 8!', when I turned Primary 6. I was also given opportunities to perform in front of the entire school, and I relished in the applause from the floor. Thinking back, I might have been a lil cocky kid huh. Haha.

At that time, money just didn’t seem like an issue. I mean, I was having classes only a few others had, right? (I was probably also too damn young to understand, or be told anything.)

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Then came Secondary school. I think it’s the period of adolescence where you think you know everything. Naturally, money became something everyone started being aware of. I mean, people started using Billabong pencil cases, had Roxy backpacks and whatnot. I remembersome classmates having the envy of others when they had outrageous amounts of daily pocket money.

I remember feeling slightly confused when I was asked to apply for financial assistance. I remember being just one of the two people in my class receiving food slips every month, where the teacher called our names at the front of the class to receive them. I remember my cheeks being flushed with embarrassment everytime that happened. I remember dreading this monthly ordeal. You mean..... everyone knows I’m poor now..?

I remember telling my mama how embarrassed I felt when I had to use those food coupons during lunch breaks. I felt that the tuckshop auntie was judging me when I handed her the little slips, and that she was remembering who this pathetic kid was. She probably wasn’t thinking about that at all, but the me back then felt this psychological stress chewing me up. I became really self-conscious during breaks, and felt so small and lousy. Mama saw how it was consuming me inside, and told me to stop using it immediately. Looking back, it was such a stupid move. Young and immature me didn't know how I was causing unnecessary expenses, and how hurtful my moves were. I didn't know better. How my classmates viewed me seemed like the most important thing back then.

Knowing that my family was probably going through some rough financial patches, I decided to save whatever I had left. After CCA, my friends would hang around malls to grab a meal before heading home. I remember sitting in fast food restaurant, and while I looked at my friends queuing for their food, I would tell myself 'There's food at home! Hang in there ok?', while my stomach grumbled. Money just seemed so scarce then, a $5 meal now could be my lunch for the next two days. It just didn't felt right to buy something while I was on my way home. Over time, I think my friends got used to me sitting around watching them eat, they started offering food to me everytime we hung out together. (Thank you friends for not disowning me, haha)

I knew my family didn't have much, I knew I was 'below-average' in financial sense. Thinking back, I just didn't know how bad it was, because of how well my parents concealed it.

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In JC, my pocket money became slightly higher. However, being conditioned to the fact of the tight financial situation at home, I began having the habit of choosing the cheapest item off the menu whenever my friends dined out. Like noodles? Choose the cheapest one. Like rice? Choose the cheapest one. Like drinks? Trick question. You don't get any drinks, you drink plain water from your bottle.

I hated the printing of stacks of notes during the prep of A's, because that meant $ flying away. I also didn't like topping up my EZ-link. Portions of my pocket money had to be squirreled away for such expenses.

Then, University came. Well, well, well. With looks (& how pretty you resume is) being the core of uni life, dolling up and caring for your skin suddenly became essential on your to-do list. With these new superficial needs (as well as basic needs such as food and transport), I took up tutoring, and did short part-time stints during my school breaks, as pocket money was no longer in the picture. I had to be financially responsible on my own.

Everyone around me were shopping on blogshops weekly. On the other hand, I did my daily browsing on Carousell, and hunted for preloved clothes and skincare. I simply couldn't afford that weekly new $50 dress. With a heart itching to have different clothes / skincare while on a tight budget, buying second-hand seemed to be a much more feasible choice. 

I also remember envying classmates when they flew to different parts of the world during school breaks, while I hustled to earn my own keep. I did retail work, F&B work, event work, and continued tutoring.

'Sigh, it must be great not being limited by the amount of money you have.'

Deciding that schooling years would be the best time to head overseas for an extended period of time, I saved up a couple of months' worth of internship pay and bought a ticket to North America in Year 3. I had a great time at my summer school, and every cent was worth it.

But it definitely, definitely blew a hole through my savings.

Money that I've scrimped and saved from earning by the hour, gone within a few weeks.

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I graduated University with $8xx in my bank. Wow, so pathetic right. Money went into one pocket, and out from another, not because I partied and had fun, but just because daily meals and expenses just costed $$$. With an almost empty bank account, it felt like I was starting afresh, financially.

As a fresh graduate, I also had no clue about important stuff like insurance and investment. I was too busy worrying about daily expenses, and they felt like additional things to think about.

I also grew up with the impression that insurance was purely blood sucking stuff. That all agents would be out to con you, and to suck your money dry. Insurance was BAD.

I was very fortunate to secure a job a month after my graduation, after my first interview. I am very thankful I didn't have to go through that whole emotional stress, having to think of ways to buy my next meal as I didn't have a fat bank account. /sweats

Being a full-time adulting employee also meant the most exciting thing ever - having monthly income!!! Such an exciting thought ikr. With a 4-figure amount coming in every month, I knew I HAD to budget, and plan my finances properly. I wanted to do it right.

I graduated during the period where sites like Seedly were popping up. The internet started filling up with pages focusing on personal finance, and tips on managing your finances, or even growing your pool of wealth. 

Man, I got so excited. Here I am, given a chance to decide on my financial future. I scoured the internet to find articles I could relate too, and started reading up on anything I could work on. I downloaded E-books, and discovered new websites. I joined FB groups and saw people sharing about their financial journeys and experiences, and felt so motivated to work on my own. Is it weird to say that I really felt like I was holding my financial future in my hands, and that I had the power to determine how it was going to be? 

I started writing down my expenses, I budgeted the amounts I could spend each month, set aside money to learn driving, read up on investment, insurance, and researched on cards and bank accounts. The more I read, the happier I felt. I loved the gaining of information, especially information which would help make this personal finance journey a little smoother. 

I am definitely still learning now, and am still very excited to learn more. I'm excited to reach a stage in life to let people know that it is still possible to own this journey despite being a regular salaryman. This is also perhaps why I love the page 'The Woke Salaryman'. It provides me with the reassurance that there are people like me out there, navigating through this whole adulting journey while making (hopefully) wise financial decisions. This is because I feel that this whole Delayed Gratification game could get slightly lonely at times. We're living in the world of instant gratification, where we treat ourselves for any hardwork we have done, for any sad or bad days. It definitely takes extra effort to practise delayed gratification, and I am most certainly working towards having this as a habit, as second nature.

So... why do I value personal finance so much? This is because I realise that I am solely responsible for my own personal finance journey, and whatever I do can cause a ripple effect in the many years to come. I have the power to decide what path to take, and it all begins now. :-)

I would also like to mention a few things I've learned over the past few years:

1) I am incredibly, incredibly thankful for my parents. In the recent years, I've learnt that my family survived with $1500/month with 3 kids under the roof, for a couple of years. $1500/month, can you even imagine? I recently googled and I realised that amount could have us qualified for public rental flats. However, we still always had electricity and food, had a clean house to go home to too. 

My parents gave me everything, including a debt-free start after graduation. That, I'm incredibly thankful for. Despite being a low-income household, my parents paid for an endowment plan which allowed for a lump sum payment just in time for the end of my university years. :'') I understand that this is definitely not a given, and not everyone has this luxury. I fully acknowledge this, and I guess I pay them back with my filial piety..........? Heh kidding. I love them very much. They are my heroes.

They also provided us with an incredibly loving family. We may not have much in terms of finances, but we have so much love. Coming back home also meant warmth. I would have my listening ears, and mama would always be there to dish out her advice, whenever necessary. We would eat meals together, share laughter or gather in front of the tv together to catch things like the NDP. Such things are definitely worth more than money. :') Irreplaceable.

2) You are your own captain. You do you. If you think spending money on frivolous things makes you the happiest, do it. If you think saving every cent makes you the happiest, you do it. Just do it while being aware that you shouldn't regret whatever decision you make. 

3) Some things are worth spending money on, some things not. Things like insurance is essential, but don't over-insure. I've learnt to read up on difference insurance types and policies to get myself well-informed, so that I am able to decide what I want. This also allows me to not to suckered in by sweet words of anyone hehe. Things like spending on gatherings which are just societal pressure in disguise? Nah. Not worth it at all. 

4) Personal Finance planning is exciting!! Well, at least for me. It makes me feel like I'm getting my shit together, and I am in control of my own life. I don't enjoy the feeling of reckless spending (lucky for me lol, it all works out), I guess such spending brings me more guilt than adrenaline high hahaha. This means a lot of my purchases are thought through, and this habit would be useful after I retire. Well, not all purchases are well thought through though....... my discipline isn't exactly exercised for things like grocery shopping. I might grab more snacks than I plan for each time I'm at NTUC oops.

5) Conventional 9-5s are really not the only way to earn money anymore. Gone are the days where you can only earn money from slogging out hour by hour. There are just so many avenues to earn money now, just do a quick search online and you'll be drowning in suggestions from different websites. That being said, I am SO ANNOYED by people who are appearing on Youtube ads and telling me I can earn 5-figures by yada yada. I am so unconvinced lol. I, however do acknowledge the fact that the methods of earning money has expanded so much since our parents' days. 

With that, I am still hoping to start with some side hustle, and retire from the age old 9-5. Sometimes, being filled with ideas is not enough. You need that effort to execute, and follow through. Most people die out during the whole following through stage. 

Well, we shall see.

I know I might be late to the whole personal finance game, but what is late when I've still got years ahead to plan and execute, and own it? 26 years old is still a toddler in the adulting world, right? Haha /selfcomfort

Alright, let's hustle on, guys! The world is our oyster. :-)