Goal Met: Saving $100k at 25

pic from google images

Well, hi guys.

I've been putting off this post for a few months because I want to be completely sure that after deducting my expenses, I indeed have that amount I've goaled. So here goes.

I officially have $100k cash savings before 28.

But to set things right, I've been saving since young. For the purpose of this post, I took out my POSB Kids Savings passbook which was set up when I was 9. I still remembered that the first amount put in was $1, and I received a POSB squirrel raincoat! My parents deposited $161 during that first deposit. Gradually, more money were deposited. It could be money from my scholarship awards, bursaries, Eagle Awards and whatever monetary incentives I achieved in school. Of course, in goes my angbao money (which my mom took back a portion - technically, the angbao monies are from her, since she always lugi). I started working as a temp at 17, and continued to do so during school holidays.

By age 19, before I entered uni, I already had around $8k savings. And then I was aiming for $10k. I gave tuition for 2 kids in Uni Year 1 and 2. And then, when I started work, my goal was to save $100k by 28.

I was lucky to have my dad paying my 4 yrs uni fees. I don't have an education loan to pay back like most of you do. I am supposed to pay my dad back for my uni school fees which amounted to $30k? I didn't pay my dad back but only gave my parents monthly allowances of $500 set in a savings account. As I didn't have an education debt to banks, I was able to snowball my money because of higher interests. To repay my uni fees, I'd to pay my parents $500 for 5 years :X. Technically, I'm saving more money at the expense of them. Also, I did not have to pay for household bills and expenses. Directing you to my 2nd post, you could see that my fixed expenses is only $525. Other than that, it's just paying for variable expenses like dining and shopping. I only occasionally contribute to my household by paying for groceries when I'm shopping with them, or treating my family to lunches or dinners during special occasions or paying for my bros' shopping via my credit card.

In a way, I could save better than others do.

By the time I started to work full time, I think I already had more than $20k in savings. During these 3 years of work, I've accumulated even more money. It helps that my partner pays for quite a number of our dining expenses and providing me practical gifts. However, I've been paying for more stuffs now that I'm earning slightly more :P

With my relatively low expenses, I could save a bulk of my salary to generate higher interest returns. Also, I dont touch the bonuses I earned and instead park them in annual Fixed Deposits.

With $100k savings, now what? I won't be able to maintain this amount forever, but I hope to. It will come a time soon (or very soon), when I have my flat, spend on reno, have kids, and the money would probably go down to less than a quarter. I think I'm more motivated to increase my savings by finding ways to generate passive income :)

I don't have a fanciful story to tell. I don't have a plan to share. But I'll be sharing some tips on how I save money in the next post.

Till then!