........and other lessons I learnt about money as a working adult:
Just want to put a disclaimer that I am by no means a representative of any insurance or financial company as I write this article and that I am sharing what worked for me. Remember that what worked for me, might not necessarily work for you, and vice versa. All of us are at various stages of our own lives and have different financial committments, hence, please do not feel guilty or beat yourself up for not achieving that amount by a certain age. Like I said, all of us are different, we go at our own pace and time. So why compare?
With that being said, let’s get started — I graduated from a local nursing honors degree back in 2016, and during my funemployed period, I was either going for driving lessons, binge reading self development books at the local library or attending value added courses conducted by my university all while waiting for my graduation ceremony. I wanted to make the most of my time before starting work officially.
Starting my work officially at the age of 22, felt like a huge blur to me as I felt super unprepared about the working world and jargons of adulting. I didn't even know anything about taxes - what more on how to reduce them? Heck, I didn’t even know that I had to submit my MC status through the work portal site back then! That was how clueless I was!
I remembered having a “tea session” with my then manager on why my MC status was not being submitted and I got questioned if I was playing truancy. My younger self back then was just ridiculously naive and unaware. Sigh.
Feeling anxious, I read a lot of financial articles on Seedly or Budget Babe on my day offs, and most of them were talking about “achieving 100k before 30”, you can find more of these here, here and here. (Omg, side track: I really enjoy Seedly and Budget Babe!)
And these articles were the inspiration for me to work, as I wanted to challenge myself to attain that goal too!
Firstly, starting off: PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
I created 2 bank accounts - one for spending and another for savings.
The one and only Warren Buffet once said: “Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”I look forward to paydays as I would gladly set aside the amount that I intended to save first prior to spending on what I want. Thrifty became my middle name.
Ask yourself: Do I save or spend my salary first?
2. Moving on, I started to differentiate between my needs and wants.
The 22 year old younger version of me wanted a Chanel 2.55 or a Chanel classic flap and a gold Cartier love bracelet - wannabe fashionista, I know, but through binge reading many financial articles and through observing people, I learnt that there is a difference between looking rich and being truly wealthy. After much introspection, I would truly much prefer being the latter, thank you very much. I knew that being too image conscious, ‘keeping up with the Joneses’, just for the sake of it, or having fear of missing out (FOMO), is not worth it. Spending that amount of money on flashy items would only bring a short lived happiness. Sure, there is nothing wrong in taking pride in your appearance, but not to the point of being in debt or living paycheck to paycheck!
Makeup became simple instead of heavy, which allowed my skin to breathe too. Minimalism became my new found religion, I basically donated most of my old clothes, shoes and cleared my closet out. Delayed gratification is something that I practice constantly as I was taught this since my childhood days.
“Do I really need it?”
“Will there be a later sale?”
“Are there any other cheaper alternatives?”
“Any available promo codes?”
“Any cashback available?”
“Is this available on the shopback app?”
“Should I use a credit or debit card?”
These are some of my inner monologue before making any purchases.
Being frugal and mindful of my spending also helps!
I also stopped purchasing clothes from fast fashion stores, and started to buy quality clothes that would last me much longer. Whenever I want to buy clothes, I would ask myself:
“How many hours do I have to work in order to afford this item?”
“If I were to buy it, how many times can I wear the item?”
If it can only be used once, I will not buy it, I became pragmatic like that. I would also challenge my thoughts: do I really want something because it's really beneficial for me or am I purchasing it just because of a hype or a trend that will eventually pass?
Right now, I would only buy clothes that I feel are timeless and a “must have” as wardrobe staples so that I can reuse my outfits. Think of something like your plain white shirts that can match with any type of bottoms. BOOMz, endless outfit ideas without really breaking the bank.
I am not ashamed to be nicknamed ‘outfit repeater’. I would much prefer to be remembered as someone who stands up for her own set of convictions, who is genuinely herself, rather than being remembered only just for the type of clothes that she adorns herself with. I hope to be remembered for my attitude, my love for words and writing.
There’s a saying: We do not buy things with our money, we buy them with hours from our lives.”Ask yourself: How much is my time really worth?
Time will always be more important than money because we may know how much money that we have but we never know how much time we are left with. So use your time wisely!!
3. Thirdly, most financial blogs would allocate a ‘50-30-20 rule of budgeting’, but since I was super motivated and determined to reach my 100k goal faster, I would aim to save at least 80% of my take home pay.
Back then, I was working at the nearby local polyclinic. I remembered, sometimes I would walk home from the clinic, killing 2 birds with 1 stone - to get some exercise and to save up on transport fees. I would also pack sandwiches for lunch break, if my mother or my partner prepared lunch for me, I would just gladly accept it, even if it was last night’s leftovers. If lunch was provided by the clinic due to some lunch time sharings by vendors, doctors or fellow nurses, I would also gladly have it.
^an example of home cooked food during my breaks at work by my mummy dearest.
^ Cooked by one of the nurses that I used to work with, during my oncology posting, thank you Aunty Kim.
^ sometimes, I feel like I am dating a chef. hahaha
If it was neither of the above, I would buy economic rice or noodles with 2 ingredients at the nearby coffee shop. No mcdonalds, no bubble teas, no ordering of grab food and not too much cafe hopping for overpriced food for me.
^ my simple, to go ingredients for Cai Fan (economic rice) at work.
Aside from saving money, I learnt that I am not a picky eater and food does not really motivate me. I also taught myself to cook simple meals that are edible, tasty and simple enough to my own liking.
What I learnt about myself is that I eat to live, and not live to eat.
Sure, I do enjoy high teas, fine dinings and expensive omakase, but these to me, are reserved for special occasions (ok, yes I know that everyday is a special day and we should not be living too frugally - but there is a difference between being cheap and being frugal. As well as saving up for your future and YOLO-ing your money away. Got to strike a balance between the two!)
Ask yourself:
Which areas of my life that I do not mind cutting costs from? Then work towards it. Practice delayed gratification. At times, it's normal to feel as if you are losing out, but always keep your desired end goal in mind. Never give up, remind yourself of the bigger picture and what you wish to achieve.
4. Fourth, my younger self made the jump in switching jobs from clinic life back into hospital settings simply because in hospitals, not only do you get to learn more, be exposed to more cases and get to pick up more clinical skills, you get to do shift hours, and from there you will get more allowances, besides, hospitals give greater paychecks.
Sure, I miss my short commute to the clinic from my home, but these are trade offs that I had to make. Figured out that in the event that my body can no longer tolerate working shift hours, going back to office hours would still be another alternative for me, but my youth will not return and well, you are only that young once. Every dollar that you earn in your younger days, especially in your 20s is worth much more than any other time of your life as you can use it for investments, and time is totally on your side. Let compound interest work for you and not against you. (e.g. bad debts).
Ask yourself:
How can I make full use of my qualifications?
How can I contribute more?
Other than saving relentlessly, picking up more shifts, just relying and aiming for promotion, changing jobs or having side hustles?
Are there any soft skills that I might also need to learn?
Food for thought: When I learn more, I earn more.
5. Lastly, I worked on and changed my mindset.
Instead of telling myself that this goal was impossible to reach, I motivated myself by brainwashing myself that “if others can do it, so can I”.
I reminded myself of why I started this challenge for my younger self, that is to build my own safety net for myself. I stopped being jealous and envious of the wealthy, and started to see them as a form of inspiration to motivate myself.
Wealth is a mindset.
The ever famous book by Robert Kiyosaki- Rich Dad, Poor dad, had a saying:
The poor dad says: “the love of money is the root of all evil” while the rich dad says: “the LACK of money is the root of all evil.” Once I understood that money is such a useful tool as not only can money buy time, money can also give you more options, and even create a form of safety net, I respected money, much, much more. Money should be seen as a helpful tool, and not solely for reward.
The cool thing about personal finance is that it is not just about accumulating money for the sake of it but it is more on the lessons that you get to pick up along your journey. These lessons might not even be about money itself, but learning to have and adopting the right kind of a long-term investor’s mindset which encourages lifelong learning —- something that I advocate for and believe in wholeheartedly.
Ask yourself: Do I have a scarcity mindset about money? If so, how can I challenge outdated self limiting beliefs about money and incorporate healthier beliefs into my life? Instead of telling yourself “I cannot afford that”, change that statement to a question——“HOW can I afford that?”
A simple difference of word play makes a whole lot of difference.
TL;DR:
PAY YOURSELF FIRST,
Learn to differentiate between your needs and wants, practice delayed gratification.
Save, save, save + learn to stretchhhhhh your dollar,
Understand what kinds of trade offs are worth it,
and of course, having the right mindset is key: be open in wanting to learn new things.
Being self disciplined is to stay committed to your actions, in order to reach the goals that you have set for yourself. On tougher days, having discipline will take you much further than motivation can.
You would be surprised that I do not talk about investing just yet, simply because I believe in having and creating that safety net first.
But of course, at the same time, I started to read more about finances and investments during my day offs and downtime. Got to learn and know the basics of investment in order to put the money that you save up so diligently, to work for you and not to lose the value of money over time to the perils of inflation. It helps to have the right fundamentals first prior to dipping your toes into investing with the stock market through DIY, unit funds or even robo advisors. You can DCA (dollar cost averaging) into investments as the time passes as well. There is no hard or fast rule that it is a ‘one size fits all’. You pick what you think works best for you. Just have to be mindful of the cost of investing, know your own risk appetite and time horizon.
Again, I am no finance expert or guru, please do your own due diligence when it comes to investments. Or seek a trusted finance professional for advice or assistance.
Please bear in mind that I am a registered nurse by profession, and before you ask yourself why on earth is a nurse advocating for financial literacy and being financial savvy, I implore you to think outside the box.
Throughout my own experiences as a nurse who has nursed both subsidized and private patients during her line of work, witnessing how money (or the lack of) can greatly impact one’s quality of life, social status which then can have a greater impact (both positive and negative results) on health outcomes and treatment plans, I urge everyone reading this to ask yourself what is truly important to you and your loved ones. By making time to review and to plan your finances well enough so that you and your loved ones can have a peace of mind should any emergencies - be it medical or non medical, occur.
From the cradle to the grave, we all need money, let's be realistic. Even when helping others, sending well wishes - be it buying gifts, etc, all of these need money.
Money is a means, not an end, though. No point spending all that time in exchange for money, at a job you hate or have no meaning or fulfillment. Build your emergency funds, suck it up at work and then leave when you need to. Of course, knowing when enough is enough, is also important.
Money in its actual state has no meaning, it is we who give it a meaning or an attachment to it. Material possessions can only make us happy for a short while.
Use money to buy new experiences, invest in your health, make time for wellness, to learn a new skill, and moreover, to enrich your life.
By telling yourself that you are taking charge of your finances, you are also learning to take charge of your life. Please do not waste any more precious time, energy or money on blindly following what society thinks you ought to have, or ought to do, in order to deem yourself as successful or wealthy. You alone are already worthy, material possessions should not possess you or define your self-worth.
