At least you are aware of the importance of saving at 27, which is still a very young age considering that most male S'poreans enter the workforce at 25. Somemore, starting working life with a student loan hanging around their necks for some of them. Their savings at 27 might be negative!
Enjoy life when young is also not wrong, becos we are only young once - people grow older not younger!
I bought my first car at 27, after working for 2 years and emptied all my savings. The car was a 6 year old car, but it served me for 13 years! I renewed the
COE when it was 10 years old.
There are two main ways to grow wealth (dont count inheritance and toto strikes):
1. Save more way. This way requires you to cut back on your lifestyle, save as much of your salary as possible. Dont own car, dont go for long holidays, eat cheaply, dont buy designers clothes, buy BTO etc.. Some people are disciplined enough to live a simple life all their lives. But this is not for me. We work hard because we want a better life for ourselves and family. For me, it is the second way below.
2. Earn more way. We should always aim to increase our income (salary, investment, business etc). This obviously requires more hardwork and time. In my early working life, I also gave tuition in the evenings to earn extra money. My first goal was to own a car, which I achieved after 2 years of work. With the car, I also went for night classes to get a Masters degree. This opened up more options, and I was promoted not long after that. My goals were clear, I wanted to stay in a condo, have a maid, cars, eat in restaurants regularly and long holidays (at least once) annually.
Fast forward to today, we own 2 condos, 2 cars, travel regularly and dine in restaurants regularly as well. Passive income around $180k a year. We are still working.