How much do you earn and save?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Frankly you screwed yourself over by paying so much for 'insurance' plans. Most of what u paying for is not even insurance, it's investment/savings plans, a lot of it is paying for your agent's BMW. I also make 5K but spend only $60 per mth on insurance. I save and diy invest probably 3000 per mth. Give my single parent $400 per mth and utilise my parent's own money to help her some passive no risk income.

And the rest of you scolding OP for not giving more money to her parents have no right to any moral high ground, filial piety is not just throwing money at your parents. A child is not an investment.

I agree, cancel your insurance **** plans man. 5k is decent and you should be saving alot more.

There is no point saving for the sake of doing it. Saving must come with an objective in mind. Learn to income and lead quality lifestyles.

Savings rate is important but more important is improving your income. Increase your income but keep your expenditure low, that's the best way to increase savings.

I don't think OP is being chided. She needs to be in an independent living environment to understand truly how much she can save. When I was her age, I spent about 400 a month. Then when I was married and doing graduate school, we spent about 30k a year. I thought if I made a 60k after tax, we will be saving comfortably. That turned out to be untrue.

While I can live a pauper's life, I can't expect my wife, kids, and our parents to live like this (and I don't want to). I want to make sure they are as comfortable they can and trust me, it is not cheap.

That said, it is a good habit to save. My advice to you is that you save so that besides giving yourself options, you can be generous too. I have seen families broken apart because of money issues, where couples live more like two singletons than a family unit concerning finances.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

assuming the following monthly expenses:

- give parents $200 each = $400
- 62 packets of Caipng a month = 62x 3.5 = $217
- hp bill: $25
- broadband bill: $30
- cut hair: $3.80 snip avenue
- walk to work
- weekend: jog, play football, basketball, Badminton at public court

Doable.

Lanjiao lah go cut hair $3.80. Threadstarter is a female. Most probably go salon cut and wash alrd $30+. Havent talk abt hair treatment and all.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

assuming the following monthly expenses:

- give parents $200 each = $400
- 62 packets of Caipng a month = 62x 3.5 = $217
- hp bill: $25
- broadband bill: $30
- cut hair: $3.80 snip avenue
- walk to work
- weekend: jog, play football, basketball, Badminton at public court

Doable.

I eat 66 packs of cai png per month so my expenditure is also about there.

Originally Posted by catspajamas

Guys lol no need to get so worked up...yup agreed that i'm lucky to have no liabilities (as mentioned by someone) but that's only for now.

My parents' stance is that while they are still financially able they want me to save as much as i can for myself, which is also why i'm asking. Of course some of the money i put aside today will go to them as well. All things considered, i'm really just checking if i'm doing okay with the sum at hand, so dont have to judge me for "showing off" or "being selfish" lol you guys are misconstruing my intentions here. Main point is to get a good sense of how people are coping and using shared anecdotes as a point of reference for my own learning as well. As for the insurance plans, yes i will take over and pay my own premium soon. But background is my dad used to be from insurance field so he's happy to settle everything in the meantime until he thinks im ready to take over.

As people share their liabilities, it also helps me plan better on how i can better portion my savings in future when I have my family and liabilities to settle. Seeing some of your posts, I also will use it as a good rule of thumb on how much $$ to give my parents too! And just to be clear, we all split the household utilities and groceries so i dont let my parents absorb all the burdens too. Any time they need me financially i will be there.

Thanks for sharing guys!

OP of #8 here.

Good to see that you are taking the comments positively. Fr your age, I guess you've just started working not too long ago. With a long career pathway ahead, the two most important things when it comes to finances is to work hard at increasing your income, and try not to get too caught up with lifestyle creep. If you can maintain your savings rate and plan your finances appropriately, you should find yourself in relatively good stead down the line.

As someone also pointed out, saving money for the sake of saving up can be a difficult journey. The temptation to spend once you build up a tiny amt of savings is very real. I would suggest that you try to set some targets for yourself e.g. 100k savings by 30, 300k by 40 etc. Having a target helps to focus your efforts in savings and investments.

take home = 3.3k
rent = 800
insurance = 300
expenses = 1100
savings + RSP = 1100 (33%)

8k..after cpf 6.8k.

Spendings 1.5k. Saving 5.3k per month. 32 with gf.

take home = 4.4k
parents = 800
insurance = 300
expenses = 1900
savings = 1400 (32%)

single no kids stay with parents