I am worried about my future

[Aaron]

I am 27 years old, currently working for 3.5 years and my salary is 3k (I know it is considered low). Just completed my part time degree in Mechanical Engineering (non-local), 2nd upper. Engaged but currently still living with parents and doesn’t own a car; cash 25k.

Reading through this forum I realized that I am probably one of the poorest man in Singapore and I think it will be a really tough time for me to fork out the money for my wedding and hdb in the near future (in 1-2 yrs time).

I hope the experts and experienced people here able to give me some advice of what I can do to improve this situation. Investment?

When you read the posts about wealth and incomes, they are based on their present situation. Many are sharing about their wealth or income when they think they have achieved something.

I am sure many of them started off from a low (or even zero) base just like you. This was the case for me. Whatever I saved from my NS allowances were all used up to pay for my uni fees. In fact I had to give tuition all the 4 years of uni to help top up for the fees and for daily expenses. At my graduation, I had less $100 in my POSB. Well that was 30 years ago!

When my cohort joined the workforce 30 years ago, our pay was $1800 pm for those with good honours. I couldn't even qualify to apply for a credit card then, not to mention buying car or a house. But slog on we did. For myself I continued to upgrade myself while working. I now have 2 masters degrees while some of my brainier classmates obtained their PhDs.

The low salaries also did not stop any of us from having girlfriends, falling in love and eventually getting married, settling down and having children. Yes, HDBs were a lot cheaper then, but they were spartan and we had to spend $100k typically to do them up into presentable and liveable homes.

Fast forward to today, 30 years later, my older son has just started work, while my younger daughter is a sophomore in a local uni. Financially we are comfortable. We lived in a condo, have another for rental income, 2 cars and over $5m in networth. Our current household income is $550k (including $120k passive income).

Did I think all this was possible when I first graduated? No way. Did I have a vision and determination to achieve this? YES.

My advise to you is - continue to work hard, upgrade your skills, take on greater responsibilities at work (promotion and higher pay will follow). On the financial side - spend within your means, invest, and be patience with your investment. You have a lot of time on your side. Believe me, time is a precious commodity too. At my age, I frequently wish for more time to do the things I want to do. Each day I go off to work at 7:30am only to come back home around 8pm. With dinner, shower and other personal admin stuff, I have very little time left for my family and myself.

Originally Posted by Aaron

I am 27 years old, currently working for 3.5 years and my salary is 3k (I know it is considered low). Just completed my part time degree in Mechanical Engineering (non-local), 2nd upper. Engaged but currently still living with parents and doesn’t own a car; cash 25k.

Reading through this forum I realized that I am probably one of the poorest man in Singapore and I think it will be a really tough time for me to fork out the money for my wedding and hdb in the near future (in 1-2 yrs time).

I hope the experts and experienced people here able to give me some advice of what I can do to improve this situation. Investment?

[Aaron]

Thanks so much for your advice. I will work towards that goal too, ultimately i just want to support my family finanancially and provide them a decent life or retirement. My parents were in their 60s now and i am yet to able to let them enjoy retirement.

Thanks again! =)

honestly, i do not think 3k at 27 for a guy is low by any standards. it is at best average.

fresh uni male grads also get around 3k when enter the workforce at around this age. and remember most probably have little savings out of uni and a study loan to repay.

[Aaron]

My 3k salary is before i got my degree. I asked my manager for a promotion/increment after but they say the company do not have such practice... So currently i am looking for opportunities

1. there are 2 main types of posters here. The successful one and the lying one. so, the forum paints a very skewed view of the working population.

2. live within ur means. if you can't afford a 4/5 rm, then go for 3 rm. Forget that car, dine out less, etc. u wont be able to afford a luxurious life with a 3k income, but u wont starve either.

3. continue to upgrade urself. take on / ask for more responsibilities even if your boss dont compensate u for it. dont work for the sake of working. Build a career.

I am 32 yo. I began my career 8 years ago at $2.6k per month, <$40k per annum. I know that was considered low too.

At present, I get >$8k per month, >$160k per annum. I know this is nothing to scream about - many others earn much more than I do - but I think it is decent and I am thankful.

I started with a low base salary, but put in my best nonetheless. My hard work quickly paid off. I was blessed with many superb and supportive bosses who were generous with their leadership, guidance, and recognition. The promotions came faster, and the annual increments and bonuses came to be of greater amounts, than I had ever anticipated in the early days of my career.

Even as my wages increased, I kept my expenses within reasonable limits and patiently grew my savings and investments. Over the past five years (since I began tracking my income and spending), I managed to save 75% of my annual take-home pay (excluding CPF). I currently save 80% of my annual take-home pay, have >$250k in stocks (earning >$1.2k in dividends on average each month), $200k in CPF, $45k in ILP, and own a condo ($1.2mn, with 40% paid off). I don't own a car, nor do I ever intend to. Again, while I know that all these pale in comparison with many others, I am also keenly aware that I have been very blessed.

Having said that, I think we (myself included) should caution against falling into the 'comparison trap'. What matters, I believe, is not so much where we began, what we have, or how we compare to the rest, but what we do next to make the best of that.

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am 32 yo. I began my career 8 years ago at $2.6k per month, <$40k per annum. I know that was considered low too.

At present, I get >$8k per month, >$160k per annum. I know this is nothing to scream about - many others earn much more than I do - but I think it is decent and I am thankful.

I started with a low base salary, but put in my best nonetheless. My hard work quickly paid off. I was blessed with many superb and supportive bosses who were generous with their leadership, guidance, and recognition. The promotions came faster, and the annual increments and bonuses came to be of greater amounts, than I had ever anticipated in the early days of my career.

Even as my wages increased, I kept my expenses within reasonable limits and patiently grew my savings and investments. Over the past five years (since I began tracking my income and spending), I managed to save 75% of my annual take-home pay (excluding CPF). I currently save 80% of my annual take-home pay, have >$250k in stocks (earning >$1.2k in dividends on average each month), $200k in CPF, $45k in ILP, and own a condo ($1.2mn, with 40% paid off). I don't own a car, nor do I ever intend to. Again, while I know that all these pale in comparison with many others, I am also keenly aware that I have been very blessed.

Having said that, I think we (myself included) should caution against falling into the 'comparison trap'. What matters, I believe, is not so much where we began, what we have, or how we compare to the rest, but what we do next to make the best of that.

You are right. thanks for your advice.
i probably have to put more effort and work my way up

$25k probably cannot buy flat but can do cheap simple wedding, then live with parents first if ur future wife dun mind

for wedding, have fewer tables, do lunch instead of dinner, do buffet instead of set, do at restaurant instead of high class hotel, dun do wedding shoot, just go malaysia fot honeymoon, or better still do staycation in sg

Originally Posted by Aaron

I am 27 years old, currently working for 3.5 years and my salary is 3k (I know it is considered low). Just completed my part time degree in Mechanical Engineering (non-local), 2nd upper. Engaged but currently still living with parents and doesn’t own a car; cash 25k.

Reading through this forum I realized that I am probably one of the poorest man in Singapore and I think it will be a really tough time for me to fork out the money for my wedding and hdb in the near future (in 1-2 yrs time).

I hope the experts and experienced people here able to give me some advice of what I can do to improve this situation. Investment?

You probably would be better off looking for a new job so you can bank on your new degree plus working experience to get a decent jump in salary.
Staying at the same job won't get you anywhere since its unlikely you'll get an increment or promotion just because you completed/got a new degree while in the job. Promotion or increment comes primarily from job performance, not paper qualification

This is what I think is what you can consider since I believe your objective is to quickly raise your income (and thus your savings) to get ready for marriage and buying your own home. Go send out the resume and you might be surprised

Best of luck!!