100k at 24, how much is enough?

Yes, I have managed to amass 100k by the year I turned 24. In fact this sum was saved up before my birthday, so really I should be saying “100k by 23” for more dramatic effects. I promise I will get to the “how did you do this”, or “how much did you save per month” later, but it was really just to lure you in and discuss on another topic that not many may have thought much about— Options.

Options are costly. Think about your insurance plans — want to choose a private hospital? Kaching. Choose your own doctor? Kaching. You get the point, to have more options, you pay a higher premium.

What people may not get though, is how much options cost in life in general, and I don’t just mean in dollars and cents.

I learnt this young enough when I sat for the biggest national exam of my life — A levels. What motivated me to study 12h a day was not the school that I wanted. No, it was the fear of only being able to choose amongst schools and courses that I did not want. It was the look of fear, helplessness and regret on my friends’ face as they stared down at the limited list of options they had — retake the exam or go through 4 years of university for a course they did not want.

Options come with a cost, some people pay more to get better options, think people who went overseas and got to be a doctor without straight As on their cert. For those who are not lucky enough to have a parent overseas scholarship, we had to work doubly hard to get to choose what we want to study.

Savings goal

Okay, back to the topic on savings. Unfortunately for your sake I can’t sugarcoat my words. To get to 100k by 24, there’s A LOT of delayed gratification. Obviously there’s a fair bit of luck involved, if your family is laden with debt your goals will be significantly different. But on the things that I do have control over, discipline played a huge part, sexy I know.

Firstly, it’d be much easier if you graduated without a student loan. I may be belabouring the point, but options are costly — I worked my ass off through my waking hours and almost fell into depression to get the results I needed for a scholarship. I’d even say I was lucky that was the price I had to pay, for some, that’s the price and they’d gotten less in return.

The good thing is that getting paid is a more straight forward process. You get paid for what you do. Consider getting a part-time job to try to pay down some of that debt. I wrote for a website for almost a year and saved over $7k. Tuition seems quite feasible for a student as well. Whatever it is, it’s gonna cost you time and effort.

Though really, as a student there’s just only so much you can save. That’s why it’s more important to increase your income source than trying to save the few cents you get from ordering one less veg at the caifan stall, which brings me to my next point.

Aim for a high paying job. I know some people say starting pay is not important because experience is invaluable. Believe me because I was once that person and I was about to accept a pay so much lower than market rate in return for the promise that someday I may (or may not) get to become a consultant.

To me, starting pay is important because as the name suggests, it’s your starting point. Your increment will be relative to it (10% of $2000 is less than 5% of $4500), and your next job may give you an offer based on your current salary as well.

Honestly I am not HR and I don’t know if getting a lower starting pay is always bad, but for me personally I’d just go back in time to remind myself that the (evil) person was really low-balling me and accepting the job wouldn’t meant much progress either. Bear that in mind when you’re desperate for a job because I know I was.

However, considering the current economy, I suppose any job is better than being jobless. Time is money even for broke students! Everyone’s situation is unique and I can only comment on what I’d have done differently.

Lastly, live like a student. You know how as a student your daily allowance might be $10 and below? Yeah, try remembering that when you start receiving your paychecks. Don’t abandon the caifan auntie just because you started getting a few thousand dollars each month. In fact my peers and I proudly called ourselves the “caifan gang” because why not. You also don’t need the expensive handbag or daily gourmet coffee. Occasional online shopping is fine though, I know I’ve bought my own fair share of random stuff on shopee (but in my defense they are all below $5!).

Personally I try not to spend more than $600 per month on myself — transportation, food, shopping whatever have you. I have a separate budget for allowances for my parents and insurance (yes insurance is expensive but its SO IMPORTANT).

This budget doesn’t shift that much even as I received my increments and promotion (no “s” here because I am too junior haha). I try my best to keep my expenses low but try to continue being generous to others (it’s good for your soul in the long run). I think it’s a fine balance to maintain but just make sure you are not being crazy stingy but also not overly generous that your bank just dont grow at all.

Realistic goals

Honestly I will not have been able to meet my 100k goal at 24 if the following things did not hold true for me:

• Getting a scholarship that paid me to study and graduating debt-free
• Having some savings before I started working (from 22 years of savings)
• Not having to serve NS (I mean, you likely graduate at 24 or 25, so I get that)
• Receiving a really good bonus for 2019
• Not having to bear any family financial burden

Conclusion

Everyone comes from a different background, have different giants to slay and we are all just unique, cliche but true. Hence the savings goals and the age by which you achieve them really should not be a one-size-fits-all. Many things in my life may not apply to you, and heck, some may even be born with 100k savings in their bank already making my post seem like a joke. But your life is not a joke, and your circumstance is not something to be ashamed of. It’s just the cards that you have been dealt with and we can only choose to make the best out of it.

I don’t know what your goals are and when you will reach them. I’d just like to conclude by saying that the above are certain principles you can live by to accelerate your savings progress.

Ultimately all options come at a cost, hence I always say that I don’t love money, I just love freedom and the option to choose.

How much are you willing to pay to get to choose what you really want to pursue in life? Sometimes sticking to a job for awhile to save up enough is not selling out. Rather, it’s you being mature enough to pay a price in advance for your option to choose in the future and I wished more people would have told me that.