I’m getting married soon. I have been working full-time for almost 2 years now, I earn a decent living but still nowhere near very comfortable. I tried hard to save money but it’s always so difficult, even though I live a rather modest life without indulging a lot. Few days ago I just booked a HDB flat with the wife-to-be, and I’ve been wondering – am I falling into this vicious cycle of paying through my teeth for survival (HDB flat, living expenses) with little left in savings for the future or for a rainy day?
I used to blog so much about how I should get away from Singapore, get away from a situation of having to work hard just to have money sucked back by the government in the form of HDB, CPF, etc, just like the majority of Singaporeans… but look at me now.
I realised that I cannot continue further like this. I won’t get far in upgrading my life or my loved one’s lives if I continue to just work hard, pray for promotion/pay rise/to get poached… 2 years in the corporate world and I realised people just don’t get rich and successful this way.
I currently have nothing much to my name and I want desperately to move away from becoming complacent with what I have, move out of my comfort zone and have a breakthrough.
I’m now making plans to do so, one step at a time. My idea is to start small and grow. Starting small allows me to stop without too much pain if things are not moving in the right direction. I spoke to many friends who are really unrealistic about starting up their own businesses. They either want to put in little and get huge returns, or they want to ‘strike it big’ at the first go. And there are those who are always pouring cold water on others and themselves. The first step to success is to get a reality check.
Unless you are lucky and born with a silver spoon or you got lucky along your career and met with situations or people who were able to get you places quickly, the only road to a better future is one step at a time, starting with taking the first step out of complacency and my comfort zone.
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Mr Baio. Congrats on you rcoming wedding. Getting married was the best thing to have happen to me.
On to your post. 2 years is an extremely short time to be working and expecting any kind of change in pay/job scope. Give it 5 + years to make a name for yourself. It is not up to any random bout of luck people become successful in the corporate world. It is a known path with definable goals provided you have the ambition and drive to grab it. Key of all is patience. If you have none of those, it is going to be hard and long in any industry (even self employed).
You NEED to set an end goal for yourself. I see too many young people in SG starting out their careers expecting the moon and sky. It doesn’t work that way unfortunately. You’re expected to bleed plenty for 5 years on average. Once you have that time done, ASK for a larger role and a raise to go with it. If not, move to another company and you should get what you want within reason.
Everytime you move, make sure you are moving a step up, not sideways and you should minimise job hopping; it makes you hard to hire.
All told, on average, you will need 5-7 years to hit management level of some sort. 7-10+ years to now be earning a better than comfortable living.
While it may seem slow to you, 10 years is actually very fast. Corporate world is also very stable (depends on industry).
Now, this is a controversial subject in SG, but you need to discuss this with your wife at some point. If you want your union and new family to prosper, the best way is for both of you to contribute. That way you become a dual income family rather than individual income as is common in Singapore. I treat my wife’s money as my own and vice versa. It allows us to work as a team for the things we want in life.
on average, you cannot do it alone in a major city like Singapore, New York etc… You pool your power and your combined wealth is larger than the sum of its part. I’m assuming your wife works, of course. – like i said, it isn’t a popular view in Asian society to do this, but this is how people in larger cities cope and survive beyond their individual earning.
Care to share what business plan you have commence , partner ?