achieving $100,000 at 24 ?! 😱✨💰

I was a fresh grad from SMU, studying business management and majored in marketing. I graduated with cum laude, ie. minimally a 3.4/4 GPA, pretty average grades.

Some of my friends who did better than me academically landed jobs at prestigious banks, tech companies, FMCG, big 4, etc. They were offered starting pay of $4-6K/month, some who were in more lucrative roles were drawing $8-10K/month, I couldn’t compete with them on the same playing field so I took a different career path. To my surprise, within my first 4 months of working life, I made at least $10K/month consistently.

Here’s how I did it even without being a top scorer or dean lister in school. ☺️

1. Choose a career that has very high or no income ceiling

I chose to venture into sales, specifically in the finance planning industry which does not cap your earning potential as it’s 100% commissions. I’ve never done sales in my life so starting from ground zero was very scary. However, I heard this career doesn’t need any finance background, only hard work, resilience and love for people, which are character traits I have. Since I was so young, only 23, I thought, why not give it a shot? Nothing to lose as I can easily go back to the corporate world, but everything to gain if I make it.

2. Hustle hard in the career

I worked very hard to learn the ropes, attended daily training from 9-11am, hustled 7 days a week 12 hours a day and sought help from mentors whenever I was stuck. To me, I was willing to put in the hours at the start of my career as all my friends in prestigious companies also work as long as I do, they also have to check emails on the weekends. The difference is they have zero OT pay while my hard work has potential to turn into massive results for myself.

3. Find a mentor who is living a life you aspire to have and cares for you

At 23, I was wide eyed and full of hopes and dreams, but lacked direction, experiences and wisdom on how to get to my dreams. The best and fastest way to success I felt was to learn from a mentor who has been there and done that, lives a life that I aspire to have and most importantly, cares and wants the best for me. When you find a mentor like that, you can trust that they will teach you, guide you to your goals, challenge you to dream big and genuinely celebrate with you when you succeed.

4. Choose a career that lets you build recurring income in the long run

Sales can be tiring as you meet different people every day. Once you close a deal, you need to look for your next sale and the cycle repeats itself. It can be unsustainable as you grow older, have less energy to hustle or shift priorities for a season (e.g. wedding planning, travel the world, have kids). You want to build your income such that this $10K/month keeps growing and does not drop. I chose the financial planning industry as it’s one of the rare few careers where commissions last 6 years, that allows you to scale up your income very quickly and sustain it. It’s been 6 years in this career and I’ve never seen my income drop below $10K/month, in fact it keeps climbing the longer I stay, the more I grow myself as a person and the more I grow my skills.

How I manage my 💲💲💲

Managing my finances well allowed me to live comfortably in my 20s, owning a private property, driving my dream convertible, traveling quarterly, and saving for my wedding all while planning for an early retirement.

By prioritizing necessities over my wants, i built a 6 month emergency fund in case I fall sick, and invest for growth. I’ve created a balance between enjoying life now and securing my future by doing these. The key is to start early, budget wisely, and let your money grow! The sooner you plan, the sooner you’d get to live your dreams.

If you’re just like me in your 20s, feel free to connect with me @jiahwan on IG and I can share more in depth with you on how YOU can take your first step to living the lifestyle you’d like too! 🥰

#money #finance #financetips #career #moneymanagement #100k #careeradvice #financialfreedom