✨100k before 25?!✨

Hi Zesties! 🍋

The six-figure mark is often a milestone in any financial journey 😍 I would like to share 5 simple habits that helped me to reach 100k before 25:

1️⃣ Savings

- I can't stress how important it is to have a high interest rate savings account, it's really just free money while your money is sitting in the bank.

- Some of the ones that pay realistically higher interest rate assuming a regular monthly salary (minimum of $1600-1800) are the UOB One Account and OCBC 360.

2️⃣ Investments

- I must admit I'm not that much of a regular investor, I prefer choosing a good entry point. But as they always say, time in the market is better than timing the market 😄

- If you are a more passive or risk-averse investor, you can start out by investing regular amounts in SSB or T-bills. Robo-advisors like Syfe and Endowus are good alternatives too as they allow you to tailor your portfolio to suit your personal risk profile.

3️⃣ Budgetting

- Inflation is REAL guys, so reduce unnecessary spending. It's so easy to overspend especially with a tap of a card.

- Keep track of your spending with a budgetting sheet, and allocate certain amounts that are non-negotiable (e.g. transport, groceries, monthly bills) while leaving a certain amount for flexible expenses (e.g. leisure activities, ad-hoc events).

4️⃣ Maximising your CPF

- Did you know that you are actually saving money by topping up your CPF account?! If you were to top up your CPF Special Account by the maximum level of $8000 per year, that amount is tax-exempt, potentially saving you at least $560 in taxes.

- CPF SA interest rates at 4.05% are significantly higher than median bank interest rates between 3.3-3.5% as of May'24.

- You can also invest your OA into T-bills to increase the interest you receive.

5️⃣ Pay your Credit Card bills on time

- This sounds like common sense but believe me it adds up so quickly!! The interest rates on credit cards are crazy at around 25% 🫣 and there's usually an additional fee of $100 for late payment.

- You can automate credit card bill payments by setting up a reminder or schedule a recurring monthly payment on your banking app. Money secured 💯💶

These are some habits I find useful, disclaimer that I am not a financial advisor. Let me know in the comments if you practice any of these and how it works :)

Happy to hear other tips and advice on managing money! 😄

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