Managing Your Fixed and Variable Expenses
Firstly, I feel it’s always important to know the breakdown of your expenses. It helps when you are able to track how much of your salary goes into your necessities and fixed expenses such as Food, Transport, Bills, Insurance, Savings, etc., and how much goes into your variable expenses such as Entertainment & Leisure, Multi-Media Subscriptions, etc.

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Focus On Needs, Not Wants
Personally, financial security is very important to me. I need to know that I have the finances to commit to any big-ticket items/purchases and expensive decisions (like having children). Building a solid financial base requires an immense amount of willpower, prudence and sacrifice. Whenever I intend to commit to expensive purchases, I will always ask myself – is this a Need or a Want? Do I have the financial security to afford it?
 

Separate Your Savings and Spending Account
For me, setting aside a partial amount of my pay to savings and spending is helpful. It’s harder to overspend as I limit myself to only using the account that is designated for spending. It is important to separate these accounts, or else the temptation to 'use a bit now, and make up for it by saving more the following month' will snowball into an elastic suspension of how much you think you actually have to spend each month.
 

Invest In Yourself
The best asset you have is yourself – the knowledge & experience you gain is invaluable. Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend money to attend courses that will help me in my growth. We may lose all our material possessions but no one will be able to take away the knowledge we have accumulated. There are many government initiatives now to help with up-skilling and re-skilling (e2i, SkillsFuture, Adapt & Grow), so use that to your advantage!

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Pay Your Credit Cards Weekly

Instead of paying my credit card bills monthly, I’ll set aside a specific day of each week to settle these finances. This may help prevent the unnecessary occurrences of extra charges and late fees. Nowadays, with the rise and acceptance of digital wallets as a way of life, it gets difficult for us to keep accurate tabs of our actual expenditure. We tend to give in to the nature of ‘tap and forget’. Intentionally setting aside time each week to pay off our credit card bills is a good habit that will allow us to keep track of our expenses.

 
Don’t Compare Yourself To Others Financially

With the ubiquity of social media, its influence on our social being and the desire for users to show only the best sides of their lives, it becomes easy for us to feel envious of others and their successes. This may lead us to feel the need to ‘keep up'. We are all living our own lives within different situations and contexts. Not everything we see is as glamorous offline as it is on. My point being: Don’t base your self-worth on the façades of others’ lifestyles.

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By Estee Kho

Representing Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Ltd Reg. No. 199002477Z

 

 

Disclaimer:

· Opinions expressed are solely in Estee Kho’s personal capacity and neither express the views or opinions of Prudential nor represent any professional advice in Estee Kho’s capacity as a PACS representative.

· Any product/services mentioned is/are not offered by PACS.

· Approval code: 774/19Jul22

- https://www.prudential.com.sg/FC-info

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