SINGAPORE: Despite earning a solid $12,000 per month, one Singaporean 43-year-old man finds saving difficult due to his financial responsibilities.
On r/singaporefi, he explained that having a family of six, including four teenagers aged 13 to 18 and a non-working spouse, has made it particularly hard for him to grow his savings as the household expenses were very high.
“My monthly surplus is close to zero and I’ve about 2-3 months of savings,” he wrote.
His salary bumps over the years have also coincided with his kids’ increasing tuition. As for his annual bonuses, the man allocated them to other expenses such as insurance premiums, family holidays in Malaysia, a renovation loan, and a car loan.
Keen on making a change, he asked the online community, “How can I start growing my cash money if I don’t have a monthly surplus to invest?”
“You can’t grow money without money.”
In the comments section, the Singaporean Redditors praised the man for supporting his entire family alone, calling him a “superman,” a “champion,” and an “amazing dad.”
They were also impressed by his income of S$12,000, noting that not many non-grads can achieve this level of income.
As for investing, a few recommended exploring low-risk or risk-free investment avenues such as Treasury bills, Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB), and Money Market Funds. These options were seen as relatively secure ways to grow savings over time.
Some discouraged him from doing so, advising him to build up his emergency funds to six months’ worth of expenses before investing.
Additionally, they highlighted the importance of having a monthly surplus, as investing wouldn’t be feasible without it. One Redditor said, “You can’t grow money without money.”
Several suggestions were made to create a monthly surplus and savings for the family.
These included his wife re-entering the workforce, cutting down on family expenses, encouraging his children who are older than 16 to take some part-time work, or increasing his income by doing some part-time work.
One Redditor commented, “Honestly, just encourage your wife to go back to work, whatever she earns is still higher than what shes “earning” now which is $0 and whatever she earns is considered your family savings for the future.”
Another stated, “Wife working is the best bet of generating some surplus to invest with. Children have to be taught to chip in for chores and earn pocket money during school holidays.”
Read also: Woman with cancer wants to resign, but her husband doesn’t allow because she earns S$14K/month
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