SINGAPORE: Despite having a stable income of S$3,200 and carefully sticking to a budget plan, a fresh graduate admitted on social media that he still struggles with financial anxiety, to the point where it sometimes keeps him up at night.
The young lad wrote in a post on the r/singaporefi forum that he’s been diligently following the 50/30/20 budgeting rule since entering the workforce.
His monthly spending, he noted, consists of approximately S$320 to S$400 on food and groceries, around S$150 on transport, and about S$400 on shopping, entertainment, phone bill, and insurance.
In addition, he contributes S$200 to his parents, with plans to increase this amount over time, and allocates another S$400 for travel. He also aims to set aside about S$1,000 each month for investments and save around S$8,000 by the end of the year.
Still, though his budget looked solid on paper, he admitted he couldn’t shake off the uneasiness. “I don’t know why I am so anxious. [I have] no debt, my school fees were covered by bursaries.”
“It’s possible that I’m just a couple months into earning/spending and still don’t have a clear sense of what my average spend is. So it adds to my anxiety/checking my expenses more than I should on some days. Did anyone experience this?” he asked.
Believing his anxiety may be linked to growing up in a household without financial stability, he acknowledged that he struggles to recognise what “stability” should look like. “Every time I pen down or relook at my budget, it looks logical enough to me, but in my day-to-day, I still get anxious about whether I’m doing anything wrong,” he explained.
Reaching out for advice, he asked fellow users who had gone through similar experiences how they managed to cope with such anxieties and whether having a clear target like the “100K by 30” goal could really help. “I don’t have anyone I can safely confide in in real life, so I’m typing this here. Thank you,” he concluded.
“Treat it as a source of motivation.”
Concerned about the fresh grad’s mental health, one Singaporean Redditor responded, “Been there, done that. My only advice is to just focus on the ‘now’ and slowly earn first. As you get more financially secure, the anxiety should fade, but if it doesn’t, I really recommend speaking to a mental health professional about this.”
Another commenter sought to reassure him and offered a slightly different perspective on dealing with financial worries:
“Anxiety is absolutely fine as long as you treat it as a source of motivation and don’t let it overwhelm you into indecision. Never be embarrassed about wanting more money. Tracking your expenses will help; use iSum or other similar apps to note down every single expenditure. All the best!”
A third wrote, “At that income level, I would say saving whatever you can is good enough. But right now, your bigger priority should be increasing your income. Once you reach a higher level, it’ll make more sense to dive deeper into savings and investments. I’d suggest setting a goal for where you’d like to be in 1–2 years’ time and working towards that. From there, research what qualifications or skills you’ll need and make sure your CV reflects them.”
In other news, a netizen has recently sparked conversation online after reminding customer service staff and drivers that personal frustrations should never be taken out on the very people they are meant to serve.
In a post on a local forum, the individual wrote that “grumpy local employees or disgruntled non-local employees” who are unhappy with their work should simply quit or “leave their work to someone else” instead of taking it out on customers or passengers.
Read more: ‘Customers don’t pay to be your punching bag!’: Netizen calls out grumpy service staff and drivers
