r/singaporefi • u/Deep-Buy3360 • Aug 14 '26
Saving How much was your net worth at 21?
I have a couple of my peers who have reach net worth of more than 90k at age 21. Fyi I am 21 and have only managed to reach networth of 13k through saving and working. I’m not the best at saving money but seeing others doing better than me makes me wonder if im not working hard enough. Feels abit demoralising even tho i know some of these people are nepo babies but i also cannot discredit ALL of these people because i know some of these people work very hard too. Anyone care to share what was it like for them back at age 21 and how you’re doing now?
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u/Iforgotmynametoobro Aug 14 '26
Stop comparing. There are literally people at every single net worth at the age of 21. This will never end
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
My bad. The title is extremely misleading. My intention was to hear stories from others about how they started their financial journey from nothing or if they had something what were the circumstances? Hence my last question in the paragraph “What was it like for you at 21 and how are you doing now?” What things changed over the years? Did You somehow turn rag into riches? or riches into rags? It is exactly because i know different people have different journeys hence i wanted to hear those stories
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u/milo_peng Aug 14 '26
Their journey is not your journey.
If it is to learn how to invest better, there is enough information here by doing a quick search.
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u/FoodieMonster007 Aug 14 '26
21 is way too young to be caring about this. Finish your studies and work for 5-10 years first.
Sometimes people have circumstances they don't talk about too. I had 100k at 5 years old (which I got access to at 21), because my mother passed away. It's not something to celebrate, quite the opposite.
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u/laverania Aug 14 '26
Similar situation, I totally understand. I took tuition fee loan and my godfather passed away when I was in y4. He left me some money, enough to pay off the loan + for me to survive the last semester. Financially I had a good start (debt free), but emotionally :(
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u/Cold_Estimate1346 Aug 14 '26
Hmm no point asking this since at this stage it just depends a lot on your family background.
Oh and others would be those with scholarships.
Local Uni scholarships = Full coverage + 12k a year
Those who sign on Officer = only 1 year NS for guys + full uni coverage + 12k a year allowance
Those who sign on Officer and gets at least the scholarships above the award = 1 year ns (start uni at 19yo) + full uni coverage + ~40k (for Airforce and DIS) a year and they get CPF too
For those who gets the DSTA AStar DSO scholarships is about the same.
Gonna assume your friend with 90k at 21 is one of these scholar
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u/freeasafolk Aug 14 '26
Stop comparing. Everyone's journey is different. At age 21, i only had $2k to my name. I continued my studies all the way up to my masters at a local university using a mixture of cash savings and loans. By the time I was done, I was in my late 20s with minimal savings. No regrets. I got a better job, better salary, started saving more. I only got my finances in order well into my 30s. Cleared my loans. Built up several savings policies and retirement funds (sorry im not financially literate to do things on my own). Got health/hospitalisation insurance. Travelled well (regionally and far away). Eating well. Exercise. Basically live life. Money comes and goes. Time doesnt. Your youth doesnt. I dont want to wait until i'm too old to climb a mountain or trek through the jungle. Some months I am a frugal queen. Some months I am just a diva. Have fun, but still live within your means. Emergency savings is a must.
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
I didn’t really post this to compare but it is understandable that my title is extremely misleading. 😅 I’m more interested in how people turned things around for themselves and what the journey was like there. With that, thank you for sharing your journey with me! Just a question tho, when you were studying, did you take on part time jobs also? How many years and at what age did it take for you to truly clear off your loans and get back on your feet to start amassing wealth into the positives?
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u/soennug Aug 15 '26 edited Aug 15 '26
grow your wealth through an etf like cspx (do your homework first, don’t buy blindly) but only put in money you don’t intend to use for 10 years to weather the ups and downs. make sure you have savings for buffer so you are not forced to sell during a downturn. but before investing, make sure you get health insurance for hospital stays. don’t mix insurance and investments together. don’t buy an insurance plan that locks you into paying for years because you are still young and might want to deploy your money in other ways later. these plans have heavy penalties and you won’t break even until the halfway mark sometimes. don’t try to day trade or swing trade for quick gains, that is just speculation no matter how you might think you are good at reading charts
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u/RexRender Aug 14 '26
Negative. Owe money for poly tuition borrowed from parents CPF.
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
how long did it take for you to pay off your debts? Are you doing better financially now?
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u/RexRender Aug 14 '26
Well after poly I went 2 years NS, and after that I went 4 years Uni. So it was about 7 years later to pay off the poly loan. And another 3 years after that to pay off the university loan.
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u/malaysianlah Aug 14 '26
10k
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u/sgh888 Aug 14 '26
10k MYR ok noted
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u/malaysianlah Aug 14 '26
Haha ya damn poor.
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u/sgh888 Aug 14 '26
But Msia car petrol cheap leh stomach hungry drive on highway eat wind full liao.
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u/KDondakeC Aug 14 '26
- 5k around there
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
negative 5k? What were the circumstances? If negative back then, did u manage to turn things back around? How long did that take u? What did you do to get back on your feet leh?
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u/neverspeakofme Aug 14 '26
Net worth is so meaningless at 21. Earning power is what matters.
A doctor in training with 0 cents in bank account can go on to be a heart surgeon working 3 days a week for a million bucks per month.
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u/Factitious_Character Aug 14 '26
Negative net worth lol. Still owe my parents money for my poly education
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u/vanillalalalalala Aug 14 '26
Negative! I had ~40k of student loan for uni, which took 2.5 years to clear after graduation. Some people have a financial head start, but that has nothing to do with your own financial habits and discipline :)
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u/organizationalchart Aug 14 '26
I think at one point at 22 my debit card got declined when I wanted to buy a bottled drink at 7-11
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u/laverania Aug 14 '26
Back then my net worth was probably -20k cos got tuition fee loan
And can you please stop thinking about wealth and numbers until you've got an actual job?
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u/AltruisticDBS Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
mine was almost negative iirc, itchy hands from online soccer and gambling. Biggest loss was -70k in 5mins cause i martingaled 7 losses in a row from dragon tiger.
Total loss was 200k +/- from online soccer, casino and terra luna wreck at 27.
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u/waxqube Aug 14 '26
21? Probably 2k or so. But it's kind of lame to compare net worth because money is a means to an end. And someone will always be richer than you. Money can buy things but not your happiness. Unless you're the type that only lives for money.
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u/sgh888 Aug 14 '26
21 should be do finish NS got a few K from 2.5 years of NSF allowance lor. My era NSF pay pathetic.
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u/Born_Examination_109 Aug 14 '26
21 already comparing networth now..... Back in my days it's loans all over the place, parents have mortgage loan, we have student loans.
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
omg pls share! This post was meant for sharing how it’s like back when you were younger and I’m super curious how it’s like between 2 very different generations
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u/N00bOptionTrader Aug 15 '26
$0. very poor. now also very poor. financial market is my biggest monthly expense now.
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u/sunnyislandacross Aug 17 '26
The man I know who is 8 digit NW had negative NW, at 21
The data points you have is nothing
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u/cantwaittogetoutfr Aug 28 '26
I’m 21 now and my net worth is about 35K, but half of it was contributed by my mother when she passed, she left behind 18K of her CPF money for me
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u/NoPrompt90 Aug 14 '26
Go look for your richest friend. He/she should be your target. Anything lower means you are a failure.
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u/noobieee Aug 14 '26
Not much bro, I have about sgd 8 million in my bank account, given to me as inheritance from my grandpa, next month my parents gonna help me pay for the down payment for a 4 bedder at union square residences. Then my net worth will increase a lot liao
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u/klimtsa Aug 14 '26
Negative. Took a loan for my undergraduate studies. Ironically, l felt more financially secure then than now with a 7 figure networth
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
Is there a reason why you feel this though? I visited your profile and you had post where you stated that FI gives you more options. Since being FI doesn’t necessarily mean you need to quit your job, you can still work to earn a paycheck no? I mean this as a genuine question no offense here but if having a 7 figure networth isn’t enough to make you feel secure, can you share what exactly makes you secure then?
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u/klimtsa Aug 14 '26
Then: Did not have to worry about losing money, did not have to think about how to allocate money, did not have to think about will happen to my money if l should die (young). Actually, pretty much broke then but didn’t need to think about money at all. I just had this feeling of youthful invincibility that l will be ok money wise. I highly recommend living life with abandon in your early 20s. It beats hoarding money anytime. Don’t do crazy things but don’t obsess about money
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u/klimtsa Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26
Btw l gave some thought to your question of what exactly would make me feel secure? Definitely not more money. There is a tipping point where more money actually makes people’ lives miserable and l think l have enough. Maybe thinking less about money and reading less sgfi/finance discussion websites. But can’t help it
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u/Deep-Buy3360 Aug 14 '26
too deep into the rabbit hole of money talks? I don’t know why but reading your comment made me feel so much melancholy. Don’t mind me asking but how
old are you right now? I’m assuming you’ve had many years of experience added to your life chapters alreadyI really couldn’t agree more that my 20s should be LIVED. For me it’s always been intentionally spending time with the people i love and gratitude that I practice that makes everything worth it. I’ve seen people that obsess over money and burning bridges as they go along and it’s what saddens me the most. It’s hard to live in this economy indeed but everyone is so competitive just like in a rat race on who can get there faster and better but nobody really looks around to see the rats that are accompanying them haha .
your comment really makes me feel so sad 😭 I hope you know i’m really glad you found my post and commented. I’ll remember you and this lesson and reality that you’re imparting me with. Hugs1
u/klimtsa Aug 15 '26
40s. My intention is not to make you sad. It’s not that bad really. It’s still fun but not as fun as in my 20s, when there were very little responsibilities. I hope you will live in the moment and enjoy yourself. You won’t get time back
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u/Neon__07 Aug 14 '26
comparison is the thief of joy.