I am a 28-year-old female from Singapore. I graduated last year in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and I have been working as a Software Engineer since June 2014.
Background story:
I grew up in a low-income, later middle-income, family. Basically, I have a super mom that managed to bring us out of bankruptcy (that my biological father put us through). My mother taught us the basics, never to have any debts, always save up, earn what you want, etc. I started working at 13 (no it was not child labour, it was actually quite common back in the days). So I grew up knowing how to put aside money though I was not shy about spending everything on the latest gadget.
My journey started in 2015 when I decided I want to marry my then-girlfriend-now-fiance. Being a lesbian in Singapore added some extra obstacles that we have to face as a couple and in order to counter those, I made a decision to either earn enough to move out of the country or earn enough to start a family in Singapore.
Early retirement was not on the table initially. But somehow I find it the way to go after chancing upon MMM and ERE. So this is what I am aiming for now.
Financial status:
I work as a Software Engineer. Sadly Singapore does not pay us as much as compared to other countries. I am earning around SGD 2500 nett and I give my mother a huge portion (SGD 800) of that. I occasionally do some free lance / sales which brings in some extra cash.
As I mentioned previously, I spent most of my money during college so I effectively only have 9 months of savings (which is also my net worth), which equates to roughly 14k (12k of which are new funds).
Rough distribution of nett worth:
Savings at 0.05%: SGD 2,000 (intend to close / keep a minimum amount soon!)
Savings at 3%: SGD 7,000
Shares: SGD 5,000
Short-term goals:
- Find ways to earn extra income (preferably passive)
- Eat healthier (haven't been eating healthy since the festive season)
- Fix / try to fix health problems (Joint pains, retina problems, gastric problems, etc)
- Read more pro-actively on financial-related topics
- Save at least 50% of salary monthly (preferably 60%) --- I wish this could be higher, but 30% goes to my mother. @.@
- Find a new job that is nearer to where I stay or a job that is overseas (2 extremes, I know)
Long-term goals:
- Build a family
- Retire by 45
- Being free to complete bucket list
- Have at least 1 kid
Nice to meet everyone!!