𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆?

If your answer is “𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦.”
Okay, so why try so hard to earn lots more money?

If your answer is “𝐼 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡.”
Okay, so once you make money, hanging on to money is just as hard as making it. You don’t hang on to money if you’re spending it on nonsense.

Every day, you’ll find offers that are only valid for “limited time only.”

And there’s truth in it.

But the real truth is this: Our time is limited.

And that’s exactly why we need to get clarity on what truly matters to us.

Because when you know what you want, these false time constraints that marketers like to use will cease to take hold of you.

Always try to take a step back & ask yourself:
“𝘿𝙤 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬? 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩? 𝘿𝙤 𝙄 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨? 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 & 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧?”


What you do with your money now matters in the long run.

BUT

Some people take it to an extreme; they delay gratification (and delay and delay) & never get to the gratification part.

Then they get to the end & have a huge pile of cash they never spent.

Let’s be clear: The purpose of money is enjoyment.

If you are beyond 50 you are in the decumulation phase.

So be generous with friends, with family members & with charities (‘giving while living’).

AND ONE MORE THING

If you make more money, you should spend more money. It’s a sign of progress!
But you should also be saving more money when you make more. The pie is just getting bigger.

My solution for those of you who are looking to have it all is to simply maintain your savings rate as a percentage of your income over time.

Let’s say you make S$100,000 a year & save 20% of your income. If you get a big promotion & now make S$150,000 a year but still save 20% of your income, you’ll save more money but also have the ability to spend more.

Yes, this sounds obvious but it’s easy to fall into the trap of increasing your spending without the commensurate rise in savings.

Trying hard to avoid lifestyle inflation will pay off.

A stress-free financial life is a function of how you structure your financial affairs, your attitudes toward money & how you use it.

“How much money people need to be happy is driven more by expectations than income.” – Morgan Housel

“Money is like a sixth sense, and you can’t make use of the other five without it.” – Somerset Maugham