The Impetus

I never thought much about saving and investment during my teenage years up till my early 20's.

I remembered asking a senior colleague: "what is the cost of raising a family?"

To which he replied: "I don't know, I'm still paying for it."

It made me wonder how prepared I was as an adult. It was only then that I could vaguely picture the difficulties which my mother faced as a single parent supporting 2 school-going children on her own.

I dropped out in my first year of polytechnic as I had felt that it was not easy for me to continue as most of the household finances were channeled to support my sister's university education. with 7 dollars for 3 meals. I made a rash decision to quit school at the age of 17 to enter the workforce, thinking that earning my own income could alleviate my suffering.

Alas, SARS came in 2003. My mom was retrenched and needed my help to keep the household afloat. Similar situation in 2020-2021 in the light of Covid. With my measly net salary of $1,000, I kept 20% for my own use and gave the rest to my mom until she was able to secure a new job. Reality hit hard. Education was important and it was too late to regret this decision. New entrants in my company was earning at least $400-$700 more than me even though I had a 1 year headstart. Discrimination was also prevalent at the workplace against staff with lower education.

At the age of 26, it dawned on me that it would be necessary to seek an alternative income should either of the following occur:

1. resignation from current job and change of job

2. death or disability arising from work

3. even if none of these occur, the though of having to work beyond the age of 60 is just not appealing

I started off blindly without any form of guidance or mentorship. It was through the many setbacks (including losses of more than $80,000) which I have learnt from to derive proper risk management and appreciate the various vehicles for investment. Some investments are just too volatile and risky for my appetite.

Fast forward 9 years, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been offered many opportunities by my company, even when all odds were stacked against me. It constantly reminds me to seek improvement and excellence in everything that I do. I've also studied and evolved my investments to suit my future needs. There are many others who are struggling like I once did and feel helplessly trapped in the spiral of poverty.

I wish to change that.