SINGAPORE: A 30-year-old man with no savings took to social media to ask Singaporeans for tips on how to deal with his financial anxiety.
In his post on r/ask Singapore on Thursday (April 11), he wrote, “How to get over financial anxiety? Not feeling too hopeful about the future, I’ve started saving and I’m told to “trust the process”, surely it should work?? Except sometimes my patience runs thin as I will likely “have it together” only in the next five years, looking at the present trajectory.”
He also opened up about his past money habits, admitting that for the past ten years, he was all about chasing his passions and sometimes went overboard on things like alcohol and drugs.
However, he has since made positive changes, embracing sobriety and adopting a more cautious approach to financial management. Furthermore, he highlighted his newfound security in terms of insurance.
He concluded his post by asking for advice from the online community, emphasizing his desire for practical solutions that don’t involve taking shortcuts or engaging in high-risk activities like cryptocurrency for quick financial gains.
“At 30, You have a long road ahead of you”
Singaporean Redditors responded to his post with heartfelt messages and advice. They reminded him that there was plenty of time to turn things around and encouraged him to stay focused on his goals and be patient with the process.
Some even shared their own stories to inspire and encourage him.
One Redditor said, “At 30, You have a long road ahead of you. I only started my career at 29 and had minimal savings too. Almost 2 decades later, it’s all good on the financial front.”
While another shared, “I’m 30 too. Spent the last decade chasing my passions. Drink and, smoke. Financially doing better than many peers, though footing rental every month.
Different strokes for different folks. I didn’t want to spend less, so I just figured how to earn more.”
A third Redditor commented, “No worries. I had nothing at 30. I still have nothing at 35. Never too late to start.”
The community also advised him against comparing himself to others, emphasizing that everyone’s journey is unique and the real competition is with oneself.
They quoted the famous saying, “comparison is a thief of joy,” to highlight the negative impact of comparing one’s progress to others’.
Additionally, one Redditor offered the man some practical tips, such as setting up an emergency savings account, establishing a trading account for ETF investments, and delving into retirement planning, including understanding CPF and setting clear retirement goals.
The Redditor then added, “Don’t beat yourself mentally because you started late, because that’s useless talk. As the immortal Governator Arnie put it – ‘Just do something. One step at a time. And don’t be afraid to ask for help’.”
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