SINGAPORE: After diligently building his financial independence (FI) portfolio over the first five years of his career, a Singaporean man celebrated reaching a milestone of saving S$100,000.
However, he was disheartened to realize that his upcoming marriage would significantly deplete these savings. On Tuesday (March 26), the man shared on r/singaporefi a breakdown of his expenses: “Proposal and ring: S$5k; Wedding: est loss of S$5k – S$10k; A normal Reno for a 4rm HDB will go for around S$50k. With furniture and appliances, it’s another S$30k.”
The man said these figures were based on anecdotes from friends and family.
He then stated, “Do people really deplete a majority of their savings just for this major point in their lives? People say the first 100k is the hardest, now you gotta do it all over again.”
He also asked if anyone had any advice on saving money and if they could share their experiences on how much of their funds went toward their marriage and house.
“Don’t worry about depleting it for major important milestones in life. Just spend it wisely and you’ll be good”
In the comments section, several Singaporean Redditors tried to comfort the man and said that the majority of the “financial independence advice” floating around was spread by individuals without any practical or real-world experience.
They also said that unless someone is born into a wealthy family with a trust fund, each major life phase will often require starting over financially from the beginning.
One individual said, “Life will keep hitting you. At first, you need money to get married, buy your home. Then maybe you will have kids, then maybe your parents get sick, maybe you get laid off, maybe you fall sick.
Maybe your kids fall sick. Then maybe WW3 starts, or climate change floods Singapore. Life will keep happening. FI is always a moving target. Life comes first.”
While another commented, “Don’t worry about depleting it for major important milestones in life. Just spend it wisely and you’ll be good.
The fact that in your 20s that you can save so much means saving it again will not be a major issue later on when your earning continue to rise.”
Some also reminded the man that money is simply a tool for achieving certain goals or milestones in life, such as starting a family.
Meanwhile, a few Redditors criticized the man for seeing the marriage expenses as a burden.
One individual wrote, “That’s why we work right? To live and experience life. Since you have chosen to get married, it is an unavoidable cost.
If you are going into this seeing it as a burden and expense setting you back from further savings, maybe you should re-evaluate if marriage is really suitable for you and more importantly – whether your spouse is financially aligned and on the same page as you.”
Regarding advice on cutting costs, a few Redditors stated that the “renovation” could simply be a “want and not a need,” and therefore, he could choose to forgo it and save S$50,000.
They proposed that he explore thrift options on platforms like Carousell or Marketplace for purchasing furniture and appliances.
Additionally, they mentioned that perhaps his partner could contribute to the expenses and divide everything evenly except for the proposal ring to minimize the financial impact on him.