Singaporeans share the ‘financial mistakes’ they wish they had avoided in their 20s: ‘I married a gambler’

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans have been sharing the financial mistakes they wish they had avoided in their 20s, from cutting back too much on small pleasures to making costly life decisions.

The discussion started on the r/asksg subreddit after one user asked financially comfortable Singaporeans “what they wished they had known when they first started working, and what they would do differently if they could go back to the time when they earned their first pay cheque.”

Having only recently started earning their own money, the user admitted that the temptation to spend was very real. “After years of not being able to afford certain things, it feels nice to finally buy stuff without having to ask anyone.”

“But lately I've been thinking, I don't want to be that person who earns money every month but somehow has nothing to show for it after a few years. I know saving is important, but I'm sure there's more to managing money than just putting aside a portion of your salary every month.”

Here’s what others shared:

Some regretted being too stingy with the little things

One commenter said they used to believe that cutting back on every little expense was the key to building wealth, but looking back, they realised it was not worth being so frugal.

They wished they had spent more on a “nice meal or an outing if it made them happy, as those were the experiences they would remember.”

They added that younger workers should be more careful about bigger financial decisions, such as “buying the wrong property, getting into debt, or even marrying the wrong person.”

Another commenter agreed, sharing how their marriage had taken a heavy toll on their finances. “Yup! Married a gambler and really paid for it. Luckily divorced now but it was a freaking hard climb back to financial stability.”

Others wished they had started investing earlier

Others regretted not investing earlier and encouraged younger workers to start with whatever they could afford, even if it was just S$10.

One commenter advised, “Invest earlier, even if it's $1000, $500, $100, or even $10. Just do it consistently.”

Another wrote, “I should have invested my salary into the US stock market in my 20s. I could have easily compounded my wealth by more than 1000% and hit my 1st 1 million by my early 40s. Invest your salary into the right US stocks and trade options. Putting too much money into cash will erode your savings.”

Learning to say no can save you money

Some felt their biggest financial mistake was failing to set boundaries with others.

One commenter urged younger workers to master the art of saying no—even to their loved ones:

“Learn to say no. No to relatives asking for a loan. No to friends saying to split the bill evenly when they had a three-course meal with drinks and you only had a small entree. No to friends who insist on going to expensive places only, despite your budget.” 

“No to people pressuring you to co-share expensive gifts. No to acquaintances inviting you to their 5-star hotel weddings because they need the numbers. Learn to say no.”

Your friends can influence how you spend

A few others said they regretted falling in with the wrong crowd, saying the people around them had a bigger influence on their spending habits than they realised.

One user advised others, “Don’t surround yourself with people who always spend money unnecessarily. I was always a saver until I got myself into sales work, and they spend a lot of money unnecessarily, and I was unconsciously getting influenced into spending a lot. It was only years later that I managed to get back the habit of spending less on unnecessary stuff.”

Be careful with credit cards and buy-now-pay-later schemes

Finally, some users learnt the hard way that going into debt over things they did not need was hardly worth it, whether it was splashing out on the latest luxury must-have or getting swept up in the hype and buying concert merchandise for their favourite idols.

One user warned others: “Do not go into debt over frivolous things. (HDB loans are fine similarly, as are student loans). Credit cards can be useful tools to earn rewards like miles, cashback, or cash flow when you pay a deposit for a hotel, but they can also magnify poor spending habits. Combine this with the plethora of BNPL (buy now, pay later) schemes, and it is so easy to fall into debt.”/TISG

Read also: ‘Dear younger me’: SG jobseeker asks workers what advice they’d give their younger selves