Woman asks how much Singaporeans have saved by their late 20s, netizens share honest answers

SINGAPORE: Is money really the primary indicator that people have been successful? In today’s time, a growing number of young Singaporeans are questioning their milestones in life as they age, particularly in terms of financial capacities.

A 29-year-old woman shared on Reddit that she currently has less than S$30,000 in her savings, and she is not sure if this amount of savings is considered little or fairly normal in this economy. She also shared that she had a previous conversation with her 28-year-old male friend, who happened to mention that he basically has no savings at all. 

“That got me thinking — online, you always see all these “milestones” like: $100k by 30, first condo by 35, FIRE at 40 etc,” the netizen admitted. She also claimed that online standards can sometimes be disconnected from what is happening in reality. 

With this, the woman is very interested to know how much do average Singaporeans have actually saved up in their 20s, or going into their 30s. 

Netizens weighed in. A commenter questioned why would anyone compare themselves to others in terms of financial capabilities, and it is a bit ‘bad’ to attach an amount to someone’s age because everyone has different starting points in life.

“What you should do is to just set milestones that are decoupled to age instead… you should just strive to be ‘better than your past self’,” the netizen said. 

“Comparison online can get quite skewed because people usually only share their best numbers. Having close to $30k at 29 is already better than many people, especially with Singapore’s cost of living now,” another netizen remarked. 

A commenter shared that most people in their late 20s are still recovering from other expenses such as university, weddings, lifestyle inflation, and the likes. 

“Having emergency savings at all already puts you ahead of many if not most,” one declared. 

For some, there is always a starting point. A personal experience was shared by a netizen, stating that he/she has zero savings until he.she learned about having investments and emergency funds at the age of 39 in 2024. Now that he/she is 41, he/she is preparing for retirement. 

“Felt that no one taught me this till I started learning myself from various sources. There is always a starting point. Everyone’s starting point is different,” the comment concluded. 

In the end, a ‘normal’ amount of savings is subjective—it really depends on each person’s situation, and not what society dictates. It is best to remember that it is never too late to start improving one’s finances. Save for emergencies, learn about investing, and set goals that fit your desired life.