Money Diaries #1: A Finance Professional Who’s Learning To Spend More on Himself

Money Diaries is a new series where we interview real Singaporeans on their financial habits. Through these candid interviews, we hope readers come to better understand how they themselves spend and invest. 

This week’s interviewee is 49-year-old, and works in the investment and financial education space. He makes between S$6000 to S$8000 a month.

The following is a deep dive into his personal finance habits and investment approach.

Money Diaries #1: A Finance Professional Who’s Learning To Spend More on Himself 

How would you describe the life stage you are in at the moment? 

I will describe myself as being in the sandwich generation, with old, retired parents to care for and also a wife and teenage child.

Living situation: are you renting, staying with your parents, or do you own a home, etc?

I am living with my family (wife and child) and own a 4-room HDB flat in the Eastern part of Singapore. We have been living in this flat for two decades and it was a BTO HDB flat which was purchased from the government back in 2004.

Can you provide a breakdown of typical expenses in a month?

Most of our expenses revolve around food, transportation, some entertainment, and medical expenses. Part of it also goes to servicing me and my family’s term insurance policy, hospitalisation and surgical policies, and personal accident policy.

As a family, we typically spend around S$1,200 to S$1,500 on meals which includes hawker food as well as cafes and restaurants. This amount also includes the occasional indulgence because of special occasions such as birthdays, celebrations for achievements, and anniversaries etc.

For transportation, we spend around S$200 a month on mainly bus and MRT rides as we do not own a car.

The amount spent on groceries is fairly significant. For a typical month, it can be around S$400 to S$500. There may be ad-hoc higher spending if my wife purchases groceries in bulk via e-commerce to capture opportunities for free deliveries (i.e. above a certain amount).

For tuition, we have tutoring for 3 subjects for my daughter, so the average monthly spend is around S$700 to S$800 depending on the frequency of lessons.

We do not really travel often for holidays but if we do, I will probably spend anything from S$2,000 to S$4,000 on a vacation that lasts from 6-8 days.

Insurance premiums come up to around S$750 per month covering myself (term, H&S, and an endowment plan), my wife, and my daughter.

I also give my parents an allowance of S$700 a month on top of the expenses stated above.

I have no mortgage or loans and therefore do not spend any money on loan/mortgage instalment payments.

Estimate of how much you save every month.

I estimate that I can save around S$2,000 to S$3,000 per month, on average.

How close/far would you say you are from your financial goals?

My financial goal is to have total assets of S$1 million excluding my CPF balances. 

As for investment goals, it is to grow the portfolio by 7% to 10% per annum over the long term and also grow the amount of dividends I received every year by using compounding and a value investing philosophy.

My financial goal is to have total assets of S$1 million excluding my CPF balances. 

How close/far would you say you are from your financial goals?

I am probably about 80% there, but need to save and invest more and see my portfolio grow further before I can hit this target.

As for dividends, they are growing steadily every year albeit slowly.

Describe your investment approach / What steps have you taken or are taking towards achieving these goals? What are some challenges you’ve faced?

My investment approach uses a value investing philosophy and I go for stocks that provide a healthy mix of growth and dividends. 

I have 90% of my portfolio in Singapore with the remainder in the US. 

The Singapore one enjoys both capital appreciation and generates consistent dividends while the one in the US is more focused on growth.

I generate about S$2,000 of dividend income per month from my Singapore portfolio currently. 

I regularly deploy money to the Singapore portfolio to grow my investment base and also increase the absolute dividends I receive from my Singapore stocks. 

I have 90% of my portfolio in Singapore with the remainder in the US. 

When I get a good bonus or I have sufficient savings, or if I receive a nice amount of dividends, I will invest the money into Singapore stocks. Sometimes, part of the money will be allocated to US stocks for more growth.

Some challenges I’ve faced include my stocks encountering unexpected problems, thereby declining in value and giving me an unrealised capital loss. Some of them also face tough economic conditions and may cut their dividends, thereby these actions will stymie the growth of my annual dividends.

Read also: 

• Best Singapore High Dividend Stock Screener
• Guide to STI ETF
• Singapore stocks close to all time highs. More upside ahead?

How would you describe your mindset with regards to money? Describe some of your money habits and beliefs.

I am generally frugal and my money mindset is to spend on what’s needed rather than be flashy. 

I do not spend on luxury, branded items and also do not hanker for the latest gadgets or other collectibles. 

I would say I spend responsibly and only indulge myself when there are special occasions or reasons to celebrate. 

I would say I spend responsibly and only indulge myself when there are special occasions or reasons to celebrate. 

I tend to be thrifty to the point of being miserly sometimes and am learning to spend a bit more on experiences that can enrich my life. 

For instance, I recently purchased the most expensive tickets for a concert by Irish band The Corrs, as a way of rewarding myself for working hard. 

I don’t believe in spending on items that do not convey some usefulness, hence I tend to spend more on utility than beauty. I also do not believe in conspicuous consumption and will buy clothes, shoes, and wallets purely for utility and not glamour. 

However, I still believe in quality and value-for-money and will not hesitate to pay more for good quality.

I believe in spending on my family as happy experiences are priceless. Therefore, I will occasionally bring my family out for good meals, a nice movie, or a short holiday.

Is there an experience(s) that has shaped your relationship with money? How has it influenced your financial decisions?

Perhaps it was when my father lost his job around 20 years ago. He had been working for close to 30 years in the same company and was let go with a golden handshake. 

Because of this incident, my family back then had to cut back on luxuries – we got rid of the helper and also cut down on restaurant meals and unnecessary spending.

That was also the time that I taught myself how to invest because of the need to grow my money beyond what I obtained from my salary and bonus. 

The need to be frugal was instilled in me from a young age as I saw and read about how damaging it could be financially for people without financial discipline.

That was also the time that I taught myself how to invest because of the need to grow my money beyond what I obtained from my salary and bonus. 

What is one money habit you struggle with the most? 

I dare say I have a weakness for good food, although there is a limit as to how much I am willing to spend just to enjoy a hearty meal. 

Sometimes, I do find myself indulging more than I should in restaurant food and racking up quite a bill over a week or so; I then proceed to cut down when I find out how much I’ve spent as I track my credit card expenses closely.

Is there a financial decision you wish you could do over? 

Yes, I wish I could have invested much earlier in certain US growth stocks that have literally multiplied in value over the past decade. 

At the time, I was ignorant of the quality of US growth stocks and I put most of my money in the much-smaller Singapore market, looking for growth. 

In hindsight, I would have placed money in companies such as Apple, Netflix, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Visa, Mastercard, and more.

I wish I could have invested much earlier in certain US growth stocks that have literally multiplied in value over the past decade. 

Read also: 

• Best S&P 500 ETFs for Singapore investors in 2025
• What's next for S&P 500? More upside ahead? 

What are you most concerned about when it comes to personal finances?

The fear is always that I will be stricken by a major illness or a bad accident that will eliminate my ability to earn money. 

As I am the sole breadwinner, this is a very harrowing thought. 

Apart from losing the ability to earn money, my family may also incur a significant amount of expenses to care for me. 

Insurance may not be sufficient to cover medication and long-term care despite me being insured by a term policy.

Another fear is that my parents will fall ill or need hospitalisation and constant medication. 

They may not have sufficient money to retire and I may need to chip in, thus draining my financial resources.

If you won S$1 million in the lottery tomorrow, what would you do with the money and why? How would your spending/lifestyle change?

In the first place, I never buy the lottery! I believe in investing my money rather than wasting it on lottery. 

But if I did and I won, I will place most of the money in a fixed deposit while investing the remainder in solid blue-chip companies or REITs that pay a dividend yield of around 5%. 

I will place most of the money in a fixed deposit while investing the remainder in solid blue-chip companies or REITs that pay a dividend yield of around 5%. 

The spare cash is for liquidity, so perhaps I take out S$200,000 and chuck it into an FD and invest S$750,000. 

At 5%, this money can generate an annual income of S$37,500, nothing to sneeze at! The remaining S$50,000 will be “enjoyment” money – to celebrate the win and to indulge a bit.

However, my spending and lifestyle will not change. We will still rely on public transport (and my trusty bicycle) to get around and I will still continue to eschew branded goods and expensive items.

Read also: 

• Singapore REITs: Market Trends & Insights
• Introduction to Singapore REITs
• Best Singapore REITs Screener

What is one practical financial tip that has been useful in your own financial journey?

Always track your expenditure – just use a simple excel spreadsheet or any of the many apps available out there. 

It’s useful to know where you stand in terms of spending during the month and you can also better know what you spent on. 

You may be amazed at how much you spend on certain categories such as food and entertainment and if you do not track these, then your spending may go haywire and you end up not saving or even overspending each month.

What is a personal finance related lesson you’ve learned that you think others might benefit from?

Pay off all your credit card bills on time. Banks charge anywhere from 28% to 30% per annum on overdue balances and there are also late fees that they levy if you roll over your balances. 

It’s not worth enriching the bank just to get a few extra days till you repay your debt.

Our key lessons

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