Money Confessions: Top 5 Personal Finance Goals SS Staffers Aim To Check Off In 2022

Interested in finding out what goals we have planned for the new year? Here are the top five personal finance goals shared by the SingSaver team in hopes of getting our finances in check.

When it comes to attractive credit card deals, best insurance promotions and anything finance, SingSaver comes to mind (along with our worthy competitors). So it’s natural to think that anyone working in SingSaver would have their finances perfectly in check, right? Nope.

Though we believe that we are well-versed with financial products and personal finance, that doesn’t mean that we all have perfect budgeting habits and are experts in investing. We are human too, and that means we sometimes fall into the trap of impulse buys and at times develop irresponsible financial habits.

So in the spirit of the new year, here are some personal finance goals by the SingSaver team in hopes of making better financial decisions in 2022!

1. Save more money

While most of us are already working and earning a stable income, there still is room for improvement when it comes to savings. Tempted by impulse buys and sucked into buy-now-pay-later schemes? You’re not alone.

Calista, 28: “I want to cut down on my ‘self-love spending’ and use the extra money from my promotion to grow my savings and pay for my wedding and house in 2022. But of course, I still want to have fun in the process.”

While self-love and self-indulgence are incredibly important, do it in moderation. If you’re as lucky as Calista to get a promotion this year, maybe set aside a fraction of your increment towards savings or channel it into investments.

Denise, 30: “In 2022, I want to start budgeting and watching my expenses more keenly. As much as it is a chore, I think budgeting would come in especially handy since I'm probably going on my honeymoon trip sometime this year and my new home is projected to be done in Q4 2022 (i.e. time to save harder for renovation and furnishing costs).”

Kendra, 25: “My personal finance goal for 2022 is to cut down further on unnecessary spending and invest more aggressively. As I had just booked my BTO flat earlier in Jan, I am looking to save more as well. I also aim to spend not more than 15% of my salary every month.”

Not everyone may be as financially prudent as Kendra or simply be able to spend just 15% of their salary due to ongoing financial commitments, but way to go Kendra!

2. Delve into the world of NFTs

I, for one, am also interested in getting started in NFTs. With the recently booming NFT market, maybe it’s time to see what the hype is all about. There was also a recent article that featured an Indonesian boy making up to S$1 million in sales just by posting his selfie and selling it as an NFT.

Jerome, 31: “Personally, I'd want to get my hands involved in creating NFTs. There's a possibility that you may earn through it, and aside from earning, there's also fun in creating.”

Khai, 32: “With NFTs being on the rise these days and the fact that we are living in a digital world, I’m interested to venture into this area as it allows more opportunity to expand my personal growth as a designer. Times have changed - while previous generations didn’t believe that art and design could earn you a living, now they can.”

Good point about the rampant industry allowing artists and content creators to earn a decent living through their work. Never would have people back in the day expected to see a booming space created just for digital art. If you too want to get started, here’s a guide on selling your NFTs.

3. Explore other ways to grow wealth 

Growing wealth isn’t just about finding the best savings account to dump your whole life’s worth of savings. With the rise in financial tools and investment vehicles, you can see your wealth accumulate through robo-advisors, cryptocurrency, wealth management platforms, and the list goes on!

Right now it’s all about diversifying your portfolio according to your risk appetite and allocating a suitable amount of your savings into different tools and vehicles to help your money grow. If you’ve got a six-digit balance just idling in your bank account, then maybe it’s time you venture out and explore other ways you can make your money work harder for you.

Joyce: “I would like to explore other ways to grow wealth other than robos, e.g. mutual funds, dividend investing, etc.”

Lisa, 23: “I’m currently exploring different ways of growing wealth by segregating my savings into high/low risk investments! So investing in stocks/crypto vs into ETFs, definitely setting up a budget sheet since I’m receiving an income now.”

Khai, 32: “They say money can’t buy happiness, but money can solve a lot of things, and that in turn also creates happiness. By not sticking to one particular source of income, I’m currently considering looking into drop-shipping to start a side business. I’m not sure what to sell yet, but I’ll see!”

Aside from investing your money, you can get a side gig like setting up your own online business or doing freelance work for extra money. Many young working professionals are also giving home tuitions as a way to supplement their income.

4. Invest more regularly and wisely

Another top financial goal by the SingSaver team for 2022? Investing better and smarter. Though everyone around you may have gotten their hands into investing, everyone’s goal and investing approach are different. While some may seek out short-term investment goals, others have a more long-term plan in mind. And while lump-sum investing may work for some, others prefer dollar-cost averaging.

Bernice, 25: “I want to be more intentional about my investments by tracking my Profit and Loss statements every month, getting into the habit of dollar-cost averaging, and start crypto-investing by Q1 2022.”

Denise, 30: “I also want to start investing regularly via a robo-advisor in 2022 even though I have some existing lump-sum investments, an endowment and ILP plan that I put money towards monthly. As they say, the best time to start investing is yesterday. Judging by my other financial commitments in 2022, DCA is my best option because some investment is better than none!”

Khoon Wah: “I want to develop a more diversified disciplined dollar-cost average approach for investments. Slow and long-term accumulation could be better than fast-paced investments that grant you instant gratification.”

So it seems like all three of my colleagues would like to start dollar-cost averaging for their investments — basically putting in a regular sum of money into an investment tool regardless of the market conditions. This might work well if you’re earning an income and are just starting out so you don’t get overwhelmed by the hundreds or thousands that you’ll have to fork out at one shot.

5. Develop a healthier relationship with money

I do think I have developed an unhealthy relationship with money. Growing up, I was extremely frugal and always saved whenever I could. I wouldn’t even upsize a Mcdonald’s meal just to save those few cents. 

And though it helped me be more disciplined in my spendings, I would always be overcome with guilt when I indulged in a big purchase or when I exceeded my spending budget for the month. My financial goal would be to develop a healthier money mindset, and always remember that money is meant to be spent whenever necessary and that it can always be earned back. But of course, I wouldn’t want to end up spending frivolous amounts of money on things that I don’t need.

Bernice, 25: “I want to learn more about 'money mindset' through reading books to make better choices about my finances with a healthier perspective.”

Khai, 32: “Growing up, I’ve formed a habit of making impulse purchases whenever I see something that I like. But now, I’m practising mindfulness by delaying my impulse purchases by three days. I’ve learnt that by giving yourself three days to really consider what you want to buy, your needs would have become wants. And as a result of that, you spend on things that are truly important and necessary.”

Good tip by Khai! This is something that I’m still religiously practising to date. Sleeping on big purchases makes a world of difference. If you don’t find yourself regretting not buying that item that you were eyeing a week or month before, then maybe you didn’t really want or need it anyway.

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