YoloHuat's Journey with Money

I learnt the importance of money through the hard way, having grown up without much. Money isn't everything but money gives you choices and freedom. I truly understood, after earning my own keep, that money does buy happiness because once you have money, you don't worry about money anymore. 

Money can also buy you opportunities to make fond memories with your loved ones - a great example is travelling overseas to discover new places, food, and culture. Last year, I spent over a week in Croatia with my husband, and earlier this year, I chased Northern Lights in secluded areas of Sweden with my best friend (because they said 2016 is the last year when you can catch Northern Lights easily). I’m already dreaming about where my wanderlust will take me to next year. :)

Of course, the first thing I actually did back then when I had some extra money in my pocket was to pay off my student debt, which was accruing interest at a hefty rate of 4.75% - hey I think of myself as a triple-A credit (PLUS my latest credit report also says so)! :p I would rather pay myself than pay the bank. So I spent my first year out of college paying off the loan as quickly as I could. Only when I cleared about 90% of the outstanding balance did I start thinking about investing, because even if I lost money in the market it would not affect my ability to repay the rest of the loan, nor will it affect my daily life. (Please do read GoHuat’s post on how important spare cash is.) 

So how did I start investing? Very simple. From the very start, I knew I did not want to worry about money. I did not want to get myself lost in the rat race for a good 40 years of my life, because you only live once. Somehow I stumbled into a job in the financial sector, and from there I started picking up some knowledge about investing and using money to grow money. The rest was history. My first stock buys in late 2013 were Nikko AM STI ETF and SGREIT. I remember thinking to myself then that I want to 'own properties along the Orchard Road stretch because Orchard Road will always be around', so I went and bought OUEHT as well. Hahaha. These days, my investment strategy is a little more refined (as I would like to convince myself). I primarily invest for income, although I do take a punt sometimes when I think there's some opportunity. The punting has not been always successful, but let’s leave this for another time. ;) 

Back to talking about money per se, I can’t emphasise enough how important money management is. You could very well be earning six figures but have less than a grand in your savings account. I use an app to record my expenses and stay on track on my budget, and I find that not indulging in food or transport, my biggest daily needs, help a lot in saving money. So, like my friends here, I did not change my basic lifestyle. In fact, I like taking public transport because it lets me daydream, read, email, whatsapp, and Facebook when I’m on the go. I do complain about the crowd and the MRT breakdowns, but really, do I want to ride a car in comfort when I am young and healthy in my 20s, 30s, or even 40s, but find myself having no choice but to ride the bus and MRT when I am old and fragile in my 60s and 70s? The mid to late 20s is definitely the best time in your life to be saving as much as you can. I know that this stage of one’s life is also when you are tempted by materialism. Believe me, I’ve been through that as well. But I’m thankful that I realised early that it is a vicious cycle - the satisfaction is only fleeting and you end up wanting more and more.

I adopted the moniker YoloHuat - why? Because I strongly believe that because you only live once, you gotta live on your terms and never be a slave to money or work or material goods. 

This is my definition of yolo, thanks for reading and feel free to share your thoughts and experiences. Huat ah!

Cheers,

YoloHuat