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Chitchat Six money tips from someone who saved $1 million by age 30

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject
Admin
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Six money tips from someone who saved $1 million by age 30

[FONT=&amp]By Jonelle Marte

7:22 AM Friday Mar 31, 2017
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Finding a side hustle is important if you want to boost your finances at a young age. Photo / 123RF


[FONT=&amp]A few years after graduating from college, Grant Sabatier was unemployed, broke and living with his parents.
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[FONT=&amp]Hungry for a burrito one afternoon, the 20-something checked his account balance and learned that he had $2.26 in the bank.
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[FONT=&amp]The low point served as a wake-up call for Sabatier, who took an image of his balance and set a goal of saving so much money that he could retire early if he wanted to. "I remember having this intense feeling of honestly just . . . lack of control," says Sabatier, who is now 32 and writes about his financial habits and mistakes on his blog, Millennial Money. "I never wanted to feel that way again."
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[FONT=&amp]Sabatier found a job at a marketing agency, took on side gigs to make extra cash and managed to stash away as much as half of his paycheck. He perused more than 300 personal finance books. And he reached his goal of saving $1 million by age 30.
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[FONT=&amp]Now Sabatier, who lives with his wife in Chicago, runs multiple businesses. But his savings give him the leeway to be selective about the projects he takes on - and he can afford a lot more than that burrito he was craving all those years ago.
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[FONT=&amp]Here are some of his tips for boosting your savings, based on what worked for him - and the mistakes he's made along the way.
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Find a side hustle

[FONT=&amp]Sabatier "quickly realised" the $50,000 he was earning at the marketing agency wasn't going to be enough for him to meet his savings goal. He started multiple side gigs to bring in extra money, such as launching a consulting company, selling concert tickets and building websites for businesses.
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[FONT=&amp]Sabatier later quit his 9-to-5 at the agency so that he could dedicate more time to growing his website business, which was then earning him more money than his traditional day job. Still, he kept up some of his other side hustles so he could continue to save as much as possible. "If you just view your full-time job as the way you're going to get ahead, it's just going to take a lot longer," he says.
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[FONT=&amp]In his mission to make as much money as possible, Sabatier sacrificed a lot of time with friends and family since he was spending most of his nights and weekends at work.
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Make saving a daily habit

[FONT=&amp]One of the most important habits Sabatier developed was to make his goal feel attainable. When Sabatier first decided to save more than $1 million for retirement, the number was so large it felt beyond reach. So he focused on the near-term and calculated that he could meet that goal in about 30 years if he saved at least $50 a day and earned roughly 5 per cent a year. "It's difficult for us to think about the future," he says. "So how do we bring the future into the present and use that to your advantage?"
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[FONT=&amp]He started investing just $5 a day through a brokerage app and increasing his contributions over time. But because he wanted to reach his savings goal as soon as possible, he didn't stop when he topped $50 a day. He stashed away any extra money that came in, such as a bonus or income from freelance work. And he reached the point where he was saving hundreds or thousands of dollars on some days.
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Invest your extra cash

[FONT=&amp]Sabatier says that he was only able to meet his goal because he invested most of his long-term savings in stocks and bonds, giving him a much higher return than he would have earned through a savings account. This may seem obvious, but Sabatier's story is a reminder of how much money can be left on the table when people are too afraid to invest.
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[FONT=&amp]Part of his success comes from good timing: stocks have risen sharply since he doubled down on his savings goals during the financial crisis. For example, savings invested in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index when the market bottomed out in March 2009 would have tripled over the next eight years as the stock market recovered. Meanwhile, cash put into a savings account over that same period would be virtually unchanged. (That said, financial advisers typically recommend that any money you'll need in the next couple of years should be kept in cash.)
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Keep boosting your savings rate

[FONT=&amp]As he earned more money from side gigs and reduced his living expenses, Sabatier moved from saving 15 per cent of his pay, to stashing 25 per cent and eventually saving more than 40 per cent of his paycheck. The idea of saving so aggressively may feel intimidating to some people, but even boosting your savings rate by a small amount can make a big difference over time, he says. "Save $20 more this week than you did last week," he says. "Or save 1 per cent more in your 401(k) every six months."
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[FONT=&amp]Sabatier at times reached the point where he felt like he was "saving too much", he wrote in his blog. For a while, he stopped traveling, going out or even buying books. The sacrifices helped him build his nest egg. But the experience was a reminder that people should balance the expenses that are important to them, such as travelling to see family, with their saving goals.
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Reduce your monthly expenses

[FONT=&amp]As he became more serious about meeting his goals, Sabatier scaled back his monthly housing costs so that he could save even more. He moved from a "really swanky apartment" in Chicago that cost about $1500 a month to an apartment half the size that cost $800 a month. "That's $700 more that went straight into my investment account," he says, adding that people should target the bills taking up the biggest share of their paychecks.
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[FONT=&amp]Some people may find big savings from selling their car and eliminating monthly car payments, insurance bills and gas costs, he says. Others may benefit from finding a roommate or renting out their apartments through websites such as Airbnb when they aren't home, Sabatier says.
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Remember your goals

[FONT=&amp]Years of living frugally and finding ways to make extra cash helped Sabatier meet his savings goal. But then last year he made a costly mistake: He got comfortable. On the verge of splurging on a $350 laptop bag, Sabatier realized that his spending was getting out of hand. He took a look at his transactions and calculated that he spent $200,000 last year, more than twice as much as he had the year before. It became easy to spot some of the culprits: $12,000 on a weekend in Napa Valley. Seventy-five dollars for takeout on a Wednesday night. Fifty dollars for a bottle of wine.
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[FONT=&amp]Sabatier knew that he could technically afford these things, but the "lifestyle inflation" he was experiencing could threaten the financial independence he had been working for. "Just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should," he says. So far this year, he has tightened the reins on his spending. He is cooking more, buying $12 bottles of wine and looking for cheaper accommodations when he travels.
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[FONT=&amp]As for the laptop bag, he found one for $40 on eBay.
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[FONT=&amp]By Jonelle Marte
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[FONT=&amp]- Washington Post[/FONT]

Copyright ©2017, NZME. Publishing Limited

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desmondquek

Alfrescian
Loyal
To make extensive preparations for life--no matter what form they may take--is one of the greatest and commonest of follies. Such preparations presuppose, in the first place, a long life, the full and complete term of years appointed to man--and how few reach it! And even if it be reached, it is still too short for all the plans that have been made; for to carry them out requites more time than was thought necessary at the beginning. And then how many mischances and obstacles stand in the way! how seldom the goal is ever reached in human affairs!

And lastly, even though the goal should be reached, the changes which Time works in us have been left out of the reckoning: we forget that the capacity whether for achievement or for enjoyment does not last a whole lifetime. So we often toil for things which are no longer suited to us when we attain them; and again, the years we spend in preparing for some work, unconsciously rob us of the power for carrying it out.
 

Reddog

Alfrescian
Loyal
That's the trouble with lesser mortals. Always thinking of material wealth, which they cannot take to their next realm. An illusion of possession with ends with his last breath. Last gentle breath.

Better refocus on purifying your spirit. Clean up your personal software to qualify for the next upgrade ... try an audit by checking your score against the simple Five Percepts.
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
boss, you should have sent this type of advice 10 to 20 years ago. Now is too late for most of the forummers :p
 

CoffeeAhSoh

Alfrescian
Loyal
That's the trouble with lesser mortals. Always thinking of material wealth, which they cannot take to their next realm. An illusion of possession with ends with his last breath. Last gentle breath.

Better refocus on purifying your spirit. Clean up your personal software to qualify for the next upgrade ... try an audit by checking your score against the simple Five Percepts.



Thank you for Reminder the Brevity of this Life :



the-five-precepts.jpg
 

CoffeeAhSoh

Alfrescian
Loyal
That's the trouble with lesser mortals. Always thinking of material wealth, which they cannot take to their next realm. An illusion of possession with ends with his last breath. Last gentle breath.

Better refocus on purifying your spirit. Clean up your personal software to qualify for the next upgrade ... try an audit by checking your score against the simple Five Percepts.


quote-there-are-only-two-tragedies-in-life-one-is-not-getting-what-one-wants-and-the-other-oscar-wilde-31-45-18.jpg
 

desmondquek

Alfrescian
Loyal
That's the trouble with lesser mortals. Always thinking of material wealth, which they cannot take to their next realm. An illusion of possession with ends with his last breath. Last gentle breath.

Better refocus on purifying your spirit. Clean up your personal software to qualify for the next upgrade ... try an audit by checking your score against the simple Five Percepts.

How to get out of the wheel of upgrades and downgrades?
 

frenchbriefs

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Asset
29 year-old former maths teacher, Ting Wei Lin.

My investments consist of private businesses in Singapore and public businesses listed in the United States and on the Singapore Exchange. The combined worth is in the seven-digit range. I get a five-digit passive income from dividends each month.




Maths geek powered by a love of numbers

In some ways, business is a way of proving that mathematics works, and that is exactly why maths geek Ting Wei Lin became a businessman.

Mr Ting, 29, realised the importance of starting young when it comes to growing wealth, through the future value formula - commonly used in finance - that he stumbled upon at 19.

The former maths teacher said: "My only regret was not starting earlier. In the calculation of future value, the most powerful variable is the number of years which wealth is allowed to compound at."

The Nanyang Technological University maths major who specialised in statistics said his love for the subject started early - in primary school, he was in the Maths Olympiad programme. He now spends most of his time crunching numbers for several co-owned businesses.

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One way he picks them is by keeping an ear close to the ground. "I spend a significant amount of time scuttlebutting - an old sailor slang term which means talking to people on the ground, such as customers, suppliers, employees and more. I believe that the qualitative aspects of business should not be neglected and these intangibles should be factored in when valuing a business."

Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

A I grew up in a simple and happy middle-class family. My parents always reminded me about the difference between a need and a want.

When I was in secondary school, my parents gave me pocket money on a monthly basis. In college, they decided to give my allowance on an annual basis.

This was not common among my classmates and it was only later on in life that I understood my parents' intention. In a subtle manner, they were teaching me how to delay gratification and to plan ahead in life, in terms of budgeting and goal setting.

It was not an easy task at the beginning, given the various distractions available to a teenager, from bubble tea to tech gadgets, and especially so when I was given access to lump sums.

Q How did you get interested in investing?

A As a teenager, I got interested in investing - stocks of public businesses first, then private businesses - as an intellectual pursuit. It was fun for me because it presented a highly complex maths problem, which involved multiple variables.

Basically, I did the maths. I projected what the net worth of an average individual in Singapore would be and whether it would be sufficient for retirement.

The assumptions were made based on his starting income, income growth rate, average expenditure, life expectancy and inflation rates based on national averages.

I also studied the Central Provident Fund policy and projected how the minimum sum would increase over the next 20 years based on past data.

The simple conclusion was investing is a necessity and that most people should get started earlier, rather than later.

Q Describe your investing strategy.

A Value and growth - I believe that value and growth are joined at the hip, meaning that one can find value in growth and, similarly, an investment that seems like a value bet might also entail growth potential depending on which phase of the business cycle we are at.

I don't believe in technical charts. Price and volume are poor indications of value.

I believe in fundamental methods, such as studying the key financial ratios and data of the business - such as free cashflow, price-earnings and liquidity - what is its economic moat relative to competitors and observing macro trends in the industry. I also like to focus on industries I can understand, such as food and beverage (F&B), fast-moving consumer goods and healthcare.

Q What's in your portfolio?

A My investments consist of private businesses in Singapore and public businesses listed in the United States and on the Singapore Exchange. The combined worth is in the seven-digit range. I get a five-digit passive income from dividends each month.

I've co-invested and am a director at international franchise Anytime Fitness at Kallang Wave, local fast-casual F&B franchise Greendot at Westgate - which has been operating for less than a year and the revenue has crossed seven digits - and Caribbean Spa at Capri by Fraser, a "business-class spa".

I like the freedom of business which gives my hours flexibility. In university, I even joined the Queen's Entrepreneurs' Competition, a major Canadian business case competition.

Q What does money mean to you?

A Money, like power, if used appropriately, can be used to improve lives. On one of my (community) service learning trips to the Philippines in university, I learnt it costs around US$120,000 (S$170,000) to build a whole community of houses which can be used to provide shelter and electricity for the homeless.

I'm planning to go on one such trip in June with a couple of friends and it'll require $5,000 to $10,000, where we take along donated items and assess what they need.

Yes, we can derive happiness from the purchase of goods and services which are material, but another way to find long-term, sustainable happiness is to give and to love.

Q What's the most extravagant thing you have done?

A Travelling extensively to different parts of the world, including the US, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. I estimate that I've spent at least $70,000 since I was 22.

Q What are your immediate investment plans?

A To invest in another F&B venture in the second half of the year, and that'll likely be a six-digit sum.

Q How are you planning for retirement?

A By continuing to fine-tune my current investments and perhaps doing more business ventures.

My passive income is already more than what is required for my lifestyle.

Q Home is now...

A A five-room flat in the east with dad, mum and my younger sister.

Q I drive...

A I don't. The cost of keeping my eyes on the road, occupying both time and attention, far exceeds the benefit of having the sense of freedom. With Uber these days, I can travel to wherever I like and enjoy a book along the way.
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Maths geek powered by a love of numbers

In some ways, business is a way of proving that mathematics works, and that is exactly why maths geek Ting Wei Lin became a businessman.

Mr Ting, 29, realised the importance of starting young when it comes to growing wealth, through the future value formula - commonly used in finance - that he stumbled upon at 19.

same here. my love for maths allowed me to break the sg pools odds analyst
After close to 2 decades of analysis, I finally found a way to win breakfast, lunch and dinner monies from sg pool as a permanent source of pocket money
This requires some luck though but it is different from gambling blindly. Play smartly by leveraging on high odds offered covering for insurance bets is the key to success . Most gamblers will not be able to achieve this as they want to win big money :p
 

chootchiew

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
same here. my love for maths allowed me to break the sg pools odds analyst
After close to 2 decades of analysis, I finally found a way to win breakfast, lunch and dinner monies from sg pool as a permanent source of pocket money
This requires some luck though but it is different from gambling blindly. Play smartly by leveraging on high odds offered covering for insurance bets is the key to success . Most gamblers will not be able to achieve this as they want to win big money :p

I believe some football punters have read some blogs by other analyst on winning strategy. I came across a guy who uses a fix bet of draw to achieve what I was describing as he realised many matches will end up as a draw.
This method may or may not work . fyi a draw match typically have a payout of x3 and above. It does not make sense to me to bet on draws on all games as probably you will end up nowhere, and worse still losing.
However this guy also realised the big time punters are mostly all favourite supporters and apparently favourite mostly will lose or even they win, the payout is miserable. AND most of them throw in few thousand dollars just to win a miserable 1.3 to 1.5 odds which to me is nutcase. I fine tuned those bloggers strategy to come out with a winning strategy and I'm proud to share abit in sbf :wink:
As a rule of thumb, a punter has to acknowledge these few basic rules to separate themselves from the losers.

1. soccer match is not a sport. Players are just actors and play according to scripts given. Sometimes late scripts could be given to them while in the midst of a game
2. which star player plays or which team , how strong they are does not matter at all
3. last min change of players has no relationship with the results.
If you cannot accept the above 3 basic rules, I advise you to better stay as a fans.

Well I better stop here or else im breaking my own rice bowl or people will think I talk big or mad :p
 

po2wq

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
wen u dun concentrate wen u wok, u bump in2 other pipz n things n kena knocked down by vehicles ...

wen u dun concentrate wen u tok, u utter rubbish ...

wen u dun concentrate wen u shop, u buy wrong thing n kena cheated ...

stay focus on wat u r doing ...
 

ginfreely

Alfrescian
Loyal
wen u dun concentrate wen u wok, u bump in2 other pipz n things n kena knocked down by vehicles ...

wen u dun concentrate wen u tok, u utter rubbish ...

wen u dun concentrate wen u shop, u buy wrong thing n kena cheated ...

stay focus on wat u r doing ...

Audited results speak for themselves whether got concentrate on work to clear shit or not. Shit creator flies and cockroaches and slanderous tongues cannot hide the truth by telling more lies. Heaven knows. Repent on what you are doing...
 
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