Do you count in your CPF OA,SA, and Medisave as your net worth? If so, isn’t 100K quite achievable before you pay for your housing loan?

Hi anon,

Personally, I do count it in my net worth. But I don't count it as part of my liquid net worth.

To me, my net worth is what I am able to pass on to my loved ones if I pass away today. So that includes my CPF monies. But if I am still alive, there is no way that I can withdraw my CPF monies. In this case, I am just looking at my liquid net worth.

$100K in one's CPF is quite achievable after say, 5-6 years of work, assuming median starting salary and a modest increment of 2%-3% a year, but $100K in OA will probably require say, 2-3 more years compared to achieve $100K over all CPF balances. If you are referring to just cash, raw saving will get you there if you can save around $1.5K/mth from your salary for 5 years along with whatever you can from your bonus and AWS.

Having said that, a six figure amount of cash in one's bank is a rather significant sum, especially when you are young. This amount of cash just means that you have options available to you. Money is not good or bad by itself, but merely affords you power. It's also comforting if one's job is at risk and you have a six figure sum to back you up.

Achieving $100K cash by 30 is by no means a ticket to financial freedom. I didn't achieve it myself, if that helps, but at this point (I am in my late 30s) I know I am on the way to achieving financial freedom on my own terms. It is still a worthy milestone to reach, but it merely the beginning of your journey.

I suppose the reason why this $100K by 30 goal is so coverted is that to achieve it (for most people in general), does require some level of discipline, either in saving up, or investing wisely. But most importantly, is to continue this level of discipline to build on the compounding effect. If you start spending recklessly after achieving $100K, you'll probably not better off compared to someone who took longer but stuck to the plan.​​​

Well, many people do end up using up all of their OA to fund their housing before they hit 30.

But I think the more important question to ask yourself is, what is the purpose of computing your net worth? And also, what the significance of 100k is to you?

For some, like Ruiming from TWS who arguably popularised this movement, 100k is a big deal for him since his FIRE number is quite low (600k+ iirc), so for him 100k by 30 will help him achieve that, although ofc he has come much further than what he probably expected then.

But if your FIRE number is like 1.5 million by 40, then well you probably have to work harder than 100k at 30 to get there.

For myself, I only count my invested portfolio (stocks + crypto + cash) as my net worth. Housing doesn't count for me because I'm staying in it after all so no cash flow comes from it. CPF also doesn't really count for me because I intend to FIRE at 40 so I can't use it anyways haha.

Think of your ultimate goals, then set your own goals instead.