How do one portion out savings and giving your parents allowance money monthly if one earns 1.9K before CPF?

Hi! I would consider the following before any solution (because different people have different circumstances).

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1. Are your parents doing well financially? If they are, I would propose you start small with the allowances. (Unorthodox Tip: allowances this kind of thing.. once you give more you cannot give less. 😂)

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Really, because they can support themselves you may want to consider giving them a token sum and allocate more to your own portfolio of savings; then investments. Let compound interests work in your favor so you are in a better position to take care of them in future.

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If they need your help to contribute to the household, what are the things you can contribute? I started small with groceries (with good planning you can save alot and only CNY is very expensive) then electricity bills and insurances.

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Try for 50% necessary expenses (you + household), 30% for optional expenses (save remaining if possible) and 20% (must save) if you can.

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2. Make it a habit to track your expenses. DO NOT sign up for credit card based on what the bankers said. Trust me, having "extra cash" that doesn't belong to you is a nightmare they are selling. Get a credit card for the rebates and that's it.

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3. Review your portfolio (assets/strategy) every 6 months and see if you need to make adjustments accordingly. Also, make sure you park your money in a good interest account (CIMB Fast Saver maybe?).

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Hope this helps!

Let's us have some scenario base, using my personal experience as example - hopefully it can be related to you somehow.

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My starting pay for my IT career is $1.8k before CPF. And because I opt for part time uni, I need to save my uni fee, so I put aside $500 per month. I gave my parents $300 per month (part of it is to pay my mobile bill). then education loan + insurance $200 per month.

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I take home: $1,440

School Fee: $500

Parents: $300

Education loan + Insurance: $200

Left over: $440 (30% of my take home) for expenses, etc.

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So the questions which you need to think of:

1. what are you saving for? For School? For investment? etc

List out your objectives, this helps you make a better decision making. In my case, my priority is my school fee, that explains why largest amount is on it.

2. List out of your current expenses. This is where you idenfity which portion you can reduce.

In my case, I make it a point how much I would give my parents so I will spend lesser.

3. After listing out your current expenses, remember to build your emergency funds. it should be around 3 to 6 months of your monthly expenses. Emergency funds is to be put aside in the event someting happened which cause you unable to work.

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So the main flow usually is 1>2>3 but execuation will be 2>3>1

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Another tip for ya - do not put 100% of all your saving into investment, do divide them out. You may use part of your saving for investment classes to learn & understand them before attempting or classes to enhance your skillset. And it is always okay to start your investment journey small (if you are looking at saving investment)

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Hope this helps you to think through. I do understand the take home amount may be little but things can be done if you set your mind into it. Do PM me if you wish to have some detailed discussion on it. Good luck :)