What’s your biggest financial advice to us NSFs today?

My advice is really to take advantage of the chance to train yourself in organisational management and leadership while in NS. Whatever you could make, invest or save with your NS allowance pales in comparison to the experience SAF could teach you.

Work hard to fight for a chance for leadership training in OCS or SISPEC. the leadership training is invaluable. Even if you are not a military leader, appreciate and observe how organisational operation works and that would be very useful when you step into business or corporate world. It saddens me to hear youngester have such negativity toward their NS training and miss out the educational opportunity that SAF give them.

Last, all NSF have CPF contribution so, you might want to learn about 1M65 at the young tender age so that you can start compounding early!

Become a sergeant. Seriously. One of the biggest reasons I don't resent my NS is because it's benefited me financially today.

Do keep in mind that Finance = Time + Money

Here's why.

1) Leadership - Being a sergeant trains your leadership. Officers have a much more upper managerial role than you - being a sergeant helps you learn how to manage employees and answer to upper management. WARNING: Being sandwiched is super painful. But it makes more sense in the real world than trying to be upper management from the get go, or below that rung.

2) Money - Being a sergeant gives you a bigger pay boost. Since Officers take 3 more months to develop than Sergeants before getting higher pay, depending on your vocation you're not making that much less than them after the accumulated 2 year/1 year 10 month period.

3) 5 years - of your time you dont have to do mandatory reservist as an officer.

4) Fitness - Health is wealth. Being on the field as a spec tends to help you much more with that than another position.

I could really go on, but you get the general idea. The others have made very good points - follow them all.