I have not saved much ever since graduating and have mostly been living paycheck to paycheck. Any savings tips to be able to finance the cash downpayment of the HDB?

1) good to start with the end in mind ;) use positive visualisation to fuel your excitement and steel your will in regards to how fulfilling having your own house will feel. This will make saving fun

2) think carefully about which part of the island you want to live in and use PropertyGuru to check out the prices of typical flats. I was born and raised in AMK and would have loved To continue living there, but alas! The prices here too expensive for me

3) set a Budget. i wanted a 4-room flat, was comfortable with paying a maximum of $400k and eventually ended up in Yishun (prices here cheaper than flats in AMK)

4) divide downpayment by 24 months = monthly saving goal. be very clear about how much you need to save in order to reach your goal

5) be kind to yourself. Steps 1-4 will sap a lot of mental and emotional energy from you, so when you have your monthly saving goal, you can then plan as to how you can increase your income and/or reduce your expenses

hope you are on your way to owning your house! Life eventually works out more often than not 💪🏽

If you are earning 8k monthly, there definitely is alot of room for saving, instead of living paycheck to paycheck.

Coming from a place where I bought my first property at 26, I actually made sure to save at least S$4k a month years prior to that. My goal was actually to be able to purchase at 25, but I only actioned on it at 26.

I was actually also frugal from Day One -- and actually given that I was working long hours, I was largely eating my breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner in the office (provided for). That was one of the big savings I had. If I had to eat outside, I would usually keep my cost per meal to $5-7 in the CBD area.

Apart from that, I also made sure to have a few sets of quality clothing for work, and not buy any additional pieces unless it required replacement. Same for shoes, I chose quality ones that could last over time, as opposed to the $50 types that I personally find spoil in less than a year.

On the entertainment front, I also limited spending on that. Unless I was spending quality time with loved one, I generally would refrain from entertainment expenses when my peers were going to Zouk to club, or to fancy high-tea places on weekends.

Lastly, it helped that I had the goal from my early 20s to be able to save enough to purchase property without the down payment taking up all of my savings, because I still wanted to be invested in other assets, and also have free cash. Having that goal in mind really helped to focus my efforts.