What do I do if I have the sum of $2K in my POSB saye account which is gonna be done for 2 years? Going to ord in July this year. Continue saving or use half for vacation to de stress?

Question

Dylan Teo · Accepted Answer

Shiny Things (Joshua Giersch) from Hardware Zone Forum once said:

- If money is needed within 2 years, keep them in cash
- If money is needed within 5 years, keep them in cash / bonds
- Else, keep them in stocks

I agree. Also, for young millenials like us who do not have a constant income (assuming you are continuing your education after you ORD), the returns we get from the meagre sums we invest are honestly almost negligible. I think it's a much better choice to invest in yourself, meaning to say, pay for experience and memories that will empower and enrich you!

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It'd make more sense in the long run because you increase your employability and therefore your disposable income as well, allowing you to invest more.

Brandan Chen · Answer

Well, the choice is up to you (:

It really depends on what are your plans and it's good to take a short breather once in a while

Kenneth Lou · Answer

Would recommend taking a breather. Or even taking $1k out of that to learn something new via a course, or new skill (eg language or investing)!

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For me, that was what I did during my break between ORD and University, I learnt: Golf, Driving, French and Scuba Diving based on my savings in my NS days :)

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Never regretted one moment of it. Time is only one way forward, money can be earned one day down the road :) $2k is not difficul to earn back one day when you have a bigger world view and more skills.

Terence Ang · Answer

Definitely getting ready for the next part of your life is important, especially investing in your knowledge in life and also reading up on investing if you have are relatively new to it still. Can always start investing as low as $100 per month now too if you want to start something with lower risk.

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Also, definitely spend a small portion of the money to celebrate your ORD for sure with a trip with your friends, or even go for a solo trip if you're daring enough.

Hariz Arthur Maloy · Answer

Hey Anon, great job on saving money while in NS, definitely not easy.

Question, are you continuing your studies after ORD? If yes, you should save some money for your time in school.

If you're immediately out working and have secured a job, don't be guilty in wanting to enjoy a lil bit before your next phase in life.

Also, right now is the best time to pick up a skill someone would pay for. This would help you increase your income streams in the future, and if you're studying, you could do this while in school to pay for your own pocket money.

Joash Chua · Answer

Don't save it and don't use it for vacation. Find out what opportunities there are which will let you make this 2K become 4K (and I mean real opportunities which involve you putting in effort and not get-rich-quick schemes).

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Example: Warren Buffett used to save like you and he would pick up bottle caps to sell them for pennies.  He did this for a while and realised that a vast percentage of the bottle caps came from Coca-Cola bottles (showing clearly what the people in his neighbourhood prefered and wanted).

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During the summer where Warren grew up, it would get really hot and people would just lie down on the grassy lawn of their homes to cool down. On one of those days Warren was lying down just like that in the grass and he thought to himself how nice it would be to drink from a cold bottle of soda right now. Then he remembered about the bottle caps and his savings - soon he was selling cold bottles of Coca-Cola which he bought with his savings to his neighbours in the heat of summer on their lawns. And he sold them at twice the price he bought them for.

Steph Yeo · Answer

2k can do quite alot, but yet can't do much. Do you rmb why you started saving up to begin with? That could give you hints on how to move forward.

Whether to save or to go on vacation--why not do both? If you're not intending to go too far for too long, 1k could be more than enough. I think you definitely deserve a good break after all that time in NS!

Jason Sing · Answer

Continue savings to build up your capital for investment or trading.

Valeria Lopez · Answer

crikey. to me, the answer is simple - save it and keep saving more. in this day and age, 2k can run out easily due to your expenditure. when you save, for example, 10k and more, you can explore investing or speculating or whatever. whatever it is, don't touch your emergency stash.. you may never know when you need the moolah for something urgent. keep it up 💪

Summer · Answer

Always save and invest in your future!

A vacation may feel good in the short run but it is just an outflow, to put it frankly. Meanwhile, at your young age, you should think about accumulating your assets and trying to grow your money, instead of spending it. ​​​