Saving 47% to 50% of my Salary: Expenses

There are some fellow bloggers who really did a great job in their savings during their twenties.

We have endless factors spurring or hindering us to how much we had saved today. It comes down to the level of indulgence in terms of food and leisure, how we control our expenses in transportation and utility bills, how cheap or expensive our interests/hobbies are, the type of insurance plans we get or avoid, the investment decisions we make and the interests/rebates we earn.

Realistically speaking, kids whose parents pay for their education, car licenses and hobbies will surely have an advantage in accumulating more cash. Males will tend to lose out in savings due to two years serving the nation with less than minimum wage. As long as we are doing what we can in our own different journeys, we will be able to accept the reality.

So how do you save? Even savers like me tend to give in to spending by taking a cab when fatigue creeps over. You will be surprised that there are tyrants who take buses with heavy luggages after a long flight just to save on cab fare. What is our excuse now?  Lol.

In my opinion, there are three essential components that will ultimately drive us towards retirement. This is not applicable to opening up a business.

1. Decent salary: It will be hard or maybe impossible to grow our savings fast if we do not have a good inward cash flow (a lower salary makes it slow).
2. Compounding & Growth (Investments): It is almost a crime to lose wealth to inflation. What we can do is earning through interest/dividends and optimizing rebates from our spending.
3. Frugality (Savings): Saving is the capital base we work from. It is just like opening a business, we cannot do anything without suffice capital. It is also not just about setting some money aside but the efforts made in looking out for value buys and only purchasing what we need.

Here is how I save every month:

Food/Snacks:
-Lunch expenses on weekdays had gone up working at the CBD area, doubling from an average $4/meal to $8/meal.
-Snacks from Value Dollar Shop. If you are eating the snacks soon, why worry about them nearing expiry date? In fact, the expiry dates are not too near if you really check.
-I enjoy great coffee from Coffee Hive at $1.50/ cup, enjoying $1 rebate from every $10 top up from their member cards. Say no to expensive diluted coffee.
-Planning to make Rolled Oats to save some money over the weekends.

Travel:
-I usually get around in Singapore in my own bicycle and in the morning if possible to avoid the crowd. It is also free and healthy. The hot weather is a nuisance sometimes.

Fitness:
-This is free as I go to my corporate gym in a hotel. The pool and sauna are also available. To think of it, it feels good not having to pay any entry fees or expensive monthly bills which costs almost $80-120 per month. Since not everyone has free gym in their work, it is suggested to train at public exercise corners.
-Jogging outdoors: FOC

Bills:
-Mobile Phone under Corporate plan: Enjoying 12GB at $20+ rate per month
-Broadband: Around $55 per month for the whole family
-Saving plans at $110 per month (please avoid such plans). I can actually add this as savings instead of expenditures since the money are not spent.

Miscellaneous:
-Allowance to my parents: Around 14% of my salary
-Planning to stick to $5 haircut as compared to the past $12 haircut at QB House.
-It is unlikely for a guy like me but I do my own facial using Micro-needling. The whole set costs around $200 and can last me more than 10 procedures. Each session outside will cost you more than $110 or above. So I saved about $900 in 10 sessions! ([110X10] -200)
The procedure help maintains youthfulness and removes facial scars. If anyone is interested, I can share more in a post.

Side note:
Differing from my earlier portfolio update, I have to share that Valuetronics was replaced by Bumitama Agri and will be explained next time. As marriage is nearing, I have to exert more control in my cash allocation in the market. This is why stocks are switched instantly instead of over exposing myself in the market.

The portfolio is now updated at https://tobidortosell.blogspot.sg/p/current-holdings.html