#Finance101: Where are you in the Financial Game of Life?

What it is: You are able to save a portion of your income

As a young adult who’s just started earning income, it’s likely you find yourself at this stage. Your priorities should be planning your budgets and setting financial goals so that you are not overextending yourself when it comes to expenses.
By the end of this stage, you should have an emergency fund saved up.
 

What it is: You are able to save a portion of your income and invest the rest

According to the study, the average Singaporean will take about 6.1 years to move from Financial Stability to Financial Security.

At this stage, you’re ready to move on to investing.

That said, there’s a wide array of financial instruments and products on the market, so picking one that’s suitable to your needs and goals is important. One might even start learning about personal finance before this stage to get a headstart!

What it is: You have enough assets and investments to cover your living costs for a year.

According to the study, it will take approximately 6.5 years from the previous stage before the average Singaporean reaches Financial Flexibility.

Arriving at this stage ought to give you some breathing room to think about what long-term goals you’d want to achieve in life. Phew!

What it is: You have enough assets and investments to generate enough passive income.

According to the study, after an additional 8.7 years, the average Singaporean will reach financial freedom. That’s about 21.3 years in total, since the first stage, if you’re wondering. At this stage, retiring becomes an option. Though it’s completely fine if you want to keep working as well.

What it is: You have more wealth than you are ever likely to require in your lifetime.

If you want to spend like there’s no tomorrow, you might be interested to know that the study claims it takes an additional 11 years for the average Singaporean to reach financial abundance.

So that’s a grand total of 32.3 years from Stage 1.