Dear friend,  

How confident are you of your future as of 2024? You’re balancing work, friendships, and feeling FOMO (fear of missing out). Especially with social media, we constantly compare our friends’ highlights to our worst moments. It’s not an easy journey, and it can seem overwhelming when you don’t know where to start! 

So how can we make adulting 1% more bearable? Well, in this post, we will be looking into how you can wisely spend your fresh graduate salary! We’ve got some ideas to help you gain clarity on your spending and secure savings for emergencies, retirement, and future aspirations. It might sound uncool or messy, but hey, we’re all learning the ropes together!

Huh, must budget meh?

Now that you have a full-time job and a constant flow of income, it can be hard to know how to manage your resources well. If it seems daunting, start small by setting goals! 

What do your end goals look like? Do you have to cover essential expenses like bills or rent? Would you like to reduce your student loans? Do you want to be able to spend freely on travel, social events, and shopping? Everyone has their own definition of what managing their money looks like, so focus on what works best for you.

Aside from allowing you to spend money wisely, budgeting also equips you to handle new or unforeseen expenses better, laying a foundation for stability empowers you to achieve your long-term goals.

Taking Stock

So, where to begin? We suggest that you start by tracking your expenses over a month or two and reflect on your spending habits. This will help you gain insight into your financial patterns. It also allows you to differentiate between your needs and wants — a basic aspect of budgeting!

‘Needs’ include essential expenses like rent, groceries and transport, while ‘Wants’ may include dining out often, bigger purchases or luxury items. Understanding these brings clarity when you’re allocating your resources, giving you the chance to identify what should stay and what should go!

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” ― Vincent Van Gogh. Don't despise the small beginning and the impact it can have. 

Here are some questions to consider as you begin reflecting: 

Reflective questions: 

• What are some of your saving and spending goals? 

• What does budgeting look like for you?

• What are your ‘Needs’ and ‘Wants’? 

To illustrate, here’s a simple example of needs and wants:

Use your favourite journaling materials or an Excel sheet to keep track of your answers! Make sure it’s something you can keep referring to in the future. Whatever feels accessible to note down! 

Online Sources and Practical Tips

Aside from this reflection exercise, explore resources like The Woke Salaryman for more ideas on how to handle your finances better! We’ve got some more ideas on more practical things you can try:

• Explore food alternatives: Try cooking at home, or visit your neighbourhood hawker centre instead of heading to restaurants or malls to satisfy your cravings!

• It’s never bad to take time to compare prices: As a Yakiniku fan, my go-to brand is Yakiniku Like! There’s no GST and service charge, and I always know that I’ll have a great meal. Instead of getting your daily toiletries directly from brands, compare prices at beauty supply stores like Venus. You can also head to neighbourhood outlets to use your CDC Vouchers, or bulk buy your go-to items at Shopee! 

• Community and Friendships: Involving your friends in your budgeting journey creates support groups and builds connection and accountability. It also gives you space to share your struggles! 

If you’re looking for friends to join you on this journey, why not check out a Friendzone event? It’s a chance to meet like-minded young adults, hear their perspectives on navigating adulting and build a wider social circle.

Wrapping it up!

Starting is always the hardest part! Try taking one small step to begin your journey — get some friends together to start a budgeting challenge and build a community to help one another. Adulting might seem impossible, but with a few small changes and people to journey with, it's doable! We may not be perfect at the beginning, but with time we’ll get the hang of it.

If you enjoyed this topic, click on the thumbnails below to read other awesome articles!

XOXO, 

The Friendzone Team!