Ever wondered what your salary and spending habits are like in comparison to your peers? Money Talks is a column by Her World that takes an honest look at how women spend their money. If you would like to submit a money diary anonymously, please email us at magherworld@sph.com.sg with the subject “Money Talks” in your email header, and one of our editors will get back to you.
In today’s column, we speak to 43-year-old communications and marketing professional working in the crypto space. She supplements her income with freelance writing work and a weekend side hustle in home-baked goods.
About The Diarist
Occupation: Head of Marketing & Communications of a crypto exchange
Industry: Finance
Age: 43
Education level: Bachelor’s Degree
Salary: $13,000
Average Monthly Expenses
Mortgage: $1,398
Conservancy Fees: N.A (husband’s expense)
Utilities: N.A (husband’s expense)
Internet: $115
Insurance: $1,089
Tax: $283
Dog food: $95
Pet-sitter: $150
Phone Bill: $48
Transport: $150 (public and private transport)
Car Loan: $659
Petrol, Carpark, Cash Card: N.A (husband’s expense)
Subscriptions: $86 (LinkedIn, Spotify, Netflix, and Disney+)
Shopping: $400
Groceries: $250
Food: $700
Gym Membership: $136
Investments: $3,653
– Crypto: $276 (I buy US$50 of crypto every week)
– Trading: $1,377 (I buy fractional shares of 10 stocks at US$500 every 2 weeks)
– SRS: $500 a month (This I invest into a fund via Endowus)
– Cash management account: $500 a month (into a Syfe Cash+ account)
– Other: $1,000 (Whatever I make from my side hustle, I invest)
Savings: N.A (Whatever I don’t end up spending or investing, I just leave in my current account as ready cash. To me that’s just for liquidity and to dip into whenever I want to travel or buy big-ticket items.)
On how she spends her money:
I don’t chase trends, jewellery or designer goods — my wardrobe consists of only black clothing with classic silhouettes that won’t go out of style easily. The most expensive thing I’ve bought myself is a Rolex watch and it was because I knew it would eventually give me a return on my investment. What I splurge on are meals out with friends and wine.
I’m fortunate that my skin is pretty low-maintenance so I don’t need to go for facials or buy a lot of expensive skincare. The Korean skincare brands found in pharmacies are sufficient for my needs. Every half a year or so, that’s when I’ll need to buy a new bottle of SK-II Facial Treatment Essence — I’ve been using this product since I was 24.
As a rule of thumb, I try not to use my credit cards at all. What I do is, whenever I receive my salary, I would put a chunk of money into my Revolut debit card and pay for my daily expenses like groceries, transport, and shopping from there. The app has a budgeting feature that helps you keep track of your spending so it ensures you don’t overspend. I only use my credit cards for super big-ticket items (over $500). More often than not, I under-spend.
On how she doesn’t believe in savings or fixed deposits accounts:
Although interest rates for fixed deposit accounts have become more attractive of late, I don’t like locking my money in. I’ve always had the fear of not having enough liquidity so I’d rather put my money into an account that won’t penalise me for withdrawing my capital. As for savings accounts, the interest given doesn’t keep up with the rate of inflation so I’d rather put my spare cash into a low-risk investment that gives me the flexibility of withdrawing my money at any time, without any penalty.
A lot of people use the money they make from their side hustles to treat themselves and to splash out on things they otherwise might not. I started my side hustle in May 2020 and it has been reasonably successful. I figured since I’m not dependent on it to pay the bills, why not work the profits harder and invest them instead? This strategy has worked and when I needed a chunk of cash for the downpayment on the new flat, the extra cash definitely came in handy.
On how she invests 30% of her income instead:
I have a financial advisor I work with to invest most of my money. Recently, this has been put on hold because I cashed out my investments (which I have been building up over the last 8 years or so) to purchase the flat next door to convert my current one into a jumbo. After paying for the renovations and new furniture, she has advised that I should build up my emergency funds first before restarting my investment with her.
However, I’m unwilling to sit out given the current market conditions. Crypto prices are lower than they were in 2021 and a fair number of stocks are currently undervalued too. I’m a strong believer in dollar-cost averaging. Because the crypto market is more volatile, my strategy is to purchase a small amount every week rather than on a monthly basis. A lot can happen in the crypto market in a week. For trading, I’m buying fractional shares of 10 stocks on a bi-weekly basis, just to have some skin in the game.
I try to put as much money as I’m comfortable with into my SRS account. This not only helps me build up my nest egg, but I also get some tax relief — which means I won’t end up putting too much cash into paying my income tax.
I do think I should be more aggressive in my investment strategy or put more money into investing; after all, my runway to save up for retirement is not getting any longer.