Graduate Couples Should Have No Problem Saving $1Million

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If you and your spouse are working professionals making median salaries, it’s not hard for both of you to accumulate $1 million before you reach 45 years old.

Suppose both of you started working at age 25, and always save and invest one-third of your income. If your savings and investments earn just a 3% rate of return a year, you would have accumulated half a million dollars by age 37 and a full million bucks by age 45.

And this is just for median-salaried professionals.

Let’s look at another hypothetical couple who are median-salaried managers. Let’s assume they save more, say 40% of their income. Further assume that they are able to generate a 5% rate of return.

This couple’s savings and investments will hit $1 million before they turn 39. And $2 million by age 46.

When did your savings and investments reach $1 million?

Don’t have a million dollars? Don’t worry. You probably have that upmarket condo, BMW and Birkin bag that you can be proud of. 🙂

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169 Comments

  1. poor but surviving on

    wow tick, u r really doing quite well. I reckon the 300k is a combined figure between you and your wife?

  2. i’m 29 this yr , i have a net worth of $450k (cash , stock n unit trust) excluding my cpf n hdb…however my hubby net worth is onli abt 120k. we have a car (car loan is 550sgd a mth, loan left wit another 4-5yrs left).u think i can b a millionaire by 40? i saved more than three quarter of my salary, believe it anot.hdb is service fully by cpf. i have not been lucky in stock n unit trust…. :(…its really an effort of pure saving thru working hard.

  3. looking at all the comments really makes me think how poor i am. making annual barely 30k…extremely low.. wonder how could I ever be like you guys.. 🙁

  4. Absolutely, I used to be earning like you but now earning >100k. Singaporeans constantly look down on their own skills thinking you need a ivy league degree or something to move up.

    Trick is to be visible in a company and take calculated risks. For me it was to move abroad and join a MNC that valued my bi-lingual (English & Mandarin) skills. My mandarin is not that good but way better than any ang-mo.
    You have valuable skills for any foreign company going into China! Make sure you command the proper salary for that!!

  5. i work since 20yr old. im earning abt $6300 per month. recently took up part time teaching once a wk… as a second job(im v hardworking one)..hehehe. that is extra $800 per mth. but no income during sch holidays. hubby onli earn $3300 in civil service :(.. i jus paid up all my car loan last mth to save on interest.. need to work hard for my first million! wish me luck! but truthfully… im pretty tired n drain.. kinda sian already.

  6. 32yo, wife 30yo, no kids, we live in HDB, combined income 13k, 2 investment properties (outside of HDB).

    take frequent short holidays, eat with parents now and then, and weekly outside at least 3 dinners.

    Flat is 320k with 200k mortgage (+120)
    Condo 1 is 920k with 650k mortgage (+270)
    Condo 2 is 1.78M with 960k mortgage (+802k, but 3 other investors so divide by 4 = +200k)

    Not much cash savings nor stocks, sold most after 09 recovery. About 600k ‘worth’ in property, 70k in wife’s CPF to meet minimum sum (to drawdown for 2nd ppty)

    Lost money in a few startup companies (50k), paper value 200k in another startup that might be sold for more (but don’t know so won’t count it).

    Any advice to move faster from here? Don’t really like my job.. and wife will retire to be homemaker if we have kids.

  7. I’m 34 this year. My annual income is around $180K to $250K (varies due to my sales job. last yr was $250K). Hubby’s is $230K. Staying with parents with a kid. house fully paid. Combined annual expenses (incl. tax and parent’s allowance) is $13K/mth.

    Out of the $13K/mth expenses, $4k goes into savings plan and insurance. We hope to look into buying the next property when the opportunity comes.

    Now with a kid, expenses is expected to increase to $14500/mth in 2 yrs time cos of preschool education. Having a kid is costly in Singapore!

    My net worth:
    cash – $350K
    Savings plan cash value excl. life insurance protection plans: $270K (incl. of SRS)
    CPF OA and SA: $100K

    Hubby’s net worth:
    cash – $200K
    Savings plan cash value excl. life insurance: $150K
    CPF OA and SA: $100K

    we live a simple life with a modest continental car but do go for nice trips and indulge in mid range nice meals frequently.. until baby comes along,now we have to settle for shorter trips.

    it is possible to save more but must earn a good income in order to accumulate faster. How we spend also plays a part. As much as possible, try not to have too much bad debts. But with properties so expensive, we may probably have to used up most of our savings to buy 2nd property. So not quite sure if we should plunge in and take the risk

  8. to simple life:
    i’m in more or less the same situation.
    problem i face is i feel i’m holding on to too much cash. the money needs a new home.
    other than property what else would you consider investing in?

  9. it will depend on our risk profile and how comfortable with risks. Can opt to diversify by holding stocks or blue chips and look at safer instruments such as long term bond and endowment savings. The later is just enough to fight inflation but still better than leaving our hard earned money to bleed to earning almost zero interest.

    Also contribute to SRS to reduce overall tax. Savings on tax will be ard $2k per yr, depending on tax bracket.

    Alternative wld be to buy overseas property but need to understand the county’s capital gains tax and how it impacts on a foreigner buying the property there. We hope to have 1 or 2 modest overseas properties which we can stay over for a few months when we retire. With some maturity on savings plan every few yrs after we retire, that should fund our lifestyle in a more comfortable manner. That will be perfect.

    Any further ideas to contribute to mine?

  10. Byluck, by the way, may i ask when did you buy the properties and how much is your mthly house instalment for both cash and cpf portion?

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  13. It’s possible. Me n my partner did it this yr. I’m 33, he is 34. I’m graduate , he is a diploma holder. Everything is possible if u work hard, save up, plus nd a little of luck when looking for the right job. Kelvin, u nd to b more positive . When there is a will, there is a way

  14. Me n hubby manage to save $1 million cash at the age of 34! But I have a remainder condo mortgage loan of 750k . Paid 400k down payment 2yrs ago. Condo cost me $1.2 mil. N I have 2 kids. One newborn n one 5 yr old. Mthly instalment of mortgage is fully service by cpf. I only earn 8k n hubby 4.5 k.. Typical middle sandwiched income. We have a car that is fully paid for. I hope to save my next million by age of 45. In event if Sibor increase beyond 5 percent.. I will pay up the principle sum at least 40% to save on interest rate. It’s not how much u earn.. It’s really how much u save ! We do dine in restaurant, have maid, and go oversea tour at least twice a yr. It’s ABt managing $ n occasionally spurlge on ourselves once I reach a specific saving amt. If I can do it, other middle income earner can do too!

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