Why I started saving, then investing ($27 in my bank account at the age of 19 years old)

Hey guys, hope that you have all been coping well as we are mid-way through Phase 1. To be honest, I am starting to get restless spending all of my free time stuck at home, and that is definitely surprising for me considering I am very much a homebody even before the whole Circuit Breaker started. At this point I honestly can't wait to meet my friends (in real life, zoom doesn't count!) soon. 

Anyways, back to the main point of this post, I decided to write this today as I was recently reminiscing with O of how I started my journey towards being financially savvy, and thought that I could perhaps pen my thoughts down on the blog. You see, O started learning about personal finance/investing much earlier than me, and it was only after a particularly 'memorable' (lack of a better word) experience that I started to go to him for some advise on how to manage my finances better.

So this happened back in 2018, a few months after I completed my diploma in poly. I was supposed to join my friends for a round of drinks, but as I did not feel like drinking, I told my friends that I'll just sit in and join them for some chit-chat. However, I did not know that they going to a liquid buffet (note: for those that are not familiar with this term, essentially it is a place where you can get free flow alcohol after paying an entrance fee), and hence I would have to pay just to enter the bar. 

I remember vividly that the entrance fee was $30, but when I checked my bank account, I was surprised to find that I only had $27 in there! *Cue the awkward situation of me standing by the entrance of the bar not knowing what to do next* Long story short, my friend saved me from my embarrassment by treating me to the round of drinks that day, and I began my part-time work the next week to begin salvaging my pathetic finances (I had already secured this job a while back, but I never knew that my financial situation was THAT bad). 

I was pretty shocked to see my savings horrendously low as I have been working part-time during my holidays in poly, and have also saved up quite a bit of ang pao money prior. What made it worse was the fact that I did not have any significant purchases to show for all the money that I 'lost'. I did not get the PS4 that I have wanted for the longest time, nor the PC that I have wanted to build for quite some time. The situation that I was in made me mad and frustrated at myself for my lack of self-discipline and accountability, which eventually drove me to look up financial books and channels on youtube to learn more about budgeting.

Looking back, it was a rude awakening that was much needed for me to get my act together. That experience led to me eventually looking into my monthly finances, questioning why I'm paying my bank fall below fees(more on that in the future!!!), looking for options to invest with my mere hundreds of savings and other measures to 'save' my financial health. I still keep a constant record of my day to day spending up till this date.

On hindsight, this was an experience that I never want to go through again. But it indeed taught me to spend prudently and to save excessively. I might not be wealthy now, but my financial health have definitely improved by leaps and bounds. At least now I can purchase the PS4 if I want it, but I guess that is just a want not a need and I probably have no time to play with it once my university starts. It's been 2 years, but that scar of embarrassment continues to frighten me.

Do not follow in my footsteps.

T