Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Here's Why The First $100K Savings Is Really Important

Here's Why The First $100K Savings Is Very Important: 
"The first $100,000 is a bitch, but you gotta do it. I don’t care what you have to do—if it means walking everywhere and not eating anything that wasn’t purchased with a coupon, find a way to get your hands on $100,000. After that, you can ease off the gas a little bit" - Charlie Munger
The above quote is adapted from Charlie Munger who's a popular name in the investing world. He is vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffett. There is much truth in his words as I personally experienced it myself saving the first $100,000. It was real hard, very hard at the start. After that, its true that it gets easier.

To illustrate the point why saving the first $100K is very important, I've put the numbers into various charts to visualise how life actually pans out after we have saved the first $100,000. The scenarios are based on saving just $10,000 annual and investing at a 7% investment return.

How long does it take to save the first $100K?

The first $100K is the hardest. If we only save $10,000 annually and invest at 7% return, it takes about 8 years to reach the first $100K.



The journey beyond $100K

Let's look at what happens after we have saved the first $100K assuming we continue to save only $10,000 annually and invest at 7% interest rate.


From $100K to $200K, it takes about 6 years




From $200K to $300K, it takes less than 5 years




From $300K to $400K, it takes less than 4 years 




From $400K to $500K it takes about 3 years plus




And from $500K to $600K, it takes only less than 3 years




This is the summary of how our money compounds after the first $100K. As we can see, the line gets steeper indicating the the power of compound interest and also the importance of saving the first $100K.


There is another interesting fact we can see through the charts. The fact is investing is less important when we have less money as even if we can get 10% on just $10,000 savings, it is only $1000 returns. This doesn't add much to our wealth. But if we have $100K savings, the same 10% will increase our wealth by $10,000.

For my own financial journey, I set out a goal to save $100K when I started my blog back in 2013. I saved aggressively and managed to achieve it in less than 5 years. Did it get easier after that? Yes it did and I really can ease off a little bit and spend more without hurting too much.

For those who are still on your way to the first $100K, get it as early as you can. For those who have already got your first $100K, you can actually relax a bit.

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12 comments:

  1. Can you share some tips on how you achieved your first 100k?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      It is mainly true savings. Saving more than $20K a year to achieve it.

      Delete
  2. Hi, Kind enough to share which investment gives 7% interest return ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      Investment portfolio have to be built over the years. For myself, I invest mainly in stocks and buy stocks undervalued and sell them when they are overvalued. I also invest in dividend stocks which gives good and stable dividends.

      Delete
  3. Hi, just to check does this 100k include cpf or just pure cash savings?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jason,

      This is just pure savings excluding cpf since cpf can only take out at age 55.

      Delete
  4. Hi, Does that 100k include the amount that you invested in stock?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I got 100K and invested for pass 3 years, my annually return is around 3~4%.
    How to find a investment with 6~7%?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      Stocks is the answer. However, higher returns comes with higher risk if we do not know what we are investing in.

      Delete
  6. Am always inspired by your articles bro over the year?! I remember reading your articles back in 2015 and only had like $5k in my bank account.

    Fast forward and I'm 32 now, and also just hit my $100K mark after saving around $20K consistently every year for past 5 years after uni. Even with a ~$3.3k take home salary after CPF, i always made sure to save $2k each month. Allow me to share my investing and asset allocation strategy moving forward

    With $70k of this $100k saved, i invest only in the Ireland domiciled ETF named IWDA via Interactive Brokers (only paid like SGD $38 for one time brokerage fee vs SCB's ridiculous $750 on the USD/SGD FX spread and brokerage fee) for around annual 9.3% p.a returns after U.S witholding 15% taxes. The other 30K i leave it in a high yielding interest bank account as I plan to get married + buy BTO within the next 2 years so need liquid access to the funds.

    So i concur with SG Young Investor; It's entirely possible for a Singaporean earning $4-5k/month to still achieve financial freedom by our 50s. Of course it comes with some sacrifices like choosing to marry later in life, but hey, sometimes those extra few years of waiting and saving really helps! As the biblical proverb holds true: Plant your fields first, then build your barns

    Just my two cents worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi JLK,

      Thanks for following my blog since 2015! Am glad my articles inspired you back then. Your story shows that its really possible to save up if we want to. Thanks for your sharing and all the best to you!

      Delete