I Worked 3 Years And Had Zero Savings: Here's How I Turned Things Around

I still remember it like it happened yesterday. It was the end of a random month many years ago, and I had just gotten charged by the bank a service fee for not maintaining the minimum balance. I checked the transaction list for the last few months and it turns out I had been penalised repeatedly for having too little money. I flushed in embarrassment at the indignity of my situation, my brain screaming: How can dis b allowed?

I had been working for 3 years… and I had nothing to show for in savings. How did I get here?

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So…what happened?

In my early 20s, I thought being a full-fledged adult meant working hard and rewarding yourself with nice things. After all, I was earning my own money - I thought I deserved to treat myself.

Turns out, “treating myself” was less about self-care and more about poor financial decisions dressed up as “YOLO”.

To make things worse, I was in a relationship with someone who loved spending money. We’re talking about spontaneous weekend getaways to Bangkok, $100 cafe meals, and a never-ending obsession with sneakers. (We only have one pair of legs and two days a week to sport these sneakers!)

And because it was one of my first serious relationships, I naively went along with it. We split bills, but I always ended up spending more than I wanted to save. I didn’t want to be the party pooper.

The big wake-up call

Then came the break-up. It was messy, but I needed to get away from the toxicity. It turned out to be a turning point in my life. For the first time in years, I wasn’t distracted by couple brunches or window shopping turned splurges. I had time to self-reflect and take a good, hard look at my finances.

And yikes…it wasn’t pretty.

I added everything up: my salary over three years, my monthly spending, and the total I should’ve been able to save. And then I looked at my bank account, which might as well have laughed in my face.

That’s when it hit me. I had worked for three whole years and had nothing to show for it – no savings, no investments, not even an emergency fund. Just piles and piles of fast fashion, overpriced skincare that ended up at the bottom of the drawer, and way too many pairs of sneakers. Oh, and weight gain from all those high-calorie cafe meals.

IMAGE: 123RF

The first step

I got angry – mostly at myself, but also at the version of me that thought money would magically manage itself. I decided to channel that energy into action. I wanted to do better. I needed to do better.

I started small. My first win: creating a basic budget on a Google Sheet. It was neatly colour-coded and fit my needs. I listed my income, my fixed expenses (like phone bills and insurance), and my variable ones (like food, shopping, and entertainment).

The goal was to track everything. If I spent $5 for fish soup, it went into the sheet. If I bought something on Love Bonito, it went in too. No excuses. Things got even easier when I discovered an expense tracking app. I have been using Seedly ever since then.

Becoming “that frugal girl”

Once I started tracking my spending, it was clear to see where my money went. $10 here, $15 there – it added up. So I started making changes.

I swapped my $5 latte runs for the more economical local kopi c siew dai. I said goodbye to unnecessary online shopping and Marie Kondo-ed the hell out of my wardrobe. I even mastered the art of saying “no” to expensive social plans with friends – or suggested cheaper alternatives.

The more I saved, the more motivated I became. I opened a high-interest savings account, started reading personal finance blogs, and even did my own research on the best credit cards to maximise the value from my (much diminished) spending.

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Learning to invest (and not freak out)

After a few months of saving consistently, I had something that felt like a real safety net. It wasn’t a fortune, but it was mine. It truly felt empowering.

I knew the next step was investing, but I was terrified. All I had ever heard was that investing was “risky” and “only for rich people”. But I thought if I could figure out how to stop impulse-spending, I could learn this too.

I started small, with a robo-advisor. No need to pick stocks or time the market. I just made regular contributions and let compounding do its thing. Over time, I also learned about ETFs, dividend stocks and CPF top-ups.

How it’s going

It’s been more than 5 years since my financial rock bottom. I’m still not rolling in dough, but I’m in a much better place financially. I’ve got a decent safety net, a growing investment portfolio, and I’m somehow now the lobang queen in most of my social circles. I’m also juggling a fine-tuned credit card strategy that my husband has given up trying to understand. Most importantly, I have peace of mind. No more anxiety attacks while logging into my banking app.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

• Love doesn’t mean losing your common sense. If your partner’s spending habits are making you uncomfortable, that’s not love. That’s red flag territory. Sort it out before you get mired in the mess.
• Budgeting isn’t about deprivation. It’s about making conscious choices. I still buy things I enjoy once in a while. I just make sure they align with my priorities and saving goals.
• Starting small is better than not starting at all. Start budgeting by downloading an app to see where everything goes, and set aside what you can every month. Every bit counts. Know where your money goes, and how to make it work for you.
• Personal finance blogs can be your best resource to ‘dumb down’ complex financial concepts. Besides, it beats sifting through technical finance books. Don’t let your lack of knowledge be a hurdle to a better financial future.

And lastly, no matter how bad it seems right now, it can only go up from here. Leave your regrets behind, start afresh and before you know it, you will reap the benefits of your financial discipline.

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