4. Those aged 25 to 39 spent the most on food, clothes and footwear, and utility bills, while those aged 21 to 24 are more likely to spend on hobbies
Respondents aged 25 to 39 tended to spend the largest chunk of their income on food (around eight in 10) clothes and footwear (over six in 10), and utility bills (about six in 10).
Telco bills were another key outlay for those in this age bracket, with over half of them naming this as one of their top monthly payments.
For the youngest cohort, aged 21 to 24, food was not surprisingly a key outlay, named by 82.4 per cent but fewer of them listed utility bills (38.7 per cent) than older respondents.
Ms Lee said that she spends on her hobbies about “once every other month”. Recently, she spent S$15 on a KTV machine, adding that she now tries to think a bit more before splurging on frivolous items.
“I did consider before buying it, I would usually stack up items in my cart and I won’t buy them straightaway. I might regret it, but I don’t mind buying it as I usually go for karaoke sessions with my friends,” she said.
Mr Asyraf Ahmad, a 23-year-old student studying linguistics and psychology at Nanyang Technological University, told TODAY that he has tried to cut down on his spending.
Still, he sometimes splashes out on car rentals as his hobby is going on car rides “for fun”.
5. About seven in 10 respondents had more or less developed a retirement saving plan, with over eight in 10 of them mostly or always able to stick to this plan
Some 70.3 per cent of respondents had a retirement savings plan or had “more or less” done so. Older people were more likely to have done this while those aged 21 to 24 were slightly less likely to be sticking to a retirement saving plan.
Almost two-thirds, or 65.1 per cent, of those aged 30 to 34 have a retirement savings plan while just 40.7 per cent of those aged 21 to 24 do. About 60 per cent of those aged 25 to 29 and 35 to 39 have also tried to figure this out.
Ms Lee saves regularly and has investments and endowment plans allowing her to earn a lump sum after a few years.
Still, she admits that she is slightly behind in her plans given that she is on the lower end of the income spectrum.
As for Mr Ahmad, who works part-time as a financial advisor and makes about S$800 a month, he has set savings goals but does not have concrete retirement savings plans mainly due to his young age.
“I do set savings goals and just try to save whenever I can, but I don’t have a concrete plan in place because I am still in university and circumstances can still change – I still have two more years to go before I graduate so I think I still have time to think more deeply about it,” he said.
Dr Teo said that the survey findings indicate that youths are “not that impulsive when it comes to their budgets”.
“They do take note of what they can and cannot afford as well as the costs of living, and make their financial decisions accordingly. It does debunk the myth that young people are impulsive and do not have any plans for the future,” he said.
This article was originally published in TODAY.
