How to help your children plan for their own future
The Struggle is Real
As a financial consultant, I’ve had the opportunity to network with a wide demographic. Recently, I hired a university student to be my marketing intern and he has shared some insights with me. Students in Singapore are brought up to believe that getting good grades will land them a good job. This will help them cope with the rising costs of living in the Garden City. He is an accounting student with decent grades, does a bunch of sports and is reasonably well to do; but where does he stand really?
In order to do his job, my intern had to understand the business and market of financial consultants which subsequently peaked his interests in financial planning for himself.
As a student, he explained that he had lots of expenses and few avenues of income. He mainly had to spend on:
- Food
- Transport
- University Fees
- Insurance
- The occasional outing with friends
- Extra activities and hobbies
- Occasional Purchases (Clothes/Games/Stationery)
His avenues of income are not as comprehensive however:
- Father Mother Scholarship (FMS)
- Student Loans (Not really income)
- Paychecks from part time work
Unless his FMS is sufficient to cover his entire university fee, he would have to take a student loan which will become an expense once he graduates. Thus as a student, the aim of the game is to save enough money to pay off that loan as fast as possible to minimise the interest liability of the loan. But how much do you need to earn from that part time job to save up enough to pay off your loan? Do you want to graduate in debt? If the answer is no, how much should your bank balance read when you graduate?
Being an intern at a financial consultancy firm really hit him – financial planning has to start early.
What can he do?
The obvious answer is to do some financial planning and save money, but if it was so obvious why isn’t everyone doing it?
A good goal is a specific goal with a realistic timeline. That’s why simply making saving a “mindset” is not enough. Students need to conjure up a number that they want to see in their banks and break it down into monthly and weekly savings. They also need to budget their expenses and from this, work towards their financial goals.
When it comes to grinding out an income, working at an F&B (Food & Beverage) is the most common avenue, but there are other avenues that offer its pros and cons. One way is to give tuition which pays better per hour but gives your fewer hours, another is to do event-based jobs at sales and expos where you can earn a commission for each sale, on top of your base pay.
Thus its is important to understand your schedule, work style and personal relationship (PR) skills before diving head first into your first part time job.
Poor student, rich experiences
Even though the primary role of a student is to get good grades, other key takeaways are to have a rich student experience where you learn life skills, meet new people and explore the world. Financial planning is just a small segment that I encourage all students to explore. After all, financial planning at an early age has never hurt anyone; and might even be able to get you your first car or apartment earlier than that irritating straight “A” student.
To learn more about how I may be able to help manage and tailor your financial needs, please contact me:
☎ +65 9763 7746
Deepak Singh is a highly qualified financial advisor with Global Financial Consultants Pte Ltd,who gives unbiased and honest financial advice. He manages the financial portfolios of Singaporeans, Permanent Residents (PR) and expatriates. Deepak Singh is a representative of Global Financial Consultants Pte Ltd – MAS Licence no. SDK300160982
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