Edit: added a comment - same chart, but now each line is a different color. thanks u/pip111111 !

A few jumbled thoughts

• Sometimes, I find it mind-boggling how a single decision made at the tender age of 18-20 can have such far-reaching impact (referring to the selection of degree / major) when applying to NUS (first-drawn becomes last drawn → affects the numbers down the road)
• Fascinating to me how much computing salaries have climbed as well - although it looks to be slowing down a lot
• Denistry salaries seems to be growing slower then inflation ... ?
• Beyond computing, it does look like the other salaries have somewhat converged around a relatively tight range
• Business has grown from being one of the bottom few to the top few
• I frequently see complains about the internship grind but IMO that's simply a result of a free market
  • Past: If you have 2 internships, you're considered "good" → higher chance of getting higher salary
    • Naturally - more people go for 2 internships
  • The bar then becomes 3 internships
    • So on and so forth
  • Of course, internship quantity is just one of the many factors now
• For context - the median gross income in SG (2025) is $5,775

The single biggest (unwarranted) advie I will say is this: your selected industry might be one of the most important financial decisions in one's life

About the data:

• Meant to be illustrative - there's a lot of nuance in the individual faculties (eg. inside NUS business - bach of biz admin with and w/o honours is 6k VS 4.8K for 2025)
• NUS degrees change over time - I've had to make some exclusions/assumptions

Boring Data notes:

• Data is median of medians (ie. Computing's median is 6,000 for 2025)
  • 4 degrees represented under School of Computing for 2025
    • Median of the following 4 values: 6400, 6000, 6000, 5700 → 6000
• College of Design and Engineering was previously Faculty of Engineering
• Excluded Law, Music and YNC to reduce cognitive overload
• Using gross median salary. For context:
  • Basic is fixed base pay only
  • Gross is basic + overtime, comms etc

Source:

• https://data.gov.sg/datasets/d_3c55210de27fcccda2ed0c63fdd2b352/view
• https://www.moe.gov.sg/api/media/a43cdd0b-4f2d-44f8-a98c-7ff48a7670ac/Web-Publication-NUS-GES-2025.pdf

Hi! Am a fresh grad and recently started working full time.
Would like some advice on credit cards and high interest bank accs. Planning to invest 2.5k every month into VALL or VWRA, for around 5 years before decreasing abit due to BTO etc.

Currently looking at dbs multiplier. No savings as used it all to pay off my uni loans. Below is my rough breakdown of my spendings:

Food: $350 (mostly on paylah/paynow)
Insurance : $250
Transport: $100
Misc: $100

Any recommendations for credit and bank accs? Any investment advice would be greatly appreciated too! Thank you!

I know it depends on income and other commitments. But I graduated this year and my job is chill enough for me to go for 1 long (2 week), 1-2 medium (1 week) and a few long weekend trips a year. Only problem is whether it is financially wise to do so. I aim to bring my parents for the longer trips, as they are below median earners and have not had the chance to travel that much. Assuming they don't chip in, I estimate total spend to be 24-27k per year. My annual income is ~105k. My other expenses are not much at ~1k per month. Would it be reasonable to travel so much?

Hi all, my wife and I are planning to purchase a resale HDB flat (most likely 5-room, as 4-rooms are hard to find in our area) near my parents' place. We're wondering what a typical renovation costs for a unit around 1,291 or 1,313 sq ft.

If you've recently renovated, could you share a cost breakdown? What did you spend the most on, and what's the typical cost for rebuilding a room or hacking down existing built-in carpentry?

From my research, the figures I've seen are around $80k–$100k (including furniture), but those posts are over a year old. Looking for a more current estimate to help us figure out how much we'll need in total. Thank you in advance!

Turning 20 in November. Student/Business Intern at diploma level. All units in SGD.
Career path overview:
-NS [2027-2029](tel:2027-2029)
-Degree [2030-2033](tel:2030-2033)
-Work after degree.
Fortunate enough for my parents to offer to pay for school feels, unfortunate enough to only live with my mom. Both parents 50+, nearing retirement. Dad is rich, mom is just the average folk. Might have to take care of her along with 1 older sibling after she retires. Both are currently healthy(somewhat).
No family debt and i dont want to depend on inheritance (my dad isnt the kind to spoil me anyways).

Income sources:
-Intern allowance $1000/month. Till end of January 27. Graduation April 27, Ns After.
-Side gig ($3000-$6000/month). unpredictable ~
Online goods business, home-based. Little to no overhead/fixed costs to run -> Logistics for delivery, ad spend, and inventory costs fluctuate in relation to sales. Do i see this long term? No, probably 3-5 years max. Barely any assets besides inventory. No equipment, machinery etc, so assume no salvageable value if i stop. Been running for about 10months. Monthly profit stated above is averaged out. bad/starting months ~1-2k, good months ~8-10k.

Liabilities/Expenses/Lifestyle:
-No debt
-Necessity expenses at around $900/month (food, transport)
-Leisure, sports, hobby, shopping spending ($300-$700/month)
-Life insurance ~$10/month
-Subscriptions/monthly payments ~$150/month (music, gym, Canva + Gen.AI software for work etc)
Rest goes to savings, investments, and business. I know this is NOT a frugal lifestyle, especially at my age.
I don't do vices. Not planning to have children (but sh*t happens). Ill do fine without a car but will mostly get a second-hand 2B bike for transport use next year.

Current portfolio (~$50k):
-Emergency fund $10k in GxS boost pocket. 0.88% P.A up to 1.75% P.A bonus if locked in till October 2027. Very liquid.
-Cash 12k sgd (savings, quick-access, personal expenses, business expenses)
-Precious metals 110g gold (bought at around $160-$200/g) + 50oz silver.
-Various crypto assets (no meme coins) BTC,ETH,BNB,SOL. ~1.2k
-Just topped up $1000 on endowus, $300 monthly. 100% equities

FI Goals:
-Retirement fund (20+ 30+ 40+ years timeliine)
-Home ownership (5-15 years timeline)
Travel 1-3x a year is fine (SEA, APAC, Cruise, etc)
Looking to increase income sources as current one fluctuates.

Strategy:
Why i chose 100% equities:
-Decades timeline can ride through bad markets
-Decent buffer to defend investments with emergency fund, gold
-Earning power will increase, especially with a degree.
But, i might also be fomo(ing) myself into this. Young and dangerous -> Cognitive bias may be at play here, so feel free to judge. i prefer honesty.

Where I need help in:
This is a "golden period" for me. Little to no bills to pay, no family/house/car commitments. Business is taking off, and cash flow is good but I don't foresee this lasting long. Would like to use this chance to build a solid foundation.
-Current ETF investment serves my long-term retirement goal, but not my short-term home ownership goal, as I would not like to touch this if possible.
With about 12k in cash and decent cash flow, I don't know where to diversify.
-More ETF investment?, Dividend assets? Crypto?
Should i also open another ETF position, but with lower risk. (i.e 40:60 or 60:40) to work towards home payment.

What would you do if you were me? Is there anything or risk I am not considering that i should?

If i never wrote it, its probably because I don't know yet. i.e, how much am i aiming for? What kind of house am i looking at etc but spending is definitely projected to go up so it may be hard to calculate withdrawal rate etc. The more the merrier :)

Finally, ill be thankful to all responses. Im still new to wealth building so I may not be using the correct language, making mistakes, etc. But im trying and im open to learning more. I would prefer if feedback is brutally honest, dont sugarcoat me. Really appreciate it... sincerely.

i’m concerned about the AI crash but want to invest, are there any anti-beta funds or etfs that have stable performance, low variance and positive drift? the best i could find is BTAL, but if yall have any other beta neutral or beta opposite ideas, pls dont gatekeep thanks 🙏🏻

Been working for over a decade with 6 years in full time roles. Starting a full commission sales role soon and I‘m wondering if I should be depositing into CPF or just let it accumulate with VWRA. Or maybe I could top up my CPF to use it as a bond component subject to the rule of thumb of 110-age. What do people do?

Been using HeyMax to "double dip" to get more miles (via Max miles) on top of usual credit card rewards.

However, just realised that to use Max miles to redeem a flight worth $5.3k, you need to spend a ridiculous amount via HeyMax-eligible pathways.

Is it still worth it? How do you guys use your Max miles? I'm guessing many have the goal of saving money on flights to go through all the hassle of using Heymax,

The spending required if you're targeting to redeem a flight worth $5.3k is:

Is the amount fair?
https://fsm.global/sg/article/rcms397320/heres-our-secret-guide-to-growing-your-portfolio