The Average Singaporean Will Only Start Living at 40

By MERLION$ | Merlion Finance

Let’s be honest — by the time you actually start working in Singapore, you’re already behind.

Think about it.
You spend your first 12 years in school just trying not to fail math.
Then another 4 in secondary, 2 in JC, 2 in NS — and if you’re “lucky,” 3 to 4 more in uni.
That’s already what, 23? 24? before you even touch your first “real” salary.

And that’s assuming you didn’t kena repeat or do detours.
So by the time you graduate, your parents are asking,

“When are you starting work ah?”
and HR is saying,
“Starting pay around 4.5k — not bad already!”

Not bad… until you realise half goes into CPF, tax, transport, kopi, and GrabFood.

🧾 Let’s Do the Math, Shall We?

Fresh grad: $4,500/month.
CPF contribution: -20%.
Bills, groceries, insurance: -$1,000+.
Parents allowance: -$300–$500.
Leftover: what, $1,500? Maybe less if you go out a bit.

Five years later, you’re 29–30.
Maybe you’ve upgraded to $7k–8k/month.
You’ve proven yourself, worked OT, smiled through office politics.

But life scales up too:
📦 Housing loan.
🧒 Kids (if you dare).
🧓 Parents aging.
🍜 Cost of living jumping faster than your increment.

So where does “investing for the future” even fit in?
People talk about saving 30% of your income — bro, sometimes you’re just trying not to go negative by the 25th.

💭 The Harsh Reality: You’re Not Lazy, You’re Just Late to the Game

By the time we start working, the system already has a 5–10 year head start on us.
You spend your early 20s “preparing” to enter the workforce, and when you finally do, everything’s more expensive than it was when your parents started.

The old advice — “Work hard, save more” — doesn’t cut it anymore.
The numbers just don’t add up.

What you really need is to:

Start investing earlier (even if small).
Learn skills that pay outside your 9-to-5.
Stop comparing yourself to people who had a head start — or parents with investment properties.

💡 Keeping It Real

Nobody’s saying you can’t make it.
But pretending that a $4.5k salary magically turns into freedom is just lying to yourself.

So let’s stop with the toxic positivity and start getting practical.
We’ll talk investments, savings, side hustles, and realistic wealth-building for real Singaporeans — not the top 1%, not influencers, not some dude selling you a $1,999 “freedom course.”

Just the truth.
Unfiltered.
Singapore-style.

Stay rational.
Stay ballin’.
🦁 – MERLION$

The Merlion Baller