2023 has been a 12 months stuffed with ups and downs. If somebody had advised me to start with of the 12 months that we might see the Russia-Ukraine conflict proceed into its second 12 months, and that October would see Israel launch a full-blown assault on Gaza main to fifteen,000 lives misplaced in underneath 2 months…I might have discovered it onerous to consider.

However that’s precisely what occurs – Life usually has its manner of peculiar us.

As 2023 involves an finish, that is my annual overview of my funds to test the place we are actually and be certain that we’re not falling too far off from our objectives. Throughout this yearly overview, I usually study my revenue progress, bills, financial savings, insurance coverage protection, and funding efficiency – which helps me to raised strategize for the brand new 12 months.

Time flies, this marks the tenth 12 months that I’m doing this on the weblog! Earlier than I’m going into this 12 months’s overview, right here’s a fast recap of earlier years: 

• 2014: Saved $20,000
• 2015: Saved $30,000 and grew revenue
• 2016: Saved $40,000 and grew revenue, hit $100k in web value at age 26 together with CPF
• 2017: Saved $45,000 and doubled my web value in a 12 months
• 2018: Saved $50,000 
• 2019: Saved $35,000 (didn’t realise I fully missed out on a round-up publish, however right here’s our child-related bills as a substitute)
• 2020: Saved $30,000 and achieved loopy (irregular) funding returns
• 2021: Saved $40,000, grew revenue however noticed lowered funding returns
• 2022: Saved $45,000 and battled a bearish funding local weather

Financial savings & Earnings

This 12 months’s financial savings hit an all-time excessive, largely fuelled by the expansion in my revenue – which greater than made up for greater family bills as a consequence of inflation.

Loyal readers would possibly recall how I selected to take a step again in my profession after welcoming my second child. In 2021, I gave up my Director position and was headhunted to affix a competitor, the place I requested for a less-demanding Senior Supervisor position as a substitute, clocking in simply 3 days per week (and extra throughout crunchtime). However in 2023, I acquired promoted to a brand new portfolio as Director, working intently with the federal government on new insurance policies and I now handle a staff chargeable for bringing in and sustaining an enormous bulk of our firm’s Singapore income base.

Because of this, my salaried revenue doubled.

My aspect hustles have additionally continued as BAU (enterprise as common), however I observed one thing highly effective kick on this 12 months: the ability of referrals. Phrase in regards to the work that I do (for weight reduction) actually began spreading as my preliminary base of consumers (who efficiently misplaced weight) shared their “secret” with their family and friends members, which resulted in referrals and loads of new enterprise from of us who by no means in any other case heard of me (or Finances Babe).

Subsequent 12 months, I’m trying to construct one other new supply of revenue, so we’ll see if that kicks off!

Bills

Attributable to inflation and rising costs, our household bills have risen considerably. We acquired hit by the next mortgage price (since we opted for a financial institution mortgage after we signed our mortgage pre-COVID at 1+%) and greater family payments on the similar time, identical to everybody else who’s a home-owner and pays for his or her household in Singapore.

Our present month-to-month family revenue has risen to:

This excludes our particular person eating bills, the allowances that we give to our mother and father (a 5-figure sum annually) and different miscellaneous bills that aren’t recurring in nature, so you may think about how the precise sum is lots greater.

Our payments (fastened bills) have gone up, however the greatest ache has undoubtedly acquired to be from the price of consuming out, which has elevated considerably as F&B shops hiked their costs this 12 months. To adapt, we’ve been making an attempt to chop down on this so as to not bust our funds (though it’s onerous to run away from it fully, particularly when you could have children who request to eat at sure locations on weekends).

For abroad travels, we introduced our household (and oldsters) to Taiwan for a 2-week journey and spent 4D3N in Cameron Highlands, so our complete vacation funds rose from $5k final 12 months to $13k this 12 months.

Insurance coverage

My husband and I added 2 new insurance coverage insurance policies this 12 months to our portfolio to extend our protection for crucial sickness, particularly after MOH dominated that most cancers will now not be lined 100% underneath typical insurance coverage.

We misplaced a couple of pals to demise this 12 months and noticed a number of others acquired identified with most cancers, so we determined to behave whereas we’re nonetheless in good well being.

Investments

However you realize what was much more surprising?

That the inventory market would formally backside out in December 2022 and see the beginning of a brand new bull ushered in by ChatGPT’s launch (on 30 Nov 2022, marking the stellar rise of Synthetic Intelligence shares (and hype?).

And that the S&P 500 would go on to achieve 25% in 2023 alone, largely pushed by mega-cap shares together with Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, (new-darling) Nvidia and Meta, and so forth.

When you had diligently caught to your investing all through (as a substitute of giving up like what most retail traders did, when the bear market triggered by the tech shares crash in 2022 endured for for much longer than most individuals anticipated)…congratulations, you’d have seen your portfolio transfer from being within the crimson to into the inexperienced.

After I wrote this final 12 months,

“In complete, my funding portfolio is at the moment down by about ~35%”.

SG Finances Babe, 30 December 2022

I actually wasn’t anticipating the market to reverse so quickly and for my portfolio to return into the inexperienced so rapidly, however that’s precisely what occurred.

On one other good notice, my dividends payout have additionally hit an all-time excessive this 12 months, with a major increase coming from DBS’ hike earlier.

All in all, my investments are again on monitor.

Conclusion

I’m shocked that my financial savings hit a brand new milestone this 12 months – contemplating how the final time I hit $50k was earlier than I had children, I actually wasn’t anticipating to surpass the quantity this 12 months as a consequence of inflation.

However that’s the ability of elevated incomes capability. If something, this 12 months has really been an excellent reminder that we should always proceed to work onerous and construct by way of our 20s and 30s, in order that we will have a neater time in our later years.

After I began this weblog in 2014, I wrote that my purpose was to retire by age 45. Taking a look at my very own monetary report card and progress since then, it’s protected to say that barring any surprising occasions, I’m properly on monitor to attaining it.

My 2023 monetary abstract would thus be:

• greater revenue (as a consequence of a promotion at work, and extra referrals),
• greater bills (as a consequence of inflation),
• a extra resilient insurance coverage portfolio, and
• improved funding efficiency (because the inventory market turned bullish).

The subsequent massive merchandise on my monetary agenda shall be to construct my dividends portfolio to the purpose the place my dividends shall be sufficient to pay for my dwelling bills. I estimate that it will take me 2 – 4 years to execute, so I’ll replace as soon as I clear that milestone.

See you guys over within the new 12 months!

With love,
Finances Babe