9 Tips to Kickstart
Your Investment
Savings Plan

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to do a better job managing personal finances:

Achieve one or more financial goals
Save more
Get financially organized
Get an actionable plan in place

We’ve all been there; we’ve all said “this year will be different” and then let procrastination and daily life get in the way. We understand, it’s human nature.

But imagine this scenario:

You have a long list of life admin tasks and errands to run
You start to knock them out one by one, making progress
You finish them all

That feeling, you know it. You start to feel chipper, enjoying that sense of accomplishment and pride. Productivity makes you feel good, also human nature.

While that feeling of accomplishment about simple tasks is amazing, we assure you it’s even better when you take control of a critical part of your life such as your finances.

Here are some ideas on how to make that happen:

1. Be greedy, prioritize your savings plan and yourself first

In the words of Warren Buffet: “ Don’t save what’s left after spending, but spend what’s left after saving.”

A simple trick is to impose a “savings tax” on yourself. Everyone pays taxes. Typically we suggest setting aside roughly 20% of your income for the future.

Utilize automatic contributions to give yourself the discipline to prioritize your savings and yourself first.

Watch your savings steadily grow.

2. Audit your expenses

You can adopt one of two ways to save more money:

Earn more
Spend less

Earning more isn’t easy in these uncertain times. Regardless of the times, most people can easily name areas they could eliminate or scale back their spending. Consider an audit of your expenses, ask yourself “what’s unnecessary?”

Trim the fat.

3. Rely on yourself

Your retirement is ultimately YOUR responsibility. In Southeast Asia, without any government- or employer-provided pension, you’re on your own to save for your future.

The ball is in your court, start scoring.

4. Mitigate your liabilities

Like tip #3, in Southeast Asia we don’t have much of a safety net for medical expenses. You can’t rely on Medicaid, NHS or other state provided system to take care of you.

Medical care is relatively cheap in the region but relatively minor medical bills can quickly run into the thousands. Serious surgeries, chronic conditions and ongoing treatments can further escalate that to $35,000, $50,000 and beyond.

At a minimum, we recommend getting an inpatient only plan with a deductible. Even if you loathe health insurance, at least get protection for the big-ticket items and make sure you have access to the best healthcare in Southeast Asia.

Protect yourself and your savings with health insurance.

5. Set ‘Why’ goals

What is your motivation for increasing your savings? Set the “why” goals to give yourself tangible and achievable savings goals. What are you saving for?

That nice holiday you’ve dreaming about
To have more financial security and flexibility
Retirement
Home purchase or deposit
Children’s education
Starting a family
Business opportunities
General savings
6-months’ salary for emergency fund
An international move
That car you’ve always wanted
Because you deserve it

Just like with your to-do list or errand list, start with goals that are achievable first, then increase your goals as you grow your savings. Imagine that moment, that day, that feeling of pride and achievement.

Without why goals, there’s no what or how.

6. Don’t try to Time the Market

Market timing, which is the opposite of a buy-and-hold strategy, is buying or selling because you expect a specific change in the price of a stock or value of an index. By trying to time the market, you have to be right twice:

When you enter
When you exit

Relieve the stress of investing by doing a regular investment savings plan with recurring monthly contributions regardless of what the markets are doing. Over the long term, take advantage of dollar cost averaging. As prices go down, you actually get more units for the same price.

Sit back and relax, you have a plan, stick to it.

7. Do give yourself time

The driving factor in the accumulation of wealth is usually time. The longer your money is working for you, the more you will accumulate due to compounding interest.

A delay in starting your savings journey means at least one of three results:

More contributions required to hit the same target
Less earnings in the same period
Achieving your goal later in life

Time is the healer of all wounds and the creator of fine scotch whisky and wine – it’s what you need to give yourself to accumulate savings.

Earn while you sleep.

8. Ask yourself the hard questions

Just like any project, you want to take things one step at a time. Difficult questions need to be asked and answered. Here are some:

What’s your retirement plan?
How will you pay for X item on your ‘Why’ goals list?
Is your money working for you? Are you happy with your results?
How likely are you to hit your goals if you continue to do what you’re doing now?
What happens if you suddenly lose your job or income?
What happens if you develop a critical illness?

There are things you can’t control in life, but you can be prepared. Having a plan to build your savings and putting away a small amount of each paycheck is something you can readily do.

Control what you can control.

9. Ask Yourself the hardest question:

“Are you ready to:”

See if an investment savings plan is right for you?
Take control of your finances
Put an actionable plan in place?
Grow your savings, financial security and flexibility?

Remember, with anything in life, you have to start somewhere. And we’re here to help.

Ask a question. Get a quote. Talk, chat, email – your choice

These articles are intended to give you enough information to make informed decisions, but health insurance is complicated. Whether you still have questions on this topic or feel ready to take the first steps toward getting a policy, our advisors can help.

Questions? Want a quote or consultation?

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9 Tips to Kickstart
Your Investment
Savings Plan

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to do a better job managing personal finances:

1. Be greedy, prioritize your savings plan and yourself first

2. Audit your expenses

3. Rely on yourself

4. Mitigate your liabilities

5. Set ‘Why’ goals

6. Don’t try to Time the Market

7. Do give yourself time

8. Ask yourself the hard questions

9. Ask Yourself the hardest question:

Ask a question. Get a quote. Talk, chat, email – your choice

Questions? Want a quote or consultation?

Related Articles

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Critical Illness Insurance Can Help You Avoid Financial Ruin

How to Invest in Volatile Times

Who we are

What we do

How to reach us

Johannes Heikkila

Robert Cunningham

Romain Camillo

Nancy Dao

Hunter Deems

Patrik Shore

Geoffrey Mann

Nhu Nguyen

Ian Comandao

Craig McAvinue

Quinn Miller

Quinn Miller

9 Tips to Kickstart Your Investment Savings Plan

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to do a better job managing personal finances:

1. Be greedy, prioritize your savings plan and yourself first

2. Audit your expenses

3. Rely on yourself

4. Mitigate your liabilities

5. Set ‘Why’ goals

6. Don’t try to Time the Market

7. Do give yourself time

8. Ask yourself the hard questions

9. Ask Yourself the hardest question:

Ask a question. Get a quote. Talk, chat, email – your choice

Questions? Want a quote or consultation?

Related Articles

Retirement Savings Plans for Expats

Top 6 Reasons to Get Life Insurance

Critical Illness Insurance Can Help You Avoid Financial Ruin

How to Invest in Volatile Times

Who we are

What we do

How to reach us

Johannes Heikkila

Robert Cunningham

Romain Camillo

Nancy Dao

Hunter Deems

Patrik Shore

Geoffrey Mann

Nhu Nguyen

Ian Comandao

Craig McAvinue

Quinn Miller

Quinn Miller

9 Tips to Kickstart
Your Investment
Savings Plan