Your 20’s is a pivotal time to start setting up for your financial future. You’re just starting out in your career and making your first salary, so taking time to set savings goals in your 20s is key. But where do you start? What do you save for? How much do you need to save?

We’ve provided 5 savings goals to set in your 20s so you can start preparing for a financially-sound future.

1. Emergency fund

About 43% of Malaysians spend all or more than they earn. Even more worrying is that a significant portion of Malaysians is barely able to survive on their savings for more than 3 months.

As early as your first salary, your very first goal should be saving for an emergency fund you can easily access.

During an emergency, the last thing you want to do is take up a personal loan or put it down on credit. You can potentially lose more money as a result of accruing interest rates in the long run.

Have a 3-month emergency fund

Emergencies are often unpredictable, so it’s good to have backup funds that can last you at least 3 months without an income.

Having an emergency fund gives you a headstart

Surveys have shown that even a large number of high-income earners barely even save 10% of their income. So even if you earn less than RM5,000 monthly, saving RM100 every month already puts you financially ahead of most.

2. Investment fund

After you’re ready to weather any rainy day, you should be looking to start saving for an investment fund.

The objective of investing is to generate more money and this often comes in the form of dividends, interest payments, sales or capital appreciation.

How much do you need to invest?

Whether it’s in fixed deposits, bonds, stocks, property or businesses, you need a good amount of capital to start investing.

How much you need depends on:

• You income
• Your risk tolerance
• How long you wish to invest
• Your monthly commitment to investments

Check out this list of easy and simple investment options you can start with (newbie friendly) from as low as RM1 to RM1000.

3. A business

Apart from generating your own income, owning a business further down in your career can provide you with some tax benefits, job security and financial independence.

Perhaps you may not yet have an idea for a business; nevertheless, you should start saving as early on in your 20’s as possible. So when you, or someone you know, does have a plan in the future, you will already have the funds ready to jumpstart your business.

4. Your personal development

Learning new skills and improving your knowledge opens opportunities for you to earn profitable side-incomes. On the other hand, job demands constantly change and you might find that your skills now may not be in demand in the future.

So to stay ahead of the curve, keep your skills up-to-date by taking up courses and learning new skills.

How much should you save?

It’s difficult to definitively say how much you should save for personal development. A lot of certifiable courses may cost a fair bit depending what you wish to learn.

Here are some examples of what you can save for:

• A degree
  Can cost anywhere between RM40,000-RM80,000
• Online courses
  Varies. Some online courses are free while others may cost RM100-800 for an official certificate.
• Skill-based workshops
  Varies. Coding camps, cooking classes or professional photography workshops can range anywhere between RM200-RM2000.

5. Family

Whether it’s for your parents, marriage or your children, your 20’s is a good time to start saving up funds for your (future) family.

When the time comes, you want to avoid taking up loans as much as possible. Typically, you would have to take up payment options for wedding packages or your child’s education if you don’t have down-payments at the ready.

With a family fund, you stand to save a lot in the way of interest payments and unforeseen family expenses if you’ve started saving early in your 20’s.

Having savings goals to set in your 20s and sticking to them can help your tremendously as life is full of uncertainties. Staying focused and on course can help cushion the impact of the unknowns.

Start saving for all your savings goals in one app

Wouldn’t it be great if you can set up all the goals you want to save for and manage them all in one place?

Good news! With HelloGold SmartSaver, you can.

SmartSaver is a monthly savings plan designed to automatically save for all your goals from as low as RM30 a month. All you have to do is:

• Choose what you want to save for
• How much you want to save monthly
• HelloGold SmartSaver will do the rest!

No need for multiple bank accounts

Forget opening multiple bank accounts for all your separate savings goals. SmartSaver allows you to set up multiple monthly savings plans, with a wide list of goals to choose from:

• Wedding
• Vacation
• Parents
• Car
• Home
• Emergency fund
• And much more!

Find out more about SmartSaver here to get started on all your savings goals today.

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