Abstract - Financial Independence : Where is the gap?

Different people have different ideas of what it means to be financially independent. But ultimately, it means having confidence that you can live comfortably relying on your own ability. Achieving financial independence requires sufficient assets, basic finance knowledge, the discipline to live within our means and to stay healthy.

There are three aspects of money; namely, income (getting money), budgeting (keeping money) and investing (growing your money). To achieve our financial goals, we should have some basic finance knowledge so that we can manage all three aspects. A recent survey of Singapore investors by an insurance company showed that the majority of those surveyed want to achieve financial independence, but only 11% said they can afford a comfortable lifestyle at retirement. The survey also showed that Singaporeans are good savers, holding high levels of personal income in cash. But they are less confident about investing due to a lack of understanding of options available and concern about making the wrong decision.

Hence, having basic finance knowledge is a necessary but not sufficient condition for financial independence. Knowledge about finance will help us to make the right choices and plan for a better financial future, but it will not teach us how to cope with unexpected setbacks and emergencies. We need to build safety nets and develop a network of friends and family who will help us through any crisis. We also need to understand ourselves so that we can exercise fiscal discipline and take some calculated risks.

About the Speaker - Lee Yuit Chieng