What lies ahead of us all?

I took a walk down the city today to get some groceries and to spend some me-time alone. Along the way, I was doing so much thinking I thought I'd just write them down somewhere.

I have always wondered, how people who get married in their early 20s ever get enough money to start their own families, get their own house, finance their living expenses, feed their parents AND children etc. & today, I happened to see this young couple pushing a pram with lots of groceries that suddenly hit me.

It is either they are very rich, or that they have lots of loans/debts waiting to be cleared up. I am now going 22 years old, and if I were to get married 6 years down the road, how much do I actually need? How about my future husband-to-be? Will he be earning enough to cover our expenses and all? How much do I actually have to save now to consider it "enough" for my own future?

You know, a wedding ain't cheap. And an office job can most likely only get me max $3k a month for the first few years. That's make it $36k a year, IF I managed to get such a good starting pay. What if I don't?

Do people our age actually save? How much of your pocket money or part-time salary do you save up? Or spend? Do you actually spend whatever you have, or keep some money that is very minimal, or keep majority of your money stacked away in the bank?

In a few years' time, I'd have to get my own place if I were to ever get married. And a standard HDB costs like $300-400k (*edited) if I'm not wrong. Where am I ever gonna get that sum of money to pay for the flat? What if I grew sick of the flat after a while and want to move out? And if I need a car, would I still depend on my parents for it, or do I have to get one with my own money?

Sometimes you wish that you don't ever have to grow up to deal with all these financial matters. But you have to. There are actually tons to plan for when you grow up, or hit the work force. You'll have to provide for your parents, give monthly household allowance, pay for your own transport, food, groceries, shopping, handphone bills (if you're still not paying for them), red packets for your parents when you get your end-of-year bonus or during Chinese New Year. If you're a guy, too bad for you, but you have to also pay for your wife's shopping in future, wedding expenses that can amount to tens of thousands (or more?), provide for your kids, your own parents, your monthly house rentals or installment payment for your car, electrical appliances, house, your kids' education, clothes, food and so on and on.

Where to find all these money?

Sigh, this is just part of growing up I guess. This is just a small part of what we're going to deal with in future. & I'm typing this to remind myself of what lies ahead of me, and prolly to the rest of you too.

But if the year 2012 thing is really gonna happen, I'm just gonna book a trip to the US and chiong all outlet shopping. #justsaying

Gotta run back to cooking my dinner, and studying afterwards. :>