Since his polytechnic days, @saphyre_53 has been quietly mastering the art of personal finance from tracking his spending in Google Sheets to growing his investments while juggling studies and part-time tutoring. He is on a disciplined journey toward financial independence, with a clear FIRE target of $2 million in sight.
In this interview, we unpack his early money habits, the lessons he’s learned refining his investment strategy, and how he’s turning knowledge into impact through his Instagram content.
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Q1: Could you start by sharing a bit about yourself and what first sparked your interest in money and saving at such a young age?
I grew up in a very low-income family. My family needed to rely on government payouts to survive day to day, and when I was in primary school, I was under the financial assistant scheme.
I remember when I received money from my parents, I would hide it away from my parents because I want to store this money without my parents taking it away from me.
So I wouldn’t say it started from an interest in saving, but rather an innate habit built from fear.
Q2: What made you decide to start investing, and how did you take your very first steps into it?
I first learned about investing when I was 19 years old, during the GameStop fiasco. That was when I started learning about concepts like the S&P 500 and DCA.
But because of my innate fear of letting go of control, I didn’t actually invest any money then.
Fast forward to age 22, a friend of mine who’s a financial advisor re-introduced me to investing. He pitched me an investment product, but I thought to myself, “Why can’t I do the same on my own?”
So, I told myself that I was willing to lose $500 and invested it through Moomoo.
When I got comfortable with the idea of surrendering control of my money to the market, I went headfirst into investing.
Q3: You’ve been tracking your finances with Google Sheets since your poly years! What drew you to this method, and how has it evolved over time?
I remembered in 2020, I watched a video on the ideal method to track the spread of Covid-19, and they talked about plotting the number of infections in a logistic graph instead of a linear one.
When I looked online, I couldn’t find one that uses a logistic graph, so I decided to make my own and plot it in excel. Everyday, I would check the news and log the number of infections. This got me into the habit of daily tracking.
In 2022 (around the GameStop period), I decided to log my monthly expenses on google sheets. Now, I use google sheets for monthly reviews, and Notion for daily expense logging.
Q4: As a student and part-time tutor, how do you balance studies, work, and still stay committed to building your finances?
I’m a very detail-oriented person.
The amount of planning I put into my finances is the same amount I put into my timetable XD.
My calendar is filled with events and to-dos, and I always make time for studying, working, resting, and spending time with God.
Q5: What core principles or money rules guide the way you invest and manage your finances today?
I have this one quote from the bible at the top of my Notion board which says: “Money is a tool to glorify God’s name” which is my personal reflection of the following bible verse: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops (Proverbs 3:9)”
This verse speaks to me because many people think money itself is the root of evil. But through my journey, I realised that money is a reflection of who we are, and where our priorities lie.
For me, I use my knowledge of money to bring my family out of poverty and to glorify God’s name. I keep this quote at the top as a constant reminder to not fall into worldly temptations of greed.
Q6: Looking back, how has your investing strategy evolved since you first started, and what key lessons or mistakes shaped that journey?
“Gambling” with my wealth. When I started investing, I gambled on single stocks like the Quantum Computing sector. To me, I didn’t think much of it, cause I was figuring out how to invest, but I realised that I was hooked on the idea of winning money.
I couldn’t see myself falling into this trap, but thank God, my cell group leader noticed it and called me out.
I realised that I was reckless with money, I fell into the thought of chasing profits and hyper fixating on stock charts instead of God’s word.
This revelation got me on a spiritual journey and after reading the bible, the verse above really struck a chord with me, and it’s the fundamental principle that I obey.
Q7: What types of investments or stocks are you currently focusing on, and why do they fit your strategy?
Currently, I’m still in the process of liquidating my individual stocks.
I currently have 40% in ETFs like VOO, SPYL, QQQM, and SPMO, 48% in Short-Term Bonds, and 12% in individual stocks.
My short-term Bonds are for my school fees and ETFs are for the long-term.
Q8: What inspired you to start your Instagram account, and what do you hope people take away from the content you share?
Finance was such a hush-hush topic for me and my family, that I was ashamed of admitting my family’s financial background.
But when I started to invest, and talked to more people about it, I realised that money is also a topic not often discussed in my generation.
After having a chat with some of my friends and showing them my Google Sheet, they said that it looked super cool, and I should start an IG account to showcase these visualisations.
And after the warm welcome of the finance IG community in Singapore, I felt more motivated to be more transparent about my financial life.
I’m honestly just doing it for fun. I don’t see my content as groundbreaking, but I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned.
Q9: You’ve set a FIRE target of $2M. On a personal level, what kind of life or freedom are you ultimately working toward with that goal?
To me, the $2M goal was an answer to a question that I was asked by a friend: “What would you do if you had $5M transferred to your account right now?”.
And my answer was $3M for myself, $1M for my family, $1M for spending.
Though the context of this question was rather light-hearted, I went back and thought: “Mathematically, what is the number that will make me feel happy”.
To me, this number is just the number that I’ve calculated. I believe that my life would significantly change after I graduate, as my lifestyle will undoubtedly change.
I don’t treat $2M as a fixed goal, but more like a beacon – something to guide me forward.
Q10: In the shorter term, what specific financial and personal milestones are you aiming for in the next few years, and how do you plan to stay disciplined along the way?
The main milestone is definitely graduation.
I’ve been carefully planning how to manage my finances during university and things are tight right now.
I would say my main goal is to graduate with ~$35k invested (DCA), without significant restrictions on my life.
Q11: Finally, what advice would you give to other young Singaporeans who are just starting their personal finance journey?
I think the biggest advice I would give is to find your “enough amount”.
I’ve spoken to some friends who do active trading, and they said that they fall into a similar habit to me, where I don’t know the line between gambling & investing.
For me and him, it is rooted in a fear of being “broke”, and this fear can really consume you as it did us.
It’s important to know when to stop and not to act out of fear, but from clarity and purpose.
We should do things that genuinely bring us joy.
Final Thoughts
A huge thank you to @saphyre_53 for sharing his journey with such discipline and depth. It’s inspiring to see someone so young approach money with long-term vision from tracking his expenses in Google Sheets since poly days to setting his sights on a $2M FIRE goal.
His story is proof that financial independence isn’t about how much you make, but how intentionally you manage, invest, and grow what you have.
Here are three takeaways we loved from this interview:
- Systems build success. Whether it’s a spreadsheet or an investing plan, structure keeps you grounded through every market cycle.
- Start early, refine often. Mistakes are part of growth — what matters is how you learn and adapt.
- FIRE is more than a number. It’s about building a life you don’t need a break from.
Follow @saphyre_53 on Instagram for more insights into his investing journey, spreadsheet strategies, and reflections on achieving financial independence with purpose.
