At 25, I was not thinking about investing.
I was thinking about work, friends, weekends, and what to do with my first bonus.
Should I buy that bag? Book a holiday? Finally upgrade my wardrobe?
I bought the bag.
At the time, it felt perfectly normal. I had just started working and was finding my feet in the real world. Investing was not something I had rejected. It simply was not on my radar.
That is what I would tell my younger self first: pay attention earlier.
Not because she needed to find the perfect stock, but because investing is not about one perfect decision. It is about learning how money works over time, and giving it enough time to work.
The SPDR Straits Times Index ETF (SGX: ES3) could have shown me that broad, simple investing is a valid starting point. DBS Group (SGX: D05) could have introduced me to dividends, cash flow, and discipline. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) could have taught me about growth, reinvestment, volatility, and patience.
Different investments teach different lessons. But the basic idea is the same: money needs time to work.
At 25, the most valuable thing I had was not a large salary or deep investing knowledge.
It was time.
Start before you feel ready
The question many young investors ask is: “Which stock should I buy?”
I would reframe that entirely.
The better question is: “What role should this investment play in my portfolio?”
At 25, I thought I needed to know more before I could start. Looking back, I had it the wrong way around. I needed to start small, pay attention, and learn as I went along.
Young investors often wait because they think they need a large sum to begin. I understand that instinct. When you are just starting work, every dollar already has a job: bills, savings goals, holidays, meals out, and the small pleasures that make life enjoyable.
But investing at 25 is not about making one grand move.
It is about starting the habit.
A modest amount invested regularly may not feel impressive at first. But it gives compounding something to work with and teaches you to treat investing as part of normal life.
Learn how different investments compound
This is where real investing education begins.
Over the past 10 years, DBS delivered a total price change of 335.4%, or a compound annual growth rate of 15.8%. This reflects share price appreciation only and excludes dividends.
That detail matters. For a dividend-paying company, share price alone does not tell the full story.
The STI tells a more “boring” story. A S$10,000 investment 10 years ago would have grown to around S$25,910, a total return of 159.1%, or a CAGR of 10.0%.
No stock-picking involved. Just broad exposure to Singapore’s largest listed companies.
Amazon on the other hand, delivered a total price change of 653.6% over the same period, or a CAGR of 22.4%. It is a very different example: a company that reinvested heavily for growth and required investors to sit through discomfort along the way.
The comparison is not meant to crown a winner.
It shows something more useful: different investments compound in different ways.
Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. But the lesson remains useful. Some investments give you broad exposure. Some reward shareholders through dividends and cash flow. Others reinvest aggressively for future growth.
Let compounding do its work
At 25, dividends can feel almost too small to matter, while growth stocks can feel exciting only when they are rising. Both reactions are understandable, but both can work against you.
A dividend from DBS or from the Straits Times Index ETF can either be spent or reinvested. Reinvesting may not feel exciting in that moment, but it keeps your money working.
Amazon offers a different lesson: growth companies can be uncomfortable to hold when share prices fall and headlines turn negative. That is why patience matters. If you understand what you own, volatility becomes something to assess, not automatically something to fear.
The advice I wish I had received
If I could speak to my 25-year-old self, I would not tell her to become a stock market expert overnight.
I would tell her to start earlier. Start small. Learn the difference between an ETF, a dividend-paying business, and a growth company. Reinvest instead of spending every return. Build a system she can stick with.
The investors who build lasting wealth are not always the cleverest ones.
They are often the ones who keep showing up, quietly and consistently, year after year.
If you are 25 and reading this, you have something powerful on your side.
Time.
So use it before life gets even busier.
This could be the fastest way to jump from a “newbie” investor to a seasoned pro. Our beginner’s guide shows everything you need to know to buy your first stock and beyond. Click here to download it for free today.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!
Disclosure: Joanna Sng owns shares of all the companies mentioned.
