4-3-2-1 Approach to Financial Freedom (2024)

I speak to clients on a daily basis regarding management of their wealth. One common trend I observe is many people aspire to reach financial freedom at some point in their lives, but most are clueless how to get there. Financial freedom is the point in your life when your work becomes an option rather than a means of survival.

In this article, I outline some broad strategies on how you can get started along this journey towards financial freedom.

The 4-3-2-1 Approach

One simple rule of thumb I tend to adopt is going by the 4-3-2-1 ratios to budgeting. This ratio allocates 40% of your income towards expenses, 30% towards housing, 20% towards savings and investments and 10% towards insurance. While this is by no means a hard fixed rule, it is a useful guide to ensure you are not over-allocating resources towards any one single area while neglecting the rest.

For a young person who has yet to acquire the first property, the 30% for housing can be channeled towards savings and investments or set aside for the eventual down payment or renovation of the house. A person with fewer liabilities or dependents may choose to allocate less towards insurance and more towards savings and investments so they can achieve financial freedom at an earlier age. Allocating 40% of income towards personal expenses is usually comfortable for most without compromising on lifestyle consumption.

Insurance as the foundation

In the overall wealth management strategy, insurance forms the foundation of the financial portfolio. In the event of a major illness or accident, insurance serves as a buffer to prevent your wealth from being wiped out in a single catastrophic event. For hospitalisation and surgical coverage, it is a good idea to explore integrated shield plans offered by private insurers to supplement your basic Medishield Life. These generally offer a more comprehensive cover and provide more options when it comes to treatment.

In terms of life insurance, I tend to recommend between five to ten years of annual income worth of coverage as a guide. This will usually cover you for critical illness, total permanent disability and death. In the event of critical illness, the payout from the critical illness cover will make up for expenses not covered by your hospitalisation and surgical plans while replacing your loss income when you recuperate. In the unfortunate event of death, the death benefit will be paid out to your beneficiaries to take care of your dependents.

This insurance portfolio can be supplemented by accident cover, disability income and early stage critical illness to provide a more comprehensive insurance portfolio. By structuring the portfolio with a mixture of whole life, term or investment-linked policies, most people should have no issues fitting their insurance portfolio into 10% of income.

Generating passive income through savings and investments

For someone who starts out relatively young, allocating 20% of income towards savings and investments is a good starting point to work towards financial freedom. After setting up an emergency fund of about 3 to 6 months of your income, this portion of your income should be channeled towards instruments such as stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs), unit trusts or endowments to make your funds work harder for you.If you have yet to purchase your first property, it is a good idea to channel the additional 30% from housing into savings and investments. This gives you a head start in terms of accumulating and compounding your wealth.

One of the common issues I face with regard to investment planning is people tend to invest without an idea what they are investing for. This is a concern because there is no time frame and estimation on the amount they are trying to accumulate. There is no way to identify if they are on track towards what they are working for. One key step I try to do is to work out with clients exactly when do they intend to reach financial freedom and how much funds are needed.

Financial Freedom for the Next Generation

If the earlier steps are done right, most people should have more than what they require in their life time at some point. This is when they should look into how their assets are distributed when they are gone. Estate and legacy planning tends to be an after-thought for many people. The common approach tends to be whatever is not spent will be left behind for the next generation. Singaporeans also tend to favour property or real estate as an asset class. What many fail to realise is your best investment can very often be your worst estate plan. In particular, property can be tricky if not handled properly.

For example, in handing down a property with an outstanding loan, one potential issue is if the beneficiaries are unable to take up the loan. They may be left with no choice but to sell the property which may not be the intention of the giver. They may also be exposed to market risks if market conditions are not favourable. Having a well thought out estate plan will go a long way towards mitigating these issues and assisting your next generation to reach financial freedom earlier in their lives.

While I have outlined some broad strokes in managing your wealth and working towards financial freedom, it is important to recognise every individual may have unique circ*mstances which may require different approaches. For specific advice on how to better manage your wealth, do consult a qualified financial adviser to assess your current financial situation.

4-3-2-1 Approach to Financial Freedom (2024)

FAQs

4-3-2-1 Approach to Financial Freedom? ›

This ratio allocates 40% of your income towards expenses, 30% towards housing, 20% towards savings and investments and 10% towards insurance.

What is the 4-3-2-1 approach? ›

This technique asks you to find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Using this with someone who feels anxious will help to calm them down and reduce their feelings of anxiety.

What is the 4-3-2-1 rule in real estate? ›

4-3-2-1 rule

The front quarter of the standard site receives 40% of the total value. The second quarter receives 30% of the total value. The third quarter receives 20% of the total value; and the rear quarter receives just 10% of the total value.

What is the 3 2 1 rule in finance? ›

Here's what the 3-2-1 backup rule involves: 3: Create one primary backup and two copies of your data. 2: Save your backups to two different types of media. 1: Keep at least one backup file offsite.

What is the 40 30 20 10 rule? ›

40% of your time should be devoted to your most important priority. 30% of your time should be devoted to your second priority. 20% of your time should be devoted to your third priority. 10% of your time should be devoted to everything else (urgent and obligatory tasks).

What is the 5 4 3-2-1 learning strategy? ›

This technique asks you to find five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. Using this with someone who feels anxious will help to calm them down and reduce their feelings of anxiety.

What is the 5 4 3-2-1 reading strategy? ›

5-4-3-2-1 can be used when first introducing the skill of summarising. The idea is to give students a chance to pick out some key ideas, tap into their prior knowledge, focus on information they find interesting and then pose a question that can reveal where their understanding is still uncertain.

What is the 80% rule in real estate? ›

The 80% rule means that an insurer will only fully cover the cost of damage to a house if the owner has purchased insurance coverage equal to at least 80% of the house's total replacement value.

Is the 1% rule in real estate realistic? ›

The 1% rule is a good prescreening tool. It works well as a guide for determining a good investment from a bad one and narrowing down your choices of properties. As you review listings, apply the 1% rule to the listing price and then see if what you get is close to the median rent for the area.

What does 4 3 2 mean in real estate? ›

What Do These Abbreviations Mean in Real Estate?
AbbreviationDefinition
2/12 Bedrooms / 1 Bathrooms
4/34 Bedrooms / 3 Bathrooms
3/4 BATHToilet + Sink + Shower or Tub
4/3/24 Bedroom / 3 Bath / 2 Car Garage
220 more rows
Feb 18, 2013

What is the 10 5 3 rule in finance? ›

The 10, 5, 3 rule. This is the expected long-term return from equities 10%, bonds 5%, and cash 3%. It hasn't quite worked out like that since 2008, but it's a long term view over 20 years. It can be combined with the rule of 72, so we can see how long it takes for each asset class to approximately double in value.

What is the 7% rule finance? ›

To determine how much you'll need to save for retirement using the 7 percent rule, divide your desired annual retirement income by 0.07. For example, if you want to have $70,000 per year during retirement, you'll need to save $1,000,000 ($70,000 ÷ 0.07).

What is the finance rule 50 30 20? ›

The 50/30/20 rule is a budgeting technique that involves dividing your money into three primary categories based on your after-tax income (i.e., your take-home pay): 50% to needs, 30% to wants and 20% to savings and debt payments.

What is the 70 20 10 rule money? ›

Applying around 70% of your take-home pay to needs, letting around 20% go to wants, and aiming to save only 10% are simply more realistic goals to shoot for right now.

Is the 50 30 20 rule realistic? ›

The 50/30/20 Rule can be a good budgeting method for some, but whether the system is right for you will be determined by your unique monthly expenses. Depending on your income and where you live, earmarking 50% of your income toward your needs may not be enough.

What is the 70 20 10 rule? ›

The 70-20-10 rule holds that: 70 percent of your after-tax income should go toward basic monthly expenses like housing, utilities, food, transportation, and personal living expenses; 20 percent should be saved or put into investments, leaving 10 percent for debt repayment.

What is the 2 1 4 strategy? ›

Can You Guess My 2-1-4? is a teaching strategy that allows students to develop some background knowledge before beginning a unit of study. Students are provided with two facts, one clue, and four pictures related to upcoming content and analyze the pieces to make predictions.

What is the 5 3 1 instructional strategy? ›

5-3-1 (alone, pair, group) Pose a question/topic. Students brainstorm 5 answers. Then they work in a pair to come up with the 3 best. Then the pair joins with another pair to come up with the 1 most important.

What is 5 3 1 strategy? ›

5/3/1 works on a 3-week cycle. Each week, you lift a heavier weight for fewer reps in your main lifts. So in week 1, you use sets of 5 reps, in week 2 you lift sets of 3 reps, and in week 3 you use 5's and 3's to build towards a heavy single. All of which combined give the programme its name - 5/3/1.

What is the 3-2-1 summary strategy example? ›

You could also use the 3-2-1 structure to help students identify main ideas from supporting information. For example, you could ask students to record three of the most important ideas from the lesson or text, two supporting details for each of these ideas, and one question they have about each of these ideas.

What is the 3-2-1 reflection strategy? ›

When reading, have students record three of the most important ideas from the text, two supporting details for each of the ideas, and one question they have about each of the ideas.

What is 1 3 6 teaching strategy? ›

Kevin Sevin: 1-3-6 protocol for the Common Instructional Framework is 1, you're working individual, 3, you're working in a group of three and in the 6 is where you get two groups of 3s to combine for a 6.

What is the 20% rule in stock? ›

In investing, the 80-20 rule generally holds that 20% of the holdings in a portfolio are responsible for 80% of the portfolio's growth. On the flip side, 20% of a portfolio's holdings could be responsible for 80% of its losses.

What is the 50% rule in real estate investing? ›

The 50% rule in real estate says that investors should expect a property's operating expenses to be roughly 50% of its gross income. This is useful for estimating potential cash flow from a rental property, but it's not always foolproof.

What is the 10% rule in real estate? ›

A good rule is that a 1% increase in interest rates will equal 10% less you are able to borrow but still keep your same monthly payment. It's said that when interest rates climb, every 1% increase in rate will decrease your buying power by 10%. The higher the interest rate, the higher your monthly payment.

What is the 100 10 3 1 rule? ›

Many real estate investors subscribe to the “100:10:3:1 rule” (or some variation of it): An investor must look at 100 properties to find 10 potential deals that can be profitable. From these 10 potential deals an investor will submit offers on 3. Of the 3 offers submitted, 1 will be accepted.

What is the Brrrr method? ›

The BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) Method is a real estate investment approach that involves flipping a distressed property, renting it out and then getting a cash-out refinance on it to fund further rental property investments.

What is a good ROI in real estate? ›

A “good” ROI is highly subjective because it largely depends on how risk-tolerant a particular investor is. But as a rule of thumb, most real estate investors aim for ROIs above 10%.

What is the 5 2 rule in real estate? ›

When selling a primary residence property, capital gains from the sale can be deducted from the seller's owed taxes if the seller has lived in the property themselves for at least 2 of the previous 5 years leading up to the sale. That is the 2-out-of-5-years rule, in short.

What is the 3x rule for buying house? ›

If less than 20% of your income goes to pay down debt, a home that is around 4 times your income may be suitable. If more than 20% of your monthly income goes to pay down existing debts in the household, dial the purchase price to 3 times.

What property allows you to compute 1 2 6 4 3 as 1 3 6 4 3? ›

therefore associative property is used.

What is the 3 6 9 rule finance? ›

Those general saving targets are often called the “3-6-9 rule”: savings of 3, 6, or 9 months of take-home pay. Here are some guidelines to help you decide what total savings fits your needs.

What is Rule 72 and rule 69 in financial management? ›

As the continuous compounding decrease to become normal compounding, we shift from rule 69 to rule 72. It can be said that the time required to make the investment double is inversely proportionate to the interest rate, so if the interest rate is increased, then there will be less time required to make it double.

What is Rule 72 in finance? ›

What is the Rule of 72? The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double. In this case, 18 years.

What is the 42 rule finance? ›

The so-called Rule of 42 is one example of a philosophy that focuses on a large distribution of holdings, calling for a portfolio to include at least 42 choices while owning only a small amount of most of those choices.

What is the 60% rule finance? ›

According to this rule, 60% of an employee's income should be saved or invested. 30% should be allocated to necessities such as housing, food, and transportation. And the remaining 10% should be allocated to personal expenses such as entertainment, clothing, and hobbies.

What is the 120 rule finance? ›

The 120-age investment rule states that a healthy investing approach means subtracting your age from 120 and using the result as the percentage of your investment dollars in stocks and other equity investments.

What is the 50 15 5 rule? ›

50 - Consider allocating no more than 50 percent of take-home pay to essential expenses. 15 - Try to save 15 percent of pretax income (including employer contributions) for retirement. 5 - Save for the unexpected by keeping 5 percent of take-home pay in short-term savings for unplanned expenses.

What is the 300 rule in finance? ›

For this calculation, you take your current monthly expenses and multiply that amount by 300. The resulting amount is an estimate of how much you may need to have saved to keep living the lifestyle you currently lead when you're retired.

What is the 75 25 rule finance? ›

"the investor should never have less than 25% or more than 75% of his funds in common stocks."

What is the #1 rule of budgeting? ›

Key Takeaways. The rule states that you should spend up to 50% of your after-tax income on needs and obligations that you must-have or must-do. The remaining half should be split up between 20% savings and debt repayment and 30% to everything else that you might want.

What are the 3 rules of money? ›

The 3 Laws of Money Management
  • The Law of Ten Cents. This one is simple. Take ten cents of every dollar you earn or receive and put it away. ...
  • The Law of Organization. How much money do you have in your checking account? ...
  • The Law of Enjoying the Wait. It's widely accepted that good things come to those who wait.

What is the 75 15 10 budget rule? ›

The 75/15/10 Rule: This rule means that from all of your income, 75% goes towards spending, 15% goes towards investments, and 10% goes to savings. This rule helps reinforce investing as a priority every time you get your paycheck.

Can you live off $1,000 a month after bills? ›

Bottom Line. Living on $1,000 per month is a challenge. From the high costs of housing, transportation and food, plus trying to keep your bills to a minimum, it would be difficult for anyone living alone to make this work. But with some creativity, roommates and strategy, you might be able to pull it off.

What is the 40 40 20 budget rule? ›

It goes like this: 40% of income should go towards necessities (such as rent/mortgage, utilities, and groceries) 30% should go towards discretionary spending (such as dining out, entertainment, and shopping) - Hubble Spending Money Account is just for this. 20% should go towards savings or paying off debt.

What is a 60 40 budget? ›

60/40. Allocate 60% of your income for fixed expenses like your rent or mortgage and 40% for variable expenses like groceries, entertainment and travel.

What is the 70 30 budget? ›

In doing so, they miss out on the number one key to success in investing: TIME. The 70/30 Rule is simple: Live on 70% of your income, save 20%, and give 10% to your Church, or favorite charity. This has many benefits in addition to saving 20% of your income.

What is the 20 10 10 rule? ›

It says your total debt shouldn't equal more than 20% of your annual income, and that your monthly debt payments shouldn't be more than 10% of your monthly income. While the 20/10 rule can be a useful way to make conscious decisions about borrowing, it's not necessarily a useful approach to debt for everyone.

What is the 10 spending rule? ›

For every bump in pay, bonus, or unexpected money that you receive: 10% of the money goes towards lifestyle creep and the other 90% goes towards building wealth.

What is the 3 2 1 engagement strategy? ›

When reading, have students record three of the most important ideas from the text, two supporting details for each of the ideas, and one question they have about each of the ideas.

What is the 4's approach in teaching? ›

Choose a topic that you want the children in your class to learn and apply the 4-A's of activating prior knowledge, acquiring new knowledge, applying the knowledge, and assessing the knowledge.

What is 5 3 1 teaching strategy? ›

5-3-1 (alone, pair, group) Pose a question/topic. Students brainstorm 5 answers. Then they work in a pair to come up with the 3 best. Then the pair joins with another pair to come up with the 1 most important.

What is 4as strategy? ›

We refer to them as the 4 A's: Alignment, Ability, Architecture and Agility. The 4A framework can help you see your business through the lens of execution requirements and how it can serve as a platform for engaging others in important discussions to prioritize action and intervention.

What is the 3 2 1 rule on Linkedin? ›

Follow the 3-2-1 formula: It's a good rule for finding the right balance with your content mix. The 3-2-1 model calls for a weekly breakdown of three pieces of industry-related content, two pieces of “proud” content (positivity for your employees or community), and one piece promoting your brand or solutions.

What is 4 4 1 1 strategy? ›

This rule says that for every six posts you create on your social media channels, four posts should entertain or educate, one post should be a “soft sell” and one post should be a “hard sell.” Let's take a closer look at how you might use the 4-1-1 rule.

What are the 4S in team based learning? ›

The 4S's stand for Significant Problems, Same Problem, Specific Choice, and Simultaneous Report. The bulk of class time is spent having student teams solve, report, and discuss solutions to significant problems.

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