Stagnant or progress?

A friend and I met up for brunch yesterday (we went to the same Uni), towards the end of the meal she suddenly broke the new to me that she'll be moving two months later. The reason being she has become a proud home owner right now, the flat's ownership is under her name, but her bf and her split the down payment (10%) and the monthly mortgage.

Now I'd like to pause and take sometime to absorb the shock. Truly there had been friends who had got married and moved out a few years ago, some did so this year (though I didn't really ask them how they managed their housing problem, but this will always be of interest). The reason that this particular friend resonates with me so much is because: 1) she's literally has the same age and same birthday with me; 2) although we haven't known each other for long, we have common interests and always honest and open with our thoughts about nearly everything. 

She told me apart from the split half down payment of a certain amount, the brokerage, utilities surveying and solicitor fee that incurred, she was still able to have a decent amount of asset put away for "long-term investment" meaning bonds, funds and US stocks. WHOA. This causes big shock to me because not only she earns less than what I make (no offense), but she's definitely had more savings than I do. This instantly put me to shame to no end. I really hate my former "spendy" self. Where had the money gone? What could I have done to the amount of money instead of spending? I would have been a proud home owner right now.

She also mentioned that during the past 6 months she and her bf had been looking at flats mainly based on their budgeted amount, which a little over 3M. At the end they settled in a pre-furnished flat, it's not first-hand kinda new but it's been lightly lived by a couple to which the 1 bedroom seems a bit tiny for their future plans. So no need to touch-ups on the interior furnishing, certain electrical appliances and furniture will even be included. She also mentioned that the price stability (such that when it sells, they'll earn a profit), transport, ability to rent out afterwards (when they move to a new house with kids in mind), a pre-furnished interior, school network nearby, good construction material (depends on the builder), tranquility. They've looked at various districts (narrowed down by budget) but of course some apartments don't turn out the way they expected: lots of unusable spaces, etc.

I of course, asked her why the quick dive into the hot housing market out there right now, since the prices atm is insanely high, she said she bought the flat half a year ago when the price was still manageable. I then said, maybe the prices will drop later to a level even less than the cost she bought it for? She said 1) she thinks this flat is a steal with furnishings and such price; 2) she hasn't thought about the probable price drop but; 3) she wasn't too concerned since she would most probably rent it out later and 4) she is quite confident that the price will return to at least the price they bought it for. Well, let's see.

This is yet another wake-up call to where I am now = am falling short behind in terms of savings and FQ (Financial Quotient). Time to catch up, PJ.

- PJ