How to spend a monthly salary of 60,000 wisely? A salary allocation chart that helps you save your first pot of gold in 3 years

Is your salary being allocated to the right places? According to the latest data, the average monthly salary for Taiwanese office workers in 2025 is about NT$62,000, but the median is only NT$52,000 (meaning half of the people earn less). This gap reflects the harsh reality of income distribution. Even more cruelly, many people earning NT$60,000 a month still can’t save money. What’s the difference? The answer is simple—whether or not you know how to allocate your salary.

A Real Case of a 28-Year-Old Office Worker

Xiaomei, who lives in Taipei, earns NT$60,000 a month. Her initial dilemma was: every month, her paycheck would arrive, and it would be almost gone in no time. Later, she decided to change her approach by implementing a systematic salary allocation method, and after three years, she had accumulated nearly NT$1,000,000. This method isn’t complicated at all; the key is discipline in execution.

Divide NT$6,000 Monthly Salary into Five Parts, Each with a Purpose

Rather than spending aimlessly, it’s better to clearly allocate your salary into five uses:

Emergency Fund (10%, NT$6,000)—This is not small change. Xiaomei saves NT$6,000 each month with the goal of covering six months of living expenses (about NT$150,000). This money is for unexpected events; if she loses her job, she can sustain herself for half a year, giving her peace of mind.

Daily Expenses (40%, NT$24,000)—Rent, food, transportation, social activities—all fall under this budget. These are the major expenses, but having a cap helps prevent overspending.

Investments and Wealth Building (35%, NT$21,000)—This is the most critical part. Many people don’t allocate one-third of their salary to investments, which is why they remain poor after ten years.

Insurance and Protection (10%, NT$6,000)—Medical insurance, accident insurance, labor and health insurance. Don’t wait until something happens to regret it.

Self-Improvement (5%, NT$3,000)—Books, online courses, certifications. The returns on this investment are often the highest because it can help you get a salary raise.

How to Effectively Allocate NT$21,000 for Investment?

This is the key to gradually building wealth. It requires layered allocation:

Stable Foundation Layer (60%, NT$12,600)

Put the majority of your funds into relatively stable financial instruments. Taiwan stock ETFs are the first choice—for example, Yuanta Taiwan 50 (tracks the market), Cathay S&P Dividend ETF (regular dividends). If you’re not confident in the stock market, bank fixed deposits also offer decent interest rates. These 60% will automatically help you accumulate a substantial asset over three years.

Growth Satellite Layer (30%, NT$6,300)

Here, you can buy some solid fundamental stocks, but not randomly. TSMC (2330), MediaTek (2454) as tech giants, investing NT$2,000 monthly each; financial stocks like Mega Financial (2886), E.SUN Bank (2834), NT$2,300 monthly, to hedge market volatility and ensure steady dividends. This 30% provides growth potential.

Opportunity Trial Layer (10%, NT$2,100)

Cryptocurrencies, precious metals, forex—these volatile, high-risk assets should only be allocated a small portion of your funds. The 10% cap is important because, for most people, these should not be tools for getting rich but rather auxiliary investments.

Common Mistakes in Investing

Never allocate more than 15% of your total investment to a single stock—even if you are very optimistic about a stock, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Stick to your plan during market dips—dollar-cost averaging means buying more when prices are low and less when high, helping to average out costs. Many people stop investing during downturns, which is the biggest mistake.

Don’t expect to get rich overnight—through rational salary allocation and disciplined investing, you can see results in 3 years, with significant outcomes in 10. But if you keep dreaming of doubling your wealth overnight, you’ll likely end up losing everything.

Markets carry risks, but the risk of not investing is greater—because inflation is quietly eroding your purchasing power. Instead of letting your salary depreciate, let it grow gradually through reasonable allocation and investment.