Retail services executive Low Jia Xin witnessed how exhausting it was for her mother to raise her and her older sister.

Their mum was 40 when she gave birth to Ms Low, now 23. She said: "Because she had us late, she had less energy to bring us up. She managed her career and family simultaneously at an older age. She also retired later so we could be financially secure."

Ms Low's experience convinced her to settle down and have kids earlier. She plans to marry her 26-year-old civil servant boyfriend, Mr Lee Han Sheng, within the next two years and have her first child by 28. She is hoping to have two children.

"This is so that I can have more energy for them," said Ms Low.

The couple met as students at the National University of Singapore during a youth expedition project to Vietnam in December 2008. The team of volunteers spent two weeks there, teaching English and painting a school.

But their decision to move on to the next stage of life earlier than their peers was not an easy one. "People don't understand why we have to be so careful with money. It's because we need money for our house," Ms Low said.

Their $558,000 build-to-order flat in Ang Mo Kio is scheduled to be ready by 2018. After they get married, the couple plan to stay with either of their parents first.

But Ms Low feels it will be worth it, as family are "the people who matter most".

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