Stella Lam (“Stella”) recently joins the workforce, and her starting salary is $3,500 per month. The CPF contribution rate (both employer and employee) for her age group is 37%, and this is allocated as follows:

• Ordinary account = 60%

• Medisave account = 22%

• Special account = 18%

The interest rate paid by CPF Board on member’s ordinary account is 2.5% per annum, compounded monthly.

As Stella intends to settle down with her fiancé, she needs to set aside $25,000 in her ordinary account to buy a 4-room HDB apartment.

Calculate how long Stella needs to work in order to afford the HDB apartment and examine how she can possibly accelerate this process. State the assumptions you have made.