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Retirement Planning

Retirement planning must start early, from Day 1 of your first job. Ask yourself how many years do you intend to work and how many years do you want to retire and smell the roses. If you start working at 25 and expects to die at 85, then you must split the 60 years into two - 30 years of hard, diligent work and 30 years to relax, reflect and take things easy, if you do live that long. If you die early, then your retirement years is short lived. With this is mind, you should work hard from age 25 to 54 (30 years) and accumulate enough for you to retire well from 55 to 85 (30 years).

Here are some strategies:

1. Buy a cheap BTO flat and pay off the loan within 15 years. If you are not a high flyer executive type, don't bother to upgrade to a condo as this will only incur more loan for you. Since you have paid your mortgage within 15 years, you have another 15 years for your CPF OA to grow. Your SA and MA will also grow from Day 1 of your first job. With 2.5% in OA and 4% in SA and MA, your CPF savings will grow over time.

2. Buy strong blue chip stocks which gives regular dividends over time.

3. Save as much cash as you can. Avoid buying cash draining items such as cars and do not indulge in wasteful and sinful activities such as smoking, drinking, gambling, wild partying, womanising, sodomising, etc.

4. Donate to the poor and needy.

With all these, you can retire at 55. If you really excel in your work and investments, you can even retire in your 40s. Just make sure your investment can generate you enough passive income to cover your expenses.

As usual, you missed out an important point. Do not be jealous of others' successes, possessions and achievement. Otherwise, even though you may have prepared to live simply and thus lulled yourself into early retirement, your heart will never be at peace. You will live a life of envy and resentment.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Retirement Planning

Retirement planning must start early, from Day 1 of your first job. Ask yourself how many years do you intend to work and how many years do you want to retire and smell the roses. If you start working at 25 and expects to die at 85, then you must split the 60 years into two - 30 years of hard, diligent work and 30 years to relax, reflect and take things easy, if you do live that long. If you die early, then your retirement years is short lived. With this is mind, you should work hard from age 25 to 54 (30 years) and accumulate enough for you to retire well from 55 to 85 (30 years).

Here are some strategies:

1. Buy a cheap BTO flat and pay off the loan within 15 years. If you are not a high flyer executive type, don't bother to upgrade to a condo as this will only incur more loan for you. Since you have paid your mortgage within 15 years, you have another 15 years for your CPF OA to grow. Your SA and MA will also grow from Day 1 of your first job. With 2.5% in OA and 4% in SA and MA, your CPF savings will grow over time.

2. Buy strong blue chip stocks which gives regular dividends over time.

3. Save as much cash as you can. Avoid buying cash draining items such as cars and do not indulge in wasteful and sinful activities such as smoking, drinking, gambling, wild partying, womanising, sodomising, etc.

4. Donate to the poor and needy.

With all these, you can retire at 55. If you really excel in your work and investments, you can even retire in your 40s. Just make sure your investment can generate you enough passive income to cover your expenses.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

So you are a banker? Finance ppl?
Finance ppl do best in writing financial articles, analyse and predict the market...
But failed most of the time... because they know numbers too well, just theory.. by calculating and charting... but they forgot 1 thing, this is not an ideal world. I always hear these financial products sellers making statement like guarantee return of 4 or 5%... what is guarantee?? and many here can teach you how to retire at 38 years old, by leverage and mortgage your house to invest in this and that and finally invest in 4% yield equity for passive income, can travel around the world... they can really talk.. but cannot realise it..
Most of them work till midnight standing in front of banks or MRT or anywhere.. giving out leaflets for financial products or insurance... hard selling, pestering and some even con the old ppl... how great they are.. and 6 months later, changed to property line..

You need not be Warren Buffet to get reasonable return from share market.
Read lah a little bit other how do they do it, extreme engineering, how to build bridges etc.
Just a small tip for the ignorant engineers, simplest way of making medium gain with low risk is to buy REITs, easily 10% gain per annum over long period. Again don't ask me what type of REITs to buy, when to buy, how to buy, which country REITs worth buying. Please also don't ask question why REITs are good buy, and don't tell me REITs won't guarantee profit. Do small research yourself. Give you a fishing line is sufficient and do not keep on asking for more fish.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just wondering if all engineers leave their field to join other profession, then where people will invest, who will take loan from bank. There will be no new product, new technology, new company, new business, no growth in existing business. Stocks will collapse. How, many other professionals will be surviving?

Everyone talking about investment bankers, who will employ them to invest?
There will be no new property without engineer, how to become property agent?
There will be no property, new industry, how to grow insurance revenue?

Hey, we need some people to do work for us. If you have muscle without brain, be a labourer.
If you have brain without grey matter, think like people who make the post as above.

People who make thing happen are heroes. They are the drivers and leaders.
People who know what happen and know how to exploit situation are intelligent. They can be good passengers.
People who don't know things had happened, they are as ignorant as you.

The only way to be rich is to be smart in your investments and never fall in love with your investments. Buy when it is cheap, sell when it is expensive.

I upgraded from a condo to a terrace house in 2006 when the property market was at its lowest point in recent history. I sold it at its peak last year in 2013, made big profit and moved to a new condo. I invested my cash balance and now earning dividends of $80k pa. I am debt free too. Because we are debt free (no more mortgage payments, car loan payments, renovation loan payments, etc), our household expenses is only $90k pa. My wife is still working and earns $120k pa. She is happy with her career.

I am not happy with my work even though I earn $140k pa in salary. I got an offer to work overseas but declined as I don't want my wife the burden of managing our household alone.
I am thinking of retiring from my current job and focus on my investments. With more active investing, I'm confident of making $120k pa. Since we share our household expenses equally, I only need to bear $45k of expenses and I can save and reinvest the surplus.

I think I will send my letter after I get my bonus.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The only way to be rich is to be smart in your investments and never fall in love with your investments. Buy when it is cheap, sell when it is expensive.

I upgraded from a condo to a terrace house in 2006 when the property market was at its lowest point in recent history. I sold it at its peak last year in 2013, made big profit and moved to a new condo. I invested my cash balance and now earning dividends of $80k pa. I am debt free too. Because we are debt free (no more mortgage payments, car loan payments, renovation loan payments, etc), our household expenses is only $90k pa. My wife is still working and earns $120k pa. She is happy with her career.

I am not happy with my work even though I earn $140k pa in salary. I got an offer to work overseas but declined as I don't want my wife the burden of managing our household alone.
I am thinking of retiring from my current job and focus on my investments. With more active investing, I'm confident of making $120k pa. Since we share our household expenses equally, I only need to bear $45k of expenses and I can save and reinvest the surplus.

I think I will send my letter after I get my bonus.

Me and my wife salary are almost identical to yours. But different paths.

Both of us were so distracted by our autistic son (diagnosed in 2006) that we missed the property cycle. Till today, we are struggling with his tantrums, refusal to sleep etc...

Well, best wishes to you and I can tell you that indeed good health (physically and mentally) is the GREATEST blessing..

What are you waiting for, man?!! Just do it!!
Life is short. No point you being unhappy at your job now.
If you get depression, it will be worse for you and family.
Your passive income of $80k is already more than your share of expenses of $45k, so you should have no worries. Of course if you can earn more by active trading, then it is a bonus. Don't take too much risk though.

I can see you are a natural trader, a rare talent. To be able to trade your property like what you did is simply remarkable. You have timed your trade perfectly. I think you will succeed in your new career of being your own personal trader. Not many people have the acumen to do that.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The only way to be rich is to be smart in your investments and never fall in love with your investments. Buy when it is cheap, sell when it is expensive.

I upgraded from a condo to a terrace house in 2006 when the property market was at its lowest point in recent history. I sold it at its peak last year in 2013, made big profit and moved to a new condo. I invested my cash balance and now earning dividends of $80k pa. I am debt free too. Because we are debt free (no more mortgage payments, car loan payments, renovation loan payments, etc), our household expenses is only $90k pa. My wife is still working and earns $120k pa. She is happy with her career.

I am not happy with my work even though I earn $140k pa in salary. I got an offer to work overseas but declined as I don't want my wife the burden of managing our household alone.
I am thinking of retiring from my current job and focus on my investments. With more active investing, I'm confident of making $120k pa. Since we share our household expenses equally, I only need to bear $45k of expenses and I can save and reinvest the surplus.

I think I will send my letter after I get my bonus.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You need not be Warren Buffet to get reasonable return from share market.
Read lah a little bit other how do they do it, extreme engineering, how to build bridges etc.
Just a small tip for the ignorant engineers, simplest way of making medium gain with low risk is to buy REITs, easily 10% gain per annum over long period. Again don't ask me what type of REITs to buy, when to buy, how to buy, which country REITs worth buying. Please also don't ask question why REITs are good buy, and don't tell me REITs won't guarantee profit. Do small research yourself. Give you a fishing line is sufficient and do not keep on asking for more fish.

Typical finance trained ppl..
Read some investment books... know some big names... graham, Lynch, WB, may be now Masa son, Jack Ma...
if you watch the interviews between CNBC.. or other reporters with Jack Ma..
See how these "professionals" questioning his decision and why didn't he do this and that years back... is really funny and show that these ppl have no brains...
They probably earn less than 100k annually and questioning a billionaires moves..
Is like ppl criticising why WB invest in IBM and Exxon...
If you can see what he sees.. you wont be working in a bank.. Don't make yourself a fool...
10% guarantee return.. probably no one is running a business in Sg... all buy reits.. many listed company make a net profit of single digit..

Dont get vexed by all these fools and their incoherent ramblings.

I handle these kind of people in two ways - show me the money or get out. Now my staff have to be very succinct in their updates and must have facts and data to back up their claims of accomplishing their assignments/targets. They know the consequences otherwise.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Typical finance trained ppl..
Read some investment books... know some big names... graham, Lynch, WB, may be now Masa son, Jack Ma...
if you watch the interviews between CNBC.. or other reporters with Jack Ma..
See how these "professionals" questioning his decision and why didn't he do this and that years back... is really funny and show that these ppl have no brains...
They probably earn less than 100k annually and questioning a billionaires moves..
Is like ppl criticising why WB invest in IBM and Exxon...
If you can see what he sees.. you wont be working in a bank.. Don't make yourself a fool...
10% guarantee return.. probably no one is running a business in Sg... all buy reits.. many listed company make a net profit of single digit..

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Dont get vexed by all these fools and their incoherent ramblings.

I handle these kind of people in two ways - show me the money or get out. Now my staff have to be very succinct in their updates and must have facts and data to back up their claims of accomplishing their assignments/targets. They know the consequences otherwise.

We have too many of these finance trained ppl dressed nicely and hard selling around.. and telling ppl guarantee return... banks wont go bankrupt.... should invest in this and that.. but they are not professional at all...