I used to be a millionaire with slightly more than US$1m in cash and stocks. I lived in a 5 room HDB flat which was worth $500k and I have managed to pay off my mortgage loan. Suddenly overnight, I wasn't a millionaire any more. What happened? My housewife wife was influenced by her friends who have upgraded to condos. She nagged at me, wanting to upgrade to a condo. So I relented. At first I wanted to buy a $1m condo in the West, but she insisted a better district. So we ended up buying a D9 condo costing us $2m. I paid down $1m after selling my HDB flat which I managed to sell at $500k and my stocks. Now I have a loan of $1m mortgage and cash of about $200k. So now I am not a millionaire and saddled with a loan of $1m. I can no longer brag to my friends that I am a millionaire. I just hope I wouldn't lose my job over the next 25 years.