It was quite amusing reading the posts here. I see many just couldn't believe there could be rich people posting here. Of course, you could never tell which of the posts are true. In Sunday Times, an Indian lady was featured sharing her financial investment journey. At aged 41, she and her architect husband have investment properties in several countries. Their average return was reported to be 8% pa. Their target passive income is $250k pa before they will retire. Although she didn't say what the current passive income was, she said it was well on track to reach their goal. I imagined if she had shared her story here, many doubters will immediately cooked up outlandish stories of their own.

This phenomenon is a direct effect of the growing income divide in Singapore. On one side we have the rich getting richer and the poor remaining clueless. The asset class sees their assets appreciating steadily while at the same time deriving passive income yearly. The rich also tend to see their savings accelerate simply because of the compounding effects of their passive incomes if their expenses are held constant.

The poor on the other hand, especially if they are not exposed to rich people, could not possibly imagine or understand how anyone could save or grow their worth upwards of $300k pa, when they themselves don't earn half that amount in a year.

While we cannot be fully equal, I just hoped that we don't reach the state of affairs as in the US where just 400 of the country's wealthiest own half of the nation's wealth!

As a retiree, I do feel shaky about my ability to sustain my lifestyle as inflation steadily erodes the purchasing power of my fixed annuity payout. I have already done away with the maid, the car and other extraganzes. Constantly on my mind is whether I should go out and get myself a job. Mind you, when I retired, I thought I had everything nicely planned out. There was this annuity that will pay me a fixed income for as long as I lived. I didn't bargain for taxi fares increasing, train fares increasing, hawker meal prices increasing, utility bills increasing and what have you.

You need to invest in assets that keep pace with inflation! Property and stocks in dynamic and sound companies are what I should have invested in. The property you stay is not counted as you need somewhere to live. And the older you get, the less you want to uproot and move. What more to a smaller abode among strangers. So to all posters out there, downgrading to a smaller home should not form part of your retirement plan. Only as a last resort.

And yes, coming to this forum and reading all the amusing bull"*****ing" has become a cost free pastime for me. Can't afford those with paid membership.