Income wise, your household is in the middle middle income group. But your lifestyle - staying in condo (I am guessing a 2 bedroom one), conti car and twice yearly holidays, is that of an upper middle income household. Keeping up with the Joneses is not a good idea. Better to set aside more buffer for emergencies. They have a bad habit of springing up on you without notice.
Saving $30k pa means you will need at least 6 - 7 years of saving before you can pay up for another car! At 46, 49 already there isn't that much time to build up a solid nest egg.
On the other hand, I know of many upper middle income people who are very frugal. Some of them will swear by their
HDB flats - they are happy staying in the same
HDB since they got married even though their incomes have increased many fold. Many prefer Jap cars for their reliability. The most extravagant car they are willing to spend on is the Camry or Jap MPV. Their watches are practical Casio watches. If they have multiple properties, they are not telling. They don't boast. But we know they earning at least $300k pa for the position they hold.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
Married couple, 46 & 49, with 2 beautiful teenage kids.
Combined annual income, $150k.
Home is a condo worth $1.1m with outstanding loan of $500k.
Owns a European car, loan left $30k.
Holidays spending, twice a year, $12k.
Annual expenses, $120k.
Annual savings, $30k.
We are in the middle class group, struggling to survive in this modern life, full of high expectations. We are actually among the less well off as many of our friends and family members earn $300k pa (combined couple income).
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