Retiring overseas is a good option. However if you don't want to retire overseas, you can retire here provided you start saving more. First, make sure you go for the
CPF Life Enhanced option as it gives you and wife $3600 pm at 65 until you die. Second, make sure your children contribute at least $1000 pm (assuming 2 kids, $500 per child). With $4600 pm, you should be ok provided you do not own a car, do not employ a maid and lead a simple lifestyle. Do not gamble and drink. If you need more cash, sell your condo and buy a one bedroom condo. You will have more cash in hand or you can invest in dividend stocks.
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Originally Posted by Unregistered
My wife and I are a low income grad couple. We have two children in secondary schools. We are both 49 years old and only earning $160k pa in total. Our paid up condo is in the OCR and is valued at only $900k. We drive a small non continental car. Life is not so easy. We worry about our finances. We need to think which place to eat out or where to buy food from as we are very cost conscious. We cannot afford to employ a maid. We can only afford holidays in the Asian region such as HK, Korea, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia. Only once a year. We can't afford holidays to Europe or America.
Our net worth (including our condo and car) is only $1.5m in total. This is very low when we compare with our friends and relatives.
Are there any grad couples here earning as low as us? How do you survive with the demands and expectations from family and society? How are you preparing for your retirement?
Do we have to work till we are in our 70s? What can we do to prepare for retirement? Please help advise. Thanks.
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