How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Gosh. Reading all these posts made me question what I am doing with my life. 27 years old, just started career a year ago with private degree, drawing only 30k pa. Here am I wondering how would I ever catch to everyone else here

Don't despair. You're still young and you have your whole life ahead of you to be as successful as the 50+ year old uncles here. During my younger days, I worked very hard both in school and in my career. I managed to get into one of the top secondary schools and one of the top JCs. In the Uni, I was one of the top graduates in my faculty.

I got good jobs which paid very well. I used my huge bonuses to invest and I made a lot of money. After the many years of corporate life as a high flyer, I finally retired. Now I'm a retired millionaire, living in a luxurious condominium. My investment portfolio generates good healthy passive income.

If I can make it, so can you. You must be focused and must have a strong drive to succeed. The secret to financial success is to earn a lot, save a lot and invest a lot. The smarter you are in your investments, the earlier you can retire and travel the world leisurely. It's good to travel the world on holidays rather than on business trips.

Im 27yo, in a HR consultancy position.

I draw ~92k pa. I'm currently not moving into purchase of housing or car, not for the next 5 years.

Would anyone be able to recommend on investment portfolio of low to mid risk for my profile? Thank you in advance.

When should you retire when you can afford to?

Let's think.

Based on stats, if you're a man, you will die by 80 years old.

At what age will most of us has limited mobility? I think from age 75 onwards, which means you will not be able to travel the world much by 75.

So, if you retire at 65, you only have 10 years to enjoy your life, care free, travelling around the world. 10 years of enjoyment after 65 years of hard work from the day you're born, go to school, raise a family, work. Not so good.

If I can afford to retire earlier, I should, maybe at 55 years old. So I have a full 20 years to enjoy while I'm still healthy and mobile. In fact, most of us can retire at 55 if we plan our lives properly.

First, study hard, get a good job, marry and get kids early. So, by the time we are 55, our kids would be working. Not impossible. If we're 30 when our kid is born, by the time we are 55, our kid will be 25. Most likely, they will start working and earning income when they are 25. For girls, they will start working earlier.

So, if you buy a 4 room cheap HDB BTO flat when you got married, by the time you're 55, your mortgage will be paid off. So no more worries on housing. Your children are working and earning, so they can support themselves. You just need to have passive income for you and wife. Let's say you need $3k pm or $36k pa for you and wife. So if your investments give you say $40k pa in passive income, then you and wife can retire. When you reach 65, you get an extra $43k pa from your CPF Life.

How do you get $40k pa in passive income? Your investments need to give you 4% return per annum for a $1m portfolio.

How you get a $1m portfolio? You save $35k every year over 30 years. If you invest early and you're good at investing, you don't need so much capital because your investments will grow over time. Actually not difficult to save $3k pm or $36k pa. If you don't own a car you save $2k pm or $24k pa. If you don't employ a maid, you save $1k pm or $12k pa. So, if you don't earn so much, then don't own a car and don't employ a maid. You can save $36k pa and in 30 years, you will save $1m.

So, everyone can afford to retire at 55 if they don't spend so much. If you and wife are not high earners, don't aspire to buy a car and don't upgrade to a condo. If you're not a high earner but spend on expensive things like car, condo, luxury things, etc, then you must be prepared to work until you're in your 60s. But nowadays, you may not even have a job at 60. So better prepare yourself to work only until 55. If you still have a job at 55, you're lucky.

I can only say that you set a very low target. You are simply not hungry enough.

Just like my classmate in the uni. He said he doesnt want to slog so hard and set himself a 'B' grade target. He said he will be happy with Bs. While the majority of us aimed for As. As it turned out the grading was based on the bell curve of scores. As many of us did well in the exam, the grading was shifted down to push the majority down to B with a few really outstanding ones with As. Those who otherwise would have gotten Bs were pushed further down to Cs and Ds. To cut the story short, he ended up with a pass degree while we got upper and first class honours.

My point is, you need to aim high. You start with a very low target you will not amount to anything much.

And do get your priorities right - don't worry too much about dying. Worry about living in poverty. No, in fact, we should aim to lead meaningful and comfortable lives.

Quitting the workforce while still productive is a terrible waste of your life. If you are not happy with your current job, go and find one that gives you fulfillment and meaning. It may not pay well, but as long as you are happy and able to live well, it is still better than quitting the workforce and waste your time looking out of windows and needlessly developing a phobia of peak hour traffic.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When should you retire when you can afford to?

Let's think.

Based on stats, if you're a man, you will die by 80 years old.

At what age will most of us has limited mobility? I think from age 75 onwards, which means you will not be able to travel the world much by 75.

So, if you retire at 65, you only have 10 years to enjoy your life, care free, travelling around the world. 10 years of enjoyment after 65 years of hard work from the day you're born, go to school, raise a family, work. Not so good.

If I can afford to retire earlier, I should, maybe at 55 years old. So I have a full 20 years to enjoy while I'm still healthy and mobile. In fact, most of us can retire at 55 if we plan our lives properly.

First, study hard, get a good job, marry and get kids early. So, by the time we are 55, our kids would be working. Not impossible. If we're 30 when our kid is born, by the time we are 55, our kid will be 25. Most likely, they will start working and earning income when they are 25. For girls, they will start working earlier.

So, if you buy a 4 room cheap HDB BTO flat when you got married, by the time you're 55, your mortgage will be paid off. So no more worries on housing. Your children are working and earning, so they can support themselves. You just need to have passive income for you and wife. Let's say you need $3k pm or $36k pa for you and wife. So if your investments give you say $40k pa in passive income, then you and wife can retire. When you reach 65, you get an extra $43k pa from your CPF Life.

How do you get $40k pa in passive income? Your investments need to give you 4% return per annum for a $1m portfolio.

How you get a $1m portfolio? You save $35k every year over 30 years. If you invest early and you're good at investing, you don't need so much capital because your investments will grow over time. Actually not difficult to save $3k pm or $36k pa. If you don't own a car you save $2k pm or $24k pa. If you don't employ a maid, you save $1k pm or $12k pa. So, if you don't earn so much, then don't own a car and don't employ a maid. You can save $36k pa and in 30 years, you will save $1m.

So, everyone can afford to retire at 55 if they don't spend so much. If you and wife are not high earners, don't aspire to buy a car and don't upgrade to a condo. If you're not a high earner but spend on expensive things like car, condo, luxury things, etc, then you must be prepared to work until you're in your 60s. But nowadays, you may not even have a job at 60. So better prepare yourself to work only until 55. If you still have a job at 55, you're lucky.

Thanks for sharing your wise thoughts. There are many stupid people in this world. I know of people who worked hard their whole life but died in their 60s. Didn't enjoy a single day of retirement. Worse, their children and wife fight over his fortune.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When should you retire when you can afford to?

Let's think.

Based on stats, if you're a man, you will die by 80 years old.

At what age will most of us has limited mobility? I think from age 75 onwards, which means you will not be able to travel the world much by 75.

So, if you retire at 65, you only have 10 years to enjoy your life, care free, travelling around the world. 10 years of enjoyment after 65 years of hard work from the day you're born, go to school, raise a family, work. Not so good.

If I can afford to retire earlier, I should, maybe at 55 years old. So I have a full 20 years to enjoy while I'm still healthy and mobile. In fact, most of us can retire at 55 if we plan our lives properly.

First, study hard, get a good job, marry and get kids early. So, by the time we are 55, our kids would be working. Not impossible. If we're 30 when our kid is born, by the time we are 55, our kid will be 25. Most likely, they will start working and earning income when they are 25. For girls, they will start working earlier.

So, if you buy a 4 room cheap HDB BTO flat when you got married, by the time you're 55, your mortgage will be paid off. So no more worries on housing. Your children are working and earning, so they can support themselves. You just need to have passive income for you and wife. Let's say you need $3k pm or $36k pa for you and wife. So if your investments give you say $40k pa in passive income, then you and wife can retire. When you reach 65, you get an extra $43k pa from your CPF Life.

How do you get $40k pa in passive income? Your investments need to give you 4% return per annum for a $1m portfolio.

How you get a $1m portfolio? You save $35k every year over 30 years. If you invest early and you're good at investing, you don't need so much capital because your investments will grow over time. Actually not difficult to save $3k pm or $36k pa. If you don't own a car you save $2k pm or $24k pa. If you don't employ a maid, you save $1k pm or $12k pa. So, if you don't earn so much, then don't own a car and don't employ a maid. You can save $36k pa and in 30 years, you will save $1m.

So, everyone can afford to retire at 55 if they don't spend so much. If you and wife are not high earners, don't aspire to buy a car and don't upgrade to a condo. If you're not a high earner but spend on expensive things like car, condo, luxury things, etc, then you must be prepared to work until you're in your 60s. But nowadays, you may not even have a job at 60. So better prepare yourself to work only until 55. If you still have a job at 55, you're lucky.

There are far more people who are living in poverty and depending on charity while in their 60s and beyond, than people who die young and leave tons of money behind. In the 9 pm news tonight, just in North West district of Singapore, 6,000 poor families received charitable handouts. Many of them are in 60s and above.

If you want to take the chance, quit work while young, and outlive your savings, go ahead. No need to pull the rest down.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for sharing your wise thoughts. There are many stupid people in this world. I know of people who worked hard their whole life but died in their 60s. Didn't enjoy a single day of retirement. Worse, their children and wife fight over his fortune.

People in their 60s who need financial help are those who were low wage workers when they were working. They don't earn enough to save much.

If you're a millionaire, you should not worry about retirement.

Please stop making stupid comments.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There are far more people who are living in poverty and depending on charity while in their 60s and beyond, than people who die young and leave tons of money behind. In the 9 pm news tonight, just in North West district of Singapore, 6,000 poor families received charitable handouts. Many of them are in 60s and above.

If you want to take the chance, quit work while young, and outlive your savings, go ahead. No need to pull the rest down.

What's all these fuss about retiring at 55? Those successful bankers, doctors and lawyers can already retire in their 40s. They have made it big.

You decide when you want to retire. Its your destiny. All views are welcome but pls refrain from criticising. Be mature.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You decide when you want to retire. Its your destiny. All views are welcome but pls refrain from criticising. Be mature.

There are many immature 50+ year olds in this forum. LOL !!!!!!!!!