Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 32060)

Happy New Year 2013 to all posters!

I am a relatively new resident in a condo in the east (this is only my 3rd year there). During my occasional after-dinner evening walk around the compound, I would see an elderly couple taking their evening stroll. They are casually dressed but not sloppy. They have that serene and contented look, like without a care in the world. Never really talked to them beyond the typical neighborly smile when our paths crossed, until last Sunday. It began with their asking me if I just moved in. Let me called them Mr and Mrs A.

They are both 65, Mrs A retired 2 years before Mr A who retired at age 62. The topic of our talk somehow shifted to money when they asked what line I was in, and I jokingly complained I probably could not retire before 65 with the loans to pay off and the high inflation. Mr A worked in the Civil Service while Mrs A worked in a Stat board. Both got to super scale or equivalent grade when they were 45 yrs old. I asked them how come they weren't staying in a landed property as obviously they could more than afford it. Mr A said they missed the boat but they did not regret staying in condos either.

I was surprised they were quite willing to share quite a bit details into their wealth. Mr A said out of their combined of $450K pa, when they were 45, they only spent $100k. As their earnings grew, they somehow maintained their expenses. With only hints from Mr A, I mentally worked that by the time they retired, they would have accumulated (15 to 17 yrs) at least $ 7M not including the condo they are living in. Mr A said they are now living off the passive income from their investment. Mr A said their passive income can sometimes reached $350k a year. With their 2 kids financially independent, and Mr A having pension, they only spent $50 to 60 k of the passive income, saving $300k.

I was thinking, wtf man, I don't even earn $200K pa and these retirees are saving $300K pa from passive income!

Mr A "humbly" said they were the lowest among the high income group. I don't doubt him.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 32061)

Nice piece of bullshiit you have there.

A stranger elderly couple who just happen to bump into you during a stroll in the same condo will tell you all the details about their assets, investments, passive income, working salary & their savings during a casual chit chat.

Yea rite. Seriously.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 31798)

This is another defeatist mindset by aimhigh (irony considering his nick) I want to highlight.
When you and your surrounding friends are earning at a certain level and you see alot of people telling you astronomical salaries, you will find it hard to believe and then find excuses to say they are falsehood. How does that make you a better person? The more positive attitude would be to go out and find out how they achieve it.

Let me relate my own youthful ignorance.
1) When I was in Poly, a friend told me his friend (not singaporean) got his masters within 3yrs. I said that's not possible! But it's possible if you are doing it overseas last time. But in my mindset, i was only able to relate to the singapore context of 3yrs degree + 1 yr honours + 1 yr masters = 5yrs! Needless to say.. you know how foolish i felt looking back when i went thru my own masters overseas and found many who are like his friend.

2) When I was working, I was only earning $2k (1st job) and someone in his late 20s told me he is earning $10k. Again , I say! Don't ********! If I do all the 15% increment yearly blah blah blah.. you will only be earning <$10k by 29yrs old! Needless to say, the mindset was wrong, In my mind, i only thought he should be like me earning at my rate. However, there are many other industries out there where people are commensurated by their SALES results, not by TASKS oriented results. Of course.. that was foolish on hindsight..

3) When I was in my early 30s, I was earning $40k monthly(YES, MONTHLY Pure profit before taxes after loan+expenses) from being a landlord. I thought wow! I was rich man! But I still couldn't afford a ferrari outright without feeling the pain. So when I saw someone driving a ferrari, I say ..aiyah.. he must be paying installment thru' his nose to support that car. Later, I found out his income is $100k monthly from his small business (YES, Small business. You wouldn't want to find out how much SMEs are earning when his is consider micro).

Needless to say.. at my age of late 30s now.. I have grown wiser and not doubt people when they dare tell me their earnings. I would rather want to find out more about how they did it.

So you see...the morale of the story is ... There's always a higher mooutain to scale.. if you cannot scale that moutain, it does not mean someone else can't.


________________________
The Millionaire Mentor

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 32060)

Happy New Year 2013 to all posters!

I am a relatively new resident in a condo in the east (this is only my 3rd year there). During my occasional after-dinner evening walk around the compound, I would see an elderly couple taking their evening stroll. They are casually dressed but not sloppy. They have that serene and contented look, like without a care in the world. Never really talked to them beyond the typical neighborly smile when our paths crossed, until last Sunday. It began with their asking me if I just moved in. Let me called them Mr and Mrs A.

They are both 65, Mrs A retired 2 years before Mr A who retired at age 62. The topic of our talk somehow shifted to money when they asked what line I was in, and I jokingly complained I probably could not retire before 65 with the loans to pay off and the high inflation. Mr A worked in the Civil Service while Mrs A worked in a Stat board. Both got to super scale or equivalent grade when they were 45 yrs old. I asked them how come they weren't staying in a landed property as obviously they could more than afford it. Mr A said they missed the boat but they did not regret staying in condos either.

I was surprised they were quite willing to share quite a bit details into their wealth. Mr A said out of their combined of $450K pa, when they were 45, they only spent $100k. As their earnings grew, they somehow maintained their expenses. With only hints from Mr A, I mentally worked that by the time they retired, they would have accumulated (15 to 17 yrs) at least $ 7M not including the condo they are living in. Mr A said they are now living off the passive income from their investment. Mr A said their passive income can sometimes reached $350k a year. With their 2 kids financially independent, and Mr A having pension, they only spent $50 to 60 k of the passive income, saving $300k.

I was thinking, wtf man, I don't even earn $200K pa and these retirees are saving $300K pa from passive income!

Mr A "humbly" said they were the lowest among the high income group. I don't doubt him.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 32166)

Thanks for sharing your story, welcome to the forum.

Don't be irritated by the 1 or 2 trolls in this forum, they are truly a nuisance that unfortunately have lots of spare time on their hands.

I think every Singaporean aspires to having a nice passive retirement income like the retirees you met, but it is becoming more and more difficult for the younger ones to do so due to global money printing leading to asset inflation. This of course leads to displeasure against the ruling party.

As the elections come round again I think we will likely see maximal efforts in cooling measures for property and increasing welfare to help the lower and middle class so as to bolster their election chances. Even with this, the results will be unlikely to improve much for the PAP.

What we may then see is more seats falling to the opposition which will more than likely lead to the US style paralyzed A vs B government that will be unable to move forward with unpopular but necessary policies. We will probably have parliament stuck discussing computer system companies (to cite an example) rather than important issues like our graying population or low birth rate. Perhaps that may be the beginning of the end of Singapore's prosperity, if we take a (very) pessimistic view.

Anyway, Happy New Year 2013 to you too!