How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes you do. Go for it. The risk is low, looking at the value of your current flat, and at your debt level (zero!). Treat it as trading for a new flat with a slight top-up.

I don't earn much myself. But the lesson I've learnt is this: If you can't make money from your salary, you try and make it elsewhere. Property, in this case.

Thanks for the advice. Most of my friends said the same thing. My flat's appreciation in value really makes my aspiration to come true. This is a dream come true.

Thanks for your sharing, it's a very good story.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I came across this forum by chance and read the many stories shared here. I’m inspired to share my own story and hope it will provide some lessons for many here, especially the young adults who just started their career.

I came from a middle income family and lived in a HDB flat, like many Singaporeans. From young, I knew I wanted to excel in my life. I listened to my parents and teachers and studied diligently. I did very well in the PSLE and was among the top 10% of my cohort. I got into a top secondary school and subsequently went to a top JC. I got into to the local university and finally got a good honours degree. I had a great job after graduation and progressed in my career. I moved to different companies which opened up new opportunities.

Life was excellent, so I thought. It came crumbling down two years ago. I had to quit my last job due to reasons I do not want to discuss here. I tried everything I could to get a new job but at the age of 47 and being in a senior role before, it was impossible to get one. I was too experienced and in most cases, I sensed the younger hiring managers were insecure.

Finally, I had no choice but to downgrade from my terrace house, which I bought many years earlier using my big bonuses, to a condo. I cleared my car loan, personal loans and all other obligations. I then set up a personal investment fund using my life savings and the net cash from the sale of my terrace. My family is understanding and gave me their full support. My wife is very supportive of my new direction and she is happy that I am now at home more often and able to help her with raising our children. In the past, most of the household duties and taking care of the children were done by her because of my late working hours and overseas travels. Now, these duties are shared. I am now a very active, caring father. My wife is also delighted that I’m able to send and fetch her from work every day. She no longer has to travel on public transport, which was a real chore to her. This new situation makes my wife less tired, less stressed, less worried, more relaxed and more energised.

Financially, we are managing well. We are now debt free and I am earning $75,000 pa from dividends and trading gains. My wife has an annual salary of $105,000. We now earn $180,000 pa in total. Our expenditures are reduced significantly as there is no more loan and mortgage repayments and we are now more prudent in our purchases. Now our shared expenditure is only about $120,000 pa, a lot lesser than it used to be. Even though we spend less on things, we now experience a richer family life. We are in fact a lot happier than before.

Interestingly, I am now a millionaire whereas in the past, I was not because the definition of a millionaire is someone who has more than US$1 mil of investible assets and this excludes his primary home. In the past, my terrace house was worth a lot but I still had an outstanding mortgage and was living in it, so it was not taken into consideration as an investible asset. Now, I own a condo which is fully paid up and I have an investment portfolio worth more than US$1 mil.

Life is indeed a box of chocolate. I have never been so happy. I no longer need to report to a boss every morning and I am free to enjoy my condominium’s facilities any time. I am my own boss. My family loves me more because I am spending more time with them. Our quality of life is much higher. I am living a blessed life.

31 yr old, 100k pa, try o invest occasionally in stocks starting 2012 , average return for 1 year only 15%.

Hello gurus,

Need your help to comment on our financial situation.

We are a married couple (46 & 49) with two kids. We live in a 20 year old condo (bought in 2006) which is now worth $1.1m, we have cleared the mortgage. We own an old small 1.6L car which is paid off. Our income is only $110k pa and we spend $80k pa. Our CPF (OA/SA/MA) and cash savings in total is about $500k. Our total net worth is about $1.6m.

We are happy with the fact that we are debt free - we cleared the mortgage, car loan, personal loans. However our annual savings is only $30k pa. Do you think we can retire at 60? How can we retire comfortably? If you have been in our situation, can share how you retire? Thanks.

48, 340kpa, condo 1.6M. Cash/cpf 2.4M. Net worth 4M. Plan to stop work at 50 but not retiring yet. Have been considering for awhile on a startup idea, small business, low risk and something to keep me busy. Anyone done something like that before? like to hear from you.

Condo living is fantastic and it is really something to aspire to. However like in all things, there is no free lunch. Besides it costing more than HDB, the monthly fees are higher than the HDB town council fees. Be prepared to pay for the upgrade to your quality of life.

If you are not already saving much, upgrading to an EC would reduce that saving even more. Work out the costs properly before plunging in.

Worst thing is once you get used to living in a condo, downgrading back to HDB will be painful. So think and consider carefully.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the advice. Most of my friends said the same thing. My flat's appreciation in value really makes my aspiration to come true. This is a dream come true.

Going into start-up /business is risky especially at your age. It stems from the half heartedness and fear of going all out to ensure the start-up success. Unlike when young where there isn't much to lose, now at 48, you will be thinking I don't really need to go all out coupled with the fear that you might lose your savings, you will end up with something that is neither here nor there.

What is more common is that people who had built up some wealth, will retire from their jobs, but will then spend their managing and investing their savings. Depending on how much wealth they have, they can keep pretty busy.

Looking at the breakdown of your $4m net worth, you don't really have that much free cash to play around unless you re-mortgage your home to free up more cash. If your motivation was to quit your job because of stress, my suggestion is to look for a less demanding job with less pay. It sure beats beating around the bush doing a start-up.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, 340kpa, condo 1.6M. Cash/cpf 2.4M. Net worth 4M. Plan to stop work at 50 but not retiring yet. Have been considering for awhile on a startup idea, small business, low risk and something to keep me busy. Anyone done something like that before? like to hear from you.

No worries, the condo maintenance cost is manageable for us. As for downgrading later, we have decided to downgrade to a HDB studio unit for the elderly when we reach 65. By then, we would have enjoyed condo living, our children would have enjoyed a lot. When we sell our condo when we reach 65, we would have at least $1m in cash which we can invest in blue chips to give 5% dividend pa, which is $50k pa or $4k pm. And with our CPF retirement account payout of $2k pm, we will have $6k pm of passive income for our retirement. This is enough as we don't eat much and we will not have any car by then. $6k pm for a debt free retired couple with no car, is a lot of money.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Condo living is fantastic and it is really something to aspire to. However like in all things, there is no free lunch. Besides it costing more than HDB, the monthly fees are higher than the HDB town council fees. Be prepared to pay for the upgrade to your quality of life.

If you are not already saving much, upgrading to an EC would reduce that saving even more. Work out the costs properly before plunging in.

Worst thing is once you get used to living in a condo, downgrading back to HDB will be painful. So think and consider carefully.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, 340kpa, condo 1.6M. Cash/cpf 2.4M. Net worth 4M. Plan to stop work at 50 but not retiring yet. Have been considering for awhile on a startup idea, small business, low risk and something to keep me busy. Anyone done something like that before? like to hear from you.

You can retire now. Just sell your condo and downgrade to a 4 room HDB flat, which costs only $400k. So you will have $3m in cash and you can invest in good high dividend yield stocks which gives you 5% pa or $150k pa, this is enough to retire comfortably. But make sure you know how to invest or else you will also lose money. Don't buy junk stocks.

Don't risk your capital with a start-up because you will lose all your money. Confirmed.
Capital preservation is the most important when you are old and you are old.

Given your current financial situation, it is best to be mentally prepared to work as long as both of you can, way beyond 60.

Here is the cash flow scenario at 55:

At 55 (6 to 9 years or average 7 years from now)
Assuming your savings of $30k pa grows at 3% per year.
Additional savings achieved in 7 years : $244K

Your other assets in 7 years time:
Home = $1.28M (assuming a conservative increase of 2% per year, if the gahmen dont remove the control measures)

CPF MA - 160K for both
CPF SA - 420K for both

CPF OA & Cash -- 300k + 244K = $544K

At 55, your net worth will only be = (544 + 420 + 160 + 1280) = $2.4M

Your available cash+CPFOA is $544K which will not last long. You will then need to downgrade to HDB to free up cash from your condo.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello gurus,

Need your help to comment on our financial situation.

We are a married couple (46 & 49) with two kids. We live in a 20 year old condo (bought in 2006) which is now worth $1.1m, we have cleared the mortgage. We own an old small 1.6L car which is paid off. Our income is only $110k pa and we spend $80k pa. Our CPF (OA/SA/MA) and cash savings in total is about $500k. Our total net worth is about $1.6m.

We are happy with the fact that we are debt free - we cleared the mortgage, car loan, personal loans. However our annual savings is only $30k pa. Do you think we can retire at 60? How can we retire comfortably? If you have been in our situation, can share how you retire? Thanks.