How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

53 single income. 340k pa, net worth 3.2M. Condo 2m, jap car all paid up. Plan to retire at 58.

How do you plan to retire? Do you have passive income? Do you plan to downgrade to a cheaper home?

56/57 retired couple with adult working son.
Now relaxing by the condo pool enjoying the morning breeze.
Our passive income is $90k pa (son contributes $12k pa). Our expenses is $60k pa.
Son settles his own expenses.
No car as condo is near an MRT station. No maid.

Some lessons learnt:
1. Buy condo early as prices will be higher over the long run. We bought our condo in 2003 at only $600k, now it is worth $1.4m, paid up.
2. Buy condo near MRT station so that you don't need a car.
3. Save as much cash as possible to invest in blue chips to earn dividends.
4. Don't gamble, smoke, drink, womanize. These are sinful and drains your money.
5. Exercise to keep fit, don't waste money on medical bills.
6. Look out for good and cheap hawker food.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

56/57 retired couple with adult working son.
Now relaxing by the condo pool enjoying the morning breeze.
Our passive income is $90k pa (son contributes $12k pa). Our expenses is $60k pa.
Son settles his own expenses.
No car as condo is near an MRT station. No maid.

Some lessons learnt:
1. Buy condo early as prices will be higher over the long run. We bought our condo in 2003 at only $600k, now it is worth $1.4m, paid up.
2. Buy condo near MRT station so that you don't need a car.
3. Save as much cash as possible to invest in blue chips to earn dividends.
4. Don't gamble, smoke, drink, womanize. These are sinful and drains your money.
5. Exercise to keep fit, don't waste money on medical bills.
6. Look out for good and cheap hawker food.

Benefitting from the property boom only works if you got in at the right time. Those who bought at the peak of 1997 took more than 10 years to recoup their investments. Many others sold and took losses. Right now property is at another all time high. Nobody knows how much higher property prices will go, but the one thing that is certain is that property follows a cycle. What will go up will come down eventually.

Timing property market cycles has a big factor on luck.

42, $106k pa.
40, $100k pa.
EC, worth $900k, still servicing loan.
Jap car, worth $50k, still servicing loan.
Cash, CPF and equities, $400k.

Will work until 75 years old, retire for 10 years before dying.

Or I can just retire at 55, sell my EC and retire in Malaysia.
Spend retirement doing hiking, snorkeling, travel.
What should I do?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

42, $106k pa.
40, $100k pa.
EC, worth $900k, still servicing loan.
Jap car, worth $50k, still servicing loan.
Cash, CPF and equities, $400k.

Will work until 75 years old, retire for 10 years before dying.

Or I can just retire at 55, sell my EC and retire in Malaysia.
Spend retirement doing hiking, snorkeling, travel.
What should I do?

Do anything that makes you happy. No money you definitely wont be happy. But having money does not necessary make you happy as well. Gotta find a good mix of both.

Last but not least, health is wealth.

Your generation and those younger need a paradigm shift. 55 should not be the benchmark any more for retirement. Should be looking at 65.

I dont know whether if it is just me or everybody in my cohort is feeling the same. Although we are in our mid fifties, we still feel young (not just young at heart). I know some of you are probably smirking right now, but most of us (many with greying hairs, and some balding) are still very active and energetic. I can only see the next generation getting better, healthier and stronger.

At the risk of sounding cliche, 55 is the new 45, and 65 is the new 55.

On average, people should be living longer and their productive (economically) life should last longer.

Many people dont actually realise that the last leg of their working life is when they build up / accumulate the most in their nest egg. This "golden" period when they are in their 50s to 60s is when their children are grown up, loans paid off and when they can save the most.

So, I think it would be a waste to go into retirement just when your financial commitment winds down, and your savings accelerate.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

42, $106k pa.
40, $100k pa.
EC, worth $900k, still servicing loan.
Jap car, worth $50k, still servicing loan.
Cash, CPF and equities, $400k.

Will work until 75 years old, retire for 10 years before dying.

Or I can just retire at 55, sell my EC and retire in Malaysia.
Spend retirement doing hiking, snorkeling, travel.
What should I do?

Typical Singapore couple, mid 40s, total income $160k pa.
Lives in a humble 3 bedroom condo, now valued at $1m, loan left $300k.
Drives an Asian car, paid up.
Cash and CPF, $420k.
We enjoy a middle class lifestyle. We are happy with our life.
Our key concern now is our retirement.
Has anyone here retired in other neighboring countries?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Typical Singapore couple, mid 40s, total income $160k pa.
Lives in a humble 3 bedroom condo, now valued at $1m, loan left $300k.
Drives an Asian car, paid up.
Cash and CPF, $420k.
We enjoy a middle class lifestyle. We are happy with our life.
Our key concern now is our retirement.
Has anyone here retired in other neighboring countries?

I am intending to soon...bought a Iskandar semid ...and have Sg props to rent out for passive income....most of my relatives in Malaysia tho I am Sgp...am 39 years old now and hope to retire by 45 years old there...or semiretire if bored after a while...

We bought a terrace house in 2003 and over the past 10 years, prices went up like crazy. We felt that the landed property segment is in a serious bubble and we sold our house last year for a big profit. We then downgraded to a condo in the OCR and paid in full. We cleared all our debts and managed to have cash of $1m to invest in global blue chips. True enough, after one year since we sold our house, prices of similar landed houses have been falling and continue to fall. Our condo, which was very undervalued, on the other hand, appreciated in value as OCR condos are very undervalued.

We are now able to generate decent passive income from dividends. We expect our passive income will grow and eventually able to cover our expenses in retirement in about a few years time. We are now millionaires and hope to retire at 55. This is our story of becoming millionaires.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am intending to soon...bought a Iskandar semid ...and have Sg props to rent out for passive income....most of my relatives in Malaysia tho I am Sgp...am 39 years old now and hope to retire by 45 years old there...or semiretire if bored after a while...

Are you Malaysians? Any advice which town in Malaysia is the best place to retire? How much does it cost per month to retire there? Not keen on JB as crime rate there is very high. Appreciate your advice. Thanks.