How much are you earning per annum?

It is indeed nice (actually very nice) to have money coming in without having to work for it. Everyone dreams of it, but to achieve an adequate amount on a persistent basis is something else.

John D Rockefeller was quoted as saying "Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It's to see my dividends coming in."

Although there are other things that can give me pleasure, I must say seeing my passive income growing ranks high on the list. Let me recount my passive income journey.

I got married 2 years after I started work. With both of us working, we managed to scrimp and save $100k within 4 years. All our bonuses went into it. At that time, interest rates from FDs were still decent at 4%. We were so pleased with the $4K interest earned that we volunteered to host the annual gathering for our extended families for that year. That was our first taste of "passive income". It felt good.

As our income and savings grew, we started buying blue chip stocks. It opened up a new world of passive income for us. As young and rather inexperienced investors, we were very cautious and bought only blue chips. We also dare not trade, what we bought we kept. After a further 5 years, we were getting close to $10k of dividends and interests (from FDs) combined. We were ecstatic. The $10k helped to pay our car road tax, insurance, parking, maintenance and petrol with enough left for short holidays to Malaysia.

Fast foward another 5 years, we switched most of our FDs into stocks encouraged by the steady dividends payout as well as the rapidly declining interest from FDs. We bought more dividend stocks. The dividend payout grew to $20K! That was more than enough to fund our vacation to Europe for a family of four.

5 years ago, our dividend income plateaued at around $40K (about 5% of our investments in stocks). We decided that it was time to diversify our investment to spread the risks, instead of pumping more into stocks. We bought an investment property for rental income. That added another $45K (gross rental income) to our passive income stream.

Today, together with the interest from our CPF of about $25K, we got $110k pa total in passive income. And we used it to buy a new jap car!

When we reach 65, we should get another $28K from the Annuity Life payout.

You are doing well in general. If you compare with the median HH income, yours is almost doubled. There will always be families who are doing much better financially. In some families, the wife earns more than the husband and vice versa. Sometimes, the wife stays at home and vice versa to take care of the family.

Earning a lot and having lots of wealth is not what determines success and happiness. There are families who live in HDB flats and they don't own a car, but they are happier than those who live in big condos and drive big cars. The latter may have children who misbehave and show no respect for parents, all these due to the poor upbringing arising from both parents working all day.

My family's income is not much and we live in a HDB flat, my wife decided to work part time so that she can better pay more attention to our two kids' upbringing. whodunit want to be people who live in big houses but they have children who smokes, drinks and involve in disgusting sinful acts such as pre-marital sex.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

46 & 48 grad couple, not top performers. Middle income, $170k per annum. Expenses, $140k per annum. Home is a condo, bought for $500k in 2005, now worth $1m. Total net worth, $1.5m.

Are there any grad couple in our age group earning less and has lower net worth than us?

Are we in the bottom 20% among grad couples in our age group?

There are many posts here claiming that they are millionaires, earning so much and living in condos. I don't believe all these people. Many people just live in HDB flats and they don't earn so much. So, if you are not earning much, don't be sad. I am also not earning so much even though I am a graduate. I don't live in a condo, many of my friends also don't live in condos, no big deal. So, don't worry, be happy.

My wife and I own a HDB flat (now worth $400k) and a 2 bedroom condo (now worth $800k), both are fully paid up. We are happy that the current housing policy allows those who already own a HDB flat to hold on to their flat even though they buy a private property later.

I pity those who bought private property first, they have to sell their private property when the buy a resale HDB flat. This is a loophole that every smart Singaporean and PRs must exploit. There are many PRs who own resale HDB flat and they also own condos - they rent out the HDB flat to get money.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are doing well in general. If you compare with the median HH income, yours is almost doubled. There will always be families who are doing much better financially. In some families, the wife earns more than the husband and vice versa. Sometimes, the wife stays at home and vice versa to take care of the family.

Earning a lot and having lots of wealth is not what determines success and happiness. There are families who live in HDB flats and they don't own a car, but they are happier than those who live in big condos and drive big cars. The latter may have children who misbehave and show no respect for parents, all these due to the poor upbringing arising from both parents working all day.

My family's income is not much and we live in a HDB flat, my wife decided to work part time so that she can better pay more attention to our two kids' upbringing. whodunit want to be people who live in big houses but they have children who smokes, drinks and involve in disgusting sinful acts such as pre-marital sex.

Being rich and being happy are not mutually exclusive. And rich families with spoilt kids are not the norm.

Well said. I am always puzzled by claims that well-to-do, dual income families have spoilt kids or that their family lives are not happy ones.

This can't be further from the truth. Kids coming from rich families tend to do much better in school and are more progressive in their thinking. Whether boys or girls, these kids will grow up knowing and expecting to work their butts off to attain a comfortable life. These are things they see from looking at how their own parents work, conduct themselves and the income they command.

And they get the best guidance on their studies and career choices from their parents who are professionals (lawyers, accountants, doctors, architects, engineers, etc...)

And these families are also very happy, maybe not too contented, because they are always pushing themselves to do better, either in their careers or profession. They are more widely travelled, interact globally and so they know where they stand and thus the continuous push to better themselves.

Like someone once said, Singapore is but a small pond.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Being rich and being happy are not mutually exclusive. And rich families with spoilt kids are not the norm.

Yes, that's the right attitude. Don't worry, be happy. You alone can determine your own happiness.

However, I would caution against letting that attitude lead to complacency. The world is progressing very fast, and Singapore, as a country is no slacker. As a small and dynamic economy we have the highest concentration of millionaires in the world.

Not all condo owners are millionaires and conversely there are many HDB owners who are millionaires. But millionaires, we have them, by the thousands. We need only 20 of them to be posting here, and it would seem like everyone is a millionaire.

I don't know how old you are, but it is logical to be earning low when just starting out. We all do. Your salary should grow as you take on more responsibilities at work and your skill sets grow. Attaining a million $ net worth in Singapore in one's lifetime should not be an exception.

Some of the posters do provide clues to how they achieve their millions.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There are many posts here claiming that they are millionaires, earning so much and living in condos. I don't believe all these people. Many people just live in HDB flats and they don't earn so much. So, if you are not earning much, don't be sad. I am also not earning so much even though I am a graduate. I don't live in a condo, many of my friends also don't live in condos, no big deal. So, don't worry, be happy.

Rich kids are typically spoilt and arrogant. The good and humble ones are exceptions.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Well said. I am always puzzled by claims that well-to-do, dual income families have spoilt kids or that their family lives are not happy ones.

This can't be further from the truth. Kids coming from rich families tend to do much better in school and are more progressive in their thinking. Whether boys or girls, these kids will grow up knowing and expecting to work their butts off to attain a comfortable life. These are things they see from looking at how their own parents work, conduct themselves and the income they command.

And they get the best guidance on their studies and career choices from their parents who are professionals (lawyers, accountants, doctors, architects, engineers, etc...)

And these families are also very happy, maybe not too contented, because they are always pushing themselves to do better, either in their careers or profession. They are more widely travelled, interact globally and so they know where they stand and thus the continuous push to better themselves.

Like someone once said, Singapore is but a small pond.

I am among those who believe in a simple and meaningful life. I don't believe in following the crowd but to chart my own destiny and path. I was actively involved in social work since my Uni days and I wanted to continue doing that as a volunteer. When I first started working and then got married, I was so busy that I could not continue doing the social work that I love doing. So, I told myself that I will work as hard as possible, make as much money as possible and retire by 50 so that I can devote my life later towards serving others for free. I love feeding the poor and care for the aged.

So, I worked hard, saved a lot and invested my savings over the many years. After 25 years of hard work, saving and investing, I finally achieved financial freedom. My sizeable investment portfolio is now able to generate enough dividends for me to cover my family expenses. At the age of 50, I am now able to devote my life full time to serve others. I have achieved the true meaning of happiness.

42/45, $160k combined income. Lives in a condo worth $1.1m, mortgage left $250k. Car paid up. Have maid and we go holidays twice a year. We are just a low middle income couple.