How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

So, so, you mean only those live in GCB belong to Upper class? Really?

As I said, to each his own perception. To the poster above, very likely his group of friends are all high networth, far above him. So to him, he is middle class as compared to them.

Its too generic to class just lower, middle & upper class. It has to broken down further in each category, for example a man with 10 million is a multi millionaire but so is a man with 500 million. Anyway I would class anyone in a GCB as top tier upper class (Or Super Rich)

The best way to look into this is how banks divide their clients after all they are in the business of psychology and finance., for example UOB. Lower and Middle class usually have normal savings accounts, higher middle to lower upper = privileged banking (350K minimum), mid upper to top upper = Private Reserve (2 M minimum). Of course I am sure there is another category for individuals with 10M and above (disposable cash), now this is one group the banks do not mess with.

So why create a privileged banking? Simply cause there is a sector of middle class made well with ego's to be stoked and milked for cash that would be harder with your lower/middle sector.

Anyway going back to my point right, the person posting this 6M networth and 750K per annum salary is clearly mid to top upper category. By saying he is middle class, well that just plain a slap in the face for true middle class.

All in all I just like to poke fun at this egoistic millionaires. Mr Millionaire swim all day at the condo my favorite.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Excuse me, pls enlighten my humble mind, am really confused now..So only those live in GCB are upper class, and the rest are middle, lower class?

48, unemployed, millionaire by net worth, lower middle class by income.
Passive income only $80k pa, no car, condo 5 years paid up.
Looking for $300k pa job. Any opening out there?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, unemployed, millionaire by net worth, lower middle class by income.
Passive income only $80k pa, no car, condo 5 years paid up.
Looking for $300k pa job. Any opening out there?

why bother working like a slave? read today's sunday times, the banker gave up his big pay cheque to do charity. be like him. his is a true hero we should emulate.

anyway, 80k pa with no debt is a lot of money if you are single. happiness can only truly be achieved if you do charity.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why bother working like a slave? read today's sundaymtimes, the banker gave up his big pay cheque to do charity. be like him. his is a true hero we should emulate.

anyway, 80k pa with no debt is a lot of money if you are single. happiness can only truly be achieved if you do charity.

He can easily do so cause he's rich enough. Doesn't apply to all. If I have 10m to 20m in bnak also I can say quit job and do charity since my passive income is a lot.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

He can easily do so cause he's rich enough. Doesn't apply to all. If I have 10m to 20m in bnak also I can say quit job and do charity since my passive income is a lot.

you don't need $10m to retire. you can actually retire with 2m of investment fund, excluding your home. so let's say you have fully paid your condo and you have 2m to invest. you can get 100k pa from your 2m by investing in blue chip dividend stocks yielding 5%.

your 100k pa is huge esp if you do charity work in thailand where you just need US$1k pm to live.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Its too generic to class just lower, middle & upper class. It has to broken down further in each category, for example a man with 10 million is a multi millionaire but so is a man with 500 million. Anyway I would class anyone in a GCB as top tier upper class (Or Super Rich)

The best way to look into this is how banks divide their clients after all they are in the business of psychology and finance., for example UOB. Lower and Middle class usually have normal savings accounts, higher middle to lower upper = privileged banking (350K minimum), mid upper to top upper = Private Reserve (2 M minimum). Of course I am sure there is another category for individuals with 10M and above (disposable cash), now this is one group the banks do not mess with.

So why create a privileged banking? Simply cause there is a sector of middle class made well with ego's to be stoked and milked for cash that would be harder with your lower/middle sector.

Anyway going back to my point right, the person posting this 6M networth and 750K per annum salary is clearly mid to top upper category. By saying he is middle class, well that just plain a slap in the face for true middle class.

All in all I just like to poke fun at this egoistic millionaires. Mr Millionaire swim all day at the condo my favorite.

Thank you for your enlightenment. This makes much more sense. To classify only those in GCBs as upper class and others as not is too simplistic.
BTW, I live in a condo and do not know anyone living in GCB.

Middle class Singapore couple, earns a total income of 180k pa.
Owns a Jap car, paid up.
Owns an OCR condo, worth 1.5m, paid up. cash and cpf, 500k.
Debt free.
Total net worth, only 2m.
47 & 42 years old.

Any suggestions how can we prepare for retirement?
Can anyone help?

For people to be able to offer advice/suggestions to help you, you need to say what kind of retirement lifestyle you aspire to.

As an example, my wife and I, when we retire, we want to continue living in our wonderful condo. We want to continue having a maid to do the housework and cooking, a reliable car to drive around, occasional dining in restaurants, attending concerts and live musicals and overseas holidays. Simply put, we want to continue our current lifestyle. And we know the cost of such a lifestyle ~ $130k -$150k pa. Factor in 3% inflation and estimate how many years you expect to live in retirement and you will get a projection of the amount you will need for retirement.

In our case, our "number" came up to $3.5m in today's dollars. To achieve this figure (not including our primary residence) we have to work till we are 58.

So if you envisage a simpler lifestyle in retirement, eg living in a HDB studio, no maid, no car and no holiday abroad, I think the payout from the CPF life annuity plan of $2400 per month total for both you should be just enough. But to be safe, it is good to have a little saving somewhere to handle emergencies.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Middle class Singapore couple, earns a total income of 180k pa.
Owns a Jap car, paid up.
Owns an OCR condo, worth 1.5m, paid up. cash and cpf, 500k.
Debt free.
Total net worth, only 2m.
47 & 42 years old.

Any suggestions how can we prepare for retirement?
Can anyone help?

We must recognize and accept that we all have our roles to play. We cannot all quit our jobs and do charity. Imagine what the world will become. Just like we cannot all just invest and not work. The world economy will grind to a halt.

So whenever an individual decides to do charity full time, it is enough we recognize and applaud him. But there is no need to chide the rest. Each of us are contributing to society in our own ways.

I live in a condo that employs 2 shifts of 2 guards for each shift, an estate manager, a secretary and a maintenance technician. We also outsource our landscaping and estate cleaning. Imagine if we all decided to live simply in HDB, this group of jobs will be gone and probably we have to add about 10 people who will be in need of charity.

When the gahmen introduced the CM, TDSR, MSR, property transaction volumes tanked causing a lot of hardship to property agents. Many couldn't make ends meet and had to leave the profession. Just like when they cut the COE supply, a lot of car salespeople lost their livelihood.

When people earn a good salary and spend their money, we should therefore not begrudge them. They are creating a chain of events that lead to job creation for you and I.

For an economy to be healthy and to grow, everyone needs to do their part: earn and spend. And I believe, people derive more dignity and pride if they can earn their keep rather than to depend on handout (charity).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why bother working like a slave? read today's sunday times, the banker gave up his big pay cheque to do charity. be like him. his is a true hero we should emulate.

anyway, 80k pa with no debt is a lot of money if you are single. happiness can only truly be achieved if you do charity.