How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Job: Banking-Technology, Director level

Annual pay: SGD 240K basic

Be careful and be prepared. No job is safe and guaranteed.
Make sure you are debt free.
Be humble and feed the poor, please.
Make sure you have emergency funds of at least $1m cash.

I would put the message across differently, like so:

"Companies have started right sizing and retrenchments are happening. A crisis could be looming. Therefore prepare for opportunities and bargain hunting. Get ready your investment war chest. Don't miss another boat!"

You see, in every crisis, there are opportunities. Many people were too fearful and slow to act during the 1997/8 AFC and again during the 2008/9 GFC and regretted. They then became jealous of those who came out to cherry pick oversold stocks and properties and were duly rewarded.

And our resident car salesman could also say something like :

"car price fall could be coming, be ready to get the second car you always wanted for your family!"

But at the end of day, I think you are over reacting to the downsizing by Standard Chartered. There are many small retrenchments going on every year, it is just that they were not announced on the news. Companies rise and fall due to competition and change in consumer behavior and thus retrenchments are to be expected now and then. Just look at what happened to Kodak and Nokia. They were once big and strong companies and were household names, but the newer generation of people do not know them.

The world economy is never evenly strong or weak. Currently Greece, and many parts of Europe, and Japan are struggling, but the US and parts of Asia are still throttling along.

The current falling oil prices is also causing initial instability to economies, but the end effect would be a stronger recovery. People forgot that when oil prices shot up, many economies tanked. So falling oil prices should good for economies in general.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are missing my point. What I'm saying is we should not be overleveraged, especially when it comes to your home and car. If you buy both of these in cash with no loan, then you have less to worry and less to spend. If you are debt free, then you can save more and invest. If you are spending took much to service your debt, you won't have much to save and invest. Your job is never certain. You can always be let go at any time. So be humble.

I don't deny there will be opportunities during crises. By all means, if there is another crisis which bring equities down by 50%, then grab as much as you can. However, you can only do this if you feel secure. If you are your wife are both retrenched, the last thing in your mind is to invest even though you know the opportunities are there. During the last GFC, people sold their homes out of necessity as they have no jobs and can no longer service their big mortgages. No one is stupid enough to sell at a loss if they don't have to. So that is why I'm advocating being debt free. No more mortgages. No more car loan. No more personal loans. So if you can save more and when the opportunity arises you can then invest. If you are debt free, has lots of savings, then in the event of retrenchment, you have less to worry. Your family still has roof over their head and food on the table.

I'm sure if you are retrenched due to your high pay of more than $100k pa, you would prioritize putting food on the table than risking your limited funds in the stock market.

Be debt free. Be humble.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I would put the message across differently, like so:

"Companies have started right sizing and retrenchments are happening. A crisis could be looming. Therefore prepare for opportunities and bargain hunting. Get ready your investment war chest. Don't miss another boat!"

You see, in every crisis, there are opportunities. Many people were too fearful and slow to act during the 1997/8 AFC and again during the 2008/9 GFC and regretted. They then became jealous of those who came out to cherry pick oversold stocks and properties and were duly rewarded.

And our resident car salesman could also say something like :

"car price fall could be coming, be ready to get the second car you always wanted for your family!"

But at the end of day, I think you are over reacting to the downsizing by Standard Chartered. There are many small retrenchments going on every year, it is just that they were not announced on the news. Companies rise and fall due to competition and change in consumer behavior and thus retrenchments are to be expected now and then. Just look at what happened to Kodak and Nokia. They were once big and strong companies and were household names, but the newer generation of people do not know them.

The world economy is never evenly strong or weak. Currently Greece, and many parts of Europe, and Japan are struggling, but the US and parts of Asia are still throttling along.

The current falling oil prices is also causing initial instability to economies, but the end effect would be a stronger recovery. People forgot that when oil prices shot up, many economies tanked. So falling oil prices should good for economies in general.

Just to add, there are youngsters who are both working in banks and earning a combined income of $500k pa. They become arrogant and overconfident. They buy a $2m condo with 80% loan of $1.6m. When crisis strikes or restructuring comes, both husband and wife lose their jobs. They suddenly go from $500k pa to zero income. They cannot service their big mortgage and had to sell their $2m condo whose value dropped to $1.5m. They also have to sell their continental car at a loss.

So, avoid this situation. Even if you are earning $700k pa combined, don't be arrogant. You could lose your job tomorrow. Best is to buy a hdb flat or a cheap condo and pay in full.

Be debt free. Be humble.

Hello, how many are earning this big bucks? For those who can earn this obscene amount of money and dont know how to take care of their own finances, I say then that they dont deserve the money.

So dont waste your energy and bandwidth worrying over unnecessary things. Worry about yourself.

Dont mix with negative people and pessimists, you will end up as one.

I suppose you know this story of a businessman who sent his two sons to an Indian village to explore opportunities to sell shoes. Upon reaching the village, the 2 sons saw that everyone in the village was not wearing any shoes.

Immediately the elder son shook his head and said no business to be made here as no one is wearing any shoes. But the younger son saw a huge potential market for the shoes.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just to add, there are youngsters who are both working in banks and earning a combined income of $500k pa. They become arrogant and overconfident. They buy a $2m condo with 80% loan of $1.6m. When crisis strikes or restructuring comes, both husband and wife lose their jobs. They suddenly go from $500k pa to zero income. They cannot service their big mortgage and had to sell their $2m condo whose value dropped to $1.5m. They also have to sell their continental car at a loss.

So, avoid this situation. Even if you are earning $700k pa combined, don't be arrogant. You could lose your job tomorrow. Best is to buy a hdb flat or a cheap condo and pay in full.

Be debt free. Be humble.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Job: Banking-Technology, Director level

Annual pay: SGD 240K basic

Lol, banking director got time to come to this miserable forum to say that he earns SGD 240k basic.

Looks more like a recruiter looking for candidates...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello, how many are earning this big bucks? For those who can earn this obscene amount of money and dont know how to take care of their own finances, I say then that they dont deserve the money.

So dont waste your energy and bandwidth worrying over unnecessary things. Worry about yourself.

Dont mix with negative people and pessimists, you will end up as one.

I suppose you know this story of a businessman who sent his two sons to an Indian village to explore opportunities to sell shoes. Upon reaching the village, the 2 sons saw that everyone in the village was not wearing any shoes.

Immediately the elder son shook his head and said no business to be made here as no one is wearing any shoes. But the younger son saw a huge potential market for the shoes.

You earn 350k pa, so what? If your big earning just sufficient to maintain your current lifestyle without much saving, then you are most vulnerable. You may have to beg to remain in similar position with lesser pay.

lowly analyst in UBS, 1st year, 8k basic. Bad bonus this year...

female, 25, $51,200 p.a.

Husband & wife, 50 & 52, combined income $190k pa. Savings $60k pa.
Residence is a 3 bedroom condo, latest valuation $1.3m. No more mortgage.
Car 1.8L Jap sedan, 2 years old, paid up.
Other assets include cash and CPF savings.
Total net worth $2m.