How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't be over confident. Better be safe than sorry.

I am the President of a small nation at the southern tip of the Malay peninsula in SEA.

Can I finally have your permission to be confident and buy assets? TIA

For those retrenched PMETs out there, such as ex-engineers and ex-bankers, do not be sad. You have worked so hard all your lives, now is the time to celebrate life. Open your mind. Your life on this earth is limited. Time to retire. Enjoy your retirement!

Good retirement plan in KL or Penang (retire in luxury) for a retired couple at 55 years old (assuming no dependents)

Passive income at 55
Rent out fully paid HDB flat S$2.5k pm
Stocks dividends S$1k pm
Total S$3.5k pm or RM10.5k pm

KL or Penang cost of living
Rent a 3 bedroom condominium RM2k pm
Car expenses RM500 pm (assume buy car in cash RM50k)
Food, groceries, restaurants and utilities RM2k pm
Medical and entertainment RM1k pm
Misc RM500 pm
Total spending RM6k pm
Savings RM4.5k pm

Passive income at 65
Rent out fully paid HDB flat S$2.5k pm
Stocks dividends S$1k pm
CPF Life (Enhanced Retirement Scheme), couple gets S$3.5k pm
Total income S$7k pm or RM21k pm
Total spending RM8k pm
Savings RM13k pm

This retirement plan allows you to live in a nice condo and drive a nice car. You can go holidays all over the world every year if you want to since you will have lots of savings.

Your key retirement assets are: 1. HDB flat 2. CPF Life 3. Dividend blue chip stocks.

Ask yourself. What's the purpose of your creation on this earth. Is it to accumulate huge amount of wealth, spend it lavishly and die? Or do you have a higher purpose?

Life is not all about yourself and your family. Life is not about being greedy and accumulating wealth until your death bed. There is no end to accumulating wealth. You will always want more and more. But do you really need more and more?

If you understand the true meaning of your life, then you will be truly happy.

I am on my journey towards true happiness. Material wealth no longer makes me happy. Ever since I retired in my mid 50s, I now truly understand life and its purpose. You don't need so much to live. I'm happy to live in a simple three bedroom condo and drive a simple car. I am debt free and earn passive income which is sufficient for my family. I'm now just a simple, humble man.

We all have a different calling in life and we are born with different talents to achieve it. Whatever the calling is, money remains an important tool to enable us to achieve them.

Let's say your calling is to do eradicate poverty. You will do this best by eliminating illiteracy, providing useful skills and creating jobs for impoverished people. And you will be able to help in a big way if you have money, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who set up charitable foundations which employ many professionals to carry out the tasks for them. But do they quit their jobs and go help the poor by themselves? No, that would be disastrous. The poor don't need Bill Gates' and Warren Buffet's time, they need their donations!

What can we do since we are no Bill Gates nor Warren Buffet? We can still do our part in our own small way to our less fortunate neighbours - by remaining in employment, contributing to our economy through our spending.

If people start retiring once they hit 50, you can imagine the huge implication this will have on our small country. First, the labor force will shrink significantly and companies will relocate overseas or close down. This will mean that the younger workers will also lose their jobs. Secondly these young retirees will start cutting down their spending, leading to less demand for goods and services in general. Again this is no good for the economy. Thirdly, when people stopped work young, they will have to stretch their savings over a longer retirement period. This is a dicey position to be in, because there are just too many unknowns that can crop up and when they do, you will not have the funds to handle them.

By working as long as we can say, even pass 65, we can continue to live our lives to the full. No need to watch our spending closely. We can afford to give ourselves more frequent treats like buying a new car even at 65!, going for that overseas trip to attend our children's graduation and stay on for an extended holiday. When we continue to work and spend, we provide a crucial lifeline to our economy.

Besides the financial benefits of working, there is also the social aspect. Once retired, I see many people become reclusive, counting and weighing every single cent they spend, avoiding social gatherings and even hiding from relatives' wedding etc..

Finally, if you can still work at an advanced age, it means you are still capable and that your company still values you.

I sensed deep insecurity in you. Also you kept using the same words over and over, showing that you have not picked new vocabulary since you retired so early. This is another reason why people shouldn't retire at a young age. Instead of growing the mind, it regresses. It is thus not just the financial aspect, but mental as well as general health.

I think you also feel you are losing out to your colleagues and those of your cohort who are still working and seeing them progress. While they are talking about their next car or property to buy or overseas vacation, you are thinking how best to cut your spending.

Happiness is elusive to you I strongly suspect.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ask yourself. What's the purpose of your creation on this earth. Is it to accumulate huge amount of wealth, spend it lavishly and die? Or do you have a higher purpose?

Life is not all about yourself and your family. Life is not about being greedy and accumulating wealth until your death bed. There is no end to accumulating wealth. You will always want more and more. But do you really need more and more?

If you understand the true meaning of your life, then you will be truly happy.

I am on my journey towards true happiness. Material wealth no longer makes me happy. Ever since I retired in my mid 50s, I now truly understand life and its purpose. You don't need so much to live. I'm happy to live in a simple three bedroom condo and drive a simple car. I am debt free and earn passive income which is sufficient for my family. I'm now just a simple, humble man.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I understand where you're coming from as I've been through the same experience. Only those who have been there understand. I must say you're a very successful person as you understand life. Most importantly you're happy. Anyway owning a luxury condo and a car with no debt is a big deal here. Congratulations!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Ask yourself. What's the purpose of your creation on this earth. Is it to accumulate huge amount of wealth, spend it lavishly and die? Or do you have a higher purpose?

Life is not all about yourself and your family. Life is not about being greedy and accumulating wealth until your death bed. There is no end to accumulating wealth. You will always want more and more. But do you really need more and more?

If you understand the true meaning of your life, then you will be truly happy.

I am on my journey towards true happiness. Material wealth no longer makes me happy. Ever since I retired in my mid 50s, I now truly understand life and its purpose. You don't need so much to live. I'm happy to live in a simple three bedroom condo and drive a simple car. I am debt free and earn passive income which is sufficient for my family. I'm now just a simple, humble man.

What's wrong with you. He was just sharing his situation. Looks like you're insecure and jealous.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I sensed deep insecurity in you. Also you kept using the same words over and over, showing that you have not picked new vocabulary since you retired so early. This is another reason why people shouldn't retire at a young age. Instead of growing the mind, it regresses. It is thus not just the financial aspect, but mental as well as general health.

I think you also feel you are losing out to your colleagues and those of your cohort who are still working and seeing them progress. While they are talking about their next car or property to buy or overseas vacation, you are thinking how best to cut your spending.

Happiness is elusive to you I strongly suspect.

Profile: Married couple, both 47, with 2 kids in secondary schools.

Household expenses

Condo (3 bedroom) mortgage and maintenance fees $30,000 pa ($2500 pm x 12)
Car loan $9,000 pa ($750 pm x 12)
Car petrol, maintenance, insurance, road tax, parking, etc $12,000 pa ($1000 pm x 12)
Food, groceries, eating out, utilities $24,000 pa ($2000 x 12)
Children's expenses including tuition, enrichment, food, etc $12,000 pa ($1000 pm x 12)
Family insurance $21,600 pa ($1800 pm x 12)
Family overseas holidays $12,000 pa
Parents' allowances (both sides in total) $19,200 pa ($1600 pm x 12)
Others and miscellaneous $24,000 pa ($2000 pm x 12)
Total $163,800 pa

Household combined income $213,800 pa
Household combined savings $50,000 pa
Current combined household net worth $1.2m

By the time we retire at 65, our condo will be fully owned. We will retire in our condo and we will retire with the income we get from our CPF Life as well as from our cash savings. If our kids follow our footsteps of filial piety, they will also give us some allowances (we won't expect it, but if they give, it will be a bonus).

Just sharing on my cousin, this is not me.

He is a senior level employee in US, all the figures are what his parents tell us when he comes over during the new year period.

Company shares: 100 million
Salary: 0.5 million per year
Apartment: 1 million (house in california)
Car: 0.1 million (sl65 amg)

He dress levis jeans, one plain t shirt and a $300 ck watch. His wife also dress plainly. include the children. The only thing i notice expensive is he has a really skinny belt on, looks like python leather skinny belt.

I think they have too much money.
recently gifted his wife a tudor watch.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just sharing on my cousin, this is not me.

He is a senior level employee in US, all the figures are what his parents tell us when he comes over during the new year period.

Company shares: 100 million
Salary: 0.5 million per year
Apartment: 1 million (house in california)
Car: 0.1 million (sl65 amg)

He dress levis jeans, one plain t shirt and a $300 ck watch. His wife also dress plainly. include the children. The only thing i notice expensive is he has a really skinny belt on, looks like python leather skinny belt.

I think they have too much money.
recently gifted his wife a tudor watch.

a cousin of mine in his late 30s is a General Manager in China, a US company.
He has a personal chaffeur, company car, and a condo for staying.
salary is $15,000 per month. rented out his yio chu kang bungalow out while he based in china.
now he come back promoted to General Manager APAC.