How much are you earning per annum?

I will share my story of how I manage to semi-retire in my mid 40s and it has been a wonderful few years of semi retirement.

Prior to my semi retirement, I worked in the fast paced, high stress world of high finance. I did well, got big pay and big bonuses. Did not splurge on expensive luxury cars but instead invested my money in properties and stocks. I also upgraded to a big landed property when I was only in my 30s.

After the many tiring years, I decided to quit and take on a slower paced life. I semi retire and now work on projects I choose. I sold my landed property at a HUGE profit and moved to a 3 bedroom luxury condo unit in a good district. This condo will be my retirement home. My passive income from my investments allows me to semi retire. Any income from my projects are just extras that adds on to my fortune. My family is also well insured and taken care of.

Life is so much better now. I can spend more time taking care of my family (which honestly I quite neglected before). My teenage children loves me a lot more now as I spend time talking to them, coaching them with their studies and even going out to movies, shopping and eating at restaurants with them. I am proud to say that I am now a good father. A father who really cares and in return my children loves me a lot more. This is one thing many of my friends are envious about me as they are not good fathers as they are neglecting their children.

So, if you want to have an early retirement or semi retirement, it is important to work in a high paying job. Next, you must not throw your money away buying expensive depreciating assets but instead invest in properties and stocks. This is a good path towards financial freedom.

For many couples, the golden period can be from 55 to 65, depending on when your children become financially independent of you, when your big loans are paid off. Those who married and have children late would have a later golden period, like a colleague of mine who got married at 43, had his kids only at 45. Now at 57, his children are still in primary school. Still a long way to go. He does not see himself retired before 65.

What is this golden period? It is a period of your working life where you find your income peaking while your financial commitments such as housing loans, children's education needs and living expenses have been fulfilled or are tapering off.

Most couples, ourselves included, would have entered into this golden period at 55. Our housing loans are paid off, no car loans, children either completing uni studies or have started working.

So what does this mean to us financially? This is the time for us to save up like mad, to prepare for a comfortable retirement. With the current retirement age set at 62, we still have another 6 years (we are now 56) to do this. In each of the last 6 years, we we able to save over $300k a year. If this trend holds, in another 6 years, we would be able to grow our networth by another $2m at least. Currently our passive income of $120k pa helps to cover a big part of our yearly expenses of around $150k plus/minus $20k.

Thanks for sharing. You're inspirational!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I will share my story of how I manage to semi-retire in my mid 40s and it has been a wonderful few years of semi retirement.

Prior to my semi retirement, I worked in the fast paced, high stress world of high finance. I did well, got big pay and big bonuses. Did not splurge on expensive luxury cars but instead invested my money in properties and stocks. I also upgraded to a big landed property when I was only in my 30s.

After the many tiring years, I decided to quit and take on a slower paced life. I semi retire and now work on projects I choose. I sold my landed property at a HUGE profit and moved to a 3 bedroom luxury condo unit in a good district. This condo will be my retirement home. My passive income from my investments allows me to semi retire. Any income from my projects are just extras that adds on to my fortune. My family is also well insured and taken care of.

Life is so much better now. I can spend more time taking care of my family (which honestly I quite neglected before). My teenage children loves me a lot more now as I spend time talking to them, coaching them with their studies and even going out to movies, shopping and eating at restaurants with them. I am proud to say that I am now a good father. A father who really cares and in return my children loves me a lot more. This is one thing many of my friends are envious about me as they are not good fathers as they are neglecting their children.

So, if you want to have an early retirement or semi retirement, it is important to work in a high paying job. Next, you must not throw your money away buying expensive depreciating assets but instead invest in properties and stocks. This is a good path towards financial freedom.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

For many couples, the golden period can be from 55 to 65, depending on when your children become financially independent of you, when your big loans are paid off. Those who married and have children late would have a later golden period, like a colleague of mine who got married at 43, had his kids only at 45. Now at 57, his children are still in primary school. Still a long way to go. He does not see himself retired before 65.

What is this golden period? It is a period of your working life where you find your income peaking while your financial commitments such as housing loans, children's education needs and living expenses have been fulfilled or are tapering off.

Most couples, ourselves included, would have entered into this golden period at 55. Our housing loans are paid off, no car loans, children either completing uni studies or have started working.

So what does this mean to us financially? This is the time for us to save up like mad, to prepare for a comfortable retirement. With the current retirement age set at 62, we still have another 6 years (we are now 56) to do this. In each of the last 6 years, we we able to save over $300k a year. If this trend holds, in another 6 years, we would be able to grow our networth by another $2m at least. Currently our passive income of $120k pa helps to cover a big part of our yearly expenses of around $150k plus/minus $20k.

Financially, 55 to 62 is your golden period. How about physical readiness for enjoyment? Before 55 or after 62? Things for you to ponder....

Things for you to ponder too... when you can have both why settle for only one?

Its like people asking you to choose between Health and Wealth or Happiness and Wealth.

Dude, you can have mixture of all three!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Financially, 55 to 62 is your golden period. How about physical readiness for enjoyment? Before 55 or after 62? Things for you to ponder....

Can share what u know, achieved n not achieved? Tks.

My story is..
I started as a very very very small cell... Slowly but steadily I grew. Then, I remember, I received my first pay of $150. I was ecstatic. I made a resolution to get the highest increment in my company. I worked hard. I paid all my taxes. I did OT. I brought back work to home. Then I received my pay of $200. I was extremely happy that I had an increase of $50. It was unheard of in those days.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My story is..
I started as a very very very small cell... Slowly but steadily I grew. Then, I remember, I received my first pay of $150. I was ecstatic. I made a resolution to get the highest increment in my company. I worked hard. I paid all my taxes. I did OT. I brought back work to home. Then I received my pay of $200. I was extremely happy that I had an increase of $50. It was unheard of in those days.

What you tokking??

When do you retire?

It's up to you, depending on your retirement lifestyle and where you choose to retire.

If you don't have anymore dependents, then you can retire as long as your finances is ok.

If you decide to retire in luxury, with a maid, doing your household chores and you own a luxury car and you go holidays to Europe twice a year, you eat at restaurants everyday, then your wealth must be enough to finance all these. So if you need to spend $200k pa for this luxurious lifestyle, and assuming you live for 25 years in retirement, you will need $5m.

However, if you lead a humble retirement lifestyle, staying in a hdb flat (can enjoy rebates), no maid, no car and you do your own household chores, then you don't need so much. You may just need $3k pm or $36k pa or $900k over 25 years (assuming you can adjust spending to manage inflation, eg. buy cheaper brands.)

If you retire in JB, you don't need much. You can rent out your 5 room hdb flat for $2.5k and get RM7k pm. With this, you can retire with your wife in a 2 room condo in JB, own a car and can go travelling in the region.

Cost of renting a 2 room condo in JB is only RM1k pm. So if you have no dependents, and if your hdb flat is fully paid up, you can retire easily and enjoy life. The most you need is RM4k pm to live comfortably in JB for two retired persons. So, don't worry, be happy.

Each year I need to be reminded to file our income tax. While we bemoan having to pay tax, we were also glad that we have income! That means we have jobs and that the salary was high enough to attract income tax.

For as long as I remember, my own income tax was above $20k per year. My wife's tax was much less. As I am on the giro payment scheme, I don't feel the pain as much.

But after each filing, I will still wince in "pain" when I see what I had to pay. This year, I will have to pay $29k in income tax. This was after I have made several donations (eg the NUS 110th year celebration, church welfare societies etc) that attracted 3x tax deduction.

The monthly giro payment of about $2500 to income tax meant that our monthly family expense exceeds $12,000 per month or about $150k per year plus/minus.

When we retire, and with no more income tax, and with just 1 car, and children working, I estimated that our household expense will drop to $8k per month, well within our passive income.