How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Workerbee

I have a feeling that many who are posting here are male, so here's my contribution:

Female, late twenties
Actual working exp, <<1 year! 2 years Masters, 2 years self-employed + spouse to a studying hubby

Decided to return to the workforce (admin in education line)

~88K per year total includ bonuses + profits from very, VERY small side income stream.

Basic pay = very low, but 9 to 5.30pm job, lots of flexible benefits. Great location, working env and amazing colleagues + boss.

Current Savings: 40+K

I personally feel that we're quite lucky for a young couple. We only have a housing loan which we aim to pay off in 3 years (HDB flat) and have no wedding, renovation or study debt. We don't have a car at present but are coping with public transport.

It may be a surprise to many but our standard of living is very high simply because we don't crave for branded goods, expensive holidays or gourmet meals. We are simple people and we're really happy every day because we are not saddled with debt. Some of my high-salaried pals have so much debt they can barely save 500 a month, but I can save at least 2-3K a month.

I guess it all boils down to living within your means. If we keep comparing, we'll never be satisfied or happy. My husband earns way less than bankers or traders, but I don't need him to because we're already so contented. I rather he be healthy, fit and have time to spend with me than be overweight, haggard and spending his nights in the office.

Hmmm.... With < 1 year work experience, how do you calculate bonuses? $5,000~$6,000 is pretty high salary for someone "fresh", unless you are a professional. Mind sharing what you did as a self-employed and your current job title?

[walsly]

25 still studying....

hope to be like some of the peeps here when im in my 30s ..

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What is your spouse studying? He stays at home while you go out for work? No jealous?

Nope, he has since graduated and is also working. No jealousy here

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hmmm.... With < 1 year work experience, how do you calculate bonuses? $5,000~$6,000 is pretty high salary for someone "fresh", unless you are a professional. Mind sharing what you did as a self-employed and your current job title?

In this respect I am very blessed, because my Masters is from a top US university and while I was a spouse I did many relevant things that added value to my portfolio, even if it was unstructured.

For my age there are some of my peers earning 2-3K more so comparatively I'm not earning that much. But of course they have worked full-time for many years. For a "fresh" professional I am grateful for what I'm receiving. I'm in management.

Originally Posted by Workerbee

I have a feeling that many who are posting here are male, so here's my contribution:

Female, late twenties
Actual working exp, <<1 year! 2 years Masters, 2 years self-employed + spouse to a studying hubby

Decided to return to the workforce (admin in education line)

~88K per year total includ bonuses + profits from very, VERY small side income stream.

Basic pay = very low, but 9 to 5.30pm job, lots of flexible benefits. Great location, working env and amazing colleagues + boss.

Current Savings: 40+K

I personally feel that we're quite lucky for a young couple. We only have a housing loan which we aim to pay off in 3 years (HDB flat) and have no wedding, renovation or study debt. We don't have a car at present but are coping with public transport.

It may be a surprise to many but our standard of living is very high simply because we don't crave for branded goods, expensive holidays or gourmet meals. We are simple people and we're really happy every day because we are not saddled with debt. Some of my high-salaried pals have so much debt they can barely save 500 a month, but I can save at least 2-3K a month.

I guess it all boils down to living within your means. If we keep comparing, we'll never be satisfied or happy. My husband earns way less than bankers or traders, but I don't need him to because we're already so contented. I rather he be healthy, fit and have time to spend with me than be overweight, haggard and spending his nights in the office.

Wow, that is really good for your age and experience.

[lazyplane]

Originally Posted by Workerbee

I have a feeling that many who are posting here are male, so here's my contribution:

Female, late twenties
Actual working exp, <<1 year! 2 years Masters, 2 years self-employed + spouse to a studying hubby

Decided to return to the workforce (admin in education line)

~88K per year total includ bonuses + profits from very, VERY small side income stream.

Basic pay = very low, but 9 to 5.30pm job, lots of flexible benefits. Great location, working env and amazing colleagues + boss.

Current Savings: 40+K

I personally feel that we're quite lucky for a young couple. We only have a housing loan which we aim to pay off in 3 years (HDB flat) and have no wedding, renovation or study debt. We don't have a car at present but are coping with public transport.

It may be a surprise to many but our standard of living is very high simply because we don't crave for branded goods, expensive holidays or gourmet meals. We are simple people and we're really happy every day because we are not saddled with debt. Some of my high-salaried pals have so much debt they can barely save 500 a month, but I can save at least 2-3K a month.

I guess it all boils down to living within your means. If we keep comparing, we'll never be satisfied or happy. My husband earns way less than bankers or traders, but I don't need him to because we're already so contented. I rather he be healthy, fit and have time to spend with me than be overweight, haggard and spending his nights in the office.

i dont doubt you r where u said . but i think you must have missed out a few points in mentioning how u arrived .

a. You mentioned Masters in top tier US university n spouse studying as well.
how was this financed ?

b. any cheap hdb property in singapore cost money. assume 400k, u still have down payment , minimal reno. whch cost $$$$

c. if you had worked so little yet able to pay off the above, u either had a spouse whom had the necessary cpf savings plus cash or parents.

If you financed your own education and all above then truly , i think u have mastered something i m truly keen to learn. i went the self help route all n paid for my uni , wedding, reno etc by savings n i didnt reach your status until i was 35. i am no where like the many posts here but i think i represent the real singaporean in the sense we r far far away from thinking about retirement n stuff like that because the cost of living is high n our salaries r not rising like what is posted.

some here can i m a loser as compared to their grand salaries n from the money angle , that is true.... but that to me is the reality of life. one winner, many losers....nevertheless, to win in life, money is not the only thing.and i m thankful that i realised that a long long time ago.

Originally Posted by lazyplane

i dont doubt you r where u said . but i think you must have missed out a few points in mentioning how u arrived .

a. You mentioned Masters in top tier US university n spouse studying as well.
how was this financed ?

b. any cheap hdb property in singapore cost money. assume 400k, u still have down payment , minimal reno. whch cost $$$$

c. if you had worked so little yet able to pay off the above, u either had a spouse whom had the necessary cpf savings plus cash or parents.

If you financed your own education and all above then truly , i think u have mastered something i m truly keen to learn. i went the self help route all n paid for my uni , wedding, reno etc by savings n i didnt reach your status until i was 35. i am no where like the many posts here but i think i represent the real singaporean in the sense we r far far away from thinking about retirement n stuff like that because the cost of living is high n our salaries r not rising like what is posted.

some here can i m a loser as compared to their grand salaries n from the money angle , that is true.... but that to me is the reality of life. one winner, many losers....nevertheless, to win in life, money is not the only thing.and i m thankful that i realised that a long long time ago.

I can see you gave up trying to make sense by the last paragraph

It's true - I missed out on quite a bit to preserve some anonymity. My Masters was financed with a full scholarship from the university itself - I come from a lower middle class family with no money to spare for my education. I worked very hard to get good grades and secured a full ride for my Masters. My college education was also paid for by scholarships.

My spouse came from an even more humble background - but he worked just as hard and I helped him identify various scholarships that he could apply for. We ended up being very blessed in this respect, with our education fully financed.

As for the HDB - again, very blessed, bought it at a time when the property market was down and so it was really, really affordable. We do still have the housing loan, but we plan to pay it off in the next 3 years. We have to be very disciplined for this, of course.

Yes, we needed our combined CPF and savings to take off a load off our housing cost (so it's not just me alone!). So don't feel like you're a loser or anything - it's just circumstances came together well for me I guess.

Again, I emphasize that I'm a simple person and a natural "squirrel". By age 24, before I went for my Masters I had amassed 50K+ by then through sheer discipline and prudence from the multiple jobs I took on during college. During my Masters I even held down 3 part-time jobs at one time! So I'm just a "workerbee" - but a happy one, of course!

Originally Posted by lazyplane

i dont doubt you r where u said . but i think you must have missed out a few points in mentioning how u arrived .

a. You mentioned Masters in top tier US university n spouse studying as well.
how was this financed ?

b. any cheap hdb property in singapore cost money. assume 400k, u still have down payment , minimal reno. whch cost $$$$

c. if you had worked so little yet able to pay off the above, u either had a spouse whom had the necessary cpf savings plus cash or parents.

If you financed your own education and all above then truly , i think u have mastered something i m truly keen to learn. i went the self help route all n paid for my uni , wedding, reno etc by savings n i didnt reach your status until i was 35. i am no where like the many posts here but i think i represent the real singaporean in the sense we r far far away from thinking about retirement n stuff like that because the cost of living is high n our salaries r not rising like what is posted.

some here can i m a loser as compared to their grand salaries n from the money angle , that is true.... but that to me is the reality of life. one winner, many losers....nevertheless, to win in life, money is not the only thing.and i m thankful that i realised that a long long time ago.

My husband and I draw about 8k together and already find it tight to service hdb flat and children.

But my brother in law and sis in law worse off, both earn combined $3000+ only and their flat is not much cheaper than ours.

My sis in law not much education so her pay seems stagnant, I think she has been stuck at $1k+ for the last few years, not much chance to upgrade.

At least for me with uni deg I can expect 5-10% pay raise every year. I dunno how my bro n sis in law r gg have kids and pay for flat

47, ex banker, now retired
Owns 3 private properties, one own stay and the other two rented out
Passive income of $6k per month
Living a simple life, no car, spends a lot of time working out in the gym