How much are you earning per annum?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Your fixed bonus is pretty decent considering that it's not part of your PB. Additional 1.35k a month adds up to 16.2k in a year, which is close to 24% extra of your annual basic (excluding bonus).

May I ask what job are you holding? Is it a commission-based job?

Not com based, not sales. Oil gas industry. Peers are all degree holders, couples yrs exp.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

So what's ur point ?

1. Study and work hard in your schooling days and younger working days. You can then end the game earlier.

2. Life is not all about making money, there is more to life. Search your soul for the true meaning of life and it will you true happiness.

3. You don't have to leave behind so much wealth for your kids. It will make them weak and lazy.

Couple in our late 40s, earning a combined income of $100k pa. We are in the middle income group in Singapore. We bought our 4-room flat direct from HDB, many years ago at a low price. Now, we have paid it up. We own a small car, just nice for our family of four. Our savings in CPF OA and cash is $100k in total. We have no loans. No other assets.

Do you think we can afford to upgrade to an EC? We need to take a new mortgage if we upgrade. Or should we just be happy and stay put at our flat (currently worth $400k)?

Any advice? Thank you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Couple in our late 40s, earning a combined income of $100k pa. We are in the middle income group in Singapore. We bought our 4-room flat direct from HDB, many years ago at a low price. Now, we have paid it up. We own a small car, just nice for our family of four. Our savings in CPF OA and cash is $100k in total. We have no loans. No other assets.

Do you think we can afford to upgrade to an EC? We need to take a new mortgage if we upgrade. Or should we just be happy and stay put at our flat (currently worth $400k)?

Any advice? Thank you.

my advise is not to buy the EC. it's not worth the stress of taking on a loan as you don't have much retirement savings. better to invest the $100K wisely in blue chip stocks when there is a recession

Don't say I say, a combined income of $100k pa (or roughly $6.6k pm assuming 2 months bonus) is really low for a couple at late 40s. That is $3.3k pm per person. If one of you were to stop work or lose your job, you will immediately face problem meeting the loan payment.

If both of you are salaried workers, at your late 40s you have no much upside in your career. I give you at most one more promotion in your job, but that's not going to increase your salary much.

Another thing, you can do a quick check with the banks to see how much loan you can take for the EC based on your income and age. You will probably not be able to loan the amount you need.

So staying put in your HDB is your only option.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Couple in our late 40s, earning a combined income of $100k pa. We are in the middle income group in Singapore. We bought our 4-room flat direct from HDB, many years ago at a low price. Now, we have paid it up. We own a small car, just nice for our family of four. Our savings in CPF OA and cash is $100k in total. We have no loans. No other assets.

Do you think we can afford to upgrade to an EC? We need to take a new mortgage if we upgrade. Or should we just be happy and stay put at our flat (currently worth $400k)?

Any advice? Thank you.

Agree that it may not be wise for the couple to upgrade.

But alarmed at how out-of-touch (elitist, even) some posters here are! $50k pa is about the median income of tax-paying Singapore residents, just to remind some of our HNWIs here.
This couple's pay is not "really low" as you declare. Maybe yours is "obscenely high".

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't say I say, a combined income of $100k pa (or roughly $6.6k pm assuming 2 months bonus) is really low for a couple at late 40s. That is $3.3k pm per person. If one of you were to stop work or lose your job, you will immediately face problem meeting the loan payment.

If both of you are salaried workers, at your late 40s you have no much upside in your career. I give you at most one more promotion in your job, but that's not going to increase your salary much.

Another thing, you can do a quick check with the banks to see how much loan you can take for the EC based on your income and age. You will probably not be able to loan the amount you need.

So staying put in your HDB is your only option.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Agree that it may not be wise for the couple to upgrade.

But alarmed at how out-of-touch (elitist, even) some posters here are! $50k pa is about the median income of tax-paying Singapore residents, just to remind some of our HNWIs here.
This couple's pay is not "really low" as you declare. Maybe yours is "obscenely high".

Ah but I highly doubt it's the real HNWI that's posting such things. Just people reading too much HNWI/rubbish post and started dreaming that anything sub 100k is really low

I am an optimist. Go ahead and buy the EC. You are already in your late 40s and soon you might die. Before you die, you must enjoy life. Owning a condo in Singapore is the best achievement ever for Singaporeans. You can sell your flat for $450k and use your cash and CPF. Downpayment $500k. Nowadays you can get a 3-room EC unit for only $700k. So you need to loan only $200k of mortgage. You can service the loan for 20 years until you retire at 70. You can do it. Be optimistic.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Couple in our late 40s, earning a combined income of $100k pa. We are in the middle income group in Singapore. We bought our 4-room flat direct from HDB, many years ago at a low price. Now, we have paid it up. We own a small car, just nice for our family of four. Our savings in CPF OA and cash is $100k in total. We have no loans. No other assets.

Do you think we can afford to upgrade to an EC? We need to take a new mortgage if we upgrade. Or should we just be happy and stay put at our flat (currently worth $400k)?

Any advice? Thank you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

1. Study and work hard in your schooling days and younger working days. You can then end the game earlier.

2. Life is not all about making money, there is more to life. Search your soul for the true meaning of life and it will you true happiness.

3. You don't have to leave behind so much wealth for your kids. It will make them weak and lazy.

I fully agree with what you've said, especially the 3rd point.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Couple in our late 40s, earning a combined income of $100k pa. We are in the middle income group in Singapore. We bought our 4-room flat direct from HDB, many years ago at a low price. Now, we have paid it up. We own a small car, just nice for our family of four. Our savings in CPF OA and cash is $100k in total. We have no loans. No other assets.

Do you think we can afford to upgrade to an EC? We need to take a new mortgage if we upgrade. Or should we just be happy and stay put at our flat (currently worth $400k)?

Any advice? Thank you.

No problem. If you sell your flat, you have lots of cash as downpayment, so your loan will not be high, the most $250k, which is manageable with your $100k pa HH income. Loan/income ratio only 2.5x.

There is this foolish forumer whose HH income is only $120k pa (only breadwinner, his wife is not working), yet his loan is $1.2m !!!! Crazy !!!! Worse, some stupid people still encourage him. If the market crashes and he loses his job, he will surely be bankrupt and begging on the streets.