How much are you earning per annum?

$2.5m is equivalent to RM6.5m, you will be a multi millionaire in Malaysia. 99.9% of Malaysians will never be able to reach this amount of wealth in their lifetime. Just retire in Malaysia. But not JB.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Many people are highly successful in this forum.
My spouse and I, 47 & 49, have not achieved as much, modest in comparison.
We only manage to own just a paid up condo worth 2m.
We only earn 155k pa in total.
We are many years away from being able to retire.
Our net worth is only 2.5m, I think we need at least 4m net worth to retire.
We have to work maybe until we are 70 years old to retire.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Both my wife(Insurance but not agent) and my self (Oil and Gas) are 31 years old.

Total income is around 240k SGD (Including all sorts of bonus) per year.

Fully paid up 4room flat and car. No kid.

Hope to buy a 2nd property within the next 3 years (or when they remove the cooling measures)

Don't be too brave. You both may lose your job at the same time. If you buy investment property, who is going to finance? Nowadays difficult to get tenant because of oversupply. So better just keep lots of cash and buy stocks when the stock market crash.

50/51, $200k pa combined.
Condo, worth $1.1m fully owned.
German car, paid up.
Other assets include cash,CPF, stocks, $500k.
Total net worth, $1.6m.
When we reach 60, we expect our net worth to hit $2m.
We consider ourselves as a middle income Singaporean grad couple.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Anyone staying in a condo is in a way, already "enjoying" the fruits of their labour. They have bought themselves a better lifestyle.

Having said that, just like those who "enjoy life" a little either by going for round the world tour, buying an expensive European car, or a few expensive watches and eating at fine dining restaurants, these people always worry whether they have enough for retirement, especially if they are like this couple with only $2.5m net worth which included their primary residence.

I know exactly how they are feeling. When I was their age, our combined networth was similar to theirs. My and wife decided then to reward ourselves (enjoy life a little) with a better home environment and we upgraded to a condo. Once we got used to that environment, we realised that our savings would not be sufficient to fund our retirement and we certainly don't want to downgrade back to a HDB flat so soon.

So we put our retirement plan on hold and plodded on. At every step of the way, of course, we enjoyed life a little. Every year we continued our tradition of overseas vacation, my wife and I owned a car each, we eat out at restaurants 10 times a month, we have the latest electronic gadgets, etc...

But let me tell you, you can never get rid of the worry of whether you have enough for retirement. And I think it is a good thing in that it shows you are aware and concern. If you don't have such worry, you better be very wealthy because if not, you will be in for a very nasty retirement.

so the point of your post is to tell pple that no matter how much you have it will never be enough for retirement?
I dont want to live by money and die by money. theres more to life than that.
If a person keeps worrying about not enough money even when obviously he does( fulfil all basic needs and not wants), then its time to reevaluate his priorities or check his level of contentment before life flashes by.
cheers.

[Hermit]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Both my wife(Insurance but not agent) and my self (Oil and Gas) are 31 years old.

Total income is around 240k SGD (Including all sorts of bonus) per year.

Fully paid up 4room flat and car. No kid.

Hope to buy a 2nd property within the next 3 years (or when they remove the cooling measures)

I hope you factor in price hikes when the measures are removed. : )

Originally Posted by Sam Adams

hey buddy... i'm 28. made a little more than 100k last year everything included. non-commission based. best piece of advice i can give you is to secure the most prestigious/well-paying first job you can. having that headstart is invaluable, especially since many employers in singapore negotiate salary by taking your last drawn + x%.

Really appreciate the positivity! but what industry are you working in?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Kid, don't learn to see fear, learn to be positive about your future. Always give your 100% in everything you do. All the uncles here are retiring soon, making way for the younger generation like you, also leaving the opportunity behind to you.

Don't worry too much.

Wow! that made me abit more relieved than I am,thank you so much.Honestly sometimes all us youngsters need are some guidance and psotivity really. Just fearful after seeing so many graduates not getting jobs easily etc but I have to prepare for the worst I guess at the start

[Hermit]

Here is a short copy and paste section of an interview with Richard Seow. Food for thought for job seekers thinking about their future.


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Q: What are the strengths of the Singapore education system?

The first of two large areas I would look at is skill sets. Our education system has done a terrific job in building up skill sets. Whether it's the Pisa rankings, tests, IB scores, A Levels, those numbers are really high. We've shown that we're very good at taking exams and at assimilating and applying knowledge.

The second area is a bit more challenging and that's mindset. I used to do global recruiting when I was a banker. I had to deliver a message to the graduates: Sorry, I don't have a job for you.

Generally, the local graduate would stand up, shake my hand, say thank you and leave. But the foreign graduate would say, “You really don't have a job for me? How about for next year? Is that just for your department? What if I work for free? What if you give me an internship, a chance, I will show you that I'm worth it. Will you hire me then?”

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Full interview found here Richard Seow: Reach over and lift up your buddy | Supperclub | Singapolitics

I am 42 and earn 8k pm.
My spouse is 40 and earns 9k pm.
We own a condominium unit (50:50 shared) now valued at 1.2m. 300k loan left.
My net worth is 1.4m. I am a good stocks investor for many years.
My spouse's net worth is 800k. She does not invest but spends on luxury bags.
We own a car, no loan.

Guys, hate to splash cold water... Summing all the appended tip-of-ice-berg bad news. Unless you have got cash and low liability, those who over-valued their Condo and better buffer a discount on that... Think twice. unless your home is fully paid.... better dont lose your job in the next 3 years !!

Good luck !

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY | Staff Reporter, Singapore Published: 27 Jun 14 - See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/residential-property/news/panic-selling-alert-mortgagee-sales-increase-75-in-1h14#sthash.A7K7s0mK.dpuf

Panic selling alert: Mortgagee sales increase 75% in 1H14

Blame tepid activity in the resale market.

Sales in the mortgage market are expected to continue increasing in the next two quarters, unless government curbs on the market are relaxed or removed, according to Colliers International deputy managing director Grace Ng.

256 properties were put up for auction sale in 1H14, of which 64 were listed by mortgagees. According to Colliers, the increase could be attributed to lacklustre activity level in the residential property resale market, which has been hit by consecutive rounds of government cooling measures.

Colliers adds that borrowers who default on their loans have been finding it increasingly difficult to find a buyer on their own in the resale market, as buyers are faced the twin hurdles of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for their second and subsequent property purchases, and loan restrictions due to the Total Debt Servicing Ratio.

The rising number of properties put up for mortgagee sale could also be attributed to the increase in the number of bankruptcies.

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Everything must go: Home prices to plummet by 20% in 2015

Brace yourselves for the big crash.

Homebuyers searching for cheaper houses will only need to wait a little longer. A significant drop in home prices is on the horizon, as residential prices are predicted to dip 10-20% over 2014-2015.

According to OCBC, demand is mounting for residential homes but buyers remain highly price-sensitive. .

“We forecast residential prices to dip 10%-20% over 2014 – 2015 but see a price crash in excess of 20% to be unlikely, even after accounting for the anticipated physical over-supply and interest rate uptrend ahead,” noted OCBC.

Here’s more from

- See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/residential-property/in-focus/everything-must-go-home-prices-plummet-20-in-2015#sthash.N6CGXNe6.dpuf

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ECONOMY | Staff Reporter, Singapore Published: 02 Jul 14 - See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/economy/news/singapore-faces-credit-meltdown#sthash.kAZRH4Ci.dpuf

Singapore faces a credit meltdown

Debt levels higher than the US pre financial crisis.

Singapore and other Asian countries could be facing an economic crisis of the same type as the US financial meltdown that put the world’s economies to its knees. Singapore and many Southeast Asian countries have already surpassed US debt-to-GDP ratio. There is no sign of that debt growth slowing down. This is eerily similar to the financial conditions that pre-dated the American collapse, and economists are deeply concerned.

According to Duncan Woolridge of UBS, “China, North Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia stand out based on levels of leverage alone as at risk. This trend appears unsustainable and a reversal on the horizon should be expected, though we do not claim to know the exact day that will unfold.”

- See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/economy/news/singapore-faces-credit-meltdown#sthash.kAZRH4Ci.dpuf

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HOTELS & TOURISM, RETAIL | Staff Reporter, Singapore Published: 25 Jun 14 - See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/hotels-tourism/news/glitzy-street-no-more-vanishing-chinese-tourists-leave-orchard-road%E2%80%99s-landlords-#sthash.kzUZoHrF.dpuf
Glitzy street no more: Vanishing Chinese tourists leave Orchard Road’s landlords hanging

Desperate owners are starting to get panicky.

The country’s posh shopping center is bearing the brunt of the sharp decline in Chinese tourist arrivals. According to Maybank Kim Eng, short-term headwinds are in the forecast for Orchard Road’s landlords.

The report stated that Orchard Road shops are dealing with a new Chinese law that bans “forced shopping” for tourists.

Hoteliers are also now focusing on corporate and transient segments as tour groups become more scarce.

“Our conversations with Orchard Road landlords suggest that the current headwinds may be short term in nature. Chinese visitors have been declining since last October, partly because of a new mainland law
that bans “forced shopping”, which prompted sharp rises in prices for outbound tours in China. In addition, many hotels along Orchard Road have progressively moved away from the wholesale customer segment (tour groups) to focus on the higher-yielding corporate and transient segments,” the report stated.

- See more at: ://sbr.com.sg/hotels-tourism/news/glitzy-street-no-more-vanishing-chinese-tourists-leave-orchard-road%E2%80%99s-landlords-#sthash.kzUZoHrF.dpuf