How much are you earning per annum?

Good for you. I have ex bankers friends who retired in their 40s. Now they are enjoying the good life, travelling around the world on leisure and doing community work.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My spouse and I will be retiring in a couple of years when we reach 55. Our condo unit is paid up and our children will be financially independent. As a retired couple, we will not need much, just food, holidays once a year and some recreation. We don't drive and do not have a maid, this saves a lot of money.

We will need about $36k pa in retirement and this will be financed by our passive income of $50k pa from our investments. An added bonus will be contributions from our children. When we reach 65, we will get an additional $3.6k pm ($43.2k pa) from our CPF Life. We can save a portion of this and spend the rest on more traveling around the world.

We both like reading and outdoor activities. So we will be spending our retirement doing lots of those activities. We hope to also do some volunteer work in local charitable organizations.

We are excited to embark on our active retirement journey. After working for so long, it is time for us to get a good rest.

I help out at the nearby old folks' home once or twice a month. I do not see any of the rich people here who are supposedly "doing charity after they retire". Most are students fulfilling their CIP hours or social workers.

[aplover]

Why do you guys have this desire to just retire? I find working enjoyable and fruitful. Keeps one's mind active. Any money earned also can be used to give to charity and help the underpriviledge.

Originally Posted by aplover

Why do you guys have this desire to just retire? I find working enjoyable and fruitful. Keeps one's mind active. Any money earned also can be used to give to charity and help the underpriviledge.

Well, it depends on your own personal circumstances. If you are in the right job you love, then you're the lucky few who will jump out of bed every morning to rush to work.

However, if you are old and tired of the early morning grind, you need to report to a young, inexpereinced, smart alec boss who you don't respect and you still force yourself to work to pay the bills, then condolences to you.

The best is to be prepared financially. Be financially independent so you can quit your job any time. You can take your time to find another job you like or you can enjoy retirement with so many things you can do eg. learning to cook new dishes, trekking, camping, mountain climbing, learning astronomy, scuba diving, horse riding, exploring the world, etc.

Great comments. How true. That's why I'm working hard to build up my retirement fund. Aiming to retire by 50, that's another four years to go.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Well, it depends on your own personal circumstances. If you are in the right job you love, then you're the lucky few who will jump out of bed every morning to rush to work.

However, if you are old and tired of the early morning grind, you need to report to a young, inexpereinced, smart alec boss who you don't respect and you still force yourself to work to pay the bills, then condolences to you.

The best is to be prepared financially. Be financially independent so you can quit your job any time. You can take your time to find another job you like or you can enjoy retirement with so many things you can do eg. learning to cook new dishes, trekking, camping, mountain climbing, learning astronomy, scuba diving, horse riding, exploring the world, etc.

Hey guys, was busy last few days trying to make some $$ from the stock market volatility.

Just want to share a quote from an industry leader

"Most of you will have 40 years or more in your working life. Unless, of course you plan to retire very early in your 40s, when you should ordinarily speaking still be peaking. It would be wasteful if you choose to stop work prematurely, since so much human capital has been invested in you. And believe me, you will be bored to death if you let up too early in life." - Liew Mun Leong

Dont listen to crap from someone earning millions in a year. They have forgotten how the masses felt.

Active retirement lifestyle

1. Exercise regularly in the condo gym.
2. Swim regularly in the condo pool.
3. Play tennis regularly in the condo tennis court.
4. Cycle regularly in nature parks.
5. Go trekking and camping occasionally.
6. Read regularly especially on areas you never had a chance to explore eg astronomy, science, religion, the universe, etc.
7. Managing your investment portfolio actively by reading reports and news websites, attend shareholder meetings, attend seminars, etc.
8. Travel to a country once a year for a month. Don't spend a long time travellling around the world at one go. You get bored and tired. Choose one country a year over your 30 years of retirement or until you die, whichever is earlier.
9. Do volunteer work in charities. You can do the menial work or take the role of organizers.
10. Learn new skills such as cooking, new sports, etc.
11. Set up a small business and be a boss. This will be exciting and will test your true ability instead of just being a salaried worker. Start small, if you fail the loss will not be big.
12. Start a movement to save the world, eg start a group that feed the poor in some parts of Africa, Asia, etc.

So, retirement need not be boring. It is up to you to plan your activities. Most importantly, you are your own boss.

You don't have to:
(1) wake up early in the morning and get stuck in the morning traffic jam,
(2) go home late at night when everyone in your family has slept,
(3) report everyday to a boss who you don't like and yet you try so hard to please,
(4) be scolded by your boss every other day,
(5) get involved in dirty office politics, (6) be humiliated by lousy year end review even though you have done well whereas the boss pets get good reviews even though they produce lousy work, etc.
(7) get your weekends burnt to finish up urgent work, etc.
(8) get high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high stress, depression, etc.

Be your own man.
Be free.
Be financially independent.

Very well written that reflects how I feel now.

I am 45 this year and feeling the mid life crisis.

Fortunately I dont have debt and have a happy family with 2 healthy teenage boys

Hope to semi retire by 50. And look forward to smell the roses.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Active retirement lifestyle

1. Exercise regularly in the condo gym.
2. Swim regularly in the condo pool.
3. Play tennis regularly in the condo tennis court.
4. Cycle regularly in nature parks.
5. Go trekking and camping occasionally.
6. Read regularly especially on areas you never had a chance to explore eg astronomy, science, religion, the universe, etc.
7. Managing your investment portfolio actively by reading reports and news websites, attend shareholder meetings, attend seminars, etc.
8. Travel to a country once a year for a month. Don't spend a long time travellling around the world at one go. You get bored and tired. Choose one country a year over your 30 years of retirement or until you die, whichever is earlier.
9. Do volunteer work in charities. You can do the menial work or take the role of organizers.
10. Learn new skills such as cooking, new sports, etc.
11. Set up a small business and be a boss. This will be exciting and will test your true ability instead of just being a salaried worker. Start small, if you fail the loss will not be big.
12. Start a movement to save the world, eg start a group that feed the poor in some parts of Africa, Asia, etc.

So, retirement need not be boring. It is up to you to plan your activities. Most importantly, you are your own boss.

You don't have to:
(1) wake up early in the morning and get stuck in the morning traffic jam,
(2) go home late at night when everyone in your family has slept,
(3) report everyday to a boss who you don't like and yet you try so hard to please,
(4) be scolded by your boss every other day,
(5) get involved in dirty office politics, (6) be humiliated by lousy year end review even though you have done well whereas the boss pets get good reviews even though they produce lousy work, etc.
(7) get your weekends burnt to finish up urgent work, etc.
(8) get high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high stress, depression, etc.

Be your own man.
Be free.
Be financially independent.

You have done well. All the best for your retirement in the next 5 years.
Can you share your financial profile? Where you stay, your assets, your combined net worth with your wife, expected net worth when you're 50, amount of passive income, etc?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Very well written that reflects how I feel now.

I am 45 this year and feeling the mid life crisis.

Fortunately I dont have debt and have a happy family with 2 healthy teenage boys

Hope to semi retire by 50. And look forward to smell the roses.