Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69449)

wow...seems like singapore is really a paradise....filled with so much cash-rich employees only in their 30s....hope it's true and these people are not sprouting nonsense...

or are you those making $4k a month only and trying to buy a car and EC when well cannot afford to? need to avoid outing with friends to save some money to ahieve those material wants so that can buy some 'face'?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69471)

that's pretty true, per annum $100k package is very common for singaporeans in their early thirties, no second thoughts about that....but possible to accumulate $1mil in assets by late thirties? everyday eat bread and breathe wind? kids eat tofus for protein instead of milk formula?

Apart from huge inheritance, very common to see couples here in the forum having over $1m in assets by late thirties...

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69482)

I don't have much recollection of what we had in our 30s, but when we were in our mid-40s, our net worth was $2.4m. Mind you, our incomes were so so only.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69449)

wow...seems like singapore is really a paradise....filled with so much cash-rich employees only in their 30s....hope it's true and these people are not sprouting nonsense...

or are you those making $4k a month only and trying to buy a car and EC when well cannot afford to? need to avoid outing with friends to save some money to ahieve those material wants so that can buy some 'face'?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69456)

I have shared my thoughts on your perception in the other forum "How Much Do You Earn Per Annum?"

Basically, people's perception tend to be constrained by their own circumstances and the environment and social circles they mixed with. According to one research article, people of the same income class tended to live in the same neighborhood. That is, the wealthy will congregate in wealthy estates, the middle class will live in middle class neighborhoods, and the lower income class will be clustered in lower income neighborhoods. In free economies, this is a logical and natural outcome since people will buy a home within their affordability. The interesting findings from the research are:

1. Everyone regardless of their income class tended to think they are in the middle class. This was because people regardless of whey they stay, tended to only compare with their neighbors in their neighborhood. And seeing that they have about the same stuff as their neighbors, they concluded that they must be average.

2. Because they think they are in the middle income class, they wrongly perceived the wealth gap between the rich and the poor. The wealthy tended to overestimate the income of the poor, while the lower income tended to underestimate the income of the wealthy. For eg, the guy earning $3k per month may think that the rich guy was only earning $10k per month when in actual fact, the rich guy is taking home $20k or more per month. Likewise the rich guy (with $20k per month income) may think that the lower income guy is earning about $7-8k per month.

3. As people perceived themselves to be middle income class, they tended not to accept that there could be large income/wealth gap. They would not believe in the first instance, if they see claims of income much higher than their own.

Although we lived in an internet connected world, where information are readily available, this kind of perception still persist. This is mainly because salaries are still not publicized and employees are bound not to disclose their remuneration. Very erroneous perception can also occur within the same company. For eg, a low level staff earning $2k per month may think that the directors of the company are earning $10k - $15k per month when in fact, they could be earning $50k per month!

I have friends who are power couples. Both husbands and wives are "rising stars" in their companies and they are only in their late 30s. Their combined incomes are around $400k pa or more. Another phenomenon I observed is that successful people tended to seek out other successful people. So, successful men tend to seek out / attract successful women. What you get are the power couples. By their 40s, these couples could be earning anything from $500k and above.

You don't have to believe anything posted/boasted by the posters, but to disregard high incomes earned by some people would be akin to burying your head in the sand.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 69405)

I'm 31 and my wife's 29 this year. Appreciate if we can get some advice on whether our financial profile is decent and how it can be improved.

- Combined income of ~$210k/year.
- Owns a HDB (outstanding loan is ~$280k; and it's valued @ $510k)
- We both drive and both cars are paid up.
- Have about $260k of cash sitting in various banks (part of them is earning the OCBC 360 bonuses interests; some of them in time deposits giving a meagre 1.2% interest and the rest are just lying around depreciating)
- have about $50k worth of shares (earning about 5% dividends a year)
- we think we are adequately covered by insurance (total premiums of ~$24k/year in various savings plans; life plans; term plans and ILPs)
- anything in CPF OA that is investible has been invested in blue chips (earning 5% dividends as well); the rest of them are earning the CPF interest which is still higher than our HDB bank loan so we've decided not to pay off the loan yet.

We're thinking of buying some gold and also USD fixed deposits as we expect gold to appreciate over the long run and USD should be on the up trend in the next 1-2 years. We're also looking out for commercial properties (can only afford those which cost <$700k for now). Thanks and I look forward to hearing some good advices.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 70990)

44 & 46, married couple with kids. Makes $145k pa combined. We upgraded to a 3 room condo, worth $1m, paid up. Our total cpf savings $500k, cash savings $100k. Total net worth $1.6m. Are we in the top 10% in terms of net worth among couples our age? Does anyone know?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71233)

You are likely to be in top 20% given that 1 in 6 household are millionaire household in SG.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71258)

Me (33) & Wife (30_

Cash $900k
Stocks $380k
Unit Trusts $200k
1 Fully Paid up condo in west. Rental $3k/mth
Staying in fully paid up 3rm HDB

How are we doing?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71345)

Me 26yo, work as MSO in MHA, 2.4k salary
Wife 24yo, uni student, no income

Cash 40k
CPF 30k
Stocks 10k
1x condo in bukit timah 1.8mil

Staying in 300k 3-room hdb flat in AMK, 200k loan

(You can guess which of those I inherited from my father.)

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 68887)

Age: 31
Education: UOL (local study)
Salary: $15,000 pm
Savings: ~$250,000
Car: fully paid up Audi R8
House: still with parents, intending to buy the sail, next to my office.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71345)

Me 26yo, work as MSO in MHA, 2.4k salary
Wife 24yo, uni student, no income

Cash 40k
CPF 30k
Stocks 10k
1x condo in bukit timah 1.8mil

Staying in 300k 3-room hdb flat in AMK, 200k loan

(You can guess which of those I inherited from my father.)

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71399)

IRAS got do full audit on you before? MSO only, can own condo? How are you kidding?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71345)

Me 26yo, work as MSO in MHA, 2.4k salary
Wife 24yo, uni student, no income

Cash 40k
CPF 30k
Stocks 10k
1x condo in bukit timah 1.8mil

Staying in 300k 3-room hdb flat in AMK, 200k loan

(You can guess which of those I inherited from my father.)

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71831)

Upper middle income family, $140k pa in total.
Flat, a renovated unit, worth $500k. Paid up.
Drives a 2L luxury continental car. Loan outstanding $60k.
We are blessed to be among the good income families in Singapore.
We are also millionaires as our total net worth (including our flat) is $1m.
We are both 48 & 50 years old.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71892)

To qualify as millionaire, your net worth can't include your primary residence. Therefore you are not one despite having good income. Sell your car then maybe got chance.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71908)

Lol, he was just joking lah.

Nowadays where got people boast about $1m? In high cost Singapore, $1m cannot last you very long.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71934)

I am 32 years old, female. In IT line.

Earning 126k per annum and 12k annual bonus.
Savings: 250k
Own a 4 bedroom flat solely, brought at 305k and left with 180k loan.
Married with one child

Looking to retire at 55. Currently saving 5-6k per month.

How am I doing?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71989)

Still some way to go to achieve financial freedom. Seems like you don't have investment portfolio? And with 126k per annum, it is hardly considered a comfortable enough salary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71990)

Hi, I only have term plan and life insurance, some company stocks. I don't really have an investment portfolio. I am not sure what to invest as well! Hehe!

Originally Posted by forest ang (Post 72314)

Hi all, I am a 43yo divorcee with a 12 yo kid.
I have a 3 room flat fully paid up generating $1700 monthly rental.
I have 2 bedder (current value $900K) outstanding loan $260k.
I have $150K in my CPF OA, $161k in my SA
I have $250k in bond (OUE) maturing in 5 years with a 3.8% yield giving me $9500 yearly
I have $59k in bond (Aspial) maturing in 5 years with 5.25% yield giving me $3000 yearly
I have $44k in bond (CMA) maturing in 7 years with 3.08% yield giving me $1672 yearly
I have $100k in stock holding (but current value $60k) giving "peanuts" dividends
I have $500k hard cash in savings
I am in a sales job..average income $90k PA

I ve no other debts
May I know if I can retire by age 45yo?

Originally Posted by forest ang (Post 72314)

Hi all, I am a 43yo divorcee with a 12 yo kid.
I have a 3 room flat fully paid up generating $1700 monthly rental.
I have 2 bedder (current value $900K) outstanding loan $260k.
I have $150K in my CPF OA, $161k in my SA
I have $250k in bond (OUE) maturing in 5 years with a 3.8% yield giving me $9500 yearly
I have $59k in bond (Aspial) maturing in 5 years with 5.25% yield giving me $3000 yearly
I have $44k in bond (CMA) maturing in 7 years with 3.08% yield giving me $1672 yearly
I have $100k in stock holding (but current value $60k) giving "peanuts" dividends
I have $500k hard cash in savings
I am in a sales job..average income $90k PA

I ve no other debts
May I know if I can retire by age 45yo?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 71934)

I am 32 years old, female. In IT line.

Earning 126k per annum and 12k annual bonus.
Savings: 250k
Own a 4 bedroom flat solely, brought at 305k and left with 180k loan.
Married with one child

Looking to retire at 55. Currently saving 5-6k per month.

How am I doing?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 72241)

If you are just starting, you can try with some bonds, like SSB, CapitaMall bond and etc. See which one suits you the best. Personally, I will go with SSB, because there is no risk, flexible and also get okay returns with the average of 2.6% returns per year if you leave it for 10 years without taking out.

There are various way to build your investment portfolio, like stocks (blue chips for dividends), property (condo - for rental yield), fix deposit (get a decent amount within a few years) and etc. See which one is good for you. Slowly choose and choose wisely

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 72356)

Try to avoid stocks. The number of losers far outnumber the number of winners in the stock market. Capital losses likely far outweighs what u can gain from dividends.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 72359)

It really depends on at which point you bought the stocks and for how long you hold them.

There are "traders" and income investors. Traders buy and sell stocks with the aim to make quick gains but income investors invest for income and they tended to hold stocks for the long term.

I am an income investor and I started my investment journey from the moment I earned from my first paycheck. That was a good 30 years ago.

Imagine if the stock gave out 5% dividend a year, in 20 years you would have recouped back your principal. In the past, good stocks regularly gave out bonus shares and split. Examples are SIA, Comfortdelgro, Sembmarine etc... So if you have bought into these stocks, your holdings would have grown multifold with the same principal outlay.

Today, 70% of my stocks are "free" stocks meaning I have already recouped back my principal on those stocks. The stocks are still in my holdings giving me good dividends. On top of this, these good stocks or blue chips have also increased their dividend payout over the years!

As I approach retirement, the dividend income become an important component to my total income as I will one day totally depend on it. As of today, I am receiving $100k pa in dividends! No small sum if you asked me.

Yes, when "Mr Market" feels unwell, you see your stock values drop, but as an income investor and as someone approaching retirement, my main concern is the yearly dividend I am getting from my investment, not the stock values.

I am still getting good dividend payout. In fact for 2015, a few of the companies have announced increased dividend payout!

The way I look at it, when "Mr Market" is down, it is good time to take a look and if you have money to spare, maybe pick up a few good stocks for the dividends they give.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 73950)

41 yo single male in IT line
earning less than 85K per annual including bonuses
cash 400K
CPF 356K
no car
no house

need to work very very long for retirement hopefully

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 73951)

Since you're single, you can retire NOW in Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam.

Invest your cash is dividend blue chips giving you 5% yield so you get $20k pa in dividends.

If you retire in Malaysia, convert to get RM60k pa. You can retire with RM30k pa.
You will need less if you retire in Thailand or Vietnam.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 73951)

Since you're single, you can retire NOW in Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam.

Invest your cash is dividend blue chips giving you 5% yield so you get $20k pa in dividends.

If you retire in Malaysia, convert to get RM60k pa. You can retire with RM30k pa.
You will need less if you retire in Thailand or Vietnam.