36 yo, 170k cash+stocks. 5 room HDB w outstanding $120k loan. Single and dont have a car. $85k per annum job. Rental income $1400 per month. Feeling v poor now after reading thru this thread.. ;(

You rent out each of your spare room for $700 per room?
You're doing fine. Just need a wife.

Yes. Haha no girls like me as im not handsome enuf not successful enuf. No car also v hard to get a gf..

Dont really dare to start a family too w my income. Unless get a rich wife. ;)

how much savings, debt/liabilities u all have and what age?
 

how much savings, debt/liabilities u all have and what age? i am 27 male, 1.4k per per month gross, so take home about 1k... few hundreds in bank account total.. what about u all?

33 yo. Salary 3.5K pm. Savings 8K cash. Drives a Honda civic. No stocks. Single. Planning to apply BTO in two years time.

44 yrs old, wife 44 years old. Both working. no kinds.
we are DINKS.

mid level management.

combined earning about $180k p.a.

Combined Cash $510k
Combined stocks $300k
Combined CPF $545k

HDB fully paid.
Jap car, 9 yrs old, fully paid. Have to make a decision soon on the car.

Passive dividend income of about $1.5k per month.

Since you don't have kids, you can actually retire in JB now.
Rent out your flat for $2.5k pm, so your passive income in total is $4k pm.
Convert to RM, you get RM12k pm. More than enough to retire in luxury in JB.
It doesn't cost that much to retire in luxury in JB.

Rent a 3 bedroom luxury condo unit in JB RM2k pm
Car expenses RM500 pm
Utilities, food, groceries, eating at restaurants RM2k pm
Entertainment and travel RM1k pm
Misc RM500 pm
Total expenses RM6k pm
Total savings RM6k pm

Sounds good on paper. But it is not easy if you are non-malay.

The safety factor in Singapore is priceless.

47 & 45, combined income $160k pa. Two school going children.

Condominium, worth $1.1 mil, mortgage left $200k. Car, paid up.

Cash $70k
CPF and stocks $600k

I think we are doing ok. Middle class family leading a middle class lifestyle.

Age:25
Education: A levels
Status: Single (Cant find gf :(
Income PA: $120k
Savings: 60k
CPF:20k

Just cleared my loan of 60k

Waaa 120k pa??? What u working as?

Education: Higher nitec
Income PA: average 11K pm in car sales line
Savings: 103K
Age: 24

Will be buying condo in one to two years time.

Save up more first. In 2 years time, your savings can at most increase by $242k for a total of $345k, that is if you save every cents of your income.

You have time on your side, no need to rush. Buying with lower loan will also give more margin of safety in case of job /income uncertainty

I bought my first condo at 40, and paid for it in full. Savings thereafter were used to build up retirement fund and investment.

Stocks crash reduced my networth growth
 

The slow but steady decline in the STI over the last few months have eaten away our networth by $160k. This was more than our passive income of $130k for the whole of 2015. Haiz.

It is moments like these that you wonder if it is wiser / better to keep your money in the banks (FDs) or to invest in stocks. You keep your $$ in the bank, you worry that inflation will erode the value. You invest in shares and property, you worry about economy tanking which will bring down stocks and property prices.

So what's a person to do?

Looking at the various assets we own - 2 x condos, stocks, bonds, endowments, CPF funds, and ourselves, it is clear to us that we ourselves are our best assets. None of the other assets can generate anything near what we earn in salaries.

So thankfully, the savings from our salaries were able to increase our networth for 2015 despite the loss of $160k in our stocks holding.

Luckily I don't have much in the stock market. I leave most in my CPF. I use my extra cash to pay off my condo loan. Now I am debt free. Are you debt free or still in debt?

I didn't use CPF funds to buy shares, but nevertheless I have substantial cash invested in the stock market. I did use some of my CPF money to pay for our second condo. Today's STI decline wiped out another $28k! Ouch! Don't know how much blood shed there will be, but at times like these, I am really thankful I am still working.

Not sure if the declining market will lead to collapse in the economy. If so, it will lead to vicious cycle continuing stock market decline and shrinking economy and loss of jobs.

Scary to think about it.

The markets are crashing. Are you scared of losing your job? I hope you're not in the engineering or finance sectors. Which company are you working in?

Let's see how far down the stock markets will go. It's looking like 2008/09 all over again with Dow Jones index dropping by 200+ points everyday!

I think at this rate, many people's savings invested in the stocks will be wiped out. Weak companies may fold and jobs will be lost. And in retirement depending on the stocks may be hit badly too.

On the other hand if you are in a stable job, this is a good time to start looking and picking up oversold "gems". Delay buying that new car for now and channel the money into good but oversold and under valued stocks. When the market recovers like in 09/10, your investments will grow multi fold.

You sound confident of not losing your job. May I know what do you work as? Thank you.
I hope to learn from you.

Education: Nitec
Income: 154k for 2015, in property line
Savings: 110k
Age: 23

Why are you promoting this ??

Isn't the 750 shrinking?

For those retrenched ex-PMETs out there, such as ex-engineers and ex-bankers, do not be sad. You have worked so hard all your lives, now is the time to celebrate life. Open your mind. Your life on this earth is limited. Time to retire. Enjoy your retirement!

Good retirement plan in KL or Penang (retire in luxury) for a retired couple at 55 years old (assuming no dependents)

Passive income at 55
Rent out fully paid HDB flat S$2.5k pm
Stocks dividends S$1k pm
Total S$3.5k pm or RM10.5k pm

KL or Penang cost of living
Rent a 3 bedroom condominium RM2k pm
Car expenses RM500 pm (assume buy car in cash RM50k)
Food, groceries, restaurants and utilities RM2k pm
Medical and entertainment RM1k pm
Misc RM500 pm
Total spending RM6k pm
Savings RM4.5k pm

Passive income at 65
Rent out fully paid HDB flat S$2.5k pm
Stocks dividends S$1k pm
CPF Life (Enhanced Retirement Scheme), couple gets S$3.5k pm
Total income S$7k pm or RM21k pm
Total spending RM8k pm
Savings RM13k pm

This retirement plan allows you to live in a nice condo and drive a nice car. You can go holidays all over the world every year if you want to since you will have lots of savings.

Your key retirement assets are: 1. HDB flat 2. CPF Life 3. Dividend blue chip stocks.

i work as a commercial pilot loh ;P

Just started working again after further post-graduate education.

Age: 28 (expat)
Income: SGD300,000 (finance)
Savings: SGD400,000
Inheritance: over SGD10MM (half of parents' net worth)

Nobody at my office here in Singapore knows that I come from a fairly affluent family at home. Would never discuss/wear anything that would suggest it. Educational background is top-tier, but so is that of many of my colleagues, including the Singaporeans.

Should I live it up and leave my financial future to my parents, or should I continue saving everything and being discreet?

You are rich. Make a difference to the world. There are billions of homeless, hungry, poor people and children. What's your purpose on this earth? Think.

Savings and retirement funds
 

To continue the original topic, the following is my financial profile after starting on the saving/investment path 18 years ago.
Insurance returns (progressively with final one in 2027) 680,000
Apartment (paid up, outstanding mortgage;MC charges; taxes paid by rental) 300,000
Service apartment in NZ (paid up, ditto) 128,000
Philippines Condormitel (small-sized condo-type housing for undergraduates)(paid-up) 20,500
Stocks 140,000
Other alternative investments 588,500
CPF balance(excluding housing loans already subsumed under apartment) 385,000

(Believe in splurging on self with well-deserved regular facial/spa/aesthetic laser & facial firming,and occasional branded bags and watches purchase. Endeavoured to contribute to charity to targeted group(s) too)
I just wanted to make hay while the sun shines to enjoy myself in retirement, not forgetting to live the well deserved good life as well;)

How old are you? What's your personal net worth? Do you have kids?

Savings & Investments
 

Chosen singlehood, 46yo. Yes, partly due to my status,other factors - less risk adverse to unconventional (higher-risk) investments & getting professionals (one remisier cousin, one trustworthy financial consultant), having mindset of working earnings hard & "not working hard for my money", etc. strongly believe also in "giving" in order to "receive" n love to be generous to self & family. Above all, setting retirement target helps.

2nd Generation Bureaucrat
 

You have a good headstart. In answer to your question, (I see that no one has replied), you should practise a mixture of the two options. But don't forget to 'give' - just look at Mark Zackerberd and fellow top entrepreneurs who had made it to the Forbes list.

Jules

Mark Zuckerberg. (my apologies)

Just to share with you. Not to show off but something which everyone, esp the younger forumers here can learn from. I started my career with an end in mind, the end is early retirement as I wanted to do so many things before I grow old and die. I worked very hard in my career as a top performing executive and invested my money successfully. Now I am a retired millionaire at the age of 50. I am now fulfilling my dreams to explore the world and make a difference. When do you plan to retire?

how many millions is needed for a retirement that's comfortable by your standard?

It's not the amount of millions that matter but the passive that the millions can generate. If the passive income more than cover your expenses, then you're considered financially independent and can retire. It's the expenses that matters. If your expenses is $200k pa, then your investable assets must be $5m assuming it generates a dividend yield of 4%.

I don't compromise on quality of life, so I retire in a luxury condo in a good district and drives a beautiful car. As I'm debt free (your property and car are your two most expensive assets), my expenses are not that high. I don't go partying all night, I don't gamble nor smoke. I lead a full and healthy life.

Are you a guy or lady?

Lady. Why?

Age 24
Still studying in NUS, no income
Savings: 20k cash, 20k in corporate bonds, 5k in a STI stock
Managed to save these from my army salary, angpao since young, part time jobs etc and investing in the stock market.
Hoping to get married with my Girlfriend early maybe 2 years after graduation. Not sure if my pace of savings is enough for marriage

Ladies are generally prudent in managing their finances.

Are you retired? If not, when will you retire?

Savings & Retirement funds
 

Happy for you. In a way, since 5 years ago, I have adopted "retirement" mentality in terms of attitude and outlook (taking things easy, full-time pay, part-time mindset in the sense that work is NOT my main preoccupation; the real full-time life is my personal lifestyle). Tangibly, I do not want to retire too early(unless a different direction comes along or attracts me). With my measurable no.of vacation leave, I can choose to be off work when time is appropriate - either overseas vacation or personal/family activities. In the past (early) retirement seems appealing in view of lower mortality rate, thus factoring in time to enjoy life before one gets physically weaker/less mobile. However, with affluence-education, health-conscious lifestyle, social and economic help, and alternative medical options/cure, people are more healthy/fitter and could easily live another 10-20 years longer. Sticking to current retirement age is "timely" and enable one to enjoy at least another 20 good years.
Someone asked what is my net worth. I did a quick calculation based on sale of the properties, stocks, returns to investment in the short term(til 2018),etc. It is in the range of $2.5mil +/-(I am thankful to my faith/blessedness and the people I have been blessed with, in helping me). With my financial status now, I am able to have financial security for the future, pursue a lifestyle and activities I love doing, and more satisfying too, to bring joys in others' life(family, friends and otherwise).
I sincerely hope more people will benefit from a less conservative investment approach, do their due diligence before committing in investments ...it can only get better. I know because I once started from "zero".
Julie

If I'm able to find the right one with similar goals, will retire within the next 10 years.

Are you looking for a right partner? I thought you prefer sibglehood?