How much savings do you have?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

if you have children, you may want to save up $300k for each of them, so you can send them to better overseas universities and out of this pressure-cooker society where foreigners come first.

Actually a lot of middle, upper middle and rich people are extremely happy with this "pressure-cooker society where foreigners come first". Just look at the election results.

Its the poor and the sandwiches that have a lot of anger due to our FT policy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Actually a lot of middle, upper middle and rich people are extremely happy with this "pressure-cooker society where foreigners come first". Just look at the election results.

Its the poor and the sandwiches that have a lot of anger due to our FT policy.

My guess is that 20 of those 60% are working in government-related companies and don't dare to vote against the PAP. My parents for example don't believe that the vote is secret - how stupid, but they are my parents, so.

Maybe you are one of those who are "extremely happy" with the "pressure-cooker society where foreigners come first", but you definitely aren't the majority. The reason is simple: if the majority is happy, PM Lee wouldn't have apologized and ministerial salaries wouldn't be reviewed.

Or maybe not... cos many policies still suck big time and they are already raising transport fares!

I better get out of this "pressure-cooker society where foreigners come first".

Can someone start a thread to discuss emigration strategies?

Emigration! That's a joke. With unemployment at 10% in western countries, where would you go? That's why everyone is trying to come here.

The poor are quite happy with the Government handouts and the rich are happy of course with all the new restaurants, facilities etc which have opened up.

The only unhappy lot are the netizens who are generally middle class sandwich types and they are clearly the minority. That's why online comments and polls are complete nonsense. Having said that, the post 2-child policy group is about to become middle class so the Government is starting to address their needs. However, the current vocal netizens are going to now become "old" and will continue to be ignored.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think common man shows that you don't have to have an extraordinary job like an investment banker to be rich.

Say he and his wife get 6 months bonus, so this implies that his combined base is about $260K and each have base salary of about $11K/m. At 50 years old after working for 20-30 years, $11K/m isn't that hard to reach if you are a graduate.

Saving and doing some mild investment in property and stocks, he has accumulated net worth of about $4m and a lot of it is in CPF. That is mighty impressive and shows that if you don't blow all your money on toys, clubbing and expensive vacations, you can have an extremely comfortable retirement.

common man, its time for you to enjoy some of your savings. you never know how long you are going to live and spending $85K per year in Singapore means that you are very frugal. Go buy that Mercedes S350 with all the trimmings and enjoy. You deserve it.

I don't think $11k/m "isn't that hard to reach" even if you are a graduate. But agree that you don't have to have an extraordinary job like investment banker to be rich.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't think $11k/m "isn't that hard to reach" even if you are a graduate. But agree that you don't have to have an extraordinary job like investment banker to be rich.

Why is 11k/mth hard to reach?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why is 11k/mth hard to reach?

It's just anecdoctal observation. Let's look at teachers, for instance. Most of them are graduates and most of them will not be earning $11k/m at the apex of their career, unless they rise to leadership positions. Of course, this is not to say that they are not comfortably paid.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't think $11k/m "isn't that hard to reach" even if you are a graduate. But agree that you don't have to have an extraordinary job like investment banker to be rich.

A little clarification is in order here. The 350K annual income is not entirely from wages. Here are the contributors: Rental (Gross) -- 36K, CPF interest --30K, Dividends -- 15K, Wages -- 270K.

And no, I have no desire to get that S350 benz. Driving conditions in Singapore does not merit such a car. Our main pre-occupation now is how to preserve the nest egg in the light of uncertainties in the world economy and the ever increasing inflation.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A little clarification is in order here. The 350K annual income is not entirely from wages. Here are the contributors: Rental (Gross) -- 36K, CPF interest --30K, Dividends -- 15K, Wages -- 270K.

And no, I have no desire to get that S350 benz. Driving conditions in Singapore does not merit such a car. Our main pre-occupation now is how to preserve the nest egg in the light of uncertainties in the world economy and the ever increasing inflation.

You are already much much better off than most people. Inflation affects everyone, especially the poorer ones, so you'll be fine relatively.

That said, I'm keeping cash, as Singdollar is pretty strong. Those who harp on cash getting devalued are not thinking with their brains - it's the USD and Euro that are getting devalued. Keeping cash in strong currencies like Singdollar is perfectly fine. But I am mortal, so I may be wrong. You mileage may vary.

My Age 36
Wife Age 36
total income 600K

Property value 4.2M
Outstanding Loan 2.9M

Cash 1.1M
COF 0.5M (inclusive Medisave and special account)

Net worth ??

Aim to be debt free ( Cash > Debt ) in 3 years time

Rat, you're earning a lot of money, but your financial planning is suspect. You should be trying to build some passive income. Just by staying in your $4.2m house, you are effectively spending $10-12K/month, which is the rental income lost. Meanwhile your $1.1m in cash is earning almost no interest.

My suggestion. Don't aim to be debt free. Use the cash to buy an investment property and take up more debt. Housing loans are under 1% now...