Am I doing ok??

Originally Posted by Actlikewhat

I'm targeting to save up at least 500-800k before I retire excluding my CPF...

But its so hard... After paying up the remaining HDB loan I have only left with what I posted earlier...

I think I can't make it le... If I save 2k a month... At best I get 24k per annum..

Assume everything smooth sailing.. 10 yrs I only save 240k .. 20yrs.. 480k.. By then I'm already 52...

I think I gotta re-access my dream of early retirement ... Sigh...

Every time I think about this scenario.. It makes me sad...

I'll take the money sitting in the banks and buy some gold, not as investment but as savings, but thats just me.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Did your parents or somebody help you pay for your HDB? I am very sceptical that someone at your age drawing 5.5k (I assume last time is lower) can fully pay a 4 room HDB even if it is in Jurong West or Woodlands.

it is possible. i'm 33, earning $5.4k... got married in 2010 and will get my 4-rm HDB flat in 2013 (cost $240k)... need about $80k loan... savings about $50k... had i not driven a car, married later, I would have been in a similar position as active

Originally Posted by Actlikewhat

I don't think I'm doing fine at all.. I had a lovely wife whom started savings with me when we are dating 10 yrs back... We always had a common dream of early retirement with no liabilities at all... We scrimp and save, sacrifice our quality of life, it always work, coffee shop dinner and home... Weekend we splurge abit by going for ajisen ramen or a movie... Holiday would be batam or bintan, or JB... And that's 10yrs of our youthful years...

Now we are both in our 30s... And we realize something is very wrong...

I had friends driving nice German cars.. Living in good area HDB and claim can still have 200-300k savings... I ask them how they do it.. They jus say "savings lor"

I don't know man... I think I'm doing it the wrong way...

Your hdb should be worth about 400K now? Combined with 60K cash i think it is quite commendable. To reach 1M or more, you need to save your cash and invest big during the next crisis. What i did was dump my 200K cash in private property during the lows in 2003, 2009 and 2010. Made about 1.5M in all and combined with regular savings today my wife and I have combined net worth of 2.3M at age 35. Definitely hard to reach just purely by savings alone.

I think at 32, and with your current financial status, it is commendable.
But guess you might be able to build up your nest egg faster if you find another job, as your current line does not help you much. Some of your friends might be drawing much more than you at 32.

Investments, like other forumners guided, are als critical to help you.

But overall, you are on of the more down to earth guys I have seen. Some your age will have loaned 80% to bet an entry lvl Merc / Beemer because "my friends have them" and I want to be seen to have arrived. Alot your age are living hand to mouth, but on the surface, tbhey are living it up.

Originally Posted by Actlikewhat

I don't think I'm doing fine at all.. I had a lovely wife whom started savings with me when we are dating 10 yrs back... We always had a common dream of early retirement with no liabilities at all... We scrimp and save, sacrifice our quality of life, it always work, coffee shop dinner and home... Weekend we splurge abit by going for ajisen ramen or a movie... Holiday would be batam or bintan, or JB... And that's 10yrs of our youthful years...

Now we are both in our 30s... And we realize something is very wrong...

I had friends driving nice German cars.. Living in good area HDB and claim can still have 200-300k savings... I ask them how they do it.. They jus say "savings lor"

I don't know man... I think I'm doing it the wrong way...

You should also ask them what are their liabilities, i.e. how much debt do they have.

With your net worth, though not a lot, I'm sure you could also have lived it up like them, i.e. buy a beemer / Audi, live in a mass market condo, and still have 200k cash.

Except that you have chosen the conservative route. I believe your friends are "richer" because they bet on property in the past decade. In times of rising property prices, many people have gotten a lot richer simply by upgrading from one apartment to another.

But will property prices continue to rise? That's a question you have to answer yourself. Nobody knows for sure.

My friend, all is pretty on the surface but dig deep and you find that your friends are relying on debt.

To be honest with you, I also drive a german car. I'm 30 yrs old. My monthly installment + season parking+petrol is close to 3k. Excludes the Insurance and Road Tax per year (and I just remembered the hefty servicing fees). I earn 6k a month.

Like you, I also saw my friends driving german cars. With financing, you can get those things. But when you lose your job, all the cards come tumbling down...

Originally Posted by Actlikewhat

I don't think I'm doing fine at all.. I had a lovely wife whom started savings with me when we are dating 10 yrs back... We always had a common dream of early retirement with no liabilities at all... We scrimp and save, sacrifice our quality of life, it always work, coffee shop dinner and home... Weekend we splurge abit by going for ajisen ramen or a movie... Holiday would be batam or bintan, or JB... And that's 10yrs of our youthful years...

Now we are both in our 30s... And we realize something is very wrong...

I had friends driving nice German cars.. Living in good area HDB and claim can still have 200-300k savings... I ask them how they do it.. They jus say "savings lor"

I don't know man... I think I'm doing it the wrong way...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My friend, all is pretty on the surface but dig deep and you find that your friends are relying on debt.

To be honest with you, I also drive a german car. I'm 30 yrs old. My monthly installment + season parking+petrol is close to 3k. Excludes the Insurance and Road Tax per year (and I just remembered the hefty servicing fees). I earn 6k a month.

Like you, I also saw my friends driving german cars. With financing, you can get those things. But when you lose your job, all the cards come tumbling down...

so enjoy while you can! who knows, the cards may never tumble down....

Hi,

Yes I honestly think u r doing fine.Comparing is important but sometimes frustrating.When I was your age,my net worth was half a million.But I did not do it as savings alone.it was combination of savings and investment in properties during downturns.But at that time I included my own residential property that I stay in my calculation of net worth.Fast forward now at age of 39,my net worth with wife combined is $1.8M excluding property that we stay in.We both earn incomes of $200,000 per year combined.

Originally Posted by okcan8808

Is it just me or is everyone painfully insecure...

Just you.....

I am married and 49 this year with wife same age
1m cash
1m equity
500k cpf
Home loan 3m
Home equity 500k recently bought

wife salary cover loan expense. my salary cover all home expense
very little savings left over except for bonus which is a swing factor
stable jobs

did i make a bad decision to purchase a property now ?
may downgrade in 5 years time