Whats your net worth

LOL, he can't even guarantee he will die by end of 35 yrs, but you are promising him that his capital will be intact after that time.

I think his $1.2m included his and his wife's medisave and special accounts, which cannot be used for investments. So the $1.2m may not be all available for investing. A prudent person will also aside an emergency cash fund - maybe $50k?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are assuming he spends his $1.2m capital until he dies. He should invest instead in things like REITs which can give him 5% pa or $60k pa. His capital will remain intact and may even rise over the next 35 years. He should die by the end of 35 years.

My buddy retired 5 yrs ago. It was a combination of expiration of his work contract and a desire to shift to lower gear and enjoy the fruits of long years of labour. I was quite tempted to join him in retirement too, as I was also feeling jaded and burnt out. We were 53 then. We didn't really discussed our finances, but he stayed in a landed property and his wife who was younger was earning a decent income.

Whenever we meet up for chit chat and supper, I envied his youthful looks. He told me he kept busy helping his younger children in their studies and managing his investment portfolios. They still go for overseas holidays once a year. He also cycles more and spent his afternoons cycling and exploring corners of S'pore. He kept himself up to date with current affairs with the Internet. He also "attend" courses to enrich himself through those free lessons put up by the universities particularly from Stanford and MIT. I can imagine myself doing all these when I too retire... Sigh.

Looking at the 5 yrs gone by, financially it allowed my wife and I to grow our net worth by another $1.2m which we ploughed into an investment condo. We hope to be able to generate about $45k rental income from this condo. This would boost our passive income of $25k pa (from stocks dividends) to $70k.

I give myself 2 more years to slog and then I will retire... at 60.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My buddy retired 5 yrs ago. It was a combination of expiration of his work contract and a desire to shift to lower gear and enjoy the fruits of long years of labour. I was quite tempted to join him in retirement too, as I was also feeling jaded and burnt out. We were 53 then. We didn't really discussed our finances, but he stayed in a landed property and his wife who was younger was earning a decent income.

Whenever we meet up for chit chat and supper, I envied his youthful looks. He told me he kept busy helping his younger children in their studies and managing his investment portfolios. They still go for overseas holidays once a year. He also cycles more and spent his afternoons cycling and exploring corners of S'pore. He kept himself up to date with current affairs with the Internet. He also "attend" courses to enrich himself through those free lessons put up by the universities particularly from Stanford and MIT. I can imagine myself doing all these when I too retire... Sigh.

Looking at the 5 yrs gone by, financially it allowed my wife and I to grow our net worth by another $1.2m which we ploughed into an investment condo. We hope to be able to generate about $45k rental income from this condo. This would boost our passive income of $25k pa (from stocks dividends) to $70k.

I give myself 2 more years to slog and then I will retire... at 60.

Thanks for sharing. In a way, this post captures the dilemma that a lot of us face. Whether to retire and enjoy while we can or work a while longer to build up a bigger buffer. Of course, it's entirely possible to enjoy life while still working but the feeling is different (I don't have first-hand experience but this seems to be the case from interactions with people who have retired)

I am doing what your buddy is doing, the only difference is I am now only 45. I suppose having no loans and a net worth of $5m is sufficient for me to do this much earlier. I am enjoying life to the fullest now. I worked very hard from the day I was born till I retired now. I think I deserve this.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My buddy retired 5 yrs ago. It was a combination of expiration of his work contract and a desire to shift to lower gear and enjoy the fruits of long years of labour. I was quite tempted to join him in retirement too, as I was also feeling jaded and burnt out. We were 53 then. We didn't really discussed our finances, but he stayed in a landed property and his wife who was younger was earning a decent income.

Whenever we meet up for chit chat and supper, I envied his youthful looks. He told me he kept busy helping his younger children in their studies and managing his investment portfolios. They still go for overseas holidays once a year. He also cycles more and spent his afternoons cycling and exploring corners of S'pore. He kept himself up to date with current affairs with the Internet. He also "attend" courses to enrich himself through those free lessons put up by the universities particularly from Stanford and MIT. I can imagine myself doing all these when I too retire... Sigh.

Looking at the 5 yrs gone by, financially it allowed my wife and I to grow our net worth by another $1.2m which we ploughed into an investment condo. We hope to be able to generate about $45k rental income from this condo. This would boost our passive income of $25k pa (from stocks dividends) to $70k.

I give myself 2 more years to slog and then I will retire... at 60.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am doing what your buddy is doing, the only difference is I am now only 45. I suppose having no loans and a net worth of $5m is sufficient for me to do this much earlier. I am enjoying life to the fullest now. I worked very hard from the day I was born till I retired now. I think I deserve this.

You are the man! Congratulations! You deserve the early retirement!

You are the envy of many guys and the target of pretty gals if you're not married.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are the man! Congratulations! You deserve the early retirement!

You are the envy of many guys and the target of pretty gals if you're not married.

He's the target of many many pretty gals EVEN IF he's married.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

He's the target of many many pretty gals EVEN IF he's married.

Only 5m is needed. Easy

20 yrs ago our weekends were mostly spent on visiting showrooms/show flats / open house as we searched for our dream condo. We were then staying in an HDB exec maisonette. With our young child in a stroller we would visit at least 2 places a weekend. It took us a yr of searching before we decided on a suburb condo costing about $900k for a 4 bedroom unit. Since then we have seen the price of our condo went up and down twice. We paid up the loan 5 yrs ago and started another round of showroom/ show flat visitation. This time we were looking for an investment unit. In 2010 We committed to a 2 bedder condo unit next to an MRT station for over $1m.

Now that we are almost 55, we no longer have appetite for property. No more showroom/flat visits for us. Even though our car COE is almost up, we are still not actively looking to replace the car. Somehow, it seems that there is a biological clock or trigger that switched our interest to other aspects of life. We don't desire owning more properties, or cars. Now we planned on going for more holidays, keeping in touch with relatives, friends who migrated. Dont know if what we are going through is normal for people our age?

Hi, I need some advice from experts here. I'm 50 next month and my wife is 45. Like any upper middle class Singaporean families, both of us work and contribute to our family income. I contribute slightly more. Recently, I resigned because I was burnt out. Even though I am not working now, I have an investment portfolio provide incomes income that covers my portion of family expenses. Since my wife is working, I am also doing most of the house work and tending to my kids. I feel more relaxed now. Do you think this is ok? Does this make me any less of a man since I am not working in the traditional sense? Appreciate comments from experts here, especially the views of women folks here. Thanks in advance.

[whizzard]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi, I need some advice from experts here. I'm 50 next month and my wife is 45. Like any upper middle class Singaporean families, both of us work and contribute to our family income. I contribute slightly more. Recently, I resigned because I was burnt out. Even though I am not working now, I have an investment portfolio provide incomes income that covers my portion of family expenses. Since my wife is working, I am also doing most of the house work and tending to my kids. I feel more relaxed now. Do you think this is ok? Does this make me any less of a man since I am not working in the traditional sense? Appreciate comments from experts here, especially the views of women folks here. Thanks in advance.

Why not? I don't see any reason why you should feel otherwise.

There will always be societal expectations but everyone's circumstances is different. Build upon and enjoy this new phase of life you are embarking upon now.

I would also like to call it quits some day. However, I havent the faintest idea what I would do with my life if I were to stop working.

Good luck and keep mentally and physically active.