Whats your net worth

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I will have my kakis in Thailand, some are locals and some are other fellow retirees. The locals welcome us as they know we bring in $$$ into their economy, many respect us when we say we are Singaporeans. They look up to us. I will live like a king when I retire next year. I am indeed happy.

as foreigner, one cant buy property in thailand. so who bought it for you? or you will be renting?
which place in thailand you intend to live??

Originally Posted by Unregistered

as foreigner, one cant buy property in thailand. so who bought it for you? or you will be renting?
which place in thailand you intend to live??

I'll be renting, better to rent than buy. If you rent, you are free to move from place to another. I plan to move around, Koh Samui, Krabi, Chiang Mai, Phuket, etc. Food is cheap and I like relaxing by the beach.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for sharing.

You seem to have turned out OK. That's all I want for my children. Not for them to be superstars or anything like that. Hope you don't mind but I have a lot of questions.

Did you parents' pamper you as a kid? Did you get everything you wanted? If not, how did they teach you to be frugal when they were so wealthy? Did you know they were wealthy when you were young or did they hide their wealth from you. Did anything change as you became a teenager to young adult?

Did you do well in school? go to University? Overseas? How hard did they push you on studies?

How much money did they give you? As a child? teenager? an adult? Was it just making downpayment on the houses or did they give you any cash other than inheritance payout? Was there a trust fund set up for you that pays you regular income? Did your wealth at a young age reduce your desire to succeed? Do you think you would have pushed harder if you came from a less wealthy family?

No problems, I’ll answer your questions best I can but I reckon times now are quite different though so I’m not sure how much they are relevant in today’s world. This is going to be a long post.

To be honest we never really felt wealthy or anything and if I look at my friends from well off backgrounds most of them are okay as well. I do realize a difference though, usually those whose parents are from a professional background (i.e doctor/lawyers) are typically more spoilt then those whose parents own businesses, Could be because they helped out in the businesses at a young age or watch it grow from nothing which gave them value money more? Interesting most business families I know are generally stingier with their own family then friends/associates.

I do recall a test my parents did when I was young, they have me 2 dollars (Primary school) one day and when I came home they asked me how much I had left but I had spent it all, that day they determined I was a spender and packed lunchboxes for me instead (no pocket money). It was quite funny because to get money I and friend resorted to going around the school’s grounds to find money that other kids dropped during recess. That gave an early foundation on the value of money for me, I can’t really recall how much I got in Secondary school but it wasn’t far from what the normal kids got. Parents did get the usual tuitions and push me for results, but once they knew my efforts could only go so far they tamed back on this.

For Uni I studied overseas in Melbourne, didn't get a regular pocket money as there was a joint account for me to draw down on but stayed in a family house which I rented out 2 rooms for about 1K a month which just about matched my expenditure (household & spending).

Truth be told I think most of the influence comes from those I hang out with, I know children of very HNI individuals (not Singaporean) try their hand at doing waitressing while in Uni, some worked in drug stores and even MacDonald’s. I see them as an inspiration though I didn't follow their example during that time. The choice of peers your children hang out with in Poly/JC and University will likely shape their character. For example I also knew a guy who liked to hang out with showy kids in Uni and today he is no different from them (showy but jobless, spends his parents money most of time)

Unfortunately not everyone is born alike, some are born true leaders and some prefer to follow the crowd, sometimes I think it’s inborn. Pending on the personality of your kids you will know when you need to step in to prevent things from going astray or if you do not need to. For example I find people generally with lower self-esteem do whatever it takes to impress their peers, god help if they hang out with rich peers. Those with higher self-esteem will find their own path in life. Generally I feel if your kids are confident of who they are it would 50% of the battle won.

Personal funds wise I just got the payout recently so I am still pondering what to do with it (Property price too high I see little upside for now). I got funding support for the properties since it’s more of an investment then an outright splurge that and education (basics foundation). Unfortunately the majority of my net-worth remains locked and doesn't pay any income; if it does I would probably settle for a less hectic job with lower pay/prospects and spend more time with the family. Maybe it’s something destined for my kids to enjoy and not me.

Assuming I came from a middle income background I doubt it would have made great changes in my current path (I’m not one of those destined to be some great leader), but having what I have has given me the confidence to tell my management to stop the BS if it’s evident my team suffers because of their politics (In banking there is much BS to go around).

As a final note if you have wealth there is probably no need to hide it from your children, so long as parents if we lead by example and treat everyone fairly with dignity, watch their surroundings (peers) and expose them to realities of life outside of Singapore it will probably be good enough, even simple chores like cleaning their room, taking out the trash will help. And if they still fall astray at least as parents we tried our best.

30 years old couple, own a BTO flat near city area, bought cheap. Now value of flat has gone up by $400k.

We feel rich, buying a BTO flat is our best decision. Our total net worth is now $1m only, including our flat. After MOP, plan to buy a condo for investment. We expect this investment condo to appreciate by the time we retire in 35 years time. By 65, we should have a net worth of $4m at least. Not that great, but just average.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

30 years old couple, own a BTO flat near city area, bought cheap. Now value of flat has gone up by $400k.

We feel rich, buying a BTO flat is our best decision. Our total net worth is now $1m only, including our flat. After MOP, plan to buy a condo for investment. We expect this investment condo to appreciate by the time we retire in 35 years time. By 65, we should have a net worth of $4m at least. Not that great, but just average.

Enjoy the feeling while it last. In 35 years time when you reach 65, with only $4M in assets, you could be below average and not average. You can do the simple calculation yourself by just considering an inflation rate of 5% per year. $4M now is only worth $700K in 35 yrs time.

We got "wake up" call just last night when purchasing an investment product. As required now when buying insurance or investment products, we had to go through the financial survey. When asked what's our net worth, we said that it was $4M (quite pleased with ourselves), but the agent's reply shocked us. She said like that means we would need to work till at least 60 yrs old. Inflation is not the only problem, rising medical cost and rising demand for food and other resources due to growing world population is another big problem

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Enjoy the feeling while it last. In 35 years time when you reach 65, with only $4M in assets, you could be below average and not average. You can do the simple calculation yourself by just considering an inflation rate of 5% per year. $4M now is only worth $700K in 35 yrs time.

We got "wake up" call just last night when purchasing an investment product. As required now when buying insurance or investment products, we had to go through the financial survey. When asked what's our net worth, we said that it was $4M (quite pleased with ourselves), but the agent's reply shocked us. She said like that means we would need to work till at least 60 yrs old. Inflation is not the only problem, rising medical cost and rising demand for food and other resources due to growing world population is another big problem

Please don't believe everything (or should I say anything) that financial advisers say. $4M is a lot of money by any stretch of the imagination. Lots of people with much less are living comfortably. Of course, if you put $4M in the bank it's going to be eaten away by inflation but if you invest it prudently its value should grow.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I see many rich people in this forum. I'm not rich at all and now looking at ways to survive my retirement. I'm lucky to be able to afford a 5 room HDB flat near the city area which now can fetch at least S$4k a month in rentals. I bought this flat many years ago.

I am planning to rent out this fully paid flat to a FT family and use the rent to fund my retirement in Thailand. With the rent, I can convert to baht and rent a nice house near the beach and can eat nice seafood and enjoy a relaxing life.

Luckily I made the decision to buy this fully paid up flat which is now worth S$980K.

I am glad that we now have many FTs in Singapore for me to rent out my flat to.

Remember, your HDB flat is your asset. Don't sell it away. I feel we should not allow PRs to buy resale HDB flats. Instead, we should just allow them to rent HDB flats and this will enable older Singaporeans to rent to PRs and thus they can retire by enjoying rental income. So they dont have to drive a taxi to survive.

i think I would want to do that too when I retire. I suppose you can also rent out your city flat and rent a cheaper and smaller flat in the suburbs, or even just a room, if you don't mind compromising on space and privacy.

Shall we start a new thread on "preparation for retirement" ?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i think I would want to do that too when I retire. I suppose you can also rent out your city flat and rent a cheaper and smaller flat in the suburbs, or even just a room, if you don't mind compromising on space and privacy.

Got to downgrade until so "chiak lak"?

We should all aim for the top retirement model - Sustainable stream of passive income that is both adequate for retirement expenses and one that can keep pace with inflation.

Failing which, we should aim for the second tier model- draw down model. Where you draw down your savings. Here the tricky bit is how to ensure the principal amount can outlast you.

The last resort model is to downgrade and downgrade your lifestyle. Sell car, rent out flat to smelly strangers, Eat one meal a day and dont buy any new clothes for the rest of your life.

Young people have the time to prepare and invest to reach the first model, but sadly many dont care. Old people are anxious, but are running out of time to do that. Most are just hoping that their savings can outlast them and many are thinking of downgrading or work till they die. Working till they die is what is happening in the US now. Many old folks are finding that they cannot depend on social security payout anymore and are going back to work.

I know of old couples who rent out their whole HDB flat and live with one of their children in their Exec HDB flat. They stay in one room and help to look after their grandchildren. win-win situation.

So make sure you dont sell away your HDB flat, the passive income from renting out your flat (about $3k per month) is sufficient for you and your wife, provided you dont own a car and have no other liabilities. Your HDB flat is your asset.

Some other people here plan to retire in a 3rd world country using rental income from their HDB flat. This is also a good idea.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Got to downgrade until so "chiak lak"?

We should all aim for the top retirement model - Sustainable stream of passive income that is both adequate for retirement expenses and one that can keep pace with inflation.

Failing which, we should aim for the second tier model- draw down model. Where you draw down your savings. Here the tricky bit is how to ensure the principal amount can outlast you.

The last resort model is to downgrade and downgrade your lifestyle. Sell car, rent out flat to smelly strangers, Eat one meal a day and dont buy any new clothes for the rest of your life.

Young people have the time to prepare and invest to reach the first model, but sadly many dont care. Old people are anxious, but are running out of time to do that. Most are just hoping that their savings can outlast them and many are thinking of downgrading or work till they die. Working till they die is what is happening in the US now. Many old folks are finding that they cannot depend on social security payout anymore and are going back to work.