Everything comes with a price ah. People make use of their parents to take care of their children when their parents are still well and healthy. Once their children grow up and their parents grow old, weak and sick, they want to kick them out. After that when the parents die already, all the children go to court and fight over the parents' flat. Sometimes they start the fight over the flat even when the parents are still alive! Disgraceful.

So to save yourself this problem, be independent from your children. Help to take care of your grandchildren if you want, but dont have to go and stay with them. When the grandchildren grow up, they want their own space, and that's when your own children start to show you black face every day.

Very true, that's why it is best you retire in 3rd world country using rent from HDB flat. Your $3k per month is enough to retire in Thailand and even in some parts of Malaysia. Rent a cheap house or condo and the rest of money for food and fun. The strong Singapore dollar is a blessing. $3k is worth about RM7k, you can rent a small condo in Malaysia for RM2k and spend RM5k for food and other things.

The next best is to invest in a condo while you're still young and by the time you retire you own two properties, one to stay in and one for passive income. There are many people who bought properties in the early 90's now own two fully paid condos. They retire happily. We should follow the steps of these people, don't gamble in casinos or stocks or some other scams. Property is the safest asset to own.

Couple in early 40's with two kids.
Live in a luxury condo and own two investment luxury condo.
Earn only $160k per annum.
We are a typical average Singaporean family.

and you used the word "luxury" luxuriously. old money?

Must be "old money". Otherwise $160K pa can hardly pay for EC. I have a friend who, together with family, owned whole boutique condo block of 15 apartments in prime district. The family took up 5 apartments while the rest rented out. He practically doesn't have to work.

Well, my family income $400K pa, trying to support 2 ordinary condo. For me, practically have to work till 60.

We earn 500k but still staying in HDB. admittedly, we just hit this high income only very recently. Gotta save up.

Been viewing a lot of condos and doing our sums. Even a 1.5m condo in OCR seems expensive and yet too small for a family of 5+1. By KBW's formula, we can afford a 2m condo. Not sure how we can afford it given that we are nearing 40 and would want to keep the HDB. Gotta save up for a couple of years.

You must be kidding, earning $500k a year is a lot. You need a financial advisor if you can't manage your finances. You should sell your HDB flat and use the proceeds of the sale plus your $1m savings to buy a $1.5m landed house in Jurong West. The house has 3 floors and 5 rooms.

We manage our finances well. As I said, we just hit this amount only recently. That's why our net worth is nothing to shout about yet.

Thanks for the suggestion but Jurong West is too far and too out of the way. We prefer the mass market condos in the east.

With the CMs, if we keep the HDB, we can only borrow 50% and gotta pay 10% tax for the stamp duty and ABSD. Our savings aren't too sufficient at this moment.

You should sell away your HDB flat as it is meant for the lower income group in society.
Your household income is fit for luxury condo or the prestigious landed bungalow.
Sell your HDB flat and use the proceeds as downpayment for a $4m bungalow.
You can spend $100k for your household expense, $200k for paying mortgage and $100k for savings and $100k for charity.

Save enough for downpayment
 

IMHO, should save enough cash for the downpayment for the condo before taking the plunge.