Whats your net worth

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

You can already retire. How much more do you want?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

You are not alone. Better perish the thought of ever retiring. You didnt say how many kids you have, but setting aside $1m each would just about made it. After that, you may want to consider downgrading or migrating to a third world country where the cost of living is more affordable.

You can tell it is tough from seeing most of our former ministers and other industry leaders who after finishing one career moved on to a second or third careers well into their advanced age. This, coming after earning high incomes during their prime, is a good indication that you do need a lot of money to live well here. So, consider it as a never ending marathon.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

sorry to say this, your profile most likely will die early, before 60.

i used to be like you and suddenly got a wake up call. need to slow down or i die young.

i was 40 then, decided to retire and depended on passive income to feed family. reduced our expenses and lead a simpler, happier life. my health is much better now.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

Honestly, you are very well off.

I'm no where near you in annual income. But to prepare for retirement i live off on my rental yields. You are obviously going to do better than me. My rental is $5k monthly and I am living very comfortably. You are likely to fetch 10k, so what's holding you back?

You can even afford to go on trips with the dividends you are receiving occasionally.

You can even afford a small car to make travel around Singapore. You can retire now, like right now, if you can cut down on your spendings.

Education for kids? I strongly believe that parents will only need to provide for the basic. I told my son i will only provide money for local uni, he pushed himself hard and made it to NUS Business. The $30k tuition is well within my means. You may have different philosophy as i do, but i'm providing you with one way to manage.

Control your spendings. You will never earn enough.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

48, banker, single income
Properties 2 landed 1 condo fully paid, total 6m
Cash 1.2m
Equity n bonds 1.2m
Cpf 250k
Annual Salary 500k working hard..
Very tired, want to retire but need to provide for kids' educations

To add on, I'm the guy with son in NUS.

Rethink if your kids need overseas education and your philosophy of raising kids.

Friend of mine sent his daughter to uni of melb. Spent some $100k - $200k on her three years education. In the end? She couldn't even find a job with $3k monthly and settled with a $2.7k. And worst still, she got herself in debts and my friend has to spend his savings to pay for it. He got himself in this mess for spoiling his daughter and never learnt his lesson.
Overseas education is HIGHLY overrated. I know what you're planning, sending your child to US or UK or something, but things are not going to happen your way you think it. Singapore schools are really cheap and good.

Kids can be your best investment for retirement, or it could be your worst nightmare. You are a banker, you should understand how managing a 'portfolio' is important for financial freedom.

I'm guessing from the way you put it, you spend a lot of money and pamper your kids. Don't. You can never earn enough for them. Read the 'richest man in babylon'. One chapter talks about raising child, whereby the wealthy man in the story explains why he's not going to pamper his son. It may give you some fresh perspectives.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

When I read all the posts by the many high fliers here, I feel depressed.
I'm already 40 years old and yet I have only a property worth $500k.
Me and my wife's CPF totaled only $400k (including SA and Medisave).
Our combined annual income income is only $80k. How can we retire?
Do you think we can rent out our rooms in our retirement years?
Do you think we can $2000 from renting two HDB rooms when we retire in 15 years time?
Do we need to retire in a neighboring country while we rent out our whole flat?
Any ideas? Thanks.

Any liabilities? Car? Kids? Housing loans?

First, forty is not old. In fact most singaporeans start building for retirement at mid thirties or forties. This stage is important as it determines how you are going to live. Manage your finances well.

Property worth $500k could be 4 room or 5 room in my guess. Assuming it is four room, you can fetch a rental of about 1k every month. It's more than enough for monthly spendings, but how about living comfortably? Now this is the stage whereby you should consider building your wealth.

Annual income of $80k is unlikely to double in next twenty years. Regardless of your end point, cut down on spendings, and aim to save half of it. $40k savings from your annual income, and also $12k from your property rental if you start now. You will accumulate $50k every year. Save for five years, and you will have $250k. Put it down for downpayment on a 3 room condo (3 room condo are easier to rent) in a near CBD location. Pay for the rest of the property with rental and also your $50k yearly.

If you are 40 now, you will have a second property before you turn fifty. This is the key now. Assuming same rentals and same spendings, and your job is kept, you can further multiply your wealth accumulation yearly. From the previous $50k, you can now net at least $80k yearly due to your new rental. Aim for a new one. Remember, as long as you have money to put for downpayment, it's a wonderful thing. The rental will pay for monthly installment, and you input more money into property. Aim to pay off asap.

I'm not very familiar with the HDB rules now. I'm not sure if you can own a private property and a HDB concurrently. (need help here) If you can't, look towards other countries. Or you can consider selling your HDB and live in a two room condo for the same cost (assuming your kids have moved out)

This is one way. It's a way for non risk taker like me. Some people will put downpayment on a lot of property, relying highly on rental for installment. Once rental halts, so is their cash flow. I wouldn't recommend that, it a huge risk.

And also, no matter what, ALWAYS have savings of about one year of your expenditure. Savings in cash, never put everything in property or investment!

You are an inspiration. Can you share how you manage your household with $5k a month?
Can you share more on your current situation - how old are you, are you retired, how many properties you own and are they fully paid up (hdb or private?), how many kids you have and have they all finished schooling?, etc.

I am thinking of retiring as i am now already 55 years old, i own a fully paid up hdb flat which is worth $600K (bought at $100k) where i am staying today and a fully paid up condo (now worth $1.2m) which gives me a rental of $4k a month. my kids are grown up and working and i just need to support myself and my wife (not working). can i retire on $4k a month passive income? please advise. thanks.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Honestly, you are very well off.

I'm no where near you in annual income. But to prepare for retirement i live off on my rental yields. You are obviously going to do better than me. My rental is $5k monthly and I am living very comfortably. You are likely to fetch 10k, so what's holding you back?

You can even afford to go on trips with the dividends you are receiving occasionally.

You can even afford a small car to make travel around Singapore. You can retire now, like right now, if you can cut down on your spendings.

Education for kids? I strongly believe that parents will only need to provide for the basic. I told my son i will only provide money for local uni, he pushed himself hard and made it to NUS Business. The $30k tuition is well within my means. You may have different philosophy as i do, but i'm providing you with one way to manage.

Control your spendings. You will never earn enough.

It is not easy for him to retire as it means loss of prestige, ego and the high life.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Honestly, you are very well off.

I'm no where near you in annual income. But to prepare for retirement i live off on my rental yields. You are obviously going to do better than me. My rental is $5k monthly and I am living very comfortably. You are likely to fetch 10k, so what's holding you back?

You can even afford to go on trips with the dividends you are receiving occasionally.

You can even afford a small car to make travel around Singapore. You can retire now, like right now, if you can cut down on your spendings.

Education for kids? I strongly believe that parents will only need to provide for the basic. I told my son i will only provide money for local uni, he pushed himself hard and made it to NUS Business. The $30k tuition is well within my means. You may have different philosophy as i do, but i'm providing you with one way to manage.

Control your spendings. You will never earn enough.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are an inspiration. Can you share how you manage your household with $5k a month?
Can you share more on your current situation - how old are you, are you retired, how many properties you own and are they fully paid up (hdb or private?), how many kids you have and have they all finished schooling?, etc.

I am thinking of retiring as i am now already 55 years old, i own a fully paid up hdb flat which is worth $600K (bought at $100k) where i am staying today and a fully paid up condo (now worth $1.2m) which gives me a rental of $4k a month. my kids are grown up and working and i just need to support myself and my wife (not working). can i retire on $4k a month passive income? please advise. thanks.

I am 52, retired. Two property, one car. Zero liability.
I have two kids. My daughter is working and my son is in NUS now.

I'm living on passive income of $5k from rental. Living in a 4BR private in west, and hold another 3BR private near CBD for rental. I have some stocks that gives me dividends every now and then. I also sell them when I net a profit. This is my bonus cash.

A breakdown of my expenses. (my personal cap, never reached this amount)

Groceries and food - $1,000
House utilities - $500
Car (parking, petrol, insurance)(fully paid) - $500
Entertainment (inclusive of wive's yoga class, our dance class, and other misc cost) - $1,000

Son's expenses (if you're keen)

$28k tuition fee
$3k annual allowance

All in all, i still manage to save $2k of rental. That's about $20k a year which I spend on traveling.

To answer your question, definitely can be done. Keep in mind that there are still many singaporeans who live below $2k/mth and they are still working. You really flatter me as an inspiration.