Whats your net worth

Congratulations! I think you have done well for yourself and family. Not many people would want to get off the rat race. They simply can't let go. Looks like you have planned well and enjoying the fruits of your labour. Enjoy your retirement and keep healthy. Today, I read the obituaries in the ST, saw someone who died in his 40s. This is a wake up call that life is short. I aspire to be like you.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I sold my terrace house last year for $3m and bought a brand new condo for $1m. I have $2m of investments, which gives me $100k pa of passive income. This enables me to retire at 50. My wife, 46, is still working, earning $120k pa. We have no debt and our annual expenses is $90k. I spend my time getting fit in the gym and pool, preparing for my next marathon. I also coach the kids to be "A" students and help out in the house work as we decided not to waste money on a maid. I still drive a European car which I use only occasionally as my condo in near an MRT station. It takes me only about 15 mins to town.

Big monthly expenses that I cleared - mortgage, car instalments, maid, kids' tuition, house maintenance (this is a big expense for those living in landed houses). Once these big monthly payments are cleared, my monthly household expenses dropped a lot and I have much more for savings. We save $130k per year now. Our net worth is now $3.5m. It should reach at least $7m in 20 years time.

[cheong88]

haha singapore is really a rich country....seeing so many people in their thirties accumulating close to $1million....

How is this funny? Unless you think $1m is nothing to shout about.

Originally Posted by cheong88

haha singapore is really a rich country....seeing so many people in their thirties accumulating close to $1million....

I've been planning this move for many years. My bet to invest in a landed property in 2006 paid off. I managed to sell at a big profit and moved to our dream condo. My wife is happy with my achievement and fully support my move, she is also happy that I now spend a lot of time with our kids as she herself is very busy. Now we have a more balanced family life, our kids get the love and attention and are now very cheerful children. I could have continued working and earn much more but I value my kids more than money. Life is not all about money. Anyway, we have a lot already. Nowadays I see many very successful executives and businessmen earning millions but they have rotten children. I don't want that to happen to my family.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Congratulations! I think you have done well for yourself and family. Not many people would want to get off the rat race. They simply can't let go. Looks like you have planned well and enjoying the fruits of your labour. Enjoy your retirement and keep healthy. Today, I read the obituaries in the ST, saw someone who died in his 40s. This is a wake up call that life is short. I aspire to be like you.

For every young person that dies, there are many more who lived till they run out of money.

Hard work don't kill, and few people actually die at work. Yes construction workers do die at work due to accidents, but I am sure you are not referring to those.

What is important is to lead meaningful and useful lives. If you believe your work gives meaning to your life then by all means go and work and enjoy it.

To cop out of life by using the excuse of someone who died young (especially without knowing the cause of death) is irresponsible. Make sure you have enough saved up to last your retirement. Retirees in Singapore face 8 years of hardship after savings run out | HSBC Singapore

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Congratulations! I think you have done well for yourself and family. Not many people would want to get off the rat race. They simply can't let go. Looks like you have planned well and enjoying the fruits of your labour. Enjoy your retirement and keep healthy. Today, I read the obituaries in the ST, saw someone who died in his 40s. This is a wake up call that life is short. I aspire to be like you.

I know of people who died in their 50s. They worked hard, stayed long hours in the office and were highly stressed. They were planning to retire at 65. All their wealth went to their family members. Their dream to travel the world didn't materialize.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

For every young person that dies, there are many more who lived till they run out of money.

Hard work don't kill, and few people actually die at work. Yes construction workers do die at work due to accidents, but I am sure you are not referring to those.

What is important is to lead meaningful and useful lives. If you believe your work gives meaning to your life then by all means go and work and enjoy it.

To cop out of life by using the excuse of someone who died young (especially without knowing the cause of death) is irresponsible. Make sure you have enough saved up to last your retirement. Retirees in Singapore face 8 years of hardship after savings run out | HSBC Singapore

Dont rush into such rubbish conclusions, and dont just believe in hearsay. Best to do some research
Keys to long life: Longevity study unearths surprising answers
Myth: Being happy makes you live longer. - 3 Biggest Myths About Longevity - Health.com

Most people die because they are not fit in the first place or they dont take care of their health. It is not because work kills them. People who work keeps their minds active. And of course there is the money to keep them happy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I know of people who died in their 50s. They worked hard, stayed long hours in the office and were highly stressed. They were planning to retire at 65. All their wealth went to their family members. Their dream to travel the world didn't materialize.

I'm planning to retire soon. I have passive income of $300K/year so its not really an issue. However, I worry about being bored. So, I'm going to take a leave of absence for 6 months-1 year and rethink then. I'm not close to retirement age yet but the children are already finished or away at university and those funds have already been allocated to an education account.

To prepare for retirement, I haven't been investing for the past 12 months or so at all. All my passive income and salary have been going to my retirement FUN account. By sometime next year, I hope to have saved S$1m in that account. Then, I'm going to burn through it traveling and living in luxury and having fun as if there is no tomorrow. I'm actually curious whether I'll be able to spend it all since I've lived most of my life saving and being extravagant has never been my style. Plus since about $25K still comes flowing in each month from passive income, I'll probably have to spend something like$50-60K per month to even make a dent in the account. At $60K per month spend, I would go on for 3 years before I have to slow down. Seems obscene to spend so much money....

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm planning to retire soon. I have passive income of $300K/year so its not really an issue. However, I worry about being bored. So, I'm going to take a leave of absence for 6 months-1 year and rethink then. I'm not close to retirement age yet but the children are already finished or away at university and those funds have already been allocated to an education account.

To prepare for retirement, I haven't been investing for the past 12 months or so at all. All my passive income and salary have been going to my retirement FUN account. By sometime next year, I hope to have saved S$1m in that account. Then, I'm going to burn through it traveling and living in luxury and having fun as if there is no tomorrow. I'm actually curious whether I'll be able to spend it all since I've lived most of my life saving and being extravagant has never been my style. Plus since about $25K still comes flowing in each month from passive income, I'll probably have to spend something like$50-60K per month to even make a dent in the account. At $60K per month spend, I would go on for 3 years before I have to slow down. Seems obscene to spend so much money....

LOL $300k only can last a few games for 15 min in MBS high rollers and you wana "burn through it traveling and living in luxury and having fun as if there is no tomorrow". Make $300k per day first before talking big.

Will the market crash? Will foreigners buy our properties at 50% discount?

Many Singaporeans home owners will suffer if the market crash. Foreigners will be very happy buying cheap.


Slow population growth may lead to housing oversupply

Sep 30, 2013 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Singapore could face an oversupply in the private residential market as a consequence of its population growth, which increased at its slowest pace in nine years reaching 5.4 million in June 2013, up 1.6 percent from 5.31 million during the same period last year.

Notably, the non-resident population rose just four percent compared to 15 – 19 percent over 2007 and 2008. This comes after employers hired fewer foreign workers in the non-construction sectors, according to the annual Population in Brief Report from the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) of the Prime Minister's Office.

Excluding foreign domestic workers, foreign employment growth in the non-construction sector fell to 3.5 percent from 7.1 percent in the previous year.

The slowdown in population growth combined with the more than 100,000 private homes to be completed between 2H2013 to 2017 could lead to higher vacancy rates, and, consequently, a decline in prices and rents, noted a Religare Capital Markets report.

“Simply put supply will continue to outstrip demand over the next few years resulting in a higher vacancy rate, which will pressurise rents and prices. As per our estimates, population per private unit will be below its long-term average by 2014-2015 and at its lowest, since at least 2000, by 2016, thus, suggesting a grim outlook,” the report added.

Religare “continues to remain negative on Singapore developers as rising vacancy rates combined with eventual fall in rents and prices could lead to lower new home sales going forward”.

“We continue to maintain our SELL call on City Development as the company remains highly exposed to Singapore residential market (35 percent of GDV), and will thus, bear the brunt of fall in prices and volumes.”