Whats your net worth

Don't mind this pathetic pay if it allows me to own 2 condos and build net worth of $5m.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

And in your industry, the pay is pathetic.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't mind this pathetic pay if it allows me to own 2 condos and build net worth of $5m.

Not you cos maybe you are the MD or chief engineer. How about the hordes of engineers working 2,3 levels below you? Are some of them quitting to become cab drivers?

In banking and finance, even the most junior AVPs can reach your level of wealth easily.

We used to be a corporate executive couple but now we have decided to retire at an early age of late 40s. We have worked hard and saved and invested a lot in stocks. We have paid off the mortgage of our condo (now worth $2.5m). We just bought a brand new car, paid full in cash. We intend to use the car for the next ten years only. We have also set aside savings for our kids' education. Our passive income from our stocks portfolio is now $80k pa. We no longer have any debt, hence our annual expenditure is only $60k pa, just for food, car petrol, condo maintenance, kids allowance, miscellaneous. Our kids don't need tuition as we coach them every day. They are among the top in their cohort.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

We used to be a corporate executive couple but now we have decided to retire at an early age of late 40s. We have worked hard and saved and invested a lot in stocks. We have paid off the mortgage of our condo (now worth $2.5m). We just bought a brand new car, paid full in cash. We intend to use the car for the next ten years only. We have also set aside savings for our kids' education. Our passive income from our stocks portfolio is now $80k pa. We no longer have any debt, hence our annual expenditure is only $60k pa, just for food, car petrol, condo maintenance, kids allowance, miscellaneous. Our kids don't need tuition as we coach them every day. They are among the top in their cohort.

Congratulations. You are an inspiration to me and my spouse. We are in our early 50s and we are still struggling to achieve a net worth of $6m, now our net worth is only $4m. We will retire once we reach a net worth of $6m. We hope we can reach that amount before we reach 70, our ideal retirement age.

I think better be realistic. You have less than 20 yrs to accrue another $2m. That means $100k pa consistently. At 60 or so, expect to be given advisory role (sidelined) meaning pay could also be reduced. If you are depending on asset appreciation, it is meaningless on 2 fronts: if it is your home value going up, it is pointless because you have to live somewhere. Downgrading may not give you much as other property prices will rise in tandem. The second thing is home prices may also head south. Then you will be further from your goal.

We were like you. We originally set our retirement target at $5m, but because the nest egg is spread over properties, shares and other investment, we observed the amount going up and down mirroring economic cycles. This was frustrating. So instead, we now used passive income as a target. We set it at $120k pa meeting our current annual expenses with some buffer for inflation. Of course this value also goes up and down, but the passive income is more tangible than pure asset values. We can use the money coming in.

Last yr we achieved $80k pa. As of Nov this yr, we have received gross $100k pa. And you know what? Because of the current weak STI, our net worth shrank $50k, but the passive income amount looks encouraging. We think the $5m target is good to have but not really necessary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Congratulations. You are an inspiration to me and my spouse. We are in our early 50s and we are still struggling to achieve a net worth of $6m, now our net worth is only $4m. We will retire once we reach a net worth of $6m. We hope we can reach that amount before we reach 70, our ideal retirement age.

Alternatively, we can just retire now and go to Sarawak to join our extended family members. We can sell all our assets and get $4m or RM10m. I think RM10m is sufficient to retire in Sarawak.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think better be realistic. You have less than 20 yrs to accrue another $2m. That means $100k pa consistently. At 60 or so, expect to be given advisory role (sidelined) meaning pay could also be reduced. If you are depending on asset appreciation, it is meaningless on 2 fronts: if it is your home value going up, it is pointless because you have to live somewhere. Downgrading may not give you much as other property prices will rise in tandem. The second thing is home prices may also head south. Then you will be further from your goal.

We were like you. We originally set our retirement target at $5m, but because the nest egg is spread over properties, shares and other investment, we observed the amount going up and down mirroring economic cycles. This was frustrating. So instead, we now used passive income as a target. We set it at $120k pa meeting our current annual expenses with some buffer for inflation. Of course this value also goes up and down, but the passive income is more tangible than pure asset values. We can use the money coming in.

Last yr we achieved $80k pa. As of Nov this yr, we have received gross $100k pa. And you know what? Because of the current weak STI, our net worth shrank $50k, but the passive income amount looks encouraging. We think the $5m target is good to have but not really necessary.

You should check this out Doctors have highest fresh grad pay in Singapore | AsiaOne Business

Engineers' pay are not "peanuts", especially those who progressed to become technical managers. Engineers' pay are in the top ten of high salaries.

The top pay goes to lawyers and medical specialists. A top lawyer can earn $55k pm, while a top engineer earns $21k pm

A top taxi driver (if I recall correctly) earned $7k in a month and only for that 1 month. Don't forget they don't have CPF, and all the other benefits that engineers get. Engineers get paid while they attend specialized courses locally as well as overseas.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not you cos maybe you are the MD or chief engineer. How about the hordes of engineers working 2,3 levels below you? Are some of them quitting to become cab drivers?

In banking and finance, even the most junior AVPs can reach your level of wealth easily.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

A top lawyer can earn $55k pm, while a top engineer earns $21k pm

Average over 12 months or just basic excluding bonus and employee shares?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You should check this out Doctors have highest fresh grad pay in Singapore | AsiaOne Business

Engineers' pay are not "peanuts", especially those who progressed to become technical managers. Engineers' pay are in the top ten of high salaries.

The top pay goes to lawyers and medical specialists. A top lawyer can earn $55k pm, while a top engineer earns $21k pm

A top taxi driver (if I recall correctly) earned $7k in a month and only for that 1 month. Don't forget they don't have CPF, and all the other benefits that engineers get. Engineers get paid while they attend specialized courses locally as well as overseas.

looking just at the top salaries can be misleading. you should also take into account the mean and median salaries. i recall that engineering median salaries are the lowest among the big white collar professions (law, accounting, finance, banking, etc).

From a young age of 18, I already made a careful choice in my degree. I loved to do engineering and IT and I was more a geek, but I also knew that you needed to keep on competing with the fresh blood who were more updated, more quick and more ambitious.

So I could only choose law, medicine and accountancy. Only in these professions do the older more experienced people make more money without a lot of effort to keep up with the young people.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

looking just at the top salaries can be misleading. you should also take into account the mean and median salaries. i recall that engineering median salaries are the lowest among the big white collar professions (law, accounting, finance, banking, etc).