Read? Future planning: Investing for retirement is a non-negotiable financial goal.
"Families in Singapore typically have four main lifestyle goals: replace the family car every five years, educate the children overseas, and achieve financial independence by age 60."
This is quite true as I look at peoples around me and realize that many have such goals.
But, I don't.
- No car to replace the family car every five years,
- Say No to upgrade the primary residence at least once,
- Say No to educate the children overseas,
- Say YES to achieve financial independence by age 60.
The outcome of my working life may be very different if I have included the similar four goals.
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Based on my own experience so far, it is not easy having only no.4 goal in my life. The temptation to “upgrade” is always there. Every now and then I will have either colleagues/friends/relatives asking why you don’t buy a car, why you don’t upgrade to a condo, why didn’t you send your children to this famous playgroup etc etc. I think most of them didn’t know how it feels like to be debt free. Sometimes, I feels like I’m in isolation.
ReplyDeleteThe pressure of keeping up with Ahmad, Ah Kow, Ah Huay and Ah Lian is indeed very hard to resist.
ReplyDeleteBesides you see many people earning less but are driving better cars than you, you can't help to wonder how they can afford to do so?
These people I suspect must be "tightening their belt" when come to their daily living expenses in order for driving nicer cars.
I even know some relatives who live in semi-detach house who have no choice but to keep up with the richer neighbours.
Of course their "belt tightening art" has obtain 1st class honours.
For me I believe the Cantonese saying, "Feast the best come first".
Of course if I can have anything I want is the best.
Dream on.
Unfortunately, too many people are still living on the assumptions that belong to their parents' age. My parents' generation survived having many kids to look after them, seven in my case. But our generation probably has all the eggs in one or two basket (kids). That realisation that we have to take care of our own retirement has probably not dawned on most people.
ReplyDeleteSo, either they think their one/two kid(s) will take care of them, or they have a money tree they can shake cash from, or their lifestyle is so low cost that they can depend fully on their CPF, or they are going to live off their home by renting out, or they are planning to die young so it doen't matter.