Puteri Harbour Community

[Frodo]

Not that bad leh.... There are a lot of factors to consider. The situation is not so bleak. Planning well in advance and seizing opportunities at the right time is important. There are always pockets of such opportunities.

SG has opportunities for investment. It's very conducive to make money if we know how to. That's why we need to innovate and keep up to date. If not, why would multi millionaires or even billionaires want to settle here? We can throw a few names already.

As for commoners, you must bring up your children well. They do well in their studies, naturally good jobs will await them. And they can do well.

For parents, no matter how poor, they will have CPF money and at least a HDB flat to pass down when they leave the world. That is quite substantial already.

For those savvy ones who plan well ahead, they probably got several other investments to also pass down.

The problem is with those Singaporeans who don't do anything, don't want to learn new things, don't want to keep up to date with the latest, don't want to plan ahead, then when the cost of living goes up, they complain mother father "Wah lao, why everything in Singapore so expensive? Can only go to Iskandar to buy my property." (No intention of insult or anything... just citing as an example.)

But this is where the irony lies.

When Singapore becomes more and more expensive, your investments also go up in value. How do you think one can rent out his HDB flat and get good rental income? Or when you sell your flat, how do you think you can make good profits?

If you don't plan, don't want to seek opportunities to make money when they come, it is pointless to complain or paint a bleak picture that Singapore is dying or is a gonner. If you mix around with the rich people in SG, you will realize how much confidence and how much prospect it has with the large business corporations.

I believe that most people would have some plans for the future, though some times plans can be vague..agar agar plan to do this and that kind. Anyway, some of us make definite choices that do not really put financials as top priority. For example, for my family we decided to just live on one income. To many in Singapore this is crazy because it means giving up one university graduate earnings. And perhaps this is the reason why I am still a peasant today. Sometimes I wish we have double incomes, but perhaps that might have traded off my wife involvement with kids at their growing up years. Anyway, since we already decided to live on one income, we just have to stick with it, even the peasant consequences. Time will tell if this "investment" will reap a better ROI. One of the good things (well, in my view anyway) for our move to JB is that I can leave more than just one HDB behind, I can now leave behind (hopefully) two freehold properties to my kids, though they are far from fully paid up. Not luxurious properties by any SG standard but I guess it's adequate enough for us (mai hiam buay pai lah) Being a salaried worker and just one earner, I probably cannot seek my fortunes in SG, but next door JB could just be a ticket to seeking a mini fortune.:p

 

[Tekkun]

I believe that most people would have some plans for the future, though some times plans can be vague..agar agar plan to do this and that kind. Anyway, some of us make definite choices that do not really put financials as top priority. For example, for my family we decided to just live on one income. To many in Singapore this is crazy because it means giving up one university graduate earnings. And perhaps this is the reason why I am still a peasant today. Sometimes I wish we have double incomes, but perhaps that might have traded off my wife involvement with kids at their growing up years. Anyway, since we already decided to live on one income, we just have to stick with it, even the peasant consequences. Time will tell if this "investment" will reap a better ROI. One of the good things (well, in my view anyway) for our move to JB is that I can leave more than just one HDB behind, I can now leave behind (hopefully) two freehold properties to my kids, though they are far from fully paid up. Not luxurious properties by any SG standard but I guess it's adequate enough for us (mai hiam buay pai lah) Being a salaried worker and just one earner, I probably cannot seek my fortunes in SG, but next door JB could just be a ticket to seeking a mini fortune.:p

There's a Malay idiom : Sikit sikit jadi bukit.
Every adventure start with the first step. You already taken 2 steps.
There are many who dare not even try.

 

[xebay11]

My belief is give them a good university education. I don't even give my son downpayment for his first car. He use those scholarship money he earned. Today he work for a Fortune 100 company and pay his mother monthly allowances. Same goes for my second son, though he does not earn as much. But at least he does not need money from me. If they need downpayment for a house, I will contribute but no way I will buy for them. When I am dead, then it is a different story.

I once told my son. Go out there and work for others. If you start to work for me immediately after university, you will be pampered and you won't learn anything. Damn...after a while, they do not want to work for me anymore.

I think children need to come out of their safety shell and explore on their own. Headstart as in education yes but no no if it is free money.

Of course no free money, that is why I am still working and my son has to as well, although his path is much smoother than mine. When I am alive, he live under my roof, when I die he gets a mini fortune.....looks good for him either way.

 

[tstar]

Sigh.

i think that i myself do not mix around with the rich people. 8 out of 10 of my colleagues are PhDs merely bookworms or nerds. some have a sg condo loan of sgd 1.2mil and feel under tremendous pressure. others have no option but to buy a house in jb to prepare forretirement.. some are ready to go back to china or india as their parents have houses there. Rarely anyone plans to retire in sg due to the lack of financial means.

a simple calculation will tell you it is not easy to survive in sg when you think about retirement. unless one is born with silverspoons or keep on updating his skills by attending various courses or change his mindset to happily join the service industry.

 

[Frodo]

Sigh.

i think that i myself do not mix around with the rich people. 8 out of my colleagues are PhDs merely bookworms or nerds. some have a sg condo loan of 1.2mil sgd. others have no option but to buy a house in jb to prepare forretirement. most people feel under pressure. some are ready to go back to china or india as their parents have houses there. Rarely anyone plans to retire in sg due to the lack of financial means.

a simple calculation will tell you it is not easy to survive in sg when you think about retirement. unless one is born with silverspoons or keep on updating his skills by attending various courses or change his mindset to happily join the service industry.

It's definitely expensive to live in SG. I am speaking of the average person, not those of the rich dads category. Of course one can get by if he sticks to the PAP way, live in HDB and take public transport. You won't starve but you probably can't dream of bigger things. I was just at Bukit Indah Jusco yesterday...wow..saw the Laguna Heights property being promoted. If I am not wrong it is about RM1.7m for an almost 3000sqft 5 bedroom condo unit with private lift. I was like "wow!" Anyway...I can only drool of such but if I have the money I wouldn't mind to get a unit there. For S$600K you can't get anything near luxurious in Singapore. What one can only dream of in SG can be a reality in JB, that's how I look at it now. Of course there is a trade-off, so it's a decision that each person must be fully convinced in his mind to make.

 

[Tekkun]

https://www.facebook.com/skydinnerm...ource=Dinner+in+the+Sky+[MY]+(Not+Suppressed)

 

[sgtsk]

In my view, other than those who were born into rich families or who were fortunate to have struck gold through luck/labour, most of us would not be able to leave enough for our children in Singapore.…some might say that we voted for the system that enslaves us and that will eventually crush us...stockholm syndrome right?

It is hard truth for singapore's survival that its people could not be allowed to be so rich that it could be an option for too many not to work for a living. Imagine what this could do to the local work force(under 2 mil I think) if many opt to live on their inherited wealth. By way of policies, singapore people propensity to become wealthy by inheriting wealth is purposely minimized as it is a matter of national security for singapore that it has and perpetually maintains a world class workforce in the competitive global market place.

 

[Tekkun]

Some great views of PH at the end of the video

https://www.facebook.com/FlyingColoursMarineSolutions/

 

[mpan12]

I believe that most people would have some plans for the future, though some times plans can be vague..agar agar plan to do this and that kind. Anyway, some of us make definite choices that do not really put financials as top priority. For example, for my family we decided to just live on one income. To many in Singapore this is crazy because it means giving up one university graduate earnings. And perhaps this is the reason why I am still a peasant today. Sometimes I wish we have double incomes, but perhaps that might have traded off my wife involvement with kids at their growing up years. Anyway, since we already decided to live on one income, we just have to stick with it, even the peasant consequences. Time will tell if this "investment" will reap a better ROI. One of the good things (well, in my view anyway) for our move to JB is that I can leave more than just one HDB behind, I can now leave behind (hopefully) two freehold properties to my kids, though they are far from fully paid up. Not luxurious properties by any SG standard but I guess it's adequate enough for us (mai hiam buay pai lah) Being a salaried worker and just one earner, I probably cannot seek my fortunes in SG, but next door JB could just be a ticket to seeking a mini fortune.:p

At the end of the day, don't worry too much. My immediately colleagues are also the sole breadwinners of their families. But each one has only 1 kid. So maybe not so siong. They are coping very well living in HDB flats. One is a 5 room, the other is an EA. Those are really big enough for a very happy living!

One of them has a daughter who studied at a top JC. Did well in her A levels and is waiting for a place in local uni.

The other one has a 7 year old kid. Coping very well at school too.

Both could well afford cars in SG. One drives a 2 litre Toyota Camry. The other drives a Subaru (Can't remember model). It's definitely doable living in SG.

They don't see themselves as poor.

I think it depends on your expectations in life. Don't beat yourself up on finances by comparing with others. Be happy is most important.

 

[Tekkun]

Sigh.

i think that i myself do not mix around with the rich people. 8 out of 10 of my colleagues are PhDs merely bookworms or nerds. some have a sg condo loan of sgd 1.2mil and feel under tremendous pressure. others have no option but to buy a house in jb to prepare forretirement.. some are ready to go back to china or india as their parents have houses there. Rarely anyone plans to retire in sg due to the lack of financial means.

a simple calculation will tell you it is not easy to survive in sg when you think about retirement. unless one is born with silverspoons or keep on updating his skills by attending various courses or change his mindset to happily join the service industry.

I really do not understand why Singaporeans are so worried about retirement. You got your CPF, your HDB which should be fully paidup when you retired and Medisave. When you are old and do not have a job, you don't need a car. Your kids would have got married and probably have a HDB on his own. Food courts is cheap. I don't think it is hard to retire in Singapore unless you are itchy. Some retirees may not be rich but at least they won't starve. They have all sorts of activities from line dancing to taichi.

S$50 can buy you lots of groceries. RM50 can buy you only McDonalds. By comparison, do you know at least 50% of Malaysians have maximum RM50,000 in their EPF when they retire? How do they survive? Rich or poor, life still go on. So don't stress too much.

 

[winners]

I really do not understand why Singaporeans are so worried about retirement. You got your CPF, your HDB which should be fully paidup when you retired and Medisave.

By comparison, do you know at least 50% of Malaysians have maximum RM50,000 in their EPF when they retire? How do they survive? Rich or poor, life still go on. So don't stress too much.

Simple, generally, most typical Sinkies are of the kiasu and kiasi types. They are always not contented and can never have enough.

1 very good example is whenever there are freebies or something that is crazily cheap, you'll see snakes of queues for them. I don't see so much of the same in Malaysia, even when McDonald's used to give free breakfast in 1 of the previous years. I happened to be buying my groceries at the usual time of about 10.30am and the free McDonald's breakfast giveaway was still available.

I have also come across many of those who don't qualify for the CHAS medical subsidy will complain non-stop on how the government is being unfair to them..... I mean, if you can afford, why still want to depend on it? Let the government allocate these funds to those who need it more. Why want to fight tooth and nail over such trivial matters? And then on the other hand, there are some unscrupulous clinics which are abusing it and taking advantage of the CHAS subsidy by increasing the overall consultation and medication costs exorbitantly by charging a lump sum. When asked for an itemized bill, they would say that their computer system couldn't do so. What a crap? To those ignorant patients, they wouldn't care because they only have to pay the minimum sum, regardless of the final amount. However, they forgot that these subsidies are actually coming from the tax payers.

 

[cybermad]

Simple, generally, most typical Sinkies are of the kiasu and kiasi types. They are always not contented and can never have enough.

1 very good example is whenever there are freebies or something that is crazily cheap, you'll see snakes of queues for them. I don't see so much of the same in Malaysia, even when McDonald's used to give free breakfast in 1 of the previous years. I happened to be buying my groceries at the usual time of about 10.30am and the free McDonald's breakfast giveaway was still available.

Lets not star a war on SG vs MY. I can also list down tonnes abt MY that is bad .

 

[Tekkun]

Lets not star a war on SG vs MY. I can also list down tonnes abt MY that is bad .

We are talking about retirement here and the reasons why they would want to retire outside Singapore.
That will impact Iskandar's property market. What are the real push factors that Singaporeans want to get out? Or there isn't any really.
From my personal opinion, I can't see a strong push. Singapore is still liveable for retirement.

Freebies has got nothing to do with retirement

 

[eric3417]

For some, when u enter your twilight years, thr might be some bucket list to check b4 leaving for good. For my mother especially, it's to relive her childhood memories of staying in kampong aka landed with a small garden plant her trees & spices. Have a dog & space to walk it with lots of nature in a quiet controlled environment live out her remaining years while living off her cpf life + hdb rental. Thr might be others like her.

:o

 

[winners]

Freebies has got nothing to do with retirement

That's where you are wrong. It's the attitude and mentality that lead to the never ending demands from the Sinkies. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the term called "pigeon holes". Anything that is free or cheap, they will want to have a part of it. That was why Goh Chok Tong once said Singaporeans are like birds, wherever they go, they say, "cheap, cheap!"

In conclusion, owing to factors like the favorable exchange rate, cheap or at least affordable housing in Iskandar, frequent promotions by the local medias on retirement in Iskandar (especially towards Singaporeans), etc. Many would want to have a part in it as well. And being the kiasu mentality, they also don't want to miss the boat.

 

[Tekkun]

For some, when u enter your twilight years, thr might be some bucket list to check b4 leaving for good. For my mother especially, it's to relive her childhood memories of staying in kampong aka landed with a small garden plant her trees & spices. Have a dog & space to walk it with lots of nature in a quiet controlled environment live out her remaining years while living off her cpf life + hdb rental. Thr might be others like her.

:o

True. We all want to relive those moments. Bucket list it is.
When I was a small boy, I lived in a kampong house with a zinc car porch where I spend a lot of time.
When I got my present house, I extended a perspex pergola into the garden like a car porch with a modern twist. Nothing like playing mahjong under this open air covered porch during rain or having beers at night.

 

[Tekkun]

That's where you are wrong. It's the attitude and mentality that lead to the never ending demands from the Sinkies. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the term called "pigeon holes". Anything that is free or cheap, they will want to have a part of it. That was why Goh Chok Tong once said Singaporeans are like birds, wherever they go, they say, "cheap, cheap!"

In conclusion, owing to factors like the favorable exchange rate, cheap or at least affordable housing in Iskandar, frequent promotions by the local medias on retirement in Iskandar (especially towards Singaporeans), etc. Many would want to have a part in it as well.

Hmm...impulse buying + greed + marketing. It is a contributing factor, but that is still not retirement planning. It is more of an investment buying.

 

[winners]

Hmm...impulse buying + greed + marketing. It is a contributing factor, but that is still not retirement planning. It is more of an investment buying.

That is why I always say those buying a few properties are not only for retirement planning. Those who are still working in Singapore daily and staying in JB are also not retirement planning. Totally wrong concept, especially those with children still studying in Singapore schools commuting daily in and out. Very stressful for their children.

 

[Tekkun]

That is why I always say those buying a few properties are not only for retirement planning. Those who are still working in Singapore daily and staying in JB are also not retirement planning. Totally wrong concept, especially those with children still studying in Singapore schools commuting daily in and out. Very stressful for their children.

To have the kids wake up at 4.30 am, go to school, back at 7.00pm, then tuition after that forced sleep, next day repeat.
Nowadays, kids do not have any childhood life. I pity the system. Everyone is expected to be better than their neighbours.

In Malaysia, it is slightly different. The education expectation is lower. If they excel, it is good. If they semi excel, it is ok as long as they are at par with others. And parents do not cane them for not getting 100 marks. Then again, is it the best system?

 

[Investor888]

One of my sweethearts in Malaysia told me that she went to 1MDB dental treatment at a public hospital for just RM1 for cleaning and RM3 for scaling. This is REAL subsidy and I don't understand why is it so cheap. And is not for Bumis and poor people. Its for MALAYSIANS.

No wonder Malaysians just want to fleech on Singapore PR but refuse to give up Malaysia citizenship. Heng ah! They are not Singaporeans. I just paid some $1000+ for my dental treatment and some stuff. After that heart feels more pain than my teeth!