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[h=2]Why should we downgrade from our homes?[/h]
September 26th, 2012 |
Author: Contributions
I had coffee with an old retiree friend the other day. We get by with our small monthly annuity and ang pows from the children, getting on okay with our simple lifestyle. So far we have been lucky, we are in good health.
My friend’s HDB property is worth about about half a million, my small landed property about a million plus. The common observation is that we should consider ourselves fortunate. Our main asset, our homes have grown in value many times over.
The common talk is if you need money, you can always downgrade. But my friend remarked why should we downgrade? Why must we give up our familiar home and surroundings and downgrade? What about our feelings, our attachments and sentiments. Why must people downgrade at the tail end of their lives? It is stressful.
Our homes have therefore become a commodity retirement instrument. What causes all this? The answer is things are expensive and keep going up. Why wasn’t there any control right from the beginning? Why nobody thought of a retirement package for us?
Then my friend said something that struck me. He said people selfishly voted for the PAP hoping to keep the high prices for their houses. Worried for his children and grandchildren, he is more than ready to sacrifice if the government takes drastic measures to reduce the housing costs for the sake of our future generation. It doesn’t matter if the value of his home drops by half. Can’t we pull the brakes and wipe up the spirit of sacrifice.
.
Sacrifice and reduce costs
* Comment first appeared on: Did you make the right choice?
.
I had coffee with an old retiree friend the other day. We get by with our small monthly annuity and ang pows from the children, getting on okay with our simple lifestyle. So far we have been lucky, we are in good health.
My friend’s HDB property is worth about about half a million, my small landed property about a million plus. The common observation is that we should consider ourselves fortunate. Our main asset, our homes have grown in value many times over.
The common talk is if you need money, you can always downgrade. But my friend remarked why should we downgrade? Why must we give up our familiar home and surroundings and downgrade? What about our feelings, our attachments and sentiments. Why must people downgrade at the tail end of their lives? It is stressful.
Our homes have therefore become a commodity retirement instrument. What causes all this? The answer is things are expensive and keep going up. Why wasn’t there any control right from the beginning? Why nobody thought of a retirement package for us?
Then my friend said something that struck me. He said people selfishly voted for the PAP hoping to keep the high prices for their houses. Worried for his children and grandchildren, he is more than ready to sacrifice if the government takes drastic measures to reduce the housing costs for the sake of our future generation. It doesn’t matter if the value of his home drops by half. Can’t we pull the brakes and wipe up the spirit of sacrifice.
.
Sacrifice and reduce costs
* Comment first appeared on: Did you make the right choice?
.