Rising Cost of Living and Uncertain Future
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Is it really true that people are complaining about rising cost and fearful of losing their job? I see people spending money in shopping malls, eating and eating, buying and buying.
It has also become a norm that family must go for vacation once or twice a year. My friend son ask him in a matter of fact way, "So daddy, where will we be going this year?" It’s kinda taken for granted and not very good value for children to have.
I sometime wonder people are spending on credit. I heard from some postman there are many debt collection letters going to Sengkang and Hougang area. I have a friend, who owes the bank more than $100K on credit card bills. Her family looks really normal, you can never tell they are so stressed and so deep in debt. Another one I know earns $12k a month but also deep in debt. Earn more, spend more. Easy come, easy go. I guess that’s how trouble happens. -
For me who is now in my mid 40s, a widow...I am very worry about my retirement..... :nailbite:
When spouse was still around , earning 5 figure pay ..... I had even planned to retire at the age of 40s..... :roll:
Misfortunate came crashing down on me last year , when my spouse passed away....
When spouse was around he did not like taking loans from Bank , his theory don't work for the bank..... :censored:
So basically we were a debt free family .... :xedfingers:
So when spouse passed away , I did not have to worry about serving the house loan.....
But he did not leave much cash , so I have to continue to work...as the kids are still schooling.
In Singapore to raise a child until University is around SGD400k...
So I need SGD200k just for the 2 kids education needs....for the next 10 years....
,
This does not include our daily expenses , food , transport, insurance, house maintenance.....elderly care.....
My take homepay is SGD2k , but monthly household expenses is SGD6K per month....
I have pawned away all my gold , cash out breakeven insurances...
So I am very worry about my retirement.....
I have calculated to retire at the age of 62 - I would need around SGD300K...
So now I must work very hard , keep on transferring money into my CPF Special Account to enjoy the high interest....
Lucky , I had sold all my CPF shares and did not made any losses...
In my mind raising kids in this 21st Century , is regarded as Zero Rate in Returns....
Just pray that by the time the kids are independent they will not come back to ask for $$$$...
This is all planning, but who knows what will happen tomorrow...I might not wake up....and die in my sleep
So I decided to pump in a substaintiate amount of fund into my Mom's Retirement Account ....under the CPF Minimum Sum...
So each month she would get around SGD600 for the next 20 years...
So if misfortunate happens to me, my loves ones will be well taken care of...
So to all Kiasuparents , reading this , have you made plans for your loves ones, in case tomorrow you are gone.....
Don't leave behind a debt ...when you are gone.... :skeptical: -
To those people who are Watch / Diamond / Branded clothes and Bags Collectors .....
This is my view on all these flashy materials ... :sad:
When you are gone all these materials are worthless.... :censored:
Spouse was a Watch Collector, brought his Rolex to the Pawn shop and the highest offer given was SDG1K, and he had bought it around SGD8K....
The Offer was only made on the Rolex watch as it had Gold....
The rest like Cartier, Tag Hauger, .....the Pawn Shop Staff told me to keep it....not worth to sell....
As for Branded Clothes, I donated to charity ...as Asian are too proud to wear 2nd hand clothes , especially if it was passed down by a dead person....
And not forgetting to those Coin Collectors .....they are also not worth money ....because too many in the market....
My views , spend within your means....you like it does not mean you must possess it.... :evil: :evil:
Take a picture with it and if feels like you have once owned it....
In this unstable society...CASH IS KING..... :moneyflies: even you do not like it....
Surf any Charity Website , all organization will ask for donation in cash through credit cards.... :skeptical:
They hardly want your Old Stuffs..... -
hmm…maybe forummers here maybe more investment-savy or prudent in their spending??
thanks dolphinsiah for sharing such personal details. i totally agree. not that we can’t depend on our kids but they won’t hv it easy next time.
we hv not taken family vacation since 2009 & it is only recently that we managed to go msia for a 3D2N vacation. thankfully, my kids whom hv been exposed to nature since young don’t hanker too much for man-made attractions. we taught them that vacation is not a must & dependent on their results.
wkends r spend at home, watching movies downloaded fm internet or trip to the parks. but fm time to time, we hv quarterly shopping trip in jb which is considered mini-trip. each trip we spend about RM$700 plus which works out to S$300. it goes into buying toilet roll, detergent, shower gel, kitchen roll, toilet cleaner, beverages etc which works out to S$100 per mth. in spore, i can’t get much for S$100 let alone S$300 worth of stuff that can last for 3mths. besides, shopping we will catch a movie & eat to our heart’s content.
& i encourage my frens especially those who hv their own car to do it cos it does make a difference. -
there is nothing wrong with charity shops…but the price of the stuff here in charity shops is ridiculous…
i see damaged goods like dining table going for $150. yes the original cost might be ten times more but i definitely wont even want it free. and the same table has been sitting in the shop taking up precious space for at least 6 months. likewise for some other stuff.
nothing is guarantee…but spending on luxury items (depend on one’s definition) is okay if there is a budget for it.
just dont be greedy. -
We see people spending and buying and fine dining restaurants are all full but we also get stories that people got retrenched and having hard time to get back a job of the last drawn salaries. Maybe, it is a sign that the wealth gap is getting wider? I am not sure it is real but there is figure that says that as much as 50000 Singaporeans are jobless. the unemployment figure at 2.1% probably includes foreign workforce which dilutes the local unemployement rate?
The situation above is one that has been worsening for the last few years according to some people and the situation can get much worse as the world humongous debt get unwinded. -
WeiHan:
I took a cab a few months back. The driver was complaining how recent graduates can't find a decent, good paying job with 2-3K starting salary. Is it true? Anedoctally, i have colleague who resigned last year and came back to a different department after just 1 month. I guess he had a hard time getting a new job.
WeiHan,
I find it difficult to reconcile these comments to those articles by HR professionals published in the Straits Times in recent years, including not long ago that our fresh U grads are drawing starting pay of >$3k and as high as $6k.
As for the current job market, I feel it favours the young and energetic, it is not a big deal that they lack experience. What they lack in experience, they make up by demanding a lower wage and their receptiveness to training. Malaysians and PRs also have an 'edge' over the more costly Singaporean staff. Whether it is difficult to get a new job depends on your expectations vs what the market has on offer around this period. Your colleague may have returned because he realised he could not get a better package outside, not because he could not get a job.
I know of someone who, a few years ago, felt stressed out at work, found a better paying job, had all the farewell parties with her colleagues, joined the new organisation and requested to returned to her previous company/job just after 2 weeks at the new job! Her reason was that the people at her new workplace were nasty.
Cost of living & uncertain future - yes, I feel the pressure. Felt worst off than a few years ago, standard of living sliding instead of improving. Frustrated with the current Singapore. Feel like a 'stranger' in my own country (everywhere you go, you hear people talking in non-Singaporean accent), at my workplace (where Singaporeans are the minority) and even at my neighbourhood (it's now full of expats whose wife congregate at our neighbourhood park everyday after sending their kids off on the school bus to their International schools). The squeeze on public transport like the bus & MRT, the announcements in Mandarin only (i still find this unacceptable even though I am Chinese) at the bus-interchange near my place, the many foreign talents (students) at my childrens' schools, the many expen$ive :moneyflies: optional activities that schools come out with .......our current environment favours those who have already made it, before the influx of FT, not those who have been sidelined or left behind. Those people who are in a position to ride the wave by getting more passive income from rental revenue and windfall from their properties will never understand the plight of the rest. -
osim:
osim,Is it really true that people are complaining about rising cost and fearful of losing their job? I see people spending money in shopping malls, eating and eating, buying and buying.
I had the same observation as you. Students used to discuss homework at MacDonalds. Now you see them at Starbucks, Coffee Club, etc instead. Every weekend, queues formed outside restaurants like Sakae, Pizza Hut, Swensens, New York & etc, as if its so cheap to eat at these places. Crumpler bags and Nike shoes are staples for school going youngsters.
Around me, people are busy looking for properties to buy for investment. -
In this world nobody is able to predict the future...
Yes, the Gap of the Rich and the Poor are getting wider
So all of us lives in fear, losing our jobs, home, status, wealth....
Sad to see more and more highly educated people are caught in this materialistic world.....
Every now and then must have the latest smartphone/fashion/entertainment devices......
The Greed of Businessmen trying to leap as much $$$$ from the Customers...
Commericals are made into attracting people to believe that they must have...
It is cool to have it.....
Open up your Cupboards and see how much unnecessary things we have bought through the moment of impluse..... :scared: -
Fairy:
Some got $8K! But how many get their first job within 6 months? I have an impression that it is 60+%. Much lower than in the past. Do you have a link?
WeiHan,
I find it difficult to reconcile these comments to those articles by HR professionals published in the Straits Times in recent years, including not long ago that our fresh U grads are drawing starting pay of >$3k and as high as $6k.
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