Couples lack finances & mental preparedness for children
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My marital home is a 5-room flat (staying with MIL) which cost us less than $200K then. We did not have a wedding dinner but we went to Europe for honeymoon (my first overseas holiday). Our wedding bands were from a neighbourhood jewellery shop. Even with all these, we were broke as we spent all our savings for each major event of our lives. I had some medical conditions for my first pregnancy and that took away our savings again. Both of us had our master degrees in between our wedding and first kid and that took away some money too. We started from zero saving after our first child was born. But I have no regrets as we are a very happy family now.
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Lilac66:
But very few people will consider 3-room flat as they are very small. Not even enough for the couple, let alone those with family planning in mind. Somemore, their parents want them to prepare a guest room for them to stay over anytime.alng:
For flats, BTO flats are at least more than half a million now. With the new rule on housing loans tenure, they may have to fork out more cash or CPF (which they do not have).
I don't think the above is true if you're talking about a 3rm flat in a non-mature estate. -
http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10321p.nsf/w/BuyingNewFlatFlatsonOffer?OpenDocument
Check the HDB website. Most BTOs are below 1/2 mil even before all the grants. -
alng:
My marital home is a 5-room flat (staying with MIL) which cost us less than $200K then. We did not have a wedding dinner but we went to Europe for honeymoon (my first overseas holiday). Our wedding bands were from a neighbourhood jewellery shop. Even with all these, we were broke as we spent all our savings for each major event of our lives. I had some medical conditions for my first pregnancy and that took away our savings again. Both of us had our master degrees in between our wedding and first kid and that took away some money too. We started from zero saving after our first child was born. But I have no regrets as we are a very happy family now.
Having experience like this make you a better person!
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auntieM:
Must understand what is live within their means first.. ..
Agreed, must set the priority, some young couples will never bat an eyelids in spending thousands on branded goods..but when come to kids..even $500 per month they also must think and think... -
alng:
Have to prepare for \"retirement\" money also. But some parents only save for their retirement, not education for kids first?While I know some young graduates are spending beyond their financial means, I also pity many of the other young graduates who try very hard to spend within their means and repay their loans. Many of them graduated with a tuition fee loan of about $20K to $30K each. Imagine this will be $40K to $60K for each couple. With a commencing salary of about $3k each a month, how long will they take to repay this loan. Then they have to plan for their wedding, get a flat, go for honeymoon and hoping to get a car too. Having a baby is definitely their last priority.
For flats, BTO flats are at least more than half a million now. With the new rule on housing loans tenure, they may have to fork out more cash or CPF (which they do not have).
For wedding, I hope these young people know that a pair of wedding bands from Tiffany and a 8-course wedding dinner held in a 6-star hotel (that cost $2K per table now) do not guarantee a happy marriage. And I also hope they know that babies made in Bintan or Thailand are still their 爱情结晶 as compared to babies made in Europe.
My hubby and I did not start off with hefty loans like the youngsters these days but we were \"broke\" three times in our life. We started off as \"broke\" when we first graduated. Then we were \"broke\" when we got our flat. Then we were \"broke\" again when we got married. And we were \"broke\" for the last time when we had our first child, three years after we got married. -
S$340 about the cost of a hdb flat? Some parents send kids for enrichment in so many classes- swimming, ballet, and other courses.
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Having a kid is a personal choice.
If they feel that they cannot "afford" it… so be it… if they can derive “天伦之乐” by looking at their condo and car… good lor…
It is ridiculous to expect govt to pay for this and that and be responsible for the upbringing of their kids… as some of the comments on the web seems to be suggest so…
When I buy my resale HDB, I didn’t even get any grant from the govt even thou I’m staying so near to my parents. It is just a question of whether one wants or not.
Cannot afford is just excuses.
It is not that those pple cannot afford, simply put… they are just giving higher priority to their condo and cars, travels then having offspring. Well… if they made the choice, they got to live with it. Don’t expect the govt to take care of them if they do not make plans for themselves. -
limlim:
Agreed too. Think better take care of own old age and plans at the same time.Having a kid is a personal choice.
If they feel that they cannot \"afford\" it.. so be it.. if they can derive “天伦之乐” by looking at their condo and car.. good lor..
It is ridiculous to expect govt to pay for this and that and be responsible for the upbringing of their kids.. as some of the comments on the web seems to be suggest so..
When I buy my resale HDB, I didn't even get any grant from the govt even thou I'm staying so near to my parents. It is just a question of whether one wants or not.
Cannot afford is just excuses.
It is not that those pple cannot afford, simply put.. they are just giving higher priority to their condo and cars, travels then having offspring. Well.. if they made the choice, they got to live with it. Don't expect the govt to take care of them if they do not make plans for themselves.
Can afford more kids then do so. Cannot, then just do whatever one can live with. -
limlim:
:goodpost:
It is ridiculous to expect govt to pay for this and that and be responsible for the upbringing of their kids.. as some of the comments on the web seems to be suggest so..
It is not that those pple cannot afford, simply put.. they are just giving higher priority to their condo and cars, travels then having offspring. Well.. if they made the choice, they got to live with it. Don't expect the govt to take care of them if they do not make plans for themselves.
If a couple wants a kid, they do not need baby bonus or whatever to go ahead...if a couple doesn't want a kid, whatever govt throw in to entice them is useless. Kids are ours. We decide how many we are comfortable with.
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