Monthly Expenditure and Cost of Living

As I was walking to the nearby coffeeshop to get my breakfast today, I could not help but wonder how much my expenditure has increased over the years.

As a primary school student, I was only given like $5 to $10 pocket money per week.

In secondary school, that was increased to $50 per week.

In junior college, the amount rocketed to around $80 per week.

I was so-called "financially independent" from my parents after JC and paid for my way through university. My expenditure per week then amounted to around $150 to $200 per week.

Today, without doing anything...my expenditure is easily $700-800 per week because of all my loans, bills and stuff.

So I was thinking to myself....AMAZING!! My expenditure has increased by so much over the years.

THEN I CAME TO THIS SUDDEN REALISATION....

Actually, my expenditure has not increased dramatically.

What happened was that my parents were footing the bills for me in primary school. The things that I used and enjoyed, like a roof over my head and food on the table were actually costs that were borne by my parents. I was only thinking of the money that I spent in terms of pocket money but failed to realise that my parents were actually paying a much higher cost for all my other miscellaneous expenses.

The only conclusion I have come to is this : The cost of living in Singapore is really high.

One generation pays for the next generation and the next generation pays the bills for the next-next generation. When it comes to the time for them to retire, parents who do not have enough retirement money (because they have spent it all on their children) will look to their children for support. By then, their children themselves will already have children of their own and will have no choice but to shoulder the burden of feeding three generations (their parents, themselves and their children).

How to retire in Singapore?

How To Retire in Singapore

When you hear people making the statement "How to retire in Singapore", it is usually not a question but a lament or opinion that it is close to impossible to retire comfortably in Singapore.

Is it really so difficult to retire in Singapore? What must one do to ensure that they can retire comfortably when their working days are over? How much does one need to safely call it a day from having to work?

Think about it..some famous celebrities have actually moved to Singapore. This include Gong Li and Jet Li who have both become Singaporeans now. Of course, I am sure their purpose is not to retire here but it seems that they find Singapore a really nice place to live in.

I believe that most Singaporeans also do like to live in Singapore and retire here. However, they are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the high cost of living and that's when they start to wonder whether they will be able to save up enough for their retirement fund.

Based on the MOH website, it seems that the male and female life expectancy has been increasing slowly over the years and I will not be surprised that for my generation (those in their 20s and 30s) the average life expectancy should be around 85. Considering the retirement age of around 60, that is a good 20 years of time (and money) to be spent during one's golden years.

In a lot of forums, I have found similar concerns amongst many. One comment even states that:

"The rich come to retire in Singapore. The poor go to Malaysia to retire. The neither here nor there aim for Australia" - Milo178 in Channel News Asia forum

I have also been thinking that retiring in Malaysia is a very viable option as the exchange rate will literally double my spending money. In that sense, I will be able to retire much earlier compared to someone who wants to retire in Singapore. I could even rent out my place in Singapore for passive income and convert that money to Ringgit =) That is indeed a very tempting thought.

Some people think that retiring is an impossible dream in today's world. This cannot be the case as I have read of people from other countries who have been able to retire in their 30s!

So i believe that it must be possible for people to retire in Singapore. People whether they are in their 30s, 40s or 50s should be able to hit their retirement goals. It is just how long they take to reach it.

I would like to think that there are a few steps that all can take to better prepare themselves for retiring.

1. Determine how much you need for retirement

2. Start saving towards that goal and make sure that the amount you save will enable you to hit that goal

3. Invest your money for the long term to get better returns

4. Cut down on your expenditure

5. Look for sources of passive income

Besides doing financial planning for yourself, you need to make sure that your children (if any) becomes financially independent from you and do not rely on you for money. You will be surprised that some young adults of ages twenty and above still depend on parents for money.

The CPF website has an excellent calculator to help you do your planning