Having a high savings rate early on

The day I received my first paycheck was memorable. At 23, I remember feeling I was financially independent, and I didn't need to spend my parents money anymore. So I spent about 80% of my salary for the first 3 years, enjoying food, drinks, partying, whatever the Singapore food scene and nightlife had to offer. A 20% savings rate is alright, but looking back I could've gotten by with 50%.
That would have given me an extra 30% boost in savable cash, to use for blue chip dividend investments.

Below is a simple expense/savings chart, of someone who commutes to work regularly, and does not pay rent (lives at home, but contributes to utilities).

The difference is very glaring. If both scenarios invest in the same 4% bond or dividend stock at the end of Year 3, the results after 12 years with interest reinvested is as follows.

About $28k of extra interest gained, due to a high savings rate in the first 3 years. Enough said.

Comments

Hotel Review: Novotel Halong Bay

As I travel quite often for work, I’m going to keep a record of all the hotels I’ve stayed in, to serve as a reminder of what works and what doesn’t. It’ll make future bookings much easier. Unfortunately there was no SPG/Marriott hotel in Halong Bay area, so i ended up with Novotel. Location: Along the western side of Halong, right across some ongoing construction. Room: Decor is dark wooden, taking a spin on modern Chinese. Wood flooring and a huge king size bed that's abit hard and uncomfortable. I like the decor though. Gym: This has got to be the saddest hotel gym i've ever seen. I decided to run outside instead. Breakfast: The selection is so limited, and it's not even that good. Nice decor though. Would I return? Definitely not to this 4 star hotel. Thankfully I was only here for 1 night. Although the place is filled with Korean tourists, you can eat some basic Korean breakfast here, but that's not my preference.

Purchasing life insurance

I recently re-balanced the family's insurance schemes. I remember just when i was just starting out, my cousin once told me to buy only Term + Critical illness insurance. I didn't listen and bought an investment linked plan from one of my friends (he played the friend card, which is annoying). They guarantee you 3% returns or something similar, along with coverage. I bought the Manulink Flexi plan on Nov 1 2008, and had it for 89 months (7years, 5months). Monthly premium was $206.59. Total Premium paid was $18386.51. I remember getting back only around 11k when i surrendered this policy. Basically I paid $7386.51 in total for term + critical insurance coverage for the 7+ years, about 1k per year. Looking back, i did not require such coverage as i didn't have any dependents. Lets see the figures comparing what i would've otherwise gotten, had i invested in a stable dividend stock/reit, since the premise is that this policy is not necessary. I'm looking at a t...

I increased my term + accident insurance policy with Aviva

I recently maxed out the SAF Aviva group term insurance on both term life plan for $1M and accident plans for $600k, which costs me $47.42 and $77.37 per month respectively. This is on top of my existing whole life plans . I did this to ensure adequate insurance coverage in times of need. The only downside of this is that Aviva pays out a maximum of $20M per event, and it's prorated accordingly, so don't bet your house on this and have some other backup. Term covers up to age 65-70 (your income generating years), and whole life covers your whole life (including your retirement years). In general whole life plans are alot more expensive per $ of coverage, compared to term plans, so you have to utilize both to get adequate coverage at a reasonable cost. In Singapore where voluntary death isn't an option, it could really bankrupt a family. Some say to purchase a $1M term plan that covers you up to age 99. That means you can't live past 99, but such plans are...

Eyes On Retirement

Search This Blog