Filial son working towards financial security (Part 2).

Our conversation continues:

Hi AK,

Firstly would like to say Happy New Year. Even thought its already mid of Jan. i writing this to you to update and share with you. I have transfer
my prudshield to NTUC enhance income shield advantage with assist rider. Then i have signed iterm for $200k term and $100k living rider(for CI) for 35years.

The Premium is $66.60/mth and till i reach 62 years old. Which is long enough. i know i may choose too little but its afforable and i feel much for comfortable in the long run. I also signed enhance income shield with basic assist rider for
both my dad and mum. So in any case, if my parents are warded, $30,000 bill just require to pay 10 percent which can be use by medisave
as well. i think its okay. i am paying giro and using my medisave to pay for both my parents. There is 25 percent premium subsides by gov. So its still within my afforable range.

At least if i get hospitalise, myself is full covered. But if my parents are warded, i use need to deduct 10 percent from my medisave. i know you
did advise me but i thinks and plan well before i done all these. if i earn more money, i will volunteer top up 7k to my MA in the future to deduct my income tax.

Secondly, i tried to share with alot of my frens all from different age, most of them earn alot but still think that OA is impt than SA because need to buy house. And they urge me to stop what im doing because they say i may face problem if im
buying house. But i know what im doing and i have still transfer full from my OA to SA for the next 3 to 5 years. i attached the interest i earn from OA and SA.

i only transfer all my OA to SA in Dec 2015. And i dont even have a gf now, so i just focus on funding SA first, so it will roll more interest through the years till my retire age.

Third, i also stop spending unnecessary money. i always think about what is the need and wants. And do i spend more money to buy smth just because of convenient. Just like what you shared. buying a can drinks in outside cost 1.50 where you go NTUC its only cost 70 cents. Start saving money and doing my best to focus on my studies and work.

Currently plan to save up $20k then go for 9 to 12 month FD. Meanwhile wait till i read enough before i start any investment such as S-reits etc.

you can use my screenshot and share on your blog. im okay with it.

sorry AK. i signed $200k term and $150k living rider(for CI) for 35years. The Premium is $75/mth and till i reach 62 years old. just to provide you in case people wish to find out

Lastly, thank you for the effort of keep posting and giving guidance. I still keep reading and following your blog and FB. All the best AK in your investment.


Warmest Regards
S

My reply:

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to share with me your progress. I am very happy for you. I am sure you feel a deep sense of satisfaction and also a higher level of security now. Good job!

From S:

Yes AK, I'm feeling so much ease now. Hope you can continue to spread more knowledge to us. But I must admit it's hard to convince others about investment or transferring of oa to sa. But it's okay. As long as we know what we are doing and believe in managing ourself and the interest will prove through the years.

Related posts:
1. Filial son working towards financial security in 2016.
2. Beyond needs and wants is the price of convenience.
3. Do you know if your parents have H&S coverage?
4. A lot of money in my CPF SA...
5. AK is showing off his CPF OA and MA.

AK answers 3 questions on early retirement.

Dear AK

I have been faithfully following your posts for the past year and have benefitted much in terms of my own early retirement planning.

What I applaud you on is not only having wisdom in value and passive income investing but also the willingness in imparting this knowledge to other investors aspiring to financial independence. Well done!

I figured from your posts that you have recently retired from full time work and are now financially independent reaping the benefits of your most commendable and lucrative passive income.

If you may and don't mind sharing, can I tap your experience on the following:

1) at what point or level of passive income returns did you make the decision that you had sufficient safety buffer to leave your full-time work? It's always nice to have the safety net of a monthly pay-check and medical coverage and it is not easy to let this go in return for more free time;

2) even after achieving financial independence and leaving full time work, are you able to occupy your time fully and meaningfully? I struggle with this aspect as I fear boredom and a meaningless daily existence wondering how to occupy my time.

3) how do you keep yourself up to date on your work related skills in case you decide to return to full time work?

Thank you in advance and appreciate your guidance and sharing from your personal experiences.

Regards
A Kindred Spirit

My reply:

Hi AKS,

Welcome to my blog. :)

#1. When my passive income was as much as my earned income, I was basically in a position when I worked because I wanted to and not because I had to.

However, I am Singaporean and KS. So, still worrying, I waited for my passive income to be a bit more than my earned income. How much more? Maybe 30% more?

As for medical coverage, I recognised a long time ago that I must have good H&S coverage and not depend on the coverage provided by my employer. Visits to the clinics don't cost much since I am a Singaporean and I go to Polyclinics when I am ill.

#2. Initially, retirement could be boring but I am hardly bored. Blogging and related activities took up quite a bit of my spare time. That kept me from being bored but I blog less now. I am also slower to reply to comments and emails.

Then, what am I doing to occupy my time? I am spending more time learning about health matters, especially matters related to nutrition, weight loss and exercise. I am doing Yoga again and I spend quite a bit of time in my planter gardening. I also read up a bit on the subjects.

I am always learning something new. I am not bored.

#3. For me, I have no intention to go back to active employment. So, this is not a burning question for me. I have an academic degree and not a professional degree. So, I guess this is another reason why this question is not really important for me.

I was teaching for a while and I could always do some relief teaching if I really want to, I guess.

I do know of people who say they don't ever want to retire. As long as they are happy and healthy, there isn't anything wrong with having no desire to retire.

However, if they say they can't retire or if they are unhappy and suffer in their jobs, that is a big problem. They should really have exit plans then.

Related post:
Retiring before 60 is not a dream!