Buy a private condo and wage slaves we become?

Over the years, quite a number of male readers have asked me if they should upgrade from HDB flats to private condos.

For some reason, it is always the wife's desire for an upgrade.

I wonder if the husbands were being honest with me.

Hmm...

I wonder also if there is some truth in the saying that it is easier to sell luxury goods to females than males?

Hmm...






Aiyoh!

Did some (female) readers throw shoes at me?

Ouch!

Wait, I see some branded ones.

Maybe, I can sell these later.

OK, yes, I know.

Bad AK! Bad AK!






Well, these readers should know that, easily, on a per square foot basis, a condo is going to cost 3x to 4x more than a HDB flat.

Just getting something that is the same size as their current HDB flat would be quite a big deal.

So, it is not surprising that many who upgraded from HDB flats ended up downsizing.






A home is probably the biggest purchase we will make in life especially with home prices being what they are in Singapore.

If we want to upgrade, be sure that we can pull it off comfortably and this should also be in the unfortunate event if we should lose our job (or if we cannot continue working for some reason).

That is the ultimate stress test.

We should also bear in mind any other financial objectives which we might have and how this upgrade in housing could impact our ability to meet those objectives.






Even if we can afford the upgrade, remember that it is not just about affordability.

In order to upgrade our housing, if we have to become wage slaves, the price, to me, is way too high.

Not overstretching will allow us to stay financially resilient in good and bad times.

Of course, if you are financially a "jin satki" (very capable) person, please ignore this blog.






Related posts:
1. https://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2018/09/free-ourselves-from-wage-slavery-now.html
2. http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.com/2016/08/wife-wants-to-sell-hdb-flat-to-buy-condo.html

How to be ready for unemployment? (He took a 50% pay cut but was unemployed again one year later.)

Reader says...

I am with you on achieving Financial Independence.

It's a fallback plan in the midst of a super competitive employment environment flooded with Foreign Talents.

Government can raise the retirement age to whatever they want but how many companies are willing to offer those above 50 YO decent paying jobs, except fast food outlets and a few others.






Speaking from experience on this.

Once retrenched, even in our 40s, it is hard to get back the same job.

I took a 50% pay cut for a 1 yer contract job and then became unemployed again.

Every year that passed, my market value is dropping.

I will go to McDonalds to be a cleaner soon.






I also know of a 30 YO friend who studied finance in NXX (a local university) and was retrenced from finance industry after working for 5 years.

After 1 year of job searching, he gave up and resorted to joining WSG program to find a job which paid $2K+ a month and restarted his life all over again.

My engineering cohort, 30% are unemployed by now and not by choice.






With so many government assisted programs on WSG website, we can make a guess how "good" the situation is.

So, no surprise that many young people are talking about F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence Retiring Early) these days.

It's a by-product of the current day situation and fear.

I also started reading your blog when I became unemployed 4 years ago.






What does AK have to say?

Don't ask 

"When we need to stop working, are we ready?"

Instead, ask 

"If we want to stop working, are we ready?"





How to be ready?

The best insurance in life is having sufficient passive income to maintain our lifestyle.

Be ready!

If AK can do it, so can you!






Related posts:
1. Freedom from wage slavery.
2. Best insurance in life.