Nano apartments less than 200 sq ft in area for Singapore?

180 sq ft micro apartments sold like hot cakes.

Do you know that a car park lot in Singapore must be at least 124 sq ft in area? 

That is the rule by LTA.






Do you know how big is the smallest flat in Hong Kong? 

According to an article in The Sunday Times, it is 61.4 sq ft! 

That is smaller than the smallest hotel room I have ever stayed in!





There are more and more homes which are less than 200 sq ft in size being built in Hong Kong and they cost about HK$4 million or S$725,000 each.

Now, for those who wonder how I could stay comfortably in an apartment that is a bit bigger than 400 sq ft in size, what about one that is smaller than 200 sq ft in size?








200 sq ft is probably the size of a decent hotel room with a bath. 

I feel that it is good enough for a short stay of maybe a few days but to stay for a longer period, it could be difficult for me.

I actually stayed in a junior suite before because I got a good deal. 






Similar in size to my current place but missing an outdoor space, it was very comfortable.

See the photos: HERE.

I feel that my apartment gives me just the right amount of space for living comfortably long term. 

A kitchenette, a living cum work space, a bedroom, a wardrobe, a bathroom and a small outdoor space. 

Everything I need in the smallest apartment I ever stayed in.

With only 200 sq ft, I think I would be left with just the bedroom and the bathroom. 

I would have to eat out all the time and I would probably want to go out a lot more because there is no outdoor space.






Hmmm, OK, I guess these nano apartments (yes, they are even smaller than shoebox apartments) could work for people who don't cook and who spend very little time at home.


When are we going to see some nano apartments in Singapore, I wonder?




Related posts:
1. My hut in the sky.
2. Downsizing our homes.

Can a 34 year old retire with a $300K portfolio?

(AK is an IT dinosaur.)

I am too lazy to visit forums or chat groups. I am also too lazy to visit other blogs. 

So, when I do leave a comment in other blogs from time to time, it is an "OMG, give me a set of lucky 4D" moment.





Listening to a friend and setting up a Facebook page was a giant leap forward for me. 

Some might not know this but I abandoned that effort after a while donkey years ago, preferring to just stick with blogging. 

I didn't see any need for Facebook.





Then, how did I become so active in Facebook in recent years?

I was getting bored with just blogging.

Sounds familiar? 

Yes, boredom was a big reason why I started blogging too.

Anyway, there is enough interaction with people through my blog and Facebook page to keep me busy. 

Add the liberal number of emails and PMs on Facebook, I am kept quite busy online.





Human beings are social creatures and they need some social interaction. 

How much interaction we need will differ from person to person.

For some time now, I very much keep to myself and, fortunately, I like my own company. 

I don't know if it has anything to do with ageing or, maybe, it is a mental illness. 

Whatever it is, I do what makes me happy.

Although I do not visit forums, sometimes, I hear things from readers especially if these things involve me. 

A friend once joked that ASSI has its own vigilante corp. Perhaps so.





This was from a reader this morning:

AK:
AK:
If I am in the business of investor education,
I would show face but I am just a blogger.
I do this for fun.

Reader:
leong revealed his portfolio size Liao
He full time like u lah
Unbelievable
34yo
2-3 yr of your dividends can form his portfolio
I dono how he survive leh
considering he getting married, commitment sure a lot
300-500k portfolio size how to retire?
now got human capital don't leverage



AK:
I think his CPF account is probably wasted
One should have a holistic approach towards financial freedom, I feel.






Of course, all of us have different circumstances and there are many ways to build wealth. 

It is never my way or the high way.

(You might want to watch what I feel is an interesting video clip below.)

Related posts:
1. What makes us powerful?
2. Holistic approach to financial freedom.
"My philosophy in wealth building might be boring and it probably isn't suitable for everybody. Some are happy adopting it and it is only normal that some will brush it off."





(Start watching from the 6.30 minute.)

Borrow $100,000 to buy a car in Singapore?

Hi AK, 

When I get back to Sg next year, i'm planning on getting a car (depreciating asset boohoo!)

Now, on my previous car purchase, I felt i made a mistake of buying too early and had to take a full car loan. It ate up a lot of my monthly pay. So this time round, I wanted to do my sums right before diving in. 

I do have enough to pay upfront for a car (eg 100k). But could you talk to yourself if paying upfront for a car is a good idea? 

My alternative could be taking this 100k and throwing it into the Sg savings bonds/safer type of bonds, and earning the interest. As long as this "bond interest" is more than the "car loan interest", this would make it worthwhile? Am I missing a blind spot here? 

Can I just compare a 2% car loan interest vs a 3% interest earned from bonds and conclude that I will earn 1% interest? 

Could you talk to yourself on this issue? I will be eavesdropping!

thank you!!!

Hi,

You have to understand that when they say your car loan interest rate is X.X%, it is really more than that:

http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2014/04/a-car-loan-is-different-from-home-loan.html

I don't like the idea of borrowing money to fund consumption and if we have to borrow money to buy a car, keep the loan quantum as small as possible:

http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2016/05/what-new-mas-rules-for-car-loans-mean.html

Welcome back to the land of expensive cars!

Best wishes,
AK

Free money from the government is good.

Reader:

I don't know if this is the correct avenue to ask you a question. I'm hoping that you can give your insights if you're faced with this situation.

I bought a HDB flat and took a bank loan plus used a bit of my OA to pay for it. I have about $240k of bank loan left and now I 'owe' my OA $85k.

Since the market is kinda 'overvalued' now, so nothing to invest in. What would you do if you have some spare cash. Would you pay off the Bank loan or CPF loan?

Actually, I have enough money in my OA to fully pay off the Bank loan, but I decided that 'free money' from the government is good. Besides, the interest of 2.5% in OA is higher than 2% Bank loan.

Or I can use the money to invest if Mr Market gets very depressed.

What would you do?

Best regards,

AK:
I am not allowed to give advice. I am only talking to myself in my blog.

From your email, I get the impression that you have been reading my blog. So, you know about the accrued interest we owe when we use our OA money to pay for our home.





I am not saying anything new when I say that we should avoid using OA money to pay for our home unless we don't have a choice. CPF money is primarily for retirement funding purpose and not to fund consumption.

Since you already decided that 'free money' from the government is good, act on that belief. ;)





I say frequently enough that I treat my CPF savings as the investment grade bond component of my portfolio, generating relatively good returns. That is good enough for me.

We can never have our cake and eat it too.




Related post:
How to stop accrued interest from growing?