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1 in 2 high income earners have financial problems


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Moderator

Its a paid article but worthy of something to think about

Although here not relevanf😃

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Definitely for high income earner that can afford the subscription.

Me not in that bracket.

Can cut and paste? 

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3 minutes ago, RadX said:

Its a paid article but worthy of something to think about

Although here not relevanf😃

Yeah most here either mega rich or just like u n me see thru life liao, money is not of the most important at this juncture 😇..

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Moderator
3 minutes ago, Cheesey74 said:

Yeah most here either mega rich or just like u n me see thru life liao, money is not of the most important at this juncture 😇..

Exactly bro

 

Its but a end to a means abd not a means to the end. 

More to life and beyond than just $

 

Yah yah some wise ass will say, give me all ur $, (@throttle2, 2021)

 

@Throttle2

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Supercharged
12 minutes ago, RadX said:

Its a paid article but worthy of something to think about

Although here not relevanf😃

I cant afford to pay for this article. Thus its not my problem. Lol

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Twincharged
19 minutes ago, Kopites said:

Definitely for high income earner that can afford the subscription.

Me not in that bracket.

Can cut and paste? 

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

1 in 2 high-income earners in Singapore has money problems: Poll

The reality is that more than half of those polled have problems even maintaining their original saving plans.PHOTO: ST FILE

Tan Ooi Boon

Invest Editor

PUBLISHED

4 HOURS AGO

FACEBOOKTWITTER

You know that all is not rosy when even high-income earners are getting squeezed and feeling the stress in keeping up with their expenses.

Even if you are among the lucky workers whose salaries have not been reduced amid the pandemic cutbacks, your usual annual bonuses are likely to be affected because few companies are operating normally after the pummelling they took over the past 18 months or so.

While it may be business as usual for grocery stores, for example, the same cannot be said for their customers, who would surely be feeling the pinch of the downturn and turning more cost-conscious about the items they buy.

So even if more people are buying groceries to cook meals at home, they are likely to be cutting their spending, such as choosing cheaper brands of household items and reducing expenditure on expensive non-essential treats such as wines and snacks.

Wealth management company St James's Place (SJP) recently polled around 1,000 Singaporeans aged 25 to 54 with monthly incomes of at least $6,000 to over $20,000 and found that close to half of them are worried because they do not have high savings.

Not only that, many find that their monthly incomes are not enough to cover their expenses and have to draw down on their savings just to pay the bills.

As a result, 46 per cent of them are not confident that they would have enough money to fund their desired lifestyles when they retire.

But a silver lining is that the pandemic has instilled urgency in the majority of those polled to start planning for their retirement.

While this may be their intention, the reality is that more than half of those polled have problems even maintaining their original saving plans because they have had to divert funds that were meant for their retirement kitty.

SJP Singapore chief executive Gary Harvey says: "The pandemic has had a significant financial impact on many Singaporeans and we see that many are more cautious with their money as a result.

"It is concerning that within this trend we see people borrowing from the future to pay for their costs today, with a reduced focused on retirement planning."

Interestingly, the SJP poll uncovered five main factors that are hindering middle- and high-income earners from saving more for their retirement.

High living costs

Almost half of all those polled struggled to keep up with their expenses. This does not mean that the high-income earners were foolishly living it up and splurging on luxurious items until they hit problems paying the bills in the recession we are facing.

The reality is that once you have chosen to live beyond your means, your expensive lifestyle will come back to haunt you now even if you lock yourself at home and cut all spending except for food and utility bills.

This happens if you have borrowed heavily to pay for, say, a multimillion-dollar home and a $500,000 car - your monthly loan repayments alone would be enough to cripple you once your regular income is affected.

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In good times, this may not be a problem because your high annual income can easily cover this plus more. But things may not be the same now if your income is derived from two components - a fixed salary and a variable bonus that is dependent on your company's performance.

It is not unusual for senior executives to have bonuses that may add up to half of their annual pay package. So if the company's fortunes dive and the bonus payout is slashed, such executives will face a big income drop even though their normal salary is not reduced.

So what this means if that before you buy your next big home or car, you should consider your ability to afford such a lifestyle based on your fixed and stable income, minus the variable component.

After all, no matter how big your bedroom is, it will not be cosy if you have to endure sleepless nights worrying about your bills.

Supporting family members

Just over a third of high-income earners polled said they felt the strain of supporting either their retired parents or younger siblings who are still studying.

If your parents are in their 70s and 80s, chances are they will not be as adequately insured as you and your spouse. So if they fall sick, the medical expenses can be very high if they choose to be treated at private hospitals.

Even if you take out private medical insurance for them, the annual premiums will be between $10,000 and $20,000 for seniors in those age groups.

This means that retirement planning is no longer a luxury but a necessity; you would do better to start thinking about it now so that you do not add to the financial burden of your children in your old age.

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Cannot control spending

People earning high salaries should not face such problems, but about a third of them confessed they have poor discipline when it comes to managing their money.

The No. 1 reason why people end up in debt is not investment or business failure but overspending. For instance, many people like to take holidays several times a year.

Even if you can afford this now, you are depriving yourself of the chance of doing so when you are retired if you do not plan your budget carefully.

Retirement simply means no more income and if you want to go on more holidays, then you should make sure you have set aside ample savings.

As the pandemic has stopped your overseas jaunts for now, it is a good time to take stock of the extra money that you can add to your retirement funds.

ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL

No financial planning

This usually happens to people who suffer from "Peter Pan syndrome" - they think they can work and earn a high income forever and so do not see the need to plan for anything.

As a result, 40 per cent of such folk have short-term goals such as buying a car or home, and they just shoot for these items without worrying about future needs.

After all, what's there to worry about since they have this idea that everything will stay the same. But the reality can be quite harsh - just ask pilots and aircrew around the world.

It is not that they are not hard-working but many have ended up jobless now owing to the pandemic.

So everyone should have this goal: either save up or invest a portion of your income every month.

Large debts

This is what happens if you fail to keep a lid on your spending and have no saving plans.

Indeed, about 20 per cent of high-income earners fall into this trap because they over-leverage and have a high dependency on loans, either for their business or for their lifestyles. They may have multiple homes and cars but they can lose everything if they default on the loans.

So the lesson here is this: A carefree life need not be out of reach if you start to plan for it now.

More importantly, you will feel rich if you live within your means because doing so means you will always have enough money.

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Moderator

The short term goal is to shield my SA so I’ll end up w a 4% atm after I trf the funds back

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2020 Bonus part I fully agreed. A reduction of 0.5 relative to 2019 in my case.

Saving and prudent in spending is a must regardless of one earning power.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, RadX said:

The short term goal is to shield my SA so I’ll end up w a 4% atm after I trf the funds back

Shield your sa and oa. Use FD to top up the RA till FRS. 

Yes I am reading up on Tbill/government bond lately.

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3 minutes ago, Kopites said:

2020 Bonus part I fully agreed. A reduction of 0.5 relative to 2019 in my case.

Saving and prudent in spending is a must regardless of one earning power.

 

 

On contrary

 

i earned more in 2020… guess I bucked the trend

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Moderator
Just now, Kopites said:

Shield your sa and oa. Use FD to top up the RA till FRS. 

Yes I am reading up on Tbill/government bond lately.

Yes

 

yoi joined the 1M65?

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Moderator
1 minute ago, 13177 said:

Earn more and spend more also?

Well YOLO!

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1 minute ago, RadX said:

Yes

 

yoi joined the 1M65?

The 1m65 solely on cpf alone won't be able to achieve 1m65 given my late "enlightenment".😄 Must complement with other milo tin saving for that 1m65.

According to many articles a 60k plus for a child now would give them 1m65.

Hopefully my son when he turn 65 those SA sum still intact. Hahaha 

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