Jobs are no long secure in Singapore due to the following reasons:
a) global competition
b) outsourcing of jobs in public sector
c) easy entry of foreign workers
d) pro-business environment
e) weak protection of workers and managers
I cite the case of a friend who lost a job after 11 years due to a change of management, as the new management wish to bring in his buddies. The friend had a good testimonial from the previous management. He was given only 3 months of salary as a severence package. He has a family and an elderly mother to support.
In an environment where jobs are not secure, it is important to avoid making financial commitment, such as:
a. buying an expensive home on mortgage
b. raising a family.
Perhaps, it is not necessary for me to raise these points, as many Singpoareans are aware about the sitaution and have decided not to get married or to have children. This is probably the reason why Singapore has perhaps the lowest birth rate among all countries in the world. This is due to the lack of employment security and the high cost of living in Singapore.
It is important for each person to have a large emergency fund, comprising of personal savings of up to six months of earnings. This fund may have to be drawn down in an emergency. It should be kept in liquid form, and not invested in a inflexible investment, such as a life assurance policy. Read my tips in my book, Practical Guide on Financial Plannng.
For older people who are already committed to a expensive mortgage and a family, it is time to stop further commitments and to build up the emergency fund early. Search Youtube for the videos by Suze Osman, who is a presenter in CNBC programme. She has been giving the same advice for the past two years, i.e. build an emergency fund.
Tan Kin Lian
Advice from a 63 yr Retiree:ON THE 7- UP on Financial Freedom.
ReplyDelete1) Do Not keep up with the Joneses.
2) Do not over stretch home mortgages i.e 20 - 30 yrs. Try to reduce where possible.
3) Always take Jobs as Employment on day to day basis as there are no job guarantees these days!
4) Pursue some Basic Forms of Financial Planning!
5) Never over invest in Life Insurance. Job lost means Death of Life Insurance if unable to service
As GOD is my only LIFE Insurance!
6) Never carry debts into retirement!
7) Live within your means!
Remember that you are responsibel for your actions.
Consider the following for a newly wed:
ReplyDeletea) Home mortgage.
b) Car mortgage.
c) Maid and Levy.
d) Expenses on food/transport/utility.
e) Taxes - on Income/Property /GST etc
f) Maintenance for aged parents if any
g) Higher Medical Fees for family.
and the unending list of the unknowns such as Insuarnce / Financial Planning/Savings if any???
Make it 8 : (8)Don't believe any ideas uttered by fund managers & wealth managers. You will live to regret your naivety and lose your retirement funds.
ReplyDeleteI am wondering if our lives are better than in the 1980s? In those days, we are earning lesser but we are happier and are able to pay for bills. Nowadays, we are getting more pay, but our jobs are insecure and unable to meet our expenses. The cost of living is getting out of hand.
ReplyDeleteThe single most useful thing that Singaporeans can do is to vote out this foreigner worshipping govt and bring in people who really care for Singaporeans who will build a culture of thrift rather than a culture of greed. Leaders like our late Dr Goh KS and Mr Ong Teng Cheong will be the type of people we should look for.
ReplyDeleteBy getting in leaders who have the ability, competence and the right moral values, Singapore will prosper. We do not need to pay high salary to men with the right moral values. They will be happily serving Singapore even when their salary is not high as they will have the passion and will not waste taxpayers money. By just this one action, we will not have to worry about not having kids, our future etc.
My two sons are so pessimistic about life in Singapore that they declare they do not want to get married, and even if they do in future, thaey do not want children.
ReplyDeleteThere goes my dream of having grandchildren to play with.
My uncle, who was a secondary school drop-out, earned $200/mth back in 1970. His wife earned about $150/mth. Annually they earn about $4,500 including OT and some bonus.
ReplyDeletePathetic right?!? Sounds really like will starve to death right? Cannot support kids and family right?
Well, guess what!! A brand new 2-rm flat in 1970 costs about $8,000. A new 3-rm costs about $10-11K. That is 1.8 yrs annual income for 2-rm flat, and 2.4 yrs annual income for 3-rm flat!!
Yes, my uncle and aunt could easily pay up their flat within 5-7 years no sweat, and at the same time bring up 2 kids as well. Since property prices were low, all other cost of living was low & reasonable too!
I tell you, $200/mth salary back in 1970 is much better than $3000/mth salary in 2010. That's the freaking truth.
For those who want to be grandparents? Better plan to migrate, or at least plan for your children to migrate. My brother was married and stayed in Singapore for 6 years -- no kids. He recently migrated and within less than 2 years, got a baby son. He said that the quality of life, especially kids, is so much better there -- he doubt if he will have any children if he had stayed in S'pore.
Can you tell us where your brother went? I'll like to be his neighbor as I detest the overcrowding in SG. Ipoh or Sandakan?
ReplyDeleteTo live a more meaningful existence.
ReplyDeleteThe wisest move for the younger Singaporeans is to migrate to low cost and less crowded countries.
Leave some lands for your elderlies to be buried and NOT LET THEM HANGING IN THE AIR AT MANDAI and elsewhere. Many cultures prefer their demised to be backed to the earth(underground) R tu wei an(Hanyu Pinyin) meaning return(to nature) in peace.
patriot
Last week, I met a retired Sweedish (40+yo) in Udon Thani
ReplyDelete(ex-US Airbase). I ask him why he like to stay in Thailand?
He replied: "..cheaper medical cost..cheaper Beer..warm weather..relax..."
At Bangkok Aiport, I met a Taiwanese. I ask him why visit Thailand?
He said: "...vist his Taiwan friend who is resident of Bangkok and businessmen..Beer is very cheap..Condo is very cheap...very relax at the beach..."
A study of Koankean University reported 60k of european retied in the North-East Thailand !
suze also gives a lot of other advice, do you feel they are also relevant?
ReplyDeletehttp://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=30401
ReplyDeleteSaw this at ST forum. Same problem, they are just cheaper, faster and thus better. EDB, our govt agency, ex-agency of the person who coin "cheaper, faster and better", thinks Sgp just don't have the engineers. I for one, who is a engineer, middle age and jobless for 3.5 years. Seems like being Singaporean is an disadvantage in Singapore.
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Singapore mass-recruiting electrical and software engineers in China
According to a report on China’s news portal sohu.com, Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and Manpower Ministry will be launching a mass recruitment exercise on 26 June 2010 at Shanghai for China’s electrical and software engineers.
More than 250 vacancies are available in the following positions: RIFC Design Engineer, Application Engineer, Digital Design Engineer, Equipment and Maintenance Engineer and Senior Hardware Engineer.
It is not known why Singapore needs to go all the way to China to recruit their engineers. Is there a shortage of trained engineers in Singapore?
Each year, more than a thousand electrical and computer engineers graduate from NUS and NTU. Why are these vacancies not offered to Singaporeans first?
PAP leaders always claim that foreign workers are needed in sectors shunned by Singaporeans. During his May Day Rally this year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called on the “understanding” of Singaporeans to accept a higher inflow of foreigners.
It is unlikely that Singapore engineers will “shun” the jobs on offer, why then are Singapore firms still recruiting engineers from China?
Besides engineering jobs, Singapore companies have launched job fairs frequently in China and other countries as well for positions which can otherwise be filled up by Singaporeans.
In March, a Singapore bus company put up a job advertisement in a Sichuan newspaper to recruit bus drivers from its provincial capital Chengdu.
A month later, EDB officials flew to Taipei to launch a recruitment exercise for Taiwanese engineers and graphic designers.
As expected, these news were never reported by the Singapore media which continue to deceive and mislead Singaporeans that there are “plenty” of jobs available in Singapore.
Without a free and independent press to reveal the reality on the ground, Singaporeans will forever live under the delusion that their government can “do no wrong.”
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