Future plans

I think it's time for me to consider my future. Shall I stay in my comfort zone or should I leave to pursuit a higher dream. This comfort zone may not be as comfortable as time goes by. The living cost in Singapore is getting higher each year. Housing prices are like sky rocket, rising rapidly every year. A 4 room flat now costed about $300k. Ridiculous. Besides, you might end up not to own a house till you are in your deathbed.

Other than the housing prices, the transportation fees are also increasing. Firstly, the boarding price for a cab had increased from $2.40 in the past to $2.80. People had been trying to avoid taking cabs which caused a dip in business for taxi drivers last year. Thinking they might save some money for shopping, they were wrong when the bus fare increased too. Forget about owning a car in Singapore if you are earning less than $4000. Even if you earned close to the expected amount, you can bearly make ends meet. Young couples nowadays tend to splash their money on luxury honeymoon, wedding package and owning a car. Thus, this affects their capability to have more children as education fees are high. This is indeed the problem Singapore is facing. An ageing population.

There are some measures introduced to assist couples with bringing up their children. Incentives like the baby bonus, subsidised childcare fee, income tax rebates had been brought up to increase birthrate. However, such introductions only help to a certain extend. Once the children grew up, they will face even worse situation than us. Living cost by then, would have been doubled or tripled. More will not be able to afford a house resulting in renting houses from the government.

Earning around $30k per annum is not enough. It could be just comfortable enough to pay bills and stay out of debt. Forget about going overseas for holidays or buying some branded stuffs. Think about how to survive with little amount of money in a pricy environment. Incomes are always stagnant for quite some time before adjustment is made.

Having said so much, what am I going to be in 32? At 32, what's my value? How much assets do I have? It's time to plan before it's too late.