EDMW Retirement Thread

speedsonic

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Anyone into photography during retirement?

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Banff?
 

testerjp

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You studied to prepare for retirement? How does that work? Why?
Not prepare for retirement, is foresee that there's a possibility that people living much longer and 40s is not towards the end but could be just a start and think better to study and be equipped with something new. :(
 

cyke69sg

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Not prepare for retirement, is foresee that there's a possibility that people living much longer and 40s is not towards the end but could be just a start and think better to study and be equipped with something new. :(
Ah. I see. You have an interest in expanding your knowledge.
 

RSKeisuke

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Nice. Thailand seems to be a popular spot for Singaporeans to retire to.

Also have seen Vietnam as another popular country to retire to.

Have you worked out the costs in Thailand?

Accomodation?
Food?
Any other costs?

The rental from HDB flat is enough to cover all?
Gross estimation for thailand expense is 2.5k SGD per month for comfortable living.

not depending on just rental.
it will be funded from personal savings (bridging years) and from CPF life (from 65 onwards).
rental is still an option as i'm pretty OCD... cannot stand my place or belonging being messed up.
 

Lao_Tiko

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Gross estimation for thailand expense is 2.5k SGD per month for comfortable living.

not depending on just rental.
it will be funded from personal savings (bridging years) and from CPF life (from 65 onwards).
rental is still an option as i'm pretty OCD... cannot stand my place or belonging being messed up.
For a number of Singaporeans rental is the only option if they hope to arbitrage the cost of living between their home base and the target country
 

RSKeisuke

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May I know why Udon Thani?
I was there and the red lotus lake was amazing, but I dont know the city itself much hence my question
it's a backup plan in case COL in thailand gets out of control.

in central thailand, the options are udon thani, khon kaen or korat as these places are equipped with good class hospitals (khon kaen esp.. it's sort of the medical centre for that part of thailand)

these cities do not suffer as much the inflation we see in recent years hitting BKK and even CNX. These cities are not backwards.. i'd equate them to be like penang, JB level.

the drawback is having to transit in BKK or DMK each time you want to rush back to SG

another place to consider is huahin, a possibility.

I struck off these places for the following reasons:
CNX - smoke season (Feb to May), somewhat getting expensive thanks to digital nomads, koreans, prc and taiwanese.
BKK - unless living in outer suburbs, the crazy amount of traffic and people makes living there like no diff from singapore, and it's getting really expensive (think living long term and not as a 1-week tourist)
 

jumpthepig

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An idle mind is the Devil's playground 🥲

Fully agree with this! That's why keeping busy in retirement is so important. You finally have all the time in the world to do what you truly love at your own pace—whether that's picking up new hobbies, hanging out with friends, or just enjoying a life free from the pressure of deadlines.
 

cyke69sg

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Gross estimation for thailand expense is 2.5k SGD per month for comfortable living.

not depending on just rental.
it will be funded from personal savings (bridging years) and from CPF life (from 65 onwards).
rental is still an option as i'm pretty OCD... cannot stand my place or belonging being messed up.
$SGD2500 is a really affordable monthly living expense.
 

RSKeisuke

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i think we should stop thinking retirement merely as stop working.

Retirement is living your life where you have full control of your own life and time
If you feel bored, find a part-time work to fill time or volunteer.
Free to travel anytime you want.

But one needs to be healthy in order to enjoy it, not merely financially sound.
 

d3n

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i think we should stop thinking retirement merely as stop working.

Retirement is living your life where you have full control of your own life and time
If you feel bored, find a part-time work to fill time or volunteer.
Free to travel anytime you want.

But one needs to be healthy in order to enjoy it, not merely financially sound.
yes dun stay at home whole day
 

d3n

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The median salary in Bangkok is somewhere in the S$800 range. Need to put this into perspective.
thats why u go there to enjoy lower COL than SG?

your SGD burn faster in SG than in Thailand.

isn't that the purpose? to sustain?
 

cyke69sg

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i think we should stop thinking retirement merely as stop working.

Retirement is living your life where you have full control of your own life and time
If you feel bored, find a part-time work to fill time or volunteer.
Free to travel anytime you want.

But one needs to be healthy in order to enjoy it, not merely financially sound.
Totally agree. And I have said this several times too in this thread and others.

Freedom. Financial freedom. Freedom to do whatever I want whenever I want how ever I want.

@yokine3a shared that video that talks about Ikigai as well. PERMA.

Work is ok if it is enjoyable and gives meaning and not taxing or stressful at all. Ideally pays super well too the few times one even works at all.
 

d3n

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All these are great places for retirement.
But some things to consider.
- language barrier
- natural disaster
- healthcare
- transport
For Thailand:
- Thai is very easy to learn, u can learn it using hanyu pingyin method.
- Car is cheap, u can easily buy no need to worry about COE. If stay in BKK, the train is efficient.
- Thailand healthcare is not that bad.
- Natural disaster quite rare, but occassionally have pollution issues from crops burning

dun live like a sheltered life in sg, scare this and that
 

cyke69sg

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This is one way of retirement.

I finally decided to build out a small machine shop. I’ve always enjoyed tinkering with my hands and that is what I will spend my extra time on.
Good you found what you would like to do.

I prefer to switch things up. It's not going to be just one thing I do or even one main thing I do
I want to try experience as much as I can.
 
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