Hey bogletails, hasn't been as active as I'd like recently but thank you for the support!

I say it openly everytime I get asked that question (even in DM's or in my blog): LUCK.

I got extremely lucky at work. My last 10 years in life has been nothing except for work, work and work, and I was lucky to get promotions after promotions in a rather competitive and cruel corporate world, hence the money came in naturally.

Most of the growth are tied to the increase in my income sources - be it from work or doing adhoc stuff. Employer also contribute a few percentage above statutory contributions rate so that snowballed rather quickly as well as I grew my career.

Do I fully enjoy the work? Probably not, but I'll keep going at it while I still can as it opens up options for me to reconsider the life that I want to have in the future.

beautiful story, well done sis.

real networth should be close to 1.5 mil, but i see someone very humble here

hard work never disappoint, and yes, we need luck in life. those who deny the presence of luck is just kidding themselves.

remain thankful everyday

Awesome read. Great blog too. I wish you all the best in your freedom journey

thank you both. Yes indeed, grateful for what I have and will continue to be so.

It’s amazing really. Same bulletin board, but the level of maturity and mutual support in this section is light years ahead from the inane juvenile behavior that borders on delinquency so prevalent in kopitiam….

Makes me wonder if there’s something in the water that some people are drinking….

An update:

KWSP - RM179.9k
Equities - RM347.9k
Cash - RM12.9k
ILP - RM12.6k
Bond - RM40.5k

Credit card - RM26.9k

Total - RM566.9k

Home MV ~RM470-500k / Remaining HL RM447k
Car MV ~RM60-65k / Remaining HP RM64k
* Will exclude these from net asset computation, the MV (slightly conservative) just about covers the remaining loan amount.

Age - 30 y/o

Target RM1mil net worth by 35, and RM1mil in EPF by 40 (purely from employment, except self-contribution <RM3k p.a. to meet the tax benefit as long as it's available). At the moment, despite life throwing some curveballs (RM40k in unexpected expenses in the last 6 months), still on track.

This post has been edited by contestchris: Apr 25 2024, 05:48 PM

well done, brother. you know what you want at the age of 35 and 40.

remember to give yourself some space, if you don't hit them. we need to enjoy life during the process as well

can i ask if your equities are in foreign currencies? and what does the cc mean? debt?

Thank you for sharing! And by having a clear target and plan ahead, you're already doing so much better than majority of Malaysians. Well done

Everything in MYR.

CC does mean credit card debt, which is mainly 6m 0% payments. None of the credit card debt carries an interest. I will pay these off from my salary in the next 6 months

It’s a bit early for a full update (after all, barely 6 months passed since I added my little contribution into this thread, but quite a bit has changed since then, so it’s worth making an amendment to better reflect the reality.

I’ve sold off quite a fair chunk of my residential properties in Sydney and Melbourne, and I’m now down to only 1 holiday home in Melbourne and 1 in Sydney, in addition to my primary residence there. The reason was an impending rumoured tax change that would severely penalize me if I’m unable to fulfil residency requirements and if any of the apartments are let untenanted (which they can be at times, due to us being rather picky with potential tenants). The ATO has also imposed an additional tax for non-tax residents (since I don’t fulfil the criteria of more than 181 days in Australia) for residential properties…. It was getting painful to see a huge chunk of my rental returns going to the ATO.

So, I’ve aggressively switched portfolios into medical suites and commercial properties. We just picked up another suite recently and now we hold 4 such suites, all tenanted out to long term anchor tenants. Should have done this years ago and saved myself a tonne of grief.

Also, my initial estimation of monthly expenditure has been rendered null and void just in the span of the last 6 months.

As some of you might know, we’ve been travelling back and forth Sydney nearly on a monthly or once 2 monthly basis - and that’s usually on minimum business class and more often than not, First or Suite class. Ticket prices have also exploded exponentially since the Covid reopening. Each ticket costs SGD10,000 return, and that unfortunately quickly adds up.

The wife and I have also been quite indulgent in our pursuit of taking as many Michelin starred restaurants in Singapore as possible. This is with a view of us retiring to Sydney at the end of the year and we want to say that we’ve ticked this item off our bucket list before the permanent move.

We now eat at Michelin starred restaurants once or twice a week, and each time, the average bill is at least SGD500, sometimes closer to SGD1000.

So the new narrative looks more like the one below:



Liabilities:

2 vehicles in Singapore, loan-free: the Macan cost me SGD380,000 & her S450L was SGD608,888 when new

2 vehicles in Sydney, paid for in cash: the Cayenne cost me AUD180,000 and the 911 Carrera GTS was nearly AUD400,000

Usual monthly outgoings around SGD50,000 (Fine Dining, travels, discretionary spending etc)

Income, rental and property taxes in Singapore and Australia and property & rental taxes in New Zealand.

Thanks for sharing, really hats off and salute to have come such a long way. Definitely a dream lifestyle that many of aspire to have!

Just want to share my experience, and perhaps let more Msians know about how life might not be glitz and green in 'rich' countries and developed cities...

Background:
Me and my partner came from OK families (M40), I did very well in my studies, so I got scholarships to go to top schools in the world... while my partner's family sacrificed everything to send her abroad too...
We worked quite hard but I've also been quite lucky with jobs...
I worked every single school holiday, and got some fairly high flying jobs after uni... I would say that we are definitely in the top income earners in US / UK where we currently live in.
We are young adults and have been working for about 7 years...

Asset(s):
Flat: RM9 Million (debt: RM7 Million 20+ years more)
Note: this is a 2.5 bed room flat in an ok neighbourhood, nothing too fancy, no swimming pool or gym etc. in the building... yes, that's the price here...

KL Condo: RM1.1 Million (no debt)
Note: I bought this for my parets to live in...

No cars...

Liquid Assets: RM1-1.2 Million

Monthly cashflow (dual income):
+ Income: RM170k
- Income tax: RM70k
- RM45k on mortgage
- RM15k on food, travel, insurance etc.
- RM10k on utilities and (mainly) my property's service charge
- RM6k for parents
- RM5k on general entertainment (drinks once a week etc.)...
Net: +about RM20k

Splurges for 2:
- Holidays: RM40k per year (including going home avg. once or twice a year at about RM15k...)
- Parents' holidays: RM30k once/twice a year
- Shopping (including for my parents): RM30k per year (mostly for my mom and my partner)

Yearly net cash: RM130k
Which is not a lot where we live... it's about 6 months rent for a 30sqft flat here...

Before anyone blasts me, please read this:
1) My RM9m flat:
In cities like NYC or London... the rent is insane...
- Our RM45k pm mortgage, is actually cheaper than renting a 2-3brs... (we are looking to start a family), moreover, we are paying off our debt, so it actually makes more sense to buy.
- My work requires me to work super long hours, so it's almost impossible for me to 'live further out'...
- We are looking to rent out one of the bedrooms as income...
2) Re. how much I spend on my parents:
They are getting very old, they have been extremely frugal their entire lives... and I want them to experience the world a bit more with whatever time we have left...
3) Yes I get that being able to go on holidays is a luxury (because I didn't get to do much off when I was a kid), but the super high stress work we do requires us to rewind a bit every now and then...
4) Yes we can always go back to Sg / Asia... but the industries we are in are quite limited back home...
5) Yes we technically are getting 'richer' by owning the flat... but there's a risk of us losing our jobs and not being able to pay off the mortgage...
6) How did we manage to save up for the deposit / condo / cash etc.? We basically lived in mini flat (RM15-20k rent) in a not so good part of town for 4 years... managed to flip a property... and got some good sign-on bonuses when we switched jobs...

This post has been edited by Consultant92: Apr 26 2024, 09:53 AM

Congratulations. I am always encouraged and uplifted when reading stories about how a good education sets the foundation for a strong start on the journey to success (be it financially, professionally or even academically). And scholarships are a Godsent for B40 or M40 families. Mine certainly was, and I'm sure you feel the same way: at least you're debt free and ready to hit the ground running and not worry about having to pay back a study loan.

30 years ago, my medical degree would have cost more than what the roof over my head could have fetched if my parents had to sell it to fund my studies. That scholarship to read medicine was a lifesaver. When I graduated, not only was I debt free, but being a typical Malaysian boy of that era that had to make do with whatever we had (which wasn't much to begin with), I even ended up saving a tidy little sum from the stipend & living allowances that the scholarship provided!

I was free to concentrate on my job, exams and career progression without the burden of clearing off debt and student loans.

There were 4 other Malaysians that got this life changing scholarship to read medicine overseas. 2 of them stayed back in Australia - one is an ObGYN now and the other a cardiologist. The ObGYN just bought himself a Taycan Turbo and has been egging me to race him in my 911 992 GTS when I'm back in his neck of the woods (some of us never grow old, or grow up).

2 of us came back to Malaysia, but were made to wait ages for our HO postings (which only came after we both left for Singapore). He's a Paediatrician, and whenever we catch up over coffee (which isn't often, sadly), we always reminisce about how the brain drain has left Malaysia a shadow of what she could have been, had things been different.

It's telling that you and your partner have also chosen to remain outside of the country.

Will you ever consider moving back home? And if so, when?

This post has been edited by hksgmy: Apr 26 2024, 08:35 AM

Very good and transparent trackable portfolio. nice to meet you. I have a 7 years trackable portfolio at 17.6% CAGR

This post has been edited by jyll92: Apr 26 2024, 09:05 AM

That's a very impressive return! I don't use CAGR but IRR (to be specific, XIRR) and barely caught up to KWSP returns

I was thinking about getting a Taycan, but couldn't do it knowing that my parents are driving an almost 10-yo Toyota haha. I will get them a better car first, also, I don't think it's wise given how tight my cashflow situation is.
I keep thinking about buying myself a nice watch like a Breguet or a VC, but just couldn't do it too, I guess my M40 upbringing just couldn't get myself to justify these purchases yet... Most of my splurges are for my parents nowadays... nice holidays, Michelin starred meals, nice hotels, clothings etc. ...

Unfortunately, I don't think we will come back to the country until we both retire.
A few reasons:
1) On your point re. brain drain:
I feel like our country betrayed many of us, including me. I have not received a scholarships from M'sia despite my acedemic and social achievements. I left Msia for Singapore for high school (scholarship), and got uni scholarship offers from Sg, HK, Canada, and the UK.
With offers from top unis across the world, I applied for Msian scholarships during my pre-U because I didn't want to be bonded by foreign countries, but was continuously rejected for god knows what reasons... (I was a top perfrorming, all rounded student... global competition in Maths, Essay writing, Physics, hell... even Fine Arts and Performing arts... held leadership positions... I did so many charity work I even went on the news)
One time, a Msian company rejected my application because apparently, I failed the math test... I do Math Olympiads and they're telling me my math isn't good enough...
When I eventually got to my uni, I was shocked by how many rich kids were on scholarships, many had ties to the companies sponsoring them...
These stories are so common in M'sia.
2) The people: This is not Msian specific, most Asian countries are similar... I cannot understand why, so many people are so angst and competitive for no real reason... driving, their kids, wealth, whatever they can compare, they compare... whatever they can win, they want to make sure others lose... It drives me crazy... A lot of things are status / who you know based too... It's not meritocratic.
I didn't come from a rich family, and cba about socialising with the rich etc. so I don't think I'll do well in M'sia.
3) The hypocrasy of almost every damn thing: from politics, to censorship, to upbringing, to racism, to education, and everything I can think of... I don't really want to elaborate here as it will take forever and might offend many...
4) Our careers: similar roles are non existent in Msia.
5) Our kids: I want my kids to be able to do whatever they want without being judged / limited by extreme societal pressure.

That being said, I do like helping M'sians whenever I can.
I actively help M'sian students with job applications, scholarships etc...

Don't get me wrong, Malaysia is an awesome country to live in, cheap and good food, cheap houses, peaceful...
But I don't see much that it can give or have given me, for me to want to sacrifice my prime adulthood for it, or my kids' childhood.

When I am financially stable enough to do what I want to do, I will definitely go back to help whoever I can.
But for now, we won't be heading home anytime soon...

This post has been edited by Consultant92: Apr 26 2024, 06:38 PM

I recently started to do watch collection as asset and also heavily invested on PRS

Age: 35
Industry: Investment Banking
Salary: 2.2M on 2023, 1.6M on 2022, 1.1M on 2021

Saving/Asset:
1. Saving: 230K (50K in balance fund, 50K in bond)
2. PRS: 797K
3. EPF: 188K (130K in equity invest via EPF)
4. Watch Market Value: More than 300K++ (4 branded watches)
5. Myvi 2012 full payment
6. Crz 2013 full payment
7. Brz 2013 full payment
8. SSPN: 8K

Liabilities:
1. Property A, 30 Years, RM 2K monthly
2. Property B, 30 Years, RM 2K monrhly
3. Porsche Taycan GTS 2023, RM 8.5K monthly
4. Insurance RM 3.6K monthly
5. Maid RM 1850 monthly
6. Upcoming housing loan, RM 12K monthly on 2024
7. High maintenance wife
8. No credit card outstanding
9. Spent alot on luxury goods and clothing

This post has been edited by furuku89: Apr 26 2024, 01:55 PM

It's best not to be counting on Government's helps. We stand on our own feet and we fight for ourselves.

It's good that one go out and see the world, so you know what can be better, what can be worst compared to M'sia.

Based on my own experience, the best way financially living in M'sia is to have an income in the denomination of GBP, USD, EUR, etc. By converting it into Ringgit, you are having the salary of T20 easily and this will make a comfortable life for you in M'sia.

With the internet nowadays, remote jobs are possible and those jobs are getting even more popular after Covid.

With that being said, looking at long term, I think the economic of Southeast Asia will be picking up and this is an added bonus for those who choose to invest in M'sia.

great blog, thanks for sharing.

mind if i ask what tools did u use to visualize this?

You'll get there. I hit the EPF mark and the compounding will take it even further faster.