eh i thought people go to sg to buy luxury goods, they are cheaper there and more affordable if you earn there...

my friends rent a room in this flat... and the rental is already sgd1k...
also... what does the PR thing you mean? what is CPF of 21%? 1/4 of salary gone?

Girl, let's say a Gucci bag cost you RM2k here in Malaysia; but it cost you S$1k in Singapore. But then ask yourself, do you wish to buy luxury goods here in SG? I for one just come here to work the hell out of me and bring a guni sack of SGD back to Malaysia. Singapore is my gold mine for now

As for the rent, to be frank the rent for HDB units are crazy in Singapore. Early of last month a 2+1 unit was S$1100 on the Internet, then middle of the month it went up to S$1400. Then end of the month when me and my girlfriend went to search for a place to stay, the rent was S$1800 and above. Damn crappy I would say. We end up contacting the agent to hunt for a 1+1 (in fact 1+1 unit used to be at $800~900 only )

PR means Permanent Resident. You're entitled to buy houses and enjoy some benefit that non-PR are not entitled for. The CPF of 21% does hold people back; but then if you look into it... that's your "EPF" anyway... your retirement funds even though you could only get it back after age of 60.

And to be honest I won't apply for PR unless (1)Your current salary minus 21% is sufficient to feed yourself; (2)You have enough money to pay for downpayment of a HDB purchase. Just imagine your pay is S$2000; deduct 21% that means you'll have to survive with S$1500 per month. I rather come back to Malaysia if that's the case.

FYI, normally PR is not deducted 20% on the first year, there is 3 kind of rate and normally employer practice graduated rate which is

1) First Year, 5%
2) Second Year 15%
3) Third Year 20%.

http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/Employers/Gen-Info...n-Rates-SPR.htm

If you are earning 2000, in msia you take back home with 1780, even you pay 20% in sg will be like 1600 and is only 180 different. With the power of sg currency, actually you still have more buying power.

20% is ceiling on 4500. Mean as long as you earn more than 4500, the CPF you pay is only 900. So once you get more than 4500, you will have more cash on hand.

WOOOOHHOOOOO!! that's my main purpose to work in sg man!! i am happily spending my AUD1k on bags when i earn AUD3k but i dont see myself earning enough to spend on a bag worth RM3k when i earn RM3k... and i at least know that i can still buy a bag for SGD1.5k when i earn SGD3k...

well, if you are not planning to retire in sg, then there is no point having the EPF or whatsoever... and if you are earning that much, i bet you can save up or make enough investment that you can retire happily even WITHOUT the EPF...

i personally dont like EPF... as i think the return is too low, after inflation and all... and also you dont get to use the money when you need it... then you will have to loan it somewhere else and then paying them interests and all... investing in EPF sometimes is making a loss... but if it's for security wise, i think investing in a property can give you more security though...

that's what i think... i might have a WEIRD thinking... but... well...

Hi guys, i've been working in SG for just 6 weeks.
Staying at Pasir Ris, workplace at Changi South.
Process Engineer, but only got the S Pass.
Just finished an interview on Wed, hopefully can get it.

I hate Malaysia so much, i wanna be Singaporean.


This post has been edited by sukhoi37: Jun 20 2008, 10:40 AM

Well, some of the folks here might want to indulge in an occasional purchase of a few desired luxury items rather than merely saving every penny that they earn beyond paying for the essentials.

The much lower income tax rates in Singapore vis-a-vis Malaysia and the relatively lower cost of living certainly helps a worker to save much more by being employed in Singapore compared to working in Malaysia. The year-on-year appreciation of the Singapore dollar versus the Malaysian ringgit also incentives folks like yourself to continue to be employed in Singapore for the rest of your working life.

If you continue to do that, you will be a wealthy man by the time you retire and move back to Malaysia - in all probability in a couple of decades or so, your net worth will have multiplied by at least three times when you cross the johor straits!

that's right, i dont see a point why you saving up the money for if you dont spend it... it's like torturing yourself for not saving up and then no rewards? that doesnt sound right to me...

It's a balance i.e. indulging in a quality handbag or taking a vacation is part of an internal reward system - as long as it's done well within your financial means and you do not need to go into debt or deplete your savings considerably just to support your shopping sprees.

i guess the purpose of saving up money is to be financially independent to make your life HAPPY... no matter how you gonna spend your money, as we are all different... as long as you are happy MAKING and also happy SPENDING... definitely not making, saving and not spending happily... you only get to live once... too much restriction on your life is not too good...

i would spend on both bags and holidays... =P

Sorry to be harsh. If you're happy making money and spending money, there will be a high probability that you're not gonna be financially independent

that's not harsh... i guess it depends on individual still... i am happily making money and happily spending money too... and i am 100% financially independent...

100% financially independent for me means I'll be able to afford my current lifestyle without working for others. This is achieved through earning -> saving -> investing -> earning -> saving/spend -> investing and so on.

I guess it does depend on individuals

Something to add on, employee and employer contribute 20% and 14.5% respectively. That would be a whopping 34.5% income saving in CPF monthly. That's alot. In fact, after a few years of working, a person would probably can utilise the CPF savings as downpayment for a HDB flat and monthly instalment is all covered by CPF. IMO, I'm happily living in my own HDB now withtout having to worry about the rental market fluctuation.

One thing's for sure - I would not equate paying exhorbitantly high interest rates on credit card debt being a happy state.

It seems that the majority of young people nowadays have little if any knowledge of financial planning and investment.

No wonder the banks are earning big bucks from all the credit card suckers out there.

---

Added on June 20, 2008, 1:43 pmIf one intends to work for a long while in Singapore, it only makes perfect financial sense to purchase a flat or a condominium unit rather than be subject to the whims and fancies of greedy landlords.



This post has been edited by SPS: Jun 20 2008, 01:43 PM

ohhhh... so you want to retire early? at what age?

well... just wondering... is everyone or maybe most malaysians working in singapore really wish to take up the PR or become singaporean just to stay there forever? or merely just WORKING and just making the money?

yes, credit card is a sucker!! i dont even use it just have one for emergency...

also, wondering if people who are successful working in singapore ever thought of going back to msia to work after that?

I'm aiming 40. After that I dont want to work for money anymore.

Most probably I'll jump into academia, give talks or setup my own small business from home just to keep my brain fresh and make some teh tarik money

I am not a resident of Singapore so my opinions may be clouded but from some casual observations, I noticed that the majority of the returnees to Malaysia from Singapore are the blue-collar and non-graduate folks (e.g. cooks, telephone operators, admin clerks, etc) whereas the graduates or those who work as professionals tend to remain in Singapore more often than not - even if some of these professionals do move out of Singapore, they gravitate to more lucrative posts in countries like Hong Kong or in the Middle East.

This is merely my opinion but if one wishes to achieve wealth, be a cash millionaire, have financial independence or whatever permutation you make out of hitting your financial goals and wish to be employed in a professional or in a white-collar capacity, I believe Singapore provides the best environment and opportunities to do just that despite all its warts and quirks.

In short, if you already are or aspire to be a medical doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant, IT professional, media, advertising, etc and achieving wealth in the shortest possible time in your profession is the name of the game, Singapore's the place to be at.

well, i understand that singapore might be a good place to work or live in... but what do people usually do if you have family back in malaysia? would you continue to live in distance or you would like to live together with them? either you bring them to singapore or you move back to malaysia?

as for me, money and career wise, i am happy with my life here in melbourne, but i decided to move back to kl/sg just because of family... does my thinking actually make some sense? or it's just me?

A huge attraction of Singapore to working Malaysians (besides $$ and the exchange rate) is the geographical proximity of Singapore to Malaysia.

I am aware there are a large number of Malaysians who work and live in Singapore and visit their families and friends back in their hometowns in Malaysia on a periodic basis. After all, it's just several hours by car, bus or train and if you take a flight to say KL, it's only 45 mins away.

oh... ok... anyway it seems like i look like a spammer in this thread now... but just sorry i have too many in my mind that i have no one to ask about...

can i ask next question? or i should just stop here?

how is it if to run a business in singapore instead of just working? is that easy with the R&Rs? or the competition?