Thank you to everyone who have shared your stories and journeys. I have learnt quite a fair bit reading through all 61 pages here.

My family and I are fairly aggressive pursuers of FI.

I have multiple financial objectives throughout my life. As I achieve each objective, I reevaluate whether I want to push to the next objective aggressively or take an easier, more laid back approach.

Please allow me to share my journey so far. Dual income household, working in Hong Kong, one toddler and another on the way. I am 38 this year, better half is 37.

1) Stage One (basic FI - Malaysian standards)

Parameters:

i) A fully paid up home.
ii) RM5 million in assets producing approximately 3% per annum (passive income of RM150K per annum)

[ACHIEVED]

2) Stage Two (good level of FI - Malaysian standards)

Parameters:

i) A fully paid up home
ii) Money set aside for 2 children's education for entire life, under conditions that studying in Asia, Australia or UK, and not pursuing a medical degree.
iii) RM10 million in assets producing 3% passive income per annum

[not achieved, hoping to achieve by age 45, if we stay in current jobs and have minimal progression upwards]

3) Stage Three (basic FI - any developed country)

i) Fully paid up Malaysian home.
ii) Money set aside for 2 children's education for entire life, under conditions that they will be studying in Asia, Australia or UK, and not pursuing a medical degree.
iii) USD5 million in assets producing 3% income per annum (USD150K / RM600K per annum at 1USD : 4MYR).

[not achieved, hoping to achieve by age 50, if we stay in and have good progression in our current jobs]

4) Stage Four (good level of FI - developed country level)

i) Fully paid up Malaysian home.
ii) Money set aside for 2 children's education for entire life, under conditions that they will be studying in Asia, Australia or the UK, and not pursuing a medical degree.
iii) 50% paid up home in developed country - preference currently for Hong Kong, am acceptable to staying in Singapore, Canada or even in Europe.
iv) USD10 million producing 3% income per annum (USD300K / RM1.2 million per annum at USD1 : MYR4)

[not achieved, most difficult level to reach, need to assume that both other half and I remain in good jobs on very good trajectories, there are no emergencies or worldwide circumstances affecting our lives, assuming that currencies we earn in or inflation stays stable, hoping to achieve between age 55 to 60]

Our current jobs are quite stressful (though rewarding). I may just call it quits for both of us between Stages 3 and 4 and just move into lower paying, but less stressful jobs, or, if we wanted to contribute more to the world, into charity or social work.

We are lucky that our earnings are in USD / HKD and we are in good jobs. We save approximately 50% of our income and control our expenditure carefully. Children will take a big chunk of our future earnings though, so let's see how things go.

I was seriously considering retiring at Malaysia at one point in time. Had my entire post "retirement" roadmap planned out, with dreams of opening semi-free old folks, orphanages and autism training centers. Even brought back large sums of money after last year's elections. Was prepared to forcibly uproot family in my pursuit of making Malaysia a better place.

Unfortunately, I am a very politically sensitive person.

Recent stuff happening in Malaysia had me reconsidering things, hence I added the "developed countries" FI objectives. That is my hedge in case things in Malaysia ever.... get out of hand.

I will wait maybe a decade to see how the political / social scene in Malaysia plays out. That to me, is the primary barometer that decides whether I come back to Malaysia to commit whatever efforts and energies I have in my later years to doing some social good, or whether I should concentrate it in Hong Kong / China / wherever life takes me to instead.

You are welcome!

Yes, I understand that a fully paid up home and RM5 million nest egg fund actually goes a long long way in Malaysia.


However, the reason why I consider that it only meets my "basic" requirements are as follows:

1) The need to keep up with inflation - a percentage of the passive income will be "reinvested" as my basic attempt to not lose too much ground to inflation.
2) 2 aging parents and 2 aging in-laws - need to be prepared for any medical and physical contingencies. These will cost money, time and resources.
3) Several aging family elders - these people have contributed to my life meaningfully in various ways when I was growing up. They are not on financially stable ground (in their retirement years or where the status of my cousins, nephews and / or nieces are concerned). I want to be in position to lend a hand if the need ever arises *touch wood, plastic, metal, etc. such needs to not arise so soon*
4) A sibling who made some.... questionable long term financial decisions that may hobble his family's financial situation in the future. I want to be in position to lend a hand if needed.
5) A RM10K / month income in Malaysia does not go as far as many have imagined - as was heavily discussed in the "RM12K household income but RM40 savings per month" thread in regular /k, RM10K income per month doesn't really get a household as much as it used to. I hope to have some buffer and contingencies in place.

Regarding Hong Kong, it has many issues, some deep, and difficult to resolve, but I love the place. I love the convenience, the energy, the close proximity to mountains, trails, and greenery, the variety of food and goods and services, the centrality of the location (near Taiwan, Japan, SE Asia, and next to the great hinterland of China), and the combination of old and new city that it uniquely has. Hong Kong has a lot more charm to it than Singapore. Now, if only Hong Kong can solve some of its most intractable problems.....

Thank you. Yes, my family's "expat" status does put us in a better position to achieve FI, but it must come with strong controls and responsible fiscal management.

I have noticed, in several of my friends and my better half's friends and colleagues, a commensurate increase in spending and consumption as they advance up their career ladder.

I have observed folks moving into bigger, more expensive, "landmark" homes. I have observed folks migrating to more expensive brands and fashion styles. I have observed folks buying bigger, more expensive, more high maintenance cars and toys every 2 or 3 years. I have observed folks taking impulse holidays and applying no control to their spending (imagine an impromptu five day trip to Japan for two on business class tickets, staying in a five star hotel, and going everywhere in a taxi, all just for the sake of impressive a girl. RM50K gone just like that.... very irresponsible spending).

My other half has stood in line at the taxi stand with ladies decked from head to toe in extremely expensive, branded stuff complaining that "they could ONLY save HKD10,000 per year in Hong Kong", which is ridiculous.

I also allocate a decent amount of time to read up on personal financial management and investment, because I want to try to find as many avenues and opportunities for my money to continue earning more money for me. That takes several hours / week of my time.

I also have to prepare for the possibility that we "may" lose this expat position in the future. The job market and the future is never stable or set in stone.

It has been and is an interesting journey, and will continue to be an interesting journey in the long long future (assuming my health holds up )

This post has been edited by TheBornLoser: Sep 18 2019, 04:16 PM