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an elfin question

Hi everybody out there.

Please count ur blessings.

From the forum so far it is gather that most of us wants to be financial independent/retire early etc...

How much wealth or money in the bank or shares is enough to retire?

 

Geez, not to mention that the GST is going up by another 2%....how can our savings in banks keep up with inflation and other increases in expediture ?

No choice but to make our $$ work harder than we do and pray that it comes to good fruition.

 

The case of handphone.

I get to renew my HP ONLY when I'm up 4 Free upgrade, and I paid only $18 for the current phone I own.

With rising income since I started work 15 years ago, I dare say I'm down to earth, my material wealth does not really keep in pace with my rising household income, cos I'm always cautiously optimistic, but I still feel the tension and stress in living in S'pore.I don't get this feeling when I'm living abroad, not because I'm earning more, but becos everyone are "enjoying" life and take each day as it comes..

 

Everyone has his/her definition of happiness and contenment. I believe (thou is pretty hard) not to overrate what one receive, nor be envy of others. He who envies others does not obtain peace in the mind.

For me , health is the greatest gift, and contentment the greatest wealth.

 

I want to tour the world....

I've been to North America, Mediterranean, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia Minor, North Asia.....

I want to set foot on every continent in the world with the people I love! This is what life is about for me!

I don't really care much about what Car model I drive, which Condo I stay in, how many credit cards, how much money I make every year etc...

 

The case of the handphone

When we were all younger, there's no such thing as handphone.  Life was simpler and happy.  There is no desire for luxury items. No knowledge of these items anyway.  Then we all grow up.

Now, almost everyone has one.  We change our handphone every one year or two, tor sooner, to newer, better models. We want this, and that.  Stress level rising.  We spend our time taking things around us for granted.

The good of this forum , though SHAREJUNCTION, is not about stocks and shares, but sharing with the like-minded and to remind them to look around.  We need to be reminded every now and then not to take things for granted. And to be able  to be truly happy.

 

woah since everyone is becoming philosophical about discontent and our common pursuit for happiness. let me share something i read written by a monk:

"Discontent is often a positive sign, especially when prompted by a glimpse of something better. Measured against nobler ideal, present reality limps.  If the discontent is authentic, it will generate zeal to bring the existing situation into line with the higher vision.   A person might realize one day. ? this house doesn?t have to be such a shack: we can start caring for the garden, gradually renew the paintwork and throw away some of the accumulated junk.? Discontent, when strong enough, can start a process, thereby improving morale and giving grounds for hope. 

Discontent, then, is a realistic response to a situation lacking perfection.  The word closest to it in a religious context is ?desire.? The Latin term desiderium means a lack or defect; the experience of desire is fundamentally a sense of incompleteness.  At a very deep level of our spirits, we seem to have a memory of something better.  Children born in a refugee camp may be delighted at a poor meal; less so their elders who remember better days. Our memory or intuition of a better state will not allow us to be totally absorbed in what is immediate.  The first stage of our questing for the ultimate is dissatisfaction with what is close at hand.

So we become aware of reaching out from the here-and now into the beyond.  In everyday life the real object of our desire is not always visible.  Often when our wishes are realized the aura surrounding them quickly dissipates and the ache returns.  It is easy to be deluded into thinking some particular thing or experience will satisfy the drive that motivates our search of the Holy Grail, but it is not so.  After you get what you want, you don?t want it.*  The human activity of desiring is basic, and only temporally linked with specific gratification.  It is meant to keep us moving toward the mystery of what lies beyond."

*the human heart has an infinite capacity for happiness. That is why material things with its inherent limits perennially frustrates and unable to satisfy the human heart...only an Infinite can satisfy it - and that is God.
very chim ah, but from my own experience, seems logical.

 

dear elf, i am hoping to be able to be financially independent, so that I need not be tied to a job because I have to etc...  to be able to have sufficient resources (i.e money) to be a blessing to others would be my measure of success. 

no, singaporegal, I really doubt that one can truely be happy when you are very poor... I happen to be now in Africa, and I dont think poor kids in squalid condition is happiness... for me, happiness is not because we are poor or rich but it stems from our attitude ... I know I can be unhappy when I am truely chinkiasu... but it is not because of money or the lack of..

 

You are absolutely correct...



And I remember a certain Chinese proverb which says something to the effect that  "one can play the guitar even when one is inside the coffin."

 

Most people are searching for happiness outside of themselves. That's a fundamental mistake. Happiness is something you are, and it comes from the way you think.

 

Hi elfin,

as you have requisted, for who ever that curious abt you.....
perhaps this the main reason you open up this tred =)

Genting-Ho mean Genting and Stanley Ho in Macau casino tie-up.
What kind of action you think the Sg gah-men will take?

 

Interesting thoughts from all of you.  I guess we all are in this to make money for our families, to ensure we have sufficient for ourselves in the event we are jobless...  For me, I want to learn to invest to make money for my children's future - to provide them with choices.  You can only make choices if you have the means to do so. 

At the end of the day, we must also equip our children to be resilient.  Yes the world is tough but when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.  We've become quite softies, compared to our forefathers.  Maybe I'm comparing myself with my parents who had to live through the war.  Can't imagine my 7 year old mum looking after 3 kids and running away from the Japanese with them...Look at our 7 year olds now?  Some can't even do basic things for themselves much less fend for themselves...

 

it's human nature to want to look beyond to so-called greener pastures, tho' there is a fine line between wanting a better life and being discontent with the present life. that's jmo.

everytime i want to complain about something, i think to myself: somewhere out there, someone is probably envious that i can drink water straight from the tap, that almost everywhere i go is airconditioned, that the pavements i walk on at night are well-lit, even and safe.

okie, back to the original topic, why do i trade on the market to make money? because i hope that whatever i make, i can let my children have, should they find that later on when they are all grown up, their world is just too tough on them to survive in, because i don't wish them to suffer.

 

That is absolutely true Singaporegal...

If we are in the African land where most people are poor, then it is really very very easy even for us to be honestly happy.

 

I read a research survey once that mentioned that the happiest people in the world actually come from Africa where they are very very poor.

Apparently, a simple and uncomplicated life is better for happiness than a life full of riches.

 

yeap, agree with fairygal...few years ago at night i was waiting at the busstop. then there was this hindu lady scavenging for tin cans inside the rubbish bin. i was curious and started talking to her and asked if she needed help. i was surprised to find out that the reason she is doing this every night - scavenging for tin cans is not bec. she needed the money for herself. i was told she was gainfully employed as a cleaner in a nearby school. its just that she didnt have enough spare to give to her ailing neighbour who is alone and bed-ridden! wow! what charity! can you imagine doing that every night, scavenging for tin cans to sell to recycling companies just to earn a few dollars to give to your neighour?

everytime i remember the incident, i am reminded of how blessed i am! and aren't most of the people in this forum, too? at least we still have some kopi money to play stocks.

 

At times when I take profits, I usually think of those old ladies who have to work as toilet cleaners, yet only managed to earn some $500 or $600 per month.  Ideally, they should be enjoying their life at home. Life is fair? No, not at all. While we are able to afford life's little luxury, we have to think of the less fortunate around us.  Chinese New Year is around the corner.  Let's spread some cheers to those who needs it.

 

Elfin, many people have said that S'poreans are not a contended lot, comparing to those unforunate ones in our neighbouring countries..like u have mentioned..Loas, Cambodia..etc..but let me tell u..it is a totally different society, when majority of your peers are in the same boat as u, u don't feel that bad..becos everyone is living with more on less..I heard that Nepalese are still the happiest lot despite living in poverty, why?..in S'pore, I believe fellow s'poreans feel TENSE, FEAR, STRESS becos there are expectations from all angles..and no one is bailing u out if u r in trouble..what do u tink of the recent case of a man who have to jump down the MRT track due to financial difficulty?..this really set us back to think for our future..having said that, I agree with u that we need to be optmistic in life..or at least..cautiously optimistic..:>

 

nice to see all the replies here. :)

misery loves company...why not let's be positive instead, and be grateful for what we have? the grass is always greener on the other side, after all. i've backpacked cambodia, laos, etc. if you've seen the lives of some of them there, then really, we have it good.

just that it's boring, so hey, that's what the market is for! :))))

 

I am employee and yet have a side business running on its own, so I have an appreciation of both sides.

As an employee, I look forward to the yearly increment and the bonus. What I find is that my increment is plateauing, barely enough to cover cost of living. I don't look forward to that eagerly anymore. Jobs, even professional ones, each day are being threatened because of outsourcing to cheaper market elsewhere.

Being an employer - my margins are being squeezed because the customer now will negotiate the price down. Some contracts are hardly worth the while doing as it doesn't even cover the salary of one person. Nowadays, customers very often set the prices in most cases and may decide to pay you a few months later. Under such circumstances - how to give higher salary? The situation is not just with small companies, it is the same with MNCs (I work for one).

Not a pretty situation on both sides. But so happy to see many in this forum have an early and informed/intelligent start to a alternate revenue stream to financial independence.