UnderEmployment Rate
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I think is one of the hardest stats to find... Singapore boasts itself for having low unemployment rate... But what exactly is its underemployment rate...
I know this uncle... He's an Orang Lama and a Orang Laut... He had worked on Oil rigs, worked as an AB all the way to the Red Seas and Antlantic Oceans and worked as a techcom for Royal Brunei Navy... In addition, he's a good mechnaic and can make an excelent paint job on cars...
But come back to Singapore, he can only work as a security Guard... He productivity can easily make at least $8,000 per month but now he's worth only $1,000 per month... Absolutely sad... He still have a few years a head of him but companies rather employ young bloods whom have less experience compared to the years of experience this Orang Lama has...
I wonder what people in his shoes should do...?
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He should be an example on fanancial planning for our young.
Theoratically, by the age of 25, one would have reached his productivity prime. This age would be whereby you would have gain street-wise knowledge if there is a lack on academic subjects. Apprenticeship would be over. Your salary would strongly be based on your productivity, self-sufficiency in an equal opportunities environment of our world's major international companies, based on merit, more so in Singapore.
Should his productivity worth be $8,000/mth ( considering the oil industry is a lucrative employer), saving $4000/mth, he would still have a quality of life to enjoy with the balance $4000/mth.
I am assuming he is 45 years old now, and that would have been an est. $960,000 without interest, in his personal bank account by today. His present job as a security guard would be just a past time for him, to keep himself productive and mentally alert.
Similarly, for our young, at $3000/mth, if set aside $1000 as savings, it would be $240,000 w/o interest by the time he is 45 years old.
Is that HDTV worth buying and throwing away your 50inch plasma TV? Is that box in the sky costing $1.0m + another $1.0m in interest payments over 30 years worth it, as compared to a similiar sized unit box in the sky from HDB costing only $300,000 and interest free ( cos you are only borrowing from your CPF, which is your money anyway), more worth it?
Could it be that we Spore man have too much manly pride, and our pampered singaporean women too demanding to seek such high quality materialism in our youth, sacrificing at the expense of our old age?
But unfortunately, the young never realized that they will get old until it is too late. They tend to spend 150% of their salary within 2 weeks, and go hungry for the next 2 weeks till pay day, regardless of gender and salary scale, a reality in our highly consumerist world.
They forgotten that one can only get rich by saving, and NOT by spending. The rich didnt got where they are today by spending all their salaries. They save every penny of it, and every penny spent MUST bring in more pennies, or they immediately cut loss. The young never did learn this lesson often until too late!
Perhaps, it is high time our society start another national campaign - Save Money Campaign.
Comming back to the uncle, assuming he has no savings, then he has no choice but to be more self reliant. Our society will help, but there is not enough money to help EVERYONE. We will either go broke by tomorrow or be taxed to the hilt.
Tell him to upgrade himself, never too old to learn. Get funds from CDC. Save as much as he can, and then later set up a shop to pass on his skills to FWs. It is too, never too old to grow rich. The guy who created Genting Highlands got rich in his 80s. There is still hope yet for him, as long as he doesnt give up. It will be tough, but only the toughest will and can survive, as others had gone before him and succeeded too.
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wait long long for save money campaign.
with everything increasing faster than our wages, whats left to save.
i don't really spend a lot and can save quite a bit without much effort. but now i have to be effortful to save.
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for singapore uni guys, they just graduated...
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Originally posted by alwaysdisturbed:
wait long long for save money campaign.
with everything increasing faster than our wages, whats left to save.
i don't really spend a lot and can save quite a bit without much effort. but now i have to be effortful to save.
Saving is not an easy task. We are only humans. It is so easy to give in to temptation of spending. Sometimes when we pass by shops, it seemed like the items there know our names can call out to us!
More so with the attractive adverts, tempting us every second of our lives. There seem to be no escape.
But then, poverty in old age is more frightening if we give in.
Our past generations also faced high costs of living then, and didn't hunger for materialism they way we this generation did. They were happy living in huts and kampongs, with mud between their toes, but homes kept clean, kids never starved.
Where had we, this generation went wrong? :-(
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SPH's urban newspaper advertises luxury goods all the time.Temptation for young people to splurge is high...
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Originally posted by alwaysdisturbed:
wait long long for save money campaign.
with everything increasing faster than our wages, whats left to save.
i don't really spend a lot and can save quite a bit without much effort. but now i have to be effortful to save.
2 years ago, for pte companies, most fresh grad pay is 3000 w/o counting bonus
now, for pte companies, most fresh grad pay is still 3000 w/o counting bonus
Inflation rate say at average of 4% over the 2 years, so the real wages of fresh grads are actually dropping
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Well, saving up is important but the main problem here is people arn't getting chances... I starts me thinking how many of those old aunties and uncles are forced to pick up drink cans when they could do much much more...
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Originally posted by xtreyier:
He should be an example on fanancial planning for our young.
Theoratically, by the age of 25, one would have reached his productivity prime. This age would be whereby you would have gain street-wise knowledge if there is a lack on academic subjects. Apprenticeship would be over. Your salary would strongly be based on your productivity, self-sufficiency in an equal opportunities environment of our world's major international companies, based on merit, more so in Singapore.
Should his productivity worth be $8,000/mth ( considering the oil industry is a lucrative employer), saving $4000/mth, he would still have a quality of life to enjoy with the balance $4000/mth.
I am assuming he is 45 years old now, and that would have been an est. $960,000 without interest, in his personal bank account by today. His present job as a security guard would be just a past time for him, to keep himself productive and mentally alert.
Similarly, for our young, at $3000/mth, if set aside $1000 as savings, it would be $240,000 w/o interest by the time he is 45 years old.
Is that HDTV worth buying and throwing away your 50inch plasma TV? Is that box in the sky costing $1.0m + another $1.0m in interest payments over 30 years worth it, as compared to a similiar sized unit box in the sky from HDB costing only $300,000 and interest free ( cos you are only borrowing from your CPF, which is your money anyway), more worth it?
Could it be that we Spore man have too much manly pride, and our pampered singaporean women too demanding to seek such high quality materialism in our youth, sacrificing at the expense of our old age?
But unfortunately, the young never realized that they will get old until it is too late. They tend to spend 150% of their salary within 2 weeks, and go hungry for the next 2 weeks till pay day, regardless of gender and salary scale, a reality in our highly consumerist world.
They forgotten that one can only get rich by saving, and NOT by spending. The rich didnt got where they are today by spending all their salaries. They save every penny of it, and every penny spent MUST bring in more pennies, or they immediately cut loss. The young never did learn this lesson often until too late!
Perhaps, it is high time our society start another national campaign - Save Money Campaign.
Comming back to the uncle, assuming he has no savings, then he has no choice but to be more self reliant. Our society will help, but there is not enough money to help EVERYONE. We will either go broke by tomorrow or be taxed to the hilt.
Tell him to upgrade himself, never too old to learn. Get funds from CDC. Save as much as he can, and then later set up a shop to pass on his skills to FWs. It is too, never too old to grow rich. The guy who created Genting Highlands got rich in his 80s. There is still hope yet for him, as long as he doesnt give up. It will be tough, but only the toughest will and can survive, as others had gone before him and succeeded too.
nice assumption that ppl dun have financial planning..
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Originally posted by MohamedF:
Well, saving up is important but the main problem here is people arn't getting chances... I starts me thinking how many of those old aunties and uncles are forced to pick up drink cans when they could do much much more...
I applaud your consideration for them, very few and far between amongst our centred youths and adults, including myself.
I guess it is too late for regrets that they have. They are living the consequences of their freedom of choices. BUT it is still not too late for them to continue on with life, with more dignity, or as much level of dignity they wish for their own lives, which we must respect above all.
One thing about these old folks are their experiences, which are valuable, if they are not yet senile. But i do not have an idea on how 'experiences' may be a commodity of exchange in the market place. Here's hoping someone would have an idea.
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He should be an example on financial planning for our young.
We should start financial planning young, agreed.
But a bit bad to use him as example
True, but bad...Theoretically, by the age of 25, one would have reached his productivity prime.
As said, SG guys would have only just graduated.
Similarly, for our young, at $3000/mth, if set aside $1000 as savings, it would be $240,000 w/o interest by the time he is 45 years old.
I'm 25 this year, aiming to reach that amount in 1 to 2 years time (or shorter)... Not 45
But unfortunately, the young never realized that they will get old until it is too late. They tend to spend 150% of their salary within 2 weeks, and go hungry for the next 2 weeks till pay day, regardless of gender and salary scale, a reality in our highly consumerist world.
Another term is delayed gratification
The young should practice delayed gratification.
They forgotten that one can only get rich by saving, and NOT by spending. The rich didnt got where they are today by spending all their salaries. They save every penny of it, and every penny spent MUST bring in more pennies, or they immediately cut loss. The young never did learn this lesson often until too late!
Savings can be eroded by inflation
It's better to learn to put savings into different good money instruments.
Acquire money generating assets (also a form of spending), as young as possible. I regret not doing this earlier... but also fortunate because being new, I might have seen my funds being eroded by the current recession.Aim for financial freedom by being able to live normally with your assets feeding you; not savings.
In short, we should spend money on acquiring on good assets (need to do lots and lots of homework), and not acquiring liabilities, like your examples of HDTV, etc
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Originally posted by MohamedF:
I think is one of the hardest stats to find... Singapore boasts itself for having low unemployment rate... But what exactly is its underemployment rate...
I know this uncle... He's an Orang Lama and a Orang Laut... He had worked on Oil rigs, worked as an AB all the way to the Red Seas and Antlantic Oceans and worked as a techcom for Royal Brunei Navy... In addition, he's a good mechnaic and can make an excelent paint job on cars...
But come back to Singapore, he can only work as a security Guard... He productivity can easily make at least $8,000 per month but now he's worth only $1,000 per month... Absolutely sad... He still have a few years a head of him but companies rather employ young bloods whom have less experience compared to the years of experience this Orang Lama has...
I wonder what people in his shoes should do...?
ask him to come to australia to work in the mining industries. they are desperate for skilled manpower and you ah bang can earn A$120-130kpa easily. -
"delayed gratification"
This is true. But there is one school of thought:- instant gratification. This philosophy is grounded on the belief to enjoy what you have now, for either you may not live long enough to drink the fruits of your labour, or you will be too old to take pleasure in what you have.
For example, should one wait for 1 year later to buy a HDTV, to replace current TV model, with savings or
a.) hire purchase one now at 10% interest per annum,
b.) buy now and starve for the rest of the month?
Actually, the subject matter is not whether to buy HDTV now or H.P. It is the need for one. Is that few more pixels on the TV screen going to make the show more better or the movie itself that is more critical?
My point is, when faced with difficult decisions which we face all the time, some superficial such as a TV purchase, others more critical that deal with happiness and sorrow, the solution is always to define and rely on what our PRIORITIES are.
Nothing in life is constant except for changes. Thus mathematically, the job you hold now, or that investment plan, is subjected to the law of life - changes. Planning one's career and investment portfolio would need to factor in 'changes', otherwise it would only be a flawed plan, with dire consequences on our very own existence.
There is only one sure security in life - your savings, be it stagflation. inflation, deflation, or whatever that hits. Some money is better than NO money at all.
Another thought is for the those who subscribe to 'instant gratification'. Should you spend all your money today, and yet lived long enough to see tomorrow, who would be responsible for you and your life?
Should others who are responsible, lived 'delayed gratifications', be made to pick up your tomorrow's living expenses when you spent it all today?
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Actually I meant delay by savings.
HDTV (at the current moment) is a luxury. All luxuries should be delayed till one can afford it, preferably from money gained from assets :D
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Originally posted by eagle:
2 years ago, for pte companies, most fresh grad pay is 3000 w/o counting bonus
now, for pte companies, most fresh grad pay is still 3000 w/o counting bonus
Inflation rate say at average of 4% over the 2 years, so the real wages of fresh grads are actually dropping
3K so high?
I thought only 2.4K plus.
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Originally posted by eagle:
Actually I meant delay by savings.
HDTV (at the current moment) is a luxury. All luxuries should be delayed till one can afford it, preferably from money gained from assets :D
Nonsense.
PM says go forth and marry early and procreate.
Delay and save so much money for what?
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if tomorrow never comes, then you will never get to enjoy the HDTV, lol...
they always say, "live today like tomorrow will never come". how?
Kung Fu Panda's quote of wisdom... "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift, that's why it's called present.
shouldn't we live life to the fullest today and get the HDTV if we can afford it today?
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Originally posted by charlize:
3K so high?
I thought only 2.4K plus.3k with CPF mah
And actually already considered lower end...
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Originally posted by charlize:
Nonsense.
PM says go forth and marry early and procreate.
Delay and save so much money for what?
Instant bedroom gratification
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Originally posted by charlize:
Nonsense.
PM says go forth and marry early and procreate.
Delay and save so much money for what?
you marry, have kids and your career will nvr take off again. having a family will restraint you in work, in terms of work hours etc.
also, you will have less money to save for the next 24 yrs..... the money will be funneled towards child rearing, bearing the child's education expenses, which, honestly, isn't cheap in singapore.
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Originally posted by deathmaster:
you marry, have kids and your career will nvr take off again. having a family will restraint you in work, in terms of work hours etc.
also, you will have less money to save for the next 24 yrs..... the money will be funneled towards child rearing, bearing the child's education expenses, which, honestly, isn't cheap in singapore.
lots of people get married, have kids, have career and have savings. -
Originally posted by charlize:
Nonsense.
PM says go forth and marry early and procreate.
Delay and save so much money for what?
I thot PM says go forth and marry the elderly and procreate...did i hear wrongly..damn, his pronounsation is getting worst..too much medication.I go look for rich old elderly and see how...
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Originally posted by novelltie:
if tomorrow never comes, then you will never get to enjoy the HDTV, lol...
they always say, "live today like tomorrow will never come". how?
Kung Fu Panda's quote of wisdom... "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift, that's why it's called present.
shouldn't we live life to the fullest today and get the HDTV if we can afford it today?
Panda got said that meh, i thot is the Wu kwei said that.....and mind me, you believe in those hollywood stuff...OMG.
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Originally posted by dragg:
lots of people get married, have kids, have career and have savings.
There are also lots of people married, regretted, divorced, no kids, lousy career and no saving. -
Singapore unemployment rate alway stay around 2 to 3 %, that is low or nothing in comparing with other countries, anyway, these 2 to 3 % are those die hard people who dun want to work even works are offered to them..eg..Bookie, Ah long, Pimps and gigolo