Trapped By Lure Of The High Life

[MaCe 3]

Mace & Applefreak

Mine is only 85sqft. I guess that I have the smallest pigeonhole. HAHA !

small but expensive!

Guess maybe we have to follow the govrt advise go for Household brand (Eg NTUC) more cheaper

But I would rather choose Sheng Shiong.

sorry don like shengsiong their stuffs NOT fresh.

NTUC go for canned food/fresh veg/meat.

CK = their detergent and many small small stuffs CHEAPER than NTUC!

mine is 4 room, 4A 108sqm, highest floor (11th only lah) at 20 year old HDB in north of SG. I dun nid to pay cash monthly as the OA is enuff. When the OA build up, i din pay HDB just in case i jobless and still have OA to tahan for at least 1 year. Now, at least 10 years ba.

Come to think about it, i admit i am not brave enuff to buy a EM or those double storey HDB flat which i alwasy wanted since i was a kid. My fear is when my monthly CPF contribution goes directly to paying for the flat, i got no CPF saving left. But when i vist frens house, those with EM or double storey. I envy leh.

hmm..i dun even know how much it cost. maybe i should ask ask hor...

ya thats the right way - to have OA(or park in funds) to TAHAN the mthly instalments for at least 1yr or more.

EMs are not that expensive.

[ahjane 2]

Reading this, I think I am guilty of buying big big big TV and HTS that will probably add up to about 10K? I admit I need to get a reno loan, which I intend to pay off within 2-3 years (but I took a 5 year loan). Else, all my furnishings and eletrical stuff are paid in cold hard cash. I do not like to pay instalments, except for my flat and car.

Reading all this makes me feel gulity that i want to change my car after i clear my reno loan...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I prefer use credit card to make payment, at least can earn points mah.hehe

Since u pay many stuff in cash, with only one loan to finance, guess it is easier to monitor the expenditure ba. Means got money then can buy, if you took housing loan, reno load and use credit card instalment, too many things t finance, might get out of hand.

small but expensive!

sorry don like shengsiong their stuffs NOT fresh.

NTUC go for canned food/fresh veg/meat.

CK = their detergent and many small small stuffs CHEAPER than NTUC!

ya thats the right way - to have OA(or park in funds) to TAHAN the mthly instalments for at least 1yr or more.

EMs are not that expensive.

my place no sheng shiong, i dun like sheng shiong (not fresh) or shop and save (smelly). Skip Ntuc cos by the time i go, all good stuff snatch aunties and housewives in the am and pm. Buy my stuff at cold storage, using cold storage card which is link to HSBC, can earn points too. Fresher and better shopping environment. -> guilty guilty

i mean my OA now can tahan 10 years if i jobless lah.

if i buy EM, think will cost 150k more than my 4 room? means i pay double monthly payment.hmm....

buying an EM is a dream, cleaning it is a nightmare. It is already so tiring to clean this house.....cannot imagine i have to mop the stairs... shall think about it when the property market is cool and frozen..haha

Edited March 26, 2008 by ahjane

[applefreak 1]

my fren also explain that it is better to redeem the loan cos saving on the interest. But if the OA only tahan 1 year, safe period?

after 1yr got to rely on my emergency fund liao loh

this fund is something like a backup in case i lose my job

should tahan 18mths of me being jobless !!

guess i'll start to redeem the loan as and when i've got spare cash

better than blowing it on something i want but don't really need right?

Edited March 26, 2008 by applefreak

[NiVleK 0]

I prefer use credit card to make payment, at least can earn points mah.hehe

Since u pay many stuff in cash, with only one loan to finance, guess it is easier to monitor the expenditure ba. Means got money then can buy, if you took housing loan, reno load and use credit card instalment, too many things t finance, might get out of hand.

Oh...no la, I mean I use credit card to earn points also! But I always make the full monthly payment when my bill comes.

I did wanted to get a EA, but no more at JW liaos. So just get a 5 room lor. And I am glad I just got a 5 room. Hahaha. Dunno what to do with so many space already.

[yokine9a 1]

Reading all your comments, confirm I have the smallest pigeonhole cos mine is a 3I unit

My reno cost is around 10K, have not finalised yet cos reno still going on. I kept the living hall Tarrazzo floor and simply polish it. The 2 bedrooms have cement screed so I go for laminate flooring. Got to hack the kitchen floor cos I change my sink and basin location, their previous locations were very odd. Keeping the wall and floor tiles for bathroom and toilet since they were done 5 years ago during upgrade.

Have not bought my TV yet, but no way I will go for anything >1K.

[ahjane 2]

Reading all your comments, confirm I have the smallest pigeonhole cos mine is a 3I unit

My reno cost is around 10K, have not finalised yet cos reno still going on. I kept the living hall Tarrazzo floor and simply polish it. The 2 bedrooms have cement screed so I go for laminate flooring. Got to hack the kitchen floor cos I change my sink and basin location, their previous locations were very odd. Keeping the wall and floor tiles for bathroom and toilet since they were done 5 years ago during upgrade.

Have not bought my TV yet, but no way I will go for anything >1K.

tv less than $1k, maybe 21inch flat? then buy a small slim tv console can liao..

dun get those fish tank size tv, cos you end up spend more on a tv console which can withstand a 100kg tv.

[gohkm 1]

tv less than $1k, maybe 21inch flat? then buy a small slim tv console can liao..

dun get those fish tank size tv, cos you end up spend more on a tv console which can withstand a 100kg tv.

At my clementi new home, I am still using my fish tank size TV which i buy when i stay at punggol 5 years ago......my wife keep asking me to buy the new LCD TV........when courts or sony send us the brochure, she will pass to me first time.............but to me the price now still not ok.........i will wait for next year or this year after olympics..............

[ahjane 2]

At my clementi new home, I am still using my fish tank size TV which i buy when i stay at punggol 5 years ago......my wife keep asking me to buy the new LCD TV........when courts or sony send us the brochure, she will pass to me first time.............but to me the price now still not ok.........i will wait for next year or this year after olympics..............

Means you already have that strong tv console, so no issue, you can continue the fish tank.

For those who haven buy any tv console, i dun think those nice glossy tv console with tempered glass can withstand the weight of a 29inch fish tank tv. Since starting fresh, can buy LCD liao..with slim tv console

[GoalHome 1]

My going-to-be new home is even smaller... 3S unit. Probably i'll be keeping my 29inch fish tank since i'm planning to keep my teak wood tv cabinet. A real beauty and simply can't bear to discard or sell it. Can help save some $$$ too.

[applefreak 1]

teak wood tv cabinet, nice !!

even if you change to LCD still can use mah

[ucypmas 0]

after 1yr got to rely on my emergency fund liao loh

this fund is something like a backup in case i lose my job

should tahan 18mths of me being jobless

guess i'll start to redeem the loan as and when i've got spare cash

better than blowing it on something i want but don't really need right?

My own preference would be to keep the cash and invest it - if you can find the opportunities. Or use it to build more reserves for further security.

Are you on a HDB loan? If yes then the cost of funds is pretty low so do consider the relative opportunity costs between using your capital elsewhere and recovering the interest from the housing loan.

[MaCe 3]

My own preference would be to keep the cash and invest it - if you can find the opportunities. Or use it to build more reserves for further security.

Are you on a HDB loan? If yes then the cost of funds is pretty low so do consider the relative opportunity costs between using your capital elsewhere and recovering the interest from the housing loan.

rule of the thumb.

a DOLLAR in hand is worth 2 in the loan

[Cindy-Monkeybone 1]

"Small unit but expensive flat = Govt earn more $$ and I suffer more"

I would go for partial redemption once I have extra CPF of $10,000 to shorten the loan and leave about 1 year Emer-fund. That would save quite a lot of interest.

Extra cash should go to investment or business fund.

For purchase, better use credit card + 0 % installment to gain points. I have redeem $150 of IKEA vouchers from my credit card points.

Of course, we must make sure that the the cash is already available before you sign up the 0% credit card installment.

[phoenix 0]

there is such a thing as good debt and bad debt. to me its all about balance.

i swipe swipe swipe my CC whenever i need to or can (meaning unless small amt or must pay by cash lah) but i also pay the bills without fail each month. and i feel happy whenever the gal/guy over the counter asks me 'mdm, do u wanna use your Uni$'.. or when i redeem my rewards...vouchers, gifts etc. makes me feel that someone else is paying my discounts for me. haha..

[GoalHome 1]

it's always good and advisable to save for rainy days.

in the case of spending, it really depends on one's earning power. for instance on an expenditure of $500...

if you earn $2,000... that's 25% of the salary

if you earn $5,000... that's 10% of the salary

if you earn $10,000... that's 5% of the salary

so it really boils down to affordability based on income level. this is so as after the amount spent, the person is still able to save a considerable amount of money

Edited April 4, 2008 by GoalHome