How much to leave in CPF account?

[Genie 0]

Hi! I juz started working and so do not have much in my CPF. My fiance has very little in his too. Mine is like less then 8k! Shd I still invest abt 5k and leave the rest for deduction? Any advice?

[masschaoz 0]

Hi! I juz started working and so do not have much in my CPF. My fiance has very little in his too. Mine is like less then 8k! Shd I still invest abt 5k and leave the rest for deduction? Any advice?

erm... the more u take out from cpf to pay for house, the more accrued interest has to be paid back when u sell it...

[applefreak 1]

Hi! I juz started working and so do not have much in my CPF. My fiance has very little in his too. Mine is like less then 8k! Shd I still invest abt 5k and leave the rest for deduction? Any advice?

erm, how much is your new place?

take it as a $110k new flat from hdb, you got to pay at least $11k downpayment leh

that's not counting the stamp fees and misc fees and DPS

still can invest $5k???

use this to check how much you need to pay on first appt

http://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BP13FINPLAN1/BP13J020

then decide if you want to take out some of your cpf

Edited January 8, 2008 by applefreak

[tatlee 0]

erm, how much is your new place?

take it as a $110k new flat from hdb, you got to pay at least $11k downpayment leh

that's not counting the stamp fees and misc fees and DPS

still can invest $5k???

use this to check how much you need to pay on first appt

http://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BP13FINPLAN1/BP13J020

then decide if you want to take out some of your cpf

ya. like what applefreak said. make sure you can pay downpayments and fees involved.

HDB should have done a financial plan for you before the first appt.

In general, everyone should NOT let HDB wipe everything into HDB loan. the difference is just 0.1% only.

In return, you have a buffer for future plans. like wife quit for 5 yrs to take care of kids. husband got take 2-3 yr masters or degree. can use to pay for life upgrading, etc. no need to worry abt hdb instalments.

Furthermore, can use CPF for downpayment for 2nd flat. without selling 1st flat or use cash. More flexible.

park money inside Aviva's Big-e (2.75%) or maybank CPF FD (2.6%) means no costs for financial flexibility.

[MaCe 3]

1) go for the shortest loan period

2) park at least 20k in unittrusts.

[vowsh 1]

1) go for the shortest loan period

2) park at least 20k in unittrusts.

Throw 20k in Blue chips. Unitrust yield not good.

[MaCe 3]

Throw 20k in Blue chips. Unitrust yield not good.

dun wan - me KIASI....anyway i calculated my unittrust's yields = i should be clearing my hdbloan in roughly 5 yrs's time, cos i onli took 10 yrs loan.

[Phantom 1]

I would go for a different set of opinions. lol.. just to mix in with the rest abit.

1) what you invest in depends on your beliefs and your risk appetite.

2) similarly how much to set aside depends on your comfort level.

I would look at setting aside 1year worth of housing loan contribution towards the house. reason because if both couple are working and one stops work, assuming a 50% - 50% contribution to the loan, your funds can last up to 2 years. In a marriage, such financial planning is prudent because in alot of marriages, financial issues are almost the 1st thing that cause tensions. if one person cannot find a job within 6mths, then something is very wrong, no matter how bad the market is, there are jobs available it just depends on whether ppl want to work for the kind of pay or job scope.

2) investing into a diversifed portfolio of investments e.g. unit trust would help even a novice in getting started. benefits are that because its a diversified investment, e.g. global balanced fund investing into both bonds and equities, in most economic situations, you'll hardly see huge drawdowns. which is important if ppl are concerned abt liquidating their funds in case of emergencies within a short period of time.

3) tenure for the loan in my opinon would be to take the longest period available. you can shorten the loan anytime but you cannot lengthen the loan. take the longest available tenure first then decide on your options the following year. you can also make pre payments to cut down the loan size. the vital crux abt a longer term loan is, do your sums. for a person who can afford a 20year loan and another who invests every month and compound the return by 7% p.a. I prefer the latter scenario but thats also because i have extra savings from CPF every month after the housing loan is paid.

investing through Finatiq/fundsupermart would ensure you get lower salescharges instead of via banks.

at the same time read up plenty on the funds available. being in the industry i can say that alot of those financial ppl in who claim to be consultants hardly know their 2+2. having an understanding will ensure you don't get hoodwinked into an investment.

its hard earned money, CPF or not.

Cheers!

dun wan - me KIASI....anyway i calculated my unittrust's yields = i should be clearing my hdbloan in roughly 5 yrs's time, cos i onli took 10 yrs loan.

Ka Ka loot Emerging Markets. Confirm you'll be smiling all the way after you come out of CPF board at retirement age.

[MaCe 3]

Cheers!

Ka Ka loot Emerging Markets. Confirm you'll be smiling all the way after you come out of CPF board at retirement age.

da guru(phantom) speaks again!

now in asia equity/china/sg. hehe.

[Phantom 1]

da guru(phantom) speaks again!

now in asia equity/china/sg. hehe.

lol not guru.

i'm not bullish on asia equities as much as others though.. lol.. SG will still do reasonable well for the next 1-3years. but i won't expect anything more than 10% returns p.a. that will be a bonus. coz SG does rely quite a bit on US growth. just to explain my take on asian equity. Indonesia and Korea run up is really quite a lot. Thailand and Philipines political stability is really questionable. Malaysia's growth is doubtful to be sustainable in longer run.

unfortunately latin america unit trust don't allow for CPF.. lol

I'd go for BRIC / Emerging Europe . . .

For China, as long as its H-shares, I'm ok, infact i'm pretty bullish on H-shares on the mid to long term. The PE gap between A/B and H shares are really big.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Phantom

[applefreak 1]

Throw 20k in Blue chips. Unitrust yield not good.

not everybody can throw 20k in blue chips

limit at 35% means you gotta have a ordinary bal of almost $60k

[NiVleK 0]

Phantom, Any suggestions on how to start reading up or knowing what I should be investing in? What risk are there? Actually I prefer not to talk to those so called fund manager as most of the times, I feel like they are just sales people. I want to know more about all this financial stuff b4 I start to invest.

In any case, for my stand in HDB loan using CPF monies, I will be opting for a maximum of 30 years loan though I calculated that I could manage a 15-20 year loan quite comfortably. I prefer to have some balance money in my CPF account. Besides, I could do lump sum payments every few years to shrink the loan size and of cos the interest that will be incurred.

[tatlee 0]

dont give specific inv advice here, ok? no value-added. unless you will update whoever acts on your advice

everytime you change your investment views.

dont invest unless you know what u doing.

think of lifestyle/family first, then investment. rather have flexibility of letting wife stay at home to watch kids for a few years. than to plough everything into investments. because inv are for long term, may need to sell at loss when need money/cpf for lifestyle changes.

Edited January 9, 2008 by tatlee

[applefreak 1]

so far the good advice i've ever heard about investments are:

1. buy when everyone is selling and sell when everyone is buying

2. buy and hold, don't punt

so far this has worked for me !!

[MaCe 3]

I'd go for BRIC / Emerging Europe . . .

my emerging euros drop 10%!!!!