1/08/2008

The poor rich Singaporeans

This is another secret to Singapore's success. The poor Singaporeans, many of them, are like fish in a dried out pond but there is water everywhere. Look at his assets. Probably owns a 3rm flat or bigger, except those on rentals, has a big savings in his CPF that is untouchable till 65 now, and a $30k in his Medisave which is really untouchable unless he is seriously ill. And he will have a housing insurance, fire insurance, probably life insurance, and a compulsory annuity insurance to boot, akan datang. And some will also have Medishield insurance. Give it a few more years down the road he will probably acquire another few compulsory insurance along the way. And if he is working, there will be employee insurance, Workman Compensation Insurance, and specific trade or profession related insurance. But in spite of all these, he is penniless.

4 comments:

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

This is mumbo-jumbo wordplay.

What you need to get clear is a definition of what "rich" is, in terms of money. My definition of rich, in money terms is when a person can write a good cheque for US500k, and still be in the black.

"Wealth" on the other hand is a different idea. Wealth is more a state of being.

The ideas of "rich" "wealthy" and "successful" can only be objective at the personal level. i.e. what these ideas mean to each individual.

Anyway, back to the idea of "rich": redbean's illustrated an important point - TRULY rich individuals have CASH FLOWS instead of "assets" of value (but produce little or no cash flow) that can only be relaised in money terms when they are sold. In the meantime, there are bills to be paid and commitments to meet.

Another popular way of looking at this (despite its incorrect assumptions) is being "asset rich but cash poor".

Anonymous said...

Rest assured, Singaporeans are indeed becoming asset rich but cash poor.

Whatever they may tell you about your home going up by 31% etc, what can you do about it? If you sell the house where are you going to live? Buying another house is not going to be cheaper. And even if your house appreciate, so does everybody else's home. In time to come with the price of new HDB huilt homes now selling for $700K, the day will not be far off when every Singaporean will own a million dollar HDB flat. But they will still be asset rich but cash poor. So are they better than say someone in poorer countries with homes costing just a few thousand dollars but able to lead reasonable lives with lower cost of living?

Sometimes you have to believe that people in Nigeria and India are happier than us. Why?

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

anon 436

> Sometimes you have to believe that people in Nigeria and India are happier than us. <

Utter bloody nonsense.

If you are unhappy, it is your own darn fault. You create your own emotions by yourself. No one but you is responsible for how you feel.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

singaporeans should be like matilah, spending his money the way he wants and making himself happy.

the poorer people of poore countries are not necessarily happy or unhappy. they just exist. and if there is no comparison or alternatives, like goes on as per normal.

what is happiness or not happiness is individual. the buddhists do not seek happiness but serendity or detachment of all desires. the state of no feelings, nirvana.