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Is it really a must to have savings for 6 months?


Guest Justin

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44 minutes ago, Justmelah said:

Government support comes mainly during crisis such as COVID-19.  If you are retrenched, you need to have some $ to tied you thru.  There are many unforeseen circumstances in life where you need emergency cash as well.  So, it is always good to save up.

Agree with J.

 

Gov subsidies and support are not guaranteed. You may think you fall into the support or grant requirements but nothing is firmed until they evaluate you in a holistic way - your job, career, household income, personal income, taxation, debt-level, etc. It's up to them to approve your application. You do not have a say in this as you are relying on the gov to live your livelihood.

 

So, instead of that. You should save enough for yourself. The cash is at your own hands. You can plan, allocate, invest, spend or save for whatever circumstances to keep your lifestyle. Even if you don't have debts like loan commitments, you can't be relying on your parents to support you especially when you have started working or to borrow extensively from financial institution like a personal loan.

 

So, with 6 months savings, it helps you to tide through unfortunate situation like unemployment or retrenchment, while still able to pay for your current living expenses like food, entertainment, insurance, transport until you got a stable income,  also most importantly, you are not overly stress because of money issue which can cause mental breakdown like depression (you don't wanna end up spending your hard earned money in medical too much, though it's unavoidable).

 

Happy Saving!! :) 

 

We all need money to survive yo! Save your own money is better than rely on gov for too often, though it is not a bad option to ask for help. 

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Guest Guest

There are 2 of my friend think likewise.One say so much money cant bring to the other world so  dont need saving. Another one say life is short everyday spend on sinful food at restaurant.Is really sinful food monday to sunday .Steak. chicken wings. Sushi. Korean food. French food.deep fried food. He say god is with him that he live in a blessful lifestyle.And not worry about cash shortage.

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having money gives you freedom and peace of mind. living hand to mouth gives you no options.

I left my job in january this year due to merger acquisition and the new owners/ceos were being very political and very bad for staff morale (I personally wasn't affected and wasn't going to be an enabler) so I quit. then I travelled and planned to travel the rest of the world for the year or two until covid hit. 

as an unemployed person,. the government didn't even give me any handouts beyond what every singaporean got.  (Ie: self employed with diminished income get way way more.)

Edited by Chris Low
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I think this is a really subjective question as everyone's risk appetite, earning capacity and lifestyles are different. To answer the question directly, I don't think there is a must to have 6-months of savings. But the more difficult question to answer is, "what level of savings should someone maintain"? I doubt there's ever a correct answer for it since it all boils down to personal circumstances.

 

Perhaps one way to approach it is to differentiate our spending between the "needs" and "wants" each month, barring large purchases (which are usually "wants"). Then, ask ourselves how much of a safety net (i.e. for how many months) do you want to set aside for the "needs" if assuming you had zero income.  

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Guest No free meal
4 hours ago, Guest Justin said:

if government usually subsidize the poor or why still need to save?

The government is not charitable.  My handicapped neighbour get subsidy from the government on condition that he work as Janitor in public toilet.

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2 hours ago, Guest Guest said:

There are 2 of my friend think likewise.One say so much money cant bring to the other world so  dont need saving. Another one say life is short everyday spend on sinful food at restaurant.Is really sinful food monday to sunday .Steak. chicken wings. Sushi. Korean food. French food.deep fried food. He say god is with him that he live in a blessful lifestyle.And not worry about cash shortage.

 

Maybe either 2 of your friends have gone through something really bad in their lives? If someone happen to witness death more than anyone else, yes, the definition of life is different now or perhaps they have yet to reach a stage where they have commitments in their life yet, so between single and married with kids or have loans to pay off, the 'don't need to save' or 'enjoy life' may take a back seat. Or maybe they are born with silver spoon? haha :P 

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Roman isn't build overnight.

 

Same for retirement fund.

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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Guest Guest

Yes rower u very smart.  One is a director  of a funeral  services.The other is just a Malaysia with a work permit holder but his best friend he hang out everyday have diagnose  with cancer. So he was brain wash to enjoy life till the very last moment. 

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The cancer guy was approach  by this cancer society  to support for each other in a group of 4 with other cancer patients. As days gone by and relationships were strengthen. Slowly one by one left the world. That make the last one so frightening that his days will end soon too. So spend and enjoy life. Need not worry about tomorrow  .Too bad the healthy Malaysian was influence and got preaching by this cancer guy .

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Its for rainy days. In case you need it. Hospital bills. Parents passed away. Somebody lost job. Retrenchment. Singapore medical not cheap. 

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36 minutes ago, Kimochi said:

Its for rainy days. In case you need it. Hospital bills. Parents passed away. Somebody lost job. Retrenchment. Singapore EVERYTHING  not cheap. 

 

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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9 minutes ago, lonelyglobe said:

Angmoh normally spend but save little or none,  Asians save too much but not enjoying life,  the best of both world is save half enjoy half 

Haha, what you said is very true. Like me never go overseas trips. Think only furthest place i go is Thailand during NS. My first time go Sentosa is in 2016. 

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Not a must.

 

Just a better.

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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A dignified man is those who live upon his own expenses, not from handout from parents or on other sources like lovers or government. A savings of 6 months is for your own protection when lost of of income and are in dire needs of spending on daily expenses like basics necessity. A man with good standing ovation of economically secured is admirable and commendable in the eyes of his own folks. Beware of spendthrift dear buddies because by savings you will be rewarded in your livelihood.

Edited by tinkermybutt
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Guest Pervertress

Imagine the govt stop giving out money for this Covid 19....

CPF don't want to give you back your earnings at 55...

BF or significant other no longer around to finance...

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16 hours ago, tinkermybutt said:

A dignified man is those who live upon his own expenses, not from handout from parents or on other sources like lovers or government. A savings of 6 months is for your own protection when lost of of income and are in dire needs of spending on daily expenses like basics necessity. A man with good standing ovation of economically secured is admirable and commendable in the eyes of his own folks. Beware of spendthrift dear buddies because by savings you will be rewarded in your livelihood.

 

well said

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Guest Mary

This type of question hor, is as good as asking 

 

1.  Is it better to have insurance than no insurance  
2.  Is it better travel to see the world of just read from book

3.  Is it better to be hand-on, onsite or theory base ? 

 

We sometime run out of intellectual topic, but like such for Primary 3 students to discuss to stimulate their thinking ?? 

 

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1 hour ago, Guest Mary said:

This type of question hor, is as good as asking 

 

1.  Is it better to have insurance than no insurance  
2.  Is it better travel to see the world of just read from book

3.  Is it better to be hand-on, onsite or theory base ? 

 

We sometime run out of intellectual topic, but like such for Primary 3 students to discuss to stimulate their thinking ?? 

 

 

How about

 

1. Is abortion moral? 

2. Is masturbation unwholesome.?

3. Is euthanasia legal? 

 

:P

 

I think ts is more meaningful if there's more scenarios

eg 20s young working adults  vs 60s retiring adults 

eg. High vs low income groups

eg percentage of disposable income 

etc.

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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Guest Guest

My friend think likewise.He say why save should spend on own self .If u pass away all yr saving will be spend by your siblings.Furthermore gay have no wife or children to worry about.Just enjoy shop and eat all u want .

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9 minutes ago, Guest Guest said:

My friend think likewise.He say why save should spend on own self .If u pass away all yr saving will be spend by your siblings.Furthermore gay have no wife or children to worry about.Just enjoy shop and eat all u want .

what if you don't pass away and you're left with nothing?

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Throughout my working career, I weathered through 5 retrenchments, Seagate, IBM, HP, Hitachi & General Electric (not in sequence). This is one fact no one can afford to ignore, unless you are civil servant.

 

Personally I had witnessed how one manager forced to sell away his HUDC unit at Bedok Reservoir. He took up a 25 years loan which utilizing full $3000 from his monthly CPF account (25% each for both employer & employee) plus $1200 cash contribution from his monthly salary.

 

Upon that incident, I told myself my housing loan ought to come from my CPF, nothing from my salary. And at any one time, my CPF must have the amount of three years balance to be ready just in case I got retrenched.

 

Concerning monthly salary, as I needed to travel far from Tampines to Tuas & Johor, a car was necessary. My budget was not to spend more than $500 monthly for a brand new car with a three years loan. After that, used it for two more years, enjoyed the debt free life style. Completing the five years cycle, traded in with another new car & repeated the vicious cycle again.

 

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Regarding retrenchment,  mostly it is  人算不如天算。

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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6 months is not enough. The average no. of months to find a job is easily 9 months.

 

The main difference betw a rich and a poor is not about money, it's about having options.

 

Also set side an emergency fund in case you or your family members fall sick suddenly. If you have money, you can choose to go private hospital. If you don't have money, you might not even live to wait to see the doc given the fact the waiting time is so long at public hospitals.

 

Only rich people sons can live a YOLO lifestlye. If you are not, you better adopt a YODO mindset.

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Guest Guest

To answer the question, yes its a must.

 

I was out of job for at least 6 months before, you will really start to feel very very financially insecure after 6 months, taking into account monthly expenses and all the bills you have to pay. 
 

After that awful experience, I really start to save as much as possible. 

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Guest Guest
8 minutes ago, kidster said:

 

Also set side an emergency fund in case you or your family members fall sick suddenly. If you have money, you can choose to go private hospital. If you don't have money, you might not even live to wait to see the doc given the fact the waiting time is so long at public hospitals.

 


Buy hospitalisation / medical insurance. Very very important. 

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31 minutes ago, fab said:

Regarding retrenchment,  mostly it is  人算不如天算。

 

You said it correctly, it is something beyond our control. Everybody is working hard, but once the head office decides to relocate to a cheaper location, just accept the termination fee & say bye-bye.

 

Singapore is probably one and only country in the world promoting skill upgrading. The Government & us know well that as an industrialized country, jobs came & gone, that's life, that fact.

 

The topic titled "Is it really a must to have savings for 6 months?", well, my answer is not only 6 months, but as many months or years as possible.

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Guest guest
2 hours ago, Larry said:

Throughout my working career, I weathered through 5 retrenchments, Seagate, IBM, HP, Hitachi & General Electric (not in sequence). This is one fact no one can afford to ignore, unless you are civil servant.

 

Personally I had witnessed how one manager forced to sell away his HUDC unit at Bedok Reservoir. He took up a 25 years loan which utilizing full $3000 from his monthly CPF account (25% each for both employer & employee) plus $1200 cash contribution from his monthly salary.

 

Upon that incident, I told myself my housing loan ought to come from my CPF, nothing from my salary. And at any one time, my CPF must have the amount of three years balance to be ready just in case I got retrenched.

 

Concerning monthly salary, as I needed to travel far from Tampines to Tuas & Johor, a car was necessary. My budget was not to spend more than $500 monthly for a brand new car with a three years loan. After that, used it for two more years, enjoyed the debt free life style. Completing the five years cycle, traded in with another new car & repeated the vicious cycle again.

 

You need to buy not expensive house in order to finance only from your cpf and no need to top up any cash. 

 

Where to buy a brand new car with $500 monthly? Unless you downpayment a lot on the car, if not diffiicult to find.

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Guest guest
1 hour ago, fab said:

Regarding retrenchment,  mostly it is  人算不如天算。

Many people are retrench during this period, esp if your industry got affected greatly. Very scary.

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Guest Neh neh
5 hours ago, Neh Neh said:

Yes me too. I maintain at least 12-24mths saving for emergency use.

And also polish and maintain your biggest asset. Your neh neh ;) If you are willing to make good use of it, you can tide over any emergency. 

 

Im so sorry for spouting nonsense. 

 

But I am so distracted by your neh neh. 

 

If you are working in sales line, by teasing your customer with your asset, I think you can close many many deals...

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33 minutes ago, Guest guest said:

You need to buy not expensive house in order to finance only from your cpf and no need to top up any cash. 

 

Where to buy a brand new car with $500 monthly? Unless you downpayment a lot on the car, if not diffiicult to find.

 

Unlike my ex-colleague who had bought a high-end HUDC flat, mine was a 5-room corner unit in Tampines, the price was $75000, can you believe? Of course, the workmanship was bad, walls were powder coated & rough flooring, the only place that didn't need any work were the bathrooms.

 

It wasn't difficult to service the loan, about $1300 monthly by CPF.

 

On buying a new car, yes, it was indeed tough for the very first one, you needs to save a lot for the down payment. If I remember correctly, the price was around $60k & it took me more than 5 years to ready the down payment. After the first buy, subsequent purchases were very much better as I could traded in the old one (try not to hold more than 5 years in order not to affect the resale value).

 

No one really owns a car nowaday, I can say at least 80% of new cars on the road are under the custodian of finance companies.

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6 months is still too little. Should at least prepare 1-2 years. And this based on the assumption u do not even have passive income. 

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Guest guest
4 minutes ago, tyan said:

6 months is still too little. Should at least prepare 1-2 years. And this based on the assumption u do not even have passive income. 

Must also depend on your spending. If you need to pay for many bills and installment, better to save money that can last for longer period. If you do not have many expenses, prepare at least 6 months to 1 year is good enough.

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Guest guest
10 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Unlike my ex-colleague who had bought a high-end HUDC flat, mine was a 5-room corner unit in Tampines, the price was $75000, can you believe? Of course, the workmanship was bad, walls were powder coated & rough flooring, the only place that didn't need any work were the bathrooms.

 

It wasn't difficult to service the loan, about $1300 monthly by CPF.

 

On buying a new car, yes, it was indeed tough for the very first one, you needs to save a lot for the down payment. If I remember correctly, the price was around $60k & it took me more than 5 years to ready the down payment. After the first buy, subsequent purchases were very much better as I could traded in the old one (try not to hold more than 5 years in order not to affect the resale value).

 

No one really owns a car nowaday, I can say at least 80% of new cars on the road are under the custodian of finance companies.

Actually most people do not own a car and house nowadays, since most are on loan. Esp house, usually on long period of loan. For car, many took up 5-7 years loan.

 

$750k for a house also not cheap, although your house is quite big. But if your salary is high, then might not have big problem if you have a job onging.

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37 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

Unlike my ex-colleague who had bought a high-end HUDC flat, mine was a 5-room corner unit in Tampines, the price was $75000, can you believe? Of course, the workmanship was bad, walls were powder coated & rough flooring, the only place that didn't need any work were the bathrooms.

 

It wasn't difficult to service the loan, about $1300 monthly by CPF.

 

On buying a new car, yes, it was indeed tough for the very first one, you needs to save a lot for the down payment. If I remember correctly, the price was around $60k & it took me more than 5 years to ready the down payment. After the first buy, subsequent purchases were very much better as I could traded in the old one (try not to hold more than 5 years in order not to affect the resale value).

 

No one really owns a car nowaday, I can say at least 80% of new cars on the road are under the custodian of finance companies.

 

22 minutes ago, Guest guest said:

Actually most people do not own a car and house nowadays, since most are on loan. Esp house, usually on long period of loan. For car, many took up 5-7 years loan.

 

$750k for a house also not cheap, although your house is quite big. But if your salary is high, then might not have big problem if you have a job onging.

 

So which is correct? 

鍾意就好,理佢男定女

 

never argue with the guests. let them bark all they want.

 

结缘不结

不解缘

 

After I have said what I wanna say, I don't care what you say.

 

看穿不说穿

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