Financial Freedom SG

Today was a day filled with hope and fear. Hope that a new leader in United States will lead us out of the worldwide crisis.

At the same time, the local press in Singapore screaming with headlines like "Singapore's population could fall by 4% as foreign workers laid off", "Growth likely to be -2% to -5% in 2009" etc.

At the same time, the picture you see on the left added some unintended comic relief. The free daily that is distributed in the morning "Today" had a picture of a shower area and a caption that says " The shower area of the PAF, which is one of the first of its kind in the world."

This is the kind of ambiguous statement that can either mean the PAF is one of the first in the world or the shower area is one of the first in the world. :) Add the picture with the headline, you will think that the shower area is some kind of sniffing device. So it is a double dose of head scratching.

At the end of the day, I read a sort of eulogy cum celebratory post of a frugal person who is an inspiration to all those who live within your own means. The blog is one that I would highly recommend you check regulary or subscribe to, called "Get Rich Slowly".

Most people spend a lot of time in front of the television, going to the movies, chilling out, but do not think about or spend time to plan one's retirement. We may spend one year planning which car to buy or months checking out which home to get, however, no thought or very little time is spent mulling through how to save and invest for the last years of one's life.

Last year, I was down with a liver infection and hospitalised, so I am not naive to think that I'd definitely have 20 or more years to live in retirement. But the way some people are living is as if they will not live a single day beyond the time they reach the retirement age. It's none of my business, but I think it is really important.

Have you planned for your retirement?