Middle Age Crisis - do I have a plan ?

[corydorus]

Time flies very fast when we are enjoying life. Most will likely earn good salary between age 35-45. And this is the time where we feel the power and the wealth generation capability of ourselves. The joy of family, car, kids, condo and vacations. But one thing fall to many folks especially those working in MNC. You can be made redundant at your prime for the very thing you have as the corporate renew itself with the business cycle with new blood and cost structure.

Full article here Cory Blog on the article

Saving for the future is very important.

[brattzz]

My actions,

1) start saving as much as u can!
2) take term insurances in case u KO-ed.
3) Continue to invest!
4) Look ahead, opportunities, be confident!

[sgd]

For insurance hospitalization is really all you need, the rest can cash it unless you have a crystal ball on when you KO

Life sometime may not go according to our plans.

I got 2 friends thought everything was great,  great career great pay, family kids growing.one late 30's other just entered 40's both bought and invested in condos thinking of their retirement then suddenly found themselves laid off few years back

everything changed from there on, growing family becomes a growing problem when there's lack of money. Property market tank "out of money" cannot unload, bank loan is not FOC easy to take hard to return still must pay interest.


I think you have to look at your age and know yourself. as a rule as one get older take less risk when comes to investing. 


Take the worst case scenario:


if you go broke from investing in your 20's it's ok relax no worries you are young, highly employable likely single so less overheads you still have another 20+ years to work save and there's a bull run every 10 years or so, somebody here once said want to be rich catch a bubble, you can even try it twice.


if you go broke from investing in your 40's there's low chance to make a comeback even though you are at your peak your employable years are getting less, there's a chance maybe in your 50's to join bull run but do you really want to risk it? So just let it go. You should be in "survival mode" and how come out in the end with a decent retirement.


if you go broke from investing in your 60's one word -screwed- you have no more time to make any comeback who will employ you with high salary when there's many younger choice around. But if you strike toto everything starts to look brighter so maybe in your sixties $21 a week investment cheaper than paying brokerage.


If you are loaded and rich forget everything. Do whatever you like.

[Big Toe]

I do think it is possible still possible to lose a lot of money and make a comeback later at any point in life unless one becomes too frail. There will be times when you have gathered all information, did all you could and know all the risks and the result may still turn out to be sub par or bad. It is just the way it is, failure is part and parcel of life, I think. Success if probably about having a greater number of winners than losers and improving the decision making process.

[sgd]

I do think it is possible still possible to lose a lot of money and make a comeback later at any point in life unless one becomes too frail. There will be times when you have gathered all information, did all you could and know all the risks and the result may still turn out to be sub par or bad. It is just the way it is, failure is part and parcel of life, I think. Success if probably about having a greater number of winners than losers and improving the decision making process.

if you are in advance age like 60's and lost all your money, earning power is the question you can have opportunity but no money you can't do much. You have some idea to do business maybe can make a comeback but bank loan for startup business I think read somewhere is only up to certain age limit or you need to find venture capitalist unless you know somebody.


The other thing must be careful, lots of people are getting smarter younger this is a fact so eventually could be one day your boss could be younger than you and he may not like you the 40 something year old, I know some guy work for many years at his company to reach managment position then the boss retire and handover to his son or younger person and the new boss now wants to kill all the older guys to bring in a younger team. As cory say it is part and parcel of renewal in business but still gut wrenching if you never saw it coming.


So if you are at the peak of your career be wary sh!t can happen, continue to work but have mental preparation and expect to get fired at some point. it will put you into survival mode and change your habits make you less wasteful. Maybe nothing will happen great but if does you already expected it, lessens the blow.

[Big Toe]

There are many ways to make money. If a person is gainfully employed, he/she can also choose to do something that is somewhat enjoyable.
It's about how much you make and also how you make it. I have always thought long and hard about the process of making money, and how much I enjoy/hate while at it. Time and again I did not take up the highest offer because I know I would probably end up hating the job even though the job matched my skill-set/experience well.

My needs are simple, any HDB flat will do, so long as it is peaceful. I dont need a car, a good bicycle/public transport/etc will do. Hawker and home cooked food will do just fine. I wear my company shirt almost all the time even off days because it is comfortable(dri fit).Totally hated suit and tie, it's ridiculous to wear them in our weather. My personal expenses are extremely low. So this allowed me the freedom to choose what I want to do instead of letting money(salary/profession/etc) decide what I do. Very much happier now with less fixed income.

In summary, the best plan to live is to do what you enjoy(or at least dont hate) and live simple.
A lot of material goods does not make one happier, while a bigger house and car makes one more comfortable, it adds a lot more financial stress if a loan is needed to finance those luxuries.

P.S. Among the many things I enjoy, I do enjoy investments and trying to figure out how to generate sustainable income from it. And that is why I am here

[corydorus]

I think if one is still employed into late 50s, there is a good chance salary will be high enough to recover quite an amount of investment losses be it from saving or re-investment of new cash. The worst situation will be employment set back and investment losses occurring same time or one after another.

I love sustaininable investment income even though still not as good as I like it to be yet

[touzi]

My needs are simple, any HDB flat will do, so long as it is peaceful. I dont need a car, a good bicycle/public transport/etc will do. Hawker and home cooked food will do just fine. I wear my company shirt almost all the time even off days because it is comfortable(dri fit).Totally hated suit and tie, it's ridiculous to wear them in our weather. My personal expenses are extremely low. So this allowed me the freedom to choose what I want to do instead of letting money(salary/profession/etc) decide what I do. Very much happier now with less fixed income.

In summary, the best plan to live is to do what you enjoy(or at least dont hate) and live simple.
A lot of material goods does not make one happier, while a bigger house and car makes one more comfortable, it adds a lot more financial stress if a loan is needed to finance those luxuries.

I like your life style. I am another Company shirt-Public Transport-HDB man. The thrill of traveling, one of my few indulgence is also beginning to disappear compared to when I was much younger. Many of my colleagues make fun of me for my frugal lifestyle. I wear it as a badge of pride.

What is your view on medical care? Do you go for subsidized (i.e. Class B2/C) or something better. I have been thinking about this and I am not really convinced about the advantages of higher class of medical care. I do not need air-con and I am still wondering what is the big deal of choosing your own specialist. Unless you see the doctor every month, can he really remember all the details? He will still rely on notes.

[Bibi]

What is your view on medical care? Do you go for subsidized (i.e. Class B2/C) or something better. I have been thinking about this and I am not really convinced about the advantages of higher class of medical care. I do not need air-con and I am still wondering what is the big deal of choosing your own specialist. Unless you see the doctor every month, can he really remember all the details? He will still rely on notes.

Just my view. More patients in a room means chances of infection could be higher. Subsidized medical also means the surgery will be performed by trainee doctors (unless the illness is very serious) and the senior doc or specialist will only stand by the side to watch and advise the trainee doctors. He will not perform the surgery unless something went wrong. 

I went for colonscopy last year. Simple operation I chose subsidized. When the optical fiber went deeper into my stomach, I felt uncomfortable and tensed up. But the trainee doc kept pushing in the optic fiber into my stomach. Then I heard the consultant told her to stop as I think consultant realized I have tensed my body up maybe due to my heart beat reading at the monitor. Imagine the consultant is talking to other pp or not paying attention, the worst case is the optic fiber can rupture my intestine and further invasive surgery will be required to stop the internal bleeding. 

Despite this, I will still opt for subsidized but will inform them to increase the drug dose to put me to sleep  . But for more complicated surgery I will opt for private patient and choose my doc since I am still middle age, have the earning power and young children. I wont take unnecessary risk.

[touzi]

What is your view on medical care? Do you go for subsidized (i.e. Class B2/C) or something better. I have been thinking about this and I am not really convinced about the advantages of higher class of medical care. I do not need air-con and I am still wondering what is the big deal of choosing your own specialist. Unless you see the doctor every month, can he really remember all the details? He will still rely on notes.

Just my view. More patients in a room means chances of infection could be higher. Subsidized medical also means the surgery will be performed by trainee doctors (unless the illness is very serious) and the senior doc or specialist will only stand by the side to watch and advise the trainee doctors. He will not perform the surgery unless something went wrong. 

I went for colonscopy last year. Simple operation I chose subsidized. When the optical fiber went deeper into my stomach, I felt uncomfortable and tensed up. But the trainee doc kept pushing in the optic fiber into my stomach. Then I heard the consultant told her to stop as I think consultant realized I have tensed my body up maybe due to my heart beat reading at the monitor. Imagine the consultant is talking to other pp or not paying attention, the worst case is the optic fiber can rupture my intestine and further invasive surgery will be required to stop the internal bleeding. 

Despite this, I will still opt for subsidized but will inform them to increase the drug dose to put me to sleep  . But for more complicated surgery I will opt for private patient and choose my doc since I am still middle age, have the earning power and young children. I wont take unnecessary risk.

Thanks for sharing. I too am opting for private medical services at the moment. My company medical insurance covers most of it. However the day will come when I can no longer enjoy company medical benefit, that is why I have been thinking about Medishield Life vs IP. Apart from Medical, cost related to all other aspects of life seem to be within our own control.