Retirement in Pattaya?

I just returned from a trip to Pattaya and Bangkok to visit my uncle who is currently staying there with his family.

My uncle is looking at the possibility of getting a retirement home in Pattaya for it’s happening nightlife and gorgeous sea view, and it helps that it’s only a 2hrs drive from Bangkok, where they are currently staying.

Being a fan of properties, naturally I went along with him. I was in awe with the good quality renovation and furnishing, cool facilities, nice layout, good view of the sea, and above all, the attractive prices of condominiums in Pattaya.

Here, do feast your eyes on the photos below.

The Riviera is simple gorgeous. It is my favorite development among the 5 projects I went to.

After Riviera, we head to Palm, which is even nearer to the beach. It’s beautiful as well and already fully sold.

The cloud:

This one is my least favourite, so I had forgotten the name of the development.

My favourite unit at Riviera cost around SGD110k for a one bedroom unit (35sqm), which requires a 15% down payment. There will be a 50% balance payment upon completion of construction, and the balanced 35% to be settled using a 30years mortgage loan.

The prices are really attractive compared to housing in Singapore. For a one bedroom unit, it cost about SGD800k which is a total turn off. Regardless, overseas retirement is just a thought. I’m still decades away from my retirement and I should focus on building my capital first.

How I got out of debt (Part 2)

I’ve previously posted the first part on how I got out of debt here. Being in debt for years was really painful. I had totally ignored my debt situation and make no efforts to get out of it. However deep down, as much as I tried to ignore it, I know a certain part of my life was pretty screwed up.

Getting a good bonus, working out a debt repayment plan, and sticking to a budget were the first few steps I took to get out of my debt situation. I have to ensure not to fall back into debt again, like how I did before.

1) Changing habits/lifestyles

– Quit shopping

I realized whenever I’m bored, I’ll go online hunting for things to buy. Be it dresses, bags, accessories, or even gadgets. Shopping keeps me occupied and happy for awhile, until I received my new loots, then I’ll get bored and hunt for something else again. The first step to implementing a change is to identify the problem. In my case, it was the lack of self control, and the need for instant gratification. I made it a point to stop online shopping and I avoided shopping malls too, until I’m comfortable enough to just look and not buy. I also stop visiting designer bags forums, and stopped looking at advertisements of luxury products.

– Stop eating at restaurants

I used to dine at places like Ding Tai Fung, Crystal Jade, Ichiban Sushi and Sushi Teh whenever I meet up with friends or my boyfriend for dinner, which is like almost every other day. I even spent over $20 for lunch during weekdays. Now I eat at food courts and coffee shops, and I have to say I enjoy such local treats too! I still dine at my favourite places, but it’s usually reserved for weekends. Now on normal weekdays, $10 is more than enough for both lunch and dinner. One tip here, stop ordering drinks when eating out, just order plain water. They are not only free but much healthier too! I completely stopped buying bubble teas and Starbucks coffee back to the office post lunch too. It’s usually the small amount that adds up.

– Stop taking taxi

Compared to spending a few hundred dollars on transport previously, I now only spent about less than $100 a month on public transport.

2) Goals setting and setting of priorities

I never knew what I want in life and was just drifting through and enjoying life as it is. I guess everyone went through that stage when they were younger. After getting my bonus, I really sat myself down and started thinking of what I want to achieve in life. I want financial freedom. I want to be debt free, to enjoy the small things in life, not be bound by material things, and to finance my lifestyle using passive income. It is then that I realised I need very little to make me happy. Good health, being surrounded by people I love, good food (not necessary expensive), and self development are what matters. All these does not cost me a lot of money.

Once I sorted out my priorities, decisions making became easy. I know clearly what I want, and what I do not want. I’m no longer tempted by designer stuffs and the “finer” things in life. I no longer have temptations to shop and buy thing. Even for my upcoming wedding, I planned and budgeted in such a way that even if we make losses for the banquet, it is still affordable for my fiancé and I. I don’t care if it’s not extravagant. What I want is an awesome marriage, not be debt ridden after all the glamour is over. And we all know the number one problem couples usually face is financial difficulties. I don’t want that to happen to my fiancé and I.

3) Change in environment

I would say the biggest catalyst in helping me get out of debt and turning my financial situation around is due to the fact that I changed my job. I made many good friends from my banking days, and they are still some of my closest friends. However, I’m not entirely agreeable on their spending habits (sorry folks!).

My current colleagues on the other hand, they aren’t the most exciting or fun loving people. They are in their late 30s to early 40s, but they sure know a thing or two about amassing wealth and they know the importance of being debt free. One repaid his HDB loan within two years, and one within seven. My Finance Manager fully repaid his 5 room BTO the day he moved in. They are frugal, yet generous people. Being in such an environment prompt me to save and work hard for my goal of attaining financial freedom.

So all in all, without my current job (for the bonuses and the good influences), I’ll probably still be in debt, and most likely carry debt into my marriage and into my 30s.

How I got out of debt (Part 1)

From negative to positive…

2013 had been an extremely fruitful year for me for many reasons. My financial life is finally in order for the first time ever. Friends are wondering how I got out of debt and I’m finally comfortable enough to share it now. I went from being 18K in debt, to having a savings of 25k within 10 months.

Let me share what happened and the steps I took to get out of debt and start saving:

1) A good bonus

I joined my current company in Jun 2012 and received my pro-rated bonus in Dec 2012. The day before, I already knew how much I’ll be getting and I was elated to know I’ll be getting a whooping 20k bonus. To many people, it may not be a lot of money, but I have never receive so much money before in my life. I head straight to the Chanel boutique that evening after work to get myself a bag as I’ve always wanted one. I short listed 2 bags to “reward” myself, a Jumbo bag and a GST bag. I couldn’t decide on one and decided to sleep on it until after the bonus money is safely in my bank account the next day. To my surprise, the money wasn’t credited into our bank account, but my Managing Director was giving out cheques to us individually. When it was my turn, he handed a $20k cheque to me and asked me what I want to do with the money. After looking at him blankly for probably about 10 seconds, my exact words to him was “I’m gonna save everything”. At that moment, I forgot about my Chanel bag, I forgot about Xmas shopping, and all the fanciful things I wanted to get for myself. I decided once and for all that I’m sick and tired of being in debt. Not everyone has the opportunity to turn their financial life around, so I am gonna grab this chance and improve my life.

I didn’t exactly know how much debt I had, I thought it was probably about 8 – 10k. Within the year of 2012, I bought 2 designer bags, bought a iPad, signed up for a facial package that’s worth about 3k, and also borrow about 8k from my ready credit line from my Citibank credit card. All these debt was incurred and paid for using monthly instalment plans. After a few painful hours of consolidating my credit card bills, phone calls to banks to check for balances, and creating tables on excel spreadsheets, I found out to my horror that I’m over 18K in credit card debt.

The next few days were spent thinking if I should repay my credit cards debt in full, or to clear the outstanding balances first and continue serving the monthly instalment. And suddenly I remembered 2 years back in 2010, I did receive a bonus amount of about 10k, cleared my 5k credit card debt, spent the remaining 5k within a few months, and accumulated even more debts again (yes, I DO have a spending problem). The choice was clear. If I clear all my debt now, I’ll lose the motivation to save, since I will have no money in my bank account to show for anyway. So I choose to save, and repay my debt at the same time.

2) Budgeting

I began my search for answers on how to repay debts, how to save money, and most importantly, how to cut down on expenses. I realised it’s not just how much we earn that matters, but more on how much we save. I read practically everything I can find on budgeting, debt repayment, personal finance, wealth accumulation etc. I’ve been doing budgeting for companies for years and yet I’ve never budget for myself. It’s time I put my skills into good use. I spent days going through old bills and bank statements to get a grip of how my spending habits were like, and to my horror, I spent more than I earn, EVERY SINGLE MONTH. I realised it’s the small items that are really scary. Spending on small amounts of $20 to $50 per day can lead to over $1,000 wasted in a single month. I was so surprised when I realised I spent over $1,000 on dining out every month! My lifestyle was so highly inflated that I mainly only eat in restaurants, take cabs wherever I go, and buy whatever I set my eyes on.

Setting up a budget is easy, sticking to it is hard. However I was extremely determined to follow it through and a year later, I do see light at the end of the tunnel. In the beginning of 2013, my target was to have 20k in my bank account. Now at the end of 2013, I have exceeded my targeted amount.. The most painful part was the monthly instalments that I’ve got to service. I could have saved even more if not for the debt repayment of $700 a month. I’m still over 4k in debt, but I know it’s under control and the monthly instalment is manageable.