Level of savings/emergency funds in the event of unemployment/retrenchments in Spore

lifeafter41 said:

It's going to be tough to go for 24 months if a person uses 1/3 or more of his pay to service loans,. If car loans is inclusive, it will probably be a hand to mouth situation. I will be surprise if they can stash away 12 months .

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lifeafter41 said:

Read about the article of the 38 years old Singaporean being very worried for his and children future. In this day and age, being retrenched and replace is very real. And being hauled into HR to be given the pink slip is on everyone's mind.

In terms of the number of months every family should strive to work towards depends one their expenditure. However, my thoughts is the minimum of 6 to 9 months is a good figure to begin with. Household income if 8k. Should aim for 50k minimum. Of course, can go for 100k would be better.

Frankly sometimes unemployment can stretch longer than a year.
We are not talking about financial independence here. While I try not to generalise, my thought is a fair number of hdb dwellers, fall into the middle and upper income.

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Leongsam said:

Being unemployed is tough because you don't know how long it's going to last. Any figure you can conjure up is nothing more than a guideline.

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scroobal said:

I am not sure if the answer lies in savings. Savings is the last resort.

A better approach is not to be placed in a position where you are impacted by unemployment. Make sure your skill set, qualification and drive and the organisation that you are in provides you with a sustainable future. It is not that hard. A bit of regular due diligence will give you an indication if the future of the company and your continued employment are still in the cards.

Too many people struggle with inertia and hope for the best until it too late. If you are good, you can keep a head and good companies will look for you. You can concentrate on acquiring assets rather than cash savings which yield very little.

The really smart ones do not play in their own neighbourhood pond - their extend their reach further than Singapore. The world becomes their Oyster.

14 years ago I told a story of a doctor who had a special need child. He gave up his profession to take a job in pharmaceutical sales in order to qualify for OZ. At that time, doctors had minus 25 in the emigration point system. 2 years later he qualified and the family is in OZ.

Special needs kids qualify to have a individual teaching asst sitting in the class helping. They develop rapidly compared to Singapore. OZ has a welfare safety net and they look after their disabled which is no where compared to Singapore.

The point is this - get out if you can. Life is meant to be enjoyed. You can't do that in Singapore.

When his own grandson struggled in Singapore with Mandarin, he sent him to Singapore American School. Then his sent the other one there as well, He broke the very rules that he set for the country. He did it for his family. You have to do the same.

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