Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 1541
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
I don't feel a need to be successful, in terms of wealth. I'm happy enough with $2K per month, and that's essentially what most of us needs. I don't have handphones, latest CD player, flashy clothes, fads and what have you. I have no intention of getting a car (and I think it's one of the stupidest decision someone can make in Singapore, unless they need the vehicle to conduct business) or private housing or credit cards or country clubs memberships. We don't NEED them.
I'm happy enough to spend my time with my wife and my family. May it be conversations, outings or just be with each other.
Everybody has their own priorities in life. A lot of people wants to change how they live, but don't have the courage to do so. In the end I would say that when you are old, you are likely to regret the things you didn't do then the things you did.
If you are sick of life in Singapore, go take a break. Take up a working/holiday permit (for a year or two) in either Australia or England, and work there as waiters, teachers or whatever. Take your free time to travel around, at your own pace and leisure, and explore another country and custom.
Plan and inject excitement into your life. For example, I chose to take up a job with a company that will post me to HK in three months time. After that I plan to emigrate to Vancouver to start a family in three years time. After that, who knows? May move around Canada, get to know each place, etc. Most important thing is that I don't wake up thinking that shit, I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life. With those plans, I have something to look forward to, to keep myself living and surviving.
Ultimately each one of us decides our own path to take. You choose whether to be happy and excited about life, or depressed and bored about the whole idea of living.
Cheers.
Im envious of you, but sadly i think it'll really take me sometime to achieve that. sometimes, its really hard to give up on things, besides im only 19 (havent even went thru NS). 
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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I'm only 23, going on 24 this year.
So age shouldn't be a factor. =)
But anyway, you got to get NS over and done with first.
Probably when you are 22, you will be more clear about what
you want.
Cheers!
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Dragon:
Lonewolf is right! We don't really need to earn a lot. Yes, singapore is an expensive place, but the basics are within most people's reach.
Somehow we're psyched to think we need to earn as much as possible. It's almost a cliche to say we're in this rat race because we haven't got a choice.
Just look at those people who earn more. What do they do with the money? Maybe buy a car, spend on more expensive audios, get a club, upgrade the house, eat more often at expensive restaurants, travel more frequently. Generally, the more you earn, the more you spend. And they're not necessities.
With $2k, you can have a flat, take annual vacations, have all the basic necessities like electrical appliances and furniture and eat in restaurants once in a while. And as long as you're happy, this is good life.
$2k is comfortable as long as you are single or have a small family, house is fully paid for.
sometimes we are not in the rat race by choice
look at our environmnet...do they allow us to slow down? does it allow us not to follow a routine --> Waking up, wash up, breakfast, work, lunch, work, off from work, go home, dinner, relaz a while, sleep ...?
bosses are expecting walnuts in return for paying peanuts these days, you cannot produce, they axe you cos there is always another fella down the line who is willing to do the job you are performing 
so, one don't really have a choice but to keep up in the rat race by being competitive.
psychied into wanting to earn more? hmmm...after a hard day's work, of course you would want to pamper yourself a little at the end of the day, no?
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by anachieru:
Don't agree on that. Singapore standard of living not high.. its the bloody cost of living... standard actually not as high as countries such as Hongkong ans Japan.
Its the inflation rate that keeps going up every year which sees us paying 3-5 dollars for a lousy plate of chicken rice.
but i think the government should probably not always introduce new tariffs etc when the economy is good and when its bad still put it in place.. in that event, we always got more and more taxes.. they won't get less.. and the hence the inflation gets higher and higher...
=P Its the cost, not the standard.
when it comes to money matters, the law of gravity is always defied.
prices for consumers are forever going up, when have they ever come down?!?
but when times are bad, pay gets cut. taxes still the same, bills still the same.
when times are good, how come no rebates? we are afterall, the people who helped make all the profits on the whole, no?
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
I'm only 23, going on 24 this year.
So age shouldn't be a factor. =)
But anyway, you got to get NS over and done with first.
Probably when you are 22, you will be more clear about what
you want.
Cheers!
really? hmm...ah gong is way pass that age, and he is still looking for a direction in life  
with the economy not willing to absorb me, future is still uncertain
your plans to go travelling the world...well, even if one wants to do that, they have to get some sort of capital to start with, don't they?
still got to work to make end meet, don't they?
still come back to square one work to feed thy mouth just in a different country, that's all
sorry to be a wet blanket
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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quote:
Originally posted by ahgong:
really? hmm...ah gong is way pass that age, and he is still looking for a direction in life
with the economy not willing to absorb me, future is still uncertain
your plans to go travelling the world...well, even if one wants to do that, they have to get some sort of capital to start with, don't they?
still got to work to make end meet, don't they?
still come back to square one work to feed thy mouth just in a different country, that's all
sorry to be a wet blanket
Hello Ah Gong!
My earlier posting about travelling the world didn't mean that we have to literally go visit every other country in the world. =)
What I meant was to take up a working holiday visa in either Australia or England (they are the two countries which I know of that has such arrangements, anyone can name more?), which means you'll be able to work there and have holidays at the same time. Granted, the work may not be professional type of work (you'll probably be doing waitering, bartending, etc, but people appreciate what you do, and you'll have fun doing it), but you get paid instead of wasting your savings. So basically you just need probably $1000 and get a one way ticket to either country. And open your eyes there. =)
The thing is that you get to work in a DIFFERENT country. Get to see DIFFERENT perspectives. Get to see how other people place emphasis on things other than money, eg pride in work. Things/attributes which are sorely missing in this materialistic society.
You are not being a wet blanket, Ah Gong. =) Rather you are showing us the mentality most of us have here in Singapore, the one-sided thinking most of us have in this country, which is work to feed ourselves, etc etc.
I'm not saying that such mentality is bad. =) It is a practical one ingrained into us due to our uncertain past. However, there comes a time when you have to think whether is that all you want to do in your whole life, and if not, you have the CHOICE to CHOOSE. We have to take risks to do different things, so that we might know whether the way we do things now is the correct way or the only way. =)
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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quote:
Originally posted by ahgong:
sometimes we are not in the rat race by choice
look at our environmnet...do they allow us to slow down? does it allow us not to follow a routine --> Waking up, wash up, breakfast, work, lunch, work, off from work, go home, dinner, relaz a while, sleep ...?
Ya, we are not in this environment by choice, I agree. But we are rats and rats have legs don't they? So it's up to us little rats to decide whether we want to choose another environment or not.
I mean, even animals move around in search of better pastures. So why don't we?
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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quote:
Originally posted by ahgong:
when it comes to money matters, the law of gravity is always defied.
prices for consumers are forever going up, when have they ever come down?!?
but when times are bad, pay gets cut. taxes still the same, bills still the same.
when times are good, how come no rebates? we are afterall, the people who helped make all the profits on the whole, no?
The majority of us chose the people who make the decisions about pay cuts, high costs, no rebates, etc, so the rest of us cannot complain, can we? Basically we get what we ask for.
Such political things should be in another thread, don't you think? =)
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Privileged Member
Total Posts: 384
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quote:
Originally posted by ahgong:
$2k is comfortable as long as you are single or have a small family, house is fully paid for.
psychied into wanting to earn more? hmmm...after a hard day's work, of course you would want to pamper yourself a little at the end of the day, no?
Agree  that $2k is ok should ur commitment be low. I always remind myself not to over-commit & have as little commitment as possible just to prevent undue stress, esp when times are bad.
It really doesn't make sense to work for money, we should make our money work for us. That is when we should invest some portion of our savings to protect against inflation. So budgeting is very important, budget for whatever u need to indulge in, including tours! 
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Moderator
Total Posts: 1033
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
What I meant was to take up a working holiday visa in either Australia or England (they are the two countries which I know of that has such arrangements, anyone can name more?), which means you'll be able to work there and have holidays at the same time. Granted, the work may not be professional type of work (you'll probably be doing waitering, bartending, etc, but people appreciate what you do, and you'll have fun doing it), but you get paid instead of wasting your savings. So basically you just need probably $1000 and get a one way ticket to either country. And open your eyes there. =)
Gd luck! My friend's doing exactly that, she's living her dream with her work visa in the UK, however, her intentions are quite different, she does want to find a perm job at the end of it all. But that's another story.
Meanwhile, she's going from job to job, appreciating the lovely weather and people and living the life. Her parents have cut her off, her mother told her before she left for the UK that if she persisted in going, she would disown her. But her father secretly funds her a bit. Money is certainly tight, but the chance to live a whole new life life, to live day to day (in S'pore, we tend to take money for granted, go broke still got parents to ask money from) - live each day full of hope for the next...really admire her and you for wanting to try it out!
This message was edited by annika on 28 May 2001 07:14 PM
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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quote:
Originally posted by annika:
Gd luck! My friend's doing exactly that, she's living her dream with her work visa in the UK, however, her intentions are quite different, she does want to find a perm job at the end of it all. But that's another story.
Meanwhile, she's going from job to job, appreciating the lovely weather and people and living the life. Her parents have cut her off, her mother told her before she left for the UK that if she persisted in going, she would disown her. But her father secretly funds her a bit. Money is certainly tight, but the chance to live a whole new life life, to live day to day (in S'pore, we tend to take money for granted, go broke still got parents to ask money from) - live each day full of hope for the next...really admire her and you for wanting to try it out!
Hiya annika!
Some things to clarify first: I'm not planning to try it out. =) I have other plans (if you read through the thread you'll know what they are) but if they don't work out, yes I'll definitely go ahead with this working holiday visa thing. =)
I'm really glad your friend has taken the 'plunge'. I'm sure she'll learn lots of things and if she likes the place and manages to get herself rooted there, I'll be extrememly happy for her. =)
Thank you for bringing this up. It always help to have examples, and like I have stressed many many times: it is OUR choice. WE have the CHOICE. And whatever choice we take, we have to make the best out of it. I mean there won't be any point if I decide to go for this working holiday visa thing, or make do with less material goods, etc and then at the end of it all complain that life is unfair. Similarly, for us people who chose to work very hard so that we can afford cars or the latest handphones, that's the choice we make, so we can't complain we're working our lives away, life so boring, etc. =)
Cheerios!
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Privileged Member
Total Posts: 384
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quote:
Originally posted by annika:
Meanwhile, she's going from job to job, appreciating the lovely weather and people and living the life.
Her parents have cut her off, her mother told her before she left for the UK that if she persisted in going, she would disown her. But her father secretly funds her a bit. Money is certainly tight, but the chance to live a whole new life life, to live day to day (in S'pore, we tend to take money for granted, go broke still got parents to ask money from) - live each day full of hope for the next...really admire her and you for wanting to try it out!
Envious of her! Not sure about UK, if we go from job to job in S'pore, we'll be deemed as job hoppers 
There's always some sacrifice, we can't the best of both worlds 
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
Hello Ah Gong!
My earlier posting about travelling the world didn't mean that we have to literally go visit every other country in the world. =)
What I meant was to take up a working holiday visa in either Australia or England (they are the two countries which I know of that has such arrangements, anyone can name more?), which means you'll be able to work there and have holidays at the same time. Granted, the work may not be professional type of work (you'll probably be doing waitering, bartending, etc, but people appreciate what you do, and you'll have fun doing it), but you get paid instead of wasting your savings. So basically you just need probably $1000 and get a one way ticket to either country. And open your eyes there. =)
The thing is that you get to work in a DIFFERENT country. Get to see DIFFERENT perspectives. Get to see how other people place emphasis on things other than money, eg pride in work. Things/attributes which are sorely missing in this materialistic society.
You are not being a wet blanket, Ah Gong. =) Rather you are showing us the mentality most of us have here in Singapore, the one-sided thinking most of us have in this country, which is work to feed ourselves, etc etc.
I'm not saying that such mentality is bad. =) It is a practical one ingrained into us due to our uncertain past. However, there comes a time when you have to think whether is that all you want to do in your whole life, and if not, you have the CHOICE to CHOOSE. We have to take risks to do different things, so that we might know whether the way we do things now is the correct way or the only way. =)
hmm...that is indeed food for thought
thanks... 
*reconsiders plans*
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
Ya, we are not in this environment by choice, I agree. But we are rats and rats have legs don't they? So it's up to us little rats to decide whether we want to choose another environment or not.
I mean, even animals move around in search of better pastures. So why don't we?
given our confines, especially guys (NS Reservist and all), how far can we go? how long can we be gone?
unless you have no plans to return to this place that so many people are griping about, there is not that many green pastures out there at the moment
just look at the region right now, so much instability, so much political violence, how green can that be
also, coming from a family that provides only enough to see thru the day, not much savings to call your own, it will take a while before there is any thoughts of looking out for greener pastures
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
The majority of us chose the people who make the decisions about pay cuts, high costs, no rebates, etc, so the rest of us cannot complain, can we? Basically we get what we ask for.
Such political things should be in another thread, don't you think? =)
i agree, i was just replying to that comment on inflation
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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quote:
Originally posted by ahgong:
also, coming from a family that provides only enough to see thru the day, not much savings to call your own, it will take a while before there is any thoughts of looking out for greener pastures
I had the same thoughts too, that going to another pasture means that you have to have tons of money. But I did some background search, and found out that it is really not the case. =)
Some countries don't want money. They want your knowledge. So if you can offer them what they are lacking, you're in! And if you can't because you're doing something else, go to the country where you want to go for studies, and study the precise subject they require. I only know of one country which allows you to work for them after you graduate without much problems, but hey, it's up to you to find out more. =)
The Internet is a great source of information.
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Ultra Senior Member
Total Posts: 8890
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quote:
Originally posted by Lonewolf:
I had the same thoughts too, that going to another pasture means that you have to have tons of money. But I did some background search, and found out that it is really not the case. =)
Some countries don't want money. They want your knowledge. So if you can offer them what they are lacking, you're in! And if you can't because you're doing something else, go to the country where you want to go for studies, and study the precise subject they require. I only know of one country which allows you to work for them after you graduate without much problems, but hey, it's up to you to find out more. =)
The Internet is a great source of information.
pray tell which country is that? UK? doing technology?
now you got me curious
how bout some clues to where you find your info?
thank you thank you
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Senior Member
Total Posts: 150
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Ah....as usual Singaporeans want to be spoonfed. 
Well, you won't go wrong by visiting the government website of the country you want to go, then click onto the immigration department. =)
Ah....still find your nick funny and hard to get used to leh. Ah Gong. Like telling my grandfather what to do like that. =)
Cheerios!
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