See also [17]U.S.burn rate now n after #Gerald
“Well off” is a vague term. “Carefree ezlife” is slightly less vague. This blogpost is focused on their intersection.
In several blogposts, I have highlighted the high maintenance when living in U.S. , which disrupts my carefree ezlife. I have also highlighted the additional costs such as Melvin3.
Q: is there any hope of feeling well-off as I now feel in Singapore?
A: yes, though much smaller than in SG.
First, the key ingredients of my well-off life in Singapore:
- brbr
- job (and salary) security
- no strain due to long commute.. Such a strain makes me feel impoverished
- very cheap medbx
- no mtg, negligible pTax
- no car needed
- wife can afford to stay home and take care of kids’ studies etc
- ? no private tuition at the moment .. a small factor
- ? rental income ? no effect on my life now
Q: how could I realistically become well-off in the U.S. ?
A: would take a lot of effort, accumulation, from now
- #1) We need to accept (tough!) a more minimalist lifestyle than my cohort and Aim at a burn rate 10% lower. Remember they have much higher household income. Resist FOMO and lifestyle creep, just like in Singapore.
- initially no car. Then buy a modest (but safe) car and use it less than U.S. families.
- initially buy medbx for wife+kids. Later can include me on a cheap medbx with high deductible + coinsurance
- reduce restaurant visits
- work hard and slowly on the 43R model, rather than raising my salary. If I remain in-demand, then my salary would be reasonable. Marginal gain in salary requires extraordinary marginal effort.
- rEstate is one domain where U.S. offers advantages over SG, and may present the best route to ffree
- pay high pTax only on rental property
- 2FH
- buy multiple rental prop and manage as a business
- initially, buy family home in a low-cost but safe location like Bayonne
- avoid overseas vacations. U.S. + Canada + Mexico offer plenty of choices.
- one of the new strategies is the war chest .. section below
— war chest .. build up a much bigger war chest than I need in Singapore. This is the definition of war chest. This is also a battery that can store excess solar energy. These “batteries” are also war chests, but not all financial.
Analog: covid19 required Singapore government to massively strengthen its pandemic capacity. SG gov past reserve is a classic war chest