See also CRBR estimates

During my q3sg years, I concluded and declared repeatedly that my wife and I can be realistically satisfied with SGD 3k/M non-work income. Perhaps 4-5k as a family of four? Perhaps a Level 5 ffree , as defined in 6 levels@ffree #American perspective

Now, during my hib19 phase, A major pillar of my carefree bliss is the fierce boycott to FOMO/kiasu, exclub, 上一个台阶, benchmark with the MDs, chasing the endless latency goal. I tell myself and my family that we don’t need even more money once we have enough nonwork income to support a certain level of lifestyle. So What burn rate is “good enough latency” for you? I guess this is between Level5 and 6 of ffree. This blogpost is more about barebones ffree something like Level 5.

Location is key, which determines affordability of housing, education, car ownership, hospitalization,,,, long-term (nursing) care,,,, rental demand,,,, inflation,,,, utility fees,,,,. These include some of the major concerns in every adult. I achieved my bare-bones ffree precisely because I have my answers to each concern. ( The early-retirement-extreme author also has answers to each item. )

I feel good but not conceited about my burn rate + savings rate. Also proud of my passive income. This is a constant wellspring/fountainhead of positive feeling. Hopefully no attachment.

I mention my ffree to many people and I start to feel positive about it, hopefully not losing my feet on the ground.

— covid19$$handout reflect`Realistic burn rate suggests as low as $1k/M family burn rate.

======== a few burn rate figures “just enough to be comfortable” for various individuals
— first, a U.S. figure: https://moneywise.com/a/the-7-stages-of-financial-independence says “Because lifestyles vary, a simple man can say that $20,000 is more than enough to cover everything he would need every year for the rest of his life, but another person may need $50,000 or $80,000 to cover their basic lifestyle needs and the occasional holiday abroad.”
— value-investing seminar “published” estimate: pre-retirement burn rate SGD 2k/M/head is considered decent for a typical Singaporean family, perhaps an HDB heartland family.

Instead of 2k/person, Aaron of DBS said 10k/M nonwork income would be comfortable for financial freedom. I feel this is one young man’s wild dream.
— Philip.Che once said if his family of four had SGD5k/M non-work income then his life would be comfortable and he would feel free to do something else.
In Dec 2021, Claris of HSBC said SGD 10k/M is a typical burn rate for a family of 4, echoed at Gabbar a few weeks later. I think such an “increment” is mostly driven by peer benchmark. Is it inflation? My basket cost grew 15-30% over 20Y.

— Similarly, at wife’s spending level, she told me SGD 4-5k excluding housing, major medical, college tuition and travel. As of Sep 2020 her answer was SGD 5k/M. I feel this quality of life is more than “bare-bones”. This quality of life is comparable to the amount my friend LZ recorded over 2019.

She wants freedom to spend any way she wants, without asking for approval.

I kind of believe I can be truly comfortable at, say, SGD4k/M burn rate (excluding housing + major medical + college tuition), but for her, the ‘comfortable’ level is possibly SGD8k/M.

However, what if the “peers” all make SGD20k a month? See %%bare-bones_ffree ^ envy+FOMO