thinking of the future

130807 mon
wah! just realised i havent blogged for months. how time flies. and how many things have happened. would update more often about what i learn, hehe.. somehow, most ppl around me do not think about their future. i mean DO NOT. weird huh. we might still b young, but some things r scary when you really take a look at it. just do some simple calculations:

let's say i plan to get a normal 4-room hdb. it shld cost ard $300,000 depending on the location. assuming tt i earn $2500 which is not bad alr, n i save a lot, abt $2000 a mth.

$300k/$2k/mth = 12.5 years.

if u think tt u onli need to start planning when u want a hse, do you think u can wait 12 yrs den? n tt's assuming that u save 2k/mth which is a lot. so say i decide to get a loan n interest rate is onli 4% n i intend to pay back in 30 yrs (so long rite? but let's see..)

$300,000 X 4% X 30 years = $360,000

final bill to the bank amts to $660,000!! y would i (or u) want to pay so much more, in fact interest more than the hse, to the bank?! but how many can afford a hse in cash?

now, with tt debt, i have to pay $660k/30 yrs/12 mths = $1833.3/mth

paying $1833/mth of debt for 30 yrs is too much! how to live a gd life like this? if i just shorten the loan: 20 yrs = $2250/mth or 10 yrs = $3500/mth

nw, if my pay is $2500, obviously i can onli choose a 30-yr debt.

$2500 (salary) - $1833 (mortage) = $667

$667 - $300 (utility bills) = $367

$367 - $200 (food & groceries) = $167

nw, with onli $167/mth left, how much of a life can i have? is retirement possible? sure, you can argue that i might have some cash to pay for the hse n so the loan is not so high or the bills r too much. but dun 4get tt most $$ would have been spent on wedding, renovation, furniture n there's oso other expenses like transport (or car), hobbies, vacations n tax. wat abt even a baby?! nt to mention tt the pay must b steady n not drop below $2500.

if we arent worrying nw, the worry would b 10X worse in future. start planning nw, n there'd still b hope.

2348. fear not that life will end; fear instead that life has not started.