What's your walk-away price?

[Kubes.SG]

This is possibly an interesting topic.  There was a book a few years ago call "The Number" (http://www.thenumberbook.com/thebook/).  Mrs Kubes and I recently engaged an AU financial adviser to determine what our number or price is.  He reckons we are there already, and one of the buckets is full.  Has presented a plan to get us to 8 figures over the next 10 years, which is far more than enough, but means we should keep working. 

I was actually quite surprised about the rankings on this list.

What's your walk-away price?

Nellie S. Huang
The Wall Street Journal
February 16, 2011 3:57PM

MONEY goals are subjective - one person's idea of a fortune could be another person's version of the poorhouse.

But how much would you need to walk away from a job and say, I have achieved enough? What’s your number?

The folks at Standard Chartered Priority Banking decided to ask. In a study with Scorpio Partnership, they posed the following question to 1792 wealthy people (1063 men and 729 women) in 10 Asian countries, including China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan: “Do you have an amount of money in mind that you will need to achieve your ambitions?”

Among the respondents, South Koreans had the loftiest target: $5.1 million, well ahead of the No. 2 Indians’ $4.3 million. (The full list appears below.) The average target number overall was $3.5 million.

Of course, this was an elite crew - according to the survey, the average annual income of respondents was $US120,000 ($120,000) and the average net worth $US1.3 million. The highest earners came from South Korea ($148,000 on average), but Hong Kong and India weren’t far behind, at $138,000 and $134,000, respectively.

South Korea (207 respondents): $5.1 million
India (211): $4.3 million
United Arab Emirates (92): $3.9 million
China (177): $3.7 million
Hong Kong (207): $3.5 million
Taiwan (190): $3.5 million
Malaysia (169): $3.3 million
Thailand (207): $3.2 million
Singapore (144): $3.2 million
Indonesia (173): $3 million

[Ambition]

I reckon S$10m at current prices would just about do it.  Only another 6 to go then.. damn

[kevinli]

I need US$10m

[interesting_question]

The number tends to go up in time, although down now again.

As we accumulate more money we tend to spend more and become accustomed to that. So then what we thought was going to be a lot of money seems like it is not quite enough. I used to think 1 US$ would be enough to lead a simple but comfortable life style assuming investments that kept up with inflation.

But that was 4 years ago. Now I think in terms of 5 US$ million, but my feeling about that number is the same as I remember I had about the lower number.

And the world has been so volatile in recent years that my perception of the risks has changed. What if inflation is unhedgeable, what if we experience government risks, what about hugely expensive medical expenses? Or even fraud? Or war...lots suppose you own a condo in Singapore (half your net worth perhaps) and something happens to this little resourceless dot with its less than friendly neighbours? And if you are say, 40, now, and this disaster occurs in 20 years time will you want to have to continue working at that age?

Anyway, now I don't really think 5 US$ million is quite enough, so my new number is 7 million. No doubt by the time I have 7 million I will have aquired a taste for driving Ferraris and I will changed my new number to 10 million and so on and so on.

In a way its a meaningless question as the goal posts will change over time. A more reasonable question might be to identify a desired annual income and ask how much is need now to ensure that is achievable in real terms over the rest of your life? Atleast then you can boil the uncertainties down to inflation and FX risks etc.

[K.E]

in 10 Asian countries, including China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan: “Do you have an amount of money in mind that you will need to achieve your ambitions?”

Why Japan is not listed? I was interested in it the most.

[Just don't pay]

The number tends to go up in time, although down now again.

As we accumulate more money we tend to spend more and become accustomed to that. So then what we thought was going to be a lot of money seems like it is not quite enough. I used to think 1 US$ would be enough to lead a simple but comfortable life style assuming investments that kept up with inflation.

But that was 4 years ago. Now I think in terms of 5 US$ million, but my feeling about that number is the same as I remember I had about the lower number.

And the world has been so volatile in recent years that my perception of the risks has changed. What if inflation is unhedgeable, what if we experience government risks, what about hugely expensive medical expenses? Or even fraud? Or war...lots suppose you own a condo in Singapore (half your net worth perhaps) and something happens to this little resourceless dot with its less than friendly neighbours? And if you are say, 40, now, and this disaster occurs in 20 years time will you want to have to continue working at that age?

Anyway, now I don't really think 5 US$ million is quite enough, so my new number is 7 million. No doubt by the time I have 7 million I will have aquired a taste for driving Ferraris and I will changed my new number to 10 million and so on and so on.

In a way its a meaningless question as the goal posts will change over time. A more reasonable question might be to identify a desired annual income and ask how much is need now to ensure that is achievable in real terms over the rest of your life? Atleast then you can boil the uncertainties down to inflation and FX risks etc.

attention to the advertisers and sublime marketing and you will be okay with a lower number, me think.

[Kubes.SG]

in 10 Asian countries, including China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan: “Do you have an amount of money in mind that you will need to achieve your ambitions?”

Why Japan is not listed? I was interested in it the most.

Weird - the list includes UAE as one of the 10 Asian countries and not Japan.  Methinks she swapped Japan for UAE, and it is #3 on the list.

[buckets' full]

Mrs Kubes and I recently engaged an AU financial adviser to determine what our number or price is.  He reckons we are there already, and one of the buckets is full.  Has presented a plan to get us to 8 figures over the next 10 years, which is far more than enough, but means we should keep working. 

Kubes - let's have a deal. Why don't I pay you US$10 million now and you vamoose from this hell hole?

[In Indonesia]

people there need $3 million? What kind of a report is this?

[p p parity]

people there need $3 million? What kind of a report is this?

Must be a typo error - should be 3 million Rupiah.

[To Kubes]

" Mrs Kubes and I recently engaged an AU financial adviser to determine what our number or price is.  He reckons we are there already, and one of the buckets is full.  Has presented a plan to get us to 8 figures over the next 10 years, which is far more than enough, but means we should keep working". 

You work all your life and you only has one bucket full?

You are slow, the problem lies in your doom, gloom, prices is high and will fall, Singapore is a low productivity hell hole mentality. To do better, you need to change your perspective.

Singapore is booming
It has a bright future run by good quality people
The price of assets will go higher with the growing number of talents
Singaporeans are hardworking and are a very productive bunch

Now go leverage the content in your only bucket and buy Singapore
properties. The advice by ambition is what you need. In no time (2 years) you will have several buckets. No need to wait for 10 years.

You lack ambition.

Remember, "Change your perspective and you will change your life". 

 

[Bill Gates]

Remember, money is never enough.

[dont have one]

Had enough money years ago and retired.

Got bored so started again.  Will pack up when kids fly the nest but for the moment it is because I want rather than need to.

[...So]

Most would walk away for about the same price as a landed Singapore property ?

[cmdsea]

my new number is 7 million. No doubt by the time I have 7 million I will have aquired a taste for driving Ferraris and I will changed my new number to 10 million and so on and so on. How very true...!!

Having already crossed a couple of my somewhat arbitary lines in the sand I have instead picked the age at which I want to stop working (55), what I'm going to do next (1yr boat trip around the eastern seaboard of the US... conveniently while my son does his NS and the Singapore army get to look after him for 2 years.. :-)and now have the goal of putting in place the resources to generate me the maxmimum monthly income I can by this date, rather than a fixed $ number I am trying to achieve..

I dislike insurance and pensions (a straightforward gamble on your lifespan between you and them.. and they have actuaries doing the math, once you are gone, so is your asset base),I dont understand shares, and hence rely on property as a means of achieveing my monthly income. I am a bottom feeder and prefer multiple cheaper properties to one or two trophy houses, this spreads the risk and usually the yields are better too. Far too many people make the mistake of buying properties they would want to live in themselves, rather than what is the best bang for buck in the rental market, I have 3 properties in Singapore, 3 in Australia, 4 in the UK and 4 in the US, all with loans maturing by the time I hit the golden 55 number.

Most importantly, once I'm gone, as a father I have something to leave