35 and flat broke!

[Icedbs]

Yalor, a lot of people think that platinum card is tops.

Some even have that hao lian face when they flash their platinum card.

 

Nowsaday, every Tom, Dick and Harry bank invite any Mary, Susan and Jane to apply for a platinum card, sometimes even "upgrading" them.

 

For Amex, they too have the platinum.

But the Amex Centurion Gold Charter is their number one, tops card!

Truly BY INVITATION ONLY!!!

 

Before Centurion, get the Platinum Reserve first,

 

Also not easy to get.

 

[Hydrocarbon]

I don't blame the people for getting "sandwiched" and to overspend , i blame the garmen for the loose credit they allow and their "recession and inflation" proof pay structure to ignore what happens to more than 50% of its people.

 

I wholeheartedly disagree.

 

If you make 10k a month, spend 5, or 8, or even 10. Not 12 or 15K. Same if you make 3K a month, spend 1.5, or 2 or 3, not 3.5 or 5 or 7k. (all after CPF and what not). Getting oneself into debt (barring medical or emergency type situations), and STILL spending the same amount so as not to lose face? Those are the idiots.

 

Blaming the government for deregulation of some of the credit is like me blaming the spoon for making me fat, chubby, whatever.

 

Learn to take responsibility for one self, and not blame the government, blame society, blame boss, blame colleagues, blame sky, blame earth, you get my drift, hopefully.

[Ahseng]

The occupations of the people in the article makes me wanna laugh. Accounts exec? Lawyers?

 

C'mon man these ppl shud have brains right?

[Kar_lover]

The occupations of the people in the article makes me wanna laugh. Accounts exec? Lawyers?

 

C'mon man these ppl shud have brains right?

 

Haven't you seen smart people do stupid things before? They know they shouldn't but the desire overcomes the logic....

[OmOm]

It takes two hands to clap.

 

Both the individual and the government are responsible for the present situation.

 

The individual has personal responsibility to manage his own finances and abstain from overspending, be aware of financial cause-and-effect.

 

The government has moral responsibility to ensure frameworks (financial, social, etc) that are set in place benefit the people holistically both in the short-term and for the far-ahead future.

 

The two hands need to work together to create a positive situation - the individual realising the damage that his own extravagance can cause to himself and then carrying out the necessary steps to correct his own behaviour, and the government understanding how crucial their policies are in shaping the mindsets and mentalities of the people in the long-term and then basing the creation of life-shaping policies based on the principles of compassion for the man-in-the-street instead of pure economic advantages.

 

 

lol , debt is common in a "developed" country due to loose credit and lesser opportunities as we turn from a producing country to one which consumes more than what can produce economically.

 

In short , without foreign investments and tourism income we can only turn to personal consumption to carry on with our gdp.

 

I don't blame the people for getting "sandwiched" and to overspend , i blame the garmen for the loose credit they allow and their "recession and inflation" proof pay structure to ignore what happens to more than 50% of its people. As long as idoits continue to vote for them , they will continue Importing more people into singapore doesn't solve the problem , changing the structure to enable family building should be their priority , the easy way out for them is to import but it doesn't solve the quality issue , neither the social issues.

 

Day or shine , whether if they did a good job , they continue to "reward" themselves for a job well done. This is my complements to you o0o.

 

[Heartbreakid]

From this article, it's all sum up to show that these bunch of people simply lack of discipline and future planning. In another words, spoilt adults.

[Thaiyotakamli]

No wonder financial planning workshops still got many people attend one

[Myxilplix]

Personally, I think some form of financial education (how banks/credit/interest works, credit cards and debt, etc) should be included in our school system. Maybe in JC/Poly/ITE or even upper secondary levels. Call it real-world education, no need to sit for test also can.

 

Whilst it might not stop people from getting mired in this kind of debt, at least everyone will have their eyes opened a little more.

 

I also think everyone should get an introduction to the basics of advertising to better equip themselves against all the advertising/marketing being thrown at them everywhere they go.

[OmOm]

You have my support on this. Financial knowledge and discipline are critical skills today.

 

About two years ago I met a young enterprising lady called Audrey who established a business that focuses on teaching the young financial management skills. Together with her equally young and equally enthusiastic business partner, they went about creating platforms that allow kids to learn the basics of managing money.

 

Today they have managed to convince banks such as OCBC to work with them to bring financial literacy in the young to a higher level through their platforms.

 

Their interest and passion in driving this arise from not only the commercial potential but also the fact that they personally feel strongly for the young to become well-versed in managing monetary investments and other finance-related aspects of their lives.

 

The government would do well to recognise that there are such passionate entrepreneurs who are working hard to fill in the gaps in mainstream education, and perhaps lend them some support to help propagate amongst the populace the important message of financial wisdom.

 

 

Personally, I think some form of financial education (how banks/credit/interest works, credit cards and debt, etc) should be included in our school system. Maybe in JC/Poly/ITE or even upper secondary levels. Call it real-world education, no need to sit for test also can.

 

Whilst it might not stop people from getting mired in this kind of debt, at least everyone will have their eyes opened a little more.

 

I also think everyone should get an introduction to the basics of advertising to better equip themselves against all the advertising/marketing being thrown at them everywhere they go.

 

[CH_CO]

 

I wholeheartedly disagree.

 

If you make 10k a month, spend 5, or 8, or even 10. Not 12 or 15K. Same if you make 3K a month, spend 1.5, or 2 or 3, not 3.5 or 5 or 7k. (all after CPF and what not). Getting oneself into debt (barring medical or emergency type situations), and STILL spending the same amount so as not to lose face? Those are the idiots.

 

Blaming the government for deregulation of some of the credit is like me blaming the spoon for making me fat, chubby, whatever.

 

Learn to take responsibility for one self, and not blame the government, blame society, blame boss, blame colleagues, blame sky, blame earth, you get my drift, hopefully.

Cool, Now let's look it in another way, giving loose credit to the people ill advised is akin to sweets to children,I would challenge anyone to giving candy and expecting children control themselves taking candy. Without parent (garmen) to regulate, would they stop? Or will they continue til eventually have tooth decay and eventually the painful experience? Of course tooth decay don't occur over night similar to credit problems.

 

Now another thing, the increased expenditure is also linked to a higher cost of living via various taxes like a higher coe to goods vehicles and higher rentals this will in turn increase the cost of living of the lower income and thus they will attempt to turn to loose credit to cover their deficits in expenditures. These people I talk about are people earning 3-4k and merely trying to live in proper means. Many of these people cannot even afford insurance and should some mishaps happen, they are the ones likely to be sandwiched.

 

That said, I do not support loose spenting but it is a chicken and egg ，without loose credit how one have a chance to overspent?

[OmOm]

The loose credit available today is not simply a function of local government measures. Singapore is connected to the world's financial markets. Overly protective regulations would chase global banks away to less restrictive countries.

 

We also need to recognise that credit is a tool. Its effectiveness and use depends heavily on the user.

 

Do we draw a line and treat all adults as incapable of managing credit? If not, how do we draw the line? There need to be parameters which determine who gets access to the credit.

 

I agree with you that loose credit leads to over-consumption issues. The question would be how to control the loose credit situation that comes as a result of global forces (huge liquidity arising from stimulus programs by the central banks of the world).

 

How would you rein in the loose credit situation and set the parameters if you were the policy-maker? How would you draw the line between the ones who are allowed access to credit and those who are not?

 

 

Cool, Now let's look it in another way, giving loose credit to the people ill advised is akin to sweets to children,I would challenge anyone to giving candy and expecting children control themselves taking candy. Without parent (garmen) to regulate, would they stop? Or will they continue til eventually have tooth decay and eventually the painful experience? Of course tooth decay don't occur over night similar to credit problems.

Now another thing, the increased expenditure is also linked to a higher cost of living via various taxes like a higher coe to goods vehicles and higher rentals this will in turn increase the cost of living of the lower income and thus they will attempt to turn to loose credit to cover their deficits in expenditures. These people I talk about are people earning 3-4k and merely trying to live in proper means. Many of these people cannot even afford insurance and should some mishaps happen, they are the ones likely to be sandwiched.

That said, I do not support loose spenting but it is a chicken and egg ，without loose credit how one have a chance to overspent?

 

[Hydrocarbon]

Cool, Now let's look it in another way, giving loose credit to the people ill advised is akin to sweets to children,I would challenge anyone to giving candy and expecting children control themselves taking candy. Without parent (garmen) to regulate, would they stop? Or will they continue til eventually have tooth decay and eventually the painful experience? Of course tooth decay don't occur over night similar to credit problems.

 

Now another thing, the increased expenditure is also linked to a higher cost of living via various taxes like a higher coe to goods vehicles and higher rentals this will in turn increase the cost of living of the lower income and thus they will attempt to turn to loose credit to cover their deficits in expenditures. These people I talk about are people earning 3-4k and merely trying to live in proper means. Many of these people cannot even afford insurance and should some mishaps happen, they are the ones likely to be sandwiched.

 

That said, I do not support loose spenting but it is a chicken and egg ，without loose credit how one have a chance to overspent?

 

Wrong. None of those interviewed are children. They are adults. If they children and cannot take care of themselves, how are they supposed to perform other vital functions to society? At what age does personal responsibility comes in? 50? 70?

 

So, if a girl wears sexy clothes, and a guy is turned on, does it mean he automatically molests / rapes her and say that he cannot control himself and tries to slink his way out of jail?

 

Leaving aside the low income, those who were interviewed in the article were earning a decent LIVING salary or more. The two lawyers earning 17K a month going into 6 figure debt over a wedding, they are financially stupid. Don't blame the government for their stupidity. Even the lady earning 4K a month is earning a decent living salary. Rent for a 1 room in HDB would be $800 (a little on the high side), and other expenditure would run to $2K a month (HP, bills, insurance, food, transport) and she would still have $400 to do as she please. These people are financial idiots, don't blame anyone else for their stupidity.

 

We've learn to take responsibility for what we do.

[CH_CO]

 

Wrong. None of those interviewed are children. They are adults. If they children and cannot take care of themselves, how are they supposed to perform other vital functions to society? At what age does personal responsibility comes in? 50? 70?

 

So, if a girl wears sexy clothes, and a guy is turned on, does it mean he automatically molests / rapes her and say that he cannot control himself and tries to slink his way out of jail?

 

Leaving aside the low income, those who were interviewed in the article were earning a decent LIVING salary or more. The two lawyers earning 17K a month going into 6 figure debt over a wedding, they are financially stupid. Don't blame the government for their stupidity. Even the lady earning 4K a month is earning a decent living salary. Rent for a 1 room in HDB would be $800 (a little on the high side), and other expenditure would run to $2K a month (HP, bills, insurance, food, transport) and she would still have $400 to do as she please. These people are financial idiots, don't blame anyone else for their stupidity.

 

We've learn to take responsibility for what we do.

Now you mentioned that those in debt aren't children but those mentioned in the above aren't financially adept to handle debt , since young we have being "educated" that we shouldn't "eat" too much sweets but the current generation especially people in the latter stage of gen x aren't taught financial prudence as they grew up in the age where Singapore had the highest growth and they had not experienced any hardship thus the lack of education financially.

 

Those mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg and are likely to be only extremes , there are plenty other examples where I see all the time , so saying we should learn to take responsibility is a cheap way of doing , when it is your turn appearing in my office , please remember those words you said .

 

I can easily quote examples here , I believe most of the people here are raking loans on their cars and homes but how many here can guarantee me that they are able to repay their loans should they experience mishap ? Ranging from accidents to illness , once they lose their jobs , how many can tell me they have enough to last themselves for the rest of their lives ? Unless the fellows here say they can do it , else they aren't any different from those mentioned in the articles , just only you have yet to reach that stage doesn't mean they have the right to call others stupid. It is just a matter of time.

The loose credit available today is not simply a function of local government measures. Singapore is connected to the world's financial markets. Overly protective regulations would chase global banks away to less restrictive countries.

 

We also need to recognise that credit is a tool. Its effectiveness and use depends heavily on the user.

 

Do we draw a line and treat all adults as incapable of managing credit? If not, how do we draw the line? There need to be parameters which determine who gets access to the credit.

 

I agree with you that loose credit leads to over-consumption issues. The question would be how to control the loose credit situation that comes as a result of global forces (huge liquidity arising from stimulus programs by the central banks of the world).

 

How would you rein in the loose credit situation and set the parameters if you were the policy-maker? How would you draw the line between the ones who are allowed access to credit and those who are not?

 

 

 

Do you know exactly how much can one get if one is earning above 30k pa? He can easily get more than 2 years worth of salary by maxing all credit legally and more via illegal means , tell me , what difference is this akin to giving a kid a year supply of candy and expecting them to regulate themselves to consume them over a period of a year without any education.

 

Of course there will be children which will be able to control themselves , there are always ones which cannot. Ask yourselves , why do we need to pass laws to control littering and smoking , are all those people not capable to think and know it is wrong , yet people continue to do so? I don't see much differences, if people can't even do those simple things like that and need garmen to step in , I don't why not of things as complicated as loose credit and financial prudence.

 

The easiest way of limiting loose credit is to be transparent in the amount credit anyone takes up where credit cards share the same line of credit and at no time are there able spend anything above the given credit limits combined. Of course you can include other forms of credit as well. The problem is , are the banks willing to cut their income ? If so , their reduced income would mean you will need to pay higher fees to make use of bank facilities , end of day chicken and egg.

Edited March 19, 2014 by CH_CO

[Jman888]

Do you know exactly how much can one get if one is earning above 30k pa? He can easily get more than 2 years worth of salary by maxing all credit legally and more via illegal means , tell me , what difference is this akin to giving a kid a year supply of candy and expecting them to regulate themselves to consume them over a period of a year without any education.

 

Of course there will be children which will be able to control themselves , there are always ones which cannot. Ask yourselves , why do we need to pass laws to control littering and smoking , are all those people not capable to think? I don't see much differences.

 

 

i think i agree on this part, current one can get as many card as they want with 2-4x of his salary limit. Although you need to have self discipline on your own financial, the overall loose credit line could put the person into deep sh!t and it doesn't have to be over long period of time, just within 2 weeks if he wants to max out all his limit.

 

some time i wonder why there isn't a central credit bureau to oversee the total limit of an individual.

[Yrvsport]

There are more to come dude in future for those with 5C's with parential guardians concern....

[Solar]

 

 

i think i agree on this part, current one can get as many card as they want with 2-4x of his salary limit. Although you need to have self discipline on your own financial, the overall loose credit line could put the person into deep sh!t and it doesn't have to be over long period of time, just within 2 weeks if he wants to max out all his limit.

 

some time i wonder why there isn't a central credit bureau to oversee the total limit of an individual.

yes... keyword is discipline. Don't spend anything u cannot afford. Period.

Once I took up a credit card promo. I almost fell off my chair when I received it..Looking at the credit limit. 8x or 10x my monthly..I could literally buy a car with it.

That card has been in my drawer till expiry :-)

[Thaiyotakamli]

yes... keyword is discipline. Don't spend anything u cannot afford. Period.

Once I took up a credit card promo. I almost fell off my chair when I received it..Looking at the credit limit. 8x or 10x my monthly..I could literally buy a car with it.

That card has been in my drawer till expiry :-)

 

U should cancel off the credit card or u will be charged for annual fee in 2nd/3rd year.

 

My parent also 8X for stanchart, scary

Know many singles in their 30s or 40s still live with their parents, spend most of their $$$ on cars, holidays, electronic gadgets and very proud of it. But when you ask them about getting married or moving out, they complain everything too expensive.

Cos all these are not as expensive as a house

[Jamesc]

I can understand why they put the ladies age and financial situation

 

but why must they comment on their chest size?