I don't like to talk about this CPF thingy as the headline pretty much sums up how I feel about it.
But now that there's an opportunity to poke both sides of the debate, how can I let it pass?
Here's my contribution to muddying the waters a little more!
Muddy waters
Look, if you can earn and save $100K per year, how is voluntarily making a $7K yearly CPF top-up (optimise tax relief) a bad thing?
OK, $100K is over-kill. How about $50K then?
You still have plenty set aside for opportunity and/or emergency funds. You win liao lor!
But if someone earns and saves $10K per year and make a monkey-see-monkey-do voluntary $7K CPF top-up, wait, what is that dumb-fxxx doing?
Ah! See? So easy to jump to conclusion...
What if that person is in his late 40s or early 50s, and has decades long track record of making losses in properties, equities, mutual funds, etc.
A Charlie Brown when it comes to investing. You still want to give advice against him topping up his CPF?
How about someone in his early 20s, haven't bought his first property yet, doing a transfer of his CPF ordinary account to special account?
Ah! Now you smarter!
Before opening your big mouth, you verify first the context and perspective.
Yup, this young person's daddy and mummy already invested in a 2nd rental investment property when he was a toddler. How's that for a 21st birthday gift? Song bo?
Do you still have the urge to give advice to people better off than you?
Brush up on your Literature
Still remember your Sec 1 and 2 literature classes?
You know what's more fun than figuring who's arguments are more correct or wrong?
It's to analyse and study - who said what - like characters in a play or storybook.
You may identify who are climbing up the mountain, who are coming down; who are speaking from land owner/shepherd/sheep perspectives; who have holes in their hearts; who have an axe to grind; who sees the world through rose-tinted glasses; who have blinkers on; etc...
I find reading people infinitely more interesting!
P.S. Isn't the markets about people? Sentiments and emotions?
Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!
