Creating wealth isn't about luck or inheriting a fortune—it's about cultivating habits that lead to financial success. According to Malik S. Lee, a seasoned financial planner with 15 years of experience advising affluent clients, the wealthiest individuals share three key habits that have significantly contributed to their financial freedom. Here’s how you can emulate these practices to create your own path to wealth: Prioritize Savings as Your Biggest Expense Contrary to the common portrayal of the wealthy flaunting lavish lifestyles with luxury cars and grand mansions, their most significant annual expense is often their savings. Lee highlights that his most successful clients consistently save at least 25% of their total income each year. While most financial advisors recommend saving

I believe the 4% rule offers a straightforward and effective framework for setting investment goals. However, it's essential to remember that personal circumstances and market conditions can vary. Hence, it’s crucial to revisit and adjust the plan regularly to ensure it remains aligned with your financial objectives and life changes. How’s My Investment Goal Going? Personally, my investment journey is ongoing, with a keen focus on building a diversified portfolio that can generate steady returns. I regularly reassessing my goals against the backdrop of the 4% rule. The “4% rule” is merely a guideline that setting a goal to accumulate assets that are at least 25 times your estimated annual living expenses. However, wealth freedom starts with a plan, and the golden rule applies are: 'the ea

FIRE- Financially Independent, Retire Early- used to be my goal when I was younger. I wondered very early on in my life, "How can 20% of my salary be able to pay for 100% of my 20-30 years of retirement life with inflation and all?" My answer to that was FIRE. I worked very hard and I saved a lot, so much so that I ate one meal a day and slept about 4 hours daily. I took it to the extreme. Now, about 10 years later, I realize the toil it has taken on my body and mind. I am paying for that now. It didn't go very well either, there were times when I had high ticket impulse purchases from all the curbing of purchases that were always followed by regrets and guilt about how that could have went towards maybe $2 in interest in a year (We had low interest rates last time.) I lost friends because

*Do I use the 4% rule to set investment goal?* Let's say I want to retire in 20 years time, so... To save $3,000,000 in 20 years, i would need to save: - $150,000 per year (simple calculation) - $75,000 - $90,000 per year (assuming 7% annual return and 2% inflation) - $6,250 - $7,500 per month (assuming 7% annual return and 2% inflation) To achieve $150,000 a year in I may need: - A portfolio size of $2.5 million to $5 million, depending on the dividend yield or interest rates. - An average annual return of 6% to 8% on your investments. - A combination of stocks, bonds, and other assets to generate passive income. Where to find a portfolio size of $2.5 mil to $5 mil?!

The pursuit of Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) has become a popular goal for many. However, as with any investment journey, there are significant pitfalls to avoid. Seasoned investors emphasize the importance of adhering to three critical "don'ts" to safeguard your wealth and foster a sound money mindset. 1. Don’t Entrust Your Wealth Lightly Building wealth is challenging, but losing it can be all too easy. Blind trust is a major factor in rapid financial loss. Benjamin Graham, the "father of value investing," advised decades ago: never let anyone manage your business unless you can thoroughly monitor and understand their actions, or you have strong reasons to trust their character and abilities. Many who have lost money in financial products failed to heed this advice—they ne

FIRE... Hard to reach especially everything going up and increments, bonuses cannot cover... Life in the fast lane... Life like that... [Doubt]  [Doubt]  [Doubt]  tell me why why why [Drowsy]  [Drowsy]  [Drowsy]   sometimes, you can plan all you want and then poof... life turns you upside down and inside out... most months always have something coming up and need to fork out more [Allin]  [Allin]  [Allin]  for either this or that [Facepalm]  [Facepalm]  [Facepalm]  money no enough [Facepalm]  [Facepalm]  [Facepalm]  how to plan like that [Glance]  [Smug]  [Thinking]  [Victory]  [Helpless] 

Replying to @MHh: @Fenger1188 @Success88 @AliceSam @HelenJanet @SPOT_ON @Universe宇宙 @Kaixiang @DiAngel @rL @SR050321 come join //@MHh</

🔥🪭💰Fanning the Flames of Freedom: A Fiery Quest for Financial Independence 💰🪭🔥 Picture this: I'm lounging on a beach, sipping a Piña Colada🍹, and my biggest worry is whether to take a nap now or in ten minutes. That's the dream, right? FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) is the sizzling trend everyone's talking about, and I'm ready to fan those flames into a full-blown inferno of freedom. Is FIRE my goal? Absolutely! Who wouldn't want to escape the 9-to-5 grind for a life where I can finally immerse myself in my interests like tracing my ancestry, mastering the art of face reading like a seasoned psychic, dominating the stock market like a Wall Street wizard, and stay perpetually informed like a caffeine-fuelled journalist? Imagine having the time to enter every Tiger competition,

sometimes, you can plan all you want and then poof... life turns you upside down and inside out... most months always have something coming up and need to fork out more [Allin] [Allin] [Allin] for either this or that [Facepalm] [Facepalm] [Facepalm] money no enough [Facepalm] [Facepalm] [Facepalm] how to plan like that [Glance] [Smug] [Thinking] [Victory] [Helpless] @rL @LMSunshine @koolgal @GoodLife99 @Universe宇宙 @Shyon

The 4% is the commonly cited percentage of one wants to live off without significant capital depreciation and accounting for inflation. But I do not go by this. I try to amass as much as possible and I am prepared to scale down my lifestyle if necessary. The other option is also to get stocks that pay good dividends or getting a property to get rental income. Getting a property is of course a high entry barrier so that will take more time. The latter two options mean that I don’t have to try to get so much capital to account for this 4-6%.

This is the first time in my life of hearing this 4% rule. First things first most of us are not individuals by the time we all retire. We are either married or still have children that are not fully independent. It's not that easy as you have to factor in a lot of assumptions and situations. If only life was that simple. As you age you might even spend less as you start to slow down as you get older. What you spend today or now is not the same 5 or 10 years down the road when you are 50, 60 or 70 years old. How you wish life was that simple man.

🔥🔥 Totally agree with FIRE — Financial Independence, Retire Early as my goal. Start growing wealth early. Build a portfolio large enough to sustain spending with inflation- adjusted withdrawals equal to 4% of the portfolio's initial value—the so-called 4% rule or any other percentage depending on the rate of inflation. Basically it is all about ‘earn more, save more, and invest more’. 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

I don’t use 4% rule to set my investment goal. Instead this year I set a KPI of SG dividends of $24K. I did a rough estimate and I need another 3 counters to achieve my KPI. As some counters were either purchased last month or this month, hence I have missed 1st half dividends. Anyway, I m planning for next year [Happy][Smile][LOL][Chuckle][love you]

I am more interested in using my annual expenses instead of 12 x monthly as expenses can vary in different months. Also, i am more keen to develop passive income thar exceeds basic necessities for now. What do you think? [Grin]

for me, the % is just a visual cue. we are visual orientated and its easier to work with a number in mind. The 4% rule is great that because it is simple!  knowing i aim to withdraw 4% of my savings each year, I can plan ahead with flexibility to adjust based on market changes and my personal needs [Miser]