7471
Shares / Re: African Bank
« on: May 19, 2014, 04:44:39 pm »
Your timing was great on this one jaDEB.
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7483
Shares / Re: When do you have enough?
« on: May 15, 2014, 11:14:02 am »Why not take your family with you and add to yours and their life experiences bucket together and build that stash even more if its an option so you're always close by to your son.I'd love to, but the posting is looking like it could be South Sudan/Kenya/Senegal or similar places. Out of the three Senegal is the only one I'd consider a good location for raising a family. South Sudan is a non-family post, and Nairobi is too high risk in terms of crime/terrorism for me to want to raise my child there...
The question as to what is enough is really what your needs and wants are, and the lifestyle you want to maintain.Always appreciate your views gcr. Sorry to hear about the loss of your father.
Let me relate 2 stories:- My father served in the war, had a regular job and worked until age 60 and retired 33 years ago. He always owned his own house and 8 years ago sold his house and moved to a retirement village in Somerset West. His pension of R 13,000 (rental R 8,700) on the face of it plus income from R 1.4 mill met their limited needs of shelter, and sustenance. However age caught up with them and 2 years ago their entire financial needs changed:- I had to employ care givers to look after them (R 10,000 per month) rent and food and utilities remained the same, pharmacy accounts ranged between R 500 and R 1,000 per month and medical costs over and above medical aid settlements another R 300 per month. Family made a decision to relocate parents to a frail care facility at an all inclusive cost of R 22,000 per month for both parents - medical and pharmacy costs didn't change nor did income from pension or investment returns.
Was/is my parent finances adequate - I don't really know, my father passed away last month and my Mom will now experience a 50% payout on my Dad's pension but her rental is 2.2 times this income, will she survive on her and my Dad's investments - yes I believe she will for the next 4 years.
Moving to the next scenario:-
My pension is more than R500,000 per annum and I have investments of + R 3.0 million, a living annuity that I drawn down the minimum 2.5 % p.a., a house fully paid for and 2 cars (paid off). do I think this is enough - absolutely not - I have absolutely no idea what medical costs will be when I am in my 80/90's (my family has a history of long levity), what major operations I might be subjected to (bypass surgery today is astronomical) and what care I may require in the future. It is senseless considering your house as an asset, it is merely a bargaining chip for where you ultimately decide to rest your bones. So my sense is that I probably need to double or even triple my investments by the time I reach 80 which is in 13 years time.
So wealth is directly related to the lifestyle you want to live versus your needs and medical costs, and the type of medical/health care that you may require in the future - which is unpredictable. A simple experience like a stroke can change your life and circumstance dramatically.
So sit in a chair in a quiet corner of your lounge and ponder all the medical option that can befall you and then decide what is enough to sustain you
A reality check is always refreshing
Old age medical is a complete unknown. Most likely if I took the time off now I'd consider keeping myself employed in some way or another. I like feeling productive, and would always rather live on income than assets. Most likely in a fixed and retirement fund contributing capacity at some point in the future. I must say though, if I had your financial situation it would be a no brainer for me, but we are all different!
Just FYI, there is still a chance I get to stay in SA, but to quote the boss, I need to "sing for my supper"! It's really an odd situation, I've had one of my most impressive years. Travelled to 7 countries and impressed the hell out of everyone. All sorts of offers have come my way for the other countries, but my post in SA is likely to be taken by an outsider. Strange office rules means that foreigners outrank locals, and can displace them if the need arises.
