Latest news with #ChenShaoChun
Independent Singapore
27-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Earning SG dollars, spending Thai bahts: S'poreans cheer the man who ‘games the system' by living in Thailand but flies to SG once a week for work while enjoying a luxurious lifestyle
SINGAPORE: To some in Singapore, Chen Shao Chun may just be a modern-day example of living one's best life. While the 39-year-old adjunct lecturer from the National University of Singapore (NUS) lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand, he flies over to the Little Red Dot once a week to show up for the students of his digital marketing class. Unbelievably, what he earns from that three-hour class is enough to support him and his wife, although his circumstances are probably very different from yours and mine. The former Google employee was featured in a CNBC piece earlier this month and has since gained a lot of attention. Mr Chen, 39, earns S$2,000 to S$4,000 monthly at his teaching gig. However, he also has a seven-figure portfolio of a cool US$2.6 million, which means he could afford to give up working full-time, which he did after getting laid off last year. 'I've been working for the last 14 years of my life, and because of the layoff, I was forced to take a break. It was very devastating, it was a huge blow to my ego, my identity, but it turns out, with time … it sort of mandated me to think [about] what I really wanted in life,' he told CNBC. See also Maid receives S$3.66M inheritance from her employer In addition to teaching, he has a side business as a coach and can charge clients as much as US$500 (S$645) per hour. His content on YouTube is yet another source of income. 'I'm gaming the system,' he said. He is also enjoying a more relaxed pace of life these days, being able to prepare breakfast for his wife, for example, instead of always being in a rush. Whereas when they lived in Singapore, they paid S$2,450 for their two-bedroom condominium, now they pay S$450 for a brand new one-bedroom condo, which is more luxurious, with several pools and a Pilates studio. The couple spends around S$400 a month on food and S$200 on transportation, and his weekly flight to Singapore costs around S$250 per round trip. While he's satisfied with life at the moment, he's also open to moving back to Singapore if the right opportunity arises. For some netizens, Mr Chen appears to be living the dream. 'Bro doesn't even need to come to Singapore to work for once a week, just chill and lepak there with his wife,' one Reddit user wrote. 'He may not have the job stability of a senior civil servant, but he sure is richer than any of them. Plus, all the money saved from free lunches. These things really add up,' another mused. 'He's happy. He isn't breaking the law. Inflation is happening by the second as we speak, so his 2.6 million portfolio is really not gonna be everlasting even if he makes passive income. If anything, he's gaming the last point to stretch his dollar by whatever benchmark is comfortable for him,' a commenter chimed in. Another summed it up succinctly: 'Bro worked with Google. Used his smarts to invest millions. Good for him.' /TISG Read also: Google employees track layoffs with circulating Google Doc as job cuts continue
AsiaOne
26-05-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
'I'm gaming the system': Singaporean moves to Thailand, flies back weekly for work to save costs, Singapore News
A Singaporean man made the unconventional choice to live in Thailand and fly back for work every week in order to save costs. Chen Shao Chun, an adjunct lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS), moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, with his wife in November last year, reported CNBC. The 39-year-old said he returns to Singapore to teach a three-hour-long digital marketing class at NUS once a week. He earns about $2,000 to $4,000 per month, which covers his travel, as well as his and his wife's living expenses in Thailand. "I'm gaming the system," Chen said. "Three hours of working in Singapore can sustain my entire expenditure in Thailand." He moved to Thailand after he was retrenched from Google and realised that he was financially independent and had the flexibility to change his life, he told CNBC. Thanks to his habit of living below his means and investing up to 50 per cent of his pay, Chen had built up a seven-figure investment portfolio, worth around $2.5 million. He calculated that he could safely withdraw $100,000 a year — inflation-adjusted — and still live comfortably for decades. "I've been working for the last 14 years of my life, and because of the layoff, I was forced to take a break," Chen said. "It was very devastating, it was a huge blow to my ego, my identity, but it turns out, with time ... it sort of mandated me to think (about) what I really wanted in life." Although Chen could live solely off his investments, he sees them as passive income, withdrawing money only when necessary. In addition to his job at NUS, Chen creates educational content on YouTube and has a coaching business — through which he can charge up to $650 an hour depending on the client. He spends only about four to eight hours working in a week, he told CNBC. He is also making use of "geographical arbitrage", which refers to earning in a strong currency while spending in a weaker one, by living in Thailand. "Find a way to improve your skill sets, or to reach a position where you can charge a high per-hour rate," Chen said. "If you combine a high per-hour rate with a low cost of living, you need to work only very few hours to cover your expenses." Chen also stated that digitalisation has enabled remote work, which has reduced the impact of high living costs typically associated with cities and high-paying jobs. Teaching job sustains luxurious lifestyle in Thailand Chen said that his lifestyle and quality of life have drastically improved since moving to Thailand. "(Here) I make breakfast for my wife, " he said, adding that previously, he did not have that privilege as he was just rushing. The condominium that he currently lives with his wife costs him around $580 a month. He said he was paying about $3,150 as rent for his condominium in Singapore, but the one in Chiang Mai is more luxurious. "It's a ridiculous condo," he said, adding that it has multiple pools, a water slide, a fully equipped gym, a huge co-working space and its own Pilates studio. Apart from rent, he spends around $385 on food and $650 on groceries every month, while his weekly round-trip flight to Singapore costs around $320. Chen admitted that not everyone can do what he does, and that the locals are not making as much as he is. But he pointed out that not all expats enjoy the way of life in Thailand as well. While local products are cheaper, international options — like wine from France — are actually more expensive. To combat this, Chen has made a conscious decision to "embrace the local culture" instead of trying to maintain the lifestyle he had in Singapore, he said. Chen added that while he misses the structure and predictability of corporate life, the benefits of his current arrangement outweigh the downsides. But he said he is open to returning to Singapore should the right opportunity come up. AsiaOne has reached out to Chen for more information. [[nid:716102]]
