Investing in D.R.I.Ps

Lately, I have been contemplating in investing in D.R.I.Ps of companies such as Wall Mart, MCD, Exxon Mobil etc etc.

However I am wondering if one can do so from Singapore. Will opening a USD stock trading account allow me to do that?

Ithink I need to research more on this.

Early retirement: AT 35

Fancy retiring at age 35?

This is a guest post I read over at http://earlyretirementextreme.com/when-to-retire-try-age-35.html

This is an informative blog which details how the writer working as a researcher was able to retire at a young age by saving 75% of his income. He has since retired and has 25 years of living expenses stocked up. Imagine a 25 year worth of emergency savings.

This blog has other posts and plans by guest bloggers on their on-going plans to retire early.

Really worth checking out if this is one of your plans to retire early.

Buying a house

Recently I have been contemplating buying a HDB 3-rm versus a 4-rm flat due to the new changes.

• Property tax for owner occupied 3-room flats have been reduced to almost $0 as compared to a 4-room flat. Details can be found at http://www.iras.gov.sg/irasHome/page.aspx?id=11166.
• Subsides are also higher if you qualify to purchase a 3-room flat.
• Conservancy charges may be less depending on the neighborhood.
• Price per square feet is also comparably lower as compared to 4-room flats if you factor in all the related costs.

I am really not sure if there are some things I have missed out such as potential as an investment property 5 years later, rental yield etc etc. So still contemplating this plan.

Any readers have any suggestions or comments?