RETIRE a millionaire by the time you hit your 40s.

This is a dream for many which has become a reality for former student idol singer Gu Xing Yun.

The Singaporean told The New Paper that her assets are worth a seven-digit sum.

Asked how she amassed her wealth, she said unassumingly: “I’ve been working for a very long time you know.”

Since she was 16, to be exact.

Gu, who’s in her 40s, burst onto the music scene in 1980 when she was only a schoolgirl with the Chinese song Snail And Oriole.

It has now become a familiar children’s song.

She also sang the theme song to Zoe Tay’s debut drama My Fair Ladies in 1988.

She released 22 albums over 10 years in showbiz before moving to Hong Kong in the 1990s to be a full-time model and later, an interior designer.

She set up a business in 2002, but retired four years later.

“I saw a lot of returns and I could have earned more money had I stayed in the job.

“But it’s important to be contented...I was tired and wanted to spend my time playing golf,” Gu said.

She now spends her time equally between Hong Kong and Dongguan, China, where she plays golf.

She was back in Singapore last week to promote her charity concert on Oct 23 at the Rock Auditorium at Suntec City.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to the KK Regional Outreach to Kids Fund, set up by the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Gu told us most of her money is invested in stocks and funds.

She also dabbled in several properties in the region, earning at least a five-figure sum on each deal.

She now shuttles between rented apartments in Hong Kong and Dongguan.

Gu said she treats her stocks and property investments like she’s shopping for clothes.

“Don’t be anxious. Wait for the sales. The prices won’t go up all the time. You have to enter at a low price if you want to have more earnings,” she said.

“You also have to do your homework and know the previous highest and lowest prices for that investment. If you want to, you can buy a little bit at a time.”

The one property market she never ventured into was China, though she conceded that she sees a lot of potential there.

She added that as the country is so big and there are so many new property developments, the returns on the resale property market may not be as high as one expects.

Though she can happily hang up the mic and live out the rest of her years in comfort, Gu said she never planned for an early retirement.

Simple life now
She said she was a spendthrift up to her 30s.

Her clothes cost $600 a piece and she also bought 10 expensive watches that cost tens of thousands of dollars each.

She insisted that her life now is quite simple.

She doesn’t go for branded items and her clothes cost $6 a piece.

Her last holiday was two years ago, in Japan.

She said being surrounded by nature when she played golf mellowed her and brought her back down to earth.

“If I don’t spend my money wastefully, I have enough to live till I’m in my 80s or 90s. I have my investments so I have money for the future,” she told us.

“I will save my money but I won’t scrimp. It was hard earning it and I want to reward myself.

This article was first published in The New Paper.