One Thing I Enjoy Doing

What would you do if you attain financial freedom?

One thing I would surely do.....Complete my Singapore Mint Stamp Collection =)

I enjoy collecting stamps. Mint stamps to be exact. It is a costly hobby and so I have stopped buying stamps online for a while already. I used to buy stamps regularly through Ebay.

Hoping to revive this hobby of mine once I have spare cash. Wanted to buy this set of stamps last year but forgot to do so.

Earn $1000 a month Working from Home

Look at this website:
(afternote 05 May 09: Pls look at the website below at your own RISK. I have been informed by someone that there is a trojan horse in the webpage)
http://www.simplyrich-sg.com/yfs


It shows how a woman (named Irene Lim) in Singapore actually makes loads of money by working from home. I am not too sure how true it is but if she can make so much money , why can't I?

From what I gather, she most probably is selling some stuff using Clickbank or something. It sure doesn't seem like Google's Adsense.

Wonder whether any readers out there have ever signed up for any similar stuff that teaches you how to make money online?

Her testimonial is pasted below as follows:

Dear Friends,

Spare me a few minutes to read my story below, you have my word that it is the
honest Truth and your worries about money could be a thing of the past.

My name is Irene Lim. I am from Singapore. Just a housewife married with 2 kids.
Just like you, I chanced upon a site just like this, claiming to enable me to earn
thousands and thousands a month. To tell you the honest truth, I said to myself
"This can't be real". But being desperate for a stable income to help my husband
support the family and provide a good life for the kids, I read on and became
more and more convinced by the words and information laid out by the author.

As a housewife, I did not work and had very little knowledge about the Internet,
all I knew was how to play some games my daughter showed me and emailed
between old friends. I never imagined that making money online was even
possible. But with very much joy and gratefulness, I can honestly say that I did it!

Read on to find out how I did it!

Now I even make money while I am fast asleep. Secrets Book: Secrets of
Earning Online allowed me to have abundant time to enjoy my life. As you
know, you only Live once and there are some chances worth taking if you want to
be successful. As for the chance I took, I gave lead me to where I am today. Free
of all money worries with my leap of faith.

If a housewife auntie like me can achieve it, so can you. Do you want to throw
away your "money worries", The thought of not being able to afford nice clothes,
good meals for the children or perhaps not being able to provide your parents
and in-laws. I'm sure you would strongly agree with me on this.

Below is my Clickbank account for the Updated Every 2 Weeks. Every cent is
earned with the Secrets of Earning Online. All the amount is in American (USD)
dollars and the cheque is mailed to my home every 2 weeks. I just bank them
into my Singapore POSB savings account. I even scanned the cheque that I
receive every 2 weeks as proof for all of you to see. Be reminded that all I have
is an "O" level cert with less then 5 credits. All I did to earn more then $10,000
in 2 weeks is follow the step-by-step instructions of the Secrets Book system. See
Below For Proof

Reconfiguring My Portfolio

Have been quite free lately so I am a bit more active in managing my portfolio.

Just bought 1000 shares of ST Eng@$2.53. They have been paying out good dividends so I will be using the money I earned from NOL to enter into this dividend paying stock. I believe they go XD later this month with close to 12 cents in dividends!

Also looking forward to receive my 5 cents a share dividends from Innotec. I currently own around 15000 shares which i bought some time back.

I also transferred a large majority of my AIA Investment Linked Plan from the Regional Fixed Income Fund to the Greater China Equity Fund. I cannot time the bottom of the market buy I guess China is always the way to go.

Back in the good old days of 2004 to 2007, the China fund was up above $2. Entering into it now at close to $1.60, I feel prepared to weather the stormy seas again with China! The last time I exited the china fund was when it was way above $2. So i guess anything below $2 is a steal and a bar

Top Ten Money Saving Tips For Financial Freedom

Here are my 10 Money Saving Tips for one to gain financial freedom. Saving money is part and parcel of the process towards financial freedom. Every penny saved is a penny earned.

Imagine the effect of compounding if you were able to save $100 a month and invest it in an instrument that gives you 5% returns per annum. After 30 years, you would have a pretty cool sum of money.

So here you go. My own Top 10 Money Saving Tips:

1. Don't eat at fancy restaurants. If possible, eat at home. If not, just eat fast food. It is much cheaper than eating at a fancy restaurant. Don't upsize your meal. If you just want a burger, order a burger instead of adding a meal on top because it seems like value for money to pay an extra dollar to have a large fries and drink.

2. Save electricity. Off all lights when not in use. Do not leave the heater on if you are not using it.

3. Cancel your global roaming. Most people have global roaming attached to their mobile phone plans. Cancel it if you are not going overseas.

4. Park at a cheaper carpark. Different carparks have different carparking rates. Choose the cheaper one and walk a little.

5. Read your news online. Don't buy newspapers everyday especially if you won't have the time to read it. Just read your news online.

6. Visit the Library. Don't spend money on books. Borrow books from the library.

7. Wash your own car. You save money on both petrol and the expensive car washing services provided by those petrol stations.

8. Pump a cheaper grade of petrol. The grade of petrol should not make much of a difference. I always believe that it is psychological feeling that people get when they use a higher grade of petrol and think that their car responds better to it.

9. Don't buy magazines. You can read them online too! Just surf the net and I am pretty sure that you will come across various sites that gives you the information that you want totally free of charge.

10. Give Starbucks a miss. A Caffe latte probably cost you around $5. That is money that could easily buy you lunch or dinner. Skip Starbucks and make your very own coffee instead.

So there you have it. My own top 10 list for saving money.


Read Related Articles:
1. Save Electricity, Save Money
2. Retire Young, Retire Rich
3. 3 Key Lessons from Rich Dad Poor Dad
4. 3 Sources of Passive Income

A Millionaire by 30

I was browsing through some books in the bookshop lately when I came across this book about a typical guy who worked 9 to 5 and managed to increase his personal networth to a cool US$1 million after like close to 8 years of work, investing and buying property.

It made me remember that during my schooling days, I always thought that I would become a millionaire by 30 too!

HOWEVER, somehow I put that dream aside to chase other ideals like friends, family, etc.

Also, it just does not seem realistic to be a millionaire by 30 in Singapore right?

So reading that book was really a wake up call. Afterall, that guy who wrote the book lives in one of the most expensive cities in US. Credit must be given to him that he pursued his dream non-stop from his early twenties all the way till his 30th birthday.

My 30th birthday is like 2.5 years away.

And I am not even close to being a millionaire. Combined with my wife, we are probably only at the halfway point. Is it too late to chase the dream of being a millionaire by the age of 30?

I also came across a book by Adam Wong (an internet marketer) who was mentored by Adam Khoo and went on to earn six digits through internet marketing and stuff.

The common thing about these two guys is simply this : Both were focused on their goals and they did not let people around dissuade them from it. To them, being rich was sort of like a certainty that they were pursuing. They did not see it as a dream that could not be attained. Furthermore, both these guys are not your "scholar" kind of people who go to top universities and stuff.

Hmmmm... A millionaire by Thirty?

Anyway, conducted a flurry of trading activity over the past few weeks. Some decisions might not have been too wise.

Since NOL went XD, I will get around $120 from the 3 lots that I hold. I sold 2 lots @$1.36 to make a nice little profit on top of my dividends.

Bought 5000 x KingBoard @0.14 and 6,000 x Hongguo @0.125 and 1000 x CitiCorp@US$4.09
Sold the 5000 x KingBoard @0.17 to earn a tidy profit of $90

My First Cheque from Penn West Energy Trust

So I received a total sum of $6.66 for my 50 shares of Penn West Energy Trust. See picture of the cheque from Penn West below:


The distribution was actually a grand total of $14.12. HOWEVER, after deducting for a 30% withholding tax, postage/handling charges of $5 and a 7% GST, I am left with a paltry $6.66.

There you have it, my dividends nearly halved by all these expenses. Oh well, guess I will just have to accumulate more of Penn West Energy Trust for all these expenses to be worthwhile.

$10.70 refunded back

Called up DBS to cancel off my debit cards which I have not been using. They decided that they would reimburse me the annual fee which was just recently charged. Yipee!

Managed to save a total of $10.70

It's not alot I know but every little bit counts.

Financial freedom afterall is bringing down my monthly expenditure and bring up my monthly passive income.

I have done a quick look at my portfolio and realised that contrary to my beliefs, I have not been investing as aggressively as I would have liked during this bear market. Most of my stocks that I have bought are still in the red.

Except for NOL which I have bought at a lower price than today's closing price, the rest of my stocks are all bought at a much higher price. Time to load up on all my stocks again.

Added PWE into my Portfolio

Added 50 shares of PWE. Also bought 500 shares of Citicorp @2.92

My updated portfolio for passive income for 11 Apr 2009 is as such:

1. 12,000 x Ascott REITs (DPU = 4.28 per half) = $85.60 per month (decrease in DPU)
2. 17,000 x First REITs (DPU = 1.94 per qtr) = $109.93 per month (increase in DPU)
3. 1000 x Suntec REITs (DPU = 2.858 qtr) = $9.52 per month
4. 3000 x NOL (estimate 8 cents per year*) = $20.00 per month
5. Maybank iSavvy Deposit = $8 per month
6. 100 x PenWest Energy Trust = $22.00 per month
7. 100 x Pengrowth Energy Trust = $15.00 per month

Total avg monthly passive income = $270.05 (Mar 09)

Taking one step at a time towards my financial freedom.

Leaving Assets For Future Generations

I got into a talk with one of these financial planners lately. The topic we talked about was basically insurance and how one could virtually give one's child/children a good inheritance.

The idea might sound warp but it is worth thinking about. Basically, it involves you just buying a whole life insurance and not drawing that money out/surrendering the policy/or letting it lapse.

As death is certain, you can be assured that your beneficiaries will receive whatever amount is the sum assured on your life as well as any accumulated bonuses. So perhaps for a total price of $100,000 over say a period of 25 years ($4000 per year), you are able to pass over quite a sizeable fortune (maybe $0.5 million) to your child/children when you die. That is of course if you do not surrender the policy or anything before your appointed time with the Maker.

Just food for thought =)

By the way, I added another 200k insurance which brings my total insurance to $560k life coverage.

Have updated my adsense earnings for the month of March here.

3 Sources of Passive Income

Been seeing a lot of advertisements on the newspapers recently advertising how some people are willing to teach you how to make passive income by either joining their seminars and stuff. Well, I will just share mine openly since I believe that knowledge ought to be free for all.

In this post, I will be revealing the 3 sources of passive income that I hope to achieve by the end of this year. For this year, my goal is to achieve a passive income of $400 per month or $4800 per annum. I am looking to 3 areas/ sources to grow my passive income.

Source #1 - Dividends and Distributions from Stocks/REITs

This is currently my main source of passive income. I hope to achieve a minimum of $300 per month or $3600 per annum of passive income from dividends and distributions that I receive from both Singapore and US listed stocks.

Source #2 - Paid Advertisements on Blogs

I am currently relying on Google's Adsense to make some coffee money. It is peanuts really. Hope to achieve a stable $20 per month by the end of this year.

Source #3 - Writing Options

I have opened an OptionsXpress account. Basically, I hope to sell naked puts on fundamentally good stocks. Should the puts be exercised, I won't mind buying the stocks. If not, I will just be happy to make money from these puts. I hope to make this source of passive income operational by May 09.

There you go! My 3 sources of passive income. Feel free to comment or share your sources of passive income with me!

Read Related Articles:
1. My Flat is Worth Half A Million?
2. Passive Income Update for October 2009

No Income Tax to Pay but must pay for Carpark

No Income Tax to Pay
Just finished filing my family's income tax.

After accounting for all the tax reliefs, rebates and stuff, my family has $0 in taxes to pay for the year! Perhaps its also because we don't earn that much in the first place.

Carparking
The only downside to the start of April 09 was the need to renew my carparking.

I renewed it for 3 months at a price of $270. Very expensive. That is equivalent to $3 a day!

Perhaps it is time to get a landed property so that I do not need to pay for parking.

Stock Purchases

Added 6,000 shares of Hongguo @0.125
Hope the bull market does not return too soon so that I can collect more stocks/REITs on the cheap.

P.S : To the team at SG Dividends, I have included a link to your site.

Cheers,
Financial Freedom