I can't sleep. I am worried about my finances.
So I am up now counting my money in all the places that I have. Sometimes I forget that I even have such money lying around.
Cash:
1. POSB Savings : $6200
2. Maybank : $17,000
3. Citibank: $6300
Stocks
1. Singapore: $72,000
2. US Stocks: $8000
3. Unit Trusts: $4000
Semi-liquid Funds:
1. Investment Linked Plan 1 = $37500
2. Whole Life = $15,000
Okay...now I feel so much better..Can sleep again =)
-
Civil servants or public officers in Singapore are expected to declare their financial standing when they first join and every year thereaft...
-
Trying to compile the salary pay scale for the Singapore civil service. Somehow, I only managed to find the figures for 2011. There are p...
-
In my previous article , I compared an endowment plan with an ILP. Many might think that an ILP is a silly way to save for my child's ed...
-
Everybody loves free stuff. So as part of the Christmas Celebrations, I am giving away MONEY! ANYONE can earn it. Just leave a comment on th...
-
How much does a normal or average Singaporean earn? Based on median income, that is supposed to be $2,400 per month and raised to over $300...
-
Networth as of Feb 2010 is estimated around $652,000. A slight drop from Jan 2010. The decline in networth was due to a slight drop in my ... -
“We are more than that; we are in the business of creating time.” - Tay Liam Wee Mr Tay Liam Wee has an estimated networth of around S$135m.... -
Here are some frequently asked questions about sgfinancialfreedom: Q: How do you compute your networth? A: I compute my networth by adding m...
-
As most of you know by now, I have started a POSB Kids Savings account for my child. The main purpose of this account is to save for his un...
-
I can't sleep. I am worried about my finances. So I am up now counting my money in all the places that I have. Sometimes I forget that...
Excluding Whole-life plan, you have $135700! Wow!
ReplyDeleteYou have plenty of fire power to hoot at the next stock market crash. Keep your powder dry.
ReplyDeleteI note you have about S$29,500 in bank accounts (liquid cash). The important question is how many months can this sustain you based on your current lifestyle? The standard should be at least 6 months.
ReplyDeleteAssuming you set aside this 6 months of expenses, will you have any ammunition for invest in equities for the long-term?
Cheers,
Musicwhiz
MusicWhiz... For me... I have only about 1 month worth based on my lifestyle...
ReplyDeleteReason being:
1) I know I'm guaranteed employment for at least 1.5 years as I'm under bond.
2) I can easily sustain my cashflow with tuition at the moment.
3) My parents are still young. I could still look for help should anything happens. Thus I can afford to take on higher risks.
4) With the above 3 points, I'm slowly building my cashflow with more and more dividend/income stocks. This will eventually contribute to another steady and more defensive income source, which to me will help in reducing the emergency funds required...
Thanks for sharing. It's pretty good to have accumulated $135,700 at your age. It is good progress at your age now. One question, do you think this amount is enough for financial independence?
ReplyDeleteIf you need $2,800 per month, you need to generate consistently 25% nett return every year. On the more conservative side, with say 6% nett return every year, you will need a capital base of $560K.
That's why the question on how are you going to expand your base capital now? What's your plan?
T
Thanks for sharing and I think T made a very valid point. The other thing to look at is whether you're adding to your $135,700 or slowly drawing down from it. If you are slowly depleting your stockpile, then you need a plan B. The other thing to note is that expenses will very likely to go up, not down in the future. For young families with kids, it is always better to buffer more just in case.
ReplyDeletedream made a valid point...
ReplyDeleteI just wrote a post on cutting expenses.
http://wealthbuch.blogspot.com/2009/12/4-ways-to-cut-expenses.html
Annoymous also made a valid point on expanding base capital. I remember you were looking for a tuition job earlier. Have you found it yet?
Hi FF,
ReplyDeleteI have been worrying about retrenchment the past one and half years. I Slog hard and long hours just just to make sure I still draw an income every month. The road is always tough, whether its working for others, running your own business, or even giving tuition.
You won't be having this worry if you didn't quit your $5,000/mth job. Sounds harsh, but you should have had a plan in hand before you made that move.
Thanks for all the frank comments =)
ReplyDeleteYep, I should have done a whole host of things before worrying. Worrying brings one nowhere.
I want to make sure that my networth goes up and not down and I do not want to tap into my funds to fund my current lifestyle.
I am looking for tuition opportunities but I am still preparing myself for it before I embark on it.
hopefully everything works out!
My plan now is to increase my earned income and passive income. That I guess will be one of my main goals for 2010
Hi Financial Freedom,
ReplyDeleteYour blog reminded me of myself when I was at the same crossroad a few years back. I was in a job that I don't enjoy any more and was practically dragging my feet to work everyday. I quitted without a job, wanting to take a break and subsequently decided to go into private tuition.
It lasted me only about 4-5 months. I had concerns over continuation of income source (as students graduate after a few yrs and i'll need to find new students), no contribution to CPF (esp important if you are paying housing loans thru CPF), erratic income (such as holidays and parents cancelling tuition), possibility of no yearly increment / promotion. I also missed the social interactions that I have with colleagues. Ultimately, I decided to go back to the workforce. I guess I wasn’t ready and I really hated the financial instability aspect.
Looking back, that was a good break for me to relook at what I really want / don’t want in life. Now back to the workforce, I’m more contented and appreciative of what I have now. The incident made me realized that while we always talk about what we want, sometimes it is just as important to think about what we don’t want as well. Just my personal thoughts.
Agreed. Not everybody can take financial instability. As a paid employee, you also get paid while in the toilet.
ReplyDeleteHi FF,
ReplyDeleteEvercentcounts made a very good point.
It is hard to replace the benefits of being an employee
1. CPF (Which has Employer's contribution)
I have been fully utilizing my CPF-OA and don't need to cough out a cent for my home loan.
2. Personal Medical benefits of a company
I had an operation on my knee early this year.
In addition, I had to go for treatment at the Physio. This cost me a total of $20,000.
Adding on the dental visit, normal doctor visits and my yearly medical check up. This adds in a further $2,000. I managed to claim everything 100% and not cough out a single cent. If I did not have my job, I'd probably won't have gone for my operation.
3. Child/Spouse Benefits
I have an allowance if my Spouse gives birth in future for a sum of $X,xxx amount.
My kids and Spouse are entitled a further $1,500 each for medical claims.
4. Gym Membership
I have free corporate gym membership which i fully utilize every week.
5. Bonus
Bonus for performing well in a company
Assuming an average of 2-3 months. a person who earns $3k/mth will get about 6 to 9k. That is a lot of money.
The List can go on....
These are just some of the things you need to think about. Its more than just the monthly salary you draw.
Cheers
Cheers
For myself... I'm actually actively teaching tuition while having a full time job...
ReplyDeleteI realised one thing after a while.... Income instability is something to get used to if you want to come out to be your own boss...
JW is right. That is the reason why there are few bosses and plenty of paid employees. Many still prefer a steady income.
ReplyDeleteYep,
ReplyDeleteSome people are more suited to being employees versuses bosses no matter what others say.
You might be at greater peace being an employee than being a boss.
Thanks for all the personal sharing. It really encourages me!