How to Become a Millionaire by 30

Becoming a millionaire by the age of 30 requires a combination of financial discipline, strategic planning, and hard work. Here are some steps that can help you on your path to achieving this goal:

1. Set clear financial goals: Define your financial objectives and create a plan to achieve them. This includes setting a specific target for how much wealth you want to accumulate by the age of 30.

2. Save and invest consistently: Develop a habit of saving a significant portion of your income and investing it wisely. Consider diversifying your investments across different asset classes such as stocks, bonds, real estate, or starting a business. The power of compounding can work in your favor over time.

3. Control expenses and live below your means: Avoid excessive spending and focus on living a frugal lifestyle. Differentiate between needs and wants, and prioritize saving and investing over unnecessary expenditures.

4. Increase your earning potential: Invest in your education and skills to enhance your earning potential. Acquire valuable knowledge, develop marketable skills, and pursue opportunities for career growth or entrepreneurship that can significantly boost your income.

5. Be strategic with your career choices: Make informed decisions about your career path. Seek positions and industries that offer high earning potential and align with your skills and interests. Continually seek professional development and aim for promotions or salary increases.

6. Create multiple streams of income: In addition to your primary source of income, explore other avenues to generate additional streams of income. This can include side hustles, part-time jobs, freelance work, or passive income from investments or rental properties.

7. Minimize debt and manage credit wisely: Avoid accumulating excessive debt and be responsible with credit cards and loans. Pay off high-interest debts as quickly as possible and maintain a good credit score, which can help you access favorable financing options if needed.

8. Seek professional advice: Consult with financial advisors or professionals who can provide guidance tailored to your specific financial situation. They can help you develop personalized strategies and provide valuable insights to optimize your wealth-building efforts.

Remember, becoming a millionaire by 30 requires discipline, patience, and a long-term perspective. It's essential to stay committed to your financial goals and adapt your strategies as needed along the way.

Beat Inflation with Smart Investment Strategies

Inflation is a reality that affects us all, and it can have a significant impact on your finances, especially if you don’t take the necessary steps to protect yourself. Inflation refers to the rise in prices of goods and services over time, and it erodes the purchasing power of your money. The good news is that there are several investment strategies that you can use to beat inflation and protect your wealth.

Before we delve into the strategies, let’s take a look at some statistics and facts about inflation. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual inflation rate in the United States over the past decade has been about 1.9%. While this may seem like a small number, it adds up over time, especially when compounded. For example, if you had $100,000 in the bank and inflation was 1.9% for 10 years, your money would only be worth approximately $90,850 in today's dollars.

Another important fact about inflation is that it affects different goods and services differently. For example, the price of healthcare and education has increased at a much faster rate than the overall inflation rate. This highlights the importance of diversifying your investments and not relying solely on traditional savings accounts.

Now that we’ve established the importance of beating inflation, let’s take a look at some smart investment strategies.

1. Invest in stocks: Stocks have historically provided higher returns than savings accounts, and they are a great way to beat inflation. The S&P 500, an index of 500 large companies, has delivered an average annual return of 10% over the past 90 years. This is significantly higher than the average inflation rate and can help you protect your wealth.

2. Diversify your portfolio: Diversifying your investments is key to protecting your wealth from inflation. You can achieve diversification by investing in a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets. This will help you spread out your risk and potentially increase your returns.

3. Invest in real estate: Real estate has historically been a good hedge against inflation. When inflation rises, so do property values and rental income, which can provide a strong return on investment.

4. Consider inflation-linked bonds: Inflation-linked bonds, also known as TIPS, are bonds that are tied to the inflation rate. They provide a guaranteed return that is adjusted for inflation, which can help protect your purchasing power.

5. Consider commodities: Commodities, such as gold, silver, and oil, are often seen as a hedge against inflation. When inflation rises, the price of commodities usually increases as well, providing a potential return on investment.

Inflation is a reality that affects us all, and it’s important to take steps to protect your wealth. By investing in stocks, diversifying your portfolio, investing in real estate, considering inflation-linked bonds, and considering commodities, you can beat inflation and protect your purchasing power.

Remember, it’s always important to consult with a financial advisor before making any investment decisions, and to make sure you have a comprehensive financial plan in place. With the right strategy and approach, you can beat inflation and secure your financial future.

Read this:

1. What is Inflation: A Beginner's Guide

2. Surviving Inflation: Guide to Budgeting

Principles of Value Investing

Value investing is a strategy that involves investing in undervalued companies with the expectation that their true value will be recognized by the market over time. The principles of value investing were popularized by Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett, and they involve a focus on fundamental analysis, a long-term investment horizon, and a margin of safety.

1. Fundamental Analysis: Value investors focus on analyzing a company's financial and business fundamentals such as earnings, revenue, assets, and liabilities to determine its true value. They look for companies that are undervalued by the market and have strong growth prospects.

2. Long-term Investment Horizon: Value investors take a long-term view and are willing to hold onto their investments for extended periods. They believe that over time, the market will recognize a company's true value and the stock price will increase.

3. Margin of Safety: Value investors seek to invest in companies that are undervalued and have a margin of safety. This means that they invest in companies that are trading at a significant discount to their intrinsic value, providing a buffer against potential market fluctuations.

4. Patience: Value investors are patient and disciplined, they don't make decisions based on short-term market fluctuations, they focus on the underlying value of the company.

5. Diversification: Value investors believe in diversifying their portfolios by investing in a variety of companies across different industries and sectors. This helps to spread out risk and increase the chances of achieving long-term success.

6. Avoiding Overvalued Companies: Value investors avoid companies that are overvalued by the market and have poor fundamentals. They believe that these companies are more likely to experience a decline in stock price in the long term.

7. Active Management: Value investors actively manage their portfolios and are willing to sell their investments if they no longer believe that the company is undervalued or if the company's fundamentals have deteriorated.

8. Contrarian approach: Value investors often take a contrarian approach to investing, meaning they invest in companies that are out of favor with the market and not popular among investors. They believe that these companies are more likely to be undervalued and have greater potential for growth.

9. Focus on Cash flow and Earnings: Value investors focus on a company's ability to generate cash flow and earnings, they look for companies that generate consistent profits and have strong balance sheets.

In summary, value investing is a strategy that involves investing in undervalued companies with the expectation that their true value will be recognized by the market over time. The principles of value investing include a focus on fundamental analysis, a long-term investment horizon, a margin of safety, patience, diversification, avoiding overvalued companies, active management, contrarian approach and focus on cash flow and earnings.

Simple secrets to building wealth

There are probably tons of books written on how one can get rich or become wealthy. Yet, the secret to building wealth is probably much simpler than most people can imagine. If I could choose three words to describe it, I think the appropriate words would probably be "income", "invest" and "persistence".

Firstly, without income, it is very difficult to become wealthy. The only instances one does not require income is probably if you have a large inheritance or you are starting a business (when you have the intention of selling it). At the end of the day, one cannot accumulate assets if one does not have income.

Secondly, one will need to invest.This can be in any instrument. But the idea is that you are only able to invest if you have money left over from your income after taking into account all your expenditure. In most instances, one is able to invest only when spare cash is available.

Lastly, it boils down to persistence. spending money today always seems more tempting and rewarding then saving it for a rainy day. This is especially so when instant gratification seems to be a large part of our culture today. We rather be seen with a Starbucks coffee in hand rather than saving that money and investing it. This is an everyday battle where our heart will tell us to spend when we really ought to be saving. In addition, one also needs persistence to continue saving and investing even when the markets are bad. This is probably very hard since we are all probably wired to try to avoid risk and danger. But the best time to buy is probably when the market is in its doldrums.

Is the bull market coming to an end?

Lately, after seeing the various stock indices hit their historical highs even amidst the news that the Fed's QE was coming to and end, I started wondering whether the bull market might possibly be coming to an end. One certain sign is the number of people who are probably interested in the stock markets again. We all know for a fact too that this bull run has gone on for some time now. So is this bull market coming to and end?

Some points I consider:

• Unemployment rate in US has improved but is still worrying in Europe.
• Federal Reserve stopping QE but ECB and BoJ are maintaining low interest rates.
• China growth story seems intact.
• Stock market still trading around historical P/E ratios.
• Oil prices are low which ought to be good for businesses, no?
• Investors' interest in stock market and their sentiments.
• Low gold prices indicates fear of inflation or hyperinflation is probably low.
• "THIS TIME IT IS DIFFERENT" syndrome has not appeared.

From a very rudimentary analysis, it will thus seem that the bull market still has some legs to go. How much longer is anybody's guess. Probably till 2015? What do you think?

Reasons to Buy Gold or Silver

Gold and silver seem to be back to their 2011 levels. iShare Silver Trust (SLV) is trading at $28.41 while SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is trading at $156.22.  Well, gold and silver spot price are also trading around $1600/oz and $29/oz respectively.  The talking heads at Bloomberg and CNBC are all now suggesting that it might be the end of the gold bull run.  After writing the earlier posting yesterday, I thought about it and decided that perhaps a more balanced view ought to be presented.

So in this posting, I will throw up some of the reasons to continue buying gold or silver.

Firstly, the world's central banks are now net buyers of gold, purchasing gold like never seen before.  According to the World Gold Council, central banks accounted for 12% of total demand for gold in 2012.  The demand for silver also seems to be rising and the supply does not seem to be able to keep up (at least that is what the silver bugs' charts are telling us).

Secondly, with all the money printing by the Feds, inflation is almost certain.  Gold and silver are thus a good hedge against inflation since many view them as the true store of value.  Many of these proponents are also predicting that the dollar will soon crash and that somehow, someday, the entire world will go back to the gold standard.

Thirdly,  while the prices of gold and silver might have corrected a fair bit for this year, the global outlook still looks uncertain.  The US debt is reaching alarming levels, Europe crisis, etc.  So it is not surprising that people are bullish on these 2 metals since they seem to have a negative correlation to the overall stock market/economy.

In any case, the people who argue for investing in gold or silver are still sticking to their guns that another bull run is in the making.  Will they be correct?

The End of the Gold Bull Run?

Is this the end of the bull run for gold which has seen a meteoric rise over the past years.  Goldman Sachs has a 12 month forecast of $1,550/oz.  Gold has dropped 5 percent from the start of the year with investors like George Soros also cutting down his gold holdings.  Of course, one would be wise to heed the Warren Buffet's take on gold (even though it might be dated).  Many have also called gold the ultimate bubble while others are still quite bullish on this precious metal.  But with the US printing money with a vengeance, it is little wonder why many would want some kind of hedge against inflation.

Gold had hit an all-time high in Sept 2011 of slightly over $1920/oz.  Today, gold spot price is at $1597/oz.

Sold Off Nam Cheong

I have been watching Nam Cheong keenly as I mentioned that it was one of the 3 stocks on my watchlist.  I wrote about Nam Cheong poised to breakout few weeks back. Have sold it off on Friday after having some small gains.  The charts still look positive (at least to me). But I am no longer vested in it since my target price has been reached.

Sold Off Citigroup

I sold off my entire stake in Citigroup at a price of around US$44.11 last week.  My average entry price for the stock was US$37.00.  After some thought,  I decided that the target price for Citigroup was not an event worth waiting for given that the profits would be marginal..

At first glance, it would seem that I should have made quite a tidy profit on Citigroup.  But after examining it closer, the profits that I made were really peanuts.  And this is largely due to the exchange rates.

Basically, I bought Citigroup when the USD (US dollar) to SGD (Singapore dollar) was around 1:1.4.  The US dollar has however weakened significantly over the course of the years.  So based on the exchange rate today, my profits were almost wiped out.  You can take a look at the chart below to see how the USD has weakened significantly against the Singapore dollar.

Straits Times Index (STI) hits 5 Year High

So the Straits Times Index (STI) has hit its 5 year high of 3,301 points. Of course, it still has not reached its peak in Oct 2007 of 3,805 points. Will we even see such dizzying heights for the Singapore stock market again.

Well, nobody really knows the answer for sure.  But with the US debt ceiling, Euro crisis and all other things that can happen along the way, one should continue to remain nimble.

A good question to ask yourself is this:  How much more gains can you make in this bull run?

Sold Thakral and Saizen

After giving some thought, I decided to sell off my holdings in Thakral and Saizen.  I bought these together with Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust back in November 2012.  You can see that posting I did here.

These are my entry prices and exit prices for the 3 stocks:

1.  Saizen (Entry=S$0.173; Exit = S$0.191)
2. Thakral Corp (Entry=S$0.03; Exist = S$0.035)
3. LMIR (Entry = $0.475; Exit = S$0.525)

There is really nothing to boast about my entry and exit prices.  I am not a good market timer but generally, when the stock market goes up, almost every single stock goes up.  So there is really nothing spectacular about my returns.  

I know some of my previous posts about Thakral and Saizen might have been misleading as I was actually still thinking of loading up some more stocks yesterday and had written the posts earlier but scheduled it to be posted much later.  However, after re-assessing my overall portfolio, I decided to liquidate more of my shareholdings so as to buffer up my cash position.

If you read my posting about "Bull Market or Prepare for Bear" as well as watched the video on Jeffrey Gundlach's market outlook, you will probably understand my rationale for selling.  As they say, "Cash is King".

Saizen REIT - Dividends Declared But What Lies Ahead

So Saizen REIT has declared a half yearly distribution of 0.66 cents.  Based on its share price of 19 cents, it gives a pretty good yield of close to 7%.  Yes, this is a pretty high yield compared to other REITs listed on the Singapore stock exchange.  You probably can't find yields like those in the US stock market too unless they are mortgage REITs.

Anyway, if you read one of my previous posts, you should know that Saizen is on my watchlist.  (Okay, it is actually already in my stock portfolio but I am watching it to see if I should buy more).

Found this good video on Saizen.  Any investor who wants to invest in Saizen should watch this video first as it gives a good overview of Saizen and its business and also explains why it probably trades at a discount to its net asset value.  Here Mark Laudi interviews Raymond Wong (Executive Director at Saizen REIT).  He asks him some tough questions that any investor should be asking.

Let me know what you all think about Saizen REIT..

Thakral Corporation Chart

I have bought and sold Thakral at various times since I started investing.  Few months back, I entered into Thakral at S$0.03.  Now that the price has risen to S$0.035, perhaps it is time for me to take profit?  Including the dividends that were paid out, it is a tidy sum of money.

Outlook for 2013: Recap and Stock Take

This is a look at the various stocks that were previous listed in one of my previous postings on investment outlook and stock picks for 2013.

Most of the stocks have risen except for CMT, City Developments and UOB.

	Closing Price on 31 Dec 2012	Closing Price on 8 Feb 2013
Biosensors	$1.205	$1.330
CMT	$2.130	$2.130
CMA	$1.940	$2.100
City Developments	$12.870	$11.460
DBS	$14.840	$14.980
Ezion Holdings	$1.690	$1.805
Keppel Corp	$11.000	$11.530
M1	$2.710	$2.740
SembCorp Marine	$4.600	$4.670
Starhill Global REIT	$0.785	$0.850
UOB	$19.810	$19.040
Venture Corp	$8.060	$8.480
Capitaland	$3.700	$3.860
SIA Engineering Company	$4.390	$4.740
Pan United	$0.775	$0.975

Citigroup Target Price

Bought Citigroup some time back and with the recent bullish run in the stock market, I am just re-visiting this stock to see whether it is time to unload it off my portfolio.Citigroup was previously trading at less than US$4 during the financial crisis.  There was a subsequent 10:1 stock consolidation which explains the high price now.  

The charts look bullish with the price being above the 200-day moving average line.  I am not good at technical analysis but it seems that the trend is still bullish.  

My target price for Citigroup is US$48.00.  Vested interest.

3 Stocks on My Watchlist

With the STI trading near 15 Price-Earnings ratio, one really has to be nimble and keep a lookout for good quality stocks that are undervalued.  And that is a difficult task given that many of the stocks are already trading at their 52 week highs.  Nevertheless, here are 3 stocks that are currently on my watchlist.

1.  Saizen REIT (Listed on Singapore Stock Exchange)

Saizen REIT has been slowly rising.  It just declared a healthy half-yearly distribution of 0.66 Singapore cents which makes its yield slightly below 7%.  Of course, there is the currency risk of the Japanese Yen being further devalued with the current Government's stance to make their exports more competitive.  Nevertheless, I have vested interest in this stock. Saizen last closed at S$0.19.




2.  Global Premium Hotels (Listed on Singapore Stock Exchange)

Global Premium Hotels just had its initial public offering at S$0.26.  The stock price has been fluctuating below its IPO price for the past few weeks but has recently risen above its IPO price.  Certain analysts have a price target of S$0.30 for this stock. They expect the Fragrance hotels to continue to do well given its market share and experience in the business.  Of course, billionaire Koh Wee Meng has been buying his own shares too, showing that he is confident in the company.  I am not currently vested in this stock.

3.  Nam Cheong (Listed on Singapore Stock Exchange)

I have bought into Nam Cheong at 26 Singapore cents.  My gut feel is that Nam Cheong is poised to break out.  But I could of course be wrong given my very bad sense of market timing.  Have taken a small position in this stock and well sell it once the price is right.  Nam Cheong's business is doing well.  They sold 21 ships in the year 2012 and have just issued equity to continue to expand their business.

Nam Cheong - Poised to Breakout?

Have been liquidating many of my stocks and entered into short term trading positions. Nam Cheong is one of those stocks that I entered into. I have a target price of 30 cents for this stock.

From a TA point of view,  the stock also looks like it can move higher. Nam Cheong last closed at 25 cents..  Its IPO price was 21 cents.

Nam Cheong has seen its orders rising and prides itself as the leading builder in Malaysia of OSVs.

CFD - Certificate For Death

I read this article from IMSavvy's website. I am pretty adverse to using leveraging to buy shares. Contracts For Difference might only work for some people. For others, it might just become a Certificate For Death (CFD).

Pasting the article written by Goh Eng Yeow (with what i think some newbie investor might be thinking about when they read this article in RED):

________________________________________________________________

GAINING exposure to a blue-chip company need not mean buying its pricey shares listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Really? You mean there is another method? I am a beginner in investing...let me know..anyway this IMSavvy website is designed to increase our financial knowledge right?

Investors are making a beeline for an increasingly popular financial derivative product known as Contracts for Difference (CFDs), which enable them to 'own' these blue chips without having to stump up the full price of the stock. Wow. So you mean i can buy shares like DBS. Cool!

Brokerages jostling for a slice of the action include local houses such as Phillip Securities, CIMB-GK Securities and Kim Eng Securities and foreign outfits like IG Markets, Saxo Capital and CMC Markets. Good..think maybe i should open an account with one of these brokerages..

A CFD works like a share margin trading account. When an investor buys a CFD on a blue chip like DBS Group Holdings, he need put up just 10 per cent of the cost of owning the stock. Wah! DBS 13.00 means i only need 1.30. Shiok!!

The CFD tracks the share movements. If the price goes up 10 per cent, he would have doubled his initial outlay. But if the price drops, he will have to top up the account with more cash, or risk having his contract sold by his broker to settle the loss. Wah Double My MONEY!!!

CFDs are not traded on the SGX. Unlike warrants, for instance, they have no maturity date and an investor can cash out at any time. So good ah? Like that buy shares for what. I going to buy CFD liao

They are popular because investors can immediately track their gains or losses by glancing at the prices of the shares whose CFDs they have bought.

This is unlike covered warrants whose prices are determined by a complicated formula relating to factors like 'time-decay' - the remaining months left in the contract - and market volatility.

The range of assets linked to CFDs also goes far beyond the Singapore market.

Besides trading local blue chips, an investor can trade foreign currencies like the US dollar, commodities like crude oil, as well as widely watched indexes like the Straits Times Index and the Hang Seng.

For some CFD players, business growth has been phenomenal. 'Since 2007, the number of accounts opened has doubled every year. Currently, we have about 11,000 accounts,' said IG Markets managing director Peter McDermott.

His typical customer is a working professional aged between 25 and 55. About 40 per cent use CFDs to trade foreign currencies; another 35 per cent trade shares.

Given the market volatility in the past two years, trading in widely watched indexes such as the Straits Times Index and the Hang Seng has also become popular.

Drawing a parallel with London, where CFDs form about 35 per cent of all trades, Mr McDermott believes the local CFD market can grow further.

But this will not necessarily result in a loss of business for the SGX, as CFD players would have to 'hedge' their risks by buying the underlying shares of the CFD on the SGX.

Still, CFDs pose a big threat to the 'extended settlement' (ES) contracts which have been offered by the SGX since February and work on a similar principle.

A stockbroking director said remisiers prefer to sell CFDs, rather than ES contracts, as there are fewer administrative hassles, saying: 'With ES, you have onerous account opening requirements and the margin requirements are stringent.'

Some traders complain that only a few hundred thousand ES contracts are traded daily and investors are put off by the lack of liquidity. 'With a CFD, the spread between a buy and sell quote may be as small as one cent. But with an ES, it can be as wide as two or three cents. That increases the trading costs sharply,' a dealer said.

Okay.. Tomorrow i go open account ...buy CFD for DBS..lalalala HUAT HUAT loh!

______________________________________________________________

Good luck to all who get into this financial instrument. Certainly not for the faint hearted and not for the newbie investor.

Read Related Articles:

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#1 - The Greatest Mistake
#2 - Protect What You Cannot Afford to Lose
#3 - Spend Less Than You Earn
#4 - Spend Less Or Earn More
#5 - Buy Assets Not Liabilities
#6 - Read and Learn More
#7 - The Magic of Part Time
#8 - Health Equals Wealth
#9 - It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
#10 - Congrats! You have Achieved it!

25% Cash Machine

I have been reading this book by Bryan Perry called the 25% Cash Machine.

Basically, this book advocates an investing method called double digit income investing to provide a portfolio that gives both income and capital gains of up to 25%. I enjoyed reading the book except for the fact that some of the stocks recommended in the book are already meeting with some financial difficulties due to the global financial crisis.

In it, the portfolio of stocks to build a 25% cash machine portfolio includes stocks like:

Canadian Royalty TrustsBusiness Development Companies
REITs

I really like the idea of creating a portfolio of 25 stocks that will not only give you income from dividends but also capital gains. Some of the stocks in my current portfolio are also purchased for this reason. They are:

1. ST Engineering
2. First REIT
3. Ascott REIT
4. Suntec REIT
5. PenWest Energy Trust (a Canadian Royalty Trust) - provides me with a monthly distribution.

Hope to find another 20 quality stocks to build my own 25% cash machine portfolio. Perhaps I should call it the Financial Freedom Portfolio =)


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