Counting My Money

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 =)

What $680 Can & Cannot Buy

Two events happened today that made me think about what money can and cannot buy.

EVENT #1 - INSTALLING WINDOW GRILLES

For one, I managed to get a nice set of window grilles for my house. It is now a much safer home for my little one as I have always been worried that he would push a chair to the side of the window and climb out too far. With the window grilles now in place, the whole house feels SO MUCH SAFER. I feel much more at ease to let the little one roam about the different rooms and don't have to worry too much about him.

The window grilles cost me $680 and I must say it was a pretty standard price as I asked around for a few quotations and all of them came back with the same quote of $5.50 per square foot of window grilles. Oh well, I guess I can only say that it is money well spent.

EVENT #2 - FALLING SICK

On the other hand, the little one also got a bit sick and he was a bit grumpy at night. And I realised that all the money in the world will not be able to make my little one feeling well right away. At the end of the day, it will be his own immune system that will have to fight back and make him feel better.

So money can't buy you everything. It cannot buy you health.

Bank Accounts

I realised that I might be having a bit too many bank accounts and credit cards.

Lately, I forgot to settle one of my credit card bills and ended up with a late payment charge of $40! And that was for a credit card bill of just $80!

Are all these bank accounts necessary? I certainly think so.

Here is how I use all my bank accounts.

POSB Savings Account

This is my primary account which is linked to all the Giro, electronic payment for shares and stuff. It is basically the account which is linked to my ATM card and which I use to pay the bills.

POSB Current Account

This is the checking account which lets me write cheques. I pay $2 each month to maintain this account.

Citibank Step Up Interest Account

This is where my salary is credited. Based on the step up interest, I can earn close to 0.75% interest on my deposits. I will then transfer whatever amount of my pay I need into the POSB Savings Account to spend.

MayBank iSaavy Account

This is my emergency fund account which pays interest of up to 0.5% per annum. I hardly touch the money in here at all. I like this account because of the higher deposit rates it gives compared to other banks.

Is Money Evil?

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:24



The verse quoted above from the bible refers to a simple truth. That NOBODY can serve two masters. You can only be a servant to God or a servant to Money. It is impossible to be a servant to both God and Money. Noone has done it and noone can do it. This verse never meant to say that money was evil. Rather, it states that the allegiance one has to God needs to be total and absolute.

The reason for this was given in the earlier verses when it says "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Our hearts ought to focus on the treasures in heaven and not the treasures on earth.


Money is neither good nor evil. It is the man who pursues it that makes all the difference.