I received dividends from Suntec REITs up to a total of $25.68. That is from just having 1000 shares of it. Sort of regretted selling my 1o lots to do trading as I could have gotten much more dividends.
Anyway, I will be expecting dividends from Pacific Andes and Ascott REITs pretty soon too.
Pacific Andes is giving 0.6 cents per share while Ascott REITs is giving a DPU of 3.77 cents. That should add up to a few hundred dollars in the month of February which should come in handy somehow.
Read Related Articles
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#1 Crazy Thing I Did in My Life
Getting drunk in Russia.
Okay, not really drunk but tipsy on vodka. Some of my friends got real drunk though.
That's not me in the picture. That's one of my friends dead drunk in St Petersburg from all the cheap vodka he could get his hands on.
I have lost contact with all the people I spent my time with in Russia. During then, we exchanged contacts on ICQ but when we stopped using ICQ, we gradually lost touch.
Lunch on A Budget
I simply love this packet of charsiew and roast pork rice. It costs me a mere $3.00 but has a generous amount of char siew and roast pork. They are laid out in two straight lines. The charsiew is so-so but the roast pork is pretty good. They also serve a bit of achar on the side which goes really well with the pork! Simply yummy!
You can find this store at Tanglin Halt Road Market. It is located beside the Kway Chap stall.
If you missed my previous posting, you seriously need to read this article here on Blogging to Financial Freedom. In it, I give some tips on my blogging experience.
Blogging to Financial Freedom
One of those crazy dreams of mine is to be able to maintain a blog that will actually provide me with an income so that I could do the things that I want while blogging about all the wonderful things I get to do.
This would probably include things like month long trips to far away places and blogging about all the sights and sounds, trekking through the Amazon forest, climbing the Himalayas, sipping coffee at Venice, exploring caves and many more!
Of course, I am a dreamer and this is what dreamers do best =)
But I believe that someday, I might at least get to fulfill my dream in parts and share my joy with all my readers. I must afterall reward all of you for listening me rant into the infinite space called Cyberspace.
Is blogging to Financial Freedom possible?
I certainly do not think so. Financial Freedom occurs when one's passive income far exceeds his expenditure so that he choose the lifestyle that he wants.
Blogging definitely does not provide one with passive income. It can provide you with income but it is definitely not passive. I repeat...it is not PASSIVE
After my two years of experience, I would say that most people are actually better off spending their time giving tuition and stuff. The monetary rewards you get from blogging is too little to compare with the income that you could get from doing other miscellaneous stuff like babysitting, tuition, coaching, etc.
The only benefit of blogging is that you get to do it anywhere you like and the idea of being able to make easy money online is of course the holy grail to most bloggers.
So my advice to those who are trying to be full time bloggers is this: Stop trying!
Your success at blogging will only occur if you put your heart and soul to it. If your motive is to make money, it is unlikely that you will succeed.
Some bloggers do make tons of money but you have to admit that they had the first mover advantage. If another girl tries to write like Xiaxue or Perez hilton, they are not going to be as famous.
Adding Value to Your Readers
The key to making money from your blog is perhaps this: To add VALUE to your readers.
How does one add VALUE to your readers?
- Entertain them
- Educate them
- Inform them
Those are the three things that I think are necessary to even earn a single cent from things like Adbrite, Adsense, Amazon Associates, etc
All bloggers at the end of the day entertain to a certain extent, educate to a certain extent and inform readers to a certain extent. It is not how much you are doing each of the three but whether you are better at others in these areas that will distinguish you as a blogger.
The word "blogger" is also misleading. Bloggers are in fact online journalist who work for themselves. Whether they put a price tag on their writing is another matter altogether.
Journalists write for newspapers to make money. Bloggers write for themselves. They could have written to the straits times and stuff but they chose to put it on their own website. This gives them creativity and room to explore various writing norms that the normal media does not allow.
A blogger can chose to write in short sentence, long sentences or in whatever way he deems fit. He is not constrained by topic or timeline. He is his own boss at the end of the day. It is this freedom that is also the downfall of many bloggers. With no deadlines, no agenda, no careful thought, no editing, the blogger is left to his own devices to write whatever he pleases. Whether it is a profitable business, he does not know.
View Your Blog as an E-Magazine
The best way perhaps to view your blog is to look at it as an E-Magazine or e-newspaper. What do people want to read? What are they interested in? Is your site updated regularly?
Because you are the editor, salesperson, marketing executive, and writer for the entire blog, you need to take care of various aspects of the blog at the same time. This can be draining and might require a lot more effort especially if you are holding a day job.
The result is that the blog is often lacking in certain aspects. It is thus good to get comments from readers on how you can further improve your blog.
Would you visit your own blog if you were a reader? Would you come back again and again?
A look at the Bloggers of STOMP
Most of you in Singapore will probably be familiar with STOMP which is a site where star bloggers are also involved in blogging. I do not know how much they are paid but it seems that they do not have the freedom to choose the topic.
The one thing that I realise is that majority of these star bloggers are female. Perhaps, a male audience is expected for this tabloidy kind of topics. Afterall, most New Paper buyers are male. So you can expect why females make a large number of these star bloggers.
So entertaining is best left to females. Mr Brown is an exception as he can be highly entertaining in a funny way too. So it seems like what is left for male bloggers is to be funny when it comes to entertaining. Female bloggers have it much easier. If they are good-looking, they can just post pics of themselves.
Learn from Others, Know Your Audience
This is my last tip for the day.
Learn from other bloggers. Find out how they write. Learn what makes them successful.
After that, try to apply it to your own audience. A blogger at the end of the day needs to know who his audience is. He cannot please the whole world. He has to target his blog to a specific group of people.
I hope you have found this lengthy post useful.
This would probably include things like month long trips to far away places and blogging about all the sights and sounds, trekking through the Amazon forest, climbing the Himalayas, sipping coffee at Venice, exploring caves and many more!
Of course, I am a dreamer and this is what dreamers do best =)
But I believe that someday, I might at least get to fulfill my dream in parts and share my joy with all my readers. I must afterall reward all of you for listening me rant into the infinite space called Cyberspace.
Is blogging to Financial Freedom possible?
I certainly do not think so. Financial Freedom occurs when one's passive income far exceeds his expenditure so that he choose the lifestyle that he wants.
Blogging definitely does not provide one with passive income. It can provide you with income but it is definitely not passive. I repeat...it is not PASSIVE
After my two years of experience, I would say that most people are actually better off spending their time giving tuition and stuff. The monetary rewards you get from blogging is too little to compare with the income that you could get from doing other miscellaneous stuff like babysitting, tuition, coaching, etc.
The only benefit of blogging is that you get to do it anywhere you like and the idea of being able to make easy money online is of course the holy grail to most bloggers.
So my advice to those who are trying to be full time bloggers is this: Stop trying!
Your success at blogging will only occur if you put your heart and soul to it. If your motive is to make money, it is unlikely that you will succeed.
Some bloggers do make tons of money but you have to admit that they had the first mover advantage. If another girl tries to write like Xiaxue or Perez hilton, they are not going to be as famous.
Adding Value to Your Readers
The key to making money from your blog is perhaps this: To add VALUE to your readers.
How does one add VALUE to your readers?
- Entertain them
- Educate them
- Inform them
Those are the three things that I think are necessary to even earn a single cent from things like Adbrite, Adsense, Amazon Associates, etc
All bloggers at the end of the day entertain to a certain extent, educate to a certain extent and inform readers to a certain extent. It is not how much you are doing each of the three but whether you are better at others in these areas that will distinguish you as a blogger.
The word "blogger" is also misleading. Bloggers are in fact online journalist who work for themselves. Whether they put a price tag on their writing is another matter altogether.
Journalists write for newspapers to make money. Bloggers write for themselves. They could have written to the straits times and stuff but they chose to put it on their own website. This gives them creativity and room to explore various writing norms that the normal media does not allow.
A blogger can chose to write in short sentence, long sentences or in whatever way he deems fit. He is not constrained by topic or timeline. He is his own boss at the end of the day. It is this freedom that is also the downfall of many bloggers. With no deadlines, no agenda, no careful thought, no editing, the blogger is left to his own devices to write whatever he pleases. Whether it is a profitable business, he does not know.
View Your Blog as an E-Magazine
The best way perhaps to view your blog is to look at it as an E-Magazine or e-newspaper. What do people want to read? What are they interested in? Is your site updated regularly?
Because you are the editor, salesperson, marketing executive, and writer for the entire blog, you need to take care of various aspects of the blog at the same time. This can be draining and might require a lot more effort especially if you are holding a day job.
The result is that the blog is often lacking in certain aspects. It is thus good to get comments from readers on how you can further improve your blog.
Would you visit your own blog if you were a reader? Would you come back again and again?
A look at the Bloggers of STOMP
Most of you in Singapore will probably be familiar with STOMP which is a site where star bloggers are also involved in blogging. I do not know how much they are paid but it seems that they do not have the freedom to choose the topic.
The one thing that I realise is that majority of these star bloggers are female. Perhaps, a male audience is expected for this tabloidy kind of topics. Afterall, most New Paper buyers are male. So you can expect why females make a large number of these star bloggers.
So entertaining is best left to females. Mr Brown is an exception as he can be highly entertaining in a funny way too. So it seems like what is left for male bloggers is to be funny when it comes to entertaining. Female bloggers have it much easier. If they are good-looking, they can just post pics of themselves.
Learn from Others, Know Your Audience
This is my last tip for the day.
Learn from other bloggers. Find out how they write. Learn what makes them successful.
After that, try to apply it to your own audience. A blogger at the end of the day needs to know who his audience is. He cannot please the whole world. He has to target his blog to a specific group of people.
I hope you have found this lengthy post useful.
Networth Update (Estimated)
Not superbly accurate but it paints a picture of my networth nonetheless. I still have other insurance policies that I have not included as the surrender values are way too small to make any significant impact on my networth. Main contributor is still my house with the resale prices of HDB soaring through the roof for flats around my area. Two units in the opposite block sold for crazy prices recently.
Paid My Property Tax and TV License
Today, I paid my property tax and TV License Fee of $300.00
This is another expense which I did not cater for as I forgot about the need for such expenditure.
Living in your own house can be costly at times but it sure beats renting a place.
For those who have not paid your property tax and TV licence, please remember that payment date is 31 Jan 010. Otherwise, a late fee of 5% of property tax and $25 (for TV licence) will apply.
You can make payment through the iras website
http://www.iras.gov.sg
This is another expense which I did not cater for as I forgot about the need for such expenditure.
Living in your own house can be costly at times but it sure beats renting a place.
For those who have not paid your property tax and TV licence, please remember that payment date is 31 Jan 010. Otherwise, a late fee of 5% of property tax and $25 (for TV licence) will apply.
You can make payment through the iras website
http://www.iras.gov.sg
POSB Coin Deposit Machine
This is some additional info regarding the POSB Coin Deposit Machine for those of you who have lots of coins and would like to deposit them into one of your savings account with DBS or POSB.
1. What is this Coin Deposit Machine?
This is a new 24-hour self-service terminal that allows you to deposit coins at our selected branches/Electronic Banking locations.
2. Who can use this Coin Deposit Machine?
Customers who wish to deposit coins into any DBS Current/Autosave Account, DBS Savings Plus Account, POSB Current Account, POSB Savings Account may use this machine.
3. Can I deposit my coins to more than 1 account for each coin deposit transaction?
At any one time, you may deposit the coins into one account only.
4. What are the accepted denominations and currencies?
Only Singapore Dollar currency is accepted. The accepted denominations are 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar (floral series only).
5. How much coin can I deposit each time?
There is no minimum or maximum amount for each coin deposit. The maximum number of pieces deposited is however, subject to the load capacity of the machine.
6. Do I need to sort the coins according to denominations before depositing at the machine?
No, your coins can comprise a mixture of the accepted denominations of 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar (floral series only).
7. Can I change the amount of my coin deposit after placing them into the coin deposit machine?
You may retrieve coins that are still in the coin tray and not inserted into the machine. Once the coins are inserted into the machine, it will be counted and deposited accordingly.
8. When will my account be credited?
Collection time is daily at 2pm (except Saturdays/Sundays/Public Holidays). Deposits before collection time will be credited on the same business day before 8pm while deposits after collection time will be credited on the next business day before 8pm.
9. Are there any charges levied for coin deposits?
Coin deposits through the coin deposit machine are levied fees based on $0.0075 (0.75 cents) per piece, and total charges rounded off to the nearest 1 cent. Coin deposit fees will be waived for deposits into Children's accounts (age 15 years and below). To enjoy this waiver, you will need to drop the coin deposit receipt in our Quick Cheque Deposit box. Refunds will be processed by the next business day (Mon-Fri).
10. Who can help me if I encounter a problem using the machine?
You may call us at :
DBS Phone Banking : 1800-111-1111
POSB Phone Banking : 1800-339-6666
Read Related Articles:
1. Opening POSB Kids Savings Account
2. Saving Money on Coffee
3. How To Get Your Credit Card Annual Fee Waived
4. 1001 Frugal Things To Do (Very Popular Post)
1. What is this Coin Deposit Machine?
This is a new 24-hour self-service terminal that allows you to deposit coins at our selected branches/Electronic Banking locations.
2. Who can use this Coin Deposit Machine?
Customers who wish to deposit coins into any DBS Current/Autosave Account, DBS Savings Plus Account, POSB Current Account, POSB Savings Account may use this machine.
3. Can I deposit my coins to more than 1 account for each coin deposit transaction?
At any one time, you may deposit the coins into one account only.
4. What are the accepted denominations and currencies?
Only Singapore Dollar currency is accepted. The accepted denominations are 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar (floral series only).
5. How much coin can I deposit each time?
There is no minimum or maximum amount for each coin deposit. The maximum number of pieces deposited is however, subject to the load capacity of the machine.
6. Do I need to sort the coins according to denominations before depositing at the machine?
No, your coins can comprise a mixture of the accepted denominations of 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar (floral series only).
7. Can I change the amount of my coin deposit after placing them into the coin deposit machine?
You may retrieve coins that are still in the coin tray and not inserted into the machine. Once the coins are inserted into the machine, it will be counted and deposited accordingly.
8. When will my account be credited?
Collection time is daily at 2pm (except Saturdays/Sundays/Public Holidays). Deposits before collection time will be credited on the same business day before 8pm while deposits after collection time will be credited on the next business day before 8pm.
9. Are there any charges levied for coin deposits?
Coin deposits through the coin deposit machine are levied fees based on $0.0075 (0.75 cents) per piece, and total charges rounded off to the nearest 1 cent. Coin deposit fees will be waived for deposits into Children's accounts (age 15 years and below). To enjoy this waiver, you will need to drop the coin deposit receipt in our Quick Cheque Deposit box. Refunds will be processed by the next business day (Mon-Fri).
10. Who can help me if I encounter a problem using the machine?
You may call us at :
DBS Phone Banking : 1800-111-1111
POSB Phone Banking : 1800-339-6666
Read Related Articles:
1. Opening POSB Kids Savings Account
2. Saving Money on Coffee
3. How To Get Your Credit Card Annual Fee Waived
4. 1001 Frugal Things To Do (Very Popular Post)
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