Peer Pressure To Stay Back Late in Office

I read with interest Mr Tan Kin Lian's blog post about Singaporean workers facing pressure from peers to stay back late in office even when they have no work to do.

I must admit that this peer pressure to stay late is indeed VERY TRUE in Singapore. One feels obligated to stay back late especially when other colleagues seem to be rushing for some important work that was needed yesterday.

In my previous job, I remember the countless hours I have stayed back late because colleagues stayed back late. In fact, I am not too sure whether they were even doing work. Maybe they stayed back late BECAUSE I was staying back late because I thought they were staying late.....You get the drift...

So it is just peer pressure to stay back late. It seriously affects productivity and does not make sense.

After some time, I reasoned that I did not have to rush my work during the day as I would most probably have to stay back late after all. So I simply took my own sweet time to do my work.

This peer pressure thing is indeed TOXIC. We should all have the guts to look at the clock strike at 5 or 6pm and shout out loud: "OKAY FOLKS, I AM GOING HOME!"

(The repurcussion is perhaps tons of work piled up on your desk the next morning for you as your boss will think you are SUPER FREE)

I think this is crazy and one possible solution is to establish Overtime Pay (OT Pay). In this way, bosses will want employees to go back home on time so that it does not result in additional costs to the company.

The same should be implemented for the civil service whereby a variable component is added to their pay structure and they are paid additional amounts based on the OT work that they have done.

This is only right and fair. If there is really SO MUCH work to be done under such tight deadlines, then it is only right that more people are employed to share the burden.

Making employees reach home at 7 plus to 10 plus everyday is simply unacceptable.

I wonder whether people out there are still facing this kind of peer pressure?

Is ILP a time bomb?

So I read Lorna Tan's article on investment linked plans (ILPs). (This was posted on another blogger's blog)

Then I saw this adword advertisement by Wilfred Ling that reads: "Is ILP a Time Bomb."

I guess the argument goes as this:

As one ages, the insurance charges creeps up slowly in an ILP. Up to a certain age, the insurance charges might be much more than the premiums one is putting in.

YES IT IS A TIME BOMB!!

If you do not know what you are doing with an ILP, I guess it is a timebomb. Afterall, MAS has recently announced that it wants a stricter environment to guide the sales of ILPs to commoners. Insurance agents would have to make sure that clients who buy ILPs have the necessary education levels or experience in investing before they can buy ILPs. Great move if you ask me. (But isn't the reason why ILPs were created being that people have no idea how to invest their own money...that is why they chose to buy the ILP in the first place!)

An ILP is a time bomb and you much watch the timer very closely. Make sure that you know what are the annual charges for insurance ESPECIALLY once you cross certain ages like 40, 50 or 60. If there is a need, decrease your insurance coverage. Afterall, your insurance coverage requirements should drop as your children become financially independent and leave home.

Some people might not hit the time bomb as they might have already drawn out all their money for retirement purposes or decrease their coverage correspondingly.

No, it's not a time bomb =)

This is me saying it cooly with a swagger. I always feel that if you know what you are getting into, it is not a time bomb.

Afterall, most investments are bombs on timer mode. It can be your stocks, REITs or landbanking.

You need to watch that bomb closely and make sure you release it before the bomb explodes in your lap. As someone said: "Watch your basket closely..."

A stock listed in the stock exchange might be de-listed after the directors run away (think China Print and Dye listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange). REITs might also go bust anytime if they are not able to borrow money.

The fact is this:"Every investment bears a certain risk, even putting your money in a bank involves certain risk"

So What is The Alternative?

So if ILPs are really time bombs, what other alternatives do people have to protect themselves?
What are the alternatives?

I have listed down a few alternatives:

1. Term insurance
2. Endowment plans
3. Whole Life plans

Well, all these instruments are also time bombs if you look at them closely. So the best thing for one to do is to watch your bomb very closely.

Maybe that's why we used to play the pass the parcel game at birthday parties last time.

Millionaire Mind Intensive

Hope that you find this video useful. It shares some insights from T Harv Ecker regarding the Millionaire Mind that one should have.

What I found useful was the part where he talks about the need to get to the root of the issue. Wealth and money are just RESULTS. They are the fruits in a tree. It is however the roots that caused these fruits to appear. Likewise, when one is poor, you should look at the inside (your mindset), to remedy the problem.

Another thing he mentions about is to Quit Complaining. Complaining is what so many people do best. By complaining less, we take responsibility for our own financial destiny and stop putting the blame on others.

StarHub Cable TV - Upgraded to Basic Plus

Over the new year, I discovered a promotion by Starhub that allowed me to upgrade my basic group channels to the basic plus at no additional cost for 6 months. Finding that this was too good an opportunity to miss, I immediately signed up for it through the telephone.

Within a few days, I got all my Basic Plus Channels on my Starhub Cable TV.

This included ALL these channels like:

1. Crime & Investigation Network
2. NatGeo Adventure
3. NatGeo Wild
4. AXN Beyond
5. Animax
6. Channel V
7. FoxCrime
8. Sci Fi
9. Universal Channel
10. BBC Entertainment
11. BBC Lifestyle
12. FX
13. MGM
14. The Style Network
15. Turner Classic Movies

Wow, a total of 15 extra channels for no additional cost!

Of course, I am sure Starhub was just interested in retaining me as my customer after they lost the rights to the ESPN channel to SingTel.

Anyway, it was too good a deal to miss for paying $25.68 only. I get the additional 15 channels to my existing basic group.

Switching my News Basic Group to Lifestyle Basic Group

I also realised that I did not watch much of the news so I switched my news basic group for the lifestyle basic group. Yes, you should do the switch too if you are not watching the news.

So my 3 basic groups now are Education, Entertainment and Lifestyle.

Just a question to readers:

What are your basic groups that you subscribe too for StarHub Cable TV?

Do you intend to switch over to SingTel's Mio TV?

Shell Escape Card

I finally applied for a Shell Escape card. That is after many years of driving and pumping petrol at Shell petrol stations.

I do not know why I always had the misconception that the Shell Escape Card works like a credit card. I finally found out that it doesn't!

Instead, it is just a card to collect points which I can then redeem free gifts and vouchers for.

My oh my....I have missed out on so many points. Wasted if you ask me..... Really silly of me not to clarify with people.

On average, I pump around 40litres of petrol per week. Multiply by 52 weeks and then by 3 years.. I have basically lost lots of points.

I have my eyes on a $20 Ben and Jerry's voucher. I think I should be able to get it in 20 weeks.

Oh well, the good thing about it is that I have time 20 weeks to burn some fats before redeeming my points.

What I Consume In A Day

Our consumption habits are really interesting to track. Afterall, don't you find it interesting to know what of planet earth's resources you have consumed for the day?

So let's look at what I have consumed today and the companies that are involved in bringing these products to me:

7.30AM - Throat itchy, ate 1 x lozenges bought from Guardian
8.30AM - Bought breakfast comprising duck kway teow and teh si ping (iced milk tea)
9.00AM - Used the internet (Starhub Cable)
10.05AM - Received phone call from home (SingTel Fixed line)
11.00AM - Received phone call on mobile phone (StarHub)
11.15 AM - Checked email (Hotmail)
11.45AM - Worked on webpage using Dreamweaver Trial version (Adobe)
1.13PM - Ate lunch (Char Siew Rice)
2.00PM - Popped another 1 x lozenges
3.00 PM - Took a hot shower (PUB provided water and electricity)
4.00PM - Drank a packet of Pokka White Chrysanthemum Tea
5.30PM - Watched Television (Starhub Cable)
6.00PM - Ate dinner downstairs
8.00PM - Switched on the Airconditioner (PUB again?)

I know the above list makes for a boring read =)

But hopefully it enlightens you to know what are the things you consume and what are the companies involved in bringing that product to you.

AIA Achiever - Good or Bad?

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 education. After all, there are much superior ways like "Buy Term Invest the Rest".

Today, I will share with you my personal experience with one ILP that led me to be a little more accomodating towards ILP amidst the anti-insurance stance taken by most people.

AIA Achiever

I bought the above mentioned plan some years back. I believe that it is no longer in the market. Some insurance agent sold it to me as an investment plan and conveniently left out some important details about the "downside" of this policy.

Anyway, for the first few years, I hated the plan. I thought that it was the worst plan that I could have gotten. Afterall, I had to pay premiums for 7 years before I could withdraw the amount out. (When I bought the plan, I thought that I could withdraw the money out once the policy has been incepted for 7 years)

I was really thinking of surrendering the plan very early on as I felt that the 7 year waiting period was simply too long and I could put my money to better use elsewhere. However, the high surrender charges before 7 years made me think twice.

In the end, I continued servicing the plan and recently, I just crossed 7 years of premium payment.

What I Like About Achiever


Now that the 7 year waiting period is over, I have discovered that I actually do LIKE this ILP. When I look at the amount of money inside, I am amazed that 7 years of consistent saving have actually yielded me with results that I am quite pleased. I took up this plan as a means to fund my retirement. It has served me well thus far and the actual cash value is much higher than that shown on the benefit illustration for 9% compounded annual returns.

In addition, I get to log into AIA eCare easily to check on my monthly statements and can do my fund switches easily too.

What I Don't Like

It is of course obvious that there are aspects I do not like about the plan. Here are a few:

1. Policy charges every month.
2. Supplementary benefit charge based on face value of policy. This is payable for 10 years.

However, when I consider this to any endowment plan or whole life plan, I find that it suits my overall portfolio very well. It gives me the necessary protection and savings.

Would I have done things differently now?

I am still torn between the "Buy Term Invest the Rest" strategy and the other whole life approach.

If I had bought term insurance and invested the rest using something like the Share Builder's Plan by Philips Capital, I might have gotten higher returns. I might also have gotten worst returns.

If I could turn back the hands of time, I seriously do not know whether I would have bought this plan.

I know many people have complained about the bad returns or low surrender values from their ILPs. I am perhaps the minority that have actually sticked through with my ILP instead of surrendering it. As such, I now see the "fruits" of my labour. It gave me a disciplined way to save for my retirement and gives me protection as well.