How To Help the Poor?

I just watched the show where Christopher Lee and Quan Yifeng (two Singapore based presenters) visit really poor people in Singapore and give their homes a complete makeover.

The episodes are always so heart wrenching.

Today's episode was about an 81 year old granny who had children who had various mental illenesses and sickness.

She has been eating leftover rice for God knows how long, often keeping the left over food in the fridge for days at end. All her children do not work and she has to support all of them. I can really feel the pain in her as she is the sole breadwinner of the family and has been suffering all her life.

Her family also lived without lights for close to 15 years because her daughter set fire to the cables and burnt it.

This TV episode reminds me that there are still a lot of poor people in Singapore whose stories are probably untold.

How can we help the poor? Is the solution simply donations or do they need more support and help from society?

When I think about the money that I spend on a single meal and how that money could actually tide this poor people through, it makes me feel ashame of myself for spending that kind of money on frivolous stuff.

Yet at the same time, I don't see how I can contribute as my income is simply too little.

7 Investment Sins

In making any investment decisions, there are often things we do or fail to do that results in disastrous investment results. This can be called sins of commission or omission. Either way, the result is a bad investment decision. I gleaned this of from a book that I have been reading and tried to contextualise it into our current context.

Here are seven common sins that are made in investment decisions:

1. Buying risky penny stocks without any fundamentals.
2. "It will be different this time".
3. Falling in love with the stock.
4. Panicking when Market crashes (remember 2008?).
5. Thinking you can time the market.
6. Ignoring valuation.
7. Relying too much on price-earnings ratio. (Cash flow is what matters).

The advice above is timeless. We should be careful not to fall into these mistakes. I know some people will think differently about some of the points listed here.

Nevertheless, I think the advice from the book will go a long way in guiding you when you make any investment decision. So instead of making these mistakes, here are some things that you should do instead:

1. Focus on finding solid companies or businesses with shares selling at low valuations.
2. Understand market history, read past stories.
3. Don't get swept away by exciting new products or businesses. Check out the business model first.
4. Fear is your best friend. The best time to buy is often when people are panicking.
5. The market cannot be timed.
6. Pay attention to valuation. Don't hope that some other investor will buy at higher prices.
7. Cash flow (operating cash flow minus expenditures) is what is important for a company's financial performance.

I hope these tips help.

Lessons from Donald Trump's Apprentice

First of all, I must declare that I not a big fan of Donald Trump's Apprentice.

However, I managed to catch a short glimpse of one episode just now. It was interesting I must say and I believe that there were certain lessons that I learnt just by watching a single episode.

James Sun

I wrote about James Sun a few months back. You can read the posting here. He basically made his first million before he was thirty. Since I am almost hitting thirty soon, I feel that I pale in comparison to him. James Sun appeared in the Apprentice and I observed a few things about him:

1. He was charming. He wore nice clothes and always made it a point to look presentable even when the rest were decked out in their pajamas. He always wore a smile and was very well-groomed.

2. He is an achiever. What I mean by this is that he has that certain aura about him that shows he is out to achieve things in life. This is the aura that most successful people have. In the show, he had to make tough decisions and he executed them brilliantly. Even though he is just a few years older than me, his maturity is well beyond me. I respect him for that.

Just reflecting on myself, I realised that my maturity level does not seem to be on par with him. Somehow, foreigners tend to have a different mindset compared to Singaporeans. Maybe that's why Philip Yeo once blasted Singapore guys for being too "whimpy". It seems that we are trapped by certain social norms that makes growing up hard. We stay with our parents for far too long than is necessary and gain financial independence from them too late in life too. All these actually hampers the process of being mature and independent.

Another thing that I realised was how driven he was. It is just a certain aura that floats around driven people. They seem to have stronger opinions about stuff and issues. They make their stand clear and are not too afraid to offend people just to get the task done. On the other hand, I am not so driven and often am too people-focused such that it stands in the way of me accomplishing great things.

I think I need to find my inner voice that will unleash that giant within me. I know that I am capable of greater things but somehow hold myself back for fear of appearing naive or silly in front of others. I am too afraid of other people's opinion about me.

Ivanka Trump

In the show, Ivanka Trump is also featured beside her father, Donald Trump.

From the way she conducts herself and the way she is dressed, I can tell that she is indeed a refined young lady who has had the benefit of growing up in a well-to-do family.

While she does not seem to be as outspoken as her father, she nevertheless exudes a certain charm. Just by looking at her, you can tell that she is RICH.

I wonder what life would be like for her if her father wasn't Donald Trump. But then again, we will never know and can only speculate about such stuff.

Success is not what you achieve, it's what you overcome

The above saying has been in my head recently. I look at what I have achieved and think that it is not worthy of comparison to others. At the same time, I am not satisfied with the things that I have overcomed. Afterall, it does not seem that I have overcome great odds, hardships, trials and tribulations to be where I am today.

Ivanka Trump might be richer than James Sun. But I respect James Sun much more because he has achieved and overcome greater odds relative to Ivanka.

For me, I am just comfortable. And it leads me to believe that I need to overcome greater things in order to become a better person myself. I am always reminded that life is short and that I might not have all the time in the world to achieve all the dreams that I have set out to achieve.

I perhaps need a more driven mindset to achieve this goals. I need a "heck everybody" approach to attain the goals that I want and to become a better person for myself, for my family and for God. In this way, hopefully I can contribute back to society better.

I have many ideas on how I can contribute to society but have not worked hard enough in making any of these come true. I have made too many excuses for myself. Way too many excuses. From today onwards, I will stop making excuses and go out to achieve my goals at all cost. For I know that the outcome of my goals will benefit more people even when I am no longer in this world.

What do you think?

Wireless@SG Login Problems

It was another morning at Macdonalds.

I had a hard time connecting to Wireless@SG because QMax (the internet service provider that I signed up with) was apparently taken over by M1. But how was I to know this?

So I searched high and low for the Qmax signup option but could not find it. I tried to register a new account but could not do it. And because I had no connection to internet, I could not find out who had taken over Qmax.

So I just used my old username and password and tried signing up with M1 and I FINALLY managed to connect to the internet. That was when an announcment popped up to show that M1 was now taking over the services of Qmax!! So stupid... shouldn't they put the announcement at the first page of Wireless@SG to tell people in the first place?

I also don't really like blogging with Wireless@SG because it seems to have problems getting a decent connection with Blogger and my work can sometimes get lost because the bad connection results in a failure to allow Blogger to save my work.

One Hour Later..

I gave up. My hotmail could not load, my blogger could not save, I basically could not get any work done. I gulped down my remaining coffee and made a dash for home. The wireless connection at home was way better than this free wireless here!

It was good that I managed to copy and paste out what I had written earlier onto a text file as I discovered that all my information was gone from Blogger.

That was a bad experience. I thought I could sit down and write something really useful as my creative juices were flowing. But the poor internet connectivity only made me realise that I had wasted time and money getting out of the house to find a nice and quiet place to write some postings.

Suggestions for IDA and all partners dealing with the free wireless service

1. If any service provider gets taken over (in this case, Qmax by M1), the information should be placed at the sign up page so that previous subscribers will know WHO has taken over their accounts.

2. I thought the need to log in for Wireless@SG was being done away with. This really needs to be implemented as soon as possible.

3. Hire me to trial their internet connectivity at various locations. =)

Lessons from My Experience

After this experience, I think I will most probably not go to any "nice and quiet" place to blog anymore. Blogging at home perhaps saves me time and money.

Should I consider being able to blog while on the go, I think I will subscribe to StarHub's mobile broadband. Since I am already using their cable TV services and mobile phone plans, adding a mobile broadband should come cheap. (You have forced me into this, M1 and SingTel)

I hope people have learnt from my experience. Don't assume that the free wireless service is completely good and useful. Sometimes, it just ends up with frustration especially when you cannot get any work done.

Conversation With A Millionaire

Every now and then, one gets an opportunity to speak to a millionaire. Afterall, the number of millionaires in Singapore are increasing each year.

As part of the Chinese New Year visitation process, we make it a point to visit our relatives every year.

This year, I got the chance to meet a rich relative who had just upgraded his house.

The house was stunning and it was everything that one could wish for in a dream home. A stunningly good view, central location, spacious and with really nice furniture and paintings.

The wind was blowing in my face as I stood at the balcony observing the wonderful view while the rich uncle sat down there giving us a brief tour of the various sights that were in front of us.

The thoughts that ran through my head was this: "How long more before I can give my family such a life?"

The rich uncle was living alone with his wife as his children had all grown up and left home to set up their own families.

I wish I will be able to replicate his success while my child is still young. But how much time must I sacrifice in return?

Yet, there was no opportunity for me to ask him how he achieved his success. He was too busy talking to other relatives. I also wasn't very close to him so I did not dare probe him about it less I appeared over-intrusive into his personal affairs.

The conversation just went about things like renovation works, the scenery that we were enjoying and of course about children.

There is a certain aura that accompanies successful men. And I felt that aura. It is not something boastful. It is something I call a "gentle and quiet confidence". Just being in the presence of somebody rich, you can feel this aura that surrounds the person. The way he talks, the way he carries himself, the way he eats...

And all I could do was observe. I observed as much as I could and this was my unspoken conversation with a millionaire. I paid attention to what were his likes and hobbies. I caught a glimpse of his passion for certain things. And I got a clearer picture of the rich in Singapore.

I am sure I could have learnt a lot more if I had just asked.

Financial Freedom Thoughts

Sometime ago, I wrote a post about James Sun. He is a young guy who made his millions from an initial $5000 investment in eBay and other stocks like Intel, etc.

Today, at the age of 32, he has accomplished so much more than I have accomplished in my entire life.

This got me thinking about the journey that I am taking and it makes me wonder whether I will actually achieve it.

Being more aware of my mortality these days, I must admit that I could pass on before any of my dreams have been accomplished. And all will be left of me is this blog.

Of course, it is my hope that this blog will live on long after I do to spur people on to achieving financial freedom, abandoning the rat race and truly contemplating about their purpose in life. When one is caught up in the rat race, it is sometimes impossible to think of one's higher calling in life.

I am listing down ten of my dreams that I hope to accomplish. It is my wish that I can accomplish all these before I die but if I don't, hopefully somebody out there will be inspired by this list of mine and go on to accomplish great things in life.

So here are my ten big dreams:

TEN DREAMS OF MY LIFETIME

1. To Achieve Financial Freedom (Passive income greater than expenditure)

2. To Travel the World

3. To live behind a business of lasting impact and help to people

4. To live in a big house by the lake with lots of books

5. To drive a nice car (BMW 5 series)

6. To play the piano

7. To study overseas in a good university

8. To write a book

9. To build a good stamp collection/art collection

10. To start a charity organisation

How long will I take to achieve my dreams? Do I go about achieving them simultaneously or should I priorities and focus on one big dream at a time? Will I ever achieve all these dreams in my lifetime?

Chinese New Year Thoughts

So Chinese New Year is here again.

I have been doing the usual visiting of relatives, giving out of hongbaos (close to $1000 already) and of course...lots of eating.

However, I kind of sense that every CNY is the same. We get together, catch up, eat and then leave. It has become more of a routine thing per se compared to genuine interest in each other's lives.

Even the giving of the red packet becomes more of a tradition than anything else.