I spent the weekend reading a book that I borrowed from the library. It was titled : "The Forever Portfolio" by James Altucher.
I don't really like to write book reviews but this book really got me blown away as it was easy to read and it also contained lots of gems from a person who truly knows what he is talking about.
In fact, I finished reading the entire book in just 2 days!
The Forever Portfolio basically focuses on 2 simple questions to determine the stocks that one should hold in his or her portfolio:
1. What are the tidal wavelike demographic forces taking shape around the world that we can surf on top of?
2. What companies are best positioned to take advantage of these long-term trends?
The book gives lots of tips on which stocks to look out for and also simple advice on how to "piggyback" on various investment gurus.
While it is written in a US context, I believe that most people will find a gem or two in this book.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and now have a much better understanding of various US businesses and certain stocks that I might want to purchase in the future. I wish I could share more but let me just do some of my own research first...
Profile for IM$avvy
Hi people,
I have been working on crafting my profile for the IM$avvy webpage. I was thinking between revealing myself versus remaining anonymous and decided to go for the latter.
Do give me your comments on what you think:
I have been working on crafting my profile for the IM$avvy webpage. I was thinking between revealing myself versus remaining anonymous and decided to go for the latter.
Do give me your comments on what you think:
Financial Freedom
FF is in his late twenties and believes in the need for people to be informed and educated about personal finance so that they can make better financial decisions. He writes to keep himself updated with the latest developments as well as to inform, educate and entertain the public. He hopes that through his writings on personal finance, people will be able to learn from his experiences and mistakes. He writes frequently at his own blog about his journey towards financial freedom and encourages readers to embark on their own financial journey. Blogging serves as a platform for him to express his thoughts as well as to engage the online community to share their experiences with one another.
FF is in his late twenties and believes in the need for people to be informed and educated about personal finance so that they can make better financial decisions. He writes to keep himself updated with the latest developments as well as to inform, educate and entertain the public. He hopes that through his writings on personal finance, people will be able to learn from his experiences and mistakes. He writes frequently at his own blog about his journey towards financial freedom and encourages readers to embark on their own financial journey. Blogging serves as a platform for him to express his thoughts as well as to engage the online community to share their experiences with one another.Personal Finance in the 21st Century
Just before I was going to sleep last night, I was just brainstorming on certain ideas that I could further develop in the future for my postings. After all, there are those "desert" days when I have lots of topics that I would like to write about but when I start writing them down, I realise that I do not have much "meat" to add to make it a worthwhile posting.
I was just thinking about the concept of personal finance and how it is different in the 21st century compared to the previous centuries.
I personally feel that the concept of personal finance has changed over the hundred of years.
In the past, people had a shorter life expectancy, had close family support and most probably did not have the concept of retirement. These three factors alone were perhaps the reason why most people perhaps only practiced basic money management concepts like saving. Let me expound on the three factors a little more.
In today's developed countries, most people can expect to live way past the age of 70 or 80. Very often, they will no longer be physically fit to carry out any form of employment and thus need to save up to make sure they have enough to survive on when they are no longer working. This was different in the past where people just worked their entire lives (probably because they owned their own business too).
In addition, they no longer live with their children as some even migrate to other countries to live. In the past, families used to stay pretty much together and one could rely on your immediate family members to take care of you once you are old.
The concept of retirement must also be a pretty new concept as people used to work all the way till their death beds. They simply did not have the concept of retirement!
So with these changes, comes the need for people to understand personal finance. When we live longer lives, expect not to receive financial support from our children and expect to enjoy our retirement lives, we will need to actively plan our finances to ensure that we secure a good financial future for ourselves.
The questions we need to ask ourselves are these:
How long do we expect to live?
Do we expect to be financially independent or will we be reliant on our children or family members during our retirement?
Do we even expect to retire by a certain age?
If we know the answers to the questions above, we are better prepared to face the future.
I was just thinking about the concept of personal finance and how it is different in the 21st century compared to the previous centuries.
I personally feel that the concept of personal finance has changed over the hundred of years.
In the past, people had a shorter life expectancy, had close family support and most probably did not have the concept of retirement. These three factors alone were perhaps the reason why most people perhaps only practiced basic money management concepts like saving. Let me expound on the three factors a little more.
In today's developed countries, most people can expect to live way past the age of 70 or 80. Very often, they will no longer be physically fit to carry out any form of employment and thus need to save up to make sure they have enough to survive on when they are no longer working. This was different in the past where people just worked their entire lives (probably because they owned their own business too).
In addition, they no longer live with their children as some even migrate to other countries to live. In the past, families used to stay pretty much together and one could rely on your immediate family members to take care of you once you are old.
The concept of retirement must also be a pretty new concept as people used to work all the way till their death beds. They simply did not have the concept of retirement!
So with these changes, comes the need for people to understand personal finance. When we live longer lives, expect not to receive financial support from our children and expect to enjoy our retirement lives, we will need to actively plan our finances to ensure that we secure a good financial future for ourselves.
The questions we need to ask ourselves are these:
How long do we expect to live?
Do we expect to be financially independent or will we be reliant on our children or family members during our retirement?
Do we even expect to retire by a certain age?
If we know the answers to the questions above, we are better prepared to face the future.
Money Saving Tips
A little while back, I wrote an article on 1001 ways to save money. I thought that I could expound on some of the common money saving tips proposed by various experts and see how it can actually work out in the Singapore context.
One of these money saving tips that you commonly hear is this:
Shop at outlet stores. You can find a lot of nice, even brand names, clothes for a fraction of the price.
Outlet Stores in Singapore
In the first place, I don't really know where to find outlet stores in Singapore. I am not much of a shopper so I would really appreciate if everyone can share the best outlet stores in Singapore to get stuff like clothes and shoes.
Outlet Stores in Malaysia
Over at Malaysia, I frequently come across Factory Outlet stores and also the Reject Shop. These shops often carry certain branded shirts at really a fraction of the price. And that is in Ringgit also! Tell me about a good deal.
The shopping mall just opposite the new immigration complex is where you can find a Factory Outlet store and a Reject Shop. If one does not mind making the trip across the causeway, you can find pretty good deals there.
One of these money saving tips that you commonly hear is this:
Shop at outlet stores. You can find a lot of nice, even brand names, clothes for a fraction of the price.
Outlet Stores in Singapore
In the first place, I don't really know where to find outlet stores in Singapore. I am not much of a shopper so I would really appreciate if everyone can share the best outlet stores in Singapore to get stuff like clothes and shoes.
Outlet Stores in Malaysia
Over at Malaysia, I frequently come across Factory Outlet stores and also the Reject Shop. These shops often carry certain branded shirts at really a fraction of the price. And that is in Ringgit also! Tell me about a good deal.
The shopping mall just opposite the new immigration complex is where you can find a Factory Outlet store and a Reject Shop. If one does not mind making the trip across the causeway, you can find pretty good deals there.
Out of My Comfort Zone
Today, I did something which I never imagined I would actually do in my entire life.
There are alot of things that I have been doing lately which I never thought I would have done but this single step really brings me out of my comfort zone.
For the longest time, blogging has always been something which I have done anonymously. I have never met any of my readers or met up with any of those from the online community.
Today, I took the first step and met someone from CPF regarding the possibility of me contributing as a guest blogger at IM$avvy. It was a scary thought for me as this was the first time I was actually meeting someone regarding my blog.
The feeling was actually like me going for a job interview except that the interviewer had lots of personal information about me!
Most of you will know that I feel that this blog is certainly not like a masterpiece. I would actually be embarrassed to showcase it to anyone. Afterall, my writing has at best been incoherent and at its worst, totally incomprehensible. I don't spend much time editing my work so it is really not amazing that I feel inadequate.
Yet, I came across this quote recently that really inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and to embrace myself for who I really am. I share with all of you this quote:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
There are alot of things that I have been doing lately which I never thought I would have done but this single step really brings me out of my comfort zone.
For the longest time, blogging has always been something which I have done anonymously. I have never met any of my readers or met up with any of those from the online community.
Today, I took the first step and met someone from CPF regarding the possibility of me contributing as a guest blogger at IM$avvy. It was a scary thought for me as this was the first time I was actually meeting someone regarding my blog.
The feeling was actually like me going for a job interview except that the interviewer had lots of personal information about me!
Most of you will know that I feel that this blog is certainly not like a masterpiece. I would actually be embarrassed to showcase it to anyone. Afterall, my writing has at best been incoherent and at its worst, totally incomprehensible. I don't spend much time editing my work so it is really not amazing that I feel inadequate.
Yet, I came across this quote recently that really inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and to embrace myself for who I really am. I share with all of you this quote:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson
Well, I am glad that I actually took this step out of my comfort zone.
Jim Rogers on Saving
I came across some gems when flipping the Sunday Times.
"Everybody should save, especially early in their careers when they need to have reserves. My first wife wanted to buy a sofa but I told her not to do so because if we put that money for the sofa into investments, we could eventually buy 10 sofas." - Jim Rogers, investor
Good piece of advice about savings from Jim Rogers.
The problem with many people is that once they start working, they suddenly find this urge to spend their money on things that they have never been able to buy before. What they do is go out for some retail therapy. And instead of saving money first, they end up spending lots of money.
"Saving is something you should do to satisfy your liquidity needs. However, the main purpose of saving beyond your immediate liquidity needs is to generate higher returns for your future consumption." David Lee, managing director of Ferrell Asset Management.
Something for all of us to think about.
"Everybody should save, especially early in their careers when they need to have reserves. My first wife wanted to buy a sofa but I told her not to do so because if we put that money for the sofa into investments, we could eventually buy 10 sofas." - Jim Rogers, investor
Good piece of advice about savings from Jim Rogers.
The problem with many people is that once they start working, they suddenly find this urge to spend their money on things that they have never been able to buy before. What they do is go out for some retail therapy. And instead of saving money first, they end up spending lots of money.
"Saving is something you should do to satisfy your liquidity needs. However, the main purpose of saving beyond your immediate liquidity needs is to generate higher returns for your future consumption." David Lee, managing director of Ferrell Asset Management.
Something for all of us to think about.
Best Financial Advice Ever
We all have had friends or family give us some personal finance or investment advice.
While mulling over it yesterday, I was wondering which was the best financial advice I ever received in my life. I realised that the few important or best advice that I got were either from books, family, friends or even people who posted in forums.
Today, I will share with you TWO of the BEST financial advice I ever got.
#1 - Pay Yourself First
I can't really remember where I got this advice from. I believe it is from some book or maybe some forum. It took me quite a while to understand this golden piece of advice and I have been practicing this ever since I finally understood what it means.
To pay yourself first means to take your paycheck and then literally PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
You take out a portion of your income and save it or invest it first. Different people implement this differently so you might like to find out the ways you can go about doing it.
The idea is actually really simple and basically creates the discipline to SAVE FIRST before you even spend a single cent on food or clothing or anything else.
To date, this is the best financial advice I received because I used to pay myself LAST. That means that I basically saved or invested whatever money was leftover for that month. This resulted in months where I had little or no savings at all.
#2 - Don't Contra
This was advice given to me by many people which I failed to heed. To contra stocks means to buy and sell stocks without having to put up any money.
The lure of being able to buy stocks when they are low and selling them when they are high within 3 trading days seems so attractive. Afterall, you don't even have to use any real cash and it seems like one is able to make money without the need to even put up any money.
The problem with Contra is that time is against you. One only has 3 trading days to hope that the price of the stock will go up. If it goes down, you are forced to sell the stock for a lower price and thus incur a loss.
My view nowadays is that one should not contra at all, even if he or she has the money to buy the stock. It does not make logical sense to hold a stock just for 3 days to sell it off later.
Conclusion
Pay yourself first and don't contra. This are two of the best advice I have ever received. I have received many other sorts of advice but these two will always stay with me.
What is the best financial advice you have ever received?
While mulling over it yesterday, I was wondering which was the best financial advice I ever received in my life. I realised that the few important or best advice that I got were either from books, family, friends or even people who posted in forums.
Today, I will share with you TWO of the BEST financial advice I ever got.
#1 - Pay Yourself First
I can't really remember where I got this advice from. I believe it is from some book or maybe some forum. It took me quite a while to understand this golden piece of advice and I have been practicing this ever since I finally understood what it means.
To pay yourself first means to take your paycheck and then literally PAY YOURSELF FIRST.
You take out a portion of your income and save it or invest it first. Different people implement this differently so you might like to find out the ways you can go about doing it.
The idea is actually really simple and basically creates the discipline to SAVE FIRST before you even spend a single cent on food or clothing or anything else.
To date, this is the best financial advice I received because I used to pay myself LAST. That means that I basically saved or invested whatever money was leftover for that month. This resulted in months where I had little or no savings at all.
#2 - Don't Contra
This was advice given to me by many people which I failed to heed. To contra stocks means to buy and sell stocks without having to put up any money.
The lure of being able to buy stocks when they are low and selling them when they are high within 3 trading days seems so attractive. Afterall, you don't even have to use any real cash and it seems like one is able to make money without the need to even put up any money.
The problem with Contra is that time is against you. One only has 3 trading days to hope that the price of the stock will go up. If it goes down, you are forced to sell the stock for a lower price and thus incur a loss.
My view nowadays is that one should not contra at all, even if he or she has the money to buy the stock. It does not make logical sense to hold a stock just for 3 days to sell it off later.
Conclusion
Pay yourself first and don't contra. This are two of the best advice I have ever received. I have received many other sorts of advice but these two will always stay with me.
What is the best financial advice you have ever received?
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