I am Powerful Beyond Measure

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure"

How powerful am I? Beyond measure? The sense of inadequacy tends to set in especially when I am day-dreaming. Or sometimes, it hits when I am reflecting on life as a whole and I see where my peers are at and where I am compared to them. It is then that I feel entirely inadequate.

But I know deep down inside that I am powerful beyond measure. I know that I can change the world , one word at a time, one action at a time and one step at a time. And that is my deepest fear. That I am actually powerful enough to move the world and make it a different and perhaps a better place.

But how can this be? I am a nobody. If you saw me walking down the street, you will not recognise me. Even though you read this blog day in and out, you do not even know me. I am a nobody and yet I am a somebody. How amazing and ironical is that?

Today, I decided that there are areas in my life that I want to do more. And I know that I can do and contribute in so many ways. Here is my list of things that I hope to accomplish or contribute:

Giving to NUS

If you have found this blog useful in one way or another, you could donate to a few organisations of my choice. (Of course, you can donate it to me too) Ha..ha..

Well, the first organisation that you can make a contribution to is the National University of Singapore. Visit the website for more information. Any donation no matter how big or small will help in ways that you cannot imagine. Remember, our actions can change the world. One bit at a time. So do donate.

http://giving.nus.edu.sg/

Club Rainbow and Straits Times Pocket Money

Well, if donating to NUS is not something that you had in mind. Then may I recommend you another 2 options. They are Club Rainbow and the Straits Times Pocket Money Fund. I learnt about Club Rainbow when I ran a $10 donation contest to ask people to pick their favorite charity. That was when I heard about the charity Club Rainbow. Club Rainbow basically helps children who suffers from various chronic diseases.

You can learn more about this 2 organisations/funds in the links below:

http://www.clubrainbow.org/Web/main.aspx?ID=,ff5b5272-18ab-4937-87ca-2acf8e72b0a6

http://www.straitstimes.com/spmf/School+Pocket+Money+Fund.html

So do visit those sites and make a donation today. No matter how small the amount, it is the thought that counts.

Thanks.

Tiredness Sets In and US Dancing with Debt

Phew... it has been a busy week. I have been doing some of my own research on REITs in Singapore but was too frightened to enter into the market during the recent weeks due the US "debt crisis". On hindsight, I guess we should have all figured that the Republicans and Democrats would have struck a deal in the end. But hindsight is always 20/20 and I guess at that point in time, no one could really tell.

Regardless of the "good" news that the debt default is no longer a worry, the next concern will be the potential downgrade of US credit rating by the various rating agencies from AAA to something probably lower.

Somehow deep inside me, I know that the US debt crisis is actually a time bomb waiting to occur. There must be seriously a lot of wastage in terms of public spending when a government starts to rely on debt to finance its spending.

I wonder what will the impact and how the markets will look like in the near future with the less than optimistic forecasts ahead. Dark clouds perhaps?

US Likely to Avoid Debt Default

It seems that the US will avoid a potential debt default. After weeks of following this issue on and off, I was quite amazed at the amount of politics at play here. It seems that congressional leaders will most likely approve a deal to raise America's debt ceiling. And somehow I don't think the deal was what President Barack Obama wanted as he was initially calling for one, broad debt agreement that included cuts, entitlements and also taxes.

The final deal that will go before Congress this week seems to be a compromise which includes cuts of about $1 trillion and also relying on a bipartisan congressional committee (I will take that to mean comprising both Democrats and Republicans) to propose by November another $1.5 trillion in other deficit reductions that could range from cuts, entitlements or tax increase. This new dealwill pave the way for US to avoid the Aug 2 default.

With this good news, gold prices decline from their record prices while oil prices continue to climb. Will the Singapore stock market also respond positively to the news once the final agreement is reached? It is scary to think that one day away from the deadline, the most powerful nation in the world is leaving it really till the last minute to finalise something as important as this.

Singapore's 40 Richest

Singapore's 40 richest are now apparently worth a collective total of US$54.4 billion based on a Straits Times report that cites the rich list published by Forbes Asia. It somehow shows that the wealthy have managed to increased their networth despite a turbulent economy and a very weak stock market.

At the top of the list with US$8.9billion is the family of the late Ng Teng Fong. This was up by US$1.1 billion. Their wealth is tied closely to their 2 largest property holdings - Far East Organisation and another Hong Kong listed property firm.

Second on the list is family of the late Khoo Teck Puat at US$6.7 billion. They are invested in Goodwood Park Hotel.

There were also newcomers to the billionaire list.

Wide Awake at 12:52AM & Random Thoughts

Why Scrambled Eggs Matter and What They Tell

What a weekend! Was really looking forward to Saturday after a hectic week in the office. (Well, work is always hectic for me in a sense..) Breakfast was nicely done at SimplyBread. Had the delicious ham steak served with scrambled eggs. Felt that the toast was sort of burnt but the scrambled eggs were really good. Anyone who can cook scrambled eggs better than me definitely deserves praise. And there are really not many places in Singapore that serves good scrambled eggs.

I am not really a foodie. But when it comes to discerning good food - especially "Western style" breakfasts, scrambled eggs is the sole criterion by which I judge whether a certain cafe or stuff deserves a second visit. Scrambled eggs is like fried rice. If you can find a good zi char stall that sells good fried rice, its other dishes ought to be pretty good as well. It is really the basic dishes that sets the good apart from the rest. And when it comes to breakfast, it is really the SCRAMBLED EGGS.

You see, I am not much of a cook myself. I hardly step into the kitchen. But one dish that I think I can cook pretty well is scrambled eggs. I am not sure where I picked up the recipe for scrambled eggs but I guess it must be my mum or something. Of course, watching Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver must have added some of its influences on me as well. Of course, eating scrambled eggs at Bill Granger's restaurant in Sydney must really be THE MOMENT for me in realising how a simple dish really tells so much about a place.

And the fact is that scrambled eggs needs to be cooked with butter and of course, "stirred" continously. It should never be cooked like an omelette where you literally fry it (I have witnessed some egg counters in certain hotels/resorts do just that) !! That is a strict No-No for scrambled eggs. It needs to be continously stirred under low heat in the most loving manner. And that is what makes it scrambled if you ask me.

After Breakfast Happenings

Well, that is so much for breakfast. There wasn't really much that I wanted to do afterwards and there wasn't really much to do after a satisfying breakfast. Went to Hort Park for a walk to soak in some nature. It didn't help that the weather was almost scorching hot. In short, it was a bit too hot for my liking. Lunch was at Burger King. Pretty simple fare and I somehow realised that I don't enjoy fastfood as much as I used too in the past. I used to love fastfood - like I thought it was really yummy- even though I know it was unhealthy and stuff. Nowadays, I don't really like it so much anymore. Perhaps it is just changing tastes. I very much prefer my chicken rice or wanton mee than Macs or KFC or Burger King.

Wasn't able to get an afternoon nap as the little one was kind of cranky the whole day. We ended up eating a really really early dinner if you ask me. I wasn't too hungry but ate anyway. End up taking a nap at like 7pm and woke up at around 10pm only to find that I could no longer put myself to sleep...

TV and the Latin Epic Poem

Watched a bit of NatGeo Wild and it was quite silly to spend an entire hour seeing some person try to figure out whether sharks were inhabiting some part of some river in some part of South Africa. It was really quite a waste of time since they could have easily cut the chase and went straight to the findings.. Got a bit irritated just waiting for them to reveal WHICH shark was actually inhabiting the river...

When one is wide awake at this hour, there isn't really much to do. I don't Facebook as often as I used to and I don't really get much time to hang out with friends nowadays. It is really just me and the internet or me and my books. Have been struggling to complete Virgil's The Aeneid. Yes, I have been spending my time on such frivolous readings - books which really just delight me and which I do not really spend to much time to analyse or think about.

After reading the Iliad, I decided that I was really quite fascinated with all these ancient epic poems and stuff. These were definitely books that I would not consider reading in the past but now...I actually enjoy them... it is really weird. Maybe I am growing more "artsy fartsy".. hahah...or maybe it just gives me a sense of accomplishment to read this supposed classics. The wife sniggers at me when she sees me reading them . She thinks that I am reading them because of their cover and their title. Well, she might be correct to a certain extent but the truth is, I actually do quite like the stories (or maybe the translator's story since most of these were written in Greek and Latin so I am probably reading a translator's interpretation of it).

Random Thoughts

Well, lots of random thoughts. I just spent a good hour of my time watching magic on youtube. I never really liked magic. Or perhaps it was my exposure to David Copperfield kind of magic in my early days. I could never quite tell whether it was clever film editing or stuff. Besides, I don't really like the parts where they put their lives on the line to saw their bodies in half.

But lately, I have been quite interested and intrigued with the simpler magic tricks. Those involving the simple cups and balls, cards, coins, rope and stuff. And if one must watch any magician, I recommend Slydini. Wonderful sleight of hand techniques and misdirection. I can't even tell how he does some of his tricks. Ricky Jay is also pretty good with cards (not to say being a very entertaining comedian at the same time). Bebel is quite slick too even though I don't understand French. But I could serioulsy spend hours just watching them perform their tricks over and over again. Even though I know how some parts of it are done, it is really amazing to watch this people perform it in such an artistic manner. The sheer amount of practice required is truly amazing.

Song of the week in my head: Hope of all Hearts by PlanetShakers
Mood : Uncertain about the future

Stop Letting Work Define Who You Are

We often fall into the habit of letting our work define our entire being. And it is difficult to get out of this mindset. Sometimes, I wish I were a little braver.. That I will be able to stop living life the way others have defined it for me, break out of the moulds, get out of the silly rat race, and start truly living life.

But then, there are bills to pay. And someone has to feed the family. So I put off all my wildest dreams of like travelling the world (on a really shoe string budget), or setting off to some far flung place and anchoring myself there for like the rest of eternity...

And i know that slowly the bright spark in me is dying and slowly fading. I am very much less cheerful nowadays. I prefer to be left alone. I desire for something more than this seemingly mundane life. I am not making a living. I am making a "dying" literally.

Don't get me wrong. It is not that I am not happy at my job. But sometimes, I just get the sense that this isn't what I should be doing. Reaching home past seven pm on each weekday is not something that I desire. (Of course, i know there are those of you who reach home much later than I do).

I need to find new inspiration, set new priorities, find my purpose and live my life with passion.

So my dear friend: Please don't let your work define who you are. I am trying hard to do that. We deserve so much more than all these.

Paper Chasing in Singapore and Choosing a Job that Makes You Happy

I wrote about the Paper chase in Singapore a few days back. I must admit I got a bit side tracked from writing about how much one needs to get married where I wanted to share more about the costs of getting married in Singapore. I promise to get back to that once I am done with my ranting on the ingrained mindset of paper chasing in Singapore.

ARGH! THAT WAS ME IN THE MIRROR

I seriously could not believe that when I got home today, I actually spent a large amount of time researching on the various masters courses that I could take in Singapore. A good part of my evening was gone just researching on SMU, NTU and NUS. I even contemplated signing up for other courses like ACCA or CFA. But then I got lost in the myriad of requirements and stuff. This pretty much sums up the Singaporean obsession with paper qualifications. I have seen the enemy and I am one of them! I am just like any other Singaporean who focuses too much on paper qualifications.

Choosing a Job That Makes You Happy

It was definitely timely to read an article about choosing a job that makes one happy. Am I happy in my job? Do I have passion for it? I can't be certain. Some days I wake up gearing to go to work. Then there are other times (long stretches I admit) where I simply don't fill the urge to go to work at all.

The Paper Chase in Singapore

Singaporeans I realised are obsessed with the paper chase. Qualifications seem to be the sole criterion by which we judge others and almost everyone else. Who went to which grad school and blah blah blah. It annoys me to the max sometimes how superficial we all get. And it is worsened by the fact that people actually think real education is only obtained in the better universities. In fact, I would like to think that most of us are not educated at all even after we leave university.

But the paper chase in Singapore is here to stay. And it seems like those who command respect are usually those who have made it into the top universities overseas. No matter how much I would like to deny this fact, it remains the fact and will most probably remain as such. And it is sad that we as a society place such high value on paper qualifications.

Sigh. This is a sad fact of life. And I better learn how to live with it or ship out.

How Much To Get Married (Part 2) - HDB Flat

A few days back, I wrote about the cost of getting married in Singapore. In that post, I gave a brief outline on the items that a typical Chinese couple in Singapore would spend on. One of the big ticket items I identified was one's housing.

For most couples who have just started working and are probably not earning a lot (or born with a silver spoon), they will most probably opt to buy a HDB flat. This is perhaps the cheapest option unless you are willing to rent or stay with parents/in-laws.

When to rent

Some couples might opt to rent a flat or a room instead of buying their own HDB flat. This is usually due to cost considerations or because one is able to get a flat of choice. Others might simply want to be debt free and so choose to rent instead of buy. As a guide, one's mortgage loans (plus other debt payments) should not exceed 35% of the couple's combined salary. Most couples who have been working for 1-2 years should be below the $8000 combined income ceiling and should be eligible for a HDB flat.

In my personal opinion, it does not make sense to rent a HDB flat for long term since the HDB owner will most probably rent it out at a rate much higher than his or her own monthly mortgage payments. For e.g. if my monthly mortgage payment for my HDB flat is $1000, I will definitely rent it out at above $1000. This is common sense and so renting a flat is most probably a short term plan for most couples since it will be more cost efficient to pay the lower mortgage payments compared to the more expensive rent.

Buy A Flat

Buying a HDB flat is most probably cheap if you have money in your CPF. If both couples have been working and have build up sufficient amounts in their CPF-OA, they most probably will have enough to pay the deposit for the flat. Occasionally, some might have to top up the amounts with cash as they might not have sufficient amount of money in their CPF-OA.

In other instances, when buying a resale flat, the owner might ask for cash over valuation. Understand that this ranges quite a bit depending on flat type and location. But as a guide, I don't think that one should be overspending in this area. For me, $20K will be the maximum cash over valuation that I will be willing to pay now. This is because the HDB has just announced that it will be building a huge supply of flats. This flats will be ready probably in 2012 onwards. Based on that, one can expect the prices to come down a bit so if you can afford to wait, do wait. But for me personally, $20K is the maximum cash over valuation that I will be willing to pay.

What do the rest think? Is $20K a reasonable sum to budget for cash over valuation? Or is it too much/little?

How Much To Get Married

A common topic amongst my single friends is the amount of money that they require to get married. Many of them lament that it will cost them a bomb to get married. Big ticket items include paying for the house (cash over valuation), renovation, holding a wedding lunch/dinner @ a hotel, buying the engagement ring and of course other miscellaneous expenses. Some of them reckon that they need as much as $50k and above to get married in Singapore!

Surely there must be a cheaper way to get married in Singapore and still enjoy the perks of all the above. Let's do a rough breakdown of the expenses and perhaps in my next few posts, I can touch on how one might save up on each of the big ticket items.

As mentioned above, the big ticket items are as follows and estimated costs are also shown:

1. Buying a HDB flat (Cash over valuation) = $20-$50k (Rest is usually paid by CPF)
2. Renovation = $20 to $40K
3. Wedding dinner/lunch = $20k to $30k (depends on hotel and no. of tables)
4. Engagement ring = $1k to $10k (depends on the depth of the guy's wallet)
5. Photography + Wedding gown/suit = $1k to $5k
6. Miscellaneous lunches, hongbaos = $1k to $2k
7. Honeymoon = $500 to $10k (depending on where and when you travel)

Anything else to add to the list?

Weekend in Monochrome

Do we see the world in black and white, then paint the colours in?

Weekend in Black & White and the visit to ColBar

If there is no right and wrong, all things are grey. Arguments are meaningless if there is no such thing as an absolute right and wrong. If wrong and right are just references that are subjective to each person, we will not be able to agree fully on certain issues. Life is always much simpler when you view it in terms of black and white. - Random Philosophical thoughts

The weekend was spent lazing around different places in Singapore. Visited the Colonial Bar or ColBar for short for dinner during the weekend. Ate Chicken Curry with rice. Wasn't too bad though it did leave me wondering whether $10 was too hefty a price tag to pay for just one piece of chicken and rice. I guess the owners must have factored in the ambience of the ColBar.

ColBar is tucked away in a really secluded part of Singapore where many old colonial houses are still found. It is located along Portsdown Road (exit via AYE before Alexander Road). The residences there are simply worlds apart from the Singapore that I live in. It is almost like stepping into another era, another timezone altogether.

There, I saw expats living in a totally different world, children bouncing on trampolines, swinging on swings tied to large trees with overhanging branches. It was simply peaceful, serene and so away from the normal hustle and bustle of Singapore. It is no wonder that many expats love to stay here. I think I hardly saw a single local in my walk around the area. The houses were the usual black and white colonial era kind of houses. There were garden parties going on. This is a world detached from Singapore. Detached from all the cares and worries of modern Singapore.

Hitting 10,000 Unique Visitors and Some Blogs are Meant to be Savored

Hitting 10,000 Visitors Per Day

Blogging. I have probably written lots about it before and the targets that I have set for myself previously. Loyal readers of my blog will most probably know the targets that I have set for myself in terms of blog traffic and stuff. I realised that I have not been pursuing those targets that I have set for myself previously and that has somehow resulted in me being haphazard in my approach towards this blog.

It all starts with the mindset that goes: "Forget about those targets, let's just do what I want and blog about what I want to." Come to think of it, targets are actually not that bad. At least they help me to stay on track and be focused.

My target for this blog is to get 10,000 unique visitors per day. Will I be able to achieve such astounding numbers? I do not know. Currently, the only "medals" I have to show for from this past time and secret hobby of mine is as follows:

1. Blog link on Mr Tan Kin Lian's Blog. Most Singaporeans will know that Mr Tan Kin Lian is one of the current 3 Presidential Candidates for Singapore). Yes, my blog link is actually on his blog! Wow, I am surprised that he actually placed my blog link when I asked for a link exchange! =) Coincidentally, all the presidential candidates have surnames "Tan". Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Dr Tony Tan and Mr Tan Kin Lian. Ha..just realised it when I was writing this post.

2. CPF IMSavvy Blogger. I actually made it as one of the guest bloggers on CPF's IMSavvy site.

Well, I must say that I must be one of the lazier bloggers there cos I haven't really found time to write lately. But I promise that I will do more to make personal finance as interesting a topic as I can to many Singaporeans. I don't profess to be an expert but rather think that there is a lot we can learn from each other's experience. Theory helps but I think practical advice and real life experience is what most Singaporeans can probably relate to better. And that is why I have been rather open about taboo topics like my income and expenditure. Hopefully, that paves the way for better conversation surrounding the topic of personal finance. Some of my guest posts there can be found in this link here: Guest Posts on CPF IMSavvy

3. People are willing to put up guest posts on my blog. I have been getting emails from various sources requesting for me to feature guest articles on my site. Browse through my blog and you are sure to find some of these guest posts which I thought my bring a certain amount of "freshness" to this blog. Do let me know if you would also like to contribute a guest post. Just drop an email to sgfinancialfreedom@gmail.com.

Some Blogs Are Meant To Be Savored....

Yes, hitting 10,000 unique visitors might be a target that I set. But I still hope that this blog will be as personal as possible. And that readers will find something that they can relate to here. My achievements in life might not be many but I do hope that there are articles and posts here that people will be able to draw inspiration or strength from. The last thing I want readers to go away with is this crazy hunger or greed for money. While this blog is titled "Financial Freedom", I certainly do believe that there are probably many many more things in life that are more important than being rich/achieving financial freedom, etc.

As always, I welcome feedback. Any feedback that you might have. Please let me know how I can improve this blog by commenting below or just dropping me an email. Thank you and have a great weekend ahead!!

Father's Day Reflections

Wishing all readers (who are fathers) a most happy Father's day.

Being a father, I now understand the pain and unspoken sacrifices that many fathers take. The journey is not always easy so give yourself a big pat on the back. Even though you feel that you might have failed your family in one way or another, don't be too hard on yourself. Being a father is never easy. Being a good father is even harder. We are all fallible human beings. We get tired, make mistakes, and sometimes neglect the more important things in life.

So take a breather.. and just wish yourself a happy father's day. Nobody is perfect. But as a father, we all try to be perfect for our children. Even though we might fail many times.

Happy Father's Day.

Self employed? You need income protection!

If you’re self employed, you’ll be very aware of what your dollars can do. You’ll also be extremely conscious of the possibilities of your income drying up on you if you’re unable to do the work. That does happen, and it’s something you can cover with income protection insurance.

The risks

Even a minor situation can put you out of the loop for contracts and new jobs. That’s the nightmare, and it’s no joke for anyone who’s self employed. Something as simple as a minor injury can take you out of your income stream quite easily. If you’re a graphic artist who’s broken something, you can be stuck with sitting around waiting for things to heal, while your bills come in regardless.

This can hit cashflow in all the wrong ways. If you don’t have any cash on hand, or more likely if your cash is tied up in your business, the lack of cashflow is potentially destructive. Equally important, your clients may be “on hold”, waiting for work while you recover. That situation can often be fixed by subcontracting or outsourcing things you’d normally do yourself- If you have the cash to do it.

Not having the cash is likely to be the sticking point in any version of these scenarios. That’s also not including the domestic expenses, which can also be caught out in the sudden drying up of the income stream. Power bills, rates, you name it, they add up to a situation where plenty of money can be going out and none coming in.

Dodging the financial bullets

These situations are all quite avoidable. A good income protection policy can cover you for your expenses and in many cases even your medical needs. That’s useful cover when you need it, and it’s also a very good way of staying clear of those interesting “surprises” when you find out how much you have to pay for these things.

The cost of the income protection cover isn’t particularly expensive. You can get something like 75% of your income covered upfront, for a small, bearable outlay. You can also get packages that include serious full coverage for things like disability and related benefits.

Important: It’s a good idea to apply directly for quotes from the insurers, and get into a dialog about your needs. There may be a range of options available to you to lock in some good cover for your issues, and this extra effort can pay off very well in terms of providing comprehensive cover when you need it most.

Take the time to really think about this:

What are the risks of suddenly losing your income stream? These things include loss of business, too, so you need to consider a worst case scenario, to fully assess the situation.

What can you afford as an outlay for insurance? Cash outlays can be a little complex for self employed people, particularly if you’re just starting out, so try to pin down a good level of cover, relative to a viable outlay that you can live with.

When you’ve figured out what you need, talking to your insurer will provide a range of options. You can get it all done in a few minutes, and have some added peace of mind.

[The above is a guest post. If you are interested in contributing a guest post to this blog, please email sgfinancialfreedom@gmail.com with your proposed article. The topic of the article should be related to personal finance.]

A Brutally Honest Post

I have slowly realised what makes a good blog post. It is simply this: Sharing honestly about your thoughts and opinion. And that is what readers truly want to see and read. They want to hear about your honest thoughts about a matter and not some regurgitated facts (which I am sometimes guilty of).

Being brutally honest is necessary for blogging. But it is also relevant our lives in general. I had a flashback of some vacation work that I used to do while I was waiting to enter into the army for my national service. It was at a conference room. And the manager was rebuking his staff for not bringing value to their jobs. He even told them that he often went on job interviews outside to test his market value and encouraged his staff to do so. To which, one of his staff answered: " We are loyal to this company. Why would we do that?"

At that point in time in my life, I thought that manager was seriously one of those bad bosses. His staff would talk behind his back. They clearly did not like him. But today, I recalled the lesson he taught and realised that his staff probably missed the gist of his message. Loyalty to a company is not relevant to the question. The manager was really asking his staff what sort of value were they bringing to the job and why the company should be paying them. His challenge was for them to quit complaining and add value. And the true test of whether you are bringing value to the job is if another company is willing to pay you as much or even more.

Today as I thought about this point, I realised how true it is. For many years in my life now, I have been working and receiving my pay as though someone owed me a living. I shunned extra work and was always jealous of others who got promoted faster than me. I then had to ask myself this question. Do I quit and find another job? Or do I stay on?

But perhaps the more important question is whether do I add value to the job that I am in. How am I performing? Can someone do this job better than me? Where is my value add? Does my boss look at me and think: "This guy is the best person for the job." Or does he simply look elsewhere. This are hard questions that I ask myself each day. And it is particularly difficult because I am introverted in nature and don't get the chance to shine like the extroverts do. Somehow in all my education, I feel that I have somehow neglected my interpersonal skills, communication skills, persuasion skills and stuff. I might be older but I sure ain't wiser than the fresh graduate who comes in.

I have searched hard for an answer and the harder I drill down to the important questions, the more brutally it hurts. The sense of inadequacy, the feeling that I would do better at the job if I were an extrovert nibbles at me. I question whether it was my family upbringing or whether it was just my personality that got in the way. Or perhaps it was because of the faithful decision I made not to study overseas but locally that has driven me to where I am today. But one cannot look back at the past and wonder. Instead, I need to look ahead and hope for the future. But the baggage of the past sometimes weigh me down. Perhaps a better university would have done me some good in my career progression. Perhaps a more outgoing personality. Perhaps being a little taller. Perhaps being a bit more handsome. I don't know. Somehow, it seems like working hard alone is not enough. A certain X factor is required.

I once thought I was clever. But when I started working, I realised that there are much cleverer people around me. Now I no longer think I am clever. In fact, I doubt whether I am even average in intelligence. Surely if I was above average, I wouldn't be where I am today.

This is a brutally honest post. It is about brutal questions I have to ask myself.

Heavy Rain and Flash Floods in Singapore

The sky gave way early this morning and it started to pour like crazy over at my place. Good thing we sort of predicted that there would be heavy rain and decided to bring along an umbrella while we were eating at the nearby market.

While driving, I could hardly see the road ahead of me even with my wiper turned to full speed. And I was almost pretty certain that there would be flash floods around Singapore after it was still raining like closet to 2 hours later. Sure enough, on my way back, parts of the expressway was flooded. Just read the news too that Tanglin Mall's basement also got flooded.

Perhaps the weather is really getting more freaky in recent years. But surely there has been a case of one too many flash floods in the past few years. It wasn't too long ago that I wrote about flooding in Singapore. While we definitely cannot become flood free throughout the whole of Singapore, I think it is important that certain parts of Singapore should be flood free. And Orchard Road definitely deserves to be flood free.

I am a noob/amateur regarding real estate but I would like to think that if flooding becomes common occurrence in Orchard Road, the developers would have to charge a lower rent. Insurers will also probably charge a higher premium to insure the shops located at the lower levels in case of these freak floods that occur. All these translates to "losses" to Singapore in one way or another.

For the rest of Singapore, I am sure we can accept flash floods now and then. But still, this should not be occurring near residential areas and stuff.

Opinions Stinks and Other Facts of Life

Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one, and it stinks. This saying is extremely true not only at work or even just in normal family life. I have come to realise that everyone can have a slightly different opinion about something even when presented with exactly the same facts. This happens very often in my workplace. Same information, but sometimes, very differing views.

And I am pleasantly surprised to note that opinions also vary even at home. Just today my wife was recounting an encounter with a woman who wanted to have a 2nd child and intended to put her 1st child in full day childcare once the 2nd child came along. My wife thought that this was not right as that defeated the whole point of having a 2nd one. And she sort of wanted me to agree with her on this matter.

Instead, I told her that different people have different viewpoints about the same matter. What seems SO WRONG to her might actually seem like the logical and correct thing to do. And the problem with it is that both parties will never be able to accept the viewpoints of the other party wholeheartedly. And that is where all differences arise from. - the lack of an absolute truth, or compass, to guide us on what is the correct behaviour or what should be relegated and stated as merely a lifestyle preference.

My wife berated me when she heard me say this. She said: "But don't you think it is wrong??"

When I replied the same answer about different people having different viewpoints about the same matter and both thinking that they are absolutely right, she got even angrier and said that it was not right to have no opinions about a matter and to simply be like a blank sheet of paper that accepts both sides of the argument without making a stand.

I would like to think that I am able to hold two opposing thoughts in my head and still function like a normal human being.

Other Facts of Life

Life isn't fair. The sooner you realise it, the better. I have always grown up thinking that life was fair and got angry whenever I saw certain unfairness in life. Now I have come to accept it and realise that life isn't fair. It isn't no matter how much you want it to be.

CPF Minimum Sum Revised from $123,000 to $131,000

I read with interest the news about the revision to the CPF Minimum Sum. From 1 July 2011, the CPF Minimum Sum will be revised upwards from $123,000t to $131,000. This was announced by the CPF Board recently. The new Minimum Sum applies to CPF members who turn age 55 from 1 July 2011 to 30 Jun 2012. In fact, the Minimum Sum scheme was set at $80,000 in 2003 and has been revised upwards yearly, taking into account adjustments for inflation.

The Minimum Sum scheme is meant to help CPF members prepare for retirement where they can potentially have lifelong income for the rest of their lives.

Surprisingly, I noticed that many young people seemed to be unaware about the minimum sum scheme and how it applies to them. These people often have the misconception that retirement is something that they should worry about later on in their working lives and thus cannot be bothered about such schemes that will only affect them later on in life.

Please refer to the following link for more details on the CPF Minimum Sum

http://ask-us.cpf.gov.sg/Home/Hybrid/themes/CPF/Uploads/RSD_WDL/CPF_Minimum_Sum_Scheme.pdf

Balding Help

Help, I am balding! Over the years, I have noticed that my hairline has been slowly receding. At first, I thought that my eyes were most probably deceiving me and that I was just being over sensitive. But slowly but surely, I started to notice a bit of baldness on my head. In fact, it is so bad that I am no longer able to comb my hair the way that I used to.

Well, if you see me, you will probably think that I am joking when I say that I am balding. Because I still have quite a bit of hair on my head. But that is probably because of the way that I style my hair nowadays. It sorts of cover the parts that are balding. But the truth is that my hair is thinning at the top and it has made it extremely difficult to comb my hair. I am not sure what style to use anymore. In fact, I have sort of resigned to the fact that I no longer look as good as before.

Balding used to be a problem that was so far away from my mind. After all, I have always been blessed with lots of hair. And I used to laugh at hair commercials. Now I know why there are so many such hair commercials around! Because men are seriously affected when it comes to balding. Not a day goes by without me looking at the mirror and wondering whether there is something that I can do to stop the balding.

If anybody knows any cure for balding, I need help! Don't want to eat any of those pills though.

Insurance as asset protection- Things you need to know

Insurance covers a range of given dollar values. That’s the first thing you need to know about insurance. You can get specified coverage for practically anything, when you need it. Home insurance is a good working model to see what insurance can do to protect your assets.

Home insurance basics

Home insurance provides cover for events and provides upfront payout values. These values are your best guide to self defence for your assets and will show your costs upfront as well. The top new insurers are offering a range of flexible policies that can be managed online, including premiums.

Home insurance is a truly efficient way of covering a range of issues, including legal liabilities, which can be horrendously expensive. If a person has an accident on your property, they may have to sue to recover their costs of medical treatment, lost income, etc.

This isn’t the sort of thing you want to approach lightly. Your cover is your defence against potentially heavy costs. You need to do your homework, compare deals and do some serious thinking about how you want to manage liabilities. This really is “risk management”, in the most literal sense, so please understand now that good cover can save you a lot of grief.

Fire insurance is a particular element of home insurance that needs a special mention at this point. Make absolutely sure to get this cover and make sure it’s a good dollar value range of cover. Even minor fire damage can cause horrific costs in repairs, and serious damage is much worse.

It’s good practice to get some professional advice if you’re not sure about what you need to cover, particularly if you’re not sure about how much cover you need. The insurers don’t just sell insurance, they also have a vested interest in making sure their policyholders get good information about their products. You’ll get useful advice, so if you’re not sure, ask.

Contents insurance basics

Contents insurance isn’t as simple as it looks, either, but it’s equally important, and sometimes critical when you need to replace lost or stolen goods. You can get contents insurance which can be tailored to a large degree and altered to suit your needs when required, too.

There are some considerations here:

A lot of your contents may appreciate in value as you acquire new systems and other contents. If you upgrade your home electronics, you’re likely to need to fine tune your contents policy, particularly if it’s a replacement policy, to cover values. Make certain on a regular basis, particularly if you’re looking at upgrading in the future, that your insurance represents appropriate cover values.

Things like antiques and fine art are usually not covered by contents policies. They’re not designed to do that. You may be able to get a dollar value cover, but not necessarily at the market value, just a general sort of cover for loss. You’ll probably need special insurance for these things, and probably valuations to establish a cost bandwidth. Your insurer will be able to tell you how to approach these issues.

Shop around online, check out the options, and you’ll find you can get excellent cover. Just make sure your cover can do what you want it to do.

[The above article is a Guest Post]

Dividends for May 2011 from Innotek, China Aviation Oil and Capitaland

May seems to be a good month in terms of dividends. I have not been investing much over the years but my stock portfolio does give me good dividends from time to time.

Received some dividends from my shareholdings in Innotek, China Aviation Oil and Capitaland. The total amount received was to the tune of $1070. Perhaps it is time to reward myself with some good food over the weekend.

Getting Lost in Books and Work

Apologies for the super long "blackout" in terms of blogging. I have been too consumed with reading that I did not get a chance to sit down and write anything for sometime.

I have been reading Homer's Iliad - a book that I never thought I would or could read. But surprisingly, the translation that I am reading seems fairly simple and apart from Googling here and there for the various terms/names that I wasn't familiar with, I managed to finish the book in roughly 1.5 weeks. I don't declare to understand everything that Homer is saying but I do appreciate the story and its account of events about the Trojan War. It makes me realise the number of deviations that the movie Troy has from the actual book!

Work has also been busy and it does not help that I have had little free time to read. So all my free time that I had was spent reading. Somehow, reading seems to be a great way to relax after a stressful day at work.

I have been contemplating lately about what it means to have an education and be educated. This thoughts and reflection led me to read a book titled "How to Read a Book". Though not entirely convinced by the list of Great Books that was suggested by the author, I still decided that life is too short to leave my reading list by chance/whim/fancy. I thus decided to at least read some of the more well known classics and books that have been recognised as Great Books. Homer's Iliad is one of these great books. Now that I have read it finish, I hope to read through the next book on my list soon.

Elections, Royal Wedding and Osama is Dead

So many historical events seem to be taking place over the past few days.

Singapore General Elections 2011.

Yes. By now, most people are probably suffering from an overdose of election news and trivia ranging from Kate Spade to Nicole Seah. In fact, facebook seems to be flooded with so much election news that I am suddenly surprised at how politically charged so many of my friends are. Well, this is a once in five years event and I am keenly keeping watch on the elections since 82 out of 87 seats are being contested. My predictions? I think the opposition party will only keep one seat - Hougang.

Royal Wedding

So while we were suffering from an overdose of election news, the royal wedding was really a good break. Spent quite some time in front of the TV watching the live footages of the royal wedding even as I remarked to myself the fact that I have visited those places in London a very long time ago. I think the royal couple look really sweet.

Osama is Dead (Latest News)

With a wedding, there needs to be a funeral. Well, the news is out that Osama bin Laden is dead. Shot in the head. After 2 wars, and an entire US army hunting him down, it took almost a decade just to kill this man. And he was in Pakistan. Not Iraq or Afghanistan where the wars took place. Scroll below for a gruesome picture of Osama.

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Jim Rogers Sighted at Video Rental Shop

I spotted the legendary Jim Rogers at a video rental shop just yesterday with his 2 daughters. For those who don't know, Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund and retired at the age of 37. He now lives in Singapore after moving from New York. He studied in Yale and Oxford too.

Anyway, it was great seeing the man in action bargaining at a video rental store in Singapore. Yes, bargaining! He wanted to buy some videos and asked his daughter to bargain the price down by a few dollars actually. And the surprising thing was that he did managed to bargain down the price - through his daughter of course. What is even more amazing was him asking his daughter to bargain down the price using Mandarin!!

I was completely floored. Jim Roger's daughter speaks almost perfect mandarin. If she was speaking on the phone to you, there would almost be no way that you could tell she was a little American girl! She speaks perfect Mandarin!

Another thing that surprised me was that this rich guy who managed to retire at age 37 would actually bother to bargain down a few dollars. I am pretty sure that few dollars meant nothing to him but that he was actually trying to teach his daughters a lesson or two in bargaining. And his daughter actually did it without protesting! Amazing amazing.

IMF Warns About Perils Ahead for World Economy

The IMF warned that there are perils ahead for the world economy if certain issues continue unanswered. This includes:

1. Rising Food Prices

2. Joblessness

3. Middle East turmoil

4. Weak finances in advanced economies.

All these could possibly derail the current economic recovery. Regarding the surge in food prices, World Bank President said that "We are one shock away from a full-blown crisis".

In addition, new ailments like overheating in emerging economies could also add to the existing list of problems.

Some other comments from IMF includes the following:

"There was a sense around the table... that we are still in a fairly fragile situation," said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, chairman of the IMF's policy-setting monetary and financial committee.

"We have to be extremely watchful, but we also need to develop the capabilities... to anticipate scenarios that could turn out to be ugly, and require that countries, including especially systemically significant countries, take actions early to prevent another crisis."

Time to be cautious in investing?

Driving away the Monday Blues

I would like to think that I successfully drove away the Monday blues. It did not help that was feeling slightly depressed on Sunday night but a good dose of coffee, reading the various comments on mt previous post and just thinking about the good things that have happened to me in my life thus far made me slightly more thankful and happier today. I wouldn't claim that I am not feeling depressed anymore but I am sure feeling much much better. How did I do it?

Firstly, I spent a good two hours watching lots of mindless standup comedy by Chris rock and Russell peters. Super funny. Chris rock is really vulgar but I guess I am actually immune to swear words and stuff so i am able to take his jokes. I know some people who cannot stand swear words and thus cannot bring themselves to watch it. But the two hours of watching mindless standup comedy really made my Sunday night much bearable. At least it got my mind off the things that were bothering me.

Secondly, I spent some time sharing online my thoughts through this blog. Even though I did not reveal what was causing my sadness, just blogging about it made me feel a little lighter. Just knowing that somebody else knows about my bad mood was comfort by itself. I don't know why this is so really since most of my readers are really strangers to me in a certain sense-I won't recognize them if I saw them on the streets. Yet, they know a part of me and my struggles that even some of my closer friends know nothing about. So I guess I can call these people my Internet buddies. It is almost as if they are on the same journey as I am. Some of them are also much older and are also able to give me a better perspective of things.

Thirdly, I took a new route to work today. Just felt like doing something different today so I took a new route to work today. And I guess with a new route brings new sights and sounds. I might even start using this route for the next few months. Oh well, guess I will just wait and see.

Fourth, I ate something different for breakfast. I usually frequent this stall for breakfast during weekdays but this time, I ate at some fast food for breakfast. And fast food I guess makes one feel happy because of the sugar rush that comes along with it. I sat there quietly and ate my meal slowly. Truly enjoyed every bit of it. Perhaps another reason why I should switch to this new route.

Lastly, I pampered myself and bought a new shirt. It was not expensive or anything but I just felt like I needed some pampering.

And that was what helped me drive away the Monday blues. Like I said, I am still abit moody but as a whole, feeling much better already!

Am I afraid?

The past few days have been difficult for me. There have been many things that I feel passionately about but which I do not feel comfortable writing about. Am I afraid? What am I afraid of? These are the few questions that cross my mind. And sometimes it is just the fear of certain repercussions that will result from blogging too honestly about my personal life. Cos there are days when things do not go well and I feel like spewing vulgarities into the Internet. But I restrain myself because I know I will regret it one day and that I will end up revealing a side of me that readers might not be familiar with.

I need to admit that beneath a lot of happiness and good times are sometimes lots of heartaches, failures and angst. And sometimes, a happy weekend can soon turn into a deep bout of depression for me. I start to turn depressive and moody. The world suddenly seems a lot bleaker. The future is no longer bright. And I wallow in self-pity. It does not help that I cannot tell anyone what I truly feel. For if I do so, I might end up cursing and swearing under my breath. And that I know I will regret I'm due time. So I am afraid that I will destroy the image that I have been projecting all long. But somedays, I really feel like I need to get it off my chest.

So tomorrow is a brand new day. And I must remember that I live a life more fortunate than others. Be contented with what I have. One day the light will come. And hopefully I will have the courage to tell of my struggles and life in an honest manner. And perhaps I could share my deepest regret with all one day. But in the mean time, I need to get out of this depressive mood! Perhaps the best way is to not think about it. But then that is just ignoring the problem. Perhaps it is time I confront the problem head on.

$790 Dividends for March 2011

March 2011 is gone. April is here. A new month. Collected almost $800 worth of dividends for March 2011. That has perhaps been my highest thus far for the year. Have been looking to add more dividend stocks lately but also wary about the market conditions now.

I have been toying with this concept for the longest time but have always put it off and procrastinated. What happens if I manage to invest a large percentage of my monthly salary into REITs or dividend paying stocks and then reinvest the dividends that I receive? Will I become financially free within 10 years?

Red Wine and Reflections for the Day

Opened a bottle of red wine yesterday to have with my food. And there was still quite a bit left over in the bottle so I am sipping some right now. Apparently, Robert Parker gave this vintage of wine 90 points. And that is perhaps the only reason why I bought the bottle of wine.

Today was quite a wretched day. I was suffering from some kind of flu but still went to office nonetheless. And time just seemed to whiz past while I was at work. Before I knew it, it was time to go back home. And I wasn't even sure what I had accomplished the entire day.

Flipped through the papers to catch up on election news and other trivia. Logged on to facebook to check on the latest status of all my friends and adding the random comment or "like" to the 1001 statuses.

Life is almost blissful and simple. And reading up on the latest new about the person who commented about heartlanders in Holland Village suddenly made me realise that I am very much one of those heartlanders. I live in a HDB flat, take the MRT to work, eat at hawker centres, and wear my flip flops to Holland Village. Drats, I have slowly transformed into a heartlander without knowing it. Of course, I don't speak vulgarities. But I guess I am one of those persons the higher rungs of society do not want to associate with. Thanks for the wake up call whoever you are. Just the other day, I drove up to get my car valet park and the guy manning the valet stall looked at me increduously and asked whether I was looking for the public carpark which was just ahead. Classic!!!!! My car small means cannot valet park issit??? It reminds me that there is still much to strive for in my life, career and personal growth (i.e. anger management and not comparing with others). Good thing I was in a hurry and did not give him a good dressing down (which I would not have done given how timid I really am).

Reminds me that I have not written about personal finance for some time which I probably should. But right now, personal finance matters seem so distant from my mind. I mean, I earn so much and spend so much. Is anyone really interested in that when Japan has suffered a terrible earthquake and is now facing like radioactive problems? I over heard a guy speaking to his Japanese colleague the other day how Japan should explore other forms of energy. My mind was going: Give your Jap friend a break! With people dying out there, it is just too easy for us to analyse the situation from afar and say what Japan should or should not be doing. That being said, I am definitely against Indonesia building a nuclear plant anywhere near us. If they want a nuclear plant, build it in Antartica please. If Japan is having problems dealing with this situation, everyone should re-think their nuclear strategy. Especially if you are situated so close to a fault line. But who cares? Noone cares about what I think.

I have also realised how stupid I am. It seems that everyone around me are all so clever. Actually, I used to think that I was above average in intelligence and looks. Then slowly over the years, I realised that everyone thinks the same way. Most people think that they are above average. Problem is: If everyone is above average, who is average and who is below average?

I have concluded that I am actually a below average Singaporean with a below average intelligence and below average looks living with a below average salary. But who cares? What is important is being happy. And I do not mind being below average. Okay, at least not for the salary part

Revert Does Not Mean Reply and Mistakes that New Bloggers Make

Many people confuse the word "revert" and "reply". Very frequently, we see in emails whether personal or work where the sender asks readers to "Please revert by....". And most people actually do not realise that this is the wrong use of the word. In fact, I have been guilty of this mistake for many years too. It wasn't until recently that I realised my mistake. The confusion between these two words and the misuse of them is common.

Back to the main topic of mistakes that bloggers make. Just yesterday, I wrote about how the news had reported bloggers that can earn up to $5000 per month. I am almost certain that this will spark some youngster to pick up blogging as a hobby. Some might even do it at the expense of studying or working.

I am not a full-time blogger. But having blogged for a few years now, I thought that I should at least "impart" whatever I have learnt and clear any misconceptions that some may have about blogging. So before you proceed to set up a blog and become a full-time blogger, here are a few things that you ought to know:

Blogging is not as simple as it sounds.

They hype about people making money from blogging always sounds too good to be true. It sounds like pretty easy money. Why not? Just sit at home and type and wala! Money appears in your account. The problem is: It is not as simple as one thinks.

Blogging is actually a lot harder than one thinks. Apart from issues like Writer's Block, you also have to deal with the many other problems that come with it. Bloggers also have to struggle with how much privacy they hope to achieve or whether they want to keep their blog a secret. What if you realise your friends are reading your blogs? Will you still write it? Blogging is not like tuition or some hourly part-time work where pouring in more time equates to more effort.

In fact, writing a single post a day probably makes little difference (in terms of ad revenue) to writing 2 posts a day. In fact, there are article writers out there who are willing to charge $3 for a 300 word article. And why are they not setting up their own blogs to publish those articles? Because a 300 word article will not actually make you $3 in ad revenue. And that is why article writers will sell you their articles. In fact, most people are better off churning out 300 word articles for $3. You would probably earn much more from writing articles for others compared to blogging. So churning out 10 or even 100 posts a day on your blog is not going to translate to a multiplier effect. It most probably will have little effect.

So remember, blogging is not as simple as it sounds. Putting in the time and effort does not guarantee success. Unless you are already a celebrity, it is going to be awfully difficult to reach that $5000 per month figure. It is achievable but I believe only the best bloggers in Singapore are able to reach that amount. And that means bloggers like Xiaxue or people who have managed to amass a huge following. And that usually means hours and hours of hard work. Definitely not as simple as you would like to think.

Blogging Requires Passion.

Blogging also requires a certain amount of passion for writing, sharing, and of course, the topic that you are going to write about. In my few years of blogging, I have seen countless cases of bloggers who beg for a link exchange only to stop blogging after a few months. It is just way too common. The amount of time required to blog is more than you can imagine. And to keep it up for years is even much much harder. Most of these bloggers think they will earn money from blogging but then realised that after 1 year of blogging, they are better off focusing on their jobs and working part time (or perhaps just selling their articles to others). The money is simply better than what they can earn from their blogs. Basically, blogging requires a lot of passion. And that means blogging even if you don't earn any money from your blogs. If you can't do that, you most probably would not make it as a full-time blogger.

Full Time Bloggers Can Earn Up To $5000 Per Month

Just recently, I wrote about blogging and its misconceptions. Basically, I was commenting on the fact that many readers have misconceived ideas about who I am and what I do due to "historical" drips and draps of information that are scattered over this blog and which I have failed to update. Thanks for bearing with all the confusing information but sometimes it helps if readers just visit the most current posts to find out where I am in life. Of course, there are certain issues which I blogged about and failed to update all later. So it seems like I am still struggling with that issue but perhaps I have already gone way past that and did not see the point in blogging at all. For info, I have a full time job now and am quite happy with my life.

Anyway, it was interesting to read the news today to learn that more Singapore bloggers are going full-time. Nuffnang had indeed revealed that the top bloggers in Singapore can earn up to $5000 per month. Of course, that is quite a tidy sum of money and I am assuming that most of this income is derived from ad revenue. Of course, there must be other sources of income. I reckon that celebrity bloggers are earning somewhere close to that amount. But compared to international bloggers, the $5000 per month figure is of course quite low.

The only fear I have is that many more people will jump recklessly into the blogging bandwagon. Of course it is possible to make a full time career out of blogging but it is probably not as simple as it sounds. And the picture painted might make it seem so rosy: Work from home, flexi work hours, good money. It is not that simple. And I am sure the full time bloggers will attest to that.

For every blogger that is earning $5000 per month, I am pretty certain there are 1000 others who are earning less than $5 per month. Remember, $5000 per month is not the average, it is what Nuffnang considers to be the higher earners. So these are really the outliers and not your average bloggers.

Anyone here knows of a full time blogger? How much does he/she earn?

Blogging and its Misconceptions

It seems almost like eternity since I started off blogging. Well, this blog really isn't my first blog. I had some other blog which I think got deleted away after sometime because I did not post for too long or something.

Anyway, I realised that many people have misconceptions about who I am. Perhaps they read a post or two in this blog and thought that I am somebody that I am not. The problem with a blog is that some information is really historical and if a person lands on one of those historical pages where I was perhaps ranting about something, they get the idea that I am still in that situation or something.

Some of the emails/comments I have been receiving include the following misconceptions:

1. That I am the billionaire Peter Lim and I can somehow give them advise.

2. That I am still looking for a job.

3. That I was/am an engineer.

I do not know why people have such misconceptions. Perhaps they read something that I wrote and made certain assumptions. Sometimes, I am aware of these misconceptions but the lack of time just does not allow me to clear the air either by replying those emails or commenting back.

Hopefully, this post will clear the air once and for all.

HDB Home Value Will Not Go Down

After contemplating on the option to buy a 2nd property or invest in real estate investment trust (REITs), I have more or less come to a conclusion that investing in REITs is perhaps the more viable option for me now. And that is the reason that I bought some AIMSAMP REITs into my portfolio recently.

I was also heartened to read the news today where Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew opined that since 85% of Singaporeans lived in HDB flats, the government would strive to make HDB homes the most valuable possession they own. In his words:

"85% of Singaporeans are living in HDB flats and we intend to keep the values of these homes up. It will never go down."

This was spoken as the MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC announced the 5 year master plan for Tanjong Pagar which includes upgrading programmes. Since I live in a HDB flat, I am glad that the government is committed to making the value of my home rise. In fact, I am glad that I am an owner of a HDB flat as I have witnessed the value of my home increase significantly over the years.

Bought AIMSAMP REIT

Just entered into AIMSAMP REIT. It is a REIT that nearly went bankrupt during the financial crisis. After asking for some advice on whether to buy a 2nd property or just invest in REITs, I think I pretty much know the answer.

I don't earn enough and have enough savings to buy a 2nd property just yet. Thus, the only option is for me to invest through a real estate investment trust (REIT). The benefit of investing in REITs instead of a direct property investment is that I do not need to invest a large sum of money and I also do not need to take on additional debt which banks will not lend to me (since I earn too little).

Buy a 2nd Property or Buy REITs?

Should one buy a 2nd property or invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts? I have been thinking about this for sometime. The minimum occupation period for my HDB flat is almost up. That means that I can actually sell my flat in the open market pretty soon. At the same time, I really love the place where I am staying at now. So it is going to be a tough decision.

The remaining mortgage on the HDB flat is now $238,000. Market value based on a similar size flat sold at the opposite block is estimated at $600,000. Bought the flat for slightly over $300,000. Currently monthly mortgage loan is $1096. Right now, I have been thinking about the following few options. Family's gross monthly income is around $5600 (really average!).

Option 1 - Sell the HDB and Buy a Private Property

This will mean selling the HDB flat, giving it up and buying a new private property. It is going to be difficult as I will have to buy a private property that is less than $1mil I guess. If I can only take 35% loan based on family's gross monthly salary, that means the maximum monthly mortgage loan that we afford is around $1900+. As we are still paying for the car we bought, it probably means that we can only afford a mortgage loan of around $1,400. I don't think the banks will be willing to land us to much. I figure that means we can only borrow around $350k (pls correct me if I am wrong). Selling the HDB and buying a private property also means that this does not count as my 2nd property and I am not obligated to set aside the 50% minimum sum in both my wife's and my CPF account. We can probably use the gains from selling the HDB to pay for the private property.

End of the day: I am probably saddled with more debt but have effectively upgraded to a more expensive property. There will be less money to spend as I have to pay more each month for mortgage.

Option 2 - Keep HDB flat, Buy a Private Property to rent out.

This is option 2 which I have been thinking about and which I am leaning towards. But it seems almost impossible to do this. This is because of the following reasons:

1. No money in CPF-OA to pay for it. Will have to use all cash to pay for the downpayment. Even if all assets (stocks + bank accounts) are liquidated, I figure that we only have slightly over $220k. Not too sure how much the bank will actually lend us for the 2nd property but I guess it is around 60-70%.

2. Will also have to rely on cash to pay for the monthly mortgage. That is impossible considering that existing HDB loan is already $1096. It means I can only get around $800 per month more in mortgage loan. Will also have to repay off the car loan so that I can borrow the $800 per month more in mortgage loan for the 2nd property. That leaves very little options for me as I won't be able to find such a cheap property that only costs $800 per month!

Option 3 - Keep HDB and Buy REITs.

REITs are easily liquidated. I also collect dividends. This seems to be a very feasible option with little downside.

Option 4 - Sell HDB and Buy 2 Pte Property

Lately, I came across this strategy which advised to sell 1 property and buy 2 properties. In this manner, you can rent out 1 and stay in the other. Not too sure whether this strategy will work at all cos it will probably mean that I have to buy 2 really small pte property.

Wise folks out there. Any advice on all the options???

Recycling in Singapore

In Singapore, recycling takes on a different form. Having been overseas before, I have always been impressed with their efforts at recycling. Well, in Singapore, there are recycling bins around. But I don't really think that has been particularly effective as I have witnessed many times people actually "looting" these recycling bins for their own personal gains. I guess they must have sold the drink bottles and cans to the recycling companies directly to earn some extra cash.

Anyway, I heard the karang guni man as he came over to my block today. There are lots of these karang guni man plying their trade at my block and it seems that they are coming almost everyday. The karang guni man is basically a person who works for one of these small recycling companies that collects old newspapers, electronics, and whatever you can think of. Anyway, I wrote about the karang guni man sometime back. I guess those people who stay in private apartments or condominiums in Singapore perhaps never get a chance to meet one.

Today, I sold 5 kg of newspapers to the karang guni man. That earned me a small tidy sum of 50 cents. Not bad I must say.

Just doing my part for recycling and I get to earn money at the same time. But there is a question that I have. If the recycling man pays me 10cents for 1 kg of old newspapers, I wonder how much he actually earns from re-selling it. Anybody knows?

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Read and watched the news last night. It was actually quite frightening to see the impact of the earthquake and the tsunami. It wasn't too long ago that the last tsunami stroke. That was boxing day in 2004. Only 6-7 years have passed and another tsunami has occurred. Watching the videos on BBC, CNN and CNA just gave a deja vu feeling. It also felt almost like the end of the world kind of feeling. As we often read in the Bible:

"When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. Such thing must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains."

It really makes me thankful that we live in a safe place like Singapore. Where there are no earthquakes, and we do not face the threat of tsunamis.

Dividends for March 2011

Received dividends from a few of the REITs that I have been holding. Total amount of dividends collected adds up to $278. Not really a lot. But guess it is better than nothing.

Have been pretty weary the past few weeks. Running about and busying myself with things that do not really matter. But they still need to be done. Weekends always seem to come and go so fast. And then the new week comes. Hardly feel rested at all.

Week after week just seems to pass and it does not seem that much has been accomplished. Already, we are into the 3rd month of 2011 but I don't really have a clearer picture of where I am actually headed in life. It is really just living day by day and week by week.

Old Book from Ebay by James R Rutland

This is a picture of the book (that I bought off Ebay) as requested by one of my readers (LP) . This book really looks like any other ordinary book out there. I am pretty sure an online version exists since the copyright most probably has ceased.

Anyway, it is just cool to know that I am holding a book that is out of print. Using eBay to carry out my transactions is also something that I am pretty comfortable with since I have bought quite a number of items using eBay and so far, all the items have been shipped and are always in good order.

Bought a 100 year old book from EBay

Every now and then, I buy a few things off Ebay. It is an easy way to shop. I sit at home, browse through the various items and just buy anything that I fancy.

Lately, I decided to buy an antique book using some of the earnings I got from my online ads. I stumbled upon this old book with a title that I fancied. Coolest thing is that it is one year shy from being hundred years old! Just holding this book in my hands feels like I am holding a piece of history. The book is most probably out of print too.

This is what I have been busying myself with the past few weeks. And I am enjoying this new hobby of mine. So I do apologize if I have not been posting often enough. But life is really a lot more interesting when you have a hobby you enjoy doing. It breaks the monotony of work.

Guess what? I am going onto right now to see if there are other things worth buying!

Hello, Bye Bye

When I started working, I realised that how most friendships in the workplace don't really last very long.

While you are working together, you eat together, suffer together, get angry with one another. You enter the office and sit around people who might or might not talk to you for days or even weeks. Some of them you might have lunch with. Others, they are just acquaintances.

Then people come and go. Some quit. Some retire. And eventually, it comes to your turn and you leave too.

And you realise that the people whom you spent huge amounts of time with previously just suddenly disappear from your life. You see them around on facebook but that is it. You hardly meet up with them anymore.

It is truly amazing how we can spend so much time with colleagues but once somebody moves on, it is usually the "end" of the relationship as we know it. Amazing ...

Writer's Block

I finally had it. Writer's block. I cannot find the words to describe how I am feeling. I don't really know what to write about too. It is the worst thing to happen to a blogger. After the new year, I just felt kind of lazy and stopped blogging for a while. Days turned into weeks and I soon realised that I was hardly logging on with the frequency and fervor that I used to have.

I also do not seem to have any topic in mind to write about. There are lots of topics out there to talk about but does it really matter if I write about it or not? After all, there are people out there who can probably do a much better job than me dissecting the latest piece of market news, hot stocks to buy, and so on....

It does not mean that I will stop blogging. It only means that I am taking a break and hopefully I will come back with soon.

I enjoyed the conversations and comments on this blog but sometimes, it just feels like I am talking to the air and I really feel that I could better spend my time with family or even just do some of the things that I enjoy doing. Why blog? After a while, this blog will die eventually. But there are more important things in life than blogging. And I can put my time to better use in other avenues.

I have also been feeling a little down and lost lately and that has some what affected my mood to write. Oh well, I will be back. Maybe after Chinese New Year.

Wishing all readers a Happy Chinese New Year!!

How Much Did You Earn When You Were 35

At a point in my life where I am wondering how far ahead or behind I am compared to my entire cohort. Of course, I am not yet 35 but I will be there in no time and it makes me wonder sometimes whether my salary is at the range that it should be in terms of the skills and qualifications I have and how much more it can go up to by age 35. Because I am seriously guessing that at age 35, I will most probably not be jumping around in jobs anymore.

So how much should a graduate expect to be earning at age 35? How much did you earn when you were age 35?

Price of Coffee Goes Up

Hi Readers,

Hope you have not been missing me much. Ever since the new year started, I have been busying myself with the more important things in life like spending time with family, reading, work, and of course various leisure activities.

For one, I have managed to watch the Godfather again. Something that I had wanted to do for the longest time but just could not find the spare time to do so.

I have also been reading like crazy. All the books in my house are being read through almost simultaneously.

The year has started off well.

Except for the news of coffee prices going up again, all has been well over at my side. Coffee is a drink that I am sure most people cannot live without. For me, a 10cents increase in a cup of coffee easily translates to a sizeable amount of money.

On the blogging front, I really do hope to blog more.

Concerns Over Dubai World Result in Increase of Debt Insurance Costs

Dubai World, Emirate's flag bearer in global investments, is undergoing a $22 billion debt restructuring. This has provoked a lot of speculations and an air of uncertainty has started to settle over the financial market. As a consequence, bond yields as well the debt insurance cost of Dubai World has started to shoot up. This looks particularly striking when you think of the recent billion dollar bailout of Dubai by Abu Dhabi.

The finance world was virtually speechless when this investing giant declared in November that it is going for a debt payment standstill. Dubai World can proceed with debt payments owing to the extremely expensive bailout by Abu Dhabi. However, no official agreement regarding payment standstill has been reached.

There has been a surprisingly sharp increase of five year credit default swaps (CDS) for Dubai recently. They are right now quoted at 510 bps. Do you understand the implications? It would cost more than .5 million to insure $10 million of the emirate's debt for five years.

The sources at ING investment management say that the announcement from Dubai World was absolutely unexpected and they did not have a clue about it. Sources confirm that ING did not receive any proposal from Dubai World. The whole issue is quite obscure right now.

The CDs are about to reach a level which was witnessed in the eve of the bailout. This has triggered the shooting up of debt insurance costs for Abu Dhabi and Bahrain as well. However, the rise in debt insurance has been relatively small for them. Financial experts opine that Standard and poor’s decision to revoke its rating for Dubai Holding Commercial Group has made quite an impact in this part of the world. Clearly, the apprehensions about Dubai World are affecting other companies like Dubai Holding.

It is significant that the rise in debt insurance costs came at a time when Greece is knee deep in debt and other countries in the euro zone are facing debt crisis as well (In fact debt management is quite an issue in euro zone right now). There is no question of an emergency situation right now but people are naturally skeptical since there is a possibility of debt rescheduling.

The $10 million, thanks to Abu Dhabi, will help Dubai World to refinance for 2010 as well as 2011. Moreover, its sister concern Nakheel has a domestic bond which is supposed to mature soon. Experts predict a $ 1,0 billion in net international bond insurance in this part of the world in the current year.

Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Kevin Craig who is a financial writer for various finance related Communities. He has been providing advice on debt relief since 2007.He has helped many indebted people to get out of debt by giving them proper financial advice for debt management. With his advice many are now living a debt free life. You can get in touch with him at kevin.craig672@gmail.com.

2011 Good Year for Investing?

With the new year celebrations just over, it seems that the stock markets have had a breath of new life. Overall stock portfolio is up and I do hope that this bull run continues. Even with global uncertainties in America and Europe, it seems that people are still pretty optimistic about the future.

What else can we expect from 2011? Here are how things are playing out in my head.

Scenario 1 - Europe and America sink due to debt concerns. Asia's domestic demand not sufficient and developed enough to propel the rest of the world economy. Economy starts to slump by mid or end 2011 due to some silly event.

Scenario 2- whole world recovers and we see another bull run for 2 to 3 years and people who were thinking that Scenario 1 will take place end up cursing their luck for the missed opportunities of the best bull run in Asia.

So which scenario do you think will take place? Let's do a poll!