On Money & Love

Let's Talk About Investment...

2007-01-26T00:13:00.000+08:00

Hehehe... back to posting again. I guess I was just a bit down the last time round n sort of in the mood for drama. But thank you very much for all the kind and supportive comment.

Well, the topic for today is "Investment" and (as I commented in earlier post) investment is any form of instrument that make $ work for you and NOT you work to get $. The most simple form of investment is also known as "Ownership Investment" where we own something in order to generate a return for us be it in capital gain (e.g. profits from sale of stocks, unit trusts, options, futures, etc) or regular income (e.g. rental income from investment property, interest from bonds, etc).

What I'll be highlighting today are the key features which makes an investment suitable for whatever goals we have in mind.

1) Initial Capital;
2) Liquidity or ease of disposal with available ready buyer
3) Physical and mental effort involved
4) Time horizon
5) passive income

To further illustrate this, let's have a look at the table as below:
Let's assume we start investing at the early age of 20+. We just started working, we don't have a lot of money, and we have loads of things that will be going on with our lives which requires more money (e.g. further studies, get married, buy house, support our families, etc). So what we should be looking at is 'stocks, shares, unit trusts, mutual funds' as they requires relatively low capital (range from S$500 to S$5000 depending on investment) and minimal effort (pick something we can understand and stick with instead of something that's in the trend) and more importantly can be dispose off easily when we need the $.

Next, we go to our 30s and 40s... We are probably happily married with kids and wanna save for their education and at the same time start thinking about our dream retirement. We would have accumulated a bit of cash and also some good investing knowledge over the years. So if the spare cash is enough, we may wanna invest in some properties(this way, we get regular passive income) but at the same time leaving just enough still in shares, unit trust, or bonds for liquidity convenience. With good contacts or networking, we may also found some good business opportunities which we venture in n be our own boss. ;p

As we reach our 50s n 60s... we look back in time to our accomplishments n at the same time look forward to our retirement. Most of our $ will be in some form of investment and what we really want is some form of pure passive income which will pay for our regular expenses when we retire. Ideally the passive income will be more than our expenses so that the capital will in fact appreciates over time and leave a legacy for our next generation.

Wow.... such a perfectly "happy ever after story". Are your story gonna be the same? Or are you still struggling to take the first step? Let me assure you that it's never too late to start be it you are in your 20s or 50s. But it is crucial to note that there is no one perfect investment solutions. There may be some slight variation or even lowering in expectation. However, what we want to avoid at all cost is... "I'm 70 and I'm still working because I don't have enough $$$ to pay for the food, water n electricity." Neither do we wanna say "Gosh!!! If only I had so n so shares or properties back then my $$$ would have been ten-folded now."

So what are you waiting for? Start thinking, planning, evaluate options, implementing and most importantly setup review as nothing stay the same forever. And if you feel the work is just too much, get someone like me to help you out. ;p

Stuck In The Rut

2007-01-22T17:17:00.000+08:00

Three post into my web-blog... n I am now stuck!!!

It's not really a matter of nothing to write, more like too many things to write until dunno where to begin... Gosh, I didn't realised writing a blog can be so hard. I've got easily 10-15 post now which r half written n not posted yet coz I haven't been able to dress them up nicely for public scrutiny. Hahaha.... N the biggest problem of all is.... all the posts are work related matters.... talk about having no life yeah.... ;p

Cher once quoted "A girl can wait for the right man to comes along. But in the meantime, that doesn't mean that she can't have a great time with all the wrong ones." I absolutely love this quote. However, while I do try to practice as per her saying.... I have come to a rather depressing conclusion that 'the wrong ones are just not interesting enough to makes me feel great about spending time with them'.

So basically, I'm stuck with my blog n I'm stuck with my non existence relationship life. Any suggestion all you great readers out there?

Let's talk About Love ;p

2007-01-18T00:24:00.000+08:00

"Life is but a long road of loneliness where people comes n goes we are left with the feeling of emptiness as we continue our solitary path. Thus rejoice when someone comes along for he who comes will surely leave. Live for the moment n never regret on the choices we've made as life is too short to be filled with regrets or 'what ifs'."

Gosh... I can still vaguely remember my feelings when I first penned this down in my heart during my early breakups. I was sad definitely (I just got dumped), I was hopeful (that's why I'm looking forward to a better tomorrow with other people coming along) but most importantly (upon reflection) I was showing my contempt towards this Big Big thing called LOVE. The phrase above indicates how dispensable love can be in my life. It's not the most important thing. I have my families n friends to think about. I have responsibilities towards others that weight much more than me or my life.

Thus with the above phrase in mind, I went into one failed relationship after another, surviving n moving on with sweet n precious memories as my life souvenirs (this is the nice way to put it) or alternatively you may think of me as an officially old n battered veteran with too many scars n too tired to go through the same ordeal anymore. Why haven't I found that one true person yet? Is he ever going to show up? Am I being too choosy or fickle minded? Why doesn't he like me? Why is all those nonsense people pestering me? You know what? Until n up to the point that I find that One True Person, I will always have all kinds of questions unanswered. N when i do find that one true person, there's always a possibility of thinks not working out.

So I'm back to the phrase as above again. Hehehehe.... Utterly head aching but fun though... Ultimately, it's the process that matters n not the end result. As long as I have done my best or made the best choice available, I've got no regrets. But somewhere deep down inside... I will always believe in the ultimate fairytale where:
1) the guy n the gal met each other,
2) they just know they are meant for each other,
3) got married with parents approval,
4) have loads of children,
5) send them off to university to be the next lawyer, doctor, engineer, accountant, etc,
6) still have loads of money,
7) retire blissfully with them riding the horse towards the sunset,
8) AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

;p

Let's Talk About Money (",)

2007-01-13T16:35:00.000+08:00

I remember a time when I was an ignorant and clueless fool about my own finances. I was a typical employee with a monthly paycheck, spends most of it before the month is out, always complaining that money is not enough and always struggling to save more for my future. Hahahaha. . . . Thus, I got myself landed into the industry (afterall, this is a very high paying career if you can perform) and surprisingly one of the first thing I learn is "financial planning is not hard at all". A bit on the long and tedious side but not hard. I have also come to realized that a basic understanding of anything by answering all the 'WH' question also applies to financial planning. I am a strong believer that if you are able to solve these questions for every problem or situation that you encounter, whatever decisions you make will be done without regrets and hopefully the outcome will also be of our desired result.

So what is Financial Planning?

Financial = MONEY
Planning = PROCESS

Simple enough, rite? Now, let's look at it in a slightly different perspective.

1) work = get $$$
2) life = spend $$$
3) balance $$$ = savings
4) savings in bank = $$$ in idle
5) savings into investment = $$$ in management
IMPORTANT: $$$ in idle can never out-perform $$$ in management

MOST IMPORTANT: cover ourselves with good backup plan i.e. insurance

So the next question is 'What is Investment'?
Well, investment is an instrument that make $$$ work for you and NOT you work to get $$$ (details to be available in later post)

And how do I connect this back to Financial Planning?
The emphasis now lies with the word 'PROCESS' where we:
a) assess situation and identify options
b) evaluate options
c) implement choice
d) review and revise the plan

Hmmm... this should cover most of what I do everyday at work where I help my client throughout the whole process as above with me absolutely loving the whole process. (",) It feels great to be able to make a difference to the people I know, to help them achieve their financial dreams n get paid for helping out.

So, care to join my industry n be my colleague? ;p

A New Beginning

2007-01-05T01:56:00.000+08:00

Let me start my blog with my greatest gratitude to Madam WJ as without her in my life, it's gonna be so much more peaceful, rather boring to be exact or down right no worth living (not ;p). Ok... basically my best friend, WJ called me about 5 times today just to pester me about starting up my own blog. What can i say? She really wants what's best for me.... n to be honest, this blog is long pass overdue. I have always wanted to write something online as the big big world internet is really a pool of unlimited opportunities with zillions of people assessing it everyday (me, definitely can't live without internet). So why did I wait until now?

Lack of motivation, I'm not good enough yet, complacency, busy, excuses, excuses, etc...

Ok, enough of excuses. Today is a new beginning and I promise myself, I will not find excuses anymore for life is too short to be filled with excuses, regrets or the worst of all 'if only i had'...