Using My MediSave For My Dad’s Medication

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Oct 20, 2018 | Personal Finance |

My dad has a chronic heart condition that requires regular health screenings and medication. Needless to say, health-care costs can add up quickly over the course of the year which can deplete the amount of MediSave he can use in a single year. Every six months, he makes a trip to the heart centre and gets a re-supply of medication. Pretty obvious from the invoice that Rivaroxaban is the killer here. With no subsidy, it is a whopping $492 bucks. Rivaroxaban, sold under the brand name Xarelto, among others, is an oral anticoagulant medication (blood thinner). It is commonly used to...

Overdue Blog Income Report And Annual Giveaway 2018

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Oct 7, 2018 | Alternative Income, Site Update |

Oops – a little late it seems. Been a while since my last update for blogging income huh? I decided to change the focus of my blog in terms of being a driver for side income. As you can see, the frequency of my blog posts has drastically scaled down last year. Busy investing my human capital into earning more income. Coupled with the fact that referral schemes do tend to wane in effectiveness as market share increases, it makes sense to think about making the best out of what I enjoy doing. I love the freedom to write...

The Arrow

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 29, 2018 | Personal Development |

A popular topic trending in the blogosphere lately is the story of the farmer, monk and the warrior. I had a couple of ideas and was tempted to pitch in, but thought otherwise. Perhaps another post for another time. I would definitely like to see myself as having monk AND warrior traits, though. I’m listed as a Buddhist on my pink IC, but othewise I’m actually pretty open to the ideas of various religions. Nevertheless, I’ve gravitated (somewhat) to Buddhism as an adult. I am also a fan of the mindfulness movement and is a reader of the works of Thich...

The Arrow

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 29, 2018 |

A popular topic trending in the blogosphere lately is the story of the farmer, monk and the warrior. I had a couple of ideas and was tempted to pitch in, but thought otherwise. Perhaps another post for another time. I would definitely like to see myself as having monk AND warrior traits, though. I’m listed as a Buddhist on my pink IC, but othewise I’m actually pretty open to the ideas of various religions. Nevertheless, I’ve gravitated (somewhat) to Buddhism as an adult. I am also a fan of the mindfulness movement and is a reader of the works of Thich...

Index Investing In Singapore (2018)

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 22, 2018 |

For index investors, we have come a long way since 2013. Fortunately, the tools available to us have changed dramatically over the years! I wrote about it last year, and this is a quick recap. More tools, while providing more options, also means that it is going to be slightly more complicated for the novice investor. How has it changed the way I invest? Index Investing is boring, and there isn’t really much of any new materials to write about. What I wanted to blog about is really the idea of an asset allocation approach of looking at our portfolio. When...

Index Investing In Singapore (2018)

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 22, 2018 | Investing |

For index investors, we have come a long way since 2013. Fortunately, the tools available to us have changed dramatically over the years! I wrote about it last year, and this is a quick recap. More tools, while providing more options, also means that it is going to be slightly more complicated for the novice investor. How has it changed the way I invest? Index Investing is boring, and there isn’t really much of any new materials to write about. What I wanted to blog about is really the idea of an asset allocation approach of looking at our portfolio. When...

Fortress of F**king Solitude

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 7, 2018 | Personal Finance |

Inspiration in the least likely of places. I was just chilling at home watching Netflix (that’s my idea of relaxation :P) and I chanced upon a movie titled “The Gambler”. The film featured Mark Wahlberg and Brie Larson (upcoming Captain Marvel!) but the real star of the show was John Goodman for me. As a loanshark, he had this to say to Wahlberg in one scene – which is pretty sound advice, considering his .. erm, occupation. Gambler (G) : I’ve been up two and a half million dollars. Loanshark (L) : What do you got on you? G...

Fortress of F**king Solitude

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Sep 7, 2018 |

Inspiration in the least likely of places. I was just chilling at home watching Netflix (that’s my idea of relaxation :P) and I chanced upon a movie titled “The Gambler”. The film featured Mark Wahlberg and Brie Larson (upcoming Captain Marvel!) but the real star of the show was John Goodman for me. As a loanshark, he had this to say to Wahlberg in one scene – which is pretty sound advice, considering his .. erm, occupation. Gambler (G) : I’ve been up two and a half million dollars. Loanshark (L) : What do you got on you? G...

CPF & Me : A 35-Year-Old Milestone

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Aug 20, 2018 | Personal Finance |

This blog post involves CPF talk. To spare you the agony, if you are not keen on the topic, do not read any further! I have no interest in arguing, convincing, or justifying anyone or anything here. CPF And Its Role Central Provident Fund (CPF) is a compulsory comprehensive savings plan for working Singaporeans and permanent residents primarily to fund their retirement, healthcare, and housing needs. The CPF is an employment-based savings scheme with employers and employees contributing a mandated amount to the Fund. CPF is split into three separate accounts, each with its intended use and purpose. Ordinary...

Crash.

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Aug 15, 2018 | Investing |

Funny that nobody seems to hype about crypto anymore, which to me, seems like an excellent time to get in! The market has crashed brutally. Some cryptocurrency coins/tokens are easily 80% or 90% off their all-time high (ATH). Not much bragging rights, now that shit has hit the fan? Were these people investors, or speculators? Do they really have the conviction to hang on? Time will tell. Compelling – Evoking Interest In A Powerfully Irresistible Way This is how I see it. The uglier it gets, the more compelling it is for me to start some serious buying. Imagine...

SPDR STI ETF Dividend – 2018 (2nd Half)

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Jul 27, 2018 | Shares & Derivatives |

I know August is the favourite month of many Singaporean investors. Who doesn’t like to lepak (relax) at home and collect money?! It is finally time for the biannual dividend annoucement of SPDR Straits Times Index ETF (ES3). SINGAPORE, 27 July, 2018 — State Street Global Advisors Singapore Limited, manager of the SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF (the “Fund”), today announced the Fund’s dividend distribution of S$0.060 per unit. This dividend distribution comprises S$0.035 per unit made out of Singapore one-tier dividend and other exempt income, and S$0.025 per unit made out of other income. The SPDR® Straits Times Index ETF is an exchange-traded...

Turtle Fly Business – Taipei To Singapore (SQ879)

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Jul 24, 2018 | Saving & Spending |

If you’re reading this, I can assume that you are at the very least, mildly interested in the area of travel hacking, air miles collection or perhaps luxury travel. Well, you’ve come to the right place! Here is another short piece on my no-bullshit journey on how peasants can travel in luxury. Yes, it is almost impossible for an Average Joe to earn one million miles in a year. For most, they won’t even earn that many miles in a lifetime. On the other hand, 100000 miles per year is definitely doable with a little discipline and patience. And...

AutoWealth x Stocks Cafe Plus Bonus Charts

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Jul 18, 2018 | Investing |

Yesterday, I exported my automated AutoWealth transactions and imported them into a newly created “AutoWealth” portfolio in Stocks Cafe – which is an awesome product, by the way, and one that I’m happy to pay for. Stocks Cafe supports SGX, HKEX, KLSE and USX, which is great. This allows me to use it to track my AutoWealth robo-advisor investment. * Yikes, wrong chart previously, so I replaced it with the correct one Red : AutoWealth (1.88%) Orange : STI (-0.67%) I started investing with AutoWealth in October 2017. For almost the entire duration from October 2017 (9 months), the AutoWealth portfolio under-performed...

Robo Advisor Meets Crypto – Boom!

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Jul 11, 2018 | Investing |

Well, what can go wrong? Smartly was probably the first on the robo-advisor scene back in 2016, and of course I blogged about it. Got into the beta later in the same year too, but progress was slow. Competition came, and finally everyone was pushed/forced to roll out their product. On one hand, you want to launch as soon as possible to gain first-mover advantage and grab as much market share as you can. On the other hand, you risk exposing the flaws and problems associated with a platform that is not fully tested – which can devastate user...

Early SQ Suites Class Flight + The Private Room = Possible?

Posted by The Turtle Investor | Jun 24, 2018 | Saving & Spending |

In my earlier posts on playing the miles game, I have illustrated how I have gone from 10,000 miles to 120,000 miles even after the redemption of a pair of business class SQ flights with stopovers, which is effectively four flights. While it is near impossible for an average Joe to accumulate one million miles without using his own credit card for work expenses (that’s not even a travel hack), we can still gather a decent amount of miles if we’re really efficient about cards usage. One topic that I have not yet covered is the ultra-exclusive lounge for...

Author: The Turtle Investor