TheFinance.sg » Personal Finance

Financial matters for 2012

Guru — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:35:00 +0000

A couple of years back, I used to envy people driving that Lexus luxury car and was so tempted to get one for myself, I told my friends I will get one of those as my next car, a rich man son’s friend of mine even encouraged me to get one as he said this might enhanced my image in my part time real estate agent job.

Fast forward to 2012, I am thankful I did not succumb to my “wants” and made the silly mistake of buying the car, I am already contented admiring the car on my blog’s avatar for now. If I had purchased the car, monthly car loan installments might be in the range from near to 1K$ per month or more. I look at my upcoming bills for this month, confinement nanny (3400$), hospital delivery and Gynea charges (6000++$), confinement food (1000$) and cord blood banking fees (2000$). Having to foot all these bills …

How Much to Give for Chinese Wedding

FF — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:39:00 +0000

A frequent question that is often asked by many people is this: “How much to give in terms of money for a Chinese wedding?” For the uninitiated, there are many traditions that are followed in a typical wedding involving a Chinese couple. One of these traditions is the giving of red packets (or what is known as ang baos) to the bride and groom during the wedding day itself.

While the red packet symbolises good luck and is meant to “ward off evil spirits”, most younger Chinese couple do not really make this association with red packets. It is more of a tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation and we just carry on this tradition as a form of blessing that we hope to give the newly weds. This giving of red packets (with money stuffed inside) is somewhat similar to the Western culture of …

Five Steps to Financial Freedom Step 2 – Get Rid of Unnecessary Debt Part 3

Calvin Yeo — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:52:47 +0000

This is a continuation of the Five Steps to Financial Freedom Series, for the previous post please refer to

Five Steps to Financial Freedom Step 2 – Get Rid of Unnecessary Debt Part 2

Five Steps to Financial Freedom Step 2 – Get Rid of Unnecessary Debt Part 1

Five Steps to Financial Freedom Step 1 – Boost Your Active Income

Concept of Passive Expenses and Creeping Negative Cash Flows

While the main topic of my website is Making Passive Income, incurring unnecessary debt is doing the opposite, creating Passive Expenses instead. In Part 2, we saw how exorbitant some of those interest rates are and it would be tough for your investments to yield returns higher than most of the interest rates. Also, having Passive Expenses means you are setting yourself backward instead of moving forward toward your goal of financial freedom. You would have to work even harder …

Path to Financial Freedom — Create your exit plans

JW — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:34:00 +0000

I’m referring to the following blog post link
http://www.cpf.gov.sg/imsavvy/blog_post.asp?postid=943438268-310-6846058964
and perhaps others with a similar mindset.

In the post, the author lists 5 steps to financial freedom:
Step 1 – Boost your Active Income
Step 2 – Get Rid of Unnecessary Debt
Step 3 – Save More
Step 4 – Reduce Spending and Live Within Your Means
Step 5 – Invest For Passive Income

I do not know anything about the background of the author, but interestingly, to get out of the rat race, his mentality and suggestion, like many, is actually to get into the rat race and be the best rat among all.

Fair enough, especially if we start with a near zero networth. I started the same way.

But… is the road to financial freedom so direct? I used to think it was, but gradually, as you might have seen from some …

Personal finance 2 – spending habits

Guru — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:01:00 +0000

I must admit I am not overly qualified to write this, but I would like to share my own personal experience on spending habits and hope that people will also come to realise the importance of good spending habits.

I grew up during the era where there was a silly trend for youngsters to wear branded clothing. I have to put part of blame on my friend back then as he was really a bad influence. Peer pressure got over me. I remembered bringing my father to pay for my Armani clothes and Trussardi jeans. Back then my father was doing pretty well in his businesses and he bought them for me although with much grumbling. He did not really set a good example to me on proper spending habits as well since he was always changing luxury cars and spent lavishly.

When I started out to work, I still had the tendency to go …

When To Start Saving For Retirement?

Lau — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:42:00 +0000

Retirement carries a different meaning at different ages.

For the young adult starting to work in their 20s, retirement is something that probably does not carry much meaning. Something their parents are transiting into and has nothing to do with them. First and foremost on their minds will be landing that dream career, falling in love, getting married, purchasing all the “wants” with their first year paycheck, etc.

Next stage is the 30s, life has moved on for most from singlehood to setting up a family unit. Focus will be to stop job hopping, stablize a career to support the mortgages and plan for the first child. Even those single usually start taking care of their parents who have started making retirement plans.

Moving on to the age 40s, those with children start fussing over primary school entry or the dreaded PSLE. Some planning for the child’s future tertiary education …

Saving for Retirement at 30

FF — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:02:00 +0000

It’s starting to become the dream of more and more people, to be able to retire just after you leave your 20’s. So saving for retirement at 30 is sort of the new thing, the thing that many young professionals strive for and something that can be in the back of people’s mind when they choose their occupation. The better job, the more money, and the earlier they can retire.

In a fluctuating world economy you have to take several things in to consideration if you’re seriously thinking about going in to retirement when you’re in your early 30’s. First of all, you need to look at how much money you can make in a month and in a year from your occupation. After that, the amount you can spare for an investment portfolio.

Let’s face it, unless you get a job that pays 8-10 thousand US Dollars every month you won’t have …

Personal finance 1 – Savings

Guru — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:28:00 +0000

Do you have a rich father? If no, please continue to read this.

Savings for Singaporeans is a must have, it is something we need to have and accumulate, if not, we are probably unable to fulfil the below needs:

Car:
To be able to afford a car, you need to have savings to cater for at least a few months worth of instalment, apart from that, there is a need to cater for maintenance cost, insurance cost and road tax. If you intend to cut down on your monthly loan payments, you need to put it a larger sum of down payment.

House:
To book a new flat at HDB, you need to put in 1K~2K worth of option fee. If you are buying a resale flat, you need to cater for agent’s commission of 1% of purchased price, option fee of 5K will be required to exercise the option, lastly, …

Three ways to become rich in Singapore

Greatsage — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:14:00 +0000

Many Singaporeans would agree that the cost of living is very high in Singapore. This is especially so during the few years in view of the rising inflation. In spite of the global economic downturn, unemployment rate remains low in Singapore. But most Singaporeans struggle with the rising costs, as their salaries remain stagnant. Henceforth, most of us are concerned whether we would make enough money to retire comfortably in our twilight years.

Recently, me and my good friend were lamenting on the rising cost of living in Singapore and pointed out that the same bowl of $2.00 noodle selling in the hawker stall now costs $2.50 or more. That would represent a 20% increase in prices and we were left wondering how an average salaried Singaporean can cope with this sort of inflation. We came to the conclusion that to beat the inflation and get out of …

Extra Income – How important is it??

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:10:00 +0000

In the past, having diverse sources of incomes gives people a backup to fall upon. However, in recent times, people are beginning to realize the importance of extra income as a means to realize your dream and goals earlier. Is it really important? Will it help you to achieve your financial goals earlier?

Recently, I have been earning extra income from attending surveys and interviews. While this may be seen as a one-off event, the payout at times are not bad at all. In the past 4 months, I have attended 3 interview surveys with different companies advertising different products. The questions they asked were fascinating at times and the process throughout the whole survey was full of interaction.. And of course the reward was not bad at all!!! :)

As T. Harv Eker said previously in his seminar: “NEVER REJECT MONEY!!!”. It taught us the importance of every …

I have NO savings!

Derek Lim — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:51:21 +0000

Photo by Nieve44/La Lu

There have been several articles on savings recently which got me thinking.

First thought – why 20%? Who defines this standard and why is it recommended?UScitizens have always been known to be big spenders rather than savers. It is their money that kept the world going at least during the end of the 20th century. If local advisors are advocating 20% savings, what about advisors over there? 5%, 10% or spend what you earn?

Wiki defines savings as income not spent, or deferred consumption. Does saving money to buy a Hermes bag constitutes as savings? After all, it is delayed consumption isn’t it? In that case, I can say I am saving 50% of my salary monthly so that I can buy a Hermes bag. The same can be said for saving for a car, house, travel, children education, retirement, investment etc.

It makes me realize that it doesn’t matter how much you save but what you do with your spare cash. You can save it (deferred gratification) or spend it immediately (instant gratification). Either way, I see no wrong in it. What’s important is to have a sound financial plan in place to achieve your financial goals.

I am going to stop categorizing savings in my income portfolio and use terms like retirement fund, emergency fund, marriage fund etc. which are more meaningful.

How Much of Salary to Save

FF — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

Based on a recent online survey, it was found that 2 out of 3 Singapore workers were saving no more than 20 per cent of their monthly salary. How much salary do I save?

I figured that I am currently saving about 30% of my monthly salary. This goes into savings plans, bank deposits or stock investments. This is probably possible for me because I have kept my “wants” to the bare minimal. Apart from the occasional dining at restaurants, I probably do not spend much on anything else. No gadgets, clothes or whatever. So most of my expenditure is really going into my needs and paying for the bare essentials.

Based on my rough calculations, I also figure that I am possibly able to save as much as 50% of my salary if I really want to. But that will really mean cutting back on many of the “luxury” …

the world’s first trillionaire?

Patrick Lim — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:16:00 +0000

my first blog to kick off the lunar new year is on wealth or lots and lots of it in the form of the world’s first trillionaire who is known as mr kamal ashnawi.

many people probably would have heard of mr carlos slim helu, the mexican mega tycoon with an estimated worth of US$63.3 billion and acknowledged as the richest person in the world.

but who is mr kamal ashnawi?

Kamal Ashnawi, 42 years old was born in Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia and is the president of sierra petroleum.

according to sources as reported by the malaysian media in a news conference, mr kamal ashnawi said his net worth was $6.4 trillion, and yes, u are reading right, it’s trillions and expressed in numerical form, it is $6,400,000,000,000 which is equivalent to approx RM20 trillion ringgit.

my comments:

wow, imagine the number of digits of the wealth …

Chinese New Year 2012 and Thoughts on Financial Planning

Calvin Yeo — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:20:57 +0000

During the Chinese New Year period, I managed to meet up with quite a number of friends. Most of them seem to be doing fairly well, with fancy cars and more to show. However, on further discussion, I found out that most of them have not done any financial planning. Either they do not understand what is financial planning, do not know how to do it or simply can’t be bothered Many also seem to have the misperception that financial planning is just about insurance planning. Without financial planning, I can already forsee certain problems that will arise eventually if no corrective action is taken.

Loss of Purchasing Power Due to Inflation

There have been many complaints about rising costs of living and the blame is all on the government. However, inflation is an established fact of life and only those who take precautionary measures will be able to deal …

Not losing sight of what is important in the dragon year.

Guru — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:33:00 +0000

It is another brand new year again! The year of the water dragon is expected to bring lots of volatility and uncertainties in 2012. The stock market has yet to recover to the previous peak in 2010 and we are still unsure when the market will complete the down cycle.
Companies will continue to stay cautious and some will cut cost, people will work harder in these uncertain times to add more value and keep their jobs.

This Chinese new year is special to me, as I am writing this blog on my iPad,I am sitting beside my wife, whom has just given birth to a wonderful baby boy :) Seeing your very own newborn and holding him is indeed a truly incredible feeling. Words could not describe what ran through my mind while I was waiting for my baby to be delivered outside the delivery suite. When I see …

Towards a modern day good life.

AK71 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:33:00 +0000

We have our own circumstances which make demands on our finances, time and energy. Often, we hear people saying that they do not have enough money, time or energy to do all the things they have to do or want to do. How do we work towards having the money, time and energy to have a modern day good life?

Finances:

How much something costs is quantifiable, of course. Although people might find themselves cash strapped at times or, for some, most of the time, I believe that any problem that can be solved with money is not insurmountable, within reason.

We can always think of ways in which to make more money. Get extra income from a second job, for example. We could also seek help in the form of a short term loan if it should be warranted. Of course, to ensure that the situation is rectified permanently, if at all possible, …

What Should I Do With My Ang Baos?

FF — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:25:00 +0000

Recently, I asked readers for their views on what should I do with my annual bonus. This was really triggered by reading the newspapers and learning that most Singaporeans actually intend to spend their annual bonuses instead of saving it.

Since the Lunar New Year is upon us, I am sure many readers are still in the privileged group (i.e. unmarried) and are still entitled to collect red packets (or what we commonly call as Ang Baos in Mandarin). Again, I post the same question: What will you do with the money in your red packet?
…

Survival in working till 50s and retirement

Guru — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:59:00 +0000

I see many articles on retirement planning and all, I start to think how can one really plan for retirement in today’s volatile business environment.

If you flip today’s Straits Times, you can read that Eastman Kodak, has filed for bankruptcy yesterday. This is one of America’s most notable companies and has a long history. Years of poor performances has led to them laying off 47,000 employees and closing 13 factories. I remembered making a sales call at them back in 2008 at their Singapore office in lorong chuan. I am not sure if they are still around now, but this is a really a reality check that even if you plan for retirement, things which are beyond your control happens like companies falling into financial difficulties and end up folding.
The fact is that we depend on our day job for income, this is needed for expenses, payments and retirement …