Sunday 22 October 2023

2023 Finance Update

Time flies, and the last update here was a year ago. 


Dividends

Managed to hit the 5 figure amount for current YTD dividends received and projected to average hit $1k each month. 

It is worrying that there are uncertainties at the global scale that has sent recent share prices plunging. It is important to apply the long term view instead of activating the instant panic mood and hopefully better days will come back soon.


New aim: $1.5k each month (which is very close to the next target - $20k). Let's see when it can happen, given there will likely be a drop in dividends next year as interest rates stay high and eats into company's profits.


New Financial Habit

Will be topping up CPF for the first time this year end to reduce tax as it has reached a stage whereby the amount is getting bothersome. 


New Market

Started venturing into US market in 2nd half of this year after being enticed by the decent run up of the market on a whole. Thesis for this is that these giants will still be around in the next foreseeable decade with no let up on their market dominance. 


Memorable Experience YTD

Stepped into Chiang Mai and instantly loved the vibe of the place. It was so good that I made the trip two times there in a short span of 5 months. It is a peaceful and lovely city with lots of nature that slows time down.


Goals Achieved

1. Yolo-ed and booked a trip next year to UK. Well within the goal set by year 2025

2. 12k dividends this year instead of by 2025


Hope everyone out there has a good last 2 months for year 2023!

Sunday 4 September 2022

2022 Financial Goals Update

Dividends Update

The year has flashed past so quickly and soon we will enter the last quarter of the year.

On financial goals matter, I have restarted my initial dividend play to increase the passive income. It is certainly enticing to see the amount grow. An encouraging note is that the projected total amount for 2022 will cross the 6k mark, which translates into an average of 500 per month. A mini milestone to cross!

This amount is far off the goal set a couple of years back in the 'Goals by end of 2022' (10k). There is still a good 4 months. Most likely, I will miss this goal, but on the bright side I am making stock purchases and expanding the portfolio with the goal in mind to cross the 12k mark by end of next year. 

Fingers crossed, I will hit it within the next 6 months depending on the market conditions!

Current thoughts

Once the 1k per month goal is achieved (depending on how soon it is,) I have every intention to start saving up for a house purchase when I reach my mid 30s.

It will be a bonus to be able to increase the dividends payout amount (depending on how much buffer I have in saving that capital)

Assumptions

Cost of house: 500k

Down payment: 15% which is equal to 75k

Targeted amount to save for purchase: 50k cash (with remaining from CPF to settle the peripheral fees)

Any extra cash beyond this will be channeled into increasing the dividends!

Final closing

Unless there is a special bull run towards the end of the year such that the investment portfolio value goes up, there is every chance I will not hit the 300k mark. A huge part of this reason is that I have been making the effort to prioritize experiences in life ever since the covid restrictions started to loosen up.

At this stage, I am certainly enjoying this liberal lifestyle and certainly have had more adventures! It will likely not stop, especially with visiting the surrounding countries around.

So for budgeting next year, I will make adjustments for the overall final amount targeted for end of the year.

Saturday 19 March 2022

Tempting

Private or HDB?

Recently the idea of purchasing a private property came across my mind. Took the chance to read up and understand the various considerations and websites available to view house prices. 

It is really tempting to pay for the down payment and begin to think I could enjoy the facilities (pool, gym, balcony). Over time, I weighed the pros and cons of the decision and it is slightly tilted to the side of going for a HDB with the aim of keeping costs and loan premiums low. 

It is daunting (at least to me) to have to take up a loan and be stuck with it for the next 20-30 years, with so much uncertainty on what lies ahead even in 3-5 years time. I guess the mind has not been conditioned to think of accepting debt as I have been building up a sizable saving (not alot, but important thing is I am making progress to build a safety buffer for any mishaps).

Therefore, a HDB is less risky and in terms of valuation, it is way more attractive per square feet. 

Will there be a regret as I continue to wait until the right age to finally purchase the home at a more expensive price in the future?

On Finances Goal by end of 2022
I have been tracking and setting up a goal offline on the total net worth (cash + investment portfolio). There is a high chance of hitting the 300K mark and I have set it as a goal.

It is another milestone and something I could not even fathom since the beginnings this journey of personal finance and reading up all the finance blogs with bloggers having 6-7 figure portfolios. 

Fingers crossed on being able to increase the take home pay as my experience grows to build a bigger retirement nest egg :)

Hope everyone out there will have a smooth journey in the remaining months as well!

Sunday 24 October 2021

Reversal of fortunes

7th October 2021. 

It is official. 

Newcastle united has finally changed owners and exciting times lie ahead :)


Updates in life

The transition into a role as a worker with experience is something new. No more are we allowed to have the luxury of asking many questions that might appear as if we lack knowledge, but we are now judged on being able to give accurate answers to the queries posed to us as subject matter experts. The burden gets heavier as the solutions that we have to come up with needs to have that extra longevity (ie, it is not just about solving the issue at this instant moment, but effort has to be catered to think how the impact will be in 5 years time, 10 years time, etc).

It is exciting yet burdensome at the same time. Exciting because it is a new phase of growth, burdensome because of the fear that always lingers.. 'what if I screw this up?' I guess it is a by-product of our education system, whereby we are thought to give perfect 10 year series answers. Any deviation or slight mistakes will make one feel so inadequate as a person.

Part of my jobscope now entails making presentations to the seniors/manager who will critic/give opinions on the solution design. I have been spending a considerable amount of time thinking about how to make the presentation effective, so that the stakeholders can understand it and hopefully agree on it in the short amount of time we have.

Lots of effort are needed to simplify the design as well as think and justify the reason for having that development in place.

It has been a stretch. 


On finances

Crossed the milestone set for year 2022 in terms of savings. A small step :)

Sunday 30 May 2021

Product Management

 1. There is a difference between the Problem Space and Solution Space

In Problem Space, it is acknowledged that customers do not know how to translate their problems into solutions. There are no solutions allowed. One needs to know how the problem makes the customers feel, understand their reality and try to extract information from them.

In Solution Space, it requires a clear problem statement and focus on how to solve it.

Key Point: Don't be too quick to define the solution but instead spend time to understand the problem

Example: Biking to Work

Target customer perceived problem: "I wish I had an electric bike". "I wish I had a better helmet", "Fix the roads and I'll bike"

Target customer actual problem: "I'm really sweaty when I get to work", "I am afraid of being hit by a car", "I am afraid of falling"

Possible solutions: "Shower facility at work", "Safe zones that has Bike lanes", 'Better bikes'

2. One of the downfalls of a not so good product manager is to be too fixated on a fixed approach to solving the problem. Aim towards identifying how the problem is perceived in customer's mind instead of one's own approach to solving the problem in their own way

3. Typical Product Lifecycle

- Evaluate Opportunity

- Design Solution

- Build

- Ship

- Measure

- Iterate and evaluate if initial hypothesis was met

Tuesday 7 January 2020

Twist

A new learning point. 

People come and go, colleagues change, bosses change, company direction change, so we must always embrace it.

Had a great working relationship with a few colleagues, people whom I know are the real ones working and also did a good job too. Responsible and capable. 

Being a newbie in the company, I had the chance to work with them. We formed a pretty good camaraderie. But sadly, they left. 

New management comes in, the ones who have a reputation of being incapable, but very good at selling themselves, cajoles up to them. 

These people get the opportunity to work again, until the management learns about their true form, and by then it will be too late. They will just leave and say that the situation is hopeless, while the incapable ones get another chance to dupe the new incoming boss. 

The whole cycle repeats. 

This was so different from school. We could have all kind of destructive behaviour, skip class, talk back, disobey, skive. But at the end of the day, everyone was judged by the results. Nothing else mattered. Being the class president but having lousy results is as good as failing. The grades on the final report card made all the talking about who had the ability to go further in learning.

But, the working world is a complete opposite. As long as one develops decent PR skills, their quality of work output does not matter. 

Onto FI I charge, so that I can keep these idiots out of my life for good.

Sunday 8 December 2019

2019 Annual Reflection

Three Questions

1. What went well this year?

2. What didn't go so well this year?

3. What am I working towards?

1. What Went Well This Year? 

Work Experience. Had the opportunity to work for a short stint in Philippines for a project. Well, perhaps the overall experience wasn't that ideal, given how the perception towards getting  things done is a little different there. It is way more lax than in SG and this is something I have started learning, and hopefully will not get addicted to this feel! 

With this, I grew my skillsets, and seriously, this is getting more fun. There is a drive to learn more and increase my knowledge. 

In the grand scheme of things, with regards to the question of our existence on earth, I guess there is just an innate curiosity since young to understand things and for that reason I studied engineering in university. Give us any issue, and we will figure a way to solve it and make it work, and understand what is happening. Something I learnt discovered more about myself this year, which will add to my identity and help me navigate through the working world in the years to come. 

Books. Read almost the same amount of books as last year, and this is an area that still excites me. There are way too many books that have broaden my understanding of this world. Since I have recently read through some books on N.Korea, I guess I would conclude that it is one of those books that really impacted me this year. The country used to be something of an enigma, yes, we hear of it being a totalitarian state and joke about the ridiculous advertisements the internal media releases to enhance the supreme leader's position in the eyes of the citizens.

Yet, as I read through the real stories, there was indeed a heavy heart whereby the people suffered so much and yet the state literally ignored them and continued to feed them lies while they still led lavish lives. It is simply EVIL. There was wide spread hunger in the 1990s after their communist allies (Russia and China) decided to open up their economies and move towards a more capitalistic system. As a result, they did not want to supply goods at a lost to N.Korea, and this resulted in a lack of food. What did the regime come up with to solve this issue? They simply came up with a campaign to get the people to eat meals twice a day instead of thrice, and even stating that their 'God' is with them in this aspect. WOW, and just for the record, during that period, food was still almost entirely cut off and people had to resort to eating grass and rats, etc. Hopefully, in this lifetime, we might see a revolution so that the oppressed and defenceless can move on to have better lives. There is an argument that the current young generation grew up in the period where they saw their parents suffered, hence any of their memories are all of dark times. Also, there is increasingly more external media that is passed into the country due to the 'Dark Market' system that the citizens had to come up with as the regime failed to provide for their basic needs. With their knowledge of the real world, there could be more dissent and there might just be a change. We await eagerly with anticipation. 

Another quick shoutout to 'Talking to Strangers' by Malcom Gladwell. It argues that we as humans tend to default to truth, which means we believe at face value what the other party states, as well as always failing to see the context of why the words were spoken at that time.

Last shoutout is for 'Everything is F*cked'. The author argues that for the longest time in history, Religion reigned supreme because there simply was no alternatives. In the late 1900s, Science started to gain traction, and we could explain with certainty why things worked the way they worked. And with that, there is a shift in how more and more people are moving away from religion at this current age. Not saying which is right or wrong, just an interesting observation on the trend of human beings over the years. 

Tea. This year was the year I officially started buying tea leaves and preparing them on my own. The catalyst for this was when I saw the locals in China preparing tea this way, instead of using powder, which we are more used to in SG. My current favourite is the Feng Huang Dan Cong series, in particular Ba Xian. This tea has a smooth and nice floral fragrance balance with a subtle malty taste. It is an uplifting tea, so much so that I make it a point to end the day with tea. Of course, with this there is also a series of arguments on why tea is good for health. I have made it a point to visit tea mountains, in particular Wuyi Mountain (Famous for Da Hong Pao, Rou Gui) and Phoenix Mountain (Famous for Feng Huang Dan Cong). Both are in Guangdong Region, which is also known as 'Nan Fang' (Southern area), where most of our ancestors in South East Asia came from. I guess we are slowly returning to our roots?

The only bad side to this is that in the pursuit of this new hobby, I have spent quite frivolously to experience new tastes. Hopefully, it will die down over the years, as I learn to settle on a few select tea that makes me happy.  

Finance. As I step into the new year, one exciting thing to share is that I have managed to half the amount for fixed costs for HP & Internet bills. Thanks to the price war by the various incumbents in the Telco scene, we consumers have benefited. I am on the ZeroOne mobile plan and pay $8 per month for 3GB of 4G speed data, and the remaining at 128kbps. This means that there is NEVER a time where I will 'overshoot' on my data usage, with the only downside being that the 128kbps speed is decent enough for the user to receive SMS, Email, etc. But at times, it will be a struggle to reply. It is ok, since my last usage is also around 3GB per month. I make it a point to discipline myself not to be addicted to data usage and cut down on social media. So without the data, I typically use my phone to read ebooks and lookup simple stuff on the internet. The icing on the cake is that this line can be used both in Msia and SG, which means I do not need to pay extra when I cross over to JB! Even more savings and convenience :)

I have also hit my portfolio goals I set out this year. The market has been good to us so far, as there is a short run up in portfolio value to wards the end of the year. But the flip side is that opportunities to add will be rare. I look forward to deploying more in funds in uncertain times. 

2. What Didn't Go Well This Year? 

People. Well, this is more of coming across people at workplace, with attitudes I detest. I guess I will be meeting more of such people in the coming years. Must learn to detect such bullshit people, who only care about playing politics. I know I will not be affected by such people, given how I will fight back. But still, they are 'eating' and 'exploiting' people who do not dare to voice out and claim all the credit themselves. I want less of such people in my life. 

On a side note, had an interview recently on an opportunity. I am not desperate to leave, just that my CV was passed to the person who was looking to add people with experience in their project. Towards the end, the interviewer asked if I had any question to ask. I did not state much. I am not sure if this will affect my chances, given how I am not the kind who likes to exaggerate things. I like to think of myself as a stable contributor, someone whom you will only know well once you work with me. I do not train myself to come up with ways to impress the boss right from the start. So such people, usually tend to not get noticed, as those with bigger mouths will shout right from the start. The only bright side which will give me a chance is that a feedback from the person whom my CV was passed to was that he liked my character. It is a shock to me too, as I only worked very briefly with him (probably about 1-2 months), and given he was always busy with other things, our interaction was minimal. I was a junior then and someone of no importance, yet he could remember me. 

I guess the phrase goes 好人有好抱 is true if this chance comes through even though I was unsure of how I fared in the interview. 

3. What Am I Working Towards? 

Work experience. Again, another overseas stint. And if I were to continue staying in the current company, I might start to move company to fight for a higher pay after one more project to solidify my knowledge. 

New Trips. Will make it a point to travel next year, though still havent think of any. The best would be the opportunity to travel because of a work trip. I guess I tired out towards the end of this year and would want a quiet end to the year. While people would be busy going for trips this period, I am happy to stay in SG to sit back and relax. Work trips this year contributed to the fatigue, especially when I had to sit on airplanes that were not SQ. They are generally more uncomfortable.

There is a high chance Ipoh and KL would be on the list next year. Ipoh for their mountains and KL has a particular tea shop that I bought online from. When you have tasted fine tea, it is hard to go back to below average stuff. Haha

Portfolio Goals. This will forever be the main topic of my postings on the blog. I have set new goals, and basically shifted the goal upwards for next year. This means that amount will be a challenge, and if things are not working out for the first half of the year, I will be more aggressive to hit my goals in the second half. End next year with dividends of $500/month.

Hope readers would have a great end to the year, and also that you have hit your intended goals this year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!