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Wednesday, 14 January 2015
Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Position Yourself as a Magnet of Attraction - A New Dream For 2015
People are always searching for something in their lives. They may be searching for a purpose, for love, for friendship, for money, for power and many more. It gets tiring to keep on searching and searching but end up finding nothing. Its like a treasure hunt game where you search for hours upon hours but still cannot find the treasure you're looking for.
The search for money is very prevalent once we reach the young adult stage. Its so obvious that people are trying to pull another person down just to be on top in their career. Businessman try to make money while taking advantage of others. Sales people use deceit just to get their commission. I'm sure you've seen this happening all around you.
On the other side, you also see people who became rich but they did not search for money as much. Even when they are rich, they still live a simple life just like your neighbour next door. Money doesn't interest them as much.
Clearly, these people are worth billions of dollars but they still live like how they did before. They did not search for money just to fulfil their material desires of driving luxurious cars and buying branded goods.
So how did they become so rich when they did not search for money?
Herein lies the secret of the law of attraction. Yes, money can be attracted into our lives instead of us searching for it.
Here's what you can do to position yourself to attract money:
1. Be Value Conscious
Be value conscious and you'll realise money sticks to you automatically like you're a magnet.
4. The Law of Attraction
The law of attraction applies not just to money but also to every aspect of our lives. If we're drowned in negativity, we attract all the negative things into our lives. If you're poor now, don't be limited by your situation. Instead of saying its hard to be rich, ask yourself how you can be rich?
Set goals and have dreams. After that, be emotionally connected to your dreams. Visualise the life that you want to have. In your mind, see that it has already happened. You'll be surprised that it will happen sometime down the road. It may be months, it may be years but it has happened to a lot of people already.
Do you want to be a millionaire? Dream for it!
Do you want to be financially free? Visualise it!
I shared a video on The secret movie - The law of attraction. It was a good film and I realised that the law of attraction happened in my life also. Read the post and watch the movie to know more about the law of attraction and how it applies to my life.
There you go, 4 easy ways to position yourself as a magnet of attraction. Focus on doing the right things and at the right place and the right time, you'll end up attracting all the good things in life for your relationships, your financial life, your career, your family and your business. It doesn't matter if you have got nothing to your name now. It doesn't matter if you're still a young student. All of us have to start somewhere. Start dreaming and acting upon it and one day your dreams will become reality.
"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day" - Richard G. Scott
Related Posts:
1. How Not To Be a Cheapskate In Your Journey To Financial Freedom
2. The search for a better quality of life
3. Practising Frugality to Achieve Happiness in a High Cost of Living Environment
Credit: https://farm5.static.flickr.com/4102/4925267732_8b4a2cf887.jpg
The search for money is very prevalent once we reach the young adult stage. Its so obvious that people are trying to pull another person down just to be on top in their career. Businessman try to make money while taking advantage of others. Sales people use deceit just to get their commission. I'm sure you've seen this happening all around you.
On the other side, you also see people who became rich but they did not search for money as much. Even when they are rich, they still live a simple life just like your neighbour next door. Money doesn't interest them as much.
- Warren Buffet still lives in his old house he bought 50 years ago.
- Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, drove a 15 year volvo and always flew economy class
- Sergy Brin, co-founder of Google, said he prefers not to leave anything on the plate uneaten and still looks at prices when he buys stuff.
So how did they become so rich when they did not search for money?
Herein lies the secret of the law of attraction. Yes, money can be attracted into our lives instead of us searching for it.
Here's what you can do to position yourself to attract money:
1. Be Value Conscious
Never buy overpriced products. Did you know prices for the same product can cost differently? For example, I can buy the same plane tickets as the one sitting next to me but for half the price. This was what I did for my Taiwan trip. Just $200 for a 2 ways air ticket.
You can buy the same house as your neighbour but at a much cheaper price just one year later.
You can get the same food as what your friend is eating but at a discounted rate.
You can buy the same quality of clothes at half the price.
You can watch the same movie at the same cinema but yours is at a cheaper rate or even free with a popcorn.
A little everyday adds up to a lot. The best thing is you're still enjoying the same thing as all others but you end up having more money in your pockets. Having said that, we should not just pounce on every discount and end up spending more instead. Spend on what you need and minimize wastage. If you buy too much, it ends up in your storeroom anyway.
You can buy the same house as your neighbour but at a much cheaper price just one year later.
You can get the same food as what your friend is eating but at a discounted rate.
You can buy the same quality of clothes at half the price.
You can watch the same movie at the same cinema but yours is at a cheaper rate or even free with a popcorn.
A little everyday adds up to a lot. The best thing is you're still enjoying the same thing as all others but you end up having more money in your pockets. Having said that, we should not just pounce on every discount and end up spending more instead. Spend on what you need and minimize wastage. If you buy too much, it ends up in your storeroom anyway.
Be value conscious and you'll realise money sticks to you automatically like you're a magnet.
2. Focus on Providing Value
Instead of always wanting to make more money, try shifting your focus to providing value. In your work, contribute ideas as much as you can to improve your company. In business, create the best value for your customers. Money will come as a result of providing value.
However, your value is only as important as what others sees it as. If you're working very hard but your boss doesn't see it, there's no value to him. If you create a product for your business but customers don't experience the benefit, its of no value to them. Focus on creating experiences. Put yourself into the shoes of others and know what they want (your boss included).
However, your value is only as important as what others sees it as. If you're working very hard but your boss doesn't see it, there's no value to him. If you create a product for your business but customers don't experience the benefit, its of no value to them. Focus on creating experiences. Put yourself into the shoes of others and know what they want (your boss included).
3. Respect Money, Respect People
Money is a by-product of the things that we do. We have to take care of it just like how we raise a child. A child grows up healthily because the parents take the effort to sacrifice their sleep to wake up in the middle of the night just to feed her. The parents even sacrifice their entertainment needs just to give the child a better life.
Besides growing up healthily physically, a child needs to grow up healthily emotionally also. If a parent thinks the child is evil and naughty, the child grows up to be wayward and rebellious. If a parent thinks the child is smart, the child grows up being smart.
Money is like a child. If we manage it well, it grows healthily. If not, it can disappear once and for all. We also have to take note of our mindset towards money. If you think money is evil, it will run away from you just like how a rebellious child run away from home.
Relationships are built over time. Trust and respect are important for a relationship to work out well. Make more friends than enemies and your world will be a better place. If you respect people, most likely they will respect you too. If you do good to others, others will do good to you too. There may be exceptional cases so just watch out and you'll be fine.
Relationships are built over time. Trust and respect are important for a relationship to work out well. Make more friends than enemies and your world will be a better place. If you respect people, most likely they will respect you too. If you do good to others, others will do good to you too. There may be exceptional cases so just watch out and you'll be fine.
The law of attraction applies not just to money but also to every aspect of our lives. If we're drowned in negativity, we attract all the negative things into our lives. If you're poor now, don't be limited by your situation. Instead of saying its hard to be rich, ask yourself how you can be rich?
Set goals and have dreams. After that, be emotionally connected to your dreams. Visualise the life that you want to have. In your mind, see that it has already happened. You'll be surprised that it will happen sometime down the road. It may be months, it may be years but it has happened to a lot of people already.
Do you want to be a millionaire? Dream for it!
Do you want to be financially free? Visualise it!
I shared a video on The secret movie - The law of attraction. It was a good film and I realised that the law of attraction happened in my life also. Read the post and watch the movie to know more about the law of attraction and how it applies to my life.
There you go, 4 easy ways to position yourself as a magnet of attraction. Focus on doing the right things and at the right place and the right time, you'll end up attracting all the good things in life for your relationships, your financial life, your career, your family and your business. It doesn't matter if you have got nothing to your name now. It doesn't matter if you're still a young student. All of us have to start somewhere. Start dreaming and acting upon it and one day your dreams will become reality.
"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day" - Richard G. Scott
Enjoyed my articles?
or follow me on my Facebook page and get notified about new posts.
Related Posts:
1. How Not To Be a Cheapskate In Your Journey To Financial Freedom
2. The search for a better quality of life
3. Practising Frugality to Achieve Happiness in a High Cost of Living Environment
Friday, 9 January 2015
National insurance watchdog finds OIC meets, exceeds accreditation standards
The OIC has retained its accreditation with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Every five years, the NAIC conducts a rigorous, in-depth review by an outside team of experts to ensure the OIC meets or exceeds nationwide financial solvency policies and standards in its regulatory oversight of insurance companies that do business in Washington state. It also allows insurance companies to expect consistent regulation in all accredited states.
The OIC’s most recent review resulted in no findings and a recommendation for full reaccreditation for another five years. The efforts of the OIC, led by Commissioner Kreidler, in fulfilling its mission in this area give assurance to Washington consumers that the companies they do business with are financially sound and fully complying with all required rules and regulations.
This OIC has maintained its NAIC reaccreditation for the past 15 years under Commissioner Kreidler. Our next review is in 2019.
The OIC’s most recent review resulted in no findings and a recommendation for full reaccreditation for another five years. The efforts of the OIC, led by Commissioner Kreidler, in fulfilling its mission in this area give assurance to Washington consumers that the companies they do business with are financially sound and fully complying with all required rules and regulations.
This OIC has maintained its NAIC reaccreditation for the past 15 years under Commissioner Kreidler. Our next review is in 2019.
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
The Two Approaches to Making Money
Sometimes life can get really boring. Let's ask ourselves what have we been doing in our lives so far? Study hard, graduate, start working, earn money, spend money and what's next? What we are focusing on right now will change our lives forever. In this post, we'll explore the 2 different approaches to money and how it will impact us in the future. By the end of this post, you'll be able to differentiate and choose the path which you desire for a better future.
The first approach - Make money working for money
Most of us are at this stage. We studied hard to earn our certification, diploma or degree and then land ourself in a job with quite a stable salary to give us a decent life. Some are not so fortunate and earn lesser than others so they have a simpler life. But, for these 2 groups of people, life is actually the same. Both are working and earning money through the exchange of time. The person who earned a higher salary may seem to be living a better life with a bigger house and a bigger car but in fact, he or she is no different from the man who earned a lower salary. Why is this so?
Happiness does not come from living a more luxurious life
It has been reported again and again that Singapore, although being a developed nation, has one of the most unhappy people in the world. Our local newspaper, The Straits Times, reported on 20 December that Singaporeans are not only emotionless but unhappy as well. Singaporeans are apparently less upbeat than the people in places like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti. This is getting quite ridiculous. In the report, the main reasons cited for the negativity was the competitive culture, work pressure and rising cost of living. Are we focusing on making money so much to the extent we lose our happiness?
We do business but still focus on making money
When we can't earn enough from a salaried job, many people start their own business thinking it will give them more money to have a better future. Some work so hard to make their business successful that they neglect their family. They grow cold with their spouse and their children grow up without the love of a family. Before they realise it, it may have been too late to go back in time.
Trading in the stock market
There are also those who think it is easy to earn money from the stock market. Using $1000 to make $10,000? Its becoming a common mindset now. But what is the result? Most people lose money in the stock market, lose their sleep and even their lives. Yes, some people literally commit suicide because they lost too much money from the stock market. Trading in the stock market is also active income. It is a professional job which amateurs should learn the ropes before joining the leagues.
The problem with active income
Now, you might have realised money is not the source of happiness and sacrificing time for money makes it even worse. Having said that, money is not everything but everything we see around us involves money. It would be foolish to say that money is not important.
Most of us climb the corporate ladder to earn a higher pay check. As our salary increases, so does our standard of living.
Our lives evolves from this:
To this:
I'm not against living a luxurious life. But did you know most people's luxurious lives are short lived while a small group of people will be rich forever?
This is why most people's luxurious lives are short lived:
The Second Approach - Make money letting money work for you
The second approach is what I call the visionary road. Only those who look far ahead will see it. You'll see how a person who take this road will have money that last him a lifetime.
This is how it looks like:
Related Posts:
1. Why extreme savings is more powerful than investing
2. Going from working middle class to rich with a simple tweak
The first approach - Make money working for money
Most of us are at this stage. We studied hard to earn our certification, diploma or degree and then land ourself in a job with quite a stable salary to give us a decent life. Some are not so fortunate and earn lesser than others so they have a simpler life. But, for these 2 groups of people, life is actually the same. Both are working and earning money through the exchange of time. The person who earned a higher salary may seem to be living a better life with a bigger house and a bigger car but in fact, he or she is no different from the man who earned a lower salary. Why is this so?
Happiness does not come from living a more luxurious life
It has been reported again and again that Singapore, although being a developed nation, has one of the most unhappy people in the world. Our local newspaper, The Straits Times, reported on 20 December that Singaporeans are not only emotionless but unhappy as well. Singaporeans are apparently less upbeat than the people in places like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti. This is getting quite ridiculous. In the report, the main reasons cited for the negativity was the competitive culture, work pressure and rising cost of living. Are we focusing on making money so much to the extent we lose our happiness?
We do business but still focus on making money
When we can't earn enough from a salaried job, many people start their own business thinking it will give them more money to have a better future. Some work so hard to make their business successful that they neglect their family. They grow cold with their spouse and their children grow up without the love of a family. Before they realise it, it may have been too late to go back in time.
Trading in the stock market
There are also those who think it is easy to earn money from the stock market. Using $1000 to make $10,000? Its becoming a common mindset now. But what is the result? Most people lose money in the stock market, lose their sleep and even their lives. Yes, some people literally commit suicide because they lost too much money from the stock market. Trading in the stock market is also active income. It is a professional job which amateurs should learn the ropes before joining the leagues.
The problem with active income
Now, you might have realised money is not the source of happiness and sacrificing time for money makes it even worse. Having said that, money is not everything but everything we see around us involves money. It would be foolish to say that money is not important.
Most of us climb the corporate ladder to earn a higher pay check. As our salary increases, so does our standard of living.
Our lives evolves from this:
To this:
I'm not against living a luxurious life. But did you know most people's luxurious lives are short lived while a small group of people will be rich forever?
This is why most people's luxurious lives are short lived:
One year later:
Once this high income earner loses his job, he still has to pay for the mortgages for his house and car and other miscellaneous expenses. If we assume his savings to be $24,000, it can only last him for a maximum of 3 months. If he cannot find a job within that period, the consequences will be undesirable.
The above person is having 80% of his income in debt which is very dangerous. That is why the TDSR was introduced to limit all debts to 60% of your income. For the above example, if debt is limited to 60% of his income, his savings would have doubled and can last him more than 6 months. That is the power of just 20% more savings in a year.
You may ask how does the above calculation work out? Assuming the above person is limited by the TDSR of 60%, his debt repayment would only be 6k every month instead of the 8k loan repayment he has now. As such, he would have an extra 2k savings per month which is 24k a year. This brings his total savings to 48k a year which is doubled of his initial savings if he had a 8k loan. That is how with just 20% more savings per month, your savings would have doubled in a year.
Fast forward 30 years later at retirement age, this person would have accumulated a savings of $720,000. But without any investment or passive income, the income could only last him 7.5 years if he stops working. We might say he would have finished paying for the house by then so his expenses would have been lower. Even with a lower expense of $5000, his savings over the 30 years would only last 12 years.
Imagine working for 30 years and your savings could only last you 7.5 or 12 years. That is what happened to a lot of people who took the make money working for money approach.
The Second Approach - Make money letting money work for you
The second approach is what I call the visionary road. Only those who look far ahead will see it. You'll see how a person who take this road will have money that last him a lifetime.
This is how it looks like:
One year later:
This same person loses his job but because of his low expense and high savings ratio, he manage to accumulate a savings of $100,800 which can last him 50 months. This is approximately 4.2 years. Don't forget because this person focuses on letting money work for him, he has steadily achieved a passive income of $420 per month.
The magic happens from here forward. Assuming this person finds another job but earns much lower now than before. He only manage to get a $5000 per month salary.
Let's see what happens in 10 years time.
In 10 years time, this person, although earning a lesser salary at $5000, managed to accumulate a savings of $553,330 through prudent savings and investment at 5% compounded. What he did was to just to invest, get dividends and reinvest the dividends. Within just 10 years, this person has achieved financial independence with $2305 passive income per month. Even if he loses his job, he still can live normally for the rest of his life. He could even choose not to work any more.
Let's move even further to 10 more years ahead:
With consistent savings and investment, this person's passive income more than doubled. Money does work harder for you at a compounded rate.
Key takeaways of the 2 approaches
- High income with high expenses is suicidal
- Money can work for you if you create passive income
- Passive income grows at a compounded rate.
Enjoyed my articles?
or follow me on my Facebook page and get notified about new posts.
Related Posts:
1. Why extreme savings is more powerful than investing
2. Going from working middle class to rich with a simple tweak
Saturday, 3 January 2015
Pocket Wifi for your overseas trips with VisionData Singapore
In Singapore, we're so connected to each other that we can access the internet almost everywhere. We can send Whatsapp messages, surf the net, browse our Facebook news feeds, check emails anywhere. Many of us will realise that once we travel overseas, we're constantly looking for wifi hotspots at our hotel, at cafes and we wish that wifi could be everywhere. Now its possible with the Pocket Wifi from VisionData Singapore.
I was in Jakarta last week and those who read my previous post on what I did during my trip would know that. Prior to my trip, coincidently, VisionData contacted me and offer to sponsor to try out their pocket wifi device. I found it interesting so decided to try it out. I'll be writing a review for the product below.
About VisonData Singapore
VisondataSG (VDS) provides low cost pocket Wifi rental services that covers more than 70 countries.
With the Pocket Wifi, customer will be able to stay connected while overseas.
My review
The internet browsing speed that you can get solely depends on the network in that particular country. Broadband service speed may vary depending on coverage, location, devices used, network traffic and the type of data being transmitted.
The package came in a pouch which was convenient for travel. Inside, there's an instruction sheet, the pocket wifi device and a travel adapter charger. The device is small which makes it easy to carry. You can just put it into your pocket and travel around.
When I arrived in Jakarta, I switched on the device while taking a taxi to the apartment which I would be staying in. On the taxi itself, I could already browse the internet through the pocket wifi device. My friends were actually quite surprised that such a thing can be done.Yes, the device can be used by more than one person. Each device can actually support 4-6 users. We had 3 phones that were simultaneously connected at the same time and it worked well.
Why VisionData Singapore?
Rental of the pocket wifi from VDS will be cost saving. I saw on their website that the price for Indonesia was $9 a day. Typically, each local Telco will charge $15/day for data roaming. Ordering process is simple as item will be couriered to the designated location two working days before travelling. You can also choose to pick up item from VDS office.
VisonData also offer rental service for their power banks at $2 a day.
For more information about the device and the pricing for each country, you can refer to their website: www.visondata.com.sg
Like VDSG on Facebook: www.facebook.com/visondatasg
I was in Jakarta last week and those who read my previous post on what I did during my trip would know that. Prior to my trip, coincidently, VisionData contacted me and offer to sponsor to try out their pocket wifi device. I found it interesting so decided to try it out. I'll be writing a review for the product below.
About VisonData Singapore
VisondataSG (VDS) provides low cost pocket Wifi rental services that covers more than 70 countries.
With the Pocket Wifi, customer will be able to stay connected while overseas.
My review
The internet browsing speed that you can get solely depends on the network in that particular country. Broadband service speed may vary depending on coverage, location, devices used, network traffic and the type of data being transmitted.
The package came in a pouch which was convenient for travel. Inside, there's an instruction sheet, the pocket wifi device and a travel adapter charger. The device is small which makes it easy to carry. You can just put it into your pocket and travel around.
When I arrived in Jakarta, I switched on the device while taking a taxi to the apartment which I would be staying in. On the taxi itself, I could already browse the internet through the pocket wifi device. My friends were actually quite surprised that such a thing can be done.Yes, the device can be used by more than one person. Each device can actually support 4-6 users. We had 3 phones that were simultaneously connected at the same time and it worked well.
Why VisionData Singapore?
Rental of the pocket wifi from VDS will be cost saving. I saw on their website that the price for Indonesia was $9 a day. Typically, each local Telco will charge $15/day for data roaming. Ordering process is simple as item will be couriered to the designated location two working days before travelling. You can also choose to pick up item from VDS office.
VisonData also offer rental service for their power banks at $2 a day.
For more information about the device and the pricing for each country, you can refer to their website: www.visondata.com.sg
Like VDSG on Facebook: www.facebook.com/visondatasg
Friday, 2 January 2015
Why did my insurance rates change when I moved to Washington?
We get this question quite a bit from consumers about their insurance rates for auto, home, boats, RVs and any other type of property insurance. Each insurer has its own rates, and their rates can differ not only state by state, but within a state as well.
Insurers rates' must cover the cost of doing business and the number of claims they pay in various regions. Insurers typically use what are called rating territories. Each rating territory can have a different rate associated with it. Learn more about how insurers set rates.
Questions? You can contact our consumer advocates online or at 1-800-562-6900.
Insurers rates' must cover the cost of doing business and the number of claims they pay in various regions. Insurers typically use what are called rating territories. Each rating territory can have a different rate associated with it. Learn more about how insurers set rates.
Questions? You can contact our consumer advocates online or at 1-800-562-6900.
Thursday, 1 January 2015
The End of 2014 - POSB Invest Saver, POEMS Share Builders Plan and OCBC Blue Chip Invest Plan
The following is a guest post submitted by Young. In the post, he writes on the subject of passive investing in Index ETF. Read it below:
It has been a while since I submitted a blogpost. 2014 has been a pretty decent year so far even though there were some rough bumps along the way.
A little more on POSB Invest Saver, POEMS Share Builders Plan and OCBC Blue Chip Invest Plan,
The POSB Invest Saver, POEMS Share Builders Plan and OCBC BCIP are in my opinion, designed to cater to new and younger investors as they can invest from as low as $100 a month.
You might be wondering, what can one buy with $100 a month? As described by the relative offers, it is none other than Index ETF’s. For POSB, they offer just 2; ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund and the Nikko AM STI ETF. As for OCBC, they offer similar to POSB, but includes 18 other individual counters like ComfortDelGro, Olam International and Wilmar International. POEMS also gives one the option of investing in 19 other individual counters such as CapitaCommercial Trust, SIA, ST Engineering and the like.
However, one thing that may be of interest is that POEMS offers the option to reinvest the dividends you earn back into your Regular Savings Plan. Neither POSB nor OCBC has such an option for now.
POSB charges a 1% fee on each transaction which is invested into Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF and 0.5% for the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund. OCBC however, charges 0.3% of each transaction which invested but has a minimum fee of $5 per counter. Unlike POSB, OCBC also charges 0.3% or $5 whichever is higher when you liquidate or sell your positions.
Lastly for POEMS, it depends on the investment amount and how many counters you’re investing. If the total invested amount is less than SGD1000, a flat rate of $6 is charged for 1 or 2 counters. But for 3 or more counters, the fee is a flat rate of $10. If your investment amount is more than $1000, the charge is 0.2% or $10, whichever is higher.
I hope I managed to present the above information in a clear and concise manner. Hopefully this will be easier for the younger readers to comprehend and perhaps help them get started!
A big event that is coming is none other than the Chinese New Year! Be sure to have fun visiting friends and relatives but at the same time do note to not gamble too much! It is after all your hard earned money!
One thing I learnt in the month of December is that one should always be prepared. I did not prepare my funds and hence missed the boat for 2 very popular blue chips namely Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine. I feel that one should always be prepared no matter what as no one can predict what will happen in the coming weeks or even tomorrow. To the younger readers who are interested in investing, or would like to learn more about it, do check out the OCBC Blue Chip Invest Plan or the POSB Invest Saver.
Lastly, with the recently short terms rallies in some of the local counters in O&G industries, I’d like to urge all to exercise caution! A hearty congratulations to all who took a nice profit this week! May 2015 be better than ever!
Happy New Year!
My Thoughts:
Investing in Index fund is a good way to grow your money over the long term. I wrote on index fund investing previously in this article: Low Cost index fund investing (Passive Investing)
Index fund investing is also known as passive investing as you can just sign up for the plan and automate it to invest a certain amount on a monthly basis. Over the years, the price of the fund that you invest in will average out because you invest in it no matter when the price is up or down. For example, if you start investing now and the fund price is $3 but when the fund price drops to $2 and you're still investing in it monthly, the price averages out to less than $3. Over the long term when the fund price rises back up to $3 or even higher, you would have made a profit. The key is investing in it for the long term to see the effects of compounded growth.
For the case of Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine going down, it is actually an opportunity for those investors who have the capital on standby to deploy. Readers who've read my previous post on my Jakarta trip will know that I had personally invested a small amount in Sembcorp Marine when the price went below $3. This can be an opportunity fund that you set aside to take advantage of this kind of opportunities. Knowing how to allocate our investment capital efficiently can be the main factor to success and failure in investing. For myself, I would never invest all my money at once unless during extreme market pessimism. As what Warren Buffett says: "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful".
It has been a while since I submitted a blogpost. 2014 has been a pretty decent year so far even though there were some rough bumps along the way.
A little more on POSB Invest Saver, POEMS Share Builders Plan and OCBC Blue Chip Invest Plan,
The POSB Invest Saver, POEMS Share Builders Plan and OCBC BCIP are in my opinion, designed to cater to new and younger investors as they can invest from as low as $100 a month.
You might be wondering, what can one buy with $100 a month? As described by the relative offers, it is none other than Index ETF’s. For POSB, they offer just 2; ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund and the Nikko AM STI ETF. As for OCBC, they offer similar to POSB, but includes 18 other individual counters like ComfortDelGro, Olam International and Wilmar International. POEMS also gives one the option of investing in 19 other individual counters such as CapitaCommercial Trust, SIA, ST Engineering and the like.
However, one thing that may be of interest is that POEMS offers the option to reinvest the dividends you earn back into your Regular Savings Plan. Neither POSB nor OCBC has such an option for now.
POSB charges a 1% fee on each transaction which is invested into Nikko AM Singapore STI ETF and 0.5% for the ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund. OCBC however, charges 0.3% of each transaction which invested but has a minimum fee of $5 per counter. Unlike POSB, OCBC also charges 0.3% or $5 whichever is higher when you liquidate or sell your positions.
Lastly for POEMS, it depends on the investment amount and how many counters you’re investing. If the total invested amount is less than SGD1000, a flat rate of $6 is charged for 1 or 2 counters. But for 3 or more counters, the fee is a flat rate of $10. If your investment amount is more than $1000, the charge is 0.2% or $10, whichever is higher.
I hope I managed to present the above information in a clear and concise manner. Hopefully this will be easier for the younger readers to comprehend and perhaps help them get started!
A big event that is coming is none other than the Chinese New Year! Be sure to have fun visiting friends and relatives but at the same time do note to not gamble too much! It is after all your hard earned money!
One thing I learnt in the month of December is that one should always be prepared. I did not prepare my funds and hence missed the boat for 2 very popular blue chips namely Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine. I feel that one should always be prepared no matter what as no one can predict what will happen in the coming weeks or even tomorrow. To the younger readers who are interested in investing, or would like to learn more about it, do check out the OCBC Blue Chip Invest Plan or the POSB Invest Saver.
Lastly, with the recently short terms rallies in some of the local counters in O&G industries, I’d like to urge all to exercise caution! A hearty congratulations to all who took a nice profit this week! May 2015 be better than ever!
Happy New Year!
My Thoughts:
Investing in Index fund is a good way to grow your money over the long term. I wrote on index fund investing previously in this article: Low Cost index fund investing (Passive Investing)
Index fund investing is also known as passive investing as you can just sign up for the plan and automate it to invest a certain amount on a monthly basis. Over the years, the price of the fund that you invest in will average out because you invest in it no matter when the price is up or down. For example, if you start investing now and the fund price is $3 but when the fund price drops to $2 and you're still investing in it monthly, the price averages out to less than $3. Over the long term when the fund price rises back up to $3 or even higher, you would have made a profit. The key is investing in it for the long term to see the effects of compounded growth.
For the case of Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine going down, it is actually an opportunity for those investors who have the capital on standby to deploy. Readers who've read my previous post on my Jakarta trip will know that I had personally invested a small amount in Sembcorp Marine when the price went below $3. This can be an opportunity fund that you set aside to take advantage of this kind of opportunities. Knowing how to allocate our investment capital efficiently can be the main factor to success and failure in investing. For myself, I would never invest all my money at once unless during extreme market pessimism. As what Warren Buffett says: "Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful".
Have a good weekend ahead in the first week of 2015!
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