Today, the Seattle Times published a warning about the risk of landslides due to recent heavy rains: Heavy rains bring increased risk of landslides, SPU warns. "With rain late Thursday and Friday morning, Seattle exceeded the official U.S. Geological Survey’s landslide threshold."
In addition to taking the steps outlined in the article, homeowners should take a look at the insurance policies. Homeowner policies typically do not cover damage caused by land movement or a landslide if the underlying case is excessive water.
There are options for homeowners who wish to have coverage in the event of a landslide. Consumers can purchase a rider that covers the contents of their home from all perils, including landslides. Some companies also sell earth-movement coverage for any structures on your property. Flood insurance may cover landslide damage that is due to heavy rains. Your insurance agent or broker can tell you what type of coverage is best for your situation.
Read more about flood insurance on our website. If you have questions, contact our consumer advocates at 1-800-562-6900.
Friday, 31 October 2014
Thursday, 30 October 2014
SG Young Investment crosses 1 Million
Yes its official. SG Young Investment has crossed one Million page views just this morning. I hope all of you enjoyed reading my blog as much as I had enjoyed writing for the past one year or so.
I have learnt a lot through writing on this blog as most of the time I have to research the stuffs that I write. Researching and writing on personal finance topics such as housing, wedding and CPF made me understand these issues more clearly. To say the truth, I had no prior knowledge on the CPF earlier this year. I did not understand what it means to pledge your house for CPF or even know that I can transfer my monies from CPF OA to SA to earn higher interest. I also did not know what is the CPF life. It was only after gathering all the available information and reading the materials from CPF website repeatedly for many times before I understood the whole thing. I'm glad I wrote on the topic of CPF which gave me an understanding of how it plays a part for our retirement.
There are many exciting things ahead. All these will be announced in due time. Yes, I'm planning some great stuffs for everyone which hopefully can be finalised by the end of this year. I've met a few number of people in my blogging journey and certainly there will be more chance to meet other people along the way. However, I can't meet everyone and will only meet if there's a need to. I've received hundreds of emails and really enjoyed interacting with all of you. Keep it coming. Most of you are quite encouraging and have been rather kind to me. I deeply appreciate it!
I know there are a lot of students who're reading my blog and even young couples who read my blog. Maybe there could be a gathering for all of you to meet and support one another someday in the future. It is good to start planning your finances at a young age but even if you're not too young, the best time to start is now. If you still have at least 10 years before you retire, it's not too late.
Nevertheless, we're fast approaching November soon and then it's just 2 months to the end of 2014. What are some goals you've set at the beginning of this year but have not fulfilled yet? There's still time to review it and act on it.
I shall end this short post here. Cheers to a Million! It's Friday soon. Have a great weekend!
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Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Why extreme savings is more powerful than investing
Very often, I receive a lot of emails from readers on how they should start investing. Somewhere and somehow, I suppose many of them heard that investing is important or investing can actually be an answer to a better life. This kind of question on how should I start investing was a question I asked myself a few years back. It was because I asked myself this question that gave me a clearer understanding of what investing is really about.
The myth of investment returns
Investing early is important as your money gets compounded over time. However, investing too early without sufficient capital will only yield a little return. Let's say you have a $5000 savings that you want to invest. If you're lucky enough to get a 10% return every year for the next 5 years, your capital will only grow to $8052.55. This is not going to make you rich in any way even if you had invested it for 20 years. Mind you we're talking about 10% return on investment here. On the other hand if you focused on saving money say $1000 per month, your money grows at an astonishing $12,000 per year. Invest this savings at a 8% return and you would have accumulated $100,000 in just 6 years. If you started saving this $1000 per month at the age of 24 and invest consistently, you would be worth a million dollars by the time you're 50.
Let's review the numbers again. $1000 saved every month and invested at a 8% return will make you a millionaire by age 50 if you start at age 24. At 8% return, it takes only 9 years for your money to double (72÷8). This is the rule of 72.
There will be people who will tell you that you can turn $1000 into $10000 in just a few weeks or even days trading Forex, Options, Futures etc. To me, that's just not realistic at all. From $1000 to $10000 is a crazy 1000% return. If you do not have enough money, quit thinking of using that little money you have and think that you can make a lot of money with it. It's just too much risk and you can lose everything and even more if you're trading using those leveraged products.
Let's face it. Investment returns depends on the market. You cannot and don't have the power to demand any returns from the market. If you're lucky, you get more than 10%. Not so lucky you get 5%. If you're unlucky, you get less than 2% or worse still you lose your hard earned money. Throughout history, the average returns for the average person is about 5-8%. Dreaming of a 20% return every year for the next 20 years is almost impossible. The reality is, investment returns are not as high as we thought it would be. On the other hand, savings is completely predictable and can be controlled by us. You decide where you spend that money on, you can try to earn more money. There's a certain level of control there.
Savings before investment
Your savings play a vital role in your accumulation of wealth. Retiring a millionaire is not a dream if we plan it correctly. Save $1000 per month at 8% return will give you 1 million dollars in 27 years. Save only $200 and you would require a 18% return to achieve the same 1 million dollars. It is very hard to achieve 18% return on investment for a long period of time.
If you manage to bump up your savings to $2000 per month and invest it at the same 8% return, then you would be able to achieve a million dollars in 20 years. This means if you start at the age of 25, you would become a millionaire by the age of 45. Savings is important. Investing is also important. Savings is the basic foundation in financial planning. Get the foundation right and your financial future is on the right track. Start saving first while you look at ways to increaseyour income. Focusing on only increasing your income is just one sided. Go for both increasing your income and start a savings plan at the same time.
P.S: Found out about a site ShopBack that gives you coupon codes and offers, on top of cashback. This allows you to save more when you shop. You can find merchants like Taobao, Aliexpress, Lazada and more on ShopBack. You can even find groceries deals and offers too, with merchants like RedMart. (Updated in Jan 2016)
Enjoyed my articles?
You can Subscribe to SG Young Investment by Email
or follow me on my Facebook page and get notified about new posts.
Related Posts:
1. Save 75% of your income to retire in 7 years
2. Why it is hard for most Singaporeans to retire early?
The myth of investment returns
Investing early is important as your money gets compounded over time. However, investing too early without sufficient capital will only yield a little return. Let's say you have a $5000 savings that you want to invest. If you're lucky enough to get a 10% return every year for the next 5 years, your capital will only grow to $8052.55. This is not going to make you rich in any way even if you had invested it for 20 years. Mind you we're talking about 10% return on investment here. On the other hand if you focused on saving money say $1000 per month, your money grows at an astonishing $12,000 per year. Invest this savings at a 8% return and you would have accumulated $100,000 in just 6 years. If you started saving this $1000 per month at the age of 24 and invest consistently, you would be worth a million dollars by the time you're 50.
Let's review the numbers again. $1000 saved every month and invested at a 8% return will make you a millionaire by age 50 if you start at age 24. At 8% return, it takes only 9 years for your money to double (72÷8). This is the rule of 72.
There will be people who will tell you that you can turn $1000 into $10000 in just a few weeks or even days trading Forex, Options, Futures etc. To me, that's just not realistic at all. From $1000 to $10000 is a crazy 1000% return. If you do not have enough money, quit thinking of using that little money you have and think that you can make a lot of money with it. It's just too much risk and you can lose everything and even more if you're trading using those leveraged products.
Let's face it. Investment returns depends on the market. You cannot and don't have the power to demand any returns from the market. If you're lucky, you get more than 10%. Not so lucky you get 5%. If you're unlucky, you get less than 2% or worse still you lose your hard earned money. Throughout history, the average returns for the average person is about 5-8%. Dreaming of a 20% return every year for the next 20 years is almost impossible. The reality is, investment returns are not as high as we thought it would be. On the other hand, savings is completely predictable and can be controlled by us. You decide where you spend that money on, you can try to earn more money. There's a certain level of control there.
Savings before investment
Your savings play a vital role in your accumulation of wealth. Retiring a millionaire is not a dream if we plan it correctly. Save $1000 per month at 8% return will give you 1 million dollars in 27 years. Save only $200 and you would require a 18% return to achieve the same 1 million dollars. It is very hard to achieve 18% return on investment for a long period of time.
If you manage to bump up your savings to $2000 per month and invest it at the same 8% return, then you would be able to achieve a million dollars in 20 years. This means if you start at the age of 25, you would become a millionaire by the age of 45. Savings is important. Investing is also important. Savings is the basic foundation in financial planning. Get the foundation right and your financial future is on the right track. Start saving first while you look at ways to increaseyour income. Focusing on only increasing your income is just one sided. Go for both increasing your income and start a savings plan at the same time.
P.S: Found out about a site ShopBack that gives you coupon codes and offers, on top of cashback. This allows you to save more when you shop. You can find merchants like Taobao, Aliexpress, Lazada and more on ShopBack. You can even find groceries deals and offers too, with merchants like RedMart. (Updated in Jan 2016)
Enjoyed my articles?
You can Subscribe to SG Young Investment by Email
or follow me on my Facebook page and get notified about new posts.
Related Posts:
1. Save 75% of your income to retire in 7 years
2. Why it is hard for most Singaporeans to retire early?
Friday, 24 October 2014
Weekend Video: Shark Tank
It's the weekend again. I'm here to share with you a series of episodes which I've been watching the past few weeks. It's called shark tank. I know the name sounds funny and why am i recommending some sharks video to you? However, the video has nothing to do with real sharks. The series is actually all about 5 investors who're looking for opportunities to invest in some companies. These companies will come one by one and pitch their business to the investors. The investors will then evaluate the business, value it to see whether its worth the risk and see whether there's any potential in the business. Its interesting to see how these rich investors, who already own successful businesses themselves, evaluate their investment decisions.
There are quite a lot of things we can learn from the videos as small investors ourselves. It was quite addictive that I finished watching the whole of season 1.
Watch season's 1 episode 1 here:
There are quite a lot of things we can learn from the videos as small investors ourselves. It was quite addictive that I finished watching the whole of season 1.
Watch season's 1 episode 1 here:
Insurance tips for consumers affected by Longview tornado
Yesterday, people in the Longview area experienced a tornado, a rare occurrence in Washington state. Luckily, there are no reports of injuries but there was some property damage to buildings and vehicles, according to news reports. Read more about the tornado in The Columbian newspaper.
Standard homeowner and commercial property policies typically cover damage caused by tornados or wind. Damage from tornados can damage building exteriors and roofs, which can leave them susceptible to water damage from rain, and can cause trees to fall on buildings and cars. Personal auto and commercial auto policies would need to have comprehensive coverage in order pay for damage caused by wind.
If you experienced any damage from yesterday’s tornado, contact your agent or broker to discuss what coverage you actually have and to get your claim started. If you have questions, you can contact our consumer advocates online or at 1-800-562-6900.
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| Photo courtesy KING5.com |
If you experienced any damage from yesterday’s tornado, contact your agent or broker to discuss what coverage you actually have and to get your claim started. If you have questions, you can contact our consumer advocates online or at 1-800-562-6900.
Thursday, 23 October 2014
What students should save for?
This is another guest post from Young, who recently shared his story and his experience on investing on a previous blog post in my blog. In this post, he talks about the life of young people and what should they save for?
"Many times, I would find myself hearing schoolmates saying, “eh bro, can belanjal or not?” What this translates to is, “hey bro, could you give me a treat?”
One would find it common for students to be hanging out at cafés like Starbucks and such. We also find students filling up jobs along the lines of doing some special events or waiting tables in restaurants.
In fact, i've observed that taking up part time jobs for students has turned into something very common. Why is this so?
It is also common to see students especially teenagers having the latest gadgets (for guys) and designer brands (for girls).
It appears that after some eavesdropping and chit chat, a huge number of students take up part time jobs to fund their wants.
Of course, this conclusion/deduction is merely my own and definitely does not apply to all.
So is it wrong to take a part time job for the sake of buying such items? Of course not. In fact, it is commendable that teens take up a job.
However, if one spends their salary frivolously and takes up the job simply for the sake of spending; then I do not think it a good idea.
Long story short, the point of this short article is to induce the idea of working to invest rather than working to indulge.
By having the intention to invest at a younger age, this induces the notion of planning for the future to a certain extent.
What might this be beneficial for one may ask? It can be used to offset a certain amount of tuition fees, food and travelling expenses etc."
Credit: ringling.libguides.com
"Many times, I would find myself hearing schoolmates saying, “eh bro, can belanjal or not?” What this translates to is, “hey bro, could you give me a treat?”
One would find it common for students to be hanging out at cafés like Starbucks and such. We also find students filling up jobs along the lines of doing some special events or waiting tables in restaurants.
In fact, i've observed that taking up part time jobs for students has turned into something very common. Why is this so?
It is also common to see students especially teenagers having the latest gadgets (for guys) and designer brands (for girls).
It appears that after some eavesdropping and chit chat, a huge number of students take up part time jobs to fund their wants.
Of course, this conclusion/deduction is merely my own and definitely does not apply to all.
So is it wrong to take a part time job for the sake of buying such items? Of course not. In fact, it is commendable that teens take up a job.
However, if one spends their salary frivolously and takes up the job simply for the sake of spending; then I do not think it a good idea.
Long story short, the point of this short article is to induce the idea of working to invest rather than working to indulge.
By having the intention to invest at a younger age, this induces the notion of planning for the future to a certain extent.
What might this be beneficial for one may ask? It can be used to offset a certain amount of tuition fees, food and travelling expenses etc."
SGYI's thoughts:
I'm glad to be able to hear from a young person on how his friends are living their lives. It is common for young people to spend on "wants" especially on the latest gadgets and following the latest fashion trends. I was once like that too. Spending the money i earned from a part time job just to buy a $300 plus dollars 3.2 mega pixels camera phone which was the new thing back then.
Thinking back, all those expenditure were of no meaning at all. Where was the phone that I bought during my younger days? Its not trendy any more so I changed another phone. It did not make any difference in my life for spending on that latest phone.
Spending money is ok but spend on something that is meaningful such as a gift for your loved ones or a trip with your family. These are the ones that will make a difference in your life. However, we still need savings and also investment to grow our wealth. It all about achieving that balance. Don't spend too much and don't save too much. Haver a financial plan for your future.
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Wednesday, 22 October 2014
Insurers largely unprepared for climate change
A report issued today found only 9 percent of insurers are well prepared to face the risks posed by a changing climate. Only two of those insurers are headquartered in the United States.
Ceres today released its 2014 climate preparedness scorecard, which ranks the nation's 330 largest insurance companies on what they are saying and doing to respond to escalating climate risks. The report is based on a 2013 survey of insurers with an excess of $100 million in direct written premiums conducted by insurance regulators in Washington, California, Connecticut, Minnesota and New York.
More results:
- 276 of the 330 companies that responded scored in in the bottom half.
- The top nine best-prepared companies are: ACE, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Allianz, Prudential, XL Group, The Hartford, Sompo Japan and Zurich. Only The Hartford and Prudential are headquartered in the United States.
- Overall, property and casualty (P&C) insurers are better prepared than life and health insurers, which are largely unprepared.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler and the other insurance regulators care about this issue for a couple of reasons – first, climate change brings extreme weather events, which can cause widespread damage to homes and other property, as we saw during this summer's wildfires. More frequent and more severe natural disasters mean more claims, which means insurance companies need to make sure they have enough money to pay those claims. Insurers can help maintain their financial solvency by making sure their money is invested soundly and in climate-friendly ways. Secondly, insurance companies can reduce their risk by being proactive. Kreidler has called for insurers to get involved in building codes, land use practices and working with developers to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
“The insurance industry is uniquely positioned as the bearer of risk to make adjustments now to lessen dramatic impacts we know are coming. This is not a partisan issue, it’s a financial solvency issue and a consumer protection issue,” Kreidler said in the Ceres news release.
Take a look at our media roundup about the report findings.
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