Month: October 2022

Life and Travelling

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, Random, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Now that we are all living with the pandemic aka living with covid, travelling is on the cards for many people and there’s pent-up demand. For a moment, while I was searching for travel next year, everything settled down and the restrictions for other countries started to ease. It became quite an overload of information. No doubt reading and watching travel logs do inspire the places to visit in the future. Suddenly, it seems like there isn’t much time to visit all the places

It felt as though travelling is such a luxury all over again and very much preparation seemed like a hassle. Have I been living like a hermit for a while now? I’m not too sure. One thing I am sure of is that many people are looking forward to their travels. I just want to say that do remember to get your travel insurance and be safe from any form of sickness.

Another query that I had in my mind is that I wonder how many of those shops or places that were once of interest, survived the pandemic and managed to carry their business. Maybe I’m just overthinking it but I’m just generally more risk-averse since there are kids and old folks. I’m worried about the health of young and old all the time. In recent months, I’ve also been wondering if I need to do something to make sure that my own health is being taken care of.

Having time to think and ponder indeed is a luxury. Once it has been taken away from me, I learned to treasure time more. Been less diligent to apply for jobs this week since I ran most of my errands this week. I scheduled time to relax and also a couple of appointments in the next three weeks.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed on the recent interview and it does seem promising. Again, nothing’s confirmed till they call me up for an offer. Once that is done, I think I can then peacefully make some purchases that I have been putting off over the last few months. Then hopefully, preparing the next year for a full-on work and family schedule.

Whether there’s a recession or a market boom, I should ready myself for it. I’ll also probably take some time to put a good year’s resolution and rate them once the year has passed. Till then.

The cheapest brokerage in Town currently

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

Webull has been around in Singapore for some time now and is the cheapest brokerage firm to use at the moment because it is Free to trade with them. No commission fees and zero platform fees. Of course, normal fees still apply (such as GST, clearing fee, individual country’s fees and other miscellaneous fees) – Usually, quite a small amount.

There have been a number of brokerages to date and all of them are funded by big names. Most likely to get people on board.

Only the last three days to get the promotion so better quickly sign up now.

Who is Webull

Webull Securities (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. is regulated by MAS and holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) Licence to operate here.

In terms of its background, Webull was founded by ex-Alibaba employee Wang Anquan, and its parent company is Fumi Technology – a Chinese holding company with financial backing from Xiaomi, Shunwei Capital, and other private equity investors in China

Welcome Offer

As part of their sign-up offer, you can now get up to USD 130 worth of Tesla shares when you register and trade with Webull.

Keep in mind that the welcome offers change periodically, so be sure to check for their latest promotion before you sign up. (I believe this will end by 14 October 2022 so fastest fingers first)

Now, you have to do the following:

  1. Register for a Webull account first here: Webull sign-up link You will receive a 1-month level 2 US Market Data Subscription
  2. You need to make initial funding of SGD 2000 and execute 1 stock or ETF buy Trade on the USD Market within 30 days. You will receive USD 100 of Tesla fractional shares
  3. If you execute at least 1 option buy trade on the USD market within the same 30 days, you get an additional USD 30 of Tesla fractional shares.

Why Webull

More of a reason to use Webull is their ability to do fractional trading at a minimum about of USD 5. Fractional trading is fractional share is a portion of an equity stock that is less than one full share. As I have always preached about starting to invest early. This is probably the fastest and easiest way to do so by trading in small sums if you are not so confident or if you do not have a lot to start with.

Of course, you still need to do your own diligence but if you have a strategy to collect certain counters, you can certainly do so at a lower quantum now.

Additional Perks

A little additional perk is that you can now open and grab your GRAB Vouchers (S$10) once you sign up. I believe this is probably an additional bonus perk just for signing up.

To sign up, please use my referral code here at Webull sign-up link.

It is just to keep lights running for my blog and domain if you like reading content from me. Do comment below on any stuff or topic that you would like to know more about and I will try my best to bring it to you.

Thank you in advance!

Please note that this is affiliate marketing and I do get a referral from recommending this product. However, I have used this and I quite like their platform which is easy to use. So this is a quick and easy way to make about SGD 140 – USD 190 just simply taking about 30 mins or an hour to do the following steps.

Talk is cheap

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

You know I dont really like to get into a blogpost that starts with something pretty negative but I realised that talk is cheap. I have seen too many if it happening in my lifetime and this trend doesn’t seem to end.

As a fresh out of school graduate, I have my own visions and ideals. I meet people and many shared valuable insights as well as suggestions. But over time, the things that irks me the most is people just talking cheaply.

Perhaps one might think that talking great is the sign to how a person or how the public view you. After you rough it out in the real world, you don’t really value talk that much. When you need to get work done, you get your hands dirty.

So, generally to speak when people say you have to spend less, make more. I get it about the spending less portion. However, making more is an issue. No doubt, therr are many ways to supplement an income. Thr key question is, are you willing to do so or can you do it. Usually these jobs or work or gigs requires you to fufill a certain standard or level. These work requires actual physical or servicd delivery. Does the talk guy work in this scenario? Nope. 100%

Fighting inflation is tough. Keep thinking and striving. Dont listen to talk only guys. Some times, hardwork is what you need to explore new revenues.

Or, sometimes these are opportunistic times to make a few thousand extras a year. But bear in mind these opportunities don’t come easy. No one minds extra income. Just don’t fall into the trap of the talk guy.

Managing Yourself

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, Random, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

Life is very different for everyone. Every nook and cranny is different for each one of us. Eventually, that moulded all of us very differently. (i.e. How do we react to certain situations? How we seemingly lose common sense at certain things. With those things in mind, we can then empathise with others in their situation. While we may focus on how others are lacking, in the same sense we also need to be patient with others.

It is very easy to fall into the trap of looking at others and as always the grass is greener on the other side. (Until you reach the other side) Let me just sum it up. Only a small proportion of people get it lucky, they get the best of both worlds – What is rosy is also what is the true portrayal of their lives. The rest of them is living the beautiful lie (It doesn’t always come easy)

I can only speak from my own experience and while things were rosy. I had the opportunity to enjoy work and make good money while doing so. So, many times I try to look toward others with more empathy. Managing your own expectations is the hardest and because we all have our own aspirations, it often leads to less than expected results. However, we should always hold our heads high. Bite the bullet and move on. Sometimes pacing, slowing down before searing forward again. Easier said than done.

All of us are different and I do implore that no one look at other portfolios at 1 million, 500k or 250k at an envious level. Rather, look at things from a goal perspective and practicality. After all, everyone’s starting point is different. Look toward the end goal. Never give up and remember it is never too late to start.

One have to manage yourself as well as manage your own expectation. Every situation is different. Sometimes just purely managing time and break is not sufficient. We are built this way, some stronger than the other but lacking in other atrributes. Similar to thr concept of there are no perfect systems, there are no perfect human being. Behind the scenes, do you not think that those who seem fine has it easy too?

It is very similar to investing where everyone’s starting point is different. Today, I am lucky to have additional funds to explore and invest. Some may have just start while others may be struggling with debts or even many other issues.

I am glad I had basic financial knowledge and I understand some thing better than others.

Don’t see it as a hind or head start. It always start with an idea or a dollar. Be confident, no one else should tell you how you should be.

Remember you are not alone. Find support and community that are of like-mindedness

Lunch, Covid and Networking

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, RandomLeave a comment

Covid has change the way I approach many things at work. In the past, I would force myself to go attend at least one networking event at least once a month, meet new people or even try to get to know someone new anywhere.

Lunch was a common period to network and attend events. There were plently of opportunity and too many events (free or paid) but the choice is really one to choose.

Fasr foward three years, working from home. Having a new structure, cancelled events and reduce social interactions slowly back tracked into what I fall into. That is to become introverted.

Lunch seems to always be an extra meal for me. When you start breakfast from 9.30 onwards, 12 is too early for lunch and 3pm is too late. Yet, it is good to find a time for a logical break and get out of the space for an extended period of time.

Depending on your own company culture. Arranging lunch used to be one of my dail affairs. At the same time, lunch buddies are hard to find. However, today I really cant be bothered. I prefer to just have some me time and settle lunch somewhere. I dont mind company but if there isn’t any, it is really fine for me.

I dont know much about how many of you out there enjoy lunch. I certainly dont quite fancy it. I prefer to get the work done and then head back earlier to beat the crowd. Everywhere on the roads or public transport is just slow traffic. 2 hours of commute is really quite a waste of time. However, to a certain extent, some kind of work doesn’t have the luxury to work from home.

It does seem like readers like to understand and know more of the struggles and discussion about personal life instead of new products, promotions or deals.

Thanks for reading. Covid made me start this blog which I have put off for at least 5 years. I wasn’t sure if anyone wants to read what I pen down and if my content would attract any. At the end of the day, I also realise that penning down my thoughts through the years also let me bookmark some of the financial decisions I made previously.

Eventually, if there is an opportunity to monetise the content, I would not miss it. Writing and managing a blog is not as easy as I thought it would be but it is manageable. At least it isn’t as time consuming as editing and shooting a youtube video.

Thanks again for hearing me rant. I rant from time to time to vent mt frustrations and express some of my personal opinion. While I may not be correct, it is just my way of de-stressing.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Mental Health & Wellness

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

The fact that the pandemic has brought about a series of issues is indeed appaling. At a time where I felt that I would probably not experience something of thisnin nature

However, I was so wrong. Mental health and how you tackle it can come in different forms. It can be in the form of family issues or work related. It can appear in multiples or a singular variation.

For myself, it only came to light that I had a mental breakdown only when I faced with multiple angles of reprimand, sacarsm and belittling sense of blame. I also attribute it to multiple modes and causes. It could have been comparison and the realisation that one is beneath everyone else. In that sense, there will be cracks in whatever one approaches and struggle to find peace.

For me, what seemed like reflections and resetting mindset eventually brought about plently of negativity. The feeling of failure to do anything became apparent. The loss of confidence to have a level of faith slowly fades away. This is quinessential when dealing with personal life as well as professional life. How do one deal with things when your own confidence take a hit.

Perhaps some will say that one’s mind is not strong enough. Or it will not happen to me. Trust me, I’ve been there and the moment it hits you, it is like an exponential smack on your head. You have no response time and might eventually sink deeper into a sinkhole

Do you ever fear about every single message you receive from someone? Do you get a panic attack from every single meeting? Do you feel like you are the only person who was unable to deliver?

There are actions to be taken for your own sanity. Mental health is not a joke. Just remember that by the time you realised it, it is going take an even longer time to heal. Thes best part however is, it will end once you take actions to stop the bleed.

I pray for all of you who experienced it one way or another. You are not alone. Reach out and protect yourself. Rid the naysayers. We are all built different and function the best in different mode