Regardless of the situation, you are in. Always be calm and alert. It is with a clear and calm mind that one can have a clear and concise decision about whatever that you are doing. Easy to say but difficult to execute – Many may say. It takes time and eventually time will create this vacuum of space where you can resolve your issue and come to a consensus with your mind.
If staying away from social media helps, then do it. Be positive and talk to people who are positive. They will always shed a light or rub some positivity of some sort. Remember that only with challenges and struggles, will you grow and nurture to your potential. Struggling is part of life and it is also the wonder of life as it allows one to realise, slow things down and think about many things. The power of manifestation has been in the talks for many years. First of all, you have to believe in it, then you manifest with the thought and finally the mentality. These are the powers of being able to think clearly.
With distractions out of the way, then things can work out. No matter how many baby steps, how much is the disappointment or expectation. It is a roller-coaster of events. There are things we all should say no to more often than not.
Naturally, we are all emotional human beings. That makes us what we are so you did not do anything wrong. I am not a great fan of social media. I don’t see it as a way to catch up with what my friends are doing. If it is my family, I would happily call or meet them, not follow their social media accounts.
Time will heal and will find a solution. It is a process that is daunting. If you are feeling it, you are not alone. Baby steps at a time. Meanwhile, find things that interest or helps your own growth. It may fuel into something great one day.
When discussing the portfolio of Financial Planning, it is common to waive it off if you have no interest in it or talk about investments only. Like any broken recorder, the basis of Finance Literacy is fundamental however you dislike it.
Let me put it on a storyboard – As a child or if you have a child, you would want them to learn skills from a young age. (NO! I am not talking about enrichment). Here I am talking about pure survival skills like swimming, psychomotor skills, being literate, learning to drive when you are older, learning simple skills like dealing with disappointment, etc.
Similarly, financial planning is no exception to life skills. Imagining a pyramid, the top layer is not investments but insurance. Meaning risk transfer. Now, skip the boring part of insurance planning. There are a few alternatives to cheaper insurance coverage.
One of them is actually SNACK by Income. Yes, Income Insurance.
Don’t miss out now because there’s a good deal going on at the moment.
The Promotion
Here’s $50 for you to start your investment journey!
All you need to do is: 1. Download the SNACK by Income app (https://income.sg/dl-snack) 2. Enter my referral code “PAU4055” and tap on SIGN UP 3. Complete your SNACK account creation with MyInfo 4. Start SNACK Investment and ensure that you have boosted Investment! (Refer to steps 1-4 here: https://income.sg/si-start)
Get your complimentary $50 investment credits in your portfolio the following week!
Technically, it can be termed as an ILP (Investment Linked Plan) and honestly I am not a big fan of it. But you can exclude the investment option if you don’t wish to. However, for a start, you probably should do the investment portion until you get the signup rewards.
The Limit
I use the personal accident, critical illness and life insurance portion to supplement my current insurance. In any case, there is a maximum that one can be insured and it starts from $0
Life – $200,000 coverage
Accident – $ 100,000 coverage
Critical Illness – $200,000
How it Works
How this micro insurance work is that:
You need to set your lifestyle activities for different classes of insurance coverage and investment (if any). For each activity that is fulfilled, a new policy will be created and added to your total coverage. In this step, you can also set a daily cap so that you don’t spend more than $0.30 (for example) per day.
Food & Drinks
Transport
Retail
Groceries
Entertainment
Utilities
Petrol
Steps
Then you set your activity source. These are the ones that measure your activities such as step or visa credit card if you spend on certain categories.
Apple Health
Burpple
EZ-link
Fitbit
Garmin
Visa
Then set your weekly cap – This is for the investment cap. Up to one to decide
You will need to have your investment objective assessed such as CKA – Customer Knowledge Assessment
Risk Profile.
There you go and your SNACK account will be set up for you. That said, you can redeem the fund units anytime and can stop using the insurance app anytime you want.
I get that it takes a while to get used to it but you need some time to get used to it as it is pretty automated.
If there are some brands which interest you, you can also spend and get additional coverage from them as well. Once in a while, they will run some promotional campaigns and you can get additional investment credits. So far, luck has been on my side, I have collected more than a couple of hundred in investment funds terms. Like any insurance, this is pretty efficient for an ILP since I investment directly into a fund I am comfortable with.
Disclaimer
If you decide to sign up with SNACK, do remember to use my referral code: https://income.sg/dl-snack and my referral code PAU4055.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes for other services at Referral and Recommendations
These pictures were taken off the Endowus website for reference.
The time has come for the December review. I have changed the way I present as a totality. For example, my cash solutions, ESG, Pimco Income Funds, Dimension funds, CPF Funds and S&P 500 funds. To date it is still down overall but again because I am with a robo-advisor, I don’t expect to take any action on this.
Thank you to those who have used my referral code. If you wish to venture out and build your financial goals, please visit my referral code page thank you in advance.
Portfolio Summary
Again, like many other months when I look at my portfolio, I look at it as long-term growth. I am quite positive about US equities. My Ultra cash portfolio isn’t doing too great. In hindsight, I repeat that I do regret my decision because I thought I can take my liquidity out within 3 months but no. Now, I have to do it at a loss. This really sucks because Endowus did a boo-boo by saying that it can be a short-term cash-fund holding. Now, I am becoming a long-term investor and had to find cash for my large purchases that were coming up. I am still miffed about it but I’m not taking it out at a loss. It doesn’t mean that Fixed Income will stay down all the time. In fact, I might add on more Fixed Income related funds or investments going forward.
Like any other period, I still trust Endowus and I would actually recommend them to anyone I know for the investment concept. (Maybe not the cash solutions and also review them on a more frequent basis – In case they lose their goals or focus for any reason) I know that my investments will be safe with them. I’m happy with them for the investment part of things. I also learned that different people/companies have different expertise.
Lower Investment amount (This is quite important for new investors)
Whatever it is, they have been quite reasonable about everything. Another plus point is that they have also given me a lot of comfort in the way they allow investors to reduce their initial investing sum. A minimum sum should not be the way to invest. Overall, I feel that I take more pride in knowing who is holding my money and how they do it.
Lowering the bar also allows people who are younger to start early in this long-term process. The other point is what many people are talking about which is the fees. They are probably the only ones in the market to rebate trailer fees. I like that bold big move as compared to the other advisors. I will slowly shift my funds over to them. Everyone is different so, you have to try them out first before you decide.
There’s something else which I like about them and that is how they use the power of retail investors to put money into institutional class funds. These funds are accessible only to people with the money and volume to purchase. Yet, they are now available to retail investors.
Total Portfolio
I decided to scrap away all those segmented accounts with different goals and look at the portfolio as a whole instead.
I don’t really have a strategy. But for now, I will move more into the Fixed Income space with my spare cash.
I’m do think that once we see some flattening of inflation, S&P 500 should start to see some bull legs.
As you can see, the all-time record is that I am now down -3.77%, which is rather disappointing considering that I have a relatively balanced portfolio. The bulk of the unrealised loss is actually from my cash funds. If you look at YTD performance, it is down -5.89%, which is rather in line with the current markets but I do expect better considering I had a good entry-level during the start of the covid investing when the markets were pushed down in a synthetic way in 2020.
The reason for Endowus
Like a broken recorder, why do I like using them for now:
Endowus is the first and only robo-advisor to be approved by the CPF board.
100% trailer fees back to the consumer, not the fund management fee. This is really one of a kind I’ve seen so far.
They do have a decent team who makes sense when introducing their platform in my personal opinion.
I believe all retail investors should try them out because of how they are trying to disrupt investing and make investing work for everyone.
Thank you all in advance for using my referral code.
The last point is to do your own diligence. What works for me may not work for you. Investing in traditional portfolios is about risk management. My Cash Funds are bleeding. That was a super bad call by Endowus.
With the increase in countries changing their covid stance, the world has slowly but surely tried to come to an equilibrium. The pandemic created a lump of opportunities and closed off many others. We still need to be thankful for the things we have. If you had a job or still have a job. If you have a bonus or still have a bonus. If you can travel or if you cannot travel. The beginning of the past (comparison and envying doesn’t help)
Rather, be thankful for the things you still can do. Still can afford it. Still can provide. Don’t forget to give back to society, help others and be empathetic. For those who gave up or stopped their usual routine, if those are good for you and are spiritually rewarding – take time to plan to get back in 2023. For the world is a state where it is revolved around capitalism, it is easy to get lost. It is also not easy to live in.
The friend or social media is becoming toxic yet again with plenty of posts with the goal of? showboating or keeping up to date with your friends? No one knows but just remember to be thankful for the things you have. Money, in this world, can accelerate many things but chasing it has it detrimental effects. Yet, it is a form of acceptance that we can afford in this world today.
Maybe not now, maybe in the future. To many who have and have not. To the many whose ambitions have yet and going to be achieved. Be calm, only a clear head will let you think properly. It is never easy for me to come to any decisions but it does seem like it is easy for many. For some reason, every step of the way can be a stepping stone to something. Struggling is what makes us move forward. Being complacent does not and it does not even come knocking until it hits one too late.
I shall end off here and say that everyone’s stance is different and one should stay focused on your own principles and life. The things you see are different from the things others display. Everyone is in a different phase of life. If it does not work out now, it will work out later. The problem is the duration of that while it works out.
Count your blessings and be thankful. God Bless You Always.
Lifejourney 