I grew up focusing a lot about money, pessimism of life and as a result fell into a rat race. An unforgettable experience changed my life - As the saying goes, there is only one type of rice but people are extremely different.
I enjoy personal finance but really just an amateur in these. There are no many tools and information out there to read or to hear about. There is something that you can always learn about.
It isn't easy to pick up and be good at something but passion and being persistent brings resilience out of a person. It takes more than just an interest to learn about stuff. It is always easy to say I don't know but there isn't really an excuse to do that. The time value of being young will pass one day and we have to always look forward.
That said, money is important but the journey of life is equally important. My philosophy of life is a balance between money and how you want to lead your life. There are stuffs that are more important than money. Be it your hobbies, interests, family, kids, religion, friends, etc...It is important to not be a slave to money.
Afterall, it is a tool to allow you to do more and live comfortably. You can't bring what you have for eternity so always remember the quality of life is equally important.
It’s been almost nine months since my last post. I am distracted a little in my new job..I’ll say that it is a job, not a career, running almost one year into this new role. I must say that I have not gotten any positives out of this but it is probably a good transition. That brings me back to my goals once more. That is to invest and build more passive income. The basics of passive income seem like that is the way to do things and remember that it is never too late to start anything.
There are two items here to take note of:
There’s a time factor now for anyone who is not a WeBull customer. The promotion campaign is ongoing and running until the end of October 2023. Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
There is something that is running similar to a Cash Fund promotion which doles out extra money.
Benefits of signing up
You just need to open an account with Webull, and fund any amount (no minimum) – The mechanics is that you get 3 free shares.
Next, maintain the amount for another 30 days and you get another 3 free shares. That makes it a minimal USD60 for this effort. The risk Reward on this is a 5-star so it is a must-do.
It is really a no-brainer to get free cash. You can also explore another app to see if it does fit with you. Never say never because if you do not try it. You will not know.
So, I took some time off from my previous job because it was giving me a mental breakdown as well as a job fit. Most importantly, I didn’t feel that I got a good start, everything just felt off from the onset. The last three months have been exciting, scary, enriching, anxious and everything else mixed together.
For the best part of my work in the last five years, was the pure flexibility of it. I enjoy the work and I enjoy how flexible it is. Honestly, it feeds me and the family well too. Everything has to end eventually so the transition was not too great. As for me, I didn’t feel that worried but once I stopped receiving calls for interviews after three weeks, something didn’t quite click and I reached out to my contacts for help. Meanwhile, I also seek my own spiritual help.
I didn’t come from a privileged family but I always had an issue with applying for jobs. It doesn’t come that easy compared to many others that I have known. There’s always something available for others. Personally, social capital has always been a help to me. Perhaps my role is niche or my experience is different from others but it is always the “highly recommended” that gives me the first call for interview. Whatever happens next is up to the individual.
There was a bit of a hiccup during my onboarding process but eventually, with the grace of God, everything worked out.
The thing about this process of job hunting is that often it is nerve-racking. For some reason, it didn’t feel this way. It just felt that something will come back at the right JD, the right remuneration. Given the external factors, it does get a bit anxious when you keep hearing about the job cuts in several key industries that have boomed over the past few years.
I definitely feel those who are still hunting for a job, looking for their next work. I also feel for those who have been retrenched, who had to resign for whatever reason and who have no work for any reason. All these take a hit on their retirement planning, life plans, child and many more. I will pray for you and everything will be fine with God.
This is just a random thought that I would pen down. In five or ten years, I will probably come back and look at it and see what has changed. But for sure, many of you out there don’t despair and don’t lose hope. Because with time many of the answers will be revealed.
Fave has two sections of their business one is Fave Deals and one is Fave Pay. I presume many people of age would know what Fave deals does. It used to be a big deal with “Groupons”. It actually means Coupons bought in bulk and hence Group Buy and bring down the prices of certain services and products. These trends are now long gone and the current trend is known as e-wallets and online payments. This is where Fave Pay comes in.
Fave deals isn’t gone in entirety but it still involved buying deals from different categories with F&B deals coming at some thing like $30 worth of vouchers at $27 (Something like that which gives you a 5% or 10% discount)
There’s nothing much to talk about but generally signing up with the referral code gives you $1 discount by using my referral code FAVEPAUL62 or by clicking on this link here https://m.myfave.com/singapore/invite/FAVEPAUL62
Most people would have known that you can double stack your rewards by adding Grab Pay for your payment methods. However, since Grab Pay have nerfed all payment rewards, it’s better for you to add a credit card to double stack your payment rewards. DO check your MCC code for eligible rewards. It is getting tougher to double and triple stack rewards so to a certain extent, it isn’t quite worthwhile to use certain e-wallets.
Fave Pay also help in getting goodies from Google Pay and completing your Huat Pats.
I know this can be rather complicated. It took me a while to find out what is this Simply Go ezl concept. It has come to us that we can already use Mastercard and Visa card to tap in and use it for our public transport these days. Here, I think Ezlink is plugging a gap for those without credit cards. (Though I don’t quite see how that is possible to plug the gap when you also aim to use the credit card to top up the ezlink card.)
Nonetheless, with CNY round the corner. EZ Link launched their conversation from a normal EZ Link Card via their Station Machines also known as the Ticketing Machines. It takes about one minute to convert the ezlink card to a “Simply Go” one so that one can top up online instead of queuing up physically. With this upgrade, there is a free $2 added to the card and with ever transport use, you get a scratch card which gives you a cashback amount into your converted Simply Go EZ Link Card. Easy to understand now?
If you have some time to spend and use the public transport a little here and there then please do use my referral code “4005114” when you register for the game. Good Luck and thank you in advance.
So I tried it out and it came with two standard scratch cards which gave me a total of $0.44 cents instantly which isn’t too bad for doing nothing except for the initial conversion. It will take about a minute at the ticketing machine so beware for the crowd behind you.
Conclusion
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
The pictures were taken off EZ Link website for reference.
This year, 2023, GPay has updated and made minor tweaks to their Huat Pals. Gone with BB Loh and Panda and incomes CNY goodies. I don’t know why but it intrigues me every year that I spend some time every year doing a little bit more research.
With the social aspect of CNY back after the Covid years previously, there are some additional items that give you more opportunities to get more goodies. That said, it also means you have to make more effort to get more.
Step number one: You need to set up and download Google Pay for a start.
You can sign up for a new account here: g.co/payinvite/t74cf8ffrom your mobile app or use this link here at Download Google Pay you’ll earn $3 when you opt-in to Google Pay offers and rewards and make your first payment (min. $10)! Download the app and use my referral code t74cf8f to get started.
Next Step number two: You will need to understand how the mechanics work.
Now, different things tick with different folks so do what comforts you. Do take this article with a pinch of salt and a guide. If $8- $88 is not worth your effort then do proceed to do what comforts you and gets you more for your time. It should not make you anxious and keep your mind calm.
In order to get a scratch card or an opportunity to win prizes:
Once you have collected all 5 goodies, you will win one of the following (It is random so please don’t over-react if you don’t get any):
Scratch card worth up to S$88.88; or
Pixel 7 Pro worth S$1,299; or
Pixel Buds Pro worth S$299
The rare item that I am putting my money on is the gold/ingot. Just saying since it has an auspicious gold shine to it and google being google is pretty local in Singapore.
Once again, this game aims to have as much activity as possible. It isn’t a game of fastest fingers first so you kind of need to strategize and spend money in general.
Step number 3: Available and activity required to get goodies (This year there are more options) but also slightly more difficult to get it.
These are the same as what is in your app in the same order so GPay has nicely done it in a way that you can work on the tasks as if it is a list of times to fulfil daily.
A. PAYNOW to merchants (You can do it 1 time daily)
You need to spend a minimum of $5 to make this eligible. Small tip, YouTrip DOES NOT work Now. I’m sure there are other apps that work as well. I will make it subtle and quiet on each option.
You can get $5 when you top up your YouTrip card. (25 Jan 2023 Update: YouTrip, Shoppee Pay and CPF QR code works. The reset timing is 10 am daily. Please note. Sorry for the mis-information)
B. Make a FavePay transaction (You can do it 1 time daily)
In all honesty, this is pretty tough and you need to spend a minimum of $5 as well. However, if you have a merchant that uses FavePay, then it kills two birds with one transaction. My bad. Fave Pay transactions through GPay is from a bank payment or from PayLah. You can’t kill two birds with one transaction.
C. Use your Fave Pay cashback in a transaction (You can do it 1 time daily)
Well, again it is probably to reward those who go out of the way. You need to have Fave Pay cashback equivalent partners and this would offset options A, B & C, killing three birds with one transaction (I will have to test this out first before I update my article) meanwhile, today (19 Jan 2023) is the first day of Huat Pals launch from Gpay so there will be some exploration steps I need to take.
My bad again. cashback earned from the Fave Pay App doesn’t appear on GPay. So it has to be a repeat transaction. Again, good to know but difficult to execute once more. Also GPay has this few seconds lag which kind of stresses me a little with the queue behind me.
D. Tap to Pay (You can do it 1 time daily)
Yup. As simple as it gets. Contactless payment with a minimum of $5 charged.
E. Buy movie tickets on Google Pay (You can do it 1 time daily)
This is pretty clear-cut to me but I’m not the kind who purchases a movie ticket at GV or Shaw these days. The comfort of home and the price of movie tickets deter me. But again, it may work for others.
F. Split an expense with two other friends (You can do it 1 time daily)
Anyone knows that in an essay, the number 2 should be spelt as Two? Anyways I sidetracked. Instead of one friend to split expenses, you need two others. That means you are splitting your bills three-way including yourself with the minimum charge of $3.
G. Gift a goody to your friend (You can do it 5 times daily)
Finally, the last daily activity is to give your extra goodies to another friend (Aka trade) Those who know where to trade will know. It takes a bit of effort but yeah just enjoy the process.
Step number 4: Additional quiz or mission-style requests
So random quizzes or daily requests such as taking photos of items will get you additional goodies and these come in random. These are known as Huat Scanner and Huat Quizzes. (It is a QR scanner and answering quizzes) My thoughts are similar to how google search functions. The more you engage in the activity, the more these requests will pop up. Though random, there is some AI to it (i.e. robots related) We will not know but like any other games you played before, the more active you are, the more likely you are going to level up and do better. Whether it gets difficult, I’m not sure but let’s just have fun.
Side note, thank you google for the media announcement but perhaps you can send it to me earlier than the next event because my day starts, I have a day job and creating all these takes time and effort. You are always welcome to reach out to me to have a chat via my email. I’m happy to explore. Cheers anyway for providing media items so that I do not have to source for those on my own.
Conclusion
I can’t tell anyone this is worth your time to do all these because we have different values in terms of time and what it gives back to you. However, during the promotion period, there will be changes as Google work on bugs and several things to make sure that they can be as fair as possible to everyone. May luck be with you. Remember two things: The more you want something, the less it will come to you. (Because of the state of the mind) & This should not shun you away from doing the proper and real things in life that matters to you. (Be real, be yourself)
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 Google Media Kit for reference.
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.
After a short break and some self-sustained recovery, I think it is time to get back to updating the portfolios. During this period when I was down, I was not really monitoring the markets. In fact, I set my RSP up over these 8 – 9 months that I was missing in action. Partly, it was due to work and also self-discovery wellness. In my last post, I discussed being away and not being able to do anything to your portfolio and again I was away. I find that robots suit my style of investing. In good times and in bad times because I am just not in the right frame of mind to manage my portfolio. Not anyone can just buy in when the market is down. You need to understand your own investment appetite.
Thank you to those who have used my referral code. If you wish to venture out and build your financial goals, please do visit my referral code page thank you in advance.
Portfolio Summary
The whole portfolio has taken a big hit this year in 2022 and there’s nothing much to shout about but 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.
Like any other period, I trust Endowus and I would actually recommend them to anyone I know for the investment concept. (Maybe not the cash solutions) 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
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 hope can recover some of the losses but as a function of market-related money market funds, I think it will take longer than i expect.
I hope that I will be able to add more funds to the S&P 500 if it dips over the next few months.
As you can see, the all-time record is that I am now down -4%, which is rather disappointing considering that I have a relatively balanced portfolio. The bulk of the unrealised loss is actually from my cash funds. (Sad to say that FI instruments are still doing that badly) which is why it is true that no one has the crystal ball and we have to diversify. If you look at YTD performance, it is down -6%, 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.
I’m still looking forward to the day when S&P 500 goes up the roof and I see my portfolio doubling.
The reason for Endowus
Like a broken recorder, the pros once more:
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.
