It has been at least three-quarters of not-so-great news. With inflation and employment uncertainties, companies have been tightening their belts. There has not been much marketing budget and freebies for retail consumers for some time now. Even if there is, it is quite selective. Before this runs out in 500 quantity only, get the Marina Square shopping app via this link: https://onelink.to/marinasquare.sg, using my referral code – AU5SFS. This gets us a $5 Marina Square eVoucher each.
First come first served – Up to 500 sign ups only so be quick.
a. Click the link to go to apple store or google play store. Once it is installed, open the app and click on create your account
b. Then key in your personal details. When you reach the bottom, press on “Referral” and key in AU5SFS. This is required to get your $5 eVoucher at MSQ.
c. Once successful, you will be directed to the app homepage and a notification will appear. You need to navigate to My Wallet -> MSQ Voucher Wallet.
d. If you are a fan of daily points, you can go to the homepage. Click on the bottom right, and choose the Game option. Every day at 12 midnight, the system resets and you can claim MSQ squares. (Their currency) Every 200 squares gets you $2 parking. You can play around and explore the app to see what you want to redeem.
One very good thing about MSQ (Marina Square) is that even after the pandemic. With each $50 spent in the mall, they will credit a $3 parking voucher directly to your app. You will need to go to the information counter to redeem it and it is pretty fuss-free.
All rights then. Wish you all a good weekend and good luck in getting the vouchers.
As cliche my topic is today. It is said as it is. When you struggle to find employment and when you think about what can work for you. It is difficult to get momentum and also motivation. There’s a struggle to think about fulfilling the basic needs versus documenting the journey. When that motivation drops, creativity drops and one gets rather spiraling into a dark hole. Honestly speaking, not that fun. It could be because of expectation or it could be due to something else. As mentioned in the National Day rally, there will be some cushioning of unemployment setbacks for certain groups of people.
Personally, I think that there will be plenty of amendments over the years as this is a new initiative that has been rolled out. The preliminary details have been released and the name of this grant is known as Jobseeker Support Scheme. The limitation of this unemployment scheme will apply to Citizens who earn $5000 or less. That sounds about right since statistics show that the median income is around that range for this group.
The payment scheme is on a staggered basis. The photo below is taken from Straits Times and source from MOM
Effective on April 2025, the conditions for these eligible employees must earn SGD 5k or less a month on an average 12-month basis and an annual property value of not more than SGD 25k.
Several main conditions include:
Claims can only be made once every 3 years. (No limit)
Must have worked 6 out of the 12 months
Capped support up to SGD 5k, paid out over 6 months.
My thoughts on this. It certainly is nice that some form of support is being laid out to the masses. The idea is to make sure this group of people stays actively employable. As for how to make sure they upskill and go for courses, I think the authorities will find that way. Technically, if you are making 1-2k a month and unemployed. The chances of retrenchment are low. Instead, it could be that a company closed down. Some support is better than no support.
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
I’m going to clock out for now to think about my next steps in life.
So, the whole idea of updating on a per-month basis quickly fades away with changes in my life. It is also not feasible to update as regularly as I could have done so in 2020. Eventually, the updates plateaued for a shocking 2 years where many of my decisions were to take profit and reduce positions and were too difficult to document in detail.
Nonetheless, we can proceed for a fresh 2024 and hopefully be about to stay disciplined about everything else on investment, family, work, and health. We have to always keep our hopes and maintain the discipline for everything.
This is a YTD performance. This year it is up almost 6k which is decent in my opinion. In the last 3 years, the entire portfolio is up about 20%. That makes it annualised around 6.5% p.a. which is palatable. The main idea is to stay invested.
Portfolio Summary
Two years have gone by and interest rates have been the talk of town. Gone are cheap money but in Singapore Real Estate prices are still pretty crazy and will still continue to be. Meanwhile, surprises in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices in recent weeks have been rather interesting, breaking upwards followed by a couple of down days. No one has that crystal ball on hand. We just have to understand the concept of being brave and buying it low and riding the high waves when Mr Market picks up.
Performance of the different portfolios in different advisors
During the pandemic, there were a lot of people doing interesting business and many specific sectors boomed like a million times. When the world opened up, it was both amazing and scary that many of these businesses were no longer relevant. That included some of the robo-advisors. Of course, 90% were expected. Some of those unexpected ones probably came from MoneyOwl. My personal experience with Income and the way they work is rather unimpressed so it has to be a management decision that closed that down. Leaders have to take a stand and sometimes they can be wrong however, I only see leaders trying things out without a clear understanding of the final goal. This was probably one of those incidents in a big corporation.
Politics – They say. To me, I’ll say that it is more like a face-saving grace or a change of mind. Probably a top-down approach to ‘why or who did this?’ It can be pretty lame to hear that. I’m not a fan of finger-pointing but that’s the sad reality even as adults. We can’t even have a proper conversation about what went wrong.
Enough of the comments, these are the performances since inception. I prefer to talk about absolute returns in dollars and sense. Not in percentages or year-to-date or month-to-date comparison. Unless I’m comparing of some sort, I probably would like to talk about the true profits or losses.
Currently, What I have now is a few of these active platforms;
Moomoo Brokers
Tiger Brokers
Endowus
Asia Wealth
Crypto Portfolio
I can’t help but think that overall, Endowus really works well for me.
This was bad. No one took responsibility but I cut it and earned it all back with a money market fund coupled with promotional cash deposit fresh funds. Keeping it in the same cash fund did not do me any good. That’s a done deal so we move on.
Endowus – ESG Portfolio
I started this ESG Portfolio in March 2021 and I have some high hopes for this fund to do pretty well. They do well for the investment portfolios. Not too much for cash funds.
The allocation is an 80%/20% Equity/Bond portfolio allocation so there will be more movement on the equity side. This is long term so, just leave it in there. You do good and it brings you sustainable returns. It is for the future and the next generation. I can’t explain more.
This is good. Overall up 17.96%.
Endowus – SRS Portfolio
Overall, the portfolio is still up +34.56% since May 2020 in SGD. As usual, in USD terms, due to no FX impact as the portfolio is USD ETFs, the performance will definitely be better especially when USD becomes stronger. Of course, the reference will be SGD since I use SGD. This SRS/Cash portfolio consists of my favorite Dimension Funds in 40% bonds/60% equity.
Overall from May 2020 to Aug 2024, it is a +34.53% increase in absolute terms – quite okay. This is for the long run. I’m just going to keep it simple to report it overall as I have less time on my hand these days. But do try it out and put out your own performance and tell everyone about the experience. Unless you nitpick aggressively – I think you will be fine. YTD, it is definitely down.
Endowus – CPF Portfolio
The CPF portfolio is looking at +21.04% since its inception in May 2020. That’s a huge drop of almost 9% from its all-time high. This portfolio is being beaten down for now.
The portfolio is doing well.
Endowus – Fund Smart Portfolio
I started this semi-medium-term Fund Smart portfolio this month in May 2021. I tried to build a balanced portfolio. I’m not exactly sure but I will go in via RSP monthly as I wasn’t sure but I do want to deploy some of my cash. The all-time absolute return is +0.58%. haha. This is done monthly on RSP until 2021. I stopped that contribution a year ago since I had a small China play which did not pan out well but still. This is a 20 years portfolio.
Overall: 52% Equity and 48% Fixed Income
a. 15% in Multi-Asset Fund (1 Fund)
b. 45% in Equity Funds (2 Funds)
i. Focus on China Play [10%]
ii. Global equity with dividend accumulation (Re-invest) [20%]
iii. Small Cap equity play (For the Alpha) [15%]
c. 40% in Bond Funds (3 Funds)
i. Climate Bond Fund Play [20%]
ii. Core Fixed Income Play [20%]
Endowus – Retirement Portfolio 1
I got down into building a portfolio of unallocated funds to the institution Pimco GIS Income Fund. 0.55% will be the fees annually so that’s going to be the start of the accumulation of the coupons from the funds. I am down -5.22% for March 2024 and with the current news it is at +2.98% for Aug 2024
Endowus – Retirement Portfolio 2
Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.
Overall, absolute returns are at +29.64%. Surprising because at one time it was down for a bit.
Endowus – Income Portfolio
I initiated this 6-8 months ago. Hopefully, over time the income portfolio can be passed on to my kids to continue as a form of RSP. Returns are pretty good now. Close to 20% returns on income given that the year has not ended.
Endowus – New China Portfolio
This is a new one that I put into. This is a long-time view given the current valuations. It looks good. I am willing to take some risks.
AutoWealth – Portfolio
Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.
Tiger Brokers – Trading Platform
Yet again, I put in 2 tranches of S$5k into the Lion Global Infinity 500. At one point it was close to 6-7% down and this month it is +3.47%. Real volatility, is expected and still strongly convicted on this one.
Crypto – Portfolio
Crpyto finally went back to normal and my portfolio is back to the place it was 2 years ago. It has been rather hurtful for the past 2 years or so. All those additional profits are gone as no profit taking took place. Perhaps it is time to review about taking a portion out once more once the trend sets in and takes off again. The season is still higher but still currently plateaued.
The reason for Endowus (As sustainable as it is)
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 that 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. They are not perfect but in my opinion good investment strategies.
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.
As a global city with a robust economy, Singapore’s real estate market is driven by a confluence of factors. We have a well-regulated environment, a highly developed infrastructure, and a strategic location. The city-state’s status as a major international financial centre, and a reputation for safety.
We have a wide range of properties and by-products in real estate. From high-end residential properties in the heart of Orchard Road, trophy assets to hardcore township out of CCR. Especially in the OC Region which has seen significant rises in property prices over the last 3 years.
I’ve always been a fan of investing and also owning real assets. In Singapore, we are quite a different animal as compared to the rest of the world. Two main factors will be:
Our really long-term and sound housing board strategy
Our high occupancy rate
These did not just come by chance. There is a drive from the government which was successful. The plan for FDI and local brands going overseas made the difference. That was how we succeeded in making our name and reputation known to the rest of the world.
Owning real estate is more of an emotional decision sometimes and one has to be prudent. As we do not have a crystal ball, we always have to depend on experience and research to make decisions. Most recently, many people would have been priced out of certain types of real estate. There are still other ways of getting into real estate with a lower notional or quantum via investing.
One way is Reits Investing and again everyone should really do their own due diligence. I’m not a fan of chasing market upside. (All that said, it really also depends on the situation). I put in some monies into Reits and also into Syfe Reits portfolio when markets were lower 2 months ago. My expectations of a Federal interest rate reduction were taken into consideration.
I’m a little concerned about picking stocks usually. First of all it is because of my own experience, second because most of the time I was too busy while I was working. Many times, I am unable to adjust my portfolio due to market changes and sad to say, the losses then slowly became bigger. Either I cut loss or I continued to be a long-term holder. Heh.
During COVID, there were several businesses, robos, investing firms that came up. It was pretty interesting. That was also when I discovered Real Vantage. I have invested in that for almost 3 years now and they are sort of an overseas REITs player who makes deals available to the retail investor. The investing form is similar to REITs but in the form of debt or fixed income.
They are a local firm with founders formerly in REITs or real estate businesses. They source deals globally but over the last three years, I’ve seen deals from the United States, the United Kingdom, From HongKong, mostly Australia and once for Singapore (if I remember correctly it was to fund the development of a pair of bungalows or Semi-Detached). Technically, appreciation depends on the deal. Most of these investments is similar to a fixed income investment where you receive coupons on a monthly or quarterly basis.
One thing I’m certain is that they are pretty sustainable. It isn’t some fly-by-night firm and there’s some shared interest. It is a little bit like crowdfunding for the masses but it is licensed and done properly. I’m quite comfortable with how they do things and it does look like they are expanding slowly as business picks up.
Pros
Global investing
Investing amount is small. Easy to fund via SGD
Options to invest in local CCY or the investment CCY (Risk will be FX risks)
Quite an experienced team
They have been around for more than 3 years now
Every opportunity comes with a webinar to understand the investment better
Q&A to answer all the questions
Pretty good reviews on the internet.
Cons
Some mixture of foreign currency
Limited to mostly income sort of returns
For people who are not too open to non-financial and well-known financial institutions, it is probably a stumbling block.
What is HDB? Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) is a pivotal institution in the city-state’s journey towards modern urban living. Established more than 60 years ago, HDB has played a crucial role in transforming Singapore’s housing landscape. We have evolved from a nation grappling with inadequate living conditions into an efficient, high-quality public housing model. Other than affordable homes, it aims to foster vibrant communities and promote a high standard of living.
In the most recent announcement of cooling measures the LTV of resale HDB loans is reduced from 80% to 75%. What does this mean? In very layman’s terms, it just means for a 1 million dollar value of HDB property valuation; one can loan up to 750,000 SGD instead of 800,000 SGD. The recent news of a record price of 1.77 million on a single HDB home, means that the LTV will be reduced by 5% should resale buyers continue the same purchasing trend.
It is quite clear that the cooling measure is to ensure the resale HDB price is at sustainable rates. In my own opinion, the gov has all the statistics. The new prices of HDB to say, million-dollar HDB are rare. (i.e. location, HDB size, layouts, rarity, duplex) is still dependent on multiple factors. Not many can afford to pay top dollar for a resale leasehold property. I’m not an agent nor am I in public service. I strongly believe that there are rationable explanations behind every decision (Be it a good or bad one) and in this aspect, the focus of this issue is really about a few points.
Demand for HDB. Increasing supply so that demand will go back to normal.
It is highly likely given our gov focus on statistical approaches many times (Not saying all the time) This 5% is probably the way they manage the resale affordability (Based on the median House Pricing and resale pricing) If this cooling measure is insufficient, I don’t think they will stop at just 5% until it slows down. To put it simply, there’s no crisis and no bubble. Our home assets remain to be our assets.
Young homeowners assistance (i.e. first-time home-buyers). Standard, Plus, Prime new HDB changes. Providing the incentives to stay at CCR, RCR or OCR depending on one’s choice. The new incentives also help low to mid-income households to own homes with benefits, subsidies and incentives islandwide.
To be honest, this strategy seems to be a rejuvenation of places to own in small Singapore as well and every school is a good school strategy. All these policies in my view are linked to one another for a more inclusive society. Just to see the entire big picture – The execution needs some finesse. Singapore Government is the basis, once they have declared, they will do all to execute it. The issue is just a matter of when that will be done.
How is that going to affect private housing going forward? I’m not too sure but I’m kind of swayed to the fact that it will slow down that price hike in housing. Being land scarce, it is hard to believe that prices will drop in the near term. My definition of the near term is 10 years just because the properties, living spaces, and amenities take years to develop and create a natural habitat for the township.
For some sense within me, there will be more generation changes. More people will hold on to their HDB. Less property flipping will happen and like ever before, only the rich get richer assuming they get the right properties.
The Housing Board is a testament to addressing housing challenges with foresight and ingenuity. By constantly pushing the envelope in housing design and community development, HDB not only meets the needs of today’s residents but also paves the way for a better, more inclusive future.
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
I would like to keep things positive on this blog channel. I have no sponsorships of any kind nor do I have any paid users. I keep this blog clean and with the objective of journalling and hopefully or eventually being able to monetise. Any referral or affiliate links are how I keep the lights on this blog going. My time, effort, domain, email, research and other miscellaneous costs are worth something. My rate card per hour is not cheap and when I say not cheap I mean it, it is not cheap.
Whatever I recommend or suggest, I don’t put a gun to anyone’s head to use it. One, like any investment decision – Do your own diligence. It gets under my skin when someone starts to blabber nonsense or type in comments online without using their brains. When I get angry or upset, no one messes with me and trust me – No one does. In my roles, I don’t give two hoots if your corporate rank or life acquires you a “managing director” or “CEO”, as long as you talk shit or do funny things, I shoot my missiles in that way. The toilet cleaner and the CEO are the same = Both Humans. Sometimes the toilet cleaner would make a better people person than the highly-paid CEO.
This is a free world. We are free to choose, free to select. Don’t undermine others of their selection and choices. If you have comments that don’t help, do the favour and keep it to yourself. Unless there is a solution, don’t just rattle. I’m so sick and tired of overconfident people who don’t even hear themselves and what they say. The worse part is, they still think that they are the best or better than the rest. It is a very dangerous mindset.
I’ve said what I said. I’ll end it here and move on positively. I’m just sad for those who don’t realise it but again, I don’t mince my words. Good luck.
Disclaimer
If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Thank you in advance. It would help in every little way now that I’m in between work.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
At the start of 2024, there were signs that new offerings were being put out for deal seekers but as it seems, after January, there has been a drag of three months. Nothing much now except for Dobin. Before we start, let me just say that this is an affiliated link and by doing some actions, you do help me in keeping the lights on this blog. Please do try the app out. I have been using it for the past 6 months and I must say it has one of the better apps available without annoying advertisements.
At the same time, I can track expenses and connect my banking apps. Today is the last day for the referral. You can sign up and refer your friends and family to get cash rewards too. Besides that point, the main aim is to use the friendly app for tracking personal expenses. Personally, I prefer this app over the rest since there are no pesky advertisements and they are done here locally in Singapore. Support local I guess.
And remember to connect at least one bank account or one credit car on Dobin.
What You Need to Do:
Open the Dobin App and tap on the referral widget on your home screen.
Share your exclusive referral code with your friends & family.
What Your Friends Need to Do:
Download Dobin and enter your promo code during sign-up.
Connect at least 1 bank account or credit card on Dobin.
Disclaimer
If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Do use my referral code please: ZUPUNWI
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
Consolidation is quite the generic word to use when we consider downsizing, restructuring and/or a natural progression some would say. Similar to any business or investing cycle, there are peaks and troughs across any period. Opportunities and investment ideas are fewer now. Low-hanging fruits are being snapped up quicker than ever before. Deals and good stuff will go out much faster in a phase where people are coming to the realisation that free money is going to be harder to come by.
This is apparent from the closure of the grab pay card (since GXS is there and it can do much better than what it originally can), credit card deals have more excluded components, nerfed perks and an increase in legal T&Cs on rewards. New payment cards have harder requirements to earn referral fees, and investment platforms have started to consolidate. With the way things are, it does look and feel like many are taking a cautious approach. People, families corporations and those with job would hold to ride through this mini storm which I call a transition or consolidation.
This also comes to fact from an unprecedented Covid travel closure which sparks an acceleration in a few sectors. Though many did not expect things to turn out that rough, they still did and made some industries redundant. In return, multiple new entrepreneurship sectors evolved, giving rise to other types of demand.
With that in mind, things will likely slow down in the next 3-6 months with the possibility of an extended period. Certainly, it would not be easy for those finding a good deal. It is however important to stay upbeat and be resilient. Things can only get better.
With that, Just to keep light on this small deal blog, check out the referral shop.
Disclaimer
If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Thank you in advance. It would help in every little way now that I’m in between work.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
So, I took a couple of months to kind of get through retrenchment news. It was sad to be in the situation and given vintage, age, rank, and salary. The next mission or job hunt is going to be much more difficult to achieve. Even after going through these two months of the “sad” phase, the actual fact was that I knew it was bound to happen four month prior and with 6 months worth of time to job hunt. The market was extremely soft. It is such a life struggle sometimes. Jobs, new decisions, some people can choose to retire from 28, 40, 45, 55, 65. It was never really the case for me. As much as I wanted to, I didn’t want to retire at all. Don’t get me wrong, I can take on less but retirement was never really an option for me because I can’t sit around and do nothing all day long.
Don’t get me wrong, being out of job is always an emotional roller coaster. Although once you got used to it, you know where that will take and it will take a while before you look towards the next thing.
I can’t say that it wasn’t tough. I kind of knew that it was coming but I guess I have become more expensive, much easier to replace and retired from employers perspective. One other thing I got to know was that there are some hirers who prefers to hire employees who are still employed. From what I see 7 in 10 employees that were let go of were not non-performing ones. Instead, some of those who were spared were kind of the ones dragging the company down. During my job search process recently, I also realised that there are hirers who only want to hire those who are out of job and take advantage of those who are. Simple Marvellous. You know who you are. Total of no respect for those who choose budget over people.
I’m not one who curses but just be careful what you do because everyone watches what you do and how you do it. May lady luck be blessing you always.
2024 has been kind to us. There’s a bit of budget around most things available to the common man out there. Today is no exception with the introduction of Max Miles Ang Pow for extra miles. This is a limited-time promotion and is valid only until 24th Feb 2024 or up to 1 million max miles. So this is going to go out pretty quick.
Here are some free miles provided by max miles: Ang Pow Link
Do use my referral link if you would like to sign up: Sign Up Here!
What’s Huat with heymax?
This Lunar New Year, heymax will be gifting every Maxer up to 1,000 Max Miles to share with friends and family as ang baos!
Additionally – you get referral bonuses and new users get more Ang Baos when they sign up! Huat ah!
Not only can you give, but you can also receive up to 10 Ang Baos filled with Max Miles from fellow Maxer
Eligibility for Activity Participation
The event will run from 10 February to 24 February 202 and you will get up to 1000 max miles
Activity Summary
Is there a limit to the number of Max Miles I can earn from ang baos?
Every user can receive and open up to 10 ang baos. There is no cap on the total Max Miles earned.
How can I redeem my Max Miles earned from Huat with heymax?
Any Max Miles earned from Huat with heymax can be redeemed through the usual redemption options as follows:
You can transfer your Max Miles to our 20+ airline and hotel partners. For airline or hotel transfers, the minimum transfer amount is 1,000 Max Miles at a 1:1 ratio.
You can redeem a minimum of 1,000 Max Miles for a $10 gift card.
Will my Max Miles expire if I don’t use them during the campaign period?
Max Miles do not expire. Any Max Miles you earn will remain with you after the campaign ends and can be redeemed through the usual redemption options on heymax.
Disclaimer
If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check them out and do your diligence. There is no one-size-fits-all investment strategy and no one solution to life. Join my telegram group to find out more about deals and join the community to connect for ideas: Life Journey Telegram
Do use my referral link if you would like to sign up: Sign Up Here!
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral Services
Lifejourney 