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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Indeed in our world today, in this small island of affluent rich Singaporeans. Money is everything. It puts not just food in your mouth but also entertainment all day, all night long. What would you do without money? Cryptocurrency has taken a big fall along with traditional investments and the biggest news in town isn’t Bitcoin crashing down from it’s ATH (all time high lingo)
I also dabble in Cryptocurrency and at one point it made up about 20-30% of my entire portfolio. Which was amazing to be honest. It just raked on and on but I didn’t not take any profits. Instead I sink more into the ecosystem and punted for the 100x goal. Did I buy Luna? Did I do UST? No, I did not. Why didn’t I? I wasn’t too sure as well as I was playing MM.Finance and Dark Crypto Defi.
The Terra Luna Conspiracy
At one point I even pondered why didn’t I joined in the party at Terra Luna. But I had 0 holdings and I was wondering what did I miss out. Again, the 100x token. Unfortunately, things goes off in a snap this is part of the world and liquidity spiraled down to a level of pure single death tone. I’m not too sure how many people were hit locally but I do know there were plenty of suicidal comments online.
I read in many spaces that talked about having an asset allocation of not more than 5%-10% in your investment portfolio. But in that part of the space in my memory, it is just a 100% allocation into crpyto. I can’t help but feel sad to see it is down more than 50% but at least those were the profits that I ploughed in during the good times. Perhaps it is just time lost and research wasted.
Humble beginnings
In any case, It really brings back to the initial launch of why I started to note down my financial and blogging journey.
a. Don’t put in everything you can’t afford to lose when you invest. (Naysayers will say they took all the risk and became rich and that’s fine too if you made it) But I’m adverse. I have 2 young kids to feed, a mortgage and a car loan that is about to be paid up in a few years.
b. I’ve always been a bit skeptical about the all-in concept. How am I going to pay my bills for the next 6-12 months? Perhaps I’ve experienced this twice in my life. The first when I was in Secondary School where I had only $100 bucks in my bank account because I did not keep track of my spending. Needless to say, my parent’s scholarship eventually made up the bank book when I went to Tertiary.
This just proves that at a young age, it is hard to grasp the concept of personal finance. Especially when you can reach out and ask for money from your parents. This is non-existent in the World called America and Europe. Only Asian Parents do such things to spoon feed their previous child. (Laughing to myself – Who am I to say this as I also have 2 lovely girls)
My second experience of wiping out wasn’t exactly scary. It was when I got married and bought a house. Expenses were really tight and for a while, I scrimped really hard and saved on every little item.
My third experience was when I lost my job when I was 35. I had been living paycheck to paycheck. Bills, mortgage, expenses were what i needed but I lost my job. That made me think a lot. I was out of things for almost 18 months and I even tried to do a small business which put me in further financial disarray by the time I decided to pull out of it. Did I feel suicidal? I can’t deny it but I felt my existent in this world was worthless. But that thought didn’t stay long. So, for those guys who lost it all in Terra Luna, I can only say i feel you but money can’t buy you happiness.
Suicidal is an easy way out. Living is tougher. You can always rebuild but when you are gone, your loved ones will be distraught. Hence, the idea of depression can be really detrimental.
Cheers guys. I’m having a break today from work. Afternoon beer is a luxury – I understand that. My last few years were one of the greatest in a company whom emphasis is on getting things right and proper. Budget were never a budget issue. Everyone will have their day so keep on living. Don’t ever give up.
Conclusion
Health is Wealth guys. Don’t read it literally – Life is beyond just the money. Money gives you the capability and option to do many things. But life is beyond what you think it is. I can’t stress enough that when you think positive, you will get vibes and when you think you are young, you will be young.
I’m not sure how many people do read this or follow me but if what I say matters to you, it tingles with you. This is human psychology. There isn’t a need to be connected physically. When things resonate, it doesn’t need to be reasonable. You just need to know it.
It is not literal. This post isn’t about money or referral or personal finance. I feel you and many of us experienced that at least once in our lives. Just make sure that it is a lesson you learned and it doesn’t deter you from exploring options. Because, you really cannot say never to something you have not tried.
Living is more important than dying. Easier said than done but get over it and restart again. With support, it will be easier but without it will just take longer.
The opening up of Singapore seemed to be a cheer so far with the most recent news seemingly as a positive sign as all business would eventually open up to the rest of the world. Nonetheless, everyone have to still stay vigilant and not fall into the trap of Covid lockdown once more. It has been an experience with Covid and no one would wish that something like that will happen once again.
KrisShopper – Loyalty Programme
With these Krisflyer seemed to have extensively opened up and aggressively fronting their marketing dollars in Krisflyer shopping (KrisPlus or Kris+). Krisflyer launched their own loyalty programme called KrisShopper. The first 30,000 members who link their KrisFlyer accounts to KrisShopper will receive 1,000 miles, and the first 5,000 will receive additional SGD$20 to spend on KrisShop.
What do you need to do:
Link KrisFlyer to KrisShopper
500 miles
Subscribe to news & promotions while linking accounts
500 miles
Link before 30th June 2022
Status match
If you are eligible and done the correct steps, both miles and voucher will be credited within 10 business days after 30th June 2020.
Kris+ Couponmania (Co-brand/Partnership with Sqkii)
If you do not know what is Sqkii by now, you can check them out on their facebook or webpage. They first started out by letting people do the typical hide and seek treasure hunt for prize money by giving clues on a daily basis. How Kris+ is partnering with them is that they have created a game that allows anyone with a Kris+ account to merge coupon boxes. It is definitely not going to be easy as this is similar to the 2048 game that you play on your mobile. Each merging gets you a bigger coupon or prize which seems to be random. There’s also no guarantee that you will get the top prize which a a Nintendo switch or a Oven set.
You would also get a mini coupon prize to start off once you have signed up. Additionally, if you sync your Kris+ account, you get a speed up ticket that gives you a faster distribution per token. Once that is used up, you need to start referring more friends.
Remember not to skip the referral portion and also syncing your Kris+ account.
Everyone probably need referral to open up to more spaces to collect the coupons to merge the coupons. It takes 7 mins to be loaded with the level 1 coupon so 10 spaces means it will be full in 70 mins. Mindblown? haha.
If you do not have a Kris+ Account or App
If you don’t have a Kris+ account, you can download it via IOS or Google Play.
Sign up now with my link below, and my referral code L329518, and we’ll each be rewarded with SGD 5 worth of KrisPay miles upon your first transaction. https://sqkrisplus.page.link/2cf87APVrFXFHT5e7
There’s also a daily challenge per week to login once every 24 hours and you get to claim 150 miles which you can use to offset your shopping. This will end this week so while it lasts.
Disclaimer
This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check out my referral links.
Now, if what I am sharing does resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations
The pictures were taken from KrisPlus website for this article.
Today, I’m going to go straight out and talk about Mental well-being and why DIY investing is related to it. Personal Finance is a wide topic. Some people talk about it passionately while other talk about it in monetary terms. If you come across my blog about how I view investing and personal finance. It would always bow down to one thing. You need to look at it long term (30-40-50 years).
My last post was on 15 Jan 2022. It was a new year and new resolutions but who knew that I was hit with reality and I got a little depressed. I’m quite the jovial and joker kind of guy so it is hard to see me depressed for a prolonged period. But I realised that I needed to get away for a short while. While this happened to make myself well a number of events happened and it was all unexpected. After all these has tide over. I found time to talk about this, write it down as a form of content as well.
Many things happen to our lives.
a. Triggering events
This is a wide scope. It can affect family members, jobs, health and other financial events
b. Illness/Sickness that spread from friends to friends and family to family.
This affects family the most. The support from the extended family and who take care of your kids while you grind at work
c. Your own well-being
Of the three items, I find that your own well-being determines who you are and what you want to become. Whether you like it or not, triggering events happens without any warnings. Sickness and illness happens mostly without much time to react. While all these happen, it is important to keep your own spirits up. What you do and say eventually is the outcome of how you treat yourself.
I’m no expert at this but if you do realise you need help. Look for professional help. With the option of working from home, it limits the interaction or distraction with colleagues, friends and family members. It makes one feels inwards towards approaching people. For people who realise it, it is a positive sign. For people who doesn’t, then it makes it tricky.
Now, here comes the key part to this article. When you are down and out, nothing interests you anymore. This includes your own investment portfolio and personal interests. However, there are things that will keep you going (i.e. kids, ferrying the kids, family and etc..) This will make you go at minimum pace. What if this distraction goes on for a year? Often, I hear many friends (Who thinks that they are Warren Buffet and I don’t blame them) say that why pay fees. These are for people who doesn’t know what they are doing.
Let’s look back and ponder on what we just discussed. If you DIY your own investing portfolio and you leave it under the bus for a long time. What will happen to your own portfolio? I will leave the answer to yourself because everyone is different. I’m not saying that paying exorbitant fees is the answer to this. There are many solutions to these and some of these include letting a robo-advisor manage your own portfolio. While you take time to find your own wellness and recover your motivations. No one run their lives in adrenaline until old age. There’s always peak and troughs like every investing period. Pace it out and find things that matter the most to you.
I’ll make this short but will probably do it in a three part format because I really find it important that what if one day (touch wood) something really happens to you. I’m not sure what everyone invests in but I dabble in a bit of a crypto defi and multiple platforms to maximum my exposure and benefits. I’m not sure if my family member can pick up the pieces to recover every cents of my investments should anything happen to me. I’ll remember my own passwords once I see how I algorithmically encrypt it. I can’t say the same for my family members.
Conclusion
Stop sweating on the small stuff. a 0.5% or 1% fee on your portfolio buys you nothing but a piece of mind. All you need to do is to research for a reliable and honest company that can do the work for you. Review them from time to time to make sure they are still relevant to your own investing philosophies. For star traders who are often right than wrong. Think about the day when your hands doesn’t work quite that fast as your brain is thinking. Income is important to everyone so transfer your risk and sometimes paying a little more works out better.
Till the next blog. Great weekend ahead.
Disclaimer
This is not a sponsored post. This is purely what I write about because I generally have a passion towards learning and spreading personal finance. There is no one size fits all investment strategy. I do not have any affiliation to any robo-advisors or company nor do I get any perks other than a referral fee.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at Referral and Recommendations
So, Google Pay has reignited Huat Pals and BB Loh is back. For this season, the Panda is the tough one to achieve digitally. On Telegram, plenty of people are just free riding on the free cash prize without reading or understanding the rules of the game. For some, they are just gaming the system to maximum their probability.
Huat Pals
From 25 January till 15 February 2022, Google Pay users can collect Huat pals each time they complete the following actions on Google Pay:
Making eligible transactions of min. S$5 to merchants via Google Pay. Such transactions include:
Tap & Pay (Android Only) or Purchase movie tickets or
Order food via Google Pay app
Once a day
Scan and Pay (via FavePay QR, PayNow SGQR, or a UEN) [Do the 5 times $5 Paynow top up for Singtel Dash app]
Referring new users to Google Pay who make their first qualifying payment of min. S$10 (Once a day)
Gifting Huat pals to friends (5 gift to 5 different users, once a day)
Conclusion
Good luck on collecting the Huat Pals but do it without affecting your mental health. Have fun doing so.
