Tag: Finance

Promising deal from Webull

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Deals, Finance, Interest, Interest Rate Series, Interest Rates, PromotionLeave a comment

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:

  1. 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
  2. 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.
  • Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link
  • 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.

That’s how easy that is. Good Luck!

Remember to read the T&Cs Webull sign-up link

1a. Fund any amount +3 free shares TSLA US$10 each
AAPL US$50 each
AMZN US$100 each
GOOG US$500 each
2 Maintain funds for at least 30 days +3 more free shares
3. Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link

Conclusion

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.

Click here to sign up Webull sign-up link

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

Scratch Cards for EZ Link Simply Go

On By RistrettzIn Deals, New Ideas, PromotionLeave a comment

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.)

Scratch and Win Ang Pow for Simply Go EZ link card, sample screen shot of the game and how it looks like

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?

The look and feel of the e-wallet that shows the ezlink screen.

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.

Being Micro (Understanding your Portfolio)

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

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:

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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.

Be thankful for the things we have

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

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.

Broker for Second Life Items/Electronics

On By RistrettzIn Personal Finance Series, RandomLeave a comment

Ever used Carousel or Gumtree to purchase or sell your items. To be very honest, Carousel has been a great game changer to date. Though I really doubt the way they can make money and how it is possible to raise so many funds. Users stand to benefit from setting up stores. However, their systems have been breached twice and they ought to make some security improvements to protect consumer interests.

In a way to recycle and reuse items, in a way to help the world and not generate waste. There is a Chinese saying that says do not do or give anything to anyone if you do not want them to do the same to you. So, I really dislike it when someone tries to dump their stuff on me in the context of good faith. (It just means they want to declutter but yet want to be a good saint)

Some items that I have at home are rarely used and they have been bought new (6 months to 1 year) bar fridge, toaster, baby items, etc..) and I think they can be put to good use. Though I can’t stand the bargaining and “quick sale”, These products find a second lease on life.

It does sound like I am ranting a little but I get a teeny weeny bit irritated with the bargaining and the emotional plea of budget. I think many people lack flair and being fair. This is a second-hand platform and not a brand-new store. Don’t think NEW, think about the condition and electronics are meant to be lasting at least 3-5 years. To also be fair, I do know of some people who don’t take care of their stuff. It could be that they can’t be bothered or just pure negligence (I don’t know – It doesn’t get you anywhere if you say you don’t know)

These images are obtained from the carousell website

Be respectful to yourself, and don’t take others for granted. When others help you, don’t treat them as a help desk. Personally, I prefer the DIY route because customer service is negligible in the current world. Very few companies out there focus on customer service B2C.

It just came to my mind when I got a message that someone wanted to purchase something from me and that there is no such thing as no demand.

a. If the product is not sought after by anyone. Sell it at a discounted price – There will be takers eventually because everyone has a reservation price regardless of how low it is. It means that 99% of people actually know that they have to open their wallets to get something.

b. If the item is a branded/well-known item, you don’t need to discount it too much. Why?

  • If you sell it way too low, people actually think that it is a fake product (What’s the catch? That’s how Singaporeans are)
  • Brand products typically sell. Singaporeans know the good stuff.

c. If the seller has a reservation price that is higher than the buyer then you got to wait before you get rid of your stuff.

These are simple economics, subtract the communication portion which I really dislike a lot. There are a lot of lowballers and people who don’t respect. Just because they are behind a digital app, doesn’t mean that one can do that.

Meanwhile, good luck with decluttering.

This post came about because Christmas is coming (Wastage is coming) and the Chinese Lunar New Year is around the corner and it pays to plan in advance.

Please do check out my referral store to see if any stuff works for you to get your free cash. These keep the light on this blog active and I thank you in advance.

Interest Rate Series (DBS Multiplier) [2.5 out of 5 Burger Patties]

On By RistrettzIn Interest Rate Series, Interest Rates, Personal Finance Series, RandomLeave a comment

As on 4 November 2022

On 4 November 2022, 3 working days after OCBC rolled out their new interest rate on their flagship 360 accounts, DBS followed up with an email that the DBS Multiplier has increased from 3.5% to 4.1%. The balance cap amount is also increased to S$100,000

The Multiplier account has always been proportioned by the transaction amount.

below S$2,000

S$2,000 to below S$2,500

S$2,500 to below S$5,000

S$5,000 to below S$15,000

S$15,000 to below S$30,000

Above S$30,000

The next layer of categories to fulfil will be the number of categories. They are known to be:

1. Salary/Dividends/SGFinDex

The Salary portion has to be a GIRO transaction with code “SAL” or “PAY”, which seems pretty strict given that there are increasing numbers of the next generation in the ‘gig economy’

For dividend crediting, these eligible dividend has to be from CDP, DBS Vickers Securities, DBS Online Equity Trading, DBS Unit Trusts, DBS Online Funds Investing and Invest-Saver (Promotion their own eco-system)

Connecting and sharing financial information from SGFinDex to NAV Planner (I would think one needs to do this on a monthly basis

2. Credit Card Spend

For the monthly card spend, it has to be on any DBS credit card and has to be eligible spending. Eligible will be the usual suspects and it will be very much dependent on the MCC codes.

3. Home Loan Installment

Home Loan financing has to be from DBS or POSB (New or Refinancing). The eligible amount will be from the monthly home loan instalment amount.

4. Insurance

Similar to my previous post on insurance and investment in these high-yield accounts. These are usually valid for a limited period and interest rates are always subject to changes. Further, only selected insurance are eligible.

5. Investment

Nothing much to comment on here. This section will be pretty hard for most people to fulfil.

Additional option: The PayLah! Retail Spend. Honestly, don’t seem like a good deal to me.

The ideal interest rate will be between 0.9% to 2,5%. Frankly, nothing much has changed though and I don’t think it is even worth announcing via their communication channels. I feel like there wasn’t even much thought placed into it. I just felt like it isn’t any effort to compete with these changes. With the most recent 0.75 bps increase by the US Feds, this is not anything competitive and not quite worth looking into for now.

For more information, check the link here: DBS Multiplier Calculator

Conclusion

Nothing worth looking at for now. Till next time.

Lunch, Covid and Networking

On By RistrettzIn Psychology, RandomLeave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Money is Indeed Everything

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

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.

Ezlink with new Mastercard wallet payment options (Quick & Easy S$10)

On By RistrettzIn Alternative Income, Deals, Personal Finance SeriesLeave a comment

In my previous post about Ez-link Trival here Ez-link deal , they have upped one more level by allowing Mastercard in their Ez-link payment option.

The Deal

You can now earn an easy S$10 just by logging into their app, there will be an option to use Mastercard to pay for items via Google Pay.

EZ-Link and Mastercard have partnered to launch a new feature called Pay by Wallet.

This would add virtual Mastercard functionality to your EZ-Link Wallet (Google Pay). You can then spend these at more than 80 million Mastercard online and in-store merchants worldwide. Unfortunately, it is only available for Android users for now.

Free S$10

As like any new players in the market, the launch of Pay by Wallet, EZ-Link is offering an instant S$5 credit to users who activate Pay by Wallet on the EZ-Link App.

Do note that you will get an additional S$5 cashback will be credited to you when you make a minimum spend of S$10 within 30 days of signing up. The promotion is not unlimited, please take note.

Should you be interested to sign up for this, do download the Ez Link App and key in my Referral code: 3197B5C

Some Pointers to note

a. This campaign is limited to the first S$100,000 of cashback or the first 10,000 new EZ-Link Pay by Wallet user sign-ups, whichever comes first

b. Next, note that certain transactions are not valid here at T&Cs such as donations, education, government services, hospitals, utilities and AXS. (Standard Stuff)

c. Additional perks:

For every successful Pay by Wallet transaction of at least S$80 made by 31 July 2022, earns you one entry into a lucky draw with the following prizes. (All prize winners will be contacted latest by 30 September 2022):

  • 1N staycation at Equarius Hotel or Hotel Michael with breakfast for two (3x winners)
  • A pair of Universal Studios Singapore tickets (80x winners)

Conclusion

Again, nothing much to shout about. To make more value for your buck, something to play around with if you have some time.

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 EZ-link website for this article.

 

Krisflyer and KrisPlus Making headways

On By RistrettzIn Deals, Miles, New Ideas, Personal Finance Series, Wealth & HealthLeave a comment

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 can only access this game with a mobile browser. Click on this link to go on to the browser: https://krisplus.couponmania.sqkii.com/auth?ref=GWWVAQT13P

Or you can key in the referral code: GWWVAQT13P

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.