Invest X Congress: Closing thoughts and photos.

My opinion? I think I could have done better.

After my maiden attempt, I feel that I am a better blogger than I am a public speaker. I think there were many things that I missed out on delivering but I guess it worked out in the end because I went overtime even though I truncated my presentation.


Courtesy of Song Stonecold. Read his guest blog: here.

However, I take comfort in the fact that my blog is available for reading twenty four seven. So, if anyone in the audience would like to follow up on what I said during my segment at the event, they could do so anytime they like. Remember though, I am only talking to myself here in my blog. Also, don't take what I say as the gospel truth.

If I offended anyone at the event, please accept my apologies. Sometimes, jokes have a way of being misunderstood, especially when we cannot read the facial expressions of the speaker. My fault. I mean how could you have read my facial expressions? Oh, a very big "sorry" to the video guy. I waved him away and hit his camera on the way in. Lucky the video cam wasn't damaged. -.-"

If I disappointed anyone, I crave your indulgence. I promise to try to do better in future (if I do actually do something like this again). To people who sent me photos of male Korean actors imagining I look like them, I am afraid I won't be able to do better. Plastic surgery is painful in more ways than one. -.-"

A big "thank you" to everyone who turned up at the event and also a big "thank you" to everyone who could not attend but gave me encouragement anyway. I appreciate the kindness.

Also, the organisers passed me a bag of books which they said a reader wanted to give to me:

I don't know who you are but thank you for the kind gesture. I really appreciate it. Now, to brush up on my Chinese. I only got a B3 for my "O" Level Chinese. -.-"

The journey towards financial freedom is made less dreary when we have good company. :)

Related post:
Invest X Congress: Update and reminder.

New:
Invest X Congress: Q&A.

"Return our CPF" protest? What about a contest?

All of us have beliefs that we hold dear. I am sure you have your own beliefs too. Before I go on, I would like to share a reply I wrote to a reader recently:

Hi J,

We are in the territory of beliefs now. And when it is a matter of beliefs and opinions, it is hard to say who is right or wrong. In fact, it is impossible. It all depends on the philosophy that we subscribe to.

This is why a democracy is such a wonderful system. The majority decides and the minority has to follow. However, this is also why a democracy is such a terrible system. "Tyranny of the majority"?

This "tyranny" can be dealt with if we listen to the minority and see how we could accommodate their needs. Being a multi-racial society, we have done it before, I am sure you know. So, perhaps, we could try to do it with the CPF too.

To be frank, I like the system as it is now but I do understand that there are genuine cases of hardship out there. Perhaps, more help could be given to these people without letting them touch their CPF savings (if any). It is really an accounting entry if we do this. Tax payers are still paying for the financial assistance. Difference is that tax payers are paying for this sooner than later.

I think tweaking the system by letting disgruntled elderly CPF members who genuinely have the need to tap into their CPF savings will go some way to quelling the voices of discontent. Education should go hand in hand with this. Hopefully, these voices will become distant over time.

I agree that there will always be people who are irresponsible, stubborn and even foolish. We cannot kick them out of the country, can we? Since we cannot kick them out, we will have to try to fit them in, no matter how difficult the challenge. That is the job of the elected government. This is my belief.

Best wishes,
AK

We can have discussions and we will most likely disagree since we will most likely hold on to our own beliefs. There will be debates where there will be no winners. There will be contests without victors.

Putting our own beliefs aside, the fact is that we are all on the same boat. A peaceful and harmonious Singapore is to our common benefit. If this is our common belief, then, we should all consider giving up some ground. So, before we say anything else, think about this. Can we soften our stance? Can we reach some common ground for the common good?

Related post:
An(other) open letter to the Prime Minister.

Do the right things and we could transform our lives.

Some of us have advantages in life. Some of us have disadvantages in life. However, if we all do the right things, the right things will have a higher chance of happening to us.

I received many encouraging emails as well as the not so encouraging ones in the wake of my many recent blog posts on the "Return our CPF" protest in Hong Lim Park.

To readers who wrote to me to ignore negative comments, I would generally say that I will still try to reach out to those on the other side of the fence because I believe that if it is a job worth doing, it is worth doing well. They are fellow Singaporeans too. Of course, whether I succeed in reaching out to them is something I don't know.

I would like to share a thoughtful and well-written letter sent to me by a young reader. I find it very encouraging and it could also inspire other young readers. Note that he is quite candid about having an advantage in life but what we should take note of is how he decided to make important changes to the way he deals with money matters as well as how he took decisive steps to improve financial literacy which has produced a positive outcome for him.

I hope you find this heartening as much as I did:

Hi AK,

I wrote this email to you directly because the negative comments from the general public has made me do so.
 

I followed your blog since the beginning of last year and your blog posts have provided me with so many insights that my life has changed ever since. From a spendthrift student since then, I have transformed into a working adult who can live frugally, and enjoyably. Never have I ever thought that one could achieve both of these aspects concurrently. For that, I owe you a big "thank you".

Some people just do not plan ahead or think far enough. What you have shown us is a result of financial prudence which can be simplified into an income statement and statement of changes in equity. Revenue - expenses = net income (exclude taxes and lumping interest into overall expenses) and how much of the remaining income is saved and invested. Despite the revenue portion could be something harder to stretch at first, but the other variables like expenses and savings can actually be adjusted to maximise the remaining income available for investments. 

Being someone who is slightly more fortunate as my family owns a business, my monthly allowance is paid in the form of salary expense from it. As a result , a portion of this amount is being saved into my CPF indefinitely on top of my lavish expenditures. I cannot imagine what could have happened if I was handed over all the money in the past. I believe I would have most likely squandered them off too. Above all, it yields me a 2.5% and 4% return in my OA and SA respectively. Now, I am following after your footsteps and have been religiously contributing small amounts into my SRS for the tax benefits and my war chest accumulating efforts.

Fortunately, at the current juncture, at the age of 26, my financial intelligence has levelled up significantly. Now, my net worth excluding CPF has recently grown to 6 figures. This amount though small and could have only been your 1 year's dividend income, however, this means a lot to me. As 50% of this amount is in dividend paying value stocks in blue chips and reits where my portfolio is currently yielding an average 6% yield, this means that I have created $3000 in passive income per year and better still, it doesn't stop here since I will be generating more income and my accumulated reserve is large enough to purchase more stocks should the unexpected occur. This is something which I am excited about because in a few years time, the amount from my OA + a little top up in cash (without liquidating my stocks) should be able to let me purchase a HDB flat very comfortably with minimal debt obligations. And hopefully the rule of 15 still gives a green light to pull my trigger by then ( Source ASSI ;) )
 

Most importantly, I do not need to depend on my parents to pay for my home. 

 

So much about myself, let's get back to my original intention of writing to you. The people who irritates me are the people who deliberately go against the system without a reasonable stand point. Just by reading what they have written in your comments section, I know they are confused. Worse, they deny and insist on playing the blame game. As much as I feel sad for them and would like to help them see the light, however, for some who have been so used to hating the system, this could be more than a challenging feat. Even if its possible, the time and effort spent trying to "redeem" them might be counter-intuitive. If I were in your shoes, I would simply thank them for their comments and move on. Ultimately, they have a choice in what they read. If going against the system is their pagan, there's not much you can control.

Because, in my perspective as a reader, he is just a waste of resource since he is competing with me and other readers for your time and effort to reply their comments where this time could be otherwise, be used to write another blog post, where like-minded people like us who are rational and genuinely interested in adopting a second level thinking of looking at things could learn from. 

 

I will end off by saying thank you again and look forward to reading your many posts to come. Its a shame that I wouldn't be able to attend Invest X Congress this coming Saturday since I will be overseas. 

Understand that this is your first public appearance, all the best ahead!

Warmest Regards,

PN

Having advantages in life helps but:

"Time is key to building your financial security."
Suze Orman.

Make good use of it and be amply rewarded.

 

Related post:
Journey to financial freedom is not a race.

 "Each of us have our own circumstances and priorities. What matters is that we achieve the goal of financial freedom. Some might get there faster. Some might be a bit slower. Everyone who arrives at the destination is a winner. There are no losers at the end point." AK

 

Invest X Congress: Update and reminder.

I was informed that the tickets to the event are sold out. All 400 tickets sold.

To those who managed to get a ticket, please don't forget our appointment. See you soon.

Related post:
AK's first public appearance.

An(other) open letter to the Prime Minister.

If we are prepared to divorce our wife, we can kick our mother in law in the butt. ;p

If we are prepared to renounce our Singapore citizenship, then, we can kick the CPF in the butt. LOL.

That is always an option that disgruntled CPF members who want their CPF funds released in full can consider, some would say.

They say that we cannot have our cake and eat it too. Now, I think Roy et. al. are trying to have their cake and eat it too by pushing for CPF funds to be returned in full to the public without having to give up their Singapore citizenship. Could this happen? It could possibly happen with a change in our country's leadership. For me, it is a scary thought as I feel that the CPF now is more good than bad.

However, I have faith that as long as there is a sensible silent majority, as long as Singapore is a democracy, the system now will most likely stay intact. Crossing fingers.

Writing open letters to the Prime Minister seems to be the thing to do now and AK will also write one saying what AK would do if he were in government.

Dear Prime Minister,

1. Without deviating from the philosophy that is the bedrock of the system, power up the system to provide higher returns. Singapore is a very expensive country to live in and also to retire in. It is about helping CPF members feel more secure about meeting their retirement needs, a hot topic for a while now. Powering up the returns on the first $60K in the OA and SA was something you did before. Now, powering it up a bit more will definitely help.

2. Inject some compassion into the system while staying level headed. There are those who are irresponsible, who had advantages but squandered them. There are also those who suffer through no fault of their own. Applications by these CPF members to tap into their CPF savings could be given consideration.

Allow micro-tapping if it is going to help meet these members' needs in life. Explain to them the consequences of micro-tapping over the longer term and try to find better and socially more responsible solutions to their problems so that they are resolved permanently.

3. Step up efforts to educate the public on how the CPF can work for them. Let them know what they can do to make a secure retirement happen with their CPF savings as a cornerstone of their financial portfolio. It is about the public helping the CPF to help themselves.

Knowledge gives everyone power while the lack of knowledge gives some amongst us power. This will give a new meaning to the phrase "power to the people" which Roy Ngerng et. al. are using now to rally support. 

Once financial literacy is widespread amongst the people, then, the people will truly have power over their financial health. Only then, will they be truly powerful.

Constant wide reaching education done well is the most important measure to take and will empower our people.

Respectfully,
AK

Related posts:
1. We do a better job than the CPF.
2. Achieving level one financial security.

We do better managing our savings than the CPF does!

In the latest issue of The EDGE, there is a very good 2 page write up by Kelvin Tan on the current CPF rate debate. 

For anyone who would like to be better informed, I would suggest getting a copy:

"It may sound easy but beating the OA's guaranteed annual interest rate of 2.5% is by no means an effortless task for CPF members who are looking to grow their savings under the CPFIS.

"Indeed, only 15% of CPF members who sold their CPFIS-OA investments for FY2013 ended Sep 30 made profits in excess of the OA interest rate of 2.5%... 

"42% of these CPFIS-OA investors actually incurred losses in FY2013...

"While it makes sense for savvy long-term investors to invest their excess OA money, some financial advisers advise their clients not to take any risk with their SA money which is already earning decent returns of 4% to 5% a year.

"For risk averse CPF members... they could consider transferring OA to SA...

"Conservative CPF members can also use cash to top up their SA to the prevailing minimum sum ... (and) could also enjoy a tax relief of up to $7,000 per calendar year.





"(Singaporeans) should look at their CPF SA like the bond portion of their overall portfolio...

"In their retiring years, they should look at their CPF Life as their annuity investment, giving them a monthly amount for life.

"I am happy with CPF Life, an annuity that grows at 4% per annum and pays me $1,200 a month from age 65 until my demise. 

"The annuity will form the income floor of my monthly income needs and will help me hedge my longevity risk," says Tan from Providend.




"Singaporeans who generally have little in their CPF accounts should start saving more, do early retirement planning and invest prudently with a long term view to growing their nest eggs rather than demand higher interest rates on their CPF savings."

There are voices of reason which, unfortunately, I think, will not reach the ears of people who need to hear them most. 

With emotions running high, these words could very well fall on deaf ears too.

"As for Singaporeans who have highlighted that other countries such as Malaysia and India pay higher interests in similar pension schemes, my view is that they forget that our Singapore dollar is rated AAA and has appreciated against the currencies of many other countries," William Cai, GYC Financial Advisor. 

Would we be rather making Singapore dollars and receiving 4% per annum in risk free rate or be making Ringgit or Rupees and receiving 6% instead? 




What is our choice?

Update (27 July 2014):

Source: www.cpf.gov.sg



Related posts:
1. "Return our CPF" protest.
2. Free e-book: Retiring before 60 is not a dream.