Ever since the CPFB introduced a colorful pie chart of our CPF savings a few years ago, I would look forward to mine every year like a teena...
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I have been watching lots of videos on YouTube lately and learning new stuff.
I have also been watching more Chinese drama and anime lately.
My goodness, the Chinese have some high quality stuff!
All this happened while I was researching Chinese tech stocks before deciding to get some exposure.
Had to sacrifice some gaming time, unfortunately.
Genshin Impact is so good and it is Chinese too!
Now, I only log in to do my dailies, run a few domains and take part in events.
I still log in to Neverwinter daily to collect my rewards and run some dailies.
All in all, gaming takes about 2 hours per day max.
I have said before that I cannot imagine being bored in retirement and that is still true.
There is just so much for me to do.
Anyway, yesterday, I took a look at my own YouTube channel.
AK has a YouTube channel?
Yes, indeed, long time readers might remember my YouTube channel which I started more than 11 years ago in October 2010.
Surprised?
I have forgotten how long ago it was and I was surprised when I looked at the date of my first video.
I started blogging in 2009 on Christmas Eve out of curiosity and boredom.
Blogging has been an amazing outlet for me to talk to myself.
No regrets.
I started my YouTube channel for mostly the same reasons.
Feeling nostalgic as I watched my own YouTube videos, I thought I would do a quick blog to share the old antique with anyone who might be feeling bored and curious like I was when I started the channel.
I haven't been blogging much and this is just a blog to touch base as I probably won't be blogging until end of the month or early next month.
A reader left me a comment recently on how he is still working on his F.I.R.E. (i.e. financial independence retire early) and trying to figure out what he should do after activating it as he doesn't want to stay at home.
I don't think there is anything wrong with staying at home if all the stuff we want to do in retirement is to be done at home which, of course, pretty much describes my situation.
To be quite honest, I find myself not having enough time to do all the stuff I want to do in retirement and I am now spending most of my waking hours in three different worlds, not counting the real world.
I am trying hard to be disciplined and not let my life as an explorer of virtual worlds disrupt my life in the real world.
In recent months, I have been rather successful as I even managed to get 20 to 30 minutes of physical exercise done on daily basis.
Those who share my interest in adventuring in MMORPGs might be interested to know that Black Desert Online is now free to download using Steam and this offer which ends on 10th March is to celebrate their 5th Anniversary.
I have seen many videos of Black Desert Online and have always wanted to try it but didn't want to pay for it.
So, this is just perfect!
This is a short video on Black Desert Online in 2021:
I doubt very much I will be spending any money on Black Desert Online as I have not spent any money on Neverwinter and Guild Wars 2 either.
I have blogged about Neverwinter and Guild Wars 2 before and I have spent the most time in Neverwinter as it was the first free to play MMORPG I picked up and also fell in love with.
What?
Four years and more in Neverwinter with thousands of hours clocked and I have not spent any money on the game?
That is correct and my wizard is pretty much end game ready too.
With Guild Wars 2 and now Black Desert Online, I am just taking my time to explore the worlds which are really very beautiful.
Not rushing anywhere.
Lots to see and lots to do.
This is a short video of Neverwinter's latest module launched last month:
Now, dragging myself back into the real world, I checked on dividends for January and February 2021.
The thing that caught my attention was the much higher income distribution from Sabana REIT.
I increased my investment in the REIT significantly not too long ago and I blogged about it too.
This has proven to be very rewarding.
The income distribution from Ascott REIT-BT, not surprisingly, reduced drastically as COVID-19 is still disproportionally hurting some parts of the economy which includes the hospitality sector.
The decision to significantly reduce my investment in Ascott REIT-BT which was at one time one of my largest investments when I did was a fortunate one.
This month in March, I am expecting more dividends from my investments and my larger investment in IREIT Global is going to be very rewarding.
Having said this, there are businesses in my investment portfolio which will take more time to recover from the ravages of the pandemic and have suspended or reduced dividends.
I can only hope that, having deployed most of my war chest into what I think are more resilient businesses in the second half of last year, my passive income would at least hit $120,000 this year.
Why $120,000?
$120,000 a year is what I need in order to help support my parents, meet my own expenses and to do maximum voluntary contribution to my CPF account.
To be honest, I feel it is a pretty low bar to clear but we don't know what we don't know.
Anyway, I have gone on longer than I had planned to do.
Until the next blog, stay safe and keep all of us safe!
Regular readers know that I am a worrier. Yes, it is true that I am somewhat mental. As my parents are not financially savvy, I worry about them constantly. This is one enduring worry which has only become worse over time. I am more worried about my dad than I am about my mom because he spends money too freely. There is no point in nagging at him which was something I was prone to doing in my younger days. I remember when I told him to sell two of his club memberships away some 20 plus years ago, he got angry with me and yelled that he wanted a lifestyle in retirement. Well, he is trapped into paying $500 each month in club subscriptions even though he hardly visits the clubs. It is worse than buying insurance policies which he doesn't need because there is no way to terminate these memberships other than to sell them away. Of course, club memberships are not as popular as they were once upon a time and it would be harder to sell them even if he wants to do so now. If my dad regrets not listening to me donkey years ago, he hasn't told me. All of us have pride which can be a good thing but it can also be a bad thing. My dad is in his mid seventies and it is too hard for him to change his ways.
I blog about my parents from time to time. The last time I did this was in October last year when I talked about how much passive income I needed? In that blog, I talked about my decision to double financial support for my parents to about $40,000 a year. With dividends from my investments reduced this year, I might have to dip into my emergency fund to keep the promise. Of course, we would know for sure by the end of the year when I calculate my total dividends for the full year. It is my responsibility to make sure that my parents don't have to worry about money. If our government is right about the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lingering on for years to come, I must be prepared that I might have to continue dipping into my emergency fund as my dividend income falls short.
Adding to this development, lately, I have been wondering if I must give even more financial support to my parents? This happened after a recent visit back home and a conversation I had with my parents. My dad complained about the paltry interest rates when he renewed his fixed deposits. Banks' shrinking interest rates on my dad's shrinking savings. My dad complained about the former while my mom complained about the latter. Uh oh. I don't know if some of you might be familiar with such a scene or something similar to such a scene. Well, as expected, in my case, it quickly escalated into a yelling competition. When two people who have been married to each other for half a century fight, oh, they have so much material to draw on. All that baggage. I will not share the details. Too much and, really, what's past is past. Also, we have to accept that no one is perfect and if we cannot look past that and see the good in each other, life becomes almost unbearable. Of course, when emotions run high, people become unreasonable but the problem is that they think they are reasonable. OK, you get the picture.
Anyway, to help address my mom's complaint about my dad's shrinking savings and also to help address my dad's concern about shrinking interest income, I made my dad an offer. I told my dad that at his age, it is about not taking on too much risk while trying to make his savings last longer. I know he doesn't want to be reminded of the bigger financial support I am giving them. Old man has pride. Of course, as children, we should want our parents to age with dignity too. So, I made him an offer that I felt he would respond well to. I introduced him to AA REIT which, of course, I increased exposure to more than a month ago. I took him through the pros and cons of the investment and offered to let him take over my recent investment in the REIT at $1.15 a unit which was what I paid. I told him that, conservatively, it could give him a return of 7% per year at that price. He took the offer and somehow managed to make it looked like he was helping me out. Like I said, old man has pride and if it makes him feels good about himself, so be it. That was how I partially diffused the tension that day. Only partially but I shan't bore you with everything else. 家家有本难念的经.
If AA REIT's unit price should plunge below $1.15 for some reason and if my dad should decide to sell, I would still pay him $1.15 a unit. So, his investment in AA REIT is like a risk free fixed deposit but with some upside. I am sure I do not have the right answer to every problem. I also do not have unlimited financial resources but I will always put my parents' interests before my own. We are not perfect but this imperfect son will do his best for his imperfect parents. This is as close to perfect as is humanly possible.
This is the 19th day of Singapore's "Circuit Breaker" also known as "Lockdown" or "Partial Lockdown". It is what it is. All these fancy names. Lawrence Wong says "Lockdown" means different things to different people. "Circuit Breaker" also means different things to different people. To me, "Circuit Breaker" is "Lockdown". Semantics. We can go on and on. Beautiful. Anyway, I have not blogged for more than 2 weeks which isn't too bad. I did say I was going to blog only once every 3 months not too many moons ago. What have I been up to? If you have to ask, you must be new to my blog. I am busy adventuring in another world, of course.
"Neverwinter" currently has an event called "Tales of Old" that rewards adventurers with powerful artifacts if they run old dungeons with increasingly challenging debuffs. There are four artifacts to be collected and, over a few days, I have completed enough runs to get the artifact which I feel is most useful to my wizard. I might collect another artifact just for the fun of it because the event is fun. This is what retirement should be, right? Do stuff for fun. More recently, I decided to learn how to play "Magic the Gathering". I have always been amazed by people who would spend boatloads of money buying these little packs of playing cards. I see school children huddling around tables outside shops which sell them, competing against one another. Most of them looked skinny. Saved all their recess money to buy cards, maybe. I was curious but when I saw how much I had to pay for those packs of cards and how it was a never ending story, my curiosity fizzled out quickly. Well, that was a long time ago. Back then, it would be unimaginable to have a fantasy RPG for the PC like "Neverwinter" be 100% free to play. Well, I found out a few days ago that I could play "Magic the Gathering" for free online too! Being a card game, it is very different from "Neverwinter" but they did a really good job with the animations when the cards are played. Basically, build a deck and play to unlock more cards and gain points to purchase packs of cards. These packs of cards are like boxes of chocolates. You don't know what are the cards you will get which is why people buy with real world money (as opposed to virtual world money) pack after pack of cards in the hope that they will get those cards they want. It is really another form of lottery. Anyway, the full name of the online game I am playing is "Magic the Gathering: Arena". The "Circuit Breaker" has been extended till 1 June 2020. So, if you are feeling bored at home, you might want to explore this free to play game.
Although I have not blogged for more than 2 weeks, I have tried to check the comments section of my blogs regularly because I know there is still plenty of "excitement". Of course, many spam comments too which, fortunately, are filtered out. Those which are not filtered out, I will delete. The section is for "comments" and not for "advertisements" nor "advertisements pretending to be comments". Wolves in sheepskin. You know who you are. Anyway, if you don't see any updates in my blog for a while, you might want to check the comments sections of the more recent blogs. The last 3 updates, for example, have many comments from readers and my replies to them. Another reason why I have not published any update is because there isn't anything new that I want to say. Some expect the COVID-19 crisis to "magically disappear" like a "miracle". Some think that the COVID-19 crisis is going to sink the world into another "Great Depression". With all that noise going on, my strategy has remained unchanged. I will not be overly optimistic nor will I be overly pessimistic. I will stay pragmatic. I am staying invested because I believe that most of the businesses I am invested in will still be around as the COVID-19 crisis is resolved over time. I will buy more stocks when I have greater clarity. Like I said in earlier updates, I have nibbled at some stocks but I will wait for greater clarity before buying much more. If you are new to my blog or cannot remember what I said, read my more recent updates.
Technically, the upward movement in stock prices was not supported by much higher volume and I think I said that in one of my updates. Volume is the fuel that drives rallies and if we do not have volume, any upward movement in price will not last. As long as volume is missing, the prospect of a V shape recovery dims. Remember, I said on 7 April that: "Today, the stock prices of DBS, OCBC and UOB all broke the resistance provided by their declining 20 days moving averages (20d MA). "What this says to me is that they broke their downtrends." That was when I bought some. However, I didn't throw in everything including the kitchen sink. I said in that update that as the 20d MA turns up: "Basically, we want to see any retreat in stock prices bouncing off the 20d MA then." Well, that bounce didn't happen. Of course, technical analysts can talk about rising wedge patterns and how it was all a bull trap now. I will just stick to my plan. Be patient. Wait for clarity.
In a U shape recovery, the bottoming process is likely to be bumpy as Mr. Market sways between hope and worry. It will take time. What if it is a L shape recovery? Well, that is when those of us who have an emergency fund would do better than those who don't as the economy becomes stuck in the doldrums. It will take even more time then. What if it is a delayed or mutated V shape recovery? Hurrah! Celebrate! We should buy even at higher prices if we see huge volume buying up stocks. That would be a sure sign that the bull is back. That is when high can go higher.
OK, that is all I want to say in this update. I really want to go back to adventuring in "Neverwinter" and testing my new deck of cards in "Magic the Gathering: Arena". In the meantime, be socially responsible and stay safe. The health of all depends on each one of us. We are #SGUnited. You might want to read these and also the comments and my replies: 1. Stock market correction... 2. Buying DBS, OCBC, UOB and IREIT... 3. Largest REIT investments... 4. 1Q 2020 passive income...
Happy Good Friday! Happy public holiday! Happy long weekend! Of course, with the partial lockdown Singapore is in now, it really doesn't make any difference to many, if not most, people here. It definitely does not make any difference to AK since my life is one super duper long weekend. What? Cannot call it a lockdown? Must say "circuit breaker"? OK, whatever floats your boat. Anyway, I wasn't thinking of blogging this weekend. Having too much fun in Neverwinter, you know. However, I got two comments in my blog from readers and the blogging bug bit me.
First comment was about me "betting (on) another correction." Alamak. When did I bet there will be another correction? I have shared my strategy a few times in recent weeks and it has always been to wait for the dust to settle. The latest update was just a few days ago on 7 April 2020: Buying DBS, OCBC, UOB and cheering for IREIT Global. Readers who have been following my blog for a long time will know that I do not believe in being overly pessimistic or overly optimistic. I believe in being pragmatic. That's also why I always say we should stay invested but have a war chest (or two) ready and not be too extreme. "On one end, there are people who are almost 100% in cash. I think they are doing a Chicken Little. "On the other end, there are people who don't like to see money sitting in their bank accounts. They imagine the money is rotting away." Source: Sit with all that cash and do nothing? I should not try to predict what Mr. Market will do. However, I can certainly prepare. What I do very much depends on what Mr. Market does. If you have yet to read what my plan is or if you cannot remember what it is, you might want to read my last update which was the blog before this one.
Anyway, on to another reader's comment. It is about Facebook. More specifically, it is about my Facebook account. Many readers will remember that Facebook did a terrible thing to AK about a year ago. So hurtful. If you cannot remember, read this blog: Financially free and Facebook free! Well, apparently, things are back to normal now. The reader said: "Just to let you know that your Facebook is back to normal now. "We can see your post and everything." OK. Hmm. That's nice. What does that mean? Facebook realised their mistake? I don't know the reason behind their change of heart.
Anyway, I did not try to log in to my Facebook account after reading the comment. I just didn't feel any urge to do so. After being Facebook free for slightly more than a year, I don't miss it. Not even a tiny bit. If this had happened a couple of months after I became Facebook free, I would probably have gone back to using Facebook. However, to be honest, I rather like being Facebook free now. OK, like I said, I did not log in to Facebook to verify if Facebook restored the links to my blog both in my page as well as on my wall. I am just blogging based on what I was told. Readers who are not Facebook free like I am could have a look see, if you like. Maybe, try posting a link to this blog on your Facebook page or wall and see if the link works.
It is the 4th day of the "circuit breaker" here in Singapore. Although I know there will be irresponsible people who do not follow the rules, it still upsets me to see them. I saw a few of them just yesterday when I went out to the nearby supermarket to buy eggs and to take away my dinner at the "kopitiam". For example, I saw a young couple and their two children at the playground playing before they went into the supermarket. Alamak, understand the rules or not? They even cordoned off the playground and you still bring your children there? What kind of message you sending to your children? Grow up to be irresponsible like daddy and mommy? Go supermarket must whole family go, is it? Husband goes to supermarket and wife stays at home with the children, can or not? Or if the wife has a louder voice, then husband stays at home with the children lah. Use your brain! Really lor. Suka suka like that? KNS! Makes my blood boil. Be socially responsible and hope that this "circuit breaker" will not be extended beyond a month, can or not? We are #SGUnited.
A friend suggested that I should try streaming my adventures in Neverwinter. The streaming platform is called Twitch. I only discovered Twitch a few months ago and I do enjoy watching some streamers adventuring in Neverwinter. I have not thought of streaming my adventures in Neverwinter as I don't have any desire to socialise very much when I am adventuring. Well, I don't have a desire to socialise very much most of the time. Yes, I know. AK is mental.
I do party up for some group content from time to time. I am also active in certain guild building activities. However, most of the time, I just like spending time in Neverwinter by myself. Recently, I made some videos of my adventures in Neverwinter as a way to keep in touch with readers here in ASSI. I also like that I have picked up a new and interesting skill. In the last few days, I thought why not try to keep in touch with readers using Twitch?
It took me a few days to figure things out and it took me a while to set things up. I don't know if I have done it correctly but if you like, you can try following me on Twitch. My Twitch channel is: https://www.twitch.tv/utherkaze If you hit the "follow" button in my Twitch channel, you will be notified whenever I am streaming Neverwinter. Following is probably a good idea because I won't be sticking to any schedule. I will stream only when I feel like it. If I do stream and if you happen to be free, come and take a look.
To be honest, I don't know if this will have any longevity. For now, I am just trying things out. Related post: Demon and dragon slaying!
I keep saying that Neverwinter is a MMORPG. What is a MMORPG anyway? "Massively multiplayer online role-playing game: any story-driven online video game in which a player, taking on the persona of a character in a virtual or fantasy world, interacts with a large number of other players." Source: Dictionary.com Oh, then, why does it look like AK is always adventuring alone in Neverwinter? Where are the other adventurers? Where is the group content? There are plenty of dungeons, skirmishes and trials available in Neverwinter. A dungeon requires a full party of 5 adventurers while a trial requires 2 full parties. We can join random queues and we will be partied with random adventurers or we can put together our own party by inviting people we would like to adventure with. There are also world events or what are known as Heroic Encounters in Neverwinter. Slay some demons in Neverwinter with AK here:
We do not have to join parties or queue for these world events. When they happen, just join the fray! They can get pretty chaotic as you can imagine but they are lots of fun! Slay some dragons in Neverwinter with AK here:
Hunting monsters used to be something I was doing almost daily in Barovia. For some time, I was joined by two friends, Kenji and Victor, too. I didn't have a wizard character back then and was adventuring mostly with my paladin. Fun times in Barovia. It was a very rewarding activity back in the day too. I always say that money should go to where it is treated best. Maybe, I should say that money will go to where it is treated best instead. People will always do something they find most rewarding if they know where to find it.
There are better rewards to be had doing other things in Neverwinter these days. Although not as rewarding, hunting monsters in Barovia is still fun as my wizard found out. Anyway, this is the first time my wizard is hunting a monster in Barovia after he picked up a Wanted Poster. Before we go hunting, let us visit Madam Eva to get some clues as to the monster's whereabouts. The hunt is on!
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