Fear is palpable! Market crashing again? Reminders.

The week started with the shutting down of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank by U.S. regulators.

The U.S. regulators announced measures which ultimately bailed out the banks.

Then, we saw Credit Suisse reporting "material weaknesses" and the Swiss National Bank stepping in to backstop the troubled bank.

Credit Suisse took a 50 billion Swiss Francs loan from the Swiss National Bank to strengthen liquidity.

Then, a consortium of 11 largest U.S. banks rescued First Republic Bank, the 13th largest bank in the U.S.A., by jointly depositing US$30 billion in the troubled bank.

After all that happened, Mr. Market ended the week with a dramatic down day in the U.S. stock market on Friday.

The Fed increased interest rate a year ago in March 2022 for the first time since 2018. 

Since then, the rapid rate at which interest rates have been increased has caused a lot of pain for homeowners as well as investors in the real estate space.

The pain is most keenly felt in the high growth but negative earnings tech space and if you are a tech investor, you know this firsthand.

The people who said that something would break under the growing pressure of such rapid rate hikes are now looking rather prescient.

What would they say now?

Not surprisingly, that things will continue breaking as long as the Fed continues to hike interest rates.

With the ECB having hiked interest rates in the EU by another half a percentage point, the Fed is probably going to hike interest rates in the U.S. next week too as they stick to their plan to fight sticky inflation.

Mr. Market, already jittery, while initially assured by the show of solidarity in the U.S. banking industry, became depressed again on Friday when First Republic Bank suspended dividends.

In an environment where depositors could lose their savings and where investors in both stocks and bonds are losing money, heightened volatility in the stock market is unsurprising.

Fear is palpable.

It drives Mr. Market into self-preservation mode.

If the confidence deficit continues, then, more money could flow to the perceived safety of U.S. government bonds, and we could see yields lower.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I blogged about how I was worried because my passive income was reduced due to my businesses either suspending or reducing dividends.

My relatively high level of CPF savings was the only "investment" that continued to pay what I expected it to pay, uninterrupted, which highlighted to me the importance of having an allocation to high quality fixed income in any portfolio.

So, I can understand Mr. Market's negative reaction to First Republic Banks's decision.

Many people depend on dividends for a living or to at least fund part of their expenses.

The still troubled bank saw its stock price recovering from a day ago on Thursday only to see it plunging 32% on Friday.

When the bear comes out of its cave, none is spared, and we saw the stock prices of large U.S. banks beaten down too as even JP Morgan saw a 3.78% decline in its stock price.

When Mr. Market is gripped by fear, he becomes irrational, and the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater.

As U.S.A. is still the largest economy in the world, what happens there often spreads to the global markets.

So, we could see Asian markets echoing that fear in the U.S. stock market.

I have said many times before that we cannot predict what will happen but if we are prepared, we need not worry and we could instead benefit.

Don't be overly pessimistic.

Don't be overly optimistic.

Be pragmatic.

This week, I was on steroids. 

I have published too many blogs regarding the stock market and what my plan might be.

So, if this is your first visit in as long a time, you will have a lot to read.

Have a good weekend.

Recently published:
US$30b rescue! T-bills 3.65%! Banks or REITs?

Ticketing for "Evening with AK and friends 2023" is ongoing.

Singapore to split apart? Who to blame?

This blog was held in storage for many days because I was wondering if I should publish it. 

I haven't published anything like this in a while.

It is bordering on being political and it is something which many people probably have very strong opinions about.

Anyway, I decided to take the plunge.

In The Straits Times on 4 March, Chua Mui Hoong wrote that Singapore was “at a juncture when the internal contradictions of its hyper-competitive system are becoming apparent, causing much angst, from the low to middle to high-income residents.” 

“They worry if they can attain the essentials of modern life, a home, job, school for their children and caregiving for frail family members. 

“Those who are wealthy, still worry about access to good schools and whether their children can do as well in a game they themselves excelled in.” 

This, plus what Pritam Singh said in Parliament about how "two Singapores" could possibly emerge, got me blogging.

There was a big discussion regarding Singapore's income inequality and the suggestion was that Singapore's income inequality issue was worsening.

However, that is probably more a popular and erroneous perception than reality.

Singapore’s income inequality has been declining. 

The Gini coefficient decreased from 0.478 in 2012 to 0.437 in 2022.

Lawrence Wong shared the results of ongoing efforts to uplift lower-wage workers. 

Lower-wage workers had seen higher income growth than those earning more than the median income in the last five years. 

What is my opinion?

There will always be income inequality.

Hard truth.

It is hard for me to accept that a cleaner should be paid as much as a doctor or even a high school teacher in a capitalist society, for example.

Of course, in a communist country, equal "pay" should be expected.

So, do we want to live in a communist country?

I know I don't.

Then, there is this concept of "essentials of modern life" which Chua Mui Hoong mentioned in the newspaper article.

I have blogged about needs and wants before many times.

We only need so much money in life.

The rest is for showing off.

If we keep our needs simple and our wants few, our life will "basically" be better, no matter how much money we make.

The problem starts when many things which are not essential get classified as "essentials of modern life."

Need a home?

What about a HDB flat or even an Executive Condominium?

Need a school?

What about a neighborhood school?

Need healthcare?

What about a government polyclinic or hospital?

In my last visit to the doctor in the polyclinic a 20 minutes walk from my home, I paid $20 when the actual cost was about $80. 

Yes, my medical bill was about 75% subsidized and I am not even a senior citizen (yet.)

There is an over-emphasis on income when it comes to measuring financial well being.

Seriously.

Must people earn a lot more money to be rich?

I have a blog that says average income workers can be rich too.

I have a blog that shares a reader's experience on how to have more passive income than "richer" friends.

If we spend as much as we make, it doesn't matter if we are high income individuals because we will always be "poor."

It isn't how much money we make that determines if we are rich or poor.

It is how much money we keep.

There was a study done in an advanced country that showed how 40% of upper middle income families were living paycheck to paycheck in that country.

Why?

They habitually spent as much money as they made or more than what they made.

How to be financially better off like that?

Then, there is the issue of assigning blame.

Really, there should be a greater emphasis on taking ownership when it comes to our financial well being or the lack of it.

 

As you can tell from the video, I am proud to be Singaporean and proud of our CPF system. 

If you haven't watched it yet, you might want to give it a chance as it shares the view of a foreigner.

I like the CPF system because it is a system where the government helps those who help themselves.

I don't like as much the way the government has been giving out free money in recent years.

However, I am very much aware that there are low income families which genuinely do need some financial relief.

Still, if the government keeps doing it, then, it might foster feelings of entitlement amongst Singaporeans who, I feel, can be pretty ungrateful at times.

Honestly, I do not think Singapore is such a terrible place when it comes to economic issues.

Don't talk about Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

I think we are even better off in Singapore than in the U.S.A. when it comes to economic issues.

Of course, Singapore is not perfect but waving a banner that suggests Singapore could split apart because of growing income inequality is just malicious.

The P.A.P. government probably would not say many of the things I have said in this blog because they must think about winning the next election.

It could cost them some swing voters, I suspect.

I don't expect this blog to do well and it could even get me flamed.

However, long time regular readers know that this is a topic that I feel strongly about and I just need to get it off my chest.

Related posts:
1. Average income workers can be rich too.
2. More passive income than richer friends.
3. Don't make difficult times more difficult.
4. Survivability and opportunity.

March dividends & SSB 3.15% p.a. average yield.

January and February are usually pretty dry months when it comes to dividends.

If not for dividends in March, my passive income in 1Q of any year would be almost zero.

I will blog about my total passive income for 1Q 2023 by end of March or early April.

For now, if I were to do an estimate, passive income for 1Q 2023 could come in at under $40,000.

I shared my plan with regards to SSB, T-bill, CPF and the UOB ONE account in an earlier blog:

SSB, T-bill, CPF & UOB ONE.

I did not apply for the SSBs offered in January and February this year as both offered 10 year average yields of lower than 3% p.a. which was lower than what I would get from my CPF account.

Now, I am not saying that those SSBs were not attractive for everybody but they were not attractive to me as my plan was to apply with money earmarked for CPF voluntary contribution in 2024.

I suppose many people agreed with me as those SSBs were rather badly undersubscribed, with the one offered in February less than half subscribed.

The one that is offered this month, however, is very interesting to me as it is offering a 10 year average yield of 3.15% p.a.

Source: MAS.

With the dividends coming in this month, I would set aside at least $10,000 to apply for the SSB.

I have made a note on my calendar to apply by 28 March 2023.

If the 10 year average yield remains higher than 3% p.a. for SSBs offered in the next few months, I would be able to fully deploy the $38,000 I have earmarked for voluntary contribution to my CPF account in 2024 earlier than anticipated. 

I could do this in 2Q 2023 easily as 2Q and 3Q are usually relatively strong passive income generating periods for me.

In the next day or two, I will talk to myself a bit more on the subject of fixed income and how a meaningful exposure will do my investment portfolio a whole lot of good.

Of course, just talking to myself, as usual.

Reference:
SSB or CPF?

SSB, T-bill, CPF & UOB ONE. Use them. My plan.

A few months ago, I said that it made more sense for me not to do voluntary contributions to my CPF account and to buy Singapore Savings Bonds (SSBs) instead. 

That was when Singapore Savings Bonds were offering 10 year average yields of more than 3% p.a. and it happened for 3 months in a row in 4Q 2022.

Money meant for voluntary contribution to my CPF account in January 2023 were all very nicely deployed into SSBs without any leftovers.

This year so far, SSBs have been offering lower than 3% p.a. in 10 year average yields which is less attractive than the what my CPF account offers.

Of course, what the CPF offers each of us is different based on our age group and how much we have in the Medisave Account. 

The percentage allocation to the Ordinary Account, Special Account and Medisave Account would be different from person to person and could result in a different average interest rate for each of us.

Anyway, before I veer farther off track, if the SSBs continue to offer a lower than 3% p.a. in 10 years average yield for the rest of the year, I am not worried as I would resume voluntary contribution to my CPF account then.

I could do this in the month of December instead of waiting till the new year which was what I had to do in years past.

This is because I have yet to do any voluntary contributions this year, of course.

So, one month in advance for a one month extra interest income.

For now, I will wait and see what the SSBs will offer in the months ahead all the way till December.

After all, the Fed is not done raising interest rate yet with probably a couple more hikes incoming.  

I know many are saying that inflation has been tamed but if inflation in the USA remains elevated, there could be more than just a couple of 0.25% hikes left to go. 

In such a case, we could see yields going higher especially if the US dollar strengthens against the S$.

In case you are wondering why the strength of the S$ is a relevant consideration, it is quite simple. 

A stronger S$ means our country would not have to offer higher yields to compensate bond holders because the S$ is more valuable and bond holders would gain from the exchange rate.

I am veering off track again.

Anyway, what is the plan or, more accurately, my plan?

1. Set aside $42K from my passive income generated this year for voluntary contribution to CPF in 2024.

Money meant for voluntary contributions can be deployed in December 2023 while money for top up to the Medisave Account will be deployed in January 2024.

2. Wait and see if SSBs offer more than 3% p.a. in 10 year average yield in the coming months.

If they do, deploy funds meant for the CPF in 2024 into SSBs instead.

If they don't, use the funds to get 6 months T-bills as long as the yield curve remains inverted which means the front end of the curve remains more rewarding.

Total amount to be deployed this way is $38,000.

3. The strategy of using 6 months T-bills can only extend till June or July 2023 because I will need the funds to be ready for voluntary contribution to my CPF account in December 2023 or January 2024.

If SSBs continue to offer lower than 3% p.a. in 10 year average yield from August to December or the last 5 months of the year, any money meant for CPF voluntary contribution coming in after July 2023 will have to sit in my UOB One Account.

I do not enjoy the highest tier interest rate offered by UOB One Account as I do not have any earned income to credit. 

However, it still offers a relatively attractive interest rate at least for money which cannot be locked up for a few months.

All I have to do is to spend $500 on the UOB One Card and have 3 monthly GIRO transactions.

I meet these conditions every month, anyway.

If you are new to eavesdropping on AK, I do have a significant exposure to equities while the CPF, SSBs and T-bills together form the fixed income component in my portfolio.

See:
Banks and REITs dividend machines? T-bills, SSBs and CPF?

I am mental and this blog is really more for myself as I don't want these thoughts to keep circulating in my mind.

You have been warned.

I use my blog as a "Pensieve."

What is a "Pensieve?"

You didn't watch the Harry Potter movies?

"The Pensieve was a magical device used to review memories." 

Source: Harry Potter Wiki.

My mind feels lighter now.

Recently published:
Changes to portfolio in Jan 23.

Related blogs:
1. CPF or SSBs?
2. Growing passive income?
3. $1.1m in CPF savings!

Lawrence Wong says CPF not enough? Work till we die?

Just a quick blog to share my latest YouTube video.

All my YouTube videos are between 1 minute to 3 minutes in length.

I try to keep the videos succinct.

Modern day society is always in a rush and short of time.

Also, many people are short of sleep.

So, it is a blessing that my YouTube videos do not require watching.

They only require listening.

You can close your eyes if they feel tired and just listen to my videos which are narrated by a British lady with a pleasant voice.

Very soothing.

There is literally no "AK talking to himself" in my YouTube channel!

Win already lor!

Have a good week!

Recently published:
My CPF account hacked?

All my YouTube videos: HERE.
To get free notifications, hit "Subscribe" in YouTube video.

My CPF account hacked? Money missing!

On 5 Jan 23, in what has become an annual activity, I shared my CPF numbers here in ASSI.

After topping up the CPF-MA, this was the picture:

As I grow older, I sleep less.

I wake up earlier and earlier in the mornings.

Most of the time, I just follow a routine in the early mornings but sometimes I do things which are not routine.

Checking my CPF account is not routine. 

Yes, despite what some people might think, AK is not obsessed with his CPF account.

At least I think I am not obsessed but I am mental.

You know what they say about crazy people?

Crazy people don't know they are crazy.

Ahem.

When I logged into my CPF account today which I do from time to time because it gives me a sense of security which helps my mental condition, I got an anxiety attack!

No peace of mind?

Why like that?

This was what I saw:

OMG!

Where did my CPF money go?

Did my CPF account get hacked?

Alamak!

Cham liao lah!

Quick, call CPF Board but they not open yet.

Too early in the day.

How like that?

Make police report first?

Then, through the morning mind fog, I recalled what happened.

Sigh.

I used CPF-OA money to apply for the 1 year T-bill.

Crazy AK, seven early eight early, scaring himself like that.

Nothing to see here.

Move along now.

Have a good Sunday!

Recently published:
No T-bills in Feb. AA REIT video.

References:

1. CPF-OA in T-bill.

2. $1.1 million in CPF.

Using CPF-OA for 4% T-bills in January 2023.

I applied for both 6 months T-bills this month.

The first one had a cut-off yield of 4.2% p.a.

The second one had its auction today.

Cut-off yield at 4.0% p.a.

My non-competitive bid was fully filled.

I continue to add to the bond component of my portfolio. 

I am using dividends from my investments and also some money from maturing fixed deposits to do so.

Today, I also applied for the 1 year T-bill which, unlike the 6 months T-bills, is only offered 4 times a year.

Source: MAS

The auction results for this month's 1 year T-bill will be announced on 26 January.

Why did I apply for the 1 year T-bill?

I didn't plan to do it but I had to meet my banker at the bank to collect Chinese New Year notes.

It is the usual once a year visit to the bank for me.

Then, I thought I might as well apply for the 1 year T-bill with my CPF-OA money.

I mean I was already at the bank.

Not having to join a long queue at the bank also helped in making the decision to make the application in person easier for me.

As it is costlier and still more troublesome to use CPF-OA money to apply for T-bills, a 1 year T-bill is also more attractive than a 6 months T-bill, everything else being equal, I feel.

I will very likely lose an additional 2 months of CPF-OA interest income but as long as this 1 year T-bill cut-off yield is not too low, I will get some extra pocket money.

Yes, I know, the money can only be in my pocket almost 4 years from now when I turn 55.

This is a reason for accounting for my CPF interest income separately and not lumping it together with my yearly passive income updates.

The interest earned isn't money I can utilize right away.

It isn't near money.

Still, nice to have, I guess.

Moving money from the CPF-OA into T-bills doesn't do anything to my investment portfolio in terms of the bonds to equities ratio, of course.

It just means that my CPF account which I consider part of my bond holdings will get a slight boost.

How much might this boost be?

Well, let us assume I moved $200,000 and the 1 year T-bill cut-off yield was 4% p.a.

Doing a back of the envelope calculation, 1 year CPF-OA interest income would have been $5,000.

4% p.a. 1 year T-bill would yield $8,000.

So, might be grossing $3,000 more.

However, as I probably would not get any interest income from the CPF-OA for an additional 2 months, I would lose another $833 in CPF-OA interest income.

So, the net gain might be closer to $2,166.

For a whole year and with a relatively large sum of $200,000, I don't think the gain is a big deal.

Of course, if we were to move a sum twice or thrice as much, in absolute dollar terms, it might be more interesting.

If I did not have the kind of money I have in my CPF-OA and if I had to join a long queue at the bank, I don't think I would have bothered to make the application.

I know some people are pretty sensitive about this topic.

I hope I did not offend anyone by saying this.

Just me talking to myself, of course.

Anyway, will wait for the auction results now.

Hopefully, my application is fully filled or else the cost would be even higher.

We are not risking a loss of 0.05% p.a. interest but 2.5% p.a. when we use our CPF-OA money.

So, going for competitive bidding makes better sense.

This is in case the unthinkable happens.

The unthinkable?

Imagine a large number of people placed their bids for a 2% p.a. yield and imagine if the cut-off yield was 2.01% p.a.

That would be a most stunning OMG moment!

Just thinking of the possibility is giving me an anxiety attack!

Don't play, play!

Having said this, I put in what I felt was a sensible bid and did not put in an extremely low bid.

I know some people are still waiting for me to say something else.

You want to know what was my bid?

I know.

AK shy lah.

OK, I tell you.

Higher than 3% but lower than 4%. 

Win liao lor!

Good luck to us all!

GONG XI FA CAI!

References:
1. T-bill at 4.2% p.a. investor profile.
2. My largest investments updated.
Recently published:
$1.3m! Average but rich!

YouTube! Level up! $1.3m! Average but rich!

Restarting my YouTube channel a few months ago, I didn't think it would stick.

When I started the channel 12 years ago, it was just to share some of the videos I took while on vacations.

That sputtered out pretty quickly.

Then, 2 years ago, I thought of sharing my adventures in Neverwinter but not many readers were interested.

8 months ago, although I suspected that not many readers would be interested, I thought of sharing some Genshin Impact gameplay.

It should have ended there.

However, I went on to experiment with making "audio books" or "audio pages" to be more exact as I kept the videos very short.

Without really knowing it, I have been doing this for 8 months now!

Stunned like vegetable!

Like I told a fellow blogger recently, in my retirement, I am a bit spoilt.

If it isn't fun, I don't do it.

If I were to do something these days thinking about the money it makes or the money it might make, I doubt it would stick.

Yes, it is about work if we want to and not work if we have to.

Alamak.

Wrong word!

Not "work" lah.

OK, it is about having fun if we want to and not having fun if we have to!

This truly is levelling up!

Bad AK! Bad AK!

Anyway, after 8 months as a YouTuber, sort of, I have received some interesting comments from viewers.

Yes, now I get to say "viewers" instead of "readers" too.

Alamaks!

AK's videos no need to view one.

Only need to listen.

Oh dear, another wrong word.

OK, not "viewers" but "listeners."

One listener, CTH, sent me this comment today:

I am 48y old this year. 

Should have $1.3 million in my CPF by 65y old. 

Keeping fingers crossed. 

Been staying dirt cheap in mini HDB flat too small with wife and 2 teenagers kids (16y n 14y). 

Love the government subsidies and low property tax. 

Don't even know the pain of COE for a car, lol. 

People laugh at our cheap lifestyle for close to 2 decades. 

Your blog keeps us going. 

See you around. You're the man. :)

In response, I told CTH that financial prudence and patience will be rewarded.

All in good time.

We are all wired differently and have different circumstances.

However, unless we are badly disadvantaged, most of us in Singapore can be financially free if we do what is within our abilities to do.

It depends more on whether we have the willpower to do it.

This reminds me of another reader's story which I shared in this blog:

More passive income than "richer" friends.

To everyone on the journey to financial freedom, remember that average income workers can be rich too:

Average income workers have a choice to be rich!

If AK can do it, so can you!

AK's YouTube channel: HERE.

Recently published:
Largest investments updated.

An example of my vacation videos:  

An example of my Neverwinter videos:  

An example of my Genshin Impact videos:  

Good luck and have fun!

Too little passive income and too much money in CPF OA.

It is probably no secret that AK is pretty reclusive.

The COVID 19 pandemic has made AK even more reclusive, if that is at all possible.

Why so reclusive?

Well, I think a lot and some people would say I think too much.

Better be safe and not sorry, especially when I have aged parents whom I visit weekly.

Almost without exception, I would have a sleepless night after any form of social engagement as my monkey brain would replay the event again and again.

In the worst case scenario, I would get an anxiety attack.

Some people think that I was kidding when I revealed I was a patient at the little house on Buangkok Green.

I wasn't.

To be fair, it was probably just a contributory factor that led to my diagnosis and treatment at IMH.

As my blog got more popular and the blogger got more attention, there was a growing feeling of anxiety.

So, it was a good thing that Facebook did what it did to me and I took that as an opportunity to scale back on social media engagement.

Blogging is a hobby and hobbies should be something we do because they make us happy and not because they make us anxious.

I cannot remember who the people were by now but there were those who were pretty unkind.

They told me that if I could not take the heat, I should not be in the kitchen.

Then, there were those who were kinder.

They told me I should learn how to break and blog or I could suffer a burnout.

Well, both groups of people were right although their messages were "same same but different."

I am glad that I have reduced my social activity as a blogger in recent years and have confined myself to my blog.

The only way most people can get in touch with me now is through the blog's comments section and only if they have a Google account.

I know it is very restrictive but it is good for my mental health.

Yes, it is not just because AK is lazy which is what I always say.

This way, I rarely have to deal with trolls and bots.

I know I am missing out on new business opportunities too as an "influencer" but it doesn't really matter to me.

I am glad that I did what I did as I enjoyed blogging from the moment I started in 2009 and I want to continue blogging because I enjoy it.

Of course, I know that "a big tree catches the wind."

Talking to myself, if I have managed to inspire readers to achieve financial freedom, I am glad.

That is what I always say and that is primarily what I want my blog to do.

To inspire.

Although I do not like it, I cannot deny that my blog attracts some attention of the unwanted variety.

I try not to be like the proverbial blind men who each touched a different part of an elephant and gave their conclusions without the full picture.

Although I am uncomfortable with revealing or explaining everything about me, I make an effort to share enough information for readers to make their own informed decisions on stuff that I do blog about.

It isn't unreasonable because the really interested readers would read my past blogs for background information especially when I make an effort to provide hyperlinks to related blogs.

Despite keeping a low profile, I was made aware of two statements recently.

1. My passive income is growing too slowly.

2. I have too much money in my CPF OA.

I have watered down the statements which were somewhat offensive in their original forms.

Although I initially thought there was no need for me to respond to these statements, a good friend said I should.

To be honest, I don't want to do it but after some thinking, I think I should. 

Why?

It is only fair to readers especially those who have not been following my blog for very long to have me throw light on the matter.

After all, I cannot assume that my blog only has regular readers who have been following my blog for many years. 

They would probably have an idea how I would respond to both statements.

So, now you know the reason why I am crafting this blog.

I am going to get this over with chop chop.

My passive income has not been growing very much in the last few years as I retired a few months before I turned 45 years old and that was about 6 and a half years ago.

Since then, I have lacked an earned income.

So, although I could invest a big portion of my earned income and all my passive income when I was gainfully employed, I could not do so in recent years.

If we go back 11 years, my passive income was about $100K a year back then but it was $200K for the whole of last year.

Also, 11 years ago, my investment portfolio was very heavy in REITs and enjoyed very high yields which isn't the case today.

As for the money in my CPF OA, I do not think getting a risk free 2.5% per annum return from a volatility free instrument per se was a bad thing.

It looks like it is a bad thing now because interest rate has risen so much in less than one year.

So, what seemed like a good idea in the past does not seem like a good idea now.

Of course, there were people who did not think that having a lot of money in the CPF OA was a good idea in the past as well.

The proverbial blind men each touching a different part of an elephant comes to mind.

As a retiree who lacks an earned income and at my age, it is not a good idea to be too adventurous when it comes to investing my money.

I am aware that I could have invested some of my CPF OA money in equities for higher returns but do I need to do it?

I don't think so as it is probably quite obvious that I already have a substantial exposure to equities.

I also do not want to do it because I want to grow my portfolio's exposure to fixed income which would reduce volatility in the portfolio.

Also, most investors who used their CPF money to invest would have been better off leaving their money in their CPF OA and it could have been the same for me too.

I am not infallible.

For a person in my position, why trade something that is risk free and volatility free for something that is not for a possibly higher return?

"It’s insane to risk what you have for something you don’t need." Warren Buffett

What to do?

What I am considering doing is to use CPF OA money to get T-bills.

However, as I am mental and want to avoid visiting the bank if I can help it, I am waiting for online application to be allowed.

However, if T-bills should see yield climb much higher before then, I might make a trip to the bank, no matter how reluctant I am to do it.

Right now, not getting $700K of CPF OA money into a 6 months T-bill means losing some $10K in annual passive income.

What I am going to say next might be taken the wrong way by some people but, to be quite blunt, to me, it isn't a big deal.

I have not put in much effort in crafting this blog. 

I just typed whatever came to mind.

So, I apologize if it is not as diplomatic as it should be.

I just want to get it out of the way so that I can enjoy Genshin Impact's special program which is starting soon.

Don't want to have this at the back of my mind.

If you play Genshin Impact too, don't forget the free Primogems from the special program.

Good luck and have fun.

Recently published:
1. 2022 passive income.
2. More than $1.1m in CPF.

More than $1.1 million in CPF savings.

Last year, it was almost $1.1 million in CPF savings.

This year, it is more than $1.1 million in CPF savings.

Confession.

AK cheated last year. 

That almost $1.1 million included voluntary contributions to my CPF account made at the start of 2022.

Terrible AK!

This year, AK is turning over a new leaf.

No cheating.

More than $1.1 million in CPF savings at the start of 2023 all thanks to full year interest earned in 2022.

What is more satisfying than making money?

When the government is making money for me lah.

Kamsiah plenty plenty to Ah Kong.

Ah Kong will be doing some heavy lifting again for me this year.

To be exact, Ah Kong will be doing all the heavy lifting for me this year.

Why like that?

AK lazy again?

Ahem.

I won't be making voluntary contributions to my CPF account this year as all the money has been used to get Singapore Savings Bond in 4Q 2022.

So, my CPF account will not be growing as much as I won't be helping to grow it.

Might not be making voluntary contributions next year in 2024 either as I could use the money to get Singapore Savings Bond again.

See:

CPF or Singapore Savings Bond?

My YouTube video:

The condition is, of course, that Singapore Savings Bond continues to offer more than 3% per annum in 10 year average yield.

So, I am going to pass on the latest Singapore Savings Bond as it is only giving 2.97% per annum in 10 year average yield.

Source: MAS

What if the 10 year average yield stays lower than 3% per annum for the whole of 2023?

In such an instance, I would go back to doing voluntary contribution to my CPF account.

I could do this in December 2023 instead of waiting till January 2024 since I would not have made any voluntary contribution in 2023.

However, I am still topping up my CPF MA in 2023 as it pays 4% interest per annum.

My YouTube video:

In fact, I just did it.

Before topping up CPF MA:

After topping up CPF MA:

Could top up only $2,500 to the CPF MA as the latest Basic Healthcare Sum (BHS) is $68,500 only.

I know some people say that the CPF is a national PONZI scheme.

Do PONZI schemes ever set a cap to how much money their clients can pump in?

I blur.

How like that?

See:

The CPF is really a national PONZI scheme!

Some people say that their CPF account is losing money.

I blur.

Let me rub my eyes and look again.

Quite sure my CPF account did not lose any money.

In fact, my CPF account made more than $33,000 for the whole of 2022 while I did literally nothing.

Alamak.

You still rubbing your eyes and looking?

OK, enough looking.

Move along.

Nothing to see here.

Early Chinese New Year ang bao from Ah Kong!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Huat ah!

References:
1. Almost $1.1 million in CPF savings.
2. 2022 passive income: Resilience.
3. SSB: Mission accomplished.