Is AK blogging about Neverwinter?

In response to a reader's comment: HERE.

Hi Samuel,

Unfortunately, Neverwinter doesn't have a big following here in Asia, it seems.

The guild I belong to is mostly made up of adventurers from North America and a handful are from Europe.

If you decide that you want to switch guilds anyway, you are welcome to apply to the guild I am in: 

Neverwinter SOLO Alliance.

We are a group of solo players that got together to form a guild so that we can enjoy the benefits a guild brings to adventurers.

There is a strict clean language rule and we avoid politics and religion in chat.

Otherwise, we are pretty easy going.

If you do join SOLO, please don't actively look for me in the guild chat.

I like to stay low profile in the virtual world too. ;)





As for making Astral Diamonds, we have to remember that we are only allowed to refine 100K Rough AD a day and if we want more AD, staying F2P, we have to think of getting them from other players.

To make AD from other players, we have to make use of the Auction House (AH) to sell things which other players need or want.

Warren Buffett said that the stock market is a place where money is transferred from the impatient to the patient.

Well, the Neverwinter AH is a place where AD is transferred from the impatient to the patient. ;p





For example, people are always in a rush to refine their gear and enchantments.

So, sell the unbound RP items (black pearls etc.) to them.

I always take my time and only use bound RP (bound to account or bound to character) for my refinement needs.

You can get bound RP from daily invocations and by having 

1. Dragon's Hoard Enchantment (from Tyranny of Dragons campaign), 

2. Fey Blessing Enchantment (from Sharandar Campaign) and 

3. Quartermaster's Enchantment (from the Siege of Neverwinter event which happens a couple of times a year) 

in the utility slots in your gear.





This is just one idea.

Go watch some Youtube videos on the topic.

There are so many videos but the older ones might have ideas which are no longer feasible.

Here is a recent video from a very established Neverwinter content creator, Kali Gold, on how to farm gold and how to convert that into AD, for example:









I think most of ASSI's readers are not interested in Neverwinter but I have decided to give your suggestion a go and publish this reply to you as a blog to see the response, if any. ;)

Recently published:
1. Ascott Residence Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust to become one.
2. 2Q 2019 passive income.

2Q 2019 passive income.

It has been almost three months since my last blog and I hope everyone is doing well.

1. Update

So, what have I been doing?

OK, I will tell you and, maybe, there is a message for everyone in this somewhere too.

I have been having a blast in Neverwinter!

Many things have changed with the new expansion (Module 16: Undermountain) and I love the game even more now.

In fact, I enjoy Neverwinter so much that I created a third character just a few days ago.

This time, I created a wizard.





Neverwinter is a free to play (F2P) MMORPG and although we could use real money to buy game currency, we don't have to do it.

Everything in the game could bought by earning game currencies while playing the game.

There will always be adventurers who are impatient and want to get everything faster, of course.

I have met quite a few impatient adventurers in Neverwinter and they are the ones who have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the game.

Thanks to them, AK has a free MMORPG to play.

As for me, after taking some time to understand Neverwinter's economy and how to make Astral Diamonds (i.e. the most important in-game currency), I have become quite wealthy in Neverwinter and, like in real life, having wealth in the virtual world makes life more comfortable.





I no longer have to run random dungeons with pick up groups (PUGs), which basically means groups of strangers, just to earn some Astral Diamonds.

I used to have to do it everyday as a newbie in the game, of course, and it is just like exchanging our time for money as an employee in real life except that it is more fun.

Just like in real life, being AK, I tried to get to a point where I didn't have to do that and, now, I don't have to.

I am a Neverwinter multi-millionaire.

I am enjoying Neverwinter without having to worry about not having enough Astral Diamonds.

It is like enjoying real life without having to worry about money.

Anyway, did I say there could be a message for everyone here?

I wonder what that message is?





2. Blogging

I have not been blogging and will probably not be blogging much in the future either.

I am tempted to say that I won't be blogging anymore and that this is my last blog, seeing how much time I am spending on gaming, but never say never.

Gaming is like how blogging was for me until recently.

I first discovered blogging 10 years ago and blogging took up more and more time until a point when it became a full time activity.

So, I apologise for my tardy replies to readers who have left comments here in my blog and I also apologise in advance to readers who might leave comments for me henceforth.

It is probably a good idea not to leave comments which require timely replies from me.




3. Facebook

I am unable to log in to Facebook anymore.

I don't know why and after they removed all the links to my blog from my page, to be honest, I don't really care about Facebook now.

After all, quite obviously, they don't care about me.

See:
Financially free and Facebook free.

It has been almost three months since I last logged into Facebook.

So, there are probably many messages from readers there which I won't be able to read or reply to now.

If you are one of the affected readers and would like to reach me, please leave a comment in this blog instead.

Apologies for my tardy reply in advance and, again, if it is something that requires a timely response, it might be better not to write as you would most likely be disappointed.





4. Passive income

Now, that we have addressed the important stuff, the numbers.

How much did AK receive in passive income in 2Q 2019?

S$ 60,906.39

Not a lot to the very rich but it is a meaningful sum of money to me.





Some investments that generated more than $2000 in passive income for me in 2Q 2019:

1. AA REIT
2. Accordia Golf Trust
3. Comfort Delgro
4. Wilmar
5. VICOM
6. Frasers Logistics Trust
7. AHT
8. OCBC
9. DBS
10. Ho Bee Land

Readers who have been following my blog will know that what I have achieved did not happen overnight, of course.

See:
How did AK create a 6 digits annual passive income?





5. Plan.

People might ask me what is my plan now with all the economic uncertainties.

I like to think that what I have now is strong enough to weather any financial shock.

I have a meaningful income generating investment portfolio.

So, I have been receiving passive income and that has been beefing up my war chest.

This will probably go on.

See:
Wait to pick durians.





I have a sizable emergency fund for if things should go terribly wrong.

I would like to remind everyone not to ever think that credit is always easy to obtain.

When things go terribly wrong like they sometimes do, credit could easily dry up as even existing lines of credit could get chopped.

Having money we can easily get our hands on when we need it fast with no strings attached means we are our own masters.

See:
Emergency fund.





I will continue to fully contribute to my CPF as I treat it as the risk free and volatility free investment grade bond component of my investment portfolio.

If I have to, I will be able to withdraw money from my CPF when I turn 55 which is only 7 years from now.

Otherwise, I will continue to use my CPF as a savings account.

I hope nothing so financially disastrous happens that I would have to tap on my CPF savings in future.

See:
$1.5 million in CPF savings.






6. Mantra

Always remember this.


If AK can do it, so can you!

I believe it and so should you!

Keep doing the right things and the right things will most likely happen for you.

Gambatte!


See:
Is AK a rags to riches story?






Related posts:
1. 1Q 2019 passive income.
2. Financial freedom and a break.
3. AK is a full time gamer.

Financially free and Facebook free!

Reader says:
hi ak. did something happen to your Facebook page?
only can see posts from 2018 haha

AK says...
I also dunno why but FB removed all links to my blog 😞

Reader says...
shucks haha. I guess they getting alot of flak for various things
even the assi page ah. which is so odd

AK says...
I will just stop using FB to update readers, I guess.
No loss to me. 
I guess it will inconvenience readers though. 😞






A message from Facebook.

"This post goes against our Community Standards, so no one else can see it."

Facebook has removed ALL the links to my blog.

So, I won't be able to update readers using Facebook anymore.

Readers who have been following me using Facebook will just have to check my blog from time to time for updates.

There are, of course, also other means to follow my blog.

Check my blog's left side bar.

AK is financially free and now he is also Facebook free!

Fake ASSI AK71 HWZ account and you.

For those who do not follow me on Facebook, for the record, I do not have a HWZ account.

Laiye said...
someone with nick assiak71 posted in hardwarezone ...


Cassidy Gan said...
AK71 is just too popular to be ignored. Do you consider copying that to be the sincerest form of flattery or trickery to blasphemy? ;))


Tiang Wen Loong said...
Wow.. AK71 🔫







Kelvin Seetoh said...
It is a good thing but he better do not pester ur followers!


Joseph Benjamin Goh said...
When ppl start to fake you. Means you are good. 😉


Gabriel Tham said...
u need trademark liao


Dolce Goh said...
No wonder the fake person doesn’t sound like AK at all!






Kelvin Chua said...
It is a testament to your celebrity status. :)


Goh Kun Zheng said...
There's a saying... fake it till you make it. Maybe that what it means. Hehehe.

Donald Trump said...
'It's called fake news' - BBC News 





I will do less blogging in future and eventually I will stop blogging one day.

I don't know if that would lead to more fake ASSI AK71s being created.

However, if you remember 

1. not to ask barbers if you need a haircut 

and that 

2. nobody cares more about your money than you do, 

you and your money should be quite safe from the genuine and the fakes alike. :)

Related post:
Leaving a legacy as AK stops blogging.

Unhappy with CPF and angry with AK. (Alamak! Why you so like that?)

Whenever I blog about the CPF, I must be prepared for some debate and it happened again last night.

I always welcome debates as long as they are civil and constructive.

Please don't be rude.

Don't tell people to get a rope and hang themselves, for example.

I am so sorry to have caused the reader so much angst. :(

Since following my blog upsets him, I will do him a big favor by blocking him.

I don't usually block or ban readers from my FB page.

If I did it to you, you must have been pretty bad.

Don't follow my blog.

Don't worry. Be happy. :D





I am glad to share an example of a civil debate with another reader here.

Reader says... 
Our CPF removes choice. 

One may suddenly need money for some valid reason eg temporary retrenchment but one will not be allowed to take out even a small sum to meet daily needs. 

Malaysia's EPF and Singapore's CPF have some good aspects. 

EPF is like a bank which allows withdrawal of money when needed but the same bank tells CPF subscriber that no money can be released whatever the need however urgent.

Would you put your hard earned cash in such a bank for it to dole out paltry sums now and then saying its looking after your money for old age?

While CPF is good , it needs a little flexibility in disbursement of funds which after all belong to the subscriber.

What use are better returns when one cannot enjoy them at will and perhaps will only be given to your nominee on your demise?






AK says...

In reply to: "Would you put your hard earned cash in such a bank for it to dole out paltry sums now and then saying its looking after your money for old age?"

Such a comparison is misleading.

I think we have to be clear what the CPF is. 

CPF isn't a bank although we can use it like one when we turn 55 if we have the FRS in the CPF-RA then.

For people who do not even have the FRS (or BRS) in their CPF accounts and wish to draw upon their CPF savings whenever they have a financial bottleneck, they need to do serious financial planning pronto.

Also, CPF LIFE is not a bank that doles out a paltry sum.

The comparison is again misleading.

Once your savings in a bank runs out, you are out but not with the CPF LIFE which pays you for life.





In reply to: "What use are better returns when one cannot enjoy them at will and perhaps will only be given to your nominee on your demise?"

It is precisely this type of thinking that leads to "Return Our CPF" rallies in Hong Lim Park.

Many people who supported the rallies had very little savings and yet they wanted to utilise their CPF (retirement) savings "to send children to study overseas", "to go on a holiday", "to go on a pilgrimage" etc.

The higher interest rates in our CPF-RA is to help us better fund our retirement and not to be depleted at a whim which is what many would do if given a choice.





See the latest comments in the following blogs:
1. Retirement funding assurance for average investors.
2. When to get a private annuity.
3. Food inflation in Singapore and Malaysia.
4. We do better at managing our savings than CPF does.

Related posts:
1. Crazy Rich Asians or Pragmatic Rich Asians?
2. Use CPF as a savings account.

Keeping in touch as I break from blogging.

I have not been blogging for 10 days and I have received several messages from readers regarding this.

I am sorry if I have caused some anxiety for some readers but don't worry, I am OK. Still alive and kicking.




Then, why have I not been blogging?

My blog will be 8 years old this Christmas Eve.

Yes, I have been blogging for almost 8 years.

Surprised? I am surprised too.

I know I enjoy writing and I enjoy sharing ideas to do with personal finance and investment.

However, looking back, I am still surprised by my blogging stamina.




Over the years, from time to time, for various reasons, I have also blogged about possibly retiring from blogging but I have always been able to bounce back pretty quickly from those moments.

What about now?

Well, I just felt like not blogging quite suddenly.

Is there another way to describe this?

Could I share the abrupt feeling through story telling?

What about this?

Suddenly, one morning not too many years ago, I was not able to read the papers as my vision was blurry and I realized that I needed reading glasses.



OK, not quite there but I think some might get the feeling of abruptness.

I am sure some of you might be able to do a better job of describing this feeling.

As for suddenly realizing that I needed reading glasses many years ago, it is a true experience.

People my age or older would know the feeling.

If you don't know what I am talking about, well, when you hit 40 (plus or minus a few years), you will.

You will get a reminder in the mail too because that is when our government tells you to consider getting Eldershield. ;p

Old age.

We can run from many things but not ageing.



So, am I really going to stop blogging this time?

To be honest, I don't know if this feeling is temporary. 

I don't know if I am only feeling a bit burnt out from blogging and that I need some time to recover or if this is a more permanent thing.

If I were to hazard a guess, I suspect it is temporary.

I am still checking my blogs for comments.

I still visit my Facebook page.

I still check my emails.

However, I might not be very prompt in my replies.

I still try to reply to the many messages and emails I get but if you don't hear from me, it could be because I have yet to read your email. 

I don't usually ignore emails from genuine readers.

So, if you wrote to me and did not hear from me for a prolonged period of time, chances are that your email did not reach me for some reason.



For those who want to keep hearing from me but are not following me on Facebook, go to my blog's left sidebar, find the Facebook link and follow me.

I have been updating older blog posts which I feel are still useful to share again on my Facebook wall.

So, you won't suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

Not to worry.

I don't think my time as a blogger has ended and I shall blog again. :)

Sharing of anti-government websites.

Please do not share anti-government websites on my FB page or blog, especially those which oppose policies with spurious arguments.

From time to time, I had to delete such links.

These websites do nothing but to encourage ignorance and fan the flames of negative sentiments.




I welcome discussion on topics such as the CPF but not when it is apparent to me that the other party is opposing for the sake of opposing and using arguments which appeal to the heart and not the mind.

I said this on my FB wall just now when a reader posted a link to an anti-government website:

"No sharing of links to anti-government websites on my FB wall, please.

"Especially not those that do not even understand that an annuity (like CPF Life) is one of the best ways for most people to fund their retirement in their golden years."




Many of such websites are just out to sensationalize issues. 

They are more interested in pandering to an unhappy group of people.

Why not make an effort to understand how to make the system work for us instead of being frustrated and unhappy?

Worse, why make other people frustrated and unhappy?




Or are they quite happy with having a frustrated and unhappy audience they can pander to?


Or do they have a motive for making people frustrated and unhappy?


I don't read rubbishy stuff posted on websites like "Zhun Bo Singapura", do you?

Alamak. Don't.




Related post:
Would you rather have it or not?

Care for physical and financial health. (New AK blog?)

Reader:
Sorry didn't msg u for awhile
I broke my arm
Hope u r doin well Shi fu

AK:
Please take calcium supplement and also Vitamin C. We need especially as we age.
Best is to take with Magnesium and Vitamin D included.
Also, take Omega 3 supplement if you don't take enough fish.
I take all these.





Reader:
Ok noted will ask my Wife
Now got go therapy
Damn pain

AK:
Also, taking Vit C will help in recovery.
500mg a day.
I told a friend to give his wife who went for operation.
His wife was in pain for a long time... and the vit c helped a lot in speeding her recovery.
And even after recovery, continue with Vit C for maintenance... Daily one pill... very impt for anti ageing and also reduces chances of getting cancer

Reader:
Wah

AK:
It is many times more potent than Vit E as an anti oxidant. People don't know how powerful Vit C is.



Reader:
U can set up nutrition blog Liao
If ppl dunno tink u work in pharmacy

AK:
haha... already thinking of stopping this blog. i lazy

Reader:
Cannot stop la
U r inspiration for many
Stil alot ppl haven wake up
Stil tink big car n house means Ho seh Liao
I see a few around me buy Rolex , AP etc
Few months salary gone like tat




AK:
aiyoh... not much i can do lah
they happy can liao 😜

Reader:
Ya now I don't talk le
Waste time waste effort
Haha

AK:
See? You also like that liao. LOL

Reader:
I go sleep first Shi Fu .. later working
U take care talk to u soon





AK says:
We must try to take better care of ourselves physically as we age. 

The body is not as resilient as before. 

All we can do is to slow down the deterioration.

Unlike our physical body, our financial body can actually become stronger as we age. 

How to do this?

Alamak... I forgot to ask. What is "AP" har?

Related posts:
1. Don't be the 1 in 9.
2. Average income workers can be rich.

HWZ says AK "self-victimise himself".

A friend read something in hardware zone and thought I would like to know. He had a good laugh and I had a good laugh. 

I am sharing it here so that maybe many more people would have a good laugh.




Now, read this with an open mind. There could be some truth in what the person says.

Oh, and this video clip is just for dramatic effect.



HWZ forumer, w1rbelw1nd:

I dont think very positively on local bloggers, frankly. Yes, most of them may be altruistic and do it out of interest and passion, but also because of doing it for interest they have a tendency to interact with people of the same mindset (a sinkie tendency, no doubt), rather than challenge their own thinking. 

Just take a look at ASSI facebook page.

Quite recently there was a reader commenting that he should share more on his failures and bad picks. 

ASSI immediately (IMO) self-victimise himself and say things like "yea maybe i should take a break from blogging, since my sharing has adverse impacts on readers" and lol all the ASSI white knights come in and comfort him. 

The point is, under an environment where like-minded people seek each other, and just parrot each other, can these bloggers give a truly learned, informed and balanced view? 
(Source: HWZ)





Well, it is the truth. What? True?

Yes, it is true that I am blogging because I enjoy it.

I am not blogging because I have to. 

I am blogging because I want to. 

So, I don't have to give in to the demands of the audience. I do what I like.

Remember, I am just talking to myself here in my blog. I don't give advice.




If you want to eavesdrop although I don't know why you want to, take whatever I say with a pinch of salt (unless you suffer from high blood pressure).

Alamak! Did I just give some medical advice? 

Die lah. How like that? I blur.

Related post
AK the teacher or the mental blogger?

Investing for income is a journey I do not regret.

Conversation #1

AK:
If you enjoy writing, you will enjoy blogging. It is really that simple. :)

People who start blogging because they think they can make money will (mostly) give up after a while... ;p


Reader:
Money will be the least consideration.




AK:
But it is time consuming... So, you have to think about that especially when you have many comments and also emails to reply to over time...

A good way for me to kill time ;p


Reader:
lol
in a way, u enjoy it?

AK:
Not as much as I used to... quite honestly




Reader:
becoming more of a chore?

AK:
i used to blog about anything i want
i happy i blog
these days, i self censor
also many readers... comments and emails...
i try to reply all...







Reader:
these days, even govt agency reads yr blog lol

AK:
when some commercial outfits write to me... offer to increase my readership, I told them "no, thank you"
i not doing this as a biz
i dun need
ya.... govt read also... say wrong stuff, go to chia thye poh old place... cham... scary
OK... i go take a nap liao

CONVERSATION #2

About: Scolded by wife...

I am thinking about taking a break from blogging and all its related activities.

So, don't be too concerned if you do not hear from me as regularly as before for the next few weeks (or months).




In the meantime, remember that as long as you are doing the right things, you are probably moving in the right direction.


If you believe in investing for income for a better future, it is important to believe in yourself first. 

Believe that you can do it and you will.





Believe that this is a journey worth going on, stay the course and you will surely be rewarded. 

Gambatte!


Related posts:
1. Make $1m by investing for income.
2. AK trying to be most popular blogger?

Following AK, Pokemon Go, Saizen REIT DPU 9.87c etc.

I decided quite a while back that I should restrict the amount of time I spend on blogging and its related activities. So, nothing more than 2 hours a day. I think that is a fairly generous amount of time to spend daily on a hobby.

I know people who are spending a lot more time on Pokémon Go now. That is not something I understand but we decide on how we would spend our time and must be comfortable with the consequences. The latter is something people think less about.

I am also spending more time with family, gardening, exercising, shopping, cooking, watching anime and k-drama. So, even in retirement, I am kept busy as there are many things which I am spending more time on.

Blogging is not a job and I hope it won't become a job because I might not enjoy it as much then.

Some might notice that I have more updates on my Facebook wall than in my blog these days. This is because Facebook is very convenient.

I know.

AK is terribly lazy.

Bad AK! Bad AK!

Whenever I do that, I also update the comments section of my blog here. So, for those who do not follow me on Facebook and would like to have more updates, following the comments section of my blog is something to consider.

Here is a recent email exchange with a reader on the subject:

Reader:

Hi AK
Saizen made an anoucement.  I read that we will be paid the residual sum
and Sime Derby
buying shares at about 3 cents.
I do not understand at all.
Like to understand how do you see this development and your plan of action.

Thanks for your help.
 

AK:
I am holding on to my investment to receive the payout. :)

The REIT will issue new shares to new investor and I get to stay on as an old investor.

 

Reader:
Hi AKThank You. Likely we have to pay for new the new shares. What
is the cost and the net gain for old investor.This is the area I am
not clear.Appreciate advise.
Regards

 

AK:
I shared this on my FB wall:

 R:
 "May I ask what is happening to Saizen? I've read the document
released today but still do not understand. wish you would talk to
yourself n explain in simple terms to us! Thanks!"

Assi AK:
 "We will be paid 9.87c a unit and still get to keep our investment in the REIT, it seems.
"The REIT will issue new units priced at 3.484c to new investors to  partially fund purchase of some Australian properties.
"Whether it is a good deal or not is hard to say at this moment but to  get paid and yet retain an investment that could possibly generate
income for me in future sounds good."

Reader:
Thanks AK.i do not go faceboik.Why do not you post it on your regular website.

 

AK:
I actually posted this in the comments section of my blog too.
You can follow the comments section of my blog for updates, if you like. I provide info on how to do this under "Following my blog" in the left side bar.
I don't always have the time or inclination to blog. So, the comments section or my Facebook wall are quick ways for me to do updates. :)

Related post:
Following comments in ASSI.

Who is AK? Really, who is he?

Added (17 Jan 17): 
I am sometimes surprised by the kind of things people say about AK especially when these are people who AK don't know and they don't know AK either. 

Yet, they are quick to judge and say some really terrible things without the slightest compunction. 

I am even more surprised when 有头有脸 (see translation here) people behave in the same way. 

Why the need to say anything so virulent about AK who is a mere blogger? I wonder.
-----------------------------




One of the things I care about a lot is my privacy. As my blog got a bit more popular recently, I got a bit more worried about how my privacy could be compromised as I have been asked before why I stay anonymous?

Yesterday, through conversations with two readers, this matter popped up again.

As there possibly could be similar conversations in future, I thought I should just share the conversations from yesterday. 

Then, I would have a blog for me to direct curious readers to in future.

So, this is a bit like a FAQ link, if you like. 

AK is lazy lah.





Chat 1:

M: Why u wan to put on a mask

AK: aiyoh... i always say it is so that people dunno who i am and won't borrow money from me, actually, there is a more serious reason

M: Oh

AK: you know i share a lot of very personal info in my blog de... I am able to feel comfortable doing that because i am anonymous

M: Yeah. I agree

Credit: Eu Jin Lee

Chat 2:

P: Hi there Assi Ak, I just started to follow you on fb, instead of troubling my friend J who is also your fb friend to give me an insight...is there a page or a blog page I can access to your bio...maybe?

AK: Access to my bio? I dun understand this. Do you mean to be my FB friend?

P: Not so much fb frens...More like, who you are, what you did before...? Cos urs is investing blogging...

AK: Oh, haha... I think you won't find any info like that. I am a hobbyist blogger and a very private person. You will find that most hobbyist bloggers in this niche are very private.

P: But, why are they asking you for opinions on investment? ....you are freddy

AK: Freddy? Ya, I also dunno why... -.-"

P: Freddy kreuger

AK: Yikes! That is from a horror movie, right? Don't scare me... -.-

P: Ya..cos u mask urself.. Ok...I will ask J, why he is following you. Otherwise, you are no different to those kopi tiam uncle.. lol
AK: Oh, I assure you that is a very good description except that I don't go to kopi tiams. I stay home mostly.






Privacy is important to me. 

It is important for me to say that I am comfortable doing what I do now because I am an anonymous blogger.

Related post:
My blog as a business?
"... anyone who has followed my blog for a while would know that, for me, blogging was something that happened not by design. I started this blog out of boredom and curiosity."