Win $1,000 cash with Marigold HL Milk!

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Find out more: Marigold HL Milk.

Tea with AK71: Vandals and selfish cyclists.

A few days ago, I was taking an evening walk after dinner and took these photos at an underpass:

Cyclists, get off your bicycles.

Vandals trying to be smart.

Shortly after, a motorised bicyle and three regular bicyles went by me. None of the cyclists got off their bikes as they went through the underpass. These people were being selfish and irresponsible.

The relevant authorities should do more than just put up signs (which are vandalised anyway).

Taken in one of the many public parks in Singapore on a pedestrian walkway. How many cyclists heed the advice?

This world would be a much better place if people all behave more responsibly and show more consideration for others. Is it too much to ask for? I wonder.

Related posts:
1. A moving bathtub and fridge.
2. McDonald's shows us how.

Win Eu Yan Sang goodie packs!

In 2002, Eu Yan Sang's first clinic at South Bridge Road opened.

Today, Eu Yan Sang has 21 clinics conveniently located island wide to offer a comprehensive range of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapies for your health and well-being.

In conjunction with 10 years of providing quality TCM healthcare, Eu Yan Sang is running a series of activities.

Find out how they have modernized TCM and you stand to win goodie packs at: Eu Yan Sang is 10!

Seven of my money habits.

This blog post is mainly inspired by a conversation with my mother on some of my habits. 

Recalling a popular book titled "Seven habits of highly effective people", I came up with "Seven money habits of AK's". ;p





Habit No. 1:
I never order canned or bottled drinks when dining out. 

Fresh food needs on site preparation but I can walk to a nearby supermarket to buy the same canned or bottled drink for a much lower price. 

Some might say it is convenient that we buy drinks from the eateries but the premium paid for this convenience is way too high. 

A can of Jia Jia herbal tea costs $0.60 in NTUC Fairprice but could cost $1.50 at a kopitiam! 

A can of Coke could cost $0.55 in NTUC Fairprice but could cost $4.00 (before taxes) in a restaurant!






Habit No. 2:
I always check my bills.

Huh? Can we really save money this way? 

You bet. 

I have lost count of the number of times I have been overcharged by pharmacies, supermarkets and restaurants. 

Very often, the larger bills are the ones we have to be more careful with as overcharging even a few dollars could be hard to spot. 

It is because of this habit that I have avoided being overcharged for many years now. 

Oh, check the receipt just outside the shop, not after getting home!






Habit No. 3
I always compare products on offer between shops.

For the same product, two shops which are side by side could have very different prices. 

Guardian and Watsons are very often found in close proximity to one another. 

Many times, I saved quite a bit of money comparing their prices before deciding who to buy from.






Habit No. 4
I never take for granted that buying more is definitely buying cheaper.

Many times, I stopped friends and family from buying bulk packed products as they actually cost more than buying loose! Huh? 

Of course, they cost more since we are buying more, you might say. 

No, no, that is not what I mean. 

I mean we should check to see how much is the per unit price in bulk packed offers. 

Don't assume that bulk packed products are always cheaper.






Habit No. 5
I always try to get discounts off my bills.

I always get a discount off my bills at Kopitiam and Food Junction. 

Yes, go get the discount cards if you have not done so. 

If I should be in an unfamiliar establishment, I would ask the service staff if they had discount agreements with credit card companies.

Habit No. 6
I never pay in cash.

Well, unless that is the only mode of payment acceptable. 

Often, I see people before me in a queue choosing to pay in cash. 

Some transactions were rather high in value too. 

Imagine the number of reward points they could have accumulated if they had used a credit card, if they had one, or the amount of cash they could have received in rebates!





Habit No. 7
I bring my own food to work.

I always bring some food prepared at home to work and I save quite a bit of money this way. 

Anyway, I enjoy oatmeal regularly and I don't think they sell oatmeal in the coffee shops or food courts.

If we work to increase our income and reduce our expenses, our financial health will improve over time. 






As the saying goes, it is easier to spend money than to make money.

So, if we just put in a little effort, we could be saving some money as we spend money. 

Sounds good, doesn't it?

When I was in primary school, the POSB bank squirrel came to us and taught us how by saving just a little every time, we could have a meaningful sum of money stashed away over time. :)

Related posts:
1. Save money with low prices and free shipping globally.
2. Money management: Needs and wants.
3. Queue for $1 parking fee redemption.
4. A common piece of advice on saving.
5. Inflation hits fried bee hoon.

Tea with AK71: Parting with an old friend.

Would you consider 15 years a relatively long time to be in a relationship? Personally, I think it is. It is longer than the duration of many marriages I know of.

After 15 years, I am finally parting ways with an old friend which has been showing visible signs of ageing. Beginning to fall apart, it still stayed by me, faithfully serving me while I reluctantly looked for a replacement in the past couple of months.

I must admit that it is really hard to find a fitting replacement as the candidates were either too big, too small, too complicated, too sexy, too fake, too simple or just didn't feel right. Finally, I found one that is just about right.

What am I talking about? My wallet, of course.

My old wallet was from Heritage, a company in West Germany. Yes, it was bought during a time when Germany was divided into East and West. I think it cost me a bit more than S$100.00 back then. I bought it when I got my very first pay cheque.



Visible signs of wear and tear as the stitching in the fold unravels.

The replacement wallet is apparently quite branded or so I was told by friends. Braun Buffel is a company in Germany (not West Germany) and this wallet costs me $109.00, after a discount. 

15 years on, it is still roughly the same price to get a good quality German leather wallet. No inflation! A miracle!

Even though it is very similar to my old wallet in design, I feel that my old wallet is still better. I guess I just need time to get used to the new one.

Related post:
Some of my stuff (Part 2)

Millionaire or not, plan for retirement.

Being a millionaire today is different from being a millionaire 30 or even 20 years ago. This is simply because a million dollars is worth less now due to inflation in the cost of goods and services. These days, even a HDB flat could cost a million dollars!




I cannot remember the person's name but in the latest issue of The Sunday Times an interviewee (a millionaire) says that he does not want to think of retiring when asked for his retirement plan. Why? People who have plans for retirement, he says, will not be as driven or gung-ho.

Conventional wisdom says that we start planning for retirement as soon as possible. Even a very good fisherman should plan for the day when he can no longer do any fishing.

Today, I received a newsletter with a few interesting facts:

1. Singaporean males live an average of 79 years and women live an average of 84 years. Living longer means we need more money.

2. Due primarily to inflation, current savings will be worth less in future. 30 years later, something that costs $3 today could cost as much as $13.70 with inflation at 5.2% per year.

3. Although 91% of Singaporeans find CPF a reliable tool for retirement planning, according to a retirement study in 2011, each year, fewer members meet CPF's Minimum Sum requirement.

4. Escalating medical costs are a big concern.

The newsletter is a sales tool for an insurance company but these four points which I have extracted are pertinent to us all. If we have not started planning for our old age, we should if we could.

Apart from working to make money and being financially prudent, we invest and grow our wealth, creating streams of passive income along the way. Our investment returns, year after year, should be higher than the inflation rate. This is only part of the equation, however.

I am a strong believer in having adequate insurance coverage for medical costs which are bound to be incurred as we age. Our financial health could take a severe hit if we do not have medical insurance as money meant for living expenses could be depleted by medical bills.

Many might have heard the sardonic remark that being sick is worse than being dead. This could indeed be the case especially if one did not have sufficient insurance coverage of the right kind.

Planning for retirement is definitely more than just having enough passive income to replace our earned income. 

Being able to retire is much more than working because we want to and not because we have to.

Knowing how to make money and building wealth is the first step. Knowing how to protect our wealth is the necessary second. 

Protecting our wealth will cost us some money but not protecting our wealth could cost us even more.

In case you are wondering, I am not an insurance agent and this is not an advertorial. If this blog post has alerted some who have yet to plan for retirement to put on their thinking caps, it would have achieved its purpose.

Related posts:
1. Young working Singaporeans, you are OK.
2. To protect our wealth, we have to take risk.
3. Roads to wealth creation in the stock market.
4. Wage slaves should be fearful.
5. CPF is a cornestone in retirement.

Save money with low prices!

I started buying stuff like books and health supplements online only recently. The convenience and savings, especially with a strong Singapore Dollar, help to make online shopping a growing phenomenon here.










You know those mega sales at the Singapore Expo by John Little or Harvey Norman? This reminds me of a mega sale except that we don't have to be in a crowded and noisy location, rummaging through baskets of bargains with everyone else and, then, joining a super long queue to make payment!

Happy shopping in the comfort of your own home!

Made and still making money from S-REITs.

In an environment of very low interest rates, S-REITs are logical beneficiaries and in more ways than one. Regular readers would have heard this many times already. Readers who are new to my blog might want to read some of my older blog posts on S-REITs and why they are expected to continue performing well.

When we invest in S-REITs, it is with a primary aim of receiving regular and meaningful income. I have also said that any capital gains would be a bonus.

The outperformance of S-REITs' unit prices has led some holders to wonder if they should divest. Well, as market wisdom goes, taking profit is never wrong. However, I would ask that these holders consider if they have better places to park their money. Remember, money will go to where it is treated best.

In economics, we learn about supply and demand and how prices are affected by the relationship between the two. S-REITs are seeing their unit prices rising strongly because more investors are now putting their money in S-REITs.

In the last two years, I have had readers from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Europe and the USA writing to me. The early movers into S-REITs are sitting on some very nice capital gains and receiving regular distributions with yields as high as 10+% in some cases. What's more? Their investments have seen forex gains as the Singapore Dollar continues to strengthen against their home currencies!

I kid you not when I tell you that these readers are all very much richer than I am and have made much more money by being in S-REITs although they came in somewhat later. I am happy with how well things have turned out for their investments in S-REITs.

When Pat (a cboxer in Bully the Bear) told me that I have a pool of funds, I told him I know well that what I have is merely a puddle. Having self-knowledge and knowing what I have achieved is humble, I am not fixated by how much I have versus how much others have. Of course, I am only human and it used to bother me when I was younger.

Instead, just like starting a business, we should have a model for wealth creation. Being fixated with how much wealth we have versus how much others have does nothing to grow our wealth.

For someone who is investing in the stock market for income, first, have a clear goal and that, to me, should be to create meaningful passive income streams which will fully replace our earned income. Pick out likely candidates and do the due diligence to decide on the ones which are likely to help us achieve our goals.

Next, have discipline. Stay the course. Yes, stick to the plan. If circumstances have not changed, why deviate from a good plan? However, what if they did change? Then, ask why was our plan a good plan. If the reasons for the plan being good no longer exist, it is time for a change, isn't it?

Maybank Kim Eng, 28 Sep 12: Year-to-date, we have seen many pension, insurance and income funds switching into REITs to pursue higher returns for the sheer fact that the yield-curve is almost flat.  This is further aggravated by the almost "zero-bound yields" which meant that yields have no more room to fall, erasing any prospects of fixed income capital gains for investors. In the quest for returns, many such funds had to turn to slightly riskier asset classes such as REITs for stable recurring distributions.  We believe that with the latest round of QE3 Infinity, ECB’s unlimited bond-purchase program and BoJ’s yen-asset-purchase program, coupled with the low interest rate environment and a yield-spread of 440 bps over the 10-year government bond with low earnings risk, would warrant further yield compression of 56-73bps, translating to 11%-14% upside for the S-REITs sector. Link: here.

Now, is investing in S-REITs still a good plan?

Related posts:
1. Investing in REITs: A flawed strategy?
2. Staying positive on S-REITs.
3. Mr. Market is always right.

Ad for charity: Help disadvantaged kids with MILK.
It costs us nothing. Just follow this link:
LIKE Marigold's facebook and help a child.

Tea with AK71: Ipoh Hor Fun (Holland Village).

Some time ago, I blogged about a higher purpose in having passive income in our lives which, to me, is to be able to spend more quality time with family as we spend less time at work. Of course, being able to spend money more freely is a nice feeling too.

Since moving back to stay with my family, I have been spending more time with my family, especially my mother. We would go and exercise in the gym and attend yoga classes together. We talk a lot more too, which can be good and bad (and this is the honest truth).

Today, we were supposed to go to the gym but I asked if she would like to skip gym and go for Ipoh Hor Fun in Holland Village instead. Since both of us are naturally lazy, I didn't have to do any persuading for her to agree to it.

Ipoh Hor Fun with vegetable, fried wanton and char siew. $4.50.

Ipoh Hor Fun with vegetable, fried wanton and char siew in curry. $4.50.

Dumpling soup. $5.00.

Inexpensive. :)

Burp.

Related post:
Passive income: A higher purpose.

Marco Polo Marine: Accumulation mode.

On 19 June, I blogged about Marco Polo Marine's persistent insider buying activity. I initiated a long position and I have been updating that blog post in the comments section. The latest update happened yesterday.

Today, I added to my long position as its share price retraced to 34c a share.

Technically, we see the Bollinger Bands narrowing on the weekly chart. Expecting a big move in share price in the coming weeks. With the MACD forming higher lows on the weekly chart, momentum is improving as sentiments towards the company turned positive. The OBV bears this out as it shows accumulation taking place over the longer term.

Immediate support is at 33.5c while immediate resistance is at 35.5c a share.

Some might wonder why I look at the weekly chart here instead of the daily chart. I do this because I am interested in holding on to my investment in Marco Polo Marine for a longer period of time and the weekly chart shows me the longer term probabilities.

I would buy more on further weakness in its share price, everything remaining constant.

Related post:
Marco Polo Marine: Persistent insider buying.

Tea with AK71: Home made sandwich!

My last blog post on what I had for lunch was a cause of concern for some readers. I have to say that I don't eat instant noodles all the time and I apologise if I have given anyone the wrong impression. I am happy to note, however, that so many readers of ASSI are into healthy eating.

So, what am I having today for lunch? A home made sandwich.

Ingredients:
1. Wholemeal bread
2. Tuna flakes
3. Lettuce
4. Cheese

Yummy!

This is probably the least expensive and yummiest wholemeal bread I have come across. Available at all Cold Storage and Shop N Save supermarkets. It is their house brand.

NTUC Fairprice's house brand wholemeal bread is cheaper, if I remember correctly, but it is a bit dry and not as tasty. Of course, taste is a very personal thing.

Related post:
Breakfast and lunch for 96c.

Advertisement:

Readers who are interested in learning Korean could find this special offer interesting.

Find out how you could enjoy Introductory Korean I course at $39.90 instead of $180.

Follow this link to: Hankuk Centre.

Help disadvantaged kids with MILK.

I remember how when I was in primary school, we were made to drink a packet of milk a week by the school. My favourite was the green color one: banana flavour! I was very fortunate. There are those who are less so.

Marigold HL Milk believes that milk shouldn't be a luxury but a necessity for every child to grow into a healthy adult. The underprivileged shouldn't be undernourished.

Marigold HL MILK has committed to donating 10,000 packs of milk to MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund which reaches out to disadvantaged children and youth in Singapore and overseas.

You can help! How?

Simply LIKE Marigold's facebook and Marigold will donate an additional pack of milk for every LIKE received!

Follow this link:
LIKE Marigold's facebook and help a child.

Thank you!

About MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund:
Registered in June 2004, MILK reaches out to disadvantaged children and youth, both in Singapore and overseas, in the hope of developing them into contributing members of society. These children and youth come from troubled or low-income families and impoverished communities, and are often caught in a downward cycle that their circumstances destine them to. MILK supports them in their education, care and guidance, vocational and livelihood development, or other special needs so as to help them break out of the disadvantaged circumstances they were born into.