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.
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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."

Save ($18,000) and have better H&S insurance for parents?

I had a conversation with a friend recently on why he should get the best H&S plan he could afford for his parents:







AK: I think you can easily afford the premium.

F: OMG! It is more than $5,000 a year for the two of them.

AK: Well, you make $120,000 a year. That is like 4% of your annual income. That is not too much to pay for peace of mind.

F: That is a lot of money to me.

AK: For most middle class families, that is a lot of money, not just to you.

F: It would mean some serious cutting back of expenses.

AK: It shouldn't be that difficult. Maybe, instead of spending $10,000 on that annual family vacation, keep to a budget of $5,000 instead. Thailand is really a nice vacation destination.

F: Let me discuss this with my wife.

AK: Well, tell her that insurance premium is something you can budget for. If your parents should be warded in a private hospital for some reason, you might get a shocker of a bill when you see how little Medishield's share of the bill actually is.

F: How much is it?

AK: From experience? Less than 10%. Imagine a bill of $15,000 and Medishield pays only $1,000, for example.

F: That little?

AK: Yup. I am not saying that your parents will stay in private hospitals but I am just saying that it could happen.

F: Yes, of course...

AK: These things are hard to predict and if they should happen, we want to be prepared. That is where a good H&S comes in. At least, with insurance premiums, you know how much money you have to set aside each year. Like I said, it is about having peace of mind.

F: You are right. We can include the insurance premiums in our household budget more easily than anticipating a bomb of a hospital bill... I need to discuss this with my wife...

This friend of mine stays in a condominium and has a big mortgage to service. He also drives a European make MPV.

I understand that, like many other middle class families in Singapore, the children also go for myriad enrichment classes.

An annual holiday at the end of the year is also a must for the family.

So, I can quite understand why he thinks that having to pay more than $5,000 in insurance premium a year for his parents is a big financial burden although his salary is definitely way above average.

There are many things in life which will compete for our limited financial resources.

However, when we think rationally, we would be able to tell which of these items should really have priority in our lives.

Related to this, I shared in another blog post how a reader in his 40s made some changes in his lifestyle. In making the changes, he managed to save an additional $18,000 a year. That is quite a bit of money to any middle class family. (See related post number 2 below.)

This blog's title has $18,000 in brackets. This is because all our circumstances are different. The extent to which we are willing to cut back on expenses will also be different.

Some might be able to save more than others, whether it is a matter of will or ability. It is about conserving financial resources and diverting them to the things that really matter more.







I believe that if my friend is able to make some adjustments in his lifestyle, he would have enough savings to pay for the higher H&S insurance premium for his old folks at home. I feel that it is the prudent thing to do.

If you are like my friend, this might have provided you with some food for thought.

Related posts:
1. Enhanced Incomeshield for my mom.
2. How to have a comfortable retirement?
3. How to have children and retire comfortably?