T-bill? DBS, OCBC and UOB crashed? When to buy?

I produced a YouTube video yesterday after someone alerted me to buy some bank stocks.

I thought the stock market had crashed.

Did not look at stocks for 2 weeks prior to the alert with all that has been going on in my life.

Anyway, if you have not seen the video, here it is:

It isn't a crash.

A steep correction but not a crash.

This blog post is more a reminder to myself what to do next because I am aware that apathy towards financial matters has set in for me.

If I don't put this down in writing, I might just let inaction take over.

1. Bank stocks.

I have said that it is a good idea to invest in our local banks because they are well run and well capitalized.

They have the ability to pay good dividends.

More importantly, they are willing to do so.

Further decline in their stock prices would be an opportunity to add to my positions.

For DBS, I am looking at $32.50 and $30.00 to add.

For UOB, I am looking at $28.00 to add.

For OCBC, I am looking at $13.00 to add.

I am already substantially invested in all three banks.

So, I will add slowly in case the unthinkable happens and prices go farther south.

2. T-bill ladder.

I will continue to maintain the ladder although the cut off yield has declined to 3.4% p.a. in the last auction.

3.4% p.a. is only slightly higher than the 3.3% p.a. I can get from a 6 months FD.

However, T-bills are backed by our government.

I don't have to worry about exceeding $100K in value.

SDIC. Remember?

The adjustment I have to make is when it comes to using CPF OA money.

Instead of placing competitive bids at 3.5%, I will be lowering it to 3.4%.

If the cut-off yield comes in lower than 3.4%, I will simply leave the money in the CPF OA.

The break even yield, if I remember correctly is 3.33%, in case we lose 2 additional months of CPF OA interest.

Nothing else for now.

Bad things happen.

One thing I have blogged about on and off over the years is how things could go wrong.

Bad things happen.

Very often, they happen without warning.

In my last YouTube video, I said that I was making trips to the hospital.

The month of July has turned out to be much busier than I had planned.

I have been so busy dealing with stuff that I have not had much time for gaming, which was the reason for a planned busier month of July initially.

It has affected me physically, mentally and emotionally.

So, apologies for the silence.

I don't intend to share the details of what has happened but I hope readers and viewers understand bad things do happen to us from time to time.

Some things are worse than others.

Anyway, just to touch base to say I am still around although not feeling 100%.

Just have to roll with the punches and deal with it.

In point form, here are things I am doing and thinking of, for those who might be interested.

1. Making multiple trips to the hospital.

4 to 5 days a week. 

This takes up several hours per visit including driving time.

I was caught in a jam one day which resulted in spending 1 hour in the car, driving one way.

I was exhausted.

Very uncomfortable but necessary.

In case readers are wondering, my dad is in a hospital that's close to my family home but far from my place.

2. Cost could mount.

Medishield Life covers a big chunk of expenses.

However, there would still be out of pocket expenses.

Some will be significant especially those involving long term care.

My mom has Incomeshield but my dad doesn't.

3. Buying another car.

I was thinking of not getting another car once my current car's COE expires.

Too expensive and I don't really need a car for my lifestyle.

However, this unfortunate event has made me reconsider.

Need a car to ferry my parents.

I could extend the COE of my car by 5 years.

Then, I decided I should get a car which is friendlier to old people.

Getting in and out of my current car has become challenging for my parents.

It is likely to become more challenging in time to come.

So, I must set aside $200K for this.

I know that is a lot of money.

Unfortunately, that's how much an average family car costs in Singapore these days.

I will wait and see how things go since my current car still has more than a year left to go.

4. Long term change to my lifestyle.

Depending on how thing go, the lifestyle I have been enjoying in the last 8 years could change.

It could change drastically.

My hobbies, including blogging and YouTube, would have to take a backseat.

5. Personal health.

My personal health has been going downhill.

That is to be expected with age.

I have been experiencing pain in my left arm.

Persistent pain.

I was given muscle relaxant but it didn't help.

Will be seeing the doctor before end of the month.

6. Not sleeping well.

I have always had trouble getting enough sleep.

Monkey brain.

Everything has resulted in worsening this problem.

This has made me very irritable.

7. Social interaction.

I have lost interest in interacting with people.

I mean I have always been reclusive and prefer my own company.

However, through blogging and making YouTube videos, I have been having a higher level of social interaction.

I am wary of this loss of interest because it is one of the signs of depression.

I am not there yet since I am OK enough to blog about my current situation.

To be honest, I didn't feel like blogging.

Then, why did I decide to do it?

Writing has always helped me to organize my thoughts and to make sense of my emotions.

Writing is therapeutic for me.

Since I was going to do some writing anyway, I might as well do it in my blog.

Fair warning.

I appreciate people showing concern.

However, please do not be offended if I do not reply to your comments.

Not immediately or in the near future, anyway.

Crossing fingers that things get better.

If they do, I will be back.