Impressive passive income but are you lying, AK?

This is not the first time I have received an email like this but it has been quite a while. 

This one is actually pretty friendly:

"I know about your blog from a forum... Very impressive passive income... there are people who say you are just making things up... you did not show your CDP statement... can you show?"

My short answer is "no".

Now, my long answer.




Why should I have to prove anything? 

I am not selling some investment courses that charge thousands of dollars per pax, am I?

While we are on that point, how many investment gurus who do sell such courses show people their portfolios in detail, backing each of their claims with audited documentary proof?

Hey, I am just a blogger. 

OK, I am a bit mental. 

So, I talk to myself and probably a bit too much.




People can eavesdrop if they want to. 

I cannot stop them from doing so.

After eavesdropping, they can walk off and say that AK is mental. 

It's OK. 

AK doesn't mind (since AK is supposed to have lost his mind).

Alamak, what are these? 

Can eat or not?

Must throw away many times a year.




Why do they keep sending these things to me? 

Must be mental.

I said many times before that what is more important is my philosophy towards wealth building. 

People who are more concerned with the veracity of my investments and passive income have missed the point big time.

Why don't these people give it a chance and try to create more meaningful passive income for themselves? 

Why do they choose to believe I am lying thereby denying an achievement that could possibly be theirs too?




Do they have to give money to AK until their hearts are broken? 

Do they have to sell their flats to give money to AK? 

Hmmm. Sounds like an idea. 

Maybe, I could day dream a little. 





Yes, I know. 

Bad AK! Bad AK!

I am quite sure that the proof of the pudding is in the eating and not the asking.




The love of money is the root of all evil or so the Church says.

How much money did you donate to AK?

Did you sell your flat to give $20K to AK?





Related posts:
1. What is AK's way of investing?
2. Don't thank AK. Thank yourself.

Why lazy people "want" to continue working?

(I salute Tan Hock and Wilson Poh.)




An exchange with another blogger.

Fellow blogger says:
Just thought I'd share this since many investment bloggers (whose plans, like mine and yours) are to live off investments;

Not sure if it's because a significant number do not understand the trade-offs involved nor the aspirations of passive investors, but it is a poorly conceived notion that living off savings/investment is a "bad" idea for the economy because of the loss in productivity. 

Perhaps many just refuse to learn how to live without the need to wake up for work everyday. 

It would not surprise me if a poll showed that this group only believes that a stable job and income is the way to pay bills (racked up by buying things they do not need). 

Maybe they should try living for years bringing their own lunch to work and working multiple jobs just to achieve that of early retirement. 

But then again, these people are likely just "too lazy" to think of making the change huh?

AK:
I know I am a lazy guy. 

So, I did what I did. 

If they are lazy too, they want to think about change. 

All of us have choices in life. 






I chose to try for financial freedom and as soon as possible because I didn't want to continue working because I had to. 

For people who like working, achieving financial freedom early will give them the option of working because they want to.

I cannot see why it is bad to have options in life and I know you agree. :)








Related posts:
1. Financially free and ashamed.
2. Work because you want to...
3. How did AK achieve financial freedom?

How AK uses his SRS money and why?

Do you have to work beyond retirement age?

"Who is going to pay? Take responsibility."





For anyone who pays quite a bit of income tax, I always suggest starting a SRS account. 

See related post #1.

Since the inception of the SRS, I contributed the maximum allowed annually. 

I won't be doing it anymore since I no longer have an earned income and would not have to pay income tax. 

See related post #2.







Since I have been maxing out my SRS account annually, I must have quite a bit of money saved up. 

What do I do with all the money in my SRS account?

Some of the money in my SRS account is invested in stocks like DBS, SATS and ST Engineering. 

Why these? 

With SRS money, I am always careful to invest only in companies which are unlikely to have a rights issue. 

So, these are companies with relatively strong balance sheets. 

See related post #3.






Although this might surprise some readers, I also placed some of my SRS money in endowment funds. 

I would choose single premium endowment funds with acceptable guaranteed returns. 

I would brush off those with very high projected returns but low guaranteed returns.

More than 10 years ago, it was easy to find endowment funds which guaranteed as much as 4% return per annum. 

I also liked NTUC Income's Growth Plan and plonked down a low end 5 figure sum 10 years ago. 

Looking at the surrender value today, it has been compounding at more than 3.2% per annum. 

Not bad for an insurance cum savings product.







SRS money is money meant to supplement our CPF savings. 

It is to help with retirement adequacy. 

Hence, the name Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS). 

So, I have always been less adventurous with my SRS money. 

Together with my CPF money, they form my safety net in retirement.






Regular readers know that I suggest Eating Bread With Ink Slowly. 

The "S" in "slowly" stands for sizing, position sizing.  

See related post #4.

Many might not have realised this but it is probably because I have a big safety net in my investment portfolio which is made up of bond like elements (i.e. my CPF and SRS savings) that I can be more "aggressive" when I size my positions.






Swinging on the investment trapeze, if I should fall, I know I won't hit the floor. 

It is about having peace of mind as an investor.

As usual, I am just talking to myself. 

If you have picked up something useful from eavesdropping, lucky you. 






Finders, keepers.

Related posts:
1. SRS: A brief analysis.
2. I paid myself $12,750.
3. SRS and rights issues.
4. Eat bread with ink slowly.