Goh Eng Yeow's anguish over his paper losses etc.

AK is an accredited kay poh and is always looking around. 

If we train ourselves to be more observant and to be more aware of our environment, we might learn something or find something which might benefit us now or in the future (either by participating or avoiding). As investors, it could be a good idea to be a kay poh.

Today, I visited a mall that I have a stake in through my investment in a listed company. I saw a good crowd in the late morning and that made me happy. Did I hear SPH?

I bought myself a curry puff at an Old Chang Kee kiosk and I had to queue. A lady in front of me bought all the fried chicken wings available despite a recent price increase of 10c per wing. I had to wait quite a while for my turn but I was happy.

I went to a bank to place a fixed deposit and I saw that they had an air purifier. So, I chose the seat that was the closest to the machine while waiting to be served. A bit noisier but the air was probably better. 

Alamak, AK is so kiasu and kiasi. Yah lor. Regular readers know that I have two air purifiers at home and that they are on almost 24 hours a day. It is always good to be prepared. Prevention is better than cure, isn't it?

This leads me to another idea about how we should always be prepared, whether we are investors or not. I have a friend who was looking high and low for an air purifier when the haze was at its worst recently. 

Despite my advice a few years ago that he should get an air purifier for his home, my friend didn't get one. He said the haze wasn't that bad. This time round, his parents developed respiratory issues due to the haze.

As investors, we probably get the best deals when the market is not interested. When everyone is interested in buying a stock, it is hard to get a good deal. Well, when everyone was interested in getting an air purifier, it became harder to get our hands on one. Same, same but different.

So, since the haze is an annual event, why not be prepared for it? If only price movement in the stock market is just as predictable.

As investors, we want to be prepared too. We want to make sure we have a war chest ready and that we have a shopping list ready. We don't know if a crash is going to happen but if it should happen, we should know what to do and make fast decisions. 

We must be prepared to seize opportunities or be prepared to lose out on opportunities.

While waiting for my turn at the bank, I read an article by Goh Eng Yeow in the papers and I would like to highlight these few paragraphs:

As investors for income, if we have invested in good companies, even badly timed entries should eventually turn out well. 

The fluctuations in prices should not affect us much if we have been eating bread with ink slowly (see related post no. 3).

So, how's your Sunday? 

Told you AK is kaypoh. ;p

Related posts:
1. Protect ourselves from the haze.
2. Tea with Solace: Common sense investing.
3. How to have peace of mind as investors?
4. Feeling depressed about paper losses?

Without CI coverage, could we become a burden?

If we have a good H&S policy, why do we still have to get coverage against critical illnesses (CI)?

Well, if we should die quite quickly from these critical illnesses, then, that is the end of story for us.

What if we did not die and were left weakened? What if we were unable to work or if we should wish to seek alternative treatment? Could we become a burden to our family?

Having said this, depending on our circumstances, we might not need CI coverage for life. OK, some might still want it but that is something else.





Here is a recent conversation with a reader:

Reader:
My insurance agent told me he has max up his critical illness (CI) coverage in his whole life policy as he claimed we need money to cover sickness after 70 years old...

I told him hopefully I will be managing my finance so well that I should have at least 300K by then :) and shall I detect with sickness and I may just managed to stay for another 10 years.

Do you mind to develop a bit why you persuade your father to give up his whole life ? Don't you worry they may need the money if they are sick, especially during the golden year?

AK:
We buy insurance because we need to transfer risk. At 70, what kind of risk should my dad be transferring?

My dad has Medishield which will be upgraded to Medishield Life by end of the year, hopefully. So, he has H&S coverage and, really, that is all he needs.

In retirement, we should have developed some form of retirement funding so that we have regular income without having to work.

If we still needed CI coverage at 70 or older, I can only assume that it would be because we could not afford to stop working and still needed an earned income. That is depressing.






Buy what we need and not what the insurance agent wants us to buy.

Related posts:
1. Getting covered against critical illnesses.
2. Retiring before 60 is not a dream.
3. Consider terminating whole life insurance.

UOB, Prudential and what is financially manageable?

As investors, we recognise that we could make investment mistakes. So, it is important to size our positions appropriately so that if an investment turned out to be a mistake, it would not sink our entire portfolio.

It is partly about making losses financially manageable. So, what is financially manageable?

Well, a more prudent way of interpreting whether something is financially manageable is in terms of cash flow. I know we could also interpret whether something is financially manageable by how much we have in savings.

Well, it is nice to have more assets (and cash is an asset) than liabilities but if we should be in a situation that requires us to draw upon our assets to fund commitments, then, we could find ourselves in trouble in future.

So, before we commit to anything financial, ask if our cash flow is adequate and not just whether we have enough savings to see us through especially if it is going to be a long term commitment that is quite demanding.

What led me to say all these?

A couple of readers sent me a link to this article:
Admin executive paid yearly insurance premiums higher than annual pay.

A 57 year old Mdm. Han bought a Prudential endowment policy from UOB a couple of years ago. She now discovers that the maturity benefit is not 100% guaranteed. She might get a sum that is actually lower than the total premiums she would have paid at maturity.

Pertinent question:
How did she get the impression that the maturity benefit is 100% guaranteed?

It also baffles me why she would commit to a $40,000 annual premium when her salary is about $30,000 a year. She might have been persuaded by the free air-fryer and steamer.

Pertinent question:
Was a thorough fact finding session conducted with Mdm. Han or was someone just in a hurry to sell a policy with a fat annual premium?


I don't have the answers to these questions, of course, but these questions aside, if Mdm. Han had asked the important question "Is this financially manageable?" and knew how to answer the question, she would have avoided such a situation.

Please note that I am not even talking about whether the insurance product is suitable for Mdm. Han. That is another topic altogether.

Related posts:
1. Misled into earning 6.3% interest in 4 years?
2. 6 point response to an expensive lesson.
3. A true story about life insurance and grapes.

Save money and time with a simple meal.

I am a big fan of the microwave oven. A big time saver, it can be used to prepare all sorts of food. I even use it as a steamer.

Today, the ingredients that went into my lunch were:

1. Cauliflower
2. Tofu
3. Extra virgin olive oil
4. Black pepper
5. Garlic salt

We could buy a big head of cauliflower for very little money. For a bit more than $2.00, there is probably enough for 4 servings here:

Tofu, unfortunately, is sold in boxes of 300 gm each and I only used half a box for lunch. I usually pan fry the rest to be eaten later in the day.

Wash the cauliflower and, then, put them in a microwave oven safe container with the tofu. The tofu provides the moisture required to steam the vegetable. Close the container and leave it in the microwave oven on high for 8 minutes or so.

Before.

After.
The cauliflower looks moist and the tofu shrunken.

Be careful in handling the food as it is steaming hot. Transfer onto a plate and add extra virgin olive oil, black pepper and garlic salt. 

There, we are done.

Oh, I had a banana and an apple too. I like to eat spotty bananas because they are less likely to give me gas.

Total cost of the dish? Less than $1, probably. 

The fruits probably cost just as much.

This is one ideal dish for people who are looking to cut down on carbohydrates and meat in their diet. 

For people who say that they would like to save money by cutting down on dining out but think that it is too time consuming to cook at home, this didn't take me much time at all.

Ah, in case you are wondering:

The rest of the tofu. Pan fried with just a bit of butter.

Bon appetit.

Related post:
Suddenly, financial freedom looks less remote.
"Regular readers know that my journey towards financial freedom is anchored upon a philosophy and that philosophy is apparent in my daily life."