Financial security in Singapore plain and simple.

Singapore retrenchment: Will Malaysia share the same fate?






Reader:

I found your blog over the past week, and I have been looking your posts when I have the time.  

I don’t want to be a slave to my job when I am in my late 40s or 50s. 

I know that being an average salaried employee, it is quite difficult to ever be financially free.

Some facts about me:

• Working since 2013, earning $5.7k a month
• 
  
• Save about $900/month in cash
• 
  
• Invest $300/month in STI ETF (I read blogs for beginner investors that said STI ETF as a low risk, simple, long term investment that seemed to be ideal for young investors without much capital)

I have just bought a 3 room BTO for my mom and myself. 

Hence, I have emptied out my OA for house payment and spent my cash savings for renovation. 

In a way, I am starting over from scratch again, with $0 in CPF OA and very little in cash savings.

I understand that since my loan interest rate is much higher than the OA interest rate of 2.5%, I should look to repay the loan as soon as possible (assuming I don't re-finance with a bank loan).
(Parts of the email omitted.)

For only $300, you gain instant diversification.

AK:
What you do depends on what you want to achieve but what you do should also depend on the resources available and your ability to stomach volatility and some risk.

Investing through an STI ETF is good for someone who does not have the inclination nor time to research into specific stocks. 

It is a long term strategy that should yield decent results over a 20 to 30 years period. 

This is your exposure to the local stock market.
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2013/07/tea-with-matthew-seah-posb-invest-saver.html







You can think of the CPF as your exposure to an investment grade sovereign bond. 

In this respect, you might want to use less of your CPF money for housing loan repayment and use more cash instead. 

This will give you better returns than leaving your savings in the bank right away. 

Remember, this is a long term savings tool and you won't be able to access the money till you are 55 and, later, 65.
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2015/11/retire-with-investment-grade-bond-and.html







Of course, please ensure that you have an emergency fund first. 

How big should it be? Read this:
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2015/05/how-much-should-we-have-in-our.html

Also, you want to be adequately insured because you have to take care of your mom. 

I would suggest buying a term life insurance for yourself.
http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2014/09/term-life-insurance-why-buy-term-how.html







We don't need some magic formula or complicated strategies to be more financially secure in Singapore.

Of course, if you decide to become an active investor or trader, you could make more money but you should know if you have the temperament for this. 

That is all I will say. :)







Related post:
Taking steps towards financial security.

See: PMET took a 30% pay cut but thankful.

5 reasons why PMET who took 30% pay cut is thankful (UPDATED).

This is an email from a 37 year old PMET, sharing his experience and thoughts on getting a pay cut:

Reader says...

I recently took up a job offer that pay me 30% less than my previous employment.

I had to look for a new job as my current job is in the oil and gas industry and the office in Singapore might be closing soon.

The new job is much more stable and in view of slower growth in Singapore going forward and me hitting 37, I decided to settle for this job. 

So many stories of PMET with no job I am worried.






Retrenchment On The Rise.

From here, finally I realize and understand what you say in your various blogs. 

Let me highlight a few:

1) My job in the oil and gas sector pays me well. I admit that they are over paying me for what I am doing currently. Hence, I have enjoyed the good years and looking back no regrets.

See:
Find a job that pays you at least what you are worth or better if more. 





2) However, as I have more than 6 months of emergency funds, I was quite relax about this and could take my time to look for a job. 

Just to share, I started looking actively for a new job for 4 months and I only have 2 interviews so far. 

This tell me the economy is not good. 

I realized the prudent habit of myself finally was useful here.

See:
Taking a 30% pay cut is a lot but... 






3) I think you mention before in your blog that even if you don't invest but live prudently, you will not be in a too bad shape if something drastic happens. 

If I no emergency funds then I sure stress. No peace of mind!

See:
Attributes of a wealthy peasant.

4) I have no debt or loans to pay. This gives me peace of mind too.


See:
Becoming richer!






5) I have dividend income from my stocks & REITS. Income investing is important.

With the pay cut, I definitely need to watch my expenses even more but this will not kill me. 

I cannot imagine if I have over stretch my finances what is going to happen to me?

I just like to share and hopefully people will be aware and be more vigilant on their finances.

Lastly thank you for your blog and I have learn so much from you.

See:
Best insurance in life!





Related post:
Holistic approach to a secure future.

Strategies and suggestions for consistent profit.

I approved this friend request on FB and I thought it should be pretty safe since 28 of my FB friends are his friends. So, what happened?

JG:
Hi sir
Thanks for accepting my request 🙂
seems like we have some similar interest
like investing and trading
do you trade in sgx stocks?

AK:
I don't trade much anymore.

JG:
ok
I am from a research expertise firm
we provide trading strategies and suggestions for consistent profit.
would you like to see those strategies?

AK:
nope

JG:
may I know your concern please?

Alamak. Could anyone consistently profit as an investor? Always right and never wrong? Better block.

Related post:
180% to 216% returns annually!

Buying properties with short remaining land leases.

Reader:
I was looking to buy a shoebox condo until I read your blog. 

I turned 35 recently and will try to get my own BTO 2 rm HDB flat. 

This will help me achieve financial freedom earlier. :)


However, a friend (same age) just bought a 40 yro HDB flat. 

He didn't think age was important but I told him about the lease decay issue. 

He cannot sell the flat right away because of the MOP. 

Do you have any thoughts on this?




AK:
I will share what I feel are situations when it might make sense to buy properties with relatively short remaining land leases.

1. If we are making it a home with no intention of reselling or leaving a legacy, make sure that the remaining lease is enough to last us till we are 90 years old. 

People are living longer and we are expected to live till almost 90 these days. 




In fact, to be safe, let's make it 95 years old. 

So, if your friend is 35 and bought a resale flat that has 60 years left to the lease, that is not too bad. 

Well, let us hope he doesn't live to be a hundred. 

Alamak. Bad AK! Bad AK!





2. If we are buying a property with a relatively short remaining land lease as an investment, the rental yield should be far higher than a property that has a longer remaining land lease or is sitting on freehold land.

So, if a property has 50 years left to the lease, it should, simplistically, have a rental yield that is way higher than that of a comparable property with a 100 years left to the lease. 

Otherwise, everything else being equal, it would mean offering a significantly lower price for the property with a shorter remaining land lease.





(There is lesser room for error buying a property with a much shorter remaining land lease. A one year vacancy for a property with a 50 year land lease is 2% of its productive life gone while it is 1% for a property with a 99 year land lease.)

Of course, point number 2 should be relevant to someone considering point number 1 as well. 

It will help to ground us in our decision making process and, hopefully, not pay ridiculously high prices for properties.






Guide for Resale Flat Sellers and Buyers.
Related post:
Buy 99 years LH or FH properties?