"Husband lost his job and my savings is zero."

Reader said:

I just recently read your blog but i really enjoy reading them. 

Hard truth with humor.






I am 35 and a mother of 2, and I am so embarrassed to said that I have no war chest, emergency funds at all. 

All I have is debt that I have to pay for another 7 years for the whole family etc.





Me and my hubby are not prudent in money and sad to say we always quarrel because of this especially when my hubby was asked to leave his good paying job.

I have to dig my own money to pay with a lot of stuff and seeing my account set back to zero really angers me.





I only came across investing few months ago and bought penny shares for 1 lot or half a lot. 

And also start to buy some blue chips shares and gold accumulation plan for $100 per month.

Oh, I have to admit I like shopping on Taobao and will spend few hundreds to buy things for myself and kids.

As much as I am aware my own problems but I really need someone like you to guide me in managing my financial better.








AK said:

Welcome to my blog. :)

Since you know my blog is about hard truths, I have more for you here:

1. You need an emergency fund. 

You shouldn't be investing in stocks and putting money in gold if you do not have an emergency fund. 

Read related post #1.





2. Review your expenses and see if you are able to cut back on expenses. 

I am sure Taobao can be Taotai (For non-Chinese reader, this is Chinese for "abandon"). 

Ask yourself a few questions. 

Read related post #2.





3. After your personal balance sheet has strengthened, then, think about investing. 

Be careful to differentiate between investing and speculating. 

Read related post #3.





Remember, no one cares more about our money than we do. 

If we don't care, no one will. 

Take care and do it properly. :)





Related posts:
1. Emergency fund.
2. 7 pertinent questions.
3. Investment philosophy.

Is investing in REITs right for you? (Rights issues hit 56 year old investor.)

Reader said...

I am 56 and I started investing last year. 

I invested heavily in reits because of the higher yields and belief that they will fund my retirement.

However, I have been hit by a string of rights issues including the recent one from cache logistics. 

I don't have much spare cash and I am not prepared for these.





Now, I wonder if I made a mistake in using my cpf money to invest in reits too.

My brother in law told me that reits will take back all the money they give out as dividends and sent me a newspaper article on the topic. 

I read your recent blog on your impressive passive income from reits. You are an expert on reits.

Could you help to shine light on this matter?

AK said...
(Reader attached the newspaper article "The REIT myth busted" in the email to me.)

The article generated plenty of discussion many years ago because REITs sank during the Global Financial Crisis and many REITs required capital injections to stay afloat.

I am sure there are many who were burnt and many who still do not believe in REITs.

I have some scary stories from those days which I can tell too.






Horror stories aside, however, I believe in being pragmatic and that all investments are good investments at the right price. 

We have to find the right tools to do what we want to do.

In my opinion, REITs are relevant to investors for income.

Having said this, as REITs distribute most, if not all, of their income to their investors, it is only natural to expect some form of fund raising if they are to grow.





So, should you stay invested in REITs?

Read these blogs first:

1. http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2011/10/reits-and-rights-issues-dilutive-or-not.html

2. http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2011/11/reits-and-rights-issues-singaporean.html






I hope they provide some of the light you are looking for.

To invest in REITs, it is important to be prepared for possible rights issues. 

Investors should be able and willing to deal with this possibility.

With this in mind, you have to decide if REITs are right for you. 

I cannot decide for you.





Related post:
3Q 2017 income from REITs.

"E-book" on AK the investor in 7 chapters.

Over the years, I received several requests from the media for interviews. 

Due to the fact that I would only do these interviews in disguise, these interviews did not materialize.





I am a very private person. There is no reason good enough for me to sacrifice something as valuable as privacy. 

OK, maybe, if someone were to offer me $1 million, I would consider. I am only half kidding. Seriously.

Anyway, when I received another request recently and apparently this is going to be a campaign in collaboration with Temasek Holdings, I offered them a series of blogs that tells my story instead. 





I don't know if they will use them but I thought I could organize the blogs into an "e-book" to share with my readers too and here it is.

Chapter 1:
My family almost went bankrupt.

Why am I the way I am? 

We are all products of our past experience.

Chapter 2:
Life was difficult and I wondered if Santa existed.

Be self-reliant. 

No one is going to help us if we don't help ourselves.

Chapter 3:
To retire by 45, start with a plan!

What I have today started with a plan.

Want to achieve financial freedom? Have a plan.





Chapter 4:
Secret of my success.

Our philosophy in life will guide all our decisions.

Having the right philosophy is essential.

Chapter 5:
6 digits annual passive income.

It is mostly a lot of work but luck plays a part.

This is the honest truth.

Chapter 6:
How to make $1 million investing for income.

Do the right things and time will do the rest.

Be patient.





Chapter 7:
A wealth building strategy that has worked.

We cannot predict but we can prepare.

I will be happy if my story is able to inspire many more readers to seek financial freedom.

Gambatte!

3Q 2017 passive income from non-REITs.

I continue to invest more in non-REITs, reducing my reliance on S-REITs for passive income in the process.

The largest investment in non-REITs in 3Q 2017 was in SingTel.

See: SingTel and Netlink NBN Trust.

I accumulated a relatively large investment as SingTel's share price declined to below $3.70 a share.

I am more interested in the entity's ability to pay consistent and meaningful dividends although a special dividend from the sale of Netlink NBN Trust would be a nice bonus.

In 3Q 2017, I also nibbled at the following:

1. Wilmar.

2. Tuan Sing Holdings.

3. Comfort Delgro.

As usual, there is an investing for income angle in all my investments but that is where the similarity ends for these nibbles.

Adding to my investment in Wilmar when I did was to pay a fair price investing for growth. It is important that I am paid while I wait and Wilmar pays regular dividends.

See: Accumulating Wilmar.






Tuan Sing Holdings, similar to Guocoland, is an asset play. However, the gestation period is going to be longer because their recurring income engine is yet to be completed.

See: Invested in Tuan Sing.

ComfortDelgro is the newest member of my non-REITs portfolio. Sold down terribly due to Mr. Market's intense pessimism and with so much blood on the streets, I was curious enough to take a look.

See: Analysis of ComfortDelgro.

I feel that these new investments will probably strengthen my passive income stream from non-REITs in future.






In 3Q 2017, income received from non-REITs:

$ 24,538.58

Missing Croesus Retail Trust in future will result in much reduced passive income from non-REITs as the Trust accounts for more than half of the income received in the quarter.

Other than Croesus Retail Trust, the other more significant non-REIT income contributors in my portfolio in 3Q 2017 were Centurion, VICOM and Wilmar.





In 4Q 2017, my war chest will receive a tremendous boost in the form of a final distribution from Croesus Retail Trust as the sale of the Trust is completed.

Related posts:
1. 3Q 2017 income from S-REITs.
2. 2Q 2017 income from non-REITs.