How to turn $60K into $332K?

Growing our wealth can be a daunting task especially when our resources are limited.

I think of wealth building as plucking fruits from a tree.

Being a lazy fellow, I try to use as little energy as possible and would go for low hanging fruits.





Why climb higher up to pluck fruits and risk a bad fall when there are low hanging fruits?

I would climb higher up when my tree climbing skill has improved or if there is a safety net to catch me if I were to fall.

Know what I mean?

Hint, hint.

Nudge, nudge.

Wink, wink.





I received this email from a reader:

Hi AK,
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us young folks.

Saw you previously at investx.

I just did this calculation last night.

I realized if at 25 years old, you put in 40k into your SA and have 20k in your OA. 





Then you do not contribute a single cent from then on. 

Based on 5% interest on the first 40k in your SA, then 4%, and 3.5% on your first 20k in OA, then 2.5%, at the end of 40 years, at 65 years old, 60k would have become $332k.

This is without doing a single thing. It's actually quite impressive returns.

Cpf is good haha.





“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”
― Albert Einstein

Correction by the reader:

The extra 1% from OA doesn't actually compound in OA. It is credited to SA. So for 20k in OA, the interest 1 yr later is 20500 in OA and an additional 200 into SA.

Furthermore, after 55yrs old, first 30k gets another 1%.

CPF has a lot of intricacies, but in the end, the magic of compounding is still wonderful!




This magic is very powerful!

Make it your friend!

If AK can do it, so can you!

Related posts:
1. Upsizing Oppa AK style!
2. $1 million in CPF by 65?

Short paid by Croesus Retail Trust?

Reader #1 said...
Could I do a check with you regarding Croesus' delisting. I believe all unitholders have received the payout. Did you receive an amount equal to $1.17 x # of shares you owned (which is what i received)?

Cause i thought that the payout should also include the distribution till the effective date of the delisting, but cap at 4.06cents?

Wonder if you know about this?

Thank you very much for reading my email.

Reader #2 said...
Like you, I have bought some Croesus and the cash proceeds of $1.17 per unit has been credited into my account yesterday. As the Croesus' dividend of 4.06 cts was for the 1 Jan to 30 Jun 2017 period, do you know whether dividend will be paid for the 1 Jul to 25 Oct 2017 period? I do recall reading that the latter dividend would be paid.

Btw, I have enjoyed eavesdropping when you talked to yourself about your passive investment in SReits!!! Thank you for allowing the eavesdropping.







AK said...
Croesus Retail Trust completed the sale on time.
They would have had to make a higher distribution to shareholders if they did not.
So, $1.17 per unit is correct.
A DPU of 4.06 cents was made earlier in September, if I remember correctly.

Related post:
Still making money from CRT.

Keeping in touch as I break from blogging.

I have not been blogging for 10 days and I have received several messages from readers regarding this.

I am sorry if I have caused some anxiety for some readers but don't worry, I am OK. Still alive and kicking.




Then, why have I not been blogging?

My blog will be 8 years old this Christmas Eve.

Yes, I have been blogging for almost 8 years.

Surprised? I am surprised too.

I know I enjoy writing and I enjoy sharing ideas to do with personal finance and investment.

However, looking back, I am still surprised by my blogging stamina.




Over the years, from time to time, for various reasons, I have also blogged about possibly retiring from blogging but I have always been able to bounce back pretty quickly from those moments.

What about now?

Well, I just felt like not blogging quite suddenly.

Is there another way to describe this?

Could I share the abrupt feeling through story telling?

What about this?

Suddenly, one morning not too many years ago, I was not able to read the papers as my vision was blurry and I realized that I needed reading glasses.



OK, not quite there but I think some might get the feeling of abruptness.

I am sure some of you might be able to do a better job of describing this feeling.

As for suddenly realizing that I needed reading glasses many years ago, it is a true experience.

People my age or older would know the feeling.

If you don't know what I am talking about, well, when you hit 40 (plus or minus a few years), you will.

You will get a reminder in the mail too because that is when our government tells you to consider getting Eldershield. ;p

Old age.

We can run from many things but not ageing.



So, am I really going to stop blogging this time?

To be honest, I don't know if this feeling is temporary. 

I don't know if I am only feeling a bit burnt out from blogging and that I need some time to recover or if this is a more permanent thing.

If I were to hazard a guess, I suspect it is temporary.

I am still checking my blogs for comments.

I still visit my Facebook page.

I still check my emails.

However, I might not be very prompt in my replies.

I still try to reply to the many messages and emails I get but if you don't hear from me, it could be because I have yet to read your email. 

I don't usually ignore emails from genuine readers.

So, if you wrote to me and did not hear from me for a prolonged period of time, chances are that your email did not reach me for some reason.



For those who want to keep hearing from me but are not following me on Facebook, go to my blog's left sidebar, find the Facebook link and follow me.

I have been updating older blog posts which I feel are still useful to share again on my Facebook wall.

So, you won't suffer from withdrawal symptoms.

Not to worry.

I don't think my time as a blogger has ended and I shall blog again. :)

Largest investments in my portfolio.

In February this year, I revealed the top investments in my portfolio with some indication of their values in dollar terms.

Understand why I decided to share after refusing for so many years by reading this blog:

Investment portfolio and market value.

Then, later in May, I updated the list as I had accumulated a pretty significant position in Centurion Corporation Limited from February.

Centurion has turned out to be a pretty good investment. Read the update in this blog:

Centurion's pricing power.






It is now almost the end of October and things have changed yet again.

1. The decline in QAF Limited's share price makes it a smaller investment for me. It is not as large as it was before. So, it is no longer in the list.

2. The sale of Croesus Retail Trust has been completed and income distribution has been made to shareholders. So, it is removed from the list.

3. The heavy accumulation of SingTel's stock, increasing my exposure by several times, pushes it into the list.






The updated list:

From $350,000 to $499,999:
AIMS AMP Cap Ind'l REIT

From $200,000 to $349,999:
ACCORDIA Golf Trust
SingTel
FIRST REIT

From $100,000 to $199,999:
ASCENDAS H-Trust
WILMAR Int'l
Centurion Corporation Limited






Although Centurion's stock price has gone up quite a bit and I have not reduced my investment, it isn't quite enough to push it into the $200,000 bracket.

Income distributions from my investments this year is likely to end on a high note due to bumper distributions from Croesus Retail Trust and Saizen REIT as both got delisted. 

I will blog about these towards the end of the year when the income from all my investments are received.

Related post:
1. SingTel and Netlink Trust.
2. Croesus Retail Trust.