Have a plan, your own plan.

"As always, invest based on your risk comfort level. 

"Remember that media headlines should not be what is driving your overall strategy and, instead, thoughtful analysis of your goals (and willingness to absorb pain in market down periods) is what is necessary for a successful investment strategy.





"Decide which type of investor you are before you invest and make sure the overall strategy reflects your view of the world as well as the degree to which you can afford to be completely wrong. 

"And always remember that no matter what you read, opinions change and strategists are fallible.





"It's a mistake to believe that anyone has all the answers; if they did they probably would not be sharing their secret with the world."

Michael Yoshikami





Related posts:
1. Sleep well at night with a plan.
2. Roads to wealth creation in the stock market.

The very first step to becoming richer.

Singaporeans have a reputation for being very good at complaining. This is not a bad thing per se. 

After all, if some things are really bad and in urgent need of correction, we should complain. 

How else would the relevant authorities know about the problems and to take action? 

I draw the line at taking videos and photos of minor incidents and posting it on Stomp!





However, what I really find unacceptable is perfectly healthy and whole people complaining about how they do not make enough money. 

I have blogged about this before and I must say this again: If we feel that we are not making enough money, ask ourselves if we are being shortchanged.

Are we being paid fairly? 

If others in similar position are being paid more, hey, we got a raw deal! Negotiate with our employer. 

If we are really good workers, our employers would want to keep us and give us a much deserved raise. 

If we are sub-par workers, we should keep quiet if we want to keep our job (and, hey, stop complaining). 




We have a choice if we want to do better or to remain sub-par, of course.

Would you believe me if I were to tell you that it is always harder to keep really good workers in any company? 

Sometimes, even with above market rate compensation, it could be difficult to retain really good workers. Why? 

They keep improving themselves and would try to look for better paying positions which could even be in a totally different industry. Jobs could even come looking for them! 

These people are dynamic and driven. It is not surprising that they are usually able to earn higher incomes. One day, they could even strike out on their own and run their own businesses.




Very few things in life are free. 

To earn money, we must give something in exchange. 

To make more money, we must give more in exchange or give what few could give as it would be more highly valued. 

If we have a relatively low income and would like to have a higher income, complaining is unlikely to help make us more money.




Now, I always say that we are all made differently and some of us are just comfortable enough doing what we are doing, feeling that there is no reason to change. 

Is there anything wrong with this? 

Well, if by keeping the status quo, we become wage slaves, yes, it is wrong, very wrong.

The last thing we want to be is to be a burden to people we love or, indeed, to society as a whole. 

Well, I could be generalising too much but common decency would require that we think this way. 

Taking affirmative action to plan for self-sufficiency, avoiding dependency, is not only financially prudent, it is the responsible thing to do.




Think of our lives like how we would think of a business. 

Healthy personal finances would require us to, firstly, increase our revenue and, secondly, to keep our expenses prudent. 

OK, not necessarily in this order.

If we feel that we do not make enough money, look at our revenue and expenses. Something must be wrong with one or both. 

Unless we are severely disadvantaged in some way, there is no reason why we cannot do something about one or both.




With such people who are always complaining they do not have enough money, naturally, I would not even talk to them about investing in the stock market. 

They have to seek freedom from their mental shackles first. Otherwise, they are just wasting everyone's time.

Do you know of anyone like that? 

If you do, try reaching out to them. 

You would be doing them a big favour.

Related posts:
1. Do you want to be richer?
2. Wage slaves should be fearful.
3. Money management: Needs and wants.
4. A common piece of advice on saving.

AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Scrip dividend II.

I have been asked online and offline if I would be taking part in the Distribution Reinvestment Plan (DRP) offered by AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT.

The price is $1.2421 per unit. This is at a slight discount compared to the closing price of the REIT in the last session which was $1.27 per unit.

The last DRP offered unitholders a price of $1.1622. Shortly after, the unit price plunged to hit a low of $1.085. Could we see a repeat of history? Could unit price plunge lower this time as well?

I did not take part in the last DRP and was waiting to accumulate closer to S$1.00 a unit. Unfortunately, Mr. Market was hungry for AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT and buyers overwhelmed sellers after unit price touched a low of $1.085.

So, if we put these pictures together, we could see the REIT's unit price plunge below the DRP's offered price again. How low would the unit price go? This, no one can say for sure but if the opportunity should present itself, for anyone who would like to increase exposure to the REIT, buying then would make sense.

So, am I taking part in the DRP?

Related post:
AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Scrip Dividend.

Tea with AK71: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple.

As a boy, I used to visit the temple dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy on Waterloo Street regularly with my parents. During the very difficult years of the 1980s recession, we were even more regular. Till today, my dad would still visit regularly.

Personally, I have not been to the temple in years. Today, I made use of the public holiday to visit the temple. I went through the usual routine of prayers and making a donation to the needy when I got there.

A visit to the temple always sets my mind at ease, not because I think the Goddess of Mercy would make things right but because I would reflect on my life and realise that things are not too bad. Sometimes, life gets a bit choppy but we have to count our blessings. Remember to be humble and remember to help the less fortunate.

As I was leaving the temple, on impulse, I took a photo with my Samsung Galaxy Ace. It was hastily taken and as it was very sunny, I could not see the photo taken clearly then. I looked at the photo when I got home just now and I was really amazed by it.

佛光普照

May the benevolent radiance of the Lord Buddha shine on all of us.

Good debt is always good?

I look at debt as a necessary evil. Sometimes, I need that extra help in order to buy something.

Then, do I take as long as I can to repay the debt? Well, in this environment of very low interest rates, the concept of good debt has gained traction. Why not?

The idea of good debt is appealing because it gives us more funds which could possibly generate higher returns than the interest paid on the borrowed funds. What is the catch here? Yes, only if we can use the funds to generate higher returns.

The late Dennis Ng said that the rich always take on debt while the average man tries to be debt free. This is not always true. I know of rich towkays who have so much money in their bank accounts that they would pay for a luxury car in cash instead of taking a car loan! No matter how low the interest rate is on a car loan, it is still some 10x more than what a savings account pays in interest. I also know of average people who are leveraged to the max to capitalise on good debt.

So, who is right and who is wrong?

Recently, UOB came up with a 50 year home loan offer. Khaw Boon Wan has called this a gimmick, advising people not to fall for that and that it doesn't make sense. Now, does it make sense? For someone who is financially savvy and who is able to make his money work much harder, it could possibly make sense.

Personally, I am rather apathetic about the whole matter. There will always be people who are more comfortable with debt. Hey, ask the Americans. Then, there are those who are less comfortable with debt. I have heard of mainland Chinese buying condominium units with cold, hard cash.

Again, who is right and who is wrong? It is really subjective, isn't it?

For people who are proponents of good debt, the pertinent question to ask is whether our money can always make higher returns than the interest paid on the loans? For now, it looks that way. What happens the day the party ends? Are they getting drunk on debt?

For people who are more conservative, the pertinent question to ask is whether they could be short changing themselves by being debt free in this environment of very low interest rates. Of course, if the most sophisticated wealth building tool they know is fixed deposits, staying debt free is the way to go.

Like a friend told me, I have a choice. His intended message was that I have a choice whether or not to embrace good debt. Personally, I understand the concept but I am more comfortable being debt free.

I feigned ignorance and replied: "People who do not have a choice should not be investing in property." With this, I deviated from his line of reasoning that good debt is always good. Instead, I insinuated that people who do not have a choice but to borrow to invest in properties just because of the very low interest rate environment and the perceived future returns should think twice.

Of course, the choice is theirs. ;)

Tea with AK71: Climate change.

Let us take a break from all the hustle and bustle of our lives. Let us think about the world and if we are helping to make a difference.

Beijing was hit by the worst rainfall in 60 years last month.

The relentless, weather gone crazy type of heat that has blistered the USA and other parts of the world in recent years is so rare that it can't be anything but man-made global warming...

The research says that the likelihood of such temperatures occurring from the 1950s through the 1980s was rarer than one in 300, Now, the odds are closer to one in 10...

The increase in the chance of extreme heat, drought and heavy downpours in certain regions is so huge that scientists should stop hemming and hawing... AP



Mother Nature will find a way to right the imbalances. In Beijing, the official pollution index, which had showed an unhealthy rating before the storm hit, registered “excellent” after the storm, with the air noticeably free of its normal acrid smell. Full story: here.

If we do not make changes, Mother Nature will change things her way.

Related post:
Tea with AK71: Just storms?