Moved in after 2 weeks and an $8,000 renovation.

I shared in Facebook how I spent $8,000 doing up my apartment 6 or 7 years ago and moved in 2 weeks after I got my keys.

Someone asked me how did I do it and whether I could blog about it.

I did a quick summary in Facebook in the wee hours of this morning and I am doing a cut and paste here since the majority of you guys (and gals) don't follow me on Facebook.

"Terrence, it was so many years ago. There isn't much to write really... Lights >$1K... Curtains/Blinds >$1K ... 26" LCD TV, Medium size 2 door fridge, top loading fuzzy logic washing machine >$1K... Furniture from IKEA (Queen Size Bed/Single Bed/Mattresses, 2 Seater Sofa, Dining Table + 4 chairs, TV Console, Shelves, Side Tables) >$2K... Painted the place myself in one weekend... :) 

"It really depends on what we can accept. Many people told me IKEA furniture CMI but mine lasted >4 years and when I sold my place, the buyer asked to have all the furniture. Still good. Just imagine that the money I spent on all my furniture cannot even pay for a bed or a sofa for some people. -.-"







"I am not saying that I am right and they are wrong but there are choices. The same goes for electrical appliances. I spent less than 2K on washing machine ($299), fridge ($499) and LCD TV ($699). For some people, their TV already costs $2K (or more)!

"Very often, I see people trying to keep up with their friends and relatives. "They have, I must also have! If I don't have, I will lose face!" Big problem if they think like this especially if they cannot afford it. Even if they can afford it, should they spend that money?






"To me, it wasn't about affordability although I could afford better. I could put the money to better use. People laughed at my TV back then. It was CHIMEI brand. My Taiwanese friend told me it was Taiwan's 2nd biggest brand. Good enough for me. 26" LCD TV at $699 7 years ago was a very good price. I think SHARP would have cost 50% more.

"I don't think I was extreme in delaying gratification but I did delay within reason. Why use our hard earned money to buy a super high tech TV when we could get one "free" later on with passive income generated by our investments?"

We have choices in life.





We can choose to be 
"Under-accumulators of wealth (UAWs)"
or 
"Prodigious accumulators of wealth (PAWs)".
Source: The Millionaire Next Door.

"I have been labelled a person with a peasant mentality when it comes to wealth building... Unfortunately, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth... I can only do what I can with my limited resources to move upwards."
Source: To be a happy peasant.







As long as we are not severely disadvantaged in life, this is definitely something which all of us can do. 

If AK can do it, so can you!

Related posts:
1. A reader in his early 20s.
2. The secret to avoiding financial ruin.
3. From rich to broke.
4. If we are not rich, don't act rich.
5. Not enough money to be married.

How much more will AVIVA be paying AK?

I have blogged about how I buy single premium endowment policies with my SRS money before.

The best product ever was the Guaranteed Rewards plan from UOB Life which unfortunately is no longer available.

That guaranteed 3% to 4% returns per annum over an 8 to 10 year period. Of course, there was a life insurance component as well.

A Guaranteed Rewards $20,000 endowment policy that matured 2 years ago became more than $30,000 after the 10 year period was up.

That was 4% compounded yearly over a 10 year period. Some might not agree with me but I feel that for a relatively stress free option, it was not too bad.

I have another Guaranteed Rewards policy that is going to mature soon. I think it is probably going to be next year.

In the meantime, I have a single premium endowment policy from AVIVA called Guaranteed XO which is maturing on 21 November 2013 after 8 years. This one has a guaranteed portion and a non-guaranteed portion which pays every 2 years.

I cannot remember exactly but the last three payouts were unimpressive. I was probably paid less than $800 in total.

In their latest advice to me, they did not say how much more I would be paid on top of the single premium of S$10,000 all of which would be returned to my SRS account.

Will I get a pleasant surprise in November?

Pleasant surprise or not, this is going to beef up my SRS account which is one of my 4 war chests.

Related posts:
1. Great Eastern Life paid me $4,000.
2. Customer service in insurance companies.
3. A war chest called "SRS".