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Some of us have advantages in life. Some of us have disadvantages in life. However, if we all do the right things, the right things will have a higher chance of happening to us.
I received many encouraging emails as well as the not so encouraging ones in the wake of my many recent blog posts on the "Return our CPF" protest in Hong Lim Park.
To readers who wrote to me to ignore negative comments, I would generally say that I will still try to reach out to those on the other side of the fence because I believe that if it is a job worth doing, it is worth doing well. They are fellow Singaporeans too. Of course, whether I succeed in reaching out to them is something I don't know.
I would like to share a thoughtful and well-written letter sent to me by a young reader. I find it very encouraging and it could also inspire other young readers. Note that he is quite candid about having an advantage in life but what we should take note of is how he decided to make important changes to the way he deals with money matters as well as how he took decisive steps to improve financial literacy which has produced a positive outcome for him.
I hope you find this heartening as much as I did:
Hi AK,
I wrote this email to you directly because the negative comments from the general public has made me do so.
I followed your blog since the beginning of last year and your blog posts have provided me with so many insights that my life has changed ever since. From a spendthrift student since then, I have transformed into a working adult who can live frugally, and enjoyably. Never have I ever thought that one could achieve both of these aspects concurrently. For that, I owe you a big "thank you".
Some people just do not plan ahead or think far enough. What you have shown us is a result of financial prudence which can be simplified into an income statement and statement of changes in equity. Revenue - expenses = net income (exclude taxes and lumping interest into overall expenses) and how much of the remaining income is saved and invested. Despite the revenue portion could be something harder to stretch at first, but the other variables like expenses and savings can actually be adjusted to maximise the remaining income available for investments.
Being someone who is slightly more fortunate as my family owns a business, my monthly allowance is paid in the form of salary expense from it. As a result , a portion of this amount is being saved into my CPF indefinitely on top of my lavish expenditures. I cannot imagine what could have happened if I was handed over all the money in the past. I believe I would have most likely squandered them off too. Above all, it yields me a 2.5% and 4% return in my OA and SA respectively. Now, I am following after your footsteps and have been religiously contributing small amounts into my SRS for the tax benefits and my war chest accumulating efforts.
Fortunately, at the current juncture, at the age of 26, my financial intelligence has levelled up significantly. Now, my net worth excluding CPF has recently grown to 6 figures. This amount though small and could have only been your 1 year's dividend income, however, this means a lot to me. As 50% of this amount is in dividend paying value stocks in blue chips and reits where my portfolio is currently yielding an average 6% yield, this means that I have created $3000 in passive income per year and better still, it doesn't stop here since I will be generating more income and my accumulated reserve is large enough to purchase more stocks should the unexpected occur. This is something which I am excited about because in a few years time, the amount from my OA + a little top up in cash (without liquidating my stocks) should be able to let me purchase a HDB flat very comfortably with minimal debt obligations. And hopefully the rule of 15 still gives a green light to pull my trigger by then ( Source ASSI ;) )
Most importantly, I do not need to depend on my parents to pay for my home.
So much about myself, let's get back to my original intention of writing to you. The people who irritates me are the people who deliberately go against the system without a reasonable stand point. Just by reading what they have written in your comments section, I know they are confused. Worse, they deny and insist on playing the blame game. As much as I feel sad for them and would like to help them see the light, however, for some who have been so used to hating the system, this could be more than a challenging feat. Even if its possible, the time and effort spent trying to "redeem" them might be counter-intuitive. If I were in your shoes, I would simply thank them for their comments and move on. Ultimately, they have a choice in what they read. If going against the system is their pagan, there's not much you can control.
Because, in my perspective as a reader, he is just a waste of resource since he is competing with me and other readers for your time and effort to reply their comments where this time could be otherwise, be used to write another blog post, where like-minded people like us who are rational and genuinely interested in adopting a second level thinking of looking at things could learn from.
I will end off by saying thank you again and look forward to reading your many posts to come. Its a shame that I wouldn't be able to attend Invest X Congress this coming Saturday since I will be overseas.
Understand that this is your first public appearance, all the best ahead!
Warmest Regards,
PN
Having advantages in life helps but:
"Time is key to building your financial security."
Suze Orman.
Make good use of it and be amply rewarded.
Related post:
Journey to financial freedom is not a race.
Journey to financial freedom is not a race.
"Each of us have our own circumstances and priorities. What matters is that we achieve the goal of financial freedom. Some might get there faster. Some might be a bit slower. Everyone who arrives at the destination is a winner. There are no losers at the end point." AK
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