Don't thank AK but thank yourself in future (UPDATED).

My blog was born in December 2009 on Christmas Eve. 

When asked if I expected things to develop the way they have developed in recent years, the answer is always "NO". 

Sometimes, I would answer "I have created a monster" because my blog and its related activities are demanding more of my time than before. 

I am fully aware of one of the risks my blog is facing because blogging is a hobby and I enjoy it because it is a hobby. 

The day blogging becomes work, I might no longer enjoy it. 

It is about setting a more leisurely pace so that it remains a hobby I enjoy.

Having said this, blogging comes naturally to me because I enjoy writing, sharing ideas I believe in and ideas which have worked for me. 

So, this is the writer and teacher in me rolled into one. 

In a nutshell, through my writing, I enjoy helping people to help themselves.

From the many emails and messages I have received from readers, I discovered that my blog has been helpful and many people have made positive changes in their lives because of my blog. 

This is probably the most rewarding aspect of blogging for me.

I have shared some encouraging messages from readers before and here are a couple more which I received recently:

Hi AK,

Thanks for speaking to yourself all these years!

I've been eavesdropping !

Introduced a friend who was a terrible spendthrift to your blog last year - and is so glad to find that she has started saving quite a bit!

Our tag line now is "what would AK do?" Ha!!!!

Many thanks for your friendship !




And


Hi AK, 
 After seeing saizen rise today(my biggest holdings), I just wanted to drop u a msg to thank u for opening sharing all your thoughts through social media!

I think I am beginning to understand and appreciate your investment strategy especially after seeing u add ARA and Vicom recently.

Your strategy seems to be within a fixed framework of investing for income but u are flexible as well. Just like water in a cup. Haha. 

Flowing but contained. (Am I making sense?) 

I am referring to your recent sale trades of Sembcorp and Wilmar.

You don't seem to be fixated on holding forever but at the same time not jumping in and out through trades. 

 All in, thank u and hopefully many more people will appreciate what u do!

I cannot publish all the messages, of course, but to all the readers who have sent similar messages to me before, thank you for making the effort to write.

I hope that talking to myself in my little corner of cyberspace will continue to help people who are listening in. 

I hope that we will all make incremental positive changes in our lives to have a financially more secure future. 

For most of us, the desired outcome will take many years to achieve. 

We might feel tired or even demoralised at times but remind ourselves that as long as we are moving in the right direction, we cannot be wrong and we are getting closer to our goal with each passing day. 

We will see the light at the end of the tunnel and we will thank ourselves in future.

Related post:
How to have a comfortable retirement?

Saizen REIT: Received a firm offer and unit price jumps.

Messages were coming in fast asking me what was happening to Saizen REIT as its unit price shot up. Well, this happened:

Further thereto, the Manager wishes to announce that the Manager has received a firm offer in relation to the assets of Saizen REIT which the Evaluation Committee and the joint financial advisers are currently reviewing and evaluating. No definitive agreements have been entered into and there is no assurance that the offer will be accepted and that definitive agreements will be entered into.

 

 Earlier in the year, I had a blog post on how undervalued Saizen REIT was. Of course, it wasn't really a new angle on the REIT as I blogged about it many times over the last few years.

In that blog post back in April, I asked if investing in Saizen REIT was a good idea for you. Whether it was a good idea would depend on your motivation and your temperament.

Although deeply undervalued, I said "whether the value could be unlocked and returned to unit holders is much harder to say. Could we see an acquisition by a residential J-REIT?"

I also said that "anyone who is buying into Saizen REIT, hoping for value to be unlocked, will have to be patient and also remember that it might or might not happen."

Of course, regular readers know that Saizen REIT is a big part of my portfolio for years. I have been patiently waiting for value to be unlocked and while I waited, I received regular dividends.

It is not a bad thing to be paid while we wait, I feel.

So, what did you do?

Announcement: here.

Related posts:
1. Saizen REIT: Deeply undervalued?
2. 9M 2015 passive income from S-REITs.