SG Wealth Builder

Singaporeans really stupid?

Mar 19, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 812 Views 2 Comments

If you think that Singapore is a good place to become rich, think again. In my previous post, I wrote that although Singaporeans are considered highly educated, generally most of us are not financially savvy and not as street smart compared to many of our South East Asia counterparts. Inevitably, many critics will dish out statistics showing that over the decades, Singapore has consistently been ranked among the top in terms of ‘O’ and ‘A’ level results and argue that our kids are among the brightest in the world. However, there is a need to know the difference between academic successes and intelligence quotient (IQ).

IQ, EQ and AQ
You might be exam smart and scored high marks for examinations when you were a student. But having achieving academic successes doesn’t automatically guarantee you a good life and is generally not a good indicator of future success.

To succeed in life, you need Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Adversity Quotient (AQ). You can see that academic achievements doesn’t feature in any of the three categories. This is because these are not something which you can learn from the text books or in schools. Generally, they are usually innate or hereditary.

personal finance

Pay yourself first

Mar 15, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 635 Views 1 Comment

In recent years, there were various articles on increasing trend of Singaporeans defaulting on their credit card payments. This is a worrying sign in Singapore. In fact, one of my readers commented that he belongs to the group of credit card payment defaulters and is struggling to settle his mounting bills. I hope he managed to dig his way out of the hole he created for himself, but I suspect it is going to be a long and tough road for him. I believe this is also the case for many young Singaporean adults who just entered the workforce and spend lavishly. In this article, I will share my thoughts on how to pay yourself first.

Financial Discipline
When I just started out working, I always thought that credit card gives consumers a false sense of purchasing power. It was only until when my brother, who works in the credit department of an international bank, pointed out that the key to managing credit card spending is financial discipline. It was then that I corrected my thinking. Having many credit lines or credit cards is not a bad thing in itself. After all, we can make use of the various point rewards, rebates or discounts that credit cards offer.

Money management; personal finance

Money Talks with Spouse

Mar 14, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 734 Views 0 Comments

Recently, my wife and myself reviewed our financial health and done some financial planning. We reviewed our household incomes, savings, monthly expenses, insurances and our child’s endowment plan.

I always enjoy these money talks with my spouse because during these sessions, we would set realistic goals and aligned our monetary values. This process also forced us to think through areas we did not do well and motivated us to improve further.

Who said money is not important in a relationship?
Many couples tend to underestimate the role of money in a relationship. Some even claimed that a relationship based solely on love is sustainable and that money should never stand in the way of two people who love each other deeply.

In Singapore’s context, I would say this sort of thinking can land a couple in deep trouble, at least financially. The high cost of living in Singaporea means that any relationship without a good financial foundation would likely end in disaster. Personally, I have seen many couples broke up because of money issues.

Many times, the couples were clueless about each other financial health and habits. They fail to realize the powerful impact on a relationship that can be brought about by financial struggles.

Stocks

Singapore Stock Market Highlights

Mar 13, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 605 Views 1 Comment

Below is an article from guest blogger, Richard who works as a stock market analyst and has 3 years of experience in the stock market. He likes to write articles and hope to share his experiences with investors in Singapore If you would like additional SGX Dividend Stocks data, information or screening tools, please visit website http://sg.dividendinvestor.com/, a leading source for in-depth research and analysis for stock investments.

Singapore stock market came in limelight on 1^st December, 1999. This provides different services related to securities and derivative trading facilities. SGX is a member of the WFE (World Federation of Exchanges) and Asian and Ocean stock exchanges federation.

Measure the stock value

In Singapore several renowned companies are listed on the SGX stock market. These companies are good for the economy and wealth of the city. Times to time market values of these listed companies are changed therefore to track changes of the market values Singapore stock market provides market indices such as:

§ SGX Indices

§ BT Singapore Regional Index

§ Straits Times Index

§ FTSE/ASEAN Indices

§ FTSE ST Catalist Index

§ UOB Catalist Index

§ Prime Partners China Index

§ FTSE SGX

§ Asia Shariah 100 Index

§ SiMSCI, MSCI India

§ A50

§ FTSE Xinhua China.

Stocks

OSIM FY12 results

Mar 11, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 770 Views 0 Comments

OSIM announced a set of good results for FY12. I am not vested in this counter but has been keeping a close watch on it. OSIM’s share price has rocketed since three years ago after management cut losses on its US investment losses. Since then, it has never looked back and the latest results showed that they have achieved their third consecutive years of record profit despite tough economic environment.

Record PBT S$115 million +17% , Q4 PBT of S$31 million +28%

Record PAT S$87 million +26% , Q4 PAT S$23million +32%

Record EBITDA S$126 million +13% , Q4 EBITDA S$34 million +20%

Final Dividend of 1 cent per share + Special Dividend of 1 cent per share

Cash & Cash Equivalents and Fixed Income Investments as at 31 December 2012 were S$235 million

Besides the above results, one aspect that I liked about OSIM is that it offers significant opportunities for growth. It has managed to re-invent itself and brand itself as “Asia’s Number 1 brand in well being and healthy lifestyle products”. This means that the OSIM has a lot of leg-room for future growth and business expansion. In fact, its venture into GNC health products and subsequent penetration into China market has helped to boost the company’s coffers.

Money management; personal finance

Singaporeans – Stupid or Smart?

Mar 9, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 806 Views 6 Comments

There are many ways to become rich in Singapore and investing in gold is one of the way to build your wealth. In Singapore, there is generally low awareness on how to invest in gold. Because of this, there is increasing trend of Singaporeans fallen prey to gold scams.

Recently, the Straits Times published an article stating that 180 investors had inked a petition urging government to take action against Gold Guarantee (TGG). Apparently these investors turned up at Hong Lim Park and signed the petition urging the authorities to expedite investigations into the gold buyback firm. One of the victims even claimed his family lost almost close to one million dollars on TGG. It seems that a lot of Singaporeans had lost huge amount of money after investing in gold buy-back schemes offered by TGG.

Greed or Stupidity?
Readers may remember that last year, I wrote an article “The wrong way to invest” on The Genneva Gold Trading, which also offered similar gold buyback scheme to investors at ridiculous yield rates. Many investors also lost huge sum of money in that fiasco. Prior to that, there was the Minibond case which also involved multi-million dollars investment losses. Sometimes I wondered why some Singaporeans are so stupid to fall for such silly schemes.

Stocks

Financial Overview of Singapore Stocks

Mar 8, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 699 Views 0 Comments

Below is an article from guest blogger, Richard, from Dividend Investor. Richard works as a stock analyst and has 3 years of experience in the stock market. He likes to write articles and hope to share his experiences with investors in Singapore

If you would like additional SGX Dividend Stocks data, information or screening tools, please visit website http://sg.dividendinvestor.com/, a leading source for in-depth research and analysis for stock investments.

Make Money through stock dividends

A dividend is a premium which a company gives to its shareholders. Generally, a dividend stock pays quarter dividends (4 times in a year) in order for investors participate in the company’s success. In company’s earning the amount of dividend is called payout ratio. This figure measures the part of the earned money which is paid to the shareholders. A fifty percent value which is half of it earns is a good figure. Sometimes the companies could pay 90 percent of its net income due to its business model. These types of businesses do not need much money for increasing. In Singapore there are many investment companies. The investment plans are designed according to investment requirement of the clients.

Buy dividend stocks without Pay Commission

Investors gradually want to buy dividends directly from the companies through dividend reinvestment plans, which are known as DRIPs.

personal finance

Filing of Personal Income Tax

Mar 4, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 640 Views 0 Comments

It is that time of the year for Singapore taxpayers to file income tax again!

Recently, the government announced several Budget inititatives that aim to improve the lives of Singapore citizens. Most of the Budget goodies are targeted at the lower income group and I suppose most of the less well-off households in Singapore will benefit from the 2013 Budget. As I fell into the middle-income bracket, the only Budget goodies that I may be entitled would be the GST Vouchers and the 30% personal tax rebate.

Difference between Income Tax Relief and Income Tax Rebate
In Singapore, citizens are eligible for various applicable tax relief and rebate. It is important that tax payers understand the difference between tax relief and rebate because it can help tax payers to save thousand of dollars. Essentially, reliefs are deductibles which you can claim on your total income taxable while rebates are offsets on your tax payable.

Obviously given the tier system for Singapore’s personal income tax, the latter would have larger effect on your income tax payable. For example, if a tax payer is claiming the $4500 relief for taking care of his/her parents in 2012, he can only offset $4500 from his total taxable income.

Money management; personal finance

5 Ways to Cut Your Credit Card Interest Payments

Feb 20, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 756 Views 0 Comments

By guest contributor, David Silverstone from Credit Card Insider

Credit cards interest rates are wreaking havoc on many Americans’ lives. The minute you leave a balance on these accounts, you’ll notice that debts continue to increase because of the interest payments, even if you aren’t adding to the debt. Over the years, you will end up paying so much in interest that you are paying much more for purchases than they originally cost. There are several ways of reducing debt, including at least five ways to lower the amount of interest you are paying.

Pay the Bills Early
The first thing you can do is make payments early. If you wait until you receive statements, you are giving their credit card issuers extra days to charge more interest.

Make Smaller Payments on a Frequent Basis
Rather than wait until you have a large sum of money to pay toward your balances, you would be better off making smaller payments on a more frequent basis when you have the money available. A good time to employ this strategy is right after you receive your paycheck. This has the result of reducing the time that interest payments can be compounded daily.

Make Electronic Payments
The best way to make payments is electronically, so the transaction can be completed the same day or within a few days.

Investments

Stock Investments 2013

Feb 13, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 656 Views 1 Comment

A Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year to all bloggers and readers! I would like to thank all my readers for visiting my blog. SG Web Reviews has reached 200,000 pageviews so far. Hope to share more of my views and investment journey in the coming year.

Creating CPF Buffer
So far, 2013 has been good for me. I have sold off all my stocks, except for my CPF Investment Acount, which has risen by 15%. I opened this account and invested a portion of my CPF Ordinary Account before buying my first HDB flat. For the uninitiated, it is HDB’s policy to use up all your CPF monies in Ordinary Account if you intended to purchase a HDB flat. So if you intend to set aside a portion of monies in your Ordinary Account for emergency purposes, the only way is to open a CPF Investment Account and then liquidate your investments after the HDB purchase is completed.

Bull or Bear?
I have always advocated to invest during crises. But the way I see it, 2013 could be the start of the economic recovery for most developed countries. Since 2010, the market has weathered U.S’ fiscal cliff, Europe’s debt issues and China’s slowing economy.

Career management

Job-hopping to career success

Feb 1, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 639 Views 0 Comments

In my previous article, I wrote that 7 in 10 Singapore workers planned to change jobs in 2013. I suppose many of us harbour thoughts of leaving our present job in search of greener pastures at some point of time. But more often than not, we may not know what we are getting into. In fact, I have many friends who keep job hopping for various reasons. Many of them cited company cultures, prospect, bosses and salaries as push factors.

Job-hopping is okay
Job-hopping is okay, provided it is managed properly. This is because the more you hop, the harder it is to convince your next employer to hire you. After all, the whole hiring process can be costly and time-consuming. No employers relish the prospect of hiring a candidate who would resign within a year. Not to mention the amount of resources spent on training the candidate.

So how long should we stay before moving on to the next company? My take is a minimum stay of two years. One of my ex-bosses shared with me that typically it takes about one year to train a worker up to speed and another year for the person to contribute meaningful to the organization.

Career management

What is it like to be 50 years old and jobless?

Jan 30, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 660 Views 7 Comments

Yesterday, the government released a White Paper projecting that Singapore’s population would be 6.9 million by 2030. I suppose this is a hint that the government is going to open the floodgate to import more foreigners in order to meet the population target. After all, going by our nation’s current low birth rate of 1.2%, it is not possible to reach this goal through natural replacement.

The government’s rationale for importing immigrants is because Singapore needs foreign talents to support the economy. Our unemployment rate has been consistantly low for the past few years, hovering about 2-3%. Yet many Singaporeans, especially PMETs, have complained that foreigners compete with them for jobs in recent years. This made me wonder aloud whether the influx of immigrant should be calibrated.

I mean what kind of foreign workers do we really need to import to sustain our economy? I agree that we need foreign nurses and construction workers because they do jobs which Singaporeans do not want to do. But do we really need additional one million nurses or construction workers? Besides foreign labourers, are we really short of talents in Singapore that we have to resort to mass import of immigrants? During market downturn, what is going to happen to these foreigners or PRs?

personal finance

Unconditional love

Jan 25, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 781 Views 1 Comment

In my previous article, I chronicled the life of Dad and wrote about his demise two weeks ago. In this post, I would like to share with my readers on a few reflections of mine. No doubt many of us are busy making money, but I think it is important that sometimes we pause down and reflect on events in our lives.

Importance of protection
I am not an insurance agent and I don’t work in the finance industry. But you might be aware that in my previous articles, I have always encouraged my readers to insure themselves adequately. It is also important to educate yourselves on the type of insurance that best suit your needs. In my father’s case, when he was healthy, he ignored the importance of buying insurance. It was only after he suffered from stroke, then he regretted and realised his mistake. By then, no insurers would offer to protect him because he was considered a high-risk personnel to insure. Even Great Eastern rejected his Dependent Protection Scheme and returned his pro-rated premiums. So do make sure you are protected adequately and purchase insurance policies when you are healthy. My view is that term insurance policies offers the best protection value because for a low amount of premium, you can be insured for a large amount of money.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

Living with stroke for 20 years

Jan 21, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 809 Views 3 Comments

On 5th Jan 2013, Dad passed away peacefully at home. He was only 58 years old. His demise ended 20 years of suffering from stroke. I am writing this article to pay tribute to a great man who had struggled and sacrificed so much for my family.

My father did not receive much education and worked as a lorry driver in his youth. He was a very hardworking man and worked every single day of the year, except for Chinese New Year. As he was the sole breadwinner, he was also very careful with his money but always ensure that my siblings and myself received good education. There were frequent quarrels with my mom over money issues but he always ensure that my mom has enough to spend for the household. In the eighties and early nineties, Singapore construction was booming with many projects in the pipeline. Dad’s small lorry business began to do well and we were not doing too bad either. There were frequent family outings and durian treats at home. In those days, under the old scheme, COE was even higher than today, but my dad managed to buy a second-hand Toyota family car. Things were looking pretty well for us.

Career management

7 in 10 Singaporeans plan to change jobs in 2013

Jan 16, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 532 Views 2 Comments

According to a survey done by online recruitment firm Jobstreet.com, nearly 75% of Singaporean workers are considering changing jobs in 2013. This is despite the anticipated economy slowdown and forecasted sluggish job market in Singapore. Among the top pull factors for a job switch are salary and career progression.

Money still rules
The report confirmed my view that in order to draw a better salary and climb up the ladder, there is a need to switch job. Typical salary increments in Singapore average about 3-5%. With this kind of increment, normal salaried Singaporean can barely meet the inflation and maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Even if job promotion is factored in, the increase in salary is probably $500 to $800. But if a better job offer comes along, the quantum increase is usually much higher. As a rule of thumb, job seekers should only consider switching job only if there is 20% hike in salary. There is no point switching companies for the sake of a few hundred dollars increment. You are better off staying in your current job and continue to build up your skills and networks.

When to jump ship
The report stated that the majority of the respondents singled out the first quarter as the best time to start a job hunt.

Property investment; Singapore market;

The Best Property Cooling Measure for Singapore

Jan 11, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 1065 Views 0 Comments

Today, the Singapore government announced a slew of measures to cool the residential property market. It also introduced a Seller’s Stamp Duty on industrial properties for the first time, to discourage speculative activity in the industrial market.

Measures Applicable to all Residential Property
The following measures will take effect on 12 January 2013:
a) Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates will be:
i) Raised between five and seven percentage points across the board.
ii) Imposed on Permanent Residents (PRs) purchasing their first residential property and on

Singaporeans purchasing their second residential property.
b) Loan-to-Value limits on housing loans granted by financial institutions will be tightened for individuals who already have at least one outstanding loan, as well as to non-individuals such as companies.
c) Besides tighter Loan-to-Value limits, the minimum cash down payment for individuals applying for a second or subsequent housing loan will also be raised from 10% to 25%.

Measures Specific to Public Housing
The following measures will take effect on 12 January 2013:
a)      Tighter eligibility for loans to buy HDB flats:
i)      MAS will cap the Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR) for housing loans granted by financial institutions at 30% of a borrower’s gross monthly income.
ii)      For loans granted by HDB, the cap on the MSR will be lowered from 40% to 35%.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

Money & marriage

Jan 3, 2013 sgwealthbuilder 725 Views 5 Comments

I saw an interesting article by fellow blogger AK71 on the topic of money and marriage. In his article, he illustrated a married person in his early 30s who keep borrowing money to support his family of four and pay monthly housing loans. The person’s gross income is $28k and he is the sole breadwinner and has two kids. AK71 wrote that the person “should not have gotten married” and that he should not have bought a 5 room flat, given his dire financial situation. I have different views from AK71.

Married for the wrong reason?
Firstly, I can understand what the person is going through. After all, I live in a 5 room flat, is a sole breadwinner, my wife is a full time housewife, have a baby girl, support my parents, support my in-law and own a car. So the burden on my shoulder is no less than the person in question, albeit I drew a much higher salary.

But in my opinion, his current financial plight is not caused by his decision to set up a family. In fact, it is a misconception among many Singaporeans that “if you don’t have money, you should not get married in the first place as marriage requires financial commitments”.

personal finance

Importance of Emergency and Opportunity Funds

Dec 31, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 742 Views 4 Comments

Today is the last day of year 2012. I am happy to note that I managed to build up my personal Emergency Fund that allows me and my family to survive without my income for six months.

It took me more than two years to save up this amount of money. This is because I had used up all my personal savings for my wedding last year. In addition, I am also the sole-breadwinner, had a baby girl and owns a car. Therefore, it took me quite some time to save up this amount of money. My partner and myself decided that we would only dip into fund when I lost my job or faced a personal finance crisis. Henceforth, we put the fund into a fixed deposit.

I always encourage young people who just entered the workforce to build up their Emergency Fund as soon as possible. Life is always unpredictable. You never know when you will lose your job or encounter personal finance crisis.

Having an emergency fund can help to provide short term security against market uncertainties. It allows you and your family to carry on life as per normal whilst you embark on the recovery journey.

Insurance coverage; medical shield; financial planning; personal finance

Importance of buying insurance when you are healthy

Dec 17, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 812 Views 6 Comments

As 2012 is coming to an end, I am reviewing my financial health status. I got married last year and this year my baby girl was born. Therefore, one of the outcome of my review is to purchase the Aviva SAF Group Term Life Policy. I think it is one of the most value for money term policies in Singapore. For as little as S$4.21, applicants can be insured up to a maximum coverage of $1000,000. Of course, only NSFs, NSmen and personnel working for MINDEF are eligible for this policy.

The need to have adequate insurance cover really hit me hard twenty years ago when I was in secondary school. My dad, who was the sole breadwinner, suffered from stroke then and was unable to work. My family lost our sole income and to make things worse, my dad did not purchase any insurance covers. As a result, we went through a period of financial hardship. On hindsight, if my father had bought any life insurance policies when he was healthy, our family situation would definitely be better.

It is important that you insured yourself for the correct amount of protection. In addition, it is important that you buy the correct policies.

salaries

Year end bonuses

Dec 5, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 913 Views 0 Comments

It is that time of the year when salaried workers collect their year end bonuses. A couple of weeks ago, the government had also declared 13th month and 0.70 month variable bonuses for all civil servants. With the world economy still in the doldrums, I believe most Singapore workers’ year end bonuses would be modest, in view of anticipated moderated growth for Singapore economy.

This year will be the 7th time I am collecting year-end bonuses. I will be receiving 2.5 months of bonuses, excluding 13th month. The amount is not big, but substantial enough for me to settle my renovation and insurance loans. I also intend to set aside some money for some investments and my baby’s endowment plan. I targeted to settle my car loan by next year-end, using next year’s bonuses. With that, I would only need to worry about my housing loan.

It is important for me to settle these loans as soon as possible as I am currently the house hold sole breadwinner. For those in the same situation as me, you would understand the pressure I am facing. On looking back, this period marks an important milestone for me as I embark on my wealth journey toward financial freedom.

Entrepreneurship

Earn your first million as an appreneur

Nov 20, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 1067 Views 1 Comment

Given the prevalent use of mobile phone, is it possible to earn your first million as an appreneur?

Nowadays, most people carry smart phones and download apps. This represent a good opportunity to make good money from making apps. In fact, with the advent of online technology, the entry barrier to develop an app has been lowered. Nowadays, you don’t need much programming skill to develop a simple app. All you need is a good solid idea that has not been developed as an app and is useful in our daily lives.

Every now and then, you would come across articles on wonder kids who became rich from developing apps. Some of these kids were not even 10 years old when they made their first million! So now everybody, whether you are old or young, has a chance to become rich through developing apps.

You stand a much higher chance earning your first million from developing an app than striking the toto or lotteries. And you don’t need to quit your job to become a full time appreneur either. You can develop apps after work and at your own sweet pace.

If you don’t like the process of developing an app but nevertheless would like to own an app, you can engage a developer for help.

Retirement

Retiring in Singapore

Nov 19, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 776 Views 1 Comment

Recently, on a flight to Japan for work, I watched Andy Lau and Deanie Ip’s A Simple Life. The heartwarming film is based on a true story of a producer and his servant. It is about a relationship between a young master called Roger (Lau) and the servant of the family who raised him, Sister Peach (Ip). I had a lot of mixed feelings after watching the film and decided to blog down my thoughts.

Just like Hong Kong, Singapore is also facing the ageing population issue. To tackle the “silver tsunami”, the government is currently building up the infrastructure, such as nursing homes, community hospitals, training more nurses, doctors and therapists. But I suppose there is so much our government can do, in terms of hardware.

In Singapore, we are still lacking in software to manage the ageing issue. For example, every now and then, we read in the news of elderly who passed away unknown in their homes. Their decomposed were only discovered after their neighbours reported foul stench to the police. I believe as more and more Singaporeans choose to be single, the issue of providing community support to lone seniors will be a problem in the next few decades.

Property investment; Singapore market;

Reckless HDB buyers

Nov 15, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 768 Views 2 Comments

Lately, one of the fellow bloggers responded to one of my previous posting which criticized him for promoting unethical values in The Finance SG. I always believe in differences in views and accepted that different people can have different opinions and outlook in life.

But promoting unethical values that border on criminal act of false information declaration is another matter altogether (the culprit actually lied to the authority and gave fake information for delaying the signing of agreement so that he can use his girlfriend’s December CPF bonuses to pay for the downpayment).

The culprit got the cheek to claim he got the money to pay the downpayment. Fine then go ahead and pay in cold hard cash please. By delaying the payment, the blogger is actually depriving another deserving Singaporean couple of a chance to own a HDB flat. My sister-in-law is among those who are affected by such scumbags.

This fellow needs a reality check but obviously he is still a student and has not stepped into the working world.

And to top it off, his younger sister of 21 years old is also applying for a HDB flat after getting into a relationship of 7 months. No wonder the government is implementing measures to prevent young couples from abusing the system.

Stocks

My investment adventure with YHM (formerly known as China Enersave)

Nov 14, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 1104 Views 2 Comments

I invested in YHM, formerly known as China Enersave, since 2008. Recently, I noted that it is currently one of the top traded stock in Singapore stock market. I would like to share with my readers my investment experience on this stock.

Back in 2008, China Enersave was a company that specialized in building and operating biomass generation plants in China. The business model was good as it collected waste biomass from farmers in China and used the waste as feedstock to generate electricity.

However, instead of focussing on the renewable energy sector, the company made the terrible mistake of investing in one coal powerplant. The management team hope to generate revenue from the coal powerplant to fuel the expansion of its biomass plants. Apparently this strategy did not work out as the fluctuating coal prices hurt their revenue from the coal powerplant. Second mistake by the company was that it had diversified it’s business ventures too much and had lost focus. At one point, it had 7 to 10 business associates/subsidiaries, ranging from property investment, renewable energy and marine scaffolding.

Because of these factors, coupled with the financial crisis in 2008-2009, the company was on the brink of being liquidated in 2011.

personal finance

Lending money to friends

Nov 12, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 718 Views 5 Comments

Recently, one of my army acquaintances texted me to borrow money from me. He is one of my reservist army bunkmates and I got to know him only a few years back (both of us were from different units during active times).

When I received his message for help, I was a bit apprehensive to lend him the money. This is because my father was hospitalized recently and my wife is a full-time homemaker. And I have a baby daughter. So I thought to myself if I had any spare cash, my priority would go to my immediate family first.

After some thinking, I texted him back and explained my financial situation to him. I also suggested to lend him $50 instead. He understood my plight and politely turned down my suggestion.

I suppose most of us would face financial difficulties at certain points in our lives. Sometimes we really need a helping hand from close friends to tide us over obstacles. I believe in this case, my friend genuinely needed my help but unfortunately, I could not support his request due to my family circumstances. I wish him all the best and hope things would turn out well for him.

Property investment; Singapore market; housing prices

5 room HDB BTO flat

Oct 30, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 743 Views 15 Comments

I came across a blogger in The Finance SG and felt compelled to blog down my thoughts. Apparently this blogger and his girlfiriend had purchased a 5-room HDB BTO flat but had difficulty forking out $4000 cash for the balance downpayment. He is still a full-time student and has no income.

Lack of integrity
After reading his article, I can only said this blogger has no integrity at all. He bragged that he managed to fool the HDB into delaying the signing of the agreement lease for many times. This is because he don’t have the cash to pay the balance downpayment and has to depend on his girlfriend’s year end bonus and use her CPF savings to pay for it.

To me, this fellow don’t deserve the flat at all. Obviously he don’t have the financial capability to afford the flat, so HDB should have given the flat to more deserving applicants. In fact, I wondered aloud how in the bloody world did his Housing Loan Eligibility got approved? The couple’s monthly income is only $2400 and this guy is still studying. Either HDB is not doing their due diligence or this blogger is telling half truth.

Self-denial and overestimation of ability
One of the blogger’s readers pointed out that if he cannot even afford $4000, he has no business buying such a huge flat.

personal finance

Singapore government revamped Medishield

Oct 18, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 580 Views 0 Comments

On 10 Oct 2012, I wrote an article on “The state of healthcare in Singapore” and criticized the limitations of 3M (Medisave, Medishield and Medifund). Two days after my blog posting was published, the Singapore government immediately announced changes in the Medishield, our national healthcare insurance. Among the changes included the coverage and claim limits for policyholders.

Readers might call it pure coincidence. After all, the changes would take effect only in March next year, even though it was announced two days after my blog posting. I would like to think so but more importantly, the response validates my concerns of the state of healthcare in Singapore. In my previous posting, I had criticized Medishield’s fine print of “SGD50,000 maximum claim per policy year”. The government noted that and stated that they would increase the cap to SGD70,000 next year.

Some readers may argue that enhancement is incremental only but I feel that at least the government is moving in the right direction. In fact, the announced changes in the Medishield only served to reinforce my argument that it is time for our national insurance policy to be enhanced. Going forward, I feel that the next step should be to relax the ruling on the use of Medisave and also to review the eligibility requirements of Medifund.

Money management; personal finance; relationship

The state of healthcare in Singapore

Oct 10, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 825 Views 8 Comments

The past few weeks has been very distressing for my family. My dad was hopitalized and warded in the intensive care unit for pneumonia. During this period, we received a couple of calls from the hospital informing us that my dad was in very critical condition and that we should visit him immediately.

Thankfully, he pulled through and is now warded in the general ward. At the back of our mind, we were also very concerned about the costs incurred because we are all aware of the exorbitant hospitalization fees in Singapore.

Incidentally, my late father-in-law was also hospitalized in intensive care unit, albeit last year. His situation was more complicated as he needed a lot of blood transfusion, kidney dialysis and other life supporting equipment aids. Eventually, his body could not take it and he passed on after three months in the intensive care unit. His hospitalisation bills amounted to more than S$300,000 and after Medishield and subsidies, my wife’s family still owed the hospital ten of thousands dollars hospital bills. The hospital (which is different from my dad’s) hounded my wife’s family for payment and even issued them with lawyer’s letters.

The $8.00 operation
I recalled in 2010, one of our Singapore ministers had a heart bypass operation and he bragged to the whole world that he only paid S$8.00 for the hospital bills.

Self improvement

Investment mistakes

Oct 4, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 0 Views 5 Comments

In my previous post, one of my readers, “Jack”, wrote me a long comment. He blasted me for being callous and for gloating over Genneva victims’ plight.

Well, firstly I must apologize that his comment was inadvertently deleted today when I used my iphone to view his comment. As my policy is to publish all comments, I sincerely hope Jack can re-post his comment again in my blog for sharing purposes. With regard to his comment, I have a few issues which I think need some clarification.

Fools Never Learn
The objective of my previous blog is never to provoke anyone. If readers find my blog offensive, there is always a choice not to patronize my blog. Now, if you ask me again, I would still say those who lost their money in the Genneva fiasco deserved it. In fact, I hope they don’t get back a single cent at all. Why?

Because people never learn unless they are taught a painful lesson in life. In 2008, a lot of Singaporean lost their money investing in Minibonds. About 8,000 people in Singapore had sunk in S$376 million in Series 1 to 3 and 5 to 10 of the Minibond notes. They thought that they were investing in bonds and since they were sold by local financial institutes, they couldn’t go wrong.

Money management; personal finance; Investment

Gold scams

Oct 2, 2012 sgwealthbuilder 779 Views 0 Comments

A few days ago, I saw a Channel 8 news bulletin on Genneva Gold Trading Firm, which is a company that offers gold buyback scheme to investors. Apparently, it is being sued by its customers for not meeting its financial obligations. Quite a number of Singaporeans had actually invested with the company.

In the news, one customer even [This is a premium article. The rest of the content is blocked and can be accessible by SG Wealth Builder Members only. To read the full content, please sign up as member.]

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