Gotten HRW over the CNY break

Covid 19 seems to be quite distanced from me until my brother got positive on CNY eve, what a start to the long CNY break . Then we scrambled to read up on the everchanging protocol in order to know what to do next. After he was confirmed positive with the ART as well as the PCR test at the clinic near our house, the rest of the family members were issued with a health risk warning (HRW) one day after.

We self isolated and submitted the results of our ART results immediately after gotten the SMS to test within 24 hours. We were to test daily for 7 days and we can go about doing our normal activities if tested negative. We minimized going out, only going out to get the ART test kits and to get the daily necessities. 

The CNY this year was certainly quite memorable, toned down reunion dinner, strictly no house visiting, maybe the only optimistic part was that the other family members are still fine at the moment.

Till today, my brother is still tested positive. I guess living with Covid 19 will be the norm in Singapore especially with the spike in the cases in this few days. 

Take good care, stay safe and be responsible, Cheers everyone.

How to plan Asset allocations for various life stages

 

As the saying goes: "Money is earned, not saved." It actually means that we need to earn AND manage money in order to grow it. Only when we have a clear financial management goal, can we better understand what kind of investment tools we will need, making financial planning more effective.

But before that, we should have a clear understanding of our financial values ​​in order to better "prescribe the right medicine." In a broad picture, people born after 1980 can be divided into the following 6 categories according to their financial values:

①  1. Diligent Group: Choose to struggle first and then enjoy. Actively save, know how to increase income and reduce expenditure, live within their means, can quickly accumulate funds, and use funds for investment and financial management.

②  2. Enjoy First Group: Enjoy first and then struggle, focus on the immediate enjoyment of life, have strong purchasing power and consumption power, spend as much as they earn, and basically have no savings.

③  3. The hard-working Group: In the initial stage, the main goal is to purchase real estate. In addition to the long-term pressure of housing loans, they also need to prepare for their children's education expenses.

④  4. Dink Group: Pay attention to personal development, do not have children after marriage, and prefer to live in the two-person world. It should be noted that when one of the parties has an accident or financial risk, it is easy to trigger a marital crisis.

⑤  5. Non-married Group: Although there is no huge financial demand-buying real estate or preparing children's education funds, one should understand the indisputable fact that one will eventually grow old.

⑥  6. NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) Group: One is mostly at home, does not start a business or work, and the living expenses are all provided by the parents. In addition to consuming social resources, it is also easy to cause adverse effects on society.

Specifically, the life cycle of a family can be roughly divided into four stages: the "formation period" from being single to the establishment of a family; the "growth period" when children grow up; the "maturity period" when the family and career develop together; and from retirement to the end-of-life "ageing period".

The following focuses on the three stages of "formation period", "growth period" and "maturity period", and provide corresponding asset allocation suggestions. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.

Formation period: quickly accumulate wealth

Our life is not long nor short, the earlier you plan for financial management, the more wealth you can accumulate. We can start with the following 4 basic financial management steps:

1. Keeping track of income and expenditure: It allows you to understand your own consumption behaviors and habits, and can better control your future economic budget by sorting out whether each item of living expenses is reasonable.

2. Income: work hard and make money, set up a dedicated financial account for investment, and choose suitable financial products for investment.

3. Expenditure: living within your means and controlling shopping desires, such as coming up a shopping list before shopping and purchasing strictly in accordance to the list.

4. Value-addition: From the perspective of long-term interests, we will need to understand and improve professional ability. For example, to obtain various skills certificates to prepare for future promotion.

From the perspective of asset allocation:

Investment advisors used to recommend a rule of thumb where the investor will subtract their age from 100 to know the allocation for stocks in their portfolio. However due to the higher life expectancy, recommended formulae is to subtract your age from 110 or 120 to be more aggressive in stocks. The rest can be in less risky financial products such as bonds, ETFs, etc.

Growth period: emphasis on asset preservation and appreciation

The age of 30 to 50 is a period of heavy responsibility for life. This age needs to bear multiple financial pressures. Therefore, the proportion of investment in core assets can be adjusted appropriately.

From the perspective of asset allocation, planning can be made from the following four aspects:

1. Reserve a family fund: generally 6-12 months of family living expenses, in case of emergency.

2. Repay various types of loans: such as car loans, housing loans and general consumer loans.

3. Prepare children's education funds: to support children from kindergarten to university, the tuition and miscellaneous fees and various living expenses during this period will require a lot of money.

4. Retirement planning: The sooner you prepare for retirement planning, the less economic pressure you will bear.

Maturity period: Stay conservative and avoid risks

During the period from the age of 50 to critical retirement, our funds should be invested in more conservative or prudent financial products.

From the perspective of asset allocation, there is basically no income from work in the elderly after retirement, and they can only rely on CPF to pay for various expenses that may be faced, including necessary expenses for maintaining life, medical or nursing expenses, etc.

At this stage, good health is as important as wealth. Therefore, investment and financial management should prioritize "stability" and choose low-risk financial products, focusing on fixed income.

Do a good job in investment and financial management to achieve financial freedom

Financial management is lifetime homework. The greatest achievement of investment guru Warren Buffett when conducting financial management in stages, he always stays sober, adheres to medium and long-term investments, and follows the principle of asset allocation that is, investing in familiar ones. Only invest in what you are familiar with.

Read also:

The eight golden periods of financial management in life, have you missed them?

Listen: Podcast

10 Rules to a Happy Life

 

At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, I always hear the wishes of "Happy New Year to you". Some people say that happiness is too difficult; maybe it Is because we often forget that happiness is a choice.

Learn these 10 rules of happy life, let's wave goodbye to sorrow and welcome the new year with great strides.

01     Stop thinking too much

Some people like to think too much, ponder too much on the trivialities of life repeatedly, and find fault with themselves, but in the end they just increase anxiety. Don't be overly restrained and sensitive, face life with a normal heart. When people are comfortable, they will feel much better.

02     Don’t pay too much attention to other people’s opinions

I have seen many people who care too much about other people's opinions and try to seek their own value in the other people’s evaluations. But in fact, life is our own; we each have our own light. Let go of paranoia, don't be distracted, and live the present moment, so that you can be more relaxed and comfortable.

03     Control bad mood, release good aura

As the saying goes: nine out of ten things don't go well in life. Those who are always happy are not without problems, but they all know how to control their emotions and are not affected by bad emotions or bad temper. Only by maintaining a good attitude can you control life and feel the beauty of life.

04     Find your comfort zone

Many people have a misunderstanding of the comfort zone, thinking that being in the comfort zone is about being content with the status quo and just living with it. In fact, finding a comfort zone does not mean not working hard, but being able to do what you want to do and be good at, and have a temporary shelter when you are sad.

05     Occasionally "muddled" once

Being forgetful, laugh when something happens, give yourself a time to buffer and relax occasionally, there is nothing wrong. Don't be too serious about things that are unplanned, you will be happier if you are a little muddled.

06     Learn to reject

Some people say: "When you are in your twenties, you feel that life is too long. In fact, sometimes, life is very short." Learn to reject other people's unreasonable demands and things that make you unhappy. Have more joy.

07     Develop Hobbies

Happiness is found by oneself. Cultivate one or two hobbies, such as reading, sports, cooking, growing flowers. Let go of the impetuous mood and experience the joy of life from simple little things, you will become more and more loving life.

08     Tidy up regularly

It has to be said that cleaning up the room seems to have a magical power. Playing your favorite music, tidying up the house, and sweeping away the bad emotions that have accumulated for a long time. The resultant is that the room is cleaner and your mood is brighter.

09     Exercise regularly

Many people have the experience that exercise can make people feel good. Exercise is also an excellent skin care product. People who insist on exercising are healthier in body and mind, and they are more confident. So, go to exercise when you have free time, there is no bad mood that can't be driven away by sweat.

10     Sufficient Sleep

A good night's sleep is probably the easiest way to relax. After a busy day, all the bad emotions were quietly healed in the warm bed at the moment of lying in bed. Tonight, remember to go to bed early and let good dreams heal your body and mind.

 

May you always keep a smile on your face and love for life in the new year.

Read also:

Ten years later, will you thank yourself today?

Listen: Podcast

Learn these financial management thinking, you can also make money with "money"

Li Ka-shing once said that before the age of 30, one needs to make money from physical strength, and after the age of 30, one needs to make money from “money”.

This sentence tells us that it is very important to learn how to make money by using money to make money.

Before the age of 30, it is a kind of growth, a kind of experience, a kind of knowledge accumulation process.

After the age of 30, both work and life are becoming stable. At this time, we use our own "wealth" to create wealth, which means that at this time, we should pay attention to the way of "making money with money".

That is to say, use your own knowledge, contacts, skills and other wealth to increase the value of your wealth and make money with money!

In short, you must work for money before the age of 30. After the age of 30, you must learn to make money work for yourself and make money with money! Just learn to invest and manage money.

To make money with money, it is an indispensable to have certain investment and financial management knowledge, and the following points can help us better achieve the goal of "making money with money":

First, be aware of financial management

First of all, it must be clear that financial management is not exclusive to the rich, because financial management is needed even if there is no money, so that family financial management is healthy!

We want to buy a house and a car, but we sigh that our income is too low. In fact, after learning financial planning, we discovered that we can realize our dreams after reasonable allocation of income and expenditure and formulating financial planning. The key is whether we implement and learn: Financial management.

For example, if you want to buy a $45,000 item in three years, you need to save 15,000 every year, which is broken down to 1,250 a month.

And if you invest your money from regular savings every month, you may only need to save 1,000 to achieve your goal.

Therefore, many needs can be achieved through financial management, but the key is to have a correct understanding of financial management.

For example, some people feel that they have no money, but through compulsory savings and investment and financial management compound interest, they can be surprised to find that they can also become "rich people." In the past, stocks and fund investments were so remote, but only after researching did they discover that it was not as difficult as imagined.

But what is really difficult is my own knowledge and awareness of financial management.

Financial management is life management, clear the finances in life, clarify your life goals, determine the life you want, you will find that financial management is so easy! All my dreams have been realized one by one!

Second, learn financial knowledge from various sources

Speaking of financial investment, many novices may find it difficult, but no one is born with financial management skill.

If you don’t understand, I suggest you read more financial newspaper articles, gradually build up financial awareness and concepts, or get to know some professional financial managers, which can lead you to improve financial management skills.

I never read financial news before, and I found it boring, but after researching on financial management, I was concerned about my investment income.

Therefore, I pay attention to various financial news, policy documents, articles by financial experts, etc everyday. You can learn financial trends from financial news, and only by advancing with the times can you follow the market in financial management and win good returns.

Also read various professional financial management books to improve investment skills.

Through all aspects of financial management learning, I will continuously improve my investment and financial management skills to make my investment more practical and confident! Then investment can obtain greater returns.

Third, set personal financial goals

In the process of financial management, if you want to obtain greater and higher returns, then you have to set financial goals for yourself, so that you have motivation!

Financial management needs to set financial goals, that is, financial income goals.

For this goal, I suggest only making an annual financial management income target, because the economic situation is uncertain every year, so the income target plan is made on an annual basis. After completing the annual income plan, it is then allocated to the monthly plan, so that it can be executed more easily.

The financial income target should not be too high. It is generally recommended to set the average target of your family's financial management funds.

For example, money for fixed income from renting, as well as money for investing in stocks and floating income of funds, etc., you can set a general goal according to your own financial management skills, and then work hard to complete it!

When you reach your financial goals, you must know how to take profits in a timely manner, and you must not be too greedy.

The original intention of setting financial goals is to urge oneself to continuously improve financial awareness, increase investment awareness, and continuously allow wealth to accumulate and appreciate!

Fourth, financial investment must be done within one's ability

When people invest in financial management, they compare wit other people’s income, even to the extent of copying their way of financial management, but the result is that the more you manage your financial affairs, the more you will fail, and lose your principal.

Any investment and financial management is risky, and the return is proportional to the risk. The higher the return of the financial product, the greater the risk.

Therefore, when investing in financial management, you should not blindly chase high-risk financial products, you must learn to configure financial products within your own risk tolerance range.

For example, some prudent investors don't know much about stock funds, so don't follow the trend to buy stocks. They can choose bank wealth management products, treasury bonds, bond funds and other investments based on their own risk tolerance.

And for prudent investors, 70% of the capital invested must be low-risk products.

If you are a person with high risk tolerance and have certain investment experience, you can choose aggressive stocks and fund investments. If your investment skills are immature, you can choose fund ETFs or fixed investment funds.

In general, no matter who you are investing, you must choose a financial product that suits your investment skills and risks, and you must not operate blindly.

When investing in financial management, you must remember a classic saying: Keeping your principal means winning!

Read also:

Warren Buffett’s 10 classic ideas, learning to think like him

Learn to do "subtraction" at times, so life can in turn be "addition"

 

01

I still remember when I was in university; I will choose a quiet corner in the library and start my day. I really like this kind of life where there is no interruption, having my ‘alone’ time.

My friend Jane is different from me: she will keep herself busy by participating in various competitions and obtained various certificates. Her life is full of actions and envied by many people.

But she also has her own worries. She found that she couldn't even devote herself 100% to her studies. Even if the phone was on silent mode, she always picked up the phone to see if there is a new task. She felt like she was just plain busy, and she was envious of me being able to live a regular life according to my plan.

University life provided us with many choices and opportunities. It’s easy for us young people to think about everything, only to find out at the end that we are so tired yet so busy that we have no direction. In fact, if you are willing to do ‘subtraction’ for your life, you can live more fulfillingly.

02

After getting out of university, as I got older, I discovered that the simpler life is, the easier it is.

There is a friend of me who likes to buy and buy. Her purchase routine is: if she was only attracted by the cover of the book, she would buy it; when she saw beautiful clothes, she bought them immediately, but put them in the corner of the closet without wearing them. Finally, she got more and more things in the house, it was a pity to throw it away.

Later, she finally made up her mind to make a change. First is to throw away or donate useless things. Second, remind herself whether it is necessary before buying things, and clean the room regularly. As a result, her room has become particularly minimal, she said: I feel that the burden on my heart has become less after seeing her house when she goes home everyday.

03

In addition to simplifying the material items, inner cleansing is even more important.

My cousin is a very caring person. It's always difficult to let go and feel unhappy because of someone's unbelievable words and unkind things. Once, she met someone who had attacked her before. She originally wanted to find a reason to attack him this time, but found that the other party could no longer remember who she was. My cousin only realized that others had forgotten everything, and she was the only one who was stuck in the midst of it.

We always conceal the people and things that have hurt us, and it is hard to let go. We then become negative. In fact, it is just that we can't get through ourselves. Don't let some unimportant people and things condense into a burden and affect your life. Press the delete button, you will feel much lighter.

In many cases, we want too many things, but we really need very little. By ‘subtracting’ items from our lives at times, we will have more energy and time to enjoy the beauty of life and pursue a more meaningful life.

Read also:

Warren Buffett's time management: the free-er, the rich-er

How to save money during grocery shopping

Since the start of pandemic, I have been spending more on groceries and cooking at home. I was curious how I can reduce unnecessary expenditure on groceries so I did research to how I can make grocery shopping more cost efficient.

1. Eat before you go shopping. If you go shopping hungry, you’ll spend a lot more.  Grocery stores purposely let the smell of baking bread waft through their bakery aisles, triggering the cravings of unsuspecting customers. To avoid coming under a sudden hankering for carbs, stay away from the bakery.

2. Avoid prepared food. They will most probably cost more for the convenience.

3. Make a list. Sit down to make a shopping list. Make the list comprehensive enough to include everything you need, then stick to it! There’s no point in planning your shopping if you’re going to add impulse items to your shopping cart when you get to the store.

4. Do not take your children or your spouse. If you have kids, this one should be self-explanatory. It’s difficult to stick to a shopping list when you have other people throwing things into the cart.

5. Take a calculator. Be prepared to put things back on the shelf if the numbers don’t add up. Get in the habit of including prices on your shopping list, and set priorities so you’ll know what not to buy if the prices aren’t right.

6. Take cash only. If you set realistic food budget and only take that much cash to the store, then there’s NO WAY you can overspend! Leave the credit card and the ATM card at home, and you’ll have no choice but to stick to your budget.

7. Buy in bulk, especially for non-perishables items.

8. Consider shopping from bottom to top to grab a better deal. Most of the expensive items are placed around 1.5m off the ground (or at ‘eye level’) where most customers are looking for and grabbing items to place in the cart.

9. Get the smaller shopping cart or better still, get the basket. It is more psychological, it is the same theory as you are likely to eat more food when you get a bigger plate. Thus get a basket so that you don’t fill up the shopping cart.

10. Shop from inside out. Grocery stores will most probably place the essentials at the back; this will help to reduce the time and money in the other aisles.

Read also:

The truth about shopping you didn’t know: buying expensive stuff is saving money

One’s greatest upbringing is to forgive parents’ imperfections

01

I once saw a post: "Why do one always lose control of their temper and want to blame their parents when they make a naive mistake?" The answer that impressed me the most was: We are angry with our parents, but not angry they did something wrong, but angry that they shouldn't be the wrongdoer.

They used to tell you not to talk to strangers, but now they can blabber our family issues to random people who sell unknown health products on the street; they used to tell you not to anyhow spend money, but now they will just buy things we do not need but they are on discounts in the shopping centre; they used to tell you things you should do, but now they always break their promises.

The reason why you are unhappy is actually because you have discovered their imperfections, but you are still reluctant to admit and understand them.

02

Two or three years ago, my mother suddenly became fascinated with cheongsam. Every time she went shopping, she had to carry one or two pieces back. The colors of each cheongsam are mainly of red, green and purple. It was very ‘flashy’. Every time she puts on a new cheongsam, she had to stand in front of me and asked if she look good. My answer will very negative every time: "It's not good-looking."

I found my mother packing her cheongsam and preparing to give it to others one morning. I asked her what was wrong, she sighed and said disheartenedly: "I'm old and can't wear it anymore."

At that moment, I understood why she always asked me if she looked good. The affirmation of us as her children means that she is still young. But I understood it too late and had hurt her too many times inadvertently.

I have come across this short story: "I don’t remember loving my parents. When I was young, I was afraid of them, and when I was older, I began to bother them. When I grow even older, we will argue when we met, and since don’t know when, I began to look down on them. Although I know that I need to be responsible for them but I just cannot bring myself to do that.”

The stupidest way to show care and concern is to show your parents a nasty face and tell them: "You are wrong, you are so stupid", and you think you are doing them well.

03

There is a saying that goes: "When parents are getting older, it is always difficult to change their mindset. it is necessary to ask children to forgive their parents instead."

Let them ask questions that they can’t understand; let them make some naive mistakes; let them express some outdated opinions; let them do things they like, even though you may not agree with those things. Don't rush to preach to your parents. 

In many cases, filial piety is not to do what we think is good, but to make them feel good.

We always think that our parents are not perfect, but we don't know that they have silently paid a lot behind our backs in order to make you recognize them. As we grow up, we should gradually accept the fact that our parents are just ordinary people, and should gradually understand their difficulties.

When your parents are old, please remember to love them as they did when they loved you. Don't do things that will make you regret it, and don't wait until they are gone to leave regrets.

The greatest upbringing of a person is to forgive the imperfections of his parents. May I wish all the parents live a long and healthy life! We won't be here without them !

Read also:

There is a kind of happiness, that is to go home and eat