Thursday 17 November 2016

Costs of Happiness... Early Retirement...?

小胖 had mentioned before that his goal or target is to be semi-retired at 45 years old. However, over these few months, he always had this thought at the back of his mind... 

Yes, many wished to semi-retire/ retire by as early as possible. But what are the costs involved? Does it mean going on fewer dates with your spouse? Does it mean spending lesser time with your friends? Does it mean taking on a few jobs to ensure that money keeps rolling in constantly? 

For the past few years, he had tried to scrimp and save as much as possible that meals with the wife-to-be are spent usually in hawker centres. Dinner and drinks with friends are reduced to once every month or bi-monthly. Even though there are visible savings, which are in turn plunged into the portfolio, or kept for weathering the market downturns. 

However, sometimes he could feel that he may not be spending the quality time with the wife-to-be or with his best friends. At times, the wife-to-be may even grumble "huh, hawker centre again?!", though she would gladly go with me at the end of the day or his friends may moan "why you cannot come again?!". 

In circumstances like these, it made 小胖 feel very disappointed discontented with himself... Yes, he his saving for his marriage. Yes, he is saving for his early retirement. But at what costs? Short-term pains, long term gains? 

As much as possible, 小胖 has been increasing the frequency of bringing the wife-to-be for meals at restaurants (fast-food ones, at least), and has been meeting his friends for dinner and drinks more often... 

The target of being semi-retired by 45 years old is still vivid in my mind. But he believes that he should not give up the opportunity of not experiencing his life. 

Different conditions at different ages may change his way of thinking, but would you do if you were in his shoes now...? 

Monday 4 July 2016

小胖's Portfolio Updates (Jun'16)


Share Name
No. of Shares
CapitaCommercial Trust
4000
Keppel REIT
5000
Hyflux 6% Perp. Securities
4000
HPH Trust
5000
Perennial n4.65% 181023
2000
Figtree
10000
AIMSAMP Capital REIT
1300
SPH
400
Starhill Global REIT
1000
SoilBuild Business REIT
1200
Lippo Malls Trust
2000
Global Logistics Trust
400
KingsmenCreative
300

During the month of June, 小胖 busted his set-aside expenses due to a few unwelcomed expenses. Foreseeing the 1-2% increment in July, 小胖 has to plan out his expenses more prudently to save/ invest for the future. 

In the month of June, 小胖 also made a few transactions in his SCB trading account, where the main gist was to reduce the number of small lots that he had previously, and increase the number of current holdings so that the brokerage fees of $10++ is more worthy starting Aug'16. 

Reductions:
1. Sold off 200 shares of CCT @ gain of $14 (the rest of the 4000 shares are in his poems trading account and still his largest holding till date). 
2. Sold off 100 shares of M1 @ loss of $5.70 (including dividends) to reduce the exposure of this stock as he do not see M1 as a long term stock to average up/ down.
3. Sold off 100 shares of STI ETF @ gain of $4.10 (including dividends) as he does not see a reason in the near future to do Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA). 

Additions
1. Added 100 shares of AA REIT to increase his holdings for this stock. 小胖 fell in love with this stock with the consistent amount of dividends that it had distributed over the past three years. 
2. Added 200 shares of SB REIT to take advantage of the low prices in recent weeks due to the depressed prices after Technics Offshore Engineering and Technics Oil & Gas failed to pay their rental. 小胖 believes that this REIT still has the potential to provide steady dividends over the long run.
3. Added 200 shares of GLP to increase his exposure to this stock. The main reason was due to the undervalued share price currently and the amount of share buybacks that the company has been performing in recent weeks to boost market confidence and actions. 
4. Bought 300 shares of KMC to expose his portfolio to another sector after being heavy on properties. 小胖 always had a love for companies with high cash hoard and little debt. 小胖 hope to increase his holdings should prices continue to hover around this price, before Aug'16 of course... 


Lastly, post-brexit, 小胖 was shocked surprised that most global markets were not affected by the news and continued rising for the past few trading days. However, he hopes that he will be able to take conservative baby steps, unaffected by news noises, towards his goal of achieving financial freedom by 45!

Till then! 

Tuesday 14 June 2016

小胖's Credit Score

Inspired by GMGH's post on his credit score, 小胖 went on to register to view my credit score.

小胖 has always wanted to view his credit rating report, and believes that everyone should should it once annually. Previously, it takes $6.42 to check your credit score, but for the month of June, SingSaver has collaborated with Singapore's Credit Bureau to provide FREE credit report for interested users in June. I believe this is part of a programme to instill financial and credit awareness to Singaporeans. So... if you are interested in viewing your credit score, follow the instructions HERE!

According to the explanation given by Credit Bureau, your credit score will affect your eligibility to obtain credit and qualify for loans. 

So, here's 小胖's credit rating report...


Based on the highest score of 2000, where 2000 depicts individuals having the lowest chance of reaching a delinquency status. According to his score of 1994, he only has a 0.08% probability of default. Seems like 小胖 has a rather good credit rating! 

For some who may not understand why his/her loans amount are smaller, or face difficulties in his/her loan or credit cards application process, it may be worthwhile to review your credit score once in a while. 

Friday 10 June 2016

小胖's Money Management Tip #2

小胖 had tried and tested several iPhone apps to note down his daily expenses, so that he would have to think twice before deciding to splurge and then regret it afterwards. Unfortunately, he would always forget to update it daily, or maybe he's just too lazy to do it... 

It was then he decided to organise his entire input and output altogether in a single spreadsheet. Otherwise known as my Net Worth, which Investopedia describes it as the amount of assets exceeding liabilities. 

Source: www.financialjuneteenth.com

Updating this spreadsheet allows 小胖 to gain an overall awareness on items such as: 
1) Whether his stocks portfolio has increased in value month-on-month?
2) Whether the balances in his savings account has increased month-on-month? 
3) Has his long-term liabilities decreased in value? 
4) Has he paid ALL his credit card bills? 
5) Ensuring that his Net Worth increases gradually over the months. 

The spreadsheet has included CPF savings as part of his assets as ultimately 小胖 feels that the amount in his CPF savings are his, and there's no reason that we should segregate CPF savings aside from his current Net Worth. There are a number of ways to utilise the amount in his CPF account, though he haven't been doing it. But in the near future, 小胖 will update on what are the ways that your money in your CPF account can be used for. 

Going back to the topic, 小胖 makes it a point to update this spreadsheet weekly, if not fortnightly, and the goods news is that he has been doing it religiously for the past six months now! 

The general idea of constantly updating this spreadsheet is to keep my savings and expenses in check. Not only it instills discipline in myself, it also lets me realise the purpose of saving part of my paycheck and helps me to keep in line in order to meet my financial goals or targets for the year. 

This basic spreadsheet was adapted during an online search late last year. Throughout the next few months, 小胖 will explore ways to:
1) insert a line chart to exhibit the gradual increase of his Net Worth.
2) highlight his financial goals and targets for the year in the spreadsheet. 


So how do you guys manage to keep tabs on your finances? Please let me know in the comments below! 



If you are interested in the spreadsheet, please click HERE

Sunday 5 June 2016

小胖 shows his portfolio

So... 小胖 started his investing journey in August 2012. Throughout these years, he has grown from a more-trader to a more-investor.

In the past, he remembered the heydays of 10-20% monthly returns on trading oil & gas stocks, shell companies, etc... Only to lose all of them in another one or two trades. He is not a fan of cutting loss, even when trading. That adrenaline rush, and fast heartbeats along with shrinking balls were the reasons why he decided to move from a trader to more of an investor.

As he started transiting from a more-trader to a more-investor, he started picking up REITs, before amassing more savings to pick up blue-chips, bit by bit. Using SCB trading account, he is able to pick up blue-chips in lots of 100 shares, ever since the kickstart of smaller lots trading on Jan 2015.

The smaller trading lots have also allowed him to use Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) if the share prices goes against his way.

Shown is his portfolio throughout these 3.5 years of investing (ranked according to % value in portfolio). Along the way, he had also done some trading on blue-chips, which are not listed here.


Share Name
No. of Shares
CapitaCommercial Trust
4200
Keppel REIT
5000
Hyflux 6% Perp. Securities
4000
HPH Trust
5000
Perennial n4.65% 181023
2000
Figtree
10000
AIMSAMP Capital REIT
1200
SPH
400
Starhill Global REIT
1000
SoilBuild Business REIT
1000
Lippo Malls Trust
2000
Global Logistics Trust
200
STI ETF
100
M1
100

As you can see, 小胖's portfolio is heavy on the property sector, which he feels is not a good sign. Thus, he is looking to diversify on other sectors, as well as building up his percentage of portfolio in bonds and other investments.

As of 2015, his dividend income stands at ~4%, he is hoping to increase it to reach ~5% in 2016 (conservative estimate).

Standby for updates on whether I can hit that target at the end of the year!

Saturday 23 April 2016

小胖's Money Management Tip #1

Since July 2015, 小胖's salary is automatically deposited into his OCBC 360 Savings Account, where he advocates 50% of his take-home salary into his spending account.



This 50% which he advocates into his spending account monthly are split into the following:
a) Parents' allowances: $370
b) Phone bills: $70
c) Transport: $100 (小胖 is too poor to afford a car...)
d) Remaining: ~$500 is used for food, daily expenses and dating funds

Funds in his OCBC 360 Savings Account now becomes part of his warchest for better opportunities in the market. In order to "preserve" the funds in this account, he does not apply for an ATM card, and tries to fulfil the required terms in order to maximise the interest returns on his savings.

The required terms as follows:
a) Crediting of his salary of at least $2000 [1.2%]
b) Pay any 3 bills online OR via GIRO [0.5%]
c) Spend a min. of $500 on any OCBC Credit Card [0.5%]
d) Insure or invest via OCBC platforms [0.5%]
e) Incremental Balances [additional 1%]

小胖 is only able to fulfil a, b and e. Using this as an example, if he has $10,000 in his account (and his incremental balance is $1,000), he is able to amass ~$15.69 monthly from his savings (inclusive of 0.05% base interest).

Find out more about the OCBC 360 Savings Account here!

Wednesday 20 April 2016

How did 小胖 get started in investing?

小胖 (Xiao-Pang) is a full-time employee, and part-time degree student at UniSIM. Born in 1991, he kick-started his investing journey in August 2012, when his dad encouraged him to invest in the stock market to achieve a possible higher returns than what the banks are offering on his savings account.

A sucker for dividends, he chose to invest mostly in what he knows best - Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). REITs are mandated to distribute at least 90% of its profits to its shareholders in order to enjoy tax transparency, which is why 小胖 loves investing in REITs!

The first stock he bought, Keppel REIT (K71U), which he still holds till today, has given him approximately 6% dividend yield annually! 


小胖 do not have a large amount of cash to begin investing with, while he is building up his warchest awaiting for the next market crash (oops!). At the same time, he needs a large sum of money to prepare for his wedding which is happening in a few months time! Therefore, he is watching the market at the sidelines, and is considering whether to re-balance his portfolio in order to free up some cash for his wedding preparations! 

Currently, 小胖 has a portfolio allocation of 93% in stocks (of which 76% are allocated in REITs and Property Trusts), and 7% in bonds. He is waiting for some better retail bonds and opportunities out there to re-balance his portfolio! 

I hope to share 小胖's investing journey in this blog, and to achieve 小胖's long-term goal of achieving financial freedom by 45 years old!