F.I.R.E Movement

 I have been listening to a lot of audio books, the one author i really like is Chris Hogan. He really have a nice audio voice and he's able to resonate with the common person like me. He start off that any one can be a millionaire and at an early age. The way he preaches are like a financial planner not to mention the passion that he rub off the person. I especially like the stories that he inject in between the lesson that he want o impact. 

To become a millionaire. Focus on building wealth and passive income streams. 

- Clear credit card debts, student loans, housing loan, car loan.

- Reduce spending to below 50% of your monthly income. That's where i can build up my emergency funds after 6 months. 

- Automate the savings to a index fund or stocks

- Look for side hustles to increase the income

- Increase savings to CPF account as well.

Earning my first keep as a caddie in 1990

I still remember when i was only 13 years old that i started to earn my first cash as a caddie for keppel country club. I still remember mi and my other 4 friends went to interview to keppel golf club as a caddie. I still remember the manager asking mi if i can carry the golf bag myself. Summoning all my courage, i told them yes. And there begins my short stint as a caddie in Keppel Club.

I remember i wake up at 5am and made my way to keppel club waiting for golfers to come. The caddie card that we got is C license and everyday during the school holidays we will wait at the driving range counter. Every morning by 6 am i will reach Keppel Club. I remember i enjoy the nasilemak, it cost us $1 and it can last me till lunch time.

It was my first exposure to golf. There are total 18 holes in a golf course and normally people like to play in the morning from 7:30 till 12:00 pm before lunch. I still remember that i waited there with other people waiting for golfers to come and it was by first come first serve. 

My first day as a caddie, i carry the bag around for the golfer and walk around the 18 holes. It was tiring but i hang on. I enjoy the scenary and also vast golf course. There were trees, grass, pond, sand and a flag. It was my first experience of walking with golfer and i felt proud as back then in 1990. Only the rich and famous can play golf. I was like a pumpkin kid from a small 3 room hdb, never been exposed to the rich and vibrant life.  After the 18 holes, i got paid $18 & $2 tip. I was very happy that i earn my $20. It was hard work but it was worth it. And i also get to know about woods and iron, if i'm not wrong back then 30 years ago there were not many books about golf. For tee off, depending on the distance of the hole, people may use wood, normally at keppel club, i see most people using wood 3, then along the way use iron 6 or 7 depending on their skills. Those that have handicap -sign, means they are really good and they can complete the golf course within 2.5 hours. However most of the time i meet the golfers that complete in 4 hours instead. Then that's the sw golf club, whenever the golf ball hits the sand, the golfer will use the sw. All these i pick up along the way as i study and look at the golfers along the way. It builds up my eye for detail and i guess determination as well. That i don't give up easily as well. 

Depending on my energy and time sometimes i work the 2nd time, earning a total of $40 for the day before i go back home. Back then i did not tell my parents, they thought that i was going to school. My parents didn't really ask and i didn't really tell them as every night i will be at my father shop to assist him to close the shop. Eventually I was able to save up and buy Sega for myself and my brother to play. I also use the money i earn to buy comics. I was really crazy about comics. I always imagine myself being the hero in the comics and save everyone. I remember i like dragon ball character Goku. Always humble and looking for the next challenge, fighting fair and square. Till today i still maintain fighting fair and square. Looking back 30 years ago, that experience as a caddie although is short, build up my character. And that experience will always be with me. 

Mini Projects : Doing coloring and drawings with with my daughter

I love doing mini projects with my daughter. It bonds me with her like father and daughter. Something i didn't have with my dad and mum when i was young. My dad and mum was working very hard as a hawker and couldn't really spent time with us on outings with mi and my brother.

Back to my story with doing coloring and drawings with my daughter. I use a Brother printer (MFC-J491DW) that cost me $139 with another $50 on the ink cartridge. I bought it from Challenger and as member of Challenger i am able enjoy discount and also on the ink cartridge.

I type peppa pig on google and the first thing that comes to google is pininterest. There are a lot of free coloring pages and drawings which i put up and do color with my daugher. Check out the drawings and coloring that mi and my daughter did. It will be fun for you and your children. 

Medishield Insurance for the whole family

Due to rising cost of Medical insurance in Singapore, a operation in Singapore can cost thousands of dollars. My mum is a living example. She was hospitalized for 6 months and the bill come up to about $150k+. Luckily she is under the Medishield life and she is pioneer generation so there are a lot of subsidy for her. In the end her bill is $7k+ instead. This is huge relief for mi. That is why i got the medishield insurance coverage for my wife and 2 daughters. Hoping of course they will not need it. And this is just for insurance only.

I am using Prudential for myself, wife and my 2 daughters. Unfortunately i could not get my mother insured as well as she has preexisting illness and Prudential assess her to be of high risk.

Although i myself has never claim before, my wife and my 2 daughters did claim before. Luckily there is insurance to cover on the costs so that no cash is used.

However this year the premium has risen to very high. As my age is 43. The premium amount is $1116.8 cash and $948 for my cpf. It used to be less than $500 per year. It has risen through the years from $600 to $1116.8 in cash and cpf is from $400+ to now $948. 

I am going to look for my agent to reduce this to cover only the public hospitals instead for myself.

I will still maintain for my wife and 2 daughters. Depending on how much the premium raised, i may also swop their plan to cover only public hospitals. 

Below is the MOH website to check out the plans and comparison. Hope that it is useful and you can do a comparison. I extracted the information from the website.

https://www.moh.gov.sg/cost-financing/healthcare-schemes-subsidies/medishield-life/comparison-of-integrated-shield-plans

5 ways to Stretch the dollar due to Covid19 in Singapore

I thought it will be useful to check what are the ways that we can stretch the dollar in this Covid 19 in Singapore.

1. Sheng Shiong / NTUC 

Instead of eating out, we purchase food items to cook in the house. This enable mi to save on my expenses and i am able to accumulate more points on the credit card which in turn translate to more rebates for the next purchase. There are lots of varieties of food however ice cream is always the first to sold out, including the cones. This makes me wonder, does everyone have a sweet tooth when eating at home. 

2. Netflix

If you are like me who like to watch movies, however due to the Covid situation. Do check out NetFlix and on top of that Starhub is offering a promotion on it as well whereby you can get Netflix/Broad band/Tv for the price of $79.90. All at the comfort of your home.

3. Refinance your housing loan

If you are eligible for refinancing of your loan, do check out 

https://www.redbrick.sg/free-mortgage-loan-comparison

I did a check during the July Period as my hdb MOP period is going to reach by end of the year and i would like to check how much loan and what interest rate i am eligible so that i can review whether i can afford to sell and purchase another hdb. Guess what, the interest has fallen. Currently it is offered at 1.12% and Redbrick is the largest mortgage company and will match all competition. It may just be the time to refinance your loan. Take note though if you loan amount is not that huge, it may not be viable or possible as some finance or banks will require a min. loan amount. 

4. Skills future Singapore

https://www.myskillsfuture.sg/content/portal/en/index.html

Do check out the above website, if you are Singaporean, you are entitle $500 if you have not used it, there are tons of course for you to choose and if you are 40 years old and above like myself, you can get further rebates on the courses you sign off. This is definitely a good way to stretch your dollar.

5. E-Library

My favourite place when i was young used to be the library. Nowadays whenever i go library is with my kids and we spend a lot of time at the library during the weekend to cultivate their interest in stories, imagination and free aircon. However due to Covid, we didn't really go. That is where i download the overdrive app to download Ebooks from the NLB, if you are Singaporean it is free. There are a lot of books and magazines that can be download and read at your leisure. Take note though it is for 3 weeks, after which you will need to borrow again. In case the book is being taken, you can reserved the book at $1.50. Definitely stretching the dollar.

Stay tune to my next title

Activities for Kids at Kidz Amaze

I've been wanting to write this for so long. That was like 7 years + ago. When i was organizing an activity for kids. There were 36 kids in total and i absolutely loved it. Minus the commute in the bus though. Imagine 36 kids in a chartered bus. 

What started off was a project that started by looking for old folks as i was part of the organizing committee for organizing a visit to old folks. As it has been for the past 5 years since i join the company in 2012, i propose that we should do something different. How about have an event for the under privilege kids? 

We asked around and manage to get Faith Acts to oblige and was willingly to let us take photos to show case the committee event that we have done. In case you are wondering what is Faith Acts. Do check out their website. https://www.faithacts.org.sg/about-us

From there, 1 started the preparations. I was researching on the activities that we could bring the kids for a Saturday morning with 2-3 hours play and also get the volunteers from my company to mingle around so that there will be play. I queried on Kidz-amaze, Snow City, Science Centre. With the budget of $2k on hand, we visited the 3 places for an understanding of the venue and the area where we can house 60 people. We finally settled with Kidz-amaze with budget,location & safety considerations. Here's the website, do check it out. Kidz-amaze people were very nice and really went through with us on all the activities and the safety that need to be taken care of.

https://www.safra.sg/our-facilities/kidz-amaze

We have the venue and location. That was my main concern. 

The other items on my checklist was

- Chartered bus to bring the children to and fro from Faith Acts

- Morning snacks (using the budget) 

- Volunteers to man the stations (meeting with volunteers to assign their roles as playgroup, safety, ushers)

- Gifts for the kids as they finished the event (corporate gifts)

- Prize hamper for the team of kids (using the budget)

- Lunch for the kids (using the budget)

 Overall i would give myself and the team 9.5/10 😀

Side Hustle in Singapore

Recently i have been reading up a lot of side hustle by ordinary people who just wants to earn additional income. Everyone started small, it can be like E-commerce. I started in Ebay as a seller back in 2004 before, i dabble in selling stuff that i do not used or resell as i have no use of it. I did manage to sell a MP3 player back then. I still remember i put up my mobile number to meet the lady and i got my $30 for that. It was a nice experience that by posting pictures onto the Ebay, i am able to generate sales. Now fast forward in year 2020. Due to the Covid 19 whereby everybody cannot really come out. My mind turns to side hustle again and the thing that cross my mind is E-commerce. I start exploring again. 

Things have really changed back then till now. There is amazon, Q10, Tao Bao, Alibaba, lazada. Back then the pictures and items description are not so descriptive. Now you can see that the layout and reviews are top notch on these websites. Speaking of which i have not been on to my Ebay account for more than 10 years. Time to check back on Ebay.

Yup it is still intact. Time to do some listings on Ebay and carousell.

In case you do not know about carousell. Carousell is a homegrown Singapore company started by 3 men who wanted to use mobile app to sell unwanted stuff. Today the company is worth at least $500 million. Indeed this is one of unicorn company that as a Singaporean i am proud of. Breaking into untap markets and into recycling business. 

Below is the website. Do check it out. There are tons of buyers and negotiations and location may varies.

https://sg.carousell.com/

I just made my first sale on a mini fridge that i sold off today 5-Sep-2020. Not a bad thing considering i took the photo and post it today. 

Another company that has been around for a long time are cash converter. They have been around for the longest of time since i remember. My friend did engage their service as she was shifting house. She was selling away all her old furniture, baby prams, chairs, tables. The amount of cash they offer may not be fantastic but they did take care of the cleaning out of her old items without any fees. There are quite a number listings as well at affordable range. If you want warranty and at least a company to screen through the product before any purchase. This would be the place to go to.

https://www.cashconverters.sg//

Another favorite place will be flea markets in Singapore. Due to Covid19, currently all flea markets are on hold. I still remember garang guni whereby people sell their wares at sungei road. You can always find wares on a Sat and Sun and there's bargaining and negotiation there however this has been shut in 2017 down due to development of the area. After doing some research, i manage to find a digital website. Do check it out for any items that you want to sell and dispose.

https://www.karungguni.com.sg/

Items to recycle: 

Old Newspapers / Books / Paper / Cardboard / Clothings

Computer System Units

Laptops / Notebooks

Television Set

VCD / DVD

Amplifiers

HI-FI Set / Mini Compo

Metal Recycling

Furniture Disposal (with a Fee)

Another place that you can sell is marketplace on Facebook and there are Sgfreerecycle. On and off there will people blessing preloved items. 

Hawker in Singapore

https://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/resource/becoming-a-hawker.pdf

I am not kidding, do check it out. I didn't know that you have to apply through NEA to be a hawker. Only Singaporeans are eligible though. There are different types of hawkers. Like my dad, he is also a hawker but he only sell clothes so he need not apply for the food hygiene portion. I would say the rent is reasonable and he is able to earn a living in this challenging timing. 

Pororo in Marina Square

 I went to visit the Pororo at Marine Square with my 2 daughters and my wife last year. It was really fun and enjoyable. My 2 daughters love it. Lots of interaction and music in the background. There is also places for adults to sit as the children roam around. It is like going into a castle and exploring the playgrounds, houses, tram ride, shows. I will recommend to any one with kids from 1.5 year old to 6 years. The shows are pretty good as well. There are music and dance around with the people and of course lots of photo taking with the real size PORORO. 

Do check out the below link. 

https://www.pororoparksg.com/

Here are some photos to show the highlights. Enjoy

Frozen is coming to Changi Airport

 This post may have come late. But better late then never. It is still a journey for mi as a Father.

Looking at the Frozen 2 characters brought back the child in me. The adventures, the passion and the drive. I do recommend for people to watch it. It is magical just like like Disney. Here are the photos of my journey with my family at Frozen

There's Anna and Elsa with my daughter in the center. 

That is me wearing Olaf with my family. Best thing we got a picture taken free as well. Kept as a souvenir. 

We took a picture in front of the Frozen house at Changi. Notice my young one is still sucking her pacifier. So cute 

                                                                    That is kristoff 

Our whole family in the woods of Frozen 2

My daughter posing at

CPF for Ordinary / Special / Medisafe. To max it out for our Retirement

I would like to share on my knowledge for the CPF on Ordinary / Special / Medisafe. In times like COVID19, we should made our savings work harder. If you are a Singaporean just like me, you will definitely be interested on this. 

Do you know that as of current the 

- Ordinary is earning 2.5 - 3.5%

- Special is earning 4 - 5%

- Medisave is earning 4% 

In times like this, won't it make more sense to invest into CPF special account? By pumping cash into special account, you will earn more interest and also gain more buck for your special account when you reach 55. When you reach 55, it is mandatory to have a retirement account whereby you can opt for 3 options. If you are able to accumulate $181k by age 55 with combination of ordinary and special account, this amount can be set aside to retirement account whereby you can get your monthly retirement savings when you reach age 65. Depending on the options you choose, you can get around up to $1500 per month. With 4% interest rates, it is definitely an option to boast the savings. 

And if both husband and wife set aside this minimum sum, imagine you have $3000 per month to spend without doing anything for the rest of your lives. This will lessen any burden to your children as well as your next of kin.

Those who are cash rich can pump cash into the special account and enjoy tax savings.

Those who are not cash rich but who have no use of the ordinary account can transfer to special account but do take caution. Once you transfer from ordinary account to your special account, it is non-reversible. Do consider carefully and clearly. I myself will definitely want to allocate more funds to my special account if situation permits and enjoy the additional percentage interest gain from special account. 

My 2 lovely Daughters

My 2 beautiful daugthers. They are 2 years and 5 years old. They give me joy and motivation as i watch them grow as i aged. 😊 

                        Both Hand in Hand 

                        My Eldest Daughter 5 year old birthday in 2020

                        Showing off her Glasses with 2 rings. Very innovative 

                        

                        Wish that my daughters will always be happy and enjoy life with the ups and downs