Question: Wilfred, how do you decide whether to invest or to save? Answer: Savings and investments are the same except that they are like the opposite sides of the same coin. They are the same because the purpose of saving and investing is to accumulate money so that you will be able to spend it on something else later. For example, a down payment or children’s education or … [Read more...]
Reasons Singapore Stock Market is becoming ‘zombie’?
This article https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/asia/article/3152898/how-singapores-zombie-stock-exchange-undermining-its-financial serves an important lessons we can learn. Globalization and the widespread use of the digitalization means there is no difference to trade outside of the country of residence. In the past, people trade local stocks due to familiarity. However, these days, people … [Read more...]
SingHealth breach: what does it mean to lose your data
By now everybody would have read in the news that 1.5 million SingHealth’s patients’ information were stolen. Singapore has a population of 5.79 million. So 26% of the population got their personal particulars stolen. Majority of the data stolen from the SingHealth breach were names, NRIC number, date of birth, address, gender and race. A smaller number consisting of 160,000 had their prescription … [Read more...]
Nightmare trying to get receipt from SGH
Recently my father had to undergo a major surgery. Majority of the insurance claims were quite smooth except for bills that were paid using Medisave. Basically, there are a few outpatient bills before and after the surgery that can be claim from the integrated shield plan. The mistake my father did was to pay them (partially) using Medisave. I regretted not advising him earlier of the potential … [Read more...]
What kind of jobs that will not be replaced by a robot?
I have been reading and hearing concerns by the government that people must upgrade themselves otherwise they will be replaced. One of the concern is that many jobs are going to be replaced by technology. In recent years, technology has improved to level that it is also able to do cognitive tasks instead of just the mundane tasks. Since having a proper job is absolutely necessary in a proper … [Read more...]
Psychology behind the Singapore ‘chope’ culture and what we can learn to achieve our financial freedom
I was quite amused by the debate on the Singapore ‘chope’ culture. Those who does not live in Singapore find it strange and there has been called by certain quarters to ban this culture. What I want to write today is to explain the psychology behind the chope culture and as well as to examine the psychology behind the critics. With this understanding on psychology, we can actually see a … [Read more...]
Is Crowdfunding Investments Worth the Risk?
MAS announced that crowd funding platforms will be regulated. Such platforms include Funding Societies, MoolahSense and Capital Match. Funding Societies, MoolahSense and Capital Match are platforms that act as the middleman helping small and medium enterprise companies to raise capital from individual investors. Even listed companies have jumped on board to raise capital using such crowd … [Read more...]
Global University Cost 2015/2016
This is a comprehensive list of current tuition fees and cost accomodation of universities for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and of course Singapore. … [Read more...]
10 Tips on how to teach children financial planning
I have two children who are teenagers. I would like to share how I teach my children financial planning skills such as budgeting, buying items value for money, insurance, estate planning, forex and purchasing power parity. Tip #1 – Financial planning cannot be taught in a classroom style Financial planning is actually a very dry subject. It is not possible for parents to teach this subject in … [Read more...]
Money woes to avoid in marriages
"One couple were quarreling every other day, but did not reconsider their engagement, having borrowed heavily from relatives to finance a new house. Another couple could not afford to put food on the table, yet had one child after another. A third had a six-month whirlwind romance that crumbled within six months as the wife wanted to control the purse strings. These three couples had two things in … [Read more...]
