KC 30 is turning 36! Updates since MIA in 2021.

Hello everyone! 😃 It's been a long time. 

My last post was dated February 15, 2021, and many things have happened in between:

• I got my resale flat.
• I got married and am now having much more responsibilities as a new family head.
• I also had to put on hold my investment (injection of cash) as I had to pay for the wedding.
• I hosted a wedding ceremony and banquet.
• I went on a honeymoon.
• I got passed over for promotion.
• I am now able to get back to where I left off in terms of portfolio.

This was a very busy phase of life and I must say that I kind of lost myself in the busyness of the season. It is only recently that I'm able to take a break, take a step back and appreciate/ be thankful for what has happened as well as to try to process some of the events and thoughts as I pick myself up again. Hopefully, this means that I will have some time to look at stocks again. 

I got my resale flat.

Following my last post in 2021, after discussion with my wife, we decided that a BTO wait was too long. And we are still proven right as we've now stayed in our resale HDB for almost 2 years, while many BTO projects are still facing delays etc.

It would have been unimaginable and would be a stressful situation for us not to have a place of our own to call home. Some of my peers shuffle between renting a place (which obviously costs money), or to stay over parents' place.

I haven't been following the recent housing market, but have heard of some recent changes such as the HLE to HFE, and cooling measures aimed at private property downgraders. There is also another change that the housing grants have increased (the aim is to help young couples afford resale HDBs, but in my opinion just adds to the increasing prices..)

I got married and am now having much more responsibilities as a new family head.

We Chinese have a saying "成家立业", which translates to starting a family and establishing a career. This was true for folks in the past, that they regard adulthood as stepping up into the phase of starting a family. In the modern world, most of us do the reverse of 立业 (Starting our careers) then 成家 (Starting a family). Nonetheless, this was truly a phase where elders in my family started to treat me as an adult. And, with great "power" now comes responsibilities. There are now tangible bills to pay and people who depend on you ever more. Your spouse, each others' ageing parents. Life after all is quite short and it is important to spend time with them.

I also had to put on hold my investment (injection of cash) as I had to pay for the wedding.

The wedding and banquet costs totalled around $80,000. If you followed my blog you would know that I planned and set aside $50,000 for the wedding. This meant my investment portfolio took a hit as I could not afford to inject any cash. Indeed, cash injections suffered in 2021, and 2022. 

House renovations was minimal as we bought a resale flat and I did some basic re-painting and focused on furnitures mostly.

Road to Financial Independence
PROJECTION					ACTUAL FIGURES
Year	Age	Portfolio Projected 2%/yr	Current capital injection Rate/yr	Estimated Dividend 3%	Actual Portfolio at end of yr	Actual Capital Injection/yr	Actual Dividends
2018	31	$12,000.00	$12,000.00	$360.00	$15,941.59	$16,928.40	$513.25
2019	32	$24,600.00	$12,000.00	$738.00	$42,318.06	$23,670.94	$815.30
2020	33	$37,830.00	$12,000.00	$1,134.90	$73,116.93 (Set aside $29,600 for wedding by end 2020) Therefore actual = $43,516.93	$27,272.78	$916.05
2021	34	$51,721.50	$12,000.00	$1,551.65	79694.64 (Set aside $39,200 for wedding by end 2021)	$4,288.83	$1,481.79
2022	35	$66,307.58	$12,000.00	$1,989.23	$79,428.16	-$266.48	$2,028.56
2023	36	$81,622.95	$12,000.00	$2,448.69	$89,895.15 till date (July 2023)

I hosted a wedding ceremony and banquet. (2022)

Our parents really wanted a banquet, and we did what we could to help fulfill this expectation. (This could be a topic for another day: Whether an expensive banquet still makes sense today). My personal take is that this could be a huge financial burden for the sandwiched generation who could put the money better to other areas such as housing.

However, it is a once in a lifetime event, and personally, there are intangible "benefits" for hosting a banquet. Firstly, it is a form of respect for elders (The way I see it, banquets are really for them). Secondly, it is a form of saying to the brides' family: "Don't worry, your daughter is in good hands." Lastly, it is also a good rallying point to gather the whole extended family that we otherwise would seldom see.

I went on a honeymoon. (2023)

Work commitments actually boiled over and I was only able to go on a personal trip during mid 2023. I think it was only during this trip that I truly had time to slow down, and think about what was going on with my life. 

I do think I got quite burnt out from work. Burnt some money here as well to create some good memories.

I got passed over for promotion.

I do think I was truly disappointed at not getting the promotion I was gunning for, after putting in effort and hard work only to see it go to someone else.

As I reflected on it, I reconciled that there are many things beyond my control. Speaking to some seniors helped to put things back to perspective: "It's only a job." While I am disappointed, life still needs to go on and I wouldn't need to be so hung up on it. Life, and work career is a marathon and I do need to develop resilience.

Otherwise, I don't think I'm doing too bad as a salaryman as the current pay vs. workload is manageable.

I am now able to get back to where I left off in terms of portfolio.

Recently, I had time to look back into my old portfolio and seek to put things back on track. Obviously, I missed out on the COVID crash where many counters were on discount, but I had to keep cash for the wedding. It was really tough to shut out the news to prevent myself from deploying the cash at that time. Currently, am now sitting on some cash again which I will keep a lookout for opportunities. The gameplan is still to look for investing for income.

Share with me and fellow readers!

Feel free to re-connect with me by saying hi, or leaving a comment!

K.C.

If you like this post, you might like our facebook page as well. I'm also on Investing Note. I am also partnering with Reit-tirement blog and other bloggers to share ideas at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1397925937071525/

Disclaimer: The views expressed, opinion and information in this article are strictly for informational purposes to encourage educational discussions only. No content on this site constitutes - or should be understood as constituting - a recommendation to enter any securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our site content. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether a particular stock or investment approach is suitable to the financial needs of a specific individual. No representation or warranty expressed or implied is made as to, and no reliance shall be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained on this website. "30 Year Old Investor" shall not be liable whatsoever for loss or damages of any kind arising from the result of any use, reliance or distribution of the articles or its contents from information contained on this website. 

KC asks readers: BTO or Resale HDB? (Dilemma)

Share your tips with KC! What did you do for your HDB purchase? Was it a BTO or resale? (context: KC is currently perplexed over HDB housing.. and inclined to buying resales. However, this seems to be a complicated process. I invite you to share with me what did you do if you bought resales or BTO HDB and if there are any information that would be good for me and others to know!)

First of all, KC would like to wish all investors and readers a Happy Chinese New Year 2021! 

Readers who have been following me would know that KC has been setting aside cash for wedding/ housing plans and as such have been watching the market go by without much updates to the portfolio. This is due to the mantra that I cannot invest money that I would need for bigger ticket items in near future (~ 2 years time). 

Recently, KC have tried to BTO 2 rounds of BTO exercise but failed in both. The recent Covid-19 situation is not helping the BTO projects with extended delivery dates for some projects to be 2027 or 2028. (KC would be 41 by then, that's crazy!)

Headache over housing

Buying or owning a house is probably one of the biggest ticket items for any Singaporean couple. With escalating BTO and Resale prices, owning a house seems increasingly difficult and many would have to work for life just to pay off the housing loan. Without doing the sums and proper planning, the financial strain is bound to create repercussions and consequences to the family in future. 

The HDB Flat

HDB's mission is to "...provide affordable, quality housing and a great living environment where communities thrive." It was set up in the early 1960s to address housing concerns. Fast forward to 2021, generations of Singaporeans have benefited from the system. Recent trends however, do worry KC as to whether HDB can indeed keep up with the "affordable portion" with new projects and resale flats getting more expensive for a housing that would expire by 99 years. Without going into the debate of the pricing of HDBs and resale, these are example of trends that I am looking into:

Regarding Lease Decay (HDBs will appreciate/depreciate over time till its end of 99 years): https://lifefinance.com.sg/whats-the-value-of-my-leasehold-hdb-3-dealing-with-lease-decay/ 

Our Resale flats pricing trend: https://www.99.co/blog/singapore/million-dollar-hdb-flats-are-hiding-a-worrying-resale-price-trend-heres-proof/

My main thoughts and observations on current situation (I may carry bias):

➤

 

HDB is an expensive outlay the Singaporean cannot avoid.
➤ We can use CPF for our housing needs, but CPF is a shared pool meant for retirement and healthcare too. The more we use for housing, the less we have later on for retiring. we need to plan ahead
➤ HDBs will depreciate over time and the seemingly rising resale prices may not tell the full story of older flats that depreciate quicker (it is far more complicated to valuate them as such) 
➤ Covid-19 has delayed projects (can one afford to wait?) and also pushed up resale prices (can one afford to pay the price for not waiting?)

The solution as they say is to: "Plan within your means". (But easier said than done).

Keeping Options Open

My partner and I were filled with hope, originally planning to get a 5 room HDB flat in a non-mature estate. However, after 2 rounds of failed tries and staring at an ever increasing timeline for landing a flat with BTO - the future looks challenging. The average Singaporean would do what they do here - complain.

KC ranting mode (don't mind me): How are we expected to get married, form a family and start having kids when we can't even land a house that we like?! 

At the moment, it feels like going back to square one all the time and the timeline just gets pushed back all the time. We are still keeping options open in hopes of future BTOs, SOB (sales of balance), or resales but that hope is fading a little with each setback.

Real world, real issues

Unfortunately, one cannot always expect the government to save us from our individual issues as they have the bigger things to worry at hand. That is why there are housing grants to help couples like us for resale. And, we have to take decisions. And increasingly, it looks like the resale flat option is more realistic because there is less uncertainty over timeline of BTO delivering. 

Now, going on this route isn't quite straightforward. It does come with a fresh set of challenges:

➤ Wah, what if kena those Ah long flats, how? (previous owners owe debts)
➤ Where to buy?
➤ Lease remaining
➤ Opinions of elders
➤ Loan/ cash upfront
➤ Accrued interest and resale levy (seems like govt trying to prevent flipping)

But, resale flats does come with some pros:

➤ Don't need to wait so long
➤ Can choose locations that you want
➤ More flexibility for choices
➤ More spacious units

So, this is not supposed to be a ranting post by the way. KC is actively seeking wise fellow readers and investors who have trotted down this resale path to share your experience and knowledge here with me! 

Share with me and fellow readers!

Feel free to share with me articles, comments and your story of how you overcame your challenges. I certainly hope these nuggets of wisdom help me in my own journey as well.

K.C.

If you like this post, you might like our facebook page as well. I'm also on Investing Note. I am also partnering with Reit-tirement blog and other bloggers to share ideas at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1397925937071525/

Related topics:
1. Why you need to set aside money for savings first
2. Interview process cycle: How to increase your interview rates
3. I'm retrenched: 3 things to think about

4. Why I refuse to spend >15-30 minutes budgeting each month

Portfolio updates:
I have switched to using stockscafe to monitor my portfolio:

Disclaimer: The views expressed, opinion and information in this article are strictly for informational purposes to encourage educational discussions only. No content on this site constitutes - or should be understood as constituting - a recommendation to enter any securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our site content. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether a particular stock or investment approach is suitable to the financial needs of a specific individual. No representation or warranty expressed or implied is made as to, and no reliance shall be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained on this website. "30 Year Old Investor" shall not be liable whatsoever for loss or damages of any kind arising from the result of any use, reliance or distribution of the articles or its contents from information contained on this website. 

7 Months (unplanned) hiatus.

Hello fellow friends and investors!

Sorry, I have not been updating the blog as much as I would have liked. Hope everyone is still coping well in this Covid-19 pandemic season. I miss everyone and indeed miss having the luxury of time to sit down, study stocks, read books and craft blog posts.

I still do post and share articles I find useful on facebook! Click to follow the following to receive updates:

• 30yearoldinvestor Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/30yroldinvestor
• REIT Community (Facebook group): I am also partnering with Reit-tirement blog and other bloggers to share ideas at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1397925937071525/
  
  

What changed in the last 7 months? (work wise)

My last blog post happened during the "crash" back in March. That coincided with a working from home implementation by my company.

I had thought that working from home would mean that I would have more time at home to "do my own things". As it turns out, I misjudged the situation. 

1. Resilient Business and Projects = Extended working hours

Even though with Covid-19, at work I was expected to continue to run projects (but with reduced manpower) to fulfill expectations. The overall effect was that the amount of follow-up and liaising often carried past the usual 8-5pm working hours as I needed to keep up the communications with overseas colleagues often till midnight.

This was further compounded when the lockdown lifted in Mid June 2020 when projects that were halted during the lockdown were suddenly requested by customers (with shorter timeframes/deadlines). The silver lining above all these busyness was that the industry I am in is still proving to be resilient in the face of recession so far. This is despite my parent company suffering and having retrenchment exercise. It has so far not spilled over to my company (yet).

2. Isolation/ Managerial changes has been tough for me 

When I was getting into the rhythm of the new normal, something else hit like a truck. The manager who is currently in charge of me and who was the mentor/manager who hired me suddenly announced his retirement.

Now, I am unsure what were the reasons behind his retirement. It could be that the company also took the chance to reduce cost, but the official reason was to go back to his family and enjoy an early retirement.

What this meant for me is that I felt much of the work I've done is now going to go unrecognized for the new incoming manager who is stationed halfway around the globe. I fear for my future role at work now that my "backing" is gone and that has brought about alot of anxiety at work.

Because often at work - we really work for our immediate managers.

So, here I am again: Back to the drawing board

I am finally now able to take a step back to clear leave, take a breather and re-align. After much reflection, I guess I have the following choices:

• Default position: Stay on and win the trust of the new manager. Continue to deliver
• Start looking out for new opportunities: There have still been some decent enquires received on LinkedIn. Unfortunately, I have not stayed in a single position for more than 2 years in my last 3 jobs (voluntarily and involuntarily). 
  
  

It would be a shame to leave this current organisation prematurely as there are still things to be learnt. Thus, default position would be to bite down the teeth and grind out some results.

What changed in the last 7 months? (Investing wise)

From my last post, I have only added YZJ Shipbldg (SGX:BS6) at $0.985. This was because in spite of the pandemic, YZJ has still secured business.

Quoting this article in 30 April 2020: "As at 31 March 2020, Yangzijiang sat on an orderbook of $2.9bn for 69 vessels, excluding the 157,000-dwt tanker. The orders are expected to keep the yards at a healthy utilisation rate up to late-2021 and provide a stable revenue stream for at least the next 1.5 years."

https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/shipbuilding/yangzijiang-bags-seven-newbuilding-orders-worth-360m-q1

I certainly have hopes that this industry would still continue to stay resilient. Also, announced in August 2020, YZJ has secured new orders with Hong Kong based SITC for six 1, 800 TEU gearless container carriers. 

As the time of writing today on 2nd November 2020, its recovery in June has quickly given way to uncertainties in the wider global market on the backdrop of US elections, and the fears of second waves of Covid-19 in US and Europe.

YZJ chart from point of entry back in May 2020 (Blue arrow)

1. Portfolio Update 2nd November 2020.

I am now relying on Stocks Cafe to quickly track my portfolio. It saves me time to compute individual stock returns and I am able to focus on tracking my expenses and savings rate. I still do run my own portfolio tracker and tabulate it once a month.

However, Stocks Cafe does give quick analysis tools that I find helpful to track the progress of my portfolio. 

The Covid-19 has seen a sharp drop, with share recovery but now fallen back into negative zone.

2. Stocks watch (US elections/ Covid-19 wave 2) - SReits

I am now currently watching the market for opportunities as many of the SGX counters are down and it could present a new opportunity to accumulate shares again (like what happened in March 2020). The Singapore market has barely recovered and it has since become the worst performing stock market in Asia.

Overall market is still in down trend but it presents opportunities to buy in counters that are trading at discount from their recent highs. 

Of course, the talk of town all over the papers is about Robinson's closure. According to a Straits Times article on 31st October 2020, they have been making losses for at least the past 6 years. The following reasons were cited:

• Increase of heartland malls (more competition/less traffic)
• Onslaught of online businesses.
• Covid-19 impact (but it is recognised that they were already struggling before Covid)
  
  

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/singapore-reits-exposure-to-robinsons-owner-in-spotlight-as-fashion

There have been many netizens pointing fingers at the "Landlords", and that REITs are evil for being money suckers. However, I think these are knee jerk reactions. In the past, we've seen many departmental stores close down as well. Mr Market run in cycles and unfortunately, it seems we are at the end of a business and economic cycle brought about by Covid-19.

Before Robinsons, there was John Little, Carrefour, Duty Free, Metro, Forever 21 that closed. Did these companies close because of high rentals alone? I don't think it is essentially the government's job to bail out companies like these (but do note that the government did in fact try to help wage supplement with all the packages to hep soften the blow to Singaporeans).

Also, retail malls would have to evolve to stay relevant to changing consumer habits. There are also blogshops like Love Bonito that open brick and motar shop to better reach its consumers. Why isn't the traditional departmental store model working out? Businesses will have to keep evolving to stay relevant. Meanwhile, malls may change to incoporate more eateries (as have been an observed trend over the years)

This won't be the last closure we are seeing anytime soon for sure as the group that owns Robinsons also own other brands like Marks & Spencer, Zara and Mango. 

SReits in spotlight due to Robinson's exposure

I believe that these malls would no doubt recover over time. The question remains only to answer is how long these Covid-19 restrictions and fear would prolong plus how would the market recover as new tenants take over the vacated spaces. This in turn means that if we are to buy in, we would need holding power to stomach further potential losses to reap the potential gain when it recovers.

This means we need to have a high saving % to be able to deploy money we would not need in the immediate future for survival (with emergency fund).

1. CapitaMall Trust (SGX: C38U) has changed name to CapLand IntCom T (SGX: C38U) - largest exposure to the group by store count with 15 outlets. Trading at $1.76 which has dropped off from recent $2.00 levels. Of course the parent CapitaLand (SGX: C31) is also affected. 

2. Frasers Cpt Tr (SGX: J69U) - second largest exposure with 11 outlets.

3. Other counters affected potentially by links to the Al-Futtaim brands:

• StarhillGbl Reit (SGX: P40U) - Ngee Ann City, Wisma Atria
• Lendlease Reit(JYEU.SI) - 313@somerset
• Mapletree Com Tr(N2IU.SI) - VivoCity
  
  

Likewise, these counters have seen their stock prices dropped (but these were more on the backdrop of fear of Covid wave 2 on the global scene and US stimulus talks).

Every 危机 (danger) also represents 转机 (opportunity). Wishing all friends and investors good health amidst this global pandemic as it drags on.

K.C.

If you like this post, you might like our facebook page as well. I'm also on Investing Note. I am also partnering with Reit-tirement blog and other bloggers to share ideas at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1397925937071525/

Related topics:
1. Why you need to set aside money for savings first
2. Interview process cycle: How to increase your interview rates
3. I'm retrenched: 3 things to think about

4. Why I refuse to spend >15-30 minutes budgeting each month

Disclaimer: The views expressed, opinion and information in this article are strictly for informational purposes to encourage educational discussions only. No content on this site constitutes - or should be understood as constituting - a recommendation to enter any securities transactions or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our site content. We do not provide personalised recommendations or views as to whether a particular stock or investment approach is suitable to the financial needs of a specific individual. No representation or warranty expressed or implied is made as to, and no reliance shall be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained on this website. "30 Year Old Investor" shall not be liable whatsoever for loss or damages of any kind arising from the result of any use, reliance or distribution of the articles or its contents from information contained on this website.