It is now 5 years, 10 months and 21 days ago since I started my investing journey at the age of 30 (February 19th 2018). I'm actually going to become 37 this year.
I recently did a re-look at my investing numbers:
Cash injection dried up in 2021 - 2022: I was unable to inject any fresh funds/ make new purchases of stocks or REITs due to having to set aside cash for wedding and house commitments. (We should not invest the money we would need in the near term.) This set of commitments are now over and I can finally look to inject cash, and invest into my portfolio again.
New Year New Career direction: Thankful that I am able to start a new career and increase my income. While my income has increased, there may be further challenges down the road that can eat into my ability to invest. (e.g. Starting a family)
Invested portfolio performance in 2023: My Stock and REITs portfolio suffered a lot due to the high weightage of REITs, which has been heavily beaten down by the FED rate increases. Hopefully, for 2024 the FED rates will stabilise and see some recovery. Despite the lack of funds, my portfolio value is holding well. Dividends collected have stagnated due to not purchasing more assets.
Actual breakdown of the estimates:
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
$102,676.20
$5,226.38
$2,077.75
2024
37
$97,704.10
$12,000.00
$2,931.12
2025
38
$114,589.31
$12,000.00
$3,437.68
2026
39
$132,318.77
$12,000.00
$3,969.56
2027
40
$150,934.71
$12,000.00
$4,528.04
Plans for 2024:
New assets purchase to bolster dividends: If I want to keep to my portfolio growth, I will need to quickly purchase some assets. At current point, I have been out of market for a while. I do hear of issues with Keppel DC reit and ESR reit. More research has to be done to purchase more units of stocks/ REITs. Perhaps it would also be an option to add to my current holdings instead of looking for new counters.
Learn driving: I think many of my peers are quite shocked that at age 36 I still do not have my driving license. In the past, I see that my family is too poor so I will probably not ever have a car. Things however have changed, and it is possible that at some point I may consider getting a second hand car. Driving is also a good lifeskill to have, e.g. it might help me get around for work, if I'm on work trips.
Do base job well in shortest time possible: It is quite a steep learning curve for me in my new role, and I need to pick things up fast so that I can start contributing to my new team that placed their faith in me, despite me not having very much knowledge of my work segment. I am mainly focusing on 2 aspects: people (networking), and doing the base job well.
Please feel free to share with me any stock information, or tips for driving school. Till the next time!
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.
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!
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.
Wishing fellow investors, friends and readers a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!
A few readers have started to gently remind me that I'm late for my blog post update! 😅 Would firstly like to thank all of you for your continued support and concern since I started investing in February 2018. Time flies, 2 years have passed in a blink of an eye.
tl;dr (Too long, didn't read) Summary: 1. Busy Dec Period: Taking a toll but Fruitful -
Work, studies and relationship commitments have taken up considerable time.
2. Portfolio update: Outlook for next 2-3 years -
Investment portfolio is likely to take a backseat. Currently, I am gearing up for wedding/HDB. If you have any pro-tips regarding couple finance/ saving for HDB/Wedding, please do leave a comment/drop me an email! 😊
3. Work update: Performance for the year/ Career building -
Career is at a stage it can go either way. I need to secure a promotion before the current boss moves on to his next post (2 years target, 4 years max). Overall secured a good performance this year and will have chance for further exposure.
4. Interesting reads and thoughts of KC
- Sing vs. Singh
- LV's success and why we should aim to go over to business side on a company as an employee.
- Sugar baby: Would you be one?
1. Busy Dec Period: Taking a toll but Fruitful
Work:
Indeed, December has been a crazy month with my work as I saw a ramp up of work activities due to my department trying to spend the allocated funds for projects.
Gatherings/Paktor (dating):
Christmas and New Year was also a great time to get together with friends whom I have not seen for some time to catch up as well as to spend time with our loved ones. I would like to thank my loved ones for being my pillar of strength and support. You know who you are! ❤️ And so, one colleague and a long time University buddy both invited me to their HDB. Co-incidentally, both are in Sengkang. And so, it kickstarted a HDB conversation between my partner and I. One thing I learnt was that renovations could be cheap(er) and your house turns out more unique/ customised if you do not go to the interior designer.
Night Classes:
My night classes are starting to take its toll on my body with packed classes in the evenings on most Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I have to somehow last till end of March. Short term pain for Long term gain. Press on!!
2. Portfolio update: Outlook for next 2-3 years
My Priorities have changed: for the next 2-3 years, from being a single person to starting preparations for marriage. As a result, my portfolio savings goals is likely to take a hit. Something has got to give way so I will have to be more prudent in my daily spending to maximise my savings over this period.
This also means that I will have minimal capital to deploy and will have to be more prudent in screening my counters. First and foremost, the bottleneck would be savings and the main constraint is the limited amount of salary I have. It is either I spend less, save more or I increase my salary somehow.
I am also on the lookout for BTO but I am quite inexperienced in this aspect: if you have any opinion and good advice regarding HDB/BTO, feel free to drop a comment below or drop me an email. I would really appreciate it!
On my portfolio side, there is some speculation that AIMS Apac Reit would be in for a M&A: https://www.investingnote.com/posts/1778469. Meanwhile I would keep calm and collect my dividends.
Portfolio as of Jan 2020
Stock name
Code
Entry price
Shares
Price
% Allocation
Type
1
FCOT
ND8U
1.4674
1000
1467.37
3.61
Base
2
FLT
BUOU
1.0712
2500
2677.88
6.60
Base
3
Singtel
Z74
3.3182
1000
3318.16
8.17
Base
4
APTT
S7OU
0.1631
10000
1631.4
4.02
Base
5
Vicom
V01
6.0340
500
3016.99
7.43
Base
6
SSB
Just for reference
1.0000
2000
2002
4.93
Base
7
8
Aims
O5RU
1.3800
3000
4152.48
10.23
Base
9
Cash
$22,333.06*
55.01
Cash
Total Amount
$40,599.34
100.00
- Portfolio value is $42,318.06 at end of 2019. -*$20,000 earmarked for wedding/housing fund. (expect my portfolio to take a hit) Short Term Goal 2-3 years Wedding/Housing Fund Target: (approx. $800 per month min.)
Year
Year Start Value
Target Value
Actual Value
2020
$20,000
$29,600
2021
$29,600
$39,200
2022
$39,200
$48,800
Projections (since inception):
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
$890.54
2020
33
$37,830.00
$12,000.00
$1,134.90
$22,318.06 (Till Date)
(-$20,000 for Wedding/HDB fund)
-
(Till Date)
- (Till Date)
Long term portfolio goals would stay as per the table under the Portfolio Update page. It remains to be seen how much I would be affected with the goals shift.
3. Work update: Performance for the year/ Career building
My job transition has stabilised and it is time to think about improving my current skillset so that I can hopefully move up to the next level in my career.
I have been incredibly lucky to secure a pay raise and severance (previously retrenched) as well as a chance to travel abroad for business for exposure in my new employment.
Added responsibilities beyond current job scope (can be a double-edged sword):
The positive here is that my current boss thinks that I am performing well and turning out good results as compared to a few colleagues who are in a similar level to my role despite only being in my role for half a year. Consequently, I will have a chance to prove myself as I take on added work (tasks for the next level job) outside of the core responsibilities of my current role as well as more opportunities to gain exposure and experience.
The drawback is that I will definitely have less time for monitoring that market (which is probably fine since I will have less capital to deploy). And also, past experience at my old company where I was retrenched has taught me that things can change very fast, especially if my boss were to be changed by the management or re-located to elsewhere in the company.
I might lose favour and get stuck so I am under some pressure to push and secure for the promotion fast within 2 years. If I do not manage to secure this by end of 4 years, it would mean that I have got stuck because by then my current boss is likely to move on to his next post.
*Disclaimer: This is just my opinion and based on anecdotal experiences. I am not siding any political party, but more concerned about Singaporean's future and my own future as a Singaporean.
One of the major talking points that have caught my attention was this Sing vs. Singh showdown in parliament where our opposition is questioning and pressing our ruling party to inform us of the exact breakdown of Singaporeans and PRs in what is defined as "local PMETs"
This is a tough and a cold hard truth Singaporeans may have to face: Are Singaporeans these days so strawberry that we have to rely on policies to guarantee we get ahead in this supposedly meritocratic system?
But, if we go down such a path, it is dangerous because in the private sector, work quality counts. And in some cases, the work quality I have seen from some of my Singaporean colleagues really make it hard to justify putting them ahead of FTs in my various stints at a few MNCs. Many of the FTs I have worked with in MNCs have good exposure, turn out better work quality, better work attitude and are far more humble and open to learn than Singaporean colleagues.
I really feel that the government should release the statistics and let us draw our own conclusions. If we are failing, we need to know and we need a knock on our heads, fast.
#2: The Story behind Louis Vuitton
In my previous blog post, I shared this video (a documentary on LV's success I watched on my flight back):
Firstly, I gained a good understanding of branding and business models of a successful business that I find is commonly found in other businesses as well. Successful businesses often are able to charge premium for their products, create a good and loyal customer experience and while earning a high margin. From an investing point of view, a 40% margin would mean a highly profitable business.
A breakdown of LV's cost in a bag is as the picture above.
The people who actually make the bag only earn the pie from 10% of the price of the bag. The sales person earns from the 50% pie, while the company takes in 40% profit. I find this a sobering thought now that I am in a business related function, having come from a technical background within my industry. Folks in the business side have far more chances for advancements while the manufacturing folks are often kept there (don't fix what isn't spoilt) as production managers in the manufacturing departments often try to keep things status quo.
I used to envision a career in Technical, but in most companies, Sales teams often have a louder voice and are the decision makers in the company. This is true for my current and previous company. Even if you make the world's best bag, it would be nothing if nobody knew about it and none of it gets sold.
Where would we want to be in a company? Think again.
I could be misguided by my own experiences but I would definitely want to leverage on my technical experience to try to gravitate towards sales/marketing functions and customer facing roles as I can already feel a considerable difference being employed on the business side.
#3: Sugar baby: Would you be one?
At this point... just want to put out the supposed "benefits" of sugar dating the lady got:
- HP laptop
- Pandora custom made necklace
- Hotel stays and private yacht trips
- Iphone
- ~ $3,000 SGD allowance
- Support daily expenses, pay for student loans
I'm rather speechless with this one. But I do think she is rather brave to be truthful about this. I think she has a day job that earns around $3,000 as well so I guess this gives her the ability to sustain the kind of lifestyle or dating she wants. I just can't help but wonder if this is an exploitation disguised as 'dating'.
Disclaimer: The views expressed, opinion and information in this article are strictly for informational purposes to encourage educational discussions only. It is important to conduct your own analysis before making any investment decisions based on your own personal circumstances. You should take reasonable measures such as seeking independent financial advice from professionals and/or independently research and verify the information that you find on "30 Year Old Investor" before undertaking any important investment decisions. 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.
You don't need to pay anyone/company to have a plan of your own and work towards achieving Financial Independence. Only we alone have no conflict of interest with our own money. "30 Year Old Investor" is a personal blog about a Singaporean's savings and investing journey.
Being the average Singaporean, K.C. is also interested in good food, a little bit of politics and a good slice of humour.
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Disclaimer
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.
