If you don't work for it, you'll pay for it

If there's a important lesson in life that we must learn, then one of them must be this: If you want to get what you didn't work for, you'll end up losing more than what you hope for. This important advice applies equally throughout different domains. I give a few examples: 1. If you want to get high returns without working hard for it by studying or researching deep into it, you'll get scammed. You see newspaper report of people getting scammed...

Read More

Just do it

I remembered the times when I grew up in a world without internet, youtube and (gasp!) google. If I want to find out about things, we have to listen to parents or teachers, whom we presume to know more about the world that we did. Either that, or we have to visit the library to search for the books and encyclopedias that are found there. They still are, just that these days with google, we tend to search online which is a very fast and efficient...

Read More

Frasers Centrepoint Limited bonds allocation table (part 4)

Bonds allocation for FCL is out. The allocation table is shown below for future reference: A few observations: 1. Everyone will get something because the balloting ratio is 1:1 2. A lot applied between 41 to 50 lots, including yours truly. 3. The allotment favours those who bid 25 lots and below. If you bid anything less than or equal to 25 lots, you get exactly what you want. Does it mean that it's not as hot, as say CMT bonds...

Read More

Fraser Centrepoint Limited 3.65% pa bond (part 3)

Someone asked me what the returns are like when FCL do an early redemption. The bond is widely published as having a maturity period of 7 yrs, but we have to be mindful of the possibility of early redemption. I wrote more about the details here. They have an interesting way of paying back the investor if they do an early redemption. The earliest optional redemption is on the 4th year, which is 22nd May 2019. They will redeem back at a price higher...

Read More

Fraser Centrepoint Limited 3.65% pa bond (part 2)

This is the second part of the Frasers Centrepoint Limited 3.65% pa bond. The first part is here. I managed to get a copy of the prospectus and read it. Hence, for ease of reading, I summarised the main points of the bonds again here, with some additional information: ------------------------------------------------------------- Duration: 7 years until 22nd May 2022.  Option for early redemption: Earliest date for optional redemption is 22nd...

Read More

Frasers Centrepoint Limited 3.65% pa, 7 yrs bonds

I was alerted to a facebook feed regarding this year's first retail bond launch. This is more exciting that the savings bonds thingy to me. Frasers Centrepoint Limited (FCL) is offering a bond, open to both retail and institutional investors. The terms of the bonds are as follows: Duration: 7 years Coupon yield: 3.65% Open for subscription: 13th May 2015, 9am Closing: 20th May 2015, 12 noon Minimum amt for retail: $2000, with integral multiples...

Read More

Why am I interested in personal finance?

I thought this is a more relevant question that we can answer for ourselves, instead of why other people are not interested in it. As personal finance bloggers, we tend to think that the people from the other side of the fence are not as enlightened, at least in financial matters, as us. I guess those who are not interested in such matters will likewise make similar stereotypical viewpoints regarding these people are are obsessed over money. So...

Read More

The price and value of deprivation

Price is what you pay for and value is what you get. Usually this is applied for things that you purchase. But I guess it's equally applicable to things that we choose not to purchase. If we choose not to buy something for $10, then we would have saved that $10. That's the price we had saved. But did we also correspondingly lost $10 worth of value? Rationally, we should choose to deprive ourselves of something if we can lose a value much lesser...

Read More

Is financial freedom a competition?

Recently, I saw this article that resonates deeply with me. It's about how we shouldn't be jumping from the corporate rat race to another unlikely race - that of financial freedom. It's interesting to think of financial freedom as a competitive sports. Not too long ago, there's this massive spontaneous competition, likely sparked by the Sunday Straits times section, where 'competitors' take part to see if they can hit 100k by age 30. Why 100k?...

Read More