The year 2016 in terms of books read

It's becoming clear as we move towards the end of 2016 that my target of reading 52 books this year is not going to happen. Not going to give any excuses for not being able to do so, it is just as it is. As usual, I'm going to list down all the books that I've read, then I'm going to recommend a few good ones that forms a deep impression after reading. Here's the list of all 38 40 (updated 28th Dec 2016) books that I've read this year: Alibaba:...

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Two new systems to change my life

I usually spent the last few days towards the end of the year to do some serious reflection on the practices and the system that I used for the entire year, to see if I can improve it or fine tune it further. I will share two systems that I had recently been implementing that I think will streamline my thought process for further reflection at the end of the year. The first has to do with trading, and the second is more to do with my line of work. Trading...

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Sabana Reit 42 for 100 rights exercise

Sabana just announced a rights exercise. For every 100 shares that you have before XR, you're entitled to 42 rights shares priced at $0.258. Based on their track record, I don't think it'll be well received. I once bought Sabana reit at 0.960 back in Nov 2010 and sold it at a 0.910. After dividends, thankfully I still make a very slight profit of 0.7%. I told my wife to get rid of it too. From then, the share price just went lower and lower until...

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Somebody staring at me

I wore a new t-shirt out today and noticed a few people, especially the guys, looking at me. I know because I saw their eyes trying to read what my t-shirt says. I took a selfie of myself and here's how I look: Yeah, I know my face is something that comes out of a horror film. But really, I think it's my t-shirt that these people are looking at. I think my t-shirt is a good conversation starter. I'm wearing it for work and hoping one day my...

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Closing off a tranche of LP 'bonds'

I handled my parent's portfolio since end 2013, and I'm still handling them now. Recently, my parents wanted to withdraw out 40k. My parent's portfolio is handled in tranches, according to the timing where they gave a lump sum to me. Since the first tranche of money is 50k, and the portfolio also consisted of Capital mall asia bonds (CapmallA3.8%b220112) that is going to be redeemed back in Jan 2017 (here), I decided to cash out the entire portfolio...

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I knew I loved you before I met you

I knew I loved you before I met you, so goes the song by Savage Garden. When I first heard that song, I thought it's just some mythology that some romantics had dreamed of. I don't really believe in love at first sight. Until it happened to me (okay, technically there's no 'sight'). That little kick, that little tremor, especially at night. The black and white pictures we took every other month. The vast amount of conversation we had regarding...

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Where did all my savings go?

I started tallying the past records of all my savings recently. My aim is to find out where all my hard earned savings go to. Did I 'waste' a lot of my life energy, which is captured in the form of savings, into frivolous stuff? It's a pity that I only started tracking seriously in 2008. I started work around mid 2003, so those 5 years until 2007 are like my lost years The breakdown over the years 2008: $53k 2009: $50k 2010: $50k 2011: $53k 2012: $29k 2013: $25k 2014: $68k 2015: $64k 2016: $67k ? I haven't close 2016 yet as there's still...

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Financial competition

Lim, Tan and Lee sat around the marble table of the kopi-thiam. They are classmates that had not met each other for the past 30 years, so naturally they had plenty to share. The conversation flowed along, interrupted only by the periodic crunch of the kaya butter toasts and the sipping of kopi-o in the quaint porcelain cups, until it came to the topic about their children. Tan started it first when he said that his son is very capable. He is earning...

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Networth updates in 2016

Usually I'll do a networth update around end of the year, so with few blinks of an eye, we're here again after 1 yr. This year is a fantastic year for me, but I'll talk more about that when I reflect on the year 2016 and how grateful I am for the ups and also the downs. The last time I did my networth was back in 7th Dec, 2015, here. There are so many ways to calculate networth, but I've always done my this way. It's assets minus liabilities....

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ROE vs PB of regional banks

Just out of curiosity, I did a study on the ROE vs PB ratio for the different banks across the region. I fully understand that it's not a good apples to apples comparison because different banks have different regulations and capital requirements, and also different rules to recognise profits, bad debts and so on. But it's still good to see how the banks fare on these two metrics across the board. All the figures are taken from the bestest platform...

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Capitamalls asia bonds optional redemption

Another bond bites the dust. Don't worry, this is not from the troubled oil and gas sector. It's the optional redemption of Capitamalls asia bonds, CapMallA3.8%b220112 announced from sgx here. I blogged about the bonds here and here. The full maturity of the bond is actually on 12-Jan-2022 but there is an option for early redemption on 12-Jan-2017 and every year thereafter. Since there is a step up option for the bond  if it is...

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Early Retirement Grid

I chanced upon an excellent blog that talks about FIRE (Financial independence Retire early) in 4 pillars. I will take some time to explore the site but I'm liking it already! It's here, called Four Pillar Freedom. There's a post called early retirement grid with the following picture below Picture taken from fourpillarfreedom blog post here Basically it shows you how long you take to reach financial independence given your after tax...

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My 50k savings goal back then and now

I was reading back my previous post on my 50k savings challenge here, and trying to see if there's any difference between then and now. I first started back in 2009, and it had been 7 yrs since. How time flies! Comparing the difference between 2009 and 2016: 1) Shift in focus between 2009 and 2016 I had a plan on how much to save every month back in 2009 and it was further broken down into weekly goals for savings. That created a lot of stress...

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Choose yourself!

I am reading this book by James Altucher titled Choose Yourself. I'm still in the midst of it but am loving the message that the book is trying to convey. In this kind of economy, there's not much loyalty for any particular company. Everyone of us has to treat ourselves as a company and behave like we are one! Here's some tips on choosing yourself from my own experience: 1. Have a personal brand and personality that people know you for I...

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Review of financial goals

I wrote about my offensive and defensive strategies two years ago here, but never really got a chance to review it to see if it's still relevant. Let's do it now. In that post, I talked about the dilemma of using cash to shave off interest at 2.6% by doing a partial capital repayment, or using it to invest in the market by getting a return of more than 2.6%. It's not an easy solution and I opted to do both to avoid the two extreme end game scenario...

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Buy High Sell Low, not Buy low Sell High

We often hear this nails-scratching-on-blackboard phrase "Buy low Sell high" until our eyes roll and our skin crawling with goosebumps. There's truth in it, except that like all aphorism, it's not as simple as it is. Let's deconstruct that phrase. Buy low sell high consists of two parts. Firstly, you have to buy at a low and then you have to sell at a high. But unfortunately, the aphorism didn't really say what we're buying at a low. It's implicitly...

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Money beliefs and habits

When students come to me for help, the solution is not as simple as telling them to study. They are obviously not doing well, and the reason for them for not studying can come from a variety of reasons. It could be low self esteem, seeking attention from parents or peers, trying to fit in with his close group of friends and so on. Unless the root cause of the problem is dealt with, any methods of improving the grades is just symptomatic treatment...

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My retirement comes annually

As my work winds down for the seasonal lull, I suddenly have a lot more free time. To the point that I don't know what to do with my time. I'm very used to working 6 to 8 hours of class time on weekdays (not inclusive of preparatory/marking time), so suddenly having only 2 hrs of work or even none takes a little getting used to. Again. Every year end, I'll face the same situation of getting 'retrenched'. Every year end, I'll get my little experience of having retired and/or having reached financial freedom. It's the same feeling, that I've did...

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The danger of holding too much cash

Today I made a mistake. I was queuing for a counter for about 2 weeks at 1.47. But when the stock started showing surges in its bid and sell volume, I started interpreting it as a sign that the counter will move. Against all reasons, I abandoned my queue and bought at the then sell price of 1.50. It's only 0.03 cts, yes, and I didn't buy a lot (4,000 shares only), but it was still a mistake. The mistake was not sticking to my plan, which was to...

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Phillips money market fund (MMF)

It's been a while since I've talked about Phillips money market fund (MMF). A quick search revealed three articles: 1. POEMS money market fund (MMF) (2008) 2. Phillips money market fund (2009) 3. Phillips MMF (2010) I know, from first look, they are all the same or similar sounding titles. No creativity on my part in choosing a title, haha! For those who do not know, money market fund is a collection of short term bonds, deposits and savings. They don't give out interest like what stocks or even banks do. It's more like a unit...

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It's 3 am I must be lonely

Restitutive, Retributive and Reformative. These 3 words keep rolling around in my mind as I woke up in the middle of the night to think about this. It must be around 3am, because that's the time my aircon timer is set and I usually wake up due to the difference in temperature. I must have read it somewhere, but I'm not sure why this suddenly cropped up. Restitution means to restore or repair something to its original state. Retributive effectively...

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CPFIS-OA investors shouldn't invest? Really?

There's always a big hoo ha about CPF investors being unable to hit the 2.5% interest rate of ordinary account CPF. The statistics mentioned in this recent news is that over the last 10 years, more than 80% of those who invested their money in CPF would be better off leaving their money in the CPF OA. It's also stated that 45% of the investors made losses in the scheme. I don't buy this. I dug further and saw this link for actual report of...

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How we react to other's success story

Someone mentioned his success story. You immediately start to think of what are the circumstances that makes him different from you. Maybe he comes from a rich background. Maybe he don't have NS so he starts working earlier by 2 years. Maybe his parents help him pay the downpayment of his property and his car. Maybe he is single so he don't have to pay as much as a married couple with child. I'm sure you have thought of this, and so do I. The...

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