Rainbow on FI

I recently saw this video on CNA Money Mind channel https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/money-mind-2024-2025/going-gold-4299741 and thought I would summarize some learning points for those interested in gold investment. Photo by Zlaťáky.cz on Unsplash Gold is viewed as a safe haven asset in time of uncertainty, crisis or geopolitical risks. Demand for gold is influenced by Central bank purchases. The purchase premium of gold decreases in % with relationship to the gold bar's weight. Eg, a heavier gold bar has lower purchase premium over a lighter one. There's no GST for investment grade gold bars. Gold-backed ETF is backed by physical gold. Lower yield environment will benefit gold prices as the opportunity cost of holding gold lowers. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/673513/monthly-prices-for-gold-worldwide/ As seen from the chart, the last mega price spike was in year 2019 to 2020. This year we saw another mega spike. In order to circumvent any US withholding t

Life's not easy, life goes on. Rather than gripe (we know the saying "人生不如意事十之八九"), it is important for us to focus on risk management in our daily lives and how to become anti-fragile. Buying insurance, setting stop-losses, cut losses and bad connections out of our lives, look before stepping and don't seek cheap thrills. That's risk management at its very least. Taleb's concept of anti-fragile is one level above risk management and robustness.  It is about how chaos can make one better and stronger. Don't fear volatility, uncertainty and disruptions. Instead view them as opportunities.  Quoting the video, we should learn to  "transforms fear into prudence, pain into information, mistakes into initiation and desires into undertaking" . Toughen your mindset If you have tough desire, then be prepared for a tough process working towards it. Another point highlighted in the video for our mind training is - we can imagine worse case scenario, imagine

My SAYE account has just hit its 25th month anniversary which is also the "month of maturity". Anticipating to get the 3.5% bonus interest for all these months of saving, I was shocked to see only $17+ cash gift credited as opposed to a few hundred dollars. I was about to send a message to query the bank what caused this interest plummet versus what I got in the 13th month when I came across a debit transaction in my account history (GASP!). To my oblivion and horror, I have accidentally selected my SAYE account to transfer $50 to a joint account to foot some bill in one of the months last year. Here's the terms and conditions for those who are not familiar with the SAYE account of POSB. "To receive the additional 3.5% p.a. Cash Gift Interest, ensure that you do not make any withdrawal from your POSB SAYE account." "If a withdrawal is made in the month, this will result in the previously accumulated additional 3.5% p.a. interest to be forfeited." Damn.

2023 is a year which I have relented to the inevitable dealing with adversities. Sending my mother in and out of hospital had become a norm. Being a healthcare professional, I thought I could handle it single-handedly well enough, not until the point when my mother ceased to be fit enough to attend dementia day care that I came to the conclusion that I needed a helper. However, things took a steep downhill turn before I could hired one (counted myself lucky for it). My mother passed away in June, it was a relief for me and probably a relief for her as well. However, life is not meant to be smooth-riding. My mother did not leave behind a will, thus I have to apply for the Letters of Administration with the Court and as my sibling has mental disability, this led to some complexities which have yet to be resolved. Instead of hiring a lawyer, I decided to apply the LOA and MCA orders by myself through the Service Bureau. I am paying my time and convenience for it but that's fine as I

It's been a while since I have posted weekend brain food. I have been quite out of touch with investment theories and research as I was pretty caught up with work, sports and events.  This is an old draft... very old yes. My thoughts part is recent. Benjamin Graham vs. Jesse Livermore  - by A Wealth of Commonsense "In chapter 8, Graham introduces the story of Mr. Market as a way to illustrate the manic behavior of investors in the short-term. Chapter 20 covers the idea of margin of safety as a way to better understand risk management. Both chapters still hold up to this day despite the fact that the book was originally published in 1949." "You can still learn from legendary investors and traders. Market history can still help give you insights into potential risks. But markets change. Investors adapt. Rules are updated. Advantages slowly get arbitraged away . Strategies that outperformed in the past don’t work as well in the future once everyone knows about them. Th

Inflation is when Pepper Lunch stops giving complimentary soup, Korean dishes stops giving complimentary kimchi side dish, McChicken goes from $2 to $2.95 and to $3.25, and a 1-meat-2-vegs cai png now costs $6.50 (cos 三层肉 is considered special @$3). 😩 My $6.50 cai png which tasted meh Paying more is the trade-off for convenience. Buying stuff to cook at home would be cheaper. However, for a single person meal, it seems a waste of time, water and electricity. Food is about the only thing that made me feel inflation is overboard as the price increases are in double digit percentage. GST is going to hike to 9% next year, it's likely that we'll see another round of staples' price hike. Yikes! It's time to recalibrate my expectation on the prices of goods and services so that I won't feel so much pinch. It's also time for me to review my portfolio which is pretty much in red from the REIT price slump. With prices going up due to shortage of resources, it

It's been almost 2 months since my mum's passing. I have not had the mood to blog as there's simply too much for me to settle - both tangible and intangible stuff.  For the first month, there's like a void in my life that I couldn't get used to because I was so used to the daily routine of taking care of her. It felt like a boulder lifted off my shoulder, as I was near breaking point; but this boulder was not gone, instead it shifted to my heart. The passing was sudden but not unexpected. My mum's condition deteriorated rapidly after her last fall, which led to hospitalization, and every hospitalization made her more frail. On the last discharge she could barely sit up in bed. My mum  did not leave behind a will  because she did not see a need to at that time when she still had a clear state of mind. Without a will, I would need to apply for the Grant of Letters of Administration (instead of a Grant of Probate ) in order to administer her Estates. (Note: If ther