Sunday, April 21, 2024

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Apr 2024

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!


Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Apr 2024.


Net-Worth increase from last month: -5K SGD, -2.2KG Gold

The decrease was mainly due to stock pull back and also not including our salaries for this month, because the update was a bit earlier this month.

In terms of Gold, we are worth a lot less. Gold price in the last few months was just crazy. So cash devaluation is a serious threat. Not fun!

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -11.16% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still sitting on huge loss.

Path forward is tough!


Till next time!

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Mar 2024

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Dear Readers, 

Thank you for coming here!


Welcome to the end of Q1 2024. 

Once again, time flies!!


Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Mar 2024.


Net-Worth increase from last month: +73K SGD, -2.3KG Gold

The estimation of our flat value pulled back a lot this month, which could be due to the irrational increase last month.

My wife happened to decide to cash out some of her company stock, which was not tracked in this number. Guess why? Haha… But this cash helped compensate for the drop in property value.

The rest is just normal staff: salary, CPF, and a bit rebound from Chinese stocks.

In terms of Gold, we are worth a lot less. Gold price in the last 30 days was just crazy. So cash devaluation is a serious threat.

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -9.26% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still sitting on huge loss.

Path forward is tough!


Till next time!

Friday, February 23, 2024

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Feb 2024

 

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!


Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Feb 2024.


Net-Worth increase from last month: +115K SGD, +1.3KG Gold

The increase was mainly due to the appreciation of our flat and secondarily our salary.

I would say pretty good start of the year.

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -10.21% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still sitting on huge loss.


Till next time!

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Jan 2024

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here! 


Welcome to 2024!


Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Jan 2024.

Net-Worth increase from last month: +76K SGD, +1KG Gold

The increase was mainly due to the appreciation of our flat, CPF annual interests, one-time income and appreciation of our investment currency against SGD.

My stock performed badly this month because I am still heavy in China. 

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -10.51% annualized return, incl. dividend

The huge dip in investment return was due to actual dip in my portfolio, combined with the reduction of invested capital.

I exited a lot of my positions in the first few days of the new year, fearing the market will continue going down. The result is mixed.

But still sitting on huge loss for sure.


Till next time!

Sunday, December 31, 2023

2023 Year-End Summary — Financials

From Author

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!


Here is a quick summary of our 2023 from the perspective of financials.


Overall, 2023 is reasonably ok for us.

  1. We have finally reversed the declining trend of monthly TNW increment Year-on-Year, even in the most conservative scenario.
  2. We have achieved our 40/40 target ahead of time on paper. A big part of that was because we started reflecting the market value of our flat. 

Marching towards 80/40 and finger-crossed for 2024!


Wish all of my readers a Happy and Prosperous 2024!

Photo by Carson Arias on Unsplash

Till next time!!!

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Dec 2023

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Dear Readers, 

Thank you for coming here!


Welcome to the end of 2023! 

Time flies. And 2024 has much to look forward to.


Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Dec 2023.


Net-Worth increase from last month: +32K SGD, -0.19KG Gold

Despite the rally, my portfolio recovered just a little, because I have pretty heavy position in Tencent, which was hammered badly by China’s new gaming regulation right before Christmas.

Further losses from my wife's portfolio was also counted in this update. Her portfolio is mainly Chinese stocks. So not surprisingly, another year of pretty significant loss.

Gold prices increased a lot in the past month. And that wiped out our net-worth increment measured by Gold.

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -4.94% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still in deep RED.


Till next time!

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Monthly Net-Worth Update — Nov 2023 — Recollection & Major Major Updates

Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!


How time flies!

I started posting our Monthly Net-Worth Update from Nov 2019. It has been 4 years and I am glad to report that I have not missed one update and I will continue posting.

Over the past 4 years, our journey to accumulate Net-Worth has been bumpy, to say the least.

  • Hugely unfortunate event
  • Unemployment due to offer retraction at the beginning of Covid
  • Not getting paid for my freelancer work for almost a year
  • Had to “Chicken out” and accept pay-cut due to financial challenges after one year of earning nothing
  • Significant loss on my flat
  • Huge loss in stock market
  • Painful transition back to Consulting

Financial impact? Easily more than our Net-Worth now, which is as high as it has ever been!

Mental impact? Torturous!

Physical impact? Loss of hair and back pain!

Photo by Nagara Oyodo on Unsplash

Taking this chance to recollect about the 4 years again,

  • Yes, I accept that much of this was my fault
  • For the rest, I have learned to accept and live with as well
  • But man! We deserve a pack on the back, coming through all these, without compromising our consciences

We marched on even after falling into so many adversities and we kept our bottom-line!

And we will continue marching on!

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

In all these struggles, books and a few good blogs have been really good companions for me.

Inspired by them, my mindset has evolved too. And some of that evolvement is demonstrated here by the two major updates I am going to introduce in this entry. 

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

Update 1: Reflect the market value of my flat

From the beginning of tracking, I have used a very conservative value of my flat to calculate our Net-Worth. My reasons were:

  • I wanted to avoid disappointment by staying conservative
  • I wanted more control on my Net-Worth
  • Flat has low liquidity and I only have this one property. So what I could do with it is very limited

While these reasons might be valid, the practice of using very conservative value was not helpful or even harmful. 

I believe it contributed to the fact that I sold my first flat at a very bad price in two ways:

  1. The price offered was higher than the conservative value I set, so I thought it was good enough
  2. I did not track the market value of my flat, so I did not know how much it could command or where the market was going

Additionally, this practice sub-consciously undermined Real Estate as a vehicle of investment (When can I really get free from all these biases??).

Therefore, at this 4-year anniversary, I decided to update my tracking to reflect the market value of my flat:

  • Our Net-Worth will be closer to reality, even though it will be subject to more fluctuations
  • It will force me to track the market value of the flat so I will be informed
  • Maybe this will change my view to property investing

The property market is good now. So it will increase our Net-Worth a lot.

Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash

Update 2: Upgrade my 40/40 target to 80/40

With the major update in tracking practice, the numbers this month will not be comparable with previous months, but almost surely I will blow my 40/40 target this year.

Therefore, I have upgraded it to 80/40.

This is another mindset change from my good companions: 

  • Aim for the sky
  • Never limit myself or negotiate myself down
Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Ok, back to business. 

Here comes the snapshot of our Total Net-Worth for Nov 2023.

Net-Worth increase from last month: A lot

As mentioned above, the numbers this month are not comparable with previous months.

Investment wise, my loss has reduced due to the recent rally. 

Photo by 金 运 on Unsplash

Investment: -5.02% annualized return, incl. dividend

Still in deep RED.

Improvement vs last month due to both recent rally and more capital pumped in.


Till next time!