Story was complicated, but I did not have to pay that “debt”.
Legally, there was no obligation whatsoever
Morally, I lost ~100K SGD (4x the debt) because I did not get paid for the work I delivered during Covid, for which my “Creditor” was partially responsible
Logically, it was not really “debt” because I never received the money promised to me
Expectation wise, I was sure that my “Creditor“ did not expect me to pay him back
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography for secure financial transactions, control the creation of new units, and verify the transfer of assets. Unlike traditional fiat currencies issued by governments, cryptocurrencies operate on decentralized networks called blockchains. This decentralized nature eliminates the need for intermediaries such as banks, allowing for direct peer-to-peer transactions.
Below are some opportunities for Personal Finances:
Potential for High Returns: Cryptocurrencies have witnessed significant price fluctuations, with some experiencing meteoric rises in value. This has attracted investors seeking potentially high returns on their investments.
Portfolio Diversification: Cryptocurrencies offer an alternative asset class that can diversify an investment portfolio. Including cryptocurrencies alongside traditional stocks, bonds, and real estate can provide additional opportunities for growth and hedging against market volatility.
Financial Inclusion: Cryptocurrencies have the potential to provide financial services to the unbanked population worldwide. With just a smartphone and internet access, individuals in underserved areas can participate in the global economy, access banking services, and send and receive funds easily.
Faster and Cheaper Transactions: Cryptocurrencies facilitate quick and low-cost cross-border transactions compared to traditional banking systems. This can be particularly advantageous for international remittances and e-commerce transactions.
Of course, it comes with challenges and considerations:
Volatility and Risk: Cryptocurrencies are known for their price volatility, which can lead to substantial gains or losses. It’s important to be prepared for the inherent risk and to only invest what you can afford to lose.
Security and Scams: The decentralized and anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies makes them susceptible to hacking and scams. It’s crucial to employ robust security measures, such as using secure wallets and reputable exchanges, to protect your digital assets.
Regulatory Uncertainty: Governments and regulatory bodies are still grappling with how to regulate cryptocurrencies effectively. Changing regulations and legal frameworks can impact the value and usability of cryptocurrencies, so it’s important to stay informed about the evolving landscape.
Education and Awareness: Understanding the complexities of cryptocurrencies requires a learning curve. Before investing or using cryptocurrencies, individuals should educate themselves about blockchain technology, wallet management, and the potential risks involved.
Cryptocurrencies are poised to shape the future of money and have a profound impact on personal finances.
While they offer opportunities for high returns, portfolio diversification, financial inclusion, and faster transactions, they also come with challenges such as volatility, security risks, regulatory uncertainty, and the need for education.
As the cryptocurrency ecosystem evolves, it’s important to approach this emerging asset class with caution, conduct thorough research, and make informed decisions based on your financial goals, risk tolerance, and understanding of the technology. By staying informed and proactive, individuals can navigate the exciting landscape of cryptocurrencies and potentially reap the benefits they offer in the future of money.
Retirement is a time of life that many people look forward to, but it can also be a time of financial stress if you haven’t planned ahead.
In order to make your money last in retirement, you’ll need to carefully consider your expenses and income sources, and make a plan for managing your finances over the long term.
Here are some tips for making your money last in retirement:
Calculate Your Retirement Income: Before you retire, it’s important to have a clear understanding of your retirement income sources. This may include CPF, dividends, and savings accounts. Use a retirement income calculator to estimate how much income you’ll have each year.
Create a Retirement Budget: Once you know how much income you’ll have, create a budget that outlines your expected expenses. Be sure to include all of your regular expenses, such as housing, food, and transportation, as well as any other expenses you anticipate.
Manage Your Debt: If you have debt, such as a mortgage or credit card debt, it’s important to manage it carefully in retirement. Consider paying off high-interest debt first, and try to avoid taking on new debt in retirement.
Consider Downsizing: If your housing expenses are a significant portion of your budget, consider downsizing to a smaller home or moving to a less expensive location. This can help reduce your monthly expenses and free up more money for other expenses.
Be Careful with Investments: While investing can be an important way to generate income in retirement, it’s important to be careful with your investments. Consider working with a financial advisor to create a diversified investment portfolio that balances risk and return. Remeber time is no longer on your side.
Delay CPF payouts: This can increase your monthly benefit amount, which can be helpful if you’re concerned about running out of money in retirement.
Stay Healthy: Taking care of your health can be a key factor in making your money last in retirement. Healthy habits can help reduce healthcare expenses and improve your overall quality of life, allowing you to enjoy your retirement years to the fullest.
In conclusion, making your money last in retirement requires careful planning and management.
By creating a retirement budget, managing debt, downsizing, being careful with investments, delaying CPF payouts, and staying healthy, you can help ensure that your retirement years are financially stable and enjoyable.
Money can be a touchy subject, especially when it comes to relationships. It’s important to have open and honest communication about finances with your partner to ensure a strong financial future together.
Here are some tips for navigating finances with your partner and building a solid financial foundation.
Start with Open Communication The first step to navigating finances with your partner is to have open and honest communication about money. This means discussing your financial goals, budget, debts, and income.
It’s important to be transparent about your financial situation and work together to come up with a plan that works for both of you. Regular check-ins and discussions about money can help avoid misunderstandings and build trust.
Set Joint Financial Goals Once you have a clear understanding of each other’s financial situation, it’s important to set joint financial goals. This can be anything from saving for a down payment on a house to paying off debt.
By working towards common goals, you can stay motivated and focused on building a strong financial future together.
Decide on Joint and Individual Finances When it comes to finances, there are different approaches that work for different couples.
Some couples prefer to combine all their finances, while others prefer to keep them separate. It’s important to discuss and decide what works best for you as a couple. You may choose to combine certain expenses, such as rent or utilities, while keeping personal expenses separate.
Create a Budget and Stick to It Creating a budget together can help you stay on track with your joint financial goals.
Make a list of your monthly expenses and prioritize your spending based on your financial goals. It’s important to review your budget regularly and make adjustments as needed. Sticking to your budget can help you avoid overspending and build savings.
Be Accountable and Responsible It’s important to be accountable and responsible when it comes to finances. This means sticking to your budget, paying bills on time, and being honest about your spending.
It’s also important to be supportive of each other’s financial goals and work together to overcome any challenges that arise.
Consider Seeking Professional Help If you’re struggling to navigate finances with your partner, consider seeking professional help.
A financial advisor can provide guidance and support in achieving your financial goals. They can also help you navigate any differences in financial attitudes or beliefs.
In conclusion, navigating finances with your partner can be challenging, but it’s an important part of building a strong relationship and a solid financial foundation.
By starting with open communication, setting joint financial goals, deciding on joint and individual finances, creating a budget and sticking to it, being accountable and responsible, and considering seeking professional help, you can work towards a successful financial future together.
This one might be no-brainer. But since it came to mind, why not?
Compound interest is a powerful tool that can help you build wealth and achieve your financial goals. It is the interest earned on the initial principal as well as the accumulated interest from previous periods. In simple terms, it is interest on interest.
Let’s explore the power of compound interest and how you can make your money work for you.
To understand the power of compound interest, let’s look at a simple example.
Suppose you invest $1,000 at an annual interest rate of 5%. At the end of the first year, you will have earned $50 in interest, bringing your total investment to $1,050. In the second year, you will earn interest not only on the initial $1,000 but also on the $50 you earned in the first year. This means that your investment will grow to $1,102.50 at the end of the second year. As you can see, the interest earned in the second year is higher than the interest earned in the first year, even though the interest rate is the same.
This is the power of compound interest.
The Time Value of Money
One of the key principles of compound interest is the time value of money.
The longer you invest your money, the more time it has to grow. This is why it’s important to start investing early and let your money work for you over time.
For example, if you invest $10,000 at an annual interest rate of 5% for 10 years, you will have $16,386 at the end of the period. However, if you invest the same amount for 20 years, you will have $26,533 at the end of the period. As you can see, the extra 10 years of investing has a significant impact on the final amount.
Another factor that affects the power of compound interest is the frequency of compounding.
Compounding can occur annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly, or even daily. The more frequently your interest compounds, the more you earn over time.
For example, if you invest $1,000 at an annual interest rate of 5% compounded annually, you will have $1,628.89 after 10 years. However, if the interest is compounded monthly, you will have $1,647.01 at the end of the period. This may seem like a small difference, but over time, it can add up significantly.
How to Make Compound Interest Work for You
To make compound interest work for you, it’s important to start investing early and invest regularly. This will give your money more time to grow and take advantage of the power of compound interest.
It’s also important to choose investments that offer compound interest, such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and mutual funds.
Finally, it’s important to be patient and let your money work for you over time. The power of compound interest may not be immediately apparent, but over time, it can have a significant impact on your financial well-being.
In conclusion, compound interest is a powerful tool that can help you build wealth and achieve your financial goals.
By understanding the basics of compound interest, the time value of money, the power of compounding frequency, and how to make compound interest work for you, you can take control of your finances and build a better financial future.
In today’s fast-paced world, convenience has become a top priority for many people. From fast food to online shopping, we are constantly bombarded with options that make our lives easier and more efficient.
However, this convenience often comes with a cost, and the small expenses we incur on a daily basis can add up over time.
Let’s explore cost of convenience and how it affects our finances.
1 — Coffee and Snacks
One of the most common conveniences that people indulge in is coffee and snacks. A daily coffee or snack may seem like a small expense, but it can add up over time. For example, a $3 cup of coffee every weekday for a year adds up to $780. Similarly, a $2 snack every weekday for a year adds up to $520.
By making coffee and snacks at home or bringing them from home, you can save hundreds of dollars a year.
Or just cut them completely out (I am trying).
2 — Transportation
Transportation is another area where convenience comes with a cost. Driving a car or taking a taxi may be more convenient than using public transportation, but it is also more expensive. Gas, parking fees, and car maintenance costs can add up quickly. Similarly, taking a taxi or ride-sharing service may be more convenient than public transportation, but it is also more expensive.
By using public transportation, walking, or biking, you can save money on transportation expenses, especially in Singapore.
Subscription services are another convenience that can add up over time. From streaming services to meal delivery services, these services offer convenience and ease of use, but they also come with a monthly fee. While one subscription may not seem like a lot, multiple subscriptions can add up quickly.
By reviewing your subscriptions regularly and canceling those that you no longer use or need, you can save money on monthly expenses.
Better still, never subscribe.
4 — Eating Out
Eating out is another convenience that can be costly. While it may be more convenient than cooking at home, it is also more expensive. A meal at a restaurant can cost several times more than a meal cooked at home.
By cooking at home more often and eating out less, you can save money on food expenses.
The key to this is getting a wife/husband who loves you and cooking! The food will be more delicious too!
5 — Convenience Fees
Finally, many conveniences come with additional fees. For example, ordering items online may come with shipping fees. These fees may seem small, but they can add up over time.
By being aware of these fees and avoiding them whenever possible, you can save money on unnecessary expenses.
In conclusion, convenience comes with a cost, and the small expenses we incur on a daily basis can add up over time.
By being aware of these expenses and finding ways to save on them, you can reduce your monthly expenses and improve your financial well-being. Whether it’s making coffee at home or using public transportation, small changes can add up to big savings over time.
My cousin is in University Year 3 and doing her internship. She asked me for some life advice.
I gave her some pointers and would like to share them here for my younger audience (I hope there are some :))
Your immediate focus is only Career and Marriage. The rest (bags, clothes etc etc) is a waste of time, time that you will never get back. And do not forget about the compounding impact.
Between Career and Marriage, you should prioritize Career over Marriage at least until 30. In modern cities, your career determines your circle, which determines the kind of man you can meet. Being successful in Career would enable you to find better partners, and thus increase your chance of living a happy and successful life.
You should never be a housewife in your whole life. If possible, you should maintain your independent Career and income. If not, you need to be helping your husband’s career with very clear value addition. Otherwise, the more successful your husband is, the more likely you will lose his respect and then him completely.
To do well in Career, the secret lies in every decision of yours, big or small. When you see an opportunity, do you actively pursue it or wait for it to come to you? When presented with a good relocation opportunity, do you take the challenge or shrink back into your comfort zone? After work, do you read or spend all your time on Tiktok?
Base your expectations and decisions on statistics and rules. You need to realize you are just as common as the majority of the population. That means what happens to the majority will happen to you. That means rules will not bend for you. That means you will neither be very lucky nor very unlucky. For example, your plane won't crash and you won't strike the lottery.
Another top celebrity in China got fined for tax evasion. The fine was more than 100 Mn RMB (~16Mn USD, ~20Mn SGD).
This is just pure illogical.
First of all, the fine is at least the amount of tax he evaded. So his attempt did not save him money.
What’s worse, this pretty much marks the end of his career as a celebrity. None of the celebrities who got fined for tax evasion before him got the chance to come back.
For a top celebrity who is in his 20s, the amount of money he could make out of his career would be humongous, compared to this fine.
On the other hand, Huawei announced rent subsidy for its tenants, in face of yet another wave of Covid.
Rent for past 6 months will be refunded
Rent for next 9 months will be halved
Huawei is not at its best after the US ban. But the leaders in the company understand there is a family behind every small shop and they are vulnerable.
I firmly believe Huawei can go a long way, no matter what is thrown at them.
For people who only think about themselves, they will be forever poor. No matter how much money they have, they would never feel they have enough. They would never feel the abundance to help people.
On the contrary, for people who are willing to share and help others, sustainable richness will come from satisfaction, reputation and network.
It is easy to forget it is a long game for most people.
Income -> savings -> investment -> financial freedom
It is a journey and it is a long game.
We need to increase our income. No one can save if they can only get their ends met.
We need to increase our savings % against income. Here we can have some control. Once we meet our basic needs, we can decide to spend less and save more.
We need to put our savings into investment. Here is where uncertainties kick in and they could be overwhelming. I know people who made big bucks in investment and I know people who only expect to beat inflation by investing (They have fat pay-checks enough to get them where they want to be, without the need for investment returns). I of course know people who has lost big in investment, a.k.a ME!
But financial freedom can be quite certain with time if we just keep at it and stay vigilant.
It is Dec. Have you secured your income tax relief for 2021?
If not, below are 3 things you should consider right now, because they “expire” after the last working day of the year and you will lose your chance to save on taxes.
First of all, let’s distinguish tax relief and tax rebate.
Tax relief means a portion of your income is not subject to tax.
For example, your annual income is 200KSGD and you can claim a tax relief of 40K. Now your taxable income is 160KSGD. According to the income tax rate 2019, you should pay 7,950 (For first 120K) + 6,000 (for additional 40K) = 13,950SGD in income tax.
Tax relief typically applies every year and we need to be mindful about the timing to enjoy some of them, such as various Top-up schemes
There is an overall tax relief cap of 80KSGD per year. I doubt I will ever hit that cap.
Tax rebate means a portion of your income tax is off-set and does not need to be paid by you.
For example, your income tax is 13,950SGD and you enjoy a tax rebate of 5000SGD. The actual income tax you need to pay is 13,950–5000 = 8,950SGD.
Tax rebate is typically one-time. Once you use it up, it is gone. And before you use it up, it will stay in your (or your partner’s) account and be automatically carried forward to next year. While it is advisable to use it up as soon as possible as the balance does not generate any interest, the risk of losing them is very low, unless you do not know about it at all or complete forget about it.
The tax rebate that applies to most of Singaporeans is Parenthood Tax Rebate (PTR), which is intended to support parents with children. It is 5K for 1st child, 10K for 2nd child and 20K for each child for 3rd and subsequent children. It is pretty generous as our government really loves babies and you and your partner can split it anyway you want.
1.Voluntary Contributions (Cash) to Medisave Account (VC-MA)
If you have not reached your Basic Health Sum (BHS) and you have not reached the annual CPF contribution cap (37,740SGD), you can top up your MA using cash and enjoy the tax relief
According to IRAS website, the amount of tax relief given is the lowest of the following:
Voluntary cash contribution directed specifically to Medisave Account
Annual CPF contribution cap for the year, less Mandatory Contribution (MC)
Prevailing Basic Healthcare Sum(BHS)^, less the balance in Medisave Account before the voluntary cash contribution.
The process is fairly straightforward. Just follow the CPF instructions. If you give CPF a call, they will also walk you through it step-by-step
Remember to use PAYNOW option to enjoy the almost immediate transfer. Wire or check is likely to miss the deadline, which is tomorrow.
Best time for doing this for me is late Jan every year to enjoy the max interest or when some Medisave money is used if you have reached BHS.
This requires you to have a reasonably good forecast of your annual CPF contribution though. But there is no need to worry too much. Excess contribution will be returned to you by CPF after a while (not sure how long) with no interest.
2.Top up (cash) your CPF Special account (SA, below age 55) or Retirement account (RA, age 55 and above)
You can top up your or your relatives’ SA or RA all the way to the Full Retirement Sum (FRS)
The tax relief would be the lower of your cash top-up amount and 7KSGD
You can also top up your relatives’ SA (Parents, ground parents, spouse or siblings) if they meet the requirements (basically low income) to enjoy additional tax relief, up to 7KSGD as well
Again, follow the CPF instructions and use PAYNOW
Best time for doing this for me is late Jan every year to enjoy the max interest
3.Top up (cash) Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account
You can open a SRS account with DBS, OCBC or UOB. Sometimes, they even provide cash benefits if you open an account with them. Do check and grab the “free” dollars.
The benefit of this account is that your contributions is tax free, up to 15,300SGD per year. You can invest the money. When you withdraw the fund upon or after retirement, only 50% of the withdraws are taxable
The potential down-side is that if you withdraw before retirement, 5% of penalty will be imposed. Therefore, it is advisable to open your SRS account now, to lock in the retirement age after which you can withdraw the fund from your SRS account without the penalty.
Once you open an account, the top-up is like any other bank transfer. However, it does take a few days for the account to be opened.
Best time for doing this for me is when my bulk of dividend has come in. This way, I can invest the dividend together with the new contribution to save fees. The fee to invest this account is not the best.
If you have done all 3, super! If you have not, please consider based on your actual situation. A dollar saved is a dollar earned.
3.Another opportunity knocks but I am not sure about it
I am still a bit scared by the offer retraction.
That makes unsure about this one.
My life now is not super, but ok. Actually, I can make myself feel satisfied with it.
With this opportunity, better perspectives, growth and money will be available to me, and at the same time, I will be exposed to the risk of another offer retraction.
It is most likely a no-brainer for most people. For me, I need to think and evaluate hard.
I have to say that we had a good start because we had many things entrepreneurs would cry for.
1.We had money and support
Even before we decided to kick start the whole thing, we had an investor.
He is willing to invest quite a handsome sum that could last us for 2–3 years at least.
And he owns his own company and he promised support, e.g. on marketing material, client network, licensing products etc
Of course, he would require shares and we discussed and reached a mutually agreed arrangement.
2.We had time
Like any start up, a lot of time and work was required.
Luckily, we both could spare the needed time, without affecting our life and work.
We had to work till 2 or 3 in the morning for a few times and had to burn a few weekends, but mostly, our work allowed enough room for us to do the needful without affecting our time with family.
And we can continue this kind of commitment at least until we have something serious ongoing and then we could explore hiring someone or even getting full time.
3.We had connections
We both knew people who would need our solutions.
And we both knew people who can provide some of the solutions.
We could easily act as middleman in the beginning before we established our own solutions capabilities.
…However, it was what we lacked that led to the end
We had many good things to start with.
But two things we lacked, namely “Want” and “Need”, caused lack of commitment from both of us, which eventually led us to ending the adventure.
“Want” and “Need” is usually used to guide us on spending decisions to reduce expenses and save money.
However, I find them perfectly fitting here.
They are really good things, without which motivation and resilience becomes abstract.
1.We lacked the “Want” — passion
We both believe that we can manage bigger and better things.
We both believe that our jobs do not provide enough room for our full potential.
We also both believe that our solutions are capable of improving the efficiencies of the industry.
However, we do not have to have it.
We do not lose sleep if we do not have it.
So I would say the passion is not present.
2.We lacked the “Need” — pressure
We both have families and some net-worth.
He always has a job and I have a job now too.
While we do welcome the extra money and impact that this adventure could potential bring us, we do not really have the need.
We do not need the revenue of the start-up to feed our families or pay the bills.
Therefore, neither of us was willing to quite our job and became full-time on this.
Therefore, things moved slowly sometimes.
Therefore, we became less determined upon frustrations.
Therefore, when it became clear that he would need to go through a lot of applications to secure the approval to be the direct of the company, we kind of decided to stop there…
Before we come to the end, I do want to be fair to ourselves too.
The whole situation is still a long shot.
The relations with the investor is more complicated than what I could describe here.
The revenue-generating activities are still a bit unsecured. We had some pipelines and we had quite a few interactions and we faced difficulties, such as lack of willingness to spend despite the clear demand etc.
This commitment did pose some potential roadblocks on other aspects of our career and lives, such as when we evaluated whether to take another offer etc.
So at least, the situation is not exactly that we just gave up a start-up with good perspectives, due to laziness or whatever, which you might come to feel from what I wrote above.
1.So really, it is not the lack of opportunities, but rather how we choose to do with them
It is easy for everyone to complain lack of opportunities — I can at least do as well, most likely better, if I had his/her background, education, beauty, platform or even luck.
However, as we all slowly realize, everyone has their own opportunities.
Everyone also has their own good and bad luck.
Everyone gets to enjoy their own periods of smooth growth, and everyone inevitably experiences their own frustrations and set-backs.
But it is really what we choose to do that makes a difference.
Are you willing and brave enough to take the risks and put in the hard work to go for it?
And many times, the former could be so much harder than the latter.
At least, congratulations to myself! I just lost the right to complain that “I did not have the opportunities”.
2.Start-Up is hard
It is a hard path.
Even with so many things to start with, this was a still a very hard journey for us.
We were doing it in our spare time.
We can only imagine the hardship and stress for anyone who is full time on this and who is dependent on the success of it.
We logically assessed that we could have a good chance of succeeding comfortably.
We were completely wrong.
3.“Want” or “Need” leads the way
It is hard to have something extraordinary unless we have to have it!
We have to have it either because we have enough passion or we have enough need.
These are the good things.
In a way, how much one can achieve is determined by how much “Want” or “Need” he has.
For someone who has nothing, it is clear that he has to go out and fight.
For someone who already has something, the choices become less clear — he will need to evaluate the options: settle with what he has or go out there to fight for more with 1)more hard work he has to put in and 2) the risk of losing what he has now.
Sooner or later, what he has will reach a threshold where settling becomes the clear choice.
And the “Want” or “Need” determines the threshold for everyone.
4.Good buddy is invaluable
It is going to be harder for someone to accomplish something alone.
Therefore, a buddy who you trust and trusts you, share the same belief and is on similar level of “Want” or “Need” is invaluable.
There is a high chance you can work together and increase the odds.
If you recognize one, do not let him go. At least, stay in tough and watch out for potential opportunities.
