Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
Welcome to the end of March. Hope we are all doing OK and hope this virus thing will be over soon.
Net-Worth increase from last month: -56K SGD
This is the biggest decrease so far to our Net-Worth since we started to track it about two years ago.
You guessed it. The decrease was due to the stock market crash.
Investment: -3.76% annualized return, incl. dividend
Compared
to the annualized return of positive 7.83% last month, it is a huge drop.
We are experiencing the biggest paper loss since we started our investment journey, in terms of the absolute value. However, this is not the worst for us in terms of return rate. We have seen far worse. Maybe we can consider this a benefit of starting to invest at the peak of the market and experiencing the correction shortly after... Haha
There has been quite a lot of reports "confirming" that we are actually in a recession, instead of a very short-term crisis. I have written a post earlier this month to urge you to stay invested and ride out the storm, if you are a DIY index ETF investor with a long investment time horizon, especially if you still have your pay check. The suggestion still stands and this is what I am going to do with my World ETF.
I still have a bit of warchest money left. I plan to hold on for a while before deploying it. My previous deployment into ES3 and IWDA proved to be too early. Lets see what happens.
Wish us all all the best! Till the next time.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Another quick update on life
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
This post is going to be another quick update of my life. Hopefully, this one is going to be a short one.
1. My investment
During the free-fall market, I have depleted 60% of my limited war chest, and the market continues to free-fall. I guess my confidence in the market is overrated. Lets see what happens next.
2. My offer
It finally came and it is potentially better than what I expected, if I out-perform, which is good. Now I just need to secure my visa and wait for the Virus episode to end.
3. My job
It is busy and I am learning a lot. My work has been quite highly praised by my manager-to-be and I have started coaching other consultants. This is great because it means I have climbed higher in the value chain.
Going forward, it is going to be less about hands-on work like analysis or actually doing the slides, but more about storyline-level input, being resourceful, team management and client management. I will also have more stake in the performance of the team and department and the company.
I feel great to be given the opportunity which represents both recognition and trust. Getting the title is one thing and being recognized for that title could be entirely another. I am happy that I have got both.
Next, I just need to prove myself again to be worthy and then continue to the next level.
That is it for this post.
Till the next time!
Thank you for coming here.
This post is going to be another quick update of my life. Hopefully, this one is going to be a short one.
1. My investment
During the free-fall market, I have depleted 60% of my limited war chest, and the market continues to free-fall. I guess my confidence in the market is overrated. Lets see what happens next.
2. My offer
It finally came and it is potentially better than what I expected, if I out-perform, which is good. Now I just need to secure my visa and wait for the Virus episode to end.
3. My job
It is busy and I am learning a lot. My work has been quite highly praised by my manager-to-be and I have started coaching other consultants. This is great because it means I have climbed higher in the value chain.
Going forward, it is going to be less about hands-on work like analysis or actually doing the slides, but more about storyline-level input, being resourceful, team management and client management. I will also have more stake in the performance of the team and department and the company.
I feel great to be given the opportunity which represents both recognition and trust. Getting the title is one thing and being recognized for that title could be entirely another. I am happy that I have got both.
Next, I just need to prove myself again to be worthy and then continue to the next level.
That is it for this post.
Till the next time!
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
What I plan to do as stock market is dropping
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
In this post, I would like to share with you what I plan to do now, as stock marketing is dropping like crazy.
Simply put, two things:
- Don't "Sell"
- Look for "Buy" opportunities
Don't "Sell"
I decide not to sell anything, because logically
Let's be honest. It is very tempting to think or calculate how much gain you could have secured or how much loss you could have avoided if you sold earlier and it is even more so to think about whether you should sell now before it is too late.
I know it is hard to get rid of those thoughts or feelings, because I have been there before.
The way I do it now is to treat the "Dollar Cost Averaging" (DCA) scenario as the baseline and compare my current portfolio to that. If I have stick to the DCA method, how would my portfolio fare now and how is it compared to my current portfolio? This way, I focus almost always on whether I should buy, because "Selling" is not part of the DCA, at least not in the accumulating phase.
Look for "Buy" opportunities
In my earlier posts, I mentioned that I stopped putting money into stock market from Sept last year because I thought the price had become too high. And the drop is likely to provide opportunities to buy. The only problem is that I do not have a big enough war chest and I do not have my salary now.
However, I will utilize whatever I can spare and grab the opportunity. As a matter of fact, I already bought 5000 shares of ES3 last Friday.
In summary, if you are like me, a relatively young DIY ETF investor who cannot or does not want to spend a lot of time researching the market, I suggest you hold your portfolio and look for buy opportunities. The market drop only presents you with opportunities to lower the average cost of your portfolio, especially if you have your stable income.
Till next time!
Thank you for coming here.
In this post, I would like to share with you what I plan to do now, as stock marketing is dropping like crazy.
Simply put, two things:
- Don't "Sell"
- Look for "Buy" opportunities
Don't "Sell"
I decide not to sell anything, because logically
- I am young and have enough time to ride through the cycles.
- I believe the market is unpredictable in the short term. The market could start to go higher from the next minute. I will never know
- Luckily, I do not need the cash now
Let's be honest. It is very tempting to think or calculate how much gain you could have secured or how much loss you could have avoided if you sold earlier and it is even more so to think about whether you should sell now before it is too late.
I know it is hard to get rid of those thoughts or feelings, because I have been there before.
The way I do it now is to treat the "Dollar Cost Averaging" (DCA) scenario as the baseline and compare my current portfolio to that. If I have stick to the DCA method, how would my portfolio fare now and how is it compared to my current portfolio? This way, I focus almost always on whether I should buy, because "Selling" is not part of the DCA, at least not in the accumulating phase.
Look for "Buy" opportunities
In my earlier posts, I mentioned that I stopped putting money into stock market from Sept last year because I thought the price had become too high. And the drop is likely to provide opportunities to buy. The only problem is that I do not have a big enough war chest and I do not have my salary now.
However, I will utilize whatever I can spare and grab the opportunity. As a matter of fact, I already bought 5000 shares of ES3 last Friday.
In summary, if you are like me, a relatively young DIY ETF investor who cannot or does not want to spend a lot of time researching the market, I suggest you hold your portfolio and look for buy opportunities. The market drop only presents you with opportunities to lower the average cost of your portfolio, especially if you have your stable income.
Till next time!
Friday, March 6, 2020
I feel "ALIVE" again
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
For the past 5 weeks, I have been working as a free lancer and have been working from home due to the virus.
Compared to my last job, the chances were prominent.
Most of the time, I have been very busy with client calls, internal calls or training sessions. I have learnt a lot from the past 5 weeks too. I am very fortunate to have someone who is willing to teach me and coach me. I feel I am going back to the old days as a consultant when I was and had to be at my top efficiency level all the time. This is all at the opposite end of my previous job.
One change I did not notice until very recently, however, is that I feel "ALIVE" again.
In my previous job, I could not drag myself out from the negative thoughts about what was happening to my career: a job I only needed to spend 2 hours a day on; a position where I almost had nothing to learn; a boss who did not appreciate my work, took pleasure in challenging me unnecessarily and was determined not to promote me or show any appreciation.
Please do note that above were my thoughts. They were probably not the truth. During the past few weeks, I have also started to realize some things that never occurred to me before. For example, while I did keep things running, I might have behaved a bit aggressively. I always believed that was necessary because I was required to get things done by pushing people above my grade. Now I realized that I did it to the extend that even my boss felt I was steeling his thunder. And also the thought started coming to me repeatedly that maybe getting things done was not the most important thing after all in my previous organization.
Anyway, one thing was certain. I was drowned in my negative thoughts and as a result I lost interest in almost everything else. I read 6-10 hours every week but really did not absorb much. I did not even enjoy watching movies or playing games, which had been my favorite hobbies. I could not even think of what I wanted to eat when I wanted to give myself a treat. Life seemed so boring and grey without hope. And when I lost the job offer one month before my start date, things just felt so much worse and I lost interest and patience in even more things.
However, to my surprise, I suddenly realized the other day that I had clocked quite a bit of gaming time in the past 3 weeks:
- Metro 2033 Redux - completed campaign
- Metro Last Light Redux - completed campaign
- The Outer Worlds - more than 10 hours of play time
These games were installed in my computer quite a while ago. But I did not start playing until 3 weeks ago. I could also recall that I did quite a bit reading on the tips and tricks of The Outer Worlds.
My first reaction was that I was pleasantly surprised.
I was pleasant because I again had the patience to really dig into something, even that something was a video game. I still remembered during the year end holiday period, I tried Fall out 4 and GTA V but quit the game within 10 mins or so and never started them again.
I was surprised because at first I could not figure out how I got the time given the busy schedule. Then I realized I clocked those play time mainly in the midnight or early morning, which meant that, after a busy day of work, I chose to pay games for a few hours, sometimes until 2am, instead of going to bed. Cannot say it was good habit, but at least I knew I wanted to play and complete those games. And I recalled that I wished to have more time for gaming. Haha...typical me as a consultant a few years back.
To me this is a good sign. Now I learn new things every day and I know there are things I want and am willing to pursue. I do hope to make Principle in 2 years and Partner in 6 years, even though my offer is still being processed. Haha...
Did I miss my old job? Honestly, sometimes I did. If I could just relax, enjoy the good work-life balance and take the salary home every month, I would have had a good life and if I still did not like the job, the salary would have made me rich enough to retire in 15 years or less. But I guess that was just not me. And now it is not like I could go back to it. As people day, grass on the other side is always greener.
I like where I am going and I am willing to do everything to get there.
As a closing, I strongly recommend the game - the Outer Worlds. While running around the map for loot still bothers me a bit, I enjoy the game a lot, especially the "Tinker" feature, which basically allows me to pick a weapon or armor I like and keep it until the end.
Till the next time!
Thank you for coming here.
For the past 5 weeks, I have been working as a free lancer and have been working from home due to the virus.
Compared to my last job, the chances were prominent.
Most of the time, I have been very busy with client calls, internal calls or training sessions. I have learnt a lot from the past 5 weeks too. I am very fortunate to have someone who is willing to teach me and coach me. I feel I am going back to the old days as a consultant when I was and had to be at my top efficiency level all the time. This is all at the opposite end of my previous job.
One change I did not notice until very recently, however, is that I feel "ALIVE" again.
In my previous job, I could not drag myself out from the negative thoughts about what was happening to my career: a job I only needed to spend 2 hours a day on; a position where I almost had nothing to learn; a boss who did not appreciate my work, took pleasure in challenging me unnecessarily and was determined not to promote me or show any appreciation.
Please do note that above were my thoughts. They were probably not the truth. During the past few weeks, I have also started to realize some things that never occurred to me before. For example, while I did keep things running, I might have behaved a bit aggressively. I always believed that was necessary because I was required to get things done by pushing people above my grade. Now I realized that I did it to the extend that even my boss felt I was steeling his thunder. And also the thought started coming to me repeatedly that maybe getting things done was not the most important thing after all in my previous organization.
Anyway, one thing was certain. I was drowned in my negative thoughts and as a result I lost interest in almost everything else. I read 6-10 hours every week but really did not absorb much. I did not even enjoy watching movies or playing games, which had been my favorite hobbies. I could not even think of what I wanted to eat when I wanted to give myself a treat. Life seemed so boring and grey without hope. And when I lost the job offer one month before my start date, things just felt so much worse and I lost interest and patience in even more things.
However, to my surprise, I suddenly realized the other day that I had clocked quite a bit of gaming time in the past 3 weeks:
- Metro 2033 Redux - completed campaign
- Metro Last Light Redux - completed campaign
- The Outer Worlds - more than 10 hours of play time
These games were installed in my computer quite a while ago. But I did not start playing until 3 weeks ago. I could also recall that I did quite a bit reading on the tips and tricks of The Outer Worlds.
My first reaction was that I was pleasantly surprised.
I was pleasant because I again had the patience to really dig into something, even that something was a video game. I still remembered during the year end holiday period, I tried Fall out 4 and GTA V but quit the game within 10 mins or so and never started them again.
I was surprised because at first I could not figure out how I got the time given the busy schedule. Then I realized I clocked those play time mainly in the midnight or early morning, which meant that, after a busy day of work, I chose to pay games for a few hours, sometimes until 2am, instead of going to bed. Cannot say it was good habit, but at least I knew I wanted to play and complete those games. And I recalled that I wished to have more time for gaming. Haha...typical me as a consultant a few years back.
To me this is a good sign. Now I learn new things every day and I know there are things I want and am willing to pursue. I do hope to make Principle in 2 years and Partner in 6 years, even though my offer is still being processed. Haha...
Did I miss my old job? Honestly, sometimes I did. If I could just relax, enjoy the good work-life balance and take the salary home every month, I would have had a good life and if I still did not like the job, the salary would have made me rich enough to retire in 15 years or less. But I guess that was just not me. And now it is not like I could go back to it. As people day, grass on the other side is always greener.
I like where I am going and I am willing to do everything to get there.
As a closing, I strongly recommend the game - the Outer Worlds. While running around the map for loot still bothers me a bit, I enjoy the game a lot, especially the "Tinker" feature, which basically allows me to pick a weapon or armor I like and keep it until the end.
Till the next time!
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Monthly Net-Worth Update - Feb 2020
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
It is the end of the month, which means it is time for another monthly Net-Worth update.
Net-Worth increase from last month: ~17K SGD
The increase was mainly due to capital gain from overseas stock market, and additional CPF contribution from my leave encasement last month.
For stock market, the increase was mainly from China market. For the World market, the recent fall of the market was more or less offset by the strengthened USD against SGD, as of yesterday. So the fall today (Feb 26 2020) was not considered.
I was quite surprised by the increase in our Net-Worth, since I did not have my salary this month. Due to the virus, my offer and on-boarding was delayed at least to next month. The work I delivered this month will be considered as free-lance. Hopefully, I will get paid later. No big deal if I wont.
Investment: 7.83% annualized return, incl. dividend
Compared to the annualized return of 6.04% last month, it is an increase.
I have no idea why China Market is increasing despite the virus.
As mentioned in my previous entry "Basics 03: My investment journey and outcome", we have stopped putting money into the market in the 2nd half of 2019. We are not sure what to do now and I really do not have much time to think about it. So I guess we will just wait and see.
Till the next time.
Thank you for coming here.
It is the end of the month, which means it is time for another monthly Net-Worth update.
Net-Worth increase from last month: ~17K SGD
The increase was mainly due to capital gain from overseas stock market, and additional CPF contribution from my leave encasement last month.
For stock market, the increase was mainly from China market. For the World market, the recent fall of the market was more or less offset by the strengthened USD against SGD, as of yesterday. So the fall today (Feb 26 2020) was not considered.
I was quite surprised by the increase in our Net-Worth, since I did not have my salary this month. Due to the virus, my offer and on-boarding was delayed at least to next month. The work I delivered this month will be considered as free-lance. Hopefully, I will get paid later. No big deal if I wont.
Investment: 7.83% annualized return, incl. dividend
Compared to the annualized return of 6.04% last month, it is an increase.
I have no idea why China Market is increasing despite the virus.
As mentioned in my previous entry "Basics 03: My investment journey and outcome", we have stopped putting money into the market in the 2nd half of 2019. We are not sure what to do now and I really do not have much time to think about it. So I guess we will just wait and see.
Till the next time.
Friday, February 21, 2020
The real meaning of "Commitment"
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
From my failed attempt to publish a big blog entry, which I described in my previous entry, I did manage to extract one view point. I want to share it with you in this entry.
The takeaway is that "Commitment" means doing all you can to achieve your goal. While everyone knows that, few can grasp the real meaning of it in different context and even fewer can exercise it all the time in all circumstances.
While it would be quite impossible to list out all actions we need to take in different situations to "do all we can", below are the ones that I can remember I have failed to take. And I have definitely suffered the consequences, some of which I am afraid I still have not realized. Of the ones I do realize, the latest is the loss of a 300KSGD+ job offer.
So here comes the "not exhaustive" list. "Doing all we can" means:
Thank you for coming here.
From my failed attempt to publish a big blog entry, which I described in my previous entry, I did manage to extract one view point. I want to share it with you in this entry.
The takeaway is that "Commitment" means doing all you can to achieve your goal. While everyone knows that, few can grasp the real meaning of it in different context and even fewer can exercise it all the time in all circumstances.
While it would be quite impossible to list out all actions we need to take in different situations to "do all we can", below are the ones that I can remember I have failed to take. And I have definitely suffered the consequences, some of which I am afraid I still have not realized. Of the ones I do realize, the latest is the loss of a 300KSGD+ job offer.
So here comes the "not exhaustive" list. "Doing all we can" means:
- Accessing all the potential risks beforehand
- Having a clear mind on the options you have and others have going forward and make a action plan that considers both
- Never assume
- Never allow yourself to be complacent
- Conducting self-assessment and reflection all the time
- Staying humble and attentive
- Asking for necessary advice, even from people you do not like or even respect
- Never listening to any advice without assessing the interest of the people who gave them
- Making your own decisions and be fully responsible for them
- Figuring out the next 3 or 5 steps
- Taking the risk and liability all on yourself if that is the best way to achieve your goal
- Not allowing "small matters" to pull your off the right track
- ... ...
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Thinking vs Writing
Dear Readers,
Thank you for coming here.
"Writing is not the outcome of thinking; it is the medium in which thinking takes place"
-Quote of the day
I had been thinking about a big blog entry on a somewhat controversial topic since last Sunday. For some time, I was really into the logic and conclusion of it. I even thought quite a bit about the structure of the entry.
However, when I started putting it down on paper (well, on screen) yesterday, the more I wrote, the less the whole thing appealed to me. The logic did not sound as exciting; The conclusion seemed boring; The whole issue felt like a specific case of another widely discussed topic.
Right before I stopped writing, I was literally asking myself how come it interested me that much and how come I did not see its "uninteresting" side until then.
Maybe I was tunnel-visioned by my emotional state initially; Maybe there was some perspective that I later forgot about; Maybe I did not manage to pick up the conflicts in my logic or the similarity of the issue with other topics in my initial thinking.
Whatever the reason, I believe writing it down as soon as possible will solve the problem to the extend possible.
So this is my strong suggestion to you, my dear Readers!
- If you have some ideas, write them down as soon as possible. It could be just the key points. This will help you:
Thank you for coming here.
"Writing is not the outcome of thinking; it is the medium in which thinking takes place"
-Quote of the day
I had been thinking about a big blog entry on a somewhat controversial topic since last Sunday. For some time, I was really into the logic and conclusion of it. I even thought quite a bit about the structure of the entry.
However, when I started putting it down on paper (well, on screen) yesterday, the more I wrote, the less the whole thing appealed to me. The logic did not sound as exciting; The conclusion seemed boring; The whole issue felt like a specific case of another widely discussed topic.
Right before I stopped writing, I was literally asking myself how come it interested me that much and how come I did not see its "uninteresting" side until then.
Maybe I was tunnel-visioned by my emotional state initially; Maybe there was some perspective that I later forgot about; Maybe I did not manage to pick up the conflicts in my logic or the similarity of the issue with other topics in my initial thinking.
Whatever the reason, I believe writing it down as soon as possible will solve the problem to the extend possible.
So this is my strong suggestion to you, my dear Readers!
- If you have some ideas, write them down as soon as possible. It could be just the key points. This will help you:
- Record down all your perspectives and logics at that time
- More importantly, test your thinking through writing
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