2. I will not buy an old HDB flat and be stuck there for more than 5 years. Too many horror stories about weird neighbours, loanshark problems, and other stuff.

3. If after getting your place, your fengshui master tells you that the house is not suitable for you, then you are stuck for the minimum 5 years.

4. If you want your kid to get into a good school, it means you can’t move house to be near the 1km. If your kid can’t get into the school beside your place, it means being stuck there for another few years before you can move, and that means additional money on transport, and getting people to take your child to school.

5. If you have to take on a job at the opposite end of Singapore, it means you can’t sell your place and move there to save on travelling. You try telling those people who are out of work. They would rather go without a job than take public transport to wash toilets and see their meager salary be spent on transport and more expensive food in town.

6. Buying an HDB flat either resale or new come with so many restrictions. That includes not being able to buy property overseas. That means you will never be able to ride a property boom.

7. To upgrade to private property means forking out 30% cash and CPF, which means it’s probably at least $300k. Who has so much cash flow if you had already depleted your CPF account trying to pay for your flat?

8. If you want to avoid getting only a 70% loan, it means you will have to sell your house, buy your private property, and then rent and wait a few years before TOP. That means that buying a place at preview prices is out. That also means you can’t take your pick and choose your favourite unit.

9. If you are applying for a new HDB flat, you would have to wait a longer time before you can consider selling your place. It will also mean you don’t have your own place to live in after getting married. If you happen to break off the marriage agreement, tough luck, happy waiting again.

10. It all goes back to the point, why should we be penalized for wanting to buy a new place?

11. If you sell your private property and want to wait to be eligible for hdb concession loans, it is a good long wait. Where are you going to live?

12. That also means if you were retrenched, you can’t afford your private housing, you will face a lot of problem getting help.

13. If after having children, and you really need to get your parents-in-law or parents to live with you, or you move over to live with them, and your 5 year occupation is not up, then you cannot rent it out. That means paying additional money to your parents, and paying for your housing loan, without having any rental income to offset the cost of bringing up children.

14. If you made less than $3000, and qualified for a 3-room flat, and then later on have so many children or your relatives need to live with you, you are stuck with a small place and cannot upgrade to a bigger place.

15. If you are thinking about divorce, then you would be stuck if you don’t want to lose a roof over your head.

16. They tell us to live within our means, but if we want to make sure that we have enough space, that means forking out more money, which would be extremely taxing on our pockets.

17. If you get an overseas posting, you would need to pay rent over there. However, you can’t rent out your place, which means the place is empty, which becomes a liability.

18. Now that people can’t buy another HDB flat or can’t afford another private apartment to spend their extra money, they will start doing stupid investments that they are unfamiliar with, and then get burnt. So I foresee hearing more stories of people being duped by unscrupulous people.

19. If after buying a private property, you realize that there are so many problems with the place, such as extremely poor workmanship and other defects, you would be penalized for selling it too quickly.

20. Those with enough money to buy a HDB flat for investment may turn to mass market private property for investment, which will still put those who can’t qualify for public housing in a position where they can’t afford a single thing as they would push up the prices.

21. I still have lots more grouses but SM Goh says don’t complain so much.

Share This

When I watched the news last night, one woman admitted that it was greed that led her to put her money there. She was attracted by the 5% interest rate, instead of the less than 1% offered by Singapore fixed deposits. True, many were retirees and some were not highly educated. However, there is no such thing as free lunches in the world. The risks would have been considerably higher if the interest rate was higher.

Of course, it is sad to read about a cobbler in his 70s who had invested his life savings into the funds. I have heard of younger people who invested $100000. The positive thing is the younger professionals still have the ability to earn the amount again.

What DBS, Maybank and Hong Leong are doing now is to look at the profile of the investors, to decide who should get help. Maybank is looking at retirees and those with primary education or less. Hong Leong will look at ‘vulnerable investors’ while DBS is not coming forward with their criteria.

One costly lesson I’ve learnt is that you should know what you are buying into, and not what other people tell you to. You have to take responsibility.

Share This

Share This

If you need to entertain your guests or travel frequently, the amount you spend may differ from one month to another. Without spending limits, charge cards will be suitable for those who need to spend large amounts on entertaining their clients. They offer short term loans without penalties if you pay off in full every month. American Express and Diners Cards are such travel and entertainment cards. American Express has other payments options available for you to make your payments over a longer period of time. Due to the different schemes available, some people may use the terms interchangeably, but these two are basically different.

The second type of major cards is the credit card we are familiar with. Visa and Master Card work with banks to issue credit cards to the consumer. The banks will determine the spending limit on your cards based on your income level. Different cards have different terms and conditions. If you only pay the minimum amount for your credit card payment, be prepared to fork out hefty sums that stemmed from your interest payments and new purchases. Due to the nature of unsecured loans, interest rates are considerably higher and over time, they may add up to a lot.

Business Credit Cards are the next type of cards. These cards are meant for those with small businesses, although some banks give them to their customers holding personal credit cards. These cards tend to have lower interest rates and higher spending limits. Cash flow issues can be easily resolved for small business with business credit cards as you can pay the bills over an extended period.

Last but not least, various major companies offer retail store cards. Some are linked to shopping malls or other retail stores or we have fleet cards, for various fuel purchases as well. Due to the numerous retail store cards, the terms and conditions are not alike. Only certain countries accept such cards.

Since various types of credit cards offer different conditions and payment options, you need to decide what cards such as charge cards, credit cards, business credit cards and retail store cards suit you best.

Share This

Gold fell from a high of $1030.80 in March to US$808.05 this week. As for oil, it is currently at US$113.55.

There is a chance that gold may fall further to high – US$700 levels. There is an inverse correlation between the strength of the US dollar and the strength of gold.

The Euro has fallen, as well as the British pound, against the US dollar. This comes amid reports that Germany has suffered a contraction in its economy.

However, with the US economy in bad shape, how long the US dollar will stay strong remains to be seen. Decide what you want to do with your gold investments.

Share This

The last time I went to the tour, I booked a great trip to the various onsens or hot springs in Japan. This time round, I’m looking for great deals for my honeymoon at the end of the year. My friend went to Greece, and some suggested New Zealand. Any suggestions?

Before you decide on the tour package, check for the hidden charges such as fuel surcharges, taxes, and add-on day tours. I went with my friend on a very cheap tour to Chiang Mai before, and we had to pay 500 baht per person to go to each location, such as going to the borders between three countries, and a visit to the Karen hill tribes. So the best deal may not be that great.

In addition, my trip to Korea was filled with lots of visits to shops and stores where the tour guide could earn commission. The photographer with us tried to take photos of us, which he would charge $8 per photo. One family had to pay more than $300 for the photos because they did not know about this.

At the same time, some tours may fail to materialise because not enough customers book them. If you happen to be on such a tour, you may have to change your plans. Check whether there would be any refunds if this happens.

You may also decide whether you want to see a lot of different places, or you want to enjoy each place at your own pace. Do check with the agencies what languages the tour guides would be speaking in. On my last trip to Japan, the local tour guide could barely speak English and Mandarin. It so happened that most of the tourists on my coach came from English-speaking backgrounds, so when the man tried to lapse into Cantonese, he lost almost all of us.

Enjoy your trip! 

Share This

A friend of mine earns more than me, and doesn’t own a car. By right, she should have more savings than me. However, when I told her how much I have, all squirreled away to various insurance plans, savings plans, investments and other accounts, she was shocked. She started thinking of reasons, such as she gives more money to her parents. Well, I do have a lot of fixed expenditure, such as my singing lessons that do not come cheap, and my car that takes up quite a big chunk, and I also give money to my parents. 

Too many women in their 20s or 30s are not saving enough, and when their children come, their purse strings would get even tighter. The best way to make more money is to save more.

Many books expound the virtue of paying-yourself-first, such as putting 10% of your income into a separate savings account, which can be used for investing as well. This is very important. You have to make sure you have met your own needs before you pay other bills.

10% out of a $60000 annual income is a whopping $6000. If you can save this amount every year for a decade, at a conservative interest rate of 3%, it is almost $80000 by then, which means you made $20000.

The other regret of women is they wish they know more about financial tools and other investment plans. Too many rely on their partners without taking control of their financial destiny. You really do not have to spend much time to find out more.

You can read the Sunday Times which has some investment pages, or read my blog to find out more. There are many other blogs where you can find out more. A lot of books in the market cater to those who are interested to find out more and some are written in an easy-to-understand manner.

Share This

Having said that, two friends immediately told me their horror stories about their credit cards. Young people under the age of 30 were the likeliest to rack up huge credit card bills. One lady owed the bank a lot of money because after changing her job, her salary fell dramatically and she continued to charge huge expenses to her card.

One friend decided to shred her credit cards and stay away from them. I thought this was a little drastic, since credit cards can be useful. At the same time, when you want to get loans in the future, having credit cards means they have a longer credit history of yours and it will be easier to get a loan, especially for cars or houses.

Another decided to lower the credit limit to avoid overspending. The bank will do this for you immediately once you call them. You can let them know you want to set the limit lower. Usually, the limit is two times your monthly salary, but if you are spending that amount every month, it’s a little tough to wait until your bonuses come in before you can clear the bills. Remember, rolling over your bills is a very bad idea, even if banks love you for that. The interest rates are extremely high.

Some of my cards have low credit limits because I did not submit my new payslips to them to ask for a credit increase. However, having low credit limits means you cannot spend that much. Everything can be considered important. You can find an excuse for getting that new computer, or that new range of cosmetics. By limiting yourself, you are forced to rein in your spending.

If you have supplementary cards, you can also set the limit. This is good if you do not want your children, spouse or relative to go overboard with spending.

Despite this, you should still keep an eye on your expenditure and increase the income streams. By the way, I’ve cleared my credit card bills and I get to use my credit cards again.

Share This

The webhost had actually forgotten to renew my domain, so it was taken off. They renewed immediately, and the matter was resolved. However, I felt that the transition could have been better.

So, I went to search for another webhost, and I had heard good reviews about bluehost. I have a number of websites that I have to cater to my wide interests and hobbies, so I want a webhost that allows me to have unlimited number of domains for just one price. With my SingaporeProfit webhost, I can only have one website. For the same price or less, I can actually have unlimited number of domains and email forwarding accounts. That would save me lots of money.

This webhost is cheaper than local packages that are extremely expensive. I saw some advertisements in the newspapers that demand a few hundred dollars a month!

This only costs US$6.95 per month for two years. If you are only trying out for a while, it’s probably not worth it. They also have free domain for first time users.

So, if you want more bang for your cash, and the ability to do more for than your free blogs, you can consider getting this.

Share This

Since I do not drive to JB at all, the increase in prices will not affect me directly. I have friends and colleagues who go there few times a week to pump petrol, so they will be affected.

Food prices will increase as a result of that. Lorries who transport vegetables to Singapore will have to pay more for petrol prices, and the costs will be passed to the consumers. That means that we have to pay more for the vegetables. This price increase is on top of the increase in commodities.

What I’m doing now to reduce the impact in oil hikes is to ensure I do not waste petrol. I finally removed the few bags in my car which had been there ever since I shifted to my new workplace. Excess weight adds to the fuel consumption. In a way, if you have a full tank, the weight of the petrol will mean you have to burn more petrol for that weight. However, as I do not like to be caught in the situation where I run out of petrol, I usually pump full tank.
 

Share This