Peter The Planner

 (Greetings from Vegas, Grand Canyon where I am currently at!)

Most of us enjoy travelling. Some of us even have this big dream of “travelling around the world in 80 days”. But how many of us actually take concrete steps to achieve that goal? Most of us classify it as a by-the-way item (ok, if I have enough money by March, I’ll book a ticket). Worse, some of us blow all our salary for that holiday (it’s ok, the money will come back again next month). Here are some practical steps to ensure that your holiday dreams comes true, without breaking the bank!

 1) Planning the first step

Take some time out of your schedule, and list down the places that you would like to travel to. Perhaps you’ve never been to Europe or the United States, pen it down. Maybe you’ll like to travel somewhere nearer in Asia, pen it down too. List down all the places you want to go. Name your list: Bucket List of Travel Destinations (by the way, if you don’t know what a bucket list is, I recommend you to watch the movie of the same name!)

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In March 2013, the government announced changes to the MediShield scheme. Are you aware of the changes and how they impact you?

1) What is MediShield?

MediShield is a basic medical insurance that helps Central Provident Fund (CPF) members and their dependants meet large hospitalisation bills. MediShield works most effectively for hospitalisation at Class B2/C level in restructured hospitals.

Additional insurance coverage, for treatment in Class A/B1 in restructured hospitals or treatment in private hospitals, can be obtained by purchasing a Medisave-approved Integrated Shield Plan (IP). An IP is made up of MediShield and a Medisave-approved enhancement plan offered by a private insurer.

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We know it is wrong to judge on appearances alone. However, many people do just that – it’s built into the way we are as human beings. Therefore instead of fighting against this truth when you want to get a job or start a business, you should work with it and use it to your advantage.

An example of opposites

Let us imagine for a moment you are in the interviewer’s chair and you are going to see two people who have applied for the same job. The first person walks in wearing scruffy jeans and a ripped t-shirt. They haven’t brushed their hair and while they shake hands and give a good interview, their personal appearance leaves a lot to be desired.

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1)  How are car insurance premiums calculated?

Insurance is tabulated via the concept of the pooling of risks. For any particular company, if the overall claims experience is bad, premiums will as a rule of thumb be raised across the board. This is true for all motorists irrespective of whether a claim has been made. However, the premium increase borne by those with a clean driving record will be lower than those with accident claims because the latter will have an additional loading on the claim and thus be subjected to a more substantial increase in premiums.

Therefore, it is important and absolutely necessary to source around for new quotes upon the renewal of your car insurance as your insurance premium may have gone up due to the overall claims experience of your current insurer.

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As many of you will know, I have been in the financial services industry for several years. I believe most of you will concur with me when I say that there will be points of time in your careers where you question if what you does matter, or if there are greener pastures out there? But when those instances occur, it only takes a phone call from a client for me to be re-directed back to my vision, mission and reason as to why I first joined the industry.

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Hi everyone, I hope that your April thus far has been delightful and pleasant! This year has been an active travelling year for me due to the numerous travel incentive trips that has been provided for thanks to my company.

It has been a busy time for me, trying to juggle both the overseas trips as well as my work. I am thankful that I am in a position where I am in full control of my time, which affords me the luxury of not having to worry about how many days of leave I am left with or even the pile of work which awaits once I return from a holiday. It is also because my wife and I are planning for a child in the coming year (with God’s grace, hopefully!), and having heard the numerous horror stories from our friends about your time, age and money disappearing, we have deemed this year as the year to travel! Because once a baby comes along, we all know that time doesn’t belong to us anymore. [Read the rest of this entry...]

“Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and, most of all, self-discipline.”

Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door

After having explored how you can change your attitude to enable you to successfully attain your goals, I now seek to address the practical steps in which you can take in order to bring you a step closer to your goals.

Many of us grow up with numerous fallacies and myths on the concept of wealth. Hopefully, this article will be able to debunk and re-align your thoughts on the true meaning of wealth.

1) Having good grades doesn’t equal big bucks.

How many of us grow up being told to study hard to get good grades, so that when we grow up we will earn big bucks? I’ll be the first to raise my hands to that question.

Years of research led Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door to the conclusion that how well one does in school makes no indication of how much wealth and success one can amass as an adult, with the exceptions of the legal and medical profession. Why then do our parents still feed us with this misconception?

In essence, this is because most of these said parents are not financially independent, and have no clue as to what is needed for their children to achieve wealth and success. Hence, they buy into the mass delusion that good grades equals’ good money. Placing emphasis only on analytical intelligence and not creative intelligence (the latter which spurs new products, advancements and blind spots in previously untapped industries), they recognize success as smart corporate executives in suits and ties. They fail to see that your average millionaire drives a Toyota (not a Ferrari), lives in a ordinary neighbourhood and dines at hawker centres. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Many people are aware of the need to take out life insurance to protect any dependents they would leave behind. However this form of insurance is no good if you contracted a major illness and fell seriously ill. How would your family cope if this happened to you? If you are the major breadwinner in your household and you were suddenly laid up in hospital with a major illness for an indeterminate period of time, how would you cope financially? Life insurance wouldn’t pay out unless the worst happened, so you can start to see why major illness coverage is worth looking at in more depth.

Could you improve your health?

It is common enough to take your health for granted when things are good. However anyone can fall ill at any time, and while most of our afflictions will likely be smaller ones we may suffer from a serious illness at some point in our lives. This is why there is a need for major illness coverage. Incidentally you may also see this referred to as critical illness insurance.

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Many of us dream about being rich, I can even go ahead and say that all of us dream of the day where we’re able to walk into any store in the world, see an object of pleasure, and buy it – all without knowing how much the item costs! When you’re that wealthy, nothing in this world has the ability to make a dent in your bank account.

Perhaps you don’t belong to that category. Perhaps you don’t dream of having that many zeros in your bank account. Perhaps you’re just yearning for the day where you have the luxury of going for that one holiday a year with your family, and if there is surplus, to obtain that ever elusive car (what with the crazy COE prices now), and still have enough to send your children for their additional enrichment classes.

Seemingly, two different end goals, but with one key to unlock both locks. What is that key, you may ask? That my friends, is the title of my header. A T T I T U D E!

Whatever your goals are, the key element in determining your success is Attitude.

Let’s have a simple exercise right now.

1)      Grab a piece of paper, or as we so often do in our digital world, whip out your cell phones / tablets to a fresh page.

2)      Think of the phrase “I am going to be a multi-millionaire!”. Write down the first  5 words / thoughts that come to your mind in the process.

What have you written down? Is the list below reflective of your thoughts? [Read the rest of this entry...]

 Interest rates are at an all time low. Experts predict low interest rates will continue well into 2015. Savers in Singapore who were once happy to leave their money in a savings account, are looking to invest in products that give a potentially higher rate of return than a simple bank account. With interest rates often below inflation, leaving money in a savings account simply erodes the buying power of your savings. Investing in the stock market could provide you with greater returns on your capital and extra income from dividends. Buying stocks and shares is not without its risks, share prices can go down as well as up, but as a long term investment they can generate excellent returns, often outperforming bonds, and other assets such as property.

The appeal of this kind of investment is undeniable. It is also very easy to do. Buying and selling shares is easier than ever – you can even track your portfolio online. However it is important to stay focused and not get carried away. Make sure you are up to date with the investment world. Read journals and blogs and always research the company you choose to invest in. Never buy shares solely due to media hype or on a friend’s advice. Before you begin, you can practice with a fantasy share portfolio online. Many investment websites let you do this for free. Once you are familiar with the industry you should then take a look at yourself. Understand your investment needs and personality by determining your investment profile. This will help you to decide how to invest and help you prepare for losses should they arise.

ATR – Attitude to Risk

For some, the financial world of investment seems chaotic – full of daredevils and risk takers. However, successful investors are very calm about the risks they decide to take. They first ensure that they only invest what they can afford to lose, and make sure they have adequate savings to cover short to medium needs. One top tip is to hold at least 3 months income in an instant access savings account. This will cover you for any unexpected emergencies. Firstly you ensure that your basic needs are covered and then you are free to tackle your mental attitude to risk. Exceptional returns are usually the product of higher risk, while playing it safer with low risk will usually generate moderate returns. You also have to decide if you are patient or impatient when it comes to risk.

Investing in shares is not likely to see a doubling of your money in a year, you have to expect, at the very least, locking your money away for 5 years. If you are the sort of person who will be wracked with worry over what is happening to your money, stocks and shares may not be for you. Many banks and financial service providers have online questionnaires available to see what sort of risk taker you are. Alternatively you can speak to a financial advisor who will help you set up an investment plan.

Types of Investor

Determining your investor profile is a very important step, as it will allow you to identify the best investments for your situation. Attitude to risk is one part of identifying this, whilst other factors such as age, income and financial objectives, also play a part. Apart from investors who want no risk, investing in shares covers most investor profiles. Annual income from dividends may satisfy moderate risk takers while high risk takers hope for impressive capital growth is hedged on the value of the shares increasing. But knowing your investor profile should not limit the types of investment you make.

Most investors in shares aim for a diversified portfolio, hoping to achieve a combination of income and capital gain. Eggs are not placed in one basket, and a range of shares should be bought, some from big ‘safe’ companies, others from smaller more exciting ones. Shares for utility companies are usually stable and offer high dividends while shares in fast growing new companies are risky but could generate capital growth. A diversified portfolio should offer a balance of risk and reward, and you should decide the level of risk you want to take.