Rainbow on FI

Just like there is no fun in games without goals / purpose, there is no fun in life without goals / purpose. Even when playing a seemingly goal-less game for example The Sims, you would still need to create your own goals or housing grand plans to keep the game moving - unless you are happy just staying in the same sized house with the same couple of friends leading the same lifestyle. So... sometimes games can reflect real life in minis-cure scale, but that is another story that I will leave to another day to blog about. Being easily addicted to games - and am not happy till I complete all the levels, I am now addicted to Pocket Frogs! Collecting frogs to get awards uses the old card-game concept, just that instead of relying entirely on sheer luck, it takes a bit of planning and organising as to the way you keep and breed your frogs. It is also something like a permutation and probability game (how that reminds me of Emaths haha). I even self constructed an excel sheet to track my

I vaguely recall seeing her name in the paper but I have never really bothered much, looking at the headlines, I thought she is just another materialistic teenage star-wannabe. Yesterday as I was browsing through some fun web videos on celebrities 'real age vs dress age', I came across the name "Tavi Gevinson" once again and was taken aback by her dress sense (FYI real age 15, dress age 75 - cos she was shown in gray hair wearing some tavern blanket-like clothes which made her look very much like a small granny). So I decided to check out this 'girl-next-door turned celebrity' fashion blogger. There is absolutely nothing I admire about her dress-sense, or rather, aesthetic sense. I am not talking fashion here cos I know noths about fashion trends and brands (except maybe for the world famous ones which I probably owned none), but from my humble aesthetic point of view she has a warped sense of colour-combi and proportion. It's like a topsy-turvy kind o

钱犹如士兵， 市场犹如战场， 将领犹如投资者。 你要如何在这战场上夺取胜利呢？ I shall visit the library to borrow a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of war when I am free. Below is some gist from a finance blogger (external link). --> Applying Sun Tzu's Art of War to Trading by BigFatPurse ***

This is a very good quote indeed. What it means is - do not just believe in hear-says and your own assumptions, you need to SEE the FACTS before you can really believe them and make your decision. In the many turmoils, dilemmas, and hear-says that my family has been through these few months due to a trouble, I am glad that most instances we did not rely on hear-says for making decisions. Unfortunately, the trouble actually was seeded from 'hear-say'. Hearing alone often is not good enough because what you hear are just people's thoughts and perceptions and sometimes could be misinterpreted or outdated information. Search and dig - reports, official information, authority's websites, verify the info and then formulate your own thoughts and judgments. If you base your decision on arbitrary information, you are taking a risk, you are putting the ball in someone else's court, you are playing on luck. A side note - seeing with your heart is different from seeing wi

“ Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intu­ition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Every­thing else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement speech, June 12, 2005 In this society of material pursuits, our inner voices are easily drowned out by the many noises of others - so much so that we may even get confused and thought that's our own voice. You just get convinced that you are destined to do this or that and that it is only right. I think I am one fine example myself. Still confused as ever of what I want out of life. I chose to study science cos that's the mainstream. I chose to specialize by elimination of choices. I chose to work where I am now because of the higher-than-avera

有时会想，幸福其实很简单。只要 - 身体好， 吃得饱， 睡觉时不烦恼 仅此想， 生活有多美好。

A dvancing in life is not just about charging forward aimlessly but looking at things from different perspectives. It would take us to take a step  backward sometimes to go around obstacles and carry on via a different pathway. For certain principles that affect our values, we need to stand firm; when it comes to problem-solving, as long as it does not affect our values and ethics, we need to learn how to flow like water. Sometimes you may find yourself back at the starting point, but fret not, the solution is to keep moving . Time wait for no man.

I used to play a lot of computer games. Much less now as I have come to realize it can be a real waste of time. Some questions I asked myself:  "so what if you are the top scorer?", "so what if you reach level 100?". There will just a never-ending slew of new quests and more levels to beat as the game developers attune the games such that you can never reach an "end point". However, I won't write off gaming entirely. Gaming can evoke your IQ, make you learn something new or improves one reflexes. I mostly prefer playing strategy-based games such as Seven Kingdoms. Only have to be mindful in staying out of addiction. Lately, I have played this game call 'Dragon Fly' which is a game of reflex to make you fly a baby dragon as far away as possible while avoiding obstacles. Later, I realized that I need to accomplish certain tasks for my little dragon to level up (eg. collect one speed vial) before reaching realm four. No wonder I haven't b

In sales you need to be extroverted, humble and polite. Certainly not for those who refuse to 'stoop down'. Very often sales person like to show off all their products, describing the good points for each of them, try to hard-sell, or work from their own perspective eg. selling the pricey one. These are actually WRONG. 1) First, you need to work from your CUSTOMER's perspective . Find out what is it they are looking for. Test their intention to buy. If they have no intention to buy or have no idea what they are looking for, telling them everything about your products is probably going to be futile and meaningless. These group of customers are what I call "Browsers". Ask questions, waste time, then say "I will think about it". But browsers may become potential buyers in future. 2) Next, emphasize or reflect the desired properties that they want in the selected product. Address any concerns that they may have which hinder their decision to buy. Th

STI has broken the 3000 pt to 2884 following the pessimistic market outlook on US debt issues and the PIIGS debt. I am currently suffering from my biggest portfolio plunge ever. What have I learnt here?   Lesson One learned - 见好就收, observe the tipping point Lesson Two - wait out the storm and buy only when things stabilize and not during the plunge point. Lesson Three - buy stocks that give good  dividends or bluechips (take panadol if market stays low) Lesson Four -  look at figures with 平常心, don't panic! Investing takes  Patience and Discipline . Keep calm & Invest ***

Identify Wastage Do up a monthly self-budget report with breakdowns on the spending- loans, transport, food, household, bills, insurance, etc. Identify what are the necessary expenditures and what are the unnecessary expenditures by reviewing your receipts, credit card bills and saving account details. It is useful to keep the receipts of large expenditures or uncommon purchases so you would not forget 'where the money goes'. Make a list of items that you have spent on which you can actually do without, or the spendings that make you feel guilty or regret afterward. Recording may take some discipline, but gradually it can become a habit. Reduce Wastage After you have reviewed and identified a list of 'wasteful' spendings, use that as a reminder. What could you have done to avoid them? Methods that you can adopt to reduce $ wastage include: - Borrow it If you know you are not going to use that item often or keep reading that book, why not borrow it? - Sales a

Step 1: Identify your saving goal - what is the purpose of your savings. Step 2: Calculating how much money do you need to save. Step 3: Calculate current income and proportion to set aside in order to save X amount in X time . Step 4: Plan how you can set aside this sum of money. (Bonus Step 5: Think about where you can park the money for optimal returns yet keep them safe.)

Selling sentiment is still high as STI has plunged further again today. Now is the time to wait out and observe for the market to stabilize eg. lowering of selling pressure, before picking up the bluechips with good P/E and NAV ratio. Let's hope that there won't be any really bad news to cause a major upsetting of the market. Things are gloomy but asian economy should be picking up. Using the strategy of 'buying down', I have foolishly attempted to catch a falling knife last week but luckily it was one instead of two. Lesson learnt: I ought to watch out for reversal signals to confirm the pit and NOT try to guess when it is hitting the pit. The silent descent... lurks danger? Funds are generally holding up well despite the market downturn. If they get more impacted by the STI plunge, picking up funds would be a viable choice. Bond is by far the safest among all the investments. Fixed deposit interest is crap unless we are looking at foreign currency's interest

While looking through the key statistics on YaHoo finance, I came across this term which sets my curiosity to search it out. If you are unfamiliar with this term as I was, here is an explanation of what is "Levered Free Cash Flow". It is the amount of cash available to pay shareholders after a company has paid its debt. See http://www.stocks-simplified.com/levered_free_cash_flow.html Levered Free Cash Flow = Cash Flow from Operations – Capital Expenditures And there's a very good read here . So negative levered free cash flow would imply that the company is spending more money than it generates from its operation. In case you do not know what is Operation Cash Flow , it is "the cash generated from the operations of a company, generally defined as revenues less all operating expenses, but calculated through a series of adjustments to net income." (Source: Investopedia.com)

Many companies seemed to be in a money-raising flurry lately in the growing Asia economy, thus providing various investment opportunities eg. bond issues, preference share issues, rights issue etc for eager investors. In attempt to find out more, I came across this article good for a casual read http://www.moneytalk.sg/2009/01/case-study-of-ocbc-preference-shares.html . So what exactly is Preference Share? Here is the definition from Investopedia.com: What Does Preference Shares Mean? Company stock with dividends that are paid to shareholders before common stock dividends are paid out. In the event of a company bankruptcy, preferred stock shareholders have a right to be paid company assets first. Preference shares typically pay a fixed dividend, whereas common stocks do not. And unlike common shareholders, preference share shareholders usually do not have voting rights. Also referred to as preferred stock. There are four types of preference shares: Cumulative preferred

Today I went for a "basic leadership for new trainers" course which is very useful and enriching. To sum it up, I have learnt these things: 1) Get to know your student - Everyone has different values and different perspectives. Get to know them through casual interviewing and see how from there you can build rapport. Trust --> Cooperation --> Change. 2) Always be positive - If you want your student to follow, be a role model. Even if you think certain things are stupid but has to be done. Don't say they are stupid, don't say you disagree, otherwise it will leave a negative impression. Put it in a 'matter-of-factly' way and tell them they have to do it. 3) Be encouraging - Appreciate the good things that your students have done, give them a 'pat-on-the-back' if they have done something right / good once in a while. In times they did wrong, don't say "You are wrong" but coach them. Get them to check the things that they have done agai

I wonder where's the next resistance point. Just realised my portfolio is kinda weak. It's really peanuts compared to some other fin bloggers. Amidst the uncertainty, I divested some money into bond (F&N) which is supposed to be giving a more stable but lower yield as compared to stocks. I was looking into buying more of the fund in future. Missed the opportunity to buy in more BakerT at 0.30 (support level) during the Japan earthquake stock plunge. Now it has risen back to 0.43c. Oh well.... It's year end once again and I have received many annual reports from my invested companies. Really too long to read! ------------------------------------------------------------ My SIMPLE $ principles ~ Simple lifestyle - don't indulge and become a brand slave ~ Invest regularly - try cos you can earn (on gains) or learn (from losses) ~ Minimal loans - don't be trap in debt cycle ~ Pay yourself first - by saving up a portion of your pay monthly ~ Look out for de

I have FINALLY bought my new android phone - a Samsung Galaxy S (with a super clear LCD) at an absolute bargain! It costs me only $98 after the $100 Singtel voucher incentive for service provider switch (too bad Starhub, your marketing tactics and bad pricing failed to attract me). Got a cheap monthly price plan too after corporate discount. It is indeed a whole new world of experience. Now my phone is becoming a more important gadget than my computer - I can call it my mini desktop. It is not just useful for calls and SMS; it encompasses so much more! Task alarm, cool games, surfing, reading references, watching videos, listening to music... Brilliant conveniences. Only a bit troublesome to have to keep charging due to the high power consumption.  I am still trying to get use to Qwerty keypad typing instead of number-pad. The Android Swype is really cool as I can just swipe across the keyboard (via linking alphabets) to type the words. That's another reason, besides the open sou

I have failed in my stocks lesson... Despite still remembering what Mr Hu Li Yang said from Money Weekly and what I wrote in my previous entry - Knowing when to 'breakup' with your stock . Stop loss at 10% , stop loss at 10%, stop loss at 10% ... but somehow didn't translate to action. Bad news (market, earning growth...), multiple "black crows" , issuance of bonus shares , issuance of rights and other technical indicators are some signals of imminent price drop. However, many of us are over-confident in our stocks. It is not easy to let go - belief that the stock will rebound, fear and greed are some emotions that over-ride our rational decisions. Ownership bias? Read: Knowing when to sell your shares We often come to realize it only when it's too late. That is when a stop loss became a CUT LOSS (capitulation). To sell at 20% gain or do a selling up to gather slow profits. That is the 2nd part to the lesson - knowing when to sell. Harvesting is ju

STI has fallen to 2,951.07 . Market outlook is not at all optimistic following Japan's major earthquake. Although Singapore is far, but companies with investments in Japan would be impacted more or less. I am seeing many reassurance news popping up by such companies. 1) SPH now at $3.85, is this going to be a support? 2) Bakertech has managed a rebound from my predicted support point at $0.30 3) Capmallasia hits new low at $1.73, Capitamall seems a safer ground "Do not attempt to catch a falling knife" - so I decided to stick by this practice, wait and see if market would stabilize or get worse... As compared to making small market losses as market turned bleak, it is really nothing compared to those who have lost their home and families in the recent disaster. Be glad that we are safe and living in peacefulness. If you are Singaporean reading this blog, donations to the Japan Earthquake can be made via Red Cross, refer to link - http://www.redcross.org.sg/Japa

People often boast about their achievements, profits, gains but how many people can you find out there who publish their mistakes and reflections? Not many, it would be fortunate if you can read one. Why? Because they would rather appear like gurus so that you will visit their blogs more and believe in what they say, duh! Besides, people don't like to read laments and people get turned off quickly by negative things. However, from another perspective, knowing of others' mistakes would give you a more realistic view of how things are and hopefully come to a realization that not everything is 'a bed of rose' - without having to go through it yourself. Of course, the flip side is that whatever reflections you have read would be HIS and not YOURS. As a Chinese proverb says "if the knife doesn't cut your flesh, you would not be aware of pain" . It is sometimes a little difficult to have an understanding of others' mistakes without experiencing it yourse

This is a video about what are the motivating factors in work. Traditionally, it should be monetary reward. Interestingly, this video claimed otherwise. After watching this video, sit down and really mull over it, I find that what the video says actually make sense.  Motivation is less about the monetary reward especially of those involving more complicated result-oriented tasks but less mechanical tasks. So what is the true motivational factor for you? Think.  The 3 motivating factors mentioned are (my input in blue):  Autonomy   Although too much could be deemed as 'bad' in our traditional workplace... Who likes their bosses breathing down their neck anyway?   But too much autonomy would it mean that the task might end up not being performed to expectations or to become misaligned to the corporate goals.   The best solution to this might be to become your  own boss  then.   Mastery & making a contribution   When you perfect your skills in the process and wow people with y

Will this 兔 year bring good fortune? I think this year will be a challenging year. Probably would be staying out of new investment but would be reviewing my current holdings to sell when opportunity arises. It is still true to date based on my portfolio that Blue Chips are more worthy and higher dividend stocks rule. Forget about stats analysis and reading blogs /forum, it's all just speculations. Career wise needs reviewing too.  Not like I have much of a career to speak of anyway... Courage to lose sight of the shore how bout that? In one of my previous posts, I mentioned about setting goal as the first step in achieving something and then full stop. Things are of course not as easy as simple. Here are the SMART way to setting one's goal, which should be... Specific (what?) Measurable (in figures) Achievable Realistic Time bound (by when?) Okay that said, these are the things that I should start thinking about and setting goals for... - a realistic exercise regi