.::. People .::.

I came across a quote that resonates deeply with me that day - "No one can ever pay you what your free time is truly worth." 

Ahh. Time. Most (if not all) exchange our time for money. While we may (or may not) enjoy work, there's always an opportunity cost when we choose how to spend our time. At work, I often see people who are so fixated on climbing the corporate ladder in pursuit of certain titles and pay. When they get promoted, they inevitably spend more time on work with more responsibilities, stress and travel. Then, they buy bigger cars, move to bigger houses, yet have less time for their children, family and themselves. It's almost amusing to observe these behavior and wonder, are these truly worth your time? 

It all boils down to priorities, maybe they are truly happy with what they have achieved in life - a title that they wear proudly and the high standard of living.

While work can bring purpose in life, is it truly meaningful when people spend all their time on work to maintain a certain quality of life?

.::. Productive Years .::.

I was reading this article on Bloomberg sometime back. It says that the first 10 years of one’s career would determine the amount of wealth one can make. It makes sense doesn’t it? If you start with a low salary, increment will be slow and people always benchmark your pay based on your last drawn pay. Some may get promoted quickly with some luck, but the odds are against the majority of us. Basically, what it says is that after 35, chances of your pay increasing significantly is very low. This corresponds with the well-known fact that it becomes a lot harder to find another job after you hit 40s. Of course there are always exceptions and outliners, but this probably holds true for majority of us normal people. 

This has triggered a string of thoughts, with the backdrop of across-the-industry job cuts in O&G where I’m currently in. The struggle is real. It can be very unsettling and uncomfortable seeing people you see everyday disappear just like that. We get immediate dismissal here. Get called into a meeting, and someone will inform you that you’re dismissed with immediate effect and you are not even allowed to go back to your desk to pack your stuff or bid your team goodbye. HR and your manager will pack your things for you and escort you out. That’s it, the people you see everyday will just become a memory. People disappear, leave without saying goodbye and come to work not knowing if today will be their last day at work. It doesn't help that they don't do it all at once, and news simply keep coming from everywhere, all the time.

It makes me very sad, though life goes on and people move on. Afterall, a job isn’t everything and losing a job isn’t the end of the world, for most of us anyway. Looking at these unfolding makes me even more wary and determined to work towards financial freedom. Despite being able to survive for easily a year without a job, I really don’t appreciate any setbacks to my retirement plans. I’m most afraid of increasing monthly fixed expenses. As it is now, daily household expenses and insurance comes up to quite a tidy sum of fixed expenses. I can’t imagine how things will become with kids and I can’t understand how people cope with a home with car and maid plus kids. If fixed expenses come up to a few grand a month, how does one save and how long can they survive if they lose their jobs?

It’s so easy to project an increase in salary over the years and correspondingly upgrade your lifestyle. What people don’t seem to take into account into the whole equation is the increasing risk of losing a job as one ages. One may earn more when they are 40s and in a managerial role, but also has a higher risk of losing the job when there’s a downturn and find it harder to find a similar-paid job. Even for civil servants with relatively secured jobs or professionals with specialized skill, one mistake or accident and they may lose their jobs.

Some people tell me not to plan or worry, live a day as it comes. Really? I can’t. I need to work towards my goals to feel secure and fulfilled. I know what it feels like to not have enough money and worry about the next paycheck. It’s not something that I would like to go through again this lifetime. I want to know that I can have the option of not spending my time working for money when I am in my 40s and can instead choose to do something I love with my time, regardless of how much I make. I can imagine spending my time teaching and volunteering, spending time with children and animals, playing music and doing yoga.

I can’t imagine how people could say that they want to continue working for corporations and do not want to retire. It may be great if one really love the job so much, but what I see alot is fear, that they do not know what to do with their free time and themselves. They’ve become so used to the routine of work-life and letting work dictate most of what they do with their time (and life) till they have forgotten how it feels like to spend time doing what they really want or like. Maybe they have forgotten what they wanted and it’s easier to continue a routine without having to give much thought to it.

I always talk about retiring, and people are always shell-shocked and ask what am I going to do? Oh my, there are so many possibilities! These are the same people who tell me that they have ‘no time’ to learn a new instrument that they have always wanted, no time to cook for their families because they have ‘no time’.

For now, I can continue dreaming and work towards the day when I can finally be free to do whatever my heart desires.

.::. Largest Companies in the world .::.

Part of my job, the more interesting part, involves market research. I’m not in an industry that I’m really interested in, but I am intrigued by some aspects of it. Sometimes, my results lead me to deviate from my original intent out of curiosity. It’s like a chain of thoughts and I research about many different topics constantly, just because. I’m constantly amazed by the things I find, and surprised to find that a lot of the brands are actually under one same company. Did you know that Sealy, Stearns & Foster, and Bassett are all under Tempur? There are many things that you spend so much time choosing between 2 brands, but they are actually; the same company and probably uses the same suppliers with little real differentiation in quality.

I have yet again deviated from my point. The intent was to share my shock and disbelief when I found out which are the largest companies in the world. Make a guess? I bet that probably not many people know that the top 3 companies in the world is actually Chinese. ICBC bank is top, followed by China Construction Bank and Agriculture Bank of China. JP Morgan is 4^th while Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is 5^th, with Exxon Mobil at 6^th place. Apple is only ranked 15^th. So yes, the tide is changing. Chinese companies now take up the most slots in the Top 2000 ranking, 674 places to be exact. Oil and Gas companies also take up quite a few top places.

Food for thought for those who dislike mandarin, and those stupid policies that reduce the importance of mandarin in Singapore. Even if you do not work in a Chinese company, there are high chances that you will get to work with the Chinese or have Chinese vendors or customers. Being able to speak mandarin fluently will definitely help and make things a lot easier, even if the Chinese do speak English.

Here are the links if you’re interested:

http://www.forbes.com/global2000/list/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2014/05/07/the-worlds-largest-companies-china-takes-over-the-top-three-spots/

.::. Retirement Planning – Where to start? .::.

Although retirement planning has been on my mind for a long time and I have started my CDP account years ago, I only started my own portfolio this year. One of this year’s resolution is to consciously grow my portfolio for financial freedom and retirement. I revisited a lot of stuff that I’ve learnt from my finance and accounting background to look into companies’ balance sheets and spent a lot of time reading financial news. My initial capital for my portfolio was from the ILP that I bought as a 21-year-old student – that has made me 1% p.a. for the past 7 years with dollar-cost averaging. Investment-linked-plans has got to be one of the worst investments to get most of the time because of the high fees, non-guaranteed returns and expensive insurance component involved. No real finance person would actually recommend ILPs, although many insurance agents are actively selling it. I wanted a regular savings account then, but the banker sold me an ILP instead. It didn’t turn out bad for me, since I would have probably spent all those money during my year in Europe if not for the ‘forced’ savings.

It’s a universal rule that the rich will always get richer while the poor will find it difficult to get out of their poverty cycle. Of course, there’s always exception to the rule, but the lack of financial literacy, even among educated graduates is almost appalling. How many actively manage their money and do financial planning? Most do not want to spend time learning or simply dislike even thinking about it. It has become a reality that we can’t retire or become comfortably ‘rich’ without actually investing in one way or another. It’s getting tougher to be comfortable in Singapore, but one can continue complaining or choose to find ways to get around rising cost. Without good finance management, it’s going to be very difficult to be survive in Singapore. It doesn’t mean having a finance degree, but simply learning the basic skills and knowing the importance of managing one’s own finances.

Singapore has many millionaires, and what is interesting is that many of them (let’s not count the imported ones) are actually working professionals who have worked and saved hard throughout their working-life to get there. It isn’t that difficult to become a millionaire really, because of the power of compounding interest over time. If you save about $700 a month at about 8% interest p.a., you will become a millionaire in 30 years. And if you save about $1700 per month at about 8% interest p.a., you will become a millionaire in 20 years. $700/month or $8400 a year isn’t that difficult if you take into account 13th month and bonuses for most people, since medium household income is at $7,870 in 2013 – simplistically, becoming a millionaire household would materialize by saving the 13th month pay conscientiously for about 30 years with an interest rate of 8%.

Singapore is also a great place to invest or start a business due to our laws. We do not need to pay tax for dividends received, we do not pay tax for capital gains from investing in stocks and property. There are people who actually receive more dividends monthly than their salary and do not pay tax on those dividends. If you start a business as a private limited, you only lose what is invested. If things don’t go right, you simply close the company and open a new one without having to pay your suppliers/customers (and people charge their expenses such as car and meals to the company).

So, the millionaire question – where do we start?

There’s only one answer.

Save.

Spend less than what you earn and save conscientiously. The earlier in life and the more you save, the quicker you can be financially free.

After that, you can learn how to make your money work for you.

Li Ka-shing’s article has been a great hit some time back and teaches many useful principles, although I don’t exactly agree with the networking one. Basically, he recommends one to split their income into different buckets – for daily expenses and necessities, savings to invest, for self-enrichment, for travel and re-charging and for networking. The main concept as I read is to be frugal early in life and only spend what is needed, then learn how to grow your wealth. You can then do whatever you like when you become rich.

Step 1: Save

Always put aside some money from your paycheck every month that you do not touch. What I do is to have a few bank accounts and set automatic transfers a day after my payday. Part of it is transferred to my savings account that I do not touch, part of it is transferred to our joint account that we do not touch (with the exception of some holidays and bigger ticket items for our home), and what’s left will be what I can spend. I’m quite flexible with what is left for spending and not too frugal day-to-day. This works for me because I can spend freely from my spending account, and will still have a good amount of savings every month that ‘I do not see’.

Step 2: Insure

That’s what people usually recommend, and the basic would be to get a term plan and a health insurance. I think a good health insurance to cover your healthcare costs is important as any huge hospital bill can derail all your plans. I also have a term insurance that my mum got for me a long time ago. Both of them cost me about $100/month currently. Our housing insurance is paid to HDB through CPF, and if anything happens to me the housing loan is ‘free’. I don’t see a need to get any other plans such as critical illness plans now since I have no dependents and my parents do not need my support, neither do my husband. If anything happens to me, the flat is free and there’s the term plan, my endowment plan, plus my investment portfolio to generate some passive income. I would rather use the money to grow my portfolio and self-insure at this point of time. It might be different if you’ve parents to support or someone that has to depend on you. And hey, instead of spending so much on insurance, why not spend some time exercising and being more health-conscious!

Step 3: Invest

When you’ve put aside an emergency fund of at least 6 months to a year of your expenditure, and have some money left idle, it’s time to make your money work for you. I think it’s important to have some concept of investing and know what you are investing in. It may be daunting for those without finance background, but with interest and some reading, it’s possible to develop financial literacy. But if you do not want to spend much time on it, buying an ETF (exchange traded fund) such as our Straits Times Index might be a good start. There are monthly saving plans into the STI available, meaning that money is deducted from your account to invest automatically every month. The cost is low and you gain from dollar-cost averaging over the years. Other stocks like Singpost, SPH and  our telecommunication stocks – Singtel, Starhub, M1 also pays high dividends and have remained quite stable over the years. REITS can also be a good source of passive income. Investing is a whole huge topic by itself and it takes some time and effort to learn.

Some local financial bloggers to check out:

Here’s one blog that I really like and find useful. His income from S-REITS dividends alone was S$ 118,081.02 in 2013 and S$ 123,873.80 in 2012 . He’s in his mid-40s and have remained anonymous. He shares many of his trades and views on financial literacy but does not give disclose specific details of his portfolio. There are many easy-to-read posts dedicated to new investors and may be a good starting point.

http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/

This other blogger who received >$1000/month in dividends before he turned 30 and shares all details of his actual portfolio:

http://dividendsrichwarrior.blogspot.sg/

There’s a lot of information and analytical articles, and a tracker for high-dividend Singapore stocks:

http://www.investmentmoats.com/

This guy is my age, and have saved a larger portion of his tuition income than me and tracks his monthly expenditure and portfolio:

http://www.my15hourworkweek.com/

 Start now!

.::. Of business & ethics .::.

Came across this article - what type of people you should and should not work with and found it pretty real. It says what kind of people you should not work with and also, what you should not become yourself!

11 types of people you shouldn’t be helping

1. Those who are ungrateful
2. Those who betray their principles for money
3. Those who gain at the expense of others
4. Those who has a hidden agenda
5. Those who will do anything for benefits at the expense of principles
6. Those who are unreliable, those who act pitiful when they need help, but becomes tyrannous when things are in their favour
7. Those who couldn’t complete the small tasks but dreams of completing the big goals
8. Those who pin their hopes on others
9. Those who never fulfil their obligations after receiving help
10. Those who still act pitiful when given opportunities
11. Those who don’t feel grateful and take everything for granted

Only fools use their mouth to speak. A smart man uses his brain, and a wise man uses his heart - Jack Ma

This Jack Ma makes sense, and I like reading about these successful people. They must have something we mortals don't and must know something we don't!

People I detest and despise most are those who gain at the expense of others (karma) and those who have a hidden agenda. Nothing much we could do about such people apart from praying for them and avoiding having such negative energy in your life. 

Sometimes, I wonder if greed for wealth is indeed the root of all evil, blinding people. I want to be wealthy too, and money is truly not on the top of my list.

Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. — Epicurus, Greek philosopher (341-270 B.C.) 

.::. 2014 Resolutions .::.

2013

It has been a great year on many counts. After getting over with the wedding and honeymoon, we finally paid off our installments for our home appliances and whatever debts we had. We’ve finally settled into our new home and recovered financially. Both of us are doing great at work and saving up for a family. There’s not much to complain about really. Life has been kind. Compared to the upheavals and all that drama in 2011/2012, 2013 has indeed been a peaceful and great year where everything started to get back on track.

2014 Resolutions

1.       To stay healthy and fit.

Health is wealth! It’s something which I try to do as much as possible, although not as much as I’d like. I do believe that exercise is essential to be healthy and I feel sluggish without exercise. I’ve been cooking a lot in 2013 and have tried to incorporate whole grains and complex carbs into my diet although the husband is not a fan. He practically refuses to eat rice mixed with brown rice, so my mission to switch to brown rice has failed miserably. He complains about the quinoa that I mix into rice too, but at least he eats it anyway. He doesn’t seem to mind whole wheat bread for breakfast though. I pack lunch to eat in the office, and they are mostly quite healthy but I ain’t too disciplined when eating out or during gatherings. I struggle with portion control because I’m always hungry. It’s so easy to fall off the wagon and stop exercising for weeks when I’m really busy and tired. I suppose I should try to be more consistent and disciplined in the coming year!

2.       Creating passive income

Although I’m sashing a good portion of my earnings somewhere where I can’t see nor spend, I’m beginning to become acutely aware that time is running out and I need to start saving and investing more to build up my retirement funds, or even better, a constant flow of passive income. There’s so much to read up and learn and plan. It’s time to spend more time and get this done, including doing more reading and research. First thing first, to spend less and save more! I was quite inspired by this blog that I’ve been reading. Step one to creating passive income was to get full-time employment, something which made me see work in a different light.

 http://singaporeanstocksinvestor.blogspot.sg/2010/02/seven-steps-to-creating-passive-income.html

3.       Finish ACCA already!

I’ve 2 more papers left! I’ve enrolled for classes and exams in June, and I’m hoping that I get this out of the way by June. Worst case scenario is to finish it by December if I fail any of the papers. *makes a mental note to study harder right from the beginning* On a side note, I’m thinking of going back to master Japanese or take CPSM to upgrade my skillset for work after I’m done with ACCA. The husband’s reaction was – huh?! still want to study?! Oh, and I’ve been wanting to learn violin!

Somehow, I can’t seem to idle.

Studies have proven that the human could not multi-task effectively and should only focus on a few goals at one time. I shall focus on these 3 goals and get them done in the new year ahead!

The forecast for next year is supposed to be great for Oxen! To another great year ahead ~

.::. HSBC - Stop calling me! .::.

HSBC has successfully renewed my annoyance with them.  They have been calling me so much these days - 3 calls in 2 days!  I hate it when insurance companies, or banks or anyone who calls me and try to sell me something.  I hate it when people stuff things into my face, including SMS advertisements, pop-up ads and they even use Whatsapp these days!

Coming back to HSBC, their insurance people have been calling damn often some months back.  I got countless calls from them in a few months, then it all died down.  I thought they finally realized how much such calls piss people off.  And now, it started again! Now I pick up the call and tell them that I have received x number of calls in x days, I'm not interested!

And seriously, HSBC is probably one of the last banks which I will go to after my bad experience with them.

It goes like this.  The husband and I signed up for their credit card at their road show, just because he didn't have a credit card and they just happened to be there.  There was also a $50 rebate I think, the sales person was also friendly.  It was at Clementi and we had to go upstairs to a small push-cart to fill up the forms.  Then, we were given the forms and all the documents in an envelop for us to mail it ourselves.  The sales person said he was not supposed to do it for us.

I'm not someone who remembers to send out things.  And when I finally sent out the application forms, fully expecting to receive my card in a few weeks time, it didn't go that way.  I had a call more than a week after sending the application out, and was told that the sales person filled in my name wrongly, he missed a letter.  They had to come back to me with the form, so that I can edit it and counter-sign.  It was so much trouble, and I don't understand why can't they use my NRIC name since they had a copy of that plus my CPF statements!

Then, they wanted to send a courier down next week.  But I didn't agree, since I wanted the card in a hurry.  I asked them to arrange a courier down by tomorrow - isn't that ample time?!  So then said they'll come back to me, and finally agreed to send the courier here on a Friday afternoon.  They also asked for a photocopy of my payslips.  And when Friday came, the courier service called me and asked if they could come next week instead.  I was pissed by now, I'm the customer and I specifically wanted it THIS WEEK!  Then, they said they will get back to me again.  They finally agreed to come and I passed them the documents.  Again, fully expecting to receive my card in a week or two.

But no, it didn't stop here.  They called and told me that my payslips were not acceptable because the last few letters of my company name was cut off in the photocopy.  I WAS SO PISSED.  They had my CPF statements and the name of my company corresponded with my payslip!  And they are making a big fuss because the last 2 letters of my company was cut off?!  I pointed that out, and they told me that it's their company policy - have to see full company name.  I was so annoyed that I asked to cancel my application.

I DO NOT WANT YOUR CARD AND WILL NOT EVER SIGN FOR YOUR SERVICES ANYMORE, HSBC.

They did such a great job of pissing me off, seriously.  The thing is, my company is one of those old-fashioned companies who gives out our payslips by hand.  You have to tear out the 3 sides to open it up, and the alignment inside isn't perfect.  When you tear out the side, the last few letters of the company name gets torn out too.  There's no way that I can provide a payslip with full company name!  Don't tell me to contact HR to get any official or additional documents, I'm not going to all that trouble for a damn credit card.  There are so many choices in the market, many are fuss-free.  Moreover, HSBC's perks are pretty lousy and EpiCenter's installment plan works for most local credit cards except HSBC.

I just got the UOB ONE card and Standard Chartered Manhattan card for the cash rebates.  I paid $5,000 for my banquet downpayment with the Manhattan card and earned a $200 cash rebate plus $20 cash-back for signing up.  I simply dropped into the Standard Chartered when I passed by, took 10 minutes to fill up the form and had my card in the mail in less than 2 weeks.  The UOB card was even more amazing, I downloaded the form online, filled it up and faxed it over.  The card arrived in a few days.  I also have OCBC cards, though they pissed me off and signed me up for their cashline service initially, I like it that the customer service is easily reachable and helpful.  However, OCBC only gave me 2x credit limit (of my salary) while UOB and Standard Chartered gave me 4x.

So there goes.  I have a really bad impression of HSBC and will probably never ever use their services.  I don't get why are they so rigid with credit card applications, which is supposed to be fuss-free.  The poor sales tried so hard to get customers to sign up, yet the back-end operations basically screwed everything.  Perhaps it's the procedures, but seriously, I provided CPF statements with my company name corresponding to my payslip, and I don't think I'm a particularly high-risk customer!

I can't wait for the 'Do not call' registry to start.  I'm going to be the first to sign up, and I'm not going to be nice to people who still continues to call me!

.::. Plan .::.

I have been reading alot these days. I'm especially interested in financial planning and health and fitness these days. I'm paranoid. I want to be 'forever young' and 'a millionaire so freakin' bad'!

I realized that one big lesson I've learnt is to plan. It's easy to want something, to have goals and aim for something. But the missing link is always the actual plan and discipline to get you to your goals. Everything suddenly seem alot simpler, for as long as you plan and be disciplined about it, goals are achieved 'automatically'.

Set goals --> Plan --> Execute the plan with discipline --> GOAL!

Obviously, things ain't as simple and plans need to be changed as circumstances change. But it's still a simple and effective equation to get to your goals.

I'm trying very hard to think only positive thoughts these days and to achieve small goals every single day, week and month. I realized that there are times when I worry too much, give up too easily and allow negative thoughts to waste my productive time. There are some days when I feel so depressed about things that all I feel like doing is hide in my covers and wallow in my own misery.

It's so easy for people to make comments nonchalently and try to bring you down unknowingly, even your loved ones. My own mum told me that my butt is so big that she can put plates of vegetables on it - when I was doing squats. And then she told me that I should not train and build up muscles because it looks 'ugly'. And then she claims that I am always very sensitive about what she says and get worked up. Maybe they really think that they're saying it 'for your own good'. Perhaps these people really don't have ill intentions - but it deflates you all the same.

I reckon there are still many people who think that beauty and health equates to skinny. I've come to accept that I'll never satisfy everyone. They can say what they like, but I want to be rich and healthy so that I can live the life I want!

I'm going to write down all my goals and plans to go with it - If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! The only person who could make you happy is you. I'm filling myself with positive thoughts and all the little goals.

With that, I shall end this with a quote which I like from the 'Rich dad's guide to investing'. I'm always enlightened by his books. He teaches you a very different approach to money and teaches you how to be rich - not by being thrifty and thinking 'poor', but through planning and achieving the kind of life you want for yourself. People who think that money is scare. so you should scrimp and save will never become rich!

Words form thoughts, thoughts form reality, realities become life.

.::. Resolutions .::.

I have been wanting to reflect on 2010 and write down my resoultions for 2011, yet there's too much to write about 2010. I shall leave that long reflection till another day and start with the resolutions instead.

- Keep Active and Stay healthy
Despite exercising a minimum of once a week and random crunches cum weights sessions at home, I've put on a record number of inches since I got back from Sweden. It's depressing but true. It must be a combination of not exercising 4 times a week, not eating boring boiled/stir-fry food every meal and sitting in the office 8 hours a day. All the muscles I gained in Sweden has turned into flab and I seem to have meat growing from nowhere. The dress which I wore barely 6 months ago, I can barely zip it up. It's so darn difficult since I'm so tired after work, but I really need to be disciplined and continue exercising!

- Save and invest
I won't pretend that I like working nor that I enjoy my job. But a job gives me financial freedom and enables me to be independent enough to make certain choices in life. I don't want to slog all my life and have to worry about money. Since I'm starting to teach tuiion to bring in extra income again, hopefully I can save more. Being a finance person, one knows the power of compounded interest and the right investments. I want to make enough money to fulfill my dream of having my own apartment soon!

- Good Skin
I'm totally anal about skincare now that I'm reaching a quarter of a century old. I've gotten myself pots of magic since I started work. I'm happy with my complexion, but what I really would like to cure is the eczema on my leg. I haven't been showing my legs for years and it itches when I exercise. There are nights when I wake up in pain and itch. I hate it. I need to do something about it and makes sure that it gets cured. Then again, I don't trust doctors, because I've been to so many who gave me steroid creams which losses their effects after some time, making things worse than before, and medicne which makes me really hungry or drowsy. Some even gave me injections, but it never really helped. I simply lose control of myself, affecting my daily life and it makes me depressed. Honestly, I've no idea what to do, but I can try not to scratch for a start. No scratching!

- Remove clutter and pack my room
Being in Sweden for a year, and practically living out of a suitcase worth of things made me realize that one really does not need so many things. Having a clutter-free room and clearing out unused junk really makes one feel great about your surroundings. Although the junk in my house does drive me crazy since my parents seem to love keeping old and spoilt items which may be useful someday, there's nothing I could do about it. I can start from my own room though, corner by corner, I'll start.

- Be a better person
I want to be a better person, a better daughter, a better friend, a better girlfriend, a better sister, a better tutor and perhaps a better employee. It's always a work-in-progress. There are times when I'm upset with myself for being weak, for feeling certain emotions, for letting other people affect me or saying things I don't mean. Putting this down, being conscious about it and reflecting upon it might probably empower me to achieve more for myself. Less anger, no jealousy, more calm, more forgiving, more generous, more tolerance and more consideration.

May 2011 be a great year ahead. I'll be good.

.::. Goals .::.

Everyone has many wants and dreams. Yet the crucial piece of the puzzle is translating these goals and dreams into reality.

I need to be more disciplined. I feel guilt, and fatigue. I need to summon all my willpower.

I can't fail this time round. I cannot. I must not. Passing exams shall be the means to an end - hopefully it translates to higher pay and a better job!

Time to conqueor the books and FRS! It's a crucial 3 weeks. Go, go, go!

.::. Dream .::.

How lovely it is to dream while you are awake. Dream while you're awake, Andre. Anybody can dream while they're asleep, but you need to dream all the time, and say your dreams out loud, and believe in them.

I can't promise you that you won't be tired, he says. But please know this. There's a lot of good waiting for you on the other side of tired. Get yourself tired, Andre. Thats when you're going to know yourself. On the other side of tired.

- Open, An Autobiography by Andre Agassi

I always planned, I hardly dreamt. I was too afraid of disappointment, of failure, of being unrealistic. I'm the typical Singaporean, I was brought up and programmed that way. Increasingly, as I get exposed to more people and places, I start following my heart, follow my dreams, and it surprisingly feels right.

Dream I shall. Endure, I will. For a jouney of a thousand miles starts with a single step, and we made that baby step. I shall dream when I'm awake, when I'm asleep, dream all the time and believe that we will get there. Somehow. Someday. It may be tiring. But we will get to the other side of tired.

.::. $ .::.

Lately, I've been trying to think of ways to get more $. Things really do get clearer after you get down to planning and things get into perspective. Instant gratification is no longer a priority, it's time to set some mid-term and long-term goals.

I spoke to a financial planner today. Speaking to him has made me acutely aware of many facts which I knew but paid little attention to. They're just things at the back of your mind that you never really thought about. It's scary thinking about it, and I really do not want to slog till 60! University education for ONE child will cost $89,800 in 20 years time, and what about retirement?

Sadly, that's the kind of life we have to endure and plan for in Singapore - slog and work harder till you're too old to do so.

It's time to start following the rules if I want a chance to be out of the rat race by..40? 50 is probably a more possible number.

Rule 1: Spend within your means
Rule 2: Save and invest
Rule 3: Expand your means

For now, how do we save 160k in 5 years time?! It's going to be a difficult battle, but I need to make it happen.