Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[kayaroti]

Mw,

Thanks for the effort in posting.
Able to start a Teh Hooi Ling article thread also ?

[Musicwhiz]

Hi Kayaroti,

The Teh Hooi Long threads can be found individually under "Discussion on Value Investment".

Today's article features a woman who is quite a spender, I feel. She also has some money in dubious gold trading companies. Feel free to comment, thanks.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Feb 03, 2013
me & my money
Spa owner's secret to healthy investments
Businesswoman puts her money in gold, stocks and property, managing all herself

By Joyce Teo

Businesswoman Cherry Yeung loves to shop and could easily spend all of her pay cheque on herself but she is also keenly aware of the need to invest for the future.

Her prudence helped Ms Yeung, 40, build up her cash pile, which came in useful when she started One Beauty Spa four years ago. She has an outlet in Bugis and one in Simei.

She does not believe in just keeping her money in the bank. "If you save too much, it will affect your current lifestyle."

"I prefer to invest. It's a great way for me to make money for my retirement and at the same time allows me to enjoy my life now."

Originally from Hong Kong, Ms Yeung came to Singapore to work in software consulting after completing studies in computer science and IT management in Australia. She is now a Singapore citizen.

Ms Yeung was the head of an IT consulting team at a multinational firm before starting her business.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I started going for beauty treatments when I was 18 and used to skip my lunch and keep the money for that.

In Hong Kong, it's normal to find girls saving all their money to buy beauty products and spa treatments.

When I started working, I used to spend up to 80 per cent or more of my pay cheque.

Now I spend about 60 per cent of my monthly income, save about 5 per cent and invest the rest. I feel frustrated if my money is just sitting around and not doing anything for me as I would be losing money to inflation.

In business, it is important to spend wisely. I have to justify every purchase made in my business and this is something that has spilled over to my personal life. I am now a more prudent spender.

I do most of my shopping in Hong Kong because of the great variety there. I do shop here when I need to or when I want to motivate myself.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

About $5,000 to $9,000 for my personal expenses.

I spend on clothing, accessories, beauty products and treatments, jewellery, dining and travel.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have insurance plans and I invest in gold, stocks, bonds and property.

I manage all my investments. There is no free lunch in this world so it's important to know what you are investing in and how to do it.

You have to decide on how much to invest, when to enter the market and when to exit. I will always consider the worst case scenario before I invest, to make sure that I won't suffer badly if that happens.

And I always set a cut-loss point. It's better to exit with a loss than to continue hoping for prices to rise soon.

It may be a long time before that happens and you will get demoralised.

I recently completed the sale of a prime condo unit. I was lucky as I sold it just before the latest round of cooling measures.

I bought it at a fairly high price in 2006 and had to wait until the end of 2011 for it to be ready. By then, I saw that there wasn't much room for prices to grow. There's a lot of supply and the rental returns were not fantastic so I decided to sell.

Before that, I co-owned a condo unit in the Keppel Bay area that cost slightly below a million. I sold it for almost double the price about three years ago.

I had studied the location and saw its potential but luck was on my side as well.

I also have some money invested with gold companies. In the worst case scenario, I will still have the gold.

No investment is safe. You have to be able to take calculated risks. If you can't do that, it's better to just save your money in the bank.

I also invest in my spa business. I make sure I hire only experienced therapists and offer the latest technology.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

My mum, who has retired as a nurse in Hong Kong, brought me and my sister up single-handedly.

She was very strict.

To earn pocket money, I started working during my summer holidays when I was 15.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I got interested when I heard some people talk about the money they can make from investing. It's a way to grow wealth. Otherwise, you have just your salary.

My first investment was a loss-making one. But I am not someone to shy away from failure. I make sure I learn from it. Money won't drop from the sky. You have to work for it.

So I decided to do my own homework before I invest.

When you make a loss, you just learn from it and move on. There is no point wasting your time on feeling upset. To me, it's more important to think about how to make back the money.

I always believe that if you don't move forward, you will move backward.

Q: What property do you own?

A two-storey penthouse with a rooftop terrace.

I bought it at $1.7 million about two years ago. It is now valued at some $2.1 million.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

It's an Omega watch that cost around $20,000. I bought it to match my clothing.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I haven't thought of my retirement as I am now busy thinking of expanding my business.

It keeps me busy as I am particular about the service and the results my clients get at my spa. I want long-term customers and not one-off ones. I will be adding new branches later this year as well as a nail spa.

I guess when the time comes for me to retire, I would live off my passive income.

Q: Home is now....

A penthouse in the east.

Q: Do you drive?

I had a traffic accident a few years ago and stopped driving after that.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

--------------------

WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What's your best investment to date?

A prime condo unit that I sold for double the price.

Q: And your worst...

It was my first investment. I invested about $10,000 in some IT fund through a bank here a decade ago. The banker recommended it to me.

And I lost about $8,000 just nine months later.

What I have learnt is: Never just listen to the banker. Always do your own homework.

[Share Investor]

Could she be with Gold Gaurantee? She was saying at worst she will still have the gold meaning she is expecting the worst?

[Temperament]

i am going to say something "controversial". Go ahead and shoot.

This HK. born lady seems to be very different from SG. born lady.
A very different mindset.- Self-employed, risks taker and willing to learn from mistakes. Never say die, you have to live another day. Very brave leh!

i always admire people who dare to go into their own business.
Pst... i can only be a "passive business-man utd. Paiseh.

[LionFlyer]

i am going to say something "controversial". Go ahead and shoot.

This HK. born lady seems to be very different from SG. born lady.
A very different mindset.- Self-employed, risks taker and willing to learn from mistakes. Never say die, you have to live another day. Very brave leh!

i always admire people who dare to go into their own business.
Pst... i can only be a "passive business-man utd. Paiseh.

Pretty common in mainland Chinese ladies and for that matter, any mainlander as well. Maybe because staying in China means an even worse fate. I see so many of them in third world countries half way round the world from China.

[koh_52]

>In Hong Kong, it's normal to find girls saving all their money to buy beauty >products and spa treatments.

If her statement is truth, then must focus on companies related in beauty product in HKSE.

>I had studied the location and saw its potential but luck was on my side as well.

Truth, me too is lidat, but in ppty you must do your calculated risk, in case of worst scenario and look at a longer horizon beyond 10 yrs.

Btw, Hong Kongers are quick minded and more risk taker than us, 80% of them are knowledgeable and good in ppty investment.

[NTL]

Could she be with Gold Gaurantee? She was saying at worst she will still have the gold meaning she is expecting the worst?

There are many people who know the risk, but willing to take it. Should they be protected?

[pianist]

>In Hong Kong, it's normal to find girls saving all their money to buy beauty >products and spa treatments.

If her statement is truth, then must focus on companies related in beauty product in HKSE.

>I had studied the location and saw its potential but luck was on my side as well.

Truth, me too is lidat, but in ppty you must do your calculated risk, in case of worst scenario and look at a longer horizon beyond 10 yrs.

Btw, Hong Kongers are quick minded and more risk taker than us, 80% of them are knowledgeable and good in ppty investment.

which hk listed companies deal with beauty product?

[smallcaps]

>In Hong Kong, it's normal to find girls saving all their money to buy beauty >products and spa treatments.

If her statement is truth, then must focus on companies related in beauty product in HKSE.

>I had studied the location and saw its potential but luck was on my side as well.

Truth, me too is lidat, but in ppty you must do your calculated risk, in case of worst scenario and look at a longer horizon beyond 10 yrs.

Btw, Hong Kongers are quick minded and more risk taker than us, 80% of them are knowledgeable and good in ppty investment.

which hk listed companies deal with beauty product?

SaSa is one of them:

http://www.sasa.com/corporate/eng/whowea.../index.jsp
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=0178.HK

[pianist]

thanks but sasa is low-end market...i won't make a bet on it..
instead i have been looking at shiseido.
take the cue from hong kong michelle reis - she uses shiseido..