Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[hyom]

Oh dear! Mercy! Suicide is not allowed in most religions. Especially Christianity and Muslim.

Oops. Sorry if the suggestion offended religious sensitivities.

However, suppose a Christian commits suicide to avoid burdening and speed up claims to help the family. When Judgement day comes, he can argue "I died for the love of my family. Similar to what you did when you died for the love for all of us when you volunteered to die on the Cross. Should I be punished for an act of love and sacrifice, something which you yourself committed?"

Something rather out of point here but since religion was brought up ...

There is a link between insurance and religion. Having a religion is like taking a form of insurance. If you believe in God and God exists, you have a chance to go to Heaven. If you believe in God and God does not exist, there is no Heaven to go to but you have nothing to lose anyway. In the meantime, you would have led a righteous life during your earthly existence winning the respect and love of everyone. Not a bad outcome even if the whole thing turns out to be a lie, right?

What if you don't believe in God and God really exists? Cruel as it sounds, get ready to face fire and brimstone in hell. The law is the law according to the Holy Book. If you don't believe in God and God does not exist, you have nothing to lose. But why take the chance? Meanwhile, the man without any concerns of the risks of going to hell will have little to hold him back in his pursuit of his selfish goals through despicable means. He will probably be rich but hated by everyone whose lives he touched. Is this a good outcome? Even if religion turns out to be a lie, it may be better to believe in it.

The reasoning above was originated from Blaise Pascal, the father of Probability theory.

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Thanks for the link hyom. I'd read it already hence my question that arose. The full exclusion list would only be in the policy cert, which only the owner would have. Guess I'm just really sceptical when it comes to insurance, and in this case found it exceptionally strange to state benefits for "death due to...", when I thought most policies' death coverage was "death" period. Being for my dependants' benefit, I would not want them to suffer becos I died an "unnatural" death, which the policy does not cover explicitly, except through illness or accident.

Hi Muck,

I am sorry I don't know where I place the policy now. Even if I find it, I bought it many years ago and the policy has changed along the way. I think it is better that you talk to the insurance company directly through email if interested (I don't trust verbal assurances, particularly from Sales people). Don't want to mislead people through my negligence.

[Muck]

Thanks hyom. Tried to contact aviva thru it's website, leaving email, but failed to get response. No surprise actually since I asked a qn on car insurance before and never got a response either. On hindsight, since it's a group policy you prob won't have the policy doc, perhaps just a schedule and summary only. The full doc would prob be with saf, whom I suppose would be the owner. Many thanks still.

[Musicwhiz]

Hi guys, for the current discussion on insurance policies, there's a sticky thread on insurance policies under Personal Finance - perhaps you guys would like to post there?

Meanwhile, here is this week's article - this guy seems a little clueless (I feel) about investing his money, thinking that he probably can't lose much investing a unit trust (huh??). He also can't figure out why he bought his $97,000 Lexus, but it seems the main reason was to keep up with the Joneses? And it would seem strange that he would want to "upgrade" to a condo unit - having a freelance job means an unstable income and being a single father also means expenses will be much higher (without spousal support). Perhaps he should continue to just live in his Sengkang flat and rent out the rooms for passive income. Investing in private property requires a huge capital outlay!

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Nov 18, 2012
Me & my money
Badminton coach hopes to retire by age 45
His financial planning includes several insurance policies, a unit trust and shares

By magdalen ng

Being a badminton coach is not a "real job", Mr Richmond Hor has been told many a time.

"It is a freelance job, so there are times when you have to look for new work when a school stops employing you as its coach," said the 32-year-old.

Mr Hor has a diploma in mechanical engineering, and worked as a video operator at ESPN Star Sports, where he would dub commercials and repair playlists.

But he worked the graveyard shift, which took a toll on him.

The badminton enthusiast, who has been playing the sport since he was an eight-year-old at Monfort Junior School, decided to focus on his passion and coach full-time instead.

He gave up his ESPN job which paid about $3,000 a month, and now coaches at about eight schools, including Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary), Xinmin Secondary and Singapore Chinese Girls' School.

The flexible job schedule also allows Mr Hor, a divorcee, to spend more time with his six-year-old son, Roni.

"Usually I get my breaks when the kids have their exams. I get about two months off a year," he said.

He also runs a side business, HCH Sports and Trading, importing and exporting sports equipment.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I am a saver. About 50 per cent of my monthly income is saved, and the rest goes towards servicing my car loan, my household utility bills and my investments.

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

I have 10 credit cards so that I can enjoy the various promotions.

I pay off my bills every month, and I charge about $1,000 a month, mainly dining and entertainment expenses.

Each time I go to the ATM, I withdraw about $200.

Q: What financial planning have you done?

I have paid about $12,000 in insurance premiums.

I have three policies and am covered for $400,000.

For my son, I have set aside some money in a fixed deposit account. Right now, it has about $20,000.

My portfolio also has about $40,000 in a unit trust and $10,000 in shares.

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

I have two brothers and three sisters.

My parents ran their own business, so while we had a relatively comfortable childhood, my parents were very careful with their money.

As a result, I am also careful with my money.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

Some of my close friends, who are also badminton coaches, were making money on the side through their investments.

The interest rates in the banks are so low now, so any investment is better.

My first investment was a unit trust. I put in more than $30,000. I went to a bank and asked the bank officer for some tips and this was the recommendation.

As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

But I am also not much of a risk taker, so at least with the unit trust, I won't lose too much, even though I don't earn as much also.

Q: What property do you own?

I bought a four-room Housing Board flat in Sengkang in March 2007. It is about 1,000 sq ft.

It cost me about $232,000 and I just finished paying for it. The flat is worth $450,000 now.

I rent two rooms out to earn some passive income.

I am saving up to buy a condominium unit in the River Valley area.

But I don't think I will sell my flat as there is some sentimental value; after all, it was my first asset.

So no matter how tough times are, I plan to keep it.

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

I guess it would have to be my car, a second-hand Lexus 250, which I bought for $97,000 last month.

I'm not too sure why I bought it, maybe it is because many of my friends changed their cars so I decided to change mine too.

But so far, no regrets.

I also have three Rolex watches, which I bought when I was 21, 28 and 30 years old.

The first watch was a Rolex Boy that cost about $7,000. I also have a Rolex Oyster and a Daytona which cost $11,000 and $16,000 respectively.

These watches mark the years of my personal growth and also in my career. I hope to be able to buy a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which will be about $36,000, next year.

Someone once told me that it is better to buy Rolex watches, because you can pawn them when you run out of money.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I hope to be retired by 45, which means that I will be able to live comfortably without working. That would require probably about $4,000 a month.

The plan is to give my flat to my son, so he can rent it out.

Q: I drive...

A black Lexus 250.

Q: Home is...

My flat in Sengkang.

songyuan@sph.com.sg
----------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?

I put about $100,000 into a restaurant business selling Chinese fusion food about a year ago.

It is a joint venture with my sister and a friend, and I have the smallest share.

Up till now we have yet to break even, and I am planning to sell my share back to the partnership soon.

Q: And your best?

It would be setting up my own business.

I put $30,000 into the business - and my time of course - but now, it is worth about twice what I put in.

There is also my HDB flat, my first asset, which has almost doubled in value as well.

[kazukirai]

I was actually looking forward to reading the article when I saw the headline because I thought that for once, the ST's gotten an example of a (relatively) ordinary person working his way to a comfortable retirement.

Then I read about the part on Unit Trusts, shares, buying a lexus in the recent past and his rolex watches. I'm really not against him buying these kind of stuff but these are the kind of things that are really counter-productive for someone in the wealth accumulation stage.

This column's really getting useless for most people's purpose.

[yeokiwi]

There is a link between insurance and religion. Having a religion is like taking a form of insurance. If you believe in God and God exists, you have a chance to go to Heaven. If you believe in God and God does not exist, there is no Heaven to go to but you have nothing to lose anyway. In the meantime, you would have led a righteous life during your earthly existence winning the respect and love of everyone. Not a bad outcome even if the whole thing turns out to be a lie, right?

What if you don't believe in God and God really exists? Cruel as it sounds, get ready to face fire and brimstone in hell. The law is the law according to the Holy Book. If you don't believe in God and God does not exist, you have nothing to lose. But why take the chance? Meanwhile, the man without any concerns of the risks of going to hell will have little to hold him back in his pursuit of his selfish goals through despicable means. He will probably be rich but hated by everyone whose lives he touched. Is this a good outcome? Even if religion turns out to be a lie, it may be better to believe in it.

That is assuming the god that you worship is the god that you will meet when you die. But, since there are so many versions of god in this world, the probability of hitting the real god is not really that high. Given such situation, it is probably better to remain as a non-believer and then switch camp when necessary. I suppose the real god will be more forgiving to those non-believers than those who choose to believe in other gods.

So, generally speaking, for a safe afterlife insurance, it is better to be a non-believer

[Temperament]

I was actually looking forward to reading the article when I saw the headline because I thought that for once, the ST's gotten an example of a (relatively) ordinary person working his way to a comfortable retirement.

Then I read about the part on Unit Trusts, shares, buying a lexus in the recent past and his rolex watches. I'm really not against him buying these kind of stuff but these are the kind of things that are really counter-productive for someone in the wealth accumulation stage.

This column's really getting useless for most people's purpose.

Ha! Ha! Experience forumers here all know we can also learn something from people like him who spend money on Rolex & Lexus and ask the Bank for investment tips. i.e. At least he dares to be a real businessman. i try to be one but so far i can manage only be a "passive businessman". i always admire people who dare to venture into their own active businesses. Not that being a "passive businessman" is easy or without risks. Only it may be more relax compare to running your own business.
So we can learn something from him too.
i just wonder if he is business-minded yet at the same time don't know how to invest his money.
Why?
Can someone tell me why?
Is it not all who dare to venture into running their own businesses are real investment minded? i.e. wealth accumulating minded.
NB:
Suddenly i remember my father. He is the answer.

[money]

Besides, it is more honorable and worthwhile for a person to die for his family (people whom he loves and loves him back) than for the country (strangers who treat him as a death statistic).

By the way, for those who want to try this method, check your contract first. Some policies will not allow claims for suicide cases if it is committed within 12 months of purchase.

I like this and i think people should learn to think like that

[CityFarmer]

There is a link between insurance and religion. Having a religion is like taking a form of insurance. If you believe in God and God exists, you have a chance to go to Heaven. If you believe in God and God does not exist, there is no Heaven to go to but you have nothing to lose anyway. In the meantime, you would have led a righteous life during your earthly existence winning the respect and love of everyone. Not a bad outcome even if the whole thing turns out to be a lie, right?

What if you don't believe in God and God really exists? Cruel as it sounds, get ready to face fire and brimstone in hell. The law is the law according to the Holy Book. If you don't believe in God and God does not exist, you have nothing to lose. But why take the chance? Meanwhile, the man without any concerns of the risks of going to hell will have little to hold him back in his pursuit of his selfish goals through despicable means. He will probably be rich but hated by everyone whose lives he touched. Is this a good outcome? Even if religion turns out to be a lie, it may be better to believe in it.

That is assuming the god that you worship is the god that you will meet when you die. But, since there are so many versions of god in this world, the probability of hitting the real god is not really that high. Given such situation, it is probably better to remain as a non-believer and then switch camp when necessary. I suppose the real god will be more forgiving to those non-believers than those who choose to believe in other gods.

So, generally speaking, for a safe afterlife insurance, it is better to be a non-believer

Well said. I am a free-thinker, a non-believer of god(s). I suppose the real god will be ever more forgiving for a non-believer who commits litter sins i.e. a good guy.

[WolfT]

Cityfarmer
Do you mean Atheist? It is different from free thinker...
I am a free thinker but a bit bias to buddhism(look at my signature).

[KopiKat]

Well said. I am a free-thinker, a non-believer of god(s). I suppose the real god will be ever more forgiving for a non-believer who commits litter sins i.e. a good guy.

Perhaps a nice term to use, which I learnt when reading about Warren Buffett, is Agnostic. From wiki,

Agnosticism is the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—are unknown and (so far as can be judged) unknowable.