Seems very alike compared to last week's interviewee - he also bought an extravagant car (costing more than his HDB wow), also plans to buy a condominiun (investment property) and hardly invests anything in shares/equities.
And wow does he have a lot of luxury watches - these things aren't cheap! Basically another property-centric investor; but he and his wife have a thriving business which I applaud!
The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Nov 25, 2012
me & my money
Husband and wife make a good fit
Ex-Air Force man's engineering expertise and wife's interior design skills win deals
By Magdalen Ng
When Mr Kelvin Teo completed his seven-year contract with the Air Force in 2005, his wife, Jerlyn, had just started her interior design firm, JP Concept.
Business was picking up, so Mr Teo thought it was logical to help out in the business, even though he had no experience in the interior design trade.
The 37-year-old said: "I started picking up the skills and experience from my wife who has been working in this trade for about 10 years."
His background was in engineering, so the holder of an electrical and electronics engineering diploma took charge of the firm's mechanical and electrical departments.
JP Concept specialises in hospitality and commercial projects, and has completed restaurant and cafe projects in China, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Clients include the Imperial Treasure Restaurant group, Marina Mandarin Singapore, iL Lido - an Italian restaurant in Sentosa, and Food Junction Holdings.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
When I was young, I was more of a saver, mostly because of my family's situation.
But when I started working, the odds were split fifty-fifty because I have a weakness for computer gad-gets and watches.
Altogether, my wife and I have three iPads at home, even though there're only two of us.
For watches, I own an IWC, a Panarei and a Ball. Every two years, I will be itching for a new watch. I go for more recognised brands, and I see them as a form of investment too.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit card every month?
It would be about $2,000 to $3,000, for both personal and office use. If I travel overseas for projects, then the sum would be more.
I pay off my bills each month.
I spend mostly on food, since my company mainly deals with projects related to the food and beverage industry.
We need to understand and keep ourselves up to date with the latest trends in the market. Visiting the latest restaurants and cafes is part of my job.
Although I have more than five cards, I mainly use two cards for everyday expenses. Each week, I also draw about $400 from the ATM.
Q: What financial planning have you done?
I save about 10 per cent of my monthly income and invest 20 per cent. The rest is used for monthly expenses and whatever I have left after that is kept in cash for emergency use.
Both my wife and I have life, medical and travel insurance policies.
We are working towards a total payout of $1 million each, in the event of death or total permanent disability.
I am a very conservative person, so my investments are mainly in local blue-chip stocks.
So far, I have been managing my portfolio myself, so that I can save on the cost of commission or administrative charges by the financial institutions.
I am trying to achieve the target of about 10 to 20 per cent annual returns.
Q: Money-wise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a low- to middle-income family.
My father was a shipyard foreman while my mum is a housewife. I have a younger sister.
We were living in a rented one-room flat in Queenstown during that time. My father's income was just enough to support the family's basic expenses.
I started doing part-time work during the school holidays when I was 14 years old to earn extra pocket money for myself.
The money was saved to last me through from when school reopened till the next holiday.
I have always been taught to be independent and to work hard for money.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
Since young, I have seen my aunt and uncle talking about shares and how much they have been making in the stock market.
When I turned 21, I opened a Central Depository (CDP) account to trade shares.
My first investment was an IPO, and I invested $10,000. But after about three years,the company was delisted, and I lost about $3,000.
Q: What property do you own?
A four-room flat in Jurong West, which I bought in 2000 for $120,000. It is 95 sq m. It is worth about $450,000 now.
My wife and I also recently purchased a commercial property in Paya Lebar. It is 1,000 sq ft and cost $650,000.
It will be ready by the third quarter of next year and we intend to keep it for our own use.
My property agent friend notified me that there was a special promotion price for this particular commercial space that I have been eyeing for about a year.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
That would probably be my car, a black Volvo S60. I bought it for $160,000 in 2010, and sometimes I still ask myself why I spent more on my car than on my flat.
At that time, I had been driving my previous car for about four years.
The certificate of entitlement (COE) price was about $40,000 and at that point in time it was expected to rise further, so we either had to buy it then, or put on hold our plans of buying a new car for a while.
My wife just left the decision to me, so long as she feels comfortable sitting in the new car.
The latest version of the S60 had just been launched then, and I really liked the performance and the safety aspects of the car, so I must admit it was a slightly impulsive decision.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I don't intend to retire so soon, maybe when I'm 60?
I will have another 20 years to build up the assets that I require.
To maintain our current lifestyle comfortably, we would probably need $6,000 to $8,000 each month.
I'm saving to buy a condominium in the next two years, so hopefully when the market adjusts we can buy.
It will be an investment property, and a safeguard for our retirement.
Together with our savings and the money in our Central Provident Fund accounts, we should be able to meet our target.
Q: Home is now...
A four-room Housing Board flat in Jurong West.
Q: I drive...
A black Volvo S60.
songyuan@sph.com.sg
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Worst and best bets
Q: What has been your worst investment to date?
It was a unit trust fund that was recommended by a friend, and I bought the fund without doing much research. I invested about $20,000.
The initial idea was to keep it for a few years, hoping it would appreciate in value. But after a few years, I noticed that the counter had been dropping and there were administrative charges incurred every year.
Finally I decided to sell off the fund and lost about $5,000.
Q: And your best?
It would be my design company JP Concept, although we invested only about $20,000 during the initial start-up.
Through the years, we have seen the revenue increasing by about 20 per cent annually, and we are preparing to open offices in Indonesia and Malaysia soon.
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