Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[KopiKat]

I am a spender. I save $2,000 every month and spend $4,000. Most of it goes to my car. The monthly loan is $2,000 and the petrol costs me another $650.

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Now, I pay $500 a month for my life insurance coverage.

Amazing how little he's spending on himself (less car + insurance),

$4000 - $2000 - $650 - $500 = $850

Either he's frugal (but the amt he's spending on his car does imply he's not a frugal person) or he ought to be ashamed he's living off his parents / wife!

Edited : Corrected calculation to $850 (previously, $950 was wrong). Even lower !

[Jared Seah]

1) "married to Ms Enah Lim, 35, a regional operations manager in Clarins"

2) "I live with my parents in a 2,200 sq ft terrace house in Lorong Marzuki"


Save $2,000 plus spend $4,000 = his monthly income is $6,000.

And as KopiKat has cheekily calculated, he only "rewards" himself with $950.

I would assume he is not giving his parents and wife allowances!?

I must say he is indeed thrifty to be able to not touch the $2,000 he saves every month! Great discipline!

[Stocker]

I know his parent personally. He is the youuger son and his parent is quite wealthy. They own the brand ; Lucky Baby of which products are being sold in NTUC, Giants,etc..

[WolfT]

I know his parent personally. He is the youuger son and his parent is quite wealthy. They own the brand ; Lucky Baby of which products are being sold in NTUC, Giants,etc..

Then his parents should be e one feature in this money series not him.

[tubecreamer]

Hahahaha, this is a good one. Frankly, his parents are the ones who made it, not him.

Based on the calculations, I think he may be living off his parents (and wife)?

Dun really understand why he is not having his own property when he has a lot of savings n his tea place is earning.

Unless, the tea place losing money.

[VIChris]

The key thing is the article is not been helpful for those who wanted to archive financial freedom.
It just another "feel" good article that's does not make any sense on investment.

[yeokiwi]

The key thing is the article is not been helpful for those who wanted to archive financial freedom.
It just another "feel" good article that's does not make any sense on investment.

This column has been running for years. They probably run out of suitable candidates.
There are also those that have hidden agenda.
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/restaurant_...&offset=10

Looking at the comments, I wonder how the lounge can generate so much business. So many carrots walking around?

[Musicwhiz]

I agree with yeokiwi, sometimes these columns are thinly-veiled attempts at pushing their own brands, products or places.

In the article, it was mentioned that the place made about $20,000 to $25,000 in profits every month. Considering he invested $250,000 in it, that's a 100% return in one year! Amazing isn't it?

If you take it that the bad reviews are the anomaly, it is still hard to picture this kind of profit when I am sure rental and staff costs must be pretty high.

Let's assume, for the sake of simplicity, that the net margin is around 10%. That would mean his revenue per month is about $250,000! That's a lot of tea, set meals and customers indeed!

[d.o.g.]

I have invested $250,000 in Arteastiq and have been seeing profits of $20,000 to $25,000 a month from April.

Looking at the Hungrygowhere reviews, the average bill per pax varies from $7-$28, with a few around the $15 mark. Let's pick $15 as an "average" bill.

This guy claims $20-25k profits per month. Successful F&B outlets typically only make high single digit margins on a net basis. So using 10% (which is pretty generous) means his monthly revenue is $200-250k. Divided by 30 days, it means he clocks $7-8k+ in daily revenues.

Suppose he is open 12 hours a day (10a-10p). That means he books $600+/hour in daily sales. Since each bill is $15, he must serve 40 people per hour. Assuming his cafe seats 20 people, then each person stays 30mins on average i.e. his cafe "turns over" the tables 2x an hour.

20pax/turn * $15/pax * 2 turns/hour * 12 hours/day * 30 days/month
= 20 * 15 * 2 * 12 * 30
= $216,000/month

So it IS possible to book the profits he is reporting, but it would mean that his cafe is absolutely packed every single day, from the minute it opens to the minute it closes. More likely he is omitting some key cost items, whether it's income taxes (17%), depreciation of the fittings ($80k/yr if they last 3 years) or something else.

And if he is indeed making as much money as he claims, it's almost guaranteed that when it's time to renew the lease, his rent will go way UP - and his profits will go way DOWN. Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut when you are doing well...

[KopiKat]

Suppose he is open 12 hours a day (10a-10p). That means he books $600+/hour in daily sales. Since each bill is $15, he must serve 40 people per hour. Assuming his cafe seats 20 people, then each person stays 30mins on average i.e. his cafe "turns over" the tables 2x an hour.

One reviewer estimated the restaurant is aro' 60-seater,

this is a circus

11 April, 2011

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- decor is great but they shouldnt have such a small kitchen for around 60 seater restaurant.

There were also lots of complaints about poor service (likely during peak periods) and waiting for seats. So, ya, it's possible his turnover is rather good. But, high chance, his $20k-$25k profits are not Net Profit. Else, he must be retaining a lot of his earnings in his company since he pays himself "only" $6k.