There is one thing I don't understand - how does she rent an apartment for $4,100 and only end up paying $200 (including utilities)! You mean the other two house-mates are paying $3,900? Wow what a great deal indeed, yet all 3 of them get to share an equal portion of the house?
Someone should really explain this logic to me!
The Straits Times
Mar 18, 2012
Me & My Money
Beauty queen works smart for her money
She made money work for her after seeing parents slog
By Joyce Teo
When Ms Vanessa Tan, 32, got married two years ago, she and her husband rented a place instead of buying one as they did not want to chase the fast-rising property market.
'We follow Warren Buffett's advice to be greedy when everyone is fearful, and to be fearful when everyone is greedy,' she said.
'That was why we pulled out of Singapore's property market over a year ago.'
Ms Tan and her husband invested in properties overseas instead.
She is now working on growing her business and her overseas property portfolio so that she can retire on passive income and possibly set up a foundation for underprivileged children in Asia.
She met husband Tan Wei Young, 41, a captain with Singapore Airlines, when she was an air stewardess with the airline from 2004 to 2007. They have no children.
After leaving SIA, Ms Tan, who has a bachelor's degree in social work and sociology from the National University of Singapore, worked as a personal banker and a property agent, before starting her corporate training firm Vanessaism in 2010.
The world of glamour first beckoned in 2006, when she became a finalist at Miss Singapore Universe. She was also Miss Tourism Metropolitan 2007, Mrs Singapore World 2011 and first runner-up of Mrs United Nation International 2011.
'My mother was the one who encouraged me to join beauty pageants as she wanted to have a beauty queen in the family,' she said.
'But I wanted to join Mrs Singapore World because it is a platform for me to push my charity interests. I won the title last March and knew that with it, I would get people to notice me more easily.'
She says she wants to encourage young women from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their dreams and realise their true potential.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am more of a saver now, but I used to be a spender during my flying days as I love travelling and would pay for day trips and tours.
Now, I can just follow my pilot husband. We get discounted air tickets.
I invest about 60 to 70 per cent of my yearly income.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I charge only big-ticket items to my credit card such as facial and weight-management packages because of the interest-free repayment plans.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I believe in this school of thought: 'Buy term insurance, invest the rest.' I have a life insurance plan that I bought when I was in my early 20s and term insurance coverage of $650,000.
When the stock market was almost at its lowest in mid-2008, I invested $5,000 in gold and made some decent money when the commodities market subsequently rose.
I am now growing my business and building up a portfolio of investment properties so that I can retire comfortably on passive income.
I like property and am patiently waiting to enter the Singapore market at the right time.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a family of five and I am the eldest child. My parents were hawkers for more than 30 years until their business collapsed. They now work as cooks at Resorts World Sentosa.
When their business failed in the early 2000s, my parents went into debt as they had to borrow money to pay their creditors.
I was studying for my degree at the National University of Singapore (NUS) then, but I had stopped taking an allowance from my parents since taking on temporary jobs and tuition stints after my A levels.
I had a study loan from DBS Bank to help pay for my tertiary education but when my parents were still short of money, I took a $10,000 student loan from NUS to help them.
I have since repaid the loans and have never asked my parents for the money back. I never regretted my decision to help my parents but this incident made me decide that I want to be free of financial woes. After seeing my parents slog all their lives, it made me want to learn how to invest and make money work for me instead of me working for the money.
I want to let my parents enjoy a comfortable lifestyle in their golden years. They are both 60 years old.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
My friends introduced me to this investment advice book by Robert Kiyosaki in 2007 called Rich Dad Poor Dad.
I read it and it changed my perspective on money. It made me decide to quit flying and learn how to start investing my money.
Q: What properties do you own?
My husband and I co-own, with three other like-minded partners who are close friends of ours, a portfolio of nine properties in the United States, many of which are foreclosure properties in Fort Myers, Florida.
We set up a company to buy the properties a year ago and have invested close to US$100,000 (S$126,000) in the houses.
The cheapest house cost us slightly less than US$10,000 and the most expensive one slightly above US$40,000.
All the properties have since risen by 30 per cent in value. We will sell them when their prices have gone up by 50 per cent.
I plan to make a trip to Florida in the next few months to take a look at the properties.
My husband and I also co-own a 642 sq ft one-bedroom loft unit in Hampshire Residences, which is a five-minute walk from Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
We bought it in 2009 for RM540,000 (S$223,000) and it is now worth about RM642,000. We have decided to stop using it as a vacation home and will soon lease it out. We hope to get a rental of at least RM2,800 per month, which will give us a 5 per cent rental yield.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
A one-year slimming package for $6,000 when I was competing for Mrs Singapore World 2011. Making sure my weight is within the manageable region allows me to have the health and extra energy to work on my business and take care of my family. Besides, I lost 5kg in a month at that time.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I am a workaholic but I will not work just for money. I don't plan to retire but I do plan to be 'financially free' by 40, which is when my passive income, such as rental income and royalties, exceeds my expenses.
I will then take a year off to do volunteer work in Third World countries, dive all around the world and set up a foundation for disadvantaged children in Asia.
Q: Home is now...
A 1,600 sq ft, three-bedroom apartment along River Valley Close. The rent is $4,100 a month but my husband and I pay only $200 a month plus utilities.
I went for a property seminar by my mentor Wendy Kuek and picked up this tip of letting others help pay the rent. So I have two housemates who pay the bulk of the rent.
Previously, we rented a two-bedroom flat and sub-let one room, which helped to cover only half the rent.
Q: I drive...
A sky-blue Volkswagen New Beetle.
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WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
I invested $10,000 in a penny stock early last year when I received 'insider' news from my friends that the stock would appreciate by 20 per cent in three months. But the stock has since lost half its value.
I take responsibility for my decision and I have learnt that I should invest only in something I am familiar with, such as property, and only after conducting due diligence.
Q: What is your best investment to date?
My husband and I sold our 1,300 sq ft apartment in the Paya Lebar area back in 2010 for around $1.2 million after owning it for five years, during which time the property market rose significantly.
We made close to $200,000 and have parked the funds in the US property market.
We are now closely observing the Singapore private residential market as we intend to buy our matrimonial home in the Killiney Road area when the market dips in the near future.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
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