Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[KopiKat]

Hi KopiKat,
We already have 2 high ranking civil servants who felt to the seduction of a 30+ yr old sales executive.

Let's try to picture this - Since she left SIA in 2007 (assuming no gaps), she started work in 2008 as a personal banker. This means she was 32-4=28yrs old when she became a personal banker. According to my SIA cabin crew friends, at SIA, besides learning how to say 'coffee or tea' in the sweetest way, you learn how to do your hair and makeup, and also interact with those in First/Biz class.

Most probably, her bank hired her as some kind of femme fatale to DIVERSIFY the talents of their private banking team. See, you could be Warren Buffet or George Soros or 1 of those prudent millionaires who started out from scratch - But YOU are STILL a MAN.

For me, any kind of temptation (includes LUST) is but another form of WANTS. If you are not in control of your WANTS, it becomes a form of WEAKNESS.

Evaluating WANTS is the same as evaluating STOCKS. Look at the potential REWARDS (be it tangible or intangible) and weigh it against the potential DOWNSIDE. Make a decision based on whether the potential rewards is worth the risks involved. Easy, eh?

Don't give yourself the reasons (I see it as an excuse) highlighted in BOLD above. If you do, it becomes a weakness that others can easily exploit, to your own detriment! (So many cases in history and news to learn from).

My Definition :

Strength : 英雄勇過美人关
Weakness : 英雄难過美人关

As some would like to add, YMMV

[Temperament]

Hi KopiKat,
We already have 2 high ranking civil servants who felt to the seduction of a 30+ yr old sales executive.

Let's try to picture this - Since she left SIA in 2007 (assuming no gaps), she started work in 2008 as a personal banker. This means she was 32-4=28yrs old when she became a personal banker. According to my SIA cabin crew friends, at SIA, besides learning how to say 'coffee or tea' in the sweetest way, you learn how to do your hair and makeup, and also interact with those in First/Biz class.

Most probably, her bank hired her as some kind of femme fatale to DIVERSIFY the talents of their private banking team. See, you could be Warren Buffet or George Soros or 1 of those prudent millionaires who started out from scratch - But YOU are STILL a MAN.

For me, any kind of temptation (includes LUST) is but another form of WANTS. If you are not in control of your WANTS, it becomes a form of WEAKNESS.

Evaluating WANTS is the same as evaluating STOCKS. Look at the potential REWARDS (be it tangible or intangible) and weigh it against the potential DOWNSIDE. Make a decision based on whether the potential rewards is worth the risks involved. Easy, eh?

Don't give yourself the reasons (I see it as an excuse) highlighted in BOLD above. If you do, it becomes a weakness that others can easily exploit, to your own detriment! (So many cases in history and news to learn from).

My Definition :

Strength : 英雄勇過美人关
Weakness : 英雄难過美人关

As some would like to add, YMMV

Ha! Ha!
Very good punt on the word 难.
i wish everyone can think like you then we will have "A World Without Thief". Nevertheless, i am sure each one of us has a "deadly acu-point". Just don't let people discover it-especially your motal enemy. Sometimes, we don't know we have one but others can spot it.:
Cheers!

[KopiKat]

This 32-year lady - still pretty good looking! - is obviously quite smart and driven.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmYAUcC_Xo

Good to see someone giving back to society for once! Pix from her Facebook account,

Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to now how to invest in stocks successfully yet!

She needs a mentor. Before she gets totally 'inspired' by Robert Kiyosaki! Any volunteers? Can try to contact her at her Facebook account. No ulterior motives please!

[freedom]

Hi KopiKat,
We already have 2 high ranking civil servants who felt to the seduction of a 30+ yr old sales executive.

Let's try to picture this - Since she left SIA in 2007 (assuming no gaps), she started work in 2008 as a personal banker. This means she was 32-4=28yrs old when she became a personal banker. According to my SIA cabin crew friends, at SIA, besides learning how to say 'coffee or tea' in the sweetest way, you learn how to do your hair and makeup, and also interact with those in First/Biz class.

Most probably, her bank hired her as some kind of femme fatale to DIVERSIFY the talents of their private banking team. See, you could be Warren Buffet or George Soros or 1 of those prudent millionaires who started out from scratch - But YOU are STILL a MAN.

For me, any kind of temptation (includes LUST) is but another form of WANTS. If you are not in control of your WANTS, it becomes a form of WEAKNESS.

Evaluating WANTS is the same as evaluating STOCKS. Look at the potential REWARDS (be it tangible or intangible) and weigh it against the potential DOWNSIDE. Make a decision based on whether the potential rewards is worth the risks involved. Easy, eh?

Don't give yourself the reasons (I see it as an excuse) highlighted in BOLD above. If you do, it becomes a weakness that others can easily exploit, to your own detriment! (So many cases in history and news to learn from).

My Definition :

Strength : 英雄勇過美人关
Weakness : 英雄难過美人关

As some would like to add, YMMV

When you are choosing a private banker, which one would you choose, a pretty one or a normal one? The product they are selling probably rather similar.

not necessarily for lust only, people enjoying looking at pleasing stuff does not always translate to people wanting the pleasing stuff.

[Musicwhiz]

Actually, I would feel happy enough if I was even in that wealht category where I could be assigned a private banker!

[Bibi]

Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to now how to invest in stocks successfully yet!

She needs a mentor. Before she gets totally 'inspired' by Robert Kiyosaki! Any volunteers? Can try to contact her at her Facebook account. No ulterior motives please!

Why should she try to learn how to invest in stocks when she is doing much better investing in properties? Her case reminds me of my friend who started out learning property investing (using leverage) while i started out with stocks. Both of us started out in 2006. He is now a millionaire while i far from it. My friend also got the inspiration from Robert Kiyosaki books. Maybe these people read his books at the right time.

[mrEngineer]

ST should seriously go to salary.sg forums to interview those earning 200k pa.

[KopiKat]

Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to now how to invest in stocks successfully yet!

She needs a mentor. Before she gets totally 'inspired' by Robert Kiyosaki! Any volunteers? Can try to contact her at her Facebook account. No ulterior motives please!

Why should she try to learn how to invest in stocks when she is doing much better investing in properties? Her case reminds me of my friend who started out learning property investing (using leverage) while i started out with stocks. Both of us started out in 2006. He is now a millionaire while i far from it. My friend also got the inspiration from Robert Kiyosaki books. Maybe these people read his books at the right time.

Ok, ok, I humbly apologise to all Robert Kiyosaki inspired people out there. I under-estimated the power of inspiration - it can indeed do wonders and motivate people to achieve what they never thought possible before.

In my case, I was inspired by Value Investing starting from a simple email I received about Warren Buffett. I knew he was one of the richest man in the world but I didn't know he did it all through Stocks Investing. As I Goggled and Binged my way through the internet, I stumbled on investopedia and Wallstraits forum. The more I read, the more inspired I was - I realised it was actually possible to sit in comfort in an arm-chair, do research on stocks via internet, make investment decision and most importantly, make $$! If I were to benchmark against my total assets (excl. my live-in property) in B/'05 (when I got inspired), I now have ~3.5x more (we had one active income till Q311 ie. one of us was still working) and through the years, it does appear that my interpretation and application of Value Investing methodology does work and seems repeatable.

So, the key is, don't just get inspired. Continue to learn from other masters and shape your own approach that best suits yourself. Yes, it did work for me, being inspired by Warren Buffett followed by Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, Philip Fisher,.. and gurus from the old Wallstraits forum. BUT, I'm still struggling and debating with myself whether it's all due to luck (Super Bull from '03 to '08 + Bull from '09 - '10 + another from '12??) or skills, haha...

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Actually, I would feel happy enough if I was even in that wealht category where I could be assigned a private banker!

Looking at how meticulous you do your research and analysis plus money management, I'm very sure you'll reach that category in the not so distant future. But, the irony is that as you had reached that category mainly through self-investing, I doubt that you're going to leave a million bucks with your Private Banker to manage as you probably would be achieving a better rate of returns (no need to pay extra commission).

[Musicwhiz]

Hi KopiKat,

I can relate. I also find stocks and companies much easier to understand that say, properties. And I do not like the leverage aspect of property, as it cuts both ways - when you lose you can lose > than our capital; while for shares you can at most lose just all of your principal (as long as you are not on margin). Also for shares, dividends are pretty stable if you buy blue chips but for property, there is the hassle of maintenance, finding tenants, ensuring rental covers installment etc. Too much trouble for me.

I would think if you survived one bull-bear cycle, it might be luck (therefore, it might have been luck for my case). To survive two would imply some level of skill is involved; and if you get through three I think you can be certified an expert! Haha!

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Looking at how meticulous you do your research and analysis plus money management, I'm very sure you'll reach that category in the not so distant future. But, the irony is that as you had reached that category mainly through self-investing, I doubt that you're going to leave a million bucks with your Private Banker to manage as you probably would be achieving a better rate of returns (no need to pay extra commission).

Thanks KopiKat,

Didn't see your reply until after I posted my previous post. I certainly hope you're right about me, haha! For my own sake....

And yes, actually, you are spot on. I prefer investing my own money rather than letting some (greedy) banker help me "manage" it.

[Jacmar]

I would think if you survived one bull-bear cycle, it might be luck (therefore, it might have been luck for my case). To survive two would imply some level of skill is involved; and if you get through three I think you can be certified an expert! Haha!

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I wish this is true. For my case i survived the '87 crash(at that time not much invested, so impact is minimal), then '97 crash, tech crash in 2000 and then SARs. By then i thought i am a genius as you have said and only to be humbled by Mr Market in '07 GFC. What went wrong.....over confidence and greed. Nowadays a bit kiasi approach.
nevertheless the journey has still been fruitful and enjoyful.