Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

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Wow!
This is the most inspiring article so far. i wonder when will he be a bit more relax to spend his money since he is financially free now.
He is indeed very blessed with such a "precious" wife.
i know i am married for 37 years already. SmileBig Grin
WB:-

1) Rule # 1, do not lose money.
2) Rule # 2, refer to # 1.
3) Not until you can manage your emotions, you can manage your money.

Truism of Investments.
A) Buying a security is buying RISK not Return
B) You can control RISK (to a certain level, hopefully only.) But definitely not the outcome of the Return.

NB:-
My signature is meant for psychoing myself. No offence to anyone. i am trying not to lose money unnecessary anymore.
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He is already financially free, he mention that he do have enough saving to pay off both of his mortgage
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A good insurance agent likes to spin stories to capture emotions. Look out for the facts. Anyway MW don't be disheartened because a good insurance agent should hit 15k a month in 3-5 years time. Together with his wife, they can afford 2 properties easily.
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(09-12-2012, 12:34 PM)dyuda_2001 Wrote: He is already financially free, he mention that he do have enough saving to pay off both of his mortgage

It may not be very "smart" but if you can't buy anything by your own cash then don't buy by "installments". If you can, you have a choice. Then do your maths lol. That's one of my motto in finance. But my maths is only elementary. So i usually buy by cash if i can. If i can't i definitely will not buy it. So far so good i have the blessings and the capability that i can stick to this motto.
Shalom
Amen.

(09-12-2012, 12:47 PM)mrEngineer Wrote: A good insurance agent likes to spin stories to capture emotions. Look out for the facts. Anyway MW don't be disheartened because a good insurance agent should hit 15k a month in 3-5 years time. Together with his wife, they can afford 2 properties easily.

Yes! We have to beware all GREAT SALE-MAN are PSYCHO KING. i have met some of them.TongueBig Grin
WB:-

1) Rule # 1, do not lose money.
2) Rule # 2, refer to # 1.
3) Not until you can manage your emotions, you can manage your money.

Truism of Investments.
A) Buying a security is buying RISK not Return
B) You can control RISK (to a certain level, hopefully only.) But definitely not the outcome of the Return.

NB:-
My signature is meant for psychoing myself. No offence to anyone. i am trying not to lose money unnecessary anymore.
Reply
Many who sell insurance like free or cheap publicity. This space in ST suits them, after all ST desperate for cheap stories.
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This 32-year-old bought his first property in 2006, ie when he was 26 years old. Probably using his POSB account of $50k that was withheld by his parent until his graduation ?
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To Musicwhiz : (dunno how to quote what you wrote yet)
As I understand, I believe he meant that he is collecting around $5k from each property. Tiong Bahru and 6th Avenue properties cannot be collecting only $5k in total.

Still, I don't think he is not technically financial free yet, as now he is staying with his parents. If he move into his own place, he will lost one of the rental income, and just with 1 rental, will that be enough for his family? Furthermore, he did not mentioned that he has any kids. That is another big expense in the future.


To Temperament :
Under current interest rate environment, I will think it is better to buy a property and take up a low interest rate loan, rather than to pay in full. Even when having the money to pay, I think it will be better to invest it and get a 4-5%pa return. When interest rises near or above the investment return, then do lump sum payment.


One question I will be asking, if he is already financially free, will he still need any life insurance? Since even if he stop working, or meet some mishap, his passive income should be able to sustain his family (right now, just his wife who is as thrifty as him). So, why does he need life insurance? The insurance payiut likely will just sit in his wife's bank account. He may just need health or medical inurance as those are high expenses if he need any medical attention.
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(09-12-2012, 12:34 PM)dyuda_2001 Wrote: He is already financially free, he mention that he do have enough saving to pay off both of his mortgage

Hi if you look at the wording in the interview, he said he has enough to pay off the loans if interest rates rise - this led me to conclude that he meant that he has enough to service the installments, rather than pay off the loans fully.

To NTL:

Thanks point acknowledged. I am not sure if he meant net rental income or gross, but in future I guess he will definitely have other expenses.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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I found it rather humourous that he was asking his broker for detailed information on the companies, and was told that no one asked these things. Well, Mr. Kee, the reality is that there's a whole forum of people here talking about companies - you just happened to ask the wrong person! Tongue

On a serious note, I am quite surprised he lost a total of $500,000, on the Lehman Brothers products and on Forex. Incidentally, both were recommended by the bank! Tells you a lot about what banks understand about risk and "good investments" eh? Confused

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Dec 16, 2012
Looking past the pursuit of money

Envizyme CEO believes in having sufficient savings and living within one's means

By Magdalen Ng

So much for taking it easy: Businessman Roy Kee was easing into semi- retirement when his passion for promoting healthier lifestyles and protecting the environment lured him back into full-time work.

Mr Kee, 54, is now chief executive of Envizyme, a Singapore-based company that develops and manufactures natural and environmentally friendly household cleaning products.

"I came across Envizyme by chance. In Mandarin, we call this yuan fen, or fate," he says.

"The founder of the company is a very passionate person, and one of the nicest people I have met. It took me five months to make the decision to invest in this company."

He used the products himself, to ensure they were really what the company claimed, before passing them on to his friends and relatives for their feedback.

Envizyme products are made using recycled fruit and vegetables that the company collects from wholesale markets.

Mr Kee, who is married with three children, said he felt very strongly about keeping his household as "chemical free" as possible.

"I feel Envizyme can give me a better platform to further my cause and share my belief in the importance of having good health and living in a safer and cleaner environment."

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I actually do not draw any salary as the chief executive of Envizyme, so technically, I do not have any income to set aside for savings.

I guess I am a spender, then?

My monthly expenses are funded by returns from investments I have made over the years.

However, the virtues of having sufficient savings and living within one's means are very important. Our lifestyle and spending habits need to adjust according to our earning patterns.

Most of my expenses concern my children. I do not buy expensive watches. The one I usually wear is a Casio G-Shock, which was a gift from my wife. I have only one pair of leather shoes (and) they are more than a decade old.

I eat very simple meals, and 90 per cent of my diet is vegetarian. At this stage in my life, I really don't need much to live on.

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

I have two credit cards, and on average, I charge around $6,000 to them each month. I pay off my bills on time. I have only one ATM card and I seldom use it to withdraw cash. It is mainly used to top up my CashCard.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have a few life insurance policies that cover me for about $2.5 million. I do not believe in over-insurance so I have very little life insurance coverage for my wife and none for my children. To me, the point of having life insurance is to make sure that, in the event of an unexpected death, the family will have enough to pay for existing liabilities and maintain an adequate lifestyle.

My wife is a housewife, and my children do not have any income, so I do not see why there is a need for life insurance now. You cannot insure against emotional loss.

However, they all have health insurance.

About 20 per cent of my portfolio is in the equity market, and about 25 per cent is in my art and wine collection. The rest is in property and in the bank.

I used to trade quite actively in the United States market and would stay up late to do it, but I don't really do that any more because I now need to wake up early for my daily qigong.

Cash is still king and the key is to make sure we live within our means and have sufficient savings to weather unforeseen situations.

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

My father was a businessman and my mother was a housewife. My growing-up years were pretty comfortable as my parents provided for us well.

I am the eldest and I have two younger brothers and a sister. My dad was a kind, reasonable and honourable businessman. He ran an industrial chemical company that focuses mainly on printing and painting.

All his business associates considered him to be a trustworthy, reliable and dependable person. He believed in the importance of education and he made sure all four of us completed our university degrees. He also taught us many important values in life.

Today, my siblings are running our family business and I remain as a shareholder and director without any day-to-day executive function.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

When I was doing an MBA in the US, I attended a finance class where we played an investment game in trading stocks.

Each group started with the same amount of capital and, at the end of the semester, my group topped the class with the highest returns.

That gave me the inspiration to learn more about the stock market. After I started my first job in Silicon Valley, I opened a trading account and began trading with real money.

Unlike in Singapore, investors there do not have to trade in lots of 1,000 shares. I could trade in as little as 100 shares per transaction with relatively low fees.

I spent quite a fair amount of time doing research on the company and market prior to making my investment decision. It was rather technical.

I started trading shares in Singapore when I returned after spending 13 years in the US.

Initially, I asked my stockbroker many questions about the counter I was keen to buy, until one day he told me that no one in Singapore asked those kinds of questions.

All I needed to do was to tell him how many lots and at what price. So it is more sentimental than technical. I find this kind of trading mentality becomes very speculative.

Today, less than 20 per cent of my investment portfolio is in the stock market.

Q: What property do you own?

I have two condominium apartments in the Newton area.

One is 1,345 sq ft, and I bought it for $1.9 million in 2009. Currently, it is worth about $2.6 million.

The other apartment, which is worth about $2.7 million now, was bought in 2005 for $1.25 million when the market was at a low. It is 1,446 sq ft.

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

It has to be a Tibetan Thangka painted by a monk that I bought many years ago from a collector in China.

It was love at first sight; I knew I must have it. After several tries on my part, he finally agreed to sell it to me. It cost $30,000 but to me it is a priceless artwork.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I was actually semi-retired until I invested in Envizyme last year and got myself a job as the CEO.

I am thankful that at this stage in my life, I am able to do what I like and do things that are meaningful.

I found out many years ago that life is not just about chasing money. Knowing what is enough does take a lot of courage and it took me a while to figure that out. The scary part is to get used to being poorer by the day without really knowing how long I will live.

My aim is to divide how I spend my remaining time into three portions - 50 per cent for my family, 30 per cent for work and 20 per cent for community and charity work.

I do not have plans to fully retire and do nothing. Time is running out and every second is precious. I always remind my wife and children that every day they see me is one day less that they can.

Q: Home is now...

The bigger of the two condos that I own.

Q: I drive...

A black Lexus RX300 SUV.

songyuan@sph.com.sg

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What has been your worst investment to date?


One of my worst investments would be structured notes products that I bought from a bank. I made a 70 per cent loss, about $200,000.

But I have to say that I went in with my eyes open, and have only myself to blame - I would consider myself quite a savvy investor. I mean, 10 years ago, who would have thought that Lehman Brothers would go bust?

There was also another forex product, and I thought I could learn something new. The bank also offered me quite a good margin. I lost close to $300,000.

Now, I make my own decisions in where I want to put my money. Lower interest is better than evaporation. If you have some extra cash, I suggest you try to put some under your bed - sleep on it and you can say hello to the money in the morning and feel good about it.

Q: And your best?

I believe it has to be my investment in Envizyme. The investment is done jointly by myself and my family business and the total investment is $1 million in exchange for 30 per cent equity of the company.

It may not be the most profitable investment but I truly feel this is the most meaningful business venture that I have ever got into.

It is almost breaking even and we plan to be profitable by the second quarter of next year.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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sounds another marketing interviews.
Dividend Investing and More @ InvestmentMoats.com
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