Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

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Interesting guy, and I like what he is doing to preserve the Peranakan culture; but spending so much on antiques is rather daunting (to me) haha. Other than that, he appears quite grounded and I can relate to him as he seems like a man on the street.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 03, 2013
ME & MY MONEY
Collecting antiques 'is like saving money'

The value is there, says businessman who runs a private Peranakan museum from his home

By Joyce Teo

Mr Alvin Yapp would have saved a lot more money if he wasn't a collector of Peranakan antiques. He started his collection when he was just 17, and does not plan to stop.

"It's a disease and I can't stop," says the 43-year-old bachelor, who runs The Intan, a private Peranakan museum out of his quaint terraced house in Joo Chiat. "To me, collecting antiques is like saving money. The intrinsic value is still there. It's not like spending on a trip. It's money in a different form."

He has a vision to promote Peranakan culture.

Mr Yapp, a former Singapore Airlines station manager who now runs BusAds, his family's outdoor advertising production business, says he has always been quite responsible with his money. He has never had to pay late fees for his credit cards and would never let his mortgage lapse.

"Spend when you need to and respect money, no matter how large or small the amount is. Just don't waste it," he says.

"Always remember the less fortunate, and there will always be someone less fortunate than you. Just like there will always be someone who is more fortunate."

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I consider myself a saver, even though I spend on my antiques collection. I always spend carefully and within my means, and will save a portion of my income.

I may sometimes spend on things that I am passionate about, like gardening, charity and music. I currently play the keyboard, piano, violin and saxophone.

As for charity, I tend not to think so much before I spend. I have done several fund-raising projects here and overseas.

I would say I am quite thrifty. I travel frequently but it's usually by budget airlines. And I stay in guesthouses as I don't need the luxury of a high-end hotel. Actually, I get uncomfortable in those places. I'd rather save the money and spend it on my plants or on a cab when I am travelling so I can save time. Also, I mostly eat at hawker centres.

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

Embarrassingly, less than $1,000, unless there is out-of-the-ordinary expenditure such as air tickets.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I think I am a conservative investor. I still believe in keeping cash and good fixed-income investments. Five years ago, I took out $150,000 to invest in fixed-income products.

Currently, around 30 per cent of my financial investments are in fixed income, which pay me a regular income. I have a bit of equities and the rest are cash.

I am taking more of an interest in investing and am now considering Reits (real estate investment trusts) and currencies. It's because my dad gave me some money two years ago. I felt I needed to decide what to do with it. That spurred me to meet private bankers.

If I don't do anything with it, it would be like wasting it and I should be responsible.

I would not recommend that people buy antiques for investments, but for enjoyment and its historical value. Antiques are probably the worst investments. If you think art is bad, antiques are worse. It's so non-liquid, personal and whimsical. The risks are so high.

The most I've paid for a single item is $15,000. It was a sideboard I bought four years ago. It should be worth at least $30,000 today.

There are also some pieces I bought for almost nothing but are worth a lot today. An accessory that came free with a $3,000 betel leaf set had a value when someone wanted to buy it for the price of the whole set. But there are things I paid a lot for that are worth nothing today - problem pieces where there's been some adulteration.

I've stopped selling my pieces after The Intan became a member of the Museum Roundtable. For me, I am happy just to be able to share my Peranakan pieces with visitors. It's something money cannot buy.

I am happy I could donate a tokwi - an altar cloth - under my parents' name to the Peranakan Museum. And this year, some of The Intan's pieces are going to a show at the East-West Centre in Hawaii.

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

Dad was an odd-job worker before he started BusAds in 1983 when I was 13 and my mum was a telephone operator with Singapore Telecoms. I have a younger sister.

When my dad started BusAds, my mum asked if I could lend him my savings. I happily offered all the $500 I had in my POSB savings account. Before that, we were very poor. I remember everything in our three-bedroom Housing Board flat in Toa Payoh was second-hand.

When I was in secondary school, my parents had plans to buy a car but they knew how much I love music and decided to spend the money on an organ for me.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I knew I had to buy a house so I bought one in 1998. Investing is also to generate passive income.

Q: What property do you own?

A 1,350 sq ft freehold condo in East Coast Road that I am renting out. I bought it for under $1 million in 1998. I also own a terraced house in Joo Chiat that I bought in 2007 for $700,000.

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

None. I hardly waste money on myself, unless you consider my violin an extravagant purchase. I paid $5,000 for it.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

None. I don't intend to retire. I am a workaholic and overachiever.

Q: Home is now...

The house in Joo Chiat.

Q: I drive...

A 2004 Silver Honda Civic. My sister passed it to me four years ago when she left for Shanghai to be with her husband. Before that, I was driving my 18-year-old black Honda Civic.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?


This has to be a Middle East equity fund that I invested in about five years ago. It hasn’t recovered. I put in $50,000 and I sold it at a 40 per cent loss recently.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

My Joo Chiat Terrace home, which currently doubles as my home museum.

The value has risen. But I consider it my best investment mainly because what I’ve done with it has gone beyond my wildest wish.

The Intan is now recognised as a home museum and I’ve hosted many people, including Will Smith’s mother and aunt.

We are also partnering St Regis Hotel for its aficionado programme. And I now hold collectors’ sales, art events, teas and dinners, charity concerts, conservation programmes, and plays at the house.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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he didnt share which are his better performing fixed income funds..;(
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Quote:That spurred me to meet private bankers.

If I don't do anything with it, it would be like wasting it and I should be responsible.

From my personal experiences, meeting "Bankers" is not much difference from meeting Barbers. Just be sure what type of haircut suit you. So far, all recommended haircuts suit the Barber (aka Bankers) more than suit me.
Happy hunting for your Barbers (aka Bankers). Beware & be careful of "Hookwinkers". No one in this world can say they have not been hookwinked at least once in their life.
Me? Of course more than once. If not who am i to share this experience.
Shalom.
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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Does she have something to push? Haha. One thing she did not mention was how her credit card debt of $14,000 was cleared - did she receive any help? Good though that she didn't buy investment property or a car, she saves money there at least!

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 10, 2013
Huge credit card debt 'a blessing in disguise'

Need to pay off debt of $14,000 pushed ex-marketing manager to set up own business

By Joyce Teo

In her younger days, Ms Pam Siow spent money with wilful abandon even though she could not afford to.

She splurged on clothes, went on holidays on a whim and ended up with a credit card debt that was ballooning out of control.

With hindsight, Ms Siow, 32, says that experience was "a blessing in disguise" as it spurred her to start her own business.

"You collapse, fall into a hole and dig yourself out," she says.

She took courses in Internet marketing and launched a website business that connects potential students with violin schools that have no online presence.

Ms Siow, who is single, then quit her job as an assistant marketing manager at a multinational firm.

She wanted to focus on her own business and now has 10 such websites. With the profits, she started the Internet Biz Owners Club, which runs online business seminars in Singapore and Malaysia.

Of course, it helped that she is motivated and a bit of a tough cookie. She recites a quote that has guided her since her teens: "To succeed in life, you need to do everything that you are afraid of."

This is especially so in the business world, she says. It certainly pushed her to conquer her fear of public speaking.

She now conducts Internet marketing workshops for up to 100 people at a time.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

I now tend to save but when it comes to my business, I will spend. I believe in investing in it in order to grow the business quickly.

I generally spend 30 per cent of my income on education - this includes my mentoring programme and ad hoc training programmes - 20 per cent on basic necessities and another 20 per cent on investments. I save the rest.

I used to spend as a form of rebellion, which resulted in my massive credit card debt. My family wasn't well-to-do and I felt that I needed to make up for it.

Whatever you do in your own life mirrors your business. So when I started my business, I had to relearn financial management.

As my businesses grew, I had to be very stringent with spending.

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

I had racked up a $14,000 credit card debt by the time I was 28 and could not have paid it off with just my salary then. I was an assistant marketing manager.

But credit cards are useful. I used my cards to pay for Internet marketing courses, which I took before I started my online business.

Now, I make sure that whatever I charge to my credit card, I pay it off within that month.

Debt can be extremely useful for business needs. Credit is an evil only when you cannot manage it.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I invest in a few equity funds. I am a long-term investor.

The key for me is to invest in something with the least effort required. For my equity funds, I put in a few thousand dollars every month.

I also invest in my Internet coaching business. I am building up my team to eventually take over the running of the business, leaving me with the money and time to pursue my "retirement plans".

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to think about other ways of investing my money.

But I do plan to invest in property, starting with one in Bukit Timah or the East Coast.

I also make sure I have enough insurance.

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

I grew up in a single-parent family as my parents divorced when I was three.

My two older sisters and I were raised by my mum. It was quite tough during the growing-up years.

I saw how my mum, who was a beautician, struggled with finances and grew up with a chip on my shoulder.

She taught us to be financially independent and not to depend on men.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

My sister, who used to be in the finance line, educated me on the importance of managing my money.

She helped me invest my first $30,000 in equity funds and it started from there. That was three to four years ago.

The concept of using money to make more money is a great idea and everyone should do it.

Q: What property do you own?

I don't own any right now. I plan to get one and am waiting for the right time to enter the market.

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

A three-month holiday in Spain by myself in 2009. I've no regrets as it was one of the best times of my life.

I enjoy travelling solo and it was something that I'd been wanting to do ever since I met this guy in Bali.

He owns an engineering business and spends half the year travelling to different places to surf.

He made me aware that life is not only about accumulating wealth, but experiences as well. And he taught me that we can re-engineer our lives, that life is how you define it.

Meeting him was a pivotal point for me. He made me think that I should follow my dreams. I was greatly inspired.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

My plan is to work super hard, systemise my business, semi-retire when I'm 40 years old and spend the rest of my life supporting charities.

I live by this saying that entrepreneurship is about living your life for a few years in a way that most people won't want to. This is so that you can live out the rest of your life in a way that most people want to but cannot.

I also want to be able to give my parents a good life. I still keep in touch with my dad.

Q: Home is now...

A walk-up apartment in Sixth Avenue.

Q: I drive...

I don't drive. I rely mainly on taxis. Getting a licence is on my agenda this year but I am not in a rush to get it, unless Bentley decides to be my car sponsor.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What is your worst investment to date?

So far, only paper losses where my personal investments are concerned.

If I were to make a bad investment, I will view it as a lesson learnt and then move on with my other investments.

I believe momentum is important. There's a saying that says that even if you are on the right path, you will get run over by your competitors if you don't move.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

My best investment was the $300 I paid to attend a conference where the speaker talked about one's relationship with money. It made me aware of my issues with money.

During the conference, he also introduced the concept of passive income, which schools never taught.

It was an eye-opener for me. I sought to pursue a passive income stream, which led me to launch my online business and eventually to run Internet marketing workshops here.
My Value Investing Blog: http://sgmusicwhiz.blogspot.com/
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house is a walk-up apartment in Sixth Avenue. what does 'walk-up' means?
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doing internet marketing is really great. you can save a few thousands at a time
Dividend Investing and More @ InvestmentMoats.com
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(10-03-2013, 09:43 AM)Drizzt Wrote: doing internet marketing is really great. you can save a few thousands at a time
r u a full time investor
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(10-03-2013, 09:40 AM)pianist Wrote: house is a walk-up apartment in Sixth Avenue. what does 'walk-up' means?

As far as i know, walk-up apartment means apartment without lift, so need to walk-up Big Grin
“夏则资皮,冬则资纱,旱则资船,水则资车” - 范蠡
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She did not own any property now, so i presume its her boy/girlfriend or parents hse,
If she rent then either she earns a lot or she still live it up.
The thing about karma, It always comes around and bite you when you least expected.
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(10-03-2013, 09:40 AM)pianist Wrote: house is a walk-up apartment in Sixth Avenue. what does 'walk-up' means?

Walk up apartment is usually about 3 to 4 storeys high. No lifts. You need to walk up and down the stairs. Very much like the shophouses in Chinatown and some of the houses in Geylang.

The property is usually more than 20 years old when lifts were not common back then.
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