Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

[opmi]

Rem this properly. These are one of the used cars dealers that the PAP govt backtrack the car financing policy for. The one above can take $150k damage just because she need a bigger car.

[KopiKat]

how did she get $100k to start the business at 21 when her family is poor?

Ah... Altho' she painted a picture of her growing up years which'll lead readers to make that conclusion (being poor), there was no mention in the article that her family was poor...

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

My two siblings and I were raised by my mum. We were not rich and money was always tight so I was always looking for ways to help ease my mum's financial burden.

IMO, how she got that $100k at 21 will make a more interesting story...

---

the road seems more dangerous to cross these days for pedestrians. pls look right, look left and look right again before crossing.

That's very funny

Besides using the eyes, I'm teaching my kids to use their ears. Even when they have the right of way... The sound of a speeding car is very distinct, especially one that'd been tuned for racing...

[LionFlyer]

It seems Singapore is fast becoming a fast-car country - more and more of the interviewees are into such exorbitant cars, including today's Wong Kim Hoh series! With BMWs and Mercedes being the two top-selling brands here, I wonder - why is there such an obsession with luxury cars?

Anyway it seems she had pretty ostentatious habits before she finally decided to invest that money into her business. Is this a common thing for entrepreneurs?

I don't think it is a new phenomenon. During the days 90s where COEs were at their highest, 200Es were among the top sellers. Ironic enough, the perception of value gets distorted by the high prices. It is precisely because it is expensive that makes it desirable... as an expression of wealth.

[Dividend Warrior]

It seems Singapore is fast becoming a fast-car country - more and more of the interviewees are into such exorbitant cars, including today's Wong Kim Hoh series! With BMWs and Mercedes being the two top-selling brands here, I wonder - why is there such an obsession with luxury cars?

Anyway it seems she had pretty ostentatious habits before she finally decided to invest that money into her business. Is this a common thing for entrepreneurs?

I don't think it is a new phenomenon. During the days 90s where COEs were at their highest, 200Es were among the top sellers. Ironic enough, the perception of value gets distorted by the high prices. It is precisely because it is expensive that makes it desirable... as an expression of wealth.

To show their social status.

Expensive watches too.......

[wsreader]

quote : ".....I love watches, but I no longer wear them and I can't sell them at a decent price. It's terrible because I still have to send them in for yearly maintenance at between $500 and $1,500 per watch.


That is per watch, mind you. Our listed luxury watch companies should consider setting up a maintenance arm to capture this recurring income stream. I could be wrong but I did not come across this business in their financial reports.

[Temperament]

It's true that it costs minimum about $500 if you send a Rolex watch for service. It's service charge only. i understand some other brands service charges even cost more. But no need yearly maintenance lah! Of course if HR GLASS open a Service Center, most probably HR GLASS has to close shop then. Why?

[Musicwhiz]

Sorry for posting this late - was out of town over the weekend and had limited access to the Internet!

Not sure why they featured this guy - he seems to have gotten lucky on his property flip, gaining $300,000 in the process which he then sunk into another two condos (total cost and loans not disclosed) and a brand new 7-seater car. I won't really call it "frugal", but everyone has their own definition.

Interestingly, of the four classes of assets he owns (currency, gold, property and share), I would only recognize two of them as investments. The other two do not generate cash flows.

As for his "China-linked rail company" worst investment, it doesn't take much to figure out it was probably Midas Holdings. How this company can be said to have "good fundamentals" is in question - capex requirements were always high and the firm did not generate FCF.

The Straits Times
www.straitstimes.com
Published on May 26, 2013
Me & my money
Savvy investor in tune with the modest life
Engineer has had more hits than misses but often dresses shabbily, preferring not to flash his wealth

By Cheryl Lim

Walk past Mr Tan Kang Hua in the street and you probably would not give him a second glance, but do not be deceived by his looks.

The 27-year-old engineer and avid investor admits that he often dresses shabbily. And even if he reaps a decent bounty from investing, he is not one to show off.

"I'm not into flashing my wealth. That's not my mentality and neither is it a priority for me."

He is modest, especially when it comes to discussing his successes. He says that while he calculates the risks before committing to any investment, he has been lucky enough to enjoy more hits than misses.

"My parents are quite conservative when it comes to investments and they have often advised me against some of the riskier trades and deals.

"I respect them and understand where they are coming from but I also know that you can't make any gains if you're not prepared to lose a little."

Mr Tan and his 27-year-old wife Quah Wei Wee have a six-month-old daughter Ying Xi. They live with Mr Tan's mother, 54, and father, 61, his elder brother and his family, and his younger sister. That is nine people living in a four-bedroom maisonette in Pasir Ris.

Q: Are you a spender or a saver?

I'm a saver. I save about 70 per cent of my monthly income, which comprises my salary and payouts from my investments.

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

I charge about $2,000 to $3,000 every month, usually to pay for family meals at restaurants and for other expenses like insurance payments.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I have a savings plan and a life insurance policy but the bulk of my investments is in gold, currency, stocks and property.

Stocks make up the lowest proportion in my portfolio because I'm trying to move my money into other types of investments.

My portfolio changes depending on the global economic situation. Right now I'm keeping an eye on the property investment market in Myanmar.

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

My father was a blue-collar worker and my mum was a housewife and both of them were very thrifty.

Life for me growing up was relatively comfortable and when I was in my teens, I was always spending money on games, comic books and eating out.

One day, I came home after eating at a nice restaurant to find my parents eating leftovers from the day before.That made my realise that how I was living was at the expense of my parents and it made me feel ashamed.

It was then that I started thinking of how I could use investing as a way to make up for all the sacrifices my parents have made and to give back to society as well.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

I have always kept up with current affairs and financial news. It just fascinates me how global events can have an impact on financial markets and this co-relation can create money-making opportunities.

During the 2009 financial crisis, I noticed that the valuations for a lot of blue-chip stocks were very low. My wife, who was then my girlfriend, and I pooled together some $40,000 and invested in some high- and low-risk stock choices. It paid off and we were able to reap a lot of profit, so that's what got us started.

Q: What property do you own?

I own two properties. One of them is a 1,200 sq ft condominium unit in Pasir Ris which I bought for $780 per sq ft (psf). The other is a 600 sq ft apartment near Dakota which was bought for around $1,150 psf.

Both were bought last year. My wife and I are now looking to buy a small landed house.

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

It's got to be a Swiss watch I bought for my wife which cost about $11,000. It's a nice-looking timepiece but I hope that it can also be an investment, with the value appreciating over time. I would also like to pass it on to my children some day.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

I'm working on establishing a passive, self-generating income so that when I can no longer work, my family will still be able to lead a comfortable life.

Hopefully, by then, I would have gathered enough investing knowledge to be able to write a book and help other investors achieve financial freedom.

I also want to use my retirement to contribute to society and help those in need. I don't like to see people suffering and am always trying to make a difference in people's lives.

Q: Home is now...

My parents' maisonette in Pasir Ris Drive 6. I'm still waiting for the properties I've bought to be completed.

Q: I drive...

A seven-seater white Proton Exora. It was bought brand-new earlier this year. It's not the best-looking car but it does the job. My wife drives it on weekdays to work and we use it for family outings on weekends.

cherlim@sph.com.sg
---------------------

WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: What was your worst investment to date?

Towards the end of 2011, I bought stock in a China-linked rail company. I had done my research and the firm was doing well and had good fundamentals going for it.

But a month or two later, news broke of how a Chinese rail ministry official was being investigated for graft and that caused the stock to fall by about 30 per cent in a couple of days.

I lost $10,000 on that trade and since then I try not to buy into investments that aren’t tangible because then it’s harder for me to control what the final investment performance will be like.

Q: What is your best investment to date?

It’s got to be the very first property I owned, a three-bedroom condo in Pasir Ris that I bought in 2010. Back then, I was 24, still in university and looking for the best way to reinvest my investment gains.

I sold it off last year for a profit of about $300,000 which translates to a return on investment of about 200 per cent.

[mobo]

This guy's story does remind me of this Singaporean couple who was featured in the same section over 2 years ago.

The gist of it is largely similar, the couple got lucky bought and sold property within a short span of time and made some money. They subsequently poured all the proceeds which was ~$250k to set up a snack shop named "Perkies" in Changi City Point.

I frequent the mall and often wondered how they could survive with hardly any customers. The featured couple (i.e. owners) are seldom seen managing the business even though it was struggling to get a headstart and seemed to have delegated the entire operations to a revolving door of part time teenage staff who do not seem motivated to sell.

Not surpirsingly on my last trip there, the shop has folded and I suppose they lost all the gains they made from their lucky property flip in a span of 2 years.

Quite a waste of good money down the drain actually.

[CY09]

Thanks MW for the weekly articles.

I find this week article (last Sunday's) better than a few previous interviewees. This is due to the fact that I feel there are a few good learning points. Some learning points are:
1) Finding a "wonderful" life partner who is financially savvy:
He was able to persuade or maybe it was his GF one who decided to pool together 40k to invest in stocks during 2009. Admirable as many females at 24 would have been more interested in trips to Japan, Taiwan, or purchase nice bags.

2)At 24, as a Uni grad, he was able to amass 150k to buy a condo. Seriously an undergrad, 24, who has 150k is amazing! true he may have earned two-three folds from his 2009 investments. But that does not discount off his capability of saving so much. Which I find totally admirable. I am 24 and in a few days will be 25!, but with no 6 digit portfolio
I guess the importance here is to learn to save and that you should start from young. This is because you will need an adequate (large)capital base to start investing and what better way to accumulate enough capital by starting young like what many VB members are doing. Of course, do invest at the right time and not at the top of property or equity cycles as well.

[Musicwhiz]

This guy's story does remind me of this Singaporean couple who was featured in the same section over 2 years ago.

The gist of it is largely similar, the couple got lucky bought and sold property within a short span of time and made some money. They subsequently poured all the proceeds which was ~$250k to set up a snack shop named "Perkies" in Changi City Point.

I frequent the mall and often wondered how they could survive with hardly any customers. The featured couple (i.e. owners) are seldom seen managing the business even though it was struggling to get a headstart and seemed to have delegated the entire operations to a revolving door of part time teenage staff who do not seem motivated to sell.

Not surpirsingly on my last trip there, the shop has folded and I suppose they lost all the gains they made from their lucky property flip in a span of 2 years.

Quite a waste of good money down the drain actually.

Yes, I do remember that feature as well, and I had visited Changi City Point last year and seen that stall of theirs. Innovative but yes hardly any customers - sad to know that the shop has folded by this time.

I guess the +ve aspect of this is that they are willing to use that profit to venture out and start a business and be entrepreneurs, though one may also argue that they probably did not do sufficient planning and research before committing their capital.

But I still think it beats someone who splurges such "lucky" gains on conspicuous consumptions items or worse, by rolling the money into increasingly higher prices/valuations of property and/or equities.