My stocks consist mostly REITS.
| Stock | Lots | Price bought |
| AIMSAMP | 8 | 0.2243 |
| Cambridge | 4 | 0.533 |
| MIT | 1 | 1.117 |
| Suntec REIT | 1 | 1.537 |
| Citi group | 10 shares | 6.26 |
| Sabana | 1 | 1.9 |
Market value : $7511. ( as of 1 march 2011 )
Ever thought about how do you think ?
How do you evaluate a problem to come up with a solution ?
I never thought about these until recently.
I attended a course recently on how to think or manage thinking processes in decision making.
It defines thinking into 6 types of thinking basically, white, black, blue, yellow, red and green.
White – thinking abt information; No evaluation
black – judgement, must have a reason
yellow – positive, must give reason
green – new ideas, no killing of ideas allowed
red – gut feeling or instinct, no reasoning
blue – choose which hat to put on, one at a time
blue is the hardest hat to use because we need to consciously think about which hat we are using when we think about the idea or give our comments.
yellow and black hats are logical hats which helps us to give a reason to why this decision is good or bad.
This allows us to understand ourself better in how we think and also know which type of thinkers we are.
I try to be a yellow hat thinker most of the time because it focus on the positive aspects and what you focus on expands.
generally most people will use the red hat to make decisions because of lack of knowledge or simply because we follow our feelings more than our logical mind.
Feels great to be back though its been v tiring and I collapse into bed every nite, really fun to see everyone back together again.
Just like NS days again. Although its been 5 years since I met up with most of them, they look almost the same as before, like nothing has changed, though many has got married and some with children. Some grew fatter, some became thinner, but generally still like before. I wonder if it means that people fundamentally do not really change on the inside once they reach a certain age. perhaps 5 years is not that good a gauge for it isnt that long.
Maybe when we reach another stage of our lives, we will be able to see the differences in everyone then. Perhaps we would just be older and still the same person on the inside still.
Back to work again tomorrow. Same old shit again. I’m just glad its a short week this week.
I recently went for a haircut. Paid $25 for it. The stylist asked me if i am a student. Being curious, I asked “Student got discount ?”
Turns out there is. If I brought my student pass, I would be only charge $15 instead of $25. a whooping $10 off ! I really regretted not bringing it around.
There are also many dining places with student discounts like fast food and some restaurants.
For those who are still currently studying, or still look like a student, do keep your student pass handy. you never know when it would save u money.
I will definitely be bringing around my old discoloured student pass around from now on.
Money advice for new graduates | ||
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| 1. Define your financial goals. What do you want to have in the future? Write down your goals and a general timetable so you can remind yourself of your goals later on. Some good goals are: having a car in three years' time, enrolling in graduate school in five years' time, establishing an emergency fund within a year. By having a timetable, your goals become more realistic and attainable. 2. Look for a job that will use your skills, give you room for growth, and will give you steady income enough to meet your needs and allow you to save. The job market is very competitive but that does not mean that you should grab the first job opportunity that comes by. Weigh the pros and cons of each job offer and choose wisely. If the job offer comes with additional benefits such as car plan, subsidy for further studies, and profit-sharing, that's even better. 3. Once you have a firm job offer, draft a budget to help you plan your monthly spending. With a new job, you will have a steady income coming in. Start by saving first (see next item below), then allot amounts for regular expenses such as food, transportation, clothing, and others. Live within your means. 4. Open a separate bank account for savings, different from your payroll account. This will be for your savings. Ideally, you should deposit money here regularly and make the money grow for future consumption. Ideally, too, you should take out the money meant for your savings (at least 10 percent of your income) as soon as you get your pay, so you won't be tempted to spend all of your income. 5. Save up for an emergency fund. Make this your priority for saving. Build up a fund equal to three to six months' worth of your expenses so that if anything happens-you lose your job or get sick-you can have a fund to dip into to help you in your day-to-day expenses. Don't touch this fund unless there's an emergency (thus the name). You can put this fund in a time deposit or money market account for easy access. 6. Once you have saved up enough money for an emergency fund, tackle your other savings goals. Save for that car or dream home in the future. Don't forget to start saving for a retirement fund because the earlier you do it, the better as compound interest will make your money earn even more without you doing anything. To give your savings a kick (in terms of growth), look into investing them in instruments or accounts that may give you more interest or yield than what a savings account may offer. Talk to your bank for more details. 7. Get insurance coverage. You'll never know what's going to happen, but it pays to be prepared always. Take out a life insurance policy if you have dependents. Buying life insurance while you are young also means paying for lower premiums. If your company does not give free health insurance, make sure you get one for yourself. With health care costs escalating and more so as you get older, it will do you good to have some form of coverage in place. 8. Read up on financial matters. Sharpen your financial IQ by reading more about personal finance and attending personal finance seminars. You can learn from experts to help you stay on the right track financially. Good luck and we hope all your financial dreams come true. |
can you tell which is diamond ?
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| That's me! |
By Lorna Tan
Pray, what could he do to help the poor? Mr Petrus Carstens wanted to make a difference to the lives of ordinary Africans.
For 15 years until 2002, he worked as a pastor in South Africa but could do nothing more than pray for them.
It was only in 2002 that MrCarstens, now 48, realised he could do more if he became a successful investor and created a wealth foundation.
He started reading feverishly on finance. He did well with property investments when South Africa had a real estate boom between 2002 and 2006.
His financial knowledge was boosted when he signed up for wealth coach Robert Kiyosaki's year-long Rich Dad coaching programme in 2006.
'My aim is to accumulate US$100 million (S$137.9 million) in cash and US$350 million in property and other investments, with a passive and portfolio income of US$2 million to US$3 million per month. I want to use this money for economic empowerment programmes in the developing world,' said Mr Carstens.
He aims to set up his wealth foundation in the next five years.
Among his many businesses are a hotel, an upcoming shopping centre and a licence for an organic waste-water purification system.
He also conducts wealth management programmes, under his firm Ample Wealth, for individuals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Malaysia.
Mr Carstens studied economics for three years before switching to theology. He obtained a theology degree from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, in 1989.
He became a pastor in 1987 and, while ministering, obtained a masters in theology from the same university in 1994.
He is married to world champion cyclist Cathy Fair, 47, who runs a physiotherapy practice in South Africa. They have a son, Deon, 18, and a daughter, Margi, 16.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver. My income is from wealth coaching, property development, portfolio investments and passive income. I save about 65 per cent of my income, which is almost always immediately re-invested.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I charge about US$5,000. But if I am not travelling, I spend less than US$1,000 a month. I settle my credit card payments monthly. I have 10 cards - one for each company. This makes it easy to track what I spend for each company and for me to qualify for tax benefits as well.
I carry very little cash, nothing more than S$500 to S$1,000.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I have three trusts, three property companies and 10 other companies. Each firm handles one type of business.
The reason is to ring-fence each business, protect my personal safety net and optimise my tax structure.
To obtain financial leverage (bank borrowings), you need to first have a solid asset base, which also serves as an income stream (rental or yield) as well as capital gains.
Every five years, I write out a five-year personal wealth plan. I assess where I am at in terms of assets, liabilities, cash reserves and cashflow.
I believe you can create wealth only from three foundations - assets, cash and cashflow.
I determine where I am at every five years and work out a plan to get to the next five-year target via any one or all three income streams - active, portfolio and passive.
I have exceeded each of my five-year goals even though at times it did not appear to be heading that way.
I have five investment categories, each with different target returns.
About 10 per cent of my cash is channelled to venture capital, bridging finance and commodity trading.
Q: What properties do you own?
Back in 2002 to 2006, I was riding the biggest property bubble in the world. South Africa had the fastest- growing middle class. I could get 110 per cent housing loans from banks as they expected property to appreciate. I could refinance twice a year.
Currently, I own two seafront double-storey houses in Hermanus, South Africa, each about 2,200sqft. They were bought in 2007 for 14 million rand (S$2.75 million) each and are rented out. I do not know their current values.
I own part of eight game farms in the Krueger National Park. They are valued at 50 million rand and I have a 50 per cent share.
Together with seven friends, we bought a 3,000 sq ft vacation house on the border of the Krueger National Park. It was bought for less than 3 million rand in 2004. It is currently valued at 8 million rand.
I own 15 apartments in Johannesburg and they are rented out.
I own 30 per cent of a hotel in Hermanus, bought for 12 million rand in 2008.
My partner and I invested 19 million rand in a shopping centre in 2008. The development cost is 100 million rand. It will be operational next year.
Q: Money-wise, what were your growing up years like?
I come from a family of five and I have two younger sisters. My mother was a housewife while my father was a diplomat for the South African government. He never spoke about money or taught us about money. It was a comfortable life and I never had to think about money.
We lived in Nelspruit, close to Krueger Park, in a single-storey brick house with a land area of 19,400 sq ft.
When I started working, I never valued money and never saved. Even as a minister, I could create extra revenue but I either gave it away or lost it. I was trapped in a middle-class mentality. I learnt to respect money only when I realised my life purpose and understood that I could not fulfil that purpose without respecting money.
At that time, I was a minister of 4,500 people but I had a vision of changing the lives of 450,000 people who lived in a culture of poverty.
Q: What is the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Someone owed me US$400,000 and could not pay me. He handed me his brand-new red Ferrari in 2008 as payment. I never drove it. Instead, I sold it for 4 million rand.
Q: What is your retirement plan?
I don't intend to retire. If I only lived for myself I could consider myself financially free. But my work is not done and I want to build a foundation to make a global impact in terms of economic empowerment of the poorest people.
My current fixed expenses are 200,000 rand a month. We donate to charity regularly.
Q: Home is now...
My house in Cape Town. It has a swimming pool and three garages. Its land size is about 10,760 sq ft.
Q: I drive...
A silver Mercedes Diesel. I also own a white Toyota Prado and a yellow BMW motorbike.
Prayer is always good cos God hears them.
Another practical way to help the poor is by educating them on money skills. As the saying goes, you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You teach him to fish, he eats for life.
