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Month: August 2023

Dividend Investing is Dangerous

Posted on by careyourpresent

Dividend investing is a very popular strategy, especially in Singapore, but of course people from other countries all over world like it! Who don’t like regular cash posted into your bank account?

However, I am not sure why but this term “Dividend Investing is Dangerous” has been floating around in the investing community recently. I have no idea where this term came from, but since I have been seeing this term, maybe let me share something more about dividend investing?

Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash

What is Dividend Investing?

The primary goal of dividend investing is to generate income from the dividends received. Dividend investing is like picking stocks from companies that are in the habit of sharing a slice of their earnings with people who own their shares.

These earnings, called dividends, are usually handed out on a regular basis, like every few months or every year, and sometimes even every month. The cool part about dividend investing is that it’s all about getting a steady flow of pocket money from your investments. These regular cash flow if large enough, can replace your monthly paycheck!

Imagine if you have $1 million in dividend stocks/ETFs, that give you 6%, this mean you will get $5000 monthly, which is the pay of average person on the street! That’s why the lure of dividend investing is great, it can replace your work income “one day”.

Of course, investors also find dividend stocks appealing because they have the chance to see their investment grow in value. As the company’s stock price goes up, the value of the dividends they receive also goes up. This combo can result in a notable boost to the overall worth of your investment as the years go by – these are dividend growth stock.

“Dividend Investing is Dangerous”

Why dividend investing in dangerous, let me share some points on why is this so.

1. Dividend cannot cover the Capital loss due to drop in price

Do you think Dividend Investing is dangerous? One very common point that came up is that the dividend that you get can’t cover the capital loss from the share/etfs.

If the share prices keep dropping (lao sai) until you have to go to the toilet/loo/washroom, does dividend investing really work, is it dangerous?

Let’s say you put $100,000 into a share/etf that give you 6% (I put 6% because recent US 10 years treasury yield already give you 4.2%, hence there is risk premium to equity). This mean that you will earn $6000 per year, $500 per month. However, the share price drop 10%, such that your original invested capital is only worth $90,000 now, hence effectively, you lose $10,000 – $ 6000 = $4000. You might as well put in growth stock that grow more?

Let’s repeat this, “Dividend Investing is Dangerous”?

2. Companies that should reinvest their earnings rather than give out dividends

It’s better for a company to reinvest their earnings, to grow the equity/asset of the companies rather than giving the cash out as dividends. Once a company is worth more, the share price of the companies will go up naturally. If the company gives out cash as dividends, the companies will be worth less.

If you’re a shareholder of a company that pays dividends, it’s also important to understand why the company gave out those dividends in the first place. If they did so because they thought it was best for their long-term growth and financial health, then great!

But if they’re only paying out because they need cash flow right now–and will never reinvest those earnings into growing their business–then that’s not so good.

Another possibility is that Companies that pay out large amounts of money as dividends are often doing so because their management teams aren’t confident enough about how much more revenue can be generated through reinvestment opportunities within the business itself (like R&D or new product development). This could be due to:

  • Poor management who don’t know how best use capital wisely
  • Poor capital allocation skills (e.g., poor M&A decisions)
  • Weak demand for goods/services offered by this particular industry segment

3. Investing in Index Funds/ETFs are better, more diversified and safer, gives better total return

Let’s say you invest $10,000 in an S&P 500 index fund.

The index fund is a diversified basket of 500 stocks that mirrors the performance of the entire market. It’s possible for all 500 stocks to decline at once and for your portfolio to fall by 5% or 10% overnight. But if you have $10,000 invested in five different stocks whose price falls by 5% each over a month or two, then your portfolio would have lost just 1%.

You would have lost less because you spread your money around among several companies rather than putting all your eggs in one basket. That’s why diversification is so important when investing in individual stocks or mutual funds as well as when investing in broad indexes like the S&P 500 (SPY).

Invest in Index fund, and get market return is better. Ultimately, most active professional fund manager can’t beat the market index fund return in the long run.

4. Dividends can be stopped anytime

There are many investors that just look at the dividend history and dividend yield rather than the companies itself.

If you are a retiree that rely on dividends for survival, bear in mind that dividends can be stopped anytime. Companies can change their minds, go out of business and cut or raise dividends as they see fit. Hence sustainability of the business is more important than just looking at the dividend yield, history.

The high yield of dividends can mislead investors into thinking that dividend stocks are much safer than other kinds of stocks. The dividend yield is not a good indicator of a company’s profitability, it may not be sustainable.

The best way to evaluate the safety of your investments is by looking at the company’s fundamentals: its balance sheet and cash flow statement–not its dividend yield.

Hence, this goes back to the point that total return is important, not just dividend. Total return is capital gain + dividend.

Just Dividend alone is dangerous as it misguide you thinking that this is the the total return that you get.

Photo by Mathieu Stern on Unsplash

Dividend investing is Dangerous or not?

The above 4 points are points that highlight why dividend investing is dangerous! There are of course others points that argue against or argue for investing investing. One can has mixture of dividend only (reits for examples), or dividend growth stocks/etf, or grow stocks, or index fund etc..

Ultimately, most importantly, whatever method you use, you must be able to sleep well. Know your own risk profile, create your own method that suit you the best such that you can pass sleep test. Otherwise, if your stocks/shares/cryptos/other assets suddenly needs to go to toilet/loo/washroom lao sai (drop in value), one will panic sell instead of rationally cut loss due to change in fundamental or wait for price recovery.

Personally I think dividend investing is not dangerous, I can write a long article on this but shall do this another time. However, dividend investing is often more effective as a long-term strategy. Over time, the power of compounding can lead to significant returns, particularly when dividends are reinvested.

In short, I strongly support dividend investing for those who know what to buy.

For those who don’t, do index investing better using world index funds.

Remember:

Collect dividends -> invest in companies that are fundamentally strong -> companies generate more revenue and thus more dividends -> companies give you dividends -> collect the dividends and reinvest and so on.

Good articles that you should read!

People are drawn to dividend investing.

Why? Firstly, dividends provide a regular stream of income, allowing investors to receive a portion of the company’s profits on a periodic basis. This can be particularly attractive for individuals seeking consistent cash flow or looking to supplement their existing income. Additionally, dividend investing is often viewed as a more stable and predictable investment strategy compared to relying solely on capital appreciation.

I always write and share articles, especially on dividends which many people love them. Do read them!

Alternatively, you can go the right side of my page, there is a search bar where you can simply search “dividend” to see all my articles related to dividends!

Of course, you can search for other things that would interest you such as “Careyourpresent”, “Reits”, “Side Hustles”, “Fixed Incomes”, “Savings” etc.

CAREYOURPRESENT

Money just buy you the chance of freedom.

When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed while busying striking out in career. Of course, if you love your career, and consciously know that you are missing out the first time your child walk or talk, that’s ok, but if you are the other spectrum, please do something about it.

Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?

We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.

We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.

I have picked out some of the more life reflecting articles of the CAREYOURPRESENT series. Do read them:

You can read more about my articles on Careyourpresent via the Category “Careyourpresent” or simply click “Careyourpresent” via the main menu bar.

REMEMBER:

Love your life daily.

You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.

Time is ticking away.

For each passing day,

Enjoy and Treasure your Life!

For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!

For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!

You may also contact me via [email protected].

If you’re looking referral codes, do check out my referral and ebook page. Give it a try and who knows? You might end up loving these platforms! To be absolutely fair to all the readers, I am definitely using all these companies and they are useful to me! Likely will be useful to you too!

At the same referral and ebook page, you can also download my free ebooks and other free resources.

For quick references to these resources, you can see below.

  • Ebooks and other useful resources on enhancing productivity (Investment, Excel, Notion etc). Currently most of it are free at this moment (subject to change).
  • WeBull: A powerful brokerage with nice free welcome gift. You can refer to my guide here on how to signup! 4 Simple step only! Click here to register a new account!
  • MoneyOwl: You can use this 6SHU-93MC to get free grab vouchers and highly safe liquid cash fund account.
  • Trust Bank – You will enjoy free FairPrice E-Voucher referral if you sign up via my referral code KNDBPEPT. Simply download the Trust Bank SG App on the App Store or Google Play Store. Tap on “Use referral code” immediately after you start the app and key in: KNDBPEPT
  • FSMOne: P0413007. Good account to keep liquid cash in autosweep and to purchase investment at low fee.
  • Hostinger: You can use this link for hosting your new website. 20% off hosting!
  • Crypto.com: Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/h92xdfarkq to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD 🙂

Simplified Guide to the Key Gist of Grant of Probate and Estate Planning

Posted on by careyourpresent

Estate planning is one of the most important but underrated aspect of financial planning for a person, especially for family with dependents. If your loved one passed away, many will be sad, hence, proper planning should be done when one is alive so reduce the stress of your loved ones if one passed away.

Many of us think that death is very far away but who know. Personally, I am worried, especially I have two young kids, parents and a wife who know nuts about financial planning/estate planning. Yes, I mean she know NOTHING about it. Everything she leaves it to me, that’s why I am worried.

She did way better than me in terms of career and earn much more active income than me, but she really is financially literate. (Hope I don’t get to kneel durian tonight for sharing the truth). Hence, I am writing something about estate planning in my blog so that she can read it if it really happens (touch wood).

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning refers to the process of organizing your financial matters and personal affairs to ensure that your desires are upheld after you pass away or if you become unable to make decisions. The primary objective of estate planning is to facilitate the smooth transition of your assets to your chosen beneficiaries and to minimize potential legal and financial complications that might arise after your death.

Passing Away with and without will

Passing away with and without will in Singapore has an effect on your Estate Planning.

Without Will

If you pass away without leaving a Will, everything you own (your estate) will be distributed according to Singapore’s Intestate Succession Act.

https://mylegacy.life.gov.sg/when-death-happens/apply-for-letters-of-administration/

If the above is not what you want, better get your will done as soon as possible. Time doesn’t wait and you won’t know when your last day on Earth is. I have did mine, so better do yours soon if you have not yet done so.

Just use Joint Account, don’t need Will!

Many people believe that you only need Joint Account and don’t need Will.

This is totally not true and not correct!

Above is not what I want, hence I have already gotten my will and my wife will done.

In fact, given that I know that my wife doesn’t know anything about financial/estate planning, I have tried to write the instruction down and put as many of our assets in joint accounts as much as possible to bet on the survival clause for joint account (if one party in joint account passes away, the remaining party get the assets). However, there are some things cannot be put in Joint Accounts, example your Singapore Saving Bonds in CDP, this is under personal CDP account, then you will need WILL!

Will writing needs Lawyer and it is expensive!

This is definitely not true. Unless you have lots and lots of assets, with different complicated ways of distributing your assets, such as distribute XX cash to person A from bank A, asset B to person C etc, then it’s better to engage a lawyer. However, if you only need to have simple will, do consider the following:

MoneyOwl has very good FREE Will writing services that you could consider writing your will. You can read more about it here. Let me shamelessly promote my referral link (or key in 6SHU-93MC) if you wish to sign up Moneyowl account.

Grant of Letters of Administration VS Grant of Probate

Many should have heard of this term but don’t know what it really means.

To put it in a very simple layman term:

  • Grant of Probate: If the deceased left behind a valid will, the applicant who is the executor can apply for it.
  • Grant of Letters of Administration: If the deceased did not leave behind a valid will, the applicant who is the beneficiary can apply for it.

One very key important fact, Grant of Probate will take much lesser time and less hassle as compared to Grant of Letters of Administration!

Imagine you loved one just passed way, one of the key wishes which most have is for the surviving family members to continue live and live happily (wife please read this, this is my wish too), hence Will become very important – help to save your family TIME AND EFFORT!

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)

Besides Will, don’t forget about Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

The LPA is a legal document which allows a person who is at least 21 years of age (‘Donor’), to voluntarily appoint one or more persons (‘Donee(s)’) to make decisions and act on his/her behalf if he/she loses mental capacity one day. A Donee can be appointed to act in the two broad areas of personal welfare and property & affairs matters.​

I have already completed my LPA and my wife LPA at the price of $30 nett each using the CDC vouchers in March 2023. Do remember to do it too! Now you can apply via the portal but need to go to a doctor to certify! Please do so while

OPG has extended the LPA Form 1 application fee waiver for Singapore Citizens to 31 March 2026, to encourage more Singaporeans to plan ahead and apply for an LPA.

My Legacy Portal

If death really come, for those who are loss, you can go to this government site for the Guides.

Thank you, Government – Grant of Probate E-Portal

I would like to share a new e-portal (Probate E-service) launched by the government in case you didn’t hear about it. Quite likely, most won’t know about it (since death is a taboo for many) as I only accidentally saw it on some forums. Let me share a bit about this E-Service.

First and most important point – Don’t need Lawyer. Many of the normal people on streets are worry to engage lawyers as they are scared that the fees will cost a lot. But if one need to execute a Will, you can’t escape from it in the past.

BUT NOW YOU CAN! Read below!

Another very important point to note:

The Probate eService is currently available for cases where the total estimated value of the deceased’s estate is not more than $2 million.

Sorry to those who are richer than $2 million. Please engage your own lawyer.

However, do note that if your funds/assets (such as mine) in Joint Accounts, it will be on survival ownership, not cover in Will, then for this portion of assets, even if exceed $2 million, it will not be under Will, hence don’t need to use this service. Of course, if one still has some assets under personal name, then you will still need this service.

Other Criterias include:

Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash

Conclusion

For those who don’t have Will, please go and do it as soon as possible to avoid potential hassle, money, efforts for your family

Unless you have lots and lots of assets, with different complicated ways of distributing your assets, such as distribute XX cash to person A from bank A, asset B to person C etc, then it’s better to engage a lawyer. However, if you need to have simple will, do consider the following:

MoneyOwl has very good FREE Will writing services that you could consider writing your will. You can read more about it here. Let me shamelessly promote my referral link (or key in 6SHU-93MC) if you wish to sign up Moneyowl account.

For those who already have Will, don’t forget about

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) and learn about Grant of Probate. It only cost $30 nett for me using CDC vouchers!

OPG has extended the LPA Form 1 application fee waiver for Singapore Citizens to 31 March 2026, to encourage more Singaporeans to plan ahead and apply for an LPA.

For those who have Will, don’t forget to put some money in Joint Accounts

It will take time and money and hassle to get the Grant of Probate or Letter of Administration.

For joint account (assuming there is no dispute from other family members), if either owner passes away, the balance in the joint account will pass to the surviving owner. If you put majority of assets under joint name (and assuming you are not those rich, fighting family that will fight for assets of your loved death ones), this will help you.

For my case, I put majority of my assets under joint CDP with Wife. Then I use FSM Beneficiary account. My wife or Child (upon 18), just need death certificate and his/her own IC to get the assets. Of course there are many other numerous benefits which I have shared in this article previously (Cheapest and best way to trade Singapore Stocks with CDP).

Fundsupermart

I am using FSMOne.com to invest in funds & ETFs (including money market funds). FSM is good due to the low comms and the free transfer from FSM to CDP(typically takes less than a week to transfer). If you do not have an account, you can sign up here. Please use my FSMOne referral code: P0413007.

For my Wife

Please read this article and remember what / how I have told you how to access our assets. Should anything happen to me, please continue to enjoy your life and take good care of our children.

Good articles that you should read!

People are drawn to dividend investing.

Why? Firstly, dividends provide a regular stream of income, allowing investors to receive a portion of the company’s profits on a periodic basis. This can be particularly attractive for individuals seeking consistent cash flow or looking to supplement their existing income. Additionally, dividend investing is often viewed as a more stable and predictable investment strategy compared to relying solely on capital appreciation.

I always write and share articles, especially on dividends which many people love them. Do read them!

Alternatively, you can go the right side of my page, there is a search bar where you can simply search “dividend” to see all my articles related to dividends!

Of course, you can search for other things that would interest you such as “Careyourpresent”, “Reits”, “Side Hustles”, “Fixed Incomes”, “Savings” etc.

CAREYOURPRESENT

Money just buy you the chance of freedom.

When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed while busying striking out in career. Of course, if you love your career, and consciously know that you are missing out the first time your child walk or talk, that’s ok, but if you are the other spectrum, please do something about it.

Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?

We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.

We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.

I have picked out some of the more life reflecting articles of the CAREYOURPRESENT series. Do read them:

You can read more about my articles on Careyourpresent via the Category “Careyourpresent” or simply click “Careyourpresent” via the main menu bar.

REMEMBER:

Love your life daily.

You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.

Time is ticking away.

For each passing day,

Enjoy and Treasure your Life!

For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!

For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!

You may also contact me via [email protected].

If you’re looking referral codes, do check out my referral and ebook page. Give it a try and who knows? You might end up loving these platforms! To be absolutely fair to all the readers, I am definitely using all these companies and they are useful to me! Likely will be useful to you too!

At the same referral and ebook page, you can also download my free ebooks and other free resources.

For quick references to these resources, you can see below.

  • Ebooks and other useful resources on enhancing productivity (Investment, Excel, Notion etc). Currently most of it are free at this moment (subject to change).
  • WeBull: A powerful brokerage with nice free welcome gift. You can refer to my guide here on how to signup! 4 Simple step only! Click here to register a new account!
  • MoneyOwl: You can use this 6SHU-93MC to get free grab vouchers and highly safe liquid cash fund account.
  • Trust Bank – You will enjoy free FairPrice E-Voucher referral if you sign up via my referral code KNDBPEPT. Simply download the Trust Bank SG App on the App Store or Google Play Store. Tap on “Use referral code” immediately after you start the app and key in: KNDBPEPT
  • FSMOne: P0413007. Good account to keep liquid cash in autosweep and to purchase investment at low fee.
  • Hostinger: You can use this link for hosting your new website. 20% off hosting!
  • Crypto.com: Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/h92xdfarkq to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD 🙂

Embracing the Work-Life Balance Paradigm Shift: Do you love or hate it?

Posted on by careyourpresent

The Trend

The concept of work-life balance has been experiencing a significant transformation in recent years. Driven by various factors, especially after the COViD-19, this shift has revolutionized the way we approach work and personal life, leading to a more flexible and employee-centric work environment. Let’s see what are the changes?

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

The Rise of Remote Work and Flexible Arrangements

Who would’ve thought that working from home would become the norm?

Thanks to the pandemic, we discovered the wonders of remote work, and guess what? It’s here to stay! Companies realized we can still be productive and happy working outside the office. So, goodbye rigid 9-to-5, hello flexibility! Now we can tailor our schedules to fit our lives and strike that perfect work-life blend.

Prioritizing Employee Well-being

Bosses are finally getting it – our well-being is a top priority!

Companies are stepping up their game with wellness programs and mental health support. They’re even encouraging us to take time off to recharge. It’s like they’ve finally realized that happy employees make a happy workplace. This focus on well-being has been recognized as a key factor in fostering a more engaged and productive workforce.

The Impact of Technology

Advancements in technology have revolutionized the way we work, collaborate, and communicate. With the integration of artificial intelligence, automation, and collaboration tools, employees can now work more efficiently and productively than ever before.

We can work faster, smarter, and from anywhere. But hey, we gotta watch out for the downside too – staying glued to our screens can be a challenge. Time to find the right balance, folks!

Generational Shifts in Work Values

The entrance of younger generations into the workforce has brought about shifts in work values and expectations. Millennials and Gen Z employees often prioritize work-life integration and seek meaningful careers that align with their personal values. They value workplace flexibility and are more likely to switch jobs if their work-life needs are not met.

In short, the Millennials and Gen Z want it all – work that matters and a life that’s fulfilling. They crave flexibility, and if they don’t get it, they’ll find it elsewhere. No more sticking to old-school work values – it’s time to keep up and offer what they’re after!

Gig Economy? Freelancing?

Freelancers, unite!

The gig economy has opened up a world of possibilities. Freelancers have the freedom to choose projects that light their fire and manage their own time. And you know what? Traditional companies are taking notes! They’re embracing the gig-like setup to give employees a taste of that sweet flexibility.

Policy Changes and Legislative Support

Big news! Policies are evolving to put a smile on our faces. Governments and companies are introducing paid parental leave, flexible hours, and more vacation days. It’s like they finally realized that we’re not just machines, we need some time to chill and recharge!

Even some government give them Civil Service a 2 days work from home and 3 day office working schedule. This is impossible in the past! (Of course, more Work from Home would be preferred by employee, best is only come to office when needed. hint*hint*)

Think more!

There is no such thing as Work From Home in the past.

As parents, you have to dump your kid in childcare at 7am plus so that you can reach office at 8.30am. Then at end of work day, rush home to squeeze and hopefully can make it to pick up your child before the childcare close at 7pm!

Think further and you will realized that your child worked longer hours than you! Don’t you love it when you send your child later to school and has to flexibility to pick your child earlier from childcare? If needed, you can be at home to wait for a parcel that you wait online?

I truly love hybrid work life now! Employer out there please continue to allow your employee to have a more flexibility work life schedule, thus work life balance and happier employee, which will result in better work productivity!

Good articles that you should read!

People are drawn to dividend investing.

Why? Firstly, dividends provide a regular stream of income, allowing investors to receive a portion of the company’s profits on a periodic basis. This can be particularly attractive for individuals seeking consistent cash flow or looking to supplement their existing income. Additionally, dividend investing is often viewed as a more stable and predictable investment strategy compared to relying solely on capital appreciation.

I always write and share articles, especially on dividends which many people love them. Do read them!

Alternatively, you can go the right side of my page, there is a search bar where you can simply search “dividend” to see all my articles related to dividends!

Of course, you can search for other things that would interest you such as “Careyourpresent”, “Reits”, “Side Hustles”, “Fixed Incomes”, “Savings” etc.

CAREYOURPRESENT

Money just buy you the chance of freedom.

When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed while busying striking out in career. Of course, if you love your career, and consciously know that you are missing out the first time your child walk or talk, that’s ok, but if you are the other spectrum, please do something about it.

Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?

We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.

We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.

I have picked out some of the more life reflecting articles of the CAREYOURPRESENT series. Do read them:

You can read more about my articles on Careyourpresent via the Category “Careyourpresent” or simply click “Careyourpresent” via the main menu bar.

REMEMBER:

Love your life daily.

You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.

Time is ticking away.

For each passing day,

Enjoy and Treasure your Life!

For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!

For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!

You may also contact me via [email protected].

If you’re looking referral codes, do check out my referral and ebook page. Give it a try and who knows? You might end up loving these platforms! To be absolutely fair to all the readers, I am definitely using all these companies and they are useful to me! Likely will be useful to you too!

At the same referral and ebook page, you can also download my free ebooks and other free resources.

For quick references to these resources, you can see below.

  • Ebooks and other useful resources on enhancing productivity (Investment, Excel, Notion etc). Currently most of it are free at this moment (subject to change).
  • WeBull: A powerful brokerage with nice free welcome gift. You can refer to my guide here on how to signup! 4 Simple step only! Click here to register a new account!
  • MoneyOwl: You can use this 6SHU-93MC to get free grab vouchers and highly safe liquid cash fund account.
  • Trust Bank – You will enjoy free FairPrice E-Voucher referral if you sign up via my referral code KNDBPEPT. Simply download the Trust Bank SG App on the App Store or Google Play Store. Tap on “Use referral code” immediately after you start the app and key in: KNDBPEPT
  • FSMOne: P0413007. Good account to keep liquid cash in autosweep and to purchase investment at low fee.
  • Hostinger: You can use this link for hosting your new website. 20% off hosting!
  • Crypto.com: Use my referral link https://crypto.com/app/h92xdfarkq to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD 🙂

SBSEP23 GX23090F Singapore above 3% again. Bye or Buy?

Posted on by careyourpresent

Savers Heaven

Many of us are savers or simply someone who wish to get the best returns on idling cash. With the raising interest rate, it’s heaven for many people! One can easily get 2-4% with little or no risk.

Although it seems like interest rates hiking will last very long, but it is also likely that the rates will go down one day. Before the arrival of that day, Singapore Savings Bonds is a very good option that let you locked up decent rates for 10 years. Now the yield is above 3% for 10 years after a long while (read: SBAPR23 GX23040S – Singapore Saving Bonds (SSB) above 3% again. Buy or Bye?)

Is this a bye or buy?

SBSEP23 GX23090F

More about this Month Singapore Saving Bonds SBSEP23 GX23090F:

  • Average return over 10 years: 3.06%
  • 1st year to 10th year interest: 3.01 to 3.20%
  • Amount Offered: 600 millions
  • Interest Payment Date: Upcoming payment: 01 Mar 2024. Subsequent payments (until maturity): Every 6 months on 01 Sep and 01 Mar
  • Application Closing Date: 28 Aug 2023, 9pm
  • Allotment Date: 29 Aug 2023, after 3pm

Let’s see the breakdown of the 10 years rate.

1st year is 3.01% whereas the last year is 3.20% with average at 3.06%. Great rates (although lousier than the last issue with more than 3%. (read: SBAPR23 GX23040S – Singapore Saving Bonds (SSB) above 3% again. Buy or Bye?).

S$600.0 million are offered with last day of application on 28 Aug 2023, 9pm. Upcoming payment is on 01 Mar 2024 with subsequent payments (until maturity): Every 6 months on 01 Sep and 01 Mar.

Buy or Bye?

Hence, should we buy or bye?

Let’s us recap the advantages of SSB first:

  • Very safe – backed by Singapore Government
  • Locked down decent rates of around 3% for 10 years.
  • Easy to redeem and can redeem partial
  • Liquidity needs maximum of 1 month where you can get your money back. Hence suitable as emergency fund.
  • Limit of 200k should be good enough for most people.
  • Can build Bond Ladder to get monthly income (which I already did)

Let’s us recap the disadvantages of SSB:

  • Short term rates are lower than banks’ fixed deposits, money market funds such as MoneyOwl,etc of around 3.5% and above.
  • Risk Free 6 month treasury yield is close to 4% which is higher
  • Low returns
  • 1 month liquidity to redeem your funds may be too long for people who need the funds immediately.

Hence the question is should we buy or bye?

Comparatively, this issue is not better than the SBAPR23 issue few months ago but this is getting better. If we look at US treasury yield – 10 years rate is now 4%. Where is recession? Is the recession coming? Your guess is as good as mine.

But there is one very important thing that one should have regardless or recession or not is

WARCHEST!

But warchest has the issue of idling earning very little return, SSB would help to solve this. Personally, I would likely be buying some SSB for this month. I didn’t manage to get the GXS bank at 3.48% and my esaver 4% promotion of #m23a would end at 31 Aug 2023, this means I would have additional idling cash.

Market will be volatile for these few months (Aug, Sep, Oct), chances is I will be able to deploy these money! If not, I get some SSB or liquid bank account (or MMF) with higher interest to wait.

Good articles that you should read!

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CAREYOURPRESENT

Money just buy you the chance of freedom.

When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed while busying striking out in career. Of course, if you love your career, and consciously know that you are missing out the first time your child walk or talk, that’s ok, but if you are the other spectrum, please do something about it.

Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?

We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.

We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.

I have picked out some of the more life reflecting articles of the CAREYOURPRESENT series. Do read them:

You can read more about my articles on Careyourpresent via the Category “Careyourpresent” or simply click “Careyourpresent” via the main menu bar.

REMEMBER:

Love your life daily.

You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.

Time is ticking away.

For each passing day,

Enjoy and Treasure your Life!

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