The first quarter of 2023 is trickling to an end.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Passive Income in 1Q 2023 exceeds $5k
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
Added more OCBC to SRS portfolio
The share price of OCBC (SGX: O39) has plummeted from the recent high of $13.23 to $11.93 today, due to contagion fears over banking systematic risks caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US.
With Love & Peace,
Qiongster
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Net Worth Update Mar 2023
S$1.403m
My net worth inches up slightly to $1.403m in March 2023.
The increase in net worth from CPF contributions and savings from salary is offset by correction of stocks and Reits prices in my portfolio.
My CPF forms the bulk 38% of my wealth. Having achieved full retirement sum in CPF SA and topped up my Medisave account to the basic healthcare sum of $68.5k early this year, I have also topped up $8k into my mum's CPF Retirement account for the 5 reasons.
My stocks and Reits in SGX Income Portfolio forms 22% of my net worth. I intend to continue adding high quality S-Reits while also accumulating low-risk assets such as fixed deposits, short-term government bonds which are yielding more than 4% in today's high interest, inflationary environment.
In terms of US growth tech stocks, I plan to just dabble with options to collect premiums this year. I have no plan to increase exposure to HK or china equities.
SRS forms 8% of my wealth and I have already completed the top up of $15.3k annual quota for 2023. I plan to use the SRS funds to add on to my investment in local banks i.e. OCBC amidst fear and uncertainty in bank stocks currently and in the coming weeks. Otherwise, I would deploy the idle SRS funds into T-bill or SSB.
I am still stashing away cash in Fullerton cash funds under custody of Moomoo and Tiger Broker, and in Money Market Funds held by Phillips Capital yielding around 3.5% p.a. with interest paid daily. I will monitor the next few months of Singapore Savings Bonds and may subscribe if they yield above 3% for the next decade. Ultimately, I hope to max out SSB individual limit of $200k by end of this year.
My conservative strategy of building a well balanced portfolio for my financial assets involves hoarding cash to earn decent risk-free interest rates above 4% short-term while waiting for greater opportunities to slowly invest in income-producing assets and growth tech businesses for the long-term.
My asset allocation of low-risk cash (19%)/risk-free bonds (6%)/CPF(38%) to higher-risk equities (22%)/SRS equities (8%) ratio is around 63-30, which provides a rather huge defensive safety net.
My target net worth by the end of 2023 is at least S$1.45m or S$1.5m ideally, with an annual passive income of S$22k.
Life is exciting in a post pandemic world. Ignore the noises. Remain on track. Be greedy when others are fearful. Be hungry when others are contented. Live everyday to the maximum! En route to financial freedom!
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Portfolio Update February 2023
Today is the last day of Feb 2023.
Let me provide a quick update of my investment portfolios.
My SGX Income Portfolio value drops to $296k from $304k last month.
My US/HK Growth Portfolio value dips to US$14.1k from US$14.7k last month.
My SRS Ultra Long-Term Portfolio value rises slightly to $124k from $120k due to recent contribution of $6.8k into my SRS account.
The Fed will slow down interest rate hikes and global recession is on the cards. The stock markets have displayed signs of retracement despite earlier bullish trend amidst immense volatility in a high inflationary environment still clouded by immense noises and fears. We should remain calm and clear-minded and make the best out of current situation by investing and deploying our financial resources into assets tactfully in 2023.
1. Rollover 1 unit of GOOGL230203 call option with $95 strike price by closing at $10.30 and sold 1 unit of GOOGL230616 call option with $100 strike price at US$11.85.
Portfolio Dividends
1. Received $90 of dividends from Savings Bonds on 1 Feb.
2. Received $99.50 of dividends from Suntec Reit on 28 Feb.
SGX Income Portfolio
Portfolio Value = $296k
Moomoo
Tiger Broker
Syfe Trade
Portfolio Value = US$14.7k
SRS Ultra Long-Term Portfolio
Portfolio Value = S$124k
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Applied for Singapore Savings Bonds using SRS funds (SBMAR23 GX23030X)
The March 2023 tranche of Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) has an average yield of 2.9% over 10 years.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
No luck with T-Bill but some luck with IPPT
On a side quest, I went to take my Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) today despite having not exercised for 2 weeks.
As Singaporean sons, IPPT is either an annual national service liability to attempt and pass it or rather an opportunity to reap some monetary rewards from acing it.
I only can do 29 push ups and 32 sit ups, clocking 36 points for static stations in my uncle age group 6.
I managed to drag my weak legs and heart to run 14:19 mins for 25 points from 2.4km run to pass with 61 points for $200 incentive!
Saturday, February 11, 2023
Test My Luck on T-Bill (BS23103T) using SRS funds
Net Worth Update Feb 2023
S$1.4m
My net worth rises $20k or 1.4% to $1.4m, another all time high!
The increase is mainly due to recent recovery of REITs in my investments, CPF contributions and savings from Feb 2023 salary.
My CPF forms the bulk 38% of my wealth. I have already achieved full retirement sum in CPF SA and have topped up my Medisave account to the basic healthcare sum of $68.5k last month. I have also topped up $8k into my mum's CPF Retirement account for the 5 reasons.
My stocks and Reits in SGX Income Portfolio forms 23% of my net worth. I intend to continue adding high quality S-Reits while also accumulating low-risk assets such as fixed deposits, short-term government bonds which are yielding more than 4% in today's high interest, inflationary environment.
In terms of US growth tech stocks, I plan to just dabble with options to collect premiums this year. I have no plan to increase exposure to HK or china equities.
SRS forms 8% of my wealth and I have topped up $7.8k till date for this year. I plan to top up the remaining $8k in Mar 23 to max out the annual quota of $15.3k. I may use some of the idle funds in my SRS account to apply for the current tranche of T-bill or SSB.
I am still stashing away cash in Fullerton cash funds under custody of Moomoo and Tiger Broker, and in Money Market Funds held by Phillips Capital yielding around 3.5% p.a. with interest paid daily. I will monitor the next few months of Singapore Savings Bonds and may subscribe if they yield above 3% for the next decade. Ultimately, I hope to max out SSB individual limit of $200k by end of this year.
My conservative strategy of building a well balanced portfolio for my financial assets involves hoarding cash to earn decent risk-free interest rates above 4% short-term while waiting for greater opportunities to slowly invest in income-producing assets and growth tech businesses for the long-term.
My asset allocation of low-risk cash (19%)/risk-free bonds (6%)/CPF(38%) to higher-risk equities (23%)/SRS equities (8%) ratio is around 63-31, which provides a rather huge defensive safety net.
My target net worth by the end of 2023 is at least S$1.45m or S$1.5m ideally, with a passive income of S$22k.
Life is exciting in a post pandemic world. Ignore the noises. Remain on track. Be greedy when others are fearful. Be hungry when others are contented. Live everyday to the maximum! En route to financial freedom!
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Portfolio Update January 2023
Today is the last day of Jan 2023.
Let me provide a quick update of my investment portfolios.
My SGX Income Portfolio value grows to $304k from $286.2k last month.
My US/HK Growth Portfolio value increases to US$14.7k from US$13.4k last month.
My SRS Ultra Long-Term Portfolio value rises slightly to $120k from $112k.
The Fed will slow down interest rate hikes and global recession is on the cards. The stock markets have displayed signs of bullish reversal amidst immense volatility in a high inflationary environment still clouded by immense noises and fears. We should remain calm and clear-minded and make the best out of current situation by investing and deploying our financial resources into assets tactfully in 2023.
1. Sold 1 unit of GOOGL230113 call option with $93 strike price at US$0.47.
2. Sold 1 unit of GOOGL230120 call option with $94 strike price at US$0.35. Rollover by closing at US$2.66 and sold 1 unit of GOOGL230127 call option with $94 strike price at US$3.43. Rollover by closing at US$5.05 and sold 1 unit of GOOGL230203 call option with $95 strike price at US$5.35.
Portfolio Dividends
1. Received $117.50 of dividends from Savings Bonds on 3 Jan.
SGX Income Portfolio
Portfolio Value = $304k
Saturday, January 28, 2023
5 Reasons Why I Just Topped Up CPF Retirement Account of my mum
I just topped up $8k into my mum's CPF Retirement Account today.
Let me reiterate 5 reasons why I did so instead of giving cash to her.
1. Tax Relief
For selfish reason, I would like to enjoy tax relief of up to $8k per calendar year for topping up my parent's CPF Retirement Account under the Retirement Sum Top Up (RSTU) scheme.
Assuming my tax bracket is at 11%, a relief of $8k will save me $880 of taxes in cash, which is enough to eat more than 100 plates of $4 cai png (vegetables rice) at the coffeeshop.
The tax relief is also applicable to family members such as parents-in-law, grandparents, grandparents-in-law, siblings and spouse.
2. Compounding growth at 4%
CPF Retirement Account yields at least 4% and up to 6% for senior folks risk-free and guaranteed by the Singapore Government. Monies growing at compounded rate of at least 4% will double in 20 years hence, by leaving cash in CPF RA account, they will grow much faster than inflation rate to preserve and uphold its real value.
3. CPF Life
In order to qualify for CPF Life, one need to have at least $60k in their CPF retirement savings before reaching 65 years old. I am helping my mum to boost her CPF retirement savings to qualify for CPF Life as she does not have active income and CPF contributions.
CPF Life offers payouts perpetually for life but is a debatable subject because its pros and cons varied across individuals' opinions. If one's CPF RA does not have $60k before reaching 65 years old, then he or her will only rely on Retirement Savings scheme to draw down their CPF savings till it is depleted.
Having at least $60k in CPF RA will offer extra choice of being able to qualify for CPF Life scheme to enjoy perpetual monthly payouts.
4. Matched Retirement Savings Scheme
Under the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme (MRSS), the Government will match every dollar of cash top-ups made to the Retirement Account of eligible members up to a cap of $600, which can amount to $3,000 over 5 years. To be eligible, the person has to be aged between 55 and 70, has a CPF RA of less than the current Basic Retirement Sum of $96k, has average monthly income of less than $4k, live in a property with annual value less than $13k and not own any private property.
By topping up at least $600 to a qualified family member's CPF RA account, we can milk the $600 of free money from the Government every year.
5. CPF is like golden ATM for senior citizens
For senior folks close to reaching the 55 year old and 65 year old milestones of being able to touch their CPF monies, their CPF accounts are like golden ATM that offer high interest rates for "withdrawable" cash with the click of a button. This is unlike younger folks who could only stare at their CPF balances as numbers. Hence, the concept of 1M65 is indeed beneficial and practical to people who could really live beyond 50s or 60s and on the brink of drawing down cash from their CPF balances. People who lived past 50 years old should try to pump more monies into their CPF accounts, by all means, in order to reap the risk-free guaranteed returns on their monies.
In conclusion, I top up my mum's CPF RA account with cash instead of giving cash, in order to maximise the value of money. For the $8k topped up, I can enjoy $880 of tax savings myself, let my mum earn at least $280 of CPF interests for 2023 and attract another matched $600 from the Government. In addition, there is compounding effect from future years' interests and being eligible to qualify for CPF Life for perpetual monthly income payouts. Overall, I feel that it is an awesome deal.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Test My Luck on 1 Year T-Bill (BY23100X) using SRS funds
Saturday, January 21, 2023
3 Reasons for my Voluntary Top-Up to CPF Medisave Account
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Allotment Results for T-Bill (BS23101S)
Thanks for reading. Invest safe and remain focused as always.
Saturday, January 14, 2023
Net Worth Update Jan 2023
S$1.38m
Welcome to my first net worth update in 2023.
My net worth rises $33k or 2.4% to $1.38m, another all time high!
The increase is mainly due to CPF interests for 2022, CPF contributions and savings from Jan 2023 salary.
My CPF forms the bulk 38% of my wealth. Though illiquid, it is my safety net to be unlocked if I could live beyond 55 years old. I have already achieved full retirement sum in CPF SA and could only top up my Medisave account to the basic healthcare sum of $68.5k. I will also top up $8k into my mum's CPF Retirement account.
My stocks and Reits in SGX income portfolio forms 22% of my net worth. I will slow the pace of adding high quality S-Reits as low-risk assets such as fixed deposits, short-term government bonds are yielding more than 4% in today's high interest, inflationary environment.
SRS forms 7% of my wealth and i accounted for it using the cost amount of contribution rather than market value. I have used the idle $10k of funds in my SRS account to apply for the recent tranche of T-bill.
In terms of US growth tech stocks, I plan to just dabble with options to collect premiums this year. I have no plan to increase exposure to HK or china equities.
I am stashing away cash in Fullerton cash funds under custody of Moomoo and Tiger Broker yielding above 3.5% daily interest. I plan to subscribe for the next few months of Singapore Savings Bonds, if they yield above 3% for the next decade. Ultimately, I hope to max out SSB individual limit of $200k by end of this year.
My conservative strategy of building a well balanced portfolio for my financial assets involves hoarding cash to earn decent risk-free interest rates above 4% short-term while waiting for greater opportunities to slowly invest in income-producing assets and growth tech businesses for the long-term.
My allocation of cash (19%)/risk-free bonds (7%)/CPF(38%) to equities (22%)/SRS equities (7%) ratio is around 64-29, which provides a rather huge defensive safety net.
I am not putting in additional effort to deploy my CPF OA funds to T-bills or fixed deposits for additional yield as I am lazy, contented with 2.5% and prefer to earn fuss-free passive income which do not require time queueing or waiting at the banks or stress over the luck-dependent system of T-bills cutoff rate. I also believe in money abundance and we should not be greedy to earn all the money in this world.
Life is exciting in an endemic world. Ignore the noises. Remain on track. Be greedy when others are fearful. Be hungry when others are contented. We will get to our goals and dreams. En route to financial freedom!
Friday, January 13, 2023
Test My Luck on T-Bill (BS23101S) using SRS funds
Sunday, January 01, 2023
Free $16k from CPF!
Happy New Year 2023!
The first thing I did when I woke up today is to check my CPF savings accounts.
Very happy to receive more than $16k of interests from CPF!
Another important step in the journey towards financial freedom and retirement.
Even though CPF monies do not seem to be like real monies, I believe they are still illiquid monies that can be used to fund our retirement in our late lives, purchase properties, pay for education fees of children and pay medical bills.
Here are my CPF interests for 2022:
In total, I received this amount of interests from my CPF savings:
$16,739.56
This is a 16% increase from $14,365.69 which is received for 2021.
The interest of $2.6k earned from Medisave account can easily cover the premiums for Careshield life and Medishield life. In a way, it is possible to enjoy free insurance by using passive income from CPF savings to cover the insurance premiums. This can be achieved if we bother to top up our own medisave account and strive to hit the maximum Basic Healthcare Sum limit of $68.5k in 2023 to let the 4% interest rate do its compounding work.
I am certainly pleased with this sum of passive income as it certainly boost my CPF total as well as net worth on the first day of a brand new year.
Let's hop and bounce towards financial freedom in this Rabbit year. Huat ah!!




























