Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Transactions for Sept '16 + accidental lifehack

Continued my DCA into the STI index. Another 100 shares for the month. Using the transactions capture from SGXcafe. :)







Incidentally, i chanced upon an accidental life hack from for a small amount of free cash flow. So i signed up for an insurance policy using the OCBC Cashflo card which breaks any purchases into monthly installments. And then because another policy came up which i preferred.... i freelooked the old policy (and got the cash refund from the insurance company in 1 lump sum).

End result - i got interest free installment from the insurance company. It wasn't my intention, but it is indeed an accidental life hack for a small amount of cash flow.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Insurance Review

Been busy recently trying to renovate my house.... costs of renovation is definitely way different from what i remember when i did up my house 8-9 years ago! My curtains and lights are double of what i spent previously. Although regrettably my record keeping the last time has been far from ideal, so wasn't able to do up a very comparison.

Any how.... due to the taking on of additional liabilities (and with getting older), decided to do an insurance review. I guess with age, one feels more afraid, with more things to lose... hence unwilling to take on risks which I can pass off to others.

Hospitalization and Surgical:
With the launch of AXA shield plans, i think it is currently one of the best shield plans around, with the highest annual policy limit (1 million per year), and longest pre and post hospitalization benefits. Meaning, one can claim for certain hospitalization visits after 365 days from discharge. I am currently with Aviva, and may be switching to AXA while i am healthy and still able to switch.

Critical illness:
I have Great Eastern's critical illness plan at the moment, but was quoted a similar one for AIA but at close to $1k cheaper per annum. The differences are, to me marketing tactics by GE to charge a premium.
 - For example, a shorter survival period of 7 days compared to 30 days. If one were to come down with a CI and passes away within 7 days... the CI will not pay out, true.

However, the purpose of CI is to help defray the costs of medication/differences in lifestyle after being diagnosed. If one were to die within 7 days, then the purpose of CI payout will not be required. The death benefit from my term life would pay out. The argument is that the premiums paid for CI policy would be 'wasted'. However, that's the purpose of buying insurance - i always treat it as an expense. People don't like to see wastage, and hence the sales of 'life policies' where you get what you paid for your premiums back is always higher. People fail to realize that a life policy is just a bundle of 'wastages + lending the insurance co to invest for you and return it back to you at a low rate of return'.

Death Benefit/TPD:
Increased it quite significantly, given the taking on of additional liabilities. IF something happens to me, i would not want my family to be saddled with a huge mortgage. The term life policy comes with TPD, so I am covered for that as well.

I got this instead of a reducing balance policy as i think the difference in price is not that material, and if i have additional obligations in the future, i would need to top up my coverage next time anyway.

Disability Income:
I added this as this is part of the holistic insurance package review. I feel that we should look at insurance needs as part of a holistic strategy... and this was how i viewed it. If i fall sick and needs to be warded, my H&S would kick in and pay for the bills. But if i cannot work due to the sickness, this disability income will kick in and pay for my monthly expenses (and mortgage).
If it is due to CI, i will be able to use the CI lump sum to pay for whatever bills that the H&S do not cover. This might include new drugs under approval which could prove effective, but not approved by H&S as yet.

I think i'm almost done, except for a personal accident plan.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Transactions for August 2016

Added another 100 ES3 shares. Happy to receive my first dividend payout from ES3 after restarting my portfolio. Even though it's only $4.20, it is actually quite motivating!

Slowly but surely, one minor minor step to more financial independence. :)




Dividends for August


By the way, there is an upcoming event for property, the Smart Expo.

If you are interested in building up a property portfolio overseas, do check it out if you have time!

Overseas property investment is fraught with lots of risks, including political, foreign exchange risks - but it's always good to get more knowledge anyway. :)