My Financial Master Plan

My wife is not working and I intend to keep it that way because she's not very healthy like most people are, and to achieve that, I need to be very clear of where I'm going financially. One thing for sure is, I'm not cut out to be an entrepreneur so I'm better off just working for others instead.

My ultimate 4-steps plan!

1. Have a stable job with a steady stream of income

I have already achieved this as my company does not have any history of retrenchment (at least none that I know of) even during the last 08/09 financial crisis; what they did was freeze hiring and annual increment, but bonus was not affected though. Prospect-wise, I believe anyone in my company who is willing to put in extra effort will be rewarded, I have personally experienced this as I got slightly more bonus (and some other stuff) than my peers. And this company pays accurately and on time. My only complain is that they pay noticeably lower than other companies, but then again, job stability is what kept me from hopping.

2. Save part of my take-home salary every month

Right now I don't really save a specific amount every month because some months I don't save at all (occasionally), then some months, I save a lot. This happens because of my wife's medication, immigration pass renewal, festive season spending, paying stuff for my mom and sister and etc. But when I get my bonus, I do put aside a significant amount though. Currently I have about $2600 cash flow but of this amount, $2000 is to be set aside for our Thailand trip in coming April.

3. Invest all spare cash in stocks

I have to be very clear on this part, spare cash means money that I don't need to touch for at least a year or more as I don't want to end up having to dump my shares at the wrong time just because I need cash. From Nov 2012 until now, I have invested a total of $5800, and yes, I only started dabbling in stocks for about 2 months, so far so good, haven't lost any money yet and I intend to keep it that way by buying the less risky stocks with at least 5% dividend yield annually.

It's not my first investment though, previously I invested in unit trust, but I didn't do it myself, my first agent did it for me (he's a good friend of mine), made some money during China boom in 06-08, but before 08/09 financial crisis, my second agent (my friend left, this guy took over) actually advised me to buy and I foolishly bought at peak price without doing any research (investment was still a strange concept to me at that time), and almost 3 years after the crisis, the price never fully recovered, I sold it and ended up breaking even with my China boom profit after factoring the interest I could have gotten if I left it in my CPF account, I'm considered very lucky for a fool. A good lesson learned though.

4. Be insured

Currently I have a total of 3 insurance policies; 2 life insurance (term insurance and Dependants' Protection Scheme) and 1 health insurance. In the event when something bad happens to me, at least I have money to help, and if I'm not around, my parents and wife will have money to help them. I pay about $138 in CPF and $$661.90 in cash per year, it's purely protection, no investment component, I think it's a small amount to pay  for peace of mind.

Tiger Airways Singapore to Bangkok Sale Fare

Damn it! Just a few days after I bought my tickets (travelling 09 Apr) at Early Bird price of S$50, they came out with a Sale Fare of S$33.50! I could have saved at least S$60 because I bought 4 tickets! Anyway, if your seeing this and your thinking of dropping by Bangkok for Songkran (13 to 15 Apr), make your booking now! Have fun!

Thailand Household Census List

First of all, I'm not sure for other countries but in Thailand, they do have this document; it's actually a booklet. So what is inside this booklet?

In the first page of the booklet, it will contain detailed information of a house i.e. the house address, registration number and official verification (signature and stamp).

In the following pages, it will contain detailed information of persons living in the house i.e. identity card number, birth date, date when this person started living in this house and official verification (signature).

When applying for Permanent Residence (PR) in Singapore, you need to bring along this document, don't forget.

Cost of Applying or Renewal of Long-Term Visit Pass for Foreign Spouse

1. Processing Fee
After successfully submitting application or renewal of long-term visit pass online via e-VP, you need to make payment of S$30 as processing fee. Note that the processing time can take up to 6 weeks.

2. Issuance Fee
Within 6 weeks, your application should be approved in-principle, you will then have 14 days to make payment of S$60 as issuance fee.

3. Medical Check-up
Once you have made payment for the issuance fee, you will need to print out a medical check-up form, the foreign spouse is required to go for Tuberculosis X-ray and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing. This can be done at any General Practitioner (GP) clinic.

My wife as example, the HIV testing was done at our neighbourhood GP for S$38, the X-ray was referred by the GP to a nearby clinic with X-ray equipment, and done for S$12.80.

Note that before submitting the results to ICA, it's valid for 3 months, after submission, it's valid for 2 years, what this means is that for all new application, the applicant must go for check-up, whereas for renewal, usually the first renewal, there is no need for medical-check-up since the result is valid for 2 years, but the applicant will need to go for check-up again on the second renewal.

4. Passport Photo, Copies of Marriage Certificate and Applicant Passport
The passport photo can be taken at ICA Level 4, S$5 for 4 pieces. Or during submission of the application, you can also submit your own digital photo.

You can also make copies of your marriage certificate and passport at the same location, I'm not sure how much they charge though, let's just say S$0.10 for a copy, so S$0.20 total.

Total Cost
Processing fee 30
Issuance fee 60
HIV testing 38
X-ray 12.80
Passport photo 5
Copies of marriage certificate and passport 0.20
Total S$146

Long-Term Visit Pass IRAS/CPF Statement

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Not sure when it was updated but from now onwards, when applying or renewing Long-Term Visit Pass, the sponsor can choose to sign a form to allow ICA to obtain sponsor's Income Tax and Central Provident Fund information so that the sponsor don't have to print out and bring along both.

"Local sponsor's Income Tax Notice of Assessment for the last 3 years and CPF Statement showing monthly CPF contribution for the last 12 months. Alternatively, the sponsor may choose to complete Appendix VP to give consent for ICA to obtain and verify financial information provided in respect of this application with the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and Central Provident Fund Board (CPF) directly instead."

Decisive Call By Mr. Obama

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It sure took a lot of time for the republicans and democrats to work on a best package but unfortunately, until now, they still cannot fully agree with each other. But I'm glad Mr. Obama called for a stop-gap measure, yeah damn right, it's late already, these politicians should just think of the bigger picture for now, there is no way they should ever allow their country to blindly walk over that cliff.

"There is absolutely no reason, none, not to protect these Americans from a tax hike. At the very least, let's agree right now on what we already agree on. Let's get that done," the president said.

That's why I like Obama.

Food Paradise Series on YouTube

American food!

A word of warning though, it will make you feel hungry!

Manliest Restaurants
Hamburger Paradise
State Fair Foods
Bacon Paradise
London Food
Pasta Paradise
Bar Food
Big Beef Paradise
Pie Paradise
Steak Paradise

And more! Check out the uploader's channel!

Enjoy!