Turning your passion into your profession

I thought this was an interesting article.



The maker of the iPhone game, Steve Demeter, made $250,000 from his iPhone puzzle game called Trism, that he quit his day job to set up a development studio.

Another person I read about, Anthony Borelli, became successful in affiliate marketing after much attempts, and now enjoys a lot of time with his family, and now a millionaire.

If you followed my blog long enough, Yaro Starak shouldn't be a strange name to you. He's another successful entrepreneur. Even before his professional blogging days, he already had considerable successes on the internet.

How about The Terminator-turned-Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Did you know that even before he was Conan The Barbarian (his breakthrough movie), he was already a millionaire business man?

All these men transformed their passion for something into a lucrative income earning career. It can be from a passion in making computer games, to simply a passion in building businesses (particularly in restauranting, isn't it, Governor Schwarzeneggar?). I began mine in an accidental passion in financial planning years ago, and I sure have more than one passion, but I'll have to take it one at a time. At least I've got started too. What about you?

In the older days, work is HARD work. You don't sweat, you don't bleed, you don't get paid. Long gone are those days. Even if you sweat and bleed yourself dry today, you still get laid off. Employers cannot hold up their own businesses. The risk is sometimes only an hierarchy difference. If you have got what it takes to run a business, why not do it yourself?

If you read beyond the gloom and doom in the newspapers, you will find some articles here and there about some unique group of people who are pursuing their dreams particularly right at this moment! At this global slump? Yes! And I agree with them 100% that there is no better time than this!

What could be your passion that can be transformed into a career? It sure takes a lot of planning, a lot of attempts, and a lot of failure. It may cost you a lot of money too. But if you desire to break through but choose to not move, the failure will be permanent and guaranteed.

Or maybe for some, it's simply just injecting more passion into the work you are already in.

I'll leave you today with a quote from the late Abraham Lincoln, who knows better than most people what it is like to fail over and over and over and over again. He said, "My greatest concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure."

Taking Care of Dad, Mum, Grandpa and Grandma

I got a scare.

My buddy at work shared with me that when her grandmother was alive, she became ill with dementia. The children still needed to work, and the final decision is to put her in a nursing home. The bill was $3,000 monthly.

My maternal grandmother had a fall early this year, and her children disallowed her to live alone anymore (much to her near violent objection, however, she finally lost the arguement, and now living with one of my aunts). Prior to the current arrangement, the possibility of a nursing home was considered. The quote given by the nursing homes was $3,000 monthly.

My grandfather has an injury in his nerve, and can no longer walk for many years. He has a nasty temper, so if he were to go to a nursing home, I think there will be lots of casualties in there. Thus, he stays at home with my grandmother, and a maid. The maid is employed specially to tend to my grandfather. With all expenses in, the domestic service should amount to $700 or more per month.

What do the above real-life scenarios tell me? Cost. Big cost.

My grandfather's scenario yielded the least cost because apart from the injury, he is actually pretty healthy. He and I debate over the current markets and political situations, and because he is just in front of the TV the whole day, he is even more up to date than I am (maybe he should start a blog too)!

My other grandmother's fall gave only a temporary (but pretty serious) injury. She has now since recovered and back with a vengeance.

But my buddy's grandmother's scenario is a very real example of health gone really really wrong. In the event that a family member becomes disabled -- be it physically or mentally -- to the point that close care is necessary, that's when the crunch comes in.

Did you read earlier that the monthly bill was $3,000 at the nursing home?

The government has a national severe disability insurance scheme for CPF members that provides monthly income to the family of the caregivers. Based on the above 3 scenarios, my buddy's grandmother and my grandfather would already qualify for the benefits, except that they do not have this plan in force when their disability happened.

The government's version -- called Eldershield -- at best, provides from $300 to $400 monthly only, and pays up to 6 years only. Coverage ends at age 65. That may have helped cover about half of my grandfather's maid's expenses. But for a much severe case like my buddy's grandma, the amount is only a consolation.

Then there are the supplementary versions that can extend the coverage to $2,500 a month, and with a lifetime payout every month should the disability qualify. Boy, won't it help the family!

I told my Dad and Mum that if they don't have this coverage, and if there is a need to hire a nurse to tend to them, my sis and I will be financially killed. Sounds so blunt, but that's a true fact.

Premiums for these plans, by the way, can be paid using Medisave.

I won't put details here and for corporate compliance, I cannot share information of the products on this blog. At best, I can only forward you to the relevant companies' websites.

• Aviva - http://www.aviva-singapore.com.sg/ElderShield
• Great Eastern Life - http://www.lifeisgreat.com.sg/ElderShield
• NTUC Income - http://www.income.com.sg/insurance/eldershield/

But if you are keen to find out how exactly it facilitates your family, drop me an email.

DBS begins axing staff

Yes, it's not new news now.

DBS is axing 6% of their staff strength (about 900 employees) across their Singapore and Hong Kong operations (news article here).

Usually the end of the bear market is indicated by banks laying off staff. DBS is the first, and probably won't be the last.

STI has rallied, but no I don't imply that the end of the bear is here. The worst seems to be over though.

Discount price, anyone?

The adversity today is opportunity for you to create your wealth for tomorrow

Bull and bear markets are cyclical.

After the reign of the bull, the bear usurps his throne. After that, the bull pokes the bear's hairy butt off the pedestal with his horns again. The cycle continues.

I admit that I would be more cautious the next time I see paw tracks on the market. That could be another 10 years from today. I won't let so much money get lost again by taking defense when everything seems too good to be true. This is about overcoming the demon called greed.

Then again, I am now not going to deceive or be deceived that I don't already smell bull dung. Our good friend, Mr Moo, is already somewhere around the corner, plotting his return -- can't you smell him? This is about overcoming the demon called fear.

If you're not already on your way back in to the market, I hope that you are at least plotting it! If you don't want to invest a whole lump sum, there is always dollar cost averaging (another good article can be found here).

Know that opportunity loss is still loss, no matter how you choose to view it.

It may be better to postpone your plans

It is finally publicized today on the papers that the Integrated Resort (IR) at Marina Bay cannot be completed on time. I personally think it is a good idea for them.

On one hand, there are datelines to meet, on the other hand, I'd rather the dateline is not met than to have a shoddy completion. You don't want the floors to give way after you strike a winning-7 on your jackpot machine (I'm more concerned of the safety of the people. For the record, I am against gambling).

A few days ago, I was having a conversation with a client. He intended to purchase a flat in less than a year. Half a year ago, he invested his CPF money with an insurance agent (no, not me) expecting to grow his money to an amount that can help him pay the downpayment for his flat in a year's expectation.

He definitely didn't expect the market to take a turn down. As of today, he probably lost 40-50% of his investments. A few days ago, he asks me if he should terminate the policy.

I asked him if he does that, how does that help him with his goal in buying a house in less than a year. He suggested to me to help him set up a portfolio that can help reach that goal.

I had to tell him that's not gonna work.

A better idea is for him to keep his current investment, because even if he draws it out now, it doesn't help at all. I think he should calculate how much he really needs for the house, and try to work backwards how much he needs to put today, and how long it takes. He should work on the time frame and the contribution he needs to set aside to reach that amount, and decide if he will do that. He should consider to push his house purchase further away instead of rush in, only to end up in bigger debt, and tight cash flow.

While not everything should be delayed, some things that can be delayed, then it'd better be. Like the analogy of not having the floor in the IR to give way, you don't want your finances to give way just because you chose not to secure the foundations before inviting your guests (your family!) to come in.

I made this mistake myself years ago. I can vouch that postponement is usually the better option.

How are you feeling?

Seriously. How are you feeling about financial services?

The market is giving us all a huge whipping. AIG's recent drama left many insurance policyholders skeptical and worried of the stability of insurance companies. Mortgage giants like Freddie and Fannie, and huge financial institutions like Lehman Brothers, do prove that indeed there is no such thing as certainty of existence just because you are a big company, or backed by the government.

Indeed, how is this affecting you about financial planning? Is there no other way? Is hiding money in your Milo tin effective? Is inflation really an issue to you, or do you actually admit that you have no idea what it is about?

Yes, it's scary. I admit it. It is scary.

Do you still see light in the darkness? Please, I'd really like to know how you feel.

ETFs - something worth looking out for

Ever heard of ETF? It stands for Exchange Traded Fund (I won't be defining what it is here. Instead, you can read about it here).

I thought ETFs are extremely interesting because you trade them like a stock, but they aren't as exposed to risk because they are diversified. In comparison to unit trusts, ETFs are much easier to maintain and monitor, and the charges are extremely low.

While I would think that ETFs are best suited for DIY investors who will never employ the help of financial advisors, I also think that it is good to put a reasonable amount of your investments in it. Unless you completely don't want to monitor the markets, ETFs are cost-effective, and effective.

However, in our local market, the ETF market is not as established as the States. You won't get much variety for now, and chances are if you want to diversify on broader sectors and countries, you still need a larger portfolio of unit trusts. But do stay tuned, because it is very likely that when the investors market here are more receptive to ETFs, there will be more variety of this product. Unit trusts may not completely become the thing of the past, but it sure will see a great downsizing. I know I would do that to my own portfolio when the time comes.

For more about ETFs, I thought this article is a very good read.

For the current available ETFs in our Singapore market, you can take a look here.