The Ultimate 4 Quadrants Shopping Guide Especially If You Are 28 and Older

December 16, 2020

by Chengkok with One Comment Money Management Money Mindset

It is getting easier to buy things now. With Shopee, Lazada, Taobao working their magic with their 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, 12.12 sales, consumers like you and me are finding it hard to resist buying. You are not alone in this. Shopee, Lazada, Taobao’s amazing algorithm makes sure that they show us things that are of interest to us and will keep reminding us until we press “add to cart” to achieve our happiness (or end our misery). It is only at the end of the month that we log into our Ibanking account to see that we have already spend over hundreds or thousands of dollars shopping.

First thing first

This is not a post to advocate not spending. I believe expenditures are important and necessary to our productive and creative self. It will be quite lame to live a life saving every single cent and not enjoying the joys of the world. Thousand of blogs out there are advocating on “saving money on the Starbucks” or “stop buying the avocado toast”. While it certainly makes financial sense, it is also certain that it will be a miserable life. Let me give you a real life example.

When I was 24, just graduated from University. I was poor and was determined to save every single cent. In the months to come, I only ate at the mixed vegetable rice stall at hawker centers. It costed me $2.90 when I bought a combination of 2 vegetables and 1 meat. I also refused to buy coffee/tea. This saved me a lot of money but I assured you that I was not looking forward for my meals at all. Financially, it make sense. Psychologically, it took a toll. I change a lot after that and you can read more here.

My suggestion in this ultimate shopping guide aims to help you find a balance financially and psychologically. That being said, saving money and investing them is the cheapest way to become financially free.

The 4 Quadrants of Spending

After sharing about personal finance for over 8 years, I realised 99% of what you buy will fall into the 4 Quadrants. I will sharing real examples and also for those of you who needs rule of thumbs, I will be glad to provide that for you.

The Cheap and Useful

The cheap and useful is the most straight forward of all. Just buy it. This is because it is going to help you with your pursuit of growth and it is also affordable. An example of cheap and useful will be like a book. A book increases your knowledge in the subject matter. You may get more insights after reading a book. You can even read it again and still get insights for it. I buy books almost on a monthly basis and I can feel myself growing in knowledge. (Sidenote: I’m in the process of getting a affiliate program with bookdepository. I strongly believe in daily learning and hope you can do the same too). In this quadrant, it is your cheapest opportunity to succeed. Previously, I wrote about 3 books to read during COVID-19. I’m probably going to update that soon.

The Expensive and Useful

There will be times when the product or services is expensive. However, my advice is invest and buy it. This is because these product or services will probably allow you to be more productive and more effective. Some examples of the expensive and useful are an IPad, a good handphone, a good powered laptop (especially if you are doing video editing) or standing desk. These will increase your productivity on a daily basis. The last thing we want is to create a bad experience when you hustle. Some other products or services includes a gym membership, a coaching or investment class.

4 years back in an feeble attempt to save money. I settled on a Xiaomi 3 phone. The specs were okay and I got it because it was cheap. The phone started to lag after 6 months. It was such a pain finding information on a phone. On one fateful day, my hands slipped and the Xiaomi 3 came crashing down on the floor. When I picked it up, the phone screen was already died. The phone refused to reboot and I spend the next day and a half buying a new phone and transferring all my data to the next phone. I probably missed out a day of text. As a self employed helping clients, the worse thing that can happen is to suddenly become uncontactable. I bought Huawei’s flagship P10 Plus after that and never looked back.

Invest when you need to.

The Not Useful (Be it cheap or expensive)

The expensive and the not useful will usually fall into the luxury market space. I once knew a lady who spend $800+ on a pair of slippers. She has worn it once before and she stopped wearing it because she’s afraid the slippers will be exposed to the rain. For those of you who are curious, this is the slipper.

The Ultimate 4 Quadrants Shopping Guide Especially If You Are 28 and Older Expensive and Not Useful

On the other side of the quadrants are the cheap and the not useful. While it seems harmless due to the same quantum, the accumulation of these products will add up. Examples of these are like a low quality shirt (you know you can feel it).

I once when to taobao to buy a pair of jeans. The jeans cost only $5 and I felt that it was “useful” for me. When it arrived, the cutting was terrible and there was this weird smell on it. After wearing it for one time, it went even more out of shape and my pocket had a hole in them. I threw it away and swear by Uniqlo now.

A very general rule for those in the not useful quadrant is to not buy it.

However, like all things in life, you can be flexible. If the part of Hermes Slippers is essential for your happiness (or for whatever reason logical or not), consider buying a second hand one. The second hand market is a big one. You probably will save lots just buying on a second hand market. The best part is that no one will ever know that you got it second handed! Hang on for another tip coming below.

Disclaimer: Useful or Not

One of the most common question my client ask me is “How do we know if this is useful?”

The fact remains that the usefulness of the item is subjective and highly dependent of oneself. For example, the gym membership is expensive and “useful” ONLY if you go to the gym and workout at the gym. Otherwise, it is not useful at all. To help you further if you are unsure if the product or services is useful or not, I have created this rule of thumb for you to consider.

If you are NOT SURE that the item is useful, and it cost > 15% of your monthly income, then don’t buy it.

If you are KNOW that the item is NOT USEFUL BUT you know you will feel happy, and if it is > 5% of your monthly income, then don’t buy it. If you still want to buy it, consider a 2nd hand version.

Final Thoughts By Wealthdojo

Hopefully, this guide can help you make better decision in your next shopping session. Be it Cyber Monday, Single’s Day, Boxing Day, you will be prepared. Wishing the best in your financial journey.

Chengkok is a licensed Financial Services Consultant since 2012. He is an Investment and Critical Illness Specialist. Wealthdojo was created in 2019 to educate and debunk “free financial advice” that was given without context.

Feel Free To Reach Out To Share Your Thoughts.

Contact: 94316449 (Whatsapp) chengkokoh@gmail.com (Email)
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The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the author.

Is $30,000 Salary a Month Enough?

August 17, 2020

by Chengkok with 2 Comments General Economy Money Management Money Mindset

QNS: Is $30,000 Salary a month enough?

When I ask this question to my clients, the first response I get is: HOW I FIND SUCH A JOB??

Last Sunday, Straits Times published an article titled $30,000 salaries, yet in serious debt (it is an premium article). This started almost an outrage in the Wealth Management and Personal Finance community in Singapore. Most of the comments were related to where to find such a job and probably missed the point of personal finance. Let’s explore the reasons when $30,000 salary a month is not enough?

Reason #1: You spend more than $30,000 a month

Typically, as we grow in affluence, our purchasing power increase and we tend to spend more to.

Meet John. John is a hardworking young professional. His first salary was $3000/month and he had to live a simple lifestyle. Along the years, John got promoted for his outstanding working performance and ability to show results. His salary gradually increase to $15,000/month. John is now working harder at work and often end work late. He will take a cab home (he used to take the public transport) and order a good meal from a nearby restaurant (he used to cook) to reward himself for the hard work. When he sees something that likes during shopping, he will buy it immediately (he used to ponder if the item is essential) because he feels that he can afford it and he don’t have much time to shop anyway. He buys his friends meals (he used to go dutch) because he feels he is doing well.

John wakes up one day and was shocked to find out that his bank account balance haven’t been increasing after his promotion and has decreased.

If you spend more than you earn, then you will be in deficit.

$30000 per month salary spending more than you make — $30000 per month salary: spending more than you make

Reason #2: You acquire more debts that you can handle.

Previously, I wrote about a Quick Ratio that we can use to evaluate whether the company is financially healthy.

“A company CANNOT go bankrupt if it doesn’t have debts” ~Chengkok

I can’t remember who said this before so I’m just going to quote myself until someone prove me wrong. (Haha). During the COVID19 season, we are seeing record number of companies going bankrupt and closing down. Examples are like JC Penny, Hertz and AMC just to name a few. If you look at their financial records, it would be just a matter of them that they will go under.

Similarly, for personal finance, if you take on too much debts than you can handle, your cashflow will be severely impacted.

Reason #2.1: Leverage

Reason 2.1 is a compounder for reason 2.

When I was 19 years old, I was scared stiff of the stock market. That was because I had a friend who lost over USD$50,000 in one night in his CFD trade. $50,000 is a huge sum to a 19 year old kid and it scared me silly.

Leverage works like this. You ONLY require a SMALL sum to get a BIGGER exposure. Most people who have limited capital are attracted to this because of the high returns. However, if the stock price goes south, you have to pay for the exposure too. A capital of $10,000 can easily give you an exposure of $200,000. However, if the stock price plunge, you could lose a significant portion of the $200,000 that you DO NOT EVEN HAVE and hence acquire the debts that you don’t want.

“Go big or go home. Typically in investing, people go home” ~Chengkok

$30000 per month salary leverage — $30000 per month salary: Leverage

Reason #3: Bad Habits

In The Straits Times article, bad habits or poor financial planning will cause your financial downfall no matter how much you earn. Data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore shows that

34 home owners have asked to stop payment for their loan until December
2100 people have problem paying education and renovation loans
6200 have asked to convert high credit card debt into term loan on lower interest rates

The list goes on. Gambling is also one habit that might cause financial woes. We are often reminded by the National Council on Problem Gambling on not to gamble especially during the Chinese New Year.

Conclusion

Some questions that we can ask ourselves in our financial journey.

How much are you spending? Is it necessary? Can we cut down?
How much are you leveraging? Is it good / bad debt?
How much are you paying yourself

Income plays just one part in your Wealth Management journey. It is your habits, your mindset and the people that you hang around with that helps you reach the level of financial freedom you want.

You can also find jobs overseas using a portal such as jobble. Overseas market might require the skillset that you have.

No one will care about your money as much as you do.

Check out my most popular blog post in 2020 so far: 5 mistakes people make using their CPF.

Please feel free to contact me on my Facebook Page or Telegram Channel! Or subscribe to our newsletter now!

How to have better relationship with money?

July 8, 2020

by Chengkok with 5 Comments General Economy Insurance Money Management Money Mindset

We talk about building better relationship, having good wealth management but have we thought of having a better relationship with money (self-care)?

In Singapore, one thing that fly under the radar of the recent politics campaign is the high stress level of working. Do you know almost 100% of Singaporeans are stressed at work? (Source: Human Resource Director).

“Almost 100% of Singaporeans are stressed at work”: Survey

Welcome to the city where the cost of living is high, have expensive healthcare and unaffordable housing. Together with this economic situation after COVID-19, many young people struggle to find their first job after graduation. Though I agree we have our positive side, we must also recognized that these economic-social issues will affect our relationship with money.

Why are Singaporeans Stressed at work?

Top causes of stress for single, married and working mothers vary, but all mention personal finance, too much work and personal health.

According to a survey by Jobscentral, being overburdened with financial commitments (29%) is one of the biggest reasons Singaporeans don’t leave a job they hate. 25% cited fear of not being able to find a better job as their reason for not leaving a crappy job. (Source: 3 Big Reasons Why Singapore Employees Are Always Stressed Out!).

While money is not the only reason, it is a common reason for stress.

Relationship With Money Stressed Statistics

Where did this stress stems from?

In my previous article about Self-Care and Wealth Management, I’m grateful to be able to ponder in depth on why people might become narcissist on self-care. It has to do a lot with their beliefs about money and I’m going to summarize it in the chart below.

Your relationship with money will determine your money habits that you have and it will led to the financial circumstances that one will go through and finally happiness.

Example #1: You are undeserving of money / reward.

I had a classmate, Karen who scored straight As for her primary school examinations. One year, another classmate shared with us that he just came back from a trip to Australia because he had good results in the last year. Karen decided to tell her parents about it. Her parents told her that if she continued to score straight As, she will be able to go for the trip.

Eventually, Karen had the straight As. But, the trip didn’t happen.

As a child, Karen held a belief that no matter how much effort she puts in, she will not get a reward. Today, Karen is a hardworking individual and put in a lot of effort in her work. Despite her hard work, she was unable to climb the corporate ladder and have mediocre salary. Personally, I feel that she still believes that she’s undeserving (relationship with money), other people are luckier and so passed on several opportunities (habits). This lead to her living a miserable life (financial circumstances)

Example #2: Believe that People With Alot of Money is Evil / Money is the root of all evil.

When I was young, I asked my parents why my classmate could go to Europe to travel while we only went Genting. My Mom told me that my classmate’s father was a businessman and he have to spend a lot of time on entertainment. He have to do a lot of “funny/bad things” that as children, we won’t understand at that age. Lots of Taiwanese/Korean dramas also reinforce this belief that you have to ruthless to earn money.

When I grew up, there was a period of time I judged people for earning a lot of money instead of being happy for them. If I learnt that they were earning more money, I felt that they done a lot of “funny/bad” things to achieve their goals.

I felt that earning a lot of money is evil (relationship with money), I would try not to earn over a certain threshold (habit) and that led me to living a normal life (financial circumstances).

This is ridiculous.

Your relationship with your money is largely influenced by the money lessons you learned from your primary caregivers and mentors, as you were growing up. While it is on no fault of theirs, we need to identify and be aware of the beliefs you have on money so that we can break out of this trap.

I challenge you to write down a list of your money beliefs. It could be “Money is never enough”, “Investing is risky”, “I need to spend money to feel good” etc. Ask yourself, does this money belief serves you or hinder you. If it hinders you, spend sometime to process why has it been affecting you and make a decision to change the belief.

We wish you good luck and stay safe.