How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly

How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly

by with 5 Comments Guest WriterMoney ManagementMoney Mindset

COVID-19 has swept the world off its’ feet. With it still lurking around, are you aware that there are many silent robbers that are robbing you of your wealth secretly? In Wealthdojo 6 Level Wealth Karate, we talk the importance of shielding our wealth from these silent robbers.

In this article, we are also excited to partner with Jocelyn who is a self taught investor in her 40s. Do check out her website below.

Have you saved money while working from home?

How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly Working From Home
How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly: Working From Home

Since Singapore went into circuit breaker lockdown on 7 April, many Singaporeans have been forced to work from home where possible. Not all jobs are WFH-friendly but for those that are, benefits of a WFH arrangement include zero commute time, greatly reduced transportation costs and reduced weekday meal expenses (assuming you do not live in the CBD). 

For the 7 or so weeks that Singapore was in circuit breaker, most establishments were forced to close and people were advised to leave the house only out of necessity, such as shopping for groceries or if working in essential services. 

If you were working from home during the circuit breaker period, it makes sense to think that you should have saved quite a bit on transport and food expenses right? That may not necessarily be the case. Here are four reasons that may have prevented you from keeping within your budget:

 

#1: Ordering food delivery and “indulging a bit” 

How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly Food Delivery
How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly: Food Delivery

Instead of getting your weekday lunches from the nearby kopitiam or cooking at home, you may find yourself going for more expensive options when ordering food delivery. This could be to feed a craving or ordering from places that you’re not able to visit in person. 

It is not uncommon for F&B establishments to mark up their food prices on food delivery apps. They do this to offset the platform/commission fee that food delivery platforms charge for listing their menu on the app! This means that even when ordering from the same place, opting for food delivery may cost 5-10% more than physically going to the store to tabao your food.

What to do instead: 

  • Have a weekly limit on the number of times you order food delivery
  • Cook more meals at home 

#2: Spending more time (and money) shopping online 

Thanks for covid-19, online shopping saw a record boom worldwide. Instead of going to a neighborhood mall or Orchard road for retail leisure, Singaporeans went online instead, clocking record increases in app traffic and transaction volumes on popular shopping apps.  Shopee saw a 40% increase in screen time by app users along with increased sales during the circuit breaker period. 

How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly Online Shopping
How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly Online Shopping

Online shopping is just a click or tap away, with a lot less friction to carting out a purchase. With people being cooped up at home and spending less time outside, some have also turned to online shopping as a way to pass time. This can lead to impulse buys or spending more on non-essential purchases! 

What to do instead:

  • Move your online shopping apps to a folder and away from the first page of your phone, and unsubscribe from marketing emails. Out of sight, out of mind. 
  • Start an affordable hobby to spend your time more meaningfully! Eg. Exercising outdoors, reading, cooking
  • Create a budget for your shopping needs and stay committed to it. Remember to prioritize needs over wants!

#3: Paying for convenience

How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly convenience
How COVID19 is robbing your wealth secretly convenience

The rise in door-to-door delivery makes it incredibly convenient to buy groceries or choosing to dine in, with food delivery. The trade-off for this convenience is the delivery fee. An additional $2-3 to have a meal delivered to your doorstep may not seem like much but if you’re ordering meal deliveries multiple times a week/day, those delivery fees can add up very quickly. 

What to do instead: 

  • Consolidate grocery orders to capitalize on free delivery and/or save on delivery costs
  • Watch out for promotions and discounts so you can save on these necessary purchases 
  • Consider walking to a nearby kopitiam to tabao your meal instead of getting it delivered. 

 

#4: Paying for comfort 

With most people forced to work from home, many have turned to buying desks and chairs for a more comfortable working experience. This makes sense if your existing tables and chairs are not suited for long hours of desk work. A quality table or chair may be a good investment in the long term, but take care not to let these “investments” become white elephants once COVID-19 is behind us and offices reopen!

What to do instead: 

  • Get creative with your WFH setup!
    • Repurpose your dining area for work during the day,
    • If you have a small fridge, use it as a “standing table” when you feel like you need a stretch
    • Hunt for office furniture bargains on FB or Carousell. Businesses that have to downsize or close their offices will often need to get rid of their furniture. 

 

Stay committed to your cause

If you are already managing your expenses and/or budget tracking, you probably have a good reason for doing so. You may be saving up for a house, or a new family member or just trying to make ends meet with reduced income. Reminding yourself about this goal can help you refocus and double down on keeping to your budget. 

Sometimes, having a better picture of your money flow can help you manage your expenses and budgets. Create a sankey budget diagram of your monthly cashflow (check out mine here) and use that to guide your budgeting decisions!  

Guest writer: Joce
A self-taught investor working towards her goal of achieving financial freedom in her forties. Check out her blog here: Financial Freedom by 40

 

Final Thoughts By Wealthdojo

Congratulations for reading thus far. COVID-19 seems to be here to stay. The journey ahead seems like a scary one and I want assure you that you will definitely get through it.

Special thanks for Jocelyn. Thank you for your special appearance. I really enjoyed your article.

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.

Naruto Run Area

How to Naruto Run To Financial Freedom

by with No Comment Money ManagementMoney Mindset

What is a Naruto Run and how is it related to Financial Freedom? What we are running to?

Naruto Run Area
Naruto Run

Recently, there is a big joke in the USA as there is now a whopping 1.7million people who have signed up to “storm Area 51” Facebook event. The event, which is called ‘Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us’, was seemingly created as a joke. However, it has got so serious such that the US Air Force has issued a stark warning to anyone thinking of trying to gain unauthorised access to the base. (Read more: Naruto Run Area 51)

This sentence was what made it famous.

‘If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.’

For those of you thinking of what is a naruto run? You have come to the right place. A Naruto run is a style of running in which person or character runs leaning forward with their arms stretched out behind them. For those that need some visual image, look at the gif below.

Naruto Run Area
Naruto Run

Not the most important of information. In this article, we want to find out how we can Naruto run our way to financial freedom. Have you ever pondered about this question before?

“Why are some people rich and how did they become rich at a young age?”

How is it possible for people that young to be rich? This question comes out a lot for people who are in their 40s or 50s. They have worked hard for a HUGE part of their life but are not rich yet. Just how is it possible for  people who in their 30s become richer faster than them! This also puzzles me UNTIL I met people who are became Millionaires in their 30s. These are ordinary Singaporeans who also serve the same NS, buy the same HDB, and also get married (Read More: Sandwich Generation: Is it still possible to be rich?). I had a rare opportunity to interview these people and what they shared with me changed my life forever. To my surprise, I realised that there are many similarities on how they naruto run themselves into Financial Freedom. Today, we will look at 3 similarities strategies that majority of them used to reach their Financial Freedom.

  • Learn a high paying skill set

Let’s face it. To make money from assets, we first need to have money. In our initial working years, majority of us won’t have a lot of money to invest. Imagine you have a chance of a lifetime to make 1000% from the stock market, would you want to have $10,000 or $100?

$100,000 -> After 1000% -> $1,000,000
$1,000     -> After 1000% -> $10,000

See the difference?

For young people, the capital that we have will be limited. As a result, there might be tons of opportunities that we might be missing out if we don’t have money. Instead of lamenting on the fact that we don’t have money, successful people they learn a high paying skill SO THAT they can get more money to invest WHEN THE TIME COMES. To find a high paying skill set, we need to first understand what the market needs NOW. You can always get this information from LinkedIn (Read more: Tops Skills 2019). Some of the skills sets are evergreen, like Sales Leadership, Marketing and customer service.

There are many skills to learn. Choose one and get very good at it.

  • Maximise the available tools you have in your disposal 

Multiplier accounts (Read More: Money Maximization: REV©), Fixed Deposits, Bonds, CPF (Read More: Make The Most Of Your CPF). There are many tools that we are exposed to. But, it is still under utilized by many people! These are simple things that we can do to help us maximise the amount of money in our bank accounts especially when there is minimum fee or commission involved in these accounts. Successful people maximises what they have with what they have. Every cents counts.

I have a client who was not maximizing his bank accounts in Singapore. After, I share the REV strategy with him, his banking interest INCREASED by 600%

Before REV: $1400 interest per year
After REV: $10,000 interest per year

After sharing with many people, I realised that most Singaporeans will be able to get around $150 to $300 a month just using this strategy. These are just extra cash to be obtained if you put in that extra effort.

  • Learn Investing
Preparation is half the battle won
Preparation is half the battle won

In a recent survey (Read more: Most Singaporeans behind on retirement plans, many unsure how to grow wealth), 1 out of 3 Singaporeans is not investing. My question in my previous article is that are the 2 Singaporeans investing properly?

Most people that I met do some level of “investing” but when questioned deeper, I realised that many of these people “gamble” instead. So, how do you identify if you are gambling or investing? Ask yourself these questions

  1. Do you know what kind of business are you investing in?
  2. Do you know how this business collect revenue?
  3. What kind of risk are you taking when putting your money here?

If you are unable to answer those question confidently, you might be gambling with your money.

I realised that successful people who became rich actually spend money to learn how to invest. It is like a springboard to jump even higher. Yes. It will cost money. Yes it will cost time. Yes. It will take effort. It is like everything else. If you want to be good at something, it will definitely cost money, time and also effort. Why else would you want to risk your hard earn money.

In summary, we hope that everyone can naruto run their way to financial freedom.

Here, at wealthdojo, our vision is to be the platform for everyone to become enlightened in their financial decision so that they can become financially free. Our tagline: Your black belt to financial freedom. We hope this website will be one to let you be rich and also succeed in the financial world.

If you would like to start your financial journey today. Subscribe to us to learn how you can move through your financial journey together.

One in 3 adults doesn't invest OCBC survey

Most Singaporeans behind on retirement plans, many unsure how to grow wealth

by with 2 Comments Money MindsetRetirement

“Most Singaporeans behind on retirement plans, many unsure how to grow wealth: Study”

This made the headlines on the 15 July 2019 with OCBC being the one doing the financial wellness index. It also made headlines when all the insurance consultants in Singapore started to share it on Facebook as well.

From the article, Singaporeans are really good at 2 things: saving regularly and sticking to a budget. This is not a surprise as most of us grow up in an environment where saving was enforce down our throats and we were repeated told the stories of Ah-Longs if we borrow money.

One in 3 adults doesn't invest OCBC survey
One in 3 adults doesn’t invest OCBC survey

 

The more shocking fact I read is “One in 3 adults doesn’t invest”

To me, I hope that the other 2 make money from their investment. Most Singaporeans are familiar with only conventional money management habits such as saving regularly (Read more: money maximization: REV) and getting some sort of insurance coverage (Read more: Insurance for investors). The ones that are suffering are those in the Sandwich Generation (Sandwich Generation: Is it still possible to be rich?). Even if they are investing, they might not have the time and energy to invest properly.

After speaking to many people on the ground, I realised that many people’s idea of investing is to put it into fixed deposit or invest into the Singapore government bonds. While both are financial instruments in their own rights, it is not the best way to accelerate retirement.

In Wealthdojo,  we believe that it is a process to be financially free and it is our job to identify where people are stuck at in their financial journey. Some people may be stuck at budgeting while others might be stuck at getting an appropriate insurance package. However, the number 1 most important reason why people feel that they are stuck is because:

They simply don’t believe they can retire anymore.

Is Retirement Still Possible in Singapore
Is Retirement Still Possible in Singapore

I believe many are engaged in the work they do everyday, living day by day and are unable to see it pass the next month. I agree that in Singapore, it is stressful and we do work more than our counterparts in other countries. That’s why we have to do more so that can retire in Singapore.

Ms Tan Siew Lee, OCBC Bank Singapore’s head of wealth management, said that locals generally look to bank websites, financial advisers and “coffee shop talk” in gleaning knowledge about managing their money. I encourage this kind of behavior and hope that money will not be a taboo word in Singapore.

I hope to live till a time whereby Singaporeans won’t have to say “Money Not Enough”

For those that have read till here, we thank you for taking money into your own hands. We will be running our yearly seminar talking about Sandwich Generation: Is it still possible to be rich? . We hope to be the “coffee shop” where people come to talk to get knowledge about managing their money. Tickets are limited. Hope to see you then.

All the best in your financial journey.