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COVID - The Real Life Report Card

28/1/2021

I was thinking about the effects of COVID and who was most impacted by it.
In a sense, I felt that it was like a report card.

How well, as individuals, did we handle the effects of COVID.
It's like a report card of the decisions we made along the path of life.

COVID as an illness affects the unhealthy more than the healthy.
In the US, there are a lot of people who have chronic illnesses, obesity, diabetes, heart issues, etc...
They have a higher chance of facing complications if they contract COVID.

So, if somewhere along life's path, someone didn't take care of their health, well... this is a time when there is a significance.

If someone didn't manage their finances properly. Didn't save, didn't plan for their future...
Well... COVID also did a number on these folks as well.
If you lose your job, but still have good finances, things aren't all that bad. Cos with savings, it's possible to sustain for a number of months.

Then there's the debt issue. If someone didn't plan well for their finances and are significantly in debt. Then things are all the more worse for them. Cos if they lost their job, it's already bad enough to survive without a job and no debt.
It's just worse if there's no job and with debtors knocking at the door.

Then comes studying and the type of job...
COVID hit the lower income folks more than the higher income folks. People working in offices were able to work from home, whereas folks who worked at jobs with lower education requirements were more affected.
This person I wrote about, with just an O level in SG, was affected in his job. Luckily, even though his pay was cut, but he still managed to keep his job in retail. However, he did mention that there were many others who were not so lucky in his industry and other similar industries.

Business owners were affected. Well... high risk high return. It's an unexpected risk no doubt. But still it's part of the risk of doing business. Yes, I recognize many of them might be struggling, but unfortunately, I don't feel sorry for them. They made their money in the good times, the rest is financial management. See the points above on financial management and debt.

So somehow, I feel that COVID was a check on our decisions and position in life.
Sure, the Government really helped out a lot on softening the impact. If they Government did not step in, the impact would be way way worse.

Think about it... our decisions on how we managed our health, finances, debt, job and education, business decisions, etc... COVID really tested individuals on how robust their lives really are.

Hey, I'm not saying all folks with lower academic qualifications suffered. Or all who had high academic qualifications did well. It all depends on how they managed their overall life choices.
I mean... someone who didn't do well in school might have gone into retail and get severely affected by COVID.
BUT, a similar person might have gone to become a successful real estate agent and some of them are doing well during the pandemic.

Similarly, a successful O&G engineer might have done well in school, with a high paying job, but ended up losing their job and he might have taken up a lot of debt and might be struggling due to the COVID situation.

So what I mean is... COVID is a like a real life test on the decisions we have made in our lives. The cards we were dealt, and what we did with it.
Some people might not have done well in school, but they might be resilient in their real life situation.
Some people might have done well in school, but they might not be healthy, or they may be in debt.
Of course the best situation is to be healthy, wealthy and everything is good.
The worst situation is unhealthy, poor, and in debt.
Most people are somewhere in between, and COVID is like a test on our real life situation. Maybe some of us were protected due to Government help. Well lucky for you. But maybe it's better to be prepared for the next crisis and up the level of your life situation.

It doesn't matter what we start out with.
Complaining doesn't help.
In the end, when sh!t hits the fan... which is something like what's happening now...
It's a wake up call. At least it's supposed to be a wake up call.
A report card is a report card.
It just shows the current situation.
You can say some folks are born into unlucky situations or aren't poor by choice, etc...
Yes. I agree, but this is their report card.
I can say that I don't exercise cos I have a knee injury. But my report card is I am not as healthy as I hope to be.
The report card doesn't care about WHY.
We can give ourselves any excuse we want on why the report card is doing poorly. It doesn't change the report card. It just makes us feel better that we have a "reason" of poor performance.
In the end... it's what we DO, that will improve the report card for when the next crisis hits.

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My Changing Views Towards COVID

27/1/2021

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It's around 1 year since COVID took a trip around the world.
For me, I've updated my views on this situation.
These are personal opinions.

When COVID first started, I camped at home for almost 3 months, stocking up 4 months' worth of food and maybe going to the supermarket to restock once every 2-3 weeks.

At the start, we didn't know much about the virus.
Italy was having a high death rate.
And it seemed like such high death rates could be experienced by other countries.
So I was super prudent, just stay at home and don't go out much.

And yet, one year later, that never happened. COVID death rates remained somewhat low.
So the question is rather. How the hell did Italy screw up so badly.

COVID is not a death sentence.
In SG, not many people know someone personally who got COVID.
In the US, that's not the case. I know people who've gotten COVID. And they just stayed at home and got well.
It's just flu-ish symptoms.
(NOTE: COVID is NOT the flu. I will never say that COVID is like the flu. COVID shows flu like symptoms. But it is NOT the flu.)

I look towards SG from where I am, and I personally feel that SG overreacted to it. And is still overreacting to it. *Personal opinion.
In the US, not many people care much about it. They take it into their stride. Life goes on.
If you're scared, YOU stay home. Let the one who is not afraid go out.

In SG there's a lot of controls, contact tracing, etc. Really, I feel that's overkill. Losing privacy and giving Gov unnecessary data.

I appreciated how the US handled the COVID situation.
Sure. They didn't handle it. They didn't do much. It's a stupid way to handle the situation.
BUT, it gives people a choice. Hahaha ... and I wrote about this in my previous post.
I appreciated that I didn't need to quarantine when I returned to the US.
I appreciated that I could choose what I felt was safe enough for myself.
If I feel afraid, I stay at home, if someone else feels afraid, then THEY should stay at home.
And I appreciate that I was given this choice in the US.

Now, is this the BEST way to have handled the situation? Maybe not. Cos COVID cases in the US are high.
But I appreciate the choice I was given.

After 1 year and more data has come out, based on the numbers, it appears that COVID isn't that serious.
Sure, I don't want to go get it unnecessarily. So it's not like I'll go and share food with friends and hang around places where people gather without masks.
But mathematically, most people get well from it. Over 99%.

Now, I go out more. I eat at restaurants, buffets, go to supermarkets once a week.
We are even trying to plan a trip over a weekend.
Things in the US probably aren't better than in SG. COVID cased in the US is still high.
But with more data and a better understanding of what happening.
Although nothing has really changed, things seem a lot more acceptable.

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Is Having A Choice Always Better?

26/1/2021

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Now, I'm not going to define what is better or worse.
It's really up to personal perspective. Some people think better is this, some people think better is that...
So I'll leave it up to readers to decide what is considered "better".

Think about investments.
We have so many choices to invest.
We can buy the index, stock pick individual stocks, we can buy different indexes, we can focus on financial index, tech index, utilities index, buy US shares, China shares, hedge funds, CFDs, options.
So many choices we can choose from.
And yet, the AVERAGE person, will do better with just a few choices.

The average person would probably do better if they...
1. Buy the index, S&P or even the STI index probably will do good enough the long term. 30-50 years.
2. Put money into CPF SA account.
3. Buy an endowment plan and get around 3% return over a 25 year period.

How about social media?
There are a lot of people spreading around fake news.
News about the vaccine, suddenly so many people are experts talking about efficacy rates, about side effects, etc...
Tell me, how many people know the efficacy rates of the measles vaccine, chicken pox vaccine, polio, flu jabs, etc... we have taken many vaccines in our lives, especially for Singaporeans, we take them in primary school or even as infants.
Suddenly with more news, social media, everyone forwarding each other articles. So many "experts" appear.
Is this really better?
The average person would probably do better just reading the Straits Times.
If people aren't able to discern fake news vs real news, good info vs bad info, think critically and spread worthy info, then probably just stick to main stream media. Even if it's biased, it's still better than fake.

How about the COVID reaction in Asia vs western countries?
Many Asian countries just locked down.
Western countries talk about freedom and all that stuff...
Who has better controlled the spread of COVID?

The thing is...
IF we aren't able to think through our choices and make informed decisions, or we aren't able to understand our choices. Then we end up with greater probability of making poor choices. Cos bad choices exist.

What if the Government straight out banned smoking? And yet, people choose to smoke.
What if supermarkets only sold fresh produce? None of those processed food and rubbish. Would the general population be healthier?
What if fast food didn't exist? Banned from opening such eateries in Singapore?
Sure, such rules seem unimaginable. Maybe only in a communist country will they do such a thing.
And yet... what is better for most people?

What if all companies are required to have a PE lesson like in schools. Set aside 1 hour for physical activity every day. Siao right? But yet, would employees generally be healthier?

Of course, choices make life, life...
I mean, what's life if you can't make the most out of it.
And yet, are choices really good?
It's only good if you know what you're doing.
And of course... everyone thinks that they know what they are doing.

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Is A Car Affordable?

21/1/2021

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Everything is affordable.
Always depends on the earning power right?

The cost of owning a car in SG is around $1200 per month, plus minus.
Pure expense.
It's not like you get to keep the car and use it for long term.
At $1200, it's relatively affordable.

Until you look at income levels.

Singapore's median income in 2019 was $4,563 – or roughly $3,331 per month after employer CPF contributions are taken into account. In 2018, this was $4,437 – or roughly $3,239 per month after employer CPF contributions.
-https://dollarsandsense.sg/singapores-average-household-income-different-salaries-earn/

So... $1200 is almost 36% of take home pay after CPF.
Or 26% of total pay.
That's really A LOT.
Imagine. You work 10 years, 2.5 years are for the car if you are single.
Else, dual income, then maybe not so bad.

For us in the US, we leased a car. So the monthly cost currently is less than US$700. Which is also pretty expensive.
However, after the lease, we are given the option to buy the car at a lower rate, also, the insurance drops as the car gets older, AND it can be used for 20 plus years if taken care of.
Imagine, the car in US costs US$25,000 and can be used for 20 years. Which means the cost of the car averages $1,250 per YEAR, or slightly over $100 per month. Then add maybe $200 per month for insurance and petrol. Making it around US$300 per month to own a car.

Of course, there's no point comparing. Different countries. Different traffic situation.

The point I'm trying to make is, well...
How many years of your life is the car worth?

Maybe the car helps with your work...
Or maybe the car gives you the time on weekends to do many other things, like go out with your family and have good memories/experiences, etc...
Now, that's all perceived value. It improves your overall life.

And yet, there is a real trade off, cos the ownership of a car or cars will decrease wealth accumulation and push back retirement.
Of course if you're making $10k a month, then the expense of a car might not mean much.
It's still 10% of income though.
Meaning over 40 years, 4 years of work is spent covering car expenses.
If you earn $5k per month, then almost 8 years is spent on covering car expenses over a 40 year career.

This could be said for Grab expenses as well. There are folks who spend a lot on Grab trips.
In the end... these expenses are all years of your life that you give up in exchange.

Hey. I'm not judging. I owned a car when I was in SG, and during my latest trip back to SG, I think we spent around $400 in Grab trips over a 3 week period.
Did I feel it was expensive? Yes. And yet, I felt that it was pretty worth it.

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What is 10% Return Worth?

13/1/2021

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How much do you/I value 10% return?
I recently asked myself this question.

We always hear about theoretical 5% or 7% or 10% annual returns, then we project it over 50 years and anyone can get rich.
Of course, life isn't so simple.

Recently I thought about guaranteed 10% return.
Getting a guaranteed 10% return on an investment for 1 year is quite a good return.
Getting guaranteed 10% return over a 2 year investment isn't too bad.
Getting guaranteed 10% return over a 3 year investment is starting to become like a FD.
4 years is under 2.5%, some people are ok with this. Well, it's still a good FD rate.
5 years, also still a good FD rate.

What if the chance is 90% chance of 10% return?
When the market is doing poorly... Example like 6 months ago.
There are a lot of bargain opportunities. So there's good chance to make 20%, 30% returns on other stocks.
And there's a stock that has a 90% chance for 10% returns.
Which is better?

Of course everyone has their own risk tolerance and greed levels.
I recently did some calculations and had this dilemma.

Now that's only looking at 10% returns...

A stock I was looking at had a very high chance for 20%-25% returns. With almost 90% chance of 10%-15% returns.
And so I put some money into it.
Cos I wanted to save some additional capital for other opportunities which might come about in future.
On hindsight, I should have put a lot more. 20-25% returns are very good returns.
Even if I ended up with 10%-15%, that's already pretty good as well.

Shouldn't be greedy to try to shoot for other opportunities which may or may not come about.

A bird in hand is really worth way more than the illusionary 2, or 10 in a bush.
They may not be in the bush, or might not even be able to catch them.

Lesson learnt. Ouch.

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Are 99 Year Properties Good Investments?

12/1/2021

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I've been thinking about SG property investments.
As in, just thinking, about them as an investment class, not thinking about buying them.
Now, I'm just talking about leasehold properties, not freehold. Cos most SG properties are 99 year leases.
I wrote about 99 year lease here previously.
On first glance, the 99 year lease issue seems typically problematic only for HDB owners, cos there's low probability of SERS.
Whereas condo owners can self initiate en-bloc proceedings.

For me, there's no doubt that 99 year lease purchases is just prepaid rent.
You can tell yourself anything you want. The fact that after 99 years it doesn't belong to you means you don't own it.
The ability to sell the unused portion of the rent doesn't mean the property belongs to you.

Every year, the lease drops by one year, so on the first year, the lease loses 1% of it's value.
And as the lease gets shorter, the lease loses more of it's value every year. A 50 year lease loses 2% of it's value after 1 year.
And yet... for most properties, the sell price increases every year. EXCEPT for those leases which are really short. Like a 10 year remaining lease would be losing 10% utility every year.

The thing is, Singapore rental market probably increases by more than 1% per year due to inflation.
So... during the early years, the 98 year lease would have an increasing market value. Cos the rental inflation is more than the annual depreciation of the lease.
UNTIL the point where the annual depreciation of the lease starts to exceed the rate of increase of market value rents. Then prices of the property will start to flatten then eventually fall as the annual depreciation starts to outpace the rental inflation.

As I've written in the previous article.
You ALWAYS lose value when investing in property. You MAY gain in PRICE, but you ALWAYS lose value.
Singapore property is a function of lease remaining, size and location.
If you sell your property, and want to keep some cash, you must lose one of the above.
I stay in Queenstown. If I sell the place, and want to keep some cash, I MUST move to a less centralized area, OR if I want to stay in the same area, I need to find a smaller size apartment.
There's no way to sell the place, stay in the same area, with the same size, with the same lease remaining.
I think only lucky/smart folks like SMOL beat this situation.

Even for en-bloc, this holds true.
Developers aren't stupid. How many people do you know sold their condos en-bloc and managed to stay in the same area with the same size with the same remaining lease?
Most condos around the area are usually much smaller.

You can't even just stay in the same property forever, cos the lease will eventually expire.

Let's say, we live forever, or we want to pass off our wealth to our kids.
We will not be able to just stay in a 99 year lease property cos it will eventually expire.
So there will always be a need to sell it and move to retain some value. Once it expires, it's worth ZERO. The worst case situation.
But, when selling and moving, we'll need to downgrade in terms of location, or size or length of lease.
The thing is... you're always losing something when investing in a leasehold property.
In the long run, it's always depreciating. You may earn in price, but you will always lose in value.

As compared to other investments...
Like freehold properties. You can forever pass this on to your kids. OR if you live forever, you can continue to stay in that property, or until the government re-zones the area.
Also, for freehold properties, the problem comes when you want to move. Well, there isn't many other freehold properties to choose from. So it's not like there is much choice.
But I would think a freehold property would be a good store of value. Cos it doesn't depreciate as the lease expires.

Alternatively, investments into a significantly large portfolio of companies would theoretically last forever. Or until societies change and ownership of companies and assets change.

Gold and maybe Bitcoin could also be perpetual storage of value, until people don't value them.

The thing is... as I keep thinking about it, a 99 year leasehold property doesn't retain value in the long run. Especially if you plan to stay in it or want to pass it on to future generations.

Think about it.
You buy a property for $1 million. It is for 99 years, 1000 sqft, at Paya Lebar.
30 years later you sell it for $3 million. It has 69 years of lease left.
To continue to stay in Paya Lebar with extended lease, you will need to downgrade to a smaller unit.
So you may spend $3 million to buy a place nearby with 80 year lease, but now it's 800 sqft.
Fast forward 20 years. This place now has 60 years lease left. Better sell it so that the price is still ok.
You get $5 million.
800 sqft is already kinda small, that's the minimum you'd be willing to accept. So now you need to move further out. So you buy a place at Simei with 80 years lease, 800 sqft.
And it keeps continuing...
I'm assuming no new capital injection... The initial $1 million which was invested has risen in price. You haven't "lost" money.
BUT... you aren't staying in the same place anymore.
You HAVE LOST value. You haven't managed to maintain the same standard of living.
You have not managed to hand off the same standard of living over to your kids or future generation.
Wealth is lost.

However... this is only if we're talking about the property that you are living in.

If we look at a property as an investment and we will take out a loan and rent out the place.
Depending on the rate of return, there is a higher chance that wealth is preserved for future generations.
Cos as the property depreciates, the rental could cover the depreciation. And even without additional capital injection, just by using the rental cashflow, it probably is possible to continue to maintain the ownership of a similar property within the same location as you sell and buy a new place to renew the lease period.

So it appears that... Accommodation needs to be viewed like any other goods and services.

To preserve wealth, for SG, I should buy a freehold property to stay in. This ensures that I can keep the same standard of living and hold the property for future generations.

Alternatively, invest in a large basket of stocks and use the investments to pay rent.
As the stocks rise along with inflation, the returns should follow rental rates.

If I want to buy a 99 year leasehold property, then I need to rent it out, cos that property is depreciating in value.

Alternatively, since a 99 year leasehold property is prepaid rent, then I could combine the solutions by taking a loan for the leasehold property and keeping as much as possible in other investments which can be used to pay for the mortgage, which could be viewed as "rent".

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The Story Of Robinhood

8/1/2021

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What do you remember from the story of Robinhood?

As I grew older, I forgot many details, how he beat Little John by the bridge, there's Friar Tuck, his band of Merry Men, etc...

But the 2 things I remembered most from Robinhood was...
1. He robbed from the rich to give to the poor.
2. He split an arrow with another arrow.

Number 2 is apparently scientifically not possible as proven by Mythbusters.
At least not with a normal wood shaft arrow.
Episode 36 and Episode 51
Just FYI.

As for point 1...
Robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
That's what we've learnt most of our lives.
Ever wonder why?
I mean... what kind of bright idea was it to teach children that robbing from the rich to give to the poor was an honourable thing to do?

Apparently Robinhood only stole from those who got rich by dishonest means, and did not steal from honest men... how many of us remember this?
BUT... there is no doubt that Robinhood was a thief by LAW.
Of course in the story, the law is skewed towards the rulers so it is assumed that the law is unfair to the common folk.

When parents tell the story of Robinhood, does a child ever ask... why is it ok to rob from the rich?

Now, Robinhood was deemed to be a hero, and in the book, it's a story of kings and successions. So there's a lot of inference that there's corruption and stuff like that.
But how many people really dwell on such details?

Rob from the rich to give to the poor. That's all that matters right?
Cos the rich has money to lose...
Wait... WHAT?

Somehow that's how the world works.
When you have more, the people around somehow want a piece of it.
When you're rich, people expect you to give back to society.
When you're retired, people expect you to help others.

And considering that there are less rich than the everyone else...
Of course it sounds wonderful. Take money from the rich and share it with others...
Until you become rich that is... Then suddenly you realize... waitttt a minute...

Now, I'm not rich. I have enough to retire, but not in luxury.
But already there are people who've been calling for me to help others in terms of time and money.
Why?
Why should there be any responsibility to help others?
I mean... helping others is good and all. A choice... yes sure. BUT a responsibility?

And I feel that that's a real issue in society these days.
People look for solutions from other people.
People want a bailout.
People want free stuff. Heck, even when I got free stuff, I had to actually go and get it for myself. There's effort involved.

There's really a lot of paths to success and wealth.
Few of them come easy and free. Unless you're lucky or your parents are rich.
But 99% of these paths to wealth and/or success required hard work and/or sacrifice.
Not to mention skill, luck, tenacity, etc.

BUT... somehow that's not cool anymore. Many people expect an easy path.
There are numerous folks who don't take responsibility for their decisions in life.
I mean... that's what risk and reward are about. Cause and effect.
If you take a loan and the business venture fails, then you still need to pay off the loan.
If you take a student loan, then the major that you study should make enough to repay the loan.
If we spend more when we're young and fail to save, then we should be prepared not to be able to retire.
If we work in a dead end job, then we shouldn't expect to get rich or maybe even not be able to support a lifestyle.

We are all human. With a brain and choices. Humans react to fear and reward. Carrot and stick.
Many of us studied hard cos we were afraid to fail, to be afraid that we won't get good jobs, etc.
Similarly, why shouldn't this fear continue to drive us to make better decisions in life?

Fear of large medical bills? Buy insurance.
Fear of lack of money for retirement? Plan for retirement and save hard.
Fear of losing your job? Keep upgrading, make sure that your skills are always needed by the company.

Fear should not be an excuse for helplessness.
Fear should be a driver. A call to action.

But yet these days, I feel that society is becoming more lenient to folks who don't take control of their own lives. I get a feeling that with each generation, we expect things to be given to us. We don't need to take responsibility for our own actions, our own choices, etc.

In life, there are always winners and losers, and somewhere in between.
What's important is to ensure that the less fortunate have a path to become a winner.
That doesn't mean hand outs.
The path must exist, whether they take the path or not, that's their own choice.
I wrote about surviving in SG with just an 'O' level.

So this thing about stealing from the rich and giving to the poor...
Well... aren't rich people just poor people who managed to get rich?
Yet somehow the rich are typically demonized as out of touch and exploiting the poor.
And yet... it is the actions of millions of common folk who make the rich rich.
Who made Steve Jobs rich? Who made Jack Ma rich?

Of course corruption and unfairness and illegal stuff shouldn't be condoned.
But many times, people just look at the rich and condemn them. And many people just feel that since they are rich, they should just give away their wealth.
Well... the thing is. If the normal people, or lower income doesn't know how to manage wealth, even with a lot of money or redistributed wealth, they also won't remain rich.

So the thing about rob the rich and give to the poor...
Well... sounds like communism to me.
Socialism is maybe pickpocketing the rich and give to the poor.

I'm not against nationalizing some important services.
I'm also not against higher taxes for the rich. The rich have an incentive to redistribute wealth to keep social peace so that they can continue to be rich.

But the whole idea of robbing the rich to give to the poor. That's unhealthy.
The rich aren't criminals. Even in Robinhood, the rich were unjust, but technically they weren't criminals.
What I do think, is that people really do need to be more responsible for their own lives and actions and stop expecting some get rich quick scheme or ideology to bail them out, and treating more successful people as a piggy bank.

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Keeping An Open Mind

7/1/2021

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I was reading up on politics recently. It's a very interesting topic in SG or in the US.

I'll ask some simple questions.
And you can think about the answers.

1. If there are illegal immigrants in your country, what should your Government do about them?
2. Should they be allowed to work?
3. Should they be allowed to claim benefits such as unemployment benefits or any social support benefits, like food aid, etc?

4. If someone takes a study loan, should they work after getting their degree and pay off the loan?
5. If they study a rubbish subject and cannot find a job, is it their fault?
6. If they take too big of a loan which they have difficulty in repaying, whos fault is it?

OK... So...
If any opposition party in Singapore says...
We will accept illegal immigrants into Singapore, we will not deport them.
We will allow them to work and depress wages in SG.
Also, they are eligible for benefits and support programs from the Government.

If you are Singaporean, would you vote for this opposition party? Would you be angry?

If someone takes a university study loan, I think any logical person would feel that it is expected that they will work in the field that they study.
If they find some weird major, then that's their fault that they can't find a job which suits them and it's also their fault that they can't pay off their loan.
If someone takes up a $200,000 loan and has difficulty paying it then they should have thought about that before they took the loan right? They should have done some form of calculation to ensure that they are able to repay that loan.

If any opposition party in Singapore says that the Government will repay all these loans for the students, what would you feel?
What if they say, "If you saved and was frugal and you mangaged to repay the loan, good for you, you won't get any of your money back. But if you can't pay for the loan, the Government will step in and help you repay your loan. FREE."

Cos all these free loans will be paid by the taxpayer. The money needs to come from somewhere you know.
If you've paid up your loan, good for you. Now we'll take some of your tax dollars to help others who haven't paid up their loan.
Also, if you're not a uni grad, your tax dollars will ALSO be used to pay for someone else's university education. How cool is that?

If you are Singaporean, would you vote for this opposition party? Would you be angry?

Ok, next question, what kind of people would vote for such an opposition party?
Would you vote for such an opposition party? Why? Why not?

Well... if you voted for this party, congratulations, you voted for the Democratic Party in the US.
Now, I may not be getting ALL the policy details entirely correctly. But these are the gist of some of the policies being supported by the Democrats.

The news showing people being deported from the US, well, those are illegal immigrants who don't have any visa or have any legal right to be in the US.
And yes, many of them get medical support and food stamps from the US Government.

Now... I'm not saying Trump is a nice guy. He's far from a good or nice guy.
But if I'm looking at policies which actually impact ME (assuming that I'm a US citizen). Then it makes compelling reason to vote for Trump or any Republican party member.

It's easy to look at the usual media outlets and conclude that Trump is mad and a horrible person.
Most media outlets are owned by people with affiliation to the Democratic party with an agenda to portray him as a terrible person.
BUT a terrible person doesn't mean that overall Republican policies are bad.

The media does a really good job of picking out all the worst parts of Trump and keeps drumming on it to incite anger, hatred and fear of Trump and his antics.

Now, I'm not saying the Republican party is a party of angels. They also have their issues.
Both parties lie or mislead or withhold information to further their own agenda.
I've written about this before. Politicians need to stay in power to get things done.
So they will lie if they must. Cos, no votes mean no power, and nothing happens.
If they lie, and get into power and get found out later... well too bad, they are already in power.

The point I'm trying to make is... As Singaporeans, it's really hard to see what's real in the US.
Cos from halfway across the world, many people don't know much about the US and the issues they face.
The news which we receive in SG is what the mainstream media feeds to the media in SG.
It's easy to think that so many Americans must be stupid to vote for Trump again.
Even when I am here, it's easy to just follow mainstream media and get the impression that Trump is a terrible person. And maybe he is.

BUT... if I'm an American... There's good chance I'll vote for Trump, not cos Trump is good.
But cos I won't like Democratic policies.
As someone who is in a position of privilege, I don't want to be subsidizing other peoples' mistakes, lack of planning, lack of wisdom, etc.
Help people, yes, subsidize stupidity, and encourage irresponsible behaviour, NO.

It's easy to fall into the narrative that Trump is a bad person and shouldn't be voted for.
But that's voting based on feelings.
And if you just watch the media which is 80% Democratic affiliated, you'll feel so angry when watching Trump on the news.
And if you don't get into the details of policies and what the different parties actually stand for, then you'll be voting based on feelings.

If you look deeper, then maybe views change. I may not like the person. I may be angry at the person. BUT at least the party would be implementing policies in my interest. And isn't that what voting for a Government is all about?

What I'm saying is to keep an open mind and understand things.
I don't proclaim to know EVERYTHING about the US politics and what they stand for. There's probably a lot of other details and different views.
Maybe I will like some Democratic policies, etc...
The thing is, it's hard to conclude without knowing more and doing more research.
Just watching sensational news about Trump and his antics isn't research.

Similarly, many other countries would think Singaporeans are crazy to keep the PAP in power for years.
Do they really understand the situation?
Are Singaporean lives really that hard?
Or is the silent majority really folks who are ok with the PAP, and those who are vocal about their opposition are just getting more media coverage?
So maybe it SEEMS like there's really a lot of people who are anti-PAP, cos there's so much noise by the various alternative media.
But actually most people are ok. Cos the results show for themselves.

So I'd say... keep an open mind and read more, just cos you don't like someone doesn't mean that the person is working against your interests.
Similarly, if you like someone, doesn't mean that person is working in your interests.
Read and research and read and research some more.

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What's Another $1

6/1/2021

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Many thanks to readers for the encouragement after yesterday's post.
I've pretty much gotten over my downward phase and am looking forward to a brighter 2021 and finishing my WS hopefully later this year... (NS = National Service, WS = ???)

So recently we needed to review our rental agreement. Cos it's been a year and renewal is due.
We went around looking for lower cost alternatives.
And of course there are lower cost alternatives. We could easily get rent at 50% cheaper.
It all depends on WHERE the location is.
There are places 20-30% cheaper as well, and those are in good places, nice new apartments with a view over a lake, near to office, but may have less amenities around the area.

We enjoy staying at our current place. It's near a lot of food areas, on the edge of the city, so it's near enough to the city area, but yet not too crowded. Good community, there's lots of Asians in our apartment, Japanese. So we feel pretty safe around here.
The problem is, it is significantly more expensive.
BUT, it still is affordable. I mean, affordability is relative right? Depends on earnings.

Todays post is about the slippery slope of savings.
And also the slippery slope of spending.

As much as we can get too obsessed with saving, we also can get to lazy to manage spending.
In Singapore, we saved a lot. Looked out for good deals, went to get free stuff.
Getting deals, saving, getting free stuff, were all fun last time. I was in Singapore. I was comfortable, felt safe, knew how people would react to certain things, etc.

Saving can get extreme. We all know that.
I mean... Homelessness by choice is a saving method.
But I doubt any of us will go down that path.

Recently, we have been more lax in our spending.
We're more willing to pay for convenience. What's another $1, or $300 per month.
It's affordable. We are spending comfortably within the allowance provided by the company.
And getting lax in spending can also get extreme...
What's another $50 meal here and there?
And logically, if it were my younger self 5 years ago, I definitely would have changed apartments to save an additional $300 per month.
But we're in a phase of life that we are more willing to spend on convenience for now, especially since we're in the US. Convenience, safety, comfort, all mean a lot more than what it used to.
And of course this could easily get out of hand. We could end up increasing our spending and justifying it to ourselves.

So for every additional dollar that I'm willing to spend, there's always another dollar that is waiting to be spent. There's always another dollar for us to justify our spending.
More convenience, better food, make myself happy cos I'm in the US, etc.

On the flip side, savings, or wealth accumulation, works similarly.
I could find a cheaper place, eat cheaper food walk to work, etc...
And in the end, I could just find a job and earn money.
If saving is going to be a pain or troublesome, then seriously, just go back and work.

And like all things in life, it needs balance
I tell myself that we've increased our spending cos we are in the US. Maybe that's true.
I can only check myself when I'm back in SG and if I can get back my lower cost lifestyle.
That's not to say my spending in US is exorbitant. But I would consider it as much less controlled versus my previous self.

Similarly to being frugal and saving. I tell myself, if I end up going down the path of being miserable while being frugal, then I might as well go back to work.
Saving and being frugal has always been fun for me. Even getting free stuff has been fun. But if someday I end up being stressed or our overall lifestyle decreases. Then maybe getting back to work would be more logical than just pushing down the savings path.

So what's another dollar?
The thing is, there's always another dollar after that.
I could spend more for more convenience and more luxuries. There's always another dollar to spend.
And there's also always another dollar to save.
I could always move to a cheaper place. I could live in a car to save money.
I could always end up homeless by choice and eating leftovers by others, and not have any internet connection and no health insurance.
(Hey, that's an option, nothing wrong with that if it's your choice.)
But to me if I'm going to do that, then I might as well go back to work. It's hardly what I, personally, feel what life should be about.

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Taking Care of Mental Health (Part 2)

5/1/2021

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Previously, I did a post on what I feel about mental health.

Recently, I've been going through a rough patch mentally.
Which is why I haven't been posting. Really no mood to write anything or do anything.

A loss of control of my life.
A meaningless existence in the US. Note, I only say in the US.
I'm not engaged in the life here. Like an employee who really doesn't care about the company he works for.
US is a good enough country. No doubt. I've always said. There's no perfect country.
Just good enough countries, and from within a handful of good enough countries, we decide which we want to live in. I've written about this before in this post.
There's no perfect country, we just need to work with the pros and cons and decide which is the country for us.

And I've also written about making changes to life to improve our own circumstances.

I was here before. I wanted the answers to appear. Some circumstance change that would show me the way.
In the end, I was the one who needed to change. The answers appear in many forms. Many different ideas. Suggestions by people, books, online help, etc... But it's up to me to take up the ideas and run with them. When I first started, I just kept rejecting the ideas.
-https://earlyretirementsg.weebly.com/blog/life-isnt-a-storybook-its-an-rpg

I know what needs to be done. I knew the answers. I just didn't want to do them.
Many people have offered ideas. Yes, most of them are the usual suggestions. Find work, find something to do, exercise, get a hobby, play games.
All with good intentions.
But I did not want to do them.

Things felt helpless and I felt trapped. I just wanted to go home. And I still do.

I've walked this road before. It's no easier walking it again.
Life always throws us issues. Some can be settled easily. Others need some time and more effort.
I've managed to avoid big issues after I left my work.
Life was cushy and cruising along nicely in SG. Happy with my spot in life, I had friends and family to play with. Life was good enough. I was contented.

And now I'm here. Halfway across the world. With maybe another year or more, and things felt helpless. A fish out of water with no obvious end in sight.
Of course, this move was also a decision we made. My wife is happy about the move and I'm not.

And of course, there are many people who question why I'm unhappy about my lot. I'm supposed to be "living the dream". I got to travel to Paris and US and got to live in both countries.
Well... That's their dream.
Everyone has their own different dreams and how they want to live their lives and this journey, unfortunately, I embarked upon it without knowing the toll it was going to take on me.

Yes. I expected this journey to be fun. A new adventure in life. In part, it has been so. But after living through it, it is not what I want. So yes, there is a certain level of regret.
And for the past few weeks, or longer, I have been feeling really down about this phase in life.

So what's the answer to this?
What should I do about this?
If you've read the posts I've linked above. And I've re-read the posts... I do re-read my own posts often, cos it helps me focus on my past versus my current self. Helps me reflect upon life and changes in my way of thinking and perspectives.

The answer to my problems are...
1. So what are you (am I) going to do about it?
2. The answer lies within.

If you end up feeling sad that you added the wrong stats. Then... how? What are you going to do about it? Can't do anything right? Quickly move on and enjoy the other parts of the game. Else what's the point?
-https://earlyretirementsg.weebly.com/blog/life-isnt-a-storybook-its-an-rpg

I wrote that post on 7 Jan 2020. One year later. I'm reading it again to encourage myself.
It's like I wrote that post for myself. An ERSG who's in a better state of mind wrote something for his future self, how cool is that.

And my answer is happiness is a decision. Wrote about that in 2016, gosh it's been so long.

There are somethings that can't be changed.
It's like the parameters of a game. And I have to work within those parameters to advance.
There's no point in being unhappy about the parameters.
I am in the US. I don't like it. I've been grumbling about it. And I've been stuck on it.
But that's a parameter. I can't change it easily without significant costs.
It's time for me to accept it.
It was my choice to come to the US. And it's also our choice that we don't leave to prevent any financial penalties.
And that's it. Suddenly I feel so much better.
No. I didn't need to find any work, hobby, other activity.
I was just bounded by my own mental thoughts. I was just unhappy about being stuck here.

And now, I can think of how best to spend my time here.
I am in the US. There's nothing I can do about it. That's a parameter.
Dirty politics, racism, poor COVID management, etc... too bad, that's just part of the deal.
As much as it stresses me, I also have to let those go. Also part of the parameters.
I just have to work around it.

Now that I've acknowledged and accepted the parameters, I can better focus on the positives of being in the US, and the things I can control.
Like eat better food, food is cheaper in the US. Steak, lobsters, etc.
Or I could go on some short trips.
Different mentality. Makes all the difference.

The solution lies within.
Activities which are usually seen as solutions are merely distractions from the problem. Once the activities ended, and reality kicked in again, I got stressed again.
However, once I managed to change my mental state and accepted the problems as parameters. The issues stopped having a hold on me. The issues still exist. But I have chosen to work around them.

And of course, I still look forward to returning to SG.

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