STE's Stocks Investing Journey

 Hi! Good day, everyone. I’ve hit another milestone in my financial journey, and I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially closed my CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) account . ( Also means Uncle reached 55 years old liao   😊 . Turning 55 feels like crossing a major finish line, and it’s a milestone that comes with reflection.    After years of navigating the stock market with my CPF Ordinary Account (OA) funds, I’ve walked away with a tidy 11.2% return. That’s a solid win, especially when you stack it against the CPF OA’s guaranteed 2.5% interest rate. I’m not here to brag, though, but more to reflect on what this means and why I’m cautiously waving the flag for others thinking about diving into the market with their CPF savings.   A Win, But Not Without Caveats   Let’s get one thing straight: beating the CPF OA’s 2.5% interest rate feels great, but it’s not a walk in the park. That 2.5% is a risk-free return , a cosy safety net that grows y...

  Organisers claim #ReturnOurCPF protest drew 6K despite initial drizzle,  blazing sun  < link : yahoo.sg.com> Nurul Azliah Aripin · Nurul Azliah Aripin 7 June 2014 Some may still remember this news or saga that created a big "huha" at that time.  The #ReturnMyCPF movement in Singapore, which gained attention around 2014, was a grassroots campaign initiated by citizens to express concerns and frustrations over the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system. The CPF is a mandatory savings plan for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents, primarily for retirement, housing, and healthcare needs. The movement centred on key issues like the " lack of transparency of the CPF Board in using the money for investment/withdrawer age and policies/adequacy of retirement saving/ CPF interest rate , etc." The purpose of the blog post is not to debate who is right, and who is wrong, I think the government has already given enough explanation on most of the issues, instead, my problem...

Ops !! sorry, clickbait ... :D  Not investing in any corporates or government issued Bond but Mrs. STE and I just doing the voluntary contribution to our CPF accounts recently. We can't do the  RSTU( Retirement Sum Top Up)  since our SA (special account) already exceeded the FRS ( and BHS for MA already above $63K) but we still can do the VC3C ( Voluntary Contribution to 3 accounts ). The amount will be split into SA and OA with average interest rate of around 2.96%. For us, this is like 4 years bond with 2.96% coupon rate p.a since we still have 4 years to reach 55 years old. This might not be a good option for those who are still young and have many years to reach 55 since the top up is "irreversible” not like investing in bond where you still can sell it in secondary market when you need the money.  Alternatively, you may consider to top up your SA or MA if both account still not reaching the FRS or BHS since you can enjoy the higher interest rate (4% for MA/S...

 I think most of us will feel happy happy so long as you have CPF account as your interest from CPF been credited this morning , no matter rain or shine on 1st day of each new year. We (STE & Mrs. ) are so happy to see our CPF account  balance increase by $28,118.64 with these interest credited in.. I always emphasize that the CPF act as the Triple AAA Bond in our portfolio and if you are still young , you should treat it as long term AAA Bond  with only exception that you can see but can't touch at this moment. But I think we should not ignore the power of "compounding " effect if we are talking about 20-30 years kind of " lock in " period. Again, no right or wrong , some may think 20-30 years is too long and there is always a " policy risk " involve in  this regards. My Way Is Not The Only Way W have regularly done our RSTU while still being employed to save some personal income tax  and also doing some transferred of  $ from OA to SA  from t...

image credit to todayonline.com Right after 31 st Dec 2018, I guess everyone was busy logging in to their CPF account to check what is the latest balance they have in their CPF account. Yes, CPF interest will be credited on that day and one will be able to see how much he/she got on interest income for the year of 2018. STE doesn’t have the opportunity to feel the joy of getting year- end bonus since 2014 but instead, receiving the interest income from CPF on the first week of each year make me happy same as getting the bonus. ( Not from the employer but from “Ah Gong” ). We normally work hard to get a bonus but in this case, we let our money work hard to generate the interest income. :D Total $29,348.70 been credited to our CPF accounts ( for both STE and Mrs. ).

image credit to asiaone.com Ding…Ding…Ding, CPF Board has  just credited the interest into our CPF account, you may log in and check your latest balance and amount of interest you got from “ Ah Gong “... 😊

image credit to todayonline.com.sg CPF-IS has been hot and never-ending topic since DPM Tharman made a comment in 2016 that “ the scheme was not fit for purpose “ because over the last 10 years, more than 80 per cent of those who invested through the scheme would have been better off leaving their money in the CPF Ordinary Account. He said that over the last 10 years, more than 80 per cent of those who invested through the scheme would have been better off leaving their money in the CPF Ordinary Account since the Ordinary account still gives the member a 2.5% interest.

<Image credit to expatfinancialplanning.com> Personal finance is an interesting subject which is really “ Personal “ as there are many factors affecting a person or family’s finances – how much to keep as saving vs investing, to buy term or life insurance, to take up HDB loan or from private banks, to buy HBD or Condominium and of course the hottest topic of CPF ( to transfer our OA to SA or do a voluntary cash top-up into SA account)? Recently, my friends & famous financial bloggers ( Chris from Growing your tree of prosperity, Uncle CW8888 , SGBudgetBabe ) gathered together to give a talk about “ CPF Optimization for Retirement ( here )” You may find some of their thoughts and ideas ( here ): as you may see, there were different opinions and views about the issue even from the speakers and of course the attendants.

Risks of Living on Dividend Income “ Dividend income ” investing has been deep-seated in most of investor’s mind, as ways to achieve Financial Independence and living off dividends in retirement is a dream shared by many.  In today’s environment marked by rising life expectancies, extremely low bond yields, and a 7-year bull market, retirees face challenges on all fronts to build a consistent income stream that will last a lifetime . But the questions is “ Can we really depend on just dividend income for our retirement or is it sustainable ?”.

image credit to CPFBoard.gov.sg It has been continuously being a hot topic about whether one should transfer their CPF money from OA ( Ordinary Account ) to SA ( Special Account ) to earn a higher return of interest rate. Different people ( bloggers ) are having a different view about this issue and each might have their own valid reasons or argument to put forward. 

CPF: A Noble but Overstretch Objective? Legislated in 1955, the CPF system was originally designed only to provide post-retirement security. The model chosen was a fully-funded compulsory savings scheme in which individuals receive benefits directly related to their contributions. Under the scheme of 居者有其屋 , it has been extended to meet the requirement of homeownership, then to healthcare and education.