Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Updates for May 2023

Been couple of months since my last post. Was busy with work, side line, school and life in general though have to say it's pretty fulfilling.

Work:

Secured some projects which I am working on concurrently.

Also recently completed a mid sized project in a cyclical industry which is currently on the downtrend in terms of outlook.

Side line:

Have been spending some hours on weekday mornings doing this.

I just looked at my records. Apparently I netted an average of $750 per month from this side line which I started around August last year.

I'm still learning and trying to improve as I do it. Hopefully the earnings will increase along with the mastery.

School:

One of the main things that kept me busy. Readers might recall I am taking my Masters now on a part time basis at NUS. 

Just received the results for this semester. Got a B, B+ and A+ for the three modules taken.

Must admit I was a little disappointed but that's life. Good thing is that my CAP of 4.4 is still a safe distance away from the minimum CAP of 3.0.

Up until the last week before the exams, my classmates and I were still engaged in projects. Such rigor though that makes the course a fun challenge.

On top of that I am also busy with my dissertation which is due on January next year. The aim is to complete as much as I can during these two months before semester starts again.

So far I am enjoying the learning process. Maybe it's due to age (I'm in my 40s), maybe it's due to running my own business. But I am focused more on learning the new knowledge than on getting good results. So probably that's the reason.

I am looking forward to the rest of the course.

(I should be writing my dissertation now instead of this post.. Lol) 

Parenting:

This is another area where I am constantly learning too. 

Parenting is an anomaly. It is no easy task yet it is enjoyable at the same time.

I am learning everyday, just like my 2 yo and 4 yo.

Sometimes I flare up, especially when they do something that I have repeatedly said otherwise.

Back in my mind I knew they were just kids and we have to keep teaching like a broken record.

I also set in my handphone, reminders such as to be patient and no raising of voice. Yet from time to time I still find myself losing temper.

And I will always feel guilty thereafter.

There is much room for improvement in this area for me.

Most free time I have will be spent with these two cuties. I always look forward to these times and I try my best to keep other stuff such as work and school away during these times.

Investment:

Have been adding Mapletree Industrial Trust in the last couple of months as share price fell to appealing levels. 

Based on my purchased prices, dividend yield should sit nicely above 5.5% easily.

I will take a leaf from the recent PP price of $2.212 to determine my next level to add.

Despite their drop in latest dividend, I am of the opinion that the strength of their management team as well as geographical and asset class diversity amongst others, are good enough to avoid any drastic drop in financial performance in the long run.

One thing to note of course, is the impact of rate hikes on their borrowings and subsequent dividends.

If we are confident in the quality of the business, it is fine to add in tranches every month for long term investment which is what I'm doing now. Slowly and steadily building up the position. All the more better if it is in a short term down trend.

I have also increased my existing position in Ascendas Reit today.

Queued at last Friday but didn't get filled so tried again today.

Reasons for adding are largely the same as the above.

Others:

Finally bought a new phone recently after probably 6 years. Good bye Huawei Mate 10, hello Poco F5!

Have tried to postpone buying for as long as I can because it's such a hassle to transfer the stuff over. But alas my Mate 10's condition is getting from bad to worse. I have to take the plunge.

Just to complain abit here. The calender function in Poco F5 is really not to my liking. 

It can't display the full entry if the description is too long. It also doesn't display our local holidays.

Anyone knows any calendar that can fulfil the above, kindly recommend it to me please.

Last but not least, I have also recently renewed my electricity plan with Senoko Energy.

Have to get the best plan for ourselves within the environment of rising costs of living. 

I did a comparison and analysis earlier in this post

Feel free to make use of the analysis.

If you use my referral code to sign up, a word of thanks to you.

Till the next post, good bye. 

Wednesday, 1 March 2023

Time to Renew My Electricity Plan and I Did (with the Best Option I Have!)

So two years passed just like that and what a difference the two years have made!
 
The price of electricity jumped from my current plan of 17.63 cents per kWh to 30.66 cents per kWh in the new plans.

That's a huge jump to say the least.

Granted that we can't control the price of electricity, we can at least do some homework to find the best option for ourselves.
 
So as usual I did some comparison to gauge what are the best plans and promotions available that can give me the best savings.
 
The first thing I did is to check out the promotions from my current electrical provider - Senoko Energy. 
 
Next I went to this website to compare across the different providers. 

Eventually I decided to renew with Senoko Energy due to reasons as follows.

1) Senoko Energy's unit price for 24 month fixed rate contract is jointly the most competitive among all the providers.
 
2) There is a 3% certified solar source in the plan.

3) I can get a $90 rebate with my HSBC card.
 
(Those with Trust card can get an even higher rebate!)

4) I like the clean interface and user friendliness of the Senoko Energy App which I have used over the past two years.

 
Based on my current electrical usage, the $90 rebate is about 3 months worth of electrical bills for me. 
 
In other words, I'm paying for only 21 months of the 24 months contract.
 
I think it's a no brainer.

Furthermore the renewal process is pretty seamless and fast.
 
Do note that the above HSBC card promotion is limited to the first 900 customers according to the website although I suspect a call to the friendly customer service will solve the issue if the limit has been reached.
 
As a matter of fact I just renewed two days ago and I still qualified for the promotion.
 
If this post helps you in any way and you would like to get a $30 rebate as well, please feel free to use my referral code (SWYJJ734).

This way both of us will enjoy the $30 rebate to offset our electrical bill.
 
Alternatively you can drop an email to me and I will send you the sign up referral link for the $30 rebate.

Thanks in advance.

This post is purely for sharing sake and is not a sponsored post by any electrical providers.

Thursday, 5 January 2023

Review of 2022

Family

Everyone is generally healthy though wifey lost a big part of her voice after her Covid-19 episode. Luckily she has regained much of her vocals after consulting a TCM.
 
The kids are now four and two in the blink of an eye. Super cute as ever.

Both are loving towards each other yet can be pinching, biting and hitting each other in the next second.

The elder one has inherited our stubbornness. Sometimes she just refused to apologise or look at us in the eye when we asked her to.

I have noticed the hard approach doesn't really work on her so we are going to try the soft approach from now on and see how.

Just like them, we as parents are also learning in this journey. 

Hopefully both kids will grow up to be a healthy, happy and kind person.

Work

Business has improved in 2022 compared to the prior year. Has about two months left before FYE.

Hoping for a promising project to get finalised soon. If that happens it would really be an icing on the cake.
 
On the long run, I am thinking of pivoting the business to a new sector that the government is pushing nowadays.

Sideline

Embarked on a sideline some time around August. It is something that I am doing day in day out and being able to earn side income from doing something I love is shiok. 

Sometimes, success is simply making a career out of your interest. 

So far monthly income from this is around $600 - $900 with potential of reaching higher in 2023.
 
Study

Started my Masters programme in NUS this year. Just completed the first semester with a CPA of 4.75/5.00.

Not too bad. Safe for the time being.

Entered into the course with the aim of gaining new knowledge. So far so good. Enjoying it, less the assignments.

Looking forward to complete it soon and use the knowledge gained to drive my career forward.
 
Investments

SGD 
Portfolio Value: $135,527.22
 
P/L (Realised + unrealised): $5,096.60
 
Dividends Collected: $7,198.42
 
Total Accumulated Dividends: $34,747.95
 
Added: Ascendas Reit and CLCT
 
Sold: MNACT
 
USD / HK
Portfolio Value (SGD equivalent): $16,479.76
 
P/L (Realised + Unrealised): -$23,520.24
 
Added: AAPL, DIDIY, GREE, MSFT, PYPL and 9988
 
The SGD portfolio remains my main portfolio, providing me with a stable base and passive income.
 
Big loss in USD / HK portfolio due to Support.com / GREE saga in which my speculation failed badly. Have blogged about this previously. 
 
However the positive thing from this episode is that I have learned to control my emotions much better in trading.

Sometimes it takes a heavy hit to learn a lesson. 

Nowadays this portfolio is mainly used for options trading where I must say I have learned a lot in the past year.
 
Especially in the area of price point determination and implementation of stop loss.
 
My options trading consist mostly of written calls and puts with short DTE, usually two weeks or so, to make full use of the theta decay to my advantage.
 
2023 Target

To hit $11,300 combined portfolio gain consisting of dividends and trading income.

Syfe Portfolio
 
Negative TWR of 11.7%. Disappointing performance from this robo-advisor.

Summary
 
Total portfolios value at end of 2022: S$152,006.98.
 
This is about $10k less than 2021's figure.
 
Will make 2023 a better year. A promise to myself.
 
Last but not least, here's wishing everyone a blessed and healthy 2023 ahead.

Monday, 31 October 2022

Oct 2022 Updates

Oct 2022
 
Local Portfolio Value after market close (excluding USD and HKD)

S$129,568.06

Purchase
 
None

Sold

None

Dividends
 
Nil 

Short-Term Transactions
  
Closed early at $0.08 for 6 x SE 221028 Calls at $70 strike with $0.68 premium.  
 
Summary

SGD portfolio:
  
Portfolio value dropped about a grand compared to last month.
 
Nothing added or sold. Continue to wait for dividends to come in.

Syfe Core Growth portfolio:
 
Current TWR at -13.38%.
 
Disappointing performance from this robo-advisor. Small experimental portfolio but still painful nonetheless.

Not adding anymore funds to it.

USD / HKD portfolio: 
 
Profit of US$346.20 (~S$489.83) from options this month.
 
Have been writing calls since May till now. Will probably continue to do so.
 
Personal:
 
Side gig paycheck for Sept: $840

Monday, 3 October 2022

Sept 2022 Updates

Sept 2022
 
Local Portfolio Value after market close (excluding USD and HKD)

S$130,521.12

Purchase
 
None

Sold

None

Dividends
 
Ascendas Reit: $834.54
CICT: $281.88
MLT: $263.09
CLCT: $574
 
Total: $1,953.51 

Short-Term Transactions
  
Sold 6 x SE 221028 Calls at $70 strike with $0.68 premium.  
 
Closed early for 1 x GREE221216C5 with $0.30 premium at $0.05.  
 
Summary

SGD portfolio:
  
Portfolio value dropped about $6K with the drop in the broad market.
 
Nothing added or sold. Continue to wait for dividends to come in.

Syfe Core Growth portfolio:
 
Current TWR at -13.27%.
 
Disappointing performance from this robo-advisor. Luckily it's just a small experimental portfolio but still painful nonetheless.

Not adding anymore funds to it.

USD / HKD portfolio: 
 
Made some coffee money of US$18.28 (~S$26.24) from options this month.
 
Inactive month for me due to my busy schedule.
 
Have been writing calls since May till now. Will probably continue to do so.
 
Personal:
 
First paycheck from my side gig received. $320 for August.
 
Will be more than double for the month of September.
 
Have been quite busy with my part-time Masters programme at NUS.
 
Assignments, supplementary readings and such have been occupying a substantial portion of my time. And the rigours of a Masters programme is really different compared to a Bachelor's.
 
Scored pretty well for my first assignment but that's just a first step.
 
Will take one step at a time.

Friday, 2 September 2022

Aug 2022 Updates

August 2022
 
Local Portfolio Value after market close (excluding USD and HKD)

S$136,406.14

Purchase
 
None

Sold

None

Dividends
 
SingTel: $384
DBS: $216
OCBC: $297.36
 
Total: $897.36 

Short-Term Transactions
  
Sold 4 x SE 220826 Calls at $105 strike with $1.26 premium. Closed early at $0.04.  
 
Summary

SGD portfolio:
  
Nothing added or sold. Continue to wait for dividends to come in.

Syfe Core Growth portfolio:
 
Current TWR at -7.52%.

Not adding anymore funds to it.

USD / HKD portfolio: 
 
Made a net profit of US$477.58 (~S$668.26) from my call options in SE this month.
 
Have been writing calls since May till now. Will probably continue to do so.
 
Personal:
 
I have started the side gig which I mentioned last month. So far did 9 sessions which will yield me about $340. Not bad for a two weeks period.
 
I have also started my part time Masters programme at NUS. So far so good though assignments have been assigned which means less free time for me.