Our Second Child Has Arrived! And the Cost of Natural Delivery in Singapore.

Our son has safely arrived on 6th August 2020! And I only found time to write about it now. Haha.

Initially we were thinking that he might be a National Day baby. But I guess he couldn't wait to meet his papa, mama and jie jie.

Wifey had a comparatively easier time this round. Not that she didn't suffer though.

 

The water bag leaked at 5 am. We reached hospital at 7+ am and baby came out at 10 am. Relatively fast compared to previous experience where it took 20 over hours.

It was a natural delivery this time and I was with wifey throughout the delivery and witnessed my son's arrival.

Most importantly of course is that both baby and mum are fine.

 

And coincidentally, our son's lunar birthday is the same as his sister's birthday.

 
Same as the previous pregnancy, we went to SGH as a private patient seeing Dr Tan Hak Koon.

 

Being a private patient means that we do not enjoy any subsidy during consultations but we get to see our chosen doctor every time.

 

Many of our contemporaries went to private hospitals for their pregnancy checks and deliveries.

 

However we selected SGH as we wanted to be seen by Dr Tan who has many good reviews.

 

He is highly experienced (if you google his name you will know) and we really have no doubts over his advices.

 

He is someone who will only say the necessary and do the necessary. He does not prescribe medications or tests if he doesn't deem them useful.

 

However this is not to say he is not good. In fact we appreciate his style which help us save quite a bit of money.

 

For those interested, the total bill for our birth journey is as follows.

Pre-delivery consultation visits and tests including Harmony test: $2,345.98 (nett after Medisave claim)

Medications and vitamins: $62.60

Labour (assisted delivery) and hospitalisation charges (B1 ward): $1,850.40 (nett after Medisave claim)

Baby hospitalisation charges: $1,332.01* (nett after Medisave claim)

 
Net Payment in Cash: $5,590.99

 

Not sure how does the above actual cost compares to those from the private hospitals but there are plenty of articles out there for further information.

 

For now we are just glad to welcome the latest member to our family!

 

And for me, the daily cooking of longan red date tea, washing of bottles, changing of diapers, feeding and bathing of baby goes on.

 

* Updated amount 

Addition to My Safe Stream of Passive Income

All along, my POSB savings account has been a low interest bearing account. Just maintaining it for the sake of nostalgia and some Giro arrangements like monthly insurance and charity contributions.

 

However recently I discovered the POSB Cashback Bonus which turned out to be a great addition to my passive income from interest / cash back from my bank accounts.

 

I know I have been slow to this but it's better late than never.

 

And I don't even need to sign up for a separate account for this. All I need to do is to log in to my iBanking and enroll my existing POSB account into this Cashback Bonus scheme.

 

Less than 5 min job.

 

Why do I say this is a great addition to my passive income from bank accounts?

 

That's because:

 

Yes, a whooping 3% cashback on my monthly home loan instalment with the bank.

 

This rate by itself already beats most, if not all the other cashback / high interest savings accounts out there.

 

Do note that you have to meet at least 3 of the criteria in order to qualify for the cashback.

 

Obviously the caveat here is that this scheme will benefit more for those who has home loan, insurance and / or investments with the bank.

 

Also, if you are maintaining a high average balance in your POSB or DBS account, the DBS Multiplier might be a better choice for you.

 

The difference between the POSB Cashback and DBS Multiplier account is that the former doesn't care how much is in your savings account as the cashback depends solely on you meeting the minimum 3 criteria while the latter gives interest based on the amount in your account balance.

 

I've done a quick calculation. With this addition of cashback, I am looking at a monthly inflow of $70+ conservatively speaking, just by doing what I have been doing all this while without the need to change my lifestyle.

 

$70+ per month or $800+ yearly. While this might not be a lot of money to some, it's good enough for a short trip to Bangkok (almost a yearly trip for us previously) or cover some milk powder expense. Haha..

 

In short,

 

The POSB Cashback Bonus scheme will benefit those who has a home loan, insurance and / or investments with the bank yet at the same time does not maintain a high account balance. 

 

So this is the latest tweak to my safe stream of monthly passive income, at least until the banks change their interest / cashback criteria again.

 

By the way this is not a sponsored post. Just a sharing of another great way to earn more passive income for people who can benefit from it.

July 2020 Updates

July 2020

Portfolio Value after market close

S$134,883.65

Wifey's Portfolio Value after market close

S$92,493.65

Purchase

3,500 shares of CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) @$1.63

Sold

None

Dividends

Nil

Short-Term Transactions

None

Summary

Local market is a sea of red on the last trading day of July.

Portfolio value increased slightly with the addition of another 3,500 shares of CCT, bringing my holdings to 7,500 shares.

CapitaLand Commercial Trust

I have been looking to make this addition ever since the planned merger between CapitaLand Commercial Trust and CapitaLand Mall Trust is announced. Main reason for this is to avoid odd lots for the new entity - CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT).

If the merger does indeed goes through, my holdings in CICT will be 5,400 shares. A sizing that I am comfortable with.

With this purchase, my average cost has gone up to $1.50.

I had an initial targeted entry price of $1.68 which is quite a strong support level. So when the price broke the support yesterday morning due to a combination of the wider market factors and the ex-dividend, I decided to monitor more closely and eventually went in at $1.63 just before lunch.

As usual, I didn't managed to get the bottom price but I feel it's ok since this is meant for my long term income portfolio.

If dividend reverts to pre-Covid levels, yield will easily surpass 5% against this purchased price. And yield against my average cost will represent 6%.

DBS, OCBC & UOB

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has called for our 3 local banks to cap their FY20 dividend per share (DPS) to 60% of FY19 levels.

This is a bomb shell especially to those aunty and uncle investors who depend on dividends for income.

This news caused the share price of the 3 banks to tank on the following day as expected. In particular, I am hoping for the share price of DBS and OCBC to drop to sub $17 and $8 respectively which are the levels for my next purchase.

Unfortunately this did not materialise. Will continue to monitor. I am in no hurry to add.

On the other hand instead of meddling with the banks' dividend policy, why don't the government propose to cap the millionaire ministers' salary to 60% of 2019 levels?

Oh wait, PM Lee has already said the high salaries are needed to ensure incorruptibility.

I always thought a person's integrity has to do with a proper upbringing and his inherent character, not how much he is given in the first place.

Apparently somebody thinks otherwise.

SingTel

Bharti Airtel seems to be a bottomless sinkhole for SingTel.

Just when the spectrum charge is finally settled, another news came that SingTel is liable for another S$911 million exceptional charge based on their stake in Airtel.

I will be paying attention to the coming results and ex-dividend date.

In my opinion, SingTel should really take a closer look at Airtel's accounts or just sell away their stake.

Whether the issue lies with Airtel or the Indian government, this partnership with the Indians doesn't seems like a bright spot for SingTel.

Yoon Salon Cares For Your Hair

Our hair is an important and integral part of the body. Very often, the first thing that we notice on a person is their crowning glory.

There is a saying that goes "clothes make the man". It means that people are judged according to the way they are dressed.

I would like to go further and add "the hair style completes him".

A well-styled hair that complements the individual appearance will boost the image that the person is carrying.

While having a suitable style is nice, equally important is the quality of it and the well-being of the scalp.

After all if both are in trouble, one might eventually have nothing left to style!

This is where professional salons can offer their expertise.

A good salon's team of professionals must not only know how to recommend and create a style suitable for each individual, they must also know how to take care of their customer's scalp.

That is why I prefer to leave scalp care in the hands (literally!) of a professional with the knowledge and experience to understand my needs. I prefer the stylist to advise if what I want is indeed the best for me.

YOON is a popular salon in Singapore with rich experience in solving their customers' troubling hair issues and helping them achieve their desired styles.

The salon offers a wide range of services for styling as well as treatments.

These services include:

With such a comprehensive suite of services available, you are almost guaranteed to find whatever look you want at YOON.
 
If you have not tried the services, fret not. There is a current promotion where you can try any one of the above listed services for just $28.

This '$28' promotion is available to all online first time customers. You just need to fill up this form which can be found in the web page of any of the services listed, and a sales consultant from Yoon Salon will call you to make the necessary arrangement.

There are some terms and conditions which the sales consultant will discuss with you over the phone.

At this point of writing, there is no cut-off date yet for this promotion.

Now, if the above range of services and promotion are not enticing enough for you to give them a try, here are some additional reasons for you to ponder over.

Why YOON Salon: 

👍 Wide range of services that are catered for both men and women.

👍 3 outlets conveniently located in the town and the outskirts of the town.

👍 Open every day including weekends and public holidays.

👍 Team of experienced stylists with high quality service.

👍 Uses premium and gentle products.

👍 Glowing reviews such as these.

YOON Salon: How Do They Help You?
  

(A) Premium Hair Cut

1) An experienced stylist will assess and recommend the best style that suits you.

2) From wedge to layered cuts, various techniques are employed by them.

3) After the above assessment, the stylist will do the necessary snipping and styling to create the look you look your best in.

4) Finally you will flaunt the attractive and professionally-styled look that you want.

      (B) Premium Colouring, Creative Colouring and Bleaching

1) Dyes will be first selected and blended to get the perfect, high quality hue for your tresses.

2) Then the dye will be applied carefully to your tresses according to the desired result.

3) After that your tresses will undergo a thermal process to ensure the colours are penetrated deeply into your hair strands' first layer.

4) Finally you will gleam with the desired vibrant and high-quality colour you always wanted.

(C) Premium Perming

1) A perming cream will be slathered onto the strands of your locks. The product will aid to loosen up the internal bonds within the inner layers.

2) After that your tresses will be curled and reshaped according to your desired look.

3) An oxidation lotion will be applied to your locks to strengthen it again after the perming process.

4) The outcome will be the attractive and stylish look that you want.

(D) Premium Rebonding

1) Firstly a straightening lotion will be applied to your locks to loosen up the original bonds.

2) Then professional equipment will be used to straighten the tresses.

3) A neutraliser will be used next to complete the rebonding process. This solution will ensure that your tresses will now remain straight for good.

4) Finally smooth and silky hair that looks natural will become a real part of you.

(E) Premium Creative Shaping

1) The stylist will first reset the bonds in your strands through the use of a straightening solution and professional equipment.

2) Then a perming blend will be applied to the lower section of your locks which will be curled and reshaped to create the desired look.

3) A few pumps of an oxidation lotion will be utilised to strengthen the tresses back again after the shaping process.

4) Finally you will attain the attractive and professionally-styled look that you want.

      (F) Hair Defrizzing Treatment

1) The stylist will begin the treatment by applying the primer accelerator to your hair. This lotion will aid to pump up the effect of the treatment.

2) Your hair will next be infused with an essence that helps to strengthen the cuticles. This serum will also repair and smoothen out the strands for a more lustrous look.

3) After that your tresses will be coated with a serum that seals all the goodness within the cuticles. You will receive hair boosters to be used in a span of four weeks. These boosters will boost the treatment's effectiveness further.

4) When you walk out of the salon, you will notice a positive change in the hair texture that you deserve.

(G) Hair Regrowth Treatment

1) The stylist will first exfoliate your scalp to remove any build-up of clogged residue and dead skin cells.

2) To allow your scalp to moisturise, a treatment method called PDT is performed. This session will promote cellular growth and also balance out the nutrients.

3) Next up will be a relaxing lymphatic massage to your scalp. You will receive four scalp boosters on a weekly basis for a longer lasting effect.

4) If you had been suffering from dandruff earlier on, after this treatment, you will no longer see those flakes on your crown. The outcome will be a visibly healthy scalp. 

(H) Premium Wash and Blow

1) Firstly a deep cleansing wash will be done for your locks to remove excess oil and residue.

2) This will be followed by a relaxing massage for your head, neck and shoulder to relieve you of your muscle tension, stimulate blood flow to your scalp and promote hair growth.

3) After that your tresses will be blown dry and the stylist will professionally style your hair according to your desired look.

4) Finally you will achieve clean and nourished locks.

Whether you are looking for hair styling or treatment, Yoon Salon can definitely help you with your needs. So give them a call at the following numbers now. Remember, tresses which complements the individual appearance will boost the image to the next level.

Tel: (65) 6235 3816 (Midpoint Orchard outlet)
Tel: (65) 6223 0224 (Havelock ll outlet)
Tel: (65) 6261 0913 (Queensway Shopping Centre outlet)

You can also visit their website for more information.

This post is written in collaboration with Yoon Salon.

Say No to Sedentary: Covid-19 Training Regime

My exercise regime used to be runs + home static workouts such as pushups, weights and crunches. With the onset of Covid-19, I have stopped running except for 2 early mornings where I woke up around 5 am to go for my run.

I had to run at hours where there are less people on the streets as my wife is expecting and I can't be so irresponsible as to expose myself to increased risk outside.

However I stopped my runs totally shortly after as my wife is experiencing leg cramps every now and then during sleep. I thought it's better for me to be by her side to massage for her whenever that happens.

Despite this, I'm not willing to lead a sedentary lifestyle. So I came up with a set of training regime that I can do at home and set an initial target of doing it for 30 days for a start.

The workouts are designed to cover the major muscle groups from top to bottom. Along the way I have also added bicep curls and mountain climber to the workouts.

This blog post is to document this 30 days regime for future reference.

9/6/2020 6.18 pm

Toe touches x 90

Leg lifts x 60

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Punisher squats x 80

Burpees x 30

42 min

10/6/2020 5.34 pm

Toe touches x 110

Leg lifts x 70

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 60 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

1 h 2 min

11/6/2020 4.15 pm

Toe touches x 80

Leg lifts x 70

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

57 min

12/6/2020 6.17 pm

Toe touches x 40

Leg lifts x 30

Punisher squats x 50

Rest day. Play with baby. 

13/6/2020 5.56 pm

Toe touches x 90

Leg lifts x 70

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 220

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 110

Burpees x 40

59 min

14/6/2020 rest day

15/6/2020 5.09 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 220

Bicep curls x 80 each

Punisher squats x 120

Burpees x 40

1 hour

16/6/2020 6.33 pm - 7 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

7.10 pm - 7.19 pm

Pushups x 50

Bicep curls x 50 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 40

17/6/2020 7.38 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 220

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

51 min

18/6/2020 rest day

19/6/2020 6.18 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

35 min

20/6/2020 rest day

21/6/2020 5.08 pm

Toe touches x 110

Leg lifts x 120

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 220

Bicep curls x 80 each

Punisher squats x 120

Burpees x 40

58 min

22/6/2020 10.30 pm

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 75 s each

Pushups x 220

Bicep curls x 90 each

Punisher squats x 120

34 min

23/6/2020 6.49 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 60 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

53 min

24/6/2020 7.30 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 60 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 30

42 min

25/6/2020 rest day

26/6/2020 5.16 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 60 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 40

1 h 14 min

27/6/2020 rest day

28/6/2020 rest day

29/6/2020 11.22 am

Toe touches x 150

Leg lifts x 150

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 90 s each

Pushups x 250

Bicep curls x 100 each

Punisher squats x 150

Burpees x 50

1 h 17 min

30/6/2020 11.02 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 100

38 min

1/7/2020 5.56 pm

Toe touches x 120

Leg lifts x 120

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 100

39 min

2/7/2020 4.35 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 90 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 80 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 40

53 min

3/7/2020 rest day

4/7/2020 rest day

5/7/2020 11.33 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 60 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 100

Bicep curls x 80 each

Punisher squats x 100

29 min

6/7/2020 6.45 pm

Toe touches x 100

Leg lifts x 100

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 250

Bicep curls x 120 each

Punisher squats x 100

Burpees x 40

51 min

7/7/2020 rest day

8/7/2020 5.52 pm

Toe touches x 150

Leg lifts x 150

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 300

Bicep curls x 100 each

Punisher squats x 210

Burpees x 50

1 h 16 min

9/7/2020 rest day

10/7/2020 rest day

12/7/2020 6.41 pm

Toe touches x 70

Leg lifts x 70

Planking x 60 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 200

Bicep curls x 70 each

Punisher squats x 100

31 min

13/7/2020 rest day

14/7/2020 6.17 pm

Toe touches x 150

Leg lifts x 150

Planking x 120 s

Side planking x 60 s each

Pushups x 210

Bicep curls x 100 each

Punisher squats x 110

Mountain climber x 20 each

Burpees x 30

1 h 2 min

Unexpected Result

Apart from not wanting to remain sedentary, another of my aim is to reduce my flabby tummy.

This exercise regime has done a good job so far with visible results on my arms, chest and abs.

However one unexpected result is a weight loss of 4 kg!

Standing at 1.8 m tall, I have always been satisfied with my weight of 72 kg. In fact a couple more kg would be welcomed.

But after 30 days of the above regime, my weight actually went down to 68 kg. This is something that I hope to regain soon.

For now I hope to continue for another two months to see what results can I achieve.

Cheers.

Net Worth 2020: A Quick Estimate

Around this time last year, I did a quick estimate of my net worth just for fun and curiosity sake. Although it didn't paint a 100% accurate picture of my wealth (or the lack of it), it is still fairly accurate.

So this year I am going to do a quick assessment again. I have actually wanted to do it several days back but I didn't have time to log in to write this post until now.

I might do this on an annual basis since I find it quite motivating to me at least.

Again, this is a back-of-the-envelope calculation.

All figures are based on point of writing (14 July 2020 5.20 pm).

Insurance Cash Value: $105k

Investments: $131k

CPF: $178k
Singlife: $10k

Cash 1: $15k

Cash 2: $140k

Property Value (50%): $250k

Watch: $8k

Housing Loan (50%): ($25k)

Car Loan: ($52k)
CC Bill: ($1k)

Net Worth: $759k

I have excluded the car related values such as PARF and COE rebate.

I bought my watch at $8k+ about 9 years back. Current price for the same watch is around $11k. I have used the purchased price for my net worth calculations.

I guess I am not doing too badly. At least the figure is higher than last year and I'm glad it's not in negative territory.

Still can't retire yet. Work hard JASS. Work hard.

June 2020 Updates

June 2020

Portfolio Value after market close

S$129,668.98

Wifey's Portfolio Value after market close

S$83,003.98

Purchase

3,000 shares of SingTel @$2.48

Sold

None

Dividends

1) Netlink NBN Trust @ $202.40

2) OCBC @ $146.72

3) MLT @ $153.95

4) MNACT @ $19.84

5) ESR Reit @ $50

Short-Term Transactions

None

Summary

Local market turned green after two days of red, reflecting the continuous tussle between the bulls and the bears. Took the chance to add a small position.

Received a total dividend of $572.91 this month from Netlink NBN Trust, ESR Reit, MNACT, MLT and OCBC.

Portfolio value increased slightly with the addition of another 3,000 shares of SingTel, bringing my holdings to 8,000 shares.

Remaining funds will be used to focus on the three counters identified previously and another three which I am monitoring closely every day.

SingTel

Have been monitoring SingTel for awhile and noticed it has been well supported at the $2.50 region. When the share price dipped below the level I took the opportunity to enter a small batch to average down.

At this price point, I'm comfortable to hold it in my long term income portfolio.

If dividend payout remains depressed at 12.25 cents, yield is about 4.9%. Still good enough for me to collect while waiting for SingTel to rebound.

Bharti Airtel's spectrum charge is finally settled and Amazon is speculated to be eyeing a $2 billion stake in Airtel.

Key Thai associate AIS is also recently ruled not liable to a $324 million claim.

With these issues out of the way, the management can finally focus on the business proper.

I suspect this year and next will see a turnaround in SingTel's fortune with the digital bank license* and sale of Optus assets as possible catalysts.

Returns from the latter will prove useful for the 5G CAPEX.

SingTel has a history of gradual dividend increment over the last 10 years even without factoring the occasional special dividend.

If the payout reverts to 17.5 cents, my yield against average cost will be around 5.4%.

The reverting of payout to 17.5 cents is not far fetch considering the total payout is much within their free cash flow and the cutting of dividend this year is due to prudent measures.

I wrote a short piece on this in last month's update too.

Furthermore if the Optus deal indeed goes through, it will generate close to $1.9 billion for SingTel. Just to put things into perspective, this amount can easily maintain the 17.5 cents dividend for the next few years not to mention the possibility of a special dividend.
 

* Talking about the digital bank license, up to two full licenses will be awarded by this year. However I suspect one of the licenses will go to the consortium including Heliconia.

Reason is because there is Heliconia if you know what I mean.

If I am right about this, that leaves one other license to be competed by the other contenders among which, I feel the partnership between Grab and SingTel stands a good chance considering their existing platforms and current endeavours in using digitalisation.  

Singlife

I have also signed up for a Singlife account this month to take advantage of the 2.5% interest rate for up to $10,000.

Signing up is easy and relatively fuss free.

Interest rate is higher than banks' and the money deposited is protected by SDIC so no brainer here.

At this point of writing I have already earned an interest of $14.94. Not bad considering it's less than one month.

Work

On the work front, business is starting to pick up slowly. I'm seeing new enquiries and a previous potential project has resumed discussion.

Hopefully the economy recovers soon.