My girlfriend is more than US$100K in debt!

Human beings are rarely solitary. 

Although in modern societies with very high cost of living like ours, fewer people are thinking of getting married unless they want children (but, in Singapore, people who don't want to have children will still get married just to get a BTO HDB flat).

Fewer who are married are staying married but many still need companionship in life.

Realistically, once we have a partner in life, for better or for worse, naturally, things will change. 





Our life is no longer ours alone. 

It is shared. 

This is only fair. 

We gain something. 

We lose something.

When it comes to money, however, I personally feel that couples, unless they are married, should keep their finances separate. 

To pool financial resources together is a BIG step, whether forward or backward will depend on the circumstances each person brings to the relationship.





Money, I think we all agree, is a very sensitive issue. 

It is probably more sensitive than religion. 

Don't agree? 

Would it be easier to ask your date whether she goes to church or what is her personal net worth? 

See?





If we care about financial security and if we are not rich which I assume most of us are not, no matter how strong our attraction, it is probably a good idea to stay away from someone who has growing financial debt. 

The question is how do we find out?

Some of you might remember my female friend, Posh. 

If you don't, see related post at the end of this blog.

I never did find out how much her net worth was and I didn't know if she was heavily in debt and, if so, whether it was growing in size. 

I only knew that if I wanted to be rich, I would have a better chance if I had a frugal partner. 

Posh and frugal didn't exist in the same space.





Now, say, I gave Posh the benefit of the doubt and thought that she had plenty of money and that, despite her lavish spending, she was only spending a small percentage of her income (hey, love is blind or so they say) but found out much later that she was actually in debt and that it was snowballing! 

Then, what?

By then, it could be too late. 

"I didn't notice the crows nesting in the attic of the house before. Love the house, love the crows." 

Of course, I derived this from the Chinese saying "爱屋及乌" but I always get the feeling that the saying is to console ourselves when we discover something bad comes attached to someone or something we love.





I might be putting my head on the chopping block here (and this won't be the first time) but if we are not rich and if we want to be rich, we are probably better off with a frugal partner in life.

If you are willing to get married to someone who has snowballing debt and to help pay off the debt, you are a better person than me. 

Good on you!






Related post:
A story about a lady in my life.

"With as little as 30 (or 20) minutes a day!"

High frequency trading. Try beating this! I blur...

Feeling so warm! This is although I have taken a shower just now. 

Alamak! Why like that? Flu? Cold? Fever?

Aiyoh, none of the above lah.

I climbed some stairs again.

Usually, I would have to shower twice after my stair climbing exercise. Once after a twenty minutes cooling down time and again half an hour before I go to bed.

Sweaty!

I have been eating a bit too much comfort food lately and this being my birthday month doesn't help. 

Friends and family are showing their love in the usual way, if you know what I mean. Burp.

With more buffets on the way for the rest of the month, I must really step it up. Pardon the pun.

Anyway, it isn't the first time I have blogged about the benefits and convenience of stair climbing as an exercise in Singapore.

With 80% of us living in HDB flats, we have easy access to stairs. We are also very lucky that HDB flats have stairs which are well ventilated and not closed in like some I have seen in private housing here.

Go climb some stairs!

If you have not been exercising for a while, stair climbing could be demanding. I have been there. I know. So, don't be too ambitious.

Take a step at a time and see how many floors you could climb before you start huffing and puffing. That's a sign to slow down and, maybe, stop. 

Do this regularly and you will be able to climb many more floors without feeling winded in time to come.

Frequency? 
3 times per week is good.

Number of floors? 
Depends on your fitness level but you should be able to climb many more floors by the end of the 3rd or 4th week.

Advanced technique?
When it becomes easier, try taking two steps at a time. This creates a bigger mechanical disadvantage and is more demanding. It will help to strengthen the legs and butts faster.

With stair climbing, the excuse that we don't have time to go to the gym is a less convincing one because for, most of us, the stairs are there outside our home. 

Seen stuff like this before?

Unlike some trading gurus who tell us how we can become richer trading just 30 minutes a day, we don't even have to climb stairs daily to become stronger. 

3 times a week, 20 minutes to 30 minutes each time. That is all it takes to climb stairs and to become stronger.

Finally, we don't have to worry about Mr. Market's health. We should take care of ours.

Related posts:
1. Climb stairs and be better investors.
2. Passive income and a topless pic.

"If you worry about corrections, you shouldn't own stocks."

We need a home but a condo?

Hi AK,

I have been reading your blog for sometime & found you to be very smart & prudent. Are you able to give me some advice based on my current situation?

 

Employment status:

Unemployed

 

Age:

40

 

Housing:

Condo with $650k outstanding loan (mkt value $1M)

 

CPF OA:

$400k

 

CPF SA:

$100k

 

Dividend stocks:

$50k

 

Cash:

$150k

 

Expenses:

$20k/yr

 

I have been trying to do trading with mix success. Had also been doing part-time job to earn about $1k/mth.

 

Should I try to find another corporate job? ( I really hate it & had been unsuccessful trying for a while)

 

Thanks in advance!

EW

Hi EW,

Aiyoh. I am just another lazy fellow. Prudent enough but not particularly smart.

At 40, I think you would be financially pretty comfortable if not for the housing loan. ;)

If you were to sell your condo and get a resale HDB 3 room flat, you would probably be debt free and free to do whatever you want without having to go back to the corporate world which you hate!

We need a home but we don't need a condo. :)

Best wishes,
AK

Related posts:
1. Sell HDB flat to buy a condo.
2. Parents asking me to buy a condo.

"The big money (Pandan) is not in the buying and selling."

As I work on probably the two most anticipated blog posts of the year in ASSI, I am reminded of an important virtue of any successful investor.


In July this year, I shared a few photos and some thoughts on my Facebook wall. I did that a lot for a while as I didn't feel like blogging. (Aiyah, lazy say lazy lah.)

If you have a mature Pandan plant at home and it has babies, you can do this too. Just make sure not to hurt the mother plant in the process as you might have to snip the baby from the mother at the roots.

In a jar of water, the baby Pandan will take a couple of weeks to grow proper roots. Once that happens, transplant into a small pot of soil.

In September, mine looked like this a month after transplanting:

The older leaves died and a new bunch of leaves emerged.

Today, I decided to move the plant to a bigger pot:

The wish I made in July came true. I got a Pandan plant for free. 

Wait a minute. 

Is it really free?

If we want wealth, for most of us, realistically, we have to work for it.

If we want our wealth to grow, for most of us, realistically, it will need time to do so.

To those who have sent me emails and messages on when I might be sharing my full year results, remember, patience is a virtue. ;)

"The big money is not in the buying and selling … but in the waiting." - Charlie Munger
Have the right conditions and patience.
A money tree for you and me? 
常将有日思无日，莫将无时想有时.