Wedding Plan - Step 1

Dearest and I started planning on our wedding around 2 weeks back. So recently we have been rather active in researching for all the wedding thingy~

And just 2 days ago, we have gotten our potential wedding dates from the Feng Shui master!

This is our 1st step towards planning for the wedding =)

We were given 3 dates, but we definitely preferred the earliest one.

So now, we can start working towards that date. 

Hopefully the venue that we want would still be available by the time we confirm. *pray

This whole planning for our wedding is rather challenging, as it consists a lot of comparisons, and each with their own complexity. 

Hopefully our efforts into all these research would help us to save some money for the wedding =)

Breakdown of fees involved in trading

So I emailed my broker the other day and he promptly called me to say that I will receive a mail on the breakdown of the fees involved. Save the trouble of me figuring it out 😁

Here's the breakdown!

Proceeds	$115.50
(1) Brokerage Amt	$25 (Min.)
(2) Clearing Fee	$0.03 (0.0325%)
(3) Misc Fee	$0
(4) SGX Trading Fee	$0.01 (0.0075%)
GST @ 7% for (1) to (4)	$1.75
Net Amt	$142.29

Jiayou to me on making investments!

My 1st experience of shares trading!

After setting up my SGX account and brokerage account with OCBC for more than half a year, I have finally made my first purchase of shares! >_< Although given by my age (of 29) it seems like a 'meh' kind of event, but I felt that it is quite a big step for me.

Recently I have been wanting to do a purchase as part of the list of things I want to accomplish this year. So on Thursday night I was going into my account and looking at just doing a simple purchase to understand the whole process of buying.

I'm not really literate in this area, but from what I have gathered, buying ETF stocks seemed to be a rather conservative and safe approach to familiarizing myself with the environment. So I went into my account, and took a look at what I think are the 2 prominent ETF stocks in Singapore.

1) SPDR Straits Times Index ETF (ES3.SI) @ 1.15
2) ABF Singapore Bond Index Fund (A35.SI) @ 3.00

I thought for a 1st purchase of trying it out, I would just buy the minimum number of shares at the minimum price. So I placed an order of 100 lots of STI ETF @ 1.15.

Some time on Friday, I received notifications that my purchase went through, and I have officially bought my 1st shares!

The total cost of the purchase was however a question. So today I logged into my OCBC account, and took a look at the amount to pay through the Electronic Payment for Shares (EPS). It was $142.29!

It came as a bit of a shock, but I recalled that there is a minimum sum of transaction fees involved. Determined to do a thorough breakdown of the fees, I did a quick search of all the transaction fees involved and see whether it worked out to be $142.29. But all the processing fees and brokerage commission didn't add up. My calculation showed that I should be paying more than $142.29. haha..

I guess I would just ask my broker for help on this.

It's one of the many first step.

Towards financial independence! Gambatte!

I AM SPARTAN~!!!

It's been over a week since my Spartan Beast @ Bintan on 19 Nov! while my body sores were gone after 2 days (thanks to my Dearest's massage), the rope burns are still recovering slowly... But I did it! I completed my first Spartan Trifecta! yeah~!

I'm sure there are a lot of other Spartan racers who have completed their first Spartan Trifecta with the completion of Spartan Beast @ Bintan. And I'm quite sure, we would definitely do this...

With the powers combined... I AM SPARTAN~!!

The race wasn't easy, and I didn't train enough to be prepared. So coupling these 2 factors together, the result was a 6hrs 48min race for me. Yes, it was a grueling 6 hours and 48 minutes of jogging, obstacles, getting scratched,  nearly cramped, slow jogging, cramped up so bad my toes curled up and I had to remove my shoes, walking, hurting my back from a fall, slow walking, and rope-burning my legs, and then this:

Flying kick to end the race!

This is probably the hardest race that I have ever did. Both longest, and the one with the most injuries. And on top of that, my last meal was at 5am, and I only ate my next meal at 7.45pm. The 1 small packet of energy gel (that costs $4) is of not much use -_-" or perhaps I just need to eat more of it. OR, just run faster.

I still failed at the 2 obstacles that have monkey bars and hanging loops, but I felt like I have improved from the previous time. And then, there was this obstacle which I have to hang by the rope to touch the bell...

They called it, the Tyrolean Traverse

I had to put my whole body weight on a single rope across my chest and groin area, and then slide to touch the bell. Every pull, I could feel the pain in between my chest, and at my groin. But I was determined to conquer this after my previous failure during Spartan Super, so I persevered. And I did it. Although at the last moment I lost balance and went under the rope, and in a bid to touch the bell, I unconsciously let go of the rope, touched the bell (the most important thing to do ), the landed on my back. Luckily the height wasn't that high, but still my back was hurt.

By the time I have finished and washed up, the main event area was rather empty. Before I went to grab my dinner, I went to the medical area to fix up my rope burns. As I was leaving, I saw a man being pushed out from one of the medical rooms with what it seemed like a mechanical pump on his chest, seemingly in a very critical condition. As I hoped for his safety, unfortunately, he might have been the one on the news whom passed away due to cardiac arrest. RIP.

Throughout the 3 races, what I enjoyed the most was conquering the obstacles (like the whole arena was a huge adult playground for me), and the sense of camaraderie that could be seen throughout the race. There would be people encouraging you when you're trying hard, even though all of us are strangers.
There would be people helping you to overcome those damn walls.
There would be people asking you whether you're alright when you fall, stop, or look like you need help.
And these people, racing alongside of you, suddenly became, comrades.

Aroo.

Moving on to the next phase of life~!

On 11 Nov 2016, I have finally done it!

A nicely executed proposal on the beach, with a lighted pathway to a heart, and a beautiful lady with a definitive answer to end it off =) 

I have been quite busy preparing for this proposal ever since I have ended my project deliverable in Sep. Amidst my preparations for my Vietnam and Hong Kong trip in Oct, I managed to squeeze in time to do all the essentials things for this proposal. 

Dearest was pretty much surprised because I threw her off quite a bit on the tentative period that I would propose, and she was felt that the whole plan was executed very well; from the initiation letter by my colleague at my company DnD, to the blindfolding, to the unfolding to the actual venue, to the actual proposal, and the decorations back in the hotel room which I booked as a celebration, and also as a back-up. She also liked the wooden proposal box which I built from raw materials =) worth all the efforts that I have put in. 

As Dearest have put it, we have been promoted to the next level: from a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, to a fiancee-fiance relationship. Yeah to the next phase of life~!

Dearest also told me to take a break and focus on myself after being preoccupied with this for quite a while. I also agree on this. A few days back I was struggling to find a focus in my life after being focused on this one single thing for so long. There seems to be quite a bit of things that I want to do, but I don't know where to start. I want to continue to my learning on app development/Java, I want to focus on exercise (because Spartan is coming up this Sat, siao liao~), I want to eat and sleep heathly, I want to play those games that I haven't touch for the longest time (Skyrim, Witcher 3, Shadow of Mordor...), I want review the savings accounts because of the interest changes, I want ...

It kinda got a bit frustrating, and it took a good 15 minutes of quiet meditation before I could calm my nerves down . 

There are tons of things to do, but I have limited time to execute them. So it's high time for me to read through the book the I bought previously and was reading halfway through before I got so busy.

The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity

The exercises inside book makes me prioritize on what aspects of life that are important to me, and that I need to proactively plan my schedule around them. I would probably blog out the exercises here in order to document it somewhere.

Life just flows away when you're not paying attention to it.

I recall a phrase from a chinese song that I like which aptly describes this:

当你发现时间是贼了，他已偷光你的选择 - 李宗盛， 给自己的歌

[English translation: When you realized that time is a thief, it has already robbed you of your choices] 

I don't like the feeling of being robbed.

So I would rather go 'rob' time.

It's been a decade long.

Just not long ago, I have finally achieved something that I have always wanted for the last decade, but wasn't able to.
This year, I put in efforts into training, specifically my running, in order to create that possibility.
And that is, my Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT)!

I didn't feel that I was ready to achieve a Gold standard, be it my push-ups, sit-ups or running.
But because I was in camp for reservist, I thought I would just clock a Silver first.

As it turns out, I was in quite a good form that day!
And here is my results:

And it's a... GOLD!

I was rather surprised about my results for push-ups and sit-ups.
And that gave me some hope of achieving a Gold.
That's what motivated me to push even harder for 2.4km run, landing me the best timing I have for the past decade.

As a quote from a well-liked Japanese anime/manga called "History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi", or “史上最强弟子兼一”

“The only thing that won't betray you, is your training"

I shall continue to strive on in my physical well-being. 

The busy period has ended!

It has! Finally! (Hopefully)
at least for this period.

It's time to get my engine started for all the things I have been waiting to start/continue.

Was reading some Facebook articles and came across these few lines of wisdom in dealing with life in general.
Thought I would just list them here, for when I have the chance to look back and reflect, or when I need guidance in life, I can refer back to these lines of wisdom.

Source: http://mindcity.sina.com.tw/weibo/user/2437421643/3898470261509155

我選擇善良，不是我軟弱，因為我明白，因果不空，善惡終有報應；
我選擇寬容，不是我怯懦，因為我明白，寬容了他人，就是寬容自己；
我選擇糊塗，不是我真糊塗，因為我明白，有些東西爭不來，有些不爭也會來；
我選擇平淡生活，不是我不奢望繁華，因為我明白，功名利祿皆浮雲，耐得住寂寞才能升華自己。

My thoughts:

自己的选择， 自己的因果；
我选择，因为我明瞭。
已过的不成熟，一点一滴，累积成果。

My First Financial Read

I finished this book within 2 days! 

Mainly because it's a very short book; not because I suddenly gain the ability of speed-reading.

But what makes this book special, is because I believed this is my first book on financial knowledge.

Previously, most of my financial knowledge and wisdom (however limited it is), is learned from the web from various sources.

To introduce the book first... 

by Goh Eng Yeow

This short book gives rather broad but sound advice on financial investment into the market that you can make, e.g. buying ETFs such as the STI ETF. It cites quite a bit of knowledge from the famous Warren Buffett, and describes the potential pitfalls in the market, as well as when you should 'make your own'.

Note to self: Not sure whether it's in the book, but take note for SPDR STI ETF (ES3) and Nikko AM STI ETF (G3B).

Some pointers to take note of from the book that I like to archive in this post:

• Time and Health is more important than Wealth
• Buy experiences, instead of materials
• Lucky people try hard to add variety to their lives; to create more "chance opportunities" for themselves to get lucky
• Financial Independence is working a financial plan, keeping to it, and sufficiently covering oneself medically
• Buy and hold stocks that one believe will last, instead of stocks that will have a temporary boost
• Observe the daily happenings to understand what industry/sectors are thriving, and will continue to thrive in future
• Low-beta stocks (stocks less sensitive to market movements) are good for long-term investment
• Look for under-valued stocks when the market is not good 
• Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful
• Fund flows are indicative of market trends
• Cash is king in uncertain times; the opportunity to snap up assets on the cheap when others do not have the mean to do so
• Avoid overtrading, following the crowd, momentum investing, noise trading, and selling the winners and keeping the losers
• One strategy is to top-slice successful investment - sell enough shares to take back capital and some profit, but still have some shares left to make potential further gains

That's it.

I think I need to buy a new book. 

Another book for the year~!

When one puts in effort and stay committed to a certain task, there is really a lot that one can achieve.
I may not be doing so well in the learning aspect of my life in building up app development skills, but I have been consistently reading up on nonfictional books.

Here's the latest one that I have finished!

by Tim Harford

As per the title suggests, it lets the reader understands about how the principles of economics play out in the things around us. It allows me to appreciate more on the effects that one party has on the entire system which are inter-connected, within and between industries and countries. The world is a complex one, but the theories of economics can help us to understand this complexity a bit better to foretell the consequences or benefits of certain course of actions.

It emphasizes greatly that the world works best in a free trade market as it allows humans to freely communicate and convey information which will work out in a win-win situation. Yet, there are certain restrictions that have to be in place that prohibit a completely free trade situation.

The book also helps me to understand a bit on why Mao's idealistic country didn't come through, and how Deng managed to push China's economy (and probably save millions of people from starving) into greater heights. I'm sure Dearest would appreciate that I have some knowledge of China's history, because she's so passionate about them. haha...

Financial Goals~!

As the date of the July bonus draws nearer, I began to think more about what to do with the extra money that I have. I have almost maxed up my savings account to earn the bonus interest, so I'm thinking of using the excess for investment in stocks. 

And just today, Dearest came to me to ask me to set ...

Yes! Financial goal!

I believe everyone needs to have financial goals for long-term planning.

And to set goals, we need to set some rules also.

As advocated by my company, and also Dearest, we need to set....

SMART goals!

Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

So here's what I aimed to do.

To attain a portfolio of $5,000 worth of stocks that provide dividends 

by the end of year 2016

Specific - It's a rather detailed aim

Measurable - $5,000 can be measured

Attainable - $,5000 is within my ability for investment

Relevant - Aligned with my ultimate financial goal of attaining financial freedom (i.e. retirement)

Time-bound - By the end of 2016

So that's it, I will aim towards this!

On the other hand, Dearest also committed to an aim of starting her first investment by the end of year.

Although not as specific as mine, but she plans to explore other alternatives with a financial advisor, and then perhaps plan from there on.

Jiayou us~!

an interesting place to meditate

I have been trying to do meditation on a daily basis (around 10 min) for the past few weeks. Sometimes I feel too tired to do so, or too sick to even maintain a calm state (have been sick for 3 times for the past 2 months).

Today after my morning exercise at the stadium, I was resting on the concrete steps when I suddenly thought it was a good idea to just sit there and enjoy the breeze while doing meditation. And so I did.

It was quite an enjoyable experience for me. The calmness after my exercise, the chirping of the birds, the random sound of people running and walking.. there weren't a lot of people at that time, so there was just sounds instead of chatter that might distract me. The occasional breeze was gentle and cooling. It felt really good! After 10 minutes of sitting there focusing on my breaths and the sound, I felt completely refreshed from the experience! This could turn into a habit. haha..

I'm not entirely sure meditation brings about a general positiveness to my life yet, but at least it gives me a sense of calmness for that 10 minutes that I'm alone in my world of thoughts.

Finally, a brokerage account!

A few days back, my brokerage account finally got through! So now, officially, I can trade. Hee.

I'm no expert, but on the surface, it seems that because of the recent Brexit, the market is quite volatile. Might not be a good time to get into it at the moment. oh well, let me observe further and think through carefully how to go about doing this.

I guess in general, the route to being able to trade can be summarized into 2 main steps:

1) Get a CDP account

Download the form.
Prepare whatever documents are needed.
Send in through snail mail; email doesn't seem like an option.
Wait for confirmation of account.

2) Get a brokerage account

Choose which brokerage firm you want to open up the account with.
Go to the bank and tell the person you want to open up a brokerage/trading account.
Wait for confirmation of account.

It's that simple, though I took some time to decide which brokerage firm to open up the account with.

Might be able to open up accounts with different firms, not that sure. Anyway I got rejected by Standard Chartered Bank because on the form, it requires me to have knowledge on trading or financial background in order to open up an account with them. I have read on forum that you can just fake your way through and they won't be care, but I'm more inclined to say the truth and seek alternatives, even though the fees for SC is lower.

I have signed up with OCBC. So now on a daily basis, I get emails from my broker on market research. I have saved the emails that talked about ETF and dividends, because this is what I'm looking for in the long term. Will look into it in the near future!

Staying at home today because my throat is infected again.
This is the 3rd time in a short span of 2 months.
I'm beginning to think that the free flu vaccination jab is giving me more problems.
It might make me immune to flu, but it definitely doesn't make my throat infection less probable.

My attempt at another experience - Urban Attack 4!

Over the last weekend, I did another thing that I have never tried before in my life - attempting an urban attack obstacles course!

I signed up for it shortly after I have completed my Spartan Super (did it on 7 May 2016), which by the way, I have been trying to squeeze time to produce a video footage for the race. It will probably take some time (actually, it will take a long time because I'm rather busy during this period, with the project deliverable coming and stuff).

The night before I was quite excited about this event. perhaps a bit too excited, until I found it difficult to fall asleep. haha.. I was kinda worried about overcoming the obstacles, especially the monkey bars, but also looking forward to conquering them. I'm not that old, but I kinda feel like a young boy again, taking on these new experiences.

Dearest specially woke up early in the morning to accompany me to the event at Velocity@Novena to support me, to be my cheerleader, and to massage my sore muscles while we were waiting waiting for my 2nd run =)

Here's the 1st run!

I had some troubles getting over the curved wall; scrapped both my knees and elbows as I slided down the wall from the 1st attempt. Then I nearly failed at the monkey bars, twice! the shaking of the structure kinda makes me misjudge the position of the next bar. But luckily, I managed to not fall and still continue on! I was completely exhausted after completing the run, but it felt great! 2:02 min. not bad, not bad at all.

Took my time to rest and recuperate, with Dearest massaging my back as we waited for 2nd run.

The 2nd run was much more smoother, as I did a few changes to my run; giving myself more distance to get speed up the curved wall, reaching further to compensate for the misjudge of the shaking of the structure when I did the monkey bars. Managed to clear it faster! 1:45 min. Woo~

Though not enough to enter the finals, I'm more than satisfied to have completed the challenge, twice, and improving my timing on the 2nd run. $20 well spent~

Ever since I started on Spartan Race (Sprint) 2015, I seemed to have been hooked on getting myself challenged on these kind of events. Because I have already signed for the next one... which is...

YES!

I have signed up for Spartan Beast!
It will happen on 19 Nov, in Bintan.
I took a while to consider this, but finally I thought, wthell~
Dearest gave me her support for this also >_<

Looking forward to this race.
Aroo.

3rd book of the year

It took me a while to finish this book.
I probably bought this many years ago (maybe a decade?), but only managed to get into the habit of reading this consistently over the past 3 months after my second book.

The book teaches me to think more critically on the use of statistical methods on areas where single 'Black Swan' event could overshadow the long history of past events in terms of its impact. Like the financial crisis back in 2008 that the book kept bringing up.
I felt it was quite critical on the statistics that are being used now, and I felt it more because I'm a practitioner of this tool that he felt was bullshit (not in all areas, just those areas with the swans).

Most of the time I found it hard to understand and remember some of the terms that he used. Sometimes it gets rather technical. But overall, it was an okay read to ponder over the negative effects of the black swan and how to protect, or be robust against it, and also think about how to optimize with positive black swan.

Haven't been blogging much nowadays.
Kinda lost the momentum from the early stage of the year due to work.
And also, have been giving less (actually zero) focus on developing my Java skills.
The self-learning process is rather tedious and felt somewhat like wandering around in a haystack sometimes.
I am planning to get started on a Udemy course on Mobile App development to get my engine started again, and specifically in the area that I wanted. The purpose of learning Java was to help in my learning in app development, but since this course also teaches beginner in Java, I suppose it would be more ideal to dive right into this course than to continue on my self-learning, and unguided (except by the textbook) journey.

Wondering what's the next book to read on the train... hmm...

Best line from the book:

"Missing the train is only painful if you run after it."

Spartan Race… 13 Days… Counting down…

AROO!

As I sat here at Star Vista, waiting for Dearest to come and lunch together, I managed to resist the allure of looking at Reebok merchandise after collecting my Spartan Race race pack. Yes, Spartan Race is coming, in 13 days. And yes, I have to admit, I’m not as prepared as the last race. But what the heck, I’m just gonna enjoy the race!

Sitting at Star Vista after collecting race pack~

This time, I will be doing the Spartan Super! It will be a 13km run with 30+ obstacles, compared to last year’s 5km with 20+ obstacles. I’m expecting this race to be as exciting and fulfilling, if not more than the previous race. I paid more for this also. Haha..

Recently I have talked to a colleague regarding this race. He mentioned that he was considering it, until I told him the price of participation, and I think that kinda put him off. haha.. he didn’t feel that the price of the race justify the experience in it. But for me, it’s an experience that can’t be gained from any other easy avenues. “Running around the neighbourhood” (as he puts it), doesn’t count.

In order to enjoy the race as much as I can, I would have to train quite intensively within these 13 days. Here’s the current plan that I have derived:

Counting down to D-Day	Training Aims
D-12 Day (25 Apr, Mon)	Pull-ups x 6 (2 sets), 5 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-11 Day (26 Apr, Tue)	Pull-ups x 6 (2 sets), 5 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-10 Day (27 Apr, Wed)	Pull-ups x 6 (2 sets), 7 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-9 Day (28 Apr, Thu)	Pull-ups x 7 (2 sets), 7 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-8 Day (29 Apr, Fri)	Pull-ups x 7 (2 sets), Badminton, Plank (1:30min)
D-7 Day (30 Apr, Sat)	Run (30 min), Burpees x 30, Sit-ups x 30, Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-6 Day (1 May, Sun)	Run (30 min), Burpees x 30, Sit-ups x 30, Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-5 Day (2 May, Mon)	Pull-ups x 7 (2 sets), 10 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-4 Day (3 May, Tue)	Pull-ups x 7 (2 sets), 5 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-3 Day (4 May, Wed)	Pull-ups x 7 (2 sets), 2.4 km run, Burpees x 30, Monkey bars x 2, Sit-ups x 30, Log lifting x 10 (2 sets), Squats x 50, Plank (1:30min)
D-2 Day (5 May, Thu)	Pull-ups x Max (1 set), 2.4 km run
D-1 Day (6 May, Fri)	Rest
D-Day (7 May, Sat)	Spartan SUPER!!!

I will be going to Batam with my psych friends and Dearest from 30 Apr to 2 May. That’s why the training aims don’t seemed as intensive. Haha.. hope I would still be able to fulfil that when I’m overseas. Just gotta wake up early, hit the beach, and RUN!

In prep for this race, I have also purchased an action camera! It’s the POSH W11 action camera! (Available at challenger for $289 for members)

POSH W11 Action Camera. Source.

I have been wanting to buy an action camera since the last Spartan race but I kinda stopped myself because I'm not sure how many time I'm gonna use it for. But this upcoming race, the upcoming overseas trips, and for the keepsake of future memories, I think this would be a good buy =) when I told Dearest that I have decided to buy the action camera, she immediately commented that I shouldn't buy it this year, and advised me to buy it next year instead. I was a bit confused why she said that, especially when she didn't give any reasons for her comments. It turned out that she wanted to buy me that for my birthday this year. haha… but that would be too late, as I would be missing out on a few events already.

I guess it would be better for me to set aside some money to spend every month, and any leftover would be carried forward to the next month. This way, if I want to purchase a big item like this, I could ‘save up’ a few months and buy it, instead of keep pondering about it because it’s quite a big purchase.

Another small accomplishment

because of work, for the past 2 - 3 weeks I didn't work on my Java learning skills to allow me to rest while I was travelling on train. So I took up reading as a habit, and within a week, I finished another book!

This time, it was "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell.

The main gist of the book was to ask people to critically assess whether an obvious advantage or disadvantage, is really what it is thought to be.

Small accomplishment!

I just finished reading the following book~!

But what's the big deal with finishing a book?
Isn't there a lot of people who reads book?

Well, for me, it's a tough habit to keep at.
Reading usually makes me fall asleep faster than anything.
It's a surprise I managed to go through hundreds of pages of psychology textbooks by riding on my adrenaline.

So, first book completed ever since I started this blog!
Small celebration. Yeah!

This book was meant to give me insights on how to focus in my everyday life.
But instead, I got more from it.
It talks attention in the psychological and biological aspects, about being mindful, what does a leader needs, about looking at the bigger picture such as global and futuristic issues.
I'm not so good in giving a book review, but it's not bad.

Making time for those who matters

Even when I'm caught up with work, and have been doing OT for the past few work days... I would still make time for my family. Especially when today's my sister's birthday, and it would be the first time her partner and my partner gather around a table to have a private dinner.

I like that I put them on my priority list.
And I'm glad that my Dearest put them on her priority list as well. =)

It's just a gentle note to self.

Make time for those who matters...

Here's a video that I saw on Facebook which I found quite apt for this day.

Who would you most like to have dinner with? The answers from these kids had me tearing up!From Masterfoods in Australia....
Posted by Marcus Leshock on Thursday, February 18, 2016

Financial considerations for my future with Dearest

Valentine's day has just passed!

Dearest and I didn't really celebrate it, but we spent quality time with each other =)

Part of it was an impromptu discussion on our financial needs for our wedding and BTO, both of which would be coming in early 2018.

Here's a rough calculation of the budget that we think we would need:

Wedding

• Banquet - $30K

• Bridal package - $5K

• Actual day costs (Photographer, Videographer, etc) - $5K

• Wedding band - $1K

Total = $41K

Renovation

Total = $45K

Furniture

Total = $25K

Summary

Total = $101K

Wow~!

A whopping $101K cost that we both have to prepare for our wedding and our house.

Of course, this is still a rough estimate, and there are other things that we haven't take into account such as the hong baos that we are going to get back during the wedding banquet.

Based on our current savings, we could barely cover this cost when it really comes. haha..

Maybe when the date draws closer, the budget will be a bit more clear.

Will come back to this when we are really planning for it! =)

Archiving my progress in learning Java

It has been around 3 months since I have started on my journey in learning Java through the e-book, ThinkJava (ver 5.1.2).

Though the questions are fun and sometimes challenging, it also means that I have experienced my frustrations in testing my codes and running into trouble with them, without knowing what is wrong, or how to do certain things.

Whenever I felt that I need some guidance, I would turn to Google. However, solutions for this e-book seemed to be quite hard to find. Some of the solutions can be found from a Google Code Archive I found off Google, but the solutions are not that well-organized until I could easily maneuver the site to find the right solutions.

Therefore, in lieu of this gap of information on the web (or my lack of ability to search through the web), I have decided to create a new blog to archive my solutions!
It's both for me to keep track of my progress, and for those who are in the same predicament as me, lost and wandering in the sea of Java codes.

And so...

Here it is! ThinkJava Solutions

It can be access through the horizontal bar in this blog also.

The BEST Savings Account!

With the new year just starting out, it's perhaps time to review whether my current savings account is still the best!

There was a time when all the hype was about OCBC 360 Account, which grants you over 3% p.a. interest rate.
I rode on the wave quite early, but it seems like the wave is dying now. haha..
Other banks such as UOB and BOC has since created 'new waves'.

Instead of diligently checking the updates from every possible bank in Singapore, I usually surf around the local forums and those finance blogs to get a sense of what's hot at the moment.

The information I have gathered so far shows that the current Top 3 contenders on the BEST savings account are:

1. BOC SmartSaver

2. OCBC 360 Account

3. UOB One Account

The information given by the banks are usually quite comprehensive, but might be confusing due to the overload of it.

Here's my attempt to decipher what the individual bank is promoting about their savings account, and what is the best option in my situation.

		BOC SmartSaver	OCBC 360	UOB One
Maximum Amt Applicable for Bonus Interest		$60,000	$60,000	$50,000
Prevailing Interest Rate (p.a.)		< $5,000 - 0.25% ≥ $5,000 - 0.275% ≥ $20,000 - 0.35% ≥ $50,000 - 0.40%	0.05%	0.05%
Condition 1	Credit/Debit Card Expenditure	$500 (min)	$500 (min) Credit Cards only	$500 (min) One Card/Direct Visa Debit Card
	Bonus Interest (p.a.)	1.55%	0.50%	First $10,000 - 1% Next $20,000 - 1.5% Next $20,000 - 2% => For $50,000 - 1.6%
Condition 2	Salary Credit	$2,000 (min)	$2,000 (min)	$2,000 (min) *Either Condition 2 or 3 will be considered.
	Bonus Interest (p.a.)	1.00%	1.20%	First $10,000 - 0.5% Next $20,000 - 0.5% Next $20,000 - 1.33% => For $50,000 - 0.832%
Condition 3	Bills Payment	3 bills online/GIRO OR 1 BOC Mortgage Repayment	3 bills online/GIRO	3 bills via GRIO *Either Condition 2 or 3 will be considered.
	Bonus Interest (p.a.)	0.60%	0.50%	First $10,000 - 0.5% Next $20,000 - 0.5% Next $20,000 - 1.33% => For $50,000 - 0.832%
Condition 4	Insure/Invest	-	Financial or Investment products	-
	Bonus Interest (p.a.)	-	1.00%	-
Condition 5	Incremental Acct Balance	-	Increase in Avg Daily Balance	-
	Bonus Interest (p.a.)	-	1.00% of Incremental Amt	-
Maximum Interest Rate (p.a.)		0.40% + 1.55% +1.00% + 0.60% = 3.55%	0.05% + 0.50% + 1.20% + 0.50% = 2.25% (excludes Condition 4 & 5)	0.05% + 1.60% + 0.832% = 2.482%
Maximum Interest		3.55% of $60,000 = $2,130/year = $177.50/mth	2.25% of $60,000 = $1,350/year = $112.50/mth	2.482% of $50,000 = $1,241/year = $103.42/mth

The short answer from the table is that, BOC SmartSaver is the obvious winner~!
The difference from OCBC 360 I can potentially get from BOC SmartSaver in just a month is $65!
I can eat a lot of chicken rice with $65.

However, the long answer is, it depends on what kind of criteria can you fulfill.
My situation is that I would fulfill all the 3 conditions needed to attain the maximum benefits.
But if you can't, you probably have to work out which savings account is the optimal choice for yourself.
For example, if you're unable to hit $500 for credit/debit card expenditure, UOB One is definitely out of the picture.
BOC SmartSaver will yield 1.60%, but OCBC 360 will yield 1.70%.
In this case, OCBC 360 wins.

Things get more complicated when you have way over $60,000, and are deciding on a second savings account, and can fulfill the criteria of the second savings account.

But at the moment, I'm only capable of just one savings account.
The choice is clear, and I have made my choice.
Well-researched and calculated. haha..

Hopefully my wealth will start to grow grow grow~