New Year, New Post, New Goals

 

Happy New Year Everyone!
(even though I'm a couple of days late)

What a whirlwind 2021 has been. Singapore went through so many phases of Covid measures that I lost count. Nevertheless, 2021 was an eventful and meaningful year. The LO turned one and she's expected to start Playgroup in a few weeks time. We also started dabbling a little into stablecoins to gain some yield there. I got back into the hobby of collecting shiny cardboard and for those interested you can check out my IG through the link at the bottom. I initially set out to get 1oz of gold and ~30oz of silver last year but i didn't quite hit the mark on gold, so let's see if we can do that this year.

I definitely have been away from this page for awhile. IIRC, my last post was sometime in Aug 2020 and I just did not have the motivation to look at our numbers and crunch out some post. Honestly, everything felt too routine and kind of a drag. Well, I'm back from a break and I hope that I can gather some momentum for this year.

Looking back at 2022, we aimed to get $2400 in dividends/passive income. Based on my last check on stocks.cafe (which I use to track our portfolio), we earned ~$2,500 in dividends in 2021. This excludes our other passive income streams such as bank interests and crypto yields. This kinda exceeded my expectation as I thought we could only hit this target if we included our other streams of passive income. Going forward, I think we will only be tracking our dividends closely or I might go crazy sieving through all our different accounts 😂

So what's next in 2022? 

First off, I would like to write more consistently. Some people say 'Consistency is key' so my target for 2022 is to write at least two posts a month. This should be manageable given our current schedule and work demands and if I'm feeling it, I may write more and if I do that's a bonus.

We are also going to continue our DCA strategy into our current holdings. I think given our background and schedule, we can only do what we can to stay in the market and reduce our risks where possible. So far, this method has been stable enough for us and kinda survived the Covid-19 test.

One thing that we did not execute enough on was entering more positions into growth stocks and some ETFs that we wanted to. We are going to work to try and change this and increase our exposure in these positions.

We are also targeting $3,600 in dividends this year which will translate to ~50% increase from 2021. Currently, all the dividends received are reinvested. Hopefully this will pay off in the long run.

Next, we are going to continue to increase our exposure in crypto and physical precious metals. In my mind, these two are hedges in the bigger picture of growing the value of our portfolio.

Last but not least, it is to make time for more healthy activities like exercise and 'excursions' with the LO. As we are entering our 30s, gotta keep the weight down as our metabolism slows down and get in a couple of sessions of exercise per week to ensure we are healthy enough when we are older to enjoy the fruits of our labour.

If you have read till here, THANK YOU! On a lighter note, I want to collect more Shiny Cardboard and I may post some pictures of what I have in my Personal Collection (PC).

Share with me your New Year's Resolutions and Goals! Remember to stay safe everyone!

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

Alternate Income: July 2021

I haven't been posting much due to work, family and other commitments. And it's already the middle of August!? Time really flies. The situation in Singapore seems to be stabilising, at least with regards to Covid-19 and there has been reports that our economy is outperforming initial estimates which is good news for all. I can only hope and pray that the current measures continue to be effective and everyone plays their part in ensuring this 'new normal' continues. On a lighter note, EPL is back but my favourite team crashed to a 2-0 defeat to the newly promoted Brentford. New season, same old story. Okay, with that little recap out of the way, we can get back into how our portfolio performed in July 2021. 

For July 2021, we received $243.96 from interests and dividend returns. Its not the first month that we surpassed our target of $200 per month and it feels good to have achieved this target again. Seeing the chart below also gives us some confidence in achieving our target for this year. Viewing our stocks.cafe report, we tend to receive more towards the middle part of the year. Hopefully this will make up the shortfall which we experienced earlier in the year.

As we are entering the last quarter of 2021, we continue to remain disciplined in our investment efforts.  By my rough estimates, I am confident that we will reach our goal of $200 per month in alternate income for 2021 with our continuous DCA entry into the market. Hopefully I did not compute anything wrongly and the data will back me up come December.

Share with me your thoughts and comments on dividend investing! Remember to stay safe everyone!

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

Our First Experience In DeFi (or sorta)

Some examples of Crypto. 

Cryptocurrency got a lot of attention towards the end of 2020 and continue to gather news worthy headlines in 2021. In my opinion, crypto is like a financial blue cheese, you either like it or you don’t. I’m not questioning or examining the underlying asset and function it performs here. I have had my personal experiences with cryptocurrency and milked some gains in its last bull run. However, with all things technological, the crypto space has continued to evolve and we just dipped our toes into the DeFi space (or sorta).

DeFi, or Decentralised Finance, attempts to utilise cryptocurrency/blockchain technology to recreate traditional financial and banking systems. As a result of the decentralisation, no central (d'uh) institutions are relied upon. The most common way this is done is through the Ethereum Blockchain. DeFi allows individuals to borrow or loan funds to others through the use of smart contracts. These individuals, as a result, are able to speculate, trade and even earn interests in 'savings-like' accounts that are provided on certain platforms.

 In the crypto-verse, it is essential for any individual to do your own due diligence. With altcoins and other s***coins popping up constantly, one may fall prey to a scam or a 'pump and dump' scheme. I recently watched a YouTube Video by Coffeezilla highlighting the many perils of crypto. Despite this, I still think that in the long run, there will be some real utility and functions that crypto can be used for apart from the constant speculation.

Currently, our crypto probably makes up for less than 5% of our portfolio. I really think this is because we are risk averse with many impending commitments. As such, to dip our toes into this volatile space, we have decided to try buying stablecoins for its yield. That leads us to the next question, "Which stablecoin should we get?"

In terms of stablecoins, we initially shortlisted Tether and USDC as they appeared to be widely used and 'accepted' in the crypto-verse. However, upon closer digging and inspection, we quickly shifted our focus towards USDC. Tether has many points that were sus to us. I think a quick google search would show you some results that raises valid concerns. To us, USDC is probably safer at the moment due to the actual audits done, the backers of this project and that it is actually backed by USD (fiat). 

We currently park our USDC and some other crypto in Celcius for the yield. We were drawn to the simplicity of the app and user interface. If any of you are interested to give it a try, do check out our referral link here.

If any of you have better or safer suggestions on how to 'yield farm', do share your thoughts in the comments below. I am all ears to learn and gain new perspective. 

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

Alternate Income: June 2021

And June has ended already! What!? Honestly the year is really flying by. We have gone into P3HA for awhile now and I hope with all the plans and measures in place, we will see further progress as we enter the last quarter of the year. The Euros 20/21 has been equally interesting and exciting to watch. There has been plenty of upsets and my predicted winners are already no longer in the running. Will football really be coming home now? Now to see who wins the entire thing. Anyone has their favourites? About one more month till EPL is back and I can't wait. Okay, with that little recap out of the way, we can get back into how our portfolio performed this month. 

For June 2021, we received $253.86 from interests and dividend returns. Its not the first month that we surpassed our target of $200 per month and it feels good to have reached this target again. Seeing the chart below also gives us some confidence in achieving our target for this year. Viewing our stocks.cafe report, we tend to receive more towards the middle part of the year. Hopefully this will make up the shortfall which we experienced earlier in the year.

As we are going past the halfway mark of 2021, we continue to remain disciplined in our investment efforts.  By my rough estimates, I am confident that we will reach our goal of $200 per month in alternate income for 2021 with our continuous DCA entry into the market. Hopefully I did not compute anything wrongly and the data will back me up come December.

Share with me your thoughts and comments on dividend investing! Remember to stay safe everyone!

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

Alternate Income: May 2021

Wow, May has already ended and we are halfway into 2021. Time really passes quickly and everyday, the situation around the world is constantly evolving. We went back in Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) and I sincerely hope that everyone has been doing fine and staying safe. I got my vaccination jabs done in May and even though I experienced some side effects, I think it is definitely better than the alternative. Now we can only hope that the situation improves here in Singapore and we return back to the new normal, sooner rather than later. In other less serious news. football season is over and now we have to content with the long wait until EPL starts again in August. Luckily, we should have some Euros action to tide us over. I just hope that all these international sporting events do not become a catalyst for the next wave of the pandemic. Okay, with that little recap out of the way, we can get back into how our portfolio performed this month. 

For May 2021, we received $441.09 from interests and dividend returns. Its not the first month that we surpassed our target of $200 per month and it feels good to have reached this target again. Viewing our stocks.cafe report, we tend to receive more towards the middle of the year. Hopefully this will make up the shortfall which we experienced earlier in the year.

As we are going past the halfway mark of 2021, we continue to remain disciplined in our investment efforts.  By my rough estimates, I am confident that we will reach our goal of $200 per month in alternate income for 2021 with our continuous DCA entry into the market. Hopefully I did not compute anything wrongly and the data will back me up come December.

Share with me your thoughts and comments on such apps you guys are using! Remember to stay safe everyone!

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

StashAway Report April 2021

Wow, it is already May!? Been seeing a lot of 'Sell in May and go away' memes recently. How much truth is there in these, I am not so sure, you tell me! Nevertheless, April was eventful and there is a lot to be thankful for. Even though COVID-19 seems to be flashing its fangs again with some 'active clusters' appearing, I am hopeful that we can overcome this eventually. Just grateful that everyone at home is safe and sound. Hopefully, you guys have been doing well too and staying safe!

We have diligently continued our DCA strategy with StashAway as it continues to provide us with better returns than just parking this money in our savings account. We have also been DIY on some US ETFs and counters but I will update that in another post some other time. StashAway continues to have decent returns for us albeit unrealised as we have not cashed out anything. 

I have been using StashAway since 2017 but the contribution has been on and off then. More recently, we have made it a critical component of our portfolio as it provides us exposure to the overseas market. We have 5 portfolios across 2 accounts as we like to set different goals with different timelines.

Statement as of 30 Apr 2021:

Our portfolio thus far is valued at $17,411.18. Hopefully, our StashAway portfolio remains in the green and continues performing. 

If you are interested in getting started with StashAway, you can check out my link here to sign up. We both get up to $10,000 SGD managed for free for 6 months. Win-win! 

Share with me your thoughts and comments on if you have robo-advisors as part of your portfolio! Stay safe everyone!

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!

Check out my other stuff: LINK HERE!

SG FI Dad, out.

Alternate Income Report: April 2021

April is done and dusted. I thought that April was eventful on many fronts. Our LO turned one and we had small gathering with family to celebrate the milestone. We are really fortunate to have these people around us who shower her with care and concern. As a football fan, we were rocked with the attempt of establishing a European Super League. I won’t go into details here but I thought it was distasteful, bad timing and overall a bad idea. The thought of having a league that does reward teams/players on sporting merit just boggles me. Okay, with that little recap out of the way, we can go into a nitty gritty details on how our portfolio performed this month. 

For Apr 2021, we received $206.75 from interests and dividend returns. Its the first month that we surpassed our target of $200 per month and it feels good to have reached a target. Hopefully the coming months will make up the shortfall which we experienced last month.

As we are inching towards the halfway mark of 2021, we continue to remain disciplined in our investment efforts. Sometimes it may be difficult to detach yourself emotionally, take a step back and examine the situation objectively. I mean, this is OUR hard-earned money. But I am thankful that we have each other to fall back on. By my rough estimates, I am confident that we will reach our goal of $200 per month in alternate income for 2021 with our continuous DCA entry into the market. Hopefully I did not compute anything wrongly and the data will back me up come December.

On a separate note, I have started a YouTube Channel showcasing my hobbies. If you are interested, you can watch my latest video here! Any feedback, subscriptions or comments is deeply appreciated!

My YouTube Channel: LINK HERE!

My Instagram: LINK HERE!