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.

WE ARE ONE! Our Site is One Year Old!

WE ARE 1!

Wow, time flies. A year ago on 10 June, I decided to publish the first article on this site. The idea behind creating a blog/website has always been in and around my mind as it allows me a space to pen down my thoughts and occasionally receive comments and feedback from the community. 37 posts later and here we are. A lot has changed in 1 year! Our daughter is now almost 14 months old and starting to take her first steps. We are also looking around and planning for our LO to attend playgroup in about a year’s time. COVID-19 also happened and the current Phase 2 Heightened Alert status just shows how volatile the situation can be if we let our guard down. 

Overall, the journey thus far has been meaningful and I am always thankful for the comments and connections made. Looking back at the older posts also allows for some reflection seeing how far we have come as a family in our financial status. No crazy gains like what some others have had, but we are taking things slow and steady. 

Given our current status, CoastFI or BaristaFI is our eventual goal whereby we can have that bit of financial security and at the same time have the ability to know that we can pursue something we really want down the line. The amount needed for this with our LO currently is definitely substantial. If and when we do have a second child, this amount will increase further. The current target amount is definitely >$1M but I will delve into the breakdown in a subsequent post.

We have also continued to be disciplined in our monthly investments thus far and this has contributed to the gradual increase in our portfolio. You can check out some of the older posts here to see our progression. I am looking to expand and dabble into the DeFi space to potentially increase some yield. 

So what can we look forward to in the coming year? I am looking into the possibility of getting a custom domain and custom website done. If you have any lobang or plugs for either of this, comment below or shoot me an email and let’s talk about it! I am also going to continue shooting videos for my YouTube channel and hopefully we hit 100 subscribers by the end of the year! Do check my channel out if time allows and I appreciate any feedback! We should also be on track for our portfolio to go from 5-figure to 6-figure by the end of the year or early next year. 

In other news, we are expecting to receive our BTO by mid-2022. Exciting times ahead as we start to plan for our own home and renovation. I'm not sure if readers would like to follow our renovation planning and execution journey but I will take notes along the way and hopefully this info will be helpful to some people down the line. Maybe I will do a video series on this as well heh.

As someone who is constantly distracted, I find myself constantly looking around for the latest trends and new sources of income. I think the lesson learnt thus far in this journey is not to hesitate or procrastinate. Sometimes, I find dipping my feet in for the experience helps me understand the situation better and allows me to be more decisive. That said, I am always thankful for the support around me and we are doing this to avoid being the next 'sandwich generation'.

So, if you have read till here, THANK YOU! I appreciate each and everyone of you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to stop by and have a peek into my thoughts. If you have any comments or feedback on what else you would like to read or watch on, let me know below!

Watch my latest video here! 

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.

Kopi Money Series Pt 3: Lumi Health

Back with another Kopi Lui article for all those who chase deals and ideas to make some small change in your free time. So today's article is focusing on LUMI Health. This was started by HPB in collaboration with Apple to kind of 'gamify' exercising or encouraging exercise and health-related activities. I thought this was a step up from the 'Steps Challenge' (pun very much intended). So I will be running through my review of this gamification effort on health and exercise related activities. As mentioned in my earlier Kopi Lui posts, this is not a get rich quick scheme, but more of using everyday pockets of time to generate some money.

Basically, LumiHealth works only with Apple Watch. Your daily activities recorded via your Apple Watch earns you points to reach various checkpoints in a given chapter. At each checkpoint, you are given coins which can be used to redeem various rewards. Currently, I'm at Chapter 9 and you can see how many coins I have accumulated below.

Each ring you close on your Apple Watch gives you 100 points. When you reach the weekly goal (as shown in the picture above), you are rewarded with 8000 points. This weekly goal helps move Lumi along the chapters.

Additionally, there are various challenges available for you to complete. These are health related challenges. For example, the one shown above encourages the user to reduce salt intake and choose better food options. When you do this/check-in with this activity 3 times, you will earn a total of 2300 points.

So in my Lumi Health 'adventure' the past couple of months, I have earned a total of 25,950 points which translates to approximately $86 dollars worth of rewards. I like it that the developer indicated the monetary value of the points I have. Next we will take a look at the rewards available for redemption. 

For the full and latest list of reward options, you can refer here.

Overall, I think the Lumi Health app is a really good attempt at gamifying and encouraging health and fitness for everybody. The various challenges and information provided are up-to-date. The graphics and design of the user interface is also clean and easy to use.

If any reader has the Apple Watch but have not started on Lumi Health, I highly recommend you give it a shot *not a sponsored post*

Through simple, everyday healthy actions, you can earn rewards of up to $380 over two years. Click HERE so we can both earn bonus points! *WIN-WIN*

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!