Category: day2day

##which midclass aspiration ≠ LG2

Posted on by tiger40490

So far, all the bposts on this broad topic (..) have called out aspirations that are non-consequential:

  • branded college
  • SDXQ
  • spacious new home with a view
  • car ownership
  • overseas vacations

Q: Is there one middle-class aspiration that I do subscribe to?
A: here are some choices. Not sure which ONE I would pick.

  1. a safer car
  2. orthodontics, skin surgery
  3. wife staying home? Common among the upper class, but some lower-class families also have this pattern.
  4. safe, conducive school and Safe, clean street? No. This is not just for middle-class
  5. yoga classes

buy+!oth #wife网购

Posted on by tiger40490

 

many purchases were bought-without-OTh but the rmSelf would inevitably become critical, and with guilt we will remember the purchase as a failure. Out of sight, out of mind… I would feel less guilt if I get rid of the physical objects.

creep/ctbz/guilt^buy+!oth .. Harmony and reconciliation between two conflicting directives can lead to a revelation and (personal) growth. There is a related case of reconciliation — frugal indulgence ^ ctbz

— keeping track ..
Related to “merchandize return”, another major tcost and stressor is keeping track of “stuff bought and disused long ago”.

When I lose such an item (perhaps at home or discarded), and have to buy again, I feel an acute self-hate, but this self-hate goes against use-without-care

For example, I removed the red pedestal pair from my bike after boy stopped using them. I kept them at home for a few years and discarded them. Then my daughter needed them so I had to buy online. Actually I did all the right things so regret is not justified.

— Directive 1: Below are SMS for many relatively small purchases. I invented these SMS’s more than 5 years ago. They are still valid.

  • use ….. without care
  • discard without guilt
  • buy ….. without oth
  • buy ….. without fear (of guilt, regret)

— Directive 2: ctbz@small spends

ctbz is my traditional strength in burn rate control. However, $2 wasted spend in Daiso .. is to be tolerated, given my nonwork incomes. Buy without oth, discard without guilt… Sounds like lifestyle creep !

Q: Will these spends accumulate beyond $1000/Y?
A: I doubt it. ctbz in this case can be ineffective. My due diligence (System 2) is sometimes too slow before spending such small amounts.

Over the years, Let’s record 10 – 20 small wasted spends (below $10) so as to calibrate System 1:

  • bicycle seat (boy) and helmet (meimei)
  • small paper punch (boy)
  • long cloth  hangers
  • Note: fancy indulgence/luxury foods (or consumables like battery) are never “wasted” esp. if eaten with pleasure
  • extra laptop .. now I feel a _burden_ to use it once a while to avoid disuse->oxidation
  • badminton net .. luckily, I didn’t make the buying decision.

Toilet blue flush .. I used to think this is unnecessary lifestyle creep. Now I think it can
* reduce water consuption because wife (and I) will not “flush again” when the blue conceals the light-yellow. Half flush never worked with my wife.
* reduce conflict with my wife

— How about wife’s online shopp habit? She bought many small furniture items (often non-durable models), used each for about a year and discarded them (regardless of damage) when she buys a replacement.

Beyond furniture, many of her purchases are decorative so she enjoys “churn”.

I think her practice is “buy without oth and discard without guilt“.

[22]paypal: safety, US^Sg

Posted on by tiger40490

 

See also paypal.. forced closure

As of Sep 2024, my U.S. paypal account has $0.03 balance. Not worth the trouble.

An email address (rather than phone num) is the primary login for a paypal account. If an email address is linked to a paypal US account, then you aren’t allowed to link it to a Sgp account. You must use another email address.

Usefulness of paypal is in online payment (or transfer). There are really two ways. Not sure which is better.

  1. make use of the paypal infrastructure (not the paypal balance) as a gateway
  2. use paypal balance i.e. stored value in paypal. I call it the prepaid mode.

To increase the reliability of the prepaid mode, I would want to periodically transfer $1 from bank accounts into paypal.

— safety and liquidity of paypal balance .. balance in paypal (i.e. stored value) can move out relatively easily.  Therefore I don’t mind keeping a balance up to $100. Basically, I don’t worry about losing the value, becuase

  • Paypal has earned my trust. The audit trail is reliable so far.
  • the balance is kept small

It’s considered unsafe to keep paypal accounts inactive (breeding ground for financial crime). Therefore, Paypal would email periodic reminders to inactive account owners. If you don’t like those reminders, then better close the account. It’s easy to reopen paypal accounts.

bofa #

Posted on by tiger40490

sending money to citi … Fees? no more as of Jan 2024 🙂 At the same time I also retested “pulling from Citi”. This was tested years ago and is still FOC.

— 3FA log-in — ATM 6-digit PIN + emailOTP

— authentication data to call bofa hotline

  • need old passport number — E3980003K
  • need phone number — +65 90013516
  • need debit card number and cvv

— yet-unpaid statement balance:

The two numbers shown are not what I want:

  1. paper statement balance: eg $917
  2. current outstanding balance: eg $1117

Scenario: After the statement was generated with $917 balance, I immediately paid $300 to bring down the yet-unpaid to $617. Then my card was charged various amounts to hit the $1117 current balance. I want to see the $617 yet-unpaid but this figure has to be calculated manually:(

Unfortunately, the “minimum payment due” is not useful:(

==== bofa ccard balance payment from bofa acct
— method 1: transfer
The web form lets me choose FROM my checking account TO my ccard

Most past and future payments show up under TransferActivity, but some actually show up in the checking accunt history !

— method 2: “billpay”
On the page I also set up other payees like BCBS health insurance and Nuvsions (ISP), so my bofa ccard is just another payee.
On the right, there are recent and scheduled payments.

unsent letter about Japan rental property

Posted on by tiger40490

Hi Caroline,

You impressed me with your breadth of knowledge, honesty (and impeccable English… rare among Asian professionals in Singapore).

I have a habit to jot down my reflections and send them by email. No obligation to reply.

* over-concentration in properties — perhaps 80% of my money is in properties (all in Asia) so am gradually increasing allocation to stocks.
* language barrier — Japanese government, agents, tenants … would be harder to engage, but how bad is the language barrier? I’m sure your past clients have (positive) answers to this question.
* currency hazard in overseas properties — I experienced it to some extent. I prefer SGD and USD assets because I have expenses in SGD and USD.
* leverage (loan) — feels very dangerous in overseas markets, esp. cross-currency. I never use leverage for investment.

I can’t imagine myself servicing a foreign currency loan using SGD salary. Therefore, the interest-only installment scheme (positive cash flow) can help if I do take a mortgage.

* net rental yield — can be 50% below the notional gross rental yield. We didn’t go through the numbers. We need to consider vacancy periods, local agency fees, taxes, repairs, insurance, etc. So I guess Japan is 2 to 2.5%, perhaps slightly higher than Singapore condos.

In contrast, the 10Y GRR (guaranteed rental return) in Phnom Penh is very high in terms of net rental yield. I think it reflects the risk premium in that market — Cambodia is dangerously dependent on China’s hot money (One-belt-one-road).

Am exploring s-Reits (i.e. SGX listed Reits) after buying some US Reits. I think typical dividend yield on cost (comparable to net rental yield concept for properties) is 5% a year, meaning 5k payout every year for every 100k
invested. Looks like much better than Japan (or SG condo) rental yield.

* my current sentiment as a semi-retired investor — lower risk appetite, more attracted to (reliable) nonwork income rather than windfall appreciations.

Note nonwork income is not completely passive. A lot of my dividends and rental incomes require active management.

* relocation to the U.S. — Suitable homes are becoming too costly in greater New York. so I have devised plans to earn rental income in Asia and use that to offset my rent in the U.S. I may also decide to buy a rental property in the U.S.

Recently, my wife has managed to change my sentiment about our relocation timeline, but my long-term plan has not changed. My son is 13. After NS, he probably needs to enter college. There are many choices in the U.S.

Despite all the negatives about the country, American colleges remain a bright spot. American companies and job opportunities therein are another bright spot (as reflected in U.S. stock market). My son may not be the most compatible with Singapore’s education system or Singapore’s job market.

##low-cost pain relieves #counsel`@chen2mi2

Posted on by tiger40490

How about mesh router? Sounds like creep.

How about Bata sandals as a pain relief? Depends on durability.

see also

“low-cost” is subjective (No debate please.) but Indisputable value-for-money.

  1. — half-ranked by impact and value of the pain-relief
  2. eg: dhost.. relieving those countless pains on the free wordpress.com site
  3. eg: small laptop with git-blogg .. without it I couldn’t work on my active ideas. A kind of pain.
  4. eg: 2-printer lifestyle, with plenty of paper + spare cartridge
  5. eg: standing desk .. often feels very comfortable. Therefore I call it a pain relief.
  6. eg: powerline networking .. relieving pain of wifi dead zone
  7. eg: $10 LED lamp .. relieving pain of power sockets + heat from a table lamp

Items below are medium-cost pain relieves.. not really belonging to this blogpost.

  1. eg: counselling on chen2mi2?
  2. ElderShield

The rest of this blogpost are extensions of the theme.

— Sophia Cui said cars are real pain relieves even in SG. I don’t understand it, but she  has freedom to spend her own money. Not low-cost enough to be a lifestyle creep.
— I asked Umesh why his stay-home wife needs a maid, when his 67-year-old mom can help with childcare. I liked his detailed answers.  I think old habits are the biggest obstacle, if someone in his shoes really wants change (i.e. remove helper). Many families similar to his could make do without maids.

One old habit is home-cooking-as-default. His mom is possibly rather old for a change in this habit, though some grandmas do change.

I guess the #1 decision maker is likely the wife (rather than husband or mother-in-law). Without the maid, the wife would take on most of the workload. Attitude and perception is possibly the key (difference from my wife). She actually worked for a while before having first baby, and after the baby girl grew bigger. She was possibly less used to stay-home-mom lifestyle than other Indian housewives.

— creep? Lifestyle_creep is a vague concept. This blogpost provides valuable clarification using sharp examples.
Jolt: dhost is a great example. I couldn’t afford it in my younger years.
Jolt: 2-printer does sound like unnecessary luxury, but so did powerline when first deployed
(jolt: two-car family sounds like creep, but so do my multiple laptops, but this jolt doesn’t belong to this blogpost.)

Q: What specific criteria disqualify dhost as lifestyle creep?

  • criterion: total hours saved (less measurable than $cost)
  • .. total annual cost is not really a criteria per se but a crucial factor
  • criterion: In hindsight, do you see it as wasted spend or overpriced product?

##def2 [creep]=semi-conscious small luxury spend

Posted on by tiger40490
  • eg: movies
  • eg: taxi
  • eg: simple gadgets
  • eg: simple shoes, dresses
  • eg: toys

When we feel [1] we have more disposable income, we tend to loosen up a bit and spend here and there for a bit of comfort and indulgence. In general, I feel it’s best to be more conscious (ctbz) when spending money, though “conscious” may run against “buy-without-oth”

  1. suggestion: avoid credit card or NETS. They are too unconscious.
  2. Suggestion: expense tracking
  3. Suggestion: enforceable budget

[1] Note we often fail to recognize the tax-like expenses. We do notice them after we stop paying our mortgage or school fees.

— On vacations (sometimes even at home) my family sometimes question me “Why are we so careful spending money?”

People want “freedom” to spend. Similarly, people want freedom to eat whatever they want, and the freedom not to exercise or brush teeth, the freedom to sleep any time they want and get up only when they want to. All of these freedoms are detrimental to the body, not to mention the mind.

careful ≈ conscious ≠ frugal. I do spend quite a bit on education, reunion flights, piano courses, wpress hosting, multiple laptops, books, … Not so frugal, but conscious spending, not mindless spending.

DBS multiplier #2.2ppa#maintain$3k

Posted on by tiger40490

Below is based on email to Jixiang:

I will re-try Multiplier with B+2C (i.e. Base + 2 categories)
* base: I will credit my salary, which will guarantee 15k/M transaction volume
* category: credit card spend $1/M minimum, perhaps at MRT or small grocery item.
* category: $100/M Regular Savings Plan on an ETF

After I meet these requirements, I will earn 2.2 ppa (was 1.5 ppa) on the first 100k (was 50k) in multiplier account balance. Excess balance over and above this on any day, will be accorded the prevailing interest rate for that month.

If I have B+1C (no credit card), then I hit a lower IR.

Multiplier fall-below balance $3k. penalty $5/M.

 

Bank::OCBC accounts #USD

Posted on by tiger40490

— 6 Jul 2023 I opened a (non-checking) USD account, with $0 FBTh

— YoungSaver joint acct $0 FBTh. Harmless to keep as empty acct
🙁 No eStatement. Need to print passbook.

— CDA .. unlinked in 2023 from webank and ATM card. $0.12 will be transferred to a new account after meimei turns 12.
— OC acct wind-up: base plan
For my mtg service account, I can download last 12M statements.

Until auto-closure in 6M, the rolling 12M statements are available online. After closure, statement requests (even beyond last 12M) are not FOC

FBF (small cost) waived iFF $0.00 balance exactly.

Beyond the base plan:
To extend beyond 6M of inactivity, you can request.

splurge #sis,athletes #cf Creep

Posted on by tiger40490

Splurge is more conscious than semi-conscious luxiry spend . Splurge is different from creep. Splurge is more conscious and faster; Creep is more recurring and seldom big-ticket items. (splurge is both a noun and a verb)

I need to watch out for this tendency in my kids. This tendency is found in every one of us, including me. The earliest eg: At the end of our New Silk-route venture, we had some bank account balance. In the end each person received $200+, but before that, I proposed (more than once) that we spend the balance on a feast. Luckily, the other shareholders decided to divide the balance and take home.

— I think my ctbz(寸土必争) micro-saving habit helps curb the splurge tendency + semi-conscious spend.

— Q: Why don’t I feel “safe” giving my wife a bigger monthly allowance?
eg: A: exactly because I have seen how my mom increased her spending 3 folds or more when we relocated to Singapore to earn a much higher income.

— why I want to live a long life and control the rate of “release” to my offspring.
eg: On 31 Dec 1993 on his return to China grandpa left some 5-digit sum for my sis. In 1994, she asked me to release it to her and subsequently spent it over a short period. I tend to say “12M” but possibly 6M or a few years.

— splurge tendency and the quick easy money
eg: Many professional athletes squander away their peak income, and descend into cash flow low ground after retirement.

eg: Many homeless people receive an inheritance or and squander it away within a year. It’s hard for such a individual to suddenly learn responsible spending.

eg: https://www.getrichslowly.org/how-and-why-i-sold-get-rich-slowly/ described the temptation to splurge.