Happy New Year

Last day of 2012 and we survived the end of the world. We had a year of sex scandals, uncertain economic conditions, crazy road and industrial accidents, natural disasters, civil unrest around the world and doomsday prophesies.

It is time today to relook at 2012 and pray for those that are affected. It is today where you give thanks knowing you are safe and looking forward to 2013.

Today, you think about the people who you care and love and give thanks knowing they are safe and sound too. Who are these people? They are the people that if your phone rings at 3am at night and they tell you they are in trouble you will go all out to help them and you know they will do the same if you called them at 3am.

And if you know who these people are you may want to forward them this post just to let them know you appreciate them. (If your friend forwarded this post to you, they want you to know you are appreciated.)

I want to take this opporunity to give thanks to my parents that have been supportive of everything I do. I remembered a post I have seen on Facebook about the relationship between a pencil and an eraser is like the relationship between parents and children. I write my mistakes and they erase them no matter what. The relationship between a parent and a child is probably the only unconditional one. No matter how bad your mistakes, they will still love you, unless you have shot them in the face like the crazy person in the Newtown shooting.

I want to give thanks to my siblings that also have been supportive and understanding. Thank you for doing the things that I may not have done as a son to our parents. I apologise for not doing the things as a brother too.

My wife, thank you for believing and supporting in all my decisions. Thank you for believing that I will be a good financial adviser when others have shunned me. Thank you for taking care of things at home and giving me a great family. I know its not easy taking care of the kids (I know I am a kid at times).

Thank you all the great friends I have. You know who you are. Putting up with my sh*t at times. Thank you all my clients and prospects that have given me the the trust and opportunity to serve them.

Last but not least:

Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty
What would life be?
Without a song or a dance what are we?
So I say thank you for the music
For giving it to me

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?client=mv-google&v=0dcbw4IEY5w&rdm=mfca6b1uj

So what are your plans in 2013? Have you taken the steps today towards what you want to achieve in 2013 or the future? Have you stopped today and smell the roses before it is too late?

Have a great 2013! May all your dreams be fulfilled in the year ahead!

The Haunting

In 2001, I have just completed the paper work with my friend's mom CPF monies and had asked her about her other insurances.  She had politely declined saying she had other friends in other insurance companies. This has come back to haunt me earlier in early 2012.

My friend informed me one day during one of the meet ups that his mom has contracted breast cancer. Damn! She had been like a mother to me, my friend like a brother. The news was difficult to swallow. 

Insurance? I asked. My friend told me not sure. Not sure? She said she had a plans with 2 other insurance companies, not sure? What do you mean, I asked my friend.

He told me they cannot contact one of the agents from one company and the other has migrated. So they were unsure about the insurance.

They have been talking about what to do next? Private hospitalisation is not going to be cheap, but the government hospital said her operation is in 3 months. 3 months?! I asked him what stage of cancer his mom was at. He said stage 3. Stage 3 and wait 3 months! Ridiculous!

They have then decided that they will get his mom to do the operation in a private hospital and come back to the public hospital for chemo and all. I also told my friend to get her mom to dig out all the policies so that I can see them.

Went over to his place, looked at the policies and my heart sank. The policies have been so long that the pages are sticking to on another. It makes that sickening sound when you try to pull the 2 pages away.

There was also reciept payments for premiums and found many that is damn long ago. Then I saw one particular letter that looked new. It turned out that she had a shield plan and premium had been paid in 2011. That was the only one which had payment receipt that was up to date. No rider to cover the cash portion of the hospitalisation and the plan has not been upgraded to the private one. Well at least some part of the hospitalisation was covered. No other plans was in force.

I went home in a daze, sat down and with tears welling up in my eyes, i wrote a text message to my friend and apologised. I have taken for granted that people will do a good job. I have protected my own feelings about being scorned and not persevere and ask more about her insurances. If only I had persisted, if only I had insist for her just to show me then. If only... sigh... why do we only ask ourselves these questions when something has happened? Why does people have to go through the dilemma of which hospital to go when something of this magnitude has occurred? Why do people not look at what may happen and plan for the worse instead of taking the risk that its not going to happen to them?

As I sat there feeling guilty, my thoughts went back to the day I walked out of my friends place in 2001.

Enlightened

I have just been sabo-ed by my boss to do a Personal Financial Review for a friend, and is dreading the whole process of having to do the calculations for him. The appointment was taking place at his home.

We sat down in his room and started the whole fact find process. I know for a fact it was not going to be very difficult as he just started work and have very little assets and liabilities. He has just started work and therefore need some help with allocation of his income. I have already did a savings plan for him and now trying to uncover what other financial objectives he should be concerned about.

I know for a fact that CPF then has just changed their laws to allow monies to be invested from 0 dollars up. My boss has also reminded me there were a lot of monies now for investment purpose. In my head I know that my friend will have CPF and there was another opportunity for sales. I went through the motion of doing the fact find.

'So any assets or liabilities?' knowing the answer is no. No. Do you have any existing plans, no, but i think parents have gotten something for me. The fact find conversation somehow started to move towards his education. He has just completed his education in UK. He had just come back and found a job as an engineer. I eventually asked him, so how old is your dad? He told me: 60.

60!? Suddenly, I started to think for myself. Do I still want to support my kid through his education and all when I am 60? Our statutory retirement age then was 55. 60?! I suddenly feared that I cannot retire in future. I feared that at the point of me wanting to retire, I cannot as I have kids still dependent on my income. Did a quick calculation that if I want to retire without much commitment to my kids, the age I must have my last kid is 35. (I am late already)

I suddenly became enlightened how my job value adds to people. It became clear why the need for doing a financial review is important. Many of us do not think too far into the future. We assume that everything will fall into place. It might but why run the risk?

I did up the personal financial review just as my friend's mom walked in. What are you all doing? Auntie I doing investments, you have CPF. I don't know how to see, said my friend's mom. Auntie you pass me your CPF statement I help you.

She went out to her room and returned with her CPF statement. Showed her how much she has in OA, SA, and medisave. She agreed to invest her CPF monies. Auntie, have you thought about your other insurance. Its ok, i got friends in other insurance companies and everything is cared for. In my head, I told myself, since she is not comfortable to talk about it then I will not push. I am already losing friend's on a daily basis. Next time then talk. Since her friends in other insurance companies should take care of her properly.

Little do I know this thought will come back and haunt me today.

Photo by: Eddi 07- Free Stock

The Next Level

I have just joined the financial industry and the year is 2001. I just left my office automation sales job and went on to be an insurance adviser. I had always been a non believer of insurance because my father told me so.

I went for a meeting with my friend's boss and he managed to convince me to go take the exams . At that time all you needed to take was 1 paper, certificate in life insurance which is obsolete today. I picked up the book dreading that I have another exam to study for, since I am already doing my part time degree in the evenings. Sat down and prioritised, degree will always come first. Insurance is a means to get pocket money.

My perception of insurance changed when I read the text, I saw why was insurance important. I saw how it worked and how it benefitted. I became an advocate. I ate, sh*t and slept insurance. I talked non stop about the importance of it. This is the time when you start losing friends, people eye your phone calls with suspicion. They think you have an ulterior motive when you call them out for coffee. This is a test of your friendship with your friends or those who you call friends. The friends will never hesitate to come out and meet you. They will never make excuses if you ask them for coffee. Friends will be the one that tell you to 'turn off your insurance mode'.

I have a friend who was my first client. He never rejected me and agreed to meet when I called him. New laws have been passed and the first 3 appointments have to be accompanied by your boss. Told my friend my boss is coming. He said, sure.

During the appointment, I explained the plan that I am recommending and my friend listened intently. After that we did the paper work. All the time my boss was silent. When we finished the paperwork, my boss spoke, he asked my friend: why didn't you want to do the PFR?

In my head I was stabbing my boss a thousand times over! PFR?! Personal Financial Review! This review takes the income, assets, liabilities and the financial objectives of a person. An adviser will then have to take the PFR and transfer all the information to the FHR Financial Health Review, key the figures into a financial calculator and then generate a report for that person. And in the times of 2001 where laptops was still retailing about $3-$4k, it is not an easy task. The PFR alone will take about an hour. I will have to go back to office after to do the FHR! Boss I am going to kill you!

In my head I was hoping my friend will say: no, its ok no need. Instead, he asked: whats that? My boss looked at me and I went on to explain what the PFR is. Explained to him what I will have to do after I get back to the office. He said: Sure, I don't mind. 'But its going to take about one hour or more. We do here now or we make another appointment.' I asked. He finally asked me to go to his place on another day to do the PFR. Boring!

But little do I know that this exercise will bring my understanding and need of a financial plan to the next level.

The Road Less Travelled

I have sent in a copier to my customer in Tuas and I have just tried to troubleshoot her copier while in my shirt, pants and tie. I feel relieved knowing my technician will be down first thing the next morning to fix her problem.

Went to wok as uual the next day, making calls and doing some paper work. At noon my mobile rang. Picked up the phone and it was my customer from the previous day. Tang, I thought you said first thing in the morning? Huh? You mean my technician not there yet? I asked. No.... Ok ok sorry, I check with my service department and call you back.

Called my service manager. What happen? I thought you said you can send somebody down first thing in the morning? Oh sorry Tang, we had more important customer. I hung up the phone fuming, you mean my customer not important? Walked into the office and told my manager: Send me for technician course. My manager was surprise and ask me what happened. Related the whole story to him and he say cannot like that la, blah blah blah. I am thinking why should I be a slave to the service department, how can I keep my integrity as a person if the people supporting is not helping.

Another customer also called telling me his machine breakdown but this guy is worse he called and told me to send him another new machine as he suspect I sent him a reconditioned one. I already ask you technician to go back. Tang you better get a new machine to my office before lunch if not I call the lawyer. Called my manager, he arranged for my service manager to do up a new machine, recalled the driver back to send the machine. My one minute phone call from a customer resulted in me owing favours to 3 persons, my manager, service manager and driver, who all skipped lunch just to get a machine out to my customer. Sigh I am becoming a slave to the machine, literally!

I had another run in with another customer but that was not as bad, but by now I fear when the phone rings. I dare not look when my phone rings and when its an unknown number I shudder thinking it might be another customer wanting to complain about their machine. It became too stressful for me and that was when my friend from the insurance industry asked me to explore. I said ok though I was a non believer.

My first insurance policy I bought from a friend out of support (too many of us did this). He called me and told me he just joined as an insurance adviser. Ok, do up a plan to set aside for $200 every month. Met him the next day with his boss and he told me: Tang this is the plan but I have to explain. No need where to sign, I said. But I have to... put up my palm in his face and said: just tell me where to sign. I was mean but I wanted to support him as a friend. My father told me before that insurance bluff people one, cheat money. But since my friend joined must support la.

Did the paper work and he left, but the day when I joined the financial industry I called him and apologised and thanked him that he helped me see what I did not see then. I myself have taken the road less travelled.

Coming Back To Reality

I have just came back from Bali and reality is setting back in. Its back to work and its not any better even though I may have my own time. Its still work and fortunately I enjoy my job. Confucius said “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

I started my career in the financial industry since the year 2000. It was one of those friends that asked me to join them in an insurance company. But I don't believe in insurance was my reply. She was persistent and asked me to just go and be open about it. Since I was not really happy where I was and she was a friend, I said ok.

I was then in the office automation industry selling Multifunctional Products. The thing you call copiers in the office. They now scan, fax, print and copy, therefore multi functional. Anyway then it was new technology. Do you remember the time the scanners in your copiers actually move to copy documents? So if you have one document to copy 100 copies, the scanner in your copier has to scan your documents a hundred times. You cannot remove your documents until all is done.

So there I was after ORD from the Police Force National Service, being a photocopier sales person. I was schooled in Architectural Technology in the Polytechnic and knew that there was a big market for copiers in the architectural firms. Managed to get a listing of architectural firms and called them one by one. In the mean time, my boss also told me my territory was in Tuas! Tuas! Sigh... Tuas was then filled with many new companies and factories starting shop here.

The first few days, my boss drove me around to show me the ropes. It was still heaven because I was doing a part time degree and had night classes. I could still go to class at night relatively fresh! But after the honeymoon period, when I had to drive myself to Tuas it all changed. Driving is tiring and the journey up and down from Tuas drained me when I go to class at night. I cannot stay awake!

I managed to convince some companies to take up my copiers, that was when the job started feeling like work! I delivered 4 machines to 4 different companies to get 3 of them calling me back telling me there was a problem with the machine. I remembered a customer in Tuas, send her the machine in the morning. Everything went smoothly during the demo. Went back to the office feeling good about it.

Lunch time, phone rang. Tang, machine says paper jam my customer said. I check already but got no paper jam. Ok ok stay calm try and remember all the things to do trouble shooting. Mam the LCD screen will tell you where the jam is. Check already don't have. Ok next step. Turn your machine off and on? Done already. Eerr... Switch off the mains wait 5 secs. Also do already. Alamak! How? Ok ok mam tell you what I come right now. The time 5 pm, suppose to knock off soon. Ran down to my car and started my lonely drive to Tuas.

Went through the door to my customers office went straight to the machine. Looked at the LCD display. True enough paper jam. Did whatever the LCD display asked me to do. Still paper jam! Went down on my knees peered up through the paper trays just to ensure the paper is not there (I was in my shirt, pants and tie). Don't have!

Stood up, looked at my customer meekly and said mam don't worry my service guy will come first thing in the morning. She said ok. As i walked out the office, picked up my phone and started dialing for my service manager. Can you send one technician down to my customer tomorrow first thing in the morning. Sure, my service manager said.

What a day, well at least its settled (so i thought) and drove home.

Bali Escapade Part 13

It was our last day in Bali and we have not bought any souvenirs or anything for ourselves. 2 attempted trips to a particular outlet store was futile. They have either closed down or moved to another location. This store is called Kampung Bali, anybody with the information of this store please let me know.

Went through the internet and found this Krisna place. Asked the receptionist they also recommended Krisna. Asked her for directions she not sure. Decided to follow what the GPS says. She reminded us that our airport transfer is coming at 4pm and be back at the resort by 3.30pm. So kiasu, thought Singaporeans then kiasu. Then again, maybe too many of their guest have forgotten the time while shopping and late back for their transfer.

Followed the GPS and lo and behold we foud Krisna. Krisna sells all the souvenirs you can find in Bali, from fridge magnets to board shorts to peanuts and the place they were at: Huge! First section, FOOD! They sell a lot of peanuts I must say and coffee. Went around looking for stuff to bring for my coffee kakis (and if you guys are reading this, I have to check if there's still some more :P). Bought some Bali coffee for my own consumption.

We bought slippers, fridge magnets, clothes and small little trinkets for the kids. We threw all the shopping into basket that were provided, they looked exactly like those at NTUC. As we were going through one of the sections, from the corner of my eye, I noticed something really familiar: The Fan! I tugged at my wife and gestured towards the direction of the fans. She walked over and picked up one of the fans. She looked at me with a look and said: $4,000. Yeap, we paid 2 for $20,000. At first, I feel damn cheated but after some calculations it ain't that bad. In reality the difference is about $1.50 sing. My wife commented maybe we should buy more to average down the price. Hahaha! Ya she kena influenced by my investment strategies.

After we were done, we were carrying the basket which was full, to the cashier when suddenly, I remembered we are riding a scooter! How to carry?! Figured we could just hang the plastic bag on the handle bar. But we also have another problem. We had shared 1 luggage and the shopping will not have space to squeeze everything in. But we were pleasantly surprise when they asked whether we wanted to pack our shopping in a box. Sure! The box was nicely taped and tied to allow easy check in at the airport. Best!

When I carried the box it did not feel very heavy, my wife said she will carry the box while I rode back except that I have to be careful as the box is sticking out from the left. We wanted lunch but figured we cannot go anywhere with a box, figured we will go back leave the box down and go back out for lunch. My friends have always commented I have 老人痴呆 or dementia. Well, yes I totally forgot about the box while we were riding back. The box actually scrape another vehicle on the way back. Fortunately there was no big incident.

After we put down the box, we went to Warung Made's for lunch, another place recommended on tripadvisor but nothing to crow about. Went back to the resort about 3.45pm. Still have to wait what...

At 4pm the transfer came and we were driven to the airport. The streets were clear and we made it to the airport in 30 mins. Another 2 hrs and 30 mins to kill in the airport. Had coffee and doughnuts at cut-throat prices. And when we were on the plane home, we were happy knowing that we will see our family back home.

How can you not be happy coming home to this:

But, we will be back Bali!

Bali Escapade Part 12

After spending a day in Ubud and almost getting lost cos of a dead batt in my GPS, I relaxed in the pool before dinner. Still had the crispy duck in my head and searched for crispy duck on the internet. Found one particular warung that is offering it too near Seminyak. Decided thats for dinner.

This warung is called Warung Europa and the crispy duck they serve, very crispy. Well I cannot comment much as I did not have the original one at Ubud but I must say it is actually very good. We had a duck dinner, fried rice with crispy duck, salad with crispy duck and after the dinner I wanted coffee.

Went to Seminyak Square, its a swanky place with many cafes and restaurant. We sat down at Black Canyon Coffee and chilled. Right in front of us was a video wall, it was playing retro music with MV. Wow! Once upon a time DJs spun music from records and mashed up songs for people to dance too, nowadays the mashed up songs are done with music videos! Thats what I call moving forward. I could have sat there the whole night reminiscing the times I go to Zouk's mambo jambo, except that after awhile I realise it was on a loop... Boring! There is so many times I can listen to Ace of Base, The Sign! And I have overkilled it on my car stereo myself then. Yes I was young before too, yes I know its Ace of Base.. But it was happy music!

My holiday in Bali is coming to an end and I felt that there was still so many things not done or seen! I haven't even been to any of the beaches, except Jimbaran which was only for lunch! Those of you who have been to Bali and never been on the beach, put your hands in the air and shake them like you just don't care... Damn I think I am alone...

I am flying back the next day and there was still shopping to be done, things to see and beaches to chill on. There's still Tanah Lot to go to and Ku De Ta to be seen at. Guess it will be have to be on the next trip. My wife commented she will want to come back to Bali again, my sentiments exactly.

Bali had been fun, people we met have been great. Places we visited have been awesome! Service staff at restaurants are commendable. It has been a short holiday and we planned it this way. We have left kids behind and now also happy that we are going home to see them. I was glad I had installed an IP cam at home. I was able to see my baby even while in Bali. My mother in law had also came out from Malaysia, just to keep an eye out on the maid with baby.

Changes to adapt to being a dad, no more being spontaneous about everything. Everything planned and executed. So for those friends out there that have not seen me for ages, I apologise.

For now, we have to go back, pack and plan for our last minute shopping tomorrow morning before heading to the airport. And our last minute shopping was where we found out the true price for our fans..

Bali Escapade Part 11

I am in Ubud, 30km from my villa in Seminyak. I have only left 29% batt on my GPS enables iphone. The rain clouds are coming but my ziplock bags are 30km away. Ditched the idea of going for crispy duck in Ubud and set course back to my villa.

At full throttle on flat ground the scooter will do 80km/hr comfortably. If you do your maths, that ain't very far. Its about 22.5 mins going at 80km/hr. Its about the distance from my place in Simei to Jurong. But when you are riding in Bali, there are no expressways. I keyed my location in Google maps and they said, 1hr 20mins. Sure or not 30km, need so long? The fantastic thing about Google maps is that they have actually worked in the jams and probably the small roads to give you that estimate. And true enough 80km/hr was practically unreachable. On a clear road 60km/hr max. Usually 30km/hr.

10km down the road my wife tapped me on the shoulder, showed me the iPhone, its black. Yes I know I bought the black Iphone but the screen should be on. Oh no! I am now officially directionless, the batt is dead. It is now a memory game. I had actually planned for this contingency. I had wanted to bring my external battery charger. I remembered in Singapore my wife, was holding onto the battery charger before we left for the airport, and assumed she was going to bring it. Damn at that point, I remembered reading somewhere on the net: Do not assume, you make an ASS out of U & ME. Exactly my feeling, ASS.

Rode to a big junction there were 3 ways to go: left, right or straight. Hhhmmmm... Decisions, decisions.... Right should be right. Turned right but somehow not confident. Stopped by a shop with an uncle sitting outside and asked: Seminyak? He pointed. Well right wasn't right after all. Straight. Made a u-turn and went back on the right path. I had to now travel even slower just to see if i recognised any landmarks.

As I went down the road, it started to get familiar. My wife also started to tell me, correct already, correct already, i remember this. By this time the rain was here already, but it ain't pouring just a slight drizzle. My experience riding bikes tell me that rain like that, haversacks and pillions don't get wet... Only the rider. And because of my size my wife actually gets more protection from the rain. If it gets heavier then I will stop, only to protect the electronics I am carrying. 

I have always maintained that I am waterproof only my clothes and the electronics ain't. As I neared Seminyak the traffic started to build up, figured its about the time that offices get off work. Scooters were everywhere, cars were turning and getting stuck mid turn blocking the roads. Scooters were squeezing into whatever gaps they can find to inch forward. I followed, feeling glad I am on a scooter. The rain has more or less stopped by now.

I still managed to recognise my surroundings and squeeze through traffic at the same time, who say men can't multi-task. Ok ok its only 2 task, still its more than one! In the chaos I saw an all too familiar turn and finally we were on the road leading to the villa! Took me about an hour and a half but the truth is it felt like a day! The times without the GPS were the hardest. 

As a financial adviser, I reckon my job is like the GPS. I give financial direction to my clients. My clients and all discuss where they are now financially (like me being in Ubud) and what they want to achieve (destination, like my villa in Seminyak), we set course for their objective with solutions (journey towards their goals), then regularly monitor and review and see if the solutions is still able to achieve their goals (like GPS showing the route). We change course and make adjustments to their solutions when there is a need to (GPS recalculating route when you go off the wrong path).

Got back to my villa changed into my swim wear and took and nice relaxing dip in the pool, just when big droplets of rain started falling. No lightning, I'm staying in the pool... at least till dinner in an hours time.

Bali Escapade Part 10

We found Ibu Oka warung relatively easily with the GPS. Walked in and sat down. Ordered 2 special set and a soup. After reading about the babi guling, i cannot wait to try it. When our set came, it looked good! The bbq-ed pig skin looks damn good.

The pork was tender and the skin was crispy. Mix it all up, it was good. But.... it is not something I will go back for every time I am in Bali as some claim they do. Maybe because of the high level of expectations that have been created, the pig skin did not live up to it. But the tenderness of the pork is really unbelievable.

After the babi guling, we were contemplating what to do next. After some deliberation we decided to go to the waterfall then to Elephant cave then back to Ubud town for some crispy duck that people on tripadvisor was raving about.

I really wonder if tour agencies will go out of business soon like CDs. Sembawang music and Tower records is gone in Singapore because they did not keep up with the internet age and stuck with CDs. Will tour agencies become obsolete one day? We now have online travel agents like Zuji (which I booked my air ticket from). Budget airlines offering their tickets online and hotel booking websites like Agoda and Asiarooms. 

One can plan their travel based on tripadvisors' recommendation and ratings. Use Google maps to plan public transport routes and use GPS if you are driving. Seriously what can a travel agent do that you cannot as an individual. Yes some tours are way cheap but its subsidised by distributors that will pay the agencies if they brought tourist to their place. These tours usually last very long and a lot of time is wasted on cheesy presentations and expensive stuff.

I went to Guangzhou with a friend once and we took the bus everywhere we went, thanks to Google maps! And bus fares in Guangzhou is like 2 yuan for any distance. BEST! Went to Baiyun motorcycle city that we found online and Google maps directed us on the right bus and got us there. 

Sometimes I wonder if I will be obsolete soon, but then again in my business, as long as people are still running away when you tell them 'I am a financial adviser', my job is still safe. It just shows how many people still do not fully understand what we do and how we benefit them.

Decided that we should go to the water fall first as it was furthest away then slowly make our way back up to the elephant cave and end at Ubud town for crispy duck!

The sight at the waterfall was awesome, the road ended on top of the cliff overlooking the waterfall. We sat in the shade for awhile admiring the view, had a nice cold drink, while some kids haggled their wares.

My wife wanted to buy 2 fans for the kids and asked how much. $50,000 rupiah! Wah! the shopkeeper that sold us the dink exclaimed. The boy covered his mouth with a fan and put his finger on his lip telling the auntie at the shop to be silent. Alamak! Fail la boy, must be confident leh! But he is still a boy. Many studies in body language have shown that even as an adult many gesture we make are a reflection of what we are feeling.

For example, the boy put a finger to his mouth in reaction to a big lie. (the difference in cost price and price he selling, we eventually found out how much it cost) As adults, when we try to lie we make very small gestures like touching the corners of our mouth. This is a shadow of what we will do as kids. Will contemplate a blog post on body language in future but for now, we managed to get the price down for the fans to $20k rupiah for 2.

We asked the lady shopkeeper if we could go down to the waterfall, yes and she pointed to a flight of stairs. Wah! I exclaimed this time, I think my body language was really obvious to the lady that I don't want to go. She said 100 over steps only. Up and down is 200 over steps lor. But here already, just go.

Walking down the steps was scary as it was steep, but walking up... almost died. Went to the elephant cave.

At the entrance, we were asked if we wanted tour guide. Eeerrr, nope. My tour guide the internet, want to read about the cave, click here from Wikipedia or here from About.com.

We left the cave and was going to chart our route back to Ubud town. Noticed my battery is at 29%, looked up at the sky, it looked like it was going to rain, asked my wife if the ziplock bags was in the haversack. No... ok, change of plans we need to go back.

Bali Escapade Part 9

Woke up the next morning, and prepared for my trip to Ubud. Even though how much I hate sunblock, I decided putting on sunblock is better than getting sun burnt. Slapped on my sunblock and off we went following the GPS on our scooter.

I realised that in Bali, scooters are the king of the road. Cars tend to give way to them. We had a great time going through small little roads, thanks to the guidance of the GPS. The driver of the airport transfer wanted to charge us 400,000 rupiahs to get us to Ubud. And I will still maintain that one of the best ways to see any country is riding a bike.

I had done a 5 days 4 nights tour of Hanoi on a bike before and it was the best trip. We took 125 Minsk rode from Hanoi to Sapa and back. The guide will just follow us and be at strategic locations so that we know where the turns are. We rode the bikes and stopped whenever we like to take photos.

Bali still has many Padi fields and its always nice to ride away from the city, riding on roads flanked by padi fields.

We arrived in Ubud about an hour later, figured we were still too early to have lunch. We wanted to go for THE babi guling in Bali. Heard from friends I must try it at  Ibu Oka warung, many people on tripadvisor swears by it. But still its about 10am in the morning, still too early for lunch. Decided we should get out of the sun for awhile have a drink to cool down, we can still surf for a place to visit before lunch.

My wife said must find aircon one. So i slowly rode my scooter down the main street of Ubud. From the way some websites describe Ubud: less touristy, I had expected Ubud to be like Sapa in Hanoi. I was wrong. Damn its like Holland Village in Singapore, cafes lining the streets. But none with aircon.

Suddenly I feel my rear traction seem to be slipping, the bike was getting wobbly, this feeling is all too familiar. I asked my wife to get off and look at my tire, is it punctured? I did not want to look myself. Yes, came the reply. Wa suay lor! Why does punctures seem to follow me everywhere I go.

Rode to JB for seafood dinner, puncture. Send my wife to work, puncture. Now in Bali puncture! Wtf!? 

My wife wanted to get back on to go look for some workshop. Told her not possible, the combined weight of my 0.1 ton and her weight. The rear tyre will be running on rims by the time we get to a workshop. Asked a worker if he knew where I can get it patched, he said very far. Go Pertamina.

I remembered I saw Pertamina on the way in. Its times like this that I am so glad my wife rides too. She said she will ride the bike to Pertamina instead cos the tires may be shredded if I rode it back. Off she went. Told her I will wait for her there, pointing to a cafe just across the road.

Be careful ah I said then off she went. I walked to the cafe and sat down looked at the menu and ordered a banana milkshake. Banana my favourite fruit and milkshake one of those guilty indulgence. I looked forward to sipping down the cold beverage after spending one hour riding in the sun.

The waitress came with the milkshake and its appearance was not appealing, took a sip of it and almost spat all of it out. They have blended banana, ice, sweetened condense milk and water, blend it all together and called it a banana milkshake. It was way too sweet and it was not the milkshake I expected. But because of the heat, the coldness was welcoming.

Waited for about 45 mins and my wife eventually came back, new inner tube for the tires. She sat down and ordered a drink. She then commented how hot it is outside but while you are in the shade it actually is very cool. Now that she have mentioned its true! You don't feel the heat when you are in the shade in Bali. Unlike Singapore even when you are in the shade the wind blowing in from the outside is warm.

Being an Architectural student in poly, I commented that it is because of the pitched, tatched roof, creating a high ceiling and allowing the heat to dissipate as it rises. Then again it could also be because it is so damn hot outside that being in the shade is cooling, its all in the mind. 

We decided that we should go for lunch at Ibu Oka then go to some attraction called Elephant Cave. I also have heard there is a waterfall in Ubud area. That can wait. Babi Guling first. 

Bali Escapade Part 8

After riding in the rain, reached my villa, took a warm shower. I am settling down in bed to watch a romantic comedy. I am not a fan of romantic movies. Give me conspiracy theories, war or horror movies!

Asked my wife what we were watching, she told me 'Life As We Know It'. Never even heard of the movie title before man!

But surprisingly the show was actually quite good! In fact it made me see my business in another light.

Read the full synopsis of the movie here.

The movie was about a couple and their single friends. The husband tried to pair his best buddy with his wife's best friend. Well the resulting effect is funny as they never really hit it off the first time they met, though the husband and wife was sure they were meant for each other.

The show started getting interesting when the husband and wife were both involved in car crash and died. The daughter they had was fortunately left with the babysitter. Both their single friends rushed to the hospital and they eventually met up with the couples lawyer.

The lawyer told them that the deceased couple had insurance for the mortgage of the house and nothing else and they have left the custody of their daughter to the both of them. They could  also move into their house. Imagine 2 single with no intention to settle being stuck in a situation like that. They went through a lot of sh*t, but eventually like all Hollywood romantic movies they lived happily ever after.

I enjoyed the movie but also left me with loads of questions. I know I am covered slightly more than 1 million dollars upon my death, my wife knows too (sometimes I sleep with one eye open just to ensure my wife does not try and kill me in my sleep :p .. just kidding Ling) but more importantly, does she know what to do if death was to occur to me? Even if she does, will she be in the right frame of mind to do it? What if we get knocked down while we are on the scooter or the plane crashed, nobody will know I have this coverage. Nobody will know who will take custody of the children. What will happen to them then?

I buy coverage because I know my wife and kids still need the income I am providing now when I am dead. I buy because life is unpredictable as we know it (though many people still do not think so), therefore we expect the unexpected, thus Murphy's Law. Whatever can happen, will happen.

Too many times we turn the newspaper and you get articles telling you perfectly healthy people dying or contracting illnesses. Whether premature death or illnesses is going to happen or not is unpredictable, therefore I choose not to control the unpredictable but control the predictable in unpredictable. 

Wah! So deep!

Unpredictable: 

1. Premature death
2. Illnesses
3. Accidents

Predictable: 

1. Loss of work/ income
2. Hospital bills
3. My share of the household expenses
4. Kids' education
5. Inflation
6. Liabilities
7. Emotional anguish

I know I cannot do anything for item 7, but I know if I can take care of item 1-6, I do not add on more anguish financially.

The movie opened another paradigm for me. So what if I have planned for my predictable during the unpredictable when there is no predictable someone to execute it when I am gone? Who will be that someone? I have been to will writing talks but the movie actually hit it home.

Went to bed with those questions in my head, glad that we have already planned to go Ubud the next day. Don't think I could have planned much with those questions in my head. 

Have you planned for your unpredictable? Have you asked yourself the above questions? 

Let me know if you are.

Email: tngjinyau@gmail.com

Bali Escapade Part 7

The rain never came and dinner has arrived. An old friend had left a comment on my check-in in Bali, telling me to visit Ultimo in Seminyak. I also recalled reading about it in tripadvisor. The truth was I did think to myself that I came to Bali for Italian food? Decided to suggest to my wife and she was all for it.

I was also kind of worried that the price for anything western on the island was going to be exorbitant. Well figured its our honeymoon stop being the financial planner and start living, enjoy the holiday. And so off we went to Ultimo.

We walked into Ultimo and the service there was excellent. We were shown our table by one of the waitress to our table which is in the air conditioned area. The lighting was dim but not dark. Had tealights on all the tables. The waitress was bubbly and handed us the menu. Looking at the ambience and all the place looked classy. I flipped open the menu and my eyes skimmed the price first. It was unbelievably affordable. The pizza cost less than $10 sing dollars! Damn you cannot even buy a pizza at Pizza Hut!

Don't get me wrong, I am not a cheapo.. Its just that I dare to say I am competent in preparing western cuisines and pastas are my specialty. I make a killer plate of pasta in white wine sauces. I also ensure that my pastas are prepared Al Dente. So I never like indulging in western food cos many a times I think I can do better. So I usually do not mind paying for chinese or japanese cuisine.

But for less than $10 a pizza, heck this is small risk! I ordered a soup and a main course. My wife ordered only a main as I have also said we order a pizza to share. The waitress took our orders and asked if they should serve the soup and pizza first. Yeap sounds like a plan!

She left to place our order and returned with a basket of bread and butter! Wa, I cannot use words to describe the breadsticks in the basket. The bread too was solid! Warm too. Before I could finish the breads the pizza and soup came. I had this sudden fear that we have ordered too much. The pizza is not those personal pan pizza you get at Pizza Hut but a full size one which may be able to feed 4, and we still have mains!

Even though there was a long queue at the front of the restaurant our waitress came and asked whether she should bring our mains after we were done with our soup and pizza.

In Singapore, the waitresses would have  brought out our mains half way through the soup or appetizer, trying to find every available space to put the mains down in the midst of appetizer, clear our plates really quickly and give dirty stares if we chilled longer to chat. Eating in Singapore can be so stressful and uncomfortable some times.

Here at Ultimo, I looked at my waitress who have just cleared my soup and pizza plate and told her while rubbing my tummy: can you give us 10 mins before you bring the mains? Sure! was her reply not a wane in her smile, not a change in her chirpy tone. The whole experience was so comfortable, so cozy. Even my wife agreed.

After chatting for awhile, we decided the food has settled enough for the mains. Asked our waitress for it and once again: Sure!

I am leaving her a tip after this, I thought. Finished our meal and asked for the bill, price was reasonable and when the change came, my wife swiped everything. You not leaving anything? Got service charge, no need to tip. Well, ok. Guess thats fair.... but....

Anyway, I remembered having this discussion with a group of my friends: Is the tipping culture in the states or the 10% service charge we have here better? To discuss this here is not appropriate but that can be another blog post.

Walked out of the restaurant and realised that there was a long line of people waiting for seats. Was glad we came early. Walked towards our scooter and I was thinking of dessert or coffee then BOOM! Thunder and lightning in the distance.

Scrapped the dessert and coffee plan. Anyway, my wife was saying there's coffee in the villa and you also say you will watch a movie with me tonight. Yeah better hurry back, do not want to be caught in the rain. And yes, I vaguely remember agreeing to watch a movie with her, I also know its a romantic comedy.... guess it will not be that bad right? Anyway I don't have my PS3 with me, guess a movie is the only thing to do.

Set the course for our villa on the GPS and rode as fast as we could. Felt a drop of water on my face wondered if its aircon condenser water. Then another drop on my arms then face then arms then figured it cannot be aircon condenser water. In a few seconds it seemed that somebody turned on the shower in the bathroom. Pulled into Circle K, their 7-11 equivalent. Whipped out the ziplock bags that I have prepared from my haversack, feeling damn proud that I have prepared these contingencies. Being a biker who have been to many touring trip up north to Malaysia, ziplock bags are necessities. Stuffed all the electronics in, zipped it up and continued on our way.

Got back to the villa, showered and settled into bed to watch the movie, praying that I will not fall asleep.

Bali Escapade Part 6

Tripadvisor recommended that Jimbaran is to be visited in the evening to enjoy the sunset. But I figured I do not have much time in my 4 days 3 nights Bali holiday. Decided to go there during lunch. Bali is synonymous to beaches and in my 4 days 3 nights, Jimbaran is the only beach I went to, and i did not even touch the sand. This shot was taken while sitting in Menaga Cafe.

Yes yes I know... Bali without beaches, what were you thinking?! Maybe because I have rode almost an hour in the sun and the thought of being in the sun again...

It does not help that I have something against sun block, hate the feeling it leaves on my skin after. My wife kept urging me to splash on the sun block but I said no.

Anyway, users of tripadvisor has been raving about Menaga Cafe and its 2 person set. $420,000 rupiah gets you 1 lobster, 1 fish, 6 sotong, 6 clams, 2 drinks, plain rice and kang kong!

 $53 Sing dollars! Shiok! We could not even finish the spread. The bbq seafood with the sauces was fantastic! The smoky flavour of the bbq blended with the sauces, heaven! Had a cup of Bali coffee to finish the meal. Bali coffee has this distinct unfiltered coffee beans that will sink to the bottom when left undisturbed. Then you drink the coffee and finishing it just before you reach the bottom. I love it!

We planned to go shopping but the heat was getting to us. The thought of soaking in the pool is now so much more appealing, though I still wanted to stop by Harley Davidson. Decided we will stop by Harley then go back to the villa, come out only after the sun has set abit. 

We got back to the villa and the first thing I did, changed into my swim wear and dived into the pool. Accidentally rubbed my forearms against the pool wall and I knew I needed sun block tomorrow.

As I was lazing in the pool, the sky turned ominously black. I recalled the driver of my airport transfer telling me that it usually rains in the night. Quickly looked at the time, its about 4pm, thought to myself that from my experience this rain should be here and gone by the time dinner comes. I was half right..

Bali Escapade Part 5

After setting course for Uluwatu on my trusted GPS, we are off. While travelling I spotted a Harley Davidson dealer and told my wife I want to stop by here on our way back. I was hoping there will be good deals. My wife was holding onto the iphone and she was telling me: 2km turn left. 2km? How far is 2km man! I blame our old school traditional method of education on that.

Let me explain. If you recall when we were younger and we were told to learn our multiplication tables, we were told to memorize, be it off the back of our exercise book or sometimes its printed on the side of our plastic ruler. Mom will ask: What is 2 x 2? 4 I'll reply. What is 2 x 3? Eeerrr... 7? WHACK! (either getting hit by the exercise book or plastic ruler) WRONG! Go and memorize again!

So I grew up knowing 2 x 2 = 4, 2 x 3 = 6 because the back of the exercise book said so. Do I really understand the rationale? No. Lets do a test

1) How much is 1000ml?

2) How much is 1000m?

3) How much is 100cm?

If you answered 1 liter, 1 kilometer and 1 meter, you are absolutely right! But when we were younger, do we physically know HOW much is that? If you never was an athlete, you do not know how much is 400m, 200m or even 100m. 

And it is not only when I started doing my own marketing for my groceries did I recognise a Coke bottle as 1.25 liters. If not I knew 1 liter as 1000ml. 1km as 1000m and 1m as 100cm. Back to multiplication, I knew the answer but never understood why. Today the education system has changed, schools teach modeling where kids draw pictures for every maths problem. This gives them something more visual to solve problems thus in turn giving them more understanding then memory work. 

I asked my 5 year old niece WHAT does 2 x 2 means. She told me 2 sets of 2!!!! My jaw dropped, I stared at her as if she was an alien trapped in a child's body. Damn I do not even think I knew that when I was 5!

Anyway back to my journey to Uluwatu. Not surprisingly, I missed a couple of turns cos my wife expected me to know how far 2km was.... till she finally gave up. She decided she will just shove the GPS in my face just before the turn was coming, well that worked far better. Hhhmmm then again, could it be because we (men) are visual creature? Never mind that can be a separate blog post.

I knew that one of the highlights of Uluwatu was that it was built on top of a cliff. After riding for almost half an hour, I realise we have been riding on flat ground. How to have cliff? Just as I finished that thought, a winding uphill appeared. I twisted the throttle so as not to lose speed. But the horsepower on a 125cc bike with me as a rider (I weigh 100kg or some of my friends say 0.1 ton) became more apparent on the slope. I hit the slope at 70km per hour it fell to 60km, 50km, 40km. Tried to twist some more, no more! Speed is dropping further, 30km, 20km and for a moment I was afraid the bike may just stall totally, but it held at 20km per hour. Those of you schooled in the traditional method of memory, let me put it into perspective for you: bicycles can do more than 20km per hour easily. 

From the GPS I saw that there are small roads that actually lead out to the cliffs and I asked my wife if we should just make a small detour and see where one of these small roads will lead to. I know she hesitated saying lets go, because the sun was shining down on us. She was afraid of getting sun burnt and she also has told me my forearms are getting damn red. But before she can say anything we were down one of these roads. It was really nice without the traffic of the major roads. And it was worth it coming down this path as at the end of it was this:

Blown away by this sight. No ship in sight and we practically can see to the horizon, in fact I did not know where the sea ended and the sky began. Took in the sight for awhile, took some photos and we are off again. 

Reached Uluwatu Temple and I had my sunglasses on. After I bought my ticket, counter guy said, sunglasses careful, monkey. Wa! really ah the monkey here so fierce? Walked through the gates and another guy collecting our tickets told me: be careful, sunglasses, monkey. Made me kind of worried but I remembered watching National Geographic, the more you show your fear the more they will know it. In the animal kingdom there will always have an alpha male. I AM the alpha male, I thought. That already made me feel bigger and walk with confidence down a path lined with trees and bushes. Suddenly, there was rustling in the bushes. Careful, sunglasses, monkey came into my head, scan the bushes hoping I can spot the monkey so I can show him my alpha male stance and confidence before he can sneak up on me and grab my sunglasses. 

Kept scanning then there was another rustle, saw the bush moved! Ha! I know where it is now! Stood my ground and suddenly the animal came into view, it was a cow...

Walked further down the path, another rustle, now my wife jumped. Cow... where's the monkeys?!

No encounter with monkeys and when we reached the end of the path, this: 

We could see the temple in the distance, magnificent view from where we stood. Figured since we were here we will have to go up to where the temple stood. I could see the path leading to the temple and under the hot sun it looked crazy. But then it was all worth it when we saw this:

The small little hut is where I shot the first photo.

Shot a few more photos and we were off to Jimbaran for lunch. Monkeys there were and I think my alpha male stunt worked. Walk big,walk tall. Or maybe they were just taking shelter in the shade from the blistering heat.

Bali Escapade Part 4

After having a great dinner and getting back to our villa, I had asked my wife where she wanted to go the next day and she mentioned Uluwatu. A quick surf on the internet revealed it was on the southern tip of Bali. Google maps also revealed Jimbaran was along the route to Uluwatu. Made a quick plan that we will visit Uluwatu and  have lunch at Jimbaran before heading to Kuta for some shopping. Keyed in all the places into my GPS. Continued surfing on the tripadvisor on which warung to go for seafood on Jimbaran.

Did I mention I love the internet. The whole trip have been planned online. The places recommended by peers on trip advisor. The journeys planned on Google Maps. And the new google on Android (and maybe the iphone) is fantastic! It knew I was overseas. It immediately gave me 3 very important 'cards' on my google homepage.

1) the places i have searched before: tells me how far I am and how long it will take me and if there are any delays along the route

2) gave me the exchange rate for rupiah to sing

3) gave me a card to translate from english to bahasa indonesia and vice versa!

It also has recommended place to visit on the page. i was blown away, whatever you need as a traveler is there on google homepage! Well done google! All shopping and dining bills is immediately converted back to Sing at our finger tips! If only google Navigate can also be available there, would have been fabulous.

Morning came and after breakfast that was served in the villa we set off to Uluwatu. From the GPS it said it was about 25km and will take about 40 mins. We walked over to the scooter turned the key and started the bike to warm it up. In the mean time my wife was putting on her shower cap before putting on the grubby helmet they provided. Guess being a guy I did not bother or I have been through worst at SSDC when I was getting my bike license before. But the plus point was it did not smell.

Off we went on our 2nd day's adventure!

Bali Escapade Part 3

I have spent half a day in Bali and it has been eventful. Just want to relax a bit, cool down from the scorching afternoon sun before heading out. I was also thinking that since this is our private villa with pool, make full use of it!

But I must say a dip in the pool was great! Relaxed on the lounge chair, sipping coffee... Then I realised I haven't seen my wife coming out for sometime and decided to take a peek. She was sleeping! Sleep?! We came all the way to Bali and sleep? (then again I must say it is quite good not waking up at night because of baby cries). Well at least it gave me time to plan what to do next.

Whatsapp a friend who gave me a name card of a particular restaurant he insisted I must try when I was in Bali. He strongly recommended the flying gurame and the oxtail soup. He whatsapped me the name card, keyed it into the GPS on my jail broken iphone (which is now my travel phone and GPS) and waited for my wife to wake.

Continued surfing on tripadvisor on what to visit in Bali (wanted to dive but figured next time). And when my wife finally woke we took the scooter out to Kuta for dinner at Pawon Pasundan. My friend was spot on with the Flying Gurame and ox tail soup. Fabulous! The soup was surprisingly not salty! The spread we had.

The Flying Gurame that is fried gurami fish, butterflied then fried to a crisp. Even the bones were edible! Perfect!

Went back to the villa and planned for our next day's trip. More adventure awaits!

Bali Escapade Part 2

In our line of work contingencies is what we plan for and on my own Bali trip, I have thrown caution to the wind and expect every thing to fall into place nicely. My receptionist just told me my scooter is coming at 3pm. Time now 12pm. Sigh! We could wait till 3 then have lunch or we could order in or we could walk.. WALK!?

I was thinking: the warung from where I saw it, did not look very far. I think its possible to walk. Wife said: let's walk. And off we went. I clearly underestimated the distance or it could have just been the sun shining down on us. It was hot! And I mean hot with a capital F! (pardon my language) Look up at the sky and its blue. The road was on a slight gradient up. The walk probably took us 5 minutes thereabout but it felt like 5 hours!

Finally made it to a warung, though not the one I saw earlier as the quaint little one was further down the road. Popped into the first one we saw and sat down. Waited for service but none came. My wife whispered to me and said: I think they only sell one thing here. They see us come in they start preparing liao. True enough, few minutes later this came

Looked at it, looked at my wife. Both of us looked at each other, highly suspicious of what we were about to put into our mouths. I picked up the spoon tasted the soup first. I knew it was going to be salty, just like everywhere in Indonesia, somehow they love their soup salty. But I also love how their soup always taste like Soto Ayam in Singapore.

The salt in the soup numbed my tastebuds. Maybe this is how they eat their food: numb the taste buds so all the food taste the same. I pushed some rice, vegetables, nuts (nuts looked safe), and some weird looking stuff on my spoon, slowly brought it up to my mouth, dreading how bad its going to taste. At the same time, glad I've got travel insurance to cover me in case of food poisoning and all.

As my mouth closed over the spoon, my eyes widened, I stared back at my wife and she was looking at me too with a look! It was unbelievably good! As I started chewing, the nuts added a crunch to every bite. The aroma of the weird stuff and vegetables mixed very well together! Wash it down with Teh Botol! Heaven!

After we finished, we had 1 more bottle of Tel Botol each to prepare ourselves for the walk back and asked for the bill. $35,000 rupiah. That works out to be $5! OMG! Had to ask the server what I just had, he said something like peh peh or pek pek. That sounded vulgar. Looked at my wife as she is Malaysian, hoping to get an answer since she is conversant with Bahasa Melayu. She gave me a shrug. At that moment I didn't care, the vulgar sounding, weird looking stuff was good!

The walk back was not as bad. Downhill and with food in our belly, the walk was better. Had to stop and take a picture as I am sucker for wide open areas.

When we got back to the villa, my steel pony was waiting. The adventure begins!

Bali Escapade Part 1

As a financial planner, I plan for people's future and ensure most unpredictable moments becomes predictable. But on the 11th of October 2012, as I sat in the office, opened up my Google calendar, it hit me! I have been so caught up with other people's planning I totally forgot mine! My 1st year wedding anniversary is a month away and I haven't started planning! (Ling, if you read this, sorry I know I should have started earlier)

At least my plan of having my wedding on 11/11/2011 have worked! I remembered the date. Scambled on the internet, went on one of the budget airlines website searched for flights to Bali, it cost $580. Was about to click 'buy' then I remembered Zuji. Went onto Zuji and found Garuda to Bali was only $596. Duh! No brainer $16 more for 2 pax on a regular flight, bought! Zuji rocks!

Went onto Agoda website searched for a private villa, read the reviews, bought! Agoda rocks too! In fact, I love the internet! We can be our own travel agent! The next one month was a balancing act to plan for my 4 days 3 nights Bali trip and my clients' entire life. No guessing which should take more time. (Sorry, ling :p)

Anyway, the day came for our Bali trip. Alarm clock did not go off. Woke up at 6am which was the time we should be at the airport. Mad scramble to get dressed and get to the airport. Glad we stay in Simei.

Arrived in Bali, saw the whole line of drivers holding names of their guest they have to pick up. Did not find my name. Die! The resort screwed up what a start to our trip! Alarm clock didn't ring, now this! Walked up and down the terminal, thinking of finding somewhere to buy a pre paid card to call the resort.

This whole time I was kicking myself in my head for not confirming with the resort the night before. What an idiot! But its a resort, this is one thing you don't expect right?

Cannot find anywhere to buy the card walked back to the pick up area. Just then my wife saw this guy holding a sign with a name that resembles mine but somewhat distorted. I realise most people see my surname TNG and they think I must have forgotten my vowels.

And for those who still think I have forgotten my vowels, let me set the record straight. TNG is hokkien means soup. Like in cheng tng, the dessert. In chinese 汤. Hanyu Pinyin: Tang.

Got onto our van and we were on our way. And when we finally got to the villa, I heaved a sigh of relief. Now to enjoy some lunch. I have told the resort to prepare a scooter for me, and I had recce the route we came in and saw a nice little quaint warung. I was thinking: later we can take the scooter here. My receptionist said: Sir, your scooter will be coming at 3pm.

Oh no! Not again!

The Unseen Monster

Read this in the papers yesterday and I was thinking of the times when I was in corporate, working 9 to 5 and receiving a take home pay at the end of the month.

I have always wondered 'Why does my pay never seem to be enough even when I get a raise every year? Why is it that I get a raise every years yet, you never seem to have more savings or a better standard of living?

After being in the financial industry I started realising the mistakes that most of us make and I have been through it myself.

Firstly, inflation has been slowly eroding away the value of our monies. We all know about inflation but many do not do anything about it. 

The government tells us CPI increased. CPI? What's that? Can eat or not?

For those who knows what CPI represents, most will also ignore the consequences of high CPI.

Some who knows what CPI is, what is its repercussion and consequences, they will still procrastinate about doing something about it.

So what is CPI? CPI, Consumer Price Index or what we know commonly as Inflation is the silent killer that has been eating at our monies. So how does inflation affect us.

I remembered the year 2003 when I started to indulge in kopi-o. One cup of kopi-o then cost $0.50. 8 years on in 2012, my indulgence is now, $0.90 per cup. (And I do not take only a cup one day.) What do you think inflation of my kopi-o has been the past 8 years. On an average the inflation for my cup of kopi-o per year is 7.6%. 

 Many of you might think: 'But its only $0.40 what! Tang why you bother write blog for $0.40!'

Let us move the decimal points, something that cost $5 will cost $9. Something costing $50 will cost $90. Something that had cost $500 now cost $900. The difference is now, $4, $40 and $400 respectively. The difference will get bigger once the sum of money becomes bigger. $0.40 seems acceptable, but does $40,000 in 8 years sound reasonable?

To put inflation into perspective, imagine you earn $4000 every month, you spend $3,500, and save $500. You get a pay raise of 4% and inflation has been at 7%. After 8 years, your income after a pay raise of 4% every year will be $5,475. Your expenses that is growing with inflation of 7% will be at $6,013, with no more extra for savings.

Based on the above example, how can we maintain our standard of living when the cost of our expenses are moving faster than our pay! It has moved beyond our means and we have to start digging into our savings just to maintain the lifestyle we enjoyed just 8 years ago. And once our savings run out, we either start signing our credit cards or compromise our standard of living.

Being young and having my first credit card was detrimental. With inflation increasing, and me trying to keep up with my standard of living, I ran up a total of almost $30,000 in credit card bills. And with the interest rates of credit cards at 24% p.a it is almost impossible to clear my debt while just trying to pay off the minimum amount. 

But when I started in the financial industry, the idea of planning began to sink in. I always thought that Income - Expense = Savings, but some seminars I attended changed my whole perspective. One speaker actually mentioned that the real formula to be rich and financially independent is to save and to save the formula is Income - SAVINGS = Expenses!

That blew me away! I had been a slave to my money! I have allowed myself to work for money, I have not allowed money to work for me. I have to be a master of money and not a slave to it! That day, I got home, took out my scissors, cut away my cards. 

Found some personal loan that will give a slightly lower interest and transferred my balance so that I can pay off my debt in a very systematic way. 

In the mean time, I also walked into POSB,  ask them about an account that will take my money from my salary on a monthly basis on a fixed date. I do not want an ATM card or internet access for this account. They told me about the fabulous MySavings account that allowed flexibility of setting aside a fixed amount of my salary on a user defined date! If I need to withdraw from the account I had to go to the branch, queue, to get my money. (Though now the account has changed, they now give internet access and tie it to your ATM card. But the habit of savings has been formed)

Life changed, debts was cleared and inflation was still a concern. 

Savings interest: 0.125%

Inflation: 7%

Real rate of return on my money: - 6.875%

I knew I had to do something about it.