Hello Kitty

Ha $25k for a Hello Kitty? Fights breaking out because of a cat? And its not even a cat fight...

Come on people, seriously? What the hell is the draw for a plush cat? Besides hoping that you can make $25k from it, and if you were smart enough you will know it was probably made in China and a search on the internet will tell you, you can buy it off the net for just RMB35. Which works out to be S$7 and damn the chinese manufacturers will still be making a damn decent profit at $7...

So is it all about making money or a real passion for the cat? I wonder, because if making money is the reason there are other ways to make money. Like by investing, yes it does not give you 25K over night but at least you can accumulate wealth instead of spending your whole night queueing at McDonalds. You also can have 66% chance that your investment will return you 10%.

I search on the net that you have a probability of hitting 4D is 1 in 10,000. So isn't 66% chance of getting 10% a damn good odd.

So instead of looking at how Hello Kitty can make you alot of money, think about how spending a little more time to think about accumulating money may work better.

N95 Mask and Air Purifier in Singapore

This is unbelievable! Went everywhere looking for air purifiers.. all sold out! Asked Gain City take my money first. They said cannot, our list very long already they said... Sigh! My daughter is sick from the haze and I need the air purifier.. at least we will be getting some reprieve from the haze this couple of days.

My wife casually mentioned that this is so funny that everybody seems to want to buy air purifiers and mask when the NEED arises. Us included. She also mentioned that if we had just went out on the first day to get it (which we really did contemplate but eventually did not because my daughter fell sick) we probably have gotten ours already. Well isn't that just human nature. We don't see the need for many things till it is too late..

The Chinese must have understood all this when they said '临时抱佛脚‘ loosely translated, it means to hug a Buddha's feet at the last minute. It means that you only will do the things necessary at the last minute. Like for a student if you do not study on a regular basis, at the last minute you will have to hug the Buddha's feet and hope for the best. Or like this haze situation, at the last minute, may of us want to 'chiong' out and buy an air purifier or mask. 

6 months ago if we said we wanted to buy mask or air purifiers. Many will probably think you were crazy. So this brings me to the topic and purpose of this post. Many see a financial adviser now thinking we are out to take money from you for the good of our commissions.  Many think it is bad luck or too long to think about retirement or investment now. Many think that things will not happen to them to warrant a financial plan. So when will financial planning be warranted? By the looks of things, it will be warranted when critical illness strike, when retirement arrives or when the kids are going to school. And that is just a short list of financial objectives of an individual, family or organisation. And the big difference between the haze and financial planning is you can do something about the haze when it happens but not financial planning when one of the events happen. 

When a critical illness strikes can we 'chiong' out to buy a hospitalisation plan or critical illness plan? When retirement is tomorrow can we say we start accumulating wealth today? When inflation hit all time high can we find a suitable solution to give us a high return to counter that? 

Instead of expecting the government to do something now for us, I think we should start thinking about what have we done for ourselves. Have we done the necessary to protect and safeguard our own interest instead of expecting the government to do things for us?  I read in amazement the number of people calling out to the government asking them to do something about the haze, asking for more mask or getting more air purifier stock. Come on, the government is human too.. they are also reactive.  So take charge of your own life, predict the unpredictable, expect the unexpected, control what is controllable and live life! Read my post about predicting the unpredictable and expecting the unexpected here.

Taken while walking along the MBS to MBFC 

Your Job May Help You Live Longer

I read in amazement today in the papers today that the work we do may actually prolong our lives. We have been so concerned about diet and exercise to keep a healthy life that we forgot the one big important thing in our lives... our job.

Studies have shown that stress is one of the major contributing factor of cancer. And where do we get the most amount of stress from? Our jobs.. we spent a good part of our lives at work and therefore exposed to stress very often unless of course you enjoy the work that you do.

I also reckon that Singaporeans are exposed to more stress as we stay in high rise buildings. Research have shown that all of us have a personal space and we are in stress when this personal spaces are invaded. Personal spaces are imaginary boundaries that our sub-conscious mind have drawn out, and we are in stress when that space is invaded. Imagine an old lift, have you ever noticed which button in the lift is usually the most worn out? Its the close button. Nowadays our lifts have buttons that are embossed and this effect is rarely seen. But at those old HDB or commercial building's lifts the close button is usually most worn out.

Why? Well, the lift ain't exactly the biggest space and if a second person gets into the lift with you, your personal space gets smaller when more and more people gets into the lift the space gets even smaller, eventually it gets invaded. To prevent that from happening, most will want to shut the lift doors first before anybody else gets into the lift.

Studies have also shown that for drivers this personal space extends outwards when you are in the car. That is why when someone cuts you too close or tailgates you, you cannot take it, your personal space have been invaded. So if the next time the driver in the car you are in gets really flustered, just understand its an invasion of a personal space.

If being in a car extends your personal space then I can also assume that being at home you also have a personal space extending beyond the walls of your flat, right? That is why when your neighbours upstairs accidentally drop marbles you go insane. We are at stress when we are at home too and that is why the newspaper had once reported that 2 out of 5 Singaporeans will contract cancer in a couple of years time.

So how do we extend our personal space at home then? Many opt to keep their doors close when they are at home just so they know they are kept private in their own personal space. But if you knew your neighbours then your personal space can be reduced as they are friends not strangers. Being with friends personal spaces can diminish altogether. We can sit at a table with friends almost having shoulders touching each other but when we are in a cinema with a stranger next to us we feel uncomfortable. So if your neighbours are your friends will that not create less stress? I usually leave my door open at home. I say hi to my neighbours when they come home. We celebrate a birthday at home, we cut up some cake and pass it to them. They do likewise. We go overseas we buy something small for each other. They make sure my letters and newspapers are kept when I am away. I feel safe having neighbours like that. They are friends.

So things can be done at home, but what to do in the office? Do something you love.. cliche but true. Manage the stress or your job may eventually kill you..