First Post

Happy New Year! 

Started this blog to document my investing and money management journey properly - so far I have been painstakingly documenting my trades and investing notes in a notebook by hand😅. 

Hopefully, I will also be able to share my experience as a newbie investor through this blog, and also bounce ideas off and learn from others. Please feel free to share with me any tips along the way!  

I've always understood the importance of investing but have never gotten serious enough about it until 2020 happened and changed my perspective entirely. 

Covid-19 has opened my eyes and made me really realise that: 

1. It is imperative to develop MULTIPLE INCOME STREAMS. The retrenchments, unemployment and business closures in 2020 across the world have really made me aware of how risky it is to rely solely on a monthly paycheck, and how our livelihoods hang by a thread if we do not secure alternative channels of income. Investing prudently can give me another source of income.   
2. It is dumb to place all my cash in FIXED DEPOSITS. Before 2020, almost all my spare cash was in FDs. But I realised to my horror that banks can change their interest rates at any time. The interest rates for FDs were basically more than halved in 2020. Also, "high interest" savings account are not a guarantee either. I was disappointed (but not surprised, given the shitty economic situation) when OCBC lowered their interest rates substantially for my OCBC 360 account.  
3. I am relatively young at thirty-something and I can take CALCULATED RISKS. I grew up being told that investing in the stock marketing is "too risky" and that one may lose all their money. Even though as I grew up I knew this not to be entirely true, I was super hesitant to dabble in the stock market. When I shared this sentiment with a friend, she replied, "Err... but you're young, have more than 30 years of working life ahead of you and you have time to recoup your losses if you make any!" That really hit me. 
4. Managing my money can be FULFILLING. In the past couple of months, I spent more time at home and tried to educate myself about investing and money management by reading blogs, articles, books and studied the best ways to manage my finances. I found the entire process to be enriching, enlightening and fulfilling. I now see managing my investments and being up to date with financial products as a way of life. 
5. It is time to plan for RETIREMENT. I do not want to work all my life and I hope to retire by 45 years old to live a financially free life. Nothing much to say about this, except that obviously I hope this would be sooner rather than later.

Cheers to a better year ahead to everyone!