Editor’s Update: We just received news that we will be giving away two [yes two!] Diana F+ Medium Format Camera. If you’re interested, hurry and submit your entries! We have extended the submission date till 11 June and the draw will be conducted on 12 June! Don’t say we “bojio” because all it takes is just a click for you to stand a chance to win some really cool prizes.
ciNE65, the biennial short film competition that aims to capture our Singapore identity through the lenses of local budding film-makers, has just recently concluded the submission phase with a record number of 230 entries.
So, what’s the deal?
Out of the 230 entries that were submitted, 10 entries were shortlisted for the Favourite Film, 6 for the Favourite Actor category, and the remaining 6 for the Favourite Actress category.
In order to determine who will win the Favourite Film Category, the Favourite Actor Category, and the Favourite Actress Category, the shortlisted films will need to garner votes from members of the public and this is where you can play your part!
Our Personal Favourite Film is Sightless
Just simply by voting, you can also win for yourself some really cool prizes like a GoPro Hero 4, a 2 Day 1 Night Staycation at a local boutique hotel worth SGD$400, a pair of Universal Studios Singapore Tickets, or a set of 10 movie vouchers!
We know we caught your attention now!
To vote, simply go to the Voting Tab on www.ciNE65.sg [requires Facebook login] or send a message to 76677 following this format: Cine65FBChoiceCode [you can find this in the film description]NRICName
Do note that the Voting Contest period is from 15 May 2015 to 11 June 2015 and it is open to all Singaporean citizens and Permanent Residents.
To make this even sweeter, we will be giving away 1 Diana F+ Camera worth SGD$150 to one of our lucky readers who voted for the Favourite Film Category, the Favourite Actor Category, and the Favourite Actress Category!
Just send us a screenshot of who you have voted for to admin@awinsomelife.org and we will conduct a lucky draw on 11 June 2015. The last day to email us your screenshots will be 10 June 2015, so don’t forget!
Screenshot Must Clearly Show The Video Voted By You and Your Profile Picture
And in case you’re wondering what on earth a Diana F+ Camera is, this is it!
Shoot dreamy, colour drenched images with this Lomography best-seller. An analogue classic yet highly experimental. Truly something for all hobbyists to own!
Planning for a wedding can be a nightmare and as the saying goes, “when you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Even though Jacqueline and I are experienced event planners, we have never thought that planning a wedding can be so tedious. In fact, both of us took more than 2 years to plan for our wedding and even right up to the actual day of our wedding, there were quite a number of last minute changes. Just how hard can planning a wedding be?
In this blog post, we will share with you what goes on behind-the-scenes when we were planning for our wedding and we hope that this will be a useful guide to all the couples who are planning to get married.
To begin planning your wedding, you and your other half ought to choose an auspicious date and whether it is a superstition or not, it is highly recommended that you keep to this custom of choosing a suitable wedding date.
There are many websites available on the Internet to tell you when the auspicious dates for getting married are but those are pretty generic and may not be applicable to some couples. For us, we engaged Master David Tong to help us in choosing a wedding date and through the process, we decided for our wedding to be held on 02 May 2015.
If you are engaging a Geomancer to determine suitable wedding dates, you will need to prepare some information so that your Geomancer can calculate an auspicious wedding date for you.
Some important information that is required are:
• Your date of birth and time of birth • Your parents’ animal zodiac signs • Your dialect group • Your partner’s date of birth and time of birth • Your partner’s parents’ animal zodiac signs • Your partner’s dialect group • Range of dates you would like to consider • Any preference for weekdays or weekends • Is it going to be a wedding lunch or wedding dinner
When we engaged Master David Tong, he gave us the dates for our customary wedding day, guo da li, an chuang, and ROM; and when we read his report, we were very lucky that we could have our ROM and Chinese customary wedding on the same day. Master David Tong even sent us some very useful information and wedding planning tools that we could use to plan our wedding.
In case you are wondering, we paid SGD$130 to engage Master David Tong and we will definitely be seeking his advice for our new HDB build-to-order [BTO] flat at Punggol Drive.
Now that you got the dates, what next?
The wedding venue!
Deciding on the wedding venue may probably be the most difficult decision that you will make when planning your wedding and it will be wise for you to choose a venue that fits the budget that you have in mind.
Some questions you might want to ask yourself when looking for a suitable wedding venue is:
• How many guests are you expecting to have at your wedding? • Do you have a wedding theme in mind? • Are you looking for a wedding venue that is easily accessible and convenient? • What is the budget that you have? • Is your wedding going to be a wedding lunch or a wedding dinner? • Have you decided whether your wedding is going to be a traditional or contemporary one?
Having the answers to these questions will help you greatly in deciding on a wedding venue because certain venues can be very expensive while others can only accommodate a small group of guests. There are pros and cons to every wedding venue and it is entirely up to you to decide what is best for you and your partner.
Visiting wedding shows and bridal fairs is a great start to look out for suitable wedding venues and that was actually how we chanced upon One Degree 15 Marina Club. Had we not attended the wedding fair, I doubt we would have decided on One Degree 15 Marina Club to be our wedding venue.
For a schedule of upcoming wedding shows, you can check out Singapore Brides Official Website and if you like to find out why we chose One Degree 15 Marina Club as our wedding venue, you can read more about it here.
Whatever the venue you eventually decide, make sure you get all agreements and discussions typed out in black and white so that in the event of any disputes, it will be easier to resolve. Also, it will be advantageous for you to bring along someone who has worked or is working in the hospitality industry so that you can try to negotiate and bargain for a better wedding lunch or dinner package.
As for us, we took out other items like the house wines and wedding cards in the package and negotiated for extra rooms for our wedding entourage. In case you are wondering, we customised and personalised our wedding cards and we were very pleased with how it turned out.
Having taken out the house wines from the dinner wedding banquet package that we signed up for, we purchased 100 bottles of wine from The Straits Wine Company at Quayside Isle, Sentosa Cove separately. Although we still have about 60+ bottles of wine left after the wedding banquet, our guests consumed 3 barrels of beer!
The Red Wine that we chose for our wedding dinner is a red Cabernet Sauvignon that is produced by the Alias family in the Provence region of France. It is a medium-bodied red wine that is slightly on the dry side. The nose foretells a very ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with complex mixture of spices and black fruit but the attack is round with fine tannins, offering a surprisingly silky finish for a young Cabernet.
As for the White Wine, we chose the white Trebbiano Chardonnay that is produced in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. It is a well-balanced lovely summer white wine that is zesty and has the intense fragrance of tropical fruits.
To complete the dinner on a sweet note, we also offered to our guests our favourite Moscato d’Asti sparkling white wine that is produced in the Piedmont region of Italy.
Wedding dates checked. Wedding venue checked.
What’s next?
The wedding photography!
There are many bridal photography studios in Singapore and if you take the path less travelled, you can cut down on the extravagant costs by enlisting your friends to help you out with the photography. With technology being so advanced, you can even outsource the printing of your wedding photo album if you decide to go the do-it-yourself [DIY] route. However, if you are not a designer and if time is not aplenty, we would suggest to you to take up a bridal photography package because it saves time and offers more choices.
Having said that, taking up a bridal photography package in Singapore can be very expensive and this is the only reason why we decided not to patronise the local bridal studios here. Don’t be mistaken though. There are indeed some pretty affordable bridal studios in Singapore but for the amount of money that we pay in Singapore, we could do so much more in Malaysia or even elsewhere. Hence, we decided to take up a bridal photography package with Destino Bridal Gallery in Johor Bahru after much scouting and research done by Jacqueline and her sister.
Before signing up for a bridal studio package overseas, make sure you exercise due diligence in doing your research. You need to check that the bridal studio you are engaging is reputable and will not suddenly close shop and leave you hanging; and if any bridal studios insist on a full payment, avoid them immediately.
A standard bridal photography packages will usually include the following: • Indoor photography • Outdoor photography • Rental of Wedding Gown and Suit for the Bridal Photography and on actual Wedding Day • Hand Bouquet for Wedding Day • Car Décor • Photo Albums & Photo Frames
Similar to the wedding banquet packages, the bridal photography packages also allows room for negotiation and discussion. While the prices are usually fixed, you can negotiate to take out certain items and replace it with something else. However, as with all bridal studios, the additional charges for extra photographs can be rather exorbitant [usually in the thousands] and certain bridal studios charge additional money should you decide to use a particular designer wedding gown.
Therefore, make sure you get all discussion down in writing [black and white].
Half the battle is won when you are done with your wedding photography and what would be left thereafter will be the nitty-gritty stuffs like buying the wedding bands, guo da li, finding a Wedding Solemniser, and etc.
Stay tuned to part 2 of our Wedding Guide where we will share with you some reviews and nitty-gritty information about the vendors whom we engaged to make our wedding a really memorable one.
When I first received the news regarding the 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Kathmandu in Nepal last Saturday, my very first thoughts were my Nepalese friends and I could not help but to contact them and check if they are fine. Thankfully, all of them are safe and sound.
I’m pretty sure many people would have read the news coverage regarding the devastation in Nepal and personally, I really wish I could take some time off to be deployed to Nepal and assist in the humanitarian efforts but I am unable to do so due to work commitments and my wedding preparations. Hence, the least I could do at this crucial moment in time is to donate money to the Singapore Red Cross Society so that the funds could be used for the relief efforts in Nepal.
I don’t know about you but when I saw images of the devastation that the earthquake has caused, my heart just broke and I can only hope and pray that the rescue efforts will be able to function smoothly and efficiently. I’m also really glad that our Singapore Armed Forces and Home Team Academy are taking the initiatives to send our country’s assets and resources to assist in the rescue and I couldn’t be more proud to call myself a Singaporean.
On the other hand, I don’t understand why some people have to associate religion with why the whole crisis started. I am sorry to say this but this is absolutely ridiculous and I can only wish that these people have more empathy and bring their proselytising elsewhere. Some of the tweets that I saw were really distasteful and I can only hope that they will not “opportunistically romanticise sufferings of people for their [own] malicious gain”.
If you are keen to help by donating cash, you can do so from today by visiting the Red Cross House in person at 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 236486, from 9am to 6pm on Mondays to Fridays. If you are donating via cheque, please make your cheque payable to “Singapore Red Cross Society” and indicate “Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund”, your name, contact number and address at the back, and post it to the Red Cross House at 15 Penang Lane, Singapore 236486.
Do note that donations to overseas relief are not entitled to tax deduction and that the Singapore Red Cross reserves the right to deploy excess funds to underfunded disasters in the same region, so as to ensure humanitarian aid gets to those in need.
For any enquiries, please call the Singapore Red Cross hotlines at 6664 0501 or 6334 9154 from 9am to 6pm on Mondays to Fridays. Alternatively, you can also email the Singapore Red Cross at enquiry@redcross.sg.
I know this post might raise some eyebrows and disagreements but really, I’m writing this post not because I am a Financial Consultant or selling any financial products but it’s because more often than not, Financial Consultants are often misunderstood by us; especially when we are approached by them during their roadshows.
In case you’re wondering, the term “Financial Consultant” or even a “Financial Advisor” essentially refers to an “Insurance Agent” and they are inevitably the same. I know some Financial Consultants/Financial Advisors will disagree with me but really, insurance companies came up with this title to replace “Insurance Agents” so that they can sound more professional. Nevertheless, we all know that some over-zealous Financial Consultants can be quite pushy and recommend policies that we don’t really need; and hence, continue to give insurance companies a pretty bad reputation.
In fact, a Financial Planner or a Financial Consultant with the CFP Certification Mark is a notch above your ordinary Financial Consultants because there are extremely strict requirements an individual has to fulfil before he or she can be awarded the CFP Certification Mark. You can refer to Financial Planning Association of Singapore for more details.
Well, whether it is a Financial Planner, a Financial Consultant, or even a Financial Advisor; all of them would recommend some form of insurance policies that you may or may not require but I’m pretty sure we all need some form of financial planning and financial advice.
Why then are Financial Planners always talking about insurance?
This is because insurance plays an important role in financial planning.
In fact, insurance is an arrangement by which a company undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium.
Is having an insurance important?
Yes, it is.
The word, “insurance” is such a taboo in Singapore that many people try to avoid it as much as they can and as a result, they don’t seem to quite comprehend the importance of having an insurance.
As a matter of fact, I even hear people saying that if they buy insurance, it means that they are not trusting God and I will go speechless.
Why is having an insurance important?
I can’t stress this enough but having an insurance is important because you never know when a disaster or crisis will strike. Having an insurance will help to safeguard your wealth in the event of an unfortunate accident and insurance can take on many forms; car insurance, house insurance, health insurance, travel insurance and etc., just to name a few.
For people who are serving National Service or are engaged in high-risk jobs that may endanger their own lives, it might be apt to buy a term-life insurance plan, a health insurance plan, and a personal accident plan. But of course, all of these suggestions vary according to individual’s needs and it would be more prudent for you to engage a Financial Planner who would be in a better position to advise you.
My suggestion is, only buy insurances that you need and can afford. For example, if you are travelling overseas, you might want to consider buying a travel insurance or if you are accident-prone, you might want to consider buying a personal accident protection plan.
Some people buy insurance because they want to safeguard their wealth while others may buy insurance because they want their medical costs to be covered. Some people may even buy insurance because they don’t want to be a burden to their loved ones when crisis strikes. Whatever the reason may be, engaging a qualified Financial Planner will definitely aid you in your financial planning.
What about Financial Consultants who does not have the CFP Certification Mark?
You can seek them but they may not give you the complete picture because some may be more interested in selling you insurance plans that offers them more commissions and may not necessarily understand your needs and requirements. In this case, you may want to exercise your personal discretion when you engage one to one with the Financial Consultant. Ask lots of questions and if a Financial Consultant tries to smoke his/her way out, be very wary.
If during the discussion, a Financial Consultant is insistent that you take up an Investment Linked Policy [ILP] Plan or a Savings Plan, it is very likely that the Financial Consultant is trying to offer you policies that give them an annual recurring commission.
Some of the reasons Financial Consultants will give you will include [but are not limited to] the following:
• Taking up a savings plan will ensure that you will inculcate the discipline of saving regularly • A savings plan offers you a higher interest rate than what the banks can offer you • The savings plan offers you a yearly cashback for you to use or re-invest for higher returns • ILP will see all your money invested in the sectors that you want to invest in • You can diversify your investments when you take up an ILP • An ILP allows you to add on additional riders to protect yourself • And many other reasons
The thing is; Financial Consultants often paint the good side of the story but they are also pretty hesitant to reveal the other side of the story. Some may even tell you that they bought the insurance plans for their family members and try to encourage you to do the same.
Just to make things really clear; the projected returns that the Financial Consultant will often generate for you on the spot at roadshows are PROJECTED. They are not guaranteed and even for those saving plans with a cashback option, those are what I call marketing gimmicks because the money given out for the cashback is really your own hard earned money; not what the insurance companies give out from their own pockets.
And for one, I really think buying an ILP is a very bad decision. Brendan Yong, a Certified Financial Planner gave his inputs regarding the purchase of ILP and you can check out the article on Big Fat Purse. Of course, there will be other Financial Consultants who will tell you otherwise but personally, it’s a better idea for you not to get involved with ILP at all.
How then do you decide if a Financial Consultant is trustworthy and reliable?
There is really no formula or standard answer for that. I personally believe that a good Financial Consultant is not one who keeps on pestering their clients for referrals but is one who is recommended by their own clients via word-of-mouth without even asking for it. You certainly do not want to engage a Financial Consultant who suddenly goes missing in action [MIA] when you need assistance to file a claim and you will definitely want a Financial Consultant who can really understand your needs and give you the right advice.
However, finding a good Financial Consultant is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. This is especially true when the employment turnover rate in the insurance industry is pretty high [it is pretty obvious especially when all the insurance companies are aggressively recruiting young undergraduate jobseekers who keep on receiving unknown phone calls for job interviews offering a pretty high basic salary which comes with quite a number of terms and conditions].
Nevertheless, in this digital age that we live in, information is readily accessible and there is no way insurance companies can smoke prospective clients into buying products that they don’t need; only if all of us can have access to some form of basic financial education.
If you are interested to learn about economics and finance through game, I will highly recommend Wongamania and if you are interested to start learning about investments, you might want to consider attending the Value Investing Mastery Course conducted by Big Fat Purse.
If you want to learn more about insurance, consider taking up the theory papers that Financial Consultants themselves sit for at Singapore College of Insurance or if studying for a paper isn’t your cup of tea, you have got no other choice other than to ask a Financial Consultant.
And if you are new to insurance and you do not have the contacts of a Financial Consultant but would wish to learn more about insurance without buying anything, you can always head down to the Post Office to enquire more. Just so you know, there are Financial Consultants from AXA who are stationed at certain SingPost branches and you can just feel free to approach them to enquire more about insurance so that you can be more informed before buying any insurance.
The downside is, the Financial Consultant from AXA can only sell you insurance products from their own company and not from other companies like AVIVA, Great Eastern, AIA, Manulife and many more.
Well, whoever you approach for advise; if you were to ask me about insurance, I would personally suggest people to take up a health insurance policy with additional riders to cover their medical expenses in times of need; and if you are a working adult with liabilities, you may want to consider a term-life plan and a personal accident plan that offers you riders for total permanent disability and critical illness.
Having seen people around me having to fork out large sums of money to cover their medical expenses, I truly believe one must have a private health insurance plan especially when medical costs in Singapore can be quite expensive; more so if you require urgent and special medical treatments that may only be available at the private hospitals.
Well, I certainly hope that this post would help you one way or another and if you have any thoughts about this article, feel free to comment below. 🙂
Editor’s Note: All photos in this post are taken with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 by Jacqueline Teo unless stated otherwise. Last weekend, both Jacqueline and I were invited to embark on the “Dawson and Alexandra Heritage Tour” which is part of “My Queenstown Heritage Trail” and we explored Queenstown’s colonial history in an unforgettable adventure through Dawson and Alexandra neighbourhoods.
To be honest, the western part of Singapore is rather foreign and alien to us because it is an area that we seldom frequent. However, having embarked on the “Dawson and Alexandra Heritage Tour”, it has given us some really interesting snippets and insights about Queenstown that not many people [including local Singaporeans] would know about.
The story of Queenstown began on 27 September 1953 [way before Singapore gained her independence in 1965] when British officials from the Singapore Improvement Trust [SIT] named the new town after Queen Elizabeth II to mark her coronation a year ago. The colony suburb was the most ambitious project initiated by SIT to tackle the overcrowding woes in Chinatown. Bounded by Ridout Road, Tanglin Road, Alexandra Road, Holland Road and the Malayan Railway, the self-contained estate would comprise of 11,000 apartment flats housing 70,000 people, and cost some SGD$80,000,000.
Princess House, a seven-storey building along Alexandra Road which was designated as the new office for the SIT and later, as the first dedicated headquarters for the HDB. Today, the conservation of Princess House serves as a lasting reminder of Queenstown’s history.
Construction of the new satellite town began at the former Buller Camp in Princess Estate. The former burial ground and farmland at Boh Beh Kang [Hokkien for No Tail River] village were later cleared to make way for public housing. When the Housing and Development Board [HDB] took over from the colonial government’s SIT in February 1960, work has begun in three out of the five planned neighbourhoods in Queenstown, namely Neighbourhood 1 [Princess Estate], Neighbourhood 2 [Duchess Estate] and Neighbourhood 5 [Queens’ Crescent].
Tiong Ghee Temple, Queenstown’s oldest Taoist temple that was built in 1973 to replace the old village temple at Boh Beh Kang village which was demolished in 1968 for the development of Mei Ling estate. Today, the temple remains a gathering point for former Boh Beh Kang villagers.
There were seven neighbourhoods with distinct identity in Queenstown. As a satellite estate, each neighbourhood came with its own amenities while larger facilities such as the library and sports complex were shared by the entire town.
A myriad of social institutions were pioneered in Singapore’s first satellite town. In 1956, the first technical school was opened to equip future generations of Singaporeans with technical knowledge and skills to ride Singapore through industrialisation. In 1963, Singapore’s first polyclinic was built along Margaret Drive to provide access to subsidised healthcare. In 1970, the first branch library and sports complex were ushered in the estate. By 1980, Queenstown’s oldest flats were 30 years old.
Demolition works in the aging residential estate commenced in the 1990s and 2000s and many iconic landmarks such as Tah Chung Emporium, Queenstown Japanese Gardens, Queenstown Remand Prison, and Margaret Drive Hawker Centre were torn down.
Today, rejuvenation in Queenstown takes place in the form of Selective Enbloc Redevelopment Scheme where high-density precincts are inserted in Queenstown’s older neighbourhoods. With this, Queenstown has once again become a desirable address for Singaporeans.
Truly, there is so much to uncover at Queenstown and if you are a history buff like us, we are pretty sure you will enjoy the “Dawson and Alexandra Heritage Tour” as much as we did. Participants to the guided tour can look forward to many impressive landmarks such as Alexandra Hospital, Princess House, the former Archipelago Brewery Company and the first HDB Point Blocks.
The former Archipelago Brewery Company at Alexandra Road, Singapore’s second brewery to produce the well-known Anchor Beer. Today, the brew master house has since been gazetted for conservation in 1993.
We were also very privileged to see for ourselves a British military structure [which looks like a storage area/bunker] that was probably built before the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. To get to the site, one must venture deep into the thick vegetation and overcome the steep and slippery terrain.
Organised by civic groups, “My Community” and “The Other Sites of Singapore”, and supported by the National Heritage Board and Queenstown Citizens’ Consultative Committee, the Dawson and Alexandra Heritage Trail uncovers the colourful stories of generations of residents who lived, worked and played in the estate.
Just so you know, all 900 tickets for both the upcoming monthly Dawson & Alexandra and Tanglin Halt & Duchess tours in 2015 are currently snapped up and the next available tour is in 2016. However, if you are really interested to sign up for the trails and do not mind being put on the waiting list, you can drop an email tomyqueenstown@gmail.comwith your name, contact number, 3 preferred dates and number of tickets.
Many weeks ago, Jacqueline and I had the privilege of attending a Diverse-City trail that was held at Toa Payoh. A partnership between The Thought Collective and Ben & Jerry’s, the Diverse-City Trails is designed to create a shared experience among participants so as to spark two-way discussions about the issues Singapore faces, especially around social cohesion, which is vital to Singapore’s progress.
There are three different Diverse-City Trails that the folks from The Thought Collective is organising and all three trails are held at different locations; one at Little India, another at Toa Payoh, and the other at Jalan Besar.
We attended the Toa Payoh one and when we first received the invitation to attend the Diverse-City Trail, we were honestly quite apprehensive about going for it as our previous experiences of attending trails weren’t that meaningful or purposeful.
However, having attended the Diverse-City Trail at Toa Payoh, our perceptions towards trails like these have changed and we are planning to go for the other two Diverse-City Trails [Little India & Jalan Besar] if time permits.
The Diverse-City Trail at Toa Payoh is about how Toa Payoh, one of Singapore’s oldest housing estates, was once Singapore’s test bed for various social innovations to build cohesion amongst communities. Participants will step into familiar grounds in a new light and understand how happy neighbours in a community are forged and to explore the way forward for cohesion to be forged in Singapore.
“Learning how common spaces can foster social cohesion and interaction in the community”
Our Personal Opinion & Review of the Diverse-City Trail @ Toa Payoh
We will highly recommend people to attend the Diverse-City Trails that are organised by The Thought Collective because they are very thought-provoking and definitely engaging.
“Tong Yee, Founder & Director of The Thought Collective, conducting the Diverse-City Trail @ Toa Payoh for us. He was a former teacher and he taught General Paper at Nanyang Junior College.”
Personally, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly at the Diverse-City Trail @ Toa Payoh and throughout the engaging session, we learnt a little more about Toa Payoh Neighbourhood and how we can play our part to foster social cohesion within our communities.
“We came across a spot where drug abusers would consume drugs illegally. To be honest, we were quite surprised that drug abuse is still common in Singapore and truly, drugs destroy lives and we now understand why our country adopts a strong stance against drug abusers and drug peddlers.”
“We even past by the flat of Adrian Lim, a notorious criminal who was sentenced to death for the infamous Toa Payoh ritual murders.”
“What It Takes To Build A Socially Cohesive Community”
“A relevant and innovative solution to solve the challenges of cohesion in our community. This social experiment/solution is still a work-in-progress and hopefully, the results will be positive.”
Kept to a small group size of 15 participants for effective engagement and interactivity, it will cost a nominal sum of SGD$20 per person to attend the Diverse-City Trails and if you want to sign up or get more information, do check out http://trails.thethoughtcollective.com.sg/
We are pretty sure you will enjoy this trail as much as we had. Have fun and just a general advise; dress comfortably and bring along a bottle of water. 🙂
23 March 2015 marked the end of an era for Singapore. Mr Lee Kuan Yew passed away peacefully at the Singapore General Hospital today at 0318 hours and as I pen down this post, I can’t help but be overwhelmed with sadness when I sang the National Anthem, took the National Pledge, and observed the State Flag flying at half mast this morning.
I may not know Mr Lee Kuan Yew personally but what I do know is that he has made a big difference in the lives of every Singaporean. He dared to do what others wouldn’t and he totally transformed Singapore in a short span of time. What is remarkable about Mr Lee Kuan Yew is that he believes in doing what is the right thing to do; even if it is an unfavourable thing to do.
In a matter of decades, Singapore has emerged from a rural backwater island and evolved into a bustling economic powerhouse. Despite Singapore’s lack of natural resources, the country now stands proud as one of Asia’s Tigers and this leap from third world to first can be attributed to one man – Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Address to the Nation Regarding the Passing of Mr Lee Kuan Yew
Truly, we will never forget the great things that Mr Lee Kuan Yew has done for the nation and as all of us mourn over his passing for a week, let us also take a step back and reflect on how far Singapore has come if not for Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
Photo by Tara Sosrowardoyo, National Museum of Singapore Collection
Mr Lee Kuan Yew, you will always be remembered. Thank you for giving up your life to building Singapore. :'(
“As he himself put it, towards the end of his life, and I quote: ‘I have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. There’s nothing more that I need to do. At the end of the day, what have I got? A successful Singapore. What have I given up? My life.'” – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, during an address to the Nation at 8am this morning
The Discovery Channel [StarHub Channel #422] will be airing a one-hour special on 24 March 2015 at 9pm that celebrates Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s life and chronicles some of his greatest achievements. The tribute, “FATHER OF A NATION: LEE KUAN YEW” will document the story of how one man survived World War 2, took on the British Empire, struggled for independence, and fought for the people and country that he loved.
Some Notable Quotes of Mr Lee Kuan Yew
“This country belongs to all of us. We made this country from nothing, from mud-flats… Over 100 years ago, this was a mud-flat, swamp. Today, this is a modern city. Ten years from now, this will be a metropolis. Never fear!” Mr Lee Kuan Yew at a grassroots event in Sembawang in September 1965.
“If I tell Singaporeans – we are all equal regardless of race, language, religion, culture. Then they will say,”Look, I’m doing poorly. You are responsible.” But I can show that from British times, certain groups have always done poorly, in mathematics and in science. But I’m not God, I can’t change you. But I can encourage you, give you extra help to make you do, say maybe, 20% better.” – Lee Kuan Yew, Success Stories, 2002
“What I fear is complacency. When things always become better, people tend to want more for less work.” Speech at the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of the Jalan Tenteram Community Centre, 27th June 1970 Lee Kuan Yew in his own words, 1959-1970
On fashion: “I’m not interested in changing either my suit or my car or whatver with every change in fashion. That’s irrelevant. I don’t judge myself or my friends by their fashions. Of course, I don’t approve of people who are sloppy and unnecessarily shabby or dishevelled… But I’m not impressed by a $5,000 or $10,000 Armani suit.” 1995, The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew
We all know that reading is a good habit to adopt but seriously, how many of us really set some time aside to read? Whether it is reading books, magazines, or newspapers; we ought to make it a daily habit because reading expands our knowledge bank.
Recently, I was reintroduced to The Wall Street Journal, an American English-language international daily newspaper with a special emphasis on business and economic news, and I was literally hooked to its content. I have to be honest here; although I have heard about The Wall Street Journal in the past, I have never given much thought and consideration to read it because I felt that it was too difficult for me to comprehend.
Looking back, I wish I had started reading The Wall Street Journal during my schooling days but I guess there’s no time for regret now and so, I have decided to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal that cost USD$8 for 8 weeks [which works out to be about SGD$0.23 a day].
I know many people might be curious to know why I sign up for The Wall Street Journal and not The Straits Times [or even The Financial Times] and the only reason is because, The Wall Street Journal has all the information and content that I specifically want. Whether it is business news, marketing news, education news, or even lifestyle news, the numerous high quality content is certainly a pull-factor for me.
In case you are wondering, The Wall Street Journal offers real-time business, financial and economic coverage, expert reporting on technology, broad coverage of global politics and policy, and an unrivalled sports, culture, fashion, arts and entertainment reporting; all of these which is apparently quite lacking in our local mainstream media and ranked #154 according to the 2015 World Press Freedom Index.
As a blogger, entrepreneur, youth leader, investor and educator; I personally feel that The Wall Street Journal is the perfect companion whenever I travel, seek inspirations for my write-ups, or even keep myself up to date with the latest trends and innovations.
Yes, reading is time-consuming but if ambitious, successful, and intellectually curious Journal Readers like will.i.am, Zhang Xin, and Tony Burch can make time to read no matter how busy they are, I’m sure you can too!
Like I said, whether it is self-improvement books like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, lifestyle magazines such as the Reader’s Digest, or even newspapers like The Wall Street Journal; reading is a good lifestyle habit to adopt and it is important that you read contents that are beneficial for your mind, soul, and body.
Always remember that learning is lifelong and one of the very good ways you can continue to learn for life is to start reading.
Fun Fact: World Book Day [also known as International Day of the Book] is a yearly event on 23 April, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], to promote reading, publishing and copyright. Maybe Singapore should have her own Singapore Reading Day!
Happy Reading!
This is a sponsored post in collaboration with The Wall Street Journal.
Lastest Update: 7 August 2016 From 1 August 2016, Standard Chartered Bank Singapore will require a minimum brokerage fee of SGD$10; which also means that it is now more expensive to buy and sell stocks; hence, only buy or sell when you have decided that it is profitable to do so. Although I will continue to use Standard Chartered Bank for its brokerage services, I will only invest when I have SGD$1,500 to SGD$2,500. The other alternative brokerages are SAXO Capital Markets and Interactive Brokers (which I may consider opening up an account with).
I was introduced to the world of trading many years ago and I failed very miserably; to the extent that I lost quite a princely sum of money to the market. Since that painful lesson, I decided that trading was not going to be a profitable option for me (though I am currently still trading; albeit on a smaller scale) and I started to invest in the ABF SG Bond Index Fund and the NIKKO STI ETF.
As a Retail Investor, I do not have a large capital to begin with and if I were to buy stocks through DBS Vickers, Lim and Tan Securities and etc., my minimum sum of investment would be the equivalent of between SGD$3,000 to SGD$5,000. If you do not have such a large sum of money, I would recommend that you buy stocks through Standard Chartered’s Online Equities Trading as they do not charge any commission except for low brokerage fee of 0.2%. The only downside is that although the stocks are owned by you, it is held by the bank and if the bank goes bust [which is not likely as it has a strong backing], there goes your investments.
Even though both of my investments grew bit by bit [about 9% returns on investment every year], I was not satisfied and I went online to search for alternatives. I chanced upon a few investment articles written by Alvin Chow, Founder of Big Fat Purse; and I was extremely intrigued by the strategy he uses to pick stocks.
Thanks to Xeo Lye, the Founder of Wongamania, I had the honour and privilege of meeting Alvin in person and I had the opportunity to attend the Value Investing Mastery Course conducted by Alvin Chow and Louis Koay [Co-Founder of Big Fat Purse].
Our Personal Opinion/Review of the Value Investing Mastery Course
The Value Investing Mastery Course [VIMC] is a one-day course that last for about 9 hours and it is divided into 4 different parts.
Part 1 – Stock Selection Criteria
Overview of the CNAV strategy. Evaluate stocks based on proprietary CNAV1 and CNAV2, and POF score criteria.
Part 2 – CNAV1 CNAV2 POF Calculation
Learn the differences and calculate CNAV1 and CNAV2 values. Learn how to apply POF score to increase the chances of success. Classify assets into four main categories.
Part 3 – Buying, Monitoring and Selling CNAV Stocks
How to select CNAV stocks to buy? What are the additional qualitative considerations?
How to calculate Portfolio Returns?
When to sell? What are the warning signs?
Part 4 – Investment Game
Practical, fun and great learning for players. Apply the CNAV strategy on real stocks and see the performance!
Having attended the VIMC, it has empowered me with the ability to calculate the Conservative Net Asset Value [CNVA] for any kind of stocks and if you give me any stock, I am able to tell you in 15 minutes if a stock is worth investing.
Just so you know, the CNAV Strategy is very much based on Fundamental Analysis and there is no Technical Analysis involved. However, for Fundamental Analysis to be effective, there is a need to derive some important data that can be found in the Annual Reports and the VIMC teaches participants how to analyse income statements, balance sheet, and cashflow statements.
We will definitely recommend VIMC to retail investors like us because the VIMC is a very easy course to follow and all that is required is a pen and calculator. Trust me, the course is unlike any other kind of previews you perhaps have attended before; the VIMC is the real deal where you literally get access to the entire content with no additional gimmicks. However, do note that all investment strategies have its pros and cons and the CNAV Strategy may not be suitable for all investors.
Both Jacqueline and I strongly believe in raising the financial literacy in Singapore and only education can achieve that. As we share similar values and sentiments with the team at Big Fat Purse, we are very happy to partner with them and every reader of A Winsome Life will be given a 10% discount for the VIMC.
The VIMC cost only SGD$98 [which by the way, is extremely undervalued] and when you key in the coupon code: awinsomelife upon signing up; you can attend the VIMC for just SGD$88.20. The class size is comfortable for effective instruction and seats are limited.
If you are interested to find out more about the VIMC, you can check out Big Fat Purse Official Website and if you have decided to sign up for the VIMC, don’t forget to key in the coupon code: awinsomelife to get a 10% discount.
It was a very hot Saturday afternoon and while we could just laze at home and take a nap or plan for our wedding, both Jacqueline and I attended an exclusive film-making workshop that was hosted by the team from ciNE65 and BananaMana Films.
Held at OBJECTIFS, Centre for Photography and Film, we had a very enjoyable and fulfilling time and we were really glad that we attended the workshop because we had gained a great wealth of information from both Christian and Jason; so much so that we are now contemplating whether we want to submit an entry for the ciNE65 Short Film Competition.
In case you are new to ciNE65, the ciNE65 Short Film Competition is a competition that encourages Singaporeans to express and embrace the Singaporean identity through film and to cultivate budding film-makers to boost the local film scene.
This year, the theme for the ciNE65 Short Film Competition is, “Believing . Home” and it calls upon Singaporeans to reflect on their past, present, and future as a nation while celebrating 50 years of being one people, one nation, one Singapore.
Well, whether or not we submit our entry for the ciNE65 Short Film Competition, here are just some of our personal thoughts and opinions about the theme, “Believing . Home”
The dictionary defines the word, “believing” as “having confidence or faith in the truth of a positive assertion, story, and etc.; giving credence to” and the word, “home” is defined as “a dwelling-place used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for an individual, family, household or several families in a tribe.”
Having been born and raised in Singapore, Singapore is our home and we count ourselves pretty fortunate [than most people in the rest of the world] because we have a good education system [which is quite elitist], an efficient public transport system [which breaks down more often than not nowadays], a credible defence force [that trains with simulators and mock-up exercises], and good governing policies [that are really not so popular with the masses].
Do we really believe in Singapore, our home?
We know this is an irony but really, Singapore may not be the best country to live in because the country has no natural resources and only has a land area of about 716.1 square kilometres [which is way smaller than Hong Kong, China]. Furthermore, the general working hours are pretty long; car ownership is highly regulated; and all Singaporean sons turning 18 have to serve a mandatory 2-year National Service with the Singapore Armed Force.
Seems pretty bad eh?
However, no matter how bad Singapore is, Singapore has been our home for the last 2 decades and it will be in the many years to come.
Since the days of old, our forefathers have worked extremely hard so that future generations of Singaporeans [like us] can enjoy the fruits of their labour. They were far-sighted and they looked at things from a bigger picture. They sacrificed and they saved what they could. There weren’t much entertainment back in those days, but still, they were happy and satisfied.
Today, we enjoy the fruits of our forefathers’ labour but in the midst of the enjoyment, we forget to ask ourselves this question, “What can we do to continue enjoying the fruits of our forefathers’ labour and how can we ensure that the future generations of Singaporeans [our children’s children] can continue to do so too?”
For any fruits to bear, there must be the sowing of seeds and the act of tending to the young seedlings. Without the sowing of seeds, there will be no seedlings, and with no seedlings, there will be no trees that can bear fruits.
However, having said that, even when the seeds have been sown, there may be a possibility that the tree will not bear any fruits because the seeds were not sown in good conditions and given proper nurturing. It could be due to overcrowding [over-population], the competition for water and sunlight [jobs, survival, and finance], the quality of fertilisers used [education, family background, and network of contacts], or any other factors [family issues, debts and etc.] that may affect the growth of the seed.
However, a point to note is that every seed has stored potential. It has all the necessary micro-nutrients [the God-given gifts, talents, and abilities] to cause it to sprout, grow, and bear fruits.
To us, we personally feel that there are no good seeds and there are no bad seeds. All seeds are the same because a bad seed can become a good tree with proper conditions and nurturing, causing it to produce sweet fruits that contain better seeds while a good seed can become a lousy tree with poor growing conditions, causing it to not produce any fruits and die off without leaving any trace of its existence.
Singapore is like a giant tree and her people are like the seeds. The kind of tree we want Singapore to be, depends on us, her seeds.
Do we believe in ourselves to grow, outshine, and achieve [the constant seeking of knowledge to improve and become better/more productive] so that Singapore can be the kind of tree that not only produces fruits [the people’s happiness, prosperity, and progress], but also be a home to the birds and animals [investors] or do we believe that there is nothing we can do [just complain all day long and become keyboard warriors] to change the tree from becoming a decaying stagnant piece of log?
What will you do and what do you ultimately believe in?
Be the change that you want to see and believe that you can make a difference in the community; even when others may slam you, judge you, and criticise you for doing the right thing. Don’t be easily swayed by what other people tell you but hold fast to your own conviction about how you want Singapore to be in the next 10-20 years down the road.
