It’s been about a month since my last blog post.
I’m serious about becoming more relaxed and less active on social media.
The park I used to enjoy strolling through became a minefield.
What should I say?
What not to say?
How do I say what I want to say?
Talking to myself has never been more stressful.
I have enough stress to deal with in my life.
I don’t want to have to deal with any more stress especially when I’m not getting paid for it.
Yes, at least we get paid to deal with stress at work, right?
I believe that many local financial influencers should be licensed and regulated because they get paid to constantly promote financial products and services.
From an interview conducted by CNA, I believe this was one of the tests set by MAS.
If you’re interested, here’s the video from CNA:
I think he’s not the best interviewer or interviewee, but just focus on the gist.
I think the blog they interviewed is probably one of those that should be licensed and regulated because their content is heavily monetized.
Well, since she and other financial influencers like her are constantly making money doing what they do in social media, they shouldn’t mind getting licensed and regulated.
As for me, I don’t have to deal with that hassle.
Therefore, I will be limiting the frequency of sharing as well as the things I share on my blog and YouTube channel.
For example, in this blog, I will also talk to myself about why I hoard money.
2024, like 2023, has been kind to me when it comes to my portfolio.
Well, there are still a few weeks left until 2024, but I think I can close my books for the year early.
Unlike 2023, I did not invest any money in stocks in 2024.
Most of the passive income I received in 2024 was used to work on SSBs and T-Bills.
I have also made a small voluntary contribution of $8,000 to my CPF account.
My CPF money will become cash in another 2 years from now.
Well, the money is in CPF organic farming, anyway.
Earning a risk-free, volatility-free average of 3.0% per year isn’t bad.
So, my cash position increased in 2024 and it looks like it will grow in 2025 as well.
It will grow further in 2026 when I have access to my CPF OA funds.
in the meantime, I get paid reasonably well for keeping more cash.
The UOB ONE account has been good for me.
CIMB fixed deposits have been good at generating some interest income as well.
Just to be sure, these are not investments and I do not include them in my quarterly passive income updates that relate to the passive income generated by my investment portfolio.
6-month Treasury bills still pay 3.0% per year or so.
The Singapore savings bonds I bought in the middle of this year had an average 10-year return of 3.2 to 3.3% per annum or so.
I’m already heavily invested in the stock market and feel no urgency to put more money to work there.
Does this mean that I feel like the stock market will collapse soon?
I know some financial influencers like to make predictions about where stock prices will go, but as I always say, we can’t predict but we can certainly prepare.
So, people can think of what I’m doing as preparing for a stock market crash.
I just don’t know when it will happen.
Of course, I would also say not to be overly optimistic or pessimistic.
It is important that we continue to invest in income-producing assets in good faith and that we are paid while we wait.
The person who kept saying that Singapore banks’ common stocks were too overvalued over the past 12 to 18 months, and said he would wait for the collapse before buying, might want to think again.
The fact that I’ve been hoarding cash doesn’t mean I think stocks are highly overvalued.
In fact, I’ve been quite consistent in saying that if we haven’t invested yet, we can buy some.
However, it is certainly difficult to say that now.
When we look at P/E ratios, it is mind-boggling how multiples have expanded for many companies.
Earnings would have to come in much stronger in 2025 to justify these multiples.
For DBS, OCBC and UOB, their PE ratios also rose significantly.
It is now about 11x to 12x which is a little higher than the five-year average.
If we had a working crystal ball, and if we could know for sure whether earnings would grow enough to ensure those numbers are justified, we could buy more now.
Since I only have a bowling ball that thinks it’s a crystal ball, I’d rather err on the side of caution.
That’s why I said earlier that my cash position is likely to grow in 2025 as well, all other things being equal.
Well, it will probably grow more slowly because I will have higher expenses in 2025 with more money allocated to support parents.
This is another topic perhaps for another day.
This will likely be the last blog post before the end of the year and perhaps even before “An Evening with AK and Friends 2025” takes place on January 15, 2025.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!