#4: Let’s talk REAL finance with Dollars and Sense ft. Timothy Ho | SFSG S2 E4

Melvin Lim – 1
00:00:00,130 –> 00:00:03,427
– If you have $1,000 to
spare, how would you use it,

Melvin Lim – 2
00:00:03,427 –> 00:00:05,190
or how would you invest it?

Timothy Ho – 3
00:00:05,190 –> 00:00:07,190
– A lotta people think
$1,000 is not enough,

Timothy Ho – 4
00:00:07,190 –> 00:00:08,023
but it’s not true.

Timothy Ho – 5
00:00:08,023 –> 00:00:10,109
$1,000 is absolutely enough.

6
00:00:10,109 –> 00:00:12,692
(upbeat music)

Melvin Lim – 7
00:00:17,910 –> 00:00:20,190
– All right, so we are back
with our “Sofa So Good”

Melvin Lim – 8
00:00:20,190 –> 00:00:22,050
season two, and this time round,

Melvin Lim – 9
00:00:22,050 –> 00:00:24,608
this is episode number
four, so stay tuned.

Melvin Lim – 10
00:00:24,608 –> 00:00:27,180
Well, it’s because we have
Timothy Ho in the house,

Melvin Lim – 11
00:00:27,180 –> 00:00:30,300
and Timothy Ho is the
Co-founder and Managing Editor

Melvin Lim – 12
00:00:30,300 –> 00:00:32,550
of Dollars and Sense, which
I think a lot of you guys

Melvin Lim – 13
00:00:32,550 –> 00:00:34,710
have already read some of his articles

Melvin Lim – 14
00:00:34,710 –> 00:00:37,560
or his editorial because
they talk about a wide range

Melvin Lim – 15
00:00:37,560 –> 00:00:41,080
of topics, all the way from
investing at the young adult age

Melvin Lim – 16
00:00:41,080 –> 00:00:43,780
towards your working life,
towards building a family.

Melvin Lim – 17
00:00:43,780 –> 00:00:45,610
They also talk about real estate stuff,

Melvin Lim – 18
00:00:45,610 –> 00:00:47,640
which we are very
interested to have Timothy

Melvin Lim – 19
00:00:47,640 –> 00:00:49,710
share a little bit more
with us this time round.

Melvin Lim – 20
00:00:49,710 –> 00:00:52,090
Check out their new YouTube
channel because they have

Melvin Lim – 21
00:00:52,090 –> 00:00:54,670
a couple of very interesting
content as well on their

Melvin Lim – 22
00:00:54,670 –> 00:00:57,700
YouTube channel, so Timothy,
good to have you with us.

Timothy Ho – 23
00:00:57,700 –> 00:00:58,533
– Thanks, Melvin.

Timothy Ho – 24
00:00:58,533 –> 00:00:59,608
I’m glad to be here ’cause then I watch

Timothy Ho – 25
00:00:59,608 –> 00:01:00,820
your videos all the time.

Melvin Lim – 26
00:01:00,820 –> 00:01:02,290
– Today we wanna chat a little bit more

Melvin Lim – 27
00:01:02,290 –> 00:01:04,430
about young adults and investing,

Melvin Lim – 28
00:01:04,430 –> 00:01:07,100
some of the key mindsets
when it comes to investing

Melvin Lim – 29
00:01:07,100 –> 00:01:09,460
at an early age all the
way through the adult age,

Melvin Lim – 30
00:01:09,460 –> 00:01:11,320
and a little, we look for the chatting,

Melvin Lim – 31
00:01:11,320 –> 00:01:13,960
also a little bit about the
property market as well.

Melvin Lim – 32
00:01:13,960 –> 00:01:16,540
So I think of the sake of our audience,

Melvin Lim – 33
00:01:16,540 –> 00:01:18,760
maybe give us an introduction about how

Melvin Lim – 34
00:01:18,760 –> 00:01:20,235
did Dollars and Sense got started?

Timothy Ho – 35
00:01:20,235 –> 00:01:22,810
– So Dollars and Sense, it’s
a personal finance website,

Timothy Ho – 36
00:01:22,810 –> 00:01:25,090
and me and my co-founder, we had this idea

Timothy Ho – 37
00:01:25,090 –> 00:01:28,020
back in uni, actually, and we
actually started the website

Timothy Ho – 38
00:01:28,020 –> 00:01:31,310
in 2012, right after we
graduated from university.

Timothy Ho – 39
00:01:31,310 –> 00:01:32,430
For the first three years, it was actually

Timothy Ho – 40
00:01:32,430 –> 00:01:33,280
a passion project.

Timothy Ho – 41
00:01:33,280 –> 00:01:35,440
So me and my co-founder, Dinesh, we just,

Timothy Ho – 42
00:01:35,440 –> 00:01:37,220
we had full-time jobs,
and then we were just

Timothy Ho – 43
00:01:37,220 –> 00:01:38,840
doing Dollars and Sense as a project,

Timothy Ho – 44
00:01:38,840 –> 00:01:41,190
as a sideline, and writing
articles over the weekend,

Timothy Ho – 45
00:01:41,190 –> 00:01:43,470
and then sometime in
2015, we thought, like,

Timothy Ho – 46
00:01:43,470 –> 00:01:44,710
hey, you know, this is going somewhere.

Timothy Ho – 47
00:01:44,710 –> 00:01:46,280
Maybe it can actually not just be

Timothy Ho – 48
00:01:46,280 –> 00:01:48,389
a passion project but
also a full-time job.

Timothy Ho – 49
00:01:48,389 –> 00:01:50,920
So I actually left my previous job

Timothy Ho – 50
00:01:50,920 –> 00:01:52,790
to join Dollars and
Sense full-time in 2015,

Timothy Ho – 51
00:01:52,790 –> 00:01:54,700
so I’ve been working
about six years since.

Timothy Ho – 52
00:01:54,700 –> 00:01:57,180
Besides running Dollars
and Sense, I’m also a dad.

Timothy Ho – 53
00:01:57,180 –> 00:01:59,720
You know, I totally can see and empathize

Timothy Ho – 54
00:01:59,720 –> 00:02:01,750
with the adulting age,
you know, where you go

Timothy Ho – 55
00:02:01,750 –> 00:02:03,760
from being a fresh grad,
you know, just starting

Timothy Ho – 56
00:02:03,760 –> 00:02:06,640
to join the workforce, to
buying your first property

Timothy Ho – 57
00:02:06,640 –> 00:02:09,110
and then subsequently
having kids, and recently,

Timothy Ho – 58
00:02:09,110 –> 00:02:11,060
you know, we are moving
houses again, so I am also

Timothy Ho – 59
00:02:11,060 –> 00:02:13,170
in that stage again where,
you know, you’re starting

Timothy Ho – 60
00:02:13,170 –> 00:02:15,450
to think about renovation and
thinking about your future

Timothy Ho – 61
00:02:15,450 –> 00:02:17,000
when it comes to when your kids

Timothy Ho – 62
00:02:17,000 –> 00:02:19,260
gonna leaving, and things like that.

Melvin Lim – 63
00:02:19,260 –> 00:02:21,780
– Right, so in 2012,
you were still schooling

Melvin Lim – 64
00:02:21,780 –> 00:02:22,910
with your co-founder.

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 65
00:02:22,910 –> 00:02:25,170
– Yeah, I just graduated 2012.
– Okay, and you guys call it

Melvin Lim – 66
00:02:25,170 –> 00:02:26,970
a passion project because
it is really, like, out

Melvin Lim – 67
00:02:26,970 –> 00:02:30,140
of interest that you wrote
the articles for three years.

Timothy Ho – 68
00:02:30,140 –> 00:02:31,760
– Yeah, it has to be because
for the first three years,

Timothy Ho – 69
00:02:31,760 –> 00:02:33,960
we were not making any money, obviously,

Timothy Ho – 70
00:02:33,960 –> 00:02:36,230
because we were not really
doing out for money,

Timothy Ho – 71
00:02:36,230 –> 00:02:38,987
but I think, you know, and
that’s one thing I always think

Timothy Ho – 72
00:02:38,987 –> 00:02:41,080
what entrepreneurship
people should do, right.

Timothy Ho – 73
00:02:41,080 –> 00:02:44,130
So if you have an idea that you
really are passionate about,

Timothy Ho – 74
00:02:44,130 –> 00:02:46,260
no, you don’t have to
quit your day job yet

Timothy Ho – 75
00:02:46,260 –> 00:02:47,520
because, you know, in Singapore,

Timothy Ho – 76
00:02:47,520 –> 00:02:49,317
you know, you still need to have a salary.

Timothy Ho – 77
00:02:49,317 –> 00:02:51,166
You still need to work, right.

Timothy Ho – 78
00:02:51,166 –> 00:02:54,300
You can pursue it as a side
hustle, as a passion project,

Timothy Ho – 79
00:02:54,300 –> 00:02:56,120
and then, you know, give
it one, two, three years,

Timothy Ho – 80
00:02:56,120 –> 00:02:57,530
and once you realize that hey, you know,

Timothy Ho – 81
00:02:57,530 –> 00:02:59,990
this is something I really
wanna do, and I’m gonna continue

Timothy Ho – 82
00:02:59,990 –> 00:03:02,700
doing it even though I’m not
even working at it full-time,

Timothy Ho – 83
00:03:02,700 –> 00:03:05,560
then that’s where you know that
you might be onto something.

Melvin Lim – 84
00:03:05,560 –> 00:03:09,400
– So share with us, what was
your day job before you finally

Melvin Lim – 85
00:03:09,400 –> 00:03:13,070
embarked full-time into
Dollars and Sense in 2015.

Timothy Ho – 86
00:03:13,070 –> 00:03:15,770
– So before I joined
Dollars and Sense full-time,

Timothy Ho – 87
00:03:15,770 –> 00:03:18,870
I was actually working as a
copyright development executive

Timothy Ho – 88
00:03:18,870 –> 00:03:21,830
with one of the listed
companies in construction.

Timothy Ho – 89
00:03:21,830 –> 00:03:24,970
So I also, you know, a lot of
construction-related stuff,

Timothy Ho – 90
00:03:24,970 –> 00:03:27,730
and then I helped them with,
you know, their proposals,

Timothy Ho – 91
00:03:27,730 –> 00:03:29,940
their corporate com
investor relations method,

Timothy Ho – 92
00:03:29,940 –> 00:03:32,100
so a little bit of that
whole finance things,

Timothy Ho – 93
00:03:32,100 –> 00:03:34,290
where you are communicating with people

Timothy Ho – 94
00:03:34,290 –> 00:03:36,970
on the company’s performance
and things like that,

Timothy Ho – 95
00:03:36,970 –> 00:03:39,920
but also somewhat
touching base a little bit

Timothy Ho – 96
00:03:39,920 –> 00:03:41,656
on property-related methods as well.

Melvin Lim – 97
00:03:41,656 –> 00:03:44,440
– (grunts) Right, which give you, I think,

Melvin Lim – 98
00:03:44,440 –> 00:03:46,470
perhaps, the inspiration on your editorial

Melvin Lim – 99
00:03:46,470 –> 00:03:49,280
because I think the
topics that you covered,

Melvin Lim – 100
00:03:49,280 –> 00:03:51,700
and it’s currently covering as well,

Melvin Lim – 101
00:03:51,700 –> 00:03:53,900
it is a very interesting kind of format

Melvin Lim – 102
00:03:53,900 –> 00:03:56,130
because you go, you talk about CPF.

Melvin Lim – 103
00:03:56,130 –> 00:04:00,150
You talk about investment,
talk about insurance,

Melvin Lim – 104
00:04:00,150 –> 00:04:02,800
and I think there’s a lot
of tips and guides as well.

Melvin Lim – 105
00:04:02,800 –> 00:04:05,830
So what is the main focus
of Dollars and Sense?

Timothy Ho – 106
00:04:05,830 –> 00:04:07,960
– Good question, so I always tell people

Timothy Ho – 107
00:04:07,960 –> 00:04:10,230
that for Dollars and Sense,
the way we look at finance,

Timothy Ho – 108
00:04:10,230 –> 00:04:12,500
it’s from a consumer point of view, right.

Timothy Ho – 109
00:04:12,500 –> 00:04:15,160
So what do you need to know
as an average person living

Timothy Ho – 110
00:04:15,160 –> 00:04:17,710
in Singapore when it comes
to financial-related methods?

Timothy Ho – 111
00:04:17,710 –> 00:04:19,910
So that’s the reason why we
have all sorts of topics.

Timothy Ho – 112
00:04:19,910 –> 00:04:21,450
We have things like, you
know, lifestyle topics.

Timothy Ho – 113
00:04:21,450 –> 00:04:23,900
We have things like how
to invest your money,

Timothy Ho – 114
00:04:23,900 –> 00:04:26,580
insurance methods you have to
decide on, buying a property,

Timothy Ho – 115
00:04:26,580 –> 00:04:28,720
obviously a big topic in
Singapore, within, of course,

Timothy Ho – 116
00:04:28,720 –> 00:04:32,330
your government-related
policies like our CPF scheme

Timothy Ho – 117
00:04:32,330 –> 00:04:34,970
and Singapore budget and things
like that, so it’s always

Timothy Ho – 118
00:04:34,970 –> 00:04:38,140
from a hyper-local
consumer-centric point of view,

Timothy Ho – 119
00:04:38,140 –> 00:04:40,710
where what are the financial
decisions we have to make

Timothy Ho – 120
00:04:40,710 –> 00:04:43,460
as we go through life,
especially as a working adult?

Timothy Ho – 121
00:04:43,460 –> 00:04:46,460
So a lot of, a large part
of our target audience

Timothy Ho – 122
00:04:46,460 –> 00:04:48,850
is actually, you are working
adult age all the way

Timothy Ho – 123
00:04:48,850 –> 00:04:52,580
from, say, 24, 25, to in
your 50s or even your 60s,

Timothy Ho – 124
00:04:52,580 –> 00:04:54,530
because this is the stage
in life where we end up

Timothy Ho – 125
00:04:54,530 –> 00:04:57,470
making the most number
of financial decisions

Timothy Ho – 126
00:04:57,470 –> 00:04:59,574
for ourselves and our families as well.

127
00:04:59,574 –> 00:05:01,380
– Right, right, okay, great.

Melvin Lim – 128
00:05:01,380 –> 00:05:04,400
Thanks for sharing with us
about Dollars and Sense,

Melvin Lim – 129
00:05:04,400 –> 00:05:06,750
and I think your editorial
is going very strong,

Melvin Lim – 130
00:05:06,750 –> 00:05:09,610
and just now, we’ll chat a
little bit about your team,

Melvin Lim – 131
00:05:09,610 –> 00:05:11,680
and I think you have a very mature team,

Melvin Lim – 132
00:05:11,680 –> 00:05:14,620
and based on the reading that
I saw some of the articles,

Melvin Lim – 133
00:05:14,620 –> 00:05:18,080
I think, also learn a bit of
things here and there as well.

Melvin Lim – 134
00:05:18,080 –> 00:05:21,750
So I wanna pick your brains on
the property market for 2021.

Melvin Lim – 135
00:05:21,750 –> 00:05:23,720
What do you think of
the property market now?

Timothy Ho – 136
00:05:23,720 –> 00:05:27,580
– Well, property has always been a passion

Timothy Ho – 137
00:05:27,580 –> 00:05:31,440
for me since uni, since before
I started Dollars and Sense,

Timothy Ho – 138
00:05:31,440 –> 00:05:33,730
and I think, you know,
we’ve seen the cycle, right.

Timothy Ho – 139
00:05:33,730 –> 00:05:38,010
So I still remember how in
2010, right after the global

Timothy Ho – 140
00:05:38,010 –> 00:05:41,490
financial crisis, you see property prices,

Timothy Ho – 141
00:05:41,490 –> 00:05:43,880
at that point in time, was
low, but you kept seeing a lot

Timothy Ho – 142
00:05:43,880 –> 00:05:47,200
of new launches prices
going up, and I think

Timothy Ho – 143
00:05:47,200 –> 00:05:49,300
cooling measures started
coming in, but even then,

Timothy Ho – 144
00:05:49,300 –> 00:05:52,330
you know, it still continued
to perform rather strongly,

Timothy Ho – 145
00:05:52,330 –> 00:05:55,910
and for some reason, it feels
like that’s happening again.

Timothy Ho – 146
00:05:55,910 –> 00:05:59,140
Right, so you have the COVID-19
recession, the pandemic

Timothy Ho – 147
00:05:59,140 –> 00:06:02,200
and a recession last
year, and then to a lot

Timothy Ho – 148
00:06:02,200 –> 00:06:04,830
of people’s surprise, the
Singapore property market

Timothy Ho – 149
00:06:04,830 –> 00:06:06,720
did not go through a slump, you know.

Timothy Ho – 150
00:06:06,720 –> 00:06:10,500
It started, it remained
strong, and it started

Timothy Ho – 151
00:06:10,500 –> 00:06:12,350
going up again, and now, here
days, you’re seeing a lot

Timothy Ho – 152
00:06:12,350 –> 00:06:16,000
of new launches also as
well, so I would say that,

Timothy Ho – 153
00:06:16,000 –> 00:06:18,840
you know, the property market
right now is quite exciting.

Timothy Ho – 154
00:06:18,840 –> 00:06:21,630
A lot of people are trying to get into it.

Timothy Ho – 155
00:06:21,630 –> 00:06:24,100
Most of us are getting it
because, you know, we need a home,

Timothy Ho – 156
00:06:24,100 –> 00:06:26,910
or we need a bigger home,
so there is a genuine need

Timothy Ho – 157
00:06:26,910 –> 00:06:29,600
for space or more space,
so I think that adds to it.

Timothy Ho – 158
00:06:29,600 –> 00:06:33,210
Interest rates are definitely
very attractive right now,

Timothy Ho – 159
00:06:33,210 –> 00:06:35,870
so I think, you know, you
can get an interest rate

Timothy Ho – 160
00:06:35,870 –> 00:06:40,200
for 1% or 1.2% quite
easily, and that, obviously,

Timothy Ho – 161
00:06:40,200 –> 00:06:42,320
is attractive, so I
think it’s interesting.

Timothy Ho – 162
00:06:42,320 –> 00:06:44,840
I’m not too sure, you
know, what’s the upside.

Timothy Ho – 163
00:06:44,840 –> 00:06:47,373
I’m not going to speculate
about it ’cause I’m not

Timothy Ho – 164
00:06:47,373 –> 00:06:50,070
a property expert, but you
know, for people who really

Timothy Ho – 165
00:06:50,070 –> 00:06:53,020
wanna buy a home, and they have
seen a home that they like,

Timothy Ho – 166
00:06:53,020 –> 00:06:55,405
I can see why they would go
for it if the price is right.

Melvin Lim – 167
00:06:55,405 –> 00:06:59,090
– (grunts) So as a Singaporean,
based on your work,

Melvin Lim – 168
00:06:59,090 –> 00:07:01,200
definitely, you are in
tune with the market

Melvin Lim – 169
00:07:01,200 –> 00:07:03,820
in terms of finances, where the economy

Melvin Lim – 170
00:07:03,820 –> 00:07:04,870
is going and things like that.

Melvin Lim – 171
00:07:04,870 –> 00:07:08,190
Do you think that based
on the young person,

Melvin Lim – 172
00:07:08,190 –> 00:07:10,710
I mean, somebody that
just graduated from uni,

Melvin Lim – 173
00:07:10,710 –> 00:07:15,640
and what will be usually
the route to investing

Melvin Lim – 174
00:07:15,640 –> 00:07:17,324
while working towards
their first property?

Melvin Lim – 175
00:07:17,324 –> 00:07:19,470
Will you chat about a
single person’s perspective?

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 176
00:07:19,470 –> 00:07:20,770
– Single, okay.
– Yeah, so because

Melvin Lim – 177
00:07:20,770 –> 00:07:24,560
as a couple, I mean, government
is very pro-marriage,

Melvin Lim – 178
00:07:24,560 –> 00:07:26,890
right, so naturally, a
lot of young couples,

Melvin Lim – 179
00:07:26,890 –> 00:07:30,180
they can get BTOs and resell
at a fairly young age,

Melvin Lim – 180
00:07:30,180 –> 00:07:32,020
below 30, but let’s
say for a single person

Melvin Lim – 181
00:07:32,020 –> 00:07:34,440
because we had this episode
on our “Nuggets on the Go.”

Melvin Lim – 182
00:07:34,440 –> 00:07:39,440
We chatted about the length
of time before a single person

Melvin Lim – 183
00:07:39,520 –> 00:07:41,790
can actually start to
own their first property.

Melvin Lim – 184
00:07:41,790 –> 00:07:46,633
So what do you think, from 25
to 35, the in-between route?

Melvin Lim – 185
00:07:47,770 –> 00:07:50,290
Usually based on your
research and experience,

Melvin Lim – 186
00:07:50,290 –> 00:07:52,770
what are some of the things
that a young person can invest

Melvin Lim – 187
00:07:52,770 –> 00:07:55,970
into, like stocks, bonds,
ETF, and things like that?

Timothy Ho – 188
00:07:55,970 –> 00:07:57,470
– Yeah, a good question,
so I think for someone

Timothy Ho – 189
00:07:57,470 –> 00:08:00,380
who is single, and I mean, unfortunately,

Timothy Ho – 190
00:08:00,380 –> 00:08:02,433
or depending on how you
look at the unfortunately,

Timothy Ho – 191
00:08:02,433 –> 00:08:04,540
whether you talk about
couple who is intending

Timothy Ho – 192
00:08:04,540 –> 00:08:06,700
to get married, and a
single is quite different

Timothy Ho – 193
00:08:06,700 –> 00:08:07,533
in Singapore, right?

Timothy Ho – 194
00:08:07,533 –> 00:08:09,000
I think for singles,
one of the main things

Timothy Ho – 195
00:08:09,000 –> 00:08:11,060
that they wanna do as
early as possible is really

Timothy Ho – 196
00:08:11,060 –> 00:08:14,240
to start investing
because compound interest

Timothy Ho – 197
00:08:14,240 –> 00:08:16,200
can work in your favor when you are young,

Timothy Ho – 198
00:08:16,200 –> 00:08:19,970
right, so when you start
investing, you give a chance.

Timothy Ho – 199
00:08:19,970 –> 00:08:21,755
A few advantages you have, right.

Timothy Ho – 200
00:08:21,755 –> 00:08:24,370
A first is you start learning
about investing young.

Timothy Ho – 201
00:08:24,370 –> 00:08:25,560
So you might make mistakes.

Timothy Ho – 202
00:08:25,560 –> 00:08:28,350
You probably will make mistakes,
but you have enough time

Timothy Ho – 203
00:08:28,350 –> 00:08:31,000
to recover from it, especially
because when you’re young,

Timothy Ho – 204
00:08:31,000 –> 00:08:33,300
the chances of you investing,
you’ll probably invest

Timothy Ho – 205
00:08:33,300 –> 00:08:36,560
a smaller amount because you
don’t have that much money yet,

Timothy Ho – 206
00:08:36,560 –> 00:08:39,400
so I think that’s one
advantage you can make,

Timothy Ho – 207
00:08:39,400 –> 00:08:41,630
which is can afford to make
mistakes when you’re young,

Timothy Ho – 208
00:08:41,630 –> 00:08:44,300
but when you start investing
early, you also enjoy

Timothy Ho – 209
00:08:44,300 –> 00:08:46,760
compound interest, and
then we like this concept

Timothy Ho – 210
00:08:46,760 –> 00:08:48,210
called dollar-cost
average, and what it means

Timothy Ho – 211
00:08:48,210 –> 00:08:50,980
is that, let’s say, you
make $3,000 a month.

Timothy Ho – 212
00:08:50,980 –> 00:08:52,877
Your take-home is $2,004,
and you set aside maybe,

Timothy Ho – 213
00:08:52,877 –> 00:08:55,710
you know, 20% of that,
four, $500 each month

Timothy Ho – 214
00:08:55,710 –> 00:08:57,660
to just invest into the financial market.

Timothy Ho – 215
00:08:57,660 –> 00:08:59,280
This could be in ETFs.

Timothy Ho – 216
00:08:59,280 –> 00:09:01,220
I think I would typically advocate

Timothy Ho – 217
00:09:01,220 –> 00:09:03,200
for people to invest in ETF, whether it’s

Timothy Ho – 218
00:09:03,200 –> 00:09:05,860
a Singapore-based ETF or a US-based ETF.

Timothy Ho – 219
00:09:05,860 –> 00:09:08,200
That’s a good way to get started.

Timothy Ho – 220
00:09:08,200 –> 00:09:10,810
You would see, you know,
you would maybe make losses

Timothy Ho – 221
00:09:10,810 –> 00:09:13,780
sometimes, but the whole
idea of dollar-cost averaging

Timothy Ho – 222
00:09:13,780 –> 00:09:16,970
is that you just average in
so when the market goes down,

Timothy Ho – 223
00:09:16,970 –> 00:09:19,510
you actually invest the same
amount, and you get more units,

Timothy Ho – 224
00:09:19,510 –> 00:09:21,590
and when the market goes up,
you invest the same amount.

Timothy Ho – 225
00:09:21,590 –> 00:09:24,340
You get less shares, but
you are accumulating,

Timothy Ho – 226
00:09:24,340 –> 00:09:26,840
and ETF is a good way to
start accumulating wealth,

Timothy Ho – 227
00:09:26,840 –> 00:09:29,050
right, because you know
you’re getting good companies

Timothy Ho – 228
00:09:29,050 –> 00:09:32,530
that are in a good position
to not just give you returns

Timothy Ho – 229
00:09:32,530 –> 00:09:34,787
today but also give you
returns over the next 10,

Timothy Ho – 230
00:09:34,787 –> 00:09:37,470
20, 30 years, which is
what we are interested in.

Timothy Ho – 231
00:09:37,470 –> 00:09:40,404
I think for a lot of people these days,

Timothy Ho – 232
00:09:40,404 –> 00:09:44,230
after they invest in ETF, if
they want a hands-off point

Timothy Ho – 233
00:09:44,230 –> 00:09:46,450
of view, they can start
with robo-advisors.

Timothy Ho – 234
00:09:46,450 –> 00:09:48,470
So I think in Singapore
right now, there is a lot

Timothy Ho – 235
00:09:48,470 –> 00:09:50,270
of choices when it comes to robo-advisors.

Timothy Ho – 236
00:09:50,270 –> 00:09:52,970
We got your stash away,
your endowers, your sieve,

Timothy Ho – 237
00:09:52,970 –> 00:09:54,963
your auto-wealth, right, so
there’s a lot of this money.

Timothy Ho – 238
00:09:54,963 –> 00:09:58,180
Also, there’s a lot of these
platforms that can allow you

Timothy Ho – 239
00:09:58,180 –> 00:10:00,730
to invest from some of it
from as little as $100,

Timothy Ho – 240
00:10:00,730 –> 00:10:03,660
but some of it even lesser than
$100, you can invest really,

Timothy Ho – 241
00:10:03,660 –> 00:10:06,500
and I think the whole idea
with investing a small amount,

Timothy Ho – 242
00:10:06,500 –> 00:10:10,060
not necessarily is to make a
lot of profits at the start,

Timothy Ho – 243
00:10:10,060 –> 00:10:13,470
but it’s to instill the
discipline of investing regularly,

Timothy Ho – 244
00:10:13,470 –> 00:10:16,270
and number two, to get a sense
of how is it like to invest?

Timothy Ho – 245
00:10:16,270 –> 00:10:18,490
How is it like to buy a
stock or to at least make

Timothy Ho – 246
00:10:18,490 –> 00:10:21,320
a transaction through a
robo-advisory platform?

Timothy Ho – 247
00:10:21,320 –> 00:10:23,723
And I think this forced,

Timothy Ho – 248
00:10:24,560 –> 00:10:26,120
you know, we’re really
at the age right now

Timothy Ho – 249
00:10:26,120 –> 00:10:27,780
where we see some of our single friends,

Timothy Ho – 250
00:10:27,780 –> 00:10:29,890
they’re thinking about buying
their own property already,

Timothy Ho – 251
00:10:29,890 –> 00:10:32,770
and what I realize is that
a lot of these individuals,

Timothy Ho – 252
00:10:32,770 –> 00:10:34,620
when they start investing
from a young age,

Timothy Ho – 253
00:10:34,620 –> 00:10:35,920
when they reach the age of 35,

Timothy Ho – 254
00:10:35,920 –> 00:10:37,477
you know, they have more wealth.

Timothy Ho – 255
00:10:37,477 –> 00:10:40,100
They have more wealth which
can actually help them

Timothy Ho – 256
00:10:40,100 –> 00:10:43,100
with, say, getting a flat, a resale flat,

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 257
00:10:43,100 –> 00:10:43,933
when it comes to-
– With a down payment and all.

Timothy Ho – 258
00:10:43,933 –> 00:10:46,620
– Down payment at least,
right, and that’s something,

Timothy Ho – 259
00:10:46,620 –> 00:10:49,100
and of course, don’t forget
your legal CPF as well.

Timothy Ho – 260
00:10:49,100 –> 00:10:51,240
So when you have your CPF combined

Timothy Ho – 261
00:10:51,240 –> 00:10:54,280
with your investment portfolio
that you’ve been investing

Timothy Ho – 262
00:10:54,280 –> 00:10:56,910
since 24, 25, you know,
that adds up to a lot,

Timothy Ho – 263
00:10:56,910 –> 00:10:59,090
and what I realize is
that for all of them,

Timothy Ho – 264
00:10:59,090 –> 00:11:01,270
they don’t even need to
use all their CPF money

Timothy Ho – 265
00:11:01,270 –> 00:11:03,640
to make their down payment, or
they don’t have to liquidate

Timothy Ho – 266
00:11:03,640 –> 00:11:04,473
all their investments.

Timothy Ho – 267
00:11:04,473 –> 00:11:06,730
They can use a combination of
both, and that can give them

Timothy Ho – 268
00:11:06,730 –> 00:11:10,070
a pretty good house
that they want actually.

Melvin Lim – 269
00:11:10,070 –> 00:11:11,410
– (grunts) Right.

Melvin Lim – 270
00:11:11,410 –> 00:11:12,950
Coming back to, just now, you mentioned

Melvin Lim – 271
00:11:12,950 –> 00:11:14,230
about robo-advisors and all that.

Melvin Lim – 272
00:11:14,230 –> 00:11:17,570
Do you see, like, an uptrend
ever since the circuit breaker,

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 273
00:11:17,570 –> 00:11:20,040
like, do you see that?
– Yeah.

Melvin Lim – 274
00:11:20,040 –> 00:11:21,570
– Why do you think
there’s this phenomenon?

Timothy Ho – 275
00:11:21,570 –> 00:11:23,750
– I think the whole idea about markets

Timothy Ho – 276
00:11:23,750 –> 00:11:26,820
is that typically, whether
it’s long-term investing

Timothy Ho – 277
00:11:26,820 –> 00:11:29,670
or trading, people get excited
when there’s volatility,

Timothy Ho – 278
00:11:29,670 –> 00:11:32,140
right, so when prices goes
down, everyone gets excited

Timothy Ho – 279
00:11:32,140 –> 00:11:35,093
that hey, you can invest in
something that is 20%, 30% lower

Timothy Ho – 280
00:11:35,093 –> 00:11:38,800
than it was last year,
right, or last month, sorry.

Timothy Ho – 281
00:11:38,800 –> 00:11:40,470
When prices goes up,
people also get excited,

Timothy Ho – 282
00:11:40,470 –> 00:11:42,330
like what we’ve seen with
the crypto space right now,

Timothy Ho – 283
00:11:42,330 –> 00:11:44,060
right, that there’s a bull
run over the last, you know,

Timothy Ho – 284
00:11:44,060 –> 00:11:46,740
18 months, and a lot of people
are getting into the market

Timothy Ho – 285
00:11:46,740 –> 00:11:48,820
because that’s a little bit
of that fear of missing out,

Timothy Ho – 286
00:11:48,820 –> 00:11:52,350
FOMO, right, so I think that has also,

Timothy Ho – 287
00:11:52,350 –> 00:11:54,310
we have also seen that kind
of interest when it comes,

Timothy Ho – 288
00:11:54,310 –> 00:11:56,610
not just in stocks but in, like, trading,

Timothy Ho – 289
00:11:56,610 –> 00:11:59,490
like forex trading, CFDs, or even things

Timothy Ho – 290
00:11:59,490 –> 00:12:01,320
like your robo-advisors,
where people are just

Timothy Ho – 291
00:12:01,320 –> 00:12:04,900
more keen to invest because they recognize

Timothy Ho – 292
00:12:04,900 –> 00:12:07,040
that hey, you know, I can
see the market going up,

Timothy Ho – 293
00:12:07,040 –> 00:12:09,630
and I realize that if I
invest, I can see my money

Timothy Ho – 294
00:12:09,630 –> 00:12:12,490
increase each month as the market goes up.

Timothy Ho – 295
00:12:12,490 –> 00:12:15,320
So that typically gets people
excited, but of course,

Timothy Ho – 296
00:12:15,320 –> 00:12:16,870
there is always a word
of caution here, right.

Timothy Ho – 297
00:12:16,870 –> 00:12:18,360
Markets goes in cycles.

Timothy Ho – 298
00:12:18,360 –> 00:12:20,553
What goes up can go down,
and so, I always tell people

Timothy Ho – 299
00:12:20,553 –> 00:12:23,490
that you need to be able
to stomach that investment

Timothy Ho – 300
00:12:23,490 –> 00:12:24,470
that you’re making, right.

Timothy Ho – 301
00:12:24,470 –> 00:12:26,530
You need to be able to be confident

Timothy Ho – 302
00:12:26,530 –> 00:12:28,220
to say that even if the market goes down,

Timothy Ho – 303
00:12:28,220 –> 00:12:30,610
I wouldn’t get so worried
’cause what I’ve also seen

Timothy Ho – 304
00:12:30,610 –> 00:12:32,230
is people investing a large sum

Timothy Ho – 305
00:12:32,230 –> 00:12:34,350
of money into, say, a specific stock.

Timothy Ho – 306
00:12:34,350 –> 00:12:37,170
This is in the past, and
then when the stock tank,

Timothy Ho – 307
00:12:37,170 –> 00:12:39,280
the money’s stuck in
there, they lost a few

Timothy Ho – 308
00:12:39,280 –> 00:12:40,843
thousand dollars, and
then they get themself,

Timothy Ho – 309
00:12:40,843 –> 00:12:42,250
“You know, I’m never gonna invest.

Timothy Ho – 310
00:12:42,250 –> 00:12:45,070
Investing is dangerous,” and
that’s also not the outcome

Timothy Ho – 311
00:12:45,070 –> 00:12:47,300
we want people to have
because once they have

Timothy Ho – 312
00:12:47,300 –> 00:12:49,410
a very bad first experience
investing in, so say

Timothy Ho – 313
00:12:49,410 –> 00:12:51,420
you just have invested a
stock for, say, $5,000,

Timothy Ho – 314
00:12:51,420 –> 00:12:54,990
and then it goes down to 2,000
after a year, and it just

Timothy Ho – 315
00:12:54,990 –> 00:12:57,160
turns you off investing, which is not good

Timothy Ho – 316
00:12:57,160 –> 00:13:01,150
in the long term because losses
are part of the game here

Timothy Ho – 317
00:13:01,150 –> 00:13:03,760
when it comes to investing,
but then you don’t want

Timothy Ho – 318
00:13:03,760 –> 00:13:06,270
that first experience to
really set someone back such

Timothy Ho – 319
00:13:06,270 –> 00:13:09,050
that they are not even open to
investing more in the future.

Melvin Lim – 320
00:13:09,050 –> 00:13:12,990
– Yeah, and I think the important
thing is that the mindset

Melvin Lim – 321
00:13:12,990 –> 00:13:16,920
of investing, it should be a
mid to long-term kinda mindset

Melvin Lim – 322
00:13:16,920 –> 00:13:19,930
and not like a mindset that
you wanna make a quick buck

Melvin Lim – 323
00:13:19,930 –> 00:13:22,110
because I think the moment
you have that mindset,

Melvin Lim – 324
00:13:22,110 –> 00:13:25,630
the more you see that in
terms of its index dropping,

Melvin Lim – 325
00:13:25,630 –> 00:13:27,710
and you start to see that paper loss.

Melvin Lim – 326
00:13:27,710 –> 00:13:30,040
You start to become fearful,
and you want to exit.

Melvin Lim – 327
00:13:30,040 –> 00:13:31,460
You realize that loss.

Melvin Lim – 328
00:13:31,460 –> 00:13:33,070
So I think I like when you mentioned

Melvin Lim – 329
00:13:33,070 –> 00:13:35,180
dollar-cost averaging is important.

Melvin Lim – 330
00:13:35,180 –> 00:13:37,920
Something to invest at a
young age is important.

Melvin Lim – 331
00:13:37,920 –> 00:13:41,030
We also chatted about using the CPF

Melvin Lim – 332
00:13:41,030 –> 00:13:42,430
and cash component, right.

Melvin Lim – 333
00:13:42,430 –> 00:13:43,700
So this is a very common question.

Melvin Lim – 334
00:13:43,700 –> 00:13:45,850
I maybe talk about that a
lot in our education series

Melvin Lim – 335
00:13:45,850 –> 00:13:50,850
as well on the pros and cons,
and to me, I feel that this

Melvin Lim – 336
00:13:51,190 –> 00:13:54,830
is a chicken and egg thing
as well, but the most

Melvin Lim – 337
00:13:54,830 –> 00:13:58,690
important concept is that do
you need the CPF to accelerate

Melvin Lim – 338
00:13:58,690 –> 00:14:00,700
your speed to pay for the down payment?

Melvin Lim – 339
00:14:00,700 –> 00:14:02,790
Because that is sort
of like a false saving

Melvin Lim – 340
00:14:02,790 –> 00:14:04,800
that our government
has pre-planned for us,

Melvin Lim – 341
00:14:04,800 –> 00:14:08,210
which makes Singapore a
nation with such a high

Melvin Lim – 342
00:14:08,210 –> 00:14:10,970
ownership rate, one in 90
or more percent, but I think

Melvin Lim – 343
00:14:10,970 –> 00:14:13,320
if the government didn’t
implement CPF law, people will not

Melvin Lim – 344
00:14:13,320 –> 00:14:14,983
be able to afford their home
because this is something

Melvin Lim – 345
00:14:14,983 –> 00:14:18,680
that we cannot see, which
is a great benefit for us.

Melvin Lim – 346
00:14:18,680 –> 00:14:20,660
I mean, human beings when
you see extra of cash

Melvin Lim – 347
00:14:20,660 –> 00:14:22,580
in your bank, you definitely
find a way to spend it

Melvin Lim – 348
00:14:22,580 –> 00:14:25,869
naturally for most
people, so I think the CPF

Melvin Lim – 349
00:14:25,869 –> 00:14:27,410
is sort of like a false
saving sort of thing,

Melvin Lim – 350
00:14:27,410 –> 00:14:29,610
but the question comes back with the fact

Melvin Lim – 351
00:14:29,610 –> 00:14:33,590
that that CPF a month is
earning you 2.6%, sorry,

Melvin Lim – 352
00:14:33,590 –> 00:14:37,720
2.5% in your OA account,
and of course the first tier

Melvin Lim – 353
00:14:37,720 –> 00:14:40,180
earns a little bit
more, close to about 4%,

Melvin Lim – 354
00:14:40,180 –> 00:14:41,450
so what is your preference?

Melvin Lim – 355
00:14:41,450 –> 00:14:45,580
If somebody has the capability
to pay off a down payment

Melvin Lim – 356
00:14:45,580 –> 00:14:49,060
for maybe a $1 million
property plus stamp duty,

Melvin Lim – 357
00:14:49,060 –> 00:14:53,280
which is about 274,000, using
cash, and they also have

Melvin Lim – 358
00:14:53,280 –> 00:14:56,323
a substantial amount of
about 200,000 in their CPF,

Melvin Lim – 359
00:14:57,350 –> 00:15:00,530
if you have the choice, I
mean, would you just fully

Melvin Lim – 360
00:15:00,530 –> 00:15:03,580
use cash, or you would use
partial, or what would you do?

Timothy Ho – 361
00:15:03,580 –> 00:15:06,150
– Oh, that’s such a
deep question with also

Timothy Ho – 362
00:15:06,150 –> 00:15:08,140
many different answers, right?

Timothy Ho – 363
00:15:08,140 –> 00:15:12,300
The truth is, okay, look,
I’m gonna get the easy way

Timothy Ho – 364
00:15:12,300 –> 00:15:13,620
out here and say it really depends,

Timothy Ho – 365
00:15:13,620 –> 00:15:15,330
but let me explain a
little bit more, right.

Timothy Ho – 366
00:15:15,330 –> 00:15:18,971
So I think lot of us, we, what I see

Timothy Ho – 367
00:15:18,971 –> 00:15:21,910
is that people tend to
lean on extremes, right.

Timothy Ho – 368
00:15:21,910 –> 00:15:24,220
So you have a lot of people who believe

Timothy Ho – 369
00:15:24,220 –> 00:15:26,730
in just maxing out the
whatever they can use

Timothy Ho – 370
00:15:26,730 –> 00:15:28,530
from their CPF OA each month, right.

Timothy Ho – 371
00:15:28,530 –> 00:15:31,323
So they buy maybe the
most expensive property

Timothy Ho – 372
00:15:31,323 –> 00:15:33,540
that they can afford, and
then they maybe structure

Timothy Ho – 373
00:15:33,540 –> 00:15:35,670
a loan also, and then
they use their CPF OA.

Timothy Ho – 374
00:15:35,670 –> 00:15:38,250
They max it out as well
to afford the property.

Timothy Ho – 375
00:15:38,250 –> 00:15:41,093
So I think that is in
some sense, you know,

Timothy Ho – 376
00:15:41,930 –> 00:15:43,820
it’s good because you
know, you get a house

Timothy Ho – 377
00:15:43,820 –> 00:15:46,160
that you need to live
in anyway, and you get

Timothy Ho – 378
00:15:46,160 –> 00:15:49,020
to enjoy living in that
property without actually

Timothy Ho – 379
00:15:49,020 –> 00:15:51,010
coming out with any cash,
obviously, because you’re using

Timothy Ho – 380
00:15:51,010 –> 00:15:53,579
your CPF, but the problem
is that in Singapore,

Timothy Ho – 381
00:15:53,579 –> 00:15:56,060
I don’t think we had this kind
of our property decisions,

Timothy Ho – 382
00:15:56,060 –> 00:15:58,780
property purchasing decisions
from our retirement, right.

Timothy Ho – 383
00:15:58,780 –> 00:16:02,030
So the more you use from your
CPF today, it means the less

Timothy Ho – 384
00:16:02,030 –> 00:16:05,130
you have for your retirement
10, 20, 30 years down the road,

Timothy Ho – 385
00:16:05,130 –> 00:16:07,440
and I think that’s one
of the trade-offs people

Timothy Ho – 386
00:16:07,440 –> 00:16:08,960
have to consider because you’re

Timothy Ho – 387
00:16:08,960 –> 00:16:10,300
not only using your CPF money.

Timothy Ho – 388
00:16:10,300 –> 00:16:12,530
You’re also losing the
opportunity to compound

Timothy Ho – 389
00:16:12,530 –> 00:16:15,320
that interest at at least 2.5%.

Timothy Ho – 390
00:16:15,320 –> 00:16:17,700
Some people choose to top it
up to their special account,

Timothy Ho – 391
00:16:17,700 –> 00:16:20,703
so that gives them 4%, so
that’s actually quite a lot of,

Timothy Ho – 392
00:16:21,850 –> 00:16:24,440
it actually compiles a quite
a fair bit of money, right.

Timothy Ho – 393
00:16:24,440 –> 00:16:25,810
So I think that’s one extreme

Timothy Ho – 394
00:16:25,810 –> 00:16:30,720
where people use all their OA to do so.

Timothy Ho – 395
00:16:30,720 –> 00:16:33,238
The other extreme, of
course, is that, you know,

Timothy Ho – 396
00:16:33,238 –> 00:16:36,010
you don’t necessarily, let’s
say I have a million dollars

Timothy Ho – 397
00:16:36,010 –> 00:16:37,540
right now and buying a $1 million condo.

Timothy Ho – 398
00:16:37,540 –> 00:16:40,310
I don’t think I’m gonna
pay $1 million down just

Timothy Ho – 399
00:16:40,310 –> 00:16:42,790
for it so that I don’t
touch my CPF, you know.

Timothy Ho – 400
00:16:42,790 –> 00:16:45,030
I will probably take a
loan as well, you know,

Timothy Ho – 401
00:16:45,030 –> 00:16:47,500
because interest rates
are really low right now.

Timothy Ho – 402
00:16:47,500 –> 00:16:49,560
So with most rates, you
know, even at fixed rates,

Timothy Ho – 403
00:16:49,560 –> 00:16:52,820
you can’t get 1.2, 1.3% per
annum, so if you think about it,

Timothy Ho – 404
00:16:52,820 –> 00:16:56,750
you’re paying 1.2, 1.3% to the
bank, but then the CPF OA’s

Timothy Ho – 405
00:16:56,750 –> 00:16:59,687
already giving you 2.5%, so
that’s already a win on its own,

Timothy Ho – 406
00:16:59,687 –> 00:17:03,780
and it’s kind of like recipe
for your CPF money, right.

Timothy Ho – 407
00:17:03,780 –> 00:17:07,507
So I think I wouldn’t pay
down as well because I think,

Timothy Ho – 408
00:17:07,507 –> 00:17:10,840
you know, having cash on
hand or even having money

Timothy Ho – 409
00:17:10,840 –> 00:17:13,930
in your CPF is able to generate
your return that is higher

Timothy Ho – 410
00:17:13,930 –> 00:17:17,190
than the interest rate we
currently pay, right, but does

Timothy Ho – 411
00:17:18,320 –> 00:17:21,120
that mean that we should
borrow the most we can borrow?

Timothy Ho – 412
00:17:21,120 –> 00:17:22,920
Not necessarily so, right?

Timothy Ho – 413
00:17:22,920 –> 00:17:26,350
So some of times, we
also feel like, you know,

Timothy Ho – 414
00:17:26,350 –> 00:17:28,150
especially when you are
near retirement age,

Timothy Ho – 415
00:17:28,150 –> 00:17:31,390
you don’t really want to have
loans, even though you might

Timothy Ho – 416
00:17:31,390 –> 00:17:34,540
be able to service them, so
I think it really depends

Timothy Ho – 417
00:17:34,540 –> 00:17:36,407
on a personal preference,
but I would say, you know,

Timothy Ho – 418
00:17:36,407 –> 00:17:39,050
if I have a million dollars and I’m buying

Timothy Ho – 419
00:17:39,050 –> 00:17:42,248
a $1 million property, I’m
not going to pay $1 million.

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 420
00:17:42,248 –> 00:17:43,740
I’m not gonna pay it down.
– Mmm, definitely leverage.

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 421
00:17:43,740 –> 00:17:44,870
And, yeah.
– Leverage, keep

Timothy Ho – 422
00:17:44,870 –> 00:17:46,020
some money in your CPF.

Melvin Lim – 423
00:17:46,020 –> 00:17:48,360
– Right, and I think it
also boils down to the fact

Melvin Lim – 424
00:17:48,360 –> 00:17:51,387
whether the cash that you
have on hand, if, let’s say we

Melvin Lim – 425
00:17:51,387 –> 00:17:54,610
are just talking about
down payment, 274,000,

Melvin Lim – 426
00:17:54,610 –> 00:17:56,020
because the minimum you
need to put in is 5% cash,

Melvin Lim – 427
00:17:56,020 –> 00:18:01,020
20% CPF, followed by
your, by your stamp duty.

Melvin Lim – 428
00:18:01,088 –> 00:18:03,370
I think it’s also about
how much can you generate

Melvin Lim – 429
00:18:03,370 –> 00:18:06,240
in terms of returns using
your cash in the stock market

Melvin Lim – 430
00:18:06,240 –> 00:18:08,540
and bonds market, ETF
and things like that,

Melvin Lim – 431
00:18:08,540 –> 00:18:13,500
compared to the CPF component
that you can earn 2 1/2%.

Melvin Lim – 432
00:18:13,500 –> 00:18:16,770
So as long as your cash
can outperform 2 1/2%,

Melvin Lim – 433
00:18:16,770 –> 00:18:19,550
then definitely, it makes
sense to use your CPF

Melvin Lim – 434
00:18:19,550 –> 00:18:21,100
and then keep your cash outside

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 435
00:18:21,100 –> 00:18:22,990
for alternative investment.
– I think one thing people

Timothy Ho – 436
00:18:22,990 –> 00:18:26,510
need to notice also, that
you need to have cash buffer

Timothy Ho – 437
00:18:26,510 –> 00:18:29,055
in order to steady the site for,

Timothy Ho – 438
00:18:29,055 –> 00:18:31,010
imagine these savings
for your house, right.

Timothy Ho – 439
00:18:31,010 –> 00:18:34,240
So for example, if let’s say
I buy a $1 million property

Timothy Ho – 440
00:18:34,240 –> 00:18:37,665
today, and assuming I
have $500,000, it’s not

Timothy Ho – 441
00:18:37,665 –> 00:18:41,596
in my interest actually
to just pay down $500,000

Timothy Ho – 442
00:18:41,596 –> 00:18:43,590
and pick a $500,000 loan
because what happens

Timothy Ho – 443
00:18:43,590 –> 00:18:45,710
if I lose my job three
months from now, and now,

Timothy Ho – 444
00:18:45,710 –> 00:18:48,860
I don’t have the money to
service the $500,000 loan?

Timothy Ho – 445
00:18:48,860 –> 00:18:51,820
I would have been better
off maybe, say, paying down

Timothy Ho – 446
00:18:51,820 –> 00:18:55,213
250,000, the minimum
required, keeping 250,000

Timothy Ho – 447
00:18:55,213 –> 00:18:58,630
in my savings account or
maybe even in my CPF account

Timothy Ho – 448
00:18:58,630 –> 00:19:01,290
because you can still
use your CPF OA to pay

Timothy Ho – 449
00:19:01,290 –> 00:19:03,970
for your house, and then if
I lose my job three months

Timothy Ho – 450
00:19:03,970 –> 00:19:06,430
from now, at least, you
know, I have to service

Timothy Ho – 451
00:19:06,430 –> 00:19:09,630
my $750,000 loan, which is
higher, but I still have

Timothy Ho – 452
00:19:09,630 –> 00:19:13,940
my $250,000 in cash or
CPF, which helps me to pay

Timothy Ho – 453
00:19:13,940 –> 00:19:16,220
for my house, probably, in the next five

Timothy Ho – 454
00:19:16,220 –> 00:19:18,180
to 10 years still without having to worry.

Timothy Ho – 455
00:19:18,180 –> 00:19:22,170
So I think we need to
make, that’s a decision

Timothy Ho – 456
00:19:22,170 –> 00:19:24,370
that I think, you know,
people need to realize also.

Timothy Ho – 457
00:19:24,370 –> 00:19:27,520
Paying down, paying as much
as you can for your home

Timothy Ho – 458
00:19:27,520 –> 00:19:29,840
isn’t necessarily a
good financial decision

Timothy Ho – 459
00:19:29,840 –> 00:19:32,030
because if you don’t have
enough emergency saving,

Timothy Ho – 460
00:19:32,030 –> 00:19:34,760
what that means is that
you actually don’t have

Timothy Ho – 461
00:19:34,760 –> 00:19:36,827
that buffer in the event that
something like, you know,

Timothy Ho – 462
00:19:36,827 –> 00:19:39,360
you lose your job, or you
can’t work for a few years.

Timothy Ho – 463
00:19:39,360 –> 00:19:41,280
You have to, you are
forced into a position

Timothy Ho – 464
00:19:41,280 –> 00:19:43,100
where you might need to sell your house.

Melvin Lim – 465
00:19:43,100 –> 00:19:45,260
– Right, right, yeah, I think
that’s extremely important,

Melvin Lim – 466
00:19:45,260 –> 00:19:48,850
the buffer, in terms of
life changes and all that.

Melvin Lim – 467
00:19:48,850 –> 00:19:50,700
Just to digress a little bit, so Timothy,

Melvin Lim – 468
00:19:50,700 –> 00:19:55,700
what has been some of the
hottest so-called readership,

Melvin Lim – 469
00:19:56,060 –> 00:19:57,840
in terms of viewership and readership

Melvin Lim – 470
00:19:57,840 –> 00:20:00,930
for your articles this
year, like, in 2021?

Timothy Ho – 471
00:20:00,930 –> 00:20:02,190
– So one of the trends we’re seeing

Timothy Ho – 472
00:20:02,190 –> 00:20:04,460
is property, property and CPF, right.

Timothy Ho – 473
00:20:04,460 –> 00:20:06,327
Everyone, and a lot of the property

Timothy Ho – 474
00:20:06,327 –> 00:20:09,160
and CPF-related article that
we write about these days,

Timothy Ho – 475
00:20:09,160 –> 00:20:12,320
people are reading about it,
right, and it can be as simple

Timothy Ho – 476
00:20:12,320 –> 00:20:13,870
as a BTO launch guide, you know.

Timothy Ho – 477
00:20:13,870 –> 00:20:14,947
Where are the locations, you know?

Timothy Ho – 478
00:20:14,947 –> 00:20:17,160
People are reading about it: how to apply,

Timothy Ho – 479
00:20:17,160 –> 00:20:18,727
what are the grants, you know?

Timothy Ho – 480
00:20:18,727 –> 00:20:22,290
It’s caught me a bit off-guard,
but at the same time,

Timothy Ho – 481
00:20:22,290 –> 00:20:24,910
I’m not surprised because
we are all at home.

Timothy Ho – 482
00:20:24,910 –> 00:20:27,290
You know, we all realize
that we’re working from home,

Timothy Ho – 483
00:20:27,290 –> 00:20:28,710
and the first thing you think about

Timothy Ho – 484
00:20:28,710 –> 00:20:31,830
is can I make my home better?

Timothy Ho – 485
00:20:31,830 –> 00:20:34,240
Do I need a bigger, if
I’m staying my parents,

Timothy Ho – 486
00:20:34,240 –> 00:20:35,760
do I wanna buy my own place?

Timothy Ho – 487
00:20:35,760 –> 00:20:37,390
Do I wanna rent my own place?

Timothy Ho – 488
00:20:37,390 –> 00:20:41,080
If I’m staying with my kids,
should we get a bigger house?

Timothy Ho – 489
00:20:41,080 –> 00:20:42,500
Do we need a study room, right?

Timothy Ho – 490
00:20:42,500 –> 00:20:46,300
So these are clearly the
most important decisions

Timothy Ho – 491
00:20:46,300 –> 00:20:48,170
that I think a lot of us Singaporeans

Timothy Ho – 492
00:20:48,170 –> 00:20:49,960
have been thinking about
over the past one year,

Timothy Ho – 493
00:20:49,960 –> 00:20:51,990
which is where are we living, and is it

Timothy Ho – 494
00:20:51,990 –> 00:20:53,500
conducive and suitable for us?

Melvin Lim – 495
00:20:53,500 –> 00:20:58,250
– Yeah, and I think this is,
like, a human innate behavior

Melvin Lim – 496
00:20:58,250 –> 00:21:02,090
because ever since the
introduction of circuit breaker,

Melvin Lim – 497
00:21:02,090 –> 00:21:04,430
everybody’s all, like, just zoom in

Melvin Lim – 498
00:21:04,430 –> 00:21:06,010
their focus on a few key things.

Melvin Lim – 499
00:21:06,010 –> 00:21:08,340
Now, we mostly eat at home.

Melvin Lim – 500
00:21:08,340 –> 00:21:09,340
We work at home.

Melvin Lim – 501
00:21:09,340 –> 00:21:11,780
Our kids home-based learn at home,

Melvin Lim – 502
00:21:11,780 –> 00:21:14,230
and then even church is at home,

Melvin Lim – 503
00:21:14,230 –> 00:21:17,610
plus you exercise at home,
so I think the key focus

Melvin Lim – 504
00:21:17,610 –> 00:21:19,370
through the past 18 months,
ever since circuit breaker,

Melvin Lim – 505
00:21:19,370 –> 00:21:23,270
is, like, our friends in
the renovation idea space

Melvin Lim – 506
00:21:23,270 –> 00:21:27,107
are saying that the amount
of so-called, like, demand

Melvin Lim – 507
00:21:28,158 –> 00:21:31,610
for renovation while the
family’s still living

Melvin Lim – 508
00:21:31,610 –> 00:21:33,160
within a home has increased so much.

Melvin Lim – 509
00:21:33,160 –> 00:21:36,110
People are renovating,
upgrading their pantry

Melvin Lim – 510
00:21:36,110 –> 00:21:38,140
and things like that while
they’re still living there,

Melvin Lim – 511
00:21:38,140 –> 00:21:40,380
and then secondly is,
of course, even ourself,

Melvin Lim – 512
00:21:40,380 –> 00:21:41,970
when we look at things on the ground,

Melvin Lim – 513
00:21:41,970 –> 00:21:43,420
a lot of customers that we are serving,

Melvin Lim – 514
00:21:43,420 –> 00:21:46,690
they are switching units
within the same project.

Melvin Lim – 515
00:21:46,690 –> 00:21:48,730
They are getting us to
sell their three-bedroom,

Melvin Lim – 516
00:21:48,730 –> 00:21:49,990
move into a four-bedroom just to have

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 517
00:21:49,990 –> 00:21:51,380
the extra space, yeah.
– The size, right.

Melvin Lim – 518
00:21:51,380 –> 00:21:55,070
– So cars has increased
in pricing as well.

Melvin Lim – 519
00:21:55,070 –> 00:21:57,120
Do you do, do you do articles on cars?

Timothy Ho – 520
00:21:57,120 –> 00:21:58,280
– We do. We do articles on cars.

Melvin Lim – 521
00:21:58,280 –> 00:21:59,800
– Okay, why would you
think, where do you think

Melvin Lim – 522
00:21:59,800 –> 00:22:00,633
this thing is going?

Melvin Lim – 523
00:22:00,633 –> 00:22:02,640
Because seriously, when we look at cars,

Melvin Lim – 524
00:22:02,640 –> 00:22:04,750
like when I started in real estate,

Melvin Lim – 525
00:22:04,750 –> 00:22:06,840
that’s, like, 15 years back.

Melvin Lim – 526
00:22:06,840 –> 00:22:11,080
Then when we talk about, like,
a Continental car, right,

Melvin Lim – 527
00:22:11,080 –> 00:22:13,210
you can get something in
the region of a hundred,

Melvin Lim – 528
00:22:13,210 –> 00:22:15,157
hundred over thousand, 130, 140,

Melvin Lim – 529
00:22:15,157 –> 00:22:18,080
150,000 Continental entry-level.

Melvin Lim – 530
00:22:18,080 –> 00:22:22,590
Now, it’s as if, like, every
entry-level Continental car

Melvin Lim – 531
00:22:22,590 –> 00:22:25,970
is, like, 250 onwards, 300,000 onwards.

Melvin Lim – 532
00:22:25,970 –> 00:22:28,090
So where do you think things are going?

Melvin Lim – 533
00:22:28,090 –> 00:22:32,740
And in our perspective,
actually, we advocate this

Melvin Lim – 534
00:22:32,740 –> 00:22:35,150
a lot to the hot money that is flowing in

Melvin Lim – 535
00:22:35,150 –> 00:22:37,630
because of quantitative easing, yeah,

Melvin Lim – 536
00:22:37,630 –> 00:22:40,903
and this is flowing into tech stocks,

Melvin Lim – 537
00:22:40,903 –> 00:22:43,740
into the stock market, into crypto,

Melvin Lim – 538
00:22:43,740 –> 00:22:45,920
and now, of course, when
people realize gains,

Melvin Lim – 539
00:22:45,920 –> 00:22:49,770
they wanna park their gains
into a physical thing,

Melvin Lim – 540
00:22:49,770 –> 00:22:52,420
right, and people are
parking them into gold,

Melvin Lim – 541
00:22:52,420 –> 00:22:54,270
parking them into real estate.

Melvin Lim – 542
00:22:54,270 –> 00:22:57,500
They are buying cars, and there’s

Melvin Lim – 543
00:22:57,500 –> 00:22:59,550
also a lot of FOMO involved.

Melvin Lim – 544
00:22:59,550 –> 00:23:02,460
So although we look at a
consumer price index inflation,

Melvin Lim – 545
00:23:02,460 –> 00:23:06,350
it’s less than 2%, but in
actual fact for asset inflation,

Melvin Lim – 546
00:23:06,350 –> 00:23:08,890
it has went up so much
over the past 18 months.

Melvin Lim – 547
00:23:08,890 –> 00:23:10,790
It just, maybe back on the topic of car,

Melvin Lim – 548
00:23:10,790 –> 00:23:12,050
where do you think this is going?

Timothy Ho – 549
00:23:12,050 –> 00:23:14,320
– Okay, I’m not an, I’m a car lover,

Timothy Ho – 550
00:23:14,320 –> 00:23:15,813
but I’m not an expert in car, so I’m not

Timothy Ho – 551
00:23:15,813 –> 00:23:18,220
gonna say which car is better one.

Timothy Ho – 552
00:23:18,220 –> 00:23:21,410
I think the issue with, like, what you say

Timothy Ho – 553
00:23:21,410 –> 00:23:23,410
is right, except prices have increased.

Timothy Ho – 554
00:23:23,410 –> 00:23:25,570
People, actually, you
know, people who invest,

Timothy Ho – 555
00:23:25,570 –> 00:23:27,890
they’re actually making
money from their investments,

Timothy Ho – 556
00:23:27,890 –> 00:23:29,430
and some of them, because they can travel,

Timothy Ho – 557
00:23:29,430 –> 00:23:30,763
especially in Singapore, you know,

Timothy Ho – 558
00:23:30,763 –> 00:23:32,640
they are putting their money into things

Timothy Ho – 559
00:23:32,640 –> 00:23:34,310
which they can also enjoy, right.

Timothy Ho – 560
00:23:34,310 –> 00:23:36,470
So cars are obviously one of
the things that, you know,

Timothy Ho – 561
00:23:36,470 –> 00:23:38,450
you can enjoy because
you’re staying at home.

Timothy Ho – 562
00:23:38,450 –> 00:23:41,140
Maybe you can drive
your kids out more often

Timothy Ho – 563
00:23:41,140 –> 00:23:44,450
after your work from home,
you know, and, you know,

Timothy Ho – 564
00:23:44,450 –> 00:23:45,950
people are actually buying these things

Timothy Ho – 565
00:23:45,950 –> 00:23:47,050
because they are stopping to realize

Timothy Ho – 566
00:23:47,050 –> 00:23:49,100
that hey, you know, I’m not traveling.

Timothy Ho – 567
00:23:49,100 –> 00:23:51,660
I got extra cash. I want to enjoy cars.

Timothy Ho – 568
00:23:51,660 –> 00:23:53,460
I can give you an example, right.

Timothy Ho – 569
00:23:53,460 –> 00:23:55,410
One of my cousin, actually,
has shared with me

Timothy Ho – 570
00:23:55,410 –> 00:23:57,430
his experience about yacht.

Timothy Ho – 571
00:23:57,430 –> 00:23:59,280
So he was looking at
some yacht in Singapore,

Timothy Ho – 572
00:23:59,280 –> 00:24:01,690
and this was before COVID,
and he was telling me

Timothy Ho – 573
00:24:01,690 –> 00:24:03,750
that, you know, it has
always been a dream of his

Timothy Ho – 574
00:24:03,750 –> 00:24:06,410
to try and live on a
yacht, which, you know,

Timothy Ho – 575
00:24:06,410 –> 00:24:09,230
it’s not very expensive as swappy boating

Timothy Ho – 576
00:24:09,230 –> 00:24:10,960
because you can actually buy a, I think,

Timothy Ho – 577
00:24:10,960 –> 00:24:12,770
a secondhand yacht for, you know,

Timothy Ho – 578
00:24:12,770 –> 00:24:14,810
a five-figure digit, actually.

Timothy Ho – 6yt579
00:24:14,810 –> 00:24:17,302
So it’s not new, but,
you know, it’s livable.

Timothy Ho – 580
00:24:17,302 –> 00:24:20,680
It’s probably as big as
a three-room HDB flat.

Timothy Ho – 581
00:24:20,680 –> 00:24:22,610
So if you are just living by
yourself, that’s still okay,

Timothy Ho – 582
00:24:22,610 –> 00:24:24,330
and then you, you of
course have your docking.

Melvin Lim – 583
00:24:24,330 –> 00:24:25,163
– The docking fees and all that.

Timothy Ho – 584
00:24:25,163 –> 00:24:29,030
– Well, the docking fee,
it’s not incredibly high.

Timothy Ho – 585
00:24:29,030 –> 00:24:31,070
It’s maybe a thousand,
thousand five a month,

Timothy Ho – 586
00:24:31,070 –> 00:24:33,140
which is still acceptable
because you know,

Timothy Ho – 587
00:24:33,140 –> 00:24:35,040
if you think about it, you know,
if you rent somewhere else,

Timothy Ho – 588
00:24:35,040 –> 00:24:37,500
you probably have to
pay that as well, right,

Timothy Ho – 589
00:24:37,500 –> 00:24:39,980
and he was sharing with
me that yacht prices

Timothy Ho – 590
00:24:39,980 –> 00:24:42,160
in Singapore has increased tremendously

Timothy Ho – 591
00:24:42,160 –> 00:24:45,500
over the past 18 months,
so it’s not just cars

Timothy Ho – 592
00:24:45,500 –> 00:24:46,700
that are getting more expensive,

Timothy Ho – 593
00:24:46,700 –> 00:24:48,097
not just properties that
are getting more expensive,

Timothy Ho – 594
00:24:48,097 –> 00:24:50,270
not just cars, it’s
even things like yacht,

Timothy Ho – 595
00:24:50,270 –> 00:24:52,730
and even now, even if you
wanna, assuming you have

Timothy Ho – 596
00:24:52,730 –> 00:24:53,640
the money, it’s not easy to find

Timothy Ho – 597
00:24:53,640 –> 00:24:55,380
a yacht even because there’s no

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 598
00:24:56,720 –> 00:24:57,586
supply right now.
– No supply.

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 599
00:24:57,586 –> 00:24:58,440
– Okay.
– It’s very difficult.

Melvin Lim – 600
00:24:58,440 –> 00:24:59,370
– People are not letting
go of their yacht.

Timothy Ho – 601
00:24:59,370 –> 00:25:00,680
– People are not letting go.

Timothy Ho – 602
00:25:00,680 –> 00:25:04,110
People are not creating, and
they’re being step up anyway,

Timothy Ho – 603
00:25:04,110 –> 00:25:05,623
right, ’cause yacht is one of the ways

Timothy Ho – 604
00:25:05,623 –> 00:25:07,917
that you can still travel overseas, right?

Timothy Ho – 605
00:25:07,917 –> 00:25:09,740
You know, right now, if
you are a Singapore family,

Timothy Ho – 606
00:25:09,740 –> 00:25:12,290
and you have a bit of money to enjoy,

Melvin Lim – 607
00:25:12,290 –> 00:25:13,540
– Right, it’s interesting.

Timothy Ho – 608
00:25:13,540 –> 00:25:14,910
Right.
– So I think, except prices

Timothy Ho – 609
00:25:14,910 –> 00:25:17,250
are going up, I think
with regards to cars,

Timothy Ho – 610
00:25:17,250 –> 00:25:20,540
I do think that, you know,
the Singapore government

Timothy Ho – 611
00:25:20,540 –> 00:25:23,010
will continue to wanna taper down in terms

Timothy Ho – 612
00:25:23,010 –> 00:25:25,010
of the amount of COE that’s supplied.

Melvin Lim – 613
00:25:25,010 –> 00:25:28,500
– Yeah, I mean the Cat B just
surpassed 70,000 in this.

Timothy Ho – 614
00:25:28,500 –> 00:25:30,730
– And they’re reducing
the COE quotas, right,

Timothy Ho – 615
00:25:30,730 –> 00:25:34,140
because they say that
there’s no growth in COEs,

Timothy Ho – 616
00:25:34,140 –> 00:25:37,140
and I think, you know, you
wanna go to a car-light nation,

Timothy Ho – 617
00:25:37,140 –> 00:25:39,670
I think a lot of the, if you look at a lot

Timothy Ho – 618
00:25:39,670 –> 00:25:42,160
of the CBD launches,
the condo developments,

Timothy Ho – 619
00:25:42,160 –> 00:25:44,760
they don’t even have parking
lots for every unit anymore,

Timothy Ho – 620
00:25:44,760 –> 00:25:47,630
and I think that kind of
makes sense because often,

Timothy Ho – 621
00:25:47,630 –> 00:25:50,590
you don’t use all the
parking lots anyway, right,

Timothy Ho – 622
00:25:50,590 –> 00:25:53,060
so I think in general, you
know, you will see less cars,

Timothy Ho – 623
00:25:53,060 –> 00:25:54,120
but cars will be more expensive

Melvin Lim – 624
00:25:54,120 –> 00:25:55,090
in Singapore.
– Right, right,

Melvin Lim – 625
00:25:55,090 –> 00:25:57,460
and when I was looking
how things are going

Melvin Lim – 626
00:25:57,460 –> 00:26:00,780
for the past 18 months, I
mean not just in Singapore,

Melvin Lim – 627
00:26:00,780 –> 00:26:05,190
but also in globally as well, I think one

Melvin Lim – 628
00:26:05,190 –> 00:26:08,450
very constantly thing is
definitely the wealth gap.

Melvin Lim – 629
00:26:08,450 –> 00:26:11,770
You know, so the wealth
gap is definitely widening

Melvin Lim – 630
00:26:11,770 –> 00:26:13,890
because when asset prices increase,

Melvin Lim – 631
00:26:13,890 –> 00:26:17,030
people who owns asset,
they become richer, right,

Melvin Lim – 632
00:26:17,030 –> 00:26:19,100
and I think the middle class portion

Melvin Lim – 633
00:26:19,100 –> 00:26:21,720
is also being stretched, right, so I mean,

Melvin Lim – 634
00:26:21,720 –> 00:26:23,320
of course, thankfully, we
are in Singapore, right.

Melvin Lim – 635
00:26:23,320 –> 00:26:27,263
We, if you work hard, you,
I mean, you can go for BTO.

Melvin Lim – 636
00:26:27,263 –> 00:26:29,120
You can go for resale.

Melvin Lim – 637
00:26:29,120 –> 00:26:33,690
There is the housing at the middle level

Melvin Lim – 638
00:26:33,690 –> 00:26:36,200
that is available for
everybody, and of course,

Melvin Lim – 639
00:26:36,200 –> 00:26:38,260
you have grants and resale grants

Melvin Lim – 640
00:26:38,260 –> 00:26:40,390
and things like that,
but what do you think,

Melvin Lim – 641
00:26:40,390 –> 00:26:43,690
like, in five to 10 years’ time,

Melvin Lim – 642
00:26:43,690 –> 00:26:47,246
based on your own research, right,

Melvin Lim – 643
00:26:47,246 –> 00:26:51,760
and you just upgraded your home
as well, so congratulations.

Melvin Lim – 644
00:26:51,760 –> 00:26:53,790
Where do you think private property prices

Melvin Lim – 645
00:26:53,790 –> 00:26:56,670
will go, like, in the next
five to 10 years’ time?

Timothy Ho – 646
00:26:56,670 –> 00:26:58,620
– I wouldn’t wanna speculate too much,

Timothy Ho – 647
00:26:58,620 –> 00:27:00,380
but I absolutely agree what you said,

Timothy Ho – 648
00:27:00,380 –> 00:27:02,710
which is, like, that feels
like there’s a wealth gap

Timothy Ho – 649
00:27:02,710 –> 00:27:05,620
between people who own
assets, and these asset prices

Timothy Ho – 650
00:27:05,620 –> 00:27:07,963
are going up, but there’s
people who don’t, right.

Timothy Ho – 651
00:27:07,963 –> 00:27:10,570
I think in Singapore, largely speaking,

Timothy Ho – 652
00:27:10,570 –> 00:27:12,710
we are, most of us are quite fortunate

Timothy Ho – 653
00:27:12,710 –> 00:27:14,640
in the sense that we own our own homes.

Timothy Ho – 654
00:27:14,640 –> 00:27:17,103
I mean, home ownership in Singapore is 90%

Timothy Ho – 655
00:27:17,103 –> 00:27:19,890
or more than 90%, which
is one of the highest

Timothy Ho – 656
00:27:19,890 –> 00:27:22,030
in the world, right, but what I do see

Timothy Ho – 657
00:27:22,030 –> 00:27:24,900
is that fear among, you
know, I have friends

Timothy Ho – 658
00:27:24,900 –> 00:27:26,890
who are single, and I think some of them,

Timothy Ho – 659
00:27:26,890 –> 00:27:28,750
there is that fear that property prices

Melvin Lim – 660
00:27:28,750 –> 00:27:31,790
are actually moving.
– Getting out of reach.

Timothy Ho – 661
00:27:31,790 –> 00:27:34,740
– Ahead too fast compared to
their income, for example,

Timothy Ho – 662
00:27:34,740 –> 00:27:37,760
right, so even when you
talk about a resale flat

Timothy Ho – 663
00:27:37,760 –> 00:27:40,100
or private condo, you know, it’s gonna,

Timothy Ho – 664
00:27:40,100 –> 00:27:42,703
even a two-bedders in a new launch.

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 665
00:27:42,703 –> 00:27:43,536
– 1.2 million.
– Gonna be, like, one,

Timothy Ho – 666
00:27:43,536 –> 00:27:46,500
one mil or more, right, which
is very difficult to afford

Timothy Ho – 667
00:27:46,500 –> 00:27:49,500
if you are single, or you’re
just on single income, right.

Timothy Ho – 668
00:27:49,500 –> 00:27:52,410
Even HDB resale flats are
not cheap also, you know,

Timothy Ho – 669
00:27:52,410 –> 00:27:54,050
even though there are still, you know,

Timothy Ho – 670
00:27:54,050 –> 00:27:55,970
opportunities if you can take,

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 671
00:27:55,970 –> 00:27:57,780
if you can grant.
– Granting on it.

Timothy Ho – 672
00:27:57,780 –> 00:27:58,993
– Or I think maybe, if you don’t mind

Melvin Lim/Timothy Ho – 673
00:27:58,993 –> 00:28:01,373
own the flat.
– Own the flat, yes.

Timothy Ho – 674
00:28:02,291 –> 00:28:05,200
– That has a shorter lease,
you know, there is still

Timothy Ho – 675
00:28:05,200 –> 00:28:06,320
opportunities, but by and large, you know,

Timothy Ho – 676
00:28:06,320 –> 00:28:10,580
they are not cheap either, so
I do feel that’s one concern

Timothy Ho – 677
00:28:10,580 –> 00:28:14,800
that people have right now,
a legitimate concern, I feel,

Timothy Ho – 678
00:28:14,800 –> 00:28:18,146
and I would say that,
you know, in Singapore,

Timothy Ho – 679
00:28:18,146 –> 00:28:21,710
if you were to ask me, I
don’t, I think, you know,

Timothy Ho – 680
00:28:21,710 –> 00:28:23,670
you know, it’s always to me, it’s risky

Timothy Ho – 681
00:28:23,670 –> 00:28:27,100
not to own your own home
because you don’t want

Timothy Ho – 682
00:28:27,100 –> 00:28:31,590
to constantly be perpetually
be in a rental market,

Timothy Ho – 683
00:28:31,590 –> 00:28:33,810
where, you know, you see
asset prices climbing,

Timothy Ho – 684
00:28:33,810 –> 00:28:35,920
and then you have to
pay maybe higher rents

Timothy Ho – 685
00:28:35,920 –> 00:28:38,420
each time you renew,
so I think Singaporeans

Timothy Ho – 686
00:28:38,420 –> 00:28:39,700
wanna own their own home.

Timothy Ho – 687
00:28:39,700 –> 00:28:41,980
Whether or not, like, property would be

Timothy Ho – 688
00:28:41,980 –> 00:28:44,620
the greatest investment
in Singapore, right,

Timothy Ho – 689
00:28:44,620 –> 00:28:46,240
where, you know, you should
just put all your money

Timothy Ho – 690
00:28:46,240 –> 00:28:48,523
into property because
you think that, you know,

Timothy Ho – 691
00:28:48,523 –> 00:28:51,040
it will give you that
five, 10% per annum growth.

Timothy Ho – 692
00:28:51,040 –> 00:28:51,873
I don’t think so.

Timothy Ho – 693
00:28:51,873 –> 00:28:53,690
Personally, I don’t think so.

Timothy Ho – 694
00:28:53,690 –> 00:28:55,530
I think there’s a lot
of opportunities as well

Timothy Ho – 695
00:28:55,530 –> 00:28:57,650
when it comes to investing
outside of property.

Timothy Ho – 696
00:28:57,650 –> 00:29:01,447
You can invest in US
companies, tech stocks, robos,

Timothy Ho – 697
00:29:02,360 –> 00:29:04,470
even places like China, for example,

Timothy Ho – 698
00:29:04,470 –> 00:29:06,310
so I think there’s a lot of
investment opportunities,

Timothy Ho – 699
00:29:06,310 –> 00:29:09,650
some of which will give you
maybe even higher returns.

Timothy Ho – 700
00:29:09,650 –> 00:29:11,600
Of course, higher risk also, maybe,

Timothy Ho – 701
00:29:11,600 –> 00:29:13,360
but I think when it
comes to at least owning

Timothy Ho – 702
00:29:13,360 –> 00:29:16,642
your own property and maybe
even one investment property,

Timothy Ho – 703
00:29:16,642 –> 00:29:18,500
I think that’s something that, you know,

Timothy Ho – 704
00:29:18,500 –> 00:29:21,190
isn’t necessarily a bad idea
if you’re living in Singapore.

Melvin Lim – 705
00:29:21,190 –> 00:29:24,100
– Yeah, because I mean,
Singapore is so land-scarce.

Melvin Lim – 706
00:29:24,100 –> 00:29:26,750
Population is still growing
steadily every year,

Melvin Lim – 707
00:29:26,750 –> 00:29:30,610
and our government, when
they plan something,

Melvin Lim – 708
00:29:30,610 –> 00:29:33,100
you are ready to execute it, so.

Timothy Ho – 709
00:29:33,100 –> 00:29:34,113
– They have a good track record.

Timothy Ho – 710
00:29:34,113 –> 00:29:35,597
Our government has a good track record

Timothy Ho – 711
00:29:35,597 –> 00:29:38,460
of, you know, developing
places that they want

Timothy Ho – 712
00:29:38,460 –> 00:29:40,257
to develop, so Tengah, for example.

Melvin Lim – 713
00:29:40,257 –> 00:29:42,840
– Yes, yes, and we
should have our audience

Melvin Lim – 714
00:29:42,840 –> 00:29:45,830
not to time the market because
the moment you’re timing

Melvin Lim – 715
00:29:45,830 –> 00:29:47,610
your market, especially
for your primary residence

Melvin Lim – 716
00:29:47,610 –> 00:29:50,663
is a very risky move,
yeah, and for the past,

Melvin Lim – 717
00:29:50,663 –> 00:29:53,770
like 15 years, those who
really timed the market,

Melvin Lim – 718
00:29:53,770 –> 00:29:55,480
usually, they are priced out of the market

Melvin Lim – 719
00:29:55,480 –> 00:29:57,070
because although we are
looking at the price index

Melvin Lim – 720
00:29:57,070 –> 00:29:58,940
on a very gradual growth basis

Melvin Lim – 721
00:29:58,940 –> 00:30:01,610
because of the cooling
measures, but on the ground,

Melvin Lim – 722
00:30:01,610 –> 00:30:04,900
the actual fact is that the
quantum prices are increasing.

Melvin Lim – 723
00:30:04,900 –> 00:30:07,530
Just for example, in the past two years,

Melvin Lim – 724
00:30:07,530 –> 00:30:09,130
you can still get a two-bedder new launch

Melvin Lim – 725
00:30:09,130 –> 00:30:11,490
for below $1 million,
but today as we speak,

Melvin Lim – 726
00:30:11,490 –> 00:30:13,980
there’s nothing that is below
$1 million for two bedrooms.

Melvin Lim – 727
00:30:13,980 –> 00:30:16,590
In fact, the only thing
that’s closest to a million,

Melvin Lim – 728
00:30:16,590 –> 00:30:18,930
though, are one being just about 900,000.

Melvin Lim – 729
00:30:18,930 –> 00:30:23,360
So this is actually quite
an interesting phenomenon

Melvin Lim – 730
00:30:23,360 –> 00:30:27,090
because the price bracket is increasing

Melvin Lim – 731
00:30:27,090 –> 00:30:29,800
almost, like, every year, and right now,

Melvin Lim – 732
00:30:29,800 –> 00:30:32,030
what’s happening on the
ground is that the developers

Melvin Lim – 733
00:30:32,030 –> 00:30:34,920
also who create a balance inventory,

Melvin Lim – 734
00:30:34,920 –> 00:30:36,960
we just did, like, a training essay

Melvin Lim – 735
00:30:36,960 –> 00:30:39,090
to our guys on the four different types

Melvin Lim – 736
00:30:39,090 –> 00:30:42,780
of movement across every five years.

Melvin Lim – 737
00:30:42,780 –> 00:30:44,950
It’s like now, all the
balanced new launches

Melvin Lim – 738
00:30:44,950 –> 00:30:48,520
are being cleared off very
quickly off the shelves.

Melvin Lim – 739
00:30:48,520 –> 00:30:51,300
Next phase what might likely
happen is that developers,

Melvin Lim – 740
00:30:51,300 –> 00:30:54,650
once they clear the inventory,
they are heading on to us,

Melvin Lim – 741
00:30:54,650 –> 00:30:56,490
completing their current projects.

Melvin Lim – 742
00:30:56,490 –> 00:30:59,710
They will definitely want to
bid for more land from GLS,

Melvin Lim – 743
00:30:59,710 –> 00:31:01,990
start maybe another unblock cycle,

Melvin Lim – 744
00:31:01,990 –> 00:31:03,670
and then we’ll start another new cycle

Melvin Lim – 745
00:31:03,670 –> 00:31:06,310
of new PSF pricing for new launches,

Melvin Lim – 746
00:31:06,310 –> 00:31:10,680
which I think this
launch is a bit too fast

Melvin Lim – 747
00:31:10,680 –> 00:31:13,700
because everybody thought that, you know,

Melvin Lim – 748
00:31:13,700 –> 00:31:18,140
after COVID, prices will
sort of remain stable,

Melvin Lim – 749
00:31:18,140 –> 00:31:22,090
or it might maybe have a
little bit of more slower

Melvin Lim – 750
00:31:22,090 –> 00:31:25,270
growth rate, but in fact,
the reverse happened,

Melvin Lim – 751
00:31:25,270 –> 00:31:27,940
yeah, so I think it really
took everybody by surprise,

Melvin Lim – 752
00:31:27,940 –> 00:31:30,180
right, so which I think gave rise

Melvin Lim – 753
00:31:30,180 –> 00:31:31,990
to people wanting to
invest because they wanted

Melvin Lim – 754
00:31:31,990 –> 00:31:35,600
to have a hedge against their
currency being set on that.

Melvin Lim – 755
00:31:35,600 –> 00:31:37,640
Do you advocate, do you advocate

Melvin Lim – 756
00:31:38,550 –> 00:31:42,240
just saving purely without investing?

Timothy Ho – 757
00:31:42,240 –> 00:31:47,090
– No, that’s not feasible
in Singapore anymore

Timothy Ho – 758
00:31:47,090 –> 00:31:48,830
’cause of inflation.

Timothy Ho – 759
00:31:48,830 –> 00:31:51,905
You know, your bank interest
rate right now is terribly low,

Timothy Ho – 760
00:31:51,905 –> 00:31:55,340
as all of us know ’cause you
know, even our loan mortgages

Timothy Ho – 761
00:31:55,340 –> 00:31:57,920
have low interest rates, so
just imagine how little the bank

Timothy Ho – 762
00:31:57,920 –> 00:32:00,050
gives you for putting your
money in there, right.

Timothy Ho – 763
00:32:00,050 –> 00:32:02,520
So I think one of the challenge
that people have right now

Timothy Ho – 764
00:32:02,520 –> 00:32:05,960
is that money in the bank doesn’t

Timothy Ho – 765
00:32:05,960 –> 00:32:07,670
really earn you any return, you know,

Timothy Ho – 766
00:32:07,670 –> 00:32:12,040
and you cannot possibly build
wealth just saving, right.

Timothy Ho – 767
00:32:12,040 –> 00:32:14,230
By the same kind, asset prices feels

Timothy Ho – 768
00:32:14,230 –> 00:32:16,210
like they are very expensive, right,

Timothy Ho – 769
00:32:16,210 –> 00:32:21,020
so whether you buy a stock,
property, or even bonds

Timothy Ho – 770
00:32:21,020 –> 00:32:22,610
are giving very low
returns as well, right.

Timothy Ho – 771
00:32:22,610 –> 00:32:26,930
So I think that’s the dilemma
of gold prices, cryptos.

Timothy Ho – 772
00:32:26,930 –> 00:32:28,343
Everything still seems
expensive right now, right?

Timothy Ho – 773
00:32:28,343 –> 00:32:31,660
And that’s also largely
because of excess liquidity

Timothy Ho – 774
00:32:31,660 –> 00:32:34,150
in the market, so I think that that poses

Timothy Ho – 775
00:32:34,150 –> 00:32:36,750
a challenge for a lot of us as investors.

Timothy Ho – 776
00:32:36,750 –> 00:32:38,810
You know, we have to try
to think what we should do,

Timothy Ho – 777
00:32:38,810 –> 00:32:43,130
and my advice would be
to go for assets that,

Timothy Ho – 778
00:32:43,130 –> 00:32:47,730
you know, you wanna go for
assets that are strong.

Timothy Ho – 779
00:32:47,730 –> 00:32:49,617
You wanna go, you’re gonna
invest in strong companies.

Timothy Ho – 780
00:32:49,617 –> 00:32:54,300
You wanna invest in assets
that are shown to be, you know,

Timothy Ho – 781
00:32:54,300 –> 00:32:56,630
are resilient enough such
that, you know, it can hedge.

Timothy Ho – 782
00:32:56,630 –> 00:32:59,830
I think property’s a good
way to actually hedge wealth,

Timothy Ho – 783
00:32:59,830 –> 00:33:03,470
right, because if you think
about it, property prices

Timothy Ho – 784
00:33:03,470 –> 00:33:07,477
typically reflect the economy
that we are in, right,

Timothy Ho – 785
00:33:07,477 –> 00:33:10,400
and as the Singapore economy
continues to remain strong,

Timothy Ho – 786
00:33:10,400 –> 00:33:12,250
you can expect property
prices in Singapore

Timothy Ho – 787
00:33:12,250 –> 00:33:15,230
to remain strong, so that’s
a good way to hedge wealth,

Timothy Ho – 788
00:33:15,230 –> 00:33:17,530
but of course, you can also
grow your wealth in other areas

Timothy Ho – 789
00:33:17,530 –> 00:33:19,730
as well, through your stock investments,

Timothy Ho – 790
00:33:19,730 –> 00:33:23,920
through your robo-advisory
platforms, or even for people

Timothy Ho – 791
00:33:23,920 –> 00:33:27,650
who don’t know what to
do with their CPF, sorry,

Timothy Ho – 792
00:33:27,650 –> 00:33:30,000
their savings, they can
actually consider actually

Timothy Ho – 793
00:33:30,000 –> 00:33:32,400
topping up your CPF account
because the government

Timothy Ho – 794
00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:35,680
that gave you that
risk-free interest rate of,

Timothy Ho – 795
00:33:35,680 –> 00:33:38,234
you know, at least 2.5%
in the ordinary account

Timothy Ho – 796
00:33:38,234 –> 00:33:40,040
and in 4% in a special account.

Timothy Ho – 797
00:33:40,040 –> 00:33:42,170
So one of the things I
think some people are doing,

Timothy Ho – 798
00:33:42,170 –> 00:33:44,680
I think, I can’t remember
the steps, but I think CPF

Timothy Ho – 799
00:33:44,680 –> 00:33:47,337
do have the steps, which is
they noticed that more people

Timothy Ho – 800
00:33:47,337 –> 00:33:48,953
are actually doing the,
I think they call it

Timothy Ho – 801
00:33:48,953 –> 00:33:52,820
a HDB voluntary refund scheme.

Timothy Ho – 802
00:33:52,820 –> 00:33:55,170
I am not sure if I got that pronunciation,

Timothy Ho – 803
00:33:55,170 –> 00:33:57,920
the scheme correctly, but
what it basically means

Timothy Ho – 804
00:33:57,920 –> 00:34:00,070
is that if you have used
your CPF money to actually

Timothy Ho – 805
00:34:00,070 –> 00:34:02,180
pay down for your, say your HDB loan

Timothy Ho – 806
00:34:02,180 –> 00:34:04,770
on your private property,
you actually have that,

Timothy Ho – 807
00:34:04,770 –> 00:34:07,580
you know, amount which you
took out from your CPF.

Timothy Ho – 808
00:34:07,580 –> 00:34:10,577
You can actually pop that amount
back at any time you want.

Timothy Ho – 809
00:34:10,577 –> 00:34:13,030
Right, so in that sense,
that’s not too bad

Timothy Ho – 810
00:34:13,030 –> 00:34:15,074
because by putting it in there,

Timothy Ho – 811
00:34:15,074 –> 00:34:19,530
you got savings get extra 2.5% piled on.

Timothy Ho – 812
00:34:19,530 –> 00:34:21,300
The tradeoff is of
course, you can’t use it

Timothy Ho – 813
00:34:21,300 –> 00:34:23,400
to buy your cars later on, right,

Timothy Ho – 814
00:34:23,400 –> 00:34:25,740
but you can still use it
to pay for your house.

Timothy Ho – 815
00:34:25,740 –> 00:34:27,830
So in some sense, that’s
not too bad if you wanna

Timothy Ho – 816
00:34:27,830 –> 00:34:30,480
earn a bit more interest on
your savings that’s gonna

Timothy Ho – 817
00:34:30,480 –> 00:34:33,000
be idle in your bank, but
by the same time, you know,

Timothy Ho – 818
00:34:33,000 –> 00:34:35,160
knowing that if you need to,
you can still use the money

Timothy Ho – 819
00:34:35,160 –> 00:34:36,990
to pay for your home later on as well.

Melvin Lim – 820
00:34:36,990 –> 00:34:38,960
– Right, right, all
right, so one question.

Melvin Lim – 821
00:34:38,960 –> 00:34:41,110
I think this is probably one
of the most useful question

Melvin Lim – 822
00:34:41,110 –> 00:34:45,670
for our young viewers, so
if you have $1,000 to spare,

Melvin Lim – 823
00:34:45,670 –> 00:34:48,400
how would you use it, or
how would you invest it?

Timothy Ho – 824
00:34:48,400 –> 00:34:51,810
– Good question, so one, a
lot of people think $1,000

Timothy Ho – 825
00:34:51,810 –> 00:34:53,267
is not enough, but it’s not true.

Timothy Ho – 826
00:34:53,267 –> 00:34:55,480
$1,000 is absolutely enough.

Timothy Ho – 827
00:34:55,480 –> 00:34:56,645
What I would do with the money

Timothy Ho – 828
00:34:56,645 –> 00:34:58,700
is that I would try to
invest it on my own.

Timothy Ho – 829
00:34:58,700 –> 00:35:00,350
So the whole idea about
investing on your own

Timothy Ho – 830
00:35:00,350 –> 00:35:02,840
is it’s like, you know,
you wanna learn swimming.

Timothy Ho – 831
00:35:02,840 –> 00:35:04,670
You can’t just watch YouTube
channel on how to swim.

Timothy Ho – 832
00:35:04,670 –> 00:35:07,370
You must go into the swimming
pool to try swim, right?

Timothy Ho – 833
00:35:07,370 –> 00:35:11,010
$1,000 gives you the amount
to go into the swimming pool,

Timothy Ho – 834
00:35:11,010 –> 00:35:14,100
right, so you can try
investing in, I would say,

Timothy Ho – 835
00:35:14,100 –> 00:35:17,420
try investing in US
companies, right, ETFs,

Timothy Ho – 836
00:35:17,420 –> 00:35:20,440
companies you know, tech
companies, for example.

Timothy Ho – 837
00:35:20,440 –> 00:35:22,160
Try investing in Chinese company.

Timothy Ho – 838
00:35:22,160 –> 00:35:24,870
I think that’s also
interesting ’cause you need

Timothy Ho – 839
00:35:24,870 –> 00:35:27,060
to be able to understand
how you can navigate,

Timothy Ho – 840
00:35:27,060 –> 00:35:30,490
you know, purchasing stocks
from overseas, as well as

Timothy Ho – 841
00:35:30,490 –> 00:35:33,590
of course, you know, stock
investing in Singapore as well.

Timothy Ho – 842
00:35:33,590 –> 00:35:35,580
Commission charges right
now are not so high.

Timothy Ho – 843
00:35:35,580 –> 00:35:37,070
Right, in the past, you used to buy,

Timothy Ho – 844
00:35:37,070 –> 00:35:40,250
it’d be, like, 20, $30,
if you wanna buy a stock.

Timothy Ho – 845
00:35:40,250 –> 00:35:42,210
Right, nowadays it like $2, $1.

Timothy Ho – 846
00:35:42,210 –> 00:35:44,040
So you can actually, with $1,000, you can,

Timothy Ho – 847
00:35:44,040 –> 00:35:46,490
I think can actually easily
buy two to three counters.

Timothy Ho – 848
00:35:46,490 –> 00:35:48,550
It’s like we ETF’s accompanied
and that’s what I would do

Timothy Ho – 849
00:35:48,550 –> 00:35:51,140
because it helps
jump-start your financial,

Timothy Ho – 850
00:35:51,140 –> 00:35:52,550
the rest of your journey.

Timothy Ho – 851
00:35:52,550 –> 00:35:54,440
You start to learn how
to invest on your own.

Timothy Ho – 852
00:35:54,440 –> 00:35:56,620
Start to see the chart
moving, see what it means

Timothy Ho – 853
00:35:56,620 –> 00:35:57,850
to lose money, and I think that’s

Timothy Ho – 854
00:35:57,850 –> 00:35:59,900
an education that is worth spending on.

Melvin Lim – 855
00:35:59,900 –> 00:36:02,960
– Right; what do you think
would be a good percentage

Melvin Lim – 856
00:36:02,960 –> 00:36:05,307
for a young person, and
let’s say they cannot afford

Melvin Lim – 857
00:36:05,307 –> 00:36:07,320
down payment for a property yet.

Melvin Lim – 858
00:36:07,320 –> 00:36:09,860
What should be the
allocation of the percentage

Melvin Lim – 859
00:36:09,860 –> 00:36:12,050
of their monthly income towards investing,

Melvin Lim – 860
00:36:12,050 –> 00:36:13,820
to a savings, and into a spending?

Timothy Ho – 861
00:36:13,820 –> 00:36:15,550
– There are rule of thumbs,
right, but what I would do

Timothy Ho – 862
00:36:15,550 –> 00:36:17,970
is maybe I’d share some
of my own experiences,

Timothy Ho – 863
00:36:17,970 –> 00:36:20,900
right, so when I was, and
this was back when I just

Timothy Ho – 864
00:36:20,900 –> 00:36:22,610
starting working, not at Dollars

Timothy Ho – 865
00:36:22,610 –> 00:36:24,000
and Sense, but my first job.

Timothy Ho – 866
00:36:24,000 –> 00:36:27,650
I think my wife and I,
we save about 30 to 40%,

Timothy Ho – 867
00:36:27,650 –> 00:36:30,950
40% maybe, of our take-home
salary each month,

Timothy Ho – 868
00:36:30,950 –> 00:36:31,900
40% of our take-home salary.

Timothy Ho – 869
00:36:31,900 –> 00:36:33,480
Obviously at that point,
then we have BTO flat,

Timothy Ho – 870
00:36:33,480 –> 00:36:36,100
so we knew that we wanted
to save for renovation

Timothy Ho – 871
00:36:36,100 –> 00:36:38,210
as well, but at the same time, you know,

Timothy Ho – 872
00:36:38,210 –> 00:36:40,820
we were very diligent in saving,

Timothy Ho – 873
00:36:40,820 –> 00:36:42,900
and then of course investing
a small part of it.

Timothy Ho – 874
00:36:42,900 –> 00:36:45,010
I invest a small part
of it, but we also had

Timothy Ho – 875
00:36:45,010 –> 00:36:46,960
to save up because we had
renovation and wedding

Timothy Ho – 876
00:36:46,960 –> 00:36:50,070
coming up, so I think, you
know, as you are younger

Timothy Ho – 877
00:36:50,070 –> 00:36:51,960
and you have less family commitment,

Timothy Ho – 878
00:36:51,960 –> 00:36:52,950
you have kids still at home,

Timothy Ho – 879
00:36:52,950 –> 00:36:54,450
maybe, you know, your
parents still don’t need

Timothy Ho – 880
00:36:54,450 –> 00:36:57,410
your financial support, you
know, saving about 40 to 50%

Timothy Ho – 881
00:36:57,410 –> 00:36:59,280
of your take-home salary is very doable,

Timothy Ho – 882
00:36:59,280 –> 00:37:01,980
and I have actually friends
who save much more than that,

Timothy Ho – 883
00:37:01,980 –> 00:37:03,470
so that’s quite impressive.

Timothy Ho – 884
00:37:03,470 –> 00:37:06,520
I think when you tend to
become older and you have kids,

Timothy Ho – 885
00:37:06,520 –> 00:37:09,610
you know, trying to save that
amount becomes a lot harder,

Timothy Ho – 886
00:37:09,610 –> 00:37:12,260
even though your salary
might have grown, right.

Timothy Ho – 887
00:37:12,260 –> 00:37:14,560
So if you just started working right now,

Timothy Ho – 888
00:37:14,560 –> 00:37:15,870
my advice would be, you know,

Timothy Ho – 889
00:37:15,870 –> 00:37:19,620
keep to your university
lifestyle habits, right.

Timothy Ho – 890
00:37:19,620 –> 00:37:22,050
So you know, you might, in
uni, you’ll probably spend

Timothy Ho – 891
00:37:22,050 –> 00:37:26,530
maybe 500 to 700, 800 a month
on food, transport, and stuff.

Timothy Ho – 892
00:37:26,530 –> 00:37:28,480
You can maybe spend a
bit more, but try to keep

Timothy Ho – 893
00:37:28,480 –> 00:37:30,750
to your university lifestyle habits

Timothy Ho – 894
00:37:30,750 –> 00:37:32,920
as far as possible because
lifestyle inflation

Timothy Ho – 895
00:37:32,920 –> 00:37:35,680
is what’s gonna cost you in
the long term, and then take

Timothy Ho – 896
00:37:35,680 –> 00:37:38,420
the remaining amount of,
like, say 50% of your salary.

Timothy Ho – 897
00:37:38,420 –> 00:37:39,770
So if, let’s say you make 3,000.

Timothy Ho – 898
00:37:39,770 –> 00:37:41,500
Your take-home is 2.4, you know.

Timothy Ho – 899
00:37:41,500 –> 00:37:44,340
You can spend 1,002 on whatever you like

Timothy Ho – 900
00:37:44,340 –> 00:37:46,383
in life and then you
save up and invest 1,002.

Timothy Ho – 901
00:37:46,383 –> 00:37:48,870
I think that’s a great start, you know,

Timothy Ho – 902
00:37:48,870 –> 00:37:51,160
and if you don’t have a
house, you can actually,

Timothy Ho – 903
00:37:51,160 –> 00:37:53,900
unlike me, you can actually
invest more aggressively.

Timothy Ho – 904
00:37:53,900 –> 00:37:55,650
Right, you don’t have to save
up because you don’t have,

Timothy Ho – 905
00:37:55,650 –> 00:37:58,090
like, a wedding coming
up in three years’ time,

Timothy Ho – 906
00:37:58,090 –> 00:38:00,110
so you can actually invest
more, and that actually

Timothy Ho – 907
00:38:00,110 –> 00:38:03,750
will give you a greater,
a head start compared

Timothy Ho – 908
00:38:03,750 –> 00:38:05,950
to your peers, who might
be having to save up

Timothy Ho – 909
00:38:05,950 –> 00:38:07,213
for their own home or their own wedding,

Timothy Ho – 910
00:38:07,213 –> 00:38:11,990
and you can invest, you know,
and that early day investment

Timothy Ho – 911
00:38:11,990 –> 00:38:14,166
will compound more in
the long term as well.

Melvin Lim – 912
00:38:14,166 –> 00:38:16,033
– (grunts) Recently,
you mentioned just now

Melvin Lim – 913
00:38:16,033 –> 00:38:19,250
when we were chatting that
you have just upgraded

Melvin Lim – 914
00:38:19,250 –> 00:38:21,576
your property, yeah,
and do you mind sharing

Melvin Lim – 915
00:38:21,576 –> 00:38:25,530
a little bit about the decision to upgrade

Melvin Lim – 916
00:38:25,530 –> 00:38:28,298
from a HDB apartment
to a private apartment?

Melvin Lim – 917
00:38:28,298 –> 00:38:31,230
What is your mindset about, yeah?

Timothy Ho – 918
00:38:31,230 –> 00:38:33,000
– Yeah, sure, I
will share a little bit more.

Timothy Ho – 919
00:38:33,000 –> 00:38:34,890
So like, I think you could say

Timothy Ho – 920
00:38:34,890 –> 00:38:36,629
it’s actually driven by COVID as well.

Timothy Ho – 921
00:38:36,629 –> 00:38:41,380
So my family, my parents
and I, we stay quite close

Timothy Ho – 922
00:38:41,380 –> 00:38:44,120
to each other, so we stay
in the east, Pasir Ris,

Timothy Ho – 923
00:38:44,120 –> 00:38:47,250
in Pasir Ris, so during COVID, actually,

Timothy Ho – 924
00:38:47,250 –> 00:38:49,770
what happened was because of,
you know, circuit breaker,

Timothy Ho – 925
00:38:49,770 –> 00:38:51,460
you know, we can’t be,
I think, for a period

Timothy Ho – 926
00:38:51,460 –> 00:38:53,280
of about three to four
months, we never actually see

Timothy Ho – 927
00:38:53,280 –> 00:38:55,597
our parents physically, right,
and that was a bit hard,

Timothy Ho – 928
00:38:55,597 –> 00:38:58,010
you know, because, like, that time apart,

Timothy Ho – 929
00:38:58,010 –> 00:38:59,730
and it makes me stop to
think, hey, you know,

Timothy Ho – 930
00:38:59,730 –> 00:39:01,250
my friends are getting a bit older.

Timothy Ho – 931
00:39:01,250 –> 00:39:03,440
Maybe, you know, we need
to live a bit closer,

Timothy Ho – 932
00:39:03,440 –> 00:39:05,860
live together, and I have kids as well,

Timothy Ho – 933
00:39:05,860 –> 00:39:08,138
so there’s a lot of things,
a sandwich generation,

Timothy Ho – 934
00:39:08,138 –> 00:39:11,500
what we call it, all right, if
you care about your parents,

Timothy Ho – 935
00:39:11,500 –> 00:39:12,930
but you still have to
care about your kids.

Timothy Ho – 936
00:39:12,930 –> 00:39:14,610
So I think because of
that, you know, we wanted

Timothy Ho – 937
00:39:14,610 –> 00:39:16,900
to stay a lot closer
together, like, almost

Timothy Ho – 938
00:39:16,900 –> 00:39:20,730
in the same house or just
neighbors, so it’s quite difficult

Timothy Ho – 939
00:39:20,730 –> 00:39:24,610
generally to actually buy
properties within the same place

Timothy Ho – 940
00:39:24,610 –> 00:39:27,720
because unless it’s a new launch
where you get the preview,

Timothy Ho – 941
00:39:27,720 –> 00:39:31,270
you know, you are limited by
the options available, right.

Timothy Ho – 942
00:39:31,270 –> 00:39:33,930
So and then, I was looking
around the property market

Timothy Ho – 943
00:39:33,930 –> 00:39:36,330
for maybe six months to a
year easily, and then we

Timothy Ho – 944
00:39:36,330 –> 00:39:39,620
finally saw two units
available at the same block,

Timothy Ho – 945
00:39:39,620 –> 00:39:41,520
you know, and so, and we
make a decision to, like,

Timothy Ho – 946
00:39:41,520 –> 00:39:43,240
go for it because, you
know, that is something

Timothy Ho – 947
00:39:43,240 –> 00:39:45,220
that we know me and my
wife here really wanted it

Timothy Ho – 948
00:39:45,220 –> 00:39:48,420
because we wanted to be
able to live near my parents

Timothy Ho – 949
00:39:48,420 –> 00:39:50,963
but still have our own space,
you know, our own place,

Timothy Ho – 950
00:39:50,963 –> 00:39:54,340
and our own home, so I think
that’s how we ran for it.

Melvin Lim – 951
00:39:54,340 –> 00:39:55,670
– So you bought something
from the resale market,

Melvin Lim – 952
00:39:55,670 –> 00:39:57,530
and then you negotiated concurrently

Melvin Lim – 953
00:39:57,530 –> 00:39:58,540
with two different owners.

Timothy Ho – 954
00:39:58,540 –> 00:40:00,890
– I actually renegotiated concurrent too,

Timothy Ho – 955
00:40:00,890 –> 00:40:02,260
so that was the tricky part.

Timothy Ho – 956
00:40:02,260 –> 00:40:03,470
That was actually the most tricky part

Timothy Ho – 957
00:40:03,470 –> 00:40:06,640
because I told my agent, you
know, “Hey, we got to get both.

Timothy Ho – 958
00:40:06,640 –> 00:40:08,780
I can’t afford a situation
where we get one house,

Timothy Ho – 959
00:40:08,780 –> 00:40:10,330
and then the other one
got sold, you know.”

Melvin Lim – 960
00:40:10,330 –> 00:40:11,490
– All right, and we sold your place

Melvin Lim – 961
00:40:11,490 –> 00:40:12,323
already at a point in time?

962
00:40:12,323 –> 00:40:14,950
– Yeah, so we saw, so that
is actually the tricky,

963
00:40:14,950 –> 00:40:17,210
the most tricky part about
buying and selling a property,

964
00:40:17,210 –> 00:40:19,840
right, because in order
to not pay the ABSD,

965
00:40:19,840 –> 00:40:23,530
you have to make sure that you
actually sell your HDB first,

966
00:40:23,530 –> 00:40:26,340
or at least your HDB
option has been exercised

967
00:40:26,340 –> 00:40:28,910
by your new buyer, by your buyer, right,

968
00:40:28,910 –> 00:40:31,130
but at the same time,
because the current situation

969
00:40:31,130 –> 00:40:33,420
where either I have kids,
I have my parents with me,

970
00:40:33,420 –> 00:40:35,780
I can’t afford to be in
a situation where I sell

971
00:40:35,780 –> 00:40:38,270
my HDB flat, and I haven’t
found the place I want,

972
00:40:38,270 –> 00:40:40,240
or maybe I look at a place I want,

973
00:40:40,240 –> 00:40:41,570
but I realize it’s gone by the time I make

974
00:40:41,570 –> 00:40:43,800
an offer, so that was
actually the hardest part.

975
00:40:43,800 –> 00:40:46,850
We had a few different,
I will say, backup plans,

976
00:40:46,850 –> 00:40:48,670
you know, in case, you
know, we didn’t actually get

977
00:40:48,670 –> 00:40:51,180
the unit, but I think in
the end, we’re very lucky,

978
00:40:51,180 –> 00:40:52,990
you know, and very fortunate.

979
00:40:52,990 –> 00:40:56,230
I think in some sense, the
star aligned quite well,

980
00:40:56,230 –> 00:41:00,470
and it was generally quite
simple, straightforward.

981
00:41:00,470 –> 00:41:02,730
– Right, so apart from the need to have

982
00:41:02,730 –> 00:41:06,003
two properties within
the same development,

983
00:41:06,970 –> 00:41:09,181
was there like a sort of
like a thought process

984
00:41:09,181 –> 00:41:12,250
on swapping to a private residential

985
00:41:12,250 –> 00:41:15,470
because of the potential, because of maybe

986
00:41:15,470 –> 00:41:17,317
the stability over the long term, like?

987
00:41:17,317 –> 00:41:19,480
– [Timothy] You mean
like a lender property.

988
00:41:19,480 –> 00:41:22,280
– Like because I believe you
sort the prior residential

989
00:41:22,280 –> 00:41:25,110
on top, having the needs-based
preferences, was there, like,

990
00:41:25,110 –> 00:41:28,560
an investment thinking behind
it, compared to maybe selling

991
00:41:28,560 –> 00:41:31,610
your HDB apartment and
buying something else, like?

992
00:41:31,610 –> 00:41:34,670
– I think that there is, I mean,
it’s a very debatable topic

993
00:41:34,670 –> 00:41:36,980
between freehold and leasehold, right.

994
00:41:36,980 –> 00:41:37,930
So one of the things that-
– How about, how

995
00:41:37,930 –> 00:41:41,180
about HDB in private, like,
what was your thought process?

996
00:41:41,180 –> 00:41:43,680
– All right, so with HDB
flats, like you know,

997
00:41:43,680 –> 00:41:46,260
I did actually have a
conversation with some

998
00:41:46,260 –> 00:41:48,350
of my neighbors to see if they were,

999
00:41:48,350 –> 00:41:51,730
you know, thinking about
moving out and everything.

1000
00:41:51,730 –> 00:41:54,160
– Was this like a BTO to MOP version?

1001
00:41:54,160 –> 00:41:56,470
– Yes, it was a BTO to MOP, right.

1002
00:41:56,470 –> 00:41:58,150
There was some challenges with it

1003
00:41:58,150 –> 00:42:02,020
simply because my parents
do own properties as well,

1004
00:42:02,020 –> 00:42:04,580
so they would have to, you
know, sell off basically

1005
00:42:04,580 –> 00:42:08,460
all their properties in
order to actually buy a BTO,

1006
00:42:08,460 –> 00:42:10,090
a HDB flat, right.

1007
00:42:10,090 –> 00:42:12,840
So I think that make it quite tricky

1008
00:42:12,840 –> 00:42:15,120
because we love the place
we’re currently staying

1009
00:42:15,120 –> 00:42:17,740
at, but I think having
to, you know, sell off

1010
00:42:17,740 –> 00:42:20,100
all the other assets or
the properties they own

1011
00:42:20,100 –> 00:42:22,590
in order to then just buy one, it felt

1012
00:42:22,590 –> 00:42:24,550
like something that was a bit tricky.

1013
00:42:24,550 –> 00:42:26,670
At the same time, we
were not, there was not,

1014
00:42:26,670 –> 00:42:28,780
no available units also, so it’s not like

1015
00:42:28,780 –> 00:42:33,390
as if we had an option to
buy a flat to stay nearby

1016
00:42:33,390 –> 00:42:34,390
with my parents, right, so there

1017
00:42:34,390 –> 00:42:36,920
were not available units as well.

1018
00:42:36,920 –> 00:42:38,500
Some of my neighbors in the earlier days,

1019
00:42:38,500 –> 00:42:40,290
they sold already, but at a point in time,

1020
00:42:40,290 –> 00:42:42,840
I think it was just when
COVID was coming, you know.

1021
00:42:42,840 –> 00:42:45,073
I wasn’t thinking about that plan yet,

1022
00:42:45,073 –> 00:42:47,483
so those options were not available.

1023
00:42:47,483 –> 00:42:50,010
I think the other thing that really went

1024
00:42:50,010 –> 00:42:52,000
through our minds as well is my dad and I,

1025
00:42:52,000 –> 00:42:54,303
we kind of preferred something
that had a bit of freehold,

1026
00:42:54,303 –> 00:42:57,060
a 999-year lease, and we managed to get

1027
00:42:57,060 –> 00:42:59,320
that actually in the end, so I don’t know

1028
00:42:59,320 –> 00:43:01,260
if that actually really helps in terms

1029
00:43:01,260 –> 00:43:03,840
of capital protection in the long term.

1030
00:43:03,840 –> 00:43:04,930
I feel it does.

1031
00:43:04,930 –> 00:43:06,630
Upside-wise, maybe, you
know, we’re not make

1032
00:43:06,630 –> 00:43:09,030
a lot of money off the
property we purchase.

1033
00:43:09,030 –> 00:43:11,160
Maybe we, the upside’s
limited, but you know,

1034
00:43:11,160 –> 00:43:13,690
there is that capital
protection, which we kind

1035
00:43:13,690 –> 00:43:17,780
of like as well, it being a
999-year-lease home, so I think

1036
00:43:17,780 –> 00:43:20,290
that’s something which was
quite important for us,

1037
00:43:20,290 –> 00:43:22,700
and we were very fortunate
and able to get it.

1038
00:43:22,700 –> 00:43:25,490
I think the other option a
lot of families do consider

1039
00:43:25,490 –> 00:43:29,250
is lender properties for
three generations, or 3G.

1040
00:43:29,250 –> 00:43:31,650
So you know, I spoke to you,
and we saw some units there,

1041
00:43:31,650 –> 00:43:34,260
but I think it’s quite
challenging because, you know,

1042
00:43:34,260 –> 00:43:38,170
of the steps, and you really
need to be able to future-proof

1043
00:43:38,170 –> 00:43:40,570
the home for the future,
right, when because a lot

1044
00:43:40,570 –> 00:43:42,100
of times, the rooms are at the second,

1045
00:43:42,100 –> 00:43:44,020
third floor, and you know, if you-

1046
00:43:44,020 –> 00:43:45,510
– Unless there’s a lift in all that.

1047
00:43:45,510 –> 00:43:47,136
– Lift, which is so expensive,

1048
00:43:47,136 –> 00:43:48,750
and you know you got to
effect all these things

1049
00:43:48,750 –> 00:43:51,240
in writing, so unless you are able to have

1050
00:43:51,240 –> 00:43:53,970
that kind of investment
appetite to actually build some

1051
00:43:53,970 –> 00:43:57,235
of this structure in your home,
assuming it’s even possible,

1052
00:43:57,235 –> 00:43:58,990
you know, but lender property
is also a bit tricky.

1053
00:43:58,990 –> 00:44:01,290
We talk about three generation living.

1054
00:44:01,290 –> 00:44:04,280
So I think dual key, dual
keys and other options

1055
00:44:04,280 –> 00:44:05,990
that we could have considered.

1056
00:44:05,990 –> 00:44:09,680
We did look at some dual
keys, but I think at the end,

1057
00:44:09,680 –> 00:44:13,030
we couldn’t find anything
that was suitable because,

1058
00:44:13,030 –> 00:44:14,970
and that’s why I know the
property market is hot

1059
00:44:14,970 –> 00:44:16,730
because there were always units available,

1060
00:44:16,730 –> 00:44:19,100
but once you come into 2020, 2021,

1061
00:44:19,100 –> 00:44:21,730
you see the amount of
big homes on the market.

1062
00:44:21,730 –> 00:44:24,450
Something that you see about
two, three months ago, and then

1063
00:44:24,450 –> 00:44:26,500
by the time you took a look
at it again, you realize it’s

1064
00:44:26,500 –> 00:44:27,980
already sold, you know.
– Right, so for your

1065
00:44:27,980 –> 00:44:29,660
personal case, more of the time you want.

1066
00:44:29,660 –> 00:44:32,890
You want to switch from
something that is a 99-year kind

1067
00:44:32,890 –> 00:44:35,410
of concept into something that’s freehold.

1068
00:44:35,410 –> 00:44:36,380
– I wouldn’t say that.

1069
00:44:36,380 –> 00:44:38,607
I would say it’s a bonus rather than-

1070
00:44:38,607 –> 00:44:40,330
– But also, it’s really
from a needs basis.

1071
00:44:40,330 –> 00:44:41,224
– From a needs basis.

1072
00:44:41,224 –> 00:44:43,160
– I see, I see.
– I think the needs

1073
00:44:43,160 –> 00:44:45,300
is something important
because at the end of the day,

1074
00:44:45,300 –> 00:44:48,700
you know, every family
construct is different, right,

1075
00:44:48,700 –> 00:44:51,130
so for my family, you know, my parents,

1076
00:44:51,130 –> 00:44:53,470
we have a special needs
sister, so my older sister’s

1077
00:44:53,470 –> 00:44:56,060
a special need girl, so she
stays with my parents as well.

1078
00:44:56,060 –> 00:44:58,620
So there is always that,
there is that possibility

1079
00:44:58,620 –> 00:45:00,821
that we’ll also need to help care for her,

1080
00:45:00,821 –> 00:45:02,890
make sure she is okay
in the future as well,

1081
00:45:02,890 –> 00:45:05,030
so I think having one
thing, to stay together

1082
00:45:05,030 –> 00:45:06,850
was quite something that we really wanted.

1083
00:45:06,850 –> 00:45:09,650
You know, I still remember,
I think it was a year,

1084
00:45:09,650 –> 00:45:13,530
a few months ago, maybe
2020 or early 2021, like,

1085
00:45:13,530 –> 00:45:15,560
there were one or twice, my mom actually

1086
00:45:15,560 –> 00:45:16,980
had to be hospitalized because of no,

1087
00:45:16,980 –> 00:45:19,450
she just wasn’t feeling
well with gastric issues

1088
00:45:19,450 –> 00:45:24,040
or potential appendix problems,
so it was very challenging

1089
00:45:24,040 –> 00:45:26,550
with my dad to pull my
mom to the hospital,

1090
00:45:26,550 –> 00:45:29,010
send my sister to my house,
and all those things.

1091
00:45:29,010 –> 00:45:32,410
So I mean, it’s one of those
things in life where, you know,

1092
00:45:32,410 –> 00:45:34,490
when you reach that age
when your parents are older,

1093
00:45:34,490 –> 00:45:36,620
you know, you start to
think about these things

1094
00:45:36,620 –> 00:45:38,817
from a needs perspective,
but I think it’s, you know,

1095
00:45:38,817 –> 00:45:41,160
one of the things that
we wanted to be sure

1096
00:45:41,160 –> 00:45:44,430
was that we wanted a house
that we liked, so we bought

1097
00:45:44,430 –> 00:45:45,977
a place that’s actually quite
near to the schools that,

1098
00:45:45,977 –> 00:45:49,370
you know, my girls are going
to, so they can actually walk

1099
00:45:49,370 –> 00:45:51,680
to school in the future,
so that helps as well.

1100
00:45:51,680 –> 00:45:54,020
– Right, right, yeah, I can
really see your main criterias

1101
00:45:54,020 –> 00:45:57,280
on selecting your home and
your schools, and then living

1102
00:45:57,280 –> 00:46:00,630
together, which I think it’s
great, and congratulations,

1103
00:46:00,630 –> 00:46:03,000
by the way, on getting
those two homes sold.

1104
00:46:03,000 –> 00:46:04,840
Maybe just wrap up for our audience.

1105
00:46:04,840 –> 00:46:07,447
Share with us a little bit on
the next three to six months.

1106
00:46:07,447 –> 00:46:10,110
What are you plans for those and things?

1107
00:46:10,110 –> 00:46:11,927
What are some of the verticals
and spaces that you guys

1108
00:46:11,927 –> 00:46:15,400
are going into, or maybe
some of the latest hot topics

1109
00:46:15,400 –> 00:46:17,510
that you guys are
researching on right now?

1110
00:46:17,510 –> 00:46:19,850
– Definitely, so I think one
of the things that we found out

1111
00:46:19,850 –> 00:46:22,080
over the last, you know,
18 months was that finance

1112
00:46:22,080 –> 00:46:23,880
is really a topic people
care about, right.

1113
00:46:23,880 –> 00:46:25,710
So in spite of the pandemic,

1114
00:46:25,710 –> 00:46:26,860
you know, you’re going to travel.

1115
00:46:26,860 –> 00:46:28,480
You going to eat so much good food,

1116
00:46:28,480 –> 00:46:30,730
but finance, everybody
wants to care about.

1117
00:46:30,730 –> 00:46:32,780
Finance is a social topic
these days, so you see,

1118
00:46:32,780 –> 00:46:35,180
a lot of sites, they say
even non-finance sites,

1119
00:46:35,180 –> 00:46:37,130
they start talking about
financial topics as well,

1120
00:46:37,130 –> 00:46:39,330
so one of the things we’re
gonna do is we wanna deep dive

1121
00:46:39,330 –> 00:46:42,247
into more topics, so investing
is an area we think that,

1122
00:46:42,247 –> 00:46:44,530
you know, ironically, I’m
saying that even though we have

1123
00:46:44,530 –> 00:46:46,290
an investment column on Dollars and Sense,

1124
00:46:46,290 –> 00:46:47,540
but I think that, you know, investing

1125
00:46:47,540 –> 00:46:49,710
is something we oughta
deep dive more into.

1126
00:46:49,710 –> 00:46:52,410
So we wanna cover stocks,
overseas investing,

1127
00:46:52,410 –> 00:46:55,060
a lot more in-depth with
giving people the kind

1128
00:46:55,060 –> 00:46:56,350
of content and research they need

1129
00:46:56,350 –> 00:46:58,600
in order to make better
investment decision.

1130
00:46:58,600 –> 00:46:59,850
So there’s something we wanna do.

1131
00:46:59,850 –> 00:47:02,230
The other things that you
allude to at the start

1132
00:47:02,230 –> 00:47:04,130
was that, you know,
content isn’t just article

1133
00:47:04,130 –> 00:47:06,830
for my end anymore, right,
so we wanna do video content

1134
00:47:06,830 –> 00:47:09,780
a lot more, love the kind of home reviews

1135
00:47:09,780 –> 00:47:11,290
that you guys do all the time.

1136
00:47:11,290 –> 00:47:12,930
I watch it all the
time, right, and I think

1137
00:47:12,930 –> 00:47:14,810
those are the kinda
content that it makes it

1138
00:47:14,810 –> 00:47:16,840
very accessible, and I think
when it comes to learning

1139
00:47:16,840 –> 00:47:19,350
about finance, we oughta make
video content because we feel

1140
00:47:19,350 –> 00:47:21,220
like video content is gonna
be a lot more accessible

1141
00:47:21,220 –> 00:47:23,480
to people, and I think last
but not least, I think this

1142
00:47:23,480 –> 00:47:26,297
is something that I truly am
also very passionate about.

1143
00:47:26,297 –> 00:47:28,060
Our financial literacy methods

1144
00:47:28,060 –> 00:47:29,680
is very important in Singapore.

1145
00:47:29,680 –> 00:47:31,350
No, we don’t really get
exposed to financial

1146
00:47:31,350 –> 00:47:33,690
literacy methods when we
were in school, right.

1147
00:47:33,690 –> 00:47:35,510
We learned things like
English, math, science.

1148
00:47:35,510 –> 00:47:37,460
We learned a lot of things,
but financial methods,

1149
00:47:37,460 –> 00:47:40,110
CPF methods, compound
interest, these are not topics

1150
00:47:40,110 –> 00:47:42,930
that we are really being
taught about when we are

1151
00:47:42,930 –> 00:47:45,150
in school, and we only learn
about these things when we

1152
00:47:45,150 –> 00:47:48,660
actually go into, when we
at least start as we’re

1153
00:47:48,660 –> 00:47:50,600
working it out, that’s when
we encounter this thing.

1154
00:47:50,600 –> 00:47:51,533
So one of the things that-
– I think it’s

1155
00:47:51,533 –> 00:47:52,820
so important, yeah.
– Dollars and Sense,

1156
00:47:52,820 –> 00:47:54,910
we are hoping to do is
really to do a lot more

1157
00:47:54,910 –> 00:47:57,420
financial literacy work
among younger people,

1158
00:47:57,420 –> 00:47:59,420
among students, among kids.

1159
00:47:59,420 –> 00:48:02,310
You know, also thinking about
it from my girls’ generation.

1160
00:48:02,310 –> 00:48:03,980
When they grow up, you
know, I want them to be able

1161
00:48:03,980 –> 00:48:06,130
to understand these simple
things and not, you know,

1162
00:48:06,130 –> 00:48:09,180
constantly be unsure or worried
about financial methods,

1163
00:48:09,180 –> 00:48:10,910
so I think financial literacy is something

1164
00:48:10,910 –> 00:48:13,190
we’re gonna focus on for
our children going forward.

1165
00:48:13,190 –> 00:48:16,500
– Last question: share with
us one to two books that you

1166
00:48:16,500 –> 00:48:19,860
recommend to young adults to
read on financial literacy.

1167
00:48:19,860 –> 00:48:21,510
– Okay, I would share one of the books

1168
00:48:21,510 –> 00:48:23,830
that I read when I was
in, I think I was in uni.

1169
00:48:23,830 –> 00:48:26,190
I think it’s called “The
Undercover Economist”

1170
00:48:26,190 –> 00:48:27,770
by Tim Harford, if I’m not wrong.

1171
00:48:27,770 –> 00:48:30,140
It’s one of the few books that,
you know, I really enjoyed.

1172
00:48:30,140 –> 00:48:32,340
It’s not a very popular
book, but I really enjoyed it

1173
00:48:32,340 –> 00:48:34,970
because of how the author actually wrote

1174
00:48:34,970 –> 00:48:38,590
about how economic decisions
around us that happens

1175
00:48:38,590 –> 00:48:41,224
affect us on a daily
basis all the time, right,

1176
00:48:41,224 –> 00:48:43,560
and so there’s a lot of very
interesting insights that he

1177
00:48:43,560 –> 00:48:45,800
shared, and I would totally
recommend you guys to read it.

1178
00:48:45,800 –> 00:48:47,150
The other book I really like to read,

1179
00:48:47,150 –> 00:48:49,368
ironically, is called “Dollars and Sense.”

1180
00:48:49,368 –> 00:48:50,620
(Melvin laughing)
I just can’t remember

1181
00:48:50,620 –> 00:48:52,623
the author name, but
you know, it’s one of,

1182
00:48:52,623 –> 00:48:54,750
it’s a very interesting book
as well ’cause, you know,

1183
00:48:54,750 –> 00:48:56,650
he explains how people make rational

1184
00:48:56,650 –> 00:48:58,510
and non-rational decisions all the time

1185
00:48:58,510 –> 00:49:00,130
when it comes to the financial methods,

1186
00:49:00,130 –> 00:49:01,740
so that’s a two book I would recommend.

1187
00:49:01,740 –> 00:49:02,910
– Awesome, great. Thanks.

1188
00:49:02,910 –> 00:49:05,380
Thanks for your time, Timothy,
and it’s been great chatting

1189
00:49:05,380 –> 00:49:08,630
with you, and I think we
talk about what real topics

1190
00:49:08,630 –> 00:49:11,350
and also about sharing your
personal sort of journey

1191
00:49:11,350 –> 00:49:14,391
in your property, portfolio
space, and planning

1192
00:49:14,391 –> 00:49:17,560
for your future as well,
so this is Timothy Ho,

1193
00:49:17,560 –> 00:49:19,780
Managing Editor of Dollars and Sense

1194
00:49:19,780 –> 00:49:23,610
as well as Co-founder, and
do check out his editorial.

1195
00:49:23,610 –> 00:49:26,300
The links are below, and of
course, I think what we can do

1196
00:49:26,300 –> 00:49:27,240
is that Timothy, you can send us some

1197
00:49:27,240 –> 00:49:29,600
of the very hot and popular topics.

1198
00:49:29,600 –> 00:49:31,690
We can just attach down
the description below

1199
00:49:31,690 –> 00:49:33,173
for our audience to
read a little bit more.

1200
00:49:33,173 –> 00:49:34,450
Thanks for your time.

1201
00:49:34,450 –> 00:49:35,540
– Thanks, Melvin.

1202
00:49:35,540 –> 00:49:36,373
Thanks so much.
– Great, great.

1203
00:49:36,373 –> 00:49:37,493
All right, see you guys!