Where do invest for 30 K saving
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Dear Forumers
Dun laugh at me at this ripe old age, my life saving is a mere 30 K.... u see i had had some disatrous investment in shares a few years ago which wiped 30 K off my saving.
Ok.. instead of letting the money rot in saving accoount ... can i have anyone frank and unbiased opinon on wat sort of investment can I park my money in.
So at least I can have some higher return.. anyone heard of indices trading.. i was offered this option to invest ... by one of my classmate... he said he is acheiving a 15 % rate of return per quarter . .too good to be true rite??? -
Buy Starhub shares. Sell them at $2 when they declare 8 cents a share dividend at the end of the year
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Hi Seancannot,
If your profile is right, then you're in your early 30's and not that old. I know many older people without even S$30K of savings.
Depending on your lifestyle, S$30K in modern Singapore is not very much money. (For my lifestyle, its not much because if I should need to change my car, the downpayment itself would take up more than half of the S$30K).
If I were you, I'd just keep the money in the bank. Perhaps place a portion of it in savings (for liquidity) and the remainder in some short-term fixed deposit (for better returns). I say short-term because I suspect that interest rates might go up in the next 1-2 years, so you may wanna pull it out and re-invest in the near future (unless, of course, you can find a long-term fixed deposit with flexible rates).
"Investing" in any kind of trading/business is only for those with EXTRA cash to spare (and to lose). I wouldn't consider your life savings EXTRA cash. Such trading type "investments" are not "investments" at all - they're in reality a gamble, a two-edge sword which can cut both ways (too risky in your case). -
I think u should set aside some for a rainy day but also try to get a better return on your investment lah.
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hi,
i agree with wat gentle rock said
you shouldn play with stocks n shares using savings..
if i were you, i'd hav a part of the money in endownment plans, cos basically, they offer higher interest rates than the ordinary savings acc.
or take out time deposits.
since u have 30k, u might wanna put say 20k in time deposits, of longer deposit periods. the remainin 10k, maybe set it as emergency cash? or have 3 k in time deposits as well, but of shorter deposit periods..
If you tink u'd wanna go for higher risk, there's time deposits with foreign currency.. but any changes in the exchange rate might mean a decrease in value at maturity.
*note: I didn really do any research on this topic, but said all the above based on what i think. and this is nowhere near professional. Just what I will do if i have that sort of money. and if it matters, i did a bit of finance in my poly days.* -
Thanks All for your advice
Basically i m averse to risk also. Everyone i know since to have lost money in shares... one of my fren who is regular now holding the rank of Major lost almost 100 K ... he joked his car is a better investment as never depreciate so much... -
automobiles are the worst kind of investment imo.Originally posted by seancannot:Thanks All for your advice
Basically i m averse to risk also. Everyone i know since to have lost money in shares... one of my fren who is regular now holding the rank of Major lost almost 100 K ... he joked his car is a better investment as never depreciate so much...
they depreciate very quickly.. once you bought it, its not worth that much anymore at resale.
shares.. if i were to trade shares, i'd do research n when i do buy it eventually, hold on to it lor..
if u buy low n sell high, that would be speculating, which is the equivalent to gambling.
but then again, i wouldn touch shares n etc until i have like maybe 300k of disposable cash? hmm.. -
Check out standard chartered new deposit offer today. They are giving 1.8% interest rate.
Also, if you want almost secure investment option, try buying Med-long term government bonds which is giving 3.21% right now @ www.fundsupermart.com. Note that early selling before bond maturity may result in a loss (as usual).
And if you plan to retire somewhere else or perhaps save for children education overseas (if you have any), consider putting them in a foreign currency deposit which can give you up to 5%++ interest (E.g. AUD).
And if you just want to take the easy option out, repay whatever loan you have (E.g. housing loan which is ~3% for bank loans and 2.6% for HDB loan, car loan which has effective 4-9% interest etc.. etc..).
Anything higher would probably be unsecure and involve more risk than an average person would be willing to take. -
Hi seancannotOriginally posted by seancannot:Dear Forumers
Dun laugh at me at this ripe old age, my life saving is a mere 30 K.... u see i had had some disatrous investment in shares a few years ago which wiped 30 K off my saving.
Ok.. instead of letting the money rot in saving accoount ... can i have anyone frank and unbiased opinon on wat sort of investment can I park my money in.
So at least I can have some higher return.. anyone heard of indices trading.. i was offered this option to invest ... by one of my classmate... he said he is acheiving a 15 % rate of return per quarter . .too good to be true rite???
This 30k...is it $$ that you can afford to lose? In event of emergency would you need to liquidate this 30k or part of this investment?
If yes to 2nd question, I suggest you put aside at least 1 year of your living expenses as your emergency funds. you can split it into 4 revolving 1-year FDs each 3 months apart. This will ensure that anytime you have loss of income you know that within 3 months you would access to some cash. This is applicable only to loss of income. for castrophic events, please ensure that you are adequately covered by insurance
If yes to the 1st question. I assume that you have an emergency fund set up, adequately insurance coverage, and sufficient savings beside the emergency fund and 30k.
next you have to consider your time horizion and risk profile, do u need the money in 5,10,15,20,25,30,35 years? can u afford to see your stocks plummet 50% one moment and jump 200% one moment? theres lots more to consider but these are the 2 more important ones -
Originally posted by Peppermint:
You seem to be conversant in this field , would appreciate more input from you. I have fren who lost their monies in insurance investment plan, unit trust what are your takes on them[/b]
Hi seancannot
This 30k...is it $$ that you can afford to lose? In event of emergency would you need to liquidate this 30k or part of this investment?
[b]30 K is all my saving
If yes to 2nd question, I suggest you put aside at least 1 year of your living expenses as your emergency funds. you can split it into 4 revolving 1-year FDs each 3 months apart. This will ensure that anytime you have loss of income you know that within 3 months you would access to some cash. This is applicable only to loss of income. for castrophic events, please ensure that you are adequately covered by insurance
i have life insurance 50 K coverage
If yes to the 1st question. I assume that you have an emergency fund set up, adequately insurance coverage, and sufficient savings beside the emergency fund and 30k.
no other $$$ beside 30 K
next you have to consider your time horizion and risk profile, do u need the money in 5,10,15,20,25,30,35 years? can u afford to see your stocks plummet 50% one moment and jump 200% one moment? theres lots more to consider but these are the 2 more important ones [/b] -
You seem to be conversant in this field , would appreciate more input from you.
Not really, there is so much more for me to learn. Whatever information that I gather is based on my own situation and relevant to me ONLY. So it may not be relevant to you. Please seek professional advice for your own unique situation
I have fren who lost their monies in insurance investment plan, unit trust what are your takes on them
I am biased towards index funds and equities. I personally dun like unit trusts / managed funds. my philosophy is to seek to match the returns of benchmarks not outperform which is what most UT/MF do. However even if they do outperform you may not realise the gain due the misc expenses.
30 K is all my saving / no other $$$ beside 30 K
Then it may be better to first adopt some of my suggestions in my earlier post.
i have life insurance 50 K coverage
We would just focus on life insurance. Purpose of Life insurance is to transfer risk (usually loss of income from your death) from your dependants (aged parents, spouse, children) to the insurer. So if you have no dependants, u dun really need insurance.
Wat is a adequate sum? It depends on your income and your age. if you earn 30k a year and can still work for 20years u may need 600k insurance coverage. As this would ensure that if u die now (touch woord) your dependants can still afford their current lifestyle for 20 years. theoritically speaking...
but as you grow older...you may wish to reduce your coverage provided you have catered for savings/investments. a good way to do this is using a 'layered' term insurance
say at age 30
you buy 1 5yr, 10yr, 15yr, 20yr, 25yr, 30yr term policy of 100k each. then just dun renew any of the policies.
doing this at age
30 u are covered for 600k
35 at 500k
40 at 400k
45 at 300k
50 at 200k
55 at 100k
60 no more coverage
at 60 if you have proper financal planning, you should do fine living on your returns from your investment portfoilo ;p for your dependants, if children they should be able to take care of themselves soon.
once again...please just use this information for information only -
I enjoyed reading the advice given here. Certainly food for thought. Peppermint, your advice was really interesting to read. Thanks for sharing!
Peppermint, just wanna add on to something you said re. insurance. Whilst Life Insurance might not be terribly necessary if one does not have dependants right now, I sure hope that one is covered with some form of insurance that will cover hospitalisation and disability. It's never too late to start taking out those insurance now because *knocks on wood* should one ever need them, one would be mighty thankful that they had planned for those!
I've seen too many young people stroke out or get involved in nasty accidents and mishaps or suddenly get some form of ailment. If these folks survive, the hospital bills are usually pretty grandiose!
So, hospitalisation + disability cover is essential, I would say. I'm sure none of the young patients I've seen ever anticipated that they'd ever need that. -
heard ntuc income recently gt one new policy...
put 10k in for 2 years..interest is 1.9%. can try it if u dun need to use the money. -
m tinkin of gettin some form of policy for tpd, and hospitalisationOriginally posted by Rhonda:I enjoyed reading the advice given here. Certainly food for thought. Peppermint, your advice was really interesting to read. Thanks for sharing!
Peppermint, just wanna add on to something you said re. insurance. Whilst Life Insurance might not be terribly necessary if one does not have dependants right now, I sure hope that one is covered with some form of insurance that will cover hospitalisation and disability. It's never too late to start taking out those insurance now because *knocks on wood* should one ever need them, one would be mighty thankful that they had planned for those!
I've seen too many young people stroke out or get involved in nasty accidents and mishaps or suddenly get some form of ailment. If these folks survive, the hospital bills are usually pretty grandiose!
So, hospitalisation + disability cover is essential, I would say. I'm sure none of the young patients I've seen ever anticipated that they'd ever need that. -
Originally posted by Peppermint:
This is a lot of damages to the wallet for someone bring home slightly over 2 K a month... basically after my expenses i have less than $300 saving...
[b]You seem to be conversant in this field , would appreciate more input from you.
doing this at age
30 u are covered for 600k
35 at 500k
40 at 400k
45 at 300k
50 at 200k
55 at 100k
60 no more coverage
once again...please just use this information for information only
[/b]
Some bank are selling this product of mixed balanced fund with gurantee capital protection ...anyone has any encounter and can offer their views -
grrr i wanted to reply a long post to you but my browser screwed up so u will have to have the short version
relook at your expenses....your ratio for expenses/income is too high...its 85%.
see where u can trim your expenses. a good way is to start tracking where your money goes to...would be helpful if you share more details ;p
the insurance exmaple which i gave u costs me...:-
125.94 - 1- 5 years
111.73 - 5 -10 years
96.54 - 10 - 15 years
79.52 - 15 - 20 years
58.75 - 20 - 25 years
32.60 - 25 - 30 years
high chance u are holding a ilp. for 50k it should cost u abt $80 per month. for an addtional $40-$50 u can get $550k more covergae...why not?
have never liked any products from banks..so cnt answer u objectively...read the fine print once twice and thrice and decide if u want it -
[quote]Originally posted by Peppermint:
relook at your expenses....your ratio for expenses/income is too high...its 85%.
[b]Guess no choice contribute $1000 everymonth to parent
the insurance exmaple which i gave u costs me...:-
125.94 - 1- 5 years
111.73 - 5 -10 years
96.54 - 10 - 15 years
79.52 - 15 - 20 years
58.75 - 20 - 25 years
32.60 - 25 - 30 years[quote]
These figure you quoted are term policy rite with no return at all.. -
1. Dont buy insurance related investments. These products are strcutured in a way that you are paying through your nose. Your agent wont tell you.
2. Dont go for banks because they control your exposure to a wider variety of investment products that is available.
3. A no-brainer is to buy into Index funds. Very low fees.
4. If you can withstand a few years, there are so many products out there. Contact a private financial planning firm for access to global products. -
Example:
Investment Objective and Policy
The fund seeks to generate stable and predictable interest payments through investing the fund's assets in baskets of Senior Life Settlement insurance policies issued by investment grade insurance companies located in United States and in investment grade reinsurance policies.
About Senior Life Settlement
Senior Life Settlement are tradeable life insurance policies. They are generally purchased by the insured as a safety net for their dependents. Over time, such safety nets are no longer necessary, and the insured may unlock the hiddenvalue of their insurance policies by selling them. The insured has to be over 65 years old to have their policies considered "senior" life settlement.
charges),
Year 1 12%
Year 2 6%
Year 3 6%
Year 4 6%
Fund Information
Investment Manager : American Pegasus Investment Management Inc
Independent Account : Harb, Levy & Weiland LLP
Independent Representative : Yulish & Associates
Custodian : ABN AMRO Bank
Legal Counsel : The Law Office of Charles E. Hall Jr
Fund Currency : USD
Fund Type : Closed-end
Minimum Investment : USD25,000
Interest Payment : Quarterly:31Mar, 30Jun, 30Sep, 31Dec
Semi-annually:30Jun, 31Dec
Annually: 31Dec
Initial Sales Charge : 0%
Early Redemption : Quarterly with 90 days notice
Early Redemption Price : subject to market value of the underlying asset, may not be 100% principal protected
Redemption Charge : < 1 year : 14%
1-2 years : 12%
2-3 years : 10%
3-4 years : 8%,
4 years onward : 0% -
not much, I try my luck at foreign currency time depositOriginally posted by browniebaobao:heard ntuc income recently gt one new policy...
put 10k in for 2 years..interest is 1.9%. can try it if u dun need to use the money. -
why so complicated?
buy sembcorp and semb marine shares!!! -
Hi Xprobe
can list some index fund ... wat are the sort of returns and risks.. my fren is into indices trading .. are they similar ... this is the 2nd time i heard of indices .... heard of another who is full time into this trading
and wat about global product nvr heard of it...
See i dun want to walk into a bank and talk to those 'financial planner' they will advocate how good is their product low risk high gain too good to be true.. -
index funds bascially buy into fix allocation of stocks represented by the market, market grow, fund value grow, very different from index trading - dont touch that, you will be killed
anyway, i am no expert because i have a busy schedule and cannot track share prices but is not satisfied with the low returns of conventional products such as time deposits
personally i use a certified financial advisor, his services are free, his opinions are impartial because he does not get incentives nor sales pressure. moreover, he opened up a whole new world of offshore opportunities that i never knew existed.
pm me your email address and i just drop him a note to just talk to you first -
Originally posted by seancannot:
hi
[quote]Originally posted by Peppermint:
[b]relook at your expenses....your ratio for expenses/income is too high...its 85%.
[b]Guess no choice contribute $1000 everymonth to parent
the insurance exmaple which i gave u costs me...:-
125.94 - 1- 5 years
111.73 - 5 -10 years
96.54 - 10 - 15 years
79.52 - 15 - 20 years
58.75 - 20 - 25 years
32.60 - 25 - 30 years[quote]
These figure you quoted are term policy rite with no return at all..
[/b]
$1000 is quite a lot and admirable. i can understand and empathise with you. then u just have to rework at your 700 expenses.
insurance & investment are totally different and imo should not mix
u must get these 2 concepts clear 1st
and if you are talking abt returns..yes your insurance chart may show u 8% PROJECTED returns. i can also show u a chart with 200% PROJECTED returns. i always urge buy term invest the difference.
index funds are ok btw much much better then those managed funds. but u should not buy index funds for the sake of buying index funds. this is where assest allocation /portfoilo diversifiication, rebalcning, risk profile, time horizion concepts come in...
but my personal opinion is that u should resolve your high expenses, have your emergency fund set up, get your insurance needs sorted out b4 doing any investing
something for u to read up on, its a free pdf book on index funds (38mbs)
http://www.indexfunds.com/12steps/ -
On the index fund... care to share how much you have invested ... and the profit you have reap