But recent features have become increasingly mundane, even to the point of being plain senseless. Are the journalists running out of people to interview? Take this weekend's (18 Nov 2012) feature for example.
Invest
Me and my money; Badminton coach hopes to retire by age 45
928 words
18 November 2012
Straits Times
STIMES
English
(c) 2012 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
His financial planning includes several insurance policies, a unit trust and shares
Being a badminton coach is not a "real job", Mr Richmond Hor has been told many a time.
"It is a freelance job, so there are times when you have to look for new work when a school stops employing you as its coach," said the 32-year-old.
Mr Hor has a diploma in mechanical engineering, and worked as a video operator at ESPN Star Sports, where he would dub commercials and repair playlists.
But he worked the graveyard shift, which took a toll on him.
The badminton enthusiast, who has been playing the sport since he was an eight-year-old at Monfort Junior School, decided to focus on his passion and coach full-time instead.
He gave up his ESPN job which paid about $3,000 a month, and now coaches at about eight schools, including Fairfield Methodist School (Secondary), Xinmin Secondary and Singapore Chinese Girls' School.
The flexible job schedule also allows Mr Hor, a divorcee, to spend more time with his six-year-old son, Roni.
"Usually I get my breaks when the kids have their exams. I get about two months off a year," he said.
He also runs a side business, HCH Sports and Trading, importing and exporting sports equipment.
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I am a saver. About 50 per cent of my monthly income is saved, and the rest goes towards servicing my car loan, my household utility bills and my investments.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit card every month?
I have 10 credit cards so that I can enjoy the various promotions.
I pay off my bills every month, and I charge about $1,000 a month, mainly dining and entertainment expenses.
Each time I go to the ATM, I withdraw about $200.
Q: What financial planning have you done?
I have paid about $12,000 in insurance premiums.
I have three policies and am covered for $400,000.
For my son, I have set aside some money in a fixed deposit account. Right now, it has about $20,000.
My portfolio also has about $40,000 in a unit trust and $10,000 in shares.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I have two brothers and three sisters.
My parents ran their own business, so while we had a relatively comfortable childhood, my parents were very careful with their money.
As a result, I am also careful with my money.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
Some of my close friends, who are also badminton coaches, were making money on the side through their investments.
The interest rates in the banks are so low now, so any investment is better.
My first investment was a unit trust. I put in more than $30,000. I went to a bank and asked the bank officer for some tips and this was the recommendation.
As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
But I am also not much of a risk taker, so at least with the unit trust, I won't lose too much, even though I don't earn as much also.
Q: What property do you own?
I bought a four-room Housing Board flat in Sengkang in March 2007. It is about 1,000 sq ft.
It cost me about $232,000 and I just finished paying for it. The flat is worth $450,000 now.
I rent two rooms out to earn some passive income.
I am saving up to buy a condominium unit in the River Valley area.
But I don't think I will sell my flat as there is some sentimental value; after all, it was my first asset.
So no matter how tough times are, I plan to keep it.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
I guess it would have to be my car, a second-hand Lexus 250, which I bought for $97,000 last month.
I'm not too sure why I bought it, maybe it is because many of my friends changed their cars so I decided to change mine too.
But so far, no regrets.
I also have three Rolex watches, which I bought when I was 21, 28 and 30 years old.
The first watch was a Rolex Boy that cost about $7,000. I also have a Rolex Oyster and a Daytona which cost $11,000 and $16,000 respectively.
These watches mark the years of my personal growth and also in my career. I hope to be able to buy a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, which will be about $36,000, next year.
Someone once told me that it is better to buy Rolex watches, because you can pawn them when you run out of money.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I hope to be retired by 45, which means that I will be able to live comfortably without working. That would require probably about $4,000 a month.
The plan is to give my flat to my son, so he can rent it out.
Q: I drive...
A black Lexus 250.
Q: Home is...
My flat in Sengkang.
I've highlighted the more questionable sections in bold.
While it is admirable that he has bravely left his job to seek greener pastures, the picture he has painted is not all rosy. He says that he coaches at eight schools, but he has neglected to mention that he has to tender for the jobs again once his contract expires, and will then be subject to the competition that younger/more hungry coaches put up through lower coaching fees. Granted, he has a flexible job schedule, but it also means that he gets no income if he falls sicks. He gets no annual leave, no employer contribution to CPF and no medical benefits. For his sake, I hope he stays healthy.
It is true that interest rates are low now, and your money will be eroded by inflation (which stands at around 4-5% yearly) if just left in the savings account. But contrary to his statement, ANY investment IS NOT BETTER. Just ask the people who invested in Sunshine Empire's ponzi scheme or the recent Genneva gold trading fiasco. If you blindly chase yields without consideration for risk, you could lose your whole capital. Unit trusts may be considered a superior option to these dubious schemes, but they are not without their share of disadvantages: possible poor management, vested interests of the fund managers, front-loading/transaction/management fees to wipe out your returns, etc. Many papers have shown that many unit trusts do not deliver the promised superior returns as compared to simply investing in the bread-and-butter Straits Times Index.
He rents out two rooms to earn some passive income. Well, win some, lose some. What he wins in monetary benefits he loses in privacy. Is it worth it? Furthermore, has he considered the fact that with increased traffic comes a faster rate of deterioration in his furnishes/fittings? This pushes down the resale value of his flat in future. Also, that passive income stops becoming passive should the tenants start defaulting on their payments. Can he afford to take time away from work to manage such issues? I am not saying that his efforts to boost his income is not admirable. I am just painfully aware of the issues at hand and ponders if he has considered the same.
He is saving up to buy a condominium in River Valley. Through a cursory examination of the data on URA Realis, the median per square foot prices of properties in the prime district 9 area of Singapore (where River Valley is located) comes in at around S$1950psf. If he wants to buy a property of comparable size to his Sengkang flat, he will have to fork out some S$1.95m.
Assuming an 80% Loan-to-Value ratio, prevailing interest rates of 1.5% and a 30 year loan tenure, this means he will have to fork out some S$5.2k monthly in mortgage payments. Since he will not have any employer CPF contributions, he has to top up the entire amount in cash. Imagine, a sizeable proportion of your monthly income all drained into mortgage payments. This is not withstanding the fact that he is single income (a divorcee), has to pay for monthly utilities, insurance premiums, car mortgage ($97k Lexus, ouch!) and related fees (car insurance, petrol, road tax, parking, ERP), child's education (his child is only in primary school), etc. If he falls ill, he will have no income. And should interest rates rise to 4-5%, which was the typical from the 2003-2005 period, then his monthly mortgage payments will balloon to $S7.2k. Sounds like a case of too much unpredictability and too many variables trying to walk across a tightrope? Conservatively, mortgage payments should only take 30% of your gross income. Going by that measure, when push comes to shove, he had better be earning S$24k a month.
When you take a mortgage from the bank, you pledge your property as collateral. Now, in a climate whereby property prices are rising and interest rates are expected to remain low, buying property after property seems like an almost idiot-proof way to make money. Your skill (or luck) has navigated you through the dangerous game of property musical chairs. You manage to sell to the greater fool. You sit on a huge pile of paper gains and use that to get even more loans and properties. However, should property prices dip (or tumble like they did in 1997 and/or 2009) below 80% of your loan quantum, banks may decide to do a margin call. If you cannot cough up the cash, then foreclosure is inevitable. Investors who are highly levered may find themselves in such a scenario. Being evicted from your home and having the baliff come to re-possess and auction off all your furniture is quite a sad affair.
When you take a mortgage from the bank, you pledge your property as collateral. Now, in a climate whereby property prices are rising and interest rates are expected to remain low, buying property after property seems like an almost idiot-proof way to make money. Your skill (or luck) has navigated you through the dangerous game of property musical chairs. You manage to sell to the greater fool. You sit on a huge pile of paper gains and use that to get even more loans and properties. However, should property prices dip (or tumble like they did in 1997 and/or 2009) below 80% of your loan quantum, banks may decide to do a margin call. If you cannot cough up the cash, then foreclosure is inevitable. Investors who are highly levered may find themselves in such a scenario. Being evicted from your home and having the baliff come to re-possess and auction off all your furniture is quite a sad affair.
Following on this sober note, I've come to the section that is mind-boggling. The inanity of it takes the cake for me. "Bought second-hand Lexus 250, which I bought for S$97k last month. I'm not too sure why I bought it, maybe it is because many of my friends changed their cars so I decided to change mine too". Like really? The Sunday Times wants to publish a story of wanton materialistic pursuits and a feather-brained example of keeping up with the Jones? Sheesh.
In all honesty, he looks like the affable kind of guy. The type that is easy-going, whom I would probably want to be coached by. I don't have a bone to pick with him. My issue is more with the frivolous manner of which a considerably serious and important topic such as investing is presented.
In all honesty, he looks like the affable kind of guy. The type that is easy-going, whom I would probably want to be coached by. I don't have a bone to pick with him. My issue is more with the frivolous manner of which a considerably serious and important topic such as investing is presented.
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