Reflections for 2013

In a few days time, 2013 will come to a close. It is time to reflect on this year before setting resolutions for next year. So here goes.

Finances
I've finished paying the school fees for my part time degree course. It has been tough juggling with work and school but i'm glad i've survived another year. Total school fees paid was about $15000. After paying for school fees, i'm still able to have savings from my salary which is a good thing. Without a huge chunk of my money going towards paying for school fees from now onwards, my savings rate will increase too. This lets me have more money to buy stocks.

Salary Increment and Bonus
The work year has been good. I've received a salary increment of more than 10% and an above average bonus in total of about 4.5 months. This in my opinion is already very good as i'm only a junior executive now in a diploma level job. In case you didn't know, diploma holders on average are not paid highly in Singapore. An average person receives about $2200 per month with 2-3 years of work experience. This is also one of the reason why i continued to further my studies to get a degree. It is simply too little to live comfortably in Singapore if you want to start a family.

Family Life
Talking about family, i'm still single and living a carefree life. However, i'm already preparing myself in case i would get married one day. Wedding, honeymoon, getting a house are all major expenses which need to be prepared for. Good that other financial bloggers share their expenditures of their life after marriage. This gives me a rough gauge of how much is actually needed. Thanks to you guys! (You know who you are.)

Investments
The Singapore stock market has been flat this year with a rally in the first few months of the year and a drop in later half of the year. I've added in more stocks which i feel is undervalued and has the potential for growth.

Some of the counters are Marco Polo Marine and HPH trust for shipping and exports related growth. Croesus retail trust for Japanese economic growth which i believe will happen as Japan embark on its own QE program. Yongnam for investment into the construction sector which will benefit from the various projects such as the new marina bay CBD which they have recently clinched the contract to fabricate and construct structural steelwork.

Miscellaneous
I've managed to clear my annual IPPT  for the second time this year. For those who do not know what IPPT is, it is actually an annual fitness test that is required for every Singaporean National Service Men. For me, i'll still have to serve the army for the next 7 years. Next year will be my 3rd reservist.

This is also a year where i started my blog in June. Blogging has enabled me to know other financial bloggers and also the readers who have been reading what i write. Thanks to all of you who have supported my blog which motivates me to continue writing more articles. My Facebook page is reaching 100 Likes soon and my blog will also reach 100000 views soon. This is a small humble beginning of my journey. I hope to provide all of you with more quality articles as we continue this journey. Feel free to comment or email me if you got any topic suggestions or request.

Lastly, here's wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. Let's celebrate and finish this year with a grateful and happy spirit.

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