Financial Literacy and Financial Prudence should be taught in school

One of the biggest preconceptions in many people's lives in Singapore is this. Are there traditional jobs 'out there' now and in the future ? We are experiencing a classic Paradigm Shift - a change of gears in the working world and it is accelerating change in so many ways which we are even not aware of. 

Jobs from just 25 to 30 years ago all gone or going the way of the dinosaur.

1. Car park attendant

2. Front desk receptionist

3. Sales people (telecoms and all high technology products)

4. Cashier at markets and supermarkets

5. Serving and wait staff

6. Drivers and cheuffers

7. Chefs (think central kitchens)

8. Housing agents

9.  Call in service people 

10. Retail (think Best Denki) sales staff. 

11. Bank tellers

12. Foodcourt cleaners 

13. Front desk admin people of clinics and hospitals

The Gig economy is a transient one, in preparation when the driverless vehicles for people (read MRT trains, Grab and Grabfood) fast become the norm.

Lets look at life just 25 years ago, in the early 2000s. Here was the dream...

You are born, you enjoy your childhood, go to school, study hard, play sports, go to junior college, University, possibly do a Post Graduate degree come out to the working world, enter the workforce, start dating settle down, purchase a flat or a condominium have kids etc etc. and move up to the world.  This view I believe is long gone. 

Now, in the first quarter of the 21st century, the whole of society is thrown into disarray with the rise of Artificial Intelligence or AI (the Terminator series in the late 1980s to early 2000s was an ominious foreboding of the dark chilling future with the rise of the machines - or is it still just a(n) (Aluminium) pipe dream

This whole perception or global construct of the Good Life, well its degenerated now to a view which is just a matter of existence and living however well you can. Assets like flats and private condominiums are still continuing their relentless rise upwards while salaries remain stagnant or inch upwards.  Job security from companies are at best, very patchy. Companies start up and go bust very frequently. 

Property can make someone wealthy ? Think again. Its not a never ending upward cycle.

Flats (new BTOs) and private estate condominiums currently (2025) continue to hold firm and continue inching up. An HDB 4 room which  to cost something like S$ 200, 000 back in the 1990s now cost close to or over $ 1 million in mature estates. The lease decay of 99 years is a wake up call that after a certain time, these same flats will see their prices drop when the remaining lease is less than 35 to 40 years. So, in essence, any flat with an age of roughly 59 years will NOT be granted mortgage loans. There are some flats at Stirling Road which are 55 years of age, so technically if they are resold, in my opinion a couple of things will happen 

a) price will drop or have dropped drastically from the peak 

b) those who had bought these flats at certain dates or times, MAY have actually lost money on these flats.

A check on Property Guru shows that a 2 bedroom, 3 room flat built in 1970,(55 years old) is going for a whopping $400, 000. For easy calculation, say the lease is 95 years (it is actually 99). That is $10,000 depreciation per year for 40 years of 'purchase'. The value becomes 0 at that point (40 years later) in 2065. 

If someone decides to buy for his himself or his parents this 3 room resale flat will technically lose $400, 000 if they see out the remaining 40 years of the lease.

There will be MORE and MORE of such flats in 10 years time. What will we see ? Potentially a glut of properties being sold on the market as more people downgrade, due to lease decay, job loss, business failure and all manner of people needing money. When supply increases exponentially, demand remains more or less the same or drops (our TFR is well below 0.97, well below the replacement rate of 2.1), well, the sale price must fall. Economics 101. 

Prices will drop. The returns back to the CPF will be less, more will potentially have less than  what they originally had.  

No one told the Singaporeans the Hard Truths which will come.

Iron Rice Bowl ? Jobs for Life ? No 

There are no jobs for life, firms in STEM (Science Tech Engineering and Mechanical) are evolving every 5 years, and only those that adapt fast enough can and will make it. The traditional model of the hard earnest worker in the 20th century workforce is sadly dying out fast.

People need to find work which pays well, be it cybersecurity, some banking, supply chain, advanced remanufacturing, Government service, the options are shrinking for our pool of graduates (not to mention non graduates). Do our leaders have a good solution to this ??? 

Financial Literacy and Financial Prudence - suffer early to make good later. 

Learn financial literacy. This is really the game changer. Even more crucial, Financial Prudence, many of us are just one health, physical, work or travel crisis away from a disaster.

And we are blissfully ignorant about our plight. The height of (financial) stupidity or Dunning Kreuger syndrome, we are too stupid to know we are making stupid financial decisions day in and day out of our lives. And we continue to do so blissfully ignorant and cursing everybody from the Government, the good Man upstairs, and the people around us. When in actual fact is the culprit is US.  

Learn to invest and yes try our hand in equities, bonds, property, blockchain, cryptocurrency.

Try starting a small business. Fail early and learn. try again. 

There will be some failures, some learning lessons, but only through losing and feeling the pinch will there truly be growth and understanding on HOW to build that nest egg.

We are all living in a world where the cost of living is gradually rising, ever so slightly that we do not take notice, then one day WHAM we are caught with cash illiquidity, or no significant assets in place. The prawns in the pot slowly get cooked to boiling.  

We will then be like the many millions in the West, just existing day in day out, working like 8 to 10 hours and just paying bills and getting by with no happy retirement in sight.

The reality is closer than we think it is.  

 

Thoughts on a Lazy Sunday 3rd August 2025

 

I ran a determined 8K yesterday  

Here we are again, dear readers from all over the world. In Singapore which is +7 GMT it is 1:02 pm (Greenwich is 6.02 am) Sunday 3rd August 2025. This time will never pass again, so I had better seize the moment and write some of my thoughts for this week ahead.

As we go along in life, living quietly in our little realities, living and acting our roles as parents, grandparents, relations, friends, children and acquaintences, lets remind ourselves. 

"Live the best version of ourselves" . These include the below value points.

 There are many more value points which I have not covered :

1. Not complaining

2. Showing Up when necessary

3. Being Responsible

4. Being Accountable

5. Leading

6. Guiding

7. Helping

8. Saying the Right Things when needed

9. Taking a Stand

10. Be Here 

Its well and good wanting to make more money or getting more done before we get too old. But I think the bottom line is this 

" Ask what you can do for society and those around you" 

Do not be an observer and take videos of the 'unjust' and be a keyboard warrior. There are millions upon millions of nobodies doing that in the world nowadays.

Do something good.   

Be a Hero 

- to your children and grandchildren

- to your loved ones

- to your cherished friends and close family

For when the time comes when I am physically gone from this earth, I hope some of them will remember me fondly and tell stories of the times when I actually came to their aid and I gave back my appreciation to them in time, in money, in friendship, in experience and mentoring  and the sharing of my life lessons with no expectation of anything but to see the effect I had on helping others. 

That to me is the real meaning of life. 

The Lane Cutters - Kiasu and Kiasi

The 3 ultimate peeves for me as far as living in Singapore are these : 

1.  The stifling heat and humidity which will hit you upon arrival (by plane / ship). 

2.  Lane Cutters on our roads

3.  The Costs of Car and Home ownership

Point 1 and 3 there isn't much we can do about it. 

Point 1 - Heat and Humidity 

The heat and humidity in Singapore has been known for decades, and it is exacerbated by  global warming. I intend to read more, much more on that and post my little anecdotes and simple ways which as a citizen, I can and will make a difference.

Point 3 - Car and Home Ownership 

This is again falls in our Government's purview and these ministers and highly paid civil servants have to make it their agenda to help Singaporeans cope with these 2 largest items in every citizen's radar. A home to settle down, raise a family and access to owning a car, at least for a certain time in his or her life. These costs should not be over burdensome, as we are all well aware.

Point 2 - Lane Cutters - Driver or Passenger to blame ?

I hate queue jumpers with a vengeance. A lot of these people are providing Ride Hailing service and they may claim they are rushing from point A to point B, but IF they had planned their routes in advance and use the Google Maps, there is no need to rush. No one wants to jam brake just as the car in front moves from his lane to yours. 

The situation is made worse when we have never ending road works in many parts of this island. So what was once an 3 lane semi expressway, becomes a 2 lane or even 1 lane start stop jaunt, flaring up many motorists at all times of day. 

Really, as an observation of life in Singapore, while it may get stressful at times, we need to cherish the time and our transportation planning can be made most seamlessly if everybody played their part by 

a) planning their trips with ample time to get to their destination.

b) telling the Grabcar and Taxi driver to not rush to the destination.

I hope this post reminds us that if we rushed through our lives, aiming to to earn the big bucks  by providing Grab and other Ride Hailing services, IF it comes at the the expense of our sanity or (even worse), we get involved in car accidents in our haste, then it would all come to nothing or even, as a result, we get a terrible driving record and possibly some jail time.

Its not worth it. 

Just my 2 cents  

It best to leave some friendships behind.

Deep Fried Calamari Rings 

Location :Scaled Restaurant, 8 Hamilton Road

Singapore 209179 

At this stage in my life where the number of years left are far less than the number of years I have lived, I can say that to be truly emancipated, I need to let go of certain friendships, and relationships. While its good to have a circle of friends, the true friends are those that stand up and be counted when the chips are down for me and you. Hence, we must be mindful of these people and discard the ones who are just :

a) good time drinking buddies or mates (some even from school)

b) mutual interest friends

c) relatives (yes)

It is a revelation to me that after so many years, I can be cognizant of who are my true friends and those who are just best left to meet once in a blue moon, maybe never again. An example is this : lets say I write up an article and I want some honest reviews for my 22 year 'baby', say my business . I send out a simple request with a link to friends and family. It only takes 5 to maximum 10 minutes of their time to fill up a simple questionnaire and review it. No money is transacted or requested, just some time and an honest review.

Some friends respond practically immediately. I am so thankful for these mates. Some say yes and do it a day or two later. Some receive the the simple request and say "yes". Some receive it and don't bother.

I would like to address the last group, the list of friends who receive the requests and don't bother helping in the slightest way - by filling up a simple 5 minute review. These people know me, my company, the products and services we provide very well over these years. 

Seabass Pate with Sourdough Bread, Caramalised Onions 

Location : Scaled Restaurant, 8 Hamilton Road. 

Singapore 209179

The reality of it all is that some friends are just 'free loaders'. They just want the nice free meals and time companionship without any of the responsibility (if any) or accountability. If the responsibility is just 5 minutes of their time, and they can't even fulfil that, when we have come and met multiple times, perhaps its better to relook into the semantics of that friendship and perhaps back off. These are what I would call, the 'entertainers', the people who make me 'feel like I am part of a bigger group' of like minded people. BUT they are fake. And I do know my fair share of fake friends. Thankfully I have sifted through my friends list and have been a lot more discerning. 

They have 0 interest in your well being or your person. Why do I even bother to meet with them let alone do things with them ? Of course you will accuse me of being selfish, and only taking the approach by assessing "What can you do for me" first - hence we can be friends. It should be ideally a pure connection, that when the time comes (good AND bad) we stand up for each other - though no one is counting the number of times it happens, right ?  

 Sweet Cheeks Biscotti Chocolate Ice Cream 

147 Tyrwhitt Road

Singapore 207561

So, the bottom line for me is this. I am my own man. I have family, relatives, friends, acquaintences and associates - and then some. There will be people who don't like me, envy me, say bad thigngs behind my back. There are those who if not for monetary gain, wouldnt drop in on FB, Linked In, Whatsapp and say 'hello' to me. There are those 'freeloaders' who if not for a free meal, wouldn't help me in any way.

Its time I said "Bye Bye " to these Useless Deadbeats. The list is pretty long. .I am fortunate that the true friends list is just as long, so it equals up. 

Seize the Day - and with people who mean something to me - now and always. 

 

60s and 70s Pics - carefree and totally - a major accident at 6 years of age.

I was a curious Kid

This post is a throwback to the most enjoyable and carefree years of my life. Its true that at certain stages in life, you have moments of joy and prolonged happiness. Like my marriage to my lovely wife, the birth of my 2 sons, the many family dinners and overseas trips throughout the years, they they all gave this lucky guy happiness and joy

 

However, for me, without even knowing it cognitively, the carefreeness and no responsibilities (not irressponsibilities) of a kid for the first 12 - 14 years of my life were the happiest.  Play, eat, get into trouble, sleep, go for gatherings, school with little or no homework,and repeat day in day out . No excessive tuition (like the poor kids of today), no gifted and banding of our IQ levels, just good (not clean, we were mostly filthy from outside gallivanting) fun with zero connectivity. No PC, no portable IPad, No IPhone, No Airpods, No handphone, no social media, no TikTok, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, nothing.

Yet, we had so much fun it was incredible. A truly different world.   

Wow, I wished those times would have lasted. 

It never does. So to look back at the 'good old days' with wonder and smile is a privilege I have. True, times were tough for Singaporeans in the mid to late 60s, our country was going through separation from Malaysia, we were very poor GDP per capita PPP was like less than US 500, the threat of communism taking over the region was real, and there was a lot of gangster activity in many parts of Singapore. It was truly an extremely difficult time to be an adult in Singapore in the 60s. 

   

From Left : Uncle Phoon, Lorraine, Rick, Mum, Aunty Mona, Wendy and May

For us kids, it was the complete opposite, it was an other worldly bliss full of birthday parties, playing daily with the neighbourhood kids, going for piano lessons every Saturday, learning karate at the Palmer Road YMCA, going to Presbetarian Church Sunday school at Selegie road, and later (around 1973) we had regular swimming lessons at the Singapore Swimming Club at Fort Road. My brother and I trained under the legendary Mr. Neo Chwee Kok, the Flying Fish who represented Singapore at the 1958 Olympics.

We did reasonably well as swimmers, I represented my secondary School House as the Swimming House Captain, and swam on the periphery of the school swim team. I was also selected to be the Boys Captain during the 1977 - 1980 swimming days for the Singapore Swimming Club. We swam at numerous meets in South East Asia, competing at the Sanya Samaki Swim Tournaments in 

a) Bangkok

b) Jakarta

c) Penang

d) Manila 

Those days are etched in my memory for the rest of my life. I will post some of those photos in the later days, weeks and months.

Back to No. 6 Adis Road, where I lived from 1962 - 1978, a full 16 years. What did my brother and I do for fun ? Well, we got creative and made our fun, through real CONNECTIONS with our neighbours. 

We did kite fighting, making our own glass string, climbed trees to pluck rambutans, walked around our house and neighbourhood to look for leaves which were pressed together and catch the striped spider to fight with the neighbours, rode our bicycles (we had Chopper Bikes made from Raleigh company in the UK), had fighting games, hide and seek and every manner of nonsense you could think of from sam seng boys we would do, on a dare or just out of plain boredom.

 

We had a see saw which was really fun 

My parents had 3 dogs, Jippy (mother), Mickey (for John) and Scamper (for me). To this day, I still have the bite marks from Scamper (my dog) on my left wrist when I went and tried to pull her from her sleep. She was a temperamental dog, and had occasional mad bouts in her behavior. If I had a time machine, and went back to the late 60s and early 70s what would I change ?

Nothing.

Merry Go Round with 'S' on it 

Finally, an event which changed my life. I was about 5 to 6 years of age. We had a black and white TV set in our living room on the second floor of our house. We watched Combat, Beverly Hillbillies, Banana Split and Little House on the Prairie almost religiously - yes we had nothing else to do in the evenings. Another favourite show was the Flying Nun starring Marge Redmond and Sally Field (in later episodes), I actually thought I could fly. That was how naive and dumb I was at 5 years of age. 

Botanic Gardens watching the Swans

At the back of our house, there was a water pipe stretching from the 2nd floor to the squatters at the back. One day, I decided to try to reach for the pipe by jumping from the top of the wooden stairs and catch the open pipe and swing along like Tarzan. With some egging from my brother, I jump and missed the pipe by a mile.

I remember tumbling down the whole 10 steps and I blacked out.

Next thing I knew was the good tenant Ken Omemori called my father urgently and he came rushing home and transported all of us to Singapore General Hospital. I went for surgery for a cut which took 6 stitches from the legendary Dr. Yahya Cohen, my Dad's then best friend.

I had a brown patch of plaster on my right forehead testament to my youthful gunghoness and stupidity.

The year was (I believe) 1967.

Carpe Diem. 

 

WHY QRA ?

 

Why QRA ? 

Why QRA ?  

Let me state the reasons :

QUALITY 

The "Q" states Quality. Quality in our mission, our ethics, our people, our products, our services, our procedures and our prices. 

Customers come to QRA for Quality. High Quality. 

RELIABLE 

"R" stands for Reliability. Customers can rely on us to provide the stated test services, our repair services, our products and our people can stand up and be counted upon. We show up when the chips are down, on the table and up. 

ASSURANCE

We assure you of nothing but the best from us. Our products, our services, our people and our pride in giving you the assurance that you can count on us every time and at any time. 

That is the WHY QRA answered. 

Start with Why

 

Fresh from a trip to Chiang Mai Thailand, I have reread this classic by the Forever Optimist Simon Sinek. "Start with Why."  In it he dissects the brain into 2 areas, the Neocortex (frontal lobe) responsible for :

a) logic

b) reasoning and deduction

These 2 aspects form the What and the How of problems or circumstances. For example, 

a) How did we get to this point - for any situation

b) What is so great about the IPhone (for example)

and Limbic brain which is for the feelings and emotions aspect of our cognitive awareness. The Limbic brain addresses or answers the Why question.

Many times, people never think about the Why in their decisions, because 

a) it has been decided by the higher authority like the Government or Company Rules

b) it is too difficult to stand out from the rest of the people, hence the "follow the crowd" principle.

In short, the neocortex is the "minds" part of the "hearts and minds" phrase in convincing while the limbic brain is the "hearts" part or the gut feel which accounts for the "Why" question of 

"Why we do what we do".  - The question we must ask ourselves, ever so often.

Some Inconvenient albeit near meaningless Questions I should ask myself :

1. Why do I follow a half baked English Premier League team called Wolverhampton Wanderers ?

2.  Why do I watch half baked movies or series on Netflix when there are better choices of my time after work ?  

3. Why am I meeting (certain) friends more than I should when they only add to my baggage and time wasting ?

There are many Why questions which are relating to my business and personal life which I should and will not make public, but if anything, this book questions ignites the Why I do this and Why I do that.

Of course, I do not need to justify every action but every now and then its good to take stock.

Pause and reflect on life.  

Only I will know where I am - if that makes any sense -