Portfolio Snapshot - CAGR and Breakeven Price Oct 2022

 Here's a snapshot of my current SGP portfolio:

The column 'cagr' represents the compound annual growth rate of that stock.

The column 'cagr_inc_div_drp' shows the compound annual growth rate including dividends paid out and additional stocks obtained through distribution reinvestment plans.

The column 'cagr_benchmark' shows the compound annual growth rate of the benchmark. The benchmark is the SPDR STI ETF, stock code 'ES3'.

The column 'cagr_benchmark_status' shows yes if we beat the benchmark. 

The column 'returns_one_year' shows the returns in the past year. 

The columns 'cagr', 'cagr_inc_div_drp', 'cagr_benchmark', and 'returns_one_year' are shown in percentages.

Here's a comparison of the stats with previous years:

Here's another snapshot of my portfolio based on the breakeven price:

The column 'price' indicates the current price of the stock.

The column 'breakeven_price' indicates the breakeven price of the stock with dividends and stocks from the distribution reinvestment plan included. As long as the price of the stock is above the breakeven price, I can sell the stock for a profit.

The column 'breakeven_price_status' indicates if the stock price is above the breakeven price.

Here's a comparison of the stats with previous years:

Here are the returns of my portfolio versus the benchmark:

2022 is not a good year for stocks. Only 19.05% of my stocks have had positive returns in the last 1-year period. Mainly due to the Ukraine war, inflation, and rising interest rates by the Fed. Also only 61.9% of my stocks achieved break-even status. In retrospect, from the above tables, 2019 was a really good year for my portfolio. 

This too shall pass - part 3

Photo by Jandra Sutton on Unsplash

 

 It has been 2 months since my previous post about my portfolio taking a beating:

http://financeopti.blogspot.com/2022/07/this-too-shall-pass-part-2.html

I think it is time to re-evaluate the percentage gain(or loss) on my portfolio.

At this point in history, there are several things investors worry about: rising interest rates, high inflation, the war in Ukraine, and a possible recession in the US. 

The war in Ukraine has no end in sight, with Putin calling up a country-wide mobilization to call up to 300,000 soldiers for the Ukraine war (the last country-wide mobilization in Russia was in 1941).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_mobilization

War in Taiwan seems increasingly likely. I just watched a video by Mr. George Yeo who shared that there are some in the US who feel that war should come sooner rather than later, because even though both will be bloodied, China at this stage will be bloodied more than the US (and hence will take longer to recover). 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/18/china-seize-taiwan-plan-blinken/

The S&P500 and NASDAQ are in a bear market. 

Here are the overall returns of the components in my portfolio:

Cryptocurrency -58.20%

SPY Fund          -10.16%

Bond                 -13.17%

USA                  -8.44%

One-Fourth       -19.17%

SGP                  -6.44%

BCIP                -2.64%

CPFIS              +9.63%

Dividends are not included in the above. 

Yes, almost all my portfolios are negative without including dividends. 

What is my plan? Well, I plan to hold on for 2 reasons: 

1. I have no emergency need to withdraw money from my portfolios right now, 

2. I plan to continue collecting dividends from them.

As for my dollar cost averaging investments in Roboadvisors, BCIP, and ILP, I plan to continue for as long as I am financially able. Without a doubt, this is the BEST buying opportunity in the long-run. 

Hope things will get better soon. Is the worst over? I have no crystal ball, only time will tell. 

Dividends for Sep 2022

 Here are my dividends for Sep 2022:

So I collected $2014.27 in dividends for Sep 2022. 

In case you are wondering, some stocks are repeated because I have 2 brokerage accounts. 

Here are my monthly dividends over the last 4 years:

Looks like Oct will be a dead month lol. 

Here are the dividends I collected every year until the current day:

Hope it keeps increasing! We'll see how high it can go.

Trust Bank Review - Singapore's first Digital Bank! (With Screenshots)

It's here!

(If you need a referral to get FREE $10 NTUC voucher, here it is: ZAAV495B)

Pros:

Nice UI:

UI gives clear goals to achieve to earn bonus interest

Clear tracking of expenses

Free Coupons/Stamp Cards!

 

Cons:

Lower interest rate than the SCBonusSaver account. The highest interest you can get in Trust is 1.4% provided you are an NTUC Union member. Non-members get only 1.2% like me:

Overall, I feel this is a well-designed app, with a lot of freebies. It is well worth your effort to sign up!

Side Hustle Earnings for Jul-Aug 2022

 Below are my earnings for Jul-Aug 2022:

Around one year ago, in Aug 2021, I took up this new side hustle doing food delivery.

It was refreshing, allowed me to get out into the neighborhood, exercise, and discover new places.

But I guess with many things in life, once things become routine, it gets mundane as time passes.

So I decided to take a break from this indefinitely. I may still do food delivery from time to time, maybe just to exercise my legs or feel the wind in my face as I ride. But no longer sticking to my old routine of 3 deliveries every Friday night, Sat, and Sun afternoons.  

Here are my total earnings from this side-adventure of my life:

Months	Earnings
Aug-Sep 2021	339.21
Nov-Dec 2021	536.41
Jan-Feb 2022	351.6
Mar-Apr 2022	284.3
May-Jun 2022	270.05
Jul-Aug 2022	178.33
Total	1959.9

Also, an acknowledgment to the many delivery riders delivering meals to hungry folks every day. They brave rain, sun, horrendous traffic, and unreasonable folks sometimes to accomplish their job, and earn money to buy food for the table for their families. Truly, it is hard-earned money and they deserve our respect. 

Dividends for Aug 2022

 Here are my dividends for Aug 2022:

So I collected $1843.99 in dividends for Aug 2022. 

In case you are wondering, some stocks are repeated because I have 2 brokerage accounts. 

Here are my monthly dividends over the last 4 years:

Here are the dividends I collected every year until the current day:

A misconception about FIRE

So I was chatting with my wife who is not really an advocate of the FIRE lifestyle.

Her reasoning is as such:

There is no point saving up so much if you can't enjoy it in the end.

She cited the example of an uncle who suffered from dementia and died with $1 million in his bank account. It seems that this uncle worked hard his entire life but was not able to enjoy the fruits of his labour. He also has no offsprings who can inherit his wealth.

This story to me, is the perfect example why we need to pursue the FIRE lifestyle. With the FIRE lifestyle, one can retire much earlier e.g. 40, 45, 50, or 55 and enjoy the fruits of his labour. 

Undeterred, she raised another point. 

There is nothing much to enjoy about the FIRE lifestyle. You cannot eat at restaurants, you cannot travel, so what is the point even if you are able to achieve FIRE?

Do not be mistaken, actually FIRE does allow one to eat at restaurants and travel. But you have to build this into your budget, so it simply means you will need a bigger sum of money to achieve FIRE, which in turn means it will take longer for you to FIRE. There is nothing wrong with that, it is simply a matter of choice. Nobody is saying you have to FIRE by 40. The retirement age in Singapore is currently 63, you can FIRE at 62 if you want. Imagine! You have earned yourself an opportunity to retire and escape from your soul-sapping work one year earlier. Is this not a worthwhile pursuit in itself? Is this not worth fighting for?

In a span of a few days, CNA published another article about FIRE:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/fire-movement-financial-independence-retire-early-2881076

From the article, here are some crtifcisms of FIRE:

Despite achieving FIRE, these individuals “found no satisfaction in their accumulated wealth”, suggesting that “frugality can diminish the joys of life greatly”, he noted.

You have to understand what your priorities are. If you plan to travel to far-flung places yearly, then probably FIRE is not for you. On the other hand, if you are fine with travelling to nearby countries, and yet have the time to pursue your passions, then FIRE is worth it.

“The most common criticism I get is that life is uncertain, and one should enjoy what money can do, while you still can,” he said. 

This is the typical YOLO mindset which got a lot of youngsters into trouble later on in life. There is uncertainty, but life is a game of probabilities. You have to plan for the scenario with the highest probability for you. For most, it is living to your 80s.  

“But what you cannot get back is time. What you are giving up to save the money … is hours with your children, with your friends, with yourself. If you are willing to give up that time, then I think it’s a perfectly sound decision. For most people, it depends on what their priorities are.” 

This is nonsense!  The whole purpose of FIRE is to allow yourself more time to pursue what you have always wanted to do.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.