In times of drought…

Never been good at forecasting…

I recently dipped into Riverstone (bought a couple of shares) – that was before the announcement of Brexit. During that time, I felt that with the recent volatility due to the possibility of a Brexit, it presented a good opportunity to buy some (this was before Brexit confirmation). And frankly back in my mind, I reckon Brexit won’t happen. Perhaps I have bought the shares too soon hahaha…

 

Days go slowly by…

I haven’t been buying shares for months. Have been taking a break. No doubt the overall value of my portfolio has been slowly drifting downwards. However, overall I felt it was uneventful.

How uneventful? You know like tracking the interest from the P2P loans, waiting for the inflow of stock dividends in August, trying to build up my war-chest…. like waiting for the paint to dry, watching the water slowly drip from a tap :p Shall not bore you with it.

In fact, I just came back from a one-week overseas holiday. Incidentally, after this trip, I feel that with a mobile WiFi and a mobile phone, it is easy navigating around overseas (good old trusty Google Map).

After one week of leave, work wise, it takes some getting used to… with the endless meetings and chasing after deadlines. Wham bam!

 

The Drama

To spice it up, I have been waiting for news on some P2P loans which have defaulted. One company has failed to pay up after almost 3 months. And below is the email I have gotten from the crowdfunding platform.

 

Rain after the dry spell?

So back to my portfolio. It was uneventful until the announcement of the Brexit. Seems like a couple of financial bloggers are excited with the recent volatility. I reckon I will be looking into slightly increasing the no. of shares of the companies which I am currently invested in (don’t really like to have too many different kinds of stocks)… the thought is there. See how things unfold and which stock would present an opportunity — Capitaland seems to be under selling pressure recently (probably due to its link to Ascott Residence Trust). Let’s not get tooooo excited.

 

Choices…

Personal finance wise, thinking about back in those days when I had a student loan, mortgage etc…And now being debt free (clear these loans).

There is a statement I believe till this very day, no matter how early we are in our career, the richest we will ever feel is when we owe ZERO dollars. That is the very first time in our life when we have CHOICES. That is a pivotal moment in my life.

Having said that — now the thought of getting into debt started creeping back into my mind. Yes, you guessed it. I am thinking about getting a second property.

I don’t like the idea of selling my current HDB and upgrading. I feel that one should never be in a ‘naked position’ of having no roof over one’s head (or rather not owning one, and renting). The urge to buy any property would be stronger and more irrational.

Buying a second property – Maybe not exactly now … especially with the Brexit. However, if the opportunity presents itself, I would not hesitate. In the meantime, time to exercise my brain a bit, take the time to scout around. I don’t think the TDSR or ABSD will be gone anytime soon.

It is reported that developers’ burden for unsold units set to soar this year (read here). Developers are getting creative in avoiding Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty (ABSD) or any Qualifying Certificate extension charges for their projects (read here). Never be in a hurry. Like I said… we have choices.

I have scheduled to look at a condominium unit over the weekend. See how it goes.