The One Thing You can Control at Work

This article was sparked from dropping my eldest at the enrichment centre. Before I left her for class, I told her to "Enjoy Youself!". Then I stayed for a short moment while she walked in, and overhead many parents telling their kids like "Pay attention.", "Speak loudly today." "Get more stars (the teacher will give a number of stars according to their performance)", and so on. None asked their kids to enjoy. Seems like the focus is performance.

Well, let me set it right. I expect my child to pay attention in class, and speak up when she knows the answer or have some stuff to say. My intention of enjoyment is definitely NOT just playing other things while the teacher teaches. However, what I hope is through the class, she finds things that she enjoys. It's a Chinese enrichment class. So it could be finding enjoyment in reading, listening, or interacting with others in Chinese. Whatever it is, as long as she enjoys something from the lesson. Whether she shows that she is the best or read the loudest in the class is not essential, unless that's something she enjoys.

This makes me wonder, instead of hoping for a smooth day at work, or a fruitful day and so on, why don't we enjoy a day at work? Instead of focusing on the things that we do not enjoy at work, why not complete all the tasks and at the same time, be mindful of the things that we enjoy and really savour it. Make that the highlight of the day. After all, we could be spending more time at work than anything else. This enjoyment could be doing an analysis that you are passionate about, reading up on a work related topic that interests you, talking to a colleague to understand more about what they do, negotiating with your favorite client, savoring the delicious coffee in pantry, working with a software that is only available in your company's computer, and so on.

For most of us, we can't fully control who our boss is, what we need to do, how our clients react, and so on.  These are external factors that have too many dependent variables. However, we definitely can control our mindset, and this in turn controls how we behave or react to things.

You have chosen to work today, so enjoy your day at work!

The Hard Truth about Employees and Companies

Have you heard or yourself made such comments before:

"How could the company be retrenching people when they are making profits?"

"Why can't the company provide us with more benefits, they are so rich, it's just peanuts to them." 

"Why does the company only ask me to work, but never send me for any training?"

"I sacrificed so much family time for the company, why am I not promoted?" 

Whenever I read or hear such comments, it just make me wonder why do people not realize the truth about the relationship between employees and companies? As a corporate warrior for nine years and counting, each year only reminds me more firmly about this hard truth. 

Companies exist to accomplish the vision of the owners. It could be to leave a legacy, fulfill their dreams, make money or whatever. It's never, I repeat, NEVER for the employees. To a company, employing an employee is a transaction. A transaction for a service the employee can provide for the firm, to allow it to achieve the vision. This is similar to you going to the hairdresser for a haircut. The hairdresser gives you a haircut and you pay him or her. Or you going to the supermarket to buy milk. You get the milk, the supermarket gets the money. Simply, a transaction. 

To be blatant, employees are just a pawn to accomplish the vision of a company, in return for something (money or pay). To allow the pawn to help achieve the company's goals, some companies may provide training, have good benefits and so on. But the ultimate goal is to ensure that the pawn helps it achieve the target.

So what benefit does the pawn get? 

While we understand that companies exist for themselves (the owners), it does not mean that the employee is always at the losing end. For one thing, the company has to pay the employee for the work which allows the employee to accumulate and work on this  pennies to create his/her wealth. As employees, we should make full use of the opportunity when given to work for this company. How you make full use really depends on your ultimate goal. It could be to earn reputation in a certain area to spring board your career, gain experience, learn a new skill through doing, and of course build wealth from the pay. 

Since companies exist for their own goals, the pawns (employees) exist for their own goals as well. 

Once you understand this hard truth, you will know that no one owes anyone a living. The company employ you for the service they want from you, and you agreed to provide them with such service to the required standards. If the company wants you to make sacrifices that you are against your goals, then it's your job to prevent that. 

Remember, it's a transaction. 

Making a four- room HDB functional for less than $8,000

I just moved into our 4- room resale HDB flat, and we made it functional in less than $8,000!

Notice, I didn't use the word renovate as we didn't hire people for renovation works. As such, let's use the term functional here.

Initial Condition of the Home

Before we moved in, the home came with the following:

• In- tact flooring tiles
• Adequate power points
• Available fibre optic point and television point
• Lighting switch is still working (though many bulbs were blown)
• Home came with concealed ceiling (which is bad for modification - so a decision not to rewire or change anything about the lighting except for the bulbs)
• Kitchen cabinet is still usable
• Kitchen Stove is still usable
• Paint still looks okay
• Windows and window grilles are in- tact
• Curtain rails are available
• Functional Sink/ taps/ drains
• Working Air- Conditioner
• Functional interior doors and exterior door/ gate

Project Goals

My partner and I made a decision not to engage interior designers and renovation firms to do up our home as we want to move in ASAP, and also, because of the cost.

As such, we gave ourselves a budget of $8000 and a time frame of 2 weeks to move in after getting out keys.

Our Strategy

My partner and I are minimalist people, and as such, we like to have as little stuff as possible.

We also have (some) time on our side. We took two weeks off after getting our flat, so we are able to do most of the DIY stuff ourselves. And to maximize time, we bought most of our stuff online. The internet is the best place to visit so many shops, within a day, and all of them come with delivery (though at a cost for most). That's apart from some electronic stuff, smaller items and IKEA products (which doesn't have an online shop here in Singapore. Why!).

DIY furniture are mainly from IKEA and GIANT. These come with good instructions, and as such, made our life easier. For the plumbing works, thanks to Youtube, we were given on- the- job training. Here and here are some nice training videos that we watched for the plumbing training. Surprise, surprise, surprise, there are some many screws for the toilet bowls (at least I only realize it now).

Functional Home Project Cost

The following are the stuff that we bought to make our home functional for within $8,000. Of course, there are some stuff that we already had beforehand, and this saves some cost.

I have listed them in details, so that next time, when I want to refer to , I have a copy. Also, I want to show you that you can make yourself comfortable without spending too much of money. Note that these may not be the lowest cost available for similar products, and this post is not meant as an enticement for you to buy any of the items (see disclaimer at bottom of blog).

Living Room (Subtotal = $882.50)

• TV bench (to put the modem, telephone) ($19.90 - see here)
• Extension Plug ($15.90 - see here)
• Sofa (to be exact, we went for sofa bed - $160 including shipping and installation - see here)
• Shoe Rack ($49.90 from here)
• Kids Table to double up as coffee table ($16.90 - see here)
• Book shelf ($59.90 - see here)
• 40 inch television with wall mounting brackets ($560 including delivery and installation - ok, we went to a physical shop for this.)

Master Bedroom (Subtotal = $944.70)

• Queen Bed plus mattress ($582 - see here)
• Queen size Mattress protector ($19.90 - see here)
• 2 x Bed sheet set for Queen ($9.90 x 2 = $19.80 - see here)
• 2 x Bolsters ($9.90 x 2 = $19.80 - see here)
• 2 x Pillows ($6.90 x 2 = $13.80 - see here)
• 2 x Bolster cover ($4.50 x 2 = $9 - see here)
• 2 x Blankets ($14.90 x 2 - see here)
• 2 Study tables ($50 - see here)
• 2 chairs ($12.90 x 2 = $25.80 - see here)
• 2 x 4 tier plastic drawers ($48 - see here) 
• Wardrobe alternative ($61 - see here - highly recommend, after shopping online, I find this idea of having poles for clothes not only economical, but cool!)
• Extension Plug ($15.90 - see here)
• Hangers ($20 - yes we bought many)
• Mini Iron board ($7.90 from here)
• Iron ($22 from here)

Kids Bedroom (Subtotal = $160.90)

• Single bed Mattress ($45 - see here)
• Wardrobe ($99 - see here)
• Bed sheet ($16.90 - see here)

Another bedroom - vacant for now

Kitchen (Subtotal = $3182.15)

• Refrigerator ($1000 from a physical shop)
• Washer cum dryer ($1300 from a physical shop)
• 2 x Dining Table ($98 from here)
• 8 x Chairs ($48 from here)
• Oven ($250 from a physical shop)
• 8 Plates ($9.60 fro here)
• 8 Bowls ($7.20 from here)
• 8 Rice Bowls ($16 from a physical shop)
• 4 Serving Plates/ 4 serving soup bowls ($80 from a physical shop)
• 8 Coffee cups ($7.20 from here)
• 12 glass cups  ($7.80 from here)
• 2 Pitchers ($15.80 from here)
• 1 Thermal Flask ($50 from a physical shop)
• 1 Rice Cooker ($30 from a physical shop)
• 1 Kettle ($25.90 from here)
• 1 Rice Storage ($17.40 from here)
• 10 pairs of chopsticks ($16 from here)
• Cutlery sets x 2 ($30 from here)
• 12 soup spoons ($7.80 from here)
• knife set with potato peeler ($5 from here)
• chopping board ($1.90 from here)
• Other utensils set ($5.90 from here)
• Cookware ($49.90 from here)
• Baking Pan ($6.90 from here)
• Kitchen towels ($3.50 from physical shop)
• Towel hanger ($5 from physical shop)
• 2 x Pails ($3.80 from here)
• Quick dry mop ($19.75 from here)
• Vacuum cleaner ($41 from here)
• Robotic cleaner ($96 from here)
• Utensils organizer ($5)
• Can opener ($9.90 from here)
• Bottle opener ($1.50 from here)
• Food containers ($4.50 from here)
• Dish drainer ($3.90 from here)

Washrooms (Subtotal =  $125)

• 2 toilet flushes ($80)
• 2 toilet seat covers ($30)
• Holders ($15)

Storeroom (Subtotal = $130.09)

• 2 x Shelves ($39.40 from here)
• Tool set ($43.89 from here )
• Battery operated drill ($46.80 from here)

Others (Subtotal = $1188.50)

• Replacement of blown bulbs ($75)
• 2 x Standing lamps ($39,80 from here)
• Bulbs for standing lamps ($9.90 from here)
• 2 x Standing fan ($65)
• Curtains ($150)
• Air- con servicing ($120)
• Cleaning supply prior to moving in ($30) 
• Taxi fare for self delivery ($55)
• Electric drill ($36.80 from here)
• Putty (to repair some wall cracks, and openings) - ($7)
• Change of lock for main door/ gate / letter box ($320)
• Rubbish Chute Replacement ($280)

Total : $6629.74

My home is not shabby. I have to emphasis it, as that's what many of my friends asked me when I told them about my function home project. And I have all the furniture, gadgets and equipment that I need, making my home comfortable for my family and I. In fact, visitors who came find it neat, tidy, and comfortable.

The end of this functional project doesn't mean that I will stop buying stuff for my home. With time, we may need some items, and of course we will buy it. The amount of things in a home will only get more with time, anyway, with our needs and wants.

Cheers!

Buying A Resale HDB Flat WITHOUT Property Agent

The Straits Times has been running articles about the increase in HDB resale transaction that did without a property agent. Hey, I am one of them! I recently got the keys for my resale 4- room flat, and did it without an agent.

My Experience
We bought the flat without an agent. Honestly, the HDB process was simple. Follow all the procedure from HDB website, and you are done. Here is a link to the procedures.

For my case, the hardest was to deal with the other side's (property agent or seller).

In fact, as long as you do your homework (meaning read HDB's website), look at past transaction prices (at HDB website, and you notice within the same period, the prices do not vary a lot for similar floors in similar areas, plus minus a bit for renovations), and are willing to negotiate (just tell them the price you are willing to buy, and ask them to call you if they can match that price), you should be ok.

Some property agents tell you that they can help you with the housing loan. Honestly, you don't need. There are just 3 major banks in Singapore (UOB, OCBC and POSB/DBS) that most people look for for housing loan. You just need to call to request for housing loan, and they can email you the packages offered. Whether you  have a housing agent or not, ultimately, you still need to make your own decision on which loan to take, the tenure, and so  on. You will need a conveyancing lawyer, and in my experience, banks will introduce you one (which are quite reasonable priced), and they will settle the rest for you. Another option is HDB loan. I didn't go for this route, due to the higher interest rate, for now.

Take note of some of the tricks from the property agent from the sellers' side, which I experienced first hand:
- Asking for option fee without asking the seller to sign the OTP. In my experience, the seller's agent asked us to pay the option fee of $1000 without finalizing on the price, and without the seller signing the option to purchase (OTP), to show our sincerity in buying the flat. We refused, of course. Giving a $1000 cheque without a signed OTP is as good as giving $1000 away. Seller can bank in the cheque, and say that there is no agreement (since nothing is signed). You have nothing against them.

- Seller's agent trying to tell you how hard the procedure is, and introduce you another agent to act on your behalf (and collect fees from you).

Next, very important, agree on the date to move into the home and other details before even signing the option to purchase (or when exercising the OTP). Put in down in a signed document. If there are other items agreed upon, e.g. furniture, etc, put it in the document too. In my experience, we did not do so when we exercise the OTP, and the seller pushed back the date we get our keys multiple times! To end the trouble, we engaged a lawyer to write an agreement - black and white. If we had done so at the start, this would have been easier.

My Thoughts
A buyer doesn't need an agent when doing a HDB purchase. Also, once the deal is done, the agent can't do anything. So is it really worth it to hire an agent?

Rather than getting an agent, I would rather engage a lawyer from the point when you sign the OTP to write down all the agreement, and let both sides sign. At least, after the deal is done, you still have a legal document to protect yourself.

For your information, the price to pay for a lawyer for such services (getting a legal document), is likely to be cheaper as compared to the agent fee (unless your home is super cheap), and you get a legal document to protect you (and not an administrative assistant).

HDB allows such private arrangements (go to their FAQ and you will see that many things are the private agreement between seller and buyer).

Comparison of CapitaMall Asia 3.8% bond vs Frasers Centrepoint Limited 3.65% bond at current market price

I have recently purchased CapitaMall Asia (CMA) 3.8% bond at $1.003. The price of this bond has since increased. Frasers Centrepoint Limited bond is currently trading below par at $0.982, and I am wondering if it is a better buy than CMA. My philosophy of buying bonds is to hold till maturity whenever I can, as such, this comparison between CMA bonds and FCL bonds assume that they are held to maturity.

Like CMA 3.8% bond, FCL 3.65% bond also have an optional redemption date. However, for the FCL bond, if it were to be redeemed earlier than May 2022, the bond will be redeemed above par. La Papillon from BullytheBear blog gave good details about this bond which can be found here.

Since the coupon dates for CMA 3.8% are in January and July, while the coupon payment dates for FCL 3.65% are in May and November, I simplified my comparison, by looking at January and July periods. Hence, the January period, would mean that the FCL bond had paid the previous November coupon, and CMA having just paid the January coupon. Similary, the July period means that FCL had paid the previous May coupon, and CMA having just paid the July coupon.

I have assumed FCL 3.65% is trading at $0.982 while CMA 3.8% is trading at $1.003. The comparison involves 10,000 units of bonds, and using PEOMS as a trading platform. For different platform, the fees may differ slightly, and you may like to use the following calculator to determine the total cost for stock purchase in Singapore.

I calculated the cashflow for CMA 3.8% bond at each possible redemption date. Similarly, this is done for FCL 3.65% bond.

Cash Flow for CMA 3.8% Bond at each possible redemption date

Cash Flow for FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

A comparison of the IRR for these two bonds, and the absolute extra amount to be received are as follows:

Comparing IRR for CMA 3.8% Bond and FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

Comparing Absoluate Amount Earned for CMA 3.8% Bond and FCL 3.65% Bond at each possible redemption date

From above, it seems that the earlier FCL is redeemed, the better it is compared to CMA 3.8% in terms of absolute amount earned and the IRR.

If it were you, which bond would you buy?


Disclaimer: I am not a financially savvy person, so what I is written is based on what I deduce from my limited research and reading. This may not be an accurate account of the real scenario, and you are to do your own judgement on whether such funds are good or not for yourself. I won't be held liable for any inaccuracies or omissions (see also my disclaimer at the end of the blog).

CapitaMall Asia 3.8% 220112 Bond

I used to think that shares and bond prices should have an inverse relationship. However, it seems that it's not true for now. With share prices are dropping (with the STI dropping below 2600 points today), I see that 2 of the 3 retail bonds I hold are now trading below par.

I hold CMA 3.8%, FCL 3.65% and CMT 3.08% bonds. CMA is trading at one of the lowest price now since it was listed, and both CMT 3.08% and FCL 3.65% bonds are trading below par. Well, I am wondering is it due to poor market sentiments (like the shares in general), or is it due to an expected rise in interest rate (hence making current bond yield less attractive), or it could be since the market is down now, people are trading the bonds for higher yield items, such as stocks!

With these 3 bonds' prices going down, as long as the companies can still pay me the interests, and pay me back what I put in at maturity, I have no qualms about their trading price, since I intend to hold them to maturity. 

I am interested in getting CMA 3.8%. Note that this bond is still trading above par at $1.003 at this point of writing. This bond could be redeemed starting next year (at the discretion of the company), and at subsequent coupon payment date  (January and July). If the bond is not redeemed in January 2017, the interest paid per year would be 4.5%. 

I am using POEMS as my online trading platform. As such, if I were to purchase 10,000 units of CMA 3.8% bond at $1.003 per unit, it means that I will need to pay $10,064.34. To make calculation easier, I assume that this bond will be redeemed in January 2017 (thus I will receive 2 interest payment or 3.8% of 10,000 units).

I used the following method to estimate the IRR for this investment:

Thus, if this bond were to be redeemed next year in January, I would have earned about 3.1% for a one year bond. If this bond were not redeemed in January next year, I would be receiving 4.5% interest, making the effective yield closer to 4.5%.

I find it a relatively good buy. As such, I have added 10,000 units of CapitaMallAsia 3.8% 220112 Bond to my assets.


Disclaimer: I am not a financially savvy person, so what I is written is based on what I deduce from my limited research and reading. This may not be an accurate account of the real scenario, and you are to do your own judgement on whether such funds are good or not for yourself. I won't be held liable for any inaccuracies or omissions (see also my disclaimer at the end of the blog).

What's so great about travelling?

I talked about not travelling anywhere for my this block of leave I am taking from work. Well, on contrary, most people I know spend most of their leave on overseas holiday. I used to do that, until one of the vacations made me realize what I really want from a vacation.

Vacation of Realization @ Iceland

It's my vacation to --- Iceland

I was here on a self- drive tour last year in April, and this is the only place, that I feel sad to go home, after more than a week here. Usually, by the last day of any vacation, I would want to go home as I missed my family, our food, my bed, etc. But this vacation was different.

The photos below are all taken by me when I was at Iceland last year. They are not from some postcards.

What did you notice?

I could take photos without anyone inside!

The reason why I loved Iceland is because you can be truly yourself. No need to act because there is not many people you can act in front of (particularly I'm on a non- package tour).

Iceland is so sparsely populated outside Reykjavik, that on most of the self- drive, I see cars and people only occasionally. The world seems to revolve around me when I'm there, and I feel totally relaxed.

So after that vacation, I realize that what I really love is ME time, being able to do things without noise (whether approval or disapproval, etc.) from others. And this makes me totally relaxed.

So as long as this can be achieved, whether going overseas or not is not an issue. I will enjoy myself.

Ms. CEO On Board

According to humanresources.about.com, the role of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is to be the overall in charge for the strategic direction of an organization. And the CEO is responsible for all components and departments of a business.

Welcome to Ms. CEO's blog!
This is where Ms. CEO, (i.e. ME) blogs about her organization (i.e. my life).

We can be CEOs

We can all be CEOs of at least one organization --- ourselves. You see, we are the overall in charge of our life, and ultimately responsible for all aspects of it. Most of us have the choice to decide what we want to achieve in our life, and execute a plan to achieve it.

It may sound easy --- decide on the goals and move towards it. This is particularly so in a modern society where people have pretty much a say in how they want to lead their life. In the country that I live in, Singapore, I would say that most of us are fortunate enough to be able to move our own organization towards a desired direction. However, I realize not many are CEOs of their own life. Many are just  running their life as a routine, or just following the herd mentality without asking themselves whether what they are doing truly matches what they genuinely want --- these are people akin to being employees (a nice work to slave) of their own life.

Me as an Employee of Life

I used to be a slave of my own life. I aim to do what everyone is doing, and aim to win whichever rat race I am in. I want to be perceived as the best of the best.

In primary school, I was the number 2 in my primary school in terms of primary school leaving examinations (PSLE) score. I looked at my score, and got into the best school I could with a PSLE score of 263. I studied very hard in secondary school, aiming to top as many subjects as I could, and achieved 9 A1s, and 1 B3 (sob!). Nonetheless, I got a L1R5 of 6 (perfect score), and got into the top junior college  (JC) then . This cycle continues. I scored pretty well in my A Levels, scored A for all A level subjects (but not very well for my general paper, with only a B4), and even did the then special paper ('S' paper), and obtained distinctions for both.

My life took a setback after JC. I did not get any scholarships that I desired. Well, on reflection, it's simply because I focused all my efforts on the routine (just wanting to do well for my exams), and no focusing on why I want such achievements and what I want to do with them, and I guessed, the interviewers could see it. I stayed in Singapore for my degree, and completed it --- with a first class honours.

During my university years, I was very engrossed in making money. I would say I spent more time making money than anything else. I gave tuition, as though I was a full time tutor, and this paid for my university fees, vacations, laptop and other electronic stuff which I liked. Still, I haven't changed, being engross in routines, without a purpose.

After graduation, I got offers from two top companies, and chose the more reputable one, only to quit after a short while (less than a year), as I dread going to work. My second job paid $50 more than the first, and while I enjoyed it at first, I was going no- where, as it had no prospect, which I took quite some time to realize (3 years!) Armed with the knowledge of what I want in a career, I went to look for a third job, and found a suitable one. Today I am in it for 3++ years, and going. However, upon staying in the same job for quite some time, the lost feeling came.

I reflected about it. Is the rat race the only thing I am living for? Am I simply following what I should do, simply to not be left behind? Am I making decisions based only on prestige and herd mentality instead of what I really want? The answers to the questions were YES!

And I thought, "Is this really what I want?" The answer was a resounding NO!

I want to empower myself, and be the CEO of my life!

About Ms. CEO's corporate structure

I used to be a typical employee, focusing only on one area, when I was young, it was studying; after I graduated, it was work.

Now that I am Ms. CEO of my own organization, I have set up departments. This departments are areas that I would like to focus on.

At Ms. CEO's company, the motto is to let Ms. CEO lead a fulfilling life, achieved by each of the following departments doing their job well. Each department is lead and run by Ms. CEO, with occasional outsourced help.

Ms. CEO has a very flat corporate structure, with six departments:

• Health -this department looks after fitness, food, and medical checkups
• Finance- this department looks after all of Ms CEO's assets, and is particularly into managing cashflow and investments
• Family
• Current Business - this department looks at Ms CEO's income stream from her day job
• New Business- this department looks at having additional income stream, apart from the current business
• Personal development -this department looks at continuous improvement to Ms CEO.

December 2016 update: Going forward, Ms. CEO's company will be focusing only on 4 departments - Health, Finance, Current Business, New Business. I share more about this here.

The Ms. CEO Blog

Welcome to Ms. CEO's blog. This is a blog about my life. I am the CEO of my life. In this blog, I will be writing about how my various departments are doing, and which direction they are moving towards. In addition, Ms. CEO's company does experiments from time to time, to see what works (and what not).