Having shared about my first stock purchase previously, I will now share a little about the brokerage account that I opted for. Initially, I wanted to open an account with Standard Chartered as they do not charge minimum commission on transactions. It was very attractive for a student like me as it could keep my costs low. However, I decided to give them a miss to avoid disappointment as I doubt that my application will be approved due to their requirements.
Eventually, I came across the Young Investor Programme Account by OCBC and decided to sign up for it. Besides the fact that it was convenient as I had placed my investment fund in an OCBC Frank account, what attracted me was the $50 trade commission rebate offered for the first trade made. Being frugal, having this account for my very first stock purchase was a no-brainer.
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| source: www.iocbc.com |
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For those who meet the eligibility requirement, you might want to consider signing up for this account. However, do take note that the trade commission rebate is a promotion and not a privilege. For more informaton on the account and promotion, kindly visit www.iocbc.com.
Regards
The Frugal Mat
As someone who is relatively new to investing, I only started dabbling in equities(stocks/shares etc) in mid-January 2014. With a portion of my savings, I bought my first stock, SATS, at a unit price of $3.08. It would have been Singtel but due to my eagerness to enter the market, I just went for whatever that was cheaper. A little regret now, lol.
Anyway, as it was sort of a big deal to me back then to be investing, I remembered looking up on the internet to learn as much as I can about SATS for at least a few months since late-2013. Prior to my research, I was aware that they are the one providing the passenger services at the airport. Upon researching, I discovered that they do so much more than that. I then became much more interested in their business, especially with words about a new terminal at the airport. That would clearly translate into more business for SATS in the future. And with that, I made up my mind. Being a noob, I based my entry price on the 52-week price range. Seeing that $3.08 was "good enough" for me, I made the queue(during my lunch break in school).
Being a newcomer, it was a quite an enriching experience to have my money in stocks and not in the "safety" of the bank. Seeing and feeling what it was like to have the value of my stock dropped a day after the purchase was quite daunting. It then went to stay lower for the next few months. Eventually, I learnt not to bother with the fluctuation of price.
Some time later in May, I realised that SATS was just not the business that I would want to be in at the point of time. I then divested my holdings and channelled the small profit to my investment fund. By pure luck I must say, that I managed to make a profit. It just happened that SATS was trading at a good price when I decided to exit.
As you can see, being invested is very simple. But of course, it requires some effort to determine your fate at it. As a newcomer, it took me months of reading forums, sites, blogs, news before making my purchase. I could have bought a bad business unknowingly if I had not done so.
Anyway, I hope what I had shared would motivate and interest others to pick up investing as well.
Regards
The Frugal Mat
It was my grandfather's 69th birthday yesterday. Naturally, there was a small family gathering and it was held at my uncle's place as my grandparents are living with him. Recalling how my grandfather used to look when I was little and now, he has certainly changed a lot(duhh). I bet he is also an envy of some for being blessed with a bunch of grateful children who are financially supporting and looking after him right now.
If I could remember correctly, my grandfather was forced to retire around 5-10 years ago by my mum and her siblings due to his deteriorating health. Of course he was very stubborn and reluctant but due to some incident which resulted to him being hospitalised, he had no choice but to retire. It was about time anyway. After all, he had no other responsibilities except for his household expenses and the utility bills.
From my understanding, my grandparents did not have much savings back then. My grandfather was the sole breadwinner of the family. Their "savings" for retirement were basically their fully paid 3-room HDB apartment and also my grandfather's CPF. After the above mentioned incident, the beloved apartment was sold off to my aunt and her husband so as to fund my grandparents' retirement needs. The proceeds were mostly in cash as the price paid by my grandfather when he bought the apartment was.... legendary (we will never see those figures ever again, HDB flats are expensive now). After the flat was sold, my uncle bought a flat and brought my grandparents to live with him.
With the arrangement, my grandparents have a place to live as well as a fund for their retirement needs, besides the allowance given by their children. I think my grandparents are leading a comfortable and adequate life at the moment. Especially for my grandfather, he is often seen playing those Puzzle Bobble games on his phone and watching the cable tv. Simple life indeed.
So why am I sharing all that? Well, celebrating my grandfather's birthday made me think and wonder. Will I be as fortunate and blessed as my grandparents? Will I have a roof over my head and the basic necessities? Will I have children who would sacrifice their time and resources to look after me when I am old?
I am not sure about others but I am not taking chances and leaving it to fate. I believe that I should be proactive when it comes to my golden years and retirement. With such goals in mind, I am sure that all my "sacrifices"(controlled spending, investing, etc) would pay off one day. And if I were to be blessed with good children while being proactive, then that's a bonus. Hope this post will set some of my fellow youths thinking.
Regards
The Frugal Mat
Hi, welcome to my blog. Do check out the "About Me" page to understand more about yours truly (;
From this day on, I will be blogging on various topics such as personal finance for students and youths, motorcycle ownership, my investing journey and definitely some controversial and sensational issues involving my people(Mats & Minahs).
I am an advocate of financial education. I believe everyone deserves and should be equipped with some knowledge on how to manage their personal finance at the very least. Such thinking and beliefs would not have been possible if was not for a very well-spent money on Robert Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad Poor Dad". At the point of reading, I was only 17 years of age and it definitely shaped my perspective towards financial education. Since then, I have been lending out my copy to my classmates and friends with a hope that they too can benefit from it.
At the age of 20, I then realised that proper management of personal finance is just one aspect of things. Soon, I found myself reading up on investments and by chance, I stumbled upon the "local scene" of investment blogs. I hope that with determination and also some support from the future readers, I will be able to blog for long-term.
Regards
The Frugal Mat
