"How do you play stocks? It looks so complicated."

"Or how about those horror stories about people committing suicide because they lost all their money?"

"Don't play stocks. So risky. Put money in bank better. Safe and will grow."

"Actually, I just see what other people buy then I just follow."

"Why don't you just buy those investment policies from professionals? They probably know what they're doing."

Welcome, dear reader. Ever had any of those ^ directed at you?


Those questions come to me more and more nowadays, from friends, family members, and colleagues. Let me introduce myself: I am a (soon-to-be) 25 year-old Singaporean male. I've recently stepped into the working world, and I wanted to look to stocks to supplement my income.

I have a milestone I want to reach by the time I hit 30. Let me share it with you guys - I want to have S$200,000.00 in savings/investments by the age of 30.

In order to reach this milestone, I realized I couldn't just rely on salary payments alone.

I first made this blog for friends, since they always were asking me about the stock market and what I bought, etc, etc. However, I've decided to post my portfolio online, in the hope that it would somehow help similar-minded people achieve their own milestones. This blog was also inspired by the likes of Dividend Warrior and Budget Babe - thought maybe I could contribute and make a difference too.

Before I carry on, I really must specify: Please do not follow what I do blindly, please do your own research and due diligence before you buy/sell stocks. Spy before you buy.


-%-%-

My mother was (and still is) especially resistant to my foray into the stock market. Horror stories from the past, along with sensational news of investors losing their money overnight (spurred on by the cases of Blumont, Asiasons, and Liongold in the more recent years), she was quick to tell me to simply put my salary in a savings account and to let it grow from there.

I gently asked her to let me prove it to her, and reiterated that I was not going to put the entirety of my savings into stocks.

This might be a good time to explain a few rules I have. These rules are easy to follow, and easy to understand:

1) NEVER follow blindly when buying/selling stocks.
- Analysts might have forecasts or write-ups about a certain stock, saying BUY or SELL - I've seen these predictions go straight to hell sometimes, burning young investors who simply followed what they thought was a 'professional in the industry'.

2) NEVER throw your entire savings account into stocks
- This is important - no matter how certain you are that a particular stock price is going to rise/remain stable. Don't. Bloody. Do. It. Remember that stock trading/investing is STILL risky. If it ends up going to hell, you'll lose all your cash, and just because life is a bitch sometimes, you might have something break/fall sick the next day. I'd go for 30% in savings and 70% in investments, especially if you're under 30.

3) ALWAYS do your research before buying
- Check their price performance. If you know how, check their financial statements (cash flow, etc). Check for any news, past performance, any scandals, etc. Catch up on world events - the Singapore market tends to be affected by international markets. To see how market sentiment is doing, you could also pop by any stock discussion forum on the net. Sharejunction is a pretty big one.

-%-%-

Now, my Current Holdings:


Name
Shares
Price
1.
SPH
2,000
3.58
2.
Singtel
1,000
3.49





In the past, I invested in SPH and was not disappointed. I bought the share at 3.80+ back then, which I liquidated after a while for some capital gain. Singtel, I thought, could be picked up on a discount. Both represented steady, dividend-yielding blue chips. I bought these shortly before CNY 2016. Day trading is a little hard for me now, since my work keeps me busy for most of the day, so for the most part, I'll be looking into investments.

Due to recent news about oil price, I may be looking into KeppelCorp again - something that I've only been keeping an eye on, due to the massive drop in price. 

-%-%-

One hell of a wall of text for my first post. Feel free to drop me any questions or comments. If you think this blog is a cool idea, or if these ideas have helped you, feel free to comment. If you think I'm an idiot, feel free to comment too. 

Until next time.


Peace

Creed


2 comments:

  1. Hi Creed,

    Welcome to the investment world as well as the financial blogosphere.

    Hope you have a great and enjoyable journey.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much, Rolf. :) And thank you for dropping by!

      Delete

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