Movember 27/11/13

Almost the end of Movember and it has been such a fabulous month so far where growing my facial hair is concerned.

Does anyone notice a white strand of beard on my chin?!

All donations are appreciated! Do so here!

The SingTel MioTV Problem

I have a problem. SingTel MioTV charges are way too high so much so that I cannot just wave it off anymore.

Right now I'm paying about $90/mth for EPL and the internet.

Come next month, I have to pay $130/mth for abit more channels that I will probably not watch and higher speed internet that I do not need.

On a compulsory 2-year contract, I have been paying $2,160 in total. With the new contract, I will pay $3,120.

How?

Cardiff City 2 Manchester United 2

Heartbreak. Really wasted not getting the 3pts with a last minute concession.

1) Poor And Scrappy Play

Coming after an International weekend and going away to Wales, you kinda get the feeling the play will not be top notch. But some of the levels of play at times during the game was worse than Championship football. Januzaj, Hernandez, Cleverly were playing particularly poorly.

2) Long Injury List

We were missing five guaranteed starters. RVP, Carrick, Vidic, Jones and Rafael. All crucial elements. Add to that Kagawa and Nani weren't available as well. This will be a tough run of games for us with so many guys out.

3) Fellaini And Smalling Shine

This will split opinions. With the long injury list, it was a chance for the fringe players to stamp some authority. Smalling isn't a natural RB but has done very well defensively. What's lacking is his offense in that position. Fellaini was finally beginning to show some semblance of his Everton days. Could've been better with his distribution but still overall better than most times I've seen him all season.

Not much else in last night's ho-hum game. Hopefully we start winning matches again soon. Last night was definitely 2 precious points lost.

GGMU!!!

Hide And Seek

While playing hide-and-seek at home with the kids, I found:

1) a necktie that I thought I had lost some 3yrs ago

2) the sofa couch in the room is broken

3) a lost travel receipt that I didn't claim from a year ago

The fun of #lostandfound

Jurong SAFRA: Kids Amaze

Celebrated the Brigade's 44th birthday at Jurong SAFRA today.

It was nice to see all the familiar faces and interact with them. But the actual highlight was the gargantuan indoor kid's playground called Kids Amaze. It was HUGE!

Probably the largest I have ever seen in Singapore. It sported 5 stories of climbing and had many slides and annexes for different types of fun. The star gem was one of the tallest boot slides in Asia!

Plus it's only half the price you would pay if you had gone to Polliwogs. Such an unknown wonder!

Value Investing Summit 2014

Missed it earlier this year and heard it was a really good and educational event with zero selling of any products involved.

Decided to drag the wifey there this year.

Gonna be intense.

Towards better valued passive income streams!

Read more about this year's event here!

You can catch a video of what to expect here.

Here's an independent blogger review as well.

Huat ah!!!

Passive Income

Lately alot of successful REIT investors are touting their high passive returns.

From the dividend warrior who has generated some 6+% returns YoY on his 200K portfolio, to the blogger who currently lives on 5K passive income and a fairly modest paycheck (5K as well).

These guys are achieving what I myself hope to achieve in time.

The key caveat to all these feel-good stories is the simple fact that passive investing and value investing is a long term thing, and returns are not guaranteed and will fluctuate according to market conditions.

Yet with the right financial acumen and knowledge, one can really reduce the risks of volatility on one's stock portfolio.

REITs may be high yielding but once interest rates rise, they may be the first to suffer due to their high gearing.

Everyone is already expecting some form of tapering from the US FED either in Dec or Mar of next year. Add to that another potential US shutdown looming in mid Jan. It all makes the current market surge look quite irrational.

But then we all know that the market can remain irrational for far longer than you have capital, right?

Be safe out there.

Movember 19/11/13

I had to shave it off for a client event (no such thing as neat trimmings for my kinda growths).

It's starting to look messy again.

Interested to make a donation to the Movember cause? Do so here!

My Home, The Warzone

Manchester United 1 Arsenal 0

Wow. What a difference one big win makes. Haven't felt this confident this season until last night. Quite possibly our best performance in the David Moyes era.

1) Solid All-round Performance

For once if asked to pick a terrible performer, it would be a little difficult. Everyone ran their serious tense socks off. If there was one downer, it was that Kagawa failed to impress when given the start. More on that in a bit.

2) Phil Jones DA MONSTER

It's funny that people don't rate him as highly as some other stars we have. This guy is such a monster playing DMF. Even after he shifted back to CB due to Vidic's injury, he was still such a pillar. He plays so darn at DMF that Fellaini has to settle for the bench. Truly a joy to watch his boundless energy and strength. So strong and brave that even the opponents get scared. One particular incident inthe first half summed it up: he challenged for a header and clashed heads with Arsenal's keeper in the 2nd half. Result: the keeper was knocked out cold, while Jones was just scratching his head.

3) Rooney The Workhorse

You can't deny that Rooney didn't have his best game last night. He was lookin rusty and his first and second touches were quite poor. But as the game wore on, whatever he lacked in simple control, he made it up with his boundless running. Even till the 90th minute, he was runnin box to box harrying and hounding. This guy is slowly but surely winning himself back into the fans' hearts. Hopefully more of such to come.

4) Van Persie The Inspired

Someone or something really got to him pre-match and he really played like he was possessed. Haven't seen that since Moyes took over. His goal was sublime and showed why he's our main man up front. His celebration was surprising, but respect cuts both ways and maybe it was the Arsenal fans that got to him. Still, no matter, an inspired RVP is simply unplayable on the night.

5) Kagawa Conundrum 

Say what you like, I really love Kagawa for being Asian and being at my club, but the truth has to be said. If there was a player I would say didn't do so well last night, it would be him. Saw very little of the ball, defensive work always needed cover and had very little influence. End of the day there is no need to move heaven and earth for any one player and if Kagawa cannot fit into the David Moyes system, then so be it. Sell him and I'll wish him all the very best. I still wished he'd succeed at Man United but from last night's performance, it sure isn't looking too bright.

So, suddenly we are only 5pts off the top in 5th place with all to play for. Haven't felt so confident this season till now. Let's win some trophies now!

GGMU!!!

Movember 10/11/13

A third of the way through!

Shorting Twitter

Simply amazing.

Already IPO-ing at a phenomenal price of $26/share, this loss-making company can still rocket up to $50 on its first trading day, before closing at around $44.

Indeed, the market can behave more irrationally than we have money.

Here's a good prelude written in the Economist.

SHORT!

Fulham 1 Manchester United 3

Good win last night, although it was marred by injuries. 

1) Some Of The Best Football

The first half we definitely played some of our best football, carving Fulham up like a knife through butter. Rooney and Januzaj were our creative catalysts and they were a joy to watch. More of this please.

2) Injury Concerns

The second half was a different story altogether as Cleverly, Evans and Rafael had to be replaced at halftime due to injuries. Up until then, Evra had also taken a knock on his leg. While Januzaj was stamped at the end of the match. Just hoping there are no serious injury concerns going into midweek, with Real Sociedad to play and then Arsenal at home next weekend.

3) Rooney MOTM

It seems like he doesn't get enough credit and rightly so when he's wanted out of United twice already. Yet credit where credit is due, his form this season is back to his scintillating best. Last night he pulled the strings playing in an attacking midfield position and dominated the likes of Steve Sidwell and Scott Parker. Aside from a few list possessions in dangerous positions he also helped defend brilliantly.

4) Adnan Is A Marked Man

Seems like the rest of the league have singled him out as the one to injure. He was fouled the most last night and was on the end of an obscene stamped from a Fulham player near the end. Hopefully retrospective action is taken as the league needs to protect its star players. Was good to see Fellaini jumping in to defend him though.

5) Defensively We Are Getting Better

Sure we concede once more, but on the night's performance with Evans and Vidic at the heart of our defence. After Evans went out at halftime, Smalling came in to fill Evans' position and they did fairly well. Hopefully we string more cleansheets together moving forward.

Onwards and upwards!

GGMU!!!

Movember 02/11/13

Here we go!