Another long weekend to enjoy and we are busy going for our various personal care appointments & shopping for stuff that we need for the upcoming 2 week trip to West Coast USA. It’s going to be a short week for us since Mon is a public holiday and we will be flying off to San Francisco on Fri morning. Just a 3 day work week for us to get through before we can get away! Anyway, we are catching Guardians of the Galaxy 2 later and thought I will squeeze in a post in the meantime.
A regular end of the month update about our dividend income for Apr 2017.
SGX
- Phillip APAC REIT ETF S$ (BYJ): S$82
LSE
- Vanguard ETFs (World, US, Europe, UK, Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific): S$136
DIVIDEND INCOME FOR APR 2017: S$218
Due to the recent sale transactions, our dividend income for Apr 2017 is about 15% less than that for Apr 2016. We are expecting a big dividend income month coming up in May 2017, but it is expected to be less than May 2016 as well for the same reason. It’s frustrating in the short term to watch our dividend income progress stall and even take a step backward due to our portfolio restructuring efforts. Eventually, the increased income from the fewer but larger value ETFs should make up for this in the long term.
As we get older, I find we get more impatient with our wealth-building or financial progress. We try to look for higher returns on our limited capital and tend to underestimate the increased risks involved in doing so. I reckon it has to do with us spending more time in the workforce and building our careers. It leaves you tired, wanting a change and you eventually try to supercharge your savings & investments as a buffer to take a break. The slow and steady approach is not going to sell to someone who is trying to maximise his returns to get out of his current lifestyle. Because it means he still needs to spend more time working and planning a way out even if it is a more sustainable strategy.
These push and pull factors are affecting us more now. We have started discussing the possibility of having a kid next year but can’t seem to give up on our current lifestyles. We know we will need a bigger 3-bedroom apartment that continues to be relatively close to my parents-in-law but it would be an expensive endeavour given the area we live in. Plus we are not sure whether we should sell our current smaller 2-bedroom apartment to free up the home equity or we should try to lease it out as a rental property.
We are okay to slow down in our careers and give ourselves more time with each other, our families & friends. Especially if we have kids. But we enjoy the luxuries that we indulge in and we have not been successful at managing our expenses. Which means to make up for the loss of higher salary income, we will need more dividend and interest income. The thing about ETF investing is that it is slow but sustainable with market returns and decent dividend income. It takes a long time to see results, which conflicts directly with our plans for the next decade to achieve early retirement.
I guess this is what the journey to financial independence is like. Uneven, messy, conflicting priorities, a constant balancing act with many ups and downs. But this has always been my aim with this blog. It should chart all the successes we achieve, failures we endure, challenges we overcome and uncertainties that make us doubt. The issue is whether we are doing enough, too much or we should be doing more. And this is something that has been occupying my mind lately. Maybe we might have more clarity after our trip to the US. Time to get away.
Hi Finance Smith,
I’m a loyal reader of your blog. Thank you so much for sharing your journey to financial freedom. I have been reading a lot about investing in Vanguard ETF, particularly on a number of US investment sites. I would like to explore this option myself. May I know how you go about setting up an account on Vanguard in Singapore. Your reply is much appreciated!
Hi Sophia,
Thanks and I hope the blog has been useful to you. To invest in Vanguard ETFs in Singapore, you would have to set up a brokerage account and potentially a Central Depository (CDP) account (depending on which brokerage you use). I use the Standard Chartered online equities trading platform (set up SGX, USD and GBP trading and settlement accounts) to purchase Vanguard ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Stan Chart online equities trading platform does not require you to set up a CDP account. I also use DBS Vickers but not as often and this requires you to set up a CDP account. I don’t think there are Vanguard ETFs listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
Cheers,
John
Hello John,
Thank you for responding to my query. I’ll check out the Standard Chartered platform.
Yes, Finance Smiths has been very beneficial to me. Your posts are succinct and insightful. I can imagine the amount of effort you put into every single post. Thank you once again for the great work!
Sophia L
No worries. Glad to hear that and thanks!
This post resonates with me totally. The only difference is my household of 2 probably spend less than yours (due to your several expensive trips a year, and frequent watching of moves, I presume your lifestyle is quite atas). I expect a high return on my investment but in reality it is not the same. When I see stocks like AEM soar like crazy but I didn’t buy a single of it, I am like why didn’t I buy AEM and bought XXX/YYY instead? haha. I seriously think that you need to consider cutting down on luxury expenses. Of course, having a high income is good but for me I don’t want to be in the rat race and constantly having to cover my ass (afraid of being backstabbed) all the time. I am considering not working altogether next year onwards (mind you, I will be only 32 next year) and relying on my dividend income. Let’s say that I also have a stash of cash that is expected to come in the near future. But for you and your wife, my advice is just to cut down on expenses really. In life, I think the most precious thing to be is the ability to do what I want to speak, listen, and act. I don’t want to speak, listen and act in a way that people in my office wants me to just because I am reliant on my salary for my living. You get what I mean… Signing off as Anonymous but you should know roughly who I am…
Haha, yes, I know we should consider cutting down on our luxury expenses. We used to be a lot more careful with our spending but it has really gone up ever since our incomes were higher in Singapore. Trying to wind it back is proving to be tougher than I expected. We don’t enjoy being in the rat race as well and it can be stressful to be constantly looking out for ourselves in the office. Thanks for the advice!