I decided to add our StocksCafe portfolio back onto the blog. After all, I’m now a paid subscriber and I might as well display it as a monitoring tool for myself too. Anyway, I added in several USX transactions to simulate the StashAway and Smartly robo-advisor accounts investments in US-listed ETFs. They are not going to be accurate in terms of average purchase prices and number of units since I’m only entering them in at the end of each month to approximate the accounts values.
The useful part about having these US-listed ETFs on our StocksCafe portfolio is that I can better track the dividend payout dates and amounts. I know the dividends are being re-invested but I might still include them as passive income on my Google Sheet. And I get a more complete view of the local and global components of our portfolio in one snapshot i.e. Singapore ETFs vs Foreign ETFs.
Jan 2018 Net Worth: S$373,252 (+S$40,140 and +12.05%)
There is a big drop in our investments because I sold out of a number of major positions to lock in the profits. As a result, this has increased our cash holdings significantly. My retirement funds also went up by quite a bit due to the higher than normal Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions and interest earned. Consequently, this combination of factors has pushed our total assets above S$1 million.
However, our sizeable mortgage continues to be a drag on our net worth. I keep reading about how overpaying for a property can really dampen your wealth-building efforts and I totally agree with it. I know owning and staying in an apartment relatively close to my parents-in-law has many benefits but it has come at a financial cost that we continue to grapple with each month. The problem is the current property market in Singapore is not easy to navigate. It has stayed at elevated levels for several years now mainly due to a low interest rate and low unemployment rate environment. Still not sure what is the right move for us now.
Take the leap of faith, sell and rent maybe for the next 1-2 years.
Haha, that’s what I’m struggling with. Sell and rent when I’m planning to start a family doesn’t seem to make sense to me!
Yeah that’s quite tricky, especially since you plan to start a family and happen to live near your in laws, that level of convenience is unparalleled!
Yes! Even without kids, the convenience of living near my in-laws has been useful. I can see us relying on them even more with kids, which is why it’s more likely that we might buy a bigger apartment rather than start renting. But property prices are so expensive! Haha.