We are coming to the end of the 2nd week since the start of the circuit breaker measures in Singapore on Tues 7 Apr. I went into the office on Mon 13 Apr morning to fix the last of my work laptop issues. And commenced working from home in the afternoon onwards. So this is the first full week of my wife and I working from home together.
It has been quite the experience as we had to set up separate work stations in the living and dining areas of our small 2 bedroom apartment. With the baby and helper moving around, all of us interacting at such close proximity every day is bound to cause friction. The first few days were tough for so many reasons.
My wife is trying to catch up on months of BAU work stuff and pivoting her job scope into a less demanding role in project. This requires multiple conference calls with colleagues and attempting it with a work from home arrangement for the entire office locally and overseas has been challenging. It has added a lot more stress and pressure on her, which made it difficult for her to spend quality time with the baby.
Or just being there to take care of him in general. Something my wife feels guilty about as she grapples with the challenges of being a working mum. This is already not as bad as if she had to go into the office and more time is used on transport and meetings. Her aim for next week is to keep catching up with her colleagues and learn more about the new job scope. While better managing the time split better work and family so she doesn’t get overwhelmed by having to constantly deal with conflicting priorities. The situation should improve for her over time.
The transition to working from home has been smoother for me. Mostly because I’m not the one coming back from maternity leave. It’s just a matter of pushing back new initiatives and focusing on BAU work stuff. The upside for me is having more time to spend with the baby now that I’m at home a lot more. I get to do some of the morning baths, feedings and playtime with him. While it’s the reverse for my wife as she has less time for that with work occupying more of her day. So it’s time for me to step up and support her now more than ever as I’m actually at home in the day.
It’s a work in progress as we both have to adjust individually and together in this new work from home environment. Because we think the circuit breaker measures in Singapore are going to be extended until the end of May. And the work from home arrangement might last until Jun. But it still beats going into the office for now. Though we think the optimal state is a blend of work from office and home. This is our ultimate objective we are looking to achieve going forward with our jobs.
As for investments, the equity markets have rebounded and I’m staying on the sidelines for now. I had already invested S$150,000 into ETFs, robo-advisors and individual stocks during the market falls so I don’t have as much fear of missing out. My Dollar-Cost Averaging into ETFs and robo-advisors of more than S$1,000 every week is increasing my positions in the equity markets so I stay invested. But all manual lump sum investing have come to a complete stop. As I wait to assess the extent of economic damage done and how deep of a recession we are in from the fallout of Covid-19. More data is needed and only time will tell.
This pause in investing actions has also given us time to reassess our asset allocation in such unpredictable times. Our total asset is reaching S$1.45m and its composition is looking healthier now since we were too cash heavy previously.
- Cash (Investing, Spending and Emergency) – 35%
- Investments (ETFs, Robo-Advisors, Individual Stocks & Bonds and Insurance) – 35%
- Retirement Funds (CPF and Superannuation) – 30%
Our liabilities will keep going down as we plan to continue paying our monthly housing loan and income tax instalments. We don’t intend to apply for the associated Covid-19 relief measures because they are not meant for us. We haven’t been as badly impacted as others in most aspects of our lives. Still being employed means we have enough monthly cashflow to pay off our big mortgage and high expenses for now.
Our net worth is approaching S$900,000 but the rate of increase has slowed down. We still have a long way more to go with the Covid-19 fallout so we are just satisfied with any kind of monthly progress. It can get a lot worse so we are just hunkering down in our bunker at home and weathering the ongoing medical, economic and financial storm caused by Covid-19. Stay safe everyone, take care of yourselves and let’s look forward to better times ahead.
Feel sorry for you guys man. Why do you have to struggle so much in life. Life would have been so simple if all families decided that only 1 person will work and the other will take care of the family. But since all families now want everything, everyone goes to work and the cost of living has gone up due to increased earnings. In the end you are back to the same financial position but with more stress.
Yup, understand what you mean. But my wife and I would still prefer to work than for one of us to stay at home and take care of the family. Just a matter of personal preferences and there’s benefits to being a dual-income family with both of us working full-time in office jobs. And it’s worth the additional stress and pressure we are dealing with for now.
I think in Singapore both couples have to work to cope with the high standard of living.
I agree. Singapore is an expensive country/city to live in!