After giving the letter of resignation at the end of Feb, my lunch appointments were quickly filled up. For those who were late, I made 'coffee break' appointments with them.
But in the office, my mind was constantly distracted with the preparation to migrate. We managed to find a tenant to rent our place, did a 'power of attorney' to appoint our uncle to be in charge of the property while we are away.
The week before Good Friday and Easter was filled with extra choir practices until the actual day. It would be my last choir practise and I'd miss it. I don't think I would quickly join another choir in Sydney so it would be a long break until then.
My husband just threw a farewell party at home, inviting 40-odd friends and colleagues to see our place (he said his friends wanted to see his house before he leaves). I was too lazy to do the same and I don't like to have different groups of friends gather at one event. So, I met each group separately but would be happy if there is no farewell gathering. Farewell meetings sound quite sad....
My husband managed to sell his some of this marine fish stuff today. So our aquarium looks very bare now. The fish has no rocks to hide or sleep in. Oh well, I hope they found a better 'home' with the new owners. We don't plan to start a new aquarium in Sydney too as we would probably be too busy exploring the country for the next 1-2 years.
I am going to buy some boxes from SingPost to pack all my books and other stuff. I got a quote from SingPost that it cost about $90 per 20kg package, but I will try to get the details tomorrow.
I'd need to sell my Bank's shares by Thursday! The stock price has plummeted since last June when I bought it using the Bank's staff purchase. I don't think I'd make money at all! Oh well, who can predict the market, right?
Oh, I'd need to pay income tax too! Hope i could remember that, but even if i forget, it could still be done once in Sydney.
Something that is more urgent is trying to get a dress for my BIL's wedding on Friday. I don't think I have anything that could fit me anymore and I don't want to wear a dress that I have worn for 2 weddings this year! I am going back Jakarta for my friend's wedding (oh, so i could wear the same dress for this wedding too) and I have a few list of things that my friends asked me to buy.
I hate shopping actually. I won't go window-shopping and I only shop if I need to buy something. So I don't mind shopping if I have a list of things to buy. The only problem is, because I seldom shop, I don't know where to get them.
Today, I went to Takashimaya to look for this 'fridgeplay' stationary for my friend, and couldn't find it. Instead, I bought my husband a new wallet to replace his old one (I promised him I'd get him one since last year). But I just realised that it would look awkward to buy him a gift when tonight we're celebrating my MIL's birthday with a dinner hehehee... So I was hoping I could find a gift for her. It was hard to find a wonderful present for my wonderful MIL. I was late for dinner so I just got a bag (I wanted to buy a wallet initially) instead. I knew she'd appreciate the bag, but I felt a bit guilty about not giving myself an ample time to look for the gift.
Both my MIL and FIL told me that I'm such a good DIL and told that to everybody! It made me a bit 'paiseh' as I know I'm not. I often told my friends, my own parents and my choir members of how I let my MIL clean my room & toilet and didn't insist in helping MIL with washing the dishes. Even my own parents were shocked when I told them about it and told me to behave like a proper DIL or they'd lose face (hehe...)
So I have a little vested interest in making sure my PIL come with us to Sydney but it's a win-win situation as my PIL want to stay with us too :) I guess I'm blessed to be given 2 wonderful persons as my PIL. I love my parents but my PIL are closer to what I want to be when I become a parent myself. Modern, open, selfless (at least towards own family), have a good sense of humour, romantic (even at their age) and young at heart (they jog daily).
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Bank West
There are a few products that I'm thinking of getting once I am there.
1) Hero A/c
This transaction a/c has no maintenance fees, higher interest rates (5%) and unlimited free electronic transactions.
The not-so-good part is that the interest is only up to balance of $5K, so I should not put too much money there. Also, there has to be a $2K deposit every month, which should not be a problem.
2) Regular Saver a/c
High interest (9%) but only limited to $500/mth regular savings with no withdrawals.
3) Telenet Saver
Savings accounts at high interest rate at 7.25% (promotional rate at 7.75%), with no minimum deposits and no fees :) Yippeeee... It's much better than ING a/c I'm having right now
4) tddirect
Fixed deposit a/c. I think it's a bit higher than ING too.
5) Zero Master card
I'm so used to not paying annual fees for credit cards so I may just get this one.
1) Hero A/c
This transaction a/c has no maintenance fees, higher interest rates (5%) and unlimited free electronic transactions.
The not-so-good part is that the interest is only up to balance of $5K, so I should not put too much money there. Also, there has to be a $2K deposit every month, which should not be a problem.
2) Regular Saver a/c
High interest (9%) but only limited to $500/mth regular savings with no withdrawals.
3) Telenet Saver
Savings accounts at high interest rate at 7.25% (promotional rate at 7.75%), with no minimum deposits and no fees :) Yippeeee... It's much better than ING a/c I'm having right now
4) tddirect
Fixed deposit a/c. I think it's a bit higher than ING too.
5) Zero Master card
I'm so used to not paying annual fees for credit cards so I may just get this one.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Final leg of migration
The day I had been waiting for finally came. On 29th Feb morning, I checked my bonus using internet banking from home and decided to move the money to my husband's account. I know it sounds silly as the bank couldn't un-credit the amount credited into my account, but I decided to be 'kiasi' about it :)
After finishing with the bank transfer, I got my hubby to check if he received it and ask him for his resignation letter. I changed it slightly and printed it out. Then, I i-chat my team leader to inform him of my intention and for us to discuss about it privately. After which, I informed my close colleagues about the resignation personally as I think it's only fair they know about it earlier than the rest.
I think they are sad. It's always sad to know another of your colleagues is leaving, I understand. On the other hand, I think I would be sad to leave Singapore, my comfort zone. But at the moment, I am caught up with the preparation to migrate.
So far, we managed to get tenants to rent our flat, pending approval from HDB. I contacted a recruitment agent to help me look out for contract roles. I would need to change address for all my correspondence, cancel most of my credit cards, start sorting things out to pack and ship over to Sydney. We would throw a farewell party for our close friends at the end of March (my husband's idea). Pretty exciting :)
We have not decided which day we are going to fly but it would be either 2nd or 3rd week of April.
Australia here we come, we are going to contribute to your 40% tax :)
After finishing with the bank transfer, I got my hubby to check if he received it and ask him for his resignation letter. I changed it slightly and printed it out. Then, I i-chat my team leader to inform him of my intention and for us to discuss about it privately. After which, I informed my close colleagues about the resignation personally as I think it's only fair they know about it earlier than the rest.
I think they are sad. It's always sad to know another of your colleagues is leaving, I understand. On the other hand, I think I would be sad to leave Singapore, my comfort zone. But at the moment, I am caught up with the preparation to migrate.
So far, we managed to get tenants to rent our flat, pending approval from HDB. I contacted a recruitment agent to help me look out for contract roles. I would need to change address for all my correspondence, cancel most of my credit cards, start sorting things out to pack and ship over to Sydney. We would throw a farewell party for our close friends at the end of March (my husband's idea). Pretty exciting :)
We have not decided which day we are going to fly but it would be either 2nd or 3rd week of April.
Australia here we come, we are going to contribute to your 40% tax :)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Article: So long, mortgage stress
I am still wondering whether it's a good idea to rent and invest the rest of savings, rather than committing to a mortgage. Anyway, I would still need to rent for a couple of years to save for the deposit, before deciding whether to buy a house or continue renting.
I rented for 10 over years in Singapore before buying a flat a couple of years ago. I hate the thought having to move every 1-2 years.
So long, mortgage stress
Author: Paul Edwards Date: February 12, 2008Publication: The Age (subscribe)
The dream of home ownership is becoming less and less attractive, writes Paul Edwards.
Don't despair if you can't raise the deposit for the house you want - with a slight change of mindset you could be living in style while benefiting from whatever rich pickings there might be in investment markets.
Conventional wisdom says a home of your own is a holy grail. But that so-called wisdom might sometimes be wrong - is our national obsession with climbing the home-owning ladder right for everyone?
In Australia just over 70% of households own their home either with or without debt. That's about double the rate for Switzerland, even though the Swiss have just about the world's highest incomes.
The usual alternative to ownership is renting, and for many people this is not only the best way of getting the home of their dreams - they can often do it with the blessing of their financial advisers.
More and more people are questioning the sense of locking away savings in a 25-year mortgage and losing the potential of flexible alternative investments that might be less stressful and equally profitable.
So long as the money you would spend on buying is invested elsewhere at a similar or higher potential return, you could rent a much better home than you could afford to buy while still increasing your wealth.
Finance planner Hans Luiten - while declaring that he invests in both property and the share market - says it is generally agreed that shares outperform property in the long run.
"However, unlike property, not long ago you'd have found it difficult to borrow the full amount of a share portfolio. Now you can, so people are seeing the benefits of investing in something which can be sold in a matter of seconds, rather than go through the trauma of an auction or even private sale.
"The price of well-located Melbourne homes is beyond the reach of many people, but not if they choose to rent. They can live in property way above the standard they could afford to buy and, in the meantime, can be investing elsewhere."
Even the real estate industry agrees that buying a home is not always the best course. Neil Laws, president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, says there are times when renting is better than owning.
"If accumulating wealth while having somewhere to live is your primary aim it is worth considering the financial benefits of renting and investing.
"It may be that, depending on your housing requirements, it is more financially beneficial to rent and invest than to pay off a mortgage and maintain a home."
So why do we often feel we have failed in life if we don't own our own home?
Psychologist John Bacash says people become seduced by messages to buy a home even though it may not be appropriate.
"They see ownership as a symbol of security and status, when in fact it may be neither. This struggle to manage a mortgage regularly breaks up marriages and families.
"People should let go of their initial concepts about buying a home, do some solid research about whether renting might not be better for them, then trust their inner feelings to make the right decision.
"I think we're too often convinced by arguments such those put up by real estate marketers, and can feel inferior if we don't buy a home. Instead of succumbing to this pressure, people should decide what's best in their own case."
Darren McMullin, rental manager with real estate agents Kay & Burton, says he knows a number of extremely wealthy people who prefer renting to buying.
"There's a client on my books who is about to sell his Toorak home and will rent for at least 18-24 months while he sees what is happening in the property market. Currently, he feels he can do much better in alternative investment fields."
It's a matter of mindset and maths. Once you accept that renting might not be a bad proposition, a simple calculation could blow apart the notion that money paid to a landlord is wasted money.
Take the case of a couple with no savings, but annual earnings of $150,000. They can rent something really good for $40,000, allow $85,000 for living expenses and tax, and save $25,000 a year towards a deposit for their own place.
Alternatively, they can dismiss the idea of buying their own home and use that $25,000 to increase their wealth through alternative investments, which can still include listed or direct property.
Or consider superannuants who sell the family home for $750,000 and add the proceeds to their pension fund. At 10% that $750,000 would earn roughly $1500 a week, with which they could rent a penthouse in St Kilda Road or a really luxurious home in an inner suburb.
Properties such as these often sell for about $1.75 million, so our superannuants would be living in considerable style and, best of all, the $750,000 is still preserved in their pension fund.
Darren McMullin agrees, and cites an Elsternwick property worth about $1.2 million which rents for $1200 a week and a $4 million Toorak mansion which rents for $2600 a week.
Indulge your fantasies and consider what would happen if you sold that Toorak mansion, invested the money wisely, and joined the rental market.
Your $4 million invested at 10% would return about $8000 a week - before tax - which would let you rent another mansion for $2600 a week, have $5400 a week to invest - and keep the $4 million in one piece.
Interesting? The concept gets even better when you consider that, as a tenant, you don't have to worry about rates, maintenance, body corporate fees and all the other nasties that beset the property owner.
If you see a crack in the wall all you have to do is point it out to the owner and let him or her worry about it.
A major consideration in the rent or buy debate is the behaviour of the housing market. Conventional wisdom says you will always make money from well-located real estate, and while that may be true in the long term, it might not be true at the precise moment you want to sell.
Property can most certainly drop in value. It happened during the 1991 recession in Australia and it is happening now in America and possibly Britain. While there are few indicators to say it will happen here, history shows when America sneezes Australia often catches a cold.
This is something tenants don't have to worry about. Just like that crack in the wall, it can be filed away under NMP - Not My Problem.
Renting is viable now
One man who knows a lot about renting is Mark O'Brien, head of the Tenants Union of Victoria. He says the private rental market can work well for tenants who have financial capacity and can successfully deal with landlords and estate agents.
"Often these tenants can make the choice to live in the area they want but without the cost of home ownership," Mr O'Brien says.
"My family, for example, rents a new unit in a middle ring suburb. To buy with a standard deposit would mean mortgage repayments almost double what we pay in rent."
He says the transition to home ownership is now occurring later in life for most people and if they take out a 25-year mortgage in their late 30s, they may be unlikely to have the house paid off until close to retirement.
"Previous generations had the benefit of entering into home purchase earlier in their lives and at comparatively lower prices. The average house price has grown from about two or three times annual average weekly earnings to about five or six times annual average weekly earnings."
I rented for 10 over years in Singapore before buying a flat a couple of years ago. I hate the thought having to move every 1-2 years.
So long, mortgage stress
Author: Paul Edwards Date: February 12, 2008Publication: The Age (subscribe)
The dream of home ownership is becoming less and less attractive, writes Paul Edwards.
Don't despair if you can't raise the deposit for the house you want - with a slight change of mindset you could be living in style while benefiting from whatever rich pickings there might be in investment markets.
Conventional wisdom says a home of your own is a holy grail. But that so-called wisdom might sometimes be wrong - is our national obsession with climbing the home-owning ladder right for everyone?
In Australia just over 70% of households own their home either with or without debt. That's about double the rate for Switzerland, even though the Swiss have just about the world's highest incomes.
The usual alternative to ownership is renting, and for many people this is not only the best way of getting the home of their dreams - they can often do it with the blessing of their financial advisers.
More and more people are questioning the sense of locking away savings in a 25-year mortgage and losing the potential of flexible alternative investments that might be less stressful and equally profitable.
So long as the money you would spend on buying is invested elsewhere at a similar or higher potential return, you could rent a much better home than you could afford to buy while still increasing your wealth.
Finance planner Hans Luiten - while declaring that he invests in both property and the share market - says it is generally agreed that shares outperform property in the long run.
"However, unlike property, not long ago you'd have found it difficult to borrow the full amount of a share portfolio. Now you can, so people are seeing the benefits of investing in something which can be sold in a matter of seconds, rather than go through the trauma of an auction or even private sale.
"The price of well-located Melbourne homes is beyond the reach of many people, but not if they choose to rent. They can live in property way above the standard they could afford to buy and, in the meantime, can be investing elsewhere."
Even the real estate industry agrees that buying a home is not always the best course. Neil Laws, president of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, says there are times when renting is better than owning.
"If accumulating wealth while having somewhere to live is your primary aim it is worth considering the financial benefits of renting and investing.
"It may be that, depending on your housing requirements, it is more financially beneficial to rent and invest than to pay off a mortgage and maintain a home."
So why do we often feel we have failed in life if we don't own our own home?
Psychologist John Bacash says people become seduced by messages to buy a home even though it may not be appropriate.
"They see ownership as a symbol of security and status, when in fact it may be neither. This struggle to manage a mortgage regularly breaks up marriages and families.
"People should let go of their initial concepts about buying a home, do some solid research about whether renting might not be better for them, then trust their inner feelings to make the right decision.
"I think we're too often convinced by arguments such those put up by real estate marketers, and can feel inferior if we don't buy a home. Instead of succumbing to this pressure, people should decide what's best in their own case."
Darren McMullin, rental manager with real estate agents Kay & Burton, says he knows a number of extremely wealthy people who prefer renting to buying.
"There's a client on my books who is about to sell his Toorak home and will rent for at least 18-24 months while he sees what is happening in the property market. Currently, he feels he can do much better in alternative investment fields."
It's a matter of mindset and maths. Once you accept that renting might not be a bad proposition, a simple calculation could blow apart the notion that money paid to a landlord is wasted money.
Take the case of a couple with no savings, but annual earnings of $150,000. They can rent something really good for $40,000, allow $85,000 for living expenses and tax, and save $25,000 a year towards a deposit for their own place.
Alternatively, they can dismiss the idea of buying their own home and use that $25,000 to increase their wealth through alternative investments, which can still include listed or direct property.
Or consider superannuants who sell the family home for $750,000 and add the proceeds to their pension fund. At 10% that $750,000 would earn roughly $1500 a week, with which they could rent a penthouse in St Kilda Road or a really luxurious home in an inner suburb.
Properties such as these often sell for about $1.75 million, so our superannuants would be living in considerable style and, best of all, the $750,000 is still preserved in their pension fund.
Darren McMullin agrees, and cites an Elsternwick property worth about $1.2 million which rents for $1200 a week and a $4 million Toorak mansion which rents for $2600 a week.
Indulge your fantasies and consider what would happen if you sold that Toorak mansion, invested the money wisely, and joined the rental market.
Your $4 million invested at 10% would return about $8000 a week - before tax - which would let you rent another mansion for $2600 a week, have $5400 a week to invest - and keep the $4 million in one piece.
Interesting? The concept gets even better when you consider that, as a tenant, you don't have to worry about rates, maintenance, body corporate fees and all the other nasties that beset the property owner.
If you see a crack in the wall all you have to do is point it out to the owner and let him or her worry about it.
A major consideration in the rent or buy debate is the behaviour of the housing market. Conventional wisdom says you will always make money from well-located real estate, and while that may be true in the long term, it might not be true at the precise moment you want to sell.
Property can most certainly drop in value. It happened during the 1991 recession in Australia and it is happening now in America and possibly Britain. While there are few indicators to say it will happen here, history shows when America sneezes Australia often catches a cold.
This is something tenants don't have to worry about. Just like that crack in the wall, it can be filed away under NMP - Not My Problem.
Renting is viable now
One man who knows a lot about renting is Mark O'Brien, head of the Tenants Union of Victoria. He says the private rental market can work well for tenants who have financial capacity and can successfully deal with landlords and estate agents.
"Often these tenants can make the choice to live in the area they want but without the cost of home ownership," Mr O'Brien says.
"My family, for example, rents a new unit in a middle ring suburb. To buy with a standard deposit would mean mortgage repayments almost double what we pay in rent."
He says the transition to home ownership is now occurring later in life for most people and if they take out a 25-year mortgage in their late 30s, they may be unlikely to have the house paid off until close to retirement.
"Previous generations had the benefit of entering into home purchase earlier in their lives and at comparatively lower prices. The average house price has grown from about two or three times annual average weekly earnings to about five or six times annual average weekly earnings."
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Gold Coast Marathon
I'm toying with the idea of going for Gold Coast Marathon in July (06-07-08). The entries will only open in April but I am thinking of booking tickets to Gold Coast in advance. If I book the tickets now from Virgin Blue, it would cost $ 180/person.
I am thinking that my PIL would be interested to go too, but my husband told me that there is a possibility that they would not be ready to move to Sydney by then. Still, I persuaded my husband to book the flights to Gold Coast for 2 of us first :P and buy for them later.
As for hotel, I read from SG Runners forum that July is low season for Gold Coast so I hope we can book for the hotel later.
Hmm... still thinking if we should book the air tickets now :)
I am thinking that my PIL would be interested to go too, but my husband told me that there is a possibility that they would not be ready to move to Sydney by then. Still, I persuaded my husband to book the flights to Gold Coast for 2 of us first :P and buy for them later.
As for hotel, I read from SG Runners forum that July is low season for Gold Coast so I hope we can book for the hotel later.
Hmm... still thinking if we should book the air tickets now :)
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Private Health Insurance
I decided to buy PHI in early Jan as advised by my friends in Australia. Since we have been trying for a baby for quite some time already, it would be good to have some coverage to reduce our hospital bill in case I'm pregnant later. Also, it would help if we decide to go for IVF.
There's a waiting period of 1-year so that is the reason why I bought the plan now. Also, since I just turned 31 I would need to pay extra levy/charge if I don't get PHI by next June after turning 31.
I was quite in a hurry to buy the plan so I asked among my friends for recommendation and decided to go with Medibank.
There's a waiting period of 1-year so that is the reason why I bought the plan now. Also, since I just turned 31 I would need to pay extra levy/charge if I don't get PHI by next June after turning 31.
I was quite in a hurry to buy the plan so I asked among my friends for recommendation and decided to go with Medibank.
Transaction Account
I have been doing some research here and there to decide which bank and account type we want to open in Australia. Currently I have one with INGDirect and Citibank but would probably need to open one for joint account with my husband.
So far, I think BankWest looks good, but I thinkn we'll decide there and then. I just realise that we can even open a bank account from Singapore, using Westpac. The bad thing is, the account has monthly fee attached.
That brings me to another issue, it seems most of the transaction accounts have monthly fees attached. In Singapore, it's zero if minimum balance is >$500. I would need to find a bank that has a good transaction account (low fee with free atm transaction, etc), a high-interest saving account and free-fee credit card.
A great website to do the comparison is http://www.infochoice.com.au/
So the search continues...
So far, I think BankWest looks good, but I thinkn we'll decide there and then. I just realise that we can even open a bank account from Singapore, using Westpac. The bad thing is, the account has monthly fee attached.
That brings me to another issue, it seems most of the transaction accounts have monthly fees attached. In Singapore, it's zero if minimum balance is >$500. I would need to find a bank that has a good transaction account (low fee with free atm transaction, etc), a high-interest saving account and free-fee credit card.
A great website to do the comparison is http://www.infochoice.com.au/
So the search continues...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)