Reading and ORD!

It is about 10:33PM now. How should I start? The target of S$300,000 networth is unlocked, and it stands about close to $500,000.

The gain was attributed to the increment of a particular stock. I view the share price as a true reflection of its earnings generative abilities. I did a peer comparison with iFast Corporation and it looks undervalued relative to its growth. However, I still think iFast is not a fair comparison as its businesses are different in scope.

My readers might wonder why is money important to me? I don’t think money is important at all, in fact, it is worthless. Money enables us to do the things we love. It is a tool. I wish to achieve financial freedom and use myself as a story to inspire people around my influence. I know my money is meant for a good cause. Frankly speaking, I analysed my life. I don’t see myself having the desire to own a big house or an expensive car. I view things from a utility and pragmatic perspective.

Do you know owning a big house can be very troublesome when you do not need one?

I did not anticipate myself having any wisdom tooth in the preliminary check by Tampines Polyclinic. However, my camp mate advised me to do a x-ray check to be really certain. At that point, I was about one month away to ORD. I was worried that I might not secure a slot at Khoo Teck Puat hospital. My worries turned out to be excessive. I plucked four at one go! Now I am into my 15th day of recovery. There are still holes yet to be closed. It is a bit troublesome because I have to flush out the food remains from my mouth. If not, it would turn into an infection in due time.

I made good use of my leave, off and wisdom tooth recovery to pick up books. Again, I think it is extremely undervalued deal to acquire excellent knowledge for a price of less than $30 each.

Reading list for June 2015

1. Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger, Expanded Third Edition (done)
2. The Warren Buffett Way (done)
3. The Dhandho Investor: The Low-Risk Value Method to High Returns (done)
4. Grit (done)
5. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (started)
6. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius (half-way)

I am planning to get Why Moats Matter and How to Make Money in Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times and Bad. Youtube is a great resource library as well. I engaged myself into lectures by Manual of Ideas, Jack Ma, and Elon Musk. I have my unique takeaways from them.

The unthinkable happened to me. I gave up my SPRING Scholarship worth $83k and NTU’s Bachelor of Biz placing to pursue a business analyst job. Although I’ve made up my decision mentally, when it comes to the time to REALLY do it, it is entirely different feeling. However, I do not have anymore regrets. I move forward. I know my reasons for my actions. I did pay a penalty for my scholarship. But my realised stock returns already more than offset the cost and even provided me with money to do some Uniqlo discounted shopping.

A random thought turned into email, and email turned into meeting. I met my lecturer who was a fund manager. I did not want myself to just benefit, so I brought along another friend. My lecturer’s mind is quick, sharp and covers a broad perspectives. I used to wonder when a junior said he felt my brain was a supercomputer. Although I plainly refused such flattery, I wonder what it really meant. I understood it when I conversed with my lecturer over 3 hours. Truly blessed to stand on his shoulder and have a little glimpse of his thinking. He shared his love story graciously and advised us on how to find a girlfriend.

I am thinking into the far future right now. I will incur certain big expenses. I will prepare to save aggressively and have at least $25k in my bank for the future. If God so bless me, maybe I will consider dating. If things progress, of course, the first thing would be to apply for BTO. Then again, these kind of things in life are very unpredictable. I will just be ready with my cash.

As I look back into my life, I told my friend something. I haven’t faced any serious hardships in my life. Is it my life is blessed or I did plan my life to avert such potential hardships? I don’t know, however, I attribute much of my life’s tremendous blessing to God who delivered massive opportunities. Of course, I had and will have my fair share of disappointment. But God provided me with Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6). I don’t think I am a good Christian, I failed in many ways unthinkable. I deserve nothing out of His love on me, so much unmerited Grace. I can really cry for all His glory in my life. God’s unyielding Grace is tremendous.

Moving into the future

1. Consolidate and state very clearly on characteristics of stock I’ll be looking
2. Study mega-trends of history to determine the next BIG thing
3. Save aggressively, eat and exercise well
4. Continue reading
5. Treat people with humility and have integrity in life.
6. Internalise the values of the company I am joining and deliver the best of myself

“I think part of the popularity of Berkshire Hathaway is that we look like people who have found a trick. It’s not brilliance. It’s just avoiding stupidity.”

Who going in a life anticipating the worst case? Charlie does. He prefers learning what not to do, it is best if you learn through other people’s mistakes rather than your own. Avoiding stupidity is best done vicariously. There is no better way to see a lot of stupid behavior over a short time than reading.