It is the same time of the month again where I provide an update on the progress of myself trying to reach my targeted financial goals for July 2023. The total value of my financial assets increased from 70.84% to 71.06%.
I was surprised that the total value of my financial assets continue to grow as I gave my wife an allowance of 10K to buy stocks this month. When I checked, the increase in value of my financial assets was due to the increase in total value of my stock portfolio.
If you have followed my updates every month, the total value of my financial assets are based on the cash value of the following:
- Insurance savings (NTUC RevoSave Cash Benefit)
- Savings accounts (POSB, OCBC, CIMB)
- Singapore Savings Bonds
- Current value of my stocks (My Stock Portfolio)
- Supplementary Retirement Scheme
Insurance Savings
As usual, NTUC Revosave continue to reward me with its cash benefit. I continue to leave the cash benefit deposited with NTUC Income at 3.0% per annum.
In June, I used my funds in my Supplementary Retirement Scheme to purchase Gro Capita Ease. Gro Capital Ease launched in June 2023 offered me a guaranteed yield at maturity of 3.55% per annum at the end of the 3 year policy term.
If you are not familiar with Endowment policies, Endowment Policy or plans are life insurance saving plans offered by insurance companies. It is a great way to grow your savings as well given the comparable interest rates to fixed deposits.
Savings accounts (POSB, OCBC, CIMB)
I deployed some of my cash into CIMB’s Fixed Deposit Promotion for July. Many readers kept asking why I chose Fixed Deposit instead of Treasury Bills (T-Bills).
Well, I guess I really like the convenience of using CIMB’s mobile app to invest into CIMB’s Fixed Deposit. When the fixed deposit matures, the cash also gets automatically transferred back to my CIMB FAST account. As the interest rate is not significantly different, I just decided to be lazy and park my cash into CIMB’s Fixed Deposit.
Singapore Savings Bonds
Singapore Saving Bonds continue to be an almost risk free investment. The effective interest rate for SBAUG23 is 2.99% p.a. over a 10 years period. The interest rate is worse than endowment policies and fixed deposits that I shared above.
Despite the low interest rate, Singapore Savings Bond is a safe haven or place for emergency funds. You can also redeem them anytime because there is no lock in period.
In July, I have collected the following interest payout from the Singapore Savings Bonds that I have bought every month over the years.
- July 2018 (GX18070N)
- July 2019 (GX19070W)
- January 2019 (GX19010T)
- January 2023 (GX23010Z)
If you want to predict next month interest rates, check out the 2 guides that I have written on Singapore Savings Bonds.
My Stock Portfolio and Dividend Payout
In July, I bought more of Frasers Centrepoint Trust, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Boustead.
Below is my updated Stock Portfolio.
My US stock portfolio also remained unchanged.
I just want to share that I use Stocks Café to keep track of the total value worth of my stocks. Stocks Café is my preferred tool for managing my stock portfolio. It is packed with tonnes of intelligent features such as portfolio monitoring and reporting, dividend tracking, stock screening. All these features are automated which means no manual entry is required.
Summary of Financial Goals for July 2023
Frugal spending has helped me to continue to grow the value of my financial assets month by month.
I have came to conclusion that certain expenses such as increase in utility bills, petrol cost and food are hard to avoid or control. Thus, I can only constantly remind myself to avoid spending on unnecessary stuff and save up or invest for the future.
Many REITs are reporting their financial results or providing business updates in July and August. Let us keep a lookout for opportunities to accumulate more dividend paying REITs and stocks to build up passive income for my sweet retirement!