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 May 2023. The total value of my financial assets increased from 66.21% to 66.61%. I would have been able to grow the value further if not for higher expenses due to payment of accommodation for my holiday trip at the end of the year.
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 May, only Etiqa offered the Tiq 3 Year Endowment Plan that provides you up to guaranteed returns of 3.50% p.a. at the end of 3 years. However, I am not purchasing it. I will wait for more launches of similar endowment plans by other insurance companies for comparison.
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 have 5 tranches of fixed deposit placement with CIMB. These are very short term deposits with none of them stretching more than a year. The first tranche of my fixed deposit is maturity next month.
In May, I found a few good promotions. You can find them here:
- OCBC Fixed Deposit Promotion May 2023
- UOB Fixed Deposit Promotion May 2023
- UOB Stash Account 5 Percent Per Annum
Singapore Savings Bonds
Singapore Saving Bonds continue to be an almost risk free investment. The effective interest rate for SBJUN23 is 2.81% 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 May, I have collected the following interest payout from the Singapore Savings Bonds that I have bought every month over the years.
- May 2018 (GX18050E)
- November 2018 (GX18110Z)
- May 2019 (GX19050E)
- November 2022 (GX22110A)
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 May, I received the dividends payout from ST Engineering, Delfi, OCBC Bank and Mapletree Logistics Trust.
My stock portfolio remained unchanged because I have not bought or sold any stocks in May.
US stocks continue to be expensive and thus there are no changes to my US stock portfolio. I noticed that NVIDIA in my US stock portfolio has rallied and became a 100 bagger stock in my stock portfolio. Sometimes you just hit the jackpot!
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 May 2023
As the cost of living in Singapore becomes higher, I have less cash on hand now to buy stocks. The prices of food was shockingly high and sometimes unreasonable for the mediocre portion. Nowadays, I have dined less outside.
GST or inflation? I am not sure what causes food prices to increase and the food portion to shrink as well.
What are the ways you are coping with the increase in food prices? Share them in the comments below.