There are 2 more months to end the year 2024 and I am on track to grow my financial assets based on my Financial Goals Progress for October 2024! As you can see from the above chart, the total value of my financial assets grew from 82.61% in September to 84.01% in October.
Why am I updating the progress of reaching my financial goals every month? For the benefit of new readers here, I have set myself a financial goal to stash sufficient money (target) which can help me to retire early in Singapore. I have written a post about Financial Freedom versus Financial Independence. Financial goals are objectives that I have set in order to achieve financial success. Setting financial goals is important as it provides direction and motivation for managing money effectively. By establishing clear financial goals, I can track my progress, make informed decisions, and work towards achieving financial stability and security.
Since the Fed cut its interest rates by 50bps, the returns offered by Singapore T-Bills, Singapore Savings Bonds and Fixed Deposits have been disappointing. One of my purchases of Singapore T-Bills have matured in October and I refrained from investing in the latest issue due to the low returns. I made a fixed deposit placement of 12 months with DBS Bank as the bank continue to offer 3.20% per annum.
The main contributor to the growth of value of my financial assets comes from my stock investments. The share prices of Singapore stocks and US stocks in my stock portfolio continue to climb. Are we in a bull run?
Updates to My Stock Portfolio
In October, I was fully allocated all the Excess Preferential Offering Units of CICT (CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust) that I applied for. At this point of writing, CICT is trading at S$2.02 per share which is very near the preferential offering price of S$2.007 per share. For those who have missed the boat, this may be your chance to top up.
Besides CICT, I have also added more of UOB (SGX:U11) to my stock portfolio. The share prices of all the 3 local banks (DBS, OCBC and UOB) have gone up significantly. But given the still attractive current dividend yield of 5 to 6%, I still find it investment worthy. Another reason for adding more of UOB is to balance out my portfolio whereby majority are REITs.
Summary of Financial Goals Progress for October 2024
On a last note, I also want to share that I have maxed out my contribution to my Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) account for 2024. Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a voluntary savings scheme in Singapore that complements the Central Provident Fund (CPF) for retirement planning. It is designed to help individuals save for their retirement while enjoying tax savings.
Contributions to the SRS are eligible for tax relief, which means that individuals can reduce their taxable income by contributing to the scheme. This can result in significant tax savings, especially for higher-income earners.
My retirement plan is that I can start withdrawing my savings from the age of 62 onwards, with the option to spread out the withdrawals over a period of up to 10 years.
As we get closer to the end of 2024, have you achieved what you have set out to achieve in the year 2024?