because I don't think, COVID will last forever lah, and there will come a time when somebody will find the what do you call that ya the cure the vaccine whatever the antibody for it


so there is a positive there is a bright light at the end of this dark tunnel so, in the end ya somehow things will work out lah, ya I'm sure the government government will open the economy bit by bit


so somehow ya it will,


if you, ya but if you're talking about a retail stores you can't help it lah because now I mean technology will take over now you have online shopping, so somehow the unnecessary


unnecessary things will just fade away, left with all the yup,


but uh talking about technology uh it's a two double edge sword lah they say, uh you can look at the bright side you can also look at the dark side people when they stay at home I mean stay more at home, they will tend to shop more


ah ya, , necessities lah ya ya necessities, ya


ya, but I realised that I I don't know I just got hooked on this uh Facebook uh live sales ah what you call it happy person , not not really auction not really auction some of them not auctioning they just like uh sell sell item but they use live to at FB live to showcase their products


so uh that that, , ya that that thing could uh could be addictive lah right


could be addictive for somebody who because that that if you uh switch on the notification you switch on whatever it will just jump at your face straight when you open your phone first thing in the morning they will okay notify you okay there's a ah


, ah, yeah they they say global uncertainty but with this uncertainty I think people just uh somehow make their brain work harder to come up with you know something that will replace maybe retail stores okay they they put online okay anything


that can't be done people will find ways to just do it ya, just make people more creative lah ya people will just get more creative to get things done lah, ya


but like I but like like I said lah there there areuh positive and negative things about this uh situation lah, ya when you sit at home you tend to like I said like you spend more shopping or you spend more on on buying uh online food order people tend to get lazier


ya lah, ya, there religious places also right ah ya


financial related topics, okay, okay so mama you want to start first, how about you go through the first point lah how do you invest your money to accumulate wealth and of planning for your retirement


ya right, extra cash on hand ah


what kind of business


maritime lah, okay uh so ya how about retirement


okay so for myself uh from what I know is


for me personally the best kind of investment is investment on yourself ah especially as a young person like myself who maybe might not have a lot of capital uh investing in myself means , going all my way and then learning from experiences ah or getting uh like class class uh like what you call that car license


and then also going for other courses putting myself for that ah that's the best kind of investment that I have for myself lah other than that there are also different types of investments in terms of monetary which is like growth investments shares properties and like fixed interest ah such as like singapore savings bonds uh so current right now the (ppc)


the only monetary kind of investment I'm doing is an endowment plan lah, which is basically an insurance slash uh savings plan lah that under AIA ah, okay so next question ah uh what strategies


(ppc), oh okay under like like singapore savings bonds or


okay, oh okay so syriah compliant means uh it's not, not permissible under


okay uh


okay then so for example for a young adult like myself right what kind of strategies can you like recommend me, for for somebody who's planning for their big ticket expenditure such as like if I'm planning to go to uni or uh starting a family what what would you recommend


(ppc)


okay uh so I just give my opinion on, uh what you just said lah uh like you say if I'm planning on getting a big ticket expenditure like uh starting a family or buying a house that I have to, foresee maybe a number of ten or eight years time uh how much like a have a goal lah have a goal in mind right is what you saying


ya but, okay ya, okay but however the problem with this right and I've seen uh with many young adults is that sometimes the goal is to unachievable for that point of time which means uh eight years down the road


we can save for we it's hard to save eight years down the road if you know what I mean ah , it it's for us it seems very unachievable so for me now I uh what my opinion is is I'm only planning to look okay I'm going to see two years down the road I want to save for uni first


whatever obviously uh starting a family and all this is important to me as well uh, ya correct lah and and which is better lah because if I'm looking four years down the road sometimes people keep uh


they lose track of their goals and then sometimes they can, ya ya lah and also it's hard to keep up for a system for eight years if you you know what I'm trying to say ah, (ppc)


okay ya then it makes sense lah, ya then it just requires discipline to put in the money ah every month


uh okay that's good to know, okay uh then how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage, like I know your time there was uh was maybe easier lah I don't know lah cannot say because I haven't lived uh be haven't been in your shoes


how about


so you learn after your experiences ah but what are what's one thing you can maybe advise to, young adults about , how you can go around settling your financial matters before marriage


(ppc), okay ah for me I might have a different opinion lah uh for me I want like the best for my children however , it's also what you are saying is right ah to spend within your means ah if you know what I mean


ya lah you must spend within your means ah is what uh trying to put it in other way lah because you it sounds like you know uh you ya, okay


ya okay so uh, the next one lah so in a post COVID world right what kind what changes are you making in terms of your savings spending habits like are you still working even after post COVID


what's your situation


, ya lah and uh since ya it's so insensible lah


how about like on your other hobbies do you spend a lot on like your other hobbies if you have any , (ppc)


ya that's true lah also, okay uh but for me I'm kind of fortunate that in this COVID in this like post COVID world lah is that I'm serving my national service at the same time so I I do not know what (ppc) other people


there are situation of other people lah when they said oh I just got retrenched or I have to sign my tender soon because my company is retrenching people ah for me I feel like quite fortunate that I'm serving my NS uh, none of my working life is affected since I'm a uh civil servant as a firefighter in west coast marine fire station ah so


so I feel like fortunate lah that I don't have this are like not part of my worries but if there is something that maybe if, uh then the changes I can make to my spending and saving habits is maybe by uh learning to to


eat in more lah that means uh not order Grab food and kind of uh having food at home instead of ordering from outside ya


ya exactly, because we don't uh it's like when same when you are working or when you're outside you spend more time outside you'll only eat for once only when you're outside (ppc), ya okay uh then the next question ah uh what do you think of which is financial independence


uh retire early how can one achieve financial independence


then what are some of the ways like one can earn can achieve ah financial independence, okay


, okay my passive income uh


so you believe okay


okay, , okay uh


okay ah I'm I'm not old enough or experienced enough to explain how somebody can achieve financial independence, uh but from what I know it's a basically and a a reiteration of what you just said ah which is your uh basic earnings through


be more than your your expenditure so if I want to achieve financial independence it can also mean , I scrimped a lot on my expenses ah that means I don't treat myself right uh I don't , maybe just spend the bare minimum on food right


clothing and all this stuff it can also mean financial independence but for me financial freedom or financial independence for me means I am able to do the things that I enjoyed while not having to worry about money ah, and that's something for me I think it's very important lah especially when you are retiring


uh because at the final stages of your life you just want to, you know look back and then just like oh this is what I've done in my life for the past sixty plus years what I've achieved uh is there anything else I want to do before, uh ah ya this kind of things lah ya okay


uh that one I don't think so lah because for me I'm, retiring early is nice it's a dream of most singaporeans like you know you just get to sit at home ya you lepak is there a word I can this okay like I did like retiring early but then uh for me I like to to kind of like be outside more often ah I don't like to sit at home


and then uh just kind of play games or all these lah I I like to make my activities more broad lah if it makes sense, ya ah like you like you said lah you you working doesn't mean if you're not working doesn't mean you are retired it's when you have a hobby spend it you have time doing your hobby


and then making maybe money out of it it could also be a a good retirement plan lah that's what I'm saying okay then ah that one would be uh what advice would you give to someone to get him or her out of debt


(ppc)


, ya


but by these courses you mean is it like a learning course or is it taking like finance like a loans to cover


oh it's good lah that singapore has like these measures in this to help our people get out of debt, uh but for me personally I think if uh and advice I would give to someone to get him or her out of debt is probably to aggressively pay off ah


so uh in my opinion if I have a house mortgage or I have a car loan that I have to to pay off , uh I want to be able to pay above the credit minimum lah so if I'm only required to pay two hundred dollars for the month itself I'll maybe try and pay for two hundred fifty


like aggressively paying it off ah so the sooner I get it done the less insurance I kind of accumulate, and then thus uh making making it it might be hard at first but it'll be easy on in the future lah, so that's my personal opinion lah and then also to maybe


ah ya ya okay never mind ya you've anything else you want to say, ah ya exactly okay okay uh then


okay uh okay then I do you think one should own a credit card


do you personally own a credit card


so for your credit card uh do you also have like big purchases or do you use it for small purchases


okay then, okay uh so we go on to the next question ah uh, I am too young uh not too young lah I don't I don't feel like I need a credit card right now lah, the debit card is enough to sustain my needs ah even for savings it's okay


ya no maybe in the future lah you know, okay then uh next question what advice would you give to someone in order to retire comfortably


ya, ya I agree ah because the age of the investor also plays a part in uh retiring comfortably because for me like say for example me and you we might uh uh we are very different in terms of age I can


uh I can invest like aggressively that means I can do higher returns I mean high risk high returns kind of investments but for you maybe you don't want to put your savings your life life savings in this kind of high risk uh sort of uh investments ah okay


negative experience in your life, okay so, regarding negative experiences in your life, okay uh can you describe a time when you felt trap or helpless


oh no uh actually it uh this one is a bit too uh in depth for us to speak about now lah because I don't think I can think about (ppc) a time in my life where I feel trapped or helpless ah, but uh maybe some some bad things that have happened in your life


ya there are a lot of ya there's a lot of feeling from this ah but I'll just keep it at work lah I don't like to bring it back home, okay but uh anyway like what are some of the things that happened recently in your life that you feel like, like !wah! Jialat ah or you know


or like it's a a negative experience ah recently ah can, uh okay so I don't think it's very recent, okay but uh it's also the passing of my grandmother lah


ah that's that's something that I still think about to this day lah okay because uh she was very close to me also as a, as a grandmother and then , somethings like you know what they say oh you'll have to meet your grandparents or spend time with your grandparents before your they passed ah that something I felt like I could have done better


ya and that I didn't accomplish before they passed away ah, then uh since we shared since we shared the same experience then uh why not you you say something about this matter ah


, , ya


ah I think uh right your mother-in-law also what


okay ya I mean uh ya I I can feel like, vacuum put like myself in your shoes lah if I were to lose a sibling that I cared about also it would be uh very depressing ah for me you know


especially since you know if you very close to them uh in your childhood because I know my mum uh she's very close with her seven siblings so, having this loss is I think it's your first sibling that passed away right


because we were aware that she was suffering from mental health issues so and then maybe there were somethings that we could have done better, ya but for whatever we did for her it was uh out of love lah ya then is there something you felt like you would regret that you could have done better


okay so like as a as a like a sister ah as a sister as a mother


as a daughter ah what do you felt like because maybe for me I I only lost somebody who is like very close to me which is my grandmother but for you , you've lost uh people in your life who were like very dear to you so what would you say what advice would you give ah to somebody who maybe hasn't uh gone through the same situation as us ah


okay understand okay uh so we try to avoid this uh conversation ah because if not, I'll be more of uh , okay, describe the saddest scene you ever witnessed ah


okay for me being a , firefighter or uh a civil uh, uh under SCDF ah I think was like about last month or last three weeks ah, uh okay that we turned up for a marine call ah so !aiyo! is this is wait I think this is is not sensitive enough or can leave it ah no I cannot say lah so


so basically there was a call about two boys ah who drowned at Changi Changi beach ah so we were from west coast marine so we took our vessel all the way to Changi beach, which maybe took us about twenty minutes or one hour so in that time duration when they reported the boys from missing right one of them already found


but then the other boy wasn't found so uh we were like scouring around the beach around the shoreline to see, if the boy uh was found or not lah okay, and then if you know if somebody's uh somebody just drunk right they won't stay afloat


uh they won't be afloat lah they will first sink and then about maybe two hours or an hour plus depends on how fast his body will uh kind of float back onto the surface, so uh, what happened was when we were looking through the shoreline then there were other what do you call that paramedics also on the scene


trying to look for the boy there were also DART team ah DART team is disaster assistance ah, so ya like rescue team ah and they are professional divers as well lah , so while we were looking for the boy I remembered uh one of my friends he looked through the binoculars on our vessel


then he said eh do you see or not uh there's this uh there's this blue colour like shirt it was uh like a shirt but there were a lot of uh what you call debris, in the ocean so we were like looking at something and then like eh can you see that oh it's just a


ya ya that it's a recent case ah it happened like last three weeks three weeks back I think, so then we were looking through then we then we actually keep spot spotting debris debris , then until one point my friend was I think eh did you see there or not then he passed the binoculars to me


NSF ah so we both share share in between each other first then look at it like, it I then I I told then we see like, ya it's upside down so we cannot so we we see like the his bag is kind of like afloat in the water


so , I was looking at it in the way then I'm like then part of it also I we've seen like so many things that uh we thought it was something but when we come closer it wasn't anything , so uh as soon as we saw the DART team approaching right


that object ah then we also said eh I tell my uh the steersman ah said eh uh OW sir there's a there's a blue colour uh cloth spotted at this certain area , then okay then we went over to it went over to the body then DART was also there already so when we went there I remember the


the boy that was the boy lah that drowned ah ya just for me I'm like joking at it like eh I was like this close not I didn't I wasn't very close to the body but we were close enough to have a good look at like


at the boy lah, ya no because they as soon as that they drag him out of the water the DART team ah which is the ya they will their diving gear and all just uh dragged him out of the water, fifteen years one fifteen ya so for me where that that was the first time I actually saw ya a dead body lah


and this is considered a mild kind of uh experience ah because I have other friends, in other land stations ah who would experience worst ah where like uh people committed suicide ya there's a lot of cases in #Ang Mo Kio# also where elderly citizens uh nobody came to check on them


and then their bodies decomposed for like uh good, ah no SCDF still has to take out their body the ya because police and SCDF works hand in hand


ya ya usually they will call these guys lah if the case is not very bad then SCDF can just , kind of package the body, but some cases where somebody jump off the a building or commit suicide, uh then SCDF have to clear on the spot lah because uh what do you call that we don't know if the person we cannot


we can ascertain that if the person is still alive or not so for example like if somebody jumps off from the twentieth floor, and then you can uh from the way you see his body you know this guy is dead, okay but then we cannot uh we have to still do CPR


because in the eyes of the public right if you don't do anything then it's considered like eh this guy on the floor dead you guys just uh stand around and watch him uh uh, so for us even as firefighters right let's say paramedics haven't arrived yet ya us as firefighters have to still give him CPR


even if his body is like limped already, ya ya even even in the case until the paramedics can uh arrived and then they tell us that okay this guy is uh pronounced dead then we can stop and then we can just collect the body ya


ah ya lah that's most of the time wayang lah is what people do lah because my friend attended one of these cases where the guy jumped off the building, and then when he's giving CPR he told me when he was doing chest compressions ah, so he tell me it was like pushing a balloon ah cause the body was like


mashed already inside all his ribs all broken so when he's and then he can tell the guy is still breathing, but he wasn't he he he couldn't shout or scream ah it's just like in a state of very how do I say ah in like maybe deep pain lah too much that he couldn't say anything so when he gives


so that was suspected like foul play so


or like knowing that you cannot do anything or last favour like for your sister lah, is that okay, then what would like the best memories like you treasured


with like that sister who passed or like your best memories you know lah just maybe since we talked about it


ya, uh because before that she was a very jovial person right she was very


okay uh the back story ah like it's basically uh, she didn't uh she was planning to get married, then a few days before the marriage, the guy, ya it was it was cancelled lah then the guy left her


, ya that's why it's always good right about mental health also lah that if you suspect uh somebody who's been through, maybe a depressive state or you can see themselves start to distance themselves of uh away from the one they love right it's best to


kind of get therapy for them ah ya, because these experiences can are like very emotionally traumatising ah uh as in, then it can really change like the character of a person significantly ah ya because back then also we didn't take


what you call that emotional therapy very seriously just like !aiya! never mind lah with prayer she would be okay or like uh I never should ever pray for her ya but


black magic ah, ya, , what which one is it what do you often worry about ah


for me or you want to go first I think you go first ah


like optimistic lah is or another way how you want to say but then what you must worry about something right nobody goes in without worry


but how about like uh your future like retirement plans is it like set in plan set in place already, like for retirement or you still like wondering like eh I don't know if I got it enough for retirement or like what's going to happen after the after my husband stops working (ppc)


okay, ya, ya, okay , my worries ah my worries is mostly about future because for me if I want to do something I want to do it like


the right not the not the right the best ah that I can so for me uh it it's a bit hard to accept like now especially for uh housing ah let's just say for example housing ah that one is my biggest worry ah, like if I were to work, start working and my partner also is to work uh I don't think we are able to afford like maybe a five room flat or something big ah I know they say start small lah but for me it's just like hard to accept that eh how come


that's like both of us working we cannot be able to afford something that I I really want or something that my partner really wants ya so instead uh still worrying about that, ya exactly lah that's what I'm saying lah like it's a bit for us it's a bit hard to not for her lah for me lah mostly it's hard to accept because I'm like ya want to already start to


get a five room flat or live in a comfortable place because people have done it it's just like why can't why can't I because I already calculated my expenditure then it's not very feasible to, get a five room flat at the start but I'm willing to work like for it lah it's just that it cannot come straight away so that's my biggest worry another second worry I


have is maybe stability of like my job ah now especially COVID anything can happen so there are thoughts of signing on ah, ya lah there's a bigger safety net lah it's what I'm trying to say okay lah !aiya! so it's twenty minutes already okay so we just


recently that you know you feel like very grateful for, ya no I I I feel like we don't travel a lot also so we we don't really have much fun this year


okay but from all the things that you have learnt ah like you said uh going to YouTube and then learning how to troubleshoot different items, uh like internally ah what what do you think like it has helped you become more of like personal


or like you feel like a kind of good feeling, or like a internal good feeling because you get to help people of your same faith, or like uh achieve their goals of like uh afterlife ah basically in term of religious stance


okay uh so, for myself ah a positive experience in my life ah as as what you call that controversial as this might sound ah NS is actually a positive experience in my life ah I know a lot of uh males in singapore they dislike going to NS because they feel like two years is a waste of time lah


but for me uh I'm kind of blessed that these two years was more than just like a , like a passing phase ah because I get to mix a lot of with a lot of people who , show me that it actually the outside world is not as pleasant as it seems you know people


there's politics at work, that's something that I I've already experienced and then I know how to get around it , uh so this positive experience, uh makes me more prepared ah to go outside in the outside world and then deal with other people


or deal or learn how to communicate in a better way, with my colleagues ah okay and then also just like being a firefighter ah in , in NS ah makes you actually kind of like appreciate more of what our the civil servants what's the what's the name ah of our work uh forgot


they this to say in singapore like uh what's the name ah, uh shit okay never mind we just say civil servants ah okay police be it police army, ya okay ah like police army or even SCDF ya just makes me appreciate them a lot more lah because of the things they do and the things they risk in their everyday lives ah


ah ya okay lah then, during this COVID period ah what are the things that you feel like, it's a it's like what you call that like a silver lining ah, like COVID you you can't really go out and earn money ya


ya because I can see also ah because if you guys didn't know I'm her son so I can also see that she take to the effort to actually at nine o'clock she'll be at the computer already, preparing the zoom classes and all these and it shows like uh that takes a lot of discipline lah because for me nine o'clock I just wake up


for some times even don't want to wake up ya so can see like COVID actually uh shows us that if you are really willing to do something about it ah you can actually do something you are not trapped in that position where or you I cannot do anything already because nothing out there is working, I'm sure there's a way lah okay ya


okay beside that uh let's talk about travelling ah where is your what is your like dream place to travel to, ya


turkey ah is it like your dream to take the balloons hot air balloons, [orh] okay,


uh personally from I mean for me I I do want to go to Helsinki norway to experience like the northern lights ah, ya that's uh I'm not a fan of like very bustling city so I'll try to avoid Tokyo #new york# Amsterdam I prefer more kind of like uh


ya ya like uh a more out of mind ah kind of experience ah ya things like you cannot just get anywhere else ah odd ya


uh I know the furthest I've been to is thailand so ya there's there has been something that left me in awe but not in a good way lah I'm just saying ah, (ppc)


[orh], oh by your brother ah, so uh you out of your siblings you have seven siblings


[orh] okay lah, then you know okay that's good that's good , so what was like one of the proudest moments of your life


just ya, okay do you feel like you studied hard for the to get inside


, okay lah but uh right after uh raffles girls' you studied at JC right


oh is it [orh] okay, ya okay uh, ya but did it teach you like anything positive about


okay I can personally feel it on another level because , I was from express stream also ah then I took my O levels but then I ended up in ITE ah higher Nitec, in ITE college central, so for me at that point of time I thought like !aiya! this one


it's like eh I'm really doomed to go ITE especially since express they like ready like a point oh you whatever you do you cannot go to ITE but then end up uh I still end up in ITE but then, for me instead of like taking it as like a one the back I thought about it okay I take one step back but I'll take three steps forward so I had uh another goal in mind really to


after my two years in ITE I want to go to poly so fortunately for me I managed to score good GPA to go to #Ngee Ann# poly lah in the course that I wanted , so for me I do agree with her in a sense where the school doesn't determine


what you end up in life ah it's your attitude towards or how you react to, the situation that makes you a better person lah okay, uh, okay then uh what what question do you want to ask me right you can ask


!wah! I don't know I, skill or an ability that I am secretly proud, I think maybe video games lah, ya ya I I don't really


play that often as I used to but then everytime I remember when my friends ask me if you want to try out this new game or not, or you want to try this new app or phone game, then I'll just okay I download lah then about a week later then I will be better than them already , so for me I think ya since young I already started playing video games ah so that's how I think it kind of uh passed over ya so for you like what ya


, so you are able to listen and then kind of to read out those, because this a very like uh


a very that's a very good skill to have ah because I know a lot of people also I take Quranic classes ah so I would know there are some people who are coming through the age of fifty or, ah ya how no matter how far they are into Quran they just cannot seem to


get the reading down lah because, ya it's just uh I I don't know what how to explain lah okay it's just, just that lah okay anything anyways ah uh what is something that you feel sorry


uh ya okay lah, ya what you, wait which one are you reading oh describe your favourite activity to unwind and relax ah, uh for me it's have to be either swimming or running ah


ya, I used to be gaming ah then I I used to be gaming because there was an escape ah ah but then I realised actually eh it's actually making me more hot headed ah ya because when you play games I am the kind of person


(ppc), what what do you mean what the is the thing that I get, banner or like the how it can makes you unwind and relax lah is it


[orh] okay, ya I mean it's just a personal thing if I were if I could play sports I will take up I used to take up dragon boat and then that was something that I I really enjoyed it, but for now uh COVID and all these it's a bit difficult to try and uh


do dragon boat again so for me running is just like anything anytime I can do so, if I'm feeling like okay I'm I'm might feeling a bit uncomfortable lah or a bit, restless I just go out and have a run lah, and then usually when I come back then I'm, I'm okay already ya same like swimming also


it doesn't have to be something where like you really have to have people to, kind of uh enjoy ah it's more of a personal, it's more of a personal kind of thing


ya I I I know what you mean ah ya but when you try running next time uh just uh kind of like, don't think of it as !wah! tiring sia just, ya ya I bring my music lah so, I it will just pass by then I'm just like enjoying the scenery when I'm running


get a bit of sweat out there's COVID (ppc), (ppc) then what is your favourite activity to unwind and relax


okay so it, so uh religion is like very important to you also


okay , despite okay maybe we have like about five more minutes to cover the last question so, uh we will just take this one lah okay despite the ongoing global uncertainty right what makes you optimistic about the future


, cure


, okay, uh, ya I think we will pick up back quite uh quite rapidly ah


because now from what we know is tourism is probably down I think there's a lot of KTV box ah KTV, clubs that already closed down because of COVID, and then a lot of retail stores in america


ya which which which is sad ah because then we have all the other like uh like I don't know maybe bowling I don't know if I think bowling is still open lah SAFRA but a lot of KTV boxes have closed lah


ya but I mean ya uh I also recently been doing a lot of like like online shopping ah but for me that kind of stuff that I shop for it's not, uh want ah it's more of a need ah you know ya necessity, like things that actually fewer my hobby or uh help me in my work ya


ya when they auction items on the


oh ya there are there is one case where somebody was selling uh I forgot he was at Bukit brown cemetery he said that I I think he was selling durians ah ya uh he is very popular I think you should check him out lah on Facebook


ya I mean it is entertaining ah but I think we should just keep it as entertainment instead of like uh putting it uh on a like more like in a personal level lah we're like oh I want to buy this like you


(ppc)


ya I I believe people will adapt lah, ya correct ah okay then we got thirty seconds left anything else anything else you want to be


, but during the start of COVID everybody were like, doing their best to go out and run then once COVID, has started to like uh phase two open started opening back then everybody like oh don't want to run already ah


ya I think so


K I will start with uh how do I how I accumulate wealth okay , cause uh previously when we sold our previous flat we had some cash


yeah saw some profit lah that we get, so from there I started my own business so I, I do some trading uh what do you call that trading lah, uh marine offshore electronics I set up my own company


I, uh mainly trade in marine and electronic goods, that was how I accumulate and uh what do you call that, uh increase the wealth


that I had last time lah but then in, somewhere in two thousand eight or something, there was uh an asian financial crisis or something, so the oil price was uh really low, most of the offshore companies uh closed I mean my customers lah most of them are offshore companies


doing oil refinery and, marine marine and offshore, ya most of my big uh clients, two of my big clients ah close down, so there was a, uh, big setback there for me so I went into other things


yeah, Pak how about yourself for retirement for retirement I just, retirement I just uh make sure that I have this, some sort like a GIRO auto deduct to keep aside into another separate account for


for retirement purpose lah


tell you also I also invest some some of my money into stocks and shares, no uh sad to say that singapore savings bond are not, shariah compliant


so for us muslims uh we have this Sukuk fund, it's similar to bonds but it's shariah compliant, is uh Sukuk bonds


yeah if, Sukuk act like bonds is except that it's uh shariah compliant lah which bonds are conventional investment, uh they are not shariah compliant, so I prefer I prefer to be shariah compliant that's why


okay first you have to inform how much you want to, save first right, you want to know how much you or how what's the amount you want to save, and then from there you break down into smaller numbers lah so that means K let's say you want to save uh three years you want to save twenty thousand example then you break it down divide by twelve divide by months then per month how much should I save


of course the shorter the shorter time frame you would have to save more what, so usually people fail because they don't have a system


K you have to make this system waterproof one way is to make sure that when you save, you put it into an account that have no ATM so some no matter what you cannot withdraw from this account so make it a point to make this uh account non-touchable untouchable lah


yeah save in an account that you can't touch lah I've to say that, because now all banks have these GIRO facilities whenever you get your salary coming in you can auto


deduct GIRO go to that account to that special account that you have


I had no plan before marriage I was like spending and spending , I I didn't attend any financial uh education lah I would say, or any financial courses that time lah so my


what do you call that financial, yeah it was really bad before marriage, after marriage maybe slightly better ah, but I I can do better I should be able to do better now


okay especially for young parents lah because usually young parents they would want at the best for their, babies lah or for their newborn so they would buy whatever all the best stuff, which is to me sometimes might not be necessary ah especially mothers lah mothers who usually spend quite a bit on


uh clothes uh you know unnecessary lah , it's not it's not ya it's not wrong to have the best but sometimes they just like overdo it


maybe maybe set set a budget lah let's say okay uh this month I want to spend maybe hundred dollars for, you know for this thing uh necessary lah the things that that are necessary not uh what's the other one


I think now this at this time I am not working at the moment, so hardly expect that I uh there surely got expenses lah sometimes now is the, since I'm at home there's a temptation to


uh buy GrabFood or panda ah GrabFood, ya the temptation is there, yeah so that's, uh that's one not uh


not a good spending or spending habit there lah, spending uh you cut you cut down on transport because you seldom go out what


but you spend on food I think


yeah I was thinking like okay since you're at home you should be saving more right but after some time I think right we spend more when you sit at home ah


financial independence, when to me financial independence is when you have passive income, such that this passive income can cover your, minimum minimum expenses your daily expenses lah


so that's financial freedom for me, once your basic expenses can be covered without you, you're not going out to work that means you have some passive income coming in ah, ya uh to me that's financial independence


okay you there are many ways to, to get this passive income one one of it could be rental income, if you have uh rental income or you have uh dividend payments from some stocks or shares that you own that could be one way of uh having passive income


uh but I I don't I don't uh, I don't believe in retiring early, I mean retiring early could lead you to dementia , uh uh it to me I would like to work can hobby can be your work what so it doesn't mean retire


uh you can make your hobby as your, uh income why not, yeah, example somebody who's a teacher who can teach Zoom I mean online courses, yeah


that could be a new way of earning uh, income for yeah


how about retiring early you believe in retiring early


retiring early could be a boring life you know


I think to, to assess the situation first right you might you need to know how much you owe or how much you need to settle first, then have a plan lah have a plan so uh yeah maybe just


uh just tick the necessities without the wants ignore the wants, just pay for the necessities first example you have a credit card debt make sure you pay that off first, yeah then maybe go to a


I think there are some uh some, what do you call that ah some courses where you can attend, for people who are really in debt ah how to get out


they really will go through with you your debts uh what are the things that you need to pay off first, yeah what are the things that you can or cannot do


uh that uh that that, maybe get try to find something else to, what do you call that to add on to your income, the part time like maybe Grab do some extra jobs lah


depends if, you need to be uh, what do you call that


you need to be able to pay on time if you if you need to get uh you should you need a credit card one thing good about credit card is you can see your expenses, ah ya I own a good credit card I make sure one thing good is you you get to see what you spend on ah


so by right you should be able to, learn it for eh I mean in the future you should say eh I shouldn't be spending on this ah ya why why do I spend so much on this, that's one thing good lah but you should be learning from it and then another thing is, to be paying it on time and not be late because uh the penalty for late payment is quite high ah


usually for groceries lah because I I get points let's say if I spend uh NTUC buying groceries at NTUC, I will get points and these points will I can use these point to offset against future purchase ya that's another good thing about using credit card lah


okay one one in the I think my advice is to start early to start as early as possible lah, so yeah if you if you have started working you have started, earning an income that's when you should be starting, your retirement plan already lah


because starting early you don't have to save so much what rather than you start saving at forty, then you will have, to save if you start at twenty, if you have lesser lesser to save yeah


uh experiences I'm sure that


K lah maybe you start first you start first


about the death of somebody ah, maybe mother lah, of my I mean I think that that that year was uh I think a few death happened during that, yeah, so I think uh my mother


passed away first then uh my sister, uh, yeah after that yeah my mother-in-law, at first uh my mother lah so my mother and my sister they were staying


in the same flat, for quite some time, so when my mother was sick she was uh transferred to my brother's house so he left with my sister who, it was uh who was not uh what do you call that mentally sound


so she stayed at that, uh flat alone I mean even though we have a maid that, deliver food to her every day I mean uh, that's very sad lah to see that uh somebody


uh ya and we didn't expect because uh we could have done better lah because uh instead of, helping her maybe putting her in a, uh institution or to me, it should be better than letting her stay there alone ah


yeah that was a time when we've I mean I lah I felt helpless


okay take take time lah to spend


with them, it uh some people think that you when you visit you need, to give them some money uh not necessary, if you have it's a bonus if not I mean just visiting


go to the third go to the third one the, the what, yeah what about you


this this was uh this is recent


cannot see the face ah the face is upside, you didn't see the face ah


[orh] ya around twenty plus, yeah


I thought police police take over those cases not SCDF, or maybe they'll call those uh what what what do you call that what uh all those mortuary


then his head already broken into pieces already


then can action action or not


I think to you for you is uh is somebody that you don't know right


a stranger lah for me is my own sister, so what happened when she passed away that day uh okay it was on #hari raya# that's the saddest part of the story it was on the first day of #hari raya# so I got the news when I was uh I just finished my uh #hari raya# prayers right so we just finished


the prayer and then I I I remember I didn't bring anything except my handphone and my EZ link card I didn't bring any, cash whatsoever so my brother called me during that morning said eh uh this uh sister has passed away so I said are you are you joking are you joking or what he said no uh you better come here fast so without anything I just you know just get a cab you know alight


uh hail down a cab, and then after I get into the cab I realised eh I I shit I don't have , I don't have cash I don't have anything on me luckily the, the taxi driver can accept uh was it PayNow or PayLah so somehow I managed to get that I mean get get the payment done lah and reach there


so it was uh very sad to see so when I when I reached there my <B>, so she was uh on the, kitchen floor uh


lying there already, uh with a bit uh I think, ya lah she was the saddest thing is we cannot help to bring her to you know proper bed, to put her on the bed, cause when the police came he said [orh] please uh don't remove uh don't remove anything from the kitchen floor don't clean it don't don't touch anything because she passed away without any witness there was there wasn't anybody in the house


yeah so they were yeah so they they suspect something lah, so we were not allowed to bring her to to the hall to, uh put her properly on a mattress or maybe clean her up


so her body was there until the police arrived and finished their investigation ah, that was the saddest part of the story


so it's very sad to end, to for somebody like to end their life like that lah


okay when when when we were younger, I'm very quite close to her lah because me and her was like one or two years uh age difference ah, ah so I remember her maybe helping me with some of my studies, when we were younger ya we we play around together lah


so we we are we have three sisters ah we are very close to each other, so there was a time when uh suddenly her character, what ah, I don't know what happened to her uh what I don't know what happened along the way lah somehow she <B>


ya ya before that ya she's normal, I think, some some people said lah when her, fiance I mean the what do you call that


thus somehow along the way the it was cancel lah


so from then on so yeah from then on yeah


or worst thing some people think that it's uh something to do with what uh possession or, evil spirit black magic ah yeah, maybe we can go to this uh what do you often worry about


worry worry worry worry about, usually I'm a


I'm a positive person ah, I I like to think that uh , everything will, come out positive in the end


the worry of maybe my, because uh at home the main breadwinner is my husband, so now that his health is getting uh on the downside ah


uh I worry about that lah, I think that that's the most that I worry because he is the, like you said lah the breadwinner


uh I think I have I have some plans cause uh, we stay in a five room flat, right, so my plan was like okay there will come to a point when, all my children will marry and move out


so we could be renting out, the rooms lah to get income, so that's that's the main that's the main plan


how about you what do you


okay one okay uh we are not following this travel right, okay so my positive experience this is COVID uh situation ah


so recently I have been asked, to uh what do you call that, become an administrator for, this online class, so what I'm supposed to do was I'm supposed to start this zoom class


so every ten thirty I will on and then uh the class will usually ends around twelve thirty one, so I've learned a lot from this experience this is something new to me I haven't you know I'm not that okay lah I'm okay with tech I'm not that so tech savvy but I'm okay okay but uh by by being since this is a first every I have to learn everything from scratch lah


I've to learn uh okay if there are, I I learn to troubleshoot and then uh I learn how to go to YouTube, and watch how to videos how to solve that problem this problem, for Zoom uh I learned a lot from this experience which I have to me it's a positive a positive experience lah


K okay since we K since which is a


quranic class, uh it's a religious uh a religious class ah, they the is about reading the quran uh properly correctly or proper way, uh, I'm that uh I can uh open this class to help uh everybody


uh these so call Kakak Makcik, who has been affected, by this uh COVID situation if not for this uh zoom technology, they wouldn't be able to go to the mosques to read the quran so with this I am


uh blessed lah to help


in helping others I'm also helping myself


so I think, uh you learn more about yourself lah, things you have more I for me lah uh since I have more time at home right, I know myself I mean, uh I will I


I will need to I learned how to what do you call that, time myself I uh what time I need to do what things yeah


dream place ah, dream place I would like to go turkey cappadocia, ya ya ya ya so yeah


so I I would like to achieve it before I, want to go there before I turn maybe sixty


has there been a travel experience that left you in awe


okay for me it was when I was seventeen or sixteen so my my, brother got a lucky draw, to lucky draw to australia lah, so that was the the luckiest day in my life because I was the one chosen to accompany him


yeah so he got a lucky draw don't know whatever, ya somehow he just chose me to


proudest moment maybe when I, (oo), proudest moment I think maybe when, I get to raffles girls'


I didn't study hard I didn't do anything I I somehow somehow I still got surprised eh how how uh how did I ended up here


but then JC was maybe not not for me lah


so in the end I didn't do well after JC, it yeah it, uh it taught me that uh it's not the school that matters it doesn't mean you go to a good school you will you know


come out good, you have to put in the effort lah


K what next is okay what is a skill or ability that you are secretly proud of having


you pay me the games


for me I think uh what ah, maybe, quranic reading skills, I I didn't have a not to say that I didn't have a proper


I didn't go to a proper class to learn, ya it's just, uh the skill I pick up uh just by listening, yeah so sometimes, uh I mean different people got different sets of skills and abilities like some people learn better by listening some people learn better by looking


so for me uh it's listening it's uh listening skill, yeah somehow deduct it uh deduct deduct eh okay so the reading should be like this or the reading should be like that yeah


maybe we go to uh about favourite activity


what's the thing that you get uh when you say running, for for me I typically, I don't see the what ah


eh why why run when you can play sports that includes running


because if you ask me to run or to play games that involves running of course I choose play games that involve running cause I don't I don't see K what's the


maybe you you you run you run with the you bring


to unwind maybe just go out with friends lah just have some cup of coffee, just sit relax, or maybe ya just on some youtube some uh watch some uh I like to watch debates, so starting to watch uh speakers uh this uh thing on youtube it's call speakers corner where they debate uh on religious topic yup


ya quite important ah to me


cause I don't think, COVID will last forever what, there will come a time when somebody will find the , what do you call that ya the cure the vaccine whatever the antibody for it


so there is possibility there is a what do you call it the end of this dark, tunnel, so in the end yeah somehow things will work out lah, yeah I'm sure the the current government will open the <B>


ya but if you're talking about retail stores, you can't help it lah because now, I mean technology will take over now you have online shopping, so how the unnecessary unnecessary things will just fade away


but uh talking about technology uh it's a two double edged sword ah they say


uh you can look at the bright side you can also look at the dark side people when they stay at home I mean stay more at home they will tend to shop more ah


but I realised that I I don't know I just got hooked on this uh Facebook live sales ah they call it , not daily auctions some of them not auctioning they just like uh sell sell item but they use live to uh FB live to showcase their products


yeah that that thing could be addictive lah right could be addictive for somebody who because that that if you uh switch on the notification you switch on whatever it will just jump at your face straight when you open your phone first thing in the morning they will okay notify you okay there's a


like ya they say global uncertainty but with this uncertainty I think <B>, something that will replace maybe retail stores okay they they put online okay anything that can't be done people will find ways to just split ya


people will just get more creative to get things done ah, must have like that that uh


positive and negative things about this uh situation ah, when you sit at home you tend to ya like I said like you spend more shopping or you spend more on buying uh online food order you will get lazier


the religious places also right


financial related topics, okay, okay so mama you want to start first, how about you go through the first point ah how do you invest your money to accumulate wealth and your planning for your retirement


okay uh so


okay so for myself , uh from what I know is for me personally the best kind of investment is investment on yourself ah, especially as a young person like myself who maybe might not have a lot of capital uh investing in myself means


going on my way and then learning from experiences ah or getting a, like class class uh uh what do you call that car license and then also going for other courses putting myself out there ah that's the best kind of investment that I have for myself ah other than that there're also different types of investments in terms of monetary which is like


growth investments shares properties, and like fixed interest ah such as like singapore savings bonds uh so currently right now the , the only monetary kind of investment I'm doing is an endowment plan lah, which is basically an insurance slash uh savings plan lah that under AIA ah


okay , so next question ah uh what strategies, [orh] okay under like like singapore savings bonds or


shariah compliant means uh it's not, not permissible under


okay then so for example for a young adult like myself right what kind of strategies can you like recommend me , for for somebody who's planning for their big ticket expenditure such as like if I'm planning to go to uni or, uh starting a family what what would you recommend


(ppc)


okay uh so I just give my opinion on, uh what you just said ah uh you say if I'm planning on getting a big ticket expenditure like uh starting a family or buying a house that I have to foresee it maybe in about ten or eight years' time uh how much like a have a goal lah have a goal in mind right


is what you're saying yeah but okay ya, okay but however the problem with this right and I've seen uh with many young adults is that sometimes the goal is too unachievable for that point of time which means


uh eight years down the road , we can say we it's hard to save eight years down the road if you know what I mean ah it it's for us it seems very unachievable so for me now uh what my opinion is is I'm only planning to look okay I'm going to see two years down the road I want to save for uni first


whatever , obviously uh starting a family and all this is important to me as well, uh uh, yeah correct ah and and which is better lah because if I'm looking far down the road sometimes people keep uh


they lose track of their goals and then sometimes they can, ya ya lah and also it's hard to keep up for a system for it is if if you know what I'm trying to say ah


[orh] K really ah then it makes sense lah, ya then it just requires discipline to put in the money ah


okay uh then how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage, like I know your time there was uh it was maybe easier lah I don't know lah cannot say because I haven't lived uh


so you learn after your experiences lah but what uh what's one thing you can maybe advise to , young adults about , how you can go around settling your financial matters before


(ppc), K for me I might have a different opinion ah uh for me I want like the best for my children however , it's also what you are saying is right ah to spend within your means ah


ya lah you must spend within your means ah is what uh I'm trying to put it in another way lah because you it sounds like you know uh


yeah okay so uh, the next one ah so in a post-COVID world right what kind what changes are you making in terms of your savings spendings habits like are you still working even after post COVID


ya lah and then since ya, how about like on your other hobbies


do you spend a lot on like your other hobbies if you have any , ya that's true lah also


okay uh but for me I'm kind of fortunate that in this COVID in this like post-COVID world ah is that I'm serving my national service at the same time so I I do not know what other people, the situation of other people lah when they say [orh] I just got retrenched or I have to sign my tender soon because my company is retrenching people ah


for me I feel like quite fortunate that, I'm serving my NS uh, none of my working life is affected since I'm a uh civil servant, as a firefighter in west coast marine fire station ah so,


so I feel like fortunate ah that, I don't have these are like not part of my worries but if there is something that maybe if, uh the, the changes I can make to my spending and saving habits, is maybe by uh learning <B>


eat in more lah that means uh not order GrabFood, and kind of uh, having food at home instead of ordering from outside


because we don't uh it's like when say when you are working or when you are outside, we spend more time outside you only eat for once , only eat when you're outside , yeah, okay uh then the next question ah uh what do you think of, FIRE which is financial independence


uh retire early eh how can one achieve financial independence


then what are some of the ways like one can, earn can achieve ah financial independence


okay by passive income


okay , okay ah I'm I'm not old enough or experienced enough to explain how somebody can achieve financial independence, ya but from what I know is basically in a a reiteration of what you just said ah which is your uh basic earning should


be more than your your expenditure so if I want to achieve financial independence it can also mean , I scrimp a lot on my expenses ah that means I don't treat myself right uh I don't, , maybe just spend the bare minimum on food


and clothing and all these stuff it can also mean financial independence but for me financial freedom or financial independence for me means I am able to do the things that I enjoy while not having to worry about money ah, ah that's something for me I think is very important ah especially when you are retiring


uh because at the final stages of your life you just want to you know look back and then just like [orh] this is what I've done in my life for the past sixty plus years what I have achieved uh is there anything else I want to do before, uh, ah ya these kind of things lah


uh that one I don't think so lah because for me I'm, retiring early is nice it's a dream of most singaporeans ah you know you just get to stay at home ya you Lepak is that a word I can use okay, like like did like retiring early but then uh for me I like to


kind of like, be outside more often I don't like to sit at home, and then uh just kind of , play games or all these ah I I like to make my activities more broad ah, if it makes sense, yeah ah ya like you like you said ah you you


working doesn't mean if you're not working doesn't mean you are retired it's when you have a hobby spend it you have time doing your hobby, and then making maybe money out of it it could also be a a good retirement plan ah it's what I'm saying K then another one would be uh


what advice would you give to someone to get him or her out of debt


but by these courses you mean is it like a learning course or is it taking like like loans to cover


[orh] it's good lah that singapore has like these measures in place to help our people ah get out of debt, uh but for me, personally I think if, I an advice I would give to someone to get him or her out of debt is probably to aggressively pay it off ah


so uh in my opinion if, I have a house mortgage or I have a car loan that I have to, pay off , uh I want to be able to pay above the credit minimum ah, so if I'm only required to pay two hundred dollars for


the month itself, I'll maybe try and pay for two hundred fifty, like aggressively paying it off ah so the sooner I get it done the less insurance I kind of accumulate, and then thus uh making making it it might be hard at first but it'll be easy on in the future lah


so that's my personal opinion ah, and then also to maybe , ah ya ya okay never mind yeah anything else you want to say


uh K then uh, do you think one should own a credit card


do you personally own a credit card


so for your credit card uh do you also have like big purchases, or do you use it for small purchases


okay uh so we go on to the next question ah, uh, I am too young uh not too young lah I don't I don't feel like I need a credit card right now ah, the debit card is enough to sustain my needs ah even for savings it's okay


ah no maybe in the future ah, you know, K then uh next question what advice would you give to someone in order to retire comfortably


yeah I agree ah because the age of the investor also plays a part in, uh retiring comfortably because for me like say for example me and you we might eh uh we are very different in terms of age


I can, uh I can invest like aggressively that means I can do


okay so, regarding negative experiences in your life K uh can you describe a time when you felt trapped or helpless, [orh] no uh actually uh uh wait this one is a bit too, uh in depth for us to speak about now ah because I don't think I can think about a time in my life where I felt trapped or helpless ah but uh maybe some some bad things that happened in your life


ya there are a lot of ya there's a lot of feelings of this ah but I'll just keep it at work ah I don't like to bring it back home, okay but uh anyways like what are some of the things that happened recently in your life that you feel like


like, !wah! Jialat ah or you know, or like, it's a or negative experience ah, recently ah ten, ah K so


I don't think it's very recent, okay but uh it's also the passing of my grandmother ah, ah that's that's something that I still think about to this day lah okay because uh she was very close to me also as a, as a grandmother and then


some things like you know they say [orh] you have to meet your grandparents or spend time with your grandparents before they pass, ya that's something I felt like I could have done better, yeah and that I didn't accomplish before they passed away ah, yeah


then uh since we we since we share the same experience then uh why not you you say something about this matter ah


okay ya I mean uh ya I can feel like, , when you put like myself in your shoes ah if I were to lose a sibling that I cared about also, it would be uh, very depressing ah for me, you know, especially since


you know if you very close to them, uh in your childhood, cause I know uh my mum, uh she's very close with her seven siblings, so, having this loss is, I think it's your first sibling that passed away right


because we were aware that she was suffering from , mental health issues so, and then maybe there were some things that we could have done better, yeah but, for whatever we did for her it was uh out of love lah, yeah


then , is there something you felt like you regret that you could have done better


as like a sister ah as a sister as a mother, as a daughter ah , what do you felt like, because maybe for me I I only lost somebody who is like very close to me which is my grandmother but for you you've lost uh people in your life who were like very dear to you so what would you say


what advice would you give ah to somebody who, maybe hasn't, uh gone through the same situation as us ah


so we try to avoid this uh conversation ah because if not , I'll be more of uh , okay, describe the saddest scene you ever witnessed lah


okay for me being a , firefighter or a uh civil uh, under SCDF ah I think it was like about last month or last three weeks ah, ah okay that we turned up for a marine call ah so !aiyo! is this wait I think this is not sensitive enough okay maybe ya no I can see it lah so


so basically there was a call about two boys ah who drowned at changi changi beach eh so, we were from west coast marine so we took our vessel all the way to Changi beach which maybe took us about thirty minutes or one hour


so in that time duration when they reported the boys for missing right one of them were already found, but then the other boy wasn't found, so uh we were like scouring around the beach around the shoreline to see if the boy


, was found or not lah okay and then if you know if somebody's uh, somebody just drowned right they won't stay afloat, uh they won't be afloat ah they will first sink and then about maybe two hours or an hour plus depends on how fast his body will uh kind of float back onto the surface


so , what happened was when we were looking through the shoreline, then there were other, what do you call that paramedics also on the scene trying to look for the boy there were also DART team ah DART team is disaster, assistance ah


so ya like rescue team ah and they're professional divers as well lah, so while we were looking for the boy I remembered uh one of my friends he looked through the binoculars on our vessel, then he said eh do you see or not uh there's this uh, there's this blue colour, like shirt it was like a shirt but there were a lot of uh what do you call debris


in the ocean so we were like looking at something and then like eh can you see that [orh] it's just a, ya ya that it's a recent case ah it happened like last three weeks three weeks back I think, so then we were looking through then we then we were keep it keep spotting debris debris then until one point my friend was like telling me eh do you see that one then he passed the binoculars to me


NSF ah so we both share share with between each other first then look at it like, eh I then I I told them we see like, ya it's upside down so we can lah so we we see like the his back is kind of like float in the water


so , I was looking at it in a way then I'm like, then part of me also I've we've seen like so many things that uh, we thought it was something but then when we come closer it wasn't anything, so uh as soon as we saw the DART team approaching right that object ah then we also said eh I tell my uh the steersman ah I said eh


uh OW sir there's a I'd there's a, blue colour, uh cloth spotted at this certain area , then okay then we went over to it, we went over to the body then DART was also there already , so when we went there I remember the


the boy, that was the boy lah that drowned, yeah just for me I'm like looking at it like eh I was like this close, no I didn't I wasn't very close to the body but we were close enough to have a good look at like, at the boy lah


yeah no because they ya so after that they dragged him out of the water the DART team ah, which is the, ya they with their diving gear and all they just, uh dragged him out of the water, fifteen years old fifteen, yeah, so for me that that was the first time I actually saw


yeah dead body lah, and this is considered a mild kind of like experience you know because I have other friends, in other land stations ah who experienced worse ah where like uh people committed suicide yeah there's a lot of cases in #ang mo kio# also where elderly citizens uh nobody came to check on them and then their bodies decomposed for like


a good, ah no SCDF still have to take out their body the ya because police and SCDF works hand in hand


yeah ya ya usually they will call these guys lah if the case is not very bad then SCDF can just kind of package the body, but some cases where somebody jumped off the uh building or commit suicide, uh then SCDF have to clear on the spot lah because uh what do you call that we don't know if the person we cannots we can ascertain that if the person is still alive or not so for example lah if somebody jumps off from the twentieth floor


and then you can uh from the way you see his body you know this guy is dead, okay, but then we cannot uh, we have to still do CPR, because in the eyes of the public right if you don't do anything, then it's considered like eh this guy on the floor did you guys just stand around and watch him ah ah


so for us even as firefighters right let's say paramedics haven't arrived, yet, ya us as firefighters have to still give him CPR, even if his body is like limp already, ya ya even even in that case until the paramedics can uh arrive and then they tell us that okay this guy is uh pronounced dead then we can stop and then we can just collect the body


ah ya lah that's most of the time Wayang lah is what people do lah because my friend attended one of these cases where the guy jumped off the building, and then, when he's giving CPR he told me when he was doing chest compressions ah, so he tell me it was like pushing a balloon ah


cause the body was like mushed already inside all his ribs all broken so when he's and then he can tell the guy is still breathing, but he wasn't he he he couldn't shout or scream ah, it's just like in a state of, very how do I say ah in like maybe deep pain ah too much that he couldn't say anything so when he gave


so they were suspected like foul <B>


or like knowing that you cannot do anything a last favour like for your sister ah


then what would like the best memories like you treasured, with uh that sister who passed, what are like your best memories, no lah just maybe since we talked about it


uh because before that she was a very jovial person right she was very


okay uh the backstory ah like is basically uh, she didn't uh she was planning to get married, then a few days before the marriage the guy, yeah it was it was cancelled lah then the guy left


yeah that's why it's always good like about mental health also lah, that if you suspect uh somebody who's been through, maybe a depressive state, or you can see themselves start to distance themselves with uh away from the ones they love right it's best to


kind of get therapy for them ah yeah, cause these experiences can are like very emotionally traumatising ah I I feel that can really change like the character of a person significantly


ah ya, cause back then also we didn't take , , what do you call that emotional therapy very seriously we just like !aiya! never mind lah with prayer she will be okay or like, ah never mind she we will pray for her ah


wait which one is it what do you often worry about ah, for me or or you want to go first I think you go first ah for me mine is


like optimistic ah it is, or another way how you want to say, but then, what you must worry about something right nobody goes in without worry


but how about like uh your future like retirement plans is it like set in plan set in place already, like for retirement or are you still like wondering like eh I don't know if, I got enough for retirement or like, what's going to happen after the after


okay , my worries ah, my worries is mostly about future because for me if, I want to do something I want to do it like, the right not the not the right the best way ah that I can so for me uh it it's a bit hard to accept like now especially for housing ah let's just say for example housing ah that one is my biggest worry ah


like if I were to work, start working and my partner also is to work uh I don't think we are able to afford like maybe a five room flat or something big ah I know they say start small lah but for me it's just like hard to accept that eh how come it's like both of us working we cannot be able to afford


something that I I really want or something that my partner really wants, yeah, so it's the I'm still worrying about, that, ya exactly lah that's what I'm saying lah like it's a bit for us it's a bit hard to not for her lah for me lah mostly it's hard to accept because I'm like ya want to already


start to, get a five room flat or live in a comfortable place cause people have done it it's just like why can't why can't because I already calculated my expenditure that is not very feasible to, get a five room flat at the start I'm willing to work like for it ah it's just that it cannot come straight away


so, that's my biggest worry another second worry I have is, maybe stability of like my job ah now especially COVID anything can happen so there are thoughts of signing on


ya [lah] there's a bigger safety net [ah] is is what I'm trying to say okay [lah] [ah] ya so it's twenty minutes already


positive experience in your life, okay uh so we'll start off with this positive experience in your life so uh can you describe a travel experience that left you in actually I feel like okay what what


what screw the questions ah what kind of uh positive experiences uh that you've been through recently, that you know you feel like you're very grateful for ah, yeah no I I I feel like we don't travel a lot also so we we don't really have much point to say


okay but from all the things that you have learnt ah like you said uh going to YouTube and like learning how to troubleshoot different items , uh like internally ah what what do you think like it has helped you become more of


[orh] like you feel like a kind of good feeling, or like uh internal good feeling because you get to help people of your same faith, uh like, uh achieve their goals of like, uh afterlife ah is basically, in terms of religious things


okay uh, so, for myself ah a positive experience in my life ah is, as what do you call that controversial as this might sound ah NS is actually a positive experience in my life ah I know a lot of uh uh males in singapore they dislike going to NS because they feel like two years is a waste of time ah


but for me uh I'm kind of blessed that these two years was more than just like a , like a passing phase ah because I get to mix a lot of with a lot of people who , show me that eh actually the outside world is not as pleasant as it seems you know people


there's politics at work, that something that I I have already experienced and then I know how to get around it , uh so this positive experience, uh makes me more prepared ah to go outside in the outside world and then deal with other people


or deal only learn how to communicate in a better way, with my colleagues ah, okay and then , also just like being a firefighter ah in , in NS ah makes you actually kind of like appreciate more of what our


the civil servants what's the what's the name ah of our , uh forgot they they used to stay in singapore ah like, Apa the name ah uh , shit okay never mind let's just say civil servants ah okay police be it police army


yeah okay ah like police army or even SCDF ya just makes me appreciate them a lot more lah because of the things they do and the things they risk in their everyday lives ah, ah ya, okay lah then, during this COVID period ah what are the things that you feel like


is a, is like a what do you call that like a silver lining ah, like COVID you you can't really go out and earn money


ya because I can see also ah because if you guys didn't know I'm her son, so I can also see that she stick to the effort to, actually at nine O clock she'll be at the computer already, preparing the Zoom classes and all these


and it shows like eh that takes a lot of discipline ah because for me nine o'clock I just wake up ah , but sometimes she even worse than me ah yeah, so can see like COVID actually uh shows us that if you are really willing to do something about it ah you can actually do something you are not trapped in that position where [orh] you I cannot do anything


because nothing out there is working, ah I'm sure there's a way ah K yeah , okay ah besides that uh, let's talk about travelling ah where is your, what is your like dream place to travel to ah


is it like your dream to take the balloons hot air balloons


uh personally for I mean for me I I do want to go to Helsinki norway to experience like, the northern lights ah yeah that's uh, I'm not a fan of like very bustling city so I'll try to avoid Tokyo new york


amsterdam, I prefer more kind of like, uh yeah yeah like like, a more out of mind <B>, things like you cannot just get anywhere else ah


or ya, uh no the furthest I've been to is thailand so yeah there's there has been some things that left me in awe but not in a good way ah I'm just saying ah


so uh you, out of your siblings you have seven siblings, [orh] okay lah then you know okay that's good that's good


so what was like one of the proudest moments of your life


studied hard for


okay lah but uh, right after uh raffles girls' you studied at JC right


but did that teach you like anything positive about


yeah okay I can personally feel it on another level because , I was from express stream also then I took my O levels , but then I ended up in ITE higher nitec, in ITE college central, so for me at that point of time I thought like !aiya! this one


it's like eh I'm really doomed to go to ITE especially since express they like made it like a point [orh] you whatever you do you cannot go to ITE, but then end up uh I still end up in ITE uh but then for me instead of like taking it as like uh one step back I thought about it okay I take one step back but I will take three steps forward


so I had another goal in mind already to after my two years in ITE I want to go to poly, so like fortunately for me I managed to score good GPA to go to ngee ann poly lah in the course that I wanted , so for me I do agree with her in a sense where the school doesn't determine


what you'll end up in life ah it's your attitude towards or how you react to the situation that, makes you a better person, K, uh, okay then uh what what question do you want to ask me right


you can ask, !wah! I don't know I, skill or an ability that I am secretly proud, I think maybe video games lah


yeah I I don't really, play that often as I used to but then every time I remember when my friends ask me eh do you want to try out this new game or not, or you want to try this new app or a phone game then I'll just okay I download ah then about a week later then I will be better than them already


so for me I think yeah since young I already started playing video games ah, so that's how I think it kind of , uh passed over yeah, so for you like what yeah


so you are able to listen and then kind of , cause that's a very like uh, a very that's a very good skill to have ah because I know a lot of people also I take quranic classes ah so I would know


there are some people who are coming through the age of fifty, or, uh ya how no matter how far they are in the quran they just cannot seem to , get the reading down lah because, yeah it's just a, I'd I don't know what how to explain lah okay it's just


it's just that lah, K anything any ways like uh what is something that you feel, sorry, uh yeah okay lah, ya what each


wait which one are you reading [orh] describe your favourite activity to unwind and relax ah, uh for me it's have to be either swimming or running ah, yeah, uh it used to be gaming ah then I I it used to be gaming because that was an escape ah


ah but then I realised actually eh it's actually making me more hot-headed ah [orh] , ya because when you play games I am the kind of person, (ppc), what what do you mean by the what's the thing that I get


banner or like the how it can makes you unwind and relax lah is it, [orh] okay


ya I mean it's just a personal thing if I were if I could play sports I would take up I used to take up dragon boat, and then that was something that I I really enjoyed but for now uh , COVID and all these it's a bit difficult to, try and uh


do dragon boat again so for me running is just like anything anytime I can do so, if I'm feeling like uh eh I'm I'm uh feeling a bit uncomfortable ah or a bit, restless I just go out and have a run ah and then usually when I come back then I'm I'm okay already


yeah, same as swimming also, , it doesn't have to be something where like you really have to have people to, kind of uh enjoy ah it's more of a personal, it's more of a personal kind of thing ah


yeah I I I know what you mean ah ya but when you try running next time uh just uh kind of like, don't think of it as !wah! tiring sia just, ya ya I bring my music lah so, I it will just pass by then I'm just like enjoying the scenery while I'm running


get a bit of sweat out that's about it , then what is your favourite activity to unwind and relax


okay so eh so uh religion is like very important to you also, correct okay , despite okay maybe we have like about five more minutes to cover the last question so


uh, we'll just take this one ah okay despite the ongoing global uncertainty right what makes you optimistic about the future


ya I think it will pick up back quite uh quite rapidly ah


because now from what we know is, tourism is probably down I think there's a lot of KTV box uh KTV, clubs that already close down because of COVID, and then a lot of retail stores in america


which which which is sad ah because then we have all the other like, uh like, I don't know ah maybe bowling I don't know if I think bowling is still open, ah SAFRA, but a lot of KTV boxes have closed lah


I've also recently been doing a lot of like online shopping ah but for me the kind of stuff that I shop for it is not, a want lah it's more of a need ah, ya, yeah necessity like things that actually fuel my hobby or, or help me in my work yup


[orh] ya where they auction items, on the on Facebook, [orh] ya the there is one case where somebody was selling uh


I forgot he was at Bukit brown cemetery he said that I I think he was selling durians ah, yeah he's very popular I think you should check him out lah


I mean it is entertaining ah but I think we should just keep it as entertainment instead of like, uh putting it on a, like more like in a personal level lah where like [orh] I want to buy this


ya I I believe will adapt ah, thirty seconds left anything else


, anything else you want to be


but during the start of COVID everybody was like doing their best to go and run then uh once COVID, has started to like uh phase two open started opening back then everybody like [orh] don't want to run already ah lazy, yeah I think so also


uh do you apply for HDB grant when purchasing a HDB flat as a married or single person do you provide details of the HDB grant, ya I think you applied for uh you are also you also your house is also a single applicant right


ya ya I also didn't have any grant even though mine was a single


it's a single applicant house, ya I mine I'm staying near my parents but somehow I didn't take the grant also, I don't know why buy I can't recall, it's six sixty thousand or something right


oh okay, !wah! I thought they just need to stay like few blocks away from me that's all


okay


okay I didn't know about that, you want three the second one do you get a loan from the bank when renovating your house if so do provide details name features loan, I never even renovated my house so I never got any loan did you you you had right


so you did do renovation but no loan that's all right, oh okay I didn't do any renovation so I have no experience in renovation loan, the third question would you buy property for investment given the implementation of buyer's stamp duty for people buying additional property


would additional buyer's stamp deter you from investing in the property, !wah! I don't know what I think it's like two percent or something right for the initial, buyer's stamp duty you should know you have the you took the course what


but you need to that means you you no I thought stamp duty is high or is it high for private house or what, or is it the same for all houses, oh that so it's it's two percent like of the property or something right


I think so, no that's ya just agent and buying and selling fee but stamp duty how many percent is it, that's why people say stamp additional stamp duty is like forty K or fifty K or hundred K or something like that is that case


oh so this is alien to me lah that's why eh , but HDB I remember when I bought my HDB the stamp duty was I don't even, remember any stamp duty


yeah, maybe when I bought the house I think it was probably very low so I don't know that's why I don't recognise, agent but mine was resale, so ya I was the second owner


okay the next question !wah! very fast already what do you think of investing in property


or I don't know I I I think it's okay depends on whether you got money or not right


ah ya lah yeah


no but when you buy the house you'll definitely have to put the down payment of hundred K two hundred K you also need money upfront what, that one can ah


yeah, so the down payment I don't have that money, question number five HDB loan or bank loan, which home loan will you consider when purchasing HDB do you, do provide details of your home loan I took HDB loan back then because I tell I felt uh safer but every other person will tell you to take bank loan because it's so much more cheaper


ah


yup yup that's why I took HDB because uh it's just safer in terms of uh any default right, so number six if you settle for bank loan do you go for fixed or floating rate interest do provide details so yours about yours was a


a bank loan is it, oh so I don't know what how to answer this


and so you don't know anything about, bank loan uh also right


that's true, so that means uh if you take a floating rate it should be better, or be higher right ya ya


just take HDB lah, number seven have you bought or sold a house before other than property price what fees incurred during your or bought as in a agent or what no I personally of course I bought, sold I'm trying to sell still so the property


other than what uh what are the fees incurred during your I think the only fees is paying the agent fee , uh two percent and one percent or one percent and then, if the buyer buyer doesn't pay anything right so no no nothing else what I can't can't think of anything else


buyer pays the agent I thought buyer doesn't it's the seller that pays the agent, oh so buyer also pays ah


okay last question do you use CPF to pay your down payment when buying a house, do share your experience of the process yes I use CPF till now uh to pay my down payment, uh for my house all this while how about you


oh yeah I think I I was the same also so when I bought the house the CPF was gone and then then the salary was enough to cover the monthly payment, looks like there's a few more questions on the chat board, uh how do you invest your money to accumulate


wealth or planning for retirement, uh buying stocks and shares that's the only thing I can think of for you you're investing using rental income or something right


okay then the next one is what strategies would you recommend to someone planning for the big ticket expenditure IE starting a family buying a car house, what what strategies save money I guess that's the only strategy you can do to go and if you want to buy these


the second one the what strategies would you recommend to someone in the chat box


oh don't care next question maybe how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage are you gonna, and uh uh yeah so uh how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage


ya ya


ya the insurance is a way to go so this before marriage or after marriage


oh that's why I'm not married oh either I'm haven't plan for marriage so I don't


yeah I do but uh mine is again it's all like either I'm saving using the endowment, or those kind of monthly payment that has an investment related or just save some cash lah


so there's one more they said in a post COVID world what changes are you making in terms of your spending and saving habits uh, I think definitely lesser spending right because uh unless you're you're using you're spending buying things online lah then


ya ya ya, do you know about this uh what's your opinion on supplementary retirement scheme SRS


oh I don't know what the hell is that oh that is the, that's the the uh is it the one that new CPF life or something like that, !wah! I'm not sure leh I stumbled on this before


okay let's skip that uh how do you manage your CPF savings what advice would you give to someone in order to maximise your C CPF savings oh like what we said we do retirement versus just leaving it in the CPF right that's what we doing right


ya so you are you like is yours like your CPF is all hundred percent invested


oh so yours is still being invested up till now ah oh that's quite a lot already ah


!wow! that's a lot man amazing, so how would you make a financial plan investment portfolio for your family or children so your children is all also invested also, oh mine I don't have children ya


ya I have the hospitalisation plan the critical illness the ElderShield, I die someone is going to get a lot of money except for me


ya mine mine has life life, (uh) so ya okay we are done


okay uh, so describe a time where you feel that you had, committed something gravely wrong and there is no way you can get back up or start over again !wow!


describe a time where you feel that you committed something gravely wrong, and there's no way you can get back up and start over again, uh for me


gravely wrong ah, I think for me it was a work related issue where I got I I I I I was pretty uh, not pretty lah I was like judgemental on a staff of mine, and then I had no choice but to also leave the company so


so I think that was something where but I don't felt I was wrong but it was where, you forgot that it was a female also I think the female felt that I was too, uh harsh on her ya don't then the of course the company, feels that you know they will definitely get a HR involved and all that so I felt in order to


to end it I will just leave lah but I was quite senior in that company so, ya but I eventually I got back into another company at the same title but it I think I shouldn't have resigned so easily lah but , yup so that's my experience for you


but she has children right so you still can be involved with her in some way right, yeah


yeah oh that's sad, at least you acknowledge it lah rather than not knowing it okay describe an event that made you very angry !wah! this is opposite, (ugh) for me angry I think I'm I get angry all the time so there's no event uh very angry ah I think


I never had like very very angry that I want to kill someone or something, no I can't describe an event that made me very very angry, how about you


!aiya!


oh you're you're same like me ah I think so both of us been angry every other time but not at a very serious situation okay what disgusts you, what disgusts you uh for me, I think uh people who or scenarios where you expect


someone to behave in a certain way and then they don't so that makes me, disgusted or offended like for instance if you, if you you have an obligation or you have uh or have you done


you you help someone and then they automatically don't, don't uh, appreciate ya so I think that's a bit disgusting in my opinion I think just just general that's just for me lah I guess ya


that's a good word man expectation ya


ya that's true ah, okay uh what is an issue that you feel upset over because you feel the world needs to do more about it, what is an issue that you feel upset over because you you feel the world need okay for me it's climate change that's that's I feel upset because I feel that


everyone should be more bothered about this because of all the, the I mean it's climate change lah don't know how how it affects me I don't know but I think that eventually the world's gonna die so, I think uh where you feel the world needs to do more about it but


people are just doing like what you said people are just going to work they can't be bothered if they use more plastic or they can't be bothered if they uh if the car is, uh giving out certain fumes or you know or they they don't recycle or or whatever so I feel for me that that makes me feel a bit upset only


how about you


oh that's actually a good very good rational at least like I think I think I probably noticed that I didn't really


realise it but you're right people are self-centred, uh okay (ppc), what is an issue that made you eh that that one we done already right, describe a time when you hurt someone's feelings !wah! for me definitely many times I know that I've actually overlook people when they were right there


and uh, where it didn't show on the person's face but you actually you you actually hurt that person's feeling or at least you hurt that person's, uh good good vibes ah so for me I definitely have had that kind of experience before where I know that I I'm not doing the right thing even it could be a girl could be a guy for that matter


yeah for you


actually that's a good one man you had a very similar but you had more better experiences than me , recall a scene from a movie that made you too angry to watch !wah!


all of these questions are so unbelievable man recall a scene from a movie that made you too angry to watch, , I don't can't recall any scene in a movie that made me too angry to watch maybe maybe when a character that I like suddenly dies you know then then I'm very annoyed ya so I can't remember any movie like that


where is made me too angry how about you


actually I have I remembered back, there there was a movie in the eighties it was called the accused


I can't hear you sue it's like again , hello, okay so there was this movie in the eighties


so for me regarding that movie I remembered there was a movie called the accused, studying jo starring jodie foster in the eighties it was about a lady that went to a bar in the US and then she was drinking and smoking and then she wasn't dressed up


very slutty but she was like, uh just like dancing by herself and then, she went to play pool then a bunch of guys came in and then they saw the only lady then they took turns raping her, and he then much later in life I found out that it was actually a real story because I saw it on Netflix and then


that lady uh the whole town right was uh the whole city in fact was against her, that they called her a slut that she had to leave the place and then a couple of months later she died, in a road accident so that made me very angry because in actuality uh


the way the individual guys that went to prison they only went to prison like for a few months and they came out and those guys were treated as like, heroes you know and this was in america which is supposed to be the the most civilised country in the world, so it happened that way and I felt so bad because I didn't know what happened to her and uh so I can't imagine what her children feel like that you know that


they must they also think that maybe she was a slut but in actuality, uh from witnesses she wasn't ah then jodie foster I think won an oscar for the movie then also when I was watching the movie they interviewed her the actress, she said that those actors right in that in that movie ah in the movie the the acting ah it was a real rape scene you know real you know


so jodie foster really had sexual stuff going on her and that in that movie uh the actors right who acted those scene, a lot of them went through psychiatric uh problems after that you know because they were they, because they they they were not rapists they were actors


so the it it affected their emotion you know some of them couldn't get back to acting some of them became drunk and alcoholic and all that you know because , the director demanded them to physically threw her onto the onto the pool table and tear the underwear off and rape her you know


ya so I when I watch back I remember that ya the scene really look very real but it was really real, so they the actors actually some of them after the scene they cried you know those guys they were they were real men, but they never expected in their life they be doing that to a person so that reminded me ya


okay so okay what frustrates you, yeah actually there's a lot of thing that frustrates me sometimes ah sometime I frustrate myself


I'm the biggest frustration of all you know, ya so I think sometime I get frustrated of people not behaving a certain way or coming late, or uh being goofy, and then at the same time I also do the same


so I frustrate my myself so I think frustration is just part of life for me lah I just have it in my DNA, so what about you


that sounds like a debate actually


okay what is your greatest fear


what is your greatest fear, oh for me of course the biggest fear will is to die that's the greatest fear I don't want my story my my my my own personal movie that goes in my own head to end


I am my best friend so that's my greatest fear, what's yours


okay I think there's one more we can go through describe a the time when you were unable to help someone in need, !wah! I think I've I've done this many times is it for me the most that comes to mind is that people that suddenly, come to you or they they ask you like for donations on the street or whatever and then you feel like you walk away then as you walk away you feel like shit maybe I should just given that person a dollar or something


so I that's when I feel that cause ya I mean this this irrelevant but yeah I've I have that that scenario before, so describe a time when you were unable to help someone in need to


!wah! you really ah your experiences are definitely way better than mine I think I need to wake up and uh ya I have no other questions and it's four more seconds three two zero


part two positive experiences, uh first one describe a travel experience that left you in awe ah this one you probably have a lot man


you've travelled so much uh okay for me I start first uh the travel experience that left me in awe I've got good awe and bad awe, good awe was going to the US uh and uh , just enjoying uh #salt lake city# because #salt lake city# is uh a is a one area in the US where the mountain is made of salt


which I've never seen before and all the candy and all that right they actually take the salt from the mountain to make the candy, and so I found it amazing and the people there were generally nice lah the bad awe was in Bangkok when I was working there


I went to a a bar like every other friday and then I got beaten up , I got punched in the face and everything by two drunkard caucasian guys who who are who I was buying free drinks for, so that was my bad experience for you sue describe a travel experience that left you in awe


india right, !wah! ya


!wow!


but the bed it the it cold the warm bed doesn't it electrocute you ah


oh my god, !wah! then some more no wifi or anyway to call for anything ah oh my god


!walao! that but seems quite nice lah still okay adventure what


, okay what was the biggest reward that you ever received after doing an


awesome good deed, !walao! what is this ah, oh you start first I don't what's the answer for this what was the biggest reward you had ever received after doing an awesome good deed , have you done an awesome good deed


uh that's the reward lah I guess


I think so far I've not receive any I don't know what's good deed but I think I have, so maybe it's people just complimenting me without me knowing that they're complimenting me so maybe I've done something good somewhere lah so I think


!wah! I am going to hell okay describe an experience when your faith in mankind was renewed, describe an experience when your faith in mankind was renewed, okay, for me I think the only experience is all online where I mean I seen


people rescue uh animals, and then those animals were traumatised, and then they they took the trouble to, to uh nurse the animal back and and give the animal confidence to trust again you know


so I felt that that's where I believe in mankind, oh it's not that bad after all that's my experience lah


!wah! that's a really uh quite a challenging experience