you go ahead , I would say depends like if you want to earn more money then higher profits uh usually comes with higher risk ah for for investment and trading and then lower profits come with lower risk but I would not consider investment as gambling because like


like, firstly I I mean, like you get a house you buy a house you invest in real estate mostly the the risk is not really that I mean the risk is there but I mean judging from the past few years the the average like nots the average like


ya the average trend of how like real estate is increasing ya the price like like usually the it has a general increasing trend ya so I think is not really gambling maybe trading is lah cause like there's always things like factors that you need to consider ya


what about you what do you think


, yup


yup , uh buy low right just now that you mentioned buy low and sell high right do you think this is a good investment strategy


yup why why do you think so ,


oh okay ah


okay ya I think I mean to make a profit there's it's always like good to buy low and sell high right like like when you sell high you earn more money like there's always a profit when you do that but I think it could be very difficult lah cause you do not know , when is the highest price and lowest price like you said and like human behaviour is always influenced by market sentiment so like


we tend to make the wrong decision ya so and like people inherently want to keep track of their money so uh especially with the fluctuations in like the stock market prices right, I think I think like I think it's uh like


despite it being a good strategy I think there's risk that comes with it ah cause we are all, people who like we buy and sell based on our emotions ah ya


do you uh, options are worth looking at, oh options are worth looking at for new cash strapped investors do you agree


hello hello oh


hello


negative experience, iris what has made you stressed ya


oh I okay I go first okay for me is not being able to excel ah and like thoughts about the future ya so like I very scared like I I won't be able to excel in life like especially in singapore it's very difficult because it's very competitive ah


like you see our education system everyone really just like, Chionging to get the best results and and like I think the standards of living in singapore is way higher than other countries ya so it makes me really stressed to think that I might not have a very stable future if I don't study hard and work hard


ya what about you,


, ya


ya


uh I think for me I thought that JC would be very similar to secondary school with like a very structured learning style and like you know like, with like the discipline committee and stuff like there's like more discipline to keep you in check and all but it was really different from what I expected lah like most of my my learning was more self directed and all


and that and that and, and I couldn't rely especially for my school ah I I felt like I couldn't rely on the uh most of the teachers there like I mean I could like, but I I couldn't rely on lectures and tutorials ah cause I I was someone that needed like guidance like ya so it was rather difficult for me during that time and and I wasn't expecting that ah I thought it will be more guided ya and and like


and I'd to adapt into a learning style that I wasn't familiar with likes lectures and tutorials but, ya I I I didn't expect that from JC ah and and it was uh a bit it was rather tough for me ya what about you


ya ya


ya, yup


describe a time when you felt trapped or helpless


, I think for me it was during and before my A levels ah so so as like when near A levels were nearing right my prelim results weren't like the best, ya and and compared to my friends from other schools like


and despite the amount of hard work I put in right like it it wasn't translating to my results ah so I was very discouraged and like I felt very helpless cause like I thought I was doing like whatever I can already , and like there was nothing else I could do to push my results up ah so I felt a bit trapped ah and like


like I felt like there was no way out of it like like, I couldn't drop out but I also couldn't cause I've come too far and then I couldn't give up where as in at that point and when I say that I could like I felt like I couldn't do anything to boost my results ah


and then like during my A levels uh like after most of my papers right, I would I did not I wouldn't feel confident about my papers that I have done and like waiting for my results I felt very helpless ah there was nothing I could do I couldn't like rewind time to change what I did in during the paper or


like there was nothing I could do ah to change what I like I have done done or like take back my papers ah so I felt rather helpless and trapped during that point of time, ya


I think is pretty similar to just now like one of the questions like when I asked like, what makes you stressed right so like ya the future and change ah like what does the future hold for me, like like will I have a family like even if I have a family will I be able to raise a family


what will happen to my family like now my parents in the future like relationships that I have now like how will they change and how will they turn out , like people come and go and that is something that I worry about ya and like income stability and like future like happiness and stuff ya what about you


ya that's right


ya is something new ah, ya that's right


okay so there was once I I was like out with my family having like dinner right and then I saw a little kid like screaming at her parents so I think it's really sad lah cause , like she had on like branded stuff like she had branded bags branded shoes at like a very very young age I think she was probably like primary school kid lah ya and like her phone right was like damn Ups is like


it it was like way better than like most of what, like, like what primary school children are having ah but and then she she was screaming at her parents which probably who are probably the ones who gifted her these stuff ah so I felt like that was very sad like


and at the same time they were like serving her like her dinner so like this proves that like I mean eventually people I mean it's human nature that, like we take things for granted especially those who who like loves us a lot lah and those who will sacrifice us sacrifice the most for us ya so I think that was really very sad


to witness ya, what about you


oh no


ya, ,


ya ,


for me is the failure of the fear of failure so like I I'm I'm generally like


really afraid to fail ya so I would be like before I would even attempt to do what I desire and like attempt, for me to like reach my goals I would, I would be already I'll I'll be like thinking that I I'm going to fail already


so so like that is one of the major things that holds me back from trying to like reach my goals ah ya, and I I, this did happen for me for quite a long time ya until now I still have that fear ya what about you


ya


yup


, uh for me was my grandfather like he was very dear to me and and I was at a very young age ah when when he passed on , it was really difficult for me to accept like that I won't be able to see him again and all and like physically and and like and I felt like I didn't have enough time for him because I was really young but we had a very close bond ya and I like


I just missed him a lot lor ya and like I was devastated like knowing that I won't be able to see him again and like I didn't really deal with the the emotions and like the loss at that point of time which led to like and I'm just like


(ppc) chuck my feelings aside ya so, it led me led me to develop like a a mental and emotional trauma up to this point also ah like when it like especially when it comes to death and all , and how I got through it was like I guess I got through it together with my family ya like we supported one another during that point of time


yup (ppo)


positive experience, okay what was your oh okay you ask you ask you ask


I think one one of my best birthday present was the most memorable one was like I receive red packet from my friends, who weren't even married and like it it contained like a card and then money ah so like firstly I think is it was the best birthday present cause like the card like has sentimental values lah and like I really appreciated what they wrote inside


and uh as for like the gift wise like value money wise right they did not spend on things that I I could possibly not need like, you know how like we always try to find gifts that suit the what uh the person needs and it's very difficult to do so when like someone has


not say I've everything ah but like ya you really don't know what the person really needs so like basically they just give me money and and I think that was a that was and it wasn't a large sum ah ya but, it it it was the thought that counts and that like I could have used that money for a better purpose ah and


and I actually used it to save up ya so I think is is a better gift rather than like trying to decide what I needed during that point of time what about you


(ppc)


what what would oh you ask , uh I think that would be that would be my dad like ya he


like he's he really like put it put like his family first especially me first before himself and like being the breadwinner of my family I think it has been very tough for him as well and that like,


ya despite like me disappointing him countless of times I I I like he never feel like he didn't give up on me ah ya so he's someone that I look up to and like like despite all the problems that he face in life he like, doesn't complain and doesn't doesn't throw his like


work work issues in like he has like very good work life balance also and he knows how to separate work and personal stuff ah ya so that's what I respect about him the most ya what about you


ya, ya


what is your what is your comfort food that you can always rely on to cheer yourself up


ya ya


, ya for me is like #bak chor mee# #bak chor mee# , like I don't know eh I like the like, I mean it brings me comfort because like of course like the soup and oil is like damn Shiok and like like it's very simple yet delicious right but


but like last time when I was going through a tough time I used to remember my dad bringing me to like the Bedok eighty five market to eat #bak chor mee# when I like wasn't feeling very well like or under the weather ah sia so he will just bring me there so it's like


it brings back a lot of memories also when I go there with my friends ya


for me it's like hanging out with my loved ones so like uh my friends my family and and like I what I like to do is like explore nature so like hiking with my family and friends , and like and then after having a meal together (ppc) so like ya I think like ya


first you exercise then you you know like !wah! it's damn it's like is perfect ah I feel and and I'm like someone who enjoys like going out and like like being in the outdoors and I really really love food so like this combination is like perfect for me ya what about you


for me it's like chocolate and alcohol like you know when you're young then your parents ah okay not my parents but like you know you just try a bit of alcohol like I don't know about you but my parents did


then like I used to be like really hate the taste of alcohol but I feel like like is a is a taste that like you can learn to acquire and appreciate ya it as you age I mean no I'm not that old now but I'm at legal age so ya and


I'm of legal age ya and and chocolate right I used to hate milk chocolate so much like, and like I really hated things like that comes in chocolate like cake and stuff but, now now I I really love it ah like I have it like every other day ya yup what about you


that's good


what are you thankful for


(mmhmm) (ppc) ya,


uh ya


, oh many many things man like like I'm very grateful for and thankful for the people around me like my family and friends like and most importantly is like and like I I mean it sounds cliche but like I I'm very thankful that I'm still alive and breathing ah like I can do


things like I can I'm I'm like capable of doing things that like takes like physically and mentally ya ya and like being born in a country like singapore like you said ya is something that I'm grateful for because like


it has a really good health care system education system everything that you can think of is like pretty good lah compared to other countries especially since it's a small country is easy to manage easier to manage I guess, ya and like the fact that we don't really experience any natural disasters


ya so I think that is really is really something to be thankful for and uh ya and that, the opportunities that singapore has, given is like you said ah ya is something that I really appreciate


, you travel a lot right do you do uh describe one of your memorable travel experiences


ya


for me it was uh perth ah ya I like to travel to perth because like one of the times when I travel to perth it was very memorable for me because like, they had no nightlife like absolutely none and and it's something very different from singapore like singapore like at night you go out and then there are like a lot of things happening


especially at like town area ya but at perth there was literally no nightlife like and there were like only a few restaurants open, ya so like I got to have a lot of downtime with my family at at our airbnb and and one thing about their airbnb is like super different from singapore like they


they have a lot of landed properties there so most of my airbnb were were like ya landed properties and it was like the houses were super beautiful and big ya it's something that, you really wouldn't expect to stay in in singapore especially with like high housing prices ah ya


and and like the but the airbnb owners were really friendly ah ya and like I even made friends during my stay there which I still keep in contact when I go over to australia ya and it was a very like peaceful type of setting there and it was a very pleasant trip ya cause


like generally the thing it was a very quiet place ya and it wasn't very happening like singapore which I really liked ah cause it's something different, and like the warmth shown by the locals right like really made the the trip like way better because like they treated like


I've heard of stigmas about australians being like racist and stuff towards chinese right but like I think like I really didn't experience it at all because like they were really warm towards us, ya and like it like despite the really really cold weather I think I think it was a very like warm trip ya


for me it was when uh cause now I'm working at like a primary school and a church doing social work for social work for my church so now that there's this COVID situation I've been doing a lot of admin work and and


which was not my original job which was to like interact with the children and stuff, and and then like , it got a little tedious for me because like I wasn't looking forward to doing uh admin work and like just office work uh when I signed up for it but


my boss acknowledged my hard work when I do when I do complete these tasks lah so it really like encouraged me ah that I got appreciated for my hard work uh and I contributed even though it was out of my job scope yup


because personally I have not tried investing but I've read online there's uh five investment strategy then there's one uh where you're supposed to


buy the stocks when they are low and then wait for the right opportunity in order to sell the stocks when they are high then there is also one where you just keep your stocks I mean you just keep the things that you buy in the market for as long as possible


and then you sell them when you are when is the right moment or when when your investment the investment horizon is up for you, so


ya what is your investment strategy


ah


okay so how long is your investment horizon,


, so for me I think I'll have I think it depends on uh which stage of life I am in so for example if let's say I'm planning for retirement then I'll have a longer investment horizon because I want to make sure that my money


is protected and secured that's why I want to do like low risk investment but if let's say I'm still, having a stable income and I can afford to take the risk, then maybe I'll do more short term and high risk investment so that I can earn uh more money frequently


maybe maybe I'll do a mixture of both I think I think the long term investment the longer investment I'll look around maybe like ten fifteen years like what you said


but for the the ones that are going to be short term I think I'll look at how the market goes and when I think that the opportunity is right then I'll sell it


how I plan my investment portfolio I think that uh for me if let's say I'm going to invest I would do I will look at how much I have, and at hand now for me to invest cause I think that it's better for me to save money first before I have the extra capital to do the investment ya and


for planning wise I will try to consult uh some friends that I have or some professionals that I know who uh, have been doing investment cause I I know a few friends that uh, are into this kind of


this kind of income so I'll ask them on maybe some like, advice on how I should follow ya and so just plan according to my own finances and look at like my goals as to what I want to do with the money after I earned it


what about you


, so what is your risk appetite when it comes to investing and trading


, I think for me is similar uh, I I for now I am more concerned about protecting my wealth so I won't go into


super high risk high return kind of investment but I would choose to put my money somewhere safe maybe the maybe the returns will come in a bit slower but I think it's better for me at this point in life because


I'm not making a stable income, and maybe when I have the uh the disposable income to do high risk investments then I'll increase my risk appetite but I think for now it's quite low risk


for me uh, I would plan to do so in the future especially when I have a job and have a have the things that I need uh at hand already so


maybe when I clear some loans that I have when when I when I grow older then I clear some loans that I have when, I have financial security then I'll look into investing in the stock market because I see uh that there are quite


few people uh who are successful in investing in the stock market and maybe I want to try my hands on it cause I think that is quite a good form of, passive income and I think that if let's say I can


benefit from the stock market then it's also uh something that I can uh harness so that I can have more money for retirement maybe I can have more money to look after my parents when I grow older what about you


what do I look out for I think I look out more for or, for me I think I will look out for things like stability uh and and probably ya when I choose to invest in the stock market I'll invest in a time where uh


other people are saying that it's a good it's a good time to invest in the stock market cause I I also think that it's quite it's, and maybe it's risky I think because I I am putting my money somewhere where I cannot see


and uh it's it's it's on hold in the market so I would choose to uh prioritise like stability uh and uh protection of my wealth rather than high return


, I think it's a good way to manage my money, uh I know that there are a few company


that help you do that right now small small I won't say maybe they are small like they are startup that aim to help people uh, plan their wealth and then automate their investments so that they can invest passively and I think it's a good way for maybe beginner to try investing


cause there's less stress on you to make the decision and you rely on the, professionals uh the automated system to do it for you and, is it's a more of a hands free approach which I think that people who are scared or people who are apprehensive about investments


uh can look into ah so myself included if one day I try to if I want to start investing I think automating my investment is one of the ways that, I will uh seek maybe seek advice from ya what about you


, so


oh, okay so do you think that investing or trading is similar to gambling


, , ya I I think I I feel that both are not because from what I read is that trading is more of a short term kind of


uh investment if short term is high frequency return but investments are long term and uh larger return so I feel that in both it require the analysis of the market


and require at least some form of investment knowledge or financial knowledge in order to do well so but if for gambling is mostly on luck, I mean there there might be some skills involved in gambling


but uh whether you win or you lose, is based on luck and there's a there's this , high when you do gambling is like playing a game except money is involved but I feel like for me investments and trading is more of trying to earn income for some people it's a job


and some people they do it uh like financial companies they do it for a large clients with huge sums of money to do, to do investments even countries do investments as a form of income so I feel that they are not similar


in a sense that investment and tradings require more uh professional expertise and knowledge than gambling


, uh for buy low sell high from what I've read that that is a a very common strategy for people uh but


uh that in recent times there are a lot of debate online that says that uh buy low sell high is not a very good strategy because a lot of people think that when you try to time the market


uh it would often lead to disappointment because you cannot time the market well or you never know like when high is too high or when low is low so uh it might not be such a good investment strategy strategy these days


, from what I read online ya, the


I think for me uh options I was looking for, because it's a good way for uh cash strapped or new investors to have the uh hello


okay so it's a good way for new investors to have the options to buy and sell whenever they want


negative experience, what makes you stressed


oh


for me uh, I think ya I think it's about the same like thinking about my future because, I I'm just scared that in the future when I I need to provide for my parents where let's say I if I have a family and


I am not able to give the people that I love what they need and I and let's say if I struggle to make ends meet or things like that it just makes me stressed and I think seeing that some of my


peers and classmates like excel in life it makes me feel very uh stressed out as to like why I cannot achieve the same things as them if , ya if one day I end up uh not being able to find a job or let's say I end up not being able to have a stable income then because the competition is so tough and


everyone is uh vying for that few positions in the job market and then uh ya, and every year there's like fresh graduates that are coming out, from universities so if I don't pick up my pace if I don't work hard if I don't do well and the other thing is that


if let's say even if I work hard and and and and I don't do well and then it also makes me quite stressed out as to, like why if I put in the effort it doesn't translate to uh result ya so I think it's like the stress of like money and failure at the same time


, , describe a time when things turned out not meeting your expectation


, I think for me is uh quite similar at first as in I at first I expected that I'll be able to cope with, the lecture tutorial style in JC because everyone went through this like like to me when would before I entered JC I thought all my seniors went through the same thing and if they're able to do okay then I should be okay as well


but then when it gets down to like actually learning from lectures it's very difficult for me because uh I, I I just feel that the lack of , like practice uh


I it's like it's like they just teach you once and they expect you to recreate the same thing over and over again without much guidance and I think that part , really uh just set me back because I thought that I didn't know that the JC curriculum was going to be so tough especially for math


for me ya for me for me math was very tough and JC math and secondary school math is so different, and uh and and things are much more complicated and uh, just trying to learn it once in a fifteen minute lecture and then trying to like recreate it


using the tutorial questions is quite difficult and then when you bring up the difficulty from tutorial questions to exam questions then it's another like another leap that I have to go through and, ya and I for me that was quite ya I mean it didn't meet my expectations in the sense that I didn't know that the JC okay I didn't know firstly I didn't know that the JC teaching style is so fast


and then secondly I didn't know that the curriculum is so tough, ya cause I did alright in secondary school so I thought that I would do okay in JC as well, so I think at and then towards the end obviously my results didn't meet my expectations ah so uh ya it trickled down ya


uh


I think I think I think the it was more of like the recent times because of the COVID nineteen situation where I felt very helpless because, everyone is on circuit breaker which includes my father who had to stop work


and when okay so uh even when he stops work right he is uh required to continue to give salary to his workers so his money is I mean his company is making uh


losses every day each day as COVID passes because, there's no income going in and the money is going out to like rentals and salary and I think to me uh it's just really ya I felt uh as a as his daughter I felt very helpless because I couldn't help him it was like this kind of in this kind of situation


ya because I mean uh, ya there's nothing there's nothing that our family can do about stopping work and about not being able to go back to earning money to support the family you know so that was when I felt quite helpless


because it it is just like this like physically nothing you can do about the situation, and it just continues ya like circuit breaker just continues every day you just have to wait till circuit breaker end in order to go back ya what about you


, what do you often worry about


ya I, I think that the, like the the incoming school term is making me quite worried I feel I feel that we worry about things that we cannot we have like no control over and that's what makes us stressed ya so like the incoming school term


something that worries me because I've the the university the university like like learning and planning and, being a university student is a different ball game from being a JC student because ya ya and like we have to start like things like bidding for our modules have to plan our timetable and there's so many things to juggle at once when you're a university student you have to


juggle your CCA your internship your social life your, academics and and all these things it it it I like like when you're in JC all you have to do is just study and maybe like CCA


or like social life but when you're in university what I heard right is that, my senior told told me that uh you won't really have like long term friends from your course at least that's what happens in like the school that I'm going to go to she said that the friends that you're going to make long term are


actually mostly from your CCA instead of like from your course because when you change modules you will change the people that you interact with already ya and doing group projects in university is just like, uh also another thing that worries me


ya so I I I feel like, there's a lot of things that I need to learn how to do when I'm in university, that would really determine my GPA and my future but I have like no sense of direction as to how I can control these things


ya so that's what worries me ah ya, describe the saddest scene you've ever witnessed


, I think for me it was uh I think when I was younger I uh I I I saw someone try to commit suicide


uh ya it it was cause I I I live in like a HDB so there's a lot of like adjacent block so from my balcony right I saw uh a man like at the railing and then he was going to jump and then


and and there were there were there were like uh SCDF officers like firefighter firefighters not I mean people from SCDF with the huge pillow, at the bottom so like in case he jumps he will land on the thing so I mean in the end nothing happened to him ah him cause he landed on the cushion


but uh, I think thinking about it right now ah I think that was quite like, that was quite sad for me because uh I if I remember correctly the man was like middle age it's not like he had no future for him he still has a long way to go in his natural lifespan and uh


it it it it just makes me wonder like what happened in his life that he wanted to do this, in a housing estate I'm I'm not sure whether he lives at at my area but ya ya it it just like makes me feel quite sad for him ah ya because like I saw it happened and then uh


ya I I uh ya uh ya it's just, like to go through the to go through the process of, making the decision to end your life and what pushed you to do it and


uh really he no he didn't even like stop when the the people were there he just he he just dived eh ya and like making that decision I I just felt quite sad for him ah cause


I I wish that someone was there to help him ah but but he was alone I mean there were there were like police officers at the at uh trying to stop him ah, but, ya uh ya it just makes me feel quite sad ya cause like what happened to this guy ya


, what is the biggest thing holding you back from your goal


, , I think I think is that too lah like the the the the fear of , failing and uh


like cause when you when when you want when I feel like when I I want to achieve my goals right I need to step out of my comfort zone to uh sacrifice like one or two thing


like to go through the discomfort and the inconvenience and go through the hardship before you achieve your goal ah I mean if the goal is so easily achieved then uh then it might not be a goal I don't know if I make sense but, but like goals uh you have to go through a lot of obstacles to


achieve, bigger things, and for me it's just uh the fear of like going through all these obstacles going through all these hardship and then midway think that


it's too much for me or midway fail and unable to, continue, ya then I I I think that, that's what's holding me back because I'm scared of starting


to be like so starting to be so emotionally invested in a goal and then not being able to achieve it at the end of the day because of my own like insecurities and my own failure or like my own bad decisions ya


, have you gone through uh any loss in your life if you have describe your emotions at that loss


positive experience, okay so uh what


okay uh what was your best birthday present and why


, for me my best birthday present was uh when I was a kid and my mum she brought me to this bakery where you can decorate your own cake, so I spent uh quite a long time uh over there just decorating the cake ya it was very fun because I I feel like I get to


enjoy the time with my mum and uh the it it would and to me it was a very, , it was a very uh


good experience because I have always wanted to, I, decorate my own birthday cake when I was young because uh my house doesn't have a oven so we don't bake anything so when there was this bakery that uh allows you to just like do your own


decorating that it feels like as if I baked the cake and I did the decoration so to me it was quite fulfilling and then , ya I get to enjoy the cake afterwards and have a good time with my mum ya so that was my best birthday present


, uh okay so who in your life do you look up to most and why


, I think for me is uh, my dad too uh because my dad worked very hard to reach uh where he is in life right now he's not he didn't come from a very educated background


and uh he went through a lot of hardship when he was younger , and he came to singapore alone uh when he was like twelve and he started working when he was twelve and then he went through he just went through a lot of hardship and to be where he is right now I feel that


uh it's, uh it, is a result of how he's a very resilient person like he doesn't uh he doesn't get set back very easily


and as a result of his determination to do better, and now that like he my family uh uh depends on him for income and


everything that we have is also I guess financially supported by him I feel that it's a very a something to respect about my father ya because he


worked really hard and then he succeeded and uh even though he came from a very like disadvantaged position when he was younger he could still get to where he is today, ya so I look up to him and I hope that you know with like a more advantaged position I can do better


, uh for me I like fried chicken


uh cause I feel that it's uh it's very nice to eat with uh your fingers and the taste of fried chicken is just I I think that is very comforting


because it's like hot and crispy and it smells nice, and you drink it with like the most, uh you drink it with like the most unhealthy drink like soda and like coke and I don't know what else and it's just it's so unhealthy that is good and you just don't care and you just eat it


ya what about you,


describe your perfect day,


for me I think my perfect day is where I can get a lot of things done that I need to do, cause uh, ya like at the end of the day when I feel that today has been very productive and I've been very efficient then I feel that is the perfect day because


uh uh, like it's rare that I am productive and efficient so, when there's a rest day that I can do everything that I needed to do at once then I feel less stressed then I can and go hang out with my friends and


I think that's my perfect day, where I can just clear everything off my back ya, uh, what did you use to hate as a kid but now love as an adult


for me, I think I used to hate like sports as a kid cause I I I don't like sweating and I don't like running around,


and I don't like being outside to enjoy the sun and the weather and things like that but now as when I'm older I I feel like I have more like I have more appreciation for the outdoors and I do more like


sporty activities I think but I will play like sports with my friends lah like for recreation ya so cause I feel that after I uh after the end of like the game or end of the session then I feel very refreshed


I've used all my and I feel healthier I think because when I was a kid being staying healthy wasn't really like, in my mind but then now as an adult I hear my friends my age having things like high cholesterol uh like I have cousins that are high risk of diabetes then I feel scared so now I'll I love like working out ah and keeping myself healthy ya


, thankful for I think I'm very thankful for my like parents, for like uh


coming to singapore cause, uh like they were originally from like indonesia like small village in indonesia and I feel that and I always thought that if they didn't come to singapore and they didn't go through all the hardships that they went through to earn money to uh


(oo) uh I guess to be in a better financial position then I wouldn't be here speaking english speaking chinese going to school, going to university ya I, like I'll still be in that village ya selling selling food lah cause that's what a lot of the people in their village do ah they sell food it it's not it's not something that I I I mind it's just that I'm very thankful for my circumstances now because


uh ah I think uh, living in singapore you see more opportunities to, uh achieve more in life ah but


if I stayed in that village and if I had uh a very weak education then that that I feel like there's like a limit to how much I can go in life, if uh my parents didn't like bring us to this country ya so that's why I like like that's what I'm thankful for ah for them like for going through for them going through the hardship for their future generation ya what about you


oh uh, I think for me my most memorable travel experience is when I go to Jeju, cause uh, I , it just feels very different from the city


like for example when if I go to like Seoul or Tokyo or like uh like Jakarta and it's just like very city like it feels like it's singapore but it's just in a different language, but when I went to Jeju, it's like uh the countryside and it the it's something about like the fresh air and not seeing so many tall buildings that distresses you and the the culture there is just very relaxed very slow paced


the food like everyone is just so contented and happy there and, uh and it I mean it's a bit of a, tourist hotspot and I guess uh a bit of that image is kind of kept up to on cater to like what tourist needs so maybe like not everything is not everything I saw is what like what really people in Jeju go through lah but


the the weather the scenery the people being like so friendly and uh it's not it's not crowded at all like in jeju it you see like, one person like once in a while like two three people once in a while like it's not like singapore where you go out of your doorstep and you just see another person there I just feel like it's less crowded it's less uh


stressful living I mean being in Jeju ya it's very it's a very pleasant experience ya and the food is good, so and the the the the


it's like ya it's just very relaxing so so to me that's quite memorable ah what about you


, , describe a time where you got appreciated for your hard work


financial related topic, ya, alright so benjamin do you have a credit or debit card


oh if uh I I do have DBS uh debit card and uh frank frank OCBC card as well but uh I don't really have a credit card now I guess uh because of several reasons one is probably because I


uh feel that for credit card purposes they mainly don't really have like a, a way to restrict your spendings means like you will usually just like incur expenditure and simply pay at the end of the month and I feel that this is not very


uh, like this is not, possible for me to uh manage my expenses, uh over the long run however I do acknowledged that for credit cards there are certain benefits like miles or points or cash back those kind of things which might be beneficial over uh my future when I'm going to start working and and stuff like that yeah so so what are your thoughts on uh having a credit card in the future


but from oh sorry continue, okay but from my understanding is that for credit card even though there are annual fees but it is usually waiver waive able kind of thing, as long as you call in and inform them and that kind of thing


oh I see I see ya, okay okay ya I see I see


so for credit card as I under stand correctly right there are certain kinds of benefits like cash back points and miles so what are your kind of, ah reward system for credit cards suppose that you were going to apply for them in the future


for myself I guess I tend to agree with you for some of the points especially for cash back and points but for miles wise uh from, what I am thinking of right uh probably like next time if I ever have a credit card maybe I will have a credit card that earns me miles because uh as inspired by my siblings I guess because uh they they kind of earn their miles and they starts to prepare for their honeymoon


in the future using those miles as they start saving since young the moment they started working so I guess that's kind of a good point be because, sometimes if I'm not wrong based on uh some of the new credit card application you might get some miles as your bonus so I guess those miles can act as a form of subsidies for your honeymoon in the future so I guess like these three have their own uh pros and cons but for myself I would


also choose cash back like yourself so uh yup


okay fair point, alright it's a fair point I guess, I see I see alright, so uh, ya, oh ya so uh


some of us may uh may argue that bank's interest rates are rather unattractive like you know uh based on my understanding for POSB their interest rates is like zero point zero five percent I guess if I'm not wrong so


whereas some other people they may feel they may think that their money is safe and is accessible via uh POSB for example, so in in the light of this would you rather save your money in a bank that probably offers a low interest rates or would you invest it somewhere


like uh investment products or or whatsoever


for accessibility, I see I see, for myself uh I guess I agree with you to a certain extent because, uh like what you said uh it is firstly very accessible to place it in banks like you can check your balance as and when you want


and for myself I would say that I would save uh a specific portion of my savings inside my bank uh for accessibility and convenience sake, and also for liquidity of course and I would definitely not put my hundred percent of my savings inside a bank account because of this interest rates but I am aware that some other banks they might be offering certain accounts that are offering a relatively high interest rates


but if I'm not wrong there is a standard chartered jump start account that is offering two percent previously it should probably end in end june ya so, apart from that I might, consider putting some from my money inside certain uh probably long term investments like stocks or


I would say mainly stocks lah, over a long period a longer period of time, ya so maybe this is how I will uh, have a breakdown for my, entire net worth I guess, ya so


I see I see so so speaking of uh loans right, do you actually uh, have like, experience of getting a loan so far


I see uh for myself, I guess I'm classified under your your friend's category of actually uh getting a loan for university before, so uh the loan that I got was actually from OCBC bank and I guess that the perks of it is that during the three years of uh university life uh you won't have to make payment out of your pocket


so I guess that gives me a form of liquidity that, that I enjoy having and uh like I said, previously I might be able to consider using those low uh those liquid funds that I have for the three years to probably do some investment if I can or even if not doing investments by putting them inside the bank for three years


it might able it is able to earn me, even if the interest is very low it might still earn me that bit of interest before I could probably use that to offset some of my uh repayment after I graduate, and also for the O OCBC uh loan right they are offering a interest free during the whole three years and let's say if I graduate in may I might only start paying uh the the interest from july on wards


so I guess is a kind of good thing and also in light of the current COVID situation the the government has actually extended one year of interest free loans as well so, uh as much as it benefits the fresh grads like us I feel it is, it is


I feel that it is a wise for for me lah during my three years ya so so this so that's my take off, the loan loan parts ya


I see, I see I see okay


which I feel that this is a very interesting question because uh for myself right, I feel that I started becoming very uh, finance, uh how should I put it like I feel that I really began started to to save when I first got my ATM card like to other people they they may feel that oh once I got my ATM card


probably it's my time to to start spending but for me when I received that it first ATM card that I have I feel like it is a kind of sense it is a sense of responsibility for me to make sure that this ATM card can grow to a bigger amount so that in the future I can be


I can be free from financial burdens or something like that so uh the the first ATM card that I got was if I'm not wrong, should be at the age of around, I can't remember what age but it was during my secondary


four period I guess so prior to that I have been uh using mainly all the cash and stuff so without using a card so I feel that maybe secondary one on wards it is possible to give them an ATM card but provided that they must, have the kind of responsibility to to not misplace it as the consequences can be dire


so ya so so what so what about you like at what age do you think they should be given at, a card


right


so a sensible age lah ya right


alright fair point fair point so uh just a follow up from the uh child question right like I'm aware that both of us are not married also lah so, do you think that couples in the future should combine their finances like for example to have like a joint account uh or whatsoever


but but your, wait hold on ah so uh for the definition of a joint account right do you mean that okay, for let's assume that both parents are working adults so by your definition of joint account do you mean that every month both parent will just contribute an equal amount into the joint account or what


I see I see the truth is be told right I uh I guess I agree with you almost like entirely, but uh, okay no but, but the thing is that, for for


like you do know that some of the like couples so if in the future like what if they they don't like work out ah and then like you know there are like incidents whereby if they don't work out then one of the party will simply like withdraw the entire money or or those kind of drama thingy lah so


how would you like view that as a part of concern for you to have a joint account with a with your wife in the future, ya that's my concern actually like like that's, ya I'm just curious about that so what are your take about that (ppo) very true okay fair enough


negative experiences, okay so benjamin okay sorry, so uh benjamin so what are some of the injustices in the world that makes you angry like furious


firstly to add on to your point right I feel that for racial discrimination like, I completely agree with whatever you are saying and also that uh nobody can choose like what skin color do they actually uh born in and and stuff like that


and also uh, as being said some of the people they they often make casual re remarks not knowing that they are actually offending and over time that has actually become like a, more like a joke than uh racism comments to some of the people especially in I would say uh mainly in secondary school or or stuff like that because uh they firstly they might not have you know uh undergoing sufficient education to educate them on these kind of things


or if not is that they are not paying attention in those classes and they they prefer to make a joke and make people laugh rather than, then viewing all all races equal lah so and also I, I do agree that some of the races they are


treated very unfairly in in job hunting for example, like some jobs they say oh ah you you must only be chinese or something like that which I don't believe it should be the case like every job should be available to every races


unless like you know those uh translator job if you want to translate certain language than some of the races properly matters lah ya, so so that's my two cents worth for the racial discrimination and besides that there is actually another injustice that makes me very furious also like which is


I wouldn't speak of these uh for the majority but I feel that on my own I do believe that, income inequality plays a very big injustice in this world as well so take for example uh if you were to compare like uh someone of a lower


income versus a higher income their mindset, are kind of difference like the lower income would be very conservative and traditional whereas the higher income one in a way they might just be very modernized and uh some of the good deals that


that might be a money making opportunity if you introduce it to the higher uh like to the richer people because they have the knowledge and they have the capital they will be like oh sure I'll just do it, and, is no harm for me anyways since I have money so I'm rich whereas for the poor if you have such a good opportunity you were to introduce them sometimes they will be very skeptical which I believe that it should be legit constant because uh there are a lot of scams happening in this world but I just feel that being having a different kind of income in this world


would generally impact probably the next generation if, if these issue persists and of course the the mind okay the mindset differences plays a very important role in determining if uh would they actually remain like rich or remain poor that kind of thing so I feel that this thing is


it's kind of making me angry but in a way uh it's just my two cents worth also lah ya


totally agree ya, okay , is there ever a time where you uh like out of your kindness when you want to help someone but in the end that kind of rid


the the kind of outcome that you get from the person it makes you uh feel awful, is there ever a time like that


ya but do you but do you believe that like for example uh understand that wanting to help someone comes from within so take for your, so take for example if you wants to help someone and uh suppose that that person simply takes you for granted


and after, after helping that person, that person show no sense of appreciation and simply take it like like what I mentioned take it for granted so judging from that case like subsequent time would you actually continue to help the person since you said that uh wanting to help someone comes from within


oh uh in fact there is because uh it was during my university period where uh like, we have like group projects and stuff like that so during this specific group projects right I I have completed my my allocated parts


and I saw that one of my roommates are it's actually struggling so I went on to like just uh help him but during the process of helping him instead of like putting in efforts, to learn on the job and to like find out what is he lacking of and to to pick up some knowledge during that that period


that person simply like, let's like let me do everything on his part and then once I am done, I pass it to him cause for me I feel that oh doing his part it is in a way that it helps me learn more as well so I just like proceed it on to do it so I wasn't expecting a lot


so probably like just a oh thanks and and that's all but after I have helped him and I passed him the the work he simply took it and uh assumed it to be, his efforts and during the peer evaluation which you know at the end of all the projects you will have uh instead of like do instead of like uh


giving me uh an average rating he marked me down so in a way it makes me feel like oh I'm helping you but instead I'm getting a back stab from you so, and I and I do believe a lot on once bitten twice shy so after this right it really makes me feel very cautious towards like towards people like him ah so if ever in the future I hope I won't meet this kind people again but if I do I'll be cautious


and like you said if it's my friend I will try to keep a lookout but to a bare minimum but if it's a stranger I won't care but if it's a close friend maybe, uh I'll just hope that maybe one day he will change lah so, ya that's my stand and that's my experience for


for this particular case, yup


right, right ya so


ya was there ever a time where you were like, I don't know like look down by your friends or relatives like or during family gatherings then you got look down, or whatsoever was there a time like that


I will, okay firstly I I'm not too sure if that is consider look down but I'm just going to share a story it was during my polytechnic days and like you know during the, during your your day one of school you you just go in with without knowing if this person is smart or this person is stupid or or whatsoever so I enter and I'm not sure how I look like probably I looked dumb so uh people kind of like like some of them they kind of like


like, very selective in terms of making friends so to me it makes me feel like oh so are you like belittling me or like underestimating me or or whatsoever, but over the time right like probably after the first semester where the results are out and apparently my results are better than them by a lot and then after that they start to talk to me and start to like you know make friends and those kind of things so I feel that


it might not be portrayed as a as a look down but to me during my day one and week one in poly it probably makes me feel like I'm being look down because, of, I don't know what reason lah ya so that's probably so so that's my take lah ya ya


positive experiences, okay so okay so


benjamin in the post COVID world who are you newly, thankful or appreciative towards, probably during like the circuit breaker period


(ppc) okay as for the what's that I'm appreciative to right is, almost identical to you and also like to add on some points right I feel that , like you mentioned we have taken things for granted like back then in the past when we leave our house to go out and when we get back home we can just uh like lie on our sofa and to continue to watch the TV and stuff like that


but now whenever we come back from outside it feels like we have to disinfect our whole body and make sure we shower before we can sit on our sofa again, so I guess like this whole process is very tedious and that kind of make me miss a lot of the past and besides that


and with regards to the dining, in thingy uh as we are mostly uh resorting to like food deliveries by maybe like foodpanda or grab food or deliveroo and, through these uh process right I am really very appreciative towards like those riders who actually deliver food under the rain or or the sun to to households


because uh recently I have actually started taking up foodpanda as well and the whole process was really tedious like when I were to cycle for let's say two or three hours I could feel my whole leg being sore and sometimes I have to wait for very long at the restaurants so I guess that uh


for this group of riders that actually deliver food to my house during this COVID situation right I'm really very thankful to them, and besides that uh I guess the the main person that I would like to thank is actually my mom for example


because uh during this circuit breaker period it actually allows me to to stay home and to, to see what my mum has been going through uh for like almost her entire life trying to take of this family like for example somethings like uh washing the dishes cooking meals washing your clothes and and stuff like that


because uh some of the days I actually tried during those and to be honest it was very tiring and I really applaud and respect my mum for that, yeah so I guess, uh like you mention again I guess we have to be thankful to every tiny little things around us that we have often taken for granted lah


yup, ya


oh ya


family ya, ya I I do agree his should respect for those people actually


ya so follow up from that right like after the circuit breaker ah so what are some of the things that look most forward to after this, okay in fact maybe in phase two before it arrives, so what are the things that you are looking most forward to


to be honest right I really look forward to the day that I can stop wearing mask when I go out lah cause like now even if I were to go exercising like you know maybe some of the people say that you don't really need a mask to go and run but sometimes after you run you will go to like fitness' corner and then like once you at fitness' corner you sort of like doing statics and


it feels weird not wearing a mask when you see everyone around you are wearing masks so, naturally I will take out a mask and wear and when I was wearing a mask, it's really very hard to do all the statics and I feel that it is a very turn off thingy lah, and, like I said is mainly with the uh interactions with your friends and also to bring your family out for occasions like maybe uh like I pick most recent occasions for example fathers' and mothers' day


our usual, celebrations will actually be like go to like you know like a standard restaurant to just to dine in, but now we have to resort to like calling takeaways and then like to be honest like the takeaways weren't very nice as well and sort of like there are some spillage here and there but I'm not trying to blame the the rider from doing that lah but I agree that there are tough times for delivering as well


so I guess , and travel, and, of course to just uh leave your house, and, once you come back your house you just don't have to spend so much effort to clean yourself just so you can walk around your house freely that kind of thing


ya and I also agree that uh one's phase two is out we shouldn't really just like flushed out and enjoy many friends and stuff so just one thing that I'm very curious about is that uh, you you mentioned that you will wait awhile before you you actually go and and meet your friends and to resume your social life etc cetera


so what is a , what is a reasonable time that, that you think that it should waits, after phase two then you can start going out, like what your thought about it


okay


alright


concern about it, right, ya let's hope so, right


right okay agree agree, ya it's actually ya okay so let's move on, so what is the best


surprise you have ever given someone, or gifts, alright sure okay for myself right is mainly uh during my my I would say that is because I mean is during my past relationship where uh like for myself I am a kind of person that I like


plan surprises and then like you know once you surprise someone you get to see the shock faces and then, I mean provided if the person is appreciative towards your surprises lah if the person is not then I mean is quite, is quite bump out lah, so the best surprise I've ever given to right was actually uh my my my first girlfriend very long time ago where I literally plan the whole day uh


her whole birthday, and from day to night and then uh to end up with some gifts and etc etera lah and at at the end of the day uh from the the responses that I got from her, I mean even though it took a lot of planning and a lot of like calling in to make sure that things work out and make sure all the cooperation between different sites and and stuff like that


is tedious but I guess at the end of the day if the person really appreciates and if you are doing this for your love ones I guess at the end of the day it is, it is worth it lah ya, so that's mine ya so what about you, you told me yet


I see I see oh that's a nice gesture okay


is for sincerity I guess ya, okay so I guess uh that, by, do you bake in the past or just during this circuit breaker


so if err following up from the baking right and if let's say right now if I were to ask you uh, to describe a time where you actually experienced personal growth, would you actually classify baking under your personal growth


K in fact right to add on to your army story right uh back then I also assume a leadership role in army also and then I feel that uh, being uh sort of like leader for like this group of uh people for maybe over a one year


it feels like you're like their parents that you have to take care of them like when you are in, during the morning you have to wake up and and make sure them they that they fall in and then when they are injured you have to make sure that they are being uh taken care of and and stuff like that and then it just gives you a very strong sense of responsibility and accomplishment once everyone ORD in a sense


ya so that's the kind of personal growth for me as well


part one financial related topic


so I actually only have a debit card so specifically UOB, visa debit card and DBS visa debit card what about you


oh so actually I don't really have a credit card because some of the points I agree with you like for financial reasons so I believe in spending only what I have and the debit card is a good system where I can only spend what I have in my card and this prevents me from actually overspending


any amount that I might not even have in my bank ya and then also because I think credit card annual fees are rather costly and since I'm unemployed now I think it's better to, not it's better to not overspend and not pay in this extra fees


and then ya ya you you you you go ahead


yeah, ya I think it's only waive waiverable if, you spend a certain limit so there's a prerequisite that you need to spend like a certain amount before it can be waived off means that your expenses will be


fixed at that kind of quota rather than like a debit card where you don't have any limit you can just spend whatever you have in a card ya so for financial reasons that's why I don't have a credit card as of now but in the future I definitely will have ah


yeah


K so personally I think I would definitely prefer either the cash back or point system, because, I think earning miles is only beneficial for people who travel often and they have specific airlines that they always fly with since miles are usually not interchangeable with airlines and certain cards have specific airlines that they work with so the miles are actually quite specific


so I think is more difficult for, me to actually get a card just to earn miles to fly with an airline but for cash back I think it's sort of like a instant rewards I I see it as a further discount on my expenses because I get a cash immediately


and then for points I think they are usually quite generous and there's quite a wide options ranging from different industries so I think that's why I'll prefer cash back or points so what about you


ya I think miles I think depends on the individual because if I'm not wrong from what I see online and from what I see from the airline's web page and stuff I think, miles usually do you need you need to earn a lot to be able to get like perhaps discount on the air ticket or perhaps an air ticket so that that the thought of having to spend so much just to get


miles so that I can exchange for an air ticket I think I might as well just get cash back or points ya but that's just my thought ya ya I know I know others who have credit cards for miles yeah


okay so what should ya you want to go ahead


ya I think for me I think it's quite simple I think it depends on how much money I have remaining after, deducting my usual expenses and savings so personally I would definitely save a portion of my income in my bank every month, since it


relatively stable, there's low risk of default or low risk of me losing a money and also I think one key point of having it in a bank is that it's easy to keep track I can just check my bank balance but via internet banking or whatever just to see my balance and what amount that I have saved


so I think it's it's more for the stability and ability rather than earning money that's why I put it in the bank but if I have any remaining amount after my regular expenditure and savings, then I will definitely be more willing to invest in high risk high returns investment to earn passive income in that sense so I think for me putting it in the bank is not to earn money but just


for it to be safe at ya and accessible ya so what about you


I I mean I'm I'm also like looking into stocks like currently because I think stock prices are rather low now but I think it's always important to have actually have a backup


like savings in your in in the banks so that if anything happen, unfortunately you actually have a backup in the bank so that you don't have to like go around and borrow money or, I don't know get loan sharks or people chasing you for money that you actually overspend because


you lost all the money ya so I think is two different things lah one is to save one one is for stability and relief just for backup and then the other one is to earn a passive income, yup


okay so personally I don't have any experience in getting loans but I know friends who actually take loans for I think mostly for a university education, and personally I have not taking a loan so I I can't really uh tell you much so maybe uh have you taken a loan before can you tell me more


oh ya


I think what people really look out for when taking a loan I think it's, mainly that, interest rates involved because I think the interest rate can sometime snowball to quite a large amount so I think that's what people take note of and for me if I were to take a loan next time I think that will also be one of the things I look out for and compare between banks


to determine what bank I should loan from and what amount also ya, okay so I know we are not married yet uh and we do not have a child now but what age do you think a child's should be given an ATM or you can speak from your personal experience so what age do you get your ATM card and


so I did agree with I actually agree with you I think after I got my first debit card I actually, started to save more I think partly because, before having a debit card I was just given cash and, my initial thought was to just spend everything because if I were to save I will just have to


put it in my piggy bank but like you you you can't really know the amount in your piggy bank, at as when you want to know by having a debit card actually there's I banking there's all sorts of banking system and then I can just check the amount I have


so I think that really encourages me to start saving and really try to reduce my expenses so I think having a debit card I like what people always say like you you will spend more you will, ya you would spend more you would spank spend recklessly I think for some people it might not actually be the case so I actually also got my debit card when I was in secondary school


and ya I think it really helped me understand a little bit more about finance and I I honestly think, schools should be teaching, uh topics related to finance because I think mostly we are all so focused on academic stuff that we neglect the finance stuff and then things like debit card credit card loans are actually not taught in schools so


we are all very lost on what's actually going on ya but I think to get some sort of financial, uh understanding your financial literacy I think it's good to allow, kids to have a ATM card I think at a young I won't I won't say young age but like secondary school when they are in their teenage years ya


ya sensible age lah when they I think when they start to, spend more on like have a little bit about a little bit more understanding about finance then I think they are they are safe to have a debit card I mean you can still control the amount in the debit A the in the ATM card so I think it's still limiting their finance


so they won't be spending more than what they should be so I think is still fine ya


personally I think uh, couples should have their own individual accounts and a joint account I think


as a couple I think there are many expenses that are shared especially if you are married and you stay together like household expenses like, loans that you need to pay off for like perhaps your building your car, your house your kids' education and stuff like that so I think


for these kind of shared expenses I think it's really good to have a joint account so, you don't actually have to fight like, who pays for what who pays who is supposed to pay for this was supposed to pay for that but I think, and I I think that is


dependent on whether both parents are working adults or I think if one parent is only working and the other is not working then I think it's fair for the one that is working to actually, pay for the expenses but I think if both are working then


it will be sensible to actually have a joint account ya so that I I think, you don't fight over who's supposed to pay for what and it makes, everything much easier lah like you don't have to transfer from accounts to accounts just to settle some of the expenses you can just deduct from the joint account ya what about you err ya


ya yeah I I think for for at least for my case I think that would be, ya that would be the one I'm looking out for lah like both parents, set up a certain amount to deposit in the bank in the joint account every month so that I think there it it something like a uh


savings account like they actually have a backup there or like a account there's so that they can deduct their usual expenses ya so what I think both parents giving their input into the account, ya what about you


I mean I wouldn't look at the worst case scenario where I break up with the person and then the person run away with my money I think


the other party would be more more than sensible to not run away with my I don't think we will have so much money in the joint account, that she would do that lah like I I don't think there's a huge amount of incentive for her to actually run away with my money so I I wouldn't think of that as like an outcome that is possible to happen lah


but but if that really does happen then I I, is either ask her back for the money or or maybe the bank don't even allow just for having one party to take away the money ya


negative experiences, okay so darren


okay I think the most prominent one now would definitely be, racial discrimination, I think, when you look at the news black lives matter and things like that always appear in


the in in your social media or actually in any news platform and I think it that's super prevalent in, I think not just america now but even in singapore so in america I think the protests and everything shown how severe the situation is despite being going through the COVID pandemic so it just takes to show how


uh important or how, deep an issue is for people to actually risk their lives, to, protest, for, their cause the cause which they strongly believe in which is to prevent and stopped racial discrimination


and I think, if you ask singaporeans I think most people would actually think that, uh racial discrimination is quite, I mean it's not as prevalent in singapore as compared to america but, actually I disagree I think


there's a lot of, casual racism in singapore where people are not actually aware of what, they are saying or what they are doing, from things like uh, parent saying to, kids like oh you better behave if not the bangla will come and catch you or like


so I actually read from my friends, I actually heard from my friend who is a mixed blood so she's mixed uh chinese and indian but she have, looks like a malay so when she went for interviews and all


the first question they always ask after they look at her name is do you speak mandarin because if you speak mandarin, the job you'll get the job much easier than if you don't speak mandarin, so I I think, is this kind of small


instances where, singaporeans can actually do a lot better in terms of casual racism like I mean a lot of people usually don't think that of an issue but, it really dwarf into it, is actually


quite a significant issue because a lot of people think that, that is not racism despite it being casual is just, what they say always ya and also like the big hoo ha with, the mediacorp advertisement or I think it was regarding NETS where the brown facing happened where the the actor actually painted himself


brown just to portray a certain race I think, ya that's one of the more blown up uh, racism related issue that occur in recent


years lah in singapore, so I think racial discriminate I mean racial uh, ya discrimination is, actually super prevalent all around the world not just in america, and not just in singapore so


to see that another party is treated unfairly because of their skin colour because of their language they're speaking or because of the religion, as a majority I think it's super unfair for them and I think everyone should be given equal chances ya to do well in life or to do whatever things they like and shouldn't be discriminated against their skin color


ya so what about you what injustices of the world, that makes you angry


ya actually I agree with you I think, things like income, inequality I think, its it happens everywhere not just in, developed countries but also in lessen less developed countries and if you compare like developed countries and less developed countries I think the income disparities


super obvious, but my my take on this is I think, this income thing it's very sad because, those people I mean is always a never ending cycle those who are richer are able to send their kids for enrichment classes enrichment lessons to make yourself perhaps


learn more and, perhaps do better in exams and then they go on to further education and then they take on more jobs which pay better, and then, they become richer and then they give birth to kids and then they go through the entire cycle and then for people with


lower income lesser income they're unable to send their kids for, enrichment classes they are unable to send their kids for tuition lessons and then, naturally they lose out to kids who, been through those kind of lessons


and so perhaps in exams they might not do as well because of, the family background they come from or the income, level their family is in and then when they grow up because, they do not fare as well as other people who been through this kind of tuition lessons and then


they might not be able to get, into perhaps prestigious universities or, better educational institutes to further their learning and then, when they go out to hunt jobs, they couldn't get jobs which are of


uh higher pay or like, could just couldn't get high paying jobs as compared to, perhaps more qualified, uh candidate candidates and then this becomes a vicious cycle where the rich becomes richer and then the poor gets poorer or just get stuck in their


lower income cycle and I think that something that, we should all strive to, work on like to help push the lower income families up, and, I wouldn't say push the higher income family down but


perhaps just helped to boost the lower income families to actually help them to reach, a certain level which is comparable to what, a higher income families are actually experiencing ya so I think ya that, in equal uh income inequality is something that


I would say, frustrates me quite a bit ya, yup, yup, okay moving on


I don't think I can remember a time, where I felt awful helping someone, I think, I think personally for me I think is, the outcome shouldn't matter as much as uh the process and the thought of


helping someone I think if you are helping someone you shouldn't look it as, you should get an outcome or you should get a response from them afterwards I think that's entirely up to them whether they want to, be grateful of


uh do something for you I think, uh wanting to help someone should come from, within it should not be based on what you want the other party to, do, because I think that's the wrong motivation but ya


ya I I think it really depends on, who the person is, if it's the stranger then, I probably wouldn't care anymore about, wanting to help them, them, but if it's a friend


or someone I know or like a family member then I think, then maybe the ungrateful perhaps is due to the, I don't know a certain circumstances they are facing or, certain ya circumstance so maybe I will try to understand more


their current circumstances, and then understand why they are not being grateful I mean if they are, not being if they are ungrateful because they feel like they don't need help, then I understand then I will just perhaps not helping them for the time being but still keep a lookout for them but if it's


just them being uh, I don't know just being mean or, stuff like that then probably I'll stop, wanting to help them in the future, ya so do you have any personal experience where you felt awful after helping someone


ya actually I think uh for your case I think is, super unfortunate and I think, I I will feel the same way as you did because, having to help someone and then for the person to actually take credit for what you have done I think that's


super, immature I think, ya for for me in that case I will actually be angry also, I mean it should be ya you should just take, you should just take credit for what you have done and not what other people have done for you and also for that ya I I feel I feel for you as well


okay, uh okay moving on


for relatives I think not really, for friends, to be honest I don't think there's, I I definitely have not been looked down, but I think teased or like make fun is another story but


looked down no and I mean, I I can't remember a time when I've been looked down, ya but have you been looked down before


ya okay ya I I don't I don't have much to talk about being looked down, but I think I have felt


moments where I felt like I was treated unfairly I mean this a completely different question but ya uh maybe I will just share on that ya so I think one moment where I felt that I was treated unfairly was also during army so it was when I just graduated from


the leadership school and was posted for to my unit, and then because I was the new commander I would I was tasked to actually help certain recruits on something and to train them for for their fire movement so while I was doing that the entire company was actually doing declaration on


rounds to see whether anyone has like I hidden any rounds or try to take any blanks back home so while they were doing the declaration, I was helping another group of recruits with their exercise but when I returned I so after the exercise I actually return them to the


company and I wasn't sure what the company I was doing it was declaration but, I wasn't sure what I was looking for when I was doing the declaration because I wasn't briefed when the entire briefing was happening


while I was away doing the exercise and when I came back no one actually told me about what we are looking for, and then so I was just, I thought they will be just finding an a lost magazine


so I just check if they have their, magazines, their rifle magazines with them and those people that I check they have their magazines with them so I just thought that oh there's no issue because it's just to check for magazines what I didn't know it was that it was a declaration and someone which


apparently I checked was found with a blank round at the end of the day, and then he had to be punished and he said that I was the commander that checked him and then, because of that I was actually punished


because, I was seen as not doing my job, and then I just felt like I was treat treated unfairly because, I wasn't briefed on what's happening at the moment so I wasn't able to do what's told ya


so I just felt that ya I think briefings and, think should happen when everyone is there and not just when a small group is there and then you expect someone to pass the information


positive experiences, okay so, okay you you you go ahead


okay so after going through circuit breaker and the lock down I think, I've really learned to be appreciative of I think every little things that we take for granted everyday like dining in restaurants or hanging out with friends and family in public without any restrictions I think even like


not having to wear masks or not having to check in everywhere we go I think that's those are things that we actually take for granted and I'm actually more appreciative towards those little things


that, actually take place almost everyday in life lah like I think, I think we can both agree that during this lock down we actually miss that social interactions between our friends and our family I mean the most you can do is perhaps through


skype or through zoom which I mean you will still get to see your friend but it it's just completely different from when you are seeing them in person, and there are also things like dining in, restaurants I think that's in the past I don't think anyone would have thought that we will not be able to dine in


eateries and restaurants in real life with our friends like takeaways and delivery would have to be the norm so I think, ya these are things that we actually overlooked at times and then cause we we we won't know what's going to happen we we won't foresee that that event is going to happened so we actually don't really think of what's happening in our surroundings ya so after this I actually


am more appreciative of such simple things so what about you


ya I I actually agree with you on the mum part I think through this whole circuit breaker cause my mom is working so she's working from home, and I see what what it takes to be a parent lah because, besides working from home she still has to


take care of me and my brother as in like to cook lunch or, ya, so having to cook lunch for us within such a short period that they have for their lunch break I think that's impressive and besides that she still have to like


constantly check out on us I mean we're we're we are adults already but I think is, a mother thing to actually just, come to our room and then just look at what you are doing that that kind of thing so to have to balance work and taking care of us I think


that's something which I I'm quite impress lah like, that's that that's what it takes to be a mom I think and then for whom I who I actually thankful for I, I'm, I I as cliche as it sounds I I'm actually thankful for essential workers lah that have to work through this whole pandemic and put themselves at risk


so that essential services can function like I think nurses doctors or even like uh public transport drivers, ya so these are the people that actually keep our society going and, ensure that, services are still going well and like I have friends working in nursing and


the situation he tell me in the hospitals when COVID is at their peak I think it's quite scary like almost every ward has become a COVID uh ward where there are COVID patients in like almost every ward so it's quite scary to hear first first hand experience of


what is going on at hospitals and also what they are experiencing like the risks they are putting themselves, through like for us I think our expossure to COVID patients are I I'll say relatively low like if you stay at home and do your part you won't actually meet anyone who potentially has COVID but for them they are actually risking their lives to go out there just to


ensure that whole situation gets better and putting their lives at risk and no not only their lives at risk but their family's life at risk, for like a while prolong period of time until this pandemic becomes better so I think ya that that is very impressive lah I'm super thankful for them


ya, ya


okay so I think there are three main things which I mainly look forward to lah when the pandemic, fully ends I think for phase two I think is just hanging out with friends and, meeting my relatives every weekend at my grandparents' place so I think hanging out with friends I think uh during phase one and during locked down as become so difficult almost impossible to meet your friends in person but once phase two start uh


actually I I don't really feel like going out because I for the first few weeks I I I would think there're a lot of people would actually rush out just to meet their friends and everywhere will be very crowded so I actually waited for, a while to go out


to meet my friends so despite missing and looking forward to meeting my friends I think it's a sensible to actually also look at the situation and not, follow the crowd every time like rush out once phase two ends etc cetera and also I think I'm actually meeting my relatives every weekend so before the pandemic we actually go to my grandma's house every


sunday just so that me and my cousins can catch up and meet each other and my aunts and uncles can meet each other also so, because of the lock down and because of the restrictions of about having about two person visit your grandparents' house and etc cetera I think


it's impossible for us to go to our grandparents' house again until the pandemic become better so I think that's something I look forward to when the pandemic fully ends and then the last, thing that I miss the most is definitely travelling because I graduated this year and was suppose to go on a grad trip at the end of


my, entire education life, but because of this COVID I'm unable to do so and I'm extreme extremely bumped about it so once the pandemic ends I'll definitely look forward to traveling again ya I think it's


I I don't think you can find anyone who dislikes traveling lah so I think it , travelling is something I think most people is looking forward to ya what about you what what do you look forward to when the pandemic ends


uh I think now is, fine already lah like you just have to take, the normal precautions I I guess like I I I'm going out for dinner tonight lah so


I think I've waited I I think I waited enough like one and a half weeks two weeks ya for the crowd to actually, get used to, not having to rush out so I I think there will be less crowded now but I I think that website or places where you can check right how crowded the place is or online booking system where you may just book and reserve your slot so I think


I think it should be better now as compared to when phase two first, started and also I think people are more responsible, now, perhaps seeing like maybe community cases rising or some like that so maybe there are more


socially responsible now so I I hope there's not much, of car all then now, ya oh but I also agree with you on the mask mask I I think I hate wearing the mask like I think for someone wearing spectacles I think


its, super troublesome to wear a mask because your specs just keeps getting fogged and then you can't see well when you are wearing a mask and you will always have to remove your mask uh remove your spectacles just to


clean it so that you can see better but the fogging happens again shortly after you put back your spec so I think that's really something I look forward to ya, ya I really hate the mask ya but it's like a necessity ya to prevent this ya


I may have to think about it so maybe you can share first


ya so I think for me right I think, the closest I mean the closest to my memory would be, the best gift I've given someone would be, during this circuit breaker, so during this circuit breaker I think many a lot of people started like baking and started like cooking stuff


so I actually also venture into, this area where I started to , bake stuff and ya so when I bake I usually have like I usually bake, quite a lot I mean the normal amount lah given in a recipe and


because I have friends that stay near me, so I would actually, head head out and just passed them the stuff which I make, and I think it's the best gift that I have given someone as to what I can remember now because


I think it's something which I really took my time and effort to make and really, I only give someone what I think it's, edible lah or like at least nice, ya so I think, the time and effort I put in to making the staff


it's actually ya quite rewarding to see when the other party actually tells you that is nice or it's ya it looks like or it taste like what you can get outside so ya I think that's the best


okay maybe it's not the best gift but one of the better gifts I've given someone from what I can remember as of now ya and if ya, ya but but I mean a lot of people are doing that


like sending I I think it has become like a norm to send people stuff, during this circuit breaker like people start I don't know start to deliver I mean start to order food for other people through, grabfood or food panda or deliveroo but


ya but, I actually made the stuff myself so I think that's better than what they are doing now , ya


no I I I think last time when I bake I always like fail but because I, I don't know I just maybe never read up enough or never watched enough videos about, cooking or like baking but now since I've got time I mean so much time I started to to watch more videos and like


read more online on like perhaps what what to take note of when cooking or baking and really applying that to real life application, and then I think the results turn out to be fine lah so I think you have time I think you can just go and try


l don't think is that hard ya


actually no I think is I think baking is just like, really just to kill time eh and I I wouldn't say it's personal growth lah but I think when you ask me a time where experienced personal growth I think you have we to definitely have to be in the army I mean


I was the I had so sort of leadership role in the army lah so, when you are in charge of like uh a certain group of people which I mean they're responsible for serving the nation and defending the country I think suddenly becomes like a very significant role that you're holding


so and then that's when you actually take up more like responsibility take up more leadership roles to actually push yourself to actually bring out the best in them so I think from, that I experience I actually


develop myself a lot in terms of communication and also in terms of leadership leadership styles ya so I think in army I think that's when I experience personal growth what about you


financial related topic


okay for now I only have three I believe one is from aviva, and, AIA and then the other one is the, great great eastern dependant's scheme, yup


and for yourself #ming hao# do you have any


because my agent was my neighbour so and I haven't, touch wood I haven't been I haven't had anything happened to me yet and I haven't received any claims so I'm not very sure how the process is like I however my parents did


, enter the hospital like quite a few years back and I think that experience was good like they managed to claim what they needed and it's probably more than enough, yourself do you have any experience with it


not at the moment I've spoken to my parents and they didn't think that it was essential at this point of time but in the future I may consider about it, so what about yourself and which one do you prefer maybe you can give me some suggestions


I lean more towards whole life but after considering and reading up, on term I may choose to go for term, yup (hmm)


I feel that at this point of time I shouldn't commit such a big amount of money into, whole life yet because, nothing is stable for now in whole life, costs a bomb even even though it's definitely useful but term may give me the same amount of coverage and assurance that I need


yup so what do you think


yup that's what I thought about it as well, so, what kind of insurance do you think is essential for our age like let's say twenty-five


I haven't really thought much about it yet because I recently just took over my insurance from my parents and I haven't had the time to read through what other other possibly what other other policies that, they that the insurance company have


so I might need some more time to consider, and since you're an investment guy what do you think about ILP which is like investment linked policies, what are your thoughts on it


I see (hmm) so wh~which, would you approach an agent or do you do you think you would DIY when it comes to insurance planning


I haven't really started much about, insurance like reading on insurance yet so at this point of time if, I were to answer this question I would say I would approach an agent but of course if there's someone beside me who knows about all these then I'll definitely


get their, opinions so it's like, to know more about it on my own part and then maybe, I'll just I'll approach an agent to just let them know what I'm looking for and get a third party, yeah third party and a more experienced


opinion yup, firstly I I would I think during the first meetup before


committing to any insurance agent I will tell them that , I will only go to them if I need I feel that I need to add more, coverage or I need to get new stuff for my own portfolio other than that I would appreciate no hard selling and I'd also need


them to at least assure me that they'll be there for me when really whenever I need because that's the whole point of insurance right like someone there to help you handle the claims when you really need it, for yourself


okay, maybe I have to further explain what I've said just now like commit in the sense that if you have any, plans to leave at least let at least, be nice and like inform your clients about it beforehand


yup, and not last minute when like I realise that I need to find you and, and then the point of contact have been changed to someone that I don't know, ya that's like my, that's what I meant by like commit


so that is settled at least when people are respectful like if you are going to leave I will understand definitely but, let, all of your clients know before, yup


CPF insurance coverage I think it's more than enough I would like to trust, the government but of course, what is enough right cause you wouldn't know what will happen and how much you would need for any


sickness but other than that I haven't really read on what CPF insurance coverage is or like what does it comprises of so maybe you can tell me more about it if you know and of course your thoughts about it as well


I okay currently I'll only get insurance when I'm traveling overseas because as someone who travels a lot I know how, I know how expensive overseas medical fees are


not based on experience but based on what I've heard in like, for a simple hospital like for simple hospital consultations it will cost like, hundreds to a few thousands, just one visit so, I think travel travel insurance is really important in case anything happen and


yup, for the others like buying a car I haven't, really thought about it as well getting a property, (hmm), having children maybe and engaging a domestic helper no not really


for yourself


I'm fine with both really but if I were to choose one I would say cashless, yup I, uh I'm someone who needs cash on me every time to give me a sense of security but then I realise that in recent years I even though I have cash in my wallet I do not I do not take them out to use it to pay I will still go for cashless first


ya but I just need that cash with me for as a form of security in case anything happens and like in case, in case they don't accept card or cashless for yourself what do you prefer


so what are your thoughts on CPF contribution


on this part I agree with you like when it comes to CPF contribution I think of a safety net so, yup like for myself I like I like to leave I like to have money everywhere, so a lit~a little bit here a little bit there a little bit in this bank or like this


savings I don't know, an endowment plan maybe ya so CPF contribution to me is like a good thing maybe maybe it's, a burden for me now at at this point of time because, I don't I still don't see where this money is going but I understand the thought the company uh the company the government have for uh all of us like is in a long term so yup I'm gradually accepting


this, thing that this safety net that they have give us


yes I'm a low risk person , okay


for now monthly I have a fixed I have a fixed amount of savings like the bank will automatically help me lock a sum of money every month so for now, I've set it at about one point five to two K it really depends on it really depends like I but I can adjust it anytime so


yup really yeah it depends then, I it's


together with, okay it's from OCBC and then , I think it's, in as long as it's OCBC internet banking you're able to do it


if I'm not wrong like you just it's called savings, setting aside a goal for savings ya that there should be this option so you just click it in then they will just lock it up for you so


you really cannot touch that money unless you unlock it, then every month, you will set a goal like for example this year I want to save ten K then they will do the math for you, ten K ten K over a span of twelve months how much are you going to save a month they'll give you an amount and then if you think that amount is too little you can add on yourself


so it's flexible and inflexible in a, you know sort of way but I think it's good enough for me because at least I'm not able to touch that amount of money when on days where I feel like I need to splurge


so it's a good stepping stone for me, you just go back to the app and then there's, an option where you can select like withdraw money from savings


and that it will automatically be credit back


negative experience, what makes me stressed (hmm) when


I'm given the task that needs to be completed within a really really short period of time, and if there are other strangers together with me as well if it's a task that I have to do alone I think, I can handle it but if there are if I'm being thrown into a group to carry out a task and I'm given a very limited time


at that point of time I think I'd I will be very lost like I don't know, what to do or where to start yup, yourself do you have anything that makes you stressed


I'm not very sure actually because, I've already achieved, a goal that I've set for myself, , still doing it and I haven't, have the chance or the capability to go and look for other goals to achieve at this point in time of life


yup so, the thing holding me back I guess is, myself, and because I'm still lost, and like what I want to do in the future, (hmm), you do you have like anything that is holding you back from your goal


what's the most (hmm), what's the most traumatic incident you have ever experienced in your life


when , at a certain point of time where I thought, people who really love me left me, all at once (hmm)


uh describe a time where you felt trapped or helpless


, , I couldn't think of a specific time but in general any incident that will make me feel trapped or helpless is when I'm being misunderstood


because I'm not someone who is really good in my words and I don't I will not, it's okay sometimes I will choose not to explain myself, that's why I I'll like I'll be like


trapping my own self ya when the misunderstanding continues to be a misunderstanding forever,


things turn out not meeting my, expectations , no leh okay I believe at certain, point of time there will be but I'm someone who likes to think positively so if


if at that point of time it doesn't meet my expectation I'll just move on very quickly, ya I'll just let it go and like focus on something else instead and not think about it, so I cannot really remember any specific incidents or what at this point of time


(ppc) you


saddest scene (ppc), that (ppc), saddest scene I guess it will be the time where I visited my friend