think other people's like hardships or misery, ya not only joke but I don't, like to point, out because you know we don't know what's going to happen to us and things like that for example I know someone who couldn't have a child the person's character is not really delightful


but and I've and I've, heard people around me saying some things bad things like oh maybe that's why she doesn't have a child or like something like , maybe this is what fate wanted her to feel because of how she is ya I I really really dislike and I will never joke about that kind of stuff because you


you don't know what the, person is going through and it's not our place to pinpoint and say that that is what they deserve, ya that is one thing that I'm


very I'm I strongly like wouldn't joke about, ya, or like about you know like the way the person dress that one is quite superficial lah I mean that one is like just a small thing but you may never know you know ya or about weight


ya because it's something that maybe someone is struggling you know you pointing it out depends on the person I guess but you pointing it out wouldn't make it better you know might just you know there's other ways


to go about it but not, ya not, pointing it out or like talking about other people's, misery lah, that kind of stuff lah I mean I don't know if I'm making any sense but you get it right, then what about you what is the one thing


why like is there any things that happened that makes you come out with that


what is the worst nightmare that you hope will never happen in real life, oh what what do you want to ask what do you want to ask


you first okay uh when I was felt like giving up I don't really have that, feeling much because I always believe that you know whenever I felt like giving up like there's always so much I I always try to fight as much as I can with all the strengths that I got to get


over something so ya not really much to talk about that but ya you last one


, uh the activity that I felt happiest doing was actually, uh, playing my dolls my barbie dolls when I was younger


ya so, I will I will like wake up super early in the morning like even like seven plus, uh as a child that's quite early you know, primary school ya, ya and then I, will just be in my room and just play with my dolls because to me it's like the earlier I wake up the longer I can play with my dolls


ya uh, like six seven, eight years old, ya, ya then what about you


then you bring the car to a track right, there were other people playing as well right


, ya, I mean I think I wasn't really that, into that to know about the engine I was just happy I had a car and like a toolbox to like keep the car ya ya and then the like equipments I don't know lah I was like


acting mechanic you know like the kind of stuff ya


okay so is that considered the best parts of your childhood or there are other things as well


I wasn't thinking , ya, ya for me I think mostly it's the family gatherings because that is something that I always look forward to because we used to have like chalets gatherings and then or even like going to


my uncle's house and then all of my cousins, cousins' going to be there ya every week we'll either go to someone's house and, have like a playtime kind of thing, ya, ya so I think that those were, one of the best parts of my childhood


ya, because you play games and then like you not only the children you know the older adults as well and then like we'll play like sing like singing games and things like that


that's good then what is the best thing you have done for yourself


what do you think, the best you know so it's like


, become popeye ,


I think the best thing that I've ever done for myself, is


I think walking away being able to like, find strength, how to say ah like after a very toxic relationship, ya so like the best thing I've ever done for myself is like walking away knowing that it was toxic for me and I don't want that in my life because why is the best thing was because during the that part I was losing myself kind of so after leave deciding to leave that


toxic thing uh that's when I found myself again so I think that was the best thing that I've ever done for myself, because I can like continue to be the uh nice person that I am right now ya


think my grandmother, I don't want to talk about it later I'll cry , , I mean


ya thankfully she's still around, uh but ya it's still my grandparents so my when my grandfather passed away it was very hard for me I even didn't like visit my, grandmother because I don't want to be in the same house you know to actually admit


the absence of my grandfather but yes my grandmother is a person that I most cherish in my life, because like throughout my whole like childhood and everything she has been the place where I uh go to for advice or if I'm said I can just talk to her if I'm sick she's going to put like some oil in my head you know on my hair or something like that


ya and, I'm very scared because she's like getting older, it makes me realize that I I I want to and I should spend, more time with her while I still can


then what about you who are the people that you most cherish in your life, if you can pick one ya


I mean like uh present, , like now, I mean ya you can say also about


but it's it's like present tense not like past tense


cooks, okay okay we keep it happy okay we keep it happy alright alright you want to move on


think that one might be a bit hard, ya ya we don't have think we


don't have to pick like one by one you can just pick, can choose whichever one okay so what is uh okay how would your life be like if you're a millionaire let's talk, about something that might not happen


how would your life be like, how would your life


, so many things, uh I think I would like to open a foundation


foundation like for like a charity organisation, where I can use my money for that in terms of house and cars I think I'm kind of simple as in


for me it's like cars is like any other car as long as it's like you know you can go to the destination, so I don't really or maybe I don't know that much about car that's why I have this kind of mindset but ya, no no dream car no dream house but I would like to provide a comfortable house for my family of course and for my own like my family like my own family and my like family my mother father kind of thing


, ya, I think ya so I think I'll be doing that because I do have dreams of uh being able to finance, students to study further their studies ya that so that some


something that I might look into because if I'm a millionaire I must be getting my money some, somewhere right so so I think I will expand my business maybe even more


ya so it's either I contribute more I can just open my own or maybe build a school somewhere in another country it doesn't have to be in singapore, things like that ya, ya because for now I of course I have limited funds I'm not millionaire yet so


ya just I just ya those kind of things really makes me feel very, warm and, like, I have purpose in life kind of thing ya, I like I like I like those kind of stuff


happiest moment, moment ah I don't know, I hope I don't know is because I have so many, it will be so sad if I don't have one I'm sure I do


, okay lah I think I have a lot but I, I was happiest and I I still think about it until now, was I mean I've always love dancing and singing


but I've never ya , ya because you are a part of the you know so that's why they all don't know, but it's something that I've always enjoyed since I was young actually so when I was in university uh I was able to that part of my alter ego


and performed , ya for my university and I, ya and some cultural dances so I


ya that was really one of my, happiest moment because you get excited and then you will always look forward to the rehearsals the dress rehearsals like the entire process and especially when you the moment you got to performance on stage and then you can hear the crowds


reaction and cheering it really, I was like smiling like, ear to ear like throughout the whole thing ya, uh, uh it's a group performance for the singing it was also kind of a group performance but it's more like a band and I'm like one of the singer


ya so until now I still think about it because it's something I cannot do now anymore, but ya it was really fun ya cannot, cannot lah because if my


parents found out I'm going to get I'm going to die, , no no I cannot ya, ya, ya but you don't know the dirty looks I get from the relatives but ya anyway so that was my


happiest moment that I'm still it still brings smiles to whenever I think about it so what about you what was the happiest moment in your life


maybe the one that you can remember very clearly


ya but I never knew that you went away or things like that because I just know that whenever I see your family I'm like oh this is the family with like lots of


a time when you were, aware, uh, uh


I think when I meet, because after so many like


annoying , bad toxic relationships ya , I never such a guy exists and things like that so ya so I think that's when I felt the luckiest


the time is running, but you better start chasing it


, you don't want to elaborate more I don't think we have the time anymore but ya ya ya , but ya I learn so much things about you


there's uh so I'm Rafik uh very nice to meet you, ya so


maybe I can start off with the first question do you have any personal insurance and if so please share some details


maybe you can oh for me, uh actually I have, insurance under a few companies and a few providers, so I have under Prudential, uh NTUC AIA and they are mainly for life insurance, okay so I'm not the one who purchase them uh my parents actually bought it for me because uh they got it since I was young so the main coverage is basically for life insurance


ya, so maybe you can share what is your experience with the policy


I'm also very thankful uh I haven't had to use any life insurance, ya because, thankfully I've been quite safe this past twenty two years, and, I think that the experience so far has been good because my, parents have been telling me about the insurance policies


as I like gotten older and they tell me that the service provider is good and the terms that they provide are also very favorable, so, it's been quite good experience so far, then how about the endowment plan do you have any endowment plants under you


yup so actually I very surprised I also have endowment plan okay but this is not done by myself it's done by my parents, okay so my parents have put in quite a lot of money to insurance and endowment plans, so they have a savings policy for me it's under uh Prudential and there's no terms are uh specified


so they told me they just keep pumping a premium every single month, then once I decide to withdraw it then it'll just keep calculate number of years or months and then give me the appropriate amount


I don't have that much experience but if I were to start, choosing between the two I will definitely try to split them apart, uh I believe insurance is really to cover myself for for example life insurance or death insurance, okay I think it's more for in case anything happens to me or personal injury


so I would like to set aside a sum just specifically for that, then investment I will try to do it more for you know revenue for profits, kay for example doing the stocks, or maybe exchanging in some other form of like foreign exchange, so I'll definitely try to spilt these two apart because I think if I were to mix it


uh I mean can quite confused


okay that's a very interesting thought, actually is your insurance a whole life or term insurance


uh for myself is also err whole life insurance actually I had a discussion with my parents why they choose whole life insurance and, I think it's a lot better than term so term is for example twenty years, whereas whole life is yup your whole life, so I think this is something definitely that everyone should have


because, a term insurance is very limited kay what happens after that, okay so I think is a very good investment to might as well just do it for your whole life, because as you get older you're not going to get healthier, so yup I think it's a very good investment to do in whole life insurance


uh currently I don't have any ILP integrated with my insurance policies, ya mostly it's just uh specifically focusing on insurance, ya because I think my parents at that point of time they didn't want to spend, that additional money or, maybe focus some of their money on investment


so it's just purely going into the insurance, ya but I know you said you are kind of like a mix of insurance plus investment


actually after hearing your thoughts I think ILP is also good, idea but I think as a baseline I should have a certain policy or amount set, so before I choose to do investment related, uh insurance, okay I think maybe as a baseline will be cover the basic insurance and then the phase two would be to invest more in like investment plus insurance


ya but I think right now my main priority will be getting the basic coverage, ya, so talking about all these investments and you know as we're going to work, do you have any or what are your thoughts of CPF insurance and do you think the coverage is enough


I think I do agree with you that all those terms that we have for example uh, MediShield life ElderShield and MediSave are good, but I do not think they are adequate, uh just because, the I think there's a very narrow scope, towards certain thing that they provide as well as the amount that they can produce


whereas for normal insurance for example will engage a third party for example AIA or Prudential I believe that the coverage amount will be much much larger, so I think this will, basically give me a bit more of a peace of mind, because if I were to get for example personal accident I'm not sure if


the full amount will be reimbursed just, depending on my CPF coverage, so I think uh that's what our parents had the foresight to really kind of invest of in other insurance policies, so I think, I think we should do that as well in the future


ya actually what's your thought on the dependent protection scheme


so actually uh talking about all the insurance and us taking ownership, would you engage a agent or basically just do it yourself when it comes to insurance planning


I think uh right now, looking at the future right how I would want to approach it is definitely through an agent or third party I think the points you mentioned are very valid and something I resonate with, because I think an agent definitely has the expertise and able to recommend the appropriate insurance


uh ya it depends sorry ah, so it will help because they'll have the expertise to maybe they'll give certain things and recommend certain policies that are more relevant to your needs, ya I think if I were to do it myself, probably I can do it but the time taken will be much longer as well as maybe I'll be missing out some potential opportunities


so what my parents are currently doing is they're engaging with a third party so the benefits they mentioned is for example yup the expertise but also advice, as well as trustability, because sometimes , you may not be able to monitor all your insurance that much


whereas an agent right you can trust that no matter what there's someone to look out for someone to confide in when it comes to certain insurance matters


going to be working adult soon ah definitely gonna choose the premium that is uh required for the insurance, I think it's definitely something that I will consider because I don't pay so much, out of my pocket definitely once I start working as a full time uh employee then I would want to upgrade it but right now my biggest factor would be the price


and secondly the type of coverage you are going for, I think the coverage I'm going for should be, something that, is not is broad at the same time, not too broad ya it should be able to cover everything that I need and I think I'm also looking more for for example the agent must be someone I trust


ya because, I think trusting the agent makes a lot of difference


on the topic of insurance there's so many topics right so, maybe what do you think is essential for us


actually I I do feel the same way uh it's quite unfortunate we cannot travel because of COVID but, I do think in the future we are going to be a bit more global we'll be traveling a lot for business as well as for leisure, uh but I think right now what is, very essential to me I would classify as three different areas


okay so first is my whole life insurance, because in any event that something happens to me for example death, I I do want to have insurance for that, and secondly will be critical illness, in the event that something very bad happens to me I also do want to be assured and


be able to have peace of mind you know going to the hospital and knowing that, my bills are being paid for, and lastly is definitely personal injury, I think the others you mentioned are definitely very valid and essential but, I think right now in turn I'll focus on these three


okay so hypothetically if I had income, I would definitely try to spend about ten per cent of my income, I I do think that as my experience in the workforce increases the, the proportion will be still below ten per cent


okay but of course right now maybe if I earn quite small amount it'll be a lot more than ten percent, so I'll I'll try to make it as ten percent as much as possible, ya because I do think that is a good gauge for me because ninety percent I think will, will just be adequate enough for me to cover my daily living expenses my savings and all that


ya so actually I heard now since you are talking a lot about the insurance that your dad


negative experiences, alright so hello alright so I think you know life


as much as there are ups there are also downs, so maybe you can describe to me, a time that you felt that nobody cares you


I think , I would say it's also a particular point of pain or heartbreaking moment and I'll say it was quite recent, err it's also a time that I felt nobody care about me but I'll say it's slightly self imposed , so the context is or the history was that


I do feel that I've been very blessed, that uh wherever I apply for, err for example CCAs especially or things that I want to pursue uh people have recognized what I can offer and they've chosen me to be a part of it, so coming into SMU I applied for certain CCA and I already gave my my everything I'll say I give my best uh when it comes to planning except sometime to sacrifice to plan to work towards it just to get it


and I believe to the final round of selections, but, at the end of the day I did not have certain qualities that they were looking out for, uh I was capable to them but I just did not have a certain fit, and at that point in time, then given the history I was just very down I was very heartbroken I was really sad and how I deal with certain emotions like that is to really just be by myself


but that doesn't mean that I don't want people to care but it's just the way I deal certain things, but at that point of time because I did not show it to many people, k uh no one really reach out to me nobody really ask how I was or how I felt, uh except for my best friend okay my best friend yeah but uh that point in time as much as I don't want to reach out to people because of the nature I deal with these kind of things


I I did feel that nobody cared about me because, maybe they have uh this impression that you know whatever I set my mind to I can achieve it, so I'm good to go, and I can get over it very quickly, but uh it was something that was simply a point of pain for me and it took me some time to understand uh


what happen what went wrong and most importantly how can I improve this process, yup err, so I think a lot of heartbreaking moments for both of us, maybe how about a time that you hurt someone else's feelings


uh I would say it'll it's kind of a built up from me hurting someone else feelings, so I would say that someone said something hurtful to me as a result of what I also did so I would say that, err I'll say oh so this is also quite recent time, and I will say coming to SMU from army is a very big transition there are many environment changes social changes


mentality changes that you'll have to adapt to and try to, to overcome it and coming to this , I had a lot of expectations goals but at the same time, I didn't have much clarity, you know I wanted to achieve it but why you know my clarity was not really there what was I what was my priority at this point in time who do I prioritise


and, err my partner actually had uh went through a surgery and actually at this point of time what I was prioritizing was my school work because I, got submission the next day, and what was important to me was obviously uh not


you know what she thought should be important at point in time you know she thought that she should be important, and I I do think that how I dealt with the scenario was wasn't the best, because I said like things maybe, oh err I have exam oh I have a submission tomorrow can you just wait


but I realise that you know, having empathy and understanding the person doesn't just mean that it's very convenient you should be there it should be when, she when she needs you or the person needs you you should be there, and I think by saying that it really hurt her and it showed


a a few things about me and I do regret those words, because I find that if I were in the situation I will definitely not want to hear those words, given that you know I'm I need some support and I think it was what hurtful words actually came after was that I say if you want if you were at the you know if you want to be like this right just don't care


okay like just don't care about this lah, and I think those words actually kind of brought me back to reality of what's my priorities, who do I prioritise and what do I see in another person, !hey! is academics everything is school everything, or it's the people that are close to me are they also important


and I think they hurt me but at the same time, they push me to, or grounded me and be able for me to, to come back to my senses and prioritise the right things, ya ya it was a few years ago but uh


thankfully uh we able to resolve it very amicably err I think the good thing about my partner is we quite open and patient with each other and we always, will say sorry when the sorries are due we're not shy to say that, ya actually


I talking about so many moments and hurtful feelings, is there a probably the most saddest moment in your life, in your whole twenty twenty two years of living when was the time you felt


that's good to hear I very happy to hear your family is, to able to overcome that challenge


actually I'm very glad you mentioned about tik tok I I believe it is the new, generation of uh social media of the way to market things the way to portray your things as well as, to a form of entertainment, yup so I think tik tok has many uh benefits


but at the same time having uh being an average user of tik tok for about a month, or two and quite a number of hours per day, I do realize that there are certain things that, I dislike for example they tend to, be very uh open in certain way that they express things


and maybe very open in the way they dress, and the thing about tik tok is that there is not really an age restriction or maybe I'm just not aware or people can just lie about the age, and the fact that it is not very accessible, so I for me I just thinking in mind of those uh in the younger demographics for example my brother so what will this kind of impact of having during this kind of sensitive information


will appeal to him and I do know that yes tik tok has certain community guidelines but, uh there's certain things that I do know that I was not exposed or they don't have the experience, when I was younger that are much much more apparent towards the the youngsters nowadays you know they may see certain things and they can have idea that okay that is correct that is the norm


which may not be certain is true yup, so you I also know that you err know a lot about tik tok you often share with me some videos of tik tok that you you've done or or what, ya okay zero okay then how about


so maybe how about you what's the trend or popular trend that actually you dislike


you know err talking about trends we don't like, maybe on a more personal note, you know I, I do believe that we all have our fair share of challenges in life and many times that we felt like giving up, maybe you can share a time that you felt like !wow! I cannot do it I want to give up


positive experiences


make me smile okay I like the question, I think there's more things that really make me smile is a genuine compliment, I think coming into SMU, uh the first four weeks honestly has been quite hectic, and, when I talk to people and somebody maybe just compliment me for the smallest thing for example !hey! you look good today


or for example !hey! thanks for helping out or thanks for reaching out to me you already made my day I think just kind of small things really make me smile because, even though it's a very small act and something that only takes me one or two seconds there's something that comes from the heart, and I think something that really makes me happy


and I think another thing uh that makes me smile a lot is coming home to a very nice meal, I'm a big fan of err eating especially desserts, so my parents always would prepare for me some supper and maybe a cookie or brownie after I come home from a hard day of


hustlings in school, how about you what are the small things that make you smile


so actually now you know talk talking about smiling and happiness sometimes there are certain things you have to go through, you know to get happiness so what are some sacrifices that you've made that you think are worth everything


err I would say growing up, err, it's a very big balance of you know your personal life as well as family life and I'm very thankful that my family has been very supportive uh so growing up especially in my poly from year one to year three my parents were very supportive in my endeavours so I think what I sacrificed uh was a bit of


uh family time and time at home and quality time spent with them and instead what I did was spend the time uh focusing on school, focusing on CCAs, I truly tried to explore everything that uh the school has to offer I tried leadership I tried sports I tried community service and all this time that I put in


unknowingly actually shaped me to be the person that I am today, it has given me a lot of lessons to all the mistakes I've made I've learned many things I've gained friends that uh I can see will be there for a lifetime, and most importantly I'm able to discover a different part of myself that I otherwise would not have been able to see


so I think, of course everything is about balance and you must choose a certain time to sacrifice, certain things, and I think that my sacrifice from year one to year three was worth it because, being able to you know define or have a greater understanding of who you are makes a lot of difference


okay I'll I don't think I can say for my whole life but I'll talk about uh the show or series that I'm watching now there's something that honestly has made me feel better about my day or certain days, you know after really hustling in school I come back to eat my supper or dinner and I'll just watch this show okay the show is called Kim'S convenience and know I love it so much is because


it is really down to earth and it's very funny very humorous but most importantly it is it reflects a lot of asian values, in a household and it is something that I can relate to, so when I see certain things that they do I'll be like !wow! ya actually asian culture, so maybe like that and but the same way they are able to


make it very humorous, such that it is very enjoyable and every episode is only about twenty minutes so it's bite sized enough for me to fit in just to eat my my dinner or my lunch and just have a quick break, ya, how about you any netflix show you've been binging I know even though I look very busy in SMU


yes definitely I love, yes I've heard of it I love it so much, ya so I guess we have the same interest in that


I think uh I would say, more of common plus something that I admire, cause I think to certain extent we take the certain attribute to different level or different length, so I think the first thing in common would be definitely they drive to excel in all areas in life


uh not only personal but also professional, so my girlfriend or uh partner she's very motivated and she will really commit a hundred percent once she chosen onto something and that's something I really admire about her for something I also think I have in common, secondly is having empathy in the way she does things


I think she's someone who is really very selfless, when she does certain things she really takes into consideration how the how does the other party feel, uh party feel how can she did it better and how can she make the whole experience around them wholesome, and I think that is something that is not easy to achieve


and something I'm most sure is trying to emulate from her, and I think the last thing in in common is our, love for family, ya I would say that she is, very focused on family and she's very protective and she loves the family to death and


I would say I'm also very uh family centric


uh do I repeat my last point or all three points, yup so I think just to say again


a point that I really err have in common or remind her about is her dedication to family and how family centric she is, I think it's not easy you know to, balance family and personal because as we're growing up we already try to explore ourselves and sometimes this may mean that we don't stay home that often


yup so, I think these are the three attributes that I have in common as well as I admire about her, then how about you err I don't think you are attached but maybe you can share any few things in common you have with your best friend


I think uh I will love to meet your best friend ya your best friend looks very sounds like a very nice person someone's motivated and someone who, you know I think I can get along with, ya is his name Rafik uh he's attached okay


so actually I think I will just side way about, you know taking this time to be grateful, for everything in life, and uh maybe you can share what are some things or maybe three things that you are grateful for your life


err I think I will narrow down, to japan, uh I would like to I would love to go to Tokyo and Hokkaido uh, so actually a fun fact was my whole family went to, japan already, so I was able to see the many photos that they had you know they ate a lot of ice cream they ate a lot of good food a lot of Sushi


but most importantly the culture over there you know how the japanese people are they are very polite and they're very customer focus very customer centric and they are very approachable and I do want to you know experience a community like that a community that you know as much as


it is we are foreigners they are still very approachable they are very friendly and everything there as well is taste so good, and I love I love uh seafood, so you know japan being the land of Sushi and seafood definitely is a place that I do want to try


err how about you is there any place that you are, you know you want to go in the future


you just you know talking a lot about yourself you know we are very driven, how do you you know kind of find a way to unwind and relax what are some ways that you try to destress,


destress about destress about your stress


cool hello Rafik I'm so a personal insurance plan that I have or at least my dad has signed me up for is a AXA flexi protector, so some details about this uh AXA flexi protector is that uh firstly it's a whole life uh insurance means it's covering basically my whole life


and uh it is a mix of err protection as well as err investment plans or policies, but provided is uh AXA AXA how about you


okay so honestly my experience hasn't been extensive because uh I had fortunately I've not face any uh unfortunate events, so so far it's basically just as a safety net for in any case that I face any issues or any medical uh emergencies then it will help me in the future how about you


okay for me I do not have any endowment plan be it under my banking uh banking body which is POSB DBS and even AXA so for that I can't really share much details but why I do not choose to have an endowment plan would be


it is more of what my parents have uh decided so I haven't really read much about endowments but I do know that endowments uh constitute having a, err amount that you you put in then at the end there will be a lump sum amount that you get back that's that is my understanding of it how about you


oh that's cool that's cool, okay how okay I have a question for you what do you feel about this uh phrase buy term and invest the rest so like did you mix insurance and investment


err for me I agree but I will have a more mixed approach, so currently the insurance plan that I have is actually a mix with uh ILP which is your investment policies lah so it gives me access to a wide range of err investment opportunities


so for this I feel that it does help as uh you have a one stop, platform where you can check on your insurance you can decide on your investments but of course in the future I will believe that having a separate investment portfolio will be uh ideal as err things like foreign exchange or stock market or something that I'll keep separate from my insurance


for my insurance now uh it is whole life so as a whole life means that it's it's covering my entire life instead of the term life where it is a bit more straight forward there's a certain term where if you don't pay the premium then uh the the policy will be rejected or retracted how about you


I think I I agree with that because I feel that sometimes uh it okay one more point is that if you do term life uh the premiums may be a bit more expensive compared to whole life and and if I'm not wrong the whole life is uh cash value


so it's something that you can actually get back but term life is if you put it in then once you don't pay then you get nothing ah, okay speaking about all these uh


speaking of all these uh investment opportunities, uh do you have ILP so basically your insurance policies right uh is there ILP uh integrated with it


but do you have any thoughts on whether you should include ILP in your insurance portfolio


I see, okay I feel that CPS uh eh CPS CPF for insurance coverage is sufficient for the basic necessities


right firstly medisave will be the basic I feel then as you go tier to tier will be eldershield medishield and the dependent protection scheme uh the coverage to me honestly I think it's sufficient but, there's a certain that there must be a reason why my parents uh actually invested in another insurance plan outside of CPF


and I feel that this is also linked to the investment opportunities the ILP as mentioned just now and not just a mere deposit of premiums but rather thinking about the future, how about you do you feel that uh CPF insurance coverage currently err for the for the current such as your MediSave ElderShield is it sufficient for your life


of course just


the the dependent protection scheme ah what what my thoughts about it is I think it's good because uh in any case where uh the insured members they passed away or suffer from any, uh terminal illness or disability that might impact them permanently so this is something that helps provide some insurance for the families


however ya again I feel that it is considered a term insurance if I'm not wrong so uh, might not be the best for me and how I view err insurance investments to be so I feel that again uh a mix of normal insurance as well as uh third party ones will be better


okay for insurance planning uh I'll do a mix of it but definitely go through an agent, because I feel that insurance is a niche category where it will impact how what whatever you money you use now will impact how much money you end up with in the future okay this might be investment related but uh it covers a safety net where in any case it uh you have


anything happen to you then you have something to fall back on, so for, for approaching an agent definitely so this will be mainly through agents that my parents have gone through, uh but for when it comes to DIY of course uh I need to know who to look out for what kind of a company that I wish to invest in which what kind what kind of agent do I look out for and after that will be the uh what kind of uh policies that I choose to invest in


and as you mention so that uh you would like to approach third parties right so what what do you what are your feelings about this


so when these agents uh actually brief you about the insurance policies what do you normally look out for I mean as mentioned before you you would like to separate investment and insurance but normally what kind of factors do you look out when you're choosing an insurance policy


uh I feel it is the same I resonate with you as a gonna be working adults and we're currently undergraduate students my parents are slowly pushing the , the the burden or the amount for my insurance policy to me so err in that case I have to set aside some sort of income in order to pay the premiums so definitely price will be the the the first point that I look out for err secondly again same coverage


so coverage will range from this your personal coverage or if possible include all the external things such as your transport so the best is if there is a insurance coverage that covers every aspect


so let's say personal coverage then something that I can pass on to my future family or my future children I feel that uh it might be the best for me as uh it it ensures the long lasting uh protection or safety net for the whole family


okay I feel that uh as we grow older insurance firstly personal is a basic necessity personal insurance then next will be transport because I feel that uh once I hopefully I can get a personal transport of my own


then in the case I have to get vehicle insurance uh I have to get uh, drivers uh related insurance, and nextly of course would be to cover any incidental or accidental emergencies that might happen to me because it for now


at this young age I wanna explore how to do things I want to travel so this type of uh insurance uh will be more applicable to me so one more thing would be when I expect to be travelling a decent amount in next few years so the travelling insurance will be important as well as err it helps me


ensure that uh there is a, err I'm sure that uh there's a safety net that is covering me in any case that something happens to me overseas my parents do not need to worry, except the safety of myself but if any remunerations that are needed then uh it's fine that I'm I'm safe so do you do you feel the same way


okay uh I think we have the same concerns for insurance err so regarding okay we're currently I don't feel that there's a lot of income coming for both of us but uh when when you do have any income or currently if you do have any income


how do you how much do you feel that you should put aside for your insurance


(hmm) currently I feel the same sentiment ya that's why I feel that the current insurance plan that I have is suitable for me to carry on cause uh the XA uh flexible insurance, for me now is only about hundred per month so in in a whole year will be about one point two which is still a lot and if possible I'll try to keep it as low or


at that amount so in the case that uh when I do get to work then it does not constitute as much of my salary as much, but I do feel that one point two may be a bit hefty so if possible once I get into the working world and I have a more knowledge about these insurance industry then I'll venture into new policies


so for me err I think having a mix okay having one will be good will be ideal as you're solely spending that amount on one but what we are practicing now will be having multiple insurance policies so this is to ensure that


uh all aspects are covered and in terms of travel in terms of uh especially travel we don't have a fixed one so when we want to travel then we will purchase uh their insurance policy, and for currently uh when when travelling I'll be purchasing the NTUC income policy travel travel insurance so there's still a mix here what what we're practicing now and I feel that it's good to keep it that way since that uh you do not


depend on one policy or one company wholly so if any case something happens let's say touch wood the insurance company uh forced goes under then uh you can still have one more to depend on


negative experiences, hi Rafik


that's a very tough question but I tend to be slightly I I from young I had been a bit more introverted and as I grow older I meet new people then uh I've kind of evolved to being more open to communicating with uh strangers or people around me


so one thing that has been err has always lingered in my mind is, when people's opinion about me myself I feel that something that I can improve on cause even though that I'm really happy with myself now what whatever situation I'm in is always uh this lingering


thought that people, like I care about people's opinion too much I feel so, this stems back from the fact that uh when I talk to people when I talk to new people especially I always think about first impressions and uh sometimes because of that I tend to dwindle and I tend to just not be myself


so a time when nobody cares for me uh there's no specific time I feel but times where let's say, uh when you say something let's say in a group, and no one responds to you so it can be construed as an example that


uh I feel that nobody cares about me and also one more thing in social media so I'm not really an avid user of social media like I do not post, things just for the sake of posting in fact I don't even post the milestones in my life uh when when I have the mood then I'll post ah so I believe that social media now can be considered a platform


for showing your gratefulness your gratitude sorry so, I believe people nowadays feel that if I post about you it means that I'm proud to be your friend I'm proud that I have you as my friend and I'm proud that and I appreciate your existence in my life


but that is not the case because, the case is just I don't use social media as much to share about my life, I tend to be a bit more private about it and if I do share about it it is mostly situational suits based on the situation so I feel that something is uh fun something is funny then I'll post something uh long time I've never met a friend then I'll post


maybe going out with my best friend our best friends, and uh maybe I'll post but at that point where social media, uh things like let's say my birthday so retracting back to the fact uh to the question in hand is that when people do not post about me so it's something that err


it is a bit ironic after whatever I said but when people don't really post or tag me in things I feel that sometimes he just don't care then I realize that I actually do the same I do not I do not tag people I do not post things so it is something that uh I shouldn't care about lah basically


how about you is there anytime where you feel that nobody cares about you whatever you do in life whatever achievements that you have nobody cares about it


okay I'm pretty sure there's uh countless times where I hurt people's feelings uh because uh transitioning from being someone who doesn't speak a lot to someone who tries to speak to everybody uh I tend to


be to go overboard sometimes in one exact moment or one exact period of a period of time where I feel that uh I've hurt this person's feeling a lot will be during the time where I actually had a girlfriend


uh so err it is not something that is uh memorable but it's something that helps me uh remember and learn and build up from it so during this period where before I actually broke up with my ex girlfriend err


I started to get a little toxic so things like err things like want err not considering my whole social circle


I think just now now should be, can can


okay so the heartbreaking err not say heartbreaking but the times where I actually hurt her feelings so we at the end of our relationship so at this moment I got a bit toxic I did not engage with my social circles


I I merely spend my ninety percent of my time on her, and what I expected from her was reciprocation of the same effort, so at these moments were when a lot of hurtful things came out so things coming from me things coming from her and err that I'm glad that she has been really like mature in this and strong and I think that's one of the main reasons why uh we actually uh parted ways


but I mean asides from other reasons uh family issues and all that, uh I feel that uh that period is where I I think I have dealt the most hurt in someone's err feelings, speaking about hurtful things which I don't really like to discuss about but what are some of the hurtful words someone had say to you that you you just wish that you will forget


how how are you and your your partner now are you are you okay


that's good


I'm generally a positive person so sad saddest moments uh are not really common but there are few fact a few occurrence of it so somethings may not be related to me so one period of time was uh as I mentioned just now


the breaking up I think that was pretty harsh being my first ever relationship so that was pretty heartbreaking for me and another example will be when uh, when my family was struck with uh with uh some unfortunate events lah so from being uh


fortunate well well I can say relatively fortunate uh with nothing to worry about on the backend err things that, uh are not even in our control things from outside uh where people start to interfere with our lives people start to


err jeopardize uh the family's careers, uh that was a moment where I felt uh particularly sad and it wasn't just sad for me it was mostly sad for the people that are affected in my family so and this is due to the actions of people err that


wanna have negative impacts on us like they don't care about us, and uh it's not on our part to do anything as we are not able to do anything so from there uh it was important for us to just uh pick ourselves up and uh move forward and I'm glad that things did come around so somethings uh there there was a silver lining to everything uh that happened


thank you so err asides from that uh currently everything is always uh dependent on trends err it might be different but err one popular trend I know that there are a lot of people a lot of uh teenagers are doing now is tik tok


so uh when did familiar to you I I believe that you have some usage of you tik tok yourself right, so err if there's any trend in the world that you see now or any trend in the past is there one particular trend that you dislike


actually I I don't use tik tok at all zero zero percent but I do see some tik tok videos err on instagram


initially I'll say tik tok as well but I feel that as the world revolves uh as the world err advances things will change so going from


the same vine going to instagram facebook then after and now you have tik tok so it's something that is uh unavoidable so I can't really say that I dislike it but I feel there's something that uh if you want it you can actually uh take opportunity on it lah in any case


but for me a trend that I dislike uh it'll be particularly related to, uh I think I agree the the portrayal of things on social media so the trends


uh I can't specifically say because there's a lot but trends of where people get more, you can call it westernized or more open so I believe that we ourselves are asians or we are of certain cultural values and we shouldn't be too influenced by what the people at the at the other end of the world are doing and


the problem or the issue with globalization is that things there that are accepted in their culture in their families are being more accepted here are getting more, uh more reception more uh acceptance in our community now and I think it relates back to how the younger generation are seeing things that they find acceptable but the whole generation behind them they


they feel that it's not acceptable at their age so things like uh just an example would be working things like uh that that exposes uh, sexual intentions or anything that are not appropriate I feel at a younger age


are things that I dislike because uh I feel that those things should be kept personal those things err if you if you want to do it with your girlfriend if you wanna take tik tok videos with your girlfriend okay then you go ahead but it should be personal things like, taking pictures of yourself uh acting cute and all that uh it's fine but there's a boundary to it that you should keep it uh personal or private


okay for me uh there's many instances where I feel should I continue, should I continue putting that effort but not seeing the results err one particular instance will be running so running has been an issue for me ever since err I was required to run so uh


secondary school not really important I was in concert band err poly I was not in any sports but once it came to army where I got entered into a err an institution, and yes physically dominant I just feel that uh in order to align our my capabilities with the achievements or the aims that I have


physical abilities is something that I lack in particularly running so running from young I wasn't really a avid runner I hated running I, don't believe in running every week I only run when I'm required to so


at that point in time when I was in this uh institution with it was physically challenging and require a lot of err physicality err abilities in that sense uh I try to improve I I ran a lot in school err I ran at home I ran


during training but then again the improvements were very very little, so then then that's when I started doing comparisons like eh this guy doesn't run this guy runs once or twice and they still running faster than me but then again at that point like you need to know the background of it you need to know that the guy was a runner last time that guy has a lot of uh background in


physical sports so there's no point comparing uh an orange to an apple so the point where I almost give up was during err my time in uh OCS where I had to get gold


and although it may be it it may seem easy to most people but the running portion usually kill me cause I just couldn't run I don't know how to run, so there were I can count at least I did IPPT about at least eight times I think and also borderline uh eighty four so it's like one point to gold and all of it was the same eighty four eighty three eighty four eighty three so it may not seem like a big thing for other people but it was


the period of time where, did can I really do it something that I've been putting a lot of effort but I have not seen the results, but then again uh that's where the people around me are helpful in helping me err shape who I am to be now so my best friends err my the social circle my section mates uh they always encouraged me to do things to improve on myself and


partnered with the self motivation in me I did manage to get gold and now I I recently got gold also so uh uh and in fact I actually instill a habit of exercising uh running and going to the gym so I feel that err


from the moments that you feel like giving up are actually opportunities where you can capitalise on to improve yourself


positive experience hello Rafik so uh I feel that it is a good time for us to talk about positive experiences in our lives and uh the first question that I want to ask you is that what are the small things that always make you smile


I actually do feel the same uh firstly compliments are rare so when I get compliments it feels good so recently uh same thing I just got into SMU so four weeks, and the amount of work that we have I wouldn't say is is unbearable but uh it can be considered hefty a lot


so in moments where I feel good about something so when I do homework then after that people start asking me like how to do it then after they submit they get their scores and they say !hey! Arkit thanks uh you really help me for that homework, so that was one of the thing that actually happened to me for one of the modules


so I feel that this kind of things that uh when you help someone then they reciprocate some kind of appreciation for you is something that will make me uh, smile for a long time and I I actually I actually remember about this uh for a long time and another thing's uh compliments uh about looks I don't get that a lot so once someone compliments me about my look it will stay ingrained in my head


until the until the very end of my life so these, things uh they can be considered I feel that it is considered small things cause like uh it's not something that will change your life dramatically but, when you get it it makes your day better it makes your whole week better and improves your mood and the way you approach stuff would be different throughout the whole week


okay I feel that a sacrifice okay sacrifice comes in many ways be it personal sacrifice for your family or for your friends or for your


friends uh for your the people that you love lah basically so something that I did sacrifice will be time I think time is something that is very limited to most of us to you to me to any student that is in any university


so the commitment that you place in something it's a sacrifice you're making for something else so let's say, uh the sacrifice you have made uh of not, spending time studying


can be seen positively when I use that time to spend uh with my niece and nephew so I think the sacrifice there it may be detrimental to my uh studying but if you take that time uh there's a whole balance to your life


that you don't focus on just studies that are the people that really matters in your life you spend some time on them and you'll make your whole day uh happier and make you smile, so how how about you do you have uh any sacrifices that you made that are worth a lot in your life


I agree I agree so I mean coming from our situations where now we are mostly at home the eighty percent or ninety percent of the time I'm sure you have netflix a lot of things


so out of all these movies or TV shows that you've netflix or watch on youtube so can you describe the best movie or TV show that you have ever seen in your whole life and what do you like about it


uh currently I'm not binging any netflix shows in fact I've not been using netflix for at least a month, I'm proud to say that uh but that youtube seems to be my main source of entertainment so one of the channels uh you can call it a TV show is called key and peele so uh it's something that it resonates well with how


I like to live my life which is with through comedy through humour so key and peele provides a lot of uh scenes that you may not uh imagine that you can happen in real life, but they've actually managed to put in the effort put in the time put in the money to actually create these scenes uh as per real life so these things that uh it invokes a little imagination in you it makes you just think err like oh ya what if that actually happen in real life like would it be funny


ah it will be scary actually sometimes but, thinking that it won't happen but they have managed to make into a skit, it makes you just uh laugh laugh for the whole day and that's where I keep sharing with people all these K and P skill uh skits


speaking of key and peele uh have you heard of key and peele, alright so moving on uh one thing that we can discuss on uh uh I heard that recently you've gotten a a a partner


I hope is for life last long uh there are three things uh oh if there's three things in your partner uh that you have that you admire or you adore what would be the three things that you you feel that you and her you can share you have in common


okay uh I ya I do have a best friend you can call him my best friend uh you might know him actually he's from SMU as well, err his name starts with R also lah, ya I ya I think you you and him also have a lot in common


so some things that I I feel that I admire or I have in common with you let's start with things that I admire okay so firstly it will be how much he cares into uh he puts in into himself, so I feel that some back in the days where I was in secondary school I was in band and uh there was no


there was no desire to actually think about how I look think about how I perform think about, how actually uh show myself to other people, and uh these things actually continued until poly


so at the moment err when err before before I met my best friend I actually did have some thoughts about self improvement or self development but after I met him then I realize that there's a lot of things uh that I did not consider, so things like looks uh I may not be born with the best uh genetics but


uh these are things that you can improve on so it's things such as skincare or gymming to have a nicer body is something that err my best friend has done it for many years, and once I see it I feel that okay this is something that I can attain as well uh in fact I might be better than him in it so uh if I actually put in the effort that I may actually be


okay it doesn't matter about what I compared to him but it matters about, uh my self development because uh it is something that when you meet someone first impression counts how you portray your how you portray yourself so is the message that you are sending to people by how you portray yourself


and uh I may have dabbled into that too much but two more things that okay maybe one thing that I have in common with him uh which is I feel is the the discipline I won't say is discipline but, the the discipline to balance things out so I don't I feel that both of us we have aims in life we have the drive we have the skill sets


and we although we tried to be the best at something, we never forget uh other parts of our life, so things like uh if you're good at studies then that's good but you always find ways to improve on other things uh like sports like fitness uh there's always a a goal that we have


that we set each day each week or each month that uh we set up and we try to achieve and that is something that you look forward whenever you wake up in the morning what am I going to do today so it's something that, uh you look forward to and motivates you to do well in life


and last thing that uh I think I have in common with him is uh uh aesthetic lah currently aesthetics to be a common thing with him ya cause I feel that after many months of dreaming err we have roughly the same body and err I I think he can't argue with that lah


oh no no uh he's attached sorry so ya so


okay I'm grateful for my family I'm grateful for the close friends that I have, and I'm grateful for everything that I got lah basically, so firstly it'll be family uh my family has always been supportive in everything I do so be it that they might be a little bit more conservative but


me being me when I grow up I wanna try new things, uh they do not restrict me fully so they will just advise me then uh they they'll tell me or what I can do and from there they give me the freedom to actually explore myself and my environment so I feel that uh that freedom or that


uh the the freedom that they allow with a certain level of protection or control uh has allowed me to grow uh myself uh being able to explore boundaries but at the same time still stick within the the acceptable boundary that uh the family situation accept so secondly it'll be friends


uh I've I'm lucky to have a very close set of friends uh my best friend and my best female friend I think they are they have been very, helpful supportive of me throughout my whole life uh starting from poly lah


so uh things such as my self development uh helping each other being competitive in fact there's always friendly competition between me and my best friend lah so oh uh you you you know about him, oh okay ya so I think friendly competition is something that uh will push you in whatever uh aspect of life


so things like gyming uh we put we always push each other sometimes I may be stronger than him some things uh then he won't accept it then he will start training again then he will get stronger than me, so friendly competition the emotional support the social support the


basically the the effort that they put in to go through this whole journey of life with me it's something that I'm grateful for and lastly it'll be this near gratefulness for everything that I have so be it, uh finance be it my personal life be it the people around me uh I've learnt to


accept what I have uh always improving for betterment but, being grateful is one of the ways that uh you know, about your situation you are aware of what you have you are aware of what opportunities you have and from there uh there's always a plan that's set up for us in our lives so we should try to follow it but again uh put in effort put in the


learn new skills and always try to improve ourselves lah, so for you uh this this if there's one place in your life that you will love to visit what place will that be


for me I feel it'll be europe is not a particular place but europe is somewhere err that I feel that is interconnected so the the effort that I put in to to go to one country I can have the freedom to spread it out to other countries as well within europe


so and things such as uh culture historical monuments uh something that I do hope to explore I do hope to visit and from there uh I get to learn more about the culture the people and especially the food I think that's one of the more important things uh when I do traveling


for destressing I have many ways that have evolved through the time so last time uh if you didn't know I like to play music so last time when I get stressed I tend to listen to music or I tend to play


piano or guitar and in that sense I manage to destress myself is something away from the stress that I have unless if I'm stressful about piano then I'll play something else lah, but okay in any case so uh and currently I feel that uh there's two ways so one way is always uh self reflection or meditation okay I don't really do meditation but I feel that it is always good to set up


a block of time in your schedule to just uh sit down and be grateful for what you have so it can be can be considered a mindfulness uh approach so being grateful for what you have uh you just closing eyes and uh


listening to the surroundings will help me unwind and one more thing would be exercise


part one finance, uh well uh now what will we is we are just working as much as we can and save up as much as we can and then uh we


hoping to buy condo , with the public bank and then after that uh rent it out so that the tenants will pay for the rent of the condo


uh, I guess for in singapore you either have one really huge income source or you have a few income sources because like starting a family, uh buying a car or house these are all very uh financially demanding (ppc) actually financially depending uh events like in your life


so uh, what we can do is start a side business I guess online or something or do some trading or FOREX just make sure that your day job isn't your only source of income


okay first of all like uh, make sure that you have enough income coming in, and when I say enough income it's like after your expenditures it still and like insurance it's still have a


portion to save and everything so you have to do your own, research like when you are starting a family like uh, having a child on how much will they cost monthly the operation I mean you know giving birth and all that uh, see if you have any you see if there's any grants that can help you government grants that can help you so that you can save as much money as possible like even buying a house for those buying a house first time and also buying near their parents they have like certain grants


so whatever grants you can uh use will help save your money use it and then uh have multiple sources of income like for, me I'm also doing a medical trials I'm doing like surveys like this so whenever I've free time


and I can make money use your time to make money ah, ya, uh I think I spend too much more on (ppc) comfort food I like to buy junk food I like to buy like cakes and pies and desserts which are I don't


think it's a wise investment because first of all it's not very healthy for you and then second of all all these things are, quite expensive like one piece of cake, can uh you can buy like a meal you can buy like a plate of rice with it so that's something that I need to look at uh and try to save money on that


which question are you going to okay four uh


uh financial advisor I think, for people like us who are not really millionaires I don't think we need a financial advisor lah because on top of that we still have to pay the financial adviser money so I think you


just do it yourself just plan yourself have a uh what you call it uh budget you know plan it out see how much you can spend on things like uh enjoyment and all that other than your basic necessities ah


ya understand but like uh, I means you're like if you're talking about insurance of course you would need a financial adviser but I'm thinking like to take care of your


ya taking care of your own portfolio I think uh you can do that yourself ah most of the time


ya I understand understand


uh have a budget and then uh don't spend unnecessarily on like if you have a car like you know you are paying for that car of course you don't buy a car and then uh third things like maybe you can uh don't


concentrate on insurance first make sure you pay all your debt first (ppc) then once your debt becomes manageable, like maybe end of few hundred a month or maybe hundred two hundred a month then maybe you can talk about insurance because debt was so in a way like the longer you extend it the cheaper it becomes it's because of inflation


so depends on that how high your interest rate also ah if it's pretty low then we can hold on to the debt ah and slowly pay off so that you can comfortably uh pay off for other things in your life that's more important


oh okay uh education so far like uh I have the WSQ coming in ya that one, I just applied for a course for blockchain which is after your subsidiaries inside thirty five dollars which they are going to uh subtract from my upcoming uh WSQ money ah


so other than that there's not much expenses oh pretty much everything else is uh concentrated to savings we don't have a, car uh ya entertainment-wise also not so much


purchase oh percentage including how how do you allocate consume on how much you save and how much you pay for insurance so what's your percentage, so for me now is uh fifty percent goes to uh


savings and then like uh seven to ten percent is uh insurance, and then the others is buying basic necessities and also enjoyment ah so that meaning forty percent is the basic necessities and enjoyment


it's okay for me I mean like uh, the thing is it's very uh wide uh how to say it's like uh in a way


it's not like a surgical knife it's like a sledgehammer so the policies for it is like appoint you have to live up to a certain age and then after that, for how many years you will get your uh CPF money by month to me that is quite uh


risky I mean not really risky ah that is quite uh sad for the, people who are getting the money because what you've been out-lived the number of years that can get your CPF then who's going to give you money


then what about yourself like uh for CPF contribution what do you think since if you're at that age, you've gotten your CPF right


ah ah oh oh ah ya I'm doing uh like medical trials I'm also uh doing surveys like this, and then uh I sometimes I do Grab


because I have no car I borrow my brother's car and then I do Grab so whatever this gonna like side side job ah and yourself


oh uh yes if you are smart, because with credit card you will get note ah you get perks you get uh certain credits and all that so if you


not to use your credit card and pay on time definitely if you are disciplined yes definitely, do you do you own any credit cards now, do you own any credit cards now


then last time did you have credit cards, why I mean did you do it because of convenience or because of the perks


(uh huh) okay okay so advice would you give to someone in order to retire comfortably


do you know what's the SRS, do you know what's the SRS supplementary retirement scream eh scheme, okay do you know what's the SRS the supplementary retirement scheme


unpaid levant do you know what is that like I'm not too I'm felt of it but I'm not too sure about that also, uh let's move on lah, how would you make a financial plan investment portfolio for your family or children


oh ya


, actually I'm also like that until like met your daughter ah , ya and then ya I said this is important like planning for the future is important


yes I do like ya the all the what they call it budget and all it's all done by your daughter and I just follow lah okay cause I never had that kind of like discipline from young


uh we just somehow or rather we always have enough even after saving fifty percent we try to scheme and then like uh sometimes


when I do spend a bit too much she does like scold me , so ya lah from there but uh so far okay lah, uh thankfully uh all our I mean everything has been enough, like after everything we have extra and then after that we put it back in our savings ah


ya before uh I met your daughter I was pretty much


like uh I just spend for the sake of it and whatever I like I see that I like I just spend and uh I didn't really think like uh, if I already have something like it at home which I haven't use something like that so


I uh, after marriage now I I'm very committed I very disciplined so that uh both of us can retire thirty


whose who did uh uh uh ya uh spending less on entertainment spending, I mean we don't go out to movies anymore we don't karaoke uh whatever that we wanted to save for travel is now in our savings


so ya we in a way we managed to save a bit more lah cause of COVID ya yourself


yes CPF, uh, I guess because uh what I did also was uh


part of my CPF right uh I invested it first you can ask your some insurance agent, and then they will help you uh with it so basically they would take a portion of your CPF and then invest it with a certain funds so I am okay with that


uh so that uh I don't really used up my CPF lah, I uh so that like my the money there can roll and like beat inflation


I don't think we can do anything about that, unless you own a business uh so for now I still an employee so the government knows how much I make and then they would tax me accordingly


ya so unless I have uh my own business hopefully in the future and then ya, uh because from what I understand if you're doing a business, the you are only tax the you spend everything on your business


so I would uh spend as much as I can on my business to make it grow, first so that uh the so that in the end uh I'll be taxless ah


oh ya ya ya ya ya, ya ya how do you know about that


ya under the company ah I was planning that also like if I were to have my own car I would put it under the company ah so that it will cost less


(ppo) exactly exactly (ppo)


three negative experience ya


uh ya uh I want more time when, uh, I was uh self-employed, and then uh it's kind of hard because like you're pretty much doing everything yourself and ideas also for me I didn't went to go asking for help from anyone so I


did fear that like uh, you know really alone and nobody cared about me uh this was before I met your daughter ya and then you


what oh ya ya ya


ya have you hurt someone feeling okay , you want to talk about it


uh I don't know it and I I'm sure it has happened but like, I moved on and forgot about it and ya I'm I'm sure it has but like I can't really recall now


because like uh I'm just like uh whatever I mean I of course like it hurt at that point of time but of course uh, you heal you move on and I guess part of my healing is also just forgetting it and uh is you know leaving it behind and then just continue forward so before what someone said to be I really can't recall specifically but I'm sure it has happened few times and then you


have a question is uh someone said it to you oh someone said ah ah someone said it to you, that you wish you wish to forget


!wah!


(uh huh) I guess where where I felt most betrayed is uh when I was in secondary school I had this rock band was a three-piece so it's just me on the guitar and vocals my best friend doing the drums and my other friend playing the base


so we entered competition, and all that uh we seem to be uh having quite a traction but uh after poly, my friend uh met and australian girl and then after that he uh decided to migrate there


so I felt betrayed because like I thought that this uh rock band thing was gonna be our thing that uh we going to seal as we grow older so yeah like although he is my best friend


I felt betrayed but uh but we're still okay lah we're still okay I mean he I visited him when I went there when he comes here he you know we meet up and all that, uh I mean it's fine I totally understand where he's coming from


but at that point of time I treat him like uh you know we already had a plan and then like you had to quit up


but when


uh I guess when my grandfather passed away, ya like maybe I mean he taught me a lot of things like he taught me how to fish taught me how to swim and all that


and then uh when, uh as the years progress the we he came I won't say not so close it's just that we, not not as like close as last time lah we still like love him and all that but it's just that like that sort of conversation


uh we tend to like run out of things to talk to each other but, ya ya ya so uh, at that time he had cancer uh I didn't know how bad it was


so I was okay with taking care of him but like our time together also wasn't much talking was just like, me on my phone on night we watching TV together, ya and I think uh I mean my regret is like not uh


putting in more effort to like uh make him smile, you know during during those last days I mean ya and then you you know the debt of your daughter ah


that I dislike trend that I dislike popular trend, uh TikTok there's this app called TikTok do you know about that TikTok


short I mean some are nice some are funny, so most of the time is just like cringey videos giving attention to people which I think


are not talented or like really don't bother to like put in their skills of entertaining so ya it's pretty cringey to me


oh okay


(uh huh), I think I would have taken another course in poly I took IT which I didn't enjoy until today I've never really used my diploma, at all so ya I would have taken business


or something like that as my poly selection I will select poly course selection okay, (mm) okay


two , part two positive experience, !huh!, I know this quite sounds cheesy but your daughter she makes me smile


uh seeing, uh random random acts of kindness also makes me smile seeing you know kids being happy makes me smile uh, my friends getting good news also make me smile then and then you


ya


in that earth everything uh, I can't really think of any huge sacrifices other than sacrificing sleep for work


ya like free time like uh I do think I've, because you know I don't have we don't have a kid yet so I think in term of sacrifice like it hasn't been, big other than like uh sacrificing for work putting in the extra hours and like uh you know uh I think you will sleep shorter


ya ya ya uh ya I guess like for me and wife, uh I don't enjoy doing housework eh because like I've always I grew up like with the maid and all that but uh that's you know when your daughter comes back home uh tired and what tell her


but still there's like uh house things that needs to be settled like I you know I would do it so that she is able to go and rest, so uh in a way I've not that kind of person until now so ya and then like uh knowing that I'm


making her life easier uh that's made me happy ah


oh really okay, uh basically it is a sci-fi movie of an alien's attack and how like uh the US army would uh react to uh such an such an attack ah which is a uh extraterrestrial attack


uh what I like about that show is because it made it very realistic where you get uh involved in every single character in that cartoon, in that section so in a way you understand why they makes certain uh decisions because it's based on their character


and then for TV show the best one I've seen so far I think is called vikings which is a, a drama slash documentary, on uh the history of vikings which revolved around, #ragnar lothbrok# who is one of the


who's a legendary vikings and also his son which is uh ivar the boneless so now it's in season six I've only watched the first two episode haven't finished everything yet, you know what kind of like uh documentaries did you see on YouTube


they've they've what


of course ya ya ya


that have could be some trauma that he experience


, uh so okay


ah okay let's start with best friend or or or partner other than just is partner, so uh me and my wife what we had in common to be, honest a lot of things we don't have in common we don't enjoy the same type of


movies we don't enjoy the same type of uh, like uh hobbies but uh what we do enjoy, and having common is we like to travel and we like to eat, so I guess eating travelling and then


also what's the thing that we had in common uh making the other party happy I guess, oh ya I mean even


(ppc) uh I would say greenland wanna see the, aurora aurora borealis the northern lights aurora borealis, ya one and that's one of my bucket list ah, and then ya I have to go there before I die


uh greenland the ya the northern lights oh you been there before, ya ya it's very cold yes


but I think I'll do ah and then I as like I say I want to look at the northern lights before I pass away from this earth, and then you like anywhere you want to visit


oh no , being a doctor lor I guess


ya ya ya ya ya, I will see how it can work it out in the future hopefully we see how it can work it out in the future hopefully


things most grateful in like uh


I would say my parents because uh, uh they are alright , you know in uh I didn't go through like any like uh serious trauma growing up


uh the second thing I would say I really, grateful for uh meeting your, daughter cause uh before I met here I was really uh ill-disciplined and all that so she is someone uh set me straight up


and the last thing that I'm grateful for is I guess I'm grateful to be born in singapore as compared to many other, ya south east asian countries, although is really expensive and all that but still like uh you have to outweigh all the things as compared to me being born in a primitive place where there's no hospital or like when you want to go to school it's like three hours away


then you can only walk there, so ya and then you


I mean you learn something from that lah


(uh huh), okay uh she is very disciplined, she is, very uh honest and vocal, and also she really loves to like uh


keep things in check like she likes to do housework she likes to, uh make sure that things are settled ah ya


ah just just Lepaking just relaxing uh ya just relaxing watching, YouTube or Netflix (ppc) or just uh have a nice, meal with my wife that's pretty much it nowadays like I mean what else can you do you can't really go out also


go out the country also and then for yourself how do you unwind and relax nowadays


what do I love most about myself uh, I think I'm funny and I know how to, make people feel good about themselves uh people I know how to make people around me like have a good time ya and then you


uh for me was actually yesterday I saw this short video on Facebook so it's about this indian girl she is obviously not an native english speaker (ppc) so on her hand


is a you know tiger biscuit, ya so she spelled it out, T I G E R biscuit


well this moment I'm ah


(hmm) (hmm) what about you uh I'm , oh why why is that


you're an officer last time


uh back in my older companies, and then also uh I used to teach kids speech and drama so uh at the end of the uh whole syllabus they have to


uh put up a play for the whole school, so ya like when that happened and that uh everything goes well everyone had a good time and then the, audience was uh also very appreciative they were happy with what they saw


uh ya then the teachers also you know congratulate me for like being so patient with the kids and somehow making them able to work, together cause like for the teachers also sometime they can't get the students in check


part one finance okay Hakim how do you invest your money


okay then what strategies would you recommend to someone planning for that big ticket expenditure like starting a family like you got something like that


so what mean you what why you trying to tell me is that you recommend people what what to know is uh what would you recommend to someone


that is planning for their big ticket expenditure, why would you recommend, example okay I I I asking you this what what would you recommend me


okay then you about then the you oh you use can't get your own money what do you think justified and what you think uh have you uh spent too much on


presume I want to plan my finance but what would you recommend me should I DIY, or I think you think ah it's better that I get a financial adviser, uh yes ya


oh okay financial advisor doesn't doesn't mean have to cost you a lot even an insurance agent is a financial advisor, so when you said that when it when your your


professional ah yup person ah then that's why you are surpervised, right look at the way the way I look at things is that okay for us DIY sometime we don't have the financial knowledge so like get you the an insurance agent you know to be our financial advisor to advice ah I think that is quite uh practical for us to get to know more right


okay then how would you advice me what the what what's the best way uh for me to get out of my debt


okay the basic for you yourself uh then your cash flow how you manage ya how you how much you spend your income, that you allocate to your saving okay your expenses insurance et cetera so what what's the percentage of your allocation


the but then again the percentage you're saving, the percentage you're saving


okay then now about you see the CPF uh now uh a lot of uh complain that you know like you putting your CPF money the money burn you cannot get back why ah, so that they get complain now so but then again based on this uh what what are your thought my plan you think it's still relevant you think are we being conned by the government that we we put in money but you cannot get back so what what what you think about this what what your thoughts on CPF contribution


is it suitable


okay Ulang ah, okay, uh okay then what what so so what I didn't know what what I didn't know to get uh side income what what what are you doing now to get a side income


what about you okay do you think you okay would you agree that we should would you do you think that we should own a credit card or is it uh waste your money


no not now now I or all that all that thing you know shocked that time, yes before yes now no more


before it because like status in my job I need a status, or entertaining you know things like that now I don't need all this anymore


retire comfortably I what advice would I give ah, you know financial planning very important you don't waste your money on uh investment that is not really stable okay don't take risk ah taken risk like you know I can open business that it's shaking and I lost a lots and lots of money because of that


so the what is, be prudent in your finance, when you are young, that's the most important thing ah don't uh maybe where where the problem is that when you are young you think you have so much time in life so you take risk, but end up you lose everything and then you you old age you suffer for that but that is stupid mistake


I see ah so, prudent is very important that's uh do not over confident in running a business and dump everything in, because when you lose you lose all, ya lah ah so that is a thing something very important ah


okay, my my something is not very clear my okay please repeat again


uh supplementary retirement scheme is it ah no


how do I how do I make uh, financial planning I think that is one question where I really cannot answer because I take all my whole life I do not plan my whole life I take risk, because my whole life based on risk and risk one after another


so I I don't wanna worry I my only planning during younger days was to start a business plan for that business, that's it, ya after that I lose everything then I start all over again, so, planning was not part of my life ah


and then even the habit of saving ah I don't have that habit, so I'm a very poor what should I say ah, uh, I'm the last person to ask at which saving financial planning I'm the last person you ask


which is important, very it's very very important


but then now do you have the habit of saving


ya but then how how do ensure how do you how to ensure that you can meet your children goal


time-share okay and then okay then how how do you


how how you manage your financial commitment what the differ just before and after marriage what what you think have differs how do you manage it


then your CPF saving how you manage what what you what would you advise people to maximise their CPF saving for their retirement, why what what's the best way for them to maximise, ya I mean what what advice you give someone into that they can maximise their saving for their retirement


then okay then how about how about income tax how how do you think we can reduce our income tax, pay up paying our income tax I mean, how how can we do that


I think there are there are there are certain ways actually you know there are certain ways


okay presume if I got re-tax how you reduce income tax


okay actually what I think making the donation also is one way


and also angry that's why you you buy vehicle all that ah all that will reduce income tax


instead of and then get nothing out of it ah you buy liquor permit you can make use of, and you are not not chasing drink we are not, you can cut for it either you pay tax or you have a vehicle


isn't it so it's better to have a vehicle and show that you don't have to pay the you Cincai pay the tax then end already


ya ECE very true you know because it's much more, then uh what else what else would you what what other ways you think you can, what other idea do you have to reduce


part three negative experience uh (ppc) can ya, okay do you think that at time where you feel nobody cares about you you know you you think, uh you have that experience in your life


where nobody cares about me many ah too many for me to talk about you know, well , sometimes where eh did you there's certain things where nobody can help you ah is not that nobody cares what, just


settle problem that you have that no one to help so you tend to feel that oh nobody care it's not that you know it's not that nobody care it's just that sometimes they cannot help, so really maybe of course you feel sad you feel like oh nobody give a damn of what it's nobody care about your problem


but you have to accept the reality that is not that, they are just settled things that you have to, go through yourself, ya I understand to the expecting and nobody to care though it may feels that you know, that nobody really care sometime it's not it's not really true


think and then, okay can see the most my most heartbreaking moments in my life many times ah many times I mean ah I'm I'm a what should I say I'm a playboy as simple as that so be being heartbroken and breaking people's heart is part of my life you could I've been doing that on and off and off


but the really really most heartbreaking thing that happened to me you know what is recently is the death of my daughter, a death for my daughter, that do really break my heart because why why it really hurts me is that you know you know you know when she was diagnosed with uh cancer cancer I was straightaway diagnose with end stage of kidney


so it's matter of which which one of us will go first, and I was hoping that you know actually I was I I hope that I would I would go first so that I don't feel the pain of losing a daughter, but then unfortunately, she go first and it it really breaks my heart


really really and what really hurt me is during during her, on her death bed I see her see her face you know and then see her light hand it really really hurts, is so so much


you know, it really I tell you even, for those who have not gone through this will not understand the feeling ah, and it's not something where people can understand, you only have to go through it to really understand how deep the pain is, ya who lose someone that you love so much in uh life


even now, it really hurts me when I that's why I Cakap I don't want to think about it because when I think about it, sometime they catch from their flow, okay, and well, being heartbroken wanting on and and I think when cause still hurting someone's feeling


yes many times, I see well, hurt uh lucky is this not maybe I'm the person where, I fall in love fast


and I fall out love fast , so I mean of course it is not funny you know it not funny actually it got something to, joke about but, well I I have hurt people's feeling, many times


even okay in position, in my job I mean in in in my job my past job in my past business in my relationship, I hurt people, I so I give them example in in love ah I give I give that person false hope in a way okay with so much promises


it's not that I don't mean I mean what what uh all the promises are, wait I mean it at that time, but then after a few few ask, leaving each, so let that question go would I get person


really you know, will you do not want to be abandoned or do not want to lose me, but I just have to let go, and then earlier when when it's I mean be realistic ah when you are being dumped of course you feel hurt right


so even though you see that fear you see the you know all those thing but there's nothing you can do because love has gone, so cannot pretend you know it is more cruel to pretend that you love someone what, by giving keep giving them or being with them when you don't love them right then you


so you have to hurt them, there's do there's no alternative for them to move on and for you to move on so, and, well that that's reality of life ah


hurting and being hurt, ya even though I even I've been hurt also I even at times where I do not want to let go let someone go that person leave me, hurt so, doesn't I mean even though how you try to stop that person from going away you cannot stop because the same same thing cause you cannot force the person to keep loving you but the love is no more isn't it


so being hurt or hurting people, it's part our life but after tough point certain time you get seasoned ah, you don't give a damn anymore whether you even of course when you hurt someone sometime it hurts you more to be very honest so I would prefer that I am the one that being hurt cause when I being hurt I can forgive move on but you hurt someone the hate sometimes eats you up


ya that's one thing, and how about I use, say anything hurtful to someone you know that you wish, uh you do not say that that do on say that got commit that action, and you are you use to forget about the incident all that would


say to you


we whenever was young, well I appreciate I very outspoken


okay and, well I remembered what one word that really I wish I did not see lah I I tell the, what the extra ah I tell you I tell one of my managers ah at that time I was I was uh I was


I was managing an advertisement company so one of managers I tell him, he's not performing well so I tell him you are not, qualify okay, you just like piece of shit that cannot perform you are you are you know like hurt him a lot I really hurt him a lot I tell because


I have to terminate him, with some hurtful words ah many ah , many many hurtful words uh in my life I've gone through ah


ah too many too many to remember, and, too many that I should forget but many among them is, uh you just, what what what should I say ah, uh you a (ppc) playboy you just uh you know many ah many many so which I wish to forget then I would say I've already forget ah


make it easier for things (ppc), (ppc) and then uh feeling bit weak, well to, betray in many factors in business


in life you know, in work, in retail in business yes I have uh been I felt betrayed once because I was doing business with one of my malaysia partner, okay at that time I was doing this uh secondhand clothing where really good money make it very good money and you know I think one day at that time was earning about thousand or further up thousand over ringgit at that particular time


the ringgit was uh same as singapore, so I brought him here to show him where to buy all the supplies and that, so we are deal together everyday I need to count money then one day I was sick I was sick uh for two weeks then I was in hospital


after that when I went back to malaysia to him he tell me oh savi we cannot do the business anymore because uh it's not making money in fact I saw that he invested so many many new items, so I know that he have I already been betrayed ah that's why he do the business own he kick me out where I was the one


who started the business ah who pull him in, serious then I watching with two years I think and, also when, I was running my spa in KL also I was many times ah I the people there


and the worst part is at most of them are, my own a ways, and they use religion all that you know to to the words ah well ah that's it it's a greedier lah I think better forget lah, and well


how about you


but actually you look about you I mean look back into life ah everything happens for a reason, it everything may be is not as that plan what we plan doesn't work out but other things happen that is prepared for us


so that's why being betrayed also maybe is uh you know like example, whether you're man or you're woman you are pretty in love you know you have to have hope what then but then but then you don't know because why that betrayed have to happen for you to move on in life because something is being planned for your life


ya ya ya so that that's the reality of life ah


no doubt that be sad but I think you are not you got got to a level of total sadness right, where is a is a reality of uh supreme sadness ah have you really gone through that in life


okay


eh prove I mean uh, go apart lah you guys start to go apart lah in other words


me ya my daughter is the the most recent is the death of my daughter ya latest is I mean I'm I cannot explain the sadness ah


and when you okay uh when like when ah what what what trend you don't like


ya ya ya the police has made up of uh a lot of uh uh lots we uh have a lot some some very vulgar also lah, but I'm not basically mind by themselves depending depending on their person ah


for me I even though I explain ah ya I just follow the flow I don't like I just skip and then uh personally we lie ah about, giving up like you know actually I've already given up life last year when the doctor tell me that I got


one year left to live I already give up lah that's why I wasted my one whole year of my life thinking about waiting to die okay but this this year I, buck up I tell myself no I'm not going to let let my death (ppc) I'm not going to allow my death to


torture me before I die right now I plan that's why I told you I want I want to open a, uh what shall do I shop uh food shop, uh sell like so Makan, right before it's over, ya that that's my plan I want to do that because I I just want to


I don't want to wait to die ah I've done that I'm fine done that already, so now I want to be alive even to the last day, !oi! life is so meaningless you just wait to die and then the just because doctor tell you oh you got one more year to live, ya so because of that I give up my life


ya but now no I'm going to but of course the pain is there but I have to fight it lah then uh, the worse thing ah I I've seen in life ah okay that was in one incident where a woman want to commit suicide by jumping K by jumping and then I informed the condo manager


okay I told the condo manager look that is the maid there not not jumped actually the employer ask her to, go and clean the window from the outside, the maid stand on the sixteen or seventeen floor she she outside the window so then I pull the condo manager the condo manager tell me what you know never mind that one the owner they got money one


so they don't even care about life of that maid you know and actually what I I regret why I did not call the police, so I don't know what happen whether the girl will live or die or or drop down I don't know but that , that is something I I feel very bad I should have or at least call the police since the condo manager is so heartless he only care about all the big people got money can do anything that like even to the maid


that is something the worse that I I think I've explained I regret, and also them also sometime before ah before keep me awake, turn them me awake and, ya and then one thing okay but joke about in life what I don't joke about is people's religion


no never joke about person's religion never, will always respect them no matter what they are, ya, okay that is one thing, and the worst nightmare, that the


that I hope will never happen in real life it wish will happen will happen ah it's the coming of virus X, which which is much much more worse than COVID that was what I heard in the speech by last week


after COVID there will be virus X before they thought COVID was virus X now they said it's not virus X it's, much much worse and that would be what the world's nightmare, that I hope will never happen


but it will happen because that's what the the that's what said, so be prepare about that nightmare, okay, and you what have you done that you wish can undo


part two positive experience eh I should now okay lah what what's make you smile


me ah what makes me smile, well many things ah many things in life that makes me smile because I'm grateful we still be alive, so well have many thing to smile about when ya because when when you are old