well I guess like you know the characteristics of a CEO or a top a top official is mainly like the ability to speak right because when you speak people listen and it's how you portray yourself through your speech


so that like maybe you're good at technical stuff but people won't always see that but the skill to speak is like quite essential especially in today's world right so let's say there're two people like I I have a I have a friend whose


father used to work in this bank so his father and his father's colleague they both joined the company together and they had the same qualifications so his father's colleague used to be, uh quite introverted by nature and my friend's father was mostly extroverted and he used to be a good speaker


so the thing is they both were good at their jobs they did quite well but uh my friend's father used to talk to his colleagues more and used to have a good rapport with his bosses, so when the promotion time came the guy who was more extroverted got the promotion although the guy who was more introverted did more work so the the sense is that it's how you portray yourself to people that actually impacts your work


so you know and I think after ten or fifteen years uh my friend's father's like got a much higher position than his colleague because because of that skill that innate skill that he has so ya


it's it's really use I mean it's really essential actually if you are interested in like climbing the corporate ladder


(hmm) err, err


okay well I I feel like okay the I'm not much of a materialistic person so like whenever my birthday comes around my parents ask me what I want I just say like I don't want much but the thing is like it's fun to have surprises right, so I think a few years back like my friends came to my house on my birthday I think four or five of them came they bought a cake and then oh it was you okay hi


ya so you guys came to my house and like surprised me it was quite fun so like that's actually a memory more than a it's like a kind of a memory more than a gift so I guess like ya that's like one of the most memorable birthdays I ever had


(hmm) it's quite long ago right , err maybe the other guys not you


, err, eh so like what're you thankful for in your life, (mmhmm)


ya because uh so you know usually people complain about stuff they don't have right but if you think about it in the other way if you think about what you have but people who are let's say not as well off as you or not as educated as you or don't have that much opportunity as you don't have then you should be you can only be thankful because


like take our case for example we live in singapore which is one of the best countries in the world it's the most developed, it's very safe there's like proper health care education and then you can compare it to like uh countries like err let's say africa eh a country in africa


so the children there are are are like suffering from starvation drought diseases like malaria, so the thing is like when we complain about stuff in our lives like we forget like how much we have how lucky we are how much we we've been given compared to those who have less so at any stage in your life there are always people who're above you or below you but you've to always like look at it from a positive viewpoint because


you know there's people who are always less fortunate so you have to always be thankful and try to help those people who are, less who need your help who are less well off than you


oh I love to,


ya I would actually want to have like Prata and milo , so like I err I mean ya so like the combination of Prata and Milo's like one of the best I usually have it for supper and like a lot of times so you know it's it's more more than the taste of the Prata is like you know I've I've grown up eating Prata my whole life


and uh of course Milo also Milo is like one of the most common drinks in singapore among err the young generation, so that that feeling of like you know reliving my childhood in a sense, and all the all the all the memories that come come with it ya so that would be my go to food what about you


uh like which brand do you prefer like pizza canadian pizza Domino's,


I guess it's most like common one right ya


ya it's part of your uh your childhood you know like uh you know those Milo vans right that used to come across schools at least ya so those are like really fond memories for me


hi, part one finance, alright, so matthew what's your before you do an investment what do you look for generally in a company before you actually go into investing in it


ya I I usually use Yahoo finance for my stock information, (uh huh) okay for me oh for me uh I look at two things one is growth of the company and the future of the company especially when it comes to US err US companies because those uh those that stock market is more volatile than the singapore based markets


so for my my investment strategy is like a mix of both err singapore stocks are mostly my safe stocks I just invest in them so I can get dividends and like growth, I measure growths out of them my US stocks are usually my my more risky stocks I don't usually invest in those companies like Google and Apple because


err once once the stock price itself is pretty high so I have to like I usually like do my research on like uh uh, currently because of the COVID nineteen situation I look at like pharmaceutical companies and like look at potential growth in pharmaceutical companies like for example AstraZeneca is like one of those companies that are doing well in terms of like drug err in in terms of finding like a vaccine for the COVID nineteen situation


so what I do is I look at the growth in that and how far in their FDA testing approval they've gone and look at, people's opinions on how far they've come in, and based on that I make a decision and the other thing is future so if it's like a new company I will look at the future prospects based on people's opinions as well based on news articles and stuff like that so I read those and then make a decision like that but obviously because I'm still a student I can only invest in small amounts so that's what I usually do


so ya that's that that's actually how I do it


oh so based on the based on the history analysis okay got it


okay but uh how do you do that for a company that's new like suppose a company started uh uh went public maybe like today or something they don't have, historic data to base your analysis on so do you how do you how do you like gain I mean how do you confidently or like okay it's it's impossible to say that there is no risk at all but like if you're going to if you do plan on investing in it how do you like make a decision if it's a if the company's new for example like


err we all know about Tesla it's been in the stock market for like I think the past ten years but we there is this new company called Nikola it just came up it uh it started in twenty twenty and it's supposedly a big competitor of tesla because it creates electronic trucks rather than electronic cars


and uh within the span of I think around uh if I'm not wrong it's around two weeks the valuation of err Nikola went even higher than Ford when it's not even released a single truck yet which is, uh quite, insane so it being such a new company and being a competitor of Tesla which is already an established and big company how do you make a decision how do you personally make a decision on how investing in it


oh so you have to actually look through the proper news articles and history I mean uh what they're doing and stuff so it it can't it can't be based on any mathematical analysis right


okay so what about the buy low and sell high strategy do you do you think that's a good strategy, when it comes to investing at least in long term, maybe you can say both sides to it


personally like okay go on sorry, oh uh what I was saying that uh the buy low sell high I mean it's a good strategy when you're starting out because it's basic I mean it's it's how you it's how you're taught in basic economics right something you buy uh buy uh buy at a low price and if you sell it at a high price the what uh the difference between the prices is your profit


so it's basic it's economics one O one when it comes to thinking so easily so if you uh if you treat the stock as a commodity the ya that's definitely a good way and I actually started out with stocks like that before shorting and other stuff, uh other more complex stuff so I still sometimes too for certain stocks I treat it that way I buy at a low price and sell at a high price but


, ya that's the thing it's very difficult ya correct it's very err so I usually just listen to uh I mean uh apart from just expert uh investors I usually just go by the, go by a very let's say insensitive to the market way by just saying that it's impossible to get it at the lowest price and it's impossible to sell it the highest price if you if you get the uprise somewhere in between I think uh that makes me happy enough so


you you have to err one thing I learned from the stock market is that you have to be very detached personally or emotionally very emotionally very detached from the stock market, cause if you if you sell at a price if you sell at a price and you see the stock price going high even if you do make a profit you're still going to be upset that you lost the opportunity so you have to be very emotionally detached so I think


ya so personally I think that the buy low sell high strategy is a good investment strategy as long as you're emotionally detached from the stock market so if you're able to objectively see them ya it's a good strategy it's it works perfectly for you because you're happy with whatever little profit that you make even or even if


there is a higher chance but if you do tend to get very emotionally attached to the stock market and you're every day at like, while whenever the market opens you're ready and you're right there and if you're really into day trading I don't think it's a very good strategy because it it it it affects you mentally


true true true, I uh my investment my personal investment strategy is a mix of both I do like half of my money is on dividend stocks like uh and and I've I've noticed that singapore stocks usually give very high dividends like DBS S uh SATS SATS all of those the dividends that they pay are quite high compared to other companies


and my risk uh my my US stocks are where I play risky and like you know, I I like to play around with the market and stuff uh personally, for me for me I can I can be a little detached from the uh stock market so I'm not really personally involved like if I if I sell if I buy a stock at twenty nine dollars and if I sell it at thirty nine dollars and if the stock price does go up to like fifty dollars


sure there is a certain bit of disappointment at the at the profit I could have made but I'm I don't I I'm still more towards the happy that I made this much money but, so I I do tend to follow the uh buy low and sell high thing but ya when it comes to long term investment ya you what you said is perfectly correct you can uh hold out for a long time and then based on the trends of the previous history you get you will know that the stock price will go high


I think most people they don't do it that way because for if you take the example of Tesla right now uh, in in march the stock price of Tesla was around three hundred and eighty dollars, a couple of weeks ago before the before the issuing of new shares the stock price went up to two thousand dollars so


people who did imagine imagine the people who bought it at three hundred and eighty and sold it at one thousand dollars when the stock price goes up to what two thousand dollars imagine the feeling that they must have had it went up by like five times so that I think there are like those are the moments where people really get emotionally involved and


I personally think that I'm good enough to be happy with the one thousand dollars that I made rather than, uh keep being upset about the two thousand dollars but ya if you check long term ya they would have made a lot more money especially right now with the issuing of new shares and the split of the existing shares into five for one


so ya that's that's my investment strategy personally by the way I really wanted to ask you oh ya ya go on go on say say say first, correct


true but that's common for a lot of companies ya


(mmhmm) but, I'm ya I guess uh I mean, I (mmhmm), ya that's true that's true not overnight there was a it was it was over a span of err quite a bit of time around ten years right


(mmhmm), ya that's a that's true that's true the explanation, correct correct correct, ya those those are the people who actually yup


ya it's the triangle investment method ya I've I've I've read about this uh this form of investment, where out of your income you take a uh out of your savings not your income sorry out of your savings you use around thirty five to forty five percent of it in safe investments so that, uh like banks and like keeping it as your savings in case of emergencies and stuff then there's the I think around twenty five to thirty per cent of it that you leave in more riskier investments like


would, it could be property as well or stuff like stocks in the stock market or bonds and stuff like that, and the final tiny bit which is insignificant to you it could it it if you lose the money it's insignificant it doesn't affect your life in any drastic way but if it if ya if you gain ya it makes one a it makes you like you said millionaires overnight


so those are the things like what you said like the crypto currency even uh even just buying a simple lottery could be stuff like that a lottery you can buy for like three dollars right now or like one dollar I'm not exactly sure but if you buy it if you win it you win in millions if you lose you lose three dollars it doesn't make an uh a big impact in your life so I guess it's what you said is correct


uh in terms of the it's called I I I'm pretty I'm I'm not sure exactly what that style of investing is called but I think I read about it and in in the article it was called the the triangle or pyramid investment scheme okay maybe pyramid investing sounds shady so maybe maybe we should stick to something else


okay but okay uh if you had to numerically say what your risk appetite was in terms of investing or trading what would you say it was like if you could divide your risk appetite like how how much of you is risky and how much of you is safe


ya it was like six dollars and now it's around three three three four


oh ya ya right it's been cancelled though it's been cancelled


definitely, anywhere, for me risk appetite I can say it numerically err I would say like forty percent I'm I I I'm a bit more higher I'm a bit more riskier so I'll say forty to fifty alright I haven't stopped it yet alright


alright, part three negative experience


trapped I guess so there there there, ya ya ya I'm I'm sure this is quite common especially when , when you okay the time I felt truly trapped is moving from a


one environment to a new environment it was very difficult for me so uh that would be during NS so I actually came from an international school, so during the international school phase I was very used to being with the same set of friends now there's a big difference between local schools and international schools so local schools they move from their primary school to a new secondary school so every time they move schools


from secondary school they move to JC which is a new school so they are accustomed to meeting new people all the time so they have that they they they are pretty much used to moving to new environments, and they have a history and like they they have, they they they can do it pretty well but for me I studied in the same international school throughout my entire life from my kindergarten all the way till my JC equivalent


so the problem was when I moved from and uh the thing about international school most of the people and most of my friends were all indians and they were all international students and stuff like that so when I moved from the international school to a NS setting where I'm meeting more of the local community and like there are people from


ya there it's a huge culture shock and it was very difficult because I'm moving to a complete environment where I am the most absurd thing there because, I I don't understand I couldn't understand a lot of the things that they were speaking and talking about while they couldn't possibly understand a lot of the things I was talking about because we came from different walks of life


and they came from different schools different communities and stuff like that and I I was mine was different so uh it may not sound like it was very difficult but it was truly very difficult for the first two to three weeks I really felt trapped and I really started missing home, and uh ya that was that that that was genuinely one of the times that I felt trapped


within were in myself I guess so that uh I was truly helpless and to be fair all my sections mates and everyone during NS were very very kind, and they were very willing and they they did help me bring myself back up which is actually the reason why I was able to cope with NS at all but uh in the beginning when I didn't know who to be friends with and stuff it was very very difficult ya that that that's the most trapped I've ever felt I remember I used to


you know what I used to do to to cope with the feeling of helplessness I used to I I it's not a trick but it's more like a trying to find a source of comfort uh apart from my uh like the the the the bit of free time that you get at the end apart from calling my parents I used to call my friends as well from high school


because they were the people who I was close to and stuff some sense of normalcy was something that I I that was something I needed very much so I used to call them and talk to them for like maybe ten fifteen minutes and it really helped my day


okay okay ya so it's not feasible


the driving factor right, the driving factor ya ya, it's when you go back in ya ya


I know I I I know it sounds like uh the this sounds like you know, we're being selfish and stuff and I know it's quite common for everyone though, it's uh a I think it's a common feeling of trapness that every boy guy goes through in SAF in general but ya


anyway uh different thing what can you like is there, any particular event in your mind that really made you like very angry or sad it could be anything but like mostly angry is there anything that actually made you like furious


that that's pathetic ya even I would be furious at that to be honest, revenge on them, okay uh like I'm I'm I'm sure that there have been instances where you do feel like revenge is the best option


towards something but I I guess uh like every other kid when something bad happens you you do go through multiple scenarios in your head about how you can take revenge but personally I don't think I've actually taken revenge per se on anyone although there was this one kid in


uh uh ah, eighth grade here I think I think in the local school you'll say sec two ya in sec two he was not exactly the nicest kid to me to in that grade and err ya there were multiple instances where I really you know


right that uh would, the the point was that he used to bully people and make them feel so humiliated and so down about themselves you really couldn't take it, at points and when you're young and you know you're running with hormones and stuff we do feel like revenge is the only option and you do tend to get physical and we've actually got into fights when you're young whatever those fights are and ya but I've never


I've never gone out to, hit him or like go against him per se with the pure intent of revenge but yes I have thought about revenge in many many many scenarios like every other kid I'm sure that there are I'm sure it's common for teenager


ya exactly it's it's something it's something you can't avoid per se but I think it's more I mean the more dangerous kind of revenge right now is through social media because those are things you can't erase so I've I've, I I personally don't have uh I personally not done it but I've had this experience where I've seen people taking revenge on other people for something that they did personally through social media and it becomes a big thing because social media's something that you follow through everyone so it's a uh


exactly so err it's dangerous it's dangerous very dangerous so ya the those are the kind of revenge that you really really really want to avoid but err


ya if you if you check the teenage ya if you check the teenage suicide rate in the US, compare uh compared to err be in during the two thousand two thousand to two thousand five I think it's increased over a hundred times the teenage suicide rate these are kids between the age of eleven to sixteen they have their whole life ahead and they've committed suicide just because of social media


I mean that's the conclusion you can make from the trend, it's in it started in ya ya it started in two thousand seven when Facebook came out online and


since one of the only social media with more than a billion


true and to be to be very honest I I have been ya it's it's impacted me as well so ya I guess that that I guess that can be one of the points that made me feel trapped per se, , in in a in a in a way I guess


any way, what kind of person do you think you I mean I don't know to be honest how what kind of person I would hate but what kind of person do you think you would hate genuinely hate


like people who lie or


ya they're the ones you have to set for life, they're the ones you set for life so


personally uh for me it's I guess people who are fake I I it's it's not it's not the people for for me it's uh it it's almost the same as yours with just a little bit of variation, I don't I'd I'd the people I truly hate are not are not the ones who're with you when uh you are happy or like things are good for you and not with you when you're when things are bad for you because I think that's a natural law of nature because uh people


people want to be there for their own self and the people the favourite thing about any person is themselves at any point of time I truly believe that and like I've personally witnessed that, but I personally think that people who, pretend to be with you, even when things are going bad and are secretly hoping for things to go bad for you when things are going good those are the people who I hate


they their sole purpose in your life at that point of time from them from their from their own perspective is to find ways to bring you bring the other person down, those are the people who are truly toxic and that's who I believe it's it's something that I really like in my own personal relationships as well whether it's friendships or my


uh whoever I'm dating or whoever but like it's something I look for very carefully as well, it's it's important because the person who you spend so much time with has to be someone who is like a pillar to you not someone who uh who's a wrecking ball who who whose sole purpose is to bring you down he's it should be someone who helps you climb up


so those the wrecking balls are something that I really hate, though and I've met a few people like that in my life who, just based on misconceptions and misunderstandings tried to bring your entire life and psyche down, so those people are truly toxic and ya those are the people I genuinely hate


correct they're they're happy for you they are happy for you when things are good, but when things are bad they just don't care that's the kind of thing, so the the point is that they're they when things are good they are still there for you and they are emotionally available for you


but those who are malicious when things are bad they are the they they don't they don't just not care they are the ones who're pointing fingers and like laughing and like, doing bad things but when things are good they find ways to bring you into that situation


so those are the ya those are the most horrible ones in my perspective


I genuinely hope you're not talking about me , alright okay , is there something that worries you a lot especially now because of COVID and everything, I don't know I don't know if COVID worries you as much but is there something like in general that worries you a lot


for me you know when you're you know when you're a kid your parents keep telling you that like your childhood is the best time of your life and you never believe them, because you don't know what adulthood is like, now that you're an adult correct now that you're an adult err all I I would do anything I would sever off a limb to go back to being a child when I could run around to fall down jump around and nobody would judge and people would think it's cute


exactly exactly, ya so I mean you know when you're a kid you jump around act crazy and people think it's cute if I do that now people are going to think I'm crazy so that's one of the worries that I have so yup


alright okay, part two positive experience, alright, okay err so matthew what's your like perfect day what's a perfect day for you, I know it's a very absurd question


for me contrary to popular belief err I actually prefer the same thing I would rather be by myself, than go out and meet a lot of people because I'm kind of extroverted by nature so uh I do meet a lot of ya I do meet a lot of people in general so uh I guess sometimes you just need to


go back into yourself, so I usually prefer those one or two days where I do get some time to myself uh like you said I I am a vivid reader so I do like to spend a lot of time reading and I watch a lot of movies and TV shows I've lately had the horrible habit of starting K drama


err but ya so I I I watch a lot of movies and stuff that's pretty much what a nice and simple day for me would be ordering a lot of food instead of going out cause I'm too lazy to go out and they will come here, and ya basically those are everything that makes me happy is pretty much in those things


that's what a perfect day, ya, ya every everything they watched uh they talked about in the movie the social dilemma, ya every everything in that in my life is what makes me happy unfortunately


even though it is dreadful


uh not a bit it's quite a bit


ya ya the that people put, ya (mmhmm), oh so that's like a positive thing positive experience that you witnessed right, through social media err right okay what


more, okay okay this is going to this is a bit more personal what is your favourite memory from your childhood, favourite , oh my uh oh it's a it is a tough question I didn't think about it when I was asking


okay uh favourite memory from childhood, think going to the neighbourhood playground uh we had like this huge group of like thirty people, where all we did we invented a game called hide and seek extreme so it was like a bunch of HDB blocks and there was a playground in in in the middle so me my friends and I would come there meet there


and we would play this game where there would be two seekers and we can hide anywhere, within those HDB blocks and it was absurd it was kind of dangerous as well we used to hide underneath cars and stuff it was ridiculous now that I think about it we could have lost our lives but uh that wasn't so positive but it was good it was very


fun moment when you're a child and doing stuff like that so I guess that would be my most fun and happy moment uh during my childhood this was when I was like twelve eleven twelve around that age so ya that that that was my most fun moment in my childhood


ya I I get that


right , ya it's not it's not a small height either was it it was like seven to eight feet


approximately so, ya, ya I I guess when you're a child you don't realise the impact of what you're doing, alright so this is something I'm going to ask you and you have to answer very honestly so what is one thing


about yourself that you're very proud of but you haven't told anyone, it's a , and you've to be honest, cause I'll know if you are not


you have to I mean well you uh people may know about it but you just don't like publicising it but you're secretly proud of it


so it becomes second nature


it's it's not something I haven't told anyone, it's just something people have told me but I, I guess I was a bit modest to accept it I guess is uh I'm I'm I'm, the I'm pretty good at thinking on my feet if I'm given a problem or asked to present something or like given to talk about something I'm


well despite the my lack of knowledge in the topic I'm I guess I'm pretty okay with thinking on my feet so I'm I'm able to come up with quick, decently quick responses to something so, uh ya I know so


that's the I mean that is that is something I believe I have and it's very useful especially in university because right now like when professors ask you questions it spontaneously and stuff uh I don't have to stagger with my answers I can pretty much answer pretty quickly so I guess that's quite useful


ya that's that's my ability which I am very proud of secretly which uh people do tell me but I am too modest to accept


I it's ya it's useful , thank you okay, so far it's just university I mean most of it is just with universities and school school it was pretty, nice to have err it was very I mean makes you sound very witty and makes you seem smarter than you are among your friends so that's it it's useful in that way


ya that's true


ya of communicating right, ya true true true it's useful when it comes to office politics and stuff like that


alright so err uh one question err what's your what's the best birthday gift you've ever had, , mine's an iPad I got it when I was twelve it was it was the most


but to be fair my my parents were very smart about it they bought an iPad and said it's my birthday gift but they used it as a family so it wasn't my iPad it was the family iPad so they got to they killed two birds with one stone so they were very tactical about it I think I learnt a lot of my tactics from my parents but ya it was still the best birthday gift I've ever got


that was me that that was me


you say it's a memory but you forgot it was me, you say it's a memory but you forgot it was me , okay, ya true so indirectly you're saying your best birthday gift was me, and uh a couple of other guys


!aww! thank you alright err what else can we talk about, what else is like positive, thankful for that sounds like something you ask at church ,


what am I thankful for uh there's so many things it's it's hard to pinpoint to one particular thing I'm thankful that my parents are who they are because it's because of them that I am who I am, so like all the positive sides of me, comes from them so I I guess I'm thankful for you know I mean


if you check around the entire world the many families who can't afford things and like, I mean if you check the backward countries I'm thankful for being able to stay here I'm thankful I come from a full complete family instead of a broken family so uh those are more emotional things that I'm thankful for which


you know a lot of people don't I'm thankful for my health I'm completely healthy which is something every person who is healthy should be thankful for there're so many people with various diseases, uh so ya I'm I'm usually thankful for the most common things because is nothing else to be thankful for right now I'm a university student which itself is a big thing many people who can't afford university more than have the ability to go to university but don't can't afford it and you know


ya so I'm thankful for stuff like that more general things nothing materialistic or, is specific in that sense what about you what are you thankful for


alright last question cause you know this one is the most important question I need to ask you what is your comfort food which means like if you're having a bad day what what one thing when you eat, makes your day after that


go on it's a very important question it's very hard to choose so you have to think very carefully, go on, Prata and Milo


err pizza cause it's the one thing I was never allowed , my parents for some reason I I I guess I'm me and my brother are the only people in the family who are completely immersed by pizza and my parents hate it so the the number of times we've had pizza is very very rare


so err you know whenever we order pizza the very very few instances that we do order pizza it's it is something to relish so ya uh having a slice of pizza makes my day any day, though my mom did come up with a recipe and starts making her own pizza it's not as good as the pizza hut ones she would kill me if she heard me say this but


ya ya err, pizza is my comfort food any day for anything, err I'm I'm pretty open minded when it comes to brands but uh most uh mostly it's Pizza Hut


cause, I don't really know why but it's mostly Pizza Hut, hawaiian pizza to be specific, ya ya ya I guess so, ya that's my go to food when it comes to you know, I don't know there's something about the pizza when you take a bite


fills you up, but ya there are along with pizza most people drink isotonic drinks like Coke or Pepsi or something like that I usually drink Milo as well, with pizza tastes amazing it's something I guess it's like something about the growing up in singapore inside me, ah


that you just got your Milo is like everyone's go to drink here so, ya, exactly you grew up drinking that very good


(mm) so that's positivity, the recording [oh] I have to stop the recording for


so do you have any uh personal insurance currently


uh for myself I actually do have personal insurance as well I usually get my coverage from NTUC income


uh most of my coverage plans are actually just pertaining to hospital and term life and, most of them just cover like uh they're just integrated shield plans that go beyond the basic miniature life plans, to kind of give me the enhanced coverage pertaining to perhaps a better ward ward uh admittance and as well as perhaps getting uh a stipend when you're actually admitted in the hospital and not able to work during a certain period of time


so uh I also get it earlier so that obviously the premiums will be lower as compared to getting them at a later age in life so for in terms of like an endowment plan, do you actually have any endowment plans or if not per as what is your reason for not having so


so for endowment plans the difference between the endowment plan and term life plan is the fact that the endowment plan actually has an investing component attached to it so which means that you


input your premiums uh and then there are guaranteed return so maybe at the end of maybe twenty or fifteen years depending on the ya coverage of your plan you usually get in investing component as well you share the returns of the, fund sometimes uh for myself I do not have an endowment plan because uh based on what I've learned in terms of finance uh one of the


the obviously since there's the investment component the endowment, plan that is the whole aspect of the fact that you pay higher premiums, and comparing that we getting basic coverage but the additional amount of money that you would actually pay in premiums for endowment plan if you were just to invest them yourself I believe that you can actually gained higher returns not saying that in in that sense endowment plans are total


uh, uh waste uh for some groups of people this might actually proved to be beneficial especially for those people who wants a hands off approach to investing as well as growing their money at the a certain return these kind of plans would actually choose to be uh really beneficial for this groups (mmhmm)


uh currently uh what percentage of your income do you spend on insurance then


for myself I don't I think I spend relatively low percentage of my income on insurance I think that's attributed to the fact that since I'm relatively young the premiums that I actually pay for this insurance plans even though they provide adequate or more than adequate coverage are relatively low


uh in terms of coverage uh it spans across categories such as hospitalisation leave , critical illness plans as well as providing me a stipend as I said earlier, when actually I am not able to work if I actually incur any kind of


hospitalisation, so, obviously the coverage I get from my insurance it's quite extensive and the percentage of income I spend in it is relatively low, but in terms of getting these plans most of the time I get it from a single insurance provider because uh my brother used to work in insurance sector


and uh being in Great Eastern is usually an ya usually as an sales agent in the sector is usually exclusive to, the policies there uh so but for myself since the policies are also buying from, the sales representative who was actually exclusive to the company itself so most of my plans were


uh procured from that agent and so they are same agency as well, uh how ya


I think getting it from the single insurance provider also teach you the element of convenience because uh, since I'm using one agent itself most of their policies are consolidated and so you


be it any form of hospitalisation or any form of uh, policies whereby you need to get some kind of uh returns from by sending your claims you are just able to do it via one agent itself, so it provides that great aspect of convenience and not having to obviously having insurance policies from various different providers can meet different needs but at the same time you have to be more understand of the different policies you have and


and what policy actually suits which particular, claim that you actually intend to take in the future, uh do you think uh, CPF insurance coverage to actually enough for your insurance coverage right now


or, do you think CPF insurance coverage is enough for your insurance coverage or do you think you have to go beyond that


and I think the basic CPF insurance coverage that we can actually we're all like aware of first the MediShield Life that it actually covers all singaporeans, uh, but despite that I think to get a better coverage you always go and look out for more of what they call integrated shield, plans so that enhance your coverage to also suit your needs perhaps


uh I'm sure convenience isn't big aspect if you want to be a uh warded in perhaps a better ward, or for longer illnesses uh definitely adding on a different kind of coverages or even riders chain insurance policies just gives you the greater, protection uh so I think for people of our age ah what I think is essential right now is that we are looking for


all forms of coverages in terms of illness critical illness rather than something that's more of term life, where you are actually being paid out to your beneficiaries when you actually passed on until the our family there, ya


ya i think so side element of being precautious uh (ugh) definitely many of these illnesses might befall us eh it's usually unprecedented and it only befalls us later past in our life but obtaining


this kind of insurance policies at a later point of your life can obviously incurred you more premiums, and so getting them at the early age also uh make sure that you are aware you're, going to have that necessary coverage from a young age and also be prepared for this unprecedented times so if you are an insurance agent what questions would you ask your client when planning their insurance coverage


ya I think for myself as well I'll probably I'll start off by asking the client what kind what's their needs and concerns when it comes to taking their coverage, the kind of protection that they deem to have and to what extent are they willing to pay a premium for perhaps better coverages in terms of, better ward coverages or do they not want to splurge on that kind of premiums and I well


uh, comfortable with basic with more of the basic hospitalisation form of treatments at the same time are they just looking for, pure protection or do they also want to, uh invest their money, in in the forms of investment uh through insurance plan so kind of conflating the both ideals of insurance and investment at the same time so I think that's a interesting question in terms of


uh buy term and invest the rest so like do you mix insurance and investment


ya I think for myself as well uh I do not try to mix these two, aspects together for myself insurance I just try to make sure I've enhanced coverage in terms of hospitalisation but in terms of investing I keep it relatively different uh I think based on education the law of studies have actually proven that the incremental premium that you actually play on


this uh investment policies especially such as endowment plans even if you were to invest I mean a form of risk free asset say government bonds or, uh government bills, you actually able to get a substantially higher than if you were actually were to compare of a period of ten to twenty years so in that regard obviously I'd like to keep it my insurance and investment


separate uh but having said that uh it's not necessary to, do so especially if you want to have a hands off approach this uh investing and you're not very financially detract maybe having an endowment plan or a investing vehicle via your insurance could be a good


uh alternative for yourself so I think next question is whether term life or whole life insurance so term life is something whereby it's, uh like an as the name as the name stipulates term life is uh it your insurance coverage is uh stipulated to a number of years maybe twenty five years of fifteen years based on the insurance plan


where as uh, whole life actually uh annotates your entire life and and so which would which do you thinks better for you


and I think for myself uh ya definitely whole life most of their term life insurance uh packages, they you are you are actually committing to a period of fifteen to twenty five, years and uh many of the times if something happens to you such a disability or like untimely deaths during these periods uh the money that there's a sum matured that's actually being


pass down to your dependents but I think at my age or what I'm more concerned with my whole life whereby I'm covered healthwise you know the entire life ah and also locking it in at the early stage of whole life I feel like makes it, uh better in the sense that uh it


you don't have to uptake different policies when your term life ends and maybe at that age if you are already having existing medical conditions being able to get other insurances might be difficult cumbersome or even, uh cause you to actually have to pay up higher premiums which something that which is at risk that I'm feel that perhaps


not wanting to take so the another portion of insurance it definitely the investment linked policies so the definition behind this is how you will actually uh the premiums that you actually pay, uh actually being invested into funds so uh so they're actually invested into units of funds and you're actually sharing into the profits of this


uh your your profit from the insurance company itself so it's a very a uh investment linked, vehicle which you actually embarking on so, do you actually have such ILPs or what are your thoughts of including ILPs in your insurance portfolio


ya I think for myself as well I mean even though investment linked policy gives you that greater autonomy to have to choose like what kind of uh, uh perhaps you want to choose a policy that invests in funds that's within your investment preference uh I


feel that maybe the management fees might be higher and alternate investment vehicles like even shares equities ETFs that you actually able to invest by yourself, would be more better for myself okay


but I think like going back like beyond all these like get other than life and health do you get insurance in other aspects such as buying a car or getting a property travelling overseas


part three negative experiences


I think my biggest pet peeve is when you commit to a work especially in a group, but then you try to wriggle your way out of it or try to uh, do as little work as possible because even when it's on like individual basis and you choose not to work it the consequences are borne by you and you alone


but when you're doing it in a group you're actually hurting the people around you and often it can have negative consequences, on them and uh so if you were to actually be that kind of person then, you should not be engaging in group work should have go with


people would perhaps are wanting to work hard or wanting to really do well in the particular component, so recall a scene or a movie that made you cry in sadness


ya I I I remember seeing that movie as well for myself uh one of the saddest scenes I've seen was actually for this movie call seven pounds so the whole context of it is when the protagonist tries to, pick certain people who he deems uh to kind of test them to see whether they are worthy of price receiving contribution from him in the form of like uh organ donations because he was planning to end his life and in one particular scene where he actually conversing with this blind person of


word uh uh word of phone call and then he'll be actually uh, speaking down to him in a very derogative him making fun of his blindness all while the other, the blind person is actually uh not retaliating but answer him in a very very calm manner it was surely very heartwarming and I think even at the end of it when the protagonist actually hangs up the phone and he feel so bad for what he did


uh that scene really uh, was uh depressing and it really make me feel sad, so uh ya so describe what do you actually dislike about the younger or the older generation


ya I I think is very true ah especially the younger generation you know many of us have become so dependent on our mobile devices and social media


that uh in the past perhaps to avoid an awkward situation or when you're sitting at a table to avoid the awkwardness you resort to perhaps engaging in conversation but today the go to, uh action when you are actually face in such situations to take out your handphone and actually plunged through your social media so it's a


it's a paradigm than really inhibits social interaction and it it gets worse when you're talking about it in the context of family members and even extended family gatherings so, you know uh maybe uh I felt that maybe the younger generation has to be able to draw a balance


between uh devoting, time to search social media gadgets as well as putting in the effort to actually interact with one, another which is also a great soft skill in itself and it's also so integral to forming emotional bonds which, people who matter around you


ya so talk about your worst travel experience


ya I think for myself one of the worst travel experience is actually when I travelled to uh germany so it was I was actually supposed to be the uh a graduation trip with my friends but what actually turn it so sour was


uh on the way there our flight was postponed and followed by that, it it was asked rushing to the airports to actually make it to the destination and in the end we realise that when we reached germany uh our luggages had not been a brought in the plane and they were still in the uh previous location that we're departed from


so given the fact that we didn't have proper communication because we uh didn't have SIM cards for that country and it was so difficult to liaise with the airport staff that we had to take few trips down to the airport, just to make sure that of


just to see whether our luggage is actually arrive in the next flight or so so it was a very it's a combinant that's very inconvenient it was a experience that was really the inconvenient adding to the fact that it was cold during the period and we had don't had any of our winter clothes with us which was actually in our luggage so you know all of these uh


uh, together really make the travel experience kind of, unpleasant so uh actually describe a time where you feel like nothing you do is actually good enough


ya I think ya I think that's true especially when someone close to you is maybe going through a hurdle uh or or problem


in their life and despite how much you want to help them or you want to console them you know you're not actually making things better and you know at that moment the feeling of helplessness the fact that you can't, actually do something concrete or greatly something to help them out of the scenario


it makes you feel, really lowly makes you feel that nothing you do is good enough, so that ya that's very true maybe describe the most embarrassing moments that actually make you cringe


cringe worthy moments for me is when perhaps which is everyday social interactions will sometimes


uh uh the most memorable were ones to be very actually telling a joke or and nobody, gets it and they just uh stare in bewilderment instead of actually laughing to it and there, always a awkward silence so those kind of, moments are really really cringey to me, you you don't really know how to get out of the scenario without actually feeling


embarrassed of yourself so, ya uh, maybe you describe a moment where you feel like the world's actually against you


uh, ya I think had something similar for myself uh, one of those times is really feel like the world is against me as when you are looking for jobs and uh when you're going for these different interviews and, when they actually kept when you keep get when you keep making it to perhaps uh the final stage where you keep getting rejected over and over again and at that point you start questioning why the world is against you what you are doing wrongly uh and just try to


and I think the worst part of this is whenever you get rejected you don't really know the reason why, and you always trying to find a reason to blame and, I guess the most convenient thing is to think that the world is going against you in this points of time, and soonly after perhaps you may be managed to land a job that you realize you know maybe you don't actually think that anymore but during the crux of it


that's what your that's the thoughts that are actually going through your mind so what is the most traumatic incidents you ever experienced in your life


I think, I don't really have any form of traumatic incident, to that except I think the one that perhaps uh comes close is when I was actually at a, amusement park when I was taking this roller coaster with my dad and my brother and it was this roller coaster that was only uh had a sitting capacity of four and it made very very sharp turns


at one point of time I I launch so high that I had to pull myself down by grabbing onto the rail and if I hadn't it just felt that I would have actually, uh got off of the cable car and drop storeys down but me I I'll just told myself maybe I was just imagining stuff but uh a week following that uh there were actually two girls that actually met with that accident of dropping off that escalator so


out of that uh roller coaster so it really, make me I think had, the realisation that I was this close to having a major accident really made it very traumatic, for myself so have you actually experienced any loss in your life


eh, and if you have like ya describe your emotions at that point and how you deal with the loss


ya I think for myself it was also got to do with one of my grandparents my grandmother uh where I was actually close to her and when I actually did, lose her I was actually not near her so I was actually overseas so that made it quite hard to cope with and uh despite being a very private person uh the fact that I experience that loss it actually it led me to open up to my friends because that was the only way


uh especially since I was in actually in the foreign land that was the only way I felt that I could cope with, the sadness of losing someone who was very close to me, and I think after that just uh maybe after that period, uh the fact that you just deal with


that loss is by remembering the good memories of them, uh knowing that whatever they did in the last phase of life they were happy and I think thoughts like that really help you to overcome the general loss, that you maybe have face in your life, er so what is your greatest fear


my I think my greatest fear is perhaps


uh ya not doing well in your life as well you know, uh my biggest joys, cames from making my parents proud so obvious my biggest fear obviously relates to disappointing them uh not doing well enough, to, you know make them proud of me their entire lives so you know to make do something or to make a big mistake in life that would make them perhaps be ashamed or look down on me and that's something that I would say is my greatest fear


part two positive experience, I think small things that make me smile of uh seeing genuine acts of kindness around


me be it uh in the public when you're walking around when you see perhaps someone tending to someone in need going out of their way that help a stranger, uh being selfless in their action and this small small actions you see on the, street really make me smile it makes me feel like uh human beings are good in nature and also kind of uh it's a comforting feeling especially in a world where


uh you are always obsessed with competition or there's so much negativity being permeated due to the various aspects such as politics or capitalism or what not so a small acts of kindness that's something that really make me smile on and ya so for yourself what are small things that make you smile


ya that's true uh you know when we talking about friends and family even when they actually go out that way to do small gestures to show that show you that they love you or they care for you


uh in ways that you wouldn't imagine those actions really mean a lot even though they might not seem insignificant at surface level, but a significant at surface level I mean so like moving on what are the sacrifices you have made that it's worth everything


ya I think for myself as well I've been fortunate enough not to, actually have to make sacrifices in my life that are really that substantial, to actually


look back and say that the sacrifices that I make have made it worth everything, like simple sacrifices you can say undermined the life of student where you are actually, uh sacrificing time to perhaps go out with your friends or choosing your work over having to go out and enjoy and it


takes small small sacrifices are like that and I guess reaping the fruits of, your labour whereby you are actually getting good grades, uh or a good career opportunity so looking back you actually think that all these small sacrifices that you make, did not go out when you shouldn't have uh all are actually worth it


so what is the best movie or TV show that you've ever seen what do you like about it


that makes sense uh a a a TV show that I also hold, or really love is also something that's do with the human genre which is modern family, so I think that the aspect I like about this not only the fact that is really humorous and the cast are really, witty but the whole uh prospect of the show is about


three different uh, families that are so different yet they gel together so well and it eh uh often, in between the humorous lines and the scene to actually see how like uh, the the aspect of love actually permeates throughout these family and it's really quite heartwarming at times and it's also a very a show that's I feel overcome certain stereotypes


such as being accepting of accepting and portraying uh characters that are not naturally uh promoted in normal shows, so I think that's very impressive and something that I love about this show as well, so


what are three things you have in common with your best friend or partner


ya, I think similar like I'm not sure whether it's three things but I just feel that me and my close friends we've gone through the same path in life so it's easy for us to connect and understand one one another, it's easy for us to, relate to each other's problems cause we've been uh many of us might have been in those shoes before either previously or


uh maybe in the future and then when we're actually in those shoes and in those problems you are actually able to get that kind of guidance from uh each other whom might have already gone through that scenario, and also the fact that my friends are very driven, which kind of uh


makes it it it makes it even more motivated for yourself that you do your best and giving your all cause you actually mixing with company that, uh makes you want to strive and you're going to be the best of yourself, so, uh what is one place that you love to visit and why


, and I think one of the places I love to visit is perhaps beach uh I think like maybe the fact that I work in or we're in singapore when we living in the urban landscape and I'm working in a landscape all the modern buildings going to the beach is in a way so


uh getting away from all this work, and you know it's a very different scenario and, ambience and really love it the whole carefree aspect that comes when you actually go to the beach uh the fact that you just willing to let loose and just kick back and enjoy yourself, I think uh it it


going to the beach always a resignation something like taking a break especially cause uh for myself when I've been working all my work demands a lot of long hours and time, uh having a break like that really means a lot to me and I try to go there regularly ya


uh so what are the three things you are most grateful for in life


and I think for myself as well as support system plays a very important thing that I'm thankful for with my partner my my parents especially who have given me everything from young uh is something that I definitely I'm very very grateful for, uh secondly is definitely my health you know especially the fact that


being born healthy and continue to live healthy without having any kind of serious ailments or any kind of health uh get treatments along the way whereby you see many people face this and, uh it really takes a, uh a toll not only on themselves also the people surrounding them and you know it can complete uh a simple illness or or ailment can completely transform your life or destroyed all your future plans and I'm grateful that uh I'm fortunate enough not to have that


and also for being born in singapore, I think being born in this uh economy not only that grants us equal opportunities but also the fact of being able to walk out of your house safely everyday you know not uh having to be scared of of the people surrounding you you know


going, to jog late at night in singapore is a normal things it's a norm where it's not frowned upon or not like glares upon whereby in certain countries economy that it's something that definitely may not be, uh permissible especially for uh


certain certain groups of people like even certain genders due to safety concerns and so being able to live, in the economy a country which allows that, very basic element of safety is something that I'm very very grateful for, so describe your favourite activity to unwind and relax


ya for myself as well I love listening to music uh it really helps to, de-stress me especially when I'm when I'm doing a lot of work or I'm bombarded with a lot of uh, stuff to do as well uh I think beyond that you know just going outside you know uh allowing myself a run


really helps to clear out your mind also exercise really helps to, uh make me feel better about myself, especially after a long day of work or when you are just sitting around all day especially in the period like this where you're working from home and, you are not actually allowing yourself much movement


so what do you love most about yourself


uh and I think for myself maybe is the fact that I can uh it's easy for me to speak to people, so uh even when I'm in a crowd where I'm not uh


where it's all strangers around me I'm able to actually, socialise easily I'm able to, not feel awkward and I think it's something that actually helped me especially when I'm, going to new phases of life so joining a new job or going into a new school, uh it has always uh enabled me to maybe uh


not feel left out for too long or, and also make me comfortable in a scenario really quickly so that's something that I think I love about myself uh describe a time when you laughed too hard


maybe a time that I laugh a lot was


was I was when I'm in army so you know, uh when I'm actually like uh when you're actually with a your bunch of friends and they're going through, hard times and all uh, and especially around a bunch of guys where most of the times your


in terms of your limits are very down you're not very careful with what you say and sometimes when someone does something that is a mistake and then uh it just it's always a good time and then you always laugh at each other their mistakes and, it's always memories like that especially when you're making jokes like that's in the toughest of times that really stay with you


uh and I think ya that's some that's about some of the times that I will laugh a lot in my life what's the proudest moment of your life


I think for myself maybe one of the proudest moments I remember is uh definitely, when I was younger and I did really well for one of my mid year exams, uh I think was really proud cause uh I mean, I didn't expect myself to do that well and, more than myself getting those grades dues the fact that I make my


parents proud that really uh make the whole experience happy and proud for me the fact that my parents are proud of me made me really proud and the fact that perhaps I was, able to give them that experience so that feeling the happiness really make me happy and proud of that achievement as well what is the best meal you've ever had


ya I think for myself as well as having this asian meal overseas uh I think hadn't had asian food in a very long time and that time I was really tired that day and I managed to actually go to the restaurant I wasn't really expecting much but when the food came it was really really


uh it really hit all the right spots and it made me so it made everything so nostalgic after not eating that kind of food for so long and that really really making one of the best meals and one of the most memorable meal that I had, so what what


ya so what is one of your most memorable travel experiences


ya, for myself as well I think it was travelling to switzerland especially cause ah


even though I did a europe tour, switzerland's one of those countries that was really really beautiful and uh the the food was great the scenery was awesome and even the long tours on the trains always felt enjoyable so, that was definitely one of the most memorable travel experiences that I had till date


yes I have one, , it's with Aviva, I think it just covers your like I mean basically all your health issues , and your


uh I think it's, the one with the rider as well so it covers both your public as well as , private hospitals, and ya I think I think that's about it ah my haven't actually ever tapped into the policy


like I haven't had to use it , because previously I was using my parents like companies' insurance so the one time that I stayed in a hospital I use that instead of my own one yup


I don't have an endowment plan and I think the only reason is because I haven't really, you know this, like looked into the different plans and, choose to take one up, so I don't I don't see, I mean


maybe because I haven't really read up about uh the details so I don't have one as of now


what percentage, uh, think it's a, bout a hundred a month,


how much coverage I think it's, pretty much everything , I don't think, uh, I think it covers everything to be honest uh I'm not so sure if the like they have a specific I know Aviva has a specific like


your terminal illness like critical illness plan uh so I think that separate so uh that's so my plan does not include your critical illness plan I think that's like separate for specifically for critical illness, uh but I think pretty much other than that it covers your day to day like seeing a specialist


getting surgery uh both for government like private and public hospitals and clinics ya


ya my mine is mine is from the same uh it just Aviva so it's not , it's not from multiple insurance agencies but I think, I would, I mean I would think because I'm at the stage in life where I think I would want to look at different insurance plans I'm not so sure like moving forward whether it's something I would do just to stick with Aviva or will I look into


you know other insurance for example Aviva does have endowment plans like saving plans for retirement but it I mean I I've , I have to meet up with like my insurance agent to figure out more about their other plans besides my current insurance plan uh like the protection plan but I think


ya right now it's just that one but it really depends because I think insurance is getting pretty important so I think you got to like you know look around and and and decide from there ya


I think CPF coverage is, I would say, adequate maybe sufficient but I think granted the option that uh


uh you would like the I mean I would say just added, protection I think a lot of people tend to, ve par uh beyond just having, CPF insurance coverage but really to have their own, like external coverage as well so


personally I think I would always have something more than just, your CPF insurance coverage, , just for the wider range of I would say hospital providers like in terms of uh


the difference between public and private so ya that's, my own choice like my own, perspective I guess ya ya ya


I don't think uh I think health insurance seems to be more, popular over life insurance I think it used to be a thing like life insurance, like sometimes when I speak to my parents I think people in the past sometimes especially when you have uh I would say maybe your only your like one parent is your soul breadwinners I think people used to take life insurance out for that reason but I think nowadays


uh just a guess a shift in, generational practices I think most people tend to veer towards health insurance rather than life insurance, ya


if I'm an insurance agent what questions would I ask my client when planning their insurance coverage, , I think it's really about their preferences maybe in terms of


uh for example uh, some, some insurance plans that I read up on focused more specifically on particular diseases I would say for example diabetes is on the rise, so uh and then uh for an earlier when you mentioned like for example critical illnesses uh recently they changed the the board change the definitions


so I think it's really to understand what the client wants maybe uh in terms of like family history I think that's important what particular diseases or what particular illnesses it, are they looking to protect themselves from uh if it's not just health insurance there's also life insurance there's also endowment plans what are they looking for are they looking for uh uh uh I would say in terms of endowment plans are they looking for a like a retirement plan kind of scheme


so ya I think the those are it's really just mostly on, I would say I think the first and foremost is really a need the need of the client, ya ya


I I think it's important to have I mean I'd I would say personally I I do think that I should have both insurance as well as my own, separate investment uh


portfolio, I think, a lot of people our age today are looking into that , cast aside like you know all your insurance uh investment plans I think a lot of us uh younger generation , look into investing elsewhere so you have your shares portfolio uh et cetera so I think for me I I keep them I would say keep them separate like keep apart I don't mix


I would like to have my own investment for portfolio rather than using it uh via uh like an insurance platform, ya


I I go for, , like coverage like for your whole life insurance, I think uh, I would say, I mean for me personally I think oh, most of our I would say health issues come in later uh in your life uh I think having a term


number of years as to how long your insurance coverage last, uh like, I would rather have it for my whole life, ya ya ya


I don't have ILPs but I think from, the sound of it I think ILs are probably, a safer form of investment perhaps I think eh I think for some people for some individuals who are not as


well read into the into investment uh options or investment uh, like you know different ways to invest their their income I think, , this is probably one of your safer ways I don't have any uh personally


uh but ya I think that's just, what I think it's probably safer option ya


ya so you got to choose your own, I think you get to manage your own portfolio which is better you get to choose , I guess which, company you want to invest in you control your profits and losses uh, a lot more closely ya


well I don't have a car , but I think if I were to get a property or get a car I think I will definitely get insurance it's just I think a practice that I've uh learnt from my parents and in general I think having insurance is always a lot


I think it's a lot more practical and it's a lot more, common nowadays uh people tend to get insurance without uh thinking twice about it in terms of traveling yes, I do , I'm not sure about part four and five just I mean I haven't thought of a


had like having children or engaging a domestic helper but I think if I do have kids it's, definitely a yes for having uh insurance for your kids as well I think it's just something that you should prepare ya


okay


part three negative experiences, my biggest pet peeve, I think it's when people are not on time oh wait I was not to I think it's when people are not on time


ya, I think being on time is, I guess I tend to equate it to, a form of respect for the other party or whoever you are meeting ya so be on time


I've had my fair share of , well not so great group mates, yup (ppc) , well my one favourite movie it's actually the blind side


uh so it's really, I mean it's a really positive, show I would say it it it, (ppc) it it has a good message but of course the the backstory behind it is


pretty upsetting it talks a lot about racial issues you know poverty and I think , the scene that made me cry was really about so the blind side is really about someone being adopted into this family and and I think


the entire aspect of it all was really sad , and I think, really making an impact on that child's life because it was based on a true story , that one scene when he said uh you know oh I've never had a bed before I think that made me


sad because I think it's uh a lot of things that we easily take for granted that many kids, don't have so ya that was


I I watch that show as well, well I wouldn't I don't know if it's dislike but I think something that


the younger generation are are guilty of and perhaps even some people from our generation is really the whole idea of being so , focused on their I would say online persona rather than themselves in real life and I think


you know that something that, people, I I would say people don't , realise as often as it should for example I've seen families go out for dinner but they're all on their phones or iPads uh there's really no interaction


uh and I think that something that I, I wouldn't say dislike but something that I'm, sad to see or something that you know a trend that I hope reverses itself uh so ya


, my worst travel experience, was when I went to Barcelona with my friend


and spain had an attack, so I think we had a lot of , like re-routing and , things didn't go as planned it was really a


it was not a good trip you know our , accommodations weren't turning out so great and we cut our trip short uh so ya I think, that was probably my worst travel experience just because most of the time I'm pretty lucky because you know I plan everything and everything goes


pretty smoothly but that one was it was, you know impacted negatively from so many different angles so that was not a good one


anxiety in me so I tend to feel that way quite often it's something that I have to deal with I guess on my end , uh ya so I think that something that I struggled with by myself but ya that is


generally something that I feel quite often so I don't, per say have a particular, time when I feel that , but maybe if I could pinpoint it to one it could be


you know when someone close to you is having a difficult time sometimes it, it just feels like you know nothing you do is is ever enough to, to I would say console the other party so maybe that that will be the closest ya that I could describe


cringe ah I think seeing old photos of yourself makes me cringe uh but way not in a bad way just you know I guess older fashion used to be different uh, uh


you know how they say puberty hasn't hit you yet uh so ya I think that's


(hmm) when the world that's against you I think it's usually when I have a, particular issue or a challenge I think sometimes you know when we're going through a particular hurdle you just feel like you know everything is against you at one time so I think for me personally it's uh for example looking for a job


that was uh you know not, uh you know looking for a job especially in in in in times of COVID , of course I understood that you know it it it had to do with our surrounding circumstances and uh it's not


it's not a testament of your own individual , talents and and your own individual merits but I think nonetheless no matter what you know everyone around me said you know it's it's not you I think it's very difficult at that point in time to to not question yourself and to


you know not to question yourself worth, and and and it just looks like you know everything is against you at that point in time so I think for me it's really that experience of, of job hunting in in in a, COVID world ya


traumatic I think, uh I would say, a near death experience that I had, , it it was when I was on a trip overseas and it was on this like


think they call an ATV , err I don't know it was really dangerous and, I mean it wasn't like the place was dangerous everything was going pretty fine up until a point when there was a, cliff like


the the path that I'm taking there's a cliff right beside and I think, the the ATV the vehicle that I was on kind of slip backwards and almost fell off , (ugh) if it weren't for the the, guide that was there to to to to I think he kind of sped through everything


and stopped it from the back of course at that moment I didn't really think so much about it it ya it's something that people at the back were telling you as well all I remember is sliding backwards and trying to stop it from sliding backwards you know but obviously I didn't I mean I knew there was a cliff but I didn't think I was


that close to falling down about until you know you hear people screaming and stuff like that so I think that for me was the most traumatic incident


oh my god


ya definitely, the closest , uh I would say the closest person in my family to


to, you know that had passed that have passed on is, my grandfather my paternal grandfather and I think beyond just, that direct loss


because it's because he because my paternal grandfather doesn't live in the same country as me , I would say we have a bond for sure , but it wasn't as closely uh it wasn't a closed limited bond


but I think beyond just losing my grandfather it's really also to see how my dad and his like my uncles and aunty, how they dealt with it , , I think personally beyond at that point in time when I was able to digest the the loss


when I was younger it's really also to to see how my my dad suffered through it , I think, I I mean I haven't I wouldn't say I have loss anyone that is very close to me and I don't think it's something that I would wish to experience uh no matter how natural a progression it is


uh in life but ya I think if I recalled my grandfather's, , passing away it's really just a lot on how my, dad had a, hard that time, and and I think that brings me back to the whole idea of you know


it impacting you because you can't really help the person that, that is in pain because you just don't have, the capacity, to do anything at the point in time


my greatest fear has a lot to do with, not, being , I would say , not being confident enough of myself


cause I do, do have a lot of , internal you know, like an an anxiety and and and, and something that I have in in me I do second I do question a lot of things and


and I think just really just about, always thinking you're not you know good enough and stuff, so I think that's my greatest fear I think it's something that I'm trying to overcome , but it's, something that I'm slowly doing and the fear is


uh you know you have, you have a strong support system but sometimes you feel like you know what if, uh, that they they don't understand you or at at some point or at some juncture in their life they they feel like they've had enough and I think that


as one of my greatest fears yup


part two positive experience, oh okay, what are small things that always make you smile


I think I agree with you I think that is some uh there is some form of uh happiness that is derived when you know you see people around you helping one another, but I think beyond that I also I guess it makes me happy when I get to spend time with my family and friends I think sometimes we forget to do that whenever we're


busy and I think sometimes whenever I just spend time with uh my family that uh when you know doing nothing I think that that makes me happy


sacrifices (hmm), I think , uh well I think, mot I mean I guess I'm, pretty lucky in a sense that, a lot of what I, do you know growing up has been


relatively supported by my family and and and friends and I didn't, really have to make a lot of uh tough uh or I would say difficult sacrifices , so I, ya I I don't I don't I I don't think I have particular sacrifice that


that's made everything worth it maybe perhaps I think, the only thing I could say is really to focus I guess on school and and and graduate I think I think, that something that made my parents were happy so I think for me that's


something that's worth already making my, I would say parents happy and, gives them you know that that joy and so that makes me happy yup


I think my favourite would have to be friends just because I think I like the whole idea of them living so closely with one another and helping one another all the time, and I think it helps you appreciate you know having close friends and it's just something that makes me laugh I watch friends whenever I need a break


in school uh whenever I I'm feeling down I think it's the one show that always cheers me up so ya I think it's a very lighthearted show it it it panders to a lot of uh different audiences the young and the old


ya and it's I don't know it's been popular for a long time and I think it transcends uh generations so ya it's one of my favourite TV shows


I think okay well I have two close friends I would say they probably be uh what I would call best friends and I think the three things that I have in common with them is really that we have similar levels of uh expectations from one another in that you know we're not going to have meet all the time


text all the time you know but we we're always there for one another which is good you know we're also I would say similar in terms of our, character and personality so uh, I think and and as much as we are similar I think there are some strengths and weaknesses that we each have so I think we're always able to help one another give different view points and perspectives always


and ya I mean I think we also have I would say we've, we've gone through similar pathways uh which is great you know like from school to adulthood , and to you know


the future and we're always you know there to discuss these things with one another and and share our experiences so ya those are the three things that I have in common with my friends my best friends


visit, I would say my, my grandma's house, just because I think uh I'm very close with my grandma so spending time with my grandma and my aunt uh they live together


, I think that's a place that I like to visit I get to just you know be myself spend time with my my well the closest people outside of my direct family and ya


a good support system I would say so friends family , ya uh, partner , the second would be I think , I think amidst COVID I am thankful for everything that I have I think we're lucky to be in singapore things are


I would say a lot more stable here, granted some people did not escape a retrenchment but nonetheless I think , there has been a lot of uh help in place by the government so that something I'm thankful for uh being here and lastly I think it's


I would say my health ya I think it's something we take for granted being able to be healthy being able to exercise workout being able to you know just breathe for one more day I think that's something that I'm thankful for as well


uh favourite activity , I think it's really just to, uh either spend the day by myself so either do it at home so I just take a day to relax do nothing you know in my pajamas watch Netflix


eat something eat some take out maybe uh something that I really want , or just to go out maybe sometimes I do like to do that by myself as well just walk around , uh you know spend time by yourself


or you know with, friends or family so it really just doing something that you know you can just pass the time and and chill ya


about myself , I don't know ah maybe I guess , eh ya okay that's just weird uh maybe my


own, uh I would say my ability to , I think, be by myself sometimes I think , that's something that I had to do uh


once in a while just because you know sometimes you have everyone around you being busy and , and I think in the past when you're so used to having people around you all the time, but as you grow older I think when you go out of school and when you start uh you know uh doing things for yourself I think you realize that there's a lot of things that you have to do for yourself and I think it's really just something that I've


learn to, grow myself into and and that's something that I like about myself I guess


well my sister is home with me she used to study overseas but she's home with me and I think I laugh a lot around her, uh so I think the last time we laughed was at a


uh Brooklyn nine nine show like a particular scene ya I I mean I think I laughed a lot about that most days but I think that one that one scene was really hilarious and that was that I think it's the last time I remembered laughing very hard which is just a couple of days ago


so I guess I'm relatively lucky to have people who are you know uh generally funny I guess I'm probably one of the least funny people you've you'd ever meet uh but my my sister and my partner I think they're relatively funny so I laughed quite quite often ya


I think my proudest moment is , when, when I get to help people, , so I think it's, I mean a couple of times when I have


directly impacted someone's life be it for five minutes or, or a day or the day that I spend with them I think that is my proudest moment , I think it's really to see people


I mean not, not be appreciative but really to see people genuinely happy, and I think it I think, on those days I feel the, proudest that I can of myself ya


my best meal was having, , well actually really it's having any asian food overseas but my best meal was having indian food at this restaurant in Paris


, it was really the best meal I've ever had because I that was when I was travelling around europe so of course I've had asian food once in a while, but somehow that that particular restaurant I think it's just the vibes it was homie and the food was great and I don't know I think that was really the best meal I've ever had yup


ya, it's the asian and everyone


travel experience, I think it's, oh maybe I can wrap it up but I think it's probably when I


got to explore europe , uh and I think that entire journey was really good so ya I mean real quick cause I think the time it's ending


part one finance


okay for myself I do have a habit of saving, uh for me to ensure that I meet my saving goals is one thing to have discipline, another thing is really to uh have a proper planning in my finance uh in let's say whatever pay that I get


I would really really, uh ensure that I have a strict discipline about it and then really calculate throughout uh I will calculate properly my finance, okay so what's your okay for you for yourself Fazilah what do you do you have uh any habit of saving


they're def definitely we have to ensure that you know is enough but if let's say any emergency pops up then we have to, high high chance that I have to touch ours our savings as well


I okay for myself I would really think twice about owning a credit card because one thing I would, really uh like see if there's a need at the first place for for a credit card


I uh understand understand that one is uh actually actually that one is really really important though


okay uh okay what's okay what's one financial advice that you can give to yourself five years ago


ya understand, ah ha if five years ago my to myself I will give advice is really to save up money a lot because, as you are growing you really because five years back okay I was younger I was kind of childish


so I really spend any money that I have immediately or almost immediately and I will try to really earn fast cash like really really fast cash in a one one day pay or let's say in one week I get all the pay and then I will spend it


like really really spend it uh on, let's say my hobby on motorbike so I really really felt that if five years ago I will give myself the advice are to really keep money because five years ago I was still young I didn't think, far enough I didn't think far about


keeping money for, let's say , for crisis for emergency use for family for emergency use uh on myself, I just thinking about you know my hobby and my interest, and really just spending all the money that uh I have immediately


so ya that that that is what I would give myself advice five years ago is to really really have uh savings to rely to really keep savings and not to use them immediately and then, and also to find job with a with a proper payout and CPF so ya in singapore because is quite hard as singapore


we have to use CPF to you know like buy houses for retirement plans anything and last time I didn't think like five years back I didn't think about, having a job that are payout CPF itself because I didn't think was necessary so ya


okay if for me I want to invest uh one thing I would try to ask around let's say uh friends who work at banks or friends works in like let's say investment company uh insurance company


maybe uh I can invest uh in that like in which uh, investment plans is the best because one thing investment plan really really helps (ppc) really like really really helps if let's say, to accumulate wealth instead let's say my CPF later on I do not have enough to retire for my CPF


so, I would try to you know like when I'm when I'm uh like before I was younger I will really try to invest in uh any type of uh retirement plan, there's one thing another thing I would invest in would be uh insurance uh health insurance because one thing uh we can say about not only not only wealth but also in health


that's what we should be really investing on, okay so what about yourself


alright sure that that actually that that is actually quite quite a good, quite a good idea though, uh okay what advice would you give to someone to get him or her out of debt


it says


well


ya agreed agreed, correct agreed okay for myself I would, really advise the person to you know uh, take it slow and then try to consolidate anybody that , that is uh closest to them


you know like really talk asking out for options like rather you know rather than uh trying to, trying to like uh get get him or herself into more trouble or more, stress, so like really sit down slow talk with somebody who is closed uh who is closest to them


and then try to ask for you know !hey! is there any like uh option maybe the person closest to us don't want to see us getting in harm's way, but rather one asked to be saved, so like really you know sit down and talk and try to ask for different uh advices or solutions for me that will be the best to you know


to really calm down someone who is uh in debt lah basically in debt, (mmhmm)


I think the CPF the CPF uh uh, contributions all is actually not bad because one thing we can use the CPF to either buy a house or for our our health uh payments like let's say hospital payments medisave and everything so really the CPF uh the CPF idea is actually quite good because one thing


in singapore houses is not cheap and definitely not everybody can straight away buy houses straight up with cash, because not everyone can earn that much, so the CPF really help us you know to , to actually pick uh buy a house and pay for the house without us having to really worry about you know the cash that we have in hand because it's already deducted


salary is already deducted and then it will be put into our CPF and also our health let's say MediSave our ordinary account also is ready uh put in for the house to be to be deducted every month every month so it's like really really


not usually a good idea from for singapore government to really uh implement the CPF law, (mmhmm) and and also for CPF contribution also uh if I want to say one thing it'll be the self employed people who


don't receive uh CPF contributions from companies from uh from any other companies because they are working for themselves, really just in just try to you know consolidate consolidate part of their part of their earnings from their own businesses to really put into their CPF because CPF not only they can use to buy a house or for their health


but also they can use it for their retirement plan which is uh which is the CPF payout when they get older later on because that one is really important when you want to retire, you really (ppc) and you really like, don't want to look for any other jobs you just want to relax and then


uh received a stable in a stable amount of income everyone really invest in the CPF contribution, okay ah ah so what about yourself


alright agreed okay so, for you how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage


ya agreed, okay so for myself before marriage already I can you can say right now is I don't have any financial commitments not much though because, is only on motorbikes and my phone bills and I help out my family like really really little


so is not really bad for me in terms of final uh financial commitments before marriage, but after marriage there's a different thing because after marriage I really uh see that you know commitment is a lot because that's not only one family that I have to be helping out uh actually there's two because for my my own family and my wife's family so both I have to really you know equalise and then


try to help out as much as possible nothing also is to is to give my wife uh you know proper proper clothing proper proper food proper shelter and you know just really not trying to, only not make her happy but also to make her you know be comfortable


with what uh she is going to have and then, what she really has right now so, my financial commitments really really change and like my own self I really really change after marriage because, before this it before before marriage it was like really financial commitments is like zero


zero to ya we really zero because I don't really care much I just earn and I just spend it I just earn I just spend it for like hobbies and everything but now after marriage really really sets the tone in that you know uh we we uh for me and myself we have to


save money up for our home and, as if we are prepared to have children we have to save up for uh our children's uh items school items clothing expenditures, uh school expenses school (ppc) school uh school


payments and everything later on in the near future so really it would really really said I will really really said that financial commitments after marriage is quite a lot and actually quite heavy if I don't really like you know try to step up and think properly so financial before and after marriage is really really different definitely


ya now is recording, okay sorry often


okay so what do I often worry, about one thing I often worry about is not having uh enough money enough resources, in terms of let's say my family or for my own my own partner


and everything because I feel that, if uh I don't have, uh enough money or enough resources to help them in terms of emergency or in terms of in need, then it's going to be quite difficult for them as they have


to worry about where to look for money where to look for help even and they might uh they might result to doing uh bad or negative stuff, outside of their own comfort zone and that really worry me most


uh let's say if I were to sit down and just know like like just like think and reflect about life, that would really really worry me most because I don't want them to do that because uh it really really sets a bad tone


for themselves, and also for (ppc) for their own let's say their own mind their own minds and their own uh wellbeing, because they would try to, you know result in illegal stuff


and everything and I worry I will always worry about that, because one thing I don't like is uh people uh resulting to illegal ways to you know help them in something, and I would often worry more uh worry about it a lot if let's say it was of my own family member or my own love ones


so ya so what say ah so what about you


ya totally agree with you okay so what kind of person do you really hate the most


yes agreed agreed ya for okay for myself I would really really okay the the kind of person that I really hate the most is treat up


the the type of people that really lie about every single thing their life because one thing if you keep lying for me I hate it I hate lying I hate people lying to me, because for me I don't feel there's a need to lie if you (ppc) if you


really really have like any sorts of uh disagreement with anyone or do you don't don't like that that type of person or don't like the person particularly you can actually like you know go up you know go up to that person and then straight up talk to them


and then like you know like trying to lie their way like I hate those stuck people who try to lie their way out of problems because is really really immature there's one thing for me and also that if the if for me if they lie they are not gaining anything particularly they are only putting their self in more trouble in fact


like let's say if they try to lie the facts of like let's say something have happen like they have created a commercial or they have created a a scene even and they tried they they try to lie their way out and try to lie the facts about it it will just lead them in


to more and more trouble and also more and more uh (ppc) and more and more uh, facts that are being manipulated, so is like really really trying to make the scene more complicated the (ppc) the the case more complicated so it's like for me I hate people who lie


because they really really you know like the like like really lie about every single thing and is really really annoying to me, because one thing if, they can lie about anything then they are not being true to themself one thing I hate about people lying is because they are not being true to themselves so that's that that really ticks me off for me


okay this one is actually quite , this one is actually quite easy because for me, uh okay one of the scenes that I really really really really lost it is


people who don't respect not only myself but the people that I love, okay this this one is really really important to me because one thing I really show respect to other people every single time and for me to for somebody else to just come up to me and not show me respect I'm still okay with it I will just walk away and smile


but to show respect to the to the to the people that I really love and care about that really really will make me you know like really lose it like really really makes makes me furious, , because one thing I hate disrespectful people as well


if they can't really show respect to others and you know it really did if they really can show respect to others then it just really shows what kind of a person uh they are they are they are just rude they are just rude, people so one thing if you want to be rude to me I'm still okay with but to be disrespectful and uh to be rude to the people that I really love and care about or even to somebody else that I really you know I looked up I really look up to


then ya it will really really make me uh furious and, I really think that I can lose it from there , yes most definitely


true true


true ya (ppc), correct correct ya, ya definite definitely because if if ya if it were to happen to me I'll be furious as well


definitely ya so okay is there okay have you have you ever been looked down upon by people in your entire life


okay for myself definitely same as you but for me is uh more to the people that really surrounds me like let's say my teachers in secondary school and my my own friends in secondary school, but my own parents definitely because my own parents are more uh more envision towards the academic side and for for myself I don't really see myself


excelling in academic side so I really that I really did try to sit down and try to talk to them and say and you know like saying to them !hey! you know academic vision uh academic is not the only thing that I can excel in you know I I do excel in other things and like really I do


excel in uh more on a hands off hands off uh type of work, and so really from there my parents like really look down on me a lot, like really really a lot but for me I don't I don't really try to focus on it much uh same goes to my friend in secondary school because like in in my younger days


I was kind of rowdy I was kind of uh rebellious, so they really look down me and say you know like !hey! you don't want you don't look like a person like you know you can really build a good future because you don't study well and everything so for me I it was it was kind of a let down by both my friends and my own teachers