Paul Leong

12/08/2022

How can we keep up with inflation? One of the ways is to grow our income.
When I first started working as a Financial Consultant, my first paycheque was a measly 3 figure one. It wasn't enough to pay the bills.
I was determined to increase my income to afford a more comfortable life for myself and my family.
Here're some ways of growing my income that worked for me.

08/08/2022

After more than 2 years, we had the opportunity to gather for our organisation’s mid-year retreat in person. 

One activity that struck me the most was a gratitude journaling exercise conducted by Corinne Teo. With consistent news like rising interest rates, rising costs of living and business challenges, it is easy to be sucked into a spiral of negativity. 

We took 20 mins to reflect and pen down who and what we are grateful for. 

After the exercise, it gave me some fresh perspectives. Despite all the turbulence that’s going on, I actually have lots to be thankful for. The people in my life, my health, the safety and security living in Singapore, and the list goes on. 

Apart from that, it’s good to have those random conversations with old and new faces around the buffet table again!

If you are going through a rough time, what are you grateful for today?

21/07/2022

When I entered the work force, I always wondered why some people are able to command good income, amass large amounts of wealth and even have the surplus to give back to charitable causes.

On the other spectrum, there are those who live pay cheque to pay cheque, and struggle to make ends meet.

After talking to people on this and reading books on wealth, I find that it boils down to this key factor.

Read on to find out more!

12/07/2022

One in five Singapore residents caught in The Great Resignation wave said it has impacted their plans to retire.” 

“They expect to push back their retirement from age 58 to 64, six years later than planned.”

It’s a tough choice between career satisfaction vs. financial wellness.

Both are important factors of consideration, especially in today's times with the rapid rise in cost of living.

Read more about this topic in this interesting article: https://www.theedgesingapore.com/amp/capital/investing-101/one-five-singapore-residents-say-resignation-has-delayed-retirement-six-years

06/07/2022

Why simplicity is underrated.

30/06/2022

Do you find it a challenge to achieve goals that you set out to accomplish?

This is especially so for longer term goals such as financial goals or health/fitness goals.

We start of the journey excited, with this dream outcome in mind. The first few days, we grind away on our goals with enthusiasm. One week on, we feel good and excited.

As the weeks progresses, the enthusiasm dies down. It gets harder and harder to keep putting the work in, especially at times when there are setbacks.

I see this happening all the time, and it happens to me as well!

There are times when I don’t feel motivated to get a work out done, show up at a meeting with a client.

Times like this, I will go through this thought process. And it helps get me going to do what I have to do. (Not all the time, but most of the time at least!)

Swipe left to read on!

25/06/2022

How to manage rising costs of living

High inflation rates and rising costs of living have been on the headlines in recent times.

Here in Singapore, we are experiencing first hand the effects of inflation through higher food and energy prices.

With higher costs, our purchasing power decreases. Our ability to save for the future decreases as well.

If we do not do something about it, the effects would compound and can potentially have a huge negative impact on our long term goals such as retirement.

How can we manage this situation? Swipe left to find out more.

20/06/2022

In 2012, I was 1 year away from graduating. With so many different career paths available, I was confused.

However, I knew clearly what I wanted out of a career.

With these bearings, I could narrow down my options. Eventually I found my way into the insurance and financial services industry as a Financial Consultant.

Simon Sinek talked about the power of having a strong “Why”.

These “Whys” continue to keep me going at my career, through the good times and the times when I feel like calling it quits.

To those who are feeling directionless and lost in your careers, hope this little sharing helps!

09/06/2022

Earlier this year, many investors sustained irreversible losses during the Terra Luna Crypto crash. I was one of them. I lost a $100. It was a $100 gamble that I was prepared to lose. It’s a small sum as compared to others who have lost thousands of dollars or having their entire life savings wiped out.

Many people, including myself, were drawn to the allure of its growth potential and potential returns. Despite guidelines from MAS to discourage retail investors from crypto currency, many invested into it.

When it comes to such risky assets, here are the 3 important that I ask myself before taking the gamble to avoid costly mistakes.

29/05/2022

Perks of the job… Home made dumplings!

Earlier this week, I was invited over to my clients’ home to talk about the considerations when it comes to distributing their assets after death.

We were all seated around the dining table, discussing about the various considerations and concerns that each family member had on this topic.

It was heartwarming, talking about all the various considerations that each family member had for one another in ensuring that everyone is well taken care of and happy.

An hour flew by very quickly. At the end of the discussion, I received feedback that the whole family had greater clarity on this topic and also understood what their next step was to address this otherwise complex topic.

For me, the key takeaway was the home made dumplings ahead of the upcoming dumpling festival.

And not to forget, the sense of fulfilment that came from being able to contribute and be involved in something that is so important and personal to the clients I work with.

19/07/2020

In 2018, I had the opportunity to travel to New Zealand with my friends from work. And part of the itinerary was skydiving!

Since I was a kid, I enjoyed watching action movies where there will be exciting scenes of people jumping out of planes and free falling through the clouds. I have always wanted to experience it firsthand.

When the opportunity presented itself, many fearful thoughts came along as well. Jumping out of an aircraft at 12,000 ft is very risky and dangerous. Many things could go wrong. What if the parachute does not open? What if my tandem master pulls the cord too late?

I decided to proceed anyway since it was childhood dream of mine. The tour operator has a track record of over 300,000 jumps and the tandem master that was assigned to me has had a few hundred jumps under his belt and all the relevant professional certifications. Knowing that there are these extensive risk management measures in place helped to put me at ease. I did the jump. Falling through the clouds and the adrenaline rush was an amazing feeling. Not to forget viewing scenic landscape at a bird's eye view literally.

Building up our wealth is like skydiving. We all want to experience the highs of being able to afford our dream retirement lifestyle and to provide a comfortable life for ourselves and loved ones. To achieve this, we could invest to make our money worker harder for us, or work for that promotion or career change that comes with a higher salary.

With these potential upsides comes the risks of failure. What if the investment markets crash? What if the career decision I made does not turn out well?

With proper risk management measures in place, we can be more assured in jumping onto these risky opportunities to help us get closer to where we want to be financially.

Having a diversified financial portfolio helps to mitigate downside investment risks. Having a back up career plan and emergency savings helps us mitigate the risks of a career change.

Even if we fail, we have these measures in place to back us up and get us back on our feet to pursue the next opportunity.

Manage the risks and seize the opportunities!

14/07/2020

Covid-19 has hit our economy really badly. 😕 It is definitely not an easy time for everyone. I have witnessed some of my clients losing their jobs and experiencing pay cuts and businesses having huge dips in revenue. A handful of my clients, even had close brushes with the virus itself and had to be quarantined.

“This is the bottom, unless Singapore is forced to regress to the harsher iteration of circuit-breaker measures,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Singapore.

When you hit rock bottom, the only way is up. Let's play our part to help prevent the second wave of COVID-19 infections. Looking forward to the recovery and better times in time to come!

Stay strong and resilient everyone!

Singapore’s economy plunged into recession last quarter as an extended lockdown shuttered businesses and decimated retail spending, a sign of the pain the pandemic is wreaking across export-reliant Asian nations.