No shame in parking money in fixed deposits: What I learned about investing
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
From snaring that best rental deal to canny career choice, ST correspondents share their experiences of what has and has not worked for them.
The dumb money choices I made in my career
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Krist Boo.
Having watched lots of TV commercials since she was young, she dreamed of one day becoming a glamourised flight attendant called the Singapore Girl.
She landed her dream job before finishing school. Her starting pay cheques were good. In fact, they were bigger than those of her peers who had started their corporate careers. Moreover, she got to jet-set around the world.
There’s no shame in putting your money in fixed deposits
The Business Times
Some friends think that because I am a financial journalist, I make better investment decisions. Yet, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Covering the financial markets and the various scandals over the years has made me a cynic; I am trained to unearth anything negative that could potentially derail a business.
Still, when I read stories about young investors reaping large rewards over a short period from cryptocurrencies, the fear of missing out creeps in. I wonder if I am too conservative.
How many insurance policies is too many?
Business school taught me the importance of having adequate insurance coverage to protect myself and my loved ones in case of an accident or a major health issue, such as a heart attack, stroke or cancer.
After I started work, I loaded up on policies over the years, ranging from health insurance to savings and endowment plans.
Then I got worried about retirement and started putting cash into insurance plans for that as well.
How to cope as a tenant in a red-hot rental market
It was a harrowing ordeal. That was the most civilised sentence I could come up with when a colleague asked about my house-hunting experience earlier in 2023.
Because that statement does not tell you what the worst part of the ordeal was.
I guess renting a residence can be a harrowing experience, any time, anywhere.
