11 days Japan trip (December 2024)

The finance report is out. :)

Shinjuku - Karuizawa - Kusatsu - Lake Kawaguchiko - Shinjuku. 

This blog will be updated for more trip details. It was a beautiful trip. 

Happy New Year 2025!

Happy new year, everyone!

As of January 1st, 2025, our CPF stood at:

S$1,140,637.35.

1.14M44 :)

4M65 on track!

I did Voluntary Housing Refund (VHR) to make the figure looks good. :)

I top up MA, S$4,000, to reach the new ceiling of BHS (S$75,500) for tax relief.

I also top up my ah boy's CPF to make the figure flat at S$70,000 in Special Account.

Happy New Year 2025!

CPFB | Top up MediSave Account

CPFB | Top up to enjoy higher retirement payouts

CPFB | Make a voluntary housing refund

Another big homerun in year 2024

Year 2024 reflection on equities, properties, etc. 

Equities: Another big homerun in year 2024.

Very good year indeed, 65 sold transaction this year, more than enough to cover all my expenses in year 2024. Nice! I still have S$700,000+ vested in the stock market (US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia), mostly in blue chips and Singapore's REITs for the good dividend payouts.

Refer to my year 2018 to 2023 results here: JKM Fund: Big homerun in year 2023

Properties: rental hit all time high.

We achieved all-time-high monthly HDB rental of S$4,000 (4-room flat in Jurong East).

HDB rental yield now: 13.52%. The resale HDB flat was fully paid 10 years ago in June 2014.

With the latest market valuation (Jan 2025) from SRX, my resale HDB and Clementi condo both values had gone up S$523,000 in total. Nice but I am not selling any. :)

As for oversea properties in Malaysia, I have SOLD my first Johor property, profit of RM190,000+.

I had increased my second Johor property (SUNWAY condo) rental by 40% for 3 years and I also put the unit for sale now, with my target sale price, the profit shall be around RM175,000+.

Careers: good bonus!

No promotion this year but I had received 9.71% pay increment and 3.41 months bonus. Works had been very smooth since day one I joined in January year 2017. I still work from home 4 days a week since March 2020, very work-life balanced indeed. I am staying here until age 65! :)

My wife had changed new job early this year to a director level, happy for her. She had achieved her dream! We both satisfied with our current careers.

Health: pick up new hobby!

I picked up a new hobby in September 2024. I bought an automatic abs roller, and it is pretty good! You can really see the nice abs curves formed especially. I had rolled 10,800 times this year. It is quite addictive! I also swim 1,550 laps (77.5KM) this year, compared to 2,250 laps last year. This year I also used up company healthcare annual allowances of S$1,800. I went to Ma Guang Tui Na once every month. I treat it like a body massage. :) This is claimable under TCM. Nice! Just utilize it!

Family: ah boy doing very well.

My son did well in PSLE this year, AL 5 M. He can choose any secondary school he wants. Amazing. Although his dad wanted RI but he chose ACS(I) IP. He is going to take IB (International Baccalaureate) in year 5 and 6, not A-level. That's his choice. I respect that. In addition, the government granted him ESIS (Edusave Scholarships for Independent Schools), S$2,400 a year for 6 years, total S$14,400! Nice!

Apparently, the government will give such scholarship to students with PSLE scores of AL 4 and 5 only. My dear boy, please continue to shine at ACS(I). The best is yet to be!

Refer to my blog here: PSLE AL 5 M + S$2,400 yearly scholarships

We had family vacation this year March at Taiwan (Taipei, Tai Chung) and December at Japan (Mount Fuji, Karuizawa, Kusatsu). I shall have a simple wrap up travel blog about this Japan trip, as usual. :)

He also followed his mummy's family to Norway and Vietnam right after his PSLE examination (he skipped many school days in October/November!). He went back to my hometown, Sibu in June. He was busy traveling this year!

Fun Facts: COP all-time-high

It is interesting to know this year 2024 PSLE Cut-Off-Point (COP) had reached all-time-high too.

For boys, the number 1 toughest to enter is actually Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) at COP of AL 6 Merit (with Higher Chinese scoring).

The number 2 toughest boys' school are Raffles Institution (RI) and Anglo-Chinese School Independant (ACSI). Both of them are having a COP of AL 6.

It's a very competitive. I like. :)

Year 2025 will be another good year!

4 years expenses (Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo)

I managed to record down my past 4 years expenses on my new car, Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo in great details. In average, I spent about S$427 per month for the car expenses for the past 4 years.

3 years expenses (Honda Civic 1.5 Turbo) (jkfund.blogspot.com)

4th year expenses:

- Petrol: S$1,861

- All other car expenses: S$2,996

- Car loan (monthly): S$1,306

- Distance traveled: 10,238 KM

Q3 2024 Report Card

Exceptional quarter result. Thanks for the marvelous rebound of Hong Kong and China stocks.

Year 2024 surely is going to be my best year, so far.

I still have S$780,000++ vested in the stock market. :)

Say goodbye to Singapore T-bills, say hi to Singapore REITs!

If we are lucky, we can see the fixed Singapore housing loan interest rate of 1.50% again in October next year 2025!