insight
工程技術，地產投資，信仰家園，時尚生活
正文
Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)
The Straits Times
http://www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 31, 2013
Newlyweds have their future all worked out
Entrepreneur and wife have even drawn up a five-year profit and loss statement to guide spending
By Joyce Teo
Entrepreneur Wong Hong Ting stares at risks every day in his business. So when it comes to investing his earnings, the 28-year-old puts them only in blue chips.
Mr Wong is the director of 2359 Media, a mobile marketing provider that he co-founded with Mr Zhou Wenhan when they were both studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Now, the business employs 42 full- time staff and numerous part-timers.
"I aspire to be comfortable enough so that I don't have to work for someone else. It's the notion of being able to choose," says Mr Wong.
Mr Wong's wife, Ms Loo Hoey Lit, 28, whom he married earlier this month, is starting her own IT business, having recently left her job as a bank officer.
One of her mentors works for a boss but is able to break through bureaucracies and help the organisation because he doesn't need the job.
"He doesn't have to please the boss and can think about what is good for the organisation," said Mr Wong.
Of late, money has been occupying his mind, but not the practical bit of it.
"My mentors and the really successful people whom I meet are not the types who splurge on Prada and Ferraris. They are happy to go to the kopitiam for coffee and toast, and they seem a lot happier to me.
"I want to take a page out of their book and to always enjoy the little things in life."
Mr Wong has seen friends splurge on branded goods and so on, after making some money, and when they lost their jobs, they could not cope.
"The moment you start splurging, there usually is no turning back."
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
Lifestyle-wise, I'm a saver, though I do enjoy good food, nice wine and the occasional trip with my wife.
In the first year of 2359 Media, my co-founder and I lived on $800 a month each. The business has gained traction in the market, but I still make it a point to live as frugally as possible.
I am inspired by Warren Buffett and aim to live in a frugal manner, and have financial flexibility to make life-changing decisions without being tied down by the need to maintain our lifestyle and/or to service debts accumulated when acquiring luxury items.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
As a rule of thumb, I subscribe to strictly having no debt on my credit card.
To have a good sense of how much I'm spending each month, I make it a point to pay through AXS or by cheque as it forces us to think clearly about what we're spending on.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I review my financial health every year to get a sense of how much I can invest or spend, and decide on how many trips or higher-value items I can acquire.
As a bachelor, this was relatively easy, but since I proposed to my wife last May, all the good business strategy things that I use at 2359 Media came into play.
We put together a five-year profit and loss statement, and worked out short- term cash-basis projections and a simple balance sheet to assist us in our decisions.
We spoke about what we wanted to do, if we need a car and when we want to have kids. As a family, what trigger points would there be?
Since last year, I've started saving consciously - $2,500 a month - for a property.
Given a technology firm's high-risk, high-return profile, and the time and effort needed to maintain a full stock portfolio, I have invested in only blue chips with clear dividend policies to protect my assets against inflation.
I review my portfolio every quarter. I have technology stocks because I understand that. I also like property stocks because landlords charge too much for rent.
It helps that sometimes I get to meet senior executives of listed companies. When they get extremely excited about your industry and not so much about theirs, you know you shouldn't touch their shares.
This has worked a lot better than me running financial models. If anything, the biggest thing I learn from school is that a passive trader can never beat the market.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
My dad was director of Centre for English Language Communication at NUS and my mum is a homemaker. I have an older brother, a philosophy professor in Germany.
My dad also had to take care of my grandmother, aunt and cousins, but life was still fairly comfortable.
Since I was young, I have always been the kid who loves to go to toy departments just to look at toys and analyse all their specifications but never buy them.
Instead, I looked forward to my birthday and Christmas, when I got to choose something that I really wanted. This has very much translated into my adulthood, with me allowing myself a couple of "wants" each year.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I invested in buying health-related products to sell when I left the army. I managed to break even but the experience piqued my interest in business and investing.
I went on to study quantitative finance at NUS and have been helping my dad pick stocks since 2006.
I do my own charts and don't really look at analysts' reports. By the time the reports are published, it may be too late to trade based on the recommendations.
Q: What property do you own?
We started looking last July but have not bought any. The cooling measures have worked recently in bringing cash- over-valuation down significantly.
Finding a home to build our family is now at the top of our priority list.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Our wedding. It wasn't super extravagant but we don't usually spend money like that. I had a wedding reception here and in Malacca.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
My life goal is to help others succeed, and I see myself mentoring and investing in young aspiring entrepreneurs well into my years.
We have only been able to achieve what we have done at 2359 Media through the help of many mentors, and I would love to do that as well.
My ideal life involves spending two-thirds of a year in competitive markets like Singapore and Silicon Valley, and the rest exploring the world and helping others.
Q: Home is now...
City Square Residences, where my wife and I live with my parents.
Q: I drive...
A Nissan Sylphy, which is a family car.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
---------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
None so far. I only regret not buying a property a few years ago as the cost of acquiring a Housing Board flat is now the same as the cost of acquiring a similar-sized condominium back then.
The lesson learnt here is that sometimes, when a long-term appreciating asset feels right to acquire, the smart thing to do might very well be to make that investment, a philosophy I have carried through in business nowadays as well.
Q: What is your best investment to date?
In 2008, when the market was down, I invested in Venture Corp at about $4 a share and it yielded a 100 per cent return on investment in less than a year.
http://www.straitstimes.com
Published on Mar 31, 2013
Newlyweds have their future all worked out
Entrepreneur and wife have even drawn up a five-year profit and loss statement to guide spending
By Joyce Teo
Entrepreneur Wong Hong Ting stares at risks every day in his business. So when it comes to investing his earnings, the 28-year-old puts them only in blue chips.
Mr Wong is the director of 2359 Media, a mobile marketing provider that he co-founded with Mr Zhou Wenhan when they were both studying at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Now, the business employs 42 full- time staff and numerous part-timers.
"I aspire to be comfortable enough so that I don't have to work for someone else. It's the notion of being able to choose," says Mr Wong.
Mr Wong's wife, Ms Loo Hoey Lit, 28, whom he married earlier this month, is starting her own IT business, having recently left her job as a bank officer.
One of her mentors works for a boss but is able to break through bureaucracies and help the organisation because he doesn't need the job.
"He doesn't have to please the boss and can think about what is good for the organisation," said Mr Wong.
Of late, money has been occupying his mind, but not the practical bit of it.
"My mentors and the really successful people whom I meet are not the types who splurge on Prada and Ferraris. They are happy to go to the kopitiam for coffee and toast, and they seem a lot happier to me.
"I want to take a page out of their book and to always enjoy the little things in life."
Mr Wong has seen friends splurge on branded goods and so on, after making some money, and when they lost their jobs, they could not cope.
"The moment you start splurging, there usually is no turning back."
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
Lifestyle-wise, I'm a saver, though I do enjoy good food, nice wine and the occasional trip with my wife.
In the first year of 2359 Media, my co-founder and I lived on $800 a month each. The business has gained traction in the market, but I still make it a point to live as frugally as possible.
I am inspired by Warren Buffett and aim to live in a frugal manner, and have financial flexibility to make life-changing decisions without being tied down by the need to maintain our lifestyle and/or to service debts accumulated when acquiring luxury items.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
As a rule of thumb, I subscribe to strictly having no debt on my credit card.
To have a good sense of how much I'm spending each month, I make it a point to pay through AXS or by cheque as it forces us to think clearly about what we're spending on.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
I review my financial health every year to get a sense of how much I can invest or spend, and decide on how many trips or higher-value items I can acquire.
As a bachelor, this was relatively easy, but since I proposed to my wife last May, all the good business strategy things that I use at 2359 Media came into play.
We put together a five-year profit and loss statement, and worked out short- term cash-basis projections and a simple balance sheet to assist us in our decisions.
We spoke about what we wanted to do, if we need a car and when we want to have kids. As a family, what trigger points would there be?
Since last year, I've started saving consciously - $2,500 a month - for a property.
Given a technology firm's high-risk, high-return profile, and the time and effort needed to maintain a full stock portfolio, I have invested in only blue chips with clear dividend policies to protect my assets against inflation.
I review my portfolio every quarter. I have technology stocks because I understand that. I also like property stocks because landlords charge too much for rent.
It helps that sometimes I get to meet senior executives of listed companies. When they get extremely excited about your industry and not so much about theirs, you know you shouldn't touch their shares.
This has worked a lot better than me running financial models. If anything, the biggest thing I learn from school is that a passive trader can never beat the market.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
My dad was director of Centre for English Language Communication at NUS and my mum is a homemaker. I have an older brother, a philosophy professor in Germany.
My dad also had to take care of my grandmother, aunt and cousins, but life was still fairly comfortable.
Since I was young, I have always been the kid who loves to go to toy departments just to look at toys and analyse all their specifications but never buy them.
Instead, I looked forward to my birthday and Christmas, when I got to choose something that I really wanted. This has very much translated into my adulthood, with me allowing myself a couple of "wants" each year.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I invested in buying health-related products to sell when I left the army. I managed to break even but the experience piqued my interest in business and investing.
I went on to study quantitative finance at NUS and have been helping my dad pick stocks since 2006.
I do my own charts and don't really look at analysts' reports. By the time the reports are published, it may be too late to trade based on the recommendations.
Q: What property do you own?
We started looking last July but have not bought any. The cooling measures have worked recently in bringing cash- over-valuation down significantly.
Finding a home to build our family is now at the top of our priority list.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Our wedding. It wasn't super extravagant but we don't usually spend money like that. I had a wedding reception here and in Malacca.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
My life goal is to help others succeed, and I see myself mentoring and investing in young aspiring entrepreneurs well into my years.
We have only been able to achieve what we have done at 2359 Media through the help of many mentors, and I would love to do that as well.
My ideal life involves spending two-thirds of a year in competitive markets like Singapore and Silicon Valley, and the rest exploring the world and helping others.
Q: Home is now...
City Square Residences, where my wife and I live with my parents.
Q: I drive...
A Nissan Sylphy, which is a family car.
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
---------------------
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
None so far. I only regret not buying a property a few years ago as the cost of acquiring a Housing Board flat is now the same as the cost of acquiring a similar-sized condominium back then.
The lesson learnt here is that sometimes, when a long-term appreciating asset feels right to acquire, the smart thing to do might very well be to make that investment, a philosophy I have carried through in business nowadays as well.
Q: What is your best investment to date?
In 2008, when the market was down, I invested in Venture Corp at about $4 a share and it yielded a 100 per cent return on investment in less than a year.
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