Quote

当你急着奔向未来的时候，说明你已经不喜欢现在了。

被讨厌的勇气

Life is easy

Jon is a leader in bringing the natural building movement to Thailand, appearing as a spokesperson on dozens of publications and TV programs for the past 10 years. He continually strives to find easier ways for people to fulfill their basic needs. For more information visit http://www.punpunthailand.org

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.

Confusion

Food, clothes, house and medicine must be CHEAP and EASY for many people to get. That's civilization. But current society make these four things very hard for people to get; that's uncivilized.

Food: Jon Jandai mentioned about rice wheat, fish pond and 30 varieties of organic food. Money is not secure. Natural resource is more secured. Instead of saving money which is subjected to inflation, scam and thieves. We should looks into investing in land, seeds and other food generating ecosystem which can generate life sustaining passive food stocks.

Why do I need to be in Bangkok for 7 years, working hard and then have not enough to eat. Over here, for 2 months a year, 15 minutes a day I can feed six people, that's easy

Jon Jandai

Clothes: Following fashion means you are always behind. Because spending into capitalism, consider do you need it or do you want it. Saving up salary to buy designer clothes don't change the person who wears it.

"I spent one month to save money to buy a pair of jeans. Every time i look, i am the same person".

Jon Jandai

House: A clever person spend 3 months to build a house but they will be in debt for 30 years. As a "stupid" person I spend 2 hours a day for 3 months to build it. Hence I have 29 years and 9 months of time to do nothing.... I find that life is so easy.....

Medicine: There is a purpose to sickness. Sickness is good as it reminds us that we are doing something wrong on ourselves. It is then time to come back to our own body and mind.

For more Ted talk on easy life watch: To be different is good | Jon Jandai

Ichi-go Ichi-e

Ichi-go ichi-e (一期一会， "one time, one meeting") is a Japanese four-character idiom that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment.

Embrace the 4 Do’s of productivity

Do

If a task comes, it is both important and can only be done by you. Do it. Removing it from to do list prevent you from wasting time making another decision.

Delegate

In the event a task pops up that can be or should be dealt with by one of your team members or colleagues, delegate it. Not only does this free you up to focus on the more important tasks that lie ahead, the members of your team will stay busy with clear priorities.

Delete

Delete any and all tasks you deem unimportant. Instead of adding them to an ever-growing to-do list, deleting these tasks allows you to keep your list manageable and dedicate your time to projects of more importance.

Delay

Finally, if you’re unable to do one of the first three suggestions, set a reminder for yourself to revisit the task at a later time. Delaying a non-urgent project removes the pressure to get it done right away, and lets you target your important tasks first.

Avoid the "Urgency Trap" with Dwight D. Eisenhower's famous prioritization framework, Eisenhower Matrix.

4 Minimalist Blogs for Inspiration

Reading My Tea Leaves

Time spent living in an apartment with a footprint of just 173 square feet taught her to reevaluate everything else. Erin’s first book, Simple Matters, came out in January, 2016. Erin embraces the notion that “living small” is beneficial and accessible to us all—whether we’re renting a tiny apartment or purchasing a three-story house.

The Minimalists

The dual preach that minimalism is a tool that can assist us in finding freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around, and allow us to make lifestyle decisions more consciously and more deliberately. Each week, they discuss living a meaningful life with less on The Minimalists Podcast.

Style Bee

As a design graduate, Lee knows that style doesn’t have to include fast fashion alone—we can curate thoughtful, intentional, and ethically-made closets that reflect who we are and what we believe in. Learn more about her closet mission.

Zen Habits

Zen Habits features articles on simplicity, health & fitness, motivation and inspiration, frugality, family life, happiness, goals, getting great things done, and living in the moment. Read his insights on The Transformative Power of Gratitude and How Not To Do It All. Also check out his other blog, mnmlist.

Reading List 2021

You just stumble upon my personal space. Sometime I just need somewhere to store all the site of website I am visit.

https://propertyhub.net/podcast/contrepreneur-formula-exposed/

https://fintechnews.sg/top-30-fintech-startups-in-singapore/

Mortgage Master

Applying Inbound Philosophies to Every Aspect of Your Organization.

https://www.finder.com/sg/

Reduce Tax while saving 1million by the age of 65

It is time of the year. December! While everyone is getting into festive mood. Let tie up some loose end for the year. I will be exploring tax reduction this year.

There are numbers of ways for us to reduce our tax even if we are employed. And I had chosen 2 that fits my bill for me.

Before we even start, we need to get ready these 2 information:

• Income tax bracket: To determine if it make sense for you to reduce tax
• Tax relief: Find from Iras what is your chargeable income after relief IRAS Personal Reliefs Eligibility Tool

Chargeable income	Income tax	Calculation (income tax rate)
Up to $20,000	None	0%
$30,000	$200	2% on $10,000
$40,000	$550	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000
$50,000	$1,250	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $10,000
$60,000	$1,950	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $20,000
$70,000	$2,650	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $30,000
$80,000	$3,350	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $40,000
$90,000	$4,500	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $40,000 + 11.5% on $10,000
$100,000	$5,650	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $40,000 + 11.5% on $20,000
$110,000	$6,800	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $40,000 + 11.5% on $30,000
$120,000	$7,950	2% on $10,000 + 3.5% on $10,000 + 7% on $40,000 + 11.5% on $40,000

Chargeable income table

Ways to reduce your income tax in Singapore

Tax reliefs	Cap / estimated amount
CPF Top Up (your + loved ones’ SA)	$7,000 + $7,000
CPF Top Up (your Medisave)	Depends on your Medisave balance
Put money in SRS account	$15,300 (SC / PR) or $35,700 (foreigners)
Be a working mum	Potentially 100% of income
Move in with parents / grandparents	$18,000
Attend courses	$5,500
Claim (non-reimbursed) employee expenses	N/A
Claim expenses for your business	N/A
Claim rental expenses	15% of rental income + home loan interest
Donate money, shares or other items	250% of donation value
Income tax relief ceiling	$80,000

Planning for retirement using Rule of 72

Retirement planning should start young leveraging on compounding effect made popular by Warren Buffett.

Full Retirement Sum ($181,000 in 2020) was growth from my last known of $155,000. There is the effect of compounding on inflation (3%). Scary!

Compound interest is such a powerful yet neglected idea, that Albert Einstein famously called it "the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it."

The real key to benefiting from compound interest is to invest early and often, and to let the magic run its course. It will take some time, but eventually, you begin to see real growth in the numbers.

There is a neat trick to figure out how your might grow called the Rule of 72.

The Rule of 72 states that given a fixed rate of return, you can figure out how fast you will double your investment by dividing the number 72 by the rate of return.

If you expect to receive 10% return each year, you divide 72 by 10, and you discover that it will take you approximately 7.2 years to double your money.

Pretty neat!

CPF (SA) Top Up

SA account that earn 4% guaranteed. It is very hard to beat. Use Rule of 72 to project how long 4% can double your money.

So 72 / 4% = 18 years. This tenure is usually within most endowment plan offered outside. So another words, if I will be top up SA to $90,500 and technically 18 years later it will becomes double.

Did I mention also that money that is top up to SA account is safe from creditor if you go bankrupt?

Loo Cheng Chuan is the founder of the 1M65 movement which imply hitting 1 million by the age 65. Using the same methodology discussed above, if you save $130,000 by 30 years old in SA. You will compound 1 million dollar in your CPF by the age of 65. Read more from Loo himself at his column via his opinion.

Seedly.sg shared the steps to top up cash into SA using paynow.

However, you are only limited to $7,000 for your own SA account. Don't worry, if you need more you should considering the benefit of topping up another $7,000 into your parent's account instead of giving them allowance.

SRS account top up

For every $1 that you invest in SRS account for retirement, you get $1 tax dollar reduction. Max contribution cap is $15,300. SRS is only useful if you are nearing your tax bracket where you jump between tier. This way you get to ripe the most benefit.

Do note that SRS account is a long term investment towards your retirement nest. Hence, once you invest you can only withdraw at age 62. Any withdrawal before that will have penalty of 5%

• Immediate tax relief
• Low interest rate 0.05% unless you choose to re-invest
• Withdrawal limit of age 62
• Future withdrawal of investment dividend can be tax

Seedly.sg shared how to top up $1 To Your Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) Account.

It make sense for middle to high income earner who wish to drop their tax bracket, however do consider not to invest too young for SRS as the growth of fund might not make sense during future withdrawal as the tax safe now will be offset by the future tax impose during withdrawal.