Reflection: Chinese New Year Rabbit Year Preparation

The Year of Tiger is coming to an end.  The Year of Tiger will give way to Chinese New Year, Year of Rabbit on 3 February 2011.


It seems that the Tiger is not ready for the handover.

The weather is dampening the mood for the preparation of Chinese New Year.

It rained practically every day, causing the price of vegetables and food to spike.

I think those prawns and fishes in the deep sea are happier.  With this kind of weather, fishermen did not have a good catch.

The prawns and fishes should count themselves lucky that they are not going to end up as dinner.


It seems such a waste of lives with it comes to Chinese New Year preparation.

People are buying chickens, ducks, pork, prawns, abalone, prawns, fishes and other poultry and seafood for Chinese New Year.

So many lives are lost just because the Chinese is having a celebration.

For a family of four, it is likely that they buy at least one chicken, one duck, two cans of abalone, a few pounds of pork, thirty prawns, ten fishes and other meat.

So many animals and fishes lost their lives.

Everyone is happy and looking forward to Chinese New Year, excepted for the animals and fishes.

They certainly do not like to sacrifice their lives just for two days of celebration.

In ancient times, when people were poor, it made sense to kill chicken and ducks for Chinese New Year.  After all, that is the only time they had meat.  They could not afford to eat meat every day.  It was on rare occasions, such as wedding, Chinese New Year and other special occasions then they had meat.

Now, having chicken and ducks have not much meaning.

After all, our meat eating lifestyle is causing us more health problems than before.  It is ironical that many Chinese believes in Buddhism concept of releasing lives, yet they are eating so much meat.

It is common for Chinese to buy captive birds, fishes and turtles for releasing into nature.  They believe that brings good karma.

If releasing captured animals bring good karma, why not have a vegetarian Chinese New Year celebration instead?

Is it necessary to celebrate Chinese New Year with so much meat?  No, there are many cookies and desserts that are nice and do not contain meat.

Pineapple tart is permanently associated with Chinese New Year.  That is my favorite food.

It is such as luxury in life to have a cup of unsweetened red tea, and pineapple tarts in the stormy afternoon.

There is nothing so blessed as to watch the rain falls from the cozy house.

The Chinese New Year, Year of Rabbit, in 2011, is rather special.  It almost coincidences with the Chinese Farmer calendar.

The 4th of February is the second day of Chinese New Year, and the starts of the Farmer calendar, which ushers in the Spring.

Too much rich foods is unhealthy

My grandparents were poor but healthy.

Part of the reason is that they could not afford all the rich foods.  They had chicken once or twice a year.

They reared the chickens so that they had meat on the table during Chinese New Year.

They used to say that heart disease belonged to the rich who had money for all the rich foods.

My grandparents had lived long enough to enjoy the prosperity of Singapore.

That means they had the chance to enjoy rich foods in their old age.

Is that good or bad?  Judging from the effect of all the rich foods on their health, I would not say it is a good idea.

However, they enjoyed the rich foods. They enjoyed eating all the rich foods they dreamt about in their poverty.

Most people enjoy eating rich foods as well.

They enjoy buffet, especially high tea buffet.  That is the time when they have unlimited access to all the cakes, seafood, and other desserts.

Eating too much rich foods is definitely not good for health.

We are living at a time where manual labor hardly exists, yet we are taking in all the sugars, fats and cholesterol.

That is why the hospitals have a higher stay rate than the hotels in town, even though the charges for a single bed is more expensive than a room in the hotel.


If given a choice, everyone definitely chooses the deluxe room in the hotel, instead of a bed in the hospital ward.

However, they cannot keep away from all the rich foods.

The cakes seem so delicious and appealing.  They will feel bad if they forego the cakes, especially when they have already paid for the high tea buffet.

They cannot tolerate the idea of eating plain porridge, with seasoned bean curd, and a stir fried vegetable as dinner.

They prefer the set meal consists of sirloin steak, soup, coffee and ice cream or cake.

While eating rich foods bring satisfaction, and joy to life.  Eating too much rich foods is unhealthy.

Nobody can eat sirloin steak every day without getting into serious health problem.

It is not good for the environment and health.

The best is to strike a balance.

Eat simply and eat healthy food as much as possible.  Enjoy the rich foods a few times a year to satisfy the craving for it.

Gold investment savings account

Recently I have caught the gold fever in the form of gold investment.

The question is whether to hold physical gold or open a gold investment savings account.

Even though I feel the spot rate of USD 1,346 per Troy ounce of gold too high for investment purpose, I am quite optimistic about the rumor of coming market correction.

The last price correction took place in 2008.

It is high time for another market correction to reduce the price of gold.

I hope that the spot rate will fall as low as USD1,000 per Troy ounce of gold.  Even if the spot rate falls below USD1,100, it will be a good price for me to enter the market.

On a recent trip to Malaysia, I enter the Maybank branch to query about the purchase of gold coin.

However, after discussing with the bank officer in charge, I realize that opening a gold investment savings account is a better idea.

There is no monthly charge for account maintenance with Maybank.

The minimum sum for opening the gold investment savings account is just 5 grams of gold.  Even at the current rate, 5 grams of gold is affordable to most people.

If I have an existing gold investment savings account, and I want to increase my holding, the minimum purchase is 1 gram of gold.


There is no fee deducted for dormant account as well.

That means I can keep the gold investment savings account for ten years, without incurring any fee or charge.

If I want to liquidate the holdings, I can close the account.  I can either choose to withdraw physical gold, by paying a premium over the spot rate, or I can sell the gold back to the bank at the prevailing daily rate.

I think opening a gold investment savings account with Maybank in Malaysia is better than opening a gold investment savings account with UOB in Singapore.

The UOB gold investment account comes with certain fees.

According to the website of UOB:

“An administrative fee (in grams of gold) as low as 0.12 gm per month or 0.25% p.a. on the highest balance per month, whichever is higher. The fee is subjected to GST, which will be deducted from your account in grams of gold also.
An administrative charge of $30 for the closure of the account within 6 months. The fee is subjected to GST.”

That means if I keep the gold investment savings account for ten years, I would potentially lose the value of a few grams of gold.

The fee is subjected to GST, that means I lose out even more.

While gold investment is a good choice for the long term, the fees and various deduction is a cause for concern.

I think it is worthwhile to travel all the way to Malaysia, and open the account with Maybank.  The terms and conditions are more acceptable.

Maybank allows up to 4 persons in a joint account.  That means it is a good investment tool for the whole family.  The parents can get the children to join in the scheme and enjoy the fruitage of gold investment.

As for the purchase of the gold coin in Malaysia, it is not a good idea, since I have to carry it across the custom, and pay the custom duty.

Why don’t you buy gold bars

When I tell my family and friends about buying silver bullions, the first question they ask is: why don’t you buy gold bars?

Everyone seems to have emotional attachment to gold.

They like the idea of buying gold bars, but not the idea of buying silver bullions.

Why do I not buy gold bars?

From an investment perspective, gold is not a good investment.

The increase in gold price is not as good as the increase in silver price in term of rate of return.

The whole year increase for gold in 2010 is about 30%.  The whole year increase for silver is about 70% in 2010.

Even if you take the rate of return for both gold and silver in the past five years, silver outperforms gold.

In this case, the logical answer is to invest in silver.

The price of silver per ounce is still within the range of everyone.  At the moment, it is between US$28 to US$29.

The price of gold per ounce is between US$1360 to US$1400.

It is cheaper to invest in silver bullions than gold bars.

Does that mean that you should not buy gold bars?

Actually gold is one of the best investments, since everyone loves gold.  Everyone recognizes the value of gold bars.

The question is not whether you should or should not buy gold bars.  The question is when you should buy gold bars.

The price of gold is simply too high at the moment.  Even if you buy a single gold bar of 1 oz, you need to fork out more than US$1,400.

The selling price for gold bars is always more than the spot rate.

After all, you have to pay for the Mint to make the gold bars, and pay for the shipping and insurance cost.

Many experts in commodities and precious metal investment are warning of the coming market correction for the price of gold and silver.


If you intend to buy gold bars or silver bars, wait for the price to drop.


The correction may cost the price to drop 20% to 30%.  Nobody really knows how drastic the price change will be.

Everyone is keeping an eye on the international spot rate for gold price and silver price.

It is a good investment opportunity for those who can afford to buy gold bars and silver bars.

If you prefer paper assets, you can check out the national banks for the gold and silver account.  Many banks have gold saving accounts or silver saving accounts scheme.

The problem is that the account charges a monthly maintenance fee, since they are holding and keeping the physical gold and silver for you.

My experience in planting green bean

Since the price of green bean doubles in recent months, I have the sudden urge to plant green bean.

It does not sound very hard, since all elementary school students learn to plant green bean, in order to learn about the growth of plants from seeds.


The problem is that I stay in a high rise apartment without a balcony and a garden.

There are some empty pots along the corridor.

I take the liberty of taking one pot, fill it with purchased fertilized soil, and put the green bean seed in the pot.

So far, so good, the green bean seed sprouts into seedling in three days’ time.

I water the plant everyday, and even count the number of leaves.

Up to this point, I am a hardworking urban farmer, taking care of my little green bean plant.

I place the plant in the corridor leading to my apartment.

However, the corridor does not get enough sunlight.  My block is an odd shaped apartment block, with twist and turn of the corridor leading to different units.

The little green bean plant manages to survive to a point where stalks of beans appear.

I am very pleased with the result.  I think hardly anyone can do so well in the urban area, growing edible plants, and harvesting the seeds.

However, the monsoon starts after the first green bean stalk appears.

While the corridor does not enough sunlight, it does get more than its fair share of beating from the rain and the wind.  The wind and the rain combine to kill my little green bean plant.


I harvest the not yet fully grown stalks of green beans before the death of the green bean plant.

There are a total of twenty green beans. Hardly enough for one spoonful.

Now I can really appreciate the destruction of crops by powerful forces in nature.

The same monsoon that kills my little green bean plant must have killed many vegetables and plants in the regional countries.

I just hope that I can have more success with planting and harvesting green bean once the monsoon is over.

Found a Straits Settlement Coin at home

While searching through the layer of clothing, a single Straits Settlement Coin falls out.


This particular coin is a 1920 Straits Settlement 1 cent coin.

The coin is in a very bad shape.  A layer of green tint covers most of the coin.  I think the humility aids in the corrosion of the metal.

Straits Settlements coins were meant for used in former British colonies.


When Singapore fell into the occupation of the Japanese, the Straits Settlements coins were no longer in use.

I guess my grandparents kept a few coins just in case the British returned to rule the country again.

I do not know where is the whole packet of old coins that my deceased grandparents had treasured for years.

It must be somewhere around the house.

Since millions of Straits Settlement coins, especially the 1 cent coin, were produced in the early part of last century, the 1 cent coin is not really rare.


Some collectors collected the older version, those ¼ coin from two hundred years back.  Those are more valuable in term of collection value than the 1920 1 cent coin.

The selling price of a single coin ranges from US$1.50 to US$6 depends on the condition of the coin.

I think my little coin is in such a sorry stage that nobody wants to pay even a dollar for it.

My mother cannot remember where the rest of the collection is.  She knows that there are a lot of 1 cent coin, with a couple of 50 cents coin.

I shall keep it for the rest of my lifetime as a memorial of my grandparents.

Investing in precious metals mutual funds

Do you know that you can invest in precious metals without buying the physical products?

One way is to invest in precious metals mutual funds.

The next way is to open a brokerage account, and buy gold or silver exchanged traded fund, that means Gold ETF or Silver ETF.

Why do people want to invest in precious metals mutual funds?

There are many reasons for the decision.

1.  Risks of loss of physical products

If you buy physical gold bars, as in a 100 oz gold bar, you definitely want to get a safe to store the gold bar.

You worry about the risk of fire.

You worry about theft.  You worry whenever you are leaving the house.

Imagine coming home from a holiday and find that the gold bar is missing.

If you are buying just an 1 oz gold bar, you worry about storing it too.

1 oz gold bar is so small.  It is just a few grams.

If you were to buy a safe just for storing the 1 oz gold bar, you would have spent so much money for the gold bar and the safe.

The safe looks very empty with just one miserable little gold bar inside.


There is no risk of losing physical products if you buy precious metals mutual funds.

2.  Liquidity

Physical products are harder to buy and sell.

You have to bring it to the pawnshop or the bank just to sell the gold bar for cash.

If you sell online, you have to arrange for courier service, and insurance for the shipment.

Precious metals mutual funds are easier to buy and sell.  You just need to find the right company, open the account, and determine a monthly investment or a lump sum investment.

You can buy and sell off your holdings in the precious metals mutual funds easily.

There is no risk of carrying physical products to a certain place to sell it off.

3.  More products

Precious metals mutual funds do not invest in just gold or silver.

It is more diversified, since the funds invest in a few precious metals.

What are the precious metals?  Gold, silver, platinum, ruthenium and other rare and expensive metals.

The precious metals mutual funds do not invest in just the physical products.  They invest in the mining companies as well.

That means they invest in companies that mine for gold, silver and other precious metals.

That is why the diversification makes the precious metals mutual funds so popular.

Imagine buying into one such fund, and enjoy the benefits of stock investment and commodity investment.

Since there are many such funds in the market, you have to analyze the strengths of each one.  You have to take note of the expenses.

If you are an experienced investor in both stock market and commodity market, it is best you invest directly and manage the portfolio.

You can make the decision to buy and sell quickly.  The trading cost is lower too.  You do not have to pay for the commission of the fund managers, and the monthly maintenance of the funds.

Mamugan, Bakugan toys

Two of us were in the toy shop yesterday, hunting for a suitable toy for a 5 years old.

Both of us do not have kids, and that was the first time we entered the toy shop to shop for toys since adulthood.

My friend knew that his nephew loved to play with toys.

However, when we checked the price tag, we were shocked at the price.  After discount, the cheapest set cost about $30.

That was just for a set of silly train set.  We would willingly pay $30 for a handbag.  But toy train? No.

We continued to look around.

My friend suddenly mentioned that his nephew loved Mamugan.

We searched high and low for Mamugan toys.  In the end, she asked a boy about Mamugan toy.  The adorable kid said “Bakugan? Here it is.”

He pointed to a whole of Bakugan toys and games.

He looked at us unbelievably, unable to imagine how anyone would mistaken Bakugan for Mamugan.  That is no such thing as Mamugan toy.

Well, the Bakugan toys cost a bomb too.  We did not bother to read the function of the toys or games, all we were interested in was the price.

We could not bear to part with that much money.  It is not as if the toy can last for generations or that we can use the toy as we use our handbag.

We turned to check the yoyo.  It cost nearer ten dollars than one dollar.  We could not believe how expensive toys were.  In our days, yoyo was dirt cheap.  We could get it for a less than a dollar.


We check out the Monopoly game.   That was the game we were very familiar.  We loved the game when we  were young, and we still love the game now.

We did not have the same feeling for the price tag.  The most expensive set cost nearer a hundred dollars.  We could not stomach the idea of forking out a hundred dollars for the board game.  That was more than enough money to pay for 2 weeks meals.

In the end, we settled for a pack of cards.  That was the cheapest item we could find.

Whatever Bakugan or Mamugan or whatever gan toys, we left it for the parents to buy.

Investing money means to spend money wisely

Most people do not associate spending money with investing.

However, if you think about it carefully, you will see that investing money is actually spending money.

For example, when you buy an apartment to create passive income from rental, you need to spend money.

You need to fork out money for the down payment of the apartment.  You need to spend money to renovate the apartment.

You need to spend money for all the costs associated with home ownership, such as the commission for agency, the stamp duty and other necessary costs.

You may not treat the money as spending.  You are likely to treat it as investing money wisely.

If you apply the same concept to all your expenditure, you are less  likely to spend on nonsense.

Let us assume that you are doing your grocery shopping now.

Is spending money on fresh apples an investment?  Yes, it is.  You are investing for your health.  The ever true saying is that an apple a day can keep the doctor away.

Since the medical consultation and medication cost is so high, there is no point in paying for the service of the doctor and get the medicine if you can avoid it.

That is why investing in health is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

What about the packet of potato chip?  Is it known as investing money when you buy unhealthy snack and junk food?

You are destroying your health by paying and eating junk food.

That is why you do not see many truly wealthy persons buying so much junk food. They know that investing money on health is important.  They also know that spending money on junk food is stupid.



If you compare the price of beer and the price of green tea, and when you compare the health benefits of drinking beer or green tea, it does not take a genius to know which is better for your health and personal finance.

Granted that it does take determination to choose the wise course, you will find yourself a better person (at least in health matter) when you make the right choice.

How to you stop spending money on unnecessary things?

The trick is to channel all your money for investment before you spend it.

If you earn $3,000 a month, you can pay yourself first.  That means before you use the money to pay for mortgage, cell phone bills and other bills, you can take the money out and put into the investment account.

The best way to do is to get a separate bank account.  You can earmark it for investment only.
In this way, you do not spend all your money.

You can use the sum in the account only to buy gold, silver, stock, index fund, or accumulate to pay for the down payment of the apartment.

There is no limit as to the tools available for growing your money.  You hardly have a day when you worry about having too much cash, and not enough opportunities to make even more money.

The problem comes when you are ultra rich.  It does not come when you are building up your wealth.  You will find that you do not have as much money as investment opportunities.


You will find that you wish for more money, so that you can buy both houses for rental, instead of just buying one house.

That is why investing money means to spend wisely.

Next time when you are out, and tempted to buy unnecessary things, you can ask yourself: is this item an investment, a necessity or a drain on resources?

On hindsight, my grandparents were very wise

All my grandparents had passed away by this time.

All of them did not receive formal education, and they were laborers or housewives when they were around.

It is at this moment that I realize how wise my grandparents were.  This is the time when I start to take an interest in gold and silver investment.

My grandparents lived in an age when nobody trusted the bank.  They gradually learn to use the banking service for payment of bills and utilities.

They did not know anything about stock market investment or complicated high yield products.  There were only two things they knew.

They knew about the value of gold, and real estate.

They regretted that they had not bought another house for the descendants.  However, they made it a habit to acquire gold whenever possible.

They rather ate less and saved money for gold jewelries.

Gold was, is, and still will be the safe haven of the poor people.

Gold is a tangible commodity that looks great, valuable and appreciate in value as time passed.


While it is debatable how high the price of gold will reach, everyone knows that gold will never go out of fashion.

It was a custom for people of my grandparents age to buy gold jewelries for the descendants.  While they believed in good education.  They also believed in leaving a sizeable inheritance to the descendants.

Each of us received a gold bracelet or gold necklace upon birth.  Most of us still keep the gold jewelry as a remembrance of our grandparents.

People of my generation do not think so much.


We are more interested in buying and selling, rather than to buy a commodity and hold for ages.

On hindsight, I realize how wise my grandparents were.

If only they had lived to see the price of gold reaching US$1,400, they would be proud of themselves.  They would have told stories of how cheap the gold jewelries were.

They would have continued with how cheap the food were, and how they used to earn only a few dollars a day.

They did not receive formal education.  It was impossible to get them to understand the economic terms, such as the time value of money, the inflation rate, the GDP and other terms that could explain the depreciation of a currency.

However, they were wise enough to know that the price of gold and silver has a negative correlation with the value of currency.

After all, they had survived through the second World War.  They knew how worthless the Banana money of the Japanese after the world war.

They knew that the value of gold survived through the two world wars, the Great Depression.  

On hindsight, my grandparents were very wise.

Engelhard silver bars

If you are looking for silver bars as a form of investment, you will never fail to hear about Engelhard silver bars.

You will never fail to miss out the mention of Engelhard silver bars in any article about silver bullions.

If you join a forum and talk to experienced investors, they will tell mention the worth of Engelhard silver bars.  

Some people will strongly recommend you to buy Engelhard silver bars, even to the point of saying that you need to buy at least a 10 oz bar to become real investor.

Some people will say that any generic silver bars will do, and that there is no point in paying a high premium for Engelhard silver bars.

The only point they agree is that Engelhard silver bars is a premium brand.  Everyone knows about it, and everyone hears of it.

Every coin shop owner knows about it, and you can sell it easily.

What is so great about Engelhard silver bars?

Engelhard silver bars come in 1 oz size, 10 oz size and 100 oz size.

There is no point buying just an 1 oz size bar, since you are buying a very high premium, shipping and insurance cost from the seller for such a tiny bar.

The cost of an 100 oz size is out of reach of most people.  However, if it is within your reach, and you come across one of the older style, you may want to acquire it.

If you have a few hundred dollars to invest, you can buy one or two 10 oz size.  You will find it easier to liquidate the holdings.

Let us take a look at some special points about 10 oz Engelhard silver bars.


1.  Shape

You can find portrait size or landscape size for 10 oz Engelhard silver bars.

2.  Serial number

An unique serial number appears on nearly all the silver bars.  That is why no two bars are the same.

3.  Stamped with weight and purity

You will find the weight and purity stamped on all the 10 oz Engelhard silver bars.  Since it is 10 oz size with at least .999 purity, you are likely to see stamps such as “10 Troy oz 999+ fine silver” on the bars.

The brand name Engelhard is prominently stamped on the bar.

4.  Limited supply

Due to the fact that mass production of Engelhard silver bars stops since 1980s, you will need to buy it from other investors.

Even though the company had produced more than a million silver bars in different styles, sizes and shapes in the past, it is impossible to find a complete category of it.

The sad fact is that many bars were melted, some are not in circulation since investors hold on to them dearly. They want to keep it in the family, and pass down to their descendants.

If you have the fortune to hold on one of the older style, please preserve it well.  You may not get to see a similar one in your lifetime.

If you are looking for silver bars, you might consider buying one of the prestigious Engelhard silver bars.

Tips for buying silver bullions

After a spectacular increase in the price of silver for the year 2010, the price of silver dips to a reasonable rate at this moment.

At the time of writing this blog post, the international spot price of silver is at US$28.69.  This rate is far below the US$30 which was the spot rate for a few days in December 2010.

Is it time to buy silver bullion?

Nobody can tell you for certainty at this moment.

If you are considering buying silver bullions, there are a few tips for your consideration:

1.  Check the spot rate

You have to know the trend of silver price.  You can check the daily silver spot rate to avoid buying silver when it is very high.

You may like to check the historical chart for silver to see the trend.

2.  Premium over the spot rate

Silver bullions never sell at the spot rate.   There is usually a premium over the spot rate.
If you are buying branded silver bullions, such as J.M, A-Mark, and Engelhard, be prepared to buy a higher premium.

The happy news is that investors respect the brand name.  You will find it much easier to liquidate the silver bullions when you need money.  You can sell it a premium too.

3.  Shipping cost and insurance

You have to check out the shipping cost and insurance before you confirm the purchase of silver bullions.
Since I live in Singapore, not many companies are willing to ship the silver bullions over.  Some of them quote a very high shipping cost.

If you are residing in United States, you are eligible for free shipping in many instances.  Some companies even ship small order, such as 1 oz silver bullion free.  Some companies require a minimum purchase of $500 to $1,000 before the free shipping and insurance kick in.

4.  Silver bullions of 10 oz or 100 oz

If you are investing in silver for the sole purpose of hedging against the declining dollar, you should avoid buying those rare collector coins.

It is better to buy silver bullions of 10 oz or 100 oz.

You will find the premium of 10 oz silver bullions or 100 oz silver bullions much lower than 1 oz silver bullions.

5.  .999 pure silver

In term of quality, you have to check that it is of investment grade.  That means a purity of 0.999 pure silver.

6.  Reputation of sellers

Some Ebay sellers are genuine investors, while a number of them are just cheats.

You have to check the reputation of online sellers before you commit to the purchase.


The daily price of silver bullions differs due to the fluctuating spot price of silver.  The sellers should change the price daily to reflect the fluctuation of silver daily pricing.

7.  Dollar cost averaging

It is impossible to buy silver at the absolute low and sell at the absolute high.

Most of us do not have a sum of money on hand to buy silver bullions in bulk.

That is why using the dollar cost averaging method to acquire silver bullions is required.

Dollar cost averaging method means to buy at regular interval.

For example, buy a couple of 10 oz silver bullions when the spot price is $25.  Buy another two 10 oz silver bullions when the spot price is $28.  Buy another two 10 oz silver bullions when the spot price is $30.

This will mean buying at an average price of $27.67.

This method provides an incentive for us to save a portion of our monthly income.  It is very rewarding to hold the silver bullions and claim it as ours.