This story is for those 狗眼看人低的人 in this forum: Woman with no rich parents. Was paying rent for HDB. No need to sell body and soul to have 1 million cash by age 29.
http://www.straitstimes.com/busines...s-dividends-and-more-to-know-your-stocks-well
Financial expert Anna Haotanto was determined to make a success of her investment portfolio after seeing her family face money woes in her university years.
There were concerns about whether they could pay the rent and deal with their heavy loans.
The tough times proved an effective motivator for Ms Haotanto to save and invest - and ultimately amass $1 million in cash by age 29.
"We were living pay cheque to pay cheque. For some months, we were behind on the rent. I was very worried we could not pay it," she recalls.
During her university years, other family members also borrowed at credit card interest rates of about 24 per cent, leading to a debt of $15,000 to $20,000.
Ms Haotanto, 31, helped her family pay those debts when she started work at research firm Business Monitor after university.
She then moved on to be a relationship manager in wealth management for five years at a different company.
Ms Haotanto also walks the talk, saving and investing under the tutelage of mentors that eventually yielded a healthy portfolio of assets.
She was earning a six-digit annual salary before leaving the wealth-management industry and made about $100,000 through buying and selling a private property.
"When I started working, I was just trying to save," she says.
"I wanted to be financially free and secure and I didn't want to live pay cheque to pay cheque. I wanted to give my loved ones the life they want and the life I couldn't have in the past."
She has also bought a flat and a car for her family.
When Ms Haotanto realised that she had saved $1 million - 75 per cent was from savings and 25 per cent from investment returns - she didn't reward herself with a lavish gift as she always thought she would, but opted to buy a universal life insurance plan to ensure she and her family would be provided for if anything happened to her.
That plan will pay out US$1.1 million (S$1.5 million) in the event of terminal illness or death.
Last year, drawn by the desire to help women become more financially independent, Ms Haotanto, who is single, set up her own company and founded the website thenewsavvy.com to educate users on financial matters.
Her motivation arose from doing community service during her junior college years when she saw women who were stuck helplessly in marriages in spite of physical abuse or unfaithful spouses because they did not have savings or earning capability.
"If they had money... it'd be easier for them to walk out of the marriage."
The business has not broken even yet but has plans to expand significantly.
Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
A Money-wise, we didn't have a lot, but we had enough and were not struggling. The only thing was - we were living pay cheque to pay cheque.
When I was growing up, my mum was a middle-management staff member at a textile company of about 10 people, and my dad was doing a business that didn't do very well.
My parents, my younger brother and I rented a four-room flat in Tampines.
The income was just enough to cover our living expenses like rent and food. We didn't have leftover money to buy things like toys. We didn't have savings. My weekly allowance in secondary school was $50.
...................................................
http://www.straitstimes.com/busines...s-dividends-and-more-to-know-your-stocks-well
Financial expert Anna Haotanto was determined to make a success of her investment portfolio after seeing her family face money woes in her university years.
There were concerns about whether they could pay the rent and deal with their heavy loans.
The tough times proved an effective motivator for Ms Haotanto to save and invest - and ultimately amass $1 million in cash by age 29.
"We were living pay cheque to pay cheque. For some months, we were behind on the rent. I was very worried we could not pay it," she recalls.
During her university years, other family members also borrowed at credit card interest rates of about 24 per cent, leading to a debt of $15,000 to $20,000.
Ms Haotanto, 31, helped her family pay those debts when she started work at research firm Business Monitor after university.
She then moved on to be a relationship manager in wealth management for five years at a different company.
Ms Haotanto also walks the talk, saving and investing under the tutelage of mentors that eventually yielded a healthy portfolio of assets.
She was earning a six-digit annual salary before leaving the wealth-management industry and made about $100,000 through buying and selling a private property.
"When I started working, I was just trying to save," she says.
"I wanted to be financially free and secure and I didn't want to live pay cheque to pay cheque. I wanted to give my loved ones the life they want and the life I couldn't have in the past."
She has also bought a flat and a car for her family.
When Ms Haotanto realised that she had saved $1 million - 75 per cent was from savings and 25 per cent from investment returns - she didn't reward herself with a lavish gift as she always thought she would, but opted to buy a universal life insurance plan to ensure she and her family would be provided for if anything happened to her.
That plan will pay out US$1.1 million (S$1.5 million) in the event of terminal illness or death.
Last year, drawn by the desire to help women become more financially independent, Ms Haotanto, who is single, set up her own company and founded the website thenewsavvy.com to educate users on financial matters.
Her motivation arose from doing community service during her junior college years when she saw women who were stuck helplessly in marriages in spite of physical abuse or unfaithful spouses because they did not have savings or earning capability.
"If they had money... it'd be easier for them to walk out of the marriage."
The business has not broken even yet but has plans to expand significantly.
Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
A Money-wise, we didn't have a lot, but we had enough and were not struggling. The only thing was - we were living pay cheque to pay cheque.
When I was growing up, my mum was a middle-management staff member at a textile company of about 10 people, and my dad was doing a business that didn't do very well.
My parents, my younger brother and I rented a four-room flat in Tampines.
The income was just enough to cover our living expenses like rent and food. We didn't have leftover money to buy things like toys. We didn't have savings. My weekly allowance in secondary school was $50.
...................................................
Last edited:
