It’s a wrap for 2022! Let’s travel back to 2021 when I first began my financial journey.
Back in 2021, the young, naive me signed up for an ILP 101 plan by an FA. I have just entered the workforce back then and knew nothing about personal finance, I only knew to ‘save money’. At the same time, my other friend introduced me to Syfe, a roboadvisor. Lord and behold, the initial google search for ‘Syfe Reviews’ kickstarted my curiosity and what I found changed my mindset forever! I realised instead of relying on FAs, you can do it yourself! I went deep into the rabbit hole afterward, starting with Youtube, Reddit, and news, and fomoed into growth stocks. Also started my current blog to share my journey. Alas the bear market came soon after, and many popular growth stocks took a U-turn, Celsius, Luna, and FTX also collapsed afterwards. I felt devasted but I took it as a valuable learning experience, I finally understood the quote “The worst experiences teach the best lessons”!
Following that, I decided to cut my ILP after reviewing my portfolio as I do not like the idea of paying 500 a month for the next 10 years with such high fees when I can do it myself for less. Not only that, I was also unable to spare any additional money for the investments I truly believe in. At one point, school fees, insurance, and parents’ medical bills came flying at me at the same time thanks to poor planning and throwing my savings into risky investments. Was pretty stressed out, luckily, I managed to tide it off with my bonus.
In a conversation with my friend the other day, he shared with me that he was also a victim of ILP. He had bought an ILP under the impression that it was an endowment plan from an agent, only to find out that he had to pay 10k a year, no small sum! I’m sure that there are many of you out there from different backgrounds that had similar experiences. Don’t be disheartened for you can always earn back what you have earned before. Just take it as a valuable lesson. Hopefully, the financial landscape will change in time to come, and I can prevent more people from taking the same path!
Not long ago, I also discovered the magic of compounding and decided to DCA on a set date into ETFs to build long-term wealth instead of chasing after stocks (I keep a small allocation to it for the fun and learning experience). As for crypto, I still believe in the purpose of Defi, blockchain, and their utility, especially with crypto’s insane adoption rates. But I will be taking a cautious approach with limited allocation to my portfolio, focusing on only ‘blue chips’ and DAOs with a strong thesis.
I have also started a Finsta account to not only share and document the journey but also to connect with like-minded individuals and the community. It also allows me to share book quotes or other digestible content easily, so follow me there at thecashcottage if you haven’t done so already, I will be sharing more tips! 😊
It’s been a crazy year, but I am just glad that I have a roof over my head surrounded by friends and family! That is more important than any investments out there~
