Project Awareness at Big Box

Last Saturday was a meaningful day! It was my first appearance at Big Box. As you guys may have known I was down with pretty bad high fever for the past week and I was worried that I might not be able to perform today but I did anyway, and I'm thankful for that.

Volunteers at Project Awareness also helped to bring a few beneficiaries and families out to watch our performance as well as an outing trip for them. It's good to see so many children able to come out and have fun. Unlike most children in Singapore, these children dont get to go out for shopping trips as often as they like to.

So whenever the opportunity arises, I will bring them out. In a way, I also take the chance to educate them, teaching them good values etc, so that they dont grow up in bad influence or go astray and grow up to be a better person.

Happy today that Jacky Goh and Tan Lam Siong 陈南松 came on stage to join me too. It's Jacky's first time hosting with me on stage. He was a little nervous but I think he did pretty well. 

Lam Siong da ge joined me on stage to play games with the families and the audiences too. It's good to see everyone having fun and making the children and beneficiaries laugh. Not forgetting our audiences and shoppers at Big Box too. 

On an ending note, I'm happy today to also meet my mentor 巫奇 Allan Moo! His performance was superb and I learnt alot just by watching him. Looking forward to learning more from him!

A big thank you to all my volunteers for coming down today. Thank you Ms Han Wee Lin from Big Box for sponsoring the venue and sound system, including chairs for our children and elderly to sit down and watch our stage show. A little thought can mean so much!

Money Isnt Everything

One thing I have learnt during my tenure as Founder of Project Awareness, is that Money truly isn't everything. As I have always shared with my friends and volunteers of Project Awareness, the main reason why Project Awareness was set up was to extent help in our personal capacity to aid those who are facing difficult times in their life and who need temporary help or assistance.

These can be families who face temporary hardships like sudden illness of a family member, a sudden loss of one important family member, or as simple as making sure time to time that an elderly staying alone is ok. Contrary to some beliefs, we are definitely not here to offer long term assistance or financial assistance to the poor, as these are already well taken care by our government.

Throughout these years, we have, most of the times, enjoyed good relationships with our beneficiaries, volunteers, family service centres, other NGOs and NPOs like SPCA, Singapore Kindness Movement and many others, as well as several politicians who stepped in to do their part for fellow Singaporeans regardless of which party (like I have always stressed: We are just a group of volunteers coming together with a common cause. Everyone is a volunteer, we are not politically driven or affiliated to anyone or in anyway). 

We also realise that while money can definitely help in most ways, there are also other things that money cannot buy, like company, joy and laughter. That is why our volunteers are always there paying visits to our families and lonely elderly, bringing them out for outings and sometimes buying food for them. Does that mean that the family cannot survive without Project Awareness? Definitely not. But it is definitely true that we have brought joy and laughter in their lives in a way or another.

It is the fact of life that no matter how kind you are, there will always be someone who thinks you are not. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone who think you are not. This is normal. I am not saying I am the best or a saint, but I dare say i have definitely sacrificed a part of myself, be it monetary or time, to bring joy and laughter to everyone we helped.

Unlike most social workers, I am not under payroll, and do not draw a salary from Project Awareness. I, like many of my volunteers, have my own full time job. At times, even if I am busy with work or travel overseas due to work, I make sure the activities do not stop. This is all down to my volunteers and my Project Coordinator and Team Members, who also contributed their own time and effort.

My question to the critics is, have you done your part for these people? If the answer is "Yes", I applaud you and encourage you to continue doing it within your capacity, even without Project Awareness. But if the answer is "No", then I think the least you can do is stop creating trouble, and stop preventing others who wants to give from helping. This post may sound harsh but I think it is necessary for me to speak up at this moment in order not to affect the lives of our beneficiaries and the spirit of our volunteers. Thank you.

Whatever that is expensive now to you will be even more expensive in the future

As some of you may have known, I have recently ventured into the real estate industry. It is an interesting path to take which not everyone can venture to. There are a few reasons to why I say this. Firstly, everyone will know this is a career that doesnt bring you a stable income. There will be the low period during a point of time when you really need to pull through before you can see the light. Not many can actually make it through and most give up halfway. Secondly, jobs like these requires a tremendous amount of passion and self motivation. There is no boss, you are the boss and you have to motivate yourself to work. No work means no pay, simple as it is. Thirdly, it's a dog eat dog world out there, if you are not strong enough, you aint gonna survive. Until you make it, you are nothing. 

 

Noone really sees how much effort you put in or how much of your time you devote into your work. What they see is only results, aka how much moola you make. That being said, you need to keep track of your own progress and make sure you are on the right track at all times. This to some may be an obstruction, but to me it is a source of motivation and a reason for me to keep moving forward.

I have learnt alot during my stint as a Real Estate Salesperson. It's really important to have a house, be it for investment or for own stay. In Singapore, it is one of the lowest risk investment one could venture into. Statistics through the years have proven the property market in Singapore to show more capital appreciation than depreciation, with some increasing up to 200% or more over just a period of 10 years. That is like buying a house 1-for-1. 

 

However investors and home buyers need to really be far-sighted. Just remember this point: Whatever that is expensive now to you will be even more expensive in the future. This is a true fact that applies to all necessities in life, mainly health care food, transportation, convenience, housing and many others. 40 years ago, a bowl of noodles costs 5 cents. Today, the same bowl of noodles costs $5. That is a whooping 9000% increase in price for 40 years. A good 3 room flat back then costs about $11000 and is now worth at least $350000. You do the math.

Well I am not here to teach you math, but rather to stress the importance of starting your housing investment as early as possible. These are based on a few simple principles:

1. Buy young, you pay off the loans easier. Since you are most probably gainfully employed with low risk of losing your job (unless you screw it up), you are most likely to take up the maximum loan amount for the longest repayment period, which means lesser monthly mortgage to service. However, being young also has another advantage.. that is you are likely able to finish servicing the loan faster as you are more energetic and more willing to work harder.

2. It's one of the best retirement investment. Ever see old elderly couples who aint working anymore but still get to enjoy travelling the world every now and then? No they are not super rich people but rather they are landlords of their own properties. I ever met an old couple who retired 10 years ago. They drove a luxurious continental car and travel yearly to europe on holidays. I found out one day they have 3 houses all fully paid, and of which each are giving them $5000 monthly as rental. They have $15000 every month in the bank without having to work anymore.

3. It's only going to be more expensive. Like I said earlier, inflation and economic reasons are going to see property prices go up in the long run. Especially in a land scarce country like Singapore, do you think property are just going to get cheaper over time?

That being said, it is also important where you park your money at.

Current 2 New Launches I recommend:

1. TRE Residences - Starting from $8xxK up.

Located just next to Aljunied MRT Station, this development is a huge potential to any investors who are looking to park their money in a safer property. Any property near the MRT is a good property. But being at Aljunied adds more value to it as we know Aljunied is considered the "Central of the East". Everywhere you travel to be it CBD, Town, Airport etc are all equidistant, and fast. For only $8xxk, you can own yourself a piece of a city fringe development. Not too bad of an investment I would say.

2. City Gate - $1700psf up (Residentials)

This gem is located at Beach Road, the now Keypoint Building. It is a mixed development with Condo on the top and Retail Shopping and F&B below. The highest unit is located a stunning 30th storey which overlooks the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer and the Kallang River. Beside it is Nicoll Highway MRT Station, just a short 500m away. Located 2 mins drive from Bugis, one would say the residentials going at this price would be a real catch (DUO Residences at Bugis costs $2600psf). It's shops are for sale too, the only retail commercial in the whole area to be for sale to owner. You can now look forward to not just owning a home, but also your own retail space or restaurants and even a Supermarket!

There are various factors one should take into consideration when making a housing investment. For more information you can contact me for a non-obligatory discussion to find out how you can start your real estate investment now. Do stay tuned for my next blog post where I will share on choosing a good property to invest in! Meanwhile you can contact me via email to elsonsohyq@gmail.com or whatsapp me at +65 0092 6068 if you require my service on any property matters.