Month of March 2026

As expected, petrol prices have shot up due to the ongoing Middle East conflicts. I'm trying to ration the number of driving trips, eat less outside, consolidate online purchases and spend more prudently. It was a surprise then, when my wife informed that certain air tickets around year end were still going at good early bird prices. Did demand for overseas travel drop that much? I can understand if it's regarding flights to and from the volatile regions. Within a day, I managed to snag tickets from Singapore to Sapporo (with one transfer) and Tokyo to Singapore for $580 each. There was no additional fuel surcharge indicated so probably got lucky there.

After years of inaction and inertia, a dinner date was set in Katong with three secondary school friends. I had no idea how they looked like now even in this age of social media. Good thing they were still recognizable as I arrived earliest. Interestingly, all of them were working for various banks in different areas. One was in payments, another in events and the last was doing product launch. We spoke like the old days, without inhibition and casual. Everyone has a family member who either is suffering from cancer or severely impaired due to age. Since we're of the same age, it's easy to relate how our lives have evolved even if the trajectory differs. The reason we came together boils down to a friendship forged many years ago. It was also to remember a classmate who, two months ago, slept and never woke again. No visible cause, no sign and no word left behind. I was at the wake and saddened to see his mother, a broken lady who lost her only son. He was the first among forty friends to fall. My heart aches whenever I think of him. Don't wait, go reconnect with people you love or once shared a fond memory with.

I was a proud parent after attending the graduation ceremony of my eldest son. He had completed a Diploma in banking and finance from SIM University. Being one of the youngest in the cohort, he held his own and in the process, I saw his development from being extremely shy to now having some friends to hang out with. Academically, there was not much to fret as he comfortably attained GPA 3 out of 4. He also found motivation to build up physically, from a failing 2.4km runner to being an average one now. Next, he heads to the army where as a Pes B soldier, there will be more challenges ahead. I await to hear the stories about this phase of life. 

Tip: Fleur de Clinet 2013, cassis with a little tobacco, easy and light, nose was underhit

Finance Investment Movement 67

The elephant in the room just got bigger. From one conflict to another, there's hardly space to breathe especially for a small place like Singapore. We are after all, a price taker, so any tremble in the global markets becomes pronounced that filters through our entire economy. The story has only just begun. For my portfolio's February performance, it increased to 3.8% even though stocks got hit. The silver lining came in the form of cash savings and improvement in Aud where I hold a fixed deposit. Further voluntary housing refund was made due to lack of investment options. Speaking of which, I'm eyeing some exposure to gold and maybe bank stocks if they got beaten down.

I made a bad mistake, an expensive one as well. Have you heard of the fat finger? I didn't press a number but instead selected a wrong option. When the Iran war erupted, I thought to sell a little bit of ST Engg so as to raise some funds for other potential purchases. Forgetting this was from the SRS account, on the Vickers app, I clicked the usual sell button which linked to the CDP account. In fact, it was not discovered until a review of my messages on the same day which indicated the confirmed sale. Realizing this, a buy was initiated to close this trade but the market was closing and didn't go through. Feeling anxious, the next morning, I promptly entered the order again. Who knew the market would rocket much higher and before I could react, it had gone way beyond my buy price. Therefore, there was no choice but to adjust the buy in price. I thought that was it, take the loss and move on. Yet, it's not the end of the episode. An email came through and basically read like this; because the first day (T) buy order was not executed on the same day, that sell position became a naked order and would be forced close by the stock exchange on settlement date (T+2) plus penalty fees. I quickly called the Vickers trade desk and after clarification, agreed to amend the initial order to transact on SRS account while also closing the additional buy order I did on day two (T+1). In total, I made a loss of about $800, including admin fees. Just like that, a month's worth of grocery expense was gone. This was a painful experience. It important to understand how the system works before making a trade.

Dividends as of February 2026: $1111.87 (avg $555.93 per month)

Tip: Reserve De La Comtesse 2014, matured dark chocolate, pine bark, wonderful nose, to drink now