Thursday, August 24, 2023

22yo need financial advice

Background: I'm a 22-year-old Singaporean currently studying overseas, actively engaged in freelance work, with a side interest in NFTs, ENS domains and DeFi trading. I'm looking for some guidance on structuring my finances more effectively.

Savings: I've set aside 75,000 SGD in a flexible bank account that generates 2.5% interest p.a. With concerns about inflation, I'm evaluating if this is an adequate safeguard for liquidity and unforeseen events.

Wise offers 4.43% jar interest but not SDIC covered but lion trust fund... I'm considering putting some there but I've heard horror stories with regards to custodian platforms like Wise. Only have 100usd there for testing haha

Cryptocurrency: I possess 7 Ethereum, 3 Bitcoin, and 80K USDT. I'm keenly observing the market for a favorable entry point to acquire more BTC and ETH with my USDT.

My USDT currently earns between 2% to 4%+ APY in Binance Earn depending on market conditions.

After a learning experience from the FTX collapse, I've moved my ETH and Bitcoin to a cold wallet for self custody storage.

CPF: Do not have much cpf except for part time work and internships in SG in the past.

Income: My freelance assignments can generate a monthly income in the ballpark of anywhere from 4K to 7K SGD

Insurance: I have a foundational accident plan from AIA. Since I'm technically "unemployed" on paper, I'm unsure about the prospects of obtaining a critical illness plan and am also reconsidering the value of a hospital plan for someone as young as me and especially living

Living Situation: Currently, I'm single without any children but have a standing monthly commitment to financially assist my parents.

I'm seeking advice on:

  1. Optimal strategies for managing and potentially growing my savings, given my limited exposure to traditional investments.

  2. Feedback on my cryptocurrency choices and any suggestions for further refinement.

  3. Retirement planning recommendations tailored for someone with an inconsistent income structure.

  4. Pointers on insurance, specifically in the context of my age and employment status.

Your expertise and feedback would be immensely beneficial. Thank you in advance! .


An unmissable event in the crypto world, what exactly is Bitcoin's Halving? How could this reduction in miners' rewards once again drive up its price, and how to profit from it? (link in comments)

https://i.redd.it/lus507nao2kb1.png

What next? Way behind on retirement. Can I afford a house? Stupid decisions inside.

Hi All,

Hoping for some whole finance guidance here.

I am recently 40 and my current situation is as follows (USD):

$76.1k salary IT job + 2-4k bonus annually. I have been at this job for just about 2 years. Annual raises 2-3% except my last pay raise (by request) which was a 6.5% boost (previously ~71k).

Bi-weekly paycheck take home net after deductions/401k/taxes: ~$2200

20% of which goes directly into savings, $440 per paycheck, $1760 into checking.

Current Savings: ~$6700 in 4.5% high-yield account. Previously had ~12k but paid off my remaining $5k car loan in whole (previously $350 monthly payments) just recently.

Current checking: ~$4500 (usually roll off any checking amounts over $2k into savings every couple weeks).

Retirement situation:

I only have $8k in my 401k, which I started contributing to only a couple years ago. Combination of life factors and me just being uneducated and inactive about investment and planning. Definitely kicking myself that I didn't take advantage of a ton of free money matching from my previous employer I was with for 8 years, but as I said...dumb. My retirement funds are in BlackRock LifePath Index 2050 Fund Class K Shares (LIPKX) which is comprised of~ 60% US Stocks, 35% Non-US, 3% US Bonds, 1% Cash. YTD performance is +9.36% (previously around +13% due to market dip). I was previously contributing 3% of my pay, just recently updated to 10% after paying off my car loan which should route the previous $350 I was paying to the loan into the 401k. My employer matches half up to 3%.

Other investments:

$3450 in a Fidelity HSA (rolled over from my previous employer's HSA). I had $3600 sitting in the old HSA uninvested so rolled it over to Fidelity and invested the whole amount a few weeks ago as follows:

54% VTI, 16% VXUS, 20% BND, 10% VGT. Of course, the market sank a couple days after I invested and I suppose I should have trickled the funds in to DCA instead of putting the whole amount in at once, but it is what it is. This is a long-term investment section for me, treating it like a secondary retirement account since I dont want to take out the HSA funds and get taxed if I can leave it in there and invest it.

$3500 in Bitcoin and other crypto (nearly all Bitcoin at this point). I lost a decent amount on the Voyager bankruptcy and holding hope that some more funds will be recovered but I've accepted it being gone at this point. In any case, I have a few years worth of maxing out my capital gains loss write offs ahead of me.

~$3k in silver bullion and other US coinage. More of a hobby, I pick up a few hundred dollars worth of silver a couple times in the year.

Bills, debts:

I currently live with a roommate, my friend, who I pay rent to. I have not lived alone before. Rent is $550. My utilities split with him usually ranges from $150-200 monthly, sometimes near $300 in winter (gas heat).

I have $2k in student loans that were defaulted and in collections. It's been decades though and they haven't come for me yet. I was holding off paying these until the Biden forgiveness shook out but doubt this will ever happen so probably should just pay it off at some point.

$1300 every 6 months for car insurance

$150 every 3 months gym membership

$65 monthly for phone bill

Credit situation:

Rating 742, previously 760, impact due to new hard pulls and balances reported (paid off before cc statement close but bank reported balance). I have 2 hard pulls on account currently, average credit age about 2 years (oldest acct 4 years). I have 5 accounts on record, soon to be 4 once my car loan drops off).

I have 4 cards, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Freedom Unlimited, Chase Freedom Flex, and Capital One unsecured card. The Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee with a $300 travel credit annually which I recover easily with parking which my company pays for and the remainder of the fee is covered by the membership bonuses for Instacart, Lyft, etc the card provides (at least for the first year or two). My company also has me travel (reimbursed) a couple times a year which I am able to put on the card and recoup more value from points.

Other spending:

~$400 in groceries monthly

~$120 in car gas monthly

Eat out/delivery a couple times a week. Occasionally go to bars/clubs/dinner with friends on the weekend but not a regular thing. Prices vary on where we go, maybe something more pricey once or twice a month.

Travel a couple times a year to see friends and an annual big event in May. This will start to get covered in part by credit card points as I now have a rewards card.

Questions and situations:

My roommate is having me move out next year. I'd like to buy a house but don't know if my current situation will allow for it. I've seen loans and assistance programs for down payments which I'll probably have to rely on. Houses in the area are 230-300k. Rental properties in decent areas are in the 1200-1800 range. I'm not sure what to do here as mortgage payments would probably be the same as rent.

After paying $500 for living situation, it will be a big adaptation for me to begin paying 2-3x this. Having never lived alone, I don't have much furniture and worry if I get a house it will be bare of furniture and essentials (I need to buy my own tools, kitchenware, etc) for who knows how long as I adjust my budget and spending.

Obviously, my main concern is my retirement account being so far behind and how trying to catch up on this will balance with my increased budget for living expenses.

As well, my mom is aging and doing fine now, but I'm aware that at some point I'll need to assist her living situation in some way or possible hospital costs in the future. I don't think she has a lot saved up in retirement as well, but I'm not sure.

Questions:

So, what should I be working on next? I figure I should prioritize re-build my savings up to about ~$12k+ again for a 6-month emergency fund based on my future expenses next year but let me know if this is wrong.

I also have a bunch of clothes, video games, and some other stuff I can sell off for a couple grand. Should this go into savings?

Should I reduce my 401k contributions for a bit to speed up reaching that savings goal or should I actually increase my contributions from 10% to something more? Should I contribute to an IRA instead?

What's the feasibility of me getting a house I can actually get furniture in? Should I rent for a while instead even though rent is pretty much the same as my goal mortgage range? The housing market only seems to be getting worse and rents along with it. I'm not sure if it will ease up by the time I need to move next year.

Any changes to investments? With the stock market looking shaky, I'm wondering if I should pull out my recent batch HSA investment and start trickling funds back in to DCA any volatility. Not that its a lot, but any extra amount that I don't lose helps.

Any other guidance or anything else to recommend?


Capitalizing on Calm: Watch these stocks for a 100% upside amidst Bitcoin's stabilization.

These stocks might bring multi-bagger returns in the short term as Bitcoin stabilizes.

1. Bitfarms ($BITF)

I would hold a crypto penny stock in the portfolio for potential multi-bagger returns if Bitcoin skyrockets in 2024, and Bitfarms stock looks attractive at current levels of $1.34.

Being a small company, Bitfarms has robust fundamentals. As of July, Bitfarms reported debt obligations of $13.7 million. The company has already deleveraged significantly and plans to be debt-free by February 2024. Further, with a liquidity buffer of $48 million, there is ample flexibility for aggressive growth.

It’s also worth noting that Bitfarms has a mining capacity of 5.3EH/s as of July. On a year-on-year basis, capacity expansion has been robust and I expect that to be sustained. Further, with the company having an attractive breakeven cost, I hope for robust cash flows once Bitcoin surges.

Waiting for the SARPivotPoints to reverse, and then BITF is off on a green reversal pattern.

I believe 5x or 10x returns will likely happen in the next 18 months if Bitcoin trades at new highs.

2. Riot Platforms ($RIOT)

After a sharp correction of 40% in the last month, the stock looks attractive for fresh exposure.

One reason to like Riot is a strong balance sheet. As of Q2 2023, the company reported zero debt and $510 million in cash and digital assets. This provides Riot with high financial flexibility for aggressive expansion.

It’s worth noting that the company ended Q2 2023 with a mining capacity of 10.7EH/s. On a year-on-year basis, capacity increased by 143%.

Riot shows a strong growth in Earnings Per Share. In the last year, the EPS has been growing by 43.06%, which is quite impressive.

The company is clearly positioned for robust revenue growth and cash flow upside. The massive growth in capacity will more than offset the concerns related to difficulty in Bitcoin mining after the halving event.

Cantor Fitzgerald, and Josh Siegler analysts reiterate Riot Platforms (RIOT) with an Overweight and maintain a $23 price target.

That is a 100% move from here.


SOL, ADA Lead Crypto Majors' Gains as Bitcoin Traders Move Past $1B Liquidation Event

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