Today is the 2nd day of Jan and can’t believe Xmas and NYE just zoomed past like that in 2 weeks. Last 2 weeks were bad. Had very sore throat and fever twice. The throat was so swollen that i have difficulty swallowing down my saliva when i lay down flat on my bed to sleep and i get choked by my own saliva. So i have to sleep side ways. Dec was a busy month. Alot of claims to submit and appointments with clients. So now i carry a hot tumbler with ginger tea out for appointments to sooth my throat and drink more water.
Dec is the month where many clients were on leave and have the time to go for medical checks. And this month , there are 2 clients who were diagnosed with early stage cancer after they went for medical checks. They are both in early 30s. 1 has the same condition as Korean actor Kim Woo Bin (nasopharynx cancer) and the other is a lady who was diagnosed with ovarian carcinoma. They just had their surgery and treatment. One just did his insurance whereas the other does not have which she asked me to share the story.
A friend referred her to me because she was looking for someone to do up her retirement and insurance portfolio. And since many of my clients are females (early 20s to late 50s) and i do plannings for families, she decided to engage my service and do up her portfolio with me since she feels more comfortable speaking to me. Concidentally , she read my blog before when she googled for Hera. Wah so qiao…SG really damn small.
We met and as usual , the usual text follow up , discussion but because of her work schedules and biz trips , she has no time to look through the proposals and discussions done. So a few of meetings got postponed to later dates. Then she changed job and this company gives good employee benefits such as full medical check ups which can be reimbursed. So she decided to go and that was when she found out she has ovarian carcinoma.
There are no symptoms and the only thing she find unusual was that she felt very tired recently and her period was painful. After she met the doctor and got her results , she called me to inform me and asked for meet up asap. So on that day, she postponed her other commitments and we met. She told me she felt very guilty for postponing our meetings due to her schedules . She just bought a private property and she has to take some time off from work to go for her treatment, therapy and follow up with her doctor. Also her parents are retired and they are old. They depend on her. So she was worried because she has no coverage and was worried if treatments and taking a break from work will dry up her savings or become a financial burden to her parents if she did not recover. So now we are meeting to discuss the options.
She wanted to share her experience is because she regretted not getting her portfolio done earlier when she was younger and healthy. And she did not prioritized what needs to be done first. Somethings can be put aside and do later but some things is better to get it done asap and earlier. She hopes that by sharing her story, she can help some others.
Better to have a sense of urgency than to have a sense of regret.
Just a month ago, oppa also asked if i have done up his portfolio in full because he just had a day surgery in Korea 3 months ago when we went back in October. He was worried for the future and for me. He wants to make sure that if anything happens to him , the last thing he wants me to do is to be bogged down financially with any liabilities he have here (housing loans, medical bills etc if any). Suddenly out of the blue he asked me to go through what i have done up for him.
Sigh very saddening and shocking actually. Especially when you have built a good and close friendship with these people and to know they have illness that might be treatable or not is really shocking. Imagine you knew each other as strangers and then became friends…and then you have to do the claims for a friend. It is not about doing doing the claims but to know your friend was struck with an illness.
I hope this year everyone will be healthy..stay healthy and be healthy. Nothing beats more than a good health.
Chasing material goods or money is not everything. Something once you lose it , you will never get it back such as health and your relationship with your love ones.
#Smartlady
Shucks , i had fever, sore throat and flu again last week 😦 Just recovered like 2 weeks plus ago ? And now again…
I did alot of portfolio reviews and resolving shortfalls lately..so my appointments took quite long like 2-3 hours. Talk non-stop alot…Plus the weather is very hot…so i had a bad throat infection which lead to fever.
It’s been almost 3 months since i last blogged about #Smartlady. Coincidentally , some of my clients are readers of my blog ! I didn’t know that ! SG is too small. My clients referred them to me because their friends were looking to enhance their insurance and savings/investment portfolio. They mentioned that they enjoyed reading Smart Lady posts. They didn’t know it is me when their friends gave them my number too until they saw my whatsapp picture. So they requested that i blog more on Smartlady because it helps them to look at things in another perspective. I didn’t know that #smartlady posts have such an impact on some of you because i just blog from my work experiences and also cases i encountered recently. But im glad that it helps and thank you all for reading this humble space of mine. I will try to update more. Maybe once a week ?
Well ,the last time i blogged about #Smartlady was in Jan ? After that i was quite busy with alot of work and portfolios. Such that i have alot that i want to share but i cannot find the time to draft it down here. I haven’t been updating here often because i kept falling sick and have alot of backlogs and meetings to fulfil when i get back to work after my MCs.
Just a few days ago , i was preparing a Death Claim document…it hit me that i should blog about #Smartlady. Will do a #Smartlady on savings next !
Well for the last 3 months , i have worked alot of portfolios for women (age between 22-35). Some are working , some are stay-at-home-mum and some are still schooling in university. My female clients prefer a female adviser because they find female advisers comfortable to talk and confide to especially when you talk about child birth , husband problems or female body parts.
From my clients whom i spoke to and from what they told me about their friends , most of them don’t really depend on their husbands to take care of their financial portfolios (insurance/savings/investments). Some are even attending workshops or classes to learn more about finance and trading so they can make passive income. Even some stay at home mums are doing saving plans bit by bit with the allowance they were given. Because they are not working , they have to make their money work for them instead of saving in a bank.
Recently i spoke to a lady with a medical issue. She is 28 and asked me to take a look at her portfolio and advice on her shortfall. So we started from the basic..which is insurance before we look into her endowments and investments. So i took a look at her portfoilo. There are 1 term insurance, 2 endowments and 1 accident policy. She has no critical illness coverage. And with her current medical issue , it can lead to something serious if relapsed. That is why she is relooking into her portfolio. She told me that her friends “strongly recommend” her to BUY TERM and INVEST THE REST. The reason is because Term plans are cheap. No doubt Term plans are cheap (death term plan). Her dad’s friend who was an agent recommended a whole life insurance. But due to peer pressure, she followed her friend’s advice to go for death term insurance. So now she has a medical problem , she was afraid that it will worsen and want to add critical illness coverage which she lack of. But she knows with her condition now , it is very hard to get it fully covered. She is only 28. Still young and has a long way to go.
She told me her advice to young people is “Do what you think is good and right for you. Do not follow others blindly… you can ask for suggestions and opinions but just don’t follow blindly. Go seek professional advices. “
When she told her friend about her medical issue, that friend just ‘disappeared’ and may have blocked her from whatsapp. She doesn’t blame her friend because it is her decision to follow her friend’s advice. But she was just disappointed that her friend “disappear” on her just like that.
Besides knowing what you want and what you need, you must also know WHAT YOU HAVE.
I got a call to process a death claim from someone close i know. A family member just passed away and the whole family doesnt know what he has. When a person pass away, his/her family will be busy mourning, grieving and settle all the funeral matters. After the funeral , the hospital bills , debts, loans or letters will start coming in which the family has to settle. And that is when everyone will be checking on the insurances or endowments policies etc the deceased bought when he was alive. Hoping there are claims that can be made to help to ease the financial burden.
Sometimes the deceased’s family members doesn’t know what he/she has and they have to end up going to every single company to check. It takes alot of time and energy especially when you are still grieving. Yes, whatever is in the bank account of the deceased belongs to the family. but all the loans , medical bills etc will all also go to the family members who are still living.
So it is good that you keep your files and documents properly. Let your family members know what you have and make the documents easy to find. Because sometimes in the case of emergency or when you need $$ for medical bills , these documents can help you alot. Insurance companies will not know if you are diagnosed with illness or death or not unless you submit the claims with your supporting documents. So maybe you can submit a claim but you forgot or don’t know if you have or not and ended up not claiming. There are also deadlines to submit some claims.
Imagine you are in coma or unconcious, nobody will know what you have. You may be healthy and active now but you won’t know what will happen in the next 20/30/40/50 years later. Anything can happen to anyone. The youngest one i know was a 22 year old with brain tumour. His headache persisted for quite while and only when his vision turned blur then he go for check and realized there was a tumour.
It is also important to know WHAT YOU HAVE.
I had done reviews for some clients’ old portfolio. Some mistook their endowments for life insurance which they can claim when they are down with criticaill illness and some have accident plans that can claim for sports injuries but they were not aware that they can claim. Only after i explained then they realized that. I guess the reason is because their advisers never meet up to review often or for years so all were forgotten. Some thought their life insurance covers criticail illnesses but there was not and it covers only death. Some had late stage critical illness but no early stage. Most young students or working adults have insurances which their parents bought when they were young but most i met only covered for death and whereas some have coverage of about $35,000 only which is not sufficient.
So know what you have , how much you have and what they are for is important.
Maybe some of you don’t find it a need to look at these things now.
But trust me, with people around me facing financial difficulties because of illnesses or death , clients whom i did the claims for and people whom i have spoke to with medical illness , don’t wait until things to happen then look into these things. Because it will be too late. Especially when it comes to insurance which has sensitive medical underwriting.
For the last 2 months , i have been doing alot of reviews and resolving the shortfalls for my clients’s insurance and savings portfolio. So all these are based on my experiences.
If after reading this post and you realized you don’t know what you have and what they are for ? It is time to dig them out.
I was on MC for a week last week due to high fever + sore throat + bad flu. Drowsy medication made me “bedridden” for few days. Sleeping and waking up to nibble abit of bread , drink water , go to the toilet and back to sleep again. I think i slept too much because of the medication and my body was aching (lie on bed too long) but i was too lazy to even walk 5 steps to the living room. So i laid on the bed and look at the ceiling. It was the 4th day into 2017 and i was thinking about my 2016. It was already over…if anything did not go well , i just have to make sure i don’t make the mistake again in 2017. Reflecting is good but don’t dwell too much on it.
2016 >> Work was good..i achieved a certain milestone in my career..i got married…i made alot of new friends through my work..my health (gastric and colorectal) wasn’t that good ( i have to go for a test every few weeks and on antibiotics )…went for a scan and test at gynae and im healthy and fine (ovaries and uterus are healthy and looking good)…i moved out with live with my hubby…more responsibilities (financially and personally)..etc etc. Everything went smooth except for health part. So i try to cook more at home, eat more fruits and eat less outside food ( alot of msg and salt ! ).
On the last day of New Year, our team had a small activity. We were asked what are our goals or dreams we want to achieve in 2017 ? And we were to cut out from magazines and paste them on a faux instagram A4 size print out.
Here is a private sharing of my goals and dreams. Instead of just planning for 2017 , i prefer to look further and beyond 2017 instead. Nothing material..but more on well-being.
Let’s start from top left..
I couldn’t find picture of a house or flat in the magazine. So i cut one of a hotel room from the travel page. Lol. Yes..i want to own my own home..a place my hubs and i can call our own.
Pictures of building and landmark ( also taken from the travel pages ) >> I want to bring my family to travel together with my hubs. The last time i travelled with my family was 20 years ago and it was to China. Better bring my parents to go overseas before they grow older and have problem with mobility.
At the bottom right is a bowl of salad. Haha i want to eat healthy and be healthy. My diet consists of Spicy and bbq Korean food for the past 3 years and now im trying to learn how to cook Chinese food. Those abit “qing dan” ones like melon soups , garlic kai lan , steam eggs etc etc. I find cooking Chinese food much harder than Korean food.
And then at the bottom left , there is the watch. I want to spend more quality time with my hubs and also i want to own a watch…i didn’t really have a watch before and i wanted my own. ( Saw a $2.8K Omega watch and it looks so dainty…but the housewifey and auntie-ish me think about what other thing can i do and buy with $2.8k….then the thoughts disappear liao lol.) Save that money instead and look forward to quality time with hubby.
Then you have the super big picture of a cute baby girl cut out. Yes, i want to have my own healthy kid. Reason why the pic of a baby is in the centre is because i want to do all the rest with my kid infuture.
What does the “This is your time” and “Different” wordings mean leh ?
2017 is my time to start to take baby steps to these goals. And lastly to be a different financial advisor to my clients and to provide different and more innovative financial and insurance protection solutions to my clients.
And also in my personal life , to create more different beautiful memories with my hubby.
2017 will be different from 2016. It is my time to make it better.
Here is a question i ask all my clients on our first meeting ” Do you have a goal and what are your dreams ? ” . It need not be something material or about work. A client of mine told me she want to be more patient towards her husband this year…so they have less arguments. This is a goal also.
Incase you do not have a goal or got lost somehow this year…ask yourself what do you want to do to make it better and what must you improve?
We always enjoyed our walk and coffee at Gamcheon Cultural Village.
Here are some pictures taken at Gamcheon 2 months ago.
During our last trip , we rented the traditional 1960s Korean school uniforms for KRW8,000 per set at one of the souvenir shops. They have lockers and changing rooms for your to change and keep your clothes and belongings. It comes with the cap for the boys but i think hor…my hubby head too big haha ..cannot find his size sia..LOL !
So we went around Gamcheon village to take pictures and mimicked some K-drama scenes lol.
His no-socks/ankle socks look damn beng lor..very funny.
Already going to my 3rd year in the financial advisory industry in a couple of months’ time. Time really flies. Im turing 31 next year ㅠ ㅠ . Going into 3rd year soon..but i have some of my friends who said these things straight into my face “Wah you go find those lonely single men lah…sure want to be your client” , “All your clients are men right ? They see you chio so want you to be your advisor what”. Seriously, i didn’t expect my friends to say these kind of things to me and only after i go into this line , then i see the true colours of some of my friends. Sometimes they say these kind of things infront of my husband , i felt that they are disrespecting him also. Actually to be honest , these group of friends are not very close friends lah.
When i heard those things for the first time , i was angry . The 2nd time i heard such stuff , i was damn sian…then third time leh, immune liao…and i just replied them ” ya lor “. There is no point to login to my clients list system and show them that infact i do up financial planning for whole families , husbands + wives , babies , children , young adults , girlfriends+boyfriends, newly weds , mummies-to-be and single ladies. And these groups form 95% of my clientele base. If people want to talk about me..then let them talk lor….the more they say and gossip , the more stupid they sound.
No matter what job or work you do, don’t get involve in politics or gossips. Stay grounded and do your part. Stay away from negativity.
These 2 weeks were very productive. I met alot of mummies-to-be and young single ladies. Met up with some mummies-to-be to do up financial planning for them and their babies. I learnt alot of things and tips from them about parenthood and things to look out for during pregnancy. All these knowledge helped me alot in my work because i get first hand tips and get to understand their concerns. There were some unfortunate cases and some happy news. And sometimes i will share those experiences (without mentioning names or personal details of course ! ) with other clients so that they will be aware also. Few months ago , i went window shopping at those kiddo shops that sell toys , necessities etc , childcare and tuition centres to understand the cost of raising a child instead of just looking at the provided statistics. Raising a child in SG is really not cheap. Doing these kind of surveys help me alot in my future family planning. Because we do have thoughts of sending our child to Korean International School (pre-school) infuture so he/she can learn 3 languages altogether. But sending a child to an international school is really not cheap but i believe every parents want the best for their child.
Well, you must be thinking …wah Peiling haven’t even plan for a child yet and already think so far ???!!!
Actually not that we are thinking too far…but whenever we meet up with friends or his Korean friends who are mostly married with kids , they will ask us these kind of questions eg “When will you send your kids to study?” , “How are you guys going to teach your child English , Chinese and Korean at the same time” etc etc..
So when people asked us these kind of questions, of cos we will start to think and ask ourselves lor. Tio boh ?
Nevertheless, we will work hard for our future hand in hand. Both of us are already in our 30s and we just want stability.
Talking about stability…i believe those in mailing list were informed that i decided to stop Agneselle already. 31st Dec is the last day of sale (GOODBYE SALE $5 storewide) and mid Jan 2017 is the last day of operation (31st Dec to 17th Jan is to clean up). It is a difficult decision but i have decided to let go.
#Smartlady #SGAhjumma #KBS
The latest Kdrama made me laugh and teared. Not sure if you have watched Legend of the Blue Sea but Lee Minho is sooo suave in this drama. Jun Ji-hyun still look the same as she was in My Sassy Girl back in 2000.
This OST is one of my favourite so far after the DOTS drama.
2016 was an eventful year.
Firstly we have Song Joong Ki to give a romantic start and Park Bo Gum to spice up the summer and now Lee Min Ho to end the year with a bang. Wahh ! Drama year 2016. This year is one with the few of the best dramas.
Met up with the KBS girls 2 weeks ago . #KBS stands for Korean Boyfriends and Spouses. It is made up of a group of Singaporean wives with Korean husbands/fiances. The group is slowly expanding and we are having our first Xmas party in 3 weeks’ time. Every gathering is full of exciting and interesting topics. Im so glad to learn from the girls and also to share from my part. Glad to know that we are always giving each other support whether in SG or KR.
1.5 months after my wedding in Korean liao but there are alot of people asking me how is my married life. And any difference ?
Well , i will say it just got busier and also more responsibility. Being a working wife is not easy and i really 佩服 those who did it for many years. Holding 2 positions both outside and at home is not an easy task.
My day start quite early. 730am wake up to prepare breakfast and shower to prep for work , keep the laundry and set the washing machine timer for the next batch of laundry. Back at home in the evening ( if i have no evening appt ) to cook , wash up , mop and vacuum the floor. I think the whole thing ended about 930pm before i can take a break. Then i turn in at 12am after finishing up some work. Saturday morning was spent making brunch before i go for my Korean class and back home to cook dinner or go for appt. On Sunday , it is “toilet washing” day and another round of mass vacuum and mopping and grocery shopping.
So that sums up what i do at home when i don’t have any appointments , prospecting or at roadshows and on weekends.
Last week , i cooked Japchae for my hubby’s softball team’s bbq night. Took me 3 hours to prep and cook because our wok is too small so i have to do in batches. Woke up at 6am to prepare it before i go for appointment with my client and then to Korean class at 1pm. Then back home again in the afternoon to recook again to heat up. To cook a large tray is alot of work esp for Japchae. Easy to cook but alot of work to do. Alot of cutting , alot of frying and mixing.
Click HERE for the Jap Chae receipe i shared back in August.
I also made some kimchi. This kimchi was fermented for 3 weeks.
Im glad it tasted good because hubby secretly “kope” a bowl of Jap chae and kimchi. He knows i will nag at him if i find him eating away after i cooked. No wonder keeps getting lesser and lesser and i have to cook more again.
And also , i received this question alot ” Do you control the finances in the family ? Did Ryunjae give you ALL his salary ?”.
Well , many asked me this question was because it is a Korean culture where the husband gives all his salary to his wife. The wife is the one who manages the finance in the family. And she will give her husband some allowance (either monthly/weekly/daily). Kinda opposite from the traditional chinese culture and modern culture these days.
Firstly , im not a Korean so my thinking is abit different. Thus we tweak it abit. I think that he is old enough and a mature man who can handle his own finances. Plus he is not someone who spends on alcohol , branded stuff , shopping or even gadgets. To be honest , he spends most of his time at home to watch baseball matches. So i guess one thing that cost $$ every month is probably mobile data. Because he is forever using his phone to watch baseball matches/news/political news/webtoons.
But also being his financial adviser , i get him to open 2 accounts. 1 for saving and 1 for expenses. So every month first day , he will do a standing instruction to transfer a fix amount into the expenses account. That account pay for his food , transport and leisure activities. Whereas premiums for the insurances and saving plans which he signed with me and also rental of our place will be deducted from his saving account instead. Our grocery shopping also come from that expenses account.
He trusted me and he knows im a saver and i am better at investing and saving money to help him to manage his wealth. He gave me his ATM card since i manage the finances and he just have his credit card for emergency use.
This method is very useful. The saving rate increases too. Of cos there are some other tips i shared with him and my clients too.
Talking about saving money , it is time for #Smartlady topic.
Most of my clients are families, ladies or young couples or newly weds. And most of the ladies have problem with savings because they shop alot online. Online shopping can be very sinful and addictive. Because i was a victim also. So now i limit myself as in not how much i can cart out each time but when can i shop.
I shop only in June and year end Nov/Dec. Reason is because there will be alot of sales everywhere and somehow the nicest designs are out during summer or spring which is more suitable for SG’s weather. I shop more in Taobao recently. Most of my buys are less than SGD30 except for the coats which cost about SGD50. And i only buy when i need something and i mean i really need it. I buy things but i don’t spend money anyhow.
Yup , so i actually went on a “shopping drought” from Jan to May and June to October. The only thing i bought was skincare in between because i CANNOT live without my daily skincare routine. But i don’t anyhow buy lah. I make sure im left with half a month supply before i buy a new bottle. And also before i buy , i will ask for samples to test out and see if is suitable for my skin before i buy the full product.
I have the habit of putting everything into cart but never cart out. Because some of the items in the cart i know that i added them in on impulse lol..so i wont check out. Only when i need an item ( eg my bag tore recently ) so i bo bian have to buy one.
A client of mine has problem saving because she spend about $2k a month on clothes online so she decided to do up a saving plan with me. It is not easy to ask someone to “quit” one thing totally but i encouraged her to slowly cut down bit by bit. It worked. She see her savings increases and it gave her the courage to make more effort to save more besides saving in a saving plan. It is all about discipline. Save it at somewhere you don’t see it. Out of sight , out of mind and you will not think of spending.
If you want to shop and buy clothes without spending alot of moolah, you can try Taobao. I got some work wear for 2017. Well , i have only 5-7 sets of work clothes and have been wearing same thing for the past 8 months. Some of them started furring because i wear them at least twice a week. It is always that same ribbed top with culottes/skirts or the simple black dress. Time for a change lol. You know you need it when your male client asked why you always wear same clothes to meet him. Just kidding lol. But he really did said that.
Here are some work clothes which i got at less than RMB35 (SGD7) and the quality was really a surprise.
The skirt cost only RMB29 which is approx SGD 6.
Back pic of pencil skirt at RMB 29 (SGD 6)
Bag to store my documents/files/ipad for work – RMB 33 (SGD 6.50)
Stripe skirt (got the black and white one) for RMB 25 (SGD 5).
Here’s what i got at less than RMB 99 (SGD 20)
RMB 99 (SGD 20)
RMB 89 (SGD 18). Getting this for a wedding dinner.
Got the silver pair at RMB 88 (SGD 18). Because i have to walk alot during roadshows or at work , my feet sweat alot and i have to change my shoes every 3 months. So i won’t really spend alot on shoes. Probably a $20-$30 pair which can last me for 3 months at least.
Got this work dress at RMB 99 (SGD 20). Saw some shops in FEP selling this at $229 and heng ah i found this on Taobao when i was swiping taobao app before i sleep.
Travelling to Korea in winter and need a winter coat. So i got this at RMB 198 (SGD 40) .
Seriously , this coat is really damn thick. Inside has quilted paddings and really good quality. This shop sell coats that are supplied to Korea.
I am very taken back by the quality of the Taobao stuff i got. I got all the above for SGD 145 only and shipping was RMB 105 (SGD 20 partly because of the heavy coat and shoe box). So add up to $165. Shipping per item is an average of SGD $2.00 only. These stuff will last me for next 1 year.
Lol…i think im quite kiam..i wont cart out anything more than RMB 200 (SGD 40) for coats and RMB 100 (SGD 20) for dresses/skirts/tops.
Go for SALES , Go for CHEAPER alternatives and CONTROL your spending.
Sometimes i will ask my clients to go home and open their wardrobe, ask them what are they going to do to those that they don’t intend to wear anymore and how many times have they worn per piece in their wardrobe ? How many pieces were bought and ended up sitting there in the wardrobe doing nothing ? How many pieces of clothes (don’t count number of bags of clothes but count the number of pieces !) did they donate off to salvation army or throw away during CNY spring cleaning ?
You can buy clothes that you like. But THINK and CONTROL before you buy. Do you really need it ? Is it on impulse ? How long will you wear ? Save for bigger things in life. Save for your future.
What is your dream ? Do you have one ?
I have mine and let me share with you.
My hubby and i are saving for our house. We are waiting for his PR application and we want to have a house of our own. We want to have kids and give them good education and life. That is why we are both working really hard at work and giving our best. He works hard for his company and i work hard , take care and protect all my clients. I protect my clients as in not “protective” adviser who scared other people poach my clients. I believe my sincerity is one thing that won them over and i will help them in anything even anything outside the finance scope which is why my clients trusted me and we are like friends. I treat them as friends and not just clients. And we all do our best for our friends.
Do you have a dream or a goal ? Save and work hards towards your goal or dream and im sure you will achieve it !
#Smartlady
This week was an eventful week. I had a day surgery and scopes done for my stomach and colon , my client who was pregnant was hospitalized due to appendix infection and due for surgery, a friend was diagnosed with an illness , a friend’s dad suddenly fainted and was pronounced brain dead and a friend’s toddler had cancer.
Since i started this insurance and finance profession early last year , most of my clients…i would say about 2 out of 5 have medical issues. My clients are between 1yo to 40yo (youngest is newborn). Hence some of them have issues getting life insurances and i have to fight for their cases so that they can have the optimal insurance coverage.
My surgery and day ward cost about $4000+ (all claimable by Integrated Shield Plan with my Private Insurer) and i have not included the post surgery follow up.
I should have went to see the doctor in August but because of my work and wedding preps , i dragged on and somehow it worsened. So i decided to make the call and get my doctor appointment fixed and tell myself i have to go no matter what. Took a day off and just go. I went to the hospital alone. Surgery took 45 mins and everything went fine.
If you feel something is not right , go for medical check and if you have not done the check for many years , go for it. Also , if you have not gotten your Private Insurer hospital plan done up , better go for it. If you have not done up your life insurance or beef it up , go for it. Don’t take the risk alone. Diverse the risk to your insurer.
A friend of mine did not go for the plan and the other had partial coverage and only went for the main plan with Prudential (paid by medisave only). They were both diagnosed with conditions and because of the size of the hospital bill , they procrastinated and did not want to go ahead further with the checks and their response to me was “just wait and see first how is it”. The concern of the bill size came before their health.
Some felt that they spend that $700 a year on hospital plan or $2k on a life insurance but if he only claim $4000 from hospital plan , it is “bo hua” ( Not worthy ). And if no claim made , even more “bo hua”. It is not about value worthy but to have financial safety net because your life is more valuable and time with your love ones are more precious.
Insurance is not about “profiting” from an illness that drains our body energy, drains your bank account , takes time away and burden your family. Frankly speaking nobody likes or wants to make a claim. No insurance agents are happy to that their client is making a claim. Not because they are lazy to process the claim or they find it troublesome. But because sometimes friendship are forged and nobody will feel happy to know that their friend is sick.
Not all insurance agents are salesman-ish. There are good and reliable ones who are really passionate in helping people to do planning with integrity and sincerity. Give those you meet a chance , if you are not convinced with them , then don’t meet the 2nd time. You may not know you will meet a good and proper advisor or maybe even made a good friend who will change your life. Give yourself options and give others a chance. If you are in financial trouble because of an illness, your family can only help that much , your friends will only visit you in the hospital with flowers and fruits and only your private insurer can solve your problem and buy time for your to spend with your family.
So here is something i want to share : Don’t take TIME for granted. Don’t procrastinate. Don’t wait for things to happen and it will be too late.
These words are not just from me who is an financial consultant or your next door insurance agent but from a normal human being just like you who is also somebody’s wife, somebody’s daughter and somebody’s friend.
Go for your medical checks if you need to and have to , don’t wait. Mai tu liao !
Also another update , went for review and i have to go for a fortnightly therapy which costs $600 every 2 weeks till im cleared from condition. Fortunately , all claimable from insurance. Even you don’t have financial issues , don’t work just to pay for your hospital expenses. Don’t wait till something happen and then go and get it then it is too late. This kind of things happened to some of my clients. Speak to someone if you have to and if you have no one to turn to and want to ask me questions, feel free to email me anytime peonykissblog@gmail.com .
Speaking of health issues , my hubs and i are planning for children probably next year. Going for gynae check ups first.
Anything i should look out for ? Care to share ? Can email me peonykissblog@gmail.com.
Thank you !
2 more months to our ROM in SG and 3 more months to our ROM in Korea. Time really flies. Been very busy lately and my meal timing were kinda screwed. Last week was a packed with full of meetings , meeting new people and also preparing for the big day ( final discussion for the ROM in SG ). Everything is sort of settled thanks for recommendations from friends. And also i am addicted to scrolling Taobao right now. Alot of wedding decors and ornaments that are so cheap and nice. Instead of renting , i can buy them at $5 , use them for my ROM and bring home to decorate my place. They even have the cutest guest book at $6.
And i just chanced upon another wedding song which i really like. Was thinking of using this for march-in song and the other song by Huk-Gak to be sung by my bro-in-law’s friend who is our live band.
This is my tentative choice for march-in song .
My MUA was settled. Wendy from Lushlashh will be my make up artist and also having my lashes done at Lushlashh. I really like her work and patience. The lashes she did for me are always so natural. I always go for K-style lashes which was supposed to be “no-make-up-or-lash-extensions look” . There is a vast difference between Kstyle lashes and Jap style lashes. Japanese one are more vavavoom and glamourous looking. But it doesn’t suit me and i don’t like to look too over.
The lashes Wendy did for me are so natural that some people i spoke to asked if they are my real lashes or i had extensions done. They cannot see the difference when they look at me face to face. But from the side view , you can see that it is longer. Im not sure what kind curls i go for because i ask her to replicate the one i did in Korea. She has my details. So if you want the natural looking K-lashes , just tell her you read my blog and wanted the same set as mine. If you are worried that if it will look too natural as if you have nothing on and you think it is “waste of money” ? You don’t need to worry about it because you can see a difference before and after. Btw i also always go for one which make my eyes look like im wearing an eyeliner when i am not. Anyways , she has my history and data. You can tell her that you want the lashes that Peiling did. Lushlashh is located at level 2 of Arcade Shopping Centre at Raffles Place.
Here are some of the lash extensions i have done.
And as for my hair , Joanne at Hair Affairs Chevron House will dye for me . I went to her before my Pre-wedding shoot trip to get my hair dyed to a nice violet red colour. It looks sooo nice and my MIL also said it was a good choice of colour. My readers will get some discounts if you mention my name. Btw , i paid for these services and these are not adverts. If you read my blog long enough , i have stopped doing adverts for 2-3 years and all are based on my persona experiences and reviews. Anyway you have to call to book appointment. She starts work as early as 8am. I went at 8am before and the salon was filled with bankers and tai tais who wake up early to wash and curl their hair to prepare for work at 9am. I don’t think i will do that man. I would rather sleep more. She has been in the line for more than 30 years and her banker clients followed her for more than 20 years.
Here are some hair inspirations i have got. I am tempted to my dye my hair again before my trip to Korea for my wedding.
I don’t know to do RED…
or this colour…
I wanted to do this kind of curls.
But because at that time my hair was badly damaged and i really want to have healthier hair so that i can perm in October in Korea…plus my recent diving trip made my hair worst…soooo….
I went to find Joanne to cut all the bad split ends off and now i have shoulder length hair. Hair ends are healthier now and easier to manage. So now i just need to wait for it to grow, maintain my hair …then hopefully i can perm.
Done with #Kbeauty and now with #SGAHJUMMA
I cooked Carbonara Ramyeon on sat night. Oppa is away for biz trip in Europe and back only next week. I wanted to cook Andong Jjimddak but it will be too much for one person to eat. So , it is Carbonara Ramyeon for tonight.
Korea is an instant food heaven. Alot of instant food and some are claimed to be healthy choice. Well …my bro-in-law never uses the seasoning packs. He used the Korean shrimp sauce, pepper flakes and soya sauce to make his own ramyeon seasoning. Healthier this way because msg in the seasoning packs are not really good for health. This is something i want to learn from him when he comes in Sept.
My kitchen cupboard with instant noodles. Something i don’t really like and only cook if i got no choice or too lazy to go out to buy food.
Here is the recipe. To be honest , it is recommended to use SHIN Rammyeon. But i was too lazy to walk 10 mins out just to buy a packet of ramen so i used whatever is the closest to Shin Ramyeon that i had at home.
1 pack of Hi-Lo low fat milk (200ml).
Mozzarella Cheese.
Boil 400ml of water at high heat. If you do not have a measuring cup , empty the milk from the carton into a cup and use the empty carton to fill with water to measure since the milk carton is 200ml.
Once the water boiled , add in the ramyeon and the seasoning packs for about 3 minutes.
Add the entire pack of 200ml of hi-lo milk. Let it boil for 2 minutes and add a handful of mozzarella cheese. How much cheese you want is up to you. I like cheese and like my noodles to be slightly sticky with cheese so i added ALOT. Stir.
Once done , you can serve it in a bowl.
Easy and shiok ! I paired with seaweed chicken seaweed and Kimchi ! Oh and a cup of cold Yuzu drink.
Hope you enjoyed it. Very simple. Just need 15 minutes and you get Carbonara Ramyeon.
Now that we are living on our own , which means alot of bills and groceries to do. For Oppa, he has been living on his own for years but for me this is the first time i moved out. I paid utilities and bills at my own home but now that i moved out , there are more to pay. Being a financial planner and a financial planner in our house , i am in charge of the utilities and expenses. I record and keep receipts and limit groceries shopping to $50 a week. I have been buying so many things from Korea websites and mart now that i find buying all the necessities in SG are so expensive. When i travel to Korea , i will buy everything there and bring over. Now that we need some things urgently and i went to the supermarkets to buy and got shock at the price. In Korea i can buy 3 good shampoos for $10 and here 1 good one for more than $10. My work schedules are pretty tight. I start my day early and ended my day late which means that i can’t go to local market in the day time and so i depended alot on 24hr supermarkets. You must be wondering why now then i realized that things are expensive in SG. Not that i now then realized , i realized it long ago but just that im not used to buying my daily necessities in SG yet except for food.
#SMARTLADY
Here was what i got from Gmarket.
Yes whatever number of sanitary pads here you see is just 10,900won which is about SGD 13.
If you have used Korean pads before you will know the difference. Some of my friends even asked me to buy a carton for them and ship to SG for them when im in Korea. They are made of cotton and really damn comfy. Better than those nylon netting ones that are commonly used.
I think these 2 “towers” of pads can last me 2 years i guess. Some people said im getting to “ahjumma” ..because i cooked , i cleaned my own house and i do grocery shopping. Those who said that are mostly singles. Married women i met and know and are working mums or wives like me do not agree that we are “ahjumma” just because we are more careful with how we spend and just because we clean the house and not hiring a maid to do so and go to the markets to do grocery shopping. This is our responsibility as a wife. Even though we are working and we can afford to spend doesn’t mean we have to spend what we have. Cash is still KING. We are not stingy ..we are careful with our monies and how we handle them. I handle the monies at home. Oppa is a saver but im a super saver so im the one in charge. I planned our saving plans , insurances and monthly expenses. He can see an increase in his savings after i did his planning.
Also i want to add that i really pei fu those working mums. Some of them can work and take care of the house for years. I just started for 2 months and im quite drained. I reached home after 8pm everyday because of appointments . Once i reached home , i will clean the house abit and do the laundry before i shower and sleep. And i wake up at 745am everyday to make breakfast before i prepare for work. Tired ?..yes..but i will not complain…
Now im learning to cook more dishes and more healthier choices. Diet and life style is what caused alot of young people these days to fall sick or diagnosed with illnesses. Some of my clients are so young and already diagnosed with illnesses. Some are young parents. When i met them and did planning for them i also felt very heart pain.
Take a break if you need to. Health is everything.
Alot of joys this week also..some of my friends and clients gave birth. And i feel excited planning for the little ones. I dont know when but we are thinking of trying for kids maybe next year.
Times flies…it is 430pm now and i need to pack my bag for my team trip to Kukup in JB.
And in 3 months’ time , it will be our ROM in SG. And in 4 months’ time , our wedding in Korea.
This Sept , my brother-in-law will be coming over and attend the ROM because Omma just opened her new franchise Korean BBQ restaurant in Busan. Wanted to franchise a popular Bingsoo brand but quota for outlets in Busan was full.
Brother-in-law is a very cool guy and took care of me and pamper me alot though he is a year older than me.
Im kinda pretty set with the ROM location , catering and now just looking and researching for location/wedding styling. Im doing a cozy and intimate ROM ceremony for my family members.
Actually i drafted quite a few blog posts. Blog posts which i drafted while on my way to work or appointments with clients. Because each and every meeting , i meet new people and different people in different circumstances. But i didn’t publish them because they are too many and all in 1-2 paragraphs. It is good to see that more women are coming out to do their own financial planning and investments instead of depending and rely fully on their husbands. I have a quite a number of ladies clients who wanted to do up savings and CPF-investments for themselves and their children.
Readers who followed my blog for very long knows about my story , my life and my work.
I graduated in 2009 and then had a bank job before i took 2 years break and now i am back in the finance planning industry. I plan alot for young working adults and people who are planning or just started a family. I guess it is because i am also going through the same phase as them ( getting married and starting a family soon ) and that’s why i can relate better to them and understand what are they going through.
And since i started , i had alot of clients who had underwriting issues. Which means they have certain health conditions and getting insurances and saving plans maybe a problem. Last week was a busy week fighting a case for a client who had a history of intestinal disorder. Hopefully , he will be able to get coverage.
Next week going to be another busy week for me. I want to do well and strong in family planning. I enjoy planning for young people and also people who are planning to start a family or they had a family already. When i see them with their kids , i can imagine myself having one hahaha. I love kids and hope i can have a daughter and son.
And now im starting to do up financial planning for some of my readers and family. Time flies, some of them read my blog since their JC/Uni days and now they are having a family and asked me to do up financial planning for them.
As i grew older , my readers also grew old with me. Even though we have not met , but they have emailed me to ask about financial planning. I felt really touched because even though we have not met before , they trusted me and my sincerity. Usually meet ups with my reader-turned-clients can take up to 2 hours because there are so much to catch up and know about each other. One of them read my blog when she was studying in JC and now she is married with a baby.
Time really flies man…
Some of my friends asked if i ever thought of names for my babies infuture ?
Oh btw i just started using PONY’s make up.
If you do not know , Pony is a famous Korean youtuber make up artist. She came up with her own make up line.
I love this palette so much ! The colours are soooooo nice and subtle. It helps to brighten up the eyes without making it look too much or too over !
Can’t really remember how much was it because i bought it during an event sale at a new opening of a drugstore. I find Pony make up line (Pony Effect) are pretty expensive. But i must say that her choice of colours and quality for eyeshadows are pretty good. I haven’t tried her foundation yet but maybe next trip. There was an event sale at a new opening so everything was snapped up very fast. I can’t even find the foundation colour that suits my skin tone because it was out of stock 😦
Realized that the Smart Lady post was published in “private mode” which i usually put when i drafts my posts.
Well , April was another busy month for me..preparing for my wedding photo shoot and preparations and my work.
I am leaving for Busan on Wednesday and my shoot will be on 2nd May. Well , i will be helping my bro with the translation at his photo shot on 29th April. This trip gonna be a busy trip. Because there are alot of things to settle. The first place im going to after i touched down is to go to the hanbok tailor shop and bridal shop to try my dresses and tailor made my hanbok. And the list goes on like meeting the planner and my wedding hall..and the food tasting is on Sunday. So many things to settle within 10 days. This time will be a short trip because Mr Shin went back for few days in March and he cannot use up his leave. He needs to take leave again in Oct for our wedding.
Well back to Smart lady.
This month , i met alot of ladies and some of them became my clients and quite a number of them are young adults and middle aged ladies.
2 of them are very young ..26 and 27 years old respectively. They looked very healthy and happy but no one knows that they contracted an illness ( 1 of the critical illnesses ). One had lupus and another had brain tumor. They had looked for me because they wanted help with their life insurances and savings.
Going to the end of first year of my profession, i have encountered clients with Lupus , high blood pressure , hypertension , high cholesterol , fatty liver , intestinal obstruction, chronic fatigue syndrome and other health issues/disorders.
And they are all under 35 years old and the youngest is 26 years old. One of them told me that she regretted not speaking to any financial advisers to do up any insurance planning because she thinks that if she can live up to 25 years without any health issues , there should not be problem. But last year, she was diagnosed with a critical illness that makes her want to relook into her insurance and financial planning. She is only 26 years old this year.
These meetings made me thought alot about life and that is to be happy , cherish everyone around you and be kind.
Because unexpected things may happen and they can come crushing down on you all at once. I thought i was a strong person having to go through alot in my life but these ladies are stronger than me. Even though they are down with illnesses , they are still cheerful and kind. And of cos there are times when they feel sad. They told me ” I was so crushed when the doctor told me the news..of so many people in this world why me ? why am i the one ? ” . It took them a long time to accept it and in order not to make their parents feel sad and people around them feeling sad for me , they try to live happily as if nothing happen. Going through treatment is expensive and tedious and draining but they still do it because they want to live and be with their love ones as long as they can.
And last few days , i have met up with some middle aged ladies who are in their 40s and 50s.
Some are housewives doing part time jobs and some have worked for a long time.
The housewives work part time hoping to earn their keep and savings. But they told me ended up the monies they saved were used to provide the best for their children and help their husband financially ( when they are out of job , retrenched or having financial issues with their businesses ). They gave up alot for their families. They told me how they wish they can have their own keep to pamper themselves and how they wish there are better access and vehicles to help them grow their savings in the past. Some of their husband control the finances even though the wife is the decision maker. We spoke alot and i also learnt alot from their life experiences. Learning from people’s real life experiences helped me to do better financial planning for other clients.
It is good for woman to earn their own keeps. We only live once, not only do we have to live for others but for ourselves too. Take some time to learn on investments and saving methods , earn and grow your own wealth. There are many avenues available..seek advices and help if you need to. And pamper yourself once in a while.
I guess im gonna stop here and continue more on Smart Lady in next few posts.
Gonna pack for my Busan trip ! Will post my Korea pictures !
What caught my attention was the guest reception area lol. I like this kind of interiors. I heard from oppa’s friends and family that the hotel food was quite famous. I went there for Korean semi-fine dining food before and it was really good.
And this is the hall. I wasn’t there to do recce the place so i grabbed these pictures from Naver.com
Wedding photoshoot also booked. I helped my brother to book at the same studio too. He was surprised by the package price. You can save up to 60% if you arranged on your own. The photostudio package includes 3 wedding gowns , 3 suits , albums , make-up artist , framed photographs , soft copies of photos etc.
I decided to go for this studio because of their dresses, photography and studio style. But we are also considering another studio.
I am also thinking of having a photoshoot in SG. Not a full scale one but probably 2-3 hours.
I have shortlisted these local photographers. I knew some of them and i like to work with sincere and down to earth photographers.
Framewerks Photography http://www.framewerks.sg/ . I met the owners before and they are very down-to-earth and happy couple. I like working with sincere people. I like their works because it feels very personable.
Clarence Aw http://www.clarenceaw.com/documentation – A friend of mine who lensed some of Agneselle’s photos and his works are very unique. Looks like postcards and has the tumblr feel which i really like. His clients even pay him to travel overseas to shoot their wedding dinner/ceremony.
Bobby Kiran http://bobbykiranyeo.com/# – I have not met the photographer but have talked to him abit. His work is unique and it looks elegant.
I sort of decided who to go for the SG photoshoot and im just waiting for my hanbok and perhaps my cheongsam to be done.
Im not sure how many international marriage readers i have here but i think most will agree with me.
Marriage preparation is more tiring and stressful. Eg in my case , the main wedding is in Korea and both of us are working here in SG. So there are alot that cannot be done and can only be done if we flew back. We can’t take too many leave and when we are there , we have to make sure we get everything done before we fly back. Cost is also a problem – Air tickets.
Fortunately , Korea isn’t far and Vietnam air has pretty decent and affordable plane tickets to Busan.
There is still so much for me to prepare on my side. I have to understand and learn the Korean wedding culture. They are very different from our local wedding culture. Even the rituals are different. Fortunately i have a supportive fiance who helps me to do most of the planning and his mother to book the venue for us. So this coming trip in April to Korea is pretty important and packed. Photo shoot and also preparing all the necessary in April and the next flight to Korea in Oct is the real deal Damn fast lah.
I haven’t even got time to think about our ROM in SG.
Time flies and it is almost the end of Feb already. The last year i will spend CNY as a single and next year have to give ang bao liao. But next year , we will probably spend it in Korea. My life is so much happier now and so much more relaxed.
I find myself enjoying my overseas trip more. I spend more time relaxing and enjoying the sightseeing and food instead of taking alot of time to take an OOTD picture. That is why my instagram isn’t that active. I enjoyed my work because i met more people and i learnt more new things. Also i learnt to leave things for people to hand and settle on their own ( Agneselle.com ). I used to be a “worry-er” . That was what some of my ex bosses and friends called me because i worry too much. Even when i was overseas , i will call back to SG and check and nag hahaha.
And i also enjoy my work. I met more people from different walks of life.
Who says that you will lose more friends if you go into this line ? I made more friends. instead.
From strangers we met on the street to becoming my client and now a friend.
This is my first CNY kai-gong ang bao from my first cold client who is a CEO of a company. A CNY angbao for good luck when i went to his office.
Tomorrow is the last day of lunar new year . Hope all of you have a good and healthy year ahead !
Btw i replied to almost 50% of the emails regarding the online shop where i bought my winter wears. I still have alot to go but i think i may do a blog post on shopping on Korean sites soon.
peonykiss.com 
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