Viral Attack
I realise that I have been sick quite often this year since working for myself. I believe it is due to the higher stress level working for yourself than for others.
I had being busy on a project from January till end of March. On 9th April, I received another PO for a new project and had being very busy till now. However, I was down with a virus for the entire week of 8th April and I had recurring fever since 11th April which last till 15th April. The doctor told me this is a virus which is similar to HFMD but confined to only the throat. Other than fever, I had ulcers in my throat and coughing very badly. Despite down with a cough, I was running a project. It was very tough and difficult to talk without your voice. There is no point in having medical leave because there is no other colleague you can delegate to. For most of my last 12 years career, I took on commercial role but on this semi-self employment role, I need to wear multiple hats, from admin to preparing invoices and now take on project manager role as well.
Moving into Full Self Employment Mode
In April, there was an issue between me and my boss, I told my boss in May that he does not need to pay my salary. The condition is for me to work from home and I can pursue other non-conflicting interest/project. I will be moving into full self-employment mode. Working from home requires a clear demarcation on working hours. Without which, I seem to be working longer hours than before, stretching across weekends and weekdays evenings. On the other hand, I do not need to worry about train breakdown and the morning rush with the crowd. I can send my child to school and pick him up after school. I just need to practice discipline and be effective during working hours.
I realise that when you are self employed, public holiday is indifferent to you. It can be another working day or it can be a day where you can spend time with friends and family.
Investing as self employed
Without a constant cash flow, I find it difficult to invest. I must say the budget makes it difficult to have excess to invest. I am surviving on my SGD 2,500 per month salary. Less CPF, less allowance to my parents and salary to my helper, I am left with around SGD 500. This is good for our monthly lunch allowance only. I am still waiting for my commission to be paid and I do not know the exact amount. This makes it even harder to plan when you don’t know the amount. When you receive a lumpsum payment, the market situation may not present the best buying/ selling opportunity. However, in all investment books, the theory is there is no better time to buy than now.
I am selling off some positions to consolidate the accounts due to an compliance issue. I am shifting Singapore stocks to DBS Vickers and foreign stocks to IBKR. I am successful in transferring positions from TD Ameritrade to IBKR which is quite seamless and easy. I need to pay down my margin account in my present Singapore brokerage before I can transfer the positions to DBS Vickers. I will take this as an opportunity to deleverage.
Other Business Opportunities
My friends approached me for other business opportunities such as business consultant and business broker. Recently, I have received my Financial Consultant license as well. Maybe it is time to move out from something which I am familiar with and into something I am passionate about.
Update on Semi-Self Employment Route 30/4/2019
My day job boss spoke to me and offered me 2 options:
1. Continue to take the basic salary and share the commission.
2. Take the commissions and leave the job.
I decided to take option 1.
CPF Contribution on AW
I just want to bring to everyone’s attention on Additional Wage (AW) CPF contribution. Firstly, AW are wages which are not granted wholly and exclusively for the month or wages made at intervals of more than a month. The amount of CPF contributions payable at AW is capped at ceiling *$102,000 – Total OW subject to CPF for the year.
Note * Equivalent to 17 months x $6,000
Hence, maximum CPF contributions payable at AW for my case can go up to $72,000. The maximum CPF contribution on AW will be $26,640 which is 37% of $72,000 for my age group (20% for employee and 17% for employer). The employer contributions will be deducted from my commission. This is to be fair to my boss.
Another good news, I am paying all the last remaining margin of $9k by end of this month.
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