Why do you want to be rich?

I have just attended 2 days of Value Investing Summit (VIS) 2014 over the weekends. It was tough for me physically & mentally due to my lack of sleep; starting from Friday 12pm to Saturday 7.30am was spent at my customer's place doing data migration, then I drove very quickly home in a "drunken" state and got a taxi to get to the venue just before the stroke of 9am for the VIS.

VIS was indeed informative, entertaining, and opened my eyes and mind to more ideas, never mind the hard/soft selling technique of the organizer.

After VIS, I asked my girlfriend why does she want to be rich?

I think it's a very important & fundamental question people should always ask themselves before embarking on their investment journey. Always start with the end in mind, as the saying goes.

1. Do things that I like

Rather than saying I want to be rich, I should say that I want to be Financially Independent. I want to be able to say "I quit" if I want to and really move on to do things I really enjoy...swimming, running, cycling, charity, travel...

If you could choose when and where you like to work, then you are truly financially independent and you are free to pursue your passion.

2. You will never be the same you 

As I'm writing this, I'm in this state of limbo "high" from my lack of sleep, stress, and unhappiness at work. Thinking back when I was in National Service and University, I could go for many nights straight without a wink, now I could feel my body on the brink of collapse.

I'm not my 20 year old self, and my body will inevitably degenerate, more quickly if I continue to push my body to exhaustion everytime, I may not be able to keep up with the demands of my job.

Keep accumulating income generating assets, make money work for you, hopefully when the day comes when you are not able to continue working, you'll have enough moolah to see you through.

3. Charity

I'm really happy that at the end of VIS, the organizers played a video conveying the message of gratitude and charity.

Really, so what if you have a million or 2 million dollars?

Would you be happy if you see your family, friends, relatives, fellow countrymen, fellow humankind, fellow critters of the Earth suffering?

There's only so much food you can eat, beyond that you will feel uncomfortable, there's only so big a house you need, beyond that the extra space does not bring you more convenience and happiness.

Be thrifty, save some, invest some, spend some, and donate the rest.

As a reminder to self for this idea, I put the last point into action by donating USD100 to UNICEF last year, even though I only receive a paltry SGD9 from dividends and the capital appreciation was barely SGD5 the last I check.

Charity begins at home, you don't have to be rich to do it, but it certainly helps if you have more to give :)