Dear Smart Investor,
The New Year always ushers in a ton of festivities and celebrations.
And 2022 promises to be no different.
Just as Christmas is associated with gifts and mistletoe, the New Year is normally associated with the making of resolutions.
New Year Resolutions are promises we make to ourselves to ensure that we achieve what we may have failed to do in the previous year.
It’s also an indication of our hopes and desires for the coming year.
Making, and breaking
This practice of making resolutions has the effect of boosting consumer demand for everything from gym memberships to smoking cessation clinics.
These businesses understand human psychology well enough to position themselves for the traditional New Year phase where people are more willing to open their wallets.
I have experienced this phenomenon as I resolved to lose the weight I had gained in the prior year.
This nagging thought made me more than willing to sign on an expensive gym package of a few thousand dollars.
However, as with most New Year Resolutions, it’s tough to hold on to that resolve.
As the months passed, my interest in attending gym sessions waned.
Eventually, I passed on going to the gym and the same problem beckoned once again by the time the end of the year rolled by.
It’s fairly common to note that many of us find ourselves making, yet breaking, the very same resolutions we make year after year.
A resolution to invest
But if there’s one resolution you need to stick with, it’s to start your investment journey if you have not already done so.
Just as good health should be an important objective in our lives, having great financial health should also be one of the goals we strive for.
And the great thing about investing is that it need not even cost as much as a gym membership or spa package.
With just a couple of hundred dollars, you can be on your way to owning blue-chip stocks such as CapitaLand Investment Limited (SGX: 9CI) or Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (SGX: S63).
What’s more, you can even space out your purchases using a dollar-cost averaging method to ensure you make regular injections into the stock market.
Even if you may not fulfil the rest of your New Year Resolutions, starting your investment journey is one you should actively strive to stick with.
An attractive end-goal in mind
I recall the time I started my first investment too.
It was close to the end of 2004, and Suntec REIT (SGX: T82U) was having its IPO.
My aim back then was to purchase a few lots of a steady REIT that owned quality shopping malls and a huge convention centre.
17 years later, I am still holding on to those very same shares and they have rewarded me many times over.
It helps to have an end goal in mind when you make your resolution to invest.
By doing so, it makes it easier for you to adhere to it and not lose your focus.
That end goal should be a comfortable and idyllic retirement where you can tap on your investment portfolio for a stream of steady, passive income.
Over the years, I have added on to more REITs such as Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU), as well as dividend-paying stocks such as VICOM Limited (SGX: WJP), to substantially increase my flow of dividends.
You can do so, too.
All it takes is one solid resolution for 2022 and you are already on your way.
The journey may seem long, but the rewards will be well worth your effort.
We’re opening up spaces for our upcoming webinar “Asia’s Healthcare Moment!” Top stocks, predictions, strategies…our team is not holding back. We’ll be sharing everything we know about the lucrative Asian healthcare market. Registration is free. Click here to register a seat!
Follow us on Facebook and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!
Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares of Suntec REIT, Keppel DC REIT and VICOM Limited.
