Q Are you a spender or saver?

I am both. I always believe that in business, you have to spend to accumulate. That includes entertaining and networking to foster good ties. As a boss in the early days, my basic pay was just enough to cover cost and sometimes it didn't. Now I give $8,000 monthly to my wife. She spends it on household items and keeps the balance. When I have surplus money, I will buy shares. My lifestyle is very simple as I eat at hawker centres and coffee shops.

Q How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I have six credits cards, including one from Malaysia to save on the exchange rate. My average spending is about $10,000 and I pay the bills punctually every month. My company will not extend any loan to staff who run into credit card problems. I have ATM cards but never carry them as I always forget the PINs. I always have a few hundred dollars on me and if I need cash, I will either borrow from friends or give them cheques for the money. I don't carry a wallet. I carry notes.

Q What financial planning have you done for yourself?

I manage my own investment portfolio, so I can blame only myself if something goes wrong. I have about $2 million invested in shares. Except for one Malaysian counter - Public Bank - the rest are all Singapore-listed shares and they include Singapore Press Holdings, OCBC, Yanlord, Kim Eng and Jaya Holdings. I like firms that are well-managed and have a good reputation. While I like to speculate in shares, I keep those which give good dividends for the long term. For instance, I have kept Jaya for the last 15 years. I spend about $56,000 on insurance premiums for my children's endowment and investment-linked insurance policies and about $4,000 on mine.

Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

My growing-up years were tough but fun in a kampung in Ulu Sembawang. There was a lot of free space for my four siblings and me to catch spiders and go fishing in the river and ponds. The television set and a phone were available only in the community centre. The children looked forward to any event that had free flow of drinks and food. There was no electricity and weddings had to be held in the afternoons. I didn't enjoy the convenience of tap water in the home till I was 25, when the Government provided the infrastructure.

My mum was a schoolteacher while my father took it easy and never really worked. We lived in a wooden and brick house with a zinc roof. The toilet was an outhouse 50m away. We were not rich but we were rich in family bonding and upbringing. I will always be grateful to my mother for building my character and educating me. She made us study in two schools. We would attend an English school in the morning and, in the afternoon, hop over to the Mandarin-medium school where she was teaching. We knew the value of money from young.

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