A few days ago, I saw that Syfe had published a blog post mentioning how to earn $1000 in passive income each month.
One thousand bucks.
Imagine waking up at 7:30am and finally getting off work at 6pm feeling exhausted, having already worked the whole day since 9am, THEN heading to work another part-time job for $8 per hour from 7pm to 12am, 5 hours a day, 6 days a week for an entire month.
That’s what $1000 in passive income feels like – having a clone of you hustling out there, working his / her ass off for 125 hours a month, year after year without stopping.
For many people, this is our starting goal. Quite a few years ago, this $1000 was exactly my target too.
“How nice would it be to have $1000 a month in passive income?” – I thought to myself.
Assuming that I’m spending just $20 on food each day, this would mean that all my meals and bills for every month would be catered for. Awesome!
Couldn’t help but think of this phrase that I had seen recently :
Remember when you wanted what you have now?
Indeed, I had forgotten.
“Enough” is often a target that can never be reached. Yeah, I’ve been reading quite a bit on mindfulness stuff lately.
(By the way, Jean Veronkova is the Singaporean Youtuber linked above that I had chanced upon when binge-watching Youtube videos on Bali-related content and she turned out to be a total gem.)
And to me, the basics is essentially this –
Assuming a portfolio value and dividend yield that doesn’t fluctuate dramatically?
$240,000 will yield that elusive thousand dollars a month for doing absolutely nothing.
By varying the factors X (portfolio value) and Y (yield) we can quickly see how it varies e.g. $200,000 x 6% / 12 months we would also end up with $1,000 per month.
I had previously wrote about Syfe REIT+ and how I had started using it to replace my REITs DIY picks.
Yeah, I pretty much started my portfolio during the start of the Covid pandemic.
How it started
Here’s how it started in 2020 –
As the situation evolved and gradually improved, it was quickly becoming obvious that certain sectors are poised for a dramatic recovery in future.
However, the Covid-recovery narrative was thrown a spanner in the works – and one of the main reasons boils down to the rising interest rates.
The very same thing we are all cheering for when low-risk 2.8% Singapore Savings Bonds with juicy yield dropped?
Perhaps we should ask whether home-owners on bank loans are happy about that? In the same way, higher funding costs are inevitably going to put pressure on DPU.
REITs who are on fixed rates or have hedged their interest rates would face less impact in the short term, which according to The Business Times is close to 75% of all current S-REITs debt.
Nevertheless, the perfect storm also includes factors like higher energy costs and since REITS basically equals buildings, yikes. Many including myself do believe that REITs are investment instruments that are in a position to weather inflation.
These ever-changing developments have reflected in the iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index which has been on somewhat of a roller-coaster ride after the initial recovery.
A quick check in today’s The Business Times listed most analysts’ takes [haha take it with a pinch of salt] being BUY or Overweight for REITs that are included in the iEdge S-REIT Leaders Index (and therefore, also in Syfe REIT+ since it tracks the index).
At the moment, I see it as playing the long game by being able to accumulate REITs at 2018 and 2019 prices for the past couple of months.
I can wait.
How it’s going
My usual skin-in-the-game screenshot that illustrates that I’m indeed using the said platform and service.
I have included a little bit more information on the list of REITs currently included in my Syfe REIT+ portfolio by leveraging on my StocksCafe membership. StocksCafe founder Evan is currently having a 40% off promotion if you’re interested!
Taking a quick look above, the portfolio average yield is probably about 5% right now. I have arranged it so that the larger market cap REITs are on top.
By the way, USD-denominated are not included in Syfe REIT+. Delisting of Ara Logos Logistics Trust and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust means that it will only have 18 REITs before the rebalancing takes place in a month’s time.
Often, I might be interested to know what are the upcoming distributions so StocksCafe helps me out without relying on the Syfe app.
When we reach ExDate, the dividend amount would be automatically tracked and included in the Syfe app.
By the way, these three REITs are basically the smallest parts of the REIT+ portfolio at less than 4% combined currently so the ka-ching isn’t really that big.
If you were to ask me, I’m not sure how long it’ll be until we get further clarity on REITs recovery. Index investing (even for REITs) is kind of boring that way.
If you are keen to explore what Syfe REIT+ has to offer, my personalized referral code – TURTLEINVESTOR – would give your Syfe portfolio a head-start when you decide to start an investment portfolio with them
When you open an account for the first time with Syfe, you can have your fees waived for up to 6 months (terms and conditions).
In case you missed it : I’m also using Syfe Cash+ 1.9% (read review here) to supplement my REIT+ portfolio, and what it does is to put my idle emergency cash to work by earning returns via investments into high-quality money market and short-duration bond funds.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking about writing on a follow-up for the FIRE Trial – Surviving On Alternative Income series of blog post. Should be fun to blog about it!
For now, I would be patiently collecting my quarterly REITs distributions (on track for $4,800 payout in October) from Syfe while being immensely grateful that it wasn’t that long ago when I had wanted what I currently have now.
Recommended pillar posts
As my portfolio grows, I’m increasingly relying on robo-advisors and start-ups in the personal finance scene to help manage my wealth. If you are thinking the same way, I have written a series of pillar posts – articles that range from 1,000 to 3,000 words that discusses my personal experience in detail. Perhaps they would be helpful!
- MoneyOwl WiseSaver (3.14%) : Hidden Gem In Rising Interest Rate Environment
- Syfe REIT+ $100,000 Portfolio Review (And 3 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About It)
- Endowus CPF $20,000 Portfolio Review (And 3 Questions I Asked About It)
- AutoWealth 5-Figure Portfolio Review : 3rd Year, Pure Market Returns
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Hello! I’m Kevin, Turtle Investor
At the age of 30, I am the Personal Finance Blogger who laid claim to a negative net worth of minus $25,755 – and decided to turn things around.
- Seven years later in 2019, I hit CPF Full Retirement Sum (FRS) of $176,000 without making a single cent of CPF top-up
- In nine years, I have added more than $1 million to my net worth
- In total, I have earned more than six-figures in alternative income in addition to my job
My blueprint for financial independence can help give you a head start in your own FIRE – Financial Independence, Retire Early (optional) – journey. More tidbits about myself here if you’re curious.
I am married to a lovely wife and that means dual income with no kids. In my free time, I chase miles so that we can fly in business class. My hobbies include making pocket change off this blog and sharing everything I know with you!
Hi turtleinvestor,
Where did you get the brokers’ recommendations from? Is it available for free online?
Thanks.
Hey Kendo, I got it from Business Times. Pro-tip : We can read it for free via NLB after we sign up for the free membership. Yay for Singaporeans 🙂
Hi T.I.,
What’s your recommendation for splitting your cash between Syfe REIT+ and Cash+?
Thanks!
Hi Victor,
I don’t have a simple answer for you. Perhaps you might consider taking a total portfolio approach e.g. 70% equities and 30% bonds (or equivalent). Some do age = equities percentage, some prefer age-10 as the equities percentage. Some consider CPF as their bonds, and go full equities using their cash portfolio.
After which, think about how much of the 70% do you want to be comprising of Singapore REITs? Is concentration risk a concern for you?
If you think of Cash+ as equivalent to a bond-like component, how much of it do you want it to be in Cash+? Other options include Singapore Savings Bonds which could also yield 2-3% in recent tranches.