Fine line between kindness and stupidity

I just gave $80 to a total stranger.



A middle age man came running to me with a 5yo kid, asking me whether I've seen this Malay running off with a red bag.

Explained that he misplaced his bag while making a public phone call (his cell phone was flat)

and saw this guy running off with it.



Police didn't manage to help out much, refusing to send him back to his mother's place. (police car is only for criminals and such, nice) He is damn worried coz his IC and house keys are inside the bag (key opens home tat is listed in address).

Not a single cent, don't have anything in his possession. The police only offered a few ten-cents coins, which he angrily rejected.



I gave him $30 so that he can take cab home.

(he said he will return the money to me, and took my name card)



WAIT cherub, I tot u said $80??



In the end, before he left, I was concerned that $30 is not enough to take cab, buy food for her daughter, and a new lock for his home.



We went to an ATM and I gave him $50 more.

SIGH, I have this feeling I am sooooo not going to get the money back.



Meet Cherub, the most naive financial advisor ever.

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On why the government sucks as an insurer and good at marketing.

"$10 cap on Medishield premium hike",

screams the Straits Times.

Now now, given that Medishield premiums is payable annually, so we expect only a slight increase of $10 per year?



MARKETING, my dear friends.

"THE new MediShield insurance scheme being worked out holds one promise: the extra people will fork out for the higher premiums will be less than S$10 a month." Source: The Straits Times 3 Oct'2004



Haha. $10 cap per month, when we talking about a premium that is payable yearly.

That means a possible hike of $120.



Now you feel the pinch.



In Medishield, premiums collected is more than payouts.

"The correct way to judge if premiums are excessive is to study the loss ratio of an insurance plan. This is the ratio of annual payouts to premium collections. For long-term viability, it cannot exceed 100 per cent. In other words, payouts must not exceed premium collections."

In the words of Karen, deputy director of corporate communications for permanent secretary (Ministry of Health)

I guess that all along, the private insurers' standard practice of premiums collected LESS than payouts is not long-term viable huh.

Geez, and I've always thought that they are able to collect less premiums compared to payouts because they collect a net return on the investment with the premium.

And of course market forces work to force insurance companies to seek the highest returns on these returns, be accountable about it, so as to provide lower premiums against competitors.



How silly of me.

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Speaking of returns, Singapore's foreign reserves returns (and possibly returns from Medishield's premiums) are all undisclosed.

Hey! why do you care about the money! Its the government's job to maximise the money. I am sure they will be doing a good job.



Who cares if they do not factor in returns from premiums in the pool of money for Medishield?



They don't have to disclose returns on foreign reserves either because MAS's policy is

'not to disclose the annual rate of return on the reserves so as to avoid undue emphasis on year-to-year variations in returns that would detract from MAS' core objectives'.

I know its my money, but oh well, they are like, you know, our fund managers of our wealth. wait, fund managers are supposed to disclose the fund performances. Hmm, and we can punish the fund managers if the performance is lacklustre.



Ohhh, I am so sure the ministers will monitor our foreign reserves.

that's why they are paid million dollars salary for, right?

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On the 3 hrs "Money And Banking" midterm test I wrote in the previous entry



Apparently for a 15marks question, one clown has no idea how to do.

So he did the next best thing.



He wrote down a joke.



The lecturer gave him 1/2 mark for his efforts.

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Can't believe that god is so 'kind' to let me face the situation of adverse selection in my very first health-insurance case.



As mentioned in an earlier entry, adverse selection (aka anti-selection) is prevalent in insurance line. Only people who knows they are sick and needs insurance the most, will approach to buy insurance. Hence, if adverse selection is not prevented, the insurance will collapse, coz only pple with higher chance of getting sick will buy, and the payouts will be very high.

==> Premiums will be high, and normal healthy people will not buy.



Upon explaining and signing the application forms for my first health-insurance client, i realise that this is a classic textbook example of adverse selection.



She was already sick and just realised the importance of insurance.



Now its slightly too late. :(



And she's very young! that was the key surprising factor. Sigh, i guess the probability is all the same for a lot of aliments. And its really sad that most people will only realise the importance of protection and insurance only when something unfortunate has occured. By then it will be too late, the financial burden will be unavoidable.

Now her entire family and she herself start learning about insurance and how to maximise their protection without paying more cash, coz everyone is worried now.



Life has a cruel way of making us learn.

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My last entry has stirred a few, ahem, men's interest. Apparently one friend of mine signed up for her offical website.







Apparently, she's 30yo this year.

30yo!!!!!!!! CAN U BELIEVE IT?

She's look ravishingly 19!!!



And ©îÑ told me that she's attached. Damn.



Oh well, back to the first one.







Apparently, she has not dated before!!!

And she is scared of mouse.



Luckily, I'm not scared of mouse.

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On NYDC banning broccoli, i get a few arguments regarding this.

Friday was perplexed why NYDC banned such a nice, errr, vegetable.



I realise that broccoli is not only considered "boring".....

Apparently Broccoli is evil too.





We can always buy a "broccoli is evil" shirt.



And if you got decent internet speed, download this film that will show u why broccoli is evil.

Disclaimer: This is quite a cute film, but if you get nightmares, I seriously don't care. :P





From the Evil Vegetables website (i told u that they are evil!!).......

We start with Broccoli, the greenest of the Evil Vegetables. Broccoli adopts this colour scheme as a form of camoflage, hoping that it will pass unnoticed amongst the friendly lettuces until - too late! - we've eaten it and it has ensnared us in its evil clutches.

George Bush Snr famously banned broccoli from the White House. Well done, George! Never mind that you were a complete burk and that you managed to create an even bigger burk to take over your country after you were booted out. You saw through Broccoli's whiles and for that we salute you!

Sigh, okay okay, I shall not be mean here. Broccoli is really seriously misunderstood. They're not evil! They're merely psychotic.







You can see the full range of pictures here, which is named,

FORBIDDEN TEMPLE OF THE MAJESTIC MANIFESTATION OF BROCCOLI!"