WEBVTT - What should you do with a retrenchment payout? 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:05.679 You're listening to a CNA podcast. 0:00:10.170 --> 0:00:13.409 Welcome back. This is the Work It podcast with Tiffany 0:00:13.409 --> 0:00:16.729 and Gerald. Now on this show, we have talked quite 0:00:16.729 --> 0:00:19.849 a bit about retrenchments and we've also spoken to people 0:00:19.850 --> 0:00:23.489 who have been retrenched before, but one thing we haven't 0:00:23.489 --> 0:00:27.799 talked about is how you can use the retrenchment payout 0:00:27.799 --> 0:00:31.370 or what's known as the golden handshake to restart your 0:00:31.370 --> 0:00:32.060 career again. 0:00:32.209 --> 0:00:34.029 Yeah, this amount can be huge, right? 0:00:34.330 --> 0:00:35.799 If you don't know how to use it properly, it 0:00:35.799 --> 0:00:38.758 can disappear very quickly. So from my own experiences, I've 0:00:38.759 --> 0:00:40.949 heard of how people use it for many different reasons. 0:00:41.319 --> 0:00:43.959 They use it to cover monthly expenses during a job 0:00:43.959 --> 0:00:46.439 search or they go for holidays, they use it to 0:00:46.439 --> 0:00:48.689 start causes. I know someone who's used it to start 0:00:48.689 --> 0:00:51.279 a business. I also know someone who took his 6 0:00:51.279 --> 0:00:54.439 month package to bring his aging mother for a month-long 0:00:54.439 --> 0:00:57.130 holiday somewhere just because he felt like he didn't spend 0:00:57.130 --> 0:00:58.520 enough time with her. Yeah, so. 0:00:58.849 --> 0:01:00.430 How about you, Tiffany, do you know anyone who use 0:01:00.430 --> 0:01:01.509 their golden handshake? 0:01:01.669 --> 0:01:03.830 So it wasn't really like a very big golden handshake, 0:01:03.869 --> 0:01:06.949 but I know someone who was retrenched right after he 0:01:06.949 --> 0:01:10.230 got married. So what he did was that he just 0:01:10.230 --> 0:01:12.580 used that money and splurged it on his new wife. 0:01:12.790 --> 0:01:15.830 They went for a really solid honeymoon. Yeah, I mean, 0:01:15.870 --> 0:01:18.789 he's young and he just thought, I don't know whether 0:01:18.790 --> 0:01:21.900 I'll get this opportunity again. Why not let's just go 0:01:21.900 --> 0:01:22.790 for like a month. 0:01:22.870 --> 0:01:24.779 Long holiday to somewhere we have always 0:01:24.779 --> 0:01:27.500 talked about. So there's a lot of ways to use 0:01:27.500 --> 0:01:28.889 money and sometimes when you have a lot of money, 0:01:28.980 --> 0:01:31.459 then it opens many possibilities as well. So today we 0:01:31.459 --> 0:01:34.019 really want to hear from someone who used their retrenchment 0:01:34.019 --> 0:01:37.300 package to restart or recharge their career. So with us today, 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:39.669 I'm very happy we have Lily Fang. She was retrenched 0:01:39.669 --> 0:01:42.260 about 4 years ago. She took the leap of faith 0:01:42.260 --> 0:01:44.970 with a financial payout to embark on a career path 0:01:44.970 --> 0:01:47.019 as a financial advisory manager. 0:01:47.430 --> 0:01:50.110 Today she's helping people manage and plan their finances. Welcome 0:01:50.110 --> 0:01:50.260 Lily 0:01:50.260 --> 0:01:52.379 to the show. Thank you for having me. So Lily, 0:01:52.419 --> 0:01:54.739 we appreciate that you are coming here to tell us 0:01:54.739 --> 0:01:57.410 your story and just to give people a bit of background. 0:01:57.669 --> 0:02:01.029 So you were with your previous company for 20 years 0:02:01.029 --> 0:02:04.139 before you were retrenched. So what were your initial thoughts 0:02:04.139 --> 0:02:07.220 when you were first delivered the news? When the news 0:02:07.220 --> 0:02:08.149 actually hit me. 0:02:08.401 --> 0:02:12.233 Where I received the call from my Hong Kong CFO 0:02:12.233 --> 0:02:16.161 informing me that my role was actually made redundant because 0:02:16.162 --> 0:02:19.483 of a closure of a major line of business. If 0:02:19.483 --> 0:02:22.003 I were to describe the feeling is like, if you 0:02:22.002 --> 0:02:27.712 could imagine like a ton of bricks hitting you directly, technically, 0:02:27.843 --> 0:02:29.042 I shouldn't be surprised. 0:02:29.906 --> 0:02:34.106 Really because I was part of the decision making process 0:02:34.106 --> 0:02:38.025 as well to close that major line of business. And 0:02:38.026 --> 0:02:41.746 also as head of finance, I understood that companies are 0:02:41.746 --> 0:02:47.195 not charitable organizations, right? Most companies exist for bottom line, right? 0:02:47.296 --> 0:02:49.985 So redundancy was just part of the equation. 0:02:50.550 --> 0:02:53.418 But then I have to say this, even knowing it 0:02:53.419 --> 0:02:56.910 didn't make it any easier. Yeah, so you could imagine 0:02:56.910 --> 0:03:00.800 my emotions back then. I would say I was devastated 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:05.429 and disappointed as well because I spent my 20 years 0:03:05.429 --> 0:03:09.929 of youth, right, with the company. I was headhunted in 0:03:09.929 --> 0:03:11.859 this organization at the age of 28. 0:03:12.229 --> 0:03:14.490 And then by then I left them, I was 48, 0:03:14.758 --> 0:03:17.758 so literally I sold my youth to the company, right, 0:03:17.899 --> 0:03:20.600 and I was super passionate about my career. 0:03:20.929 --> 0:03:24.460 I love it all. It was more difficult for me, 0:03:24.669 --> 0:03:28.259 maybe because I felt that this job was more than 0:03:28.258 --> 0:03:31.429 a job for me, right? Because it was like a 0:03:31.429 --> 0:03:34.678 part of my identity. It was my passion, right? So 0:03:34.679 --> 0:03:37.550 knowing that this passion is going to go away, so 0:03:37.550 --> 0:03:39.779 it was quite hard for me to take it. 0:03:39.869 --> 0:03:42.029 And of course with that going away, something else came 0:03:42.029 --> 0:03:43.330 in the package that he gave to you. 0:03:44.350 --> 0:03:45.509 I'm sure that's the nice part, right? 0:03:45.602 --> 0:03:48.421 Were you part of the thought process of putting together 0:03:48.421 --> 0:03:53.231 severance packages for people to sensitivity, right? But I have 0:03:53.231 --> 0:03:57.272 to say it is a good golden hand shape for me. Yeah, 0:03:57.552 --> 0:04:00.561 as a form of recognition as well. In the ballpark figure, 0:04:00.591 --> 0:04:04.031 I mean, we talking about a 6 digit, yeah. Is 0:04:04.031 --> 0:04:07.951 that normal? Is that sort of like standardized across the 0:04:07.951 --> 0:04:09.632 industry or even outside of this industry? 0:04:10.283 --> 0:04:15.544 To say Singapore doesn't really have a regulation on redundancy, 0:04:15.794 --> 0:04:20.394 it's more on best practice. So it ranges between for 0:04:20.394 --> 0:04:23.704 every one year service, you get a week to a month. 0:04:24.313 --> 0:04:26.074 That is average, the norm. OK. 0:04:26.334 --> 0:04:28.402 What was your immediate reaction when you knew that this 0:04:28.403 --> 0:04:30.772 was coming your way because it's not a small amount, right? 0:04:30.873 --> 0:04:32.962 What was some of the thoughts that you had about like, 0:04:32.993 --> 0:04:33.903 what do I do with this money? 0:04:34.194 --> 0:04:34.433 Sure. 0:04:34.966 --> 0:04:38.635 For me, I didn't really think much about the money 0:04:38.635 --> 0:04:44.614 at the immediate moment, right? I am a workaholic, right? So, 0:04:44.915 --> 0:04:47.675 you know, it scares me so much that the moment 0:04:47.675 --> 0:04:50.335 I'm going to stop work, what am I going to do, right? 0:04:50.635 --> 0:04:53.354 So that was my immediate priority more so than what's 0:04:53.355 --> 0:04:56.026 to do with my money, right? But then I just 0:04:56.026 --> 0:04:59.555 want to share that being a chartered accountant myself, right? 0:04:59.809 --> 0:05:04.000 I have always been super passionate about wealth accumulation and 0:05:04.000 --> 0:05:08.899 financial security for my past 26 years of corporate life. 0:05:09.238 --> 0:05:14.109 So I did build my own financial safety net over 0:05:14.109 --> 0:05:17.479 the course of my career. Of course, this lump sum 0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:20.190 money is actually a cream on top for me. 0:05:20.601 --> 0:05:24.631 And I guess the most important combination that I would 0:05:24.632 --> 0:05:29.312 say would be, first thing first, be financially secured and 0:05:29.312 --> 0:05:32.822 I took like 26 years to build that. So that's important. 0:05:33.153 --> 0:05:35.743 So on hindsight, yes, if anybody were to ask me 0:05:35.743 --> 0:05:39.233 when I guide my younger clients, that's what I tell 0:05:39.233 --> 0:05:41.311 them to build that financial. 0:05:41.505 --> 0:05:45.145 Safety net early and then with the redundancy money that 0:05:45.145 --> 0:05:48.865 comes over and above, it's like a right where you 0:05:48.865 --> 0:05:52.186 can sort of still be able to dream and plan 0:05:52.186 --> 0:05:56.196 for more. Exactly right. So not so much dream about, oh, 0:05:56.425 --> 0:05:58.985 how do I start spending this lump sum? Can I, 0:05:59.065 --> 0:06:01.226 should I buy myself a car or what? It's not 0:06:01.226 --> 0:06:02.066 so much about that. 0:06:02.380 --> 0:06:05.950 But rather having choices in life for you. And it 0:06:05.950 --> 0:06:08.350 also gives you the ability to let's say, pursue a 0:06:08.350 --> 0:06:11.309 second passion. Maybe something that you have put aside in 0:06:11.309 --> 0:06:14.308 your younger days and then what is it that resonates 0:06:14.309 --> 0:06:16.868 with you. What is your mission? What is your purpose 0:06:16.869 --> 0:06:19.869 in life, right? That you think you could, OK, take 0:06:19.869 --> 0:06:24.059 a pause from the corporate world and then do something different. 0:06:24.269 --> 0:06:26.519 So instead of responding out of 0:06:26.565 --> 0:06:31.195 Yeah, we can react with intention. So for me, it's different, right? 0:06:31.394 --> 0:06:34.755 Because I'm in a different stage of life, if I 0:06:34.755 --> 0:06:38.154 were to say it. So if a younger generation gets 0:06:38.154 --> 0:06:41.355 hit with redundancy, it's not necessary for them to pause 0:06:41.355 --> 0:06:43.034 to say, hey, I want to go into my passion 0:06:43.035 --> 0:06:45.625 to do something different. They can still go into corporate, 0:06:45.834 --> 0:06:49.914 but at least it gives them that bandwidth to pause 0:06:49.915 --> 0:06:50.725 and think. 0:06:50.950 --> 0:06:53.760 And do their inner works to decide what they can do. 0:06:53.970 --> 0:06:56.209 So at that point of time, did you have any 0:06:56.209 --> 0:06:58.959 say aging parents to take care of? Do you have children, 0:07:02.410 --> 0:07:05.659 younger kids as well, but I have kids in uni 0:07:05.660 --> 0:07:09.130 and then I have my dad and then you have 0:07:09.130 --> 0:07:11.929 home loan that you were servicing. Yes, so how many 0:07:11.929 --> 0:07:15.929 months of emergency savings did you plan for before you 0:07:15.929 --> 0:07:17.920 had this extra bonus? 0:07:18.552 --> 0:07:21.351 OK, I think I usually hear people say 6 months. 0:07:21.462 --> 0:07:25.971 Easily I had 2 years. Wow, OK, OK. That sounds 0:07:26.261 --> 0:07:29.782 extremely healthy. Yeah, financial definitely not an issue for me. 0:07:29.861 --> 0:07:32.902 That's why I could take time, right? I literally took 0:07:32.902 --> 0:07:35.902 a year to figure out exactly what I want to do. 0:07:36.462 --> 0:07:39.432 And even after figuring out, it took me a while 0:07:39.432 --> 0:07:42.631 to search for the right organization to join, for example. Yeah, 0:07:42.742 --> 0:07:45.381 and then having to sit for all the exams because 0:07:45.381 --> 0:07:46.022 it's a total. 0:07:46.164 --> 0:07:49.114 Pivot, right? Yeah. So let's talk about that. What was 0:07:49.114 --> 0:07:52.223 that pivot that you did? Why did you do it? Right. 0:07:52.593 --> 0:07:58.273 So I'm now an independent financial advisor. Back then, I 0:07:58.273 --> 0:08:01.794 have to say when the redundancy news hits me, I 0:08:01.794 --> 0:08:06.864 had two choices, right? One is to choose the safer option, 0:08:07.153 --> 0:08:09.794 which is to go back to the corporate world, find 0:08:09.794 --> 0:08:13.243 another employer. Yeah, to be a CFO in another company, right? 0:08:13.364 --> 0:08:13.723 Was it going to be 0:08:13.776 --> 0:08:17.526 Easy for you if you. Definitely easy because I was 0:08:17.526 --> 0:08:21.045 only 48 back then. So still I'm in my prime years, 0:08:21.165 --> 0:08:22.965 I have to say, right, to be a CFO in 0:08:22.966 --> 0:08:25.686 a company. So no issues with that. In fact, I 0:08:25.686 --> 0:08:30.885 went for several interviews, but then I kindly rejected their offer. 0:08:31.365 --> 0:08:34.684 Because back then I was still toying with the idea, 0:08:34.726 --> 0:08:36.926 what do I want to do in my life. I 0:08:36.926 --> 0:08:39.645 was so passionate in my previous corporate role and I 0:08:39.645 --> 0:08:41.245 know based on my personality. 0:08:41.739 --> 0:08:44.559 I'm going to chase my tail one more time. My 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:48.439 second option is to challenge myself, to take the leap 0:08:48.439 --> 0:08:52.708 of faith to do something totally different, which was financial advisory. 0:08:53.158 --> 0:08:56.749 Was that something that you had always wanted to? Not really. 0:08:56.879 --> 0:08:59.278 I started to ask myself a few questions like how 0:08:59.278 --> 0:09:02.718 did I even decide to become a financial advisor, right? 0:09:03.049 --> 0:09:06.549 So first question that I asked myself was, how can 0:09:06.549 --> 0:09:11.119 I leverage my 26 years of very rich and solid 0:09:11.119 --> 0:09:16.320 finance experience to do something more meaningful. I didn't want 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:18.799 to start from scratch in a totally different I didn't 0:09:18.799 --> 0:09:22.460 want to because my strength is in finance, right? So 0:09:22.460 --> 0:09:25.340 I started to ask myself those questions. What are the 0:09:25.340 --> 0:09:27.039 transferable skills? What is it? 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:31.358 That I can do to do something more meaningful. Meaningful 0:09:31.359 --> 0:09:35.429 in my perspective back then was, how can I help 0:09:35.429 --> 0:09:41.179 individuals rather than supporting stakeholders in MNCs, for example. 0:09:41.510 --> 0:09:44.809 That's where I said, all these questions sort of came 0:09:44.809 --> 0:09:48.400 to a realization. I felt that hey, it will be 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:54.289 so interesting if there is a qualified finance professional, literally 0:09:54.289 --> 0:09:59.289 a chartered accountant, right, out there who's been through and 0:09:59.289 --> 0:10:03.530 navigated the corporate life, right, and who understood all these 0:10:03.530 --> 0:10:05.130 corporate leaders, right? 0:10:05.500 --> 0:10:08.079 It will be so powerful if there is such a 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:13.159 person to empower them to also start planning for their 0:10:13.159 --> 0:10:15.159 own financial road map so that 0:10:15.570 --> 0:10:20.559 One day, if uncertainties hit them, just like myself, they 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.080 will be able to react with confidence rather than out 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.119 of fear. So I thought, hey, that's interesting. I'm going 0:10:26.119 --> 0:10:28.669 to give that a shot, but I must ask though, 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:30.640 because at the back of my head, I'm still thinking 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.520 that OK, you had this high six figure sum, right? 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:37.960 Did you need so much money to study, get certification 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.840 in financial advisory? What else did you do with the 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:41.760 money that you had? 0:10:42.119 --> 0:10:45.010 The truth is I took the entire lump sum and 0:10:45.010 --> 0:10:47.968 I invested it. That yeah, can be quite risky, isn't it? Oh, 0:10:48.169 --> 0:10:50.750 because I know where to place my risk, right? Yeah. 0:10:51.650 --> 0:10:56.049 So I actually diversify my portfolio quite well and 0:10:56.419 --> 0:11:01.659 In fact, this lump sum was strategized towards capital preservation 0:11:01.659 --> 0:11:05.059 more than anything else, but the whole intention of that 0:11:05.059 --> 0:11:10.459 was to generate passive income, right? Because I wanted this 0:11:10.460 --> 0:11:13.580 lump sum money that I have worked so hard and 0:11:13.580 --> 0:11:16.909 is my sweat and blood in it, right? I want 0:11:17.460 --> 0:11:19.940 exactly and my youth in it. So I wanted that 0:11:19.940 --> 0:11:23.140 lump sum to work harder for me. So that's where 0:11:23.140 --> 0:11:23.739 I decided. 0:11:23.815 --> 0:11:25.804 I'm not going to place it in the bank and 0:11:25.804 --> 0:11:29.005 just have the comfort that I have that money. So 0:11:29.005 --> 0:11:33.484 just in case my financial advisory business fails, then I 0:11:33.484 --> 0:11:36.125 can go back to this lump sum, right? No. So 0:11:36.125 --> 0:11:38.544 to me, I think one thing is about mindset, right? 0:11:38.655 --> 0:11:41.794 So I'm the kind of person, I have gone through 0:11:41.794 --> 0:11:47.804 so many business cycles. I let the organization through success 0:11:47.804 --> 0:11:51.174 every time there is a crisis. So I told myself, 0:11:51.609 --> 0:11:56.299 I cannot fail, even if I move on to financial advisory. 0:11:56.450 --> 0:11:56.630 I'm 0:11:56.630 --> 0:11:58.348 just thinking there are 3 groups of people, the way 0:11:58.349 --> 0:12:00.859 they use the arbitration money, generally, I think it's 3 groups, right. 0:12:00.869 --> 0:12:03.429 The first group of people who take their golden handshake 0:12:03.429 --> 0:12:07.429 and they spend it very quickly away, maybe without much thought, 0:12:08.030 --> 0:12:10.030 maybe not the most useful manner, right? Then there's the 0:12:10.030 --> 0:12:11.289 middle group of people who 0:12:11.489 --> 0:12:14.030 I think the majority, they use it to do something 0:12:14.030 --> 0:12:16.950 for their careers, they transit, maybe use it to manage 0:12:16.950 --> 0:12:19.589 some of their loans, and then we have people like Lily, 0:12:19.989 --> 0:12:24.119 who had been planning their careers, their finances all the while. 0:12:24.549 --> 0:12:26.609 And then right now at this point, they are just 0:12:26.659 --> 0:12:29.090 Using the golden handshake as to open up more options 0:12:29.090 --> 0:12:29.590 for them in the 0:12:29.590 --> 0:12:29.760 future. 0:12:30.010 --> 0:12:32.209 Was there any point in time at the start where 0:12:32.210 --> 0:12:35.369 you felt that there were possible financial risks that you 0:12:35.369 --> 0:12:38.570 were going to undertake? Were there fears that you felt 0:12:38.570 --> 0:12:41.880 at that point of time? Definitely, there were fears for sure. 0:12:42.169 --> 0:12:45.530 When I made that bold leap of faith, right, it 0:12:45.530 --> 0:12:48.690 was scary, I have to say. Why scary is really 0:12:48.690 --> 0:12:53.080 because for the past 26 years, I have always been 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:55.570 in a structured corporate environment. 0:12:56.070 --> 0:12:59.478 So having to tell myself that, hey, I'm going to 0:12:59.479 --> 0:13:02.190 get out of my comfort zone. I'm going to start 0:13:02.190 --> 0:13:07.598 all over in a new role, self-employed, totally going into 0:13:07.599 --> 0:13:11.718 the uncertainties of self-employment. It was really scary. My heart 0:13:11.719 --> 0:13:15.959 was beating super fast, right? But then again, I guess 0:13:15.960 --> 0:13:18.718 different stage of life, right? So for me, it's no 0:13:18.719 --> 0:13:22.440 longer about money anymore because if it's all about money. 0:13:22.809 --> 0:13:26.179 I would just go through the traditional route to be 0:13:26.179 --> 0:13:29.189 a CFO of another company. I just have to close 0:13:29.190 --> 0:13:32.109 my eyes, do my best. Every month I get my paycheck, 0:13:32.150 --> 0:13:34.789 you would just hit for stability, exactly, right? 0:13:35.219 --> 0:13:38.590 I asked myself, what would my next career going to 0:13:38.590 --> 0:13:39.080 look like. 0:13:39.549 --> 0:13:41.500 So Lily, if today you have to give some advice 0:13:41.500 --> 0:13:46.219 to people who have received golden handshakes, right, of various amounts, 0:13:46.289 --> 0:13:48.348 then what would be your advice to that group of people? 0:13:48.390 --> 0:13:50.510 I mean, remember I said there's 3 groups, right? Maybe 0:13:50.510 --> 0:13:52.869 the middle group, the ones who have not done much 0:13:52.869 --> 0:13:53.150 financial 0:13:53.150 --> 0:13:53.520 planning. 0:13:53.669 --> 0:13:56.789 OK. The first mindset I think is important for people 0:13:56.789 --> 0:14:00.819 who have been made redundant is to not allow redundancy 0:14:00.820 --> 0:14:04.260 to define who you are as an individual, OK? 0:14:04.669 --> 0:14:07.949 There's really no shame to it. It is part of 0:14:07.950 --> 0:14:10.909 commercial decision because I was part of it, so I 0:14:10.909 --> 0:14:14.469 knew that it needed to be done, right? And bear 0:14:14.469 --> 0:14:17.750 in mind that you have value, so do not spiral 0:14:17.750 --> 0:14:21.109 into depression or anything of that sort, right? So that's 0:14:21.109 --> 0:14:26.030 my first advice. My second advice would be, redundancy is 0:14:26.030 --> 0:14:27.059 really not the end. 0:14:27.289 --> 0:14:31.210 I call it a redirection, right? Try to leverage on 0:14:31.349 --> 0:14:35.869 your strengths and even your transferable skill sets and then 0:14:35.869 --> 0:14:38.460 see what is a good match to find your new path. 0:14:38.750 --> 0:14:42.070 And the last part which is to respond to your question, Gerald, 0:14:42.109 --> 0:14:47.150 is my advice would be try to avoid impulse spending, OK. 0:14:47.609 --> 0:14:49.950 Because I think to a lot of people, right, they 0:14:49.950 --> 0:14:52.979 hardly see such big lump sums. That's the truth, right. 0:14:53.690 --> 0:14:56.950 And when they see, they are very like tempted to 0:14:56.950 --> 0:15:01.090 just spend it very quickly, right? For people that have debts, 0:15:01.429 --> 0:15:04.140 try to look at like the high interest. 0:15:04.784 --> 0:15:07.424 debts to try to pay down some of the debts 0:15:07.424 --> 0:15:10.585 because I think it doesn't quite make sense to have 0:15:10.585 --> 0:15:14.784 money sitting in the bank that is generating so minuscule 0:15:14.784 --> 0:15:16.864 kind of interest rate and then at the back, you 0:15:16.864 --> 0:15:20.344 are still paying high interest for debts, right? Try to 0:15:20.344 --> 0:15:21.104 maneuver that. 0:15:21.700 --> 0:15:25.309 And then for people that is already quite settled, maybe 0:15:25.309 --> 0:15:28.640 they can just put aside some for rainy days, just 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:32.159 a few months to fight them through. Try to invest 0:15:32.159 --> 0:15:35.590 the balance, but don't invest it in high risk because 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.280 you want to preserve your capital. These are good advice. 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.669 I mean, just to summarize, so don't impulse spend. 0:15:42.015 --> 0:15:46.044 Secondly, is to cut your debt as much as possible. 0:15:46.255 --> 0:15:48.125 But of course, weigh up the interest that you are 0:15:48.125 --> 0:15:50.375 paying because some people might say that, but the interest 0:15:50.375 --> 0:15:52.414 that I'm paying is not going to get me what 0:15:52.414 --> 0:15:54.414 I'm going to get from my investments. So which brings 0:15:54.414 --> 0:15:57.015 us to the third point, which is try and invest 0:15:57.015 --> 0:15:59.765 as much as you can, go and learn, speak to people, 0:16:00.215 --> 0:16:01.854 make sure that the money grows for you. 0:16:02.099 --> 0:16:03.950 But I think there will be a group of people 0:16:03.950 --> 0:16:06.299 who will also say, but you know, Lily, I worked 0:16:06.299 --> 0:16:08.789 so hard all my life, a bit like you as well. 0:16:09.299 --> 0:16:12.460 I want to pamper myself or I'm in my early twenties. 0:16:12.909 --> 0:16:15.150 My runway is still very long. I want to just 0:16:15.150 --> 0:16:16.909 go and splurge and I don't know, go and see 0:16:16.909 --> 0:16:19.190 the Northern Lights or go on that. 0:16:19.289 --> 0:16:22.909 Very nice train in Switzerland or whatever. I mean, should 0:16:22.909 --> 0:16:28.179 we be telling these people to delay their gratification? If 0:16:28.179 --> 0:16:31.869 I were in their shoes, I will. The reason is 0:16:31.869 --> 0:16:35.599 really because you don't want to come to a crossroad 0:16:35.989 --> 0:16:39.190 where you took all the money and spend it all 0:16:39.190 --> 0:16:40.039 very quickly. 0:16:40.580 --> 0:16:43.900 And then you realize that, oh, I'm stuck. That's when 0:16:43.900 --> 0:16:47.849 you start panicking. So once you have fear, you start panicking, 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.440 you become desperate and you make wrong decisions. Exactly. When 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:53.960 you become desperate, you will make the wrong decision to 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.640 your point. So that's the whole problem and we don't 0:16:56.640 --> 0:17:00.070 want to get there because once you react out of fear, 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.619 it may not necessarily be putting yourself in a good place. 0:17:03.679 --> 0:17:04.920 You want to have that safety. 0:17:05.381 --> 0:17:08.302 so that you can take your time to really do 0:17:08.302 --> 0:17:11.581 your inner works as well and network to get to 0:17:11.582 --> 0:17:14.932 know more people, speak with more people to see what 0:17:14.932 --> 0:17:18.621 is the right next game plan for you. Thank you 0:17:18.621 --> 0:17:20.942 so much for coming on and sharing with us this. 0:17:21.021 --> 0:17:23.421 I mean, if anything, I feel that if I ever 0:17:23.421 --> 0:17:25.942 am in that position, I would love to speak with 0:17:25.942 --> 0:17:27.972 you again and go, what should I do, you know, 0:17:27.982 --> 0:17:29.342 with this money? Obvious. 0:17:29.605 --> 0:17:32.526 we try and give our listeners a bit more broad 0:17:32.526 --> 0:17:35.004 brushstrokes of what they can do with their money, but 0:17:35.005 --> 0:17:38.125 everyone's situation is very unique and like you say, sit down, 0:17:38.186 --> 0:17:40.525 ask yourself, where are you at this stage of your life? 0:17:40.686 --> 0:17:43.916 What are your needs and where can you better deploy 0:17:43.916 --> 0:17:48.205 the money first before you start considering, OK, what else 0:17:48.205 --> 0:17:51.446 can I do? So thank you for giving us so 0:17:51.446 --> 0:17:53.806 many helpful tips. Thank you. Thank you for having me. 0:17:58.050 --> 0:18:01.179 Hi, welcome back to our Ask Me Anything segment where 0:18:01.180 --> 0:18:03.530 we take on a question that you have sent us. 0:18:03.900 --> 0:18:07.060 Our listener who I'll call Lucy sent us this one. 0:18:07.589 --> 0:18:10.560 Lucy is in a small team of about 8 people. 0:18:10.729 --> 0:18:14.209 Everyone is working in a high pressured environment with long 0:18:14.209 --> 0:18:17.650 working hours. It's a specialist job and they have been 0:18:17.650 --> 0:18:20.900 asking for more manpower because they're afraid to make mistakes. 0:18:21.199 --> 0:18:25.198 Several mistakes have already been made because people are overworked. 0:18:25.410 --> 0:18:27.810 As a result, the team has been subjected to a 0:18:27.810 --> 0:18:31.689 few internal audits and they're just told to do better. 0:18:32.199 --> 0:18:35.500 Now when they highlighted that they need help, management shuts 0:18:35.500 --> 0:18:38.359 them down according to Lucy, and calls a few of 0:18:38.359 --> 0:18:42.719 them troublemakers. Lucy is asking if middle management is not 0:18:42.719 --> 0:18:45.560 listening to them and there are problems caused by a 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:46.680 manpower shortage. 0:18:47.260 --> 0:18:49.879 How can they escalate this and to whom? 0:18:50.170 --> 0:18:52.889 I think the situation here is that they have escalated it, 0:18:53.420 --> 0:18:55.800 but the middle management is not listening. So when I 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.109 read this question, right, I just thought to myself like, wow, 0:18:58.420 --> 0:19:00.660 I feel for Lucy and the team because it sounds 0:19:00.660 --> 0:19:02.198 like they are really trying their best. 0:19:02.314 --> 0:19:04.264 But they're not getting the support from the management. Yeah, 0:19:04.464 --> 0:19:07.264 then do I whistle blow? Do I go higher up? 0:19:07.505 --> 0:19:10.025 Because I think a lot of people do wonder whether 0:19:10.025 --> 0:19:12.665 the higher ups know that there is an issue and 0:19:12.665 --> 0:19:15.073 they're also trying to cover up, then it's going to 0:19:15.074 --> 0:19:15.854 be even worse. 0:19:16.385 --> 0:19:17.474 So I think at this point, 0:19:17.969 --> 0:19:21.099 It really depends on how much faith Lucy has in 0:19:21.099 --> 0:19:23.739 her management. The highest one, because there are sometimes management 0:19:23.739 --> 0:19:26.659 they know, but they don't want to respond or they're 0:19:26.660 --> 0:19:29.579 not responding appropriately. So the issue is not with not knowing, 0:19:29.660 --> 0:19:31.530 but the issue is that management is not stepping up 0:19:31.530 --> 0:19:33.469 to do what needs to be done. So if I'm Lucy, right? 0:19:33.594 --> 0:19:37.104 I would say I would look at the management's responses. 0:19:37.224 --> 0:19:39.625 Is it that the leaders that are there, are they 0:19:39.625 --> 0:19:41.625 close to the ground? You know, if they're close to 0:19:41.625 --> 0:19:44.625 the ground and if they are really caring about the 0:19:44.625 --> 0:19:46.584 operations and the work that they do, right, then maybe 0:19:46.584 --> 0:19:48.224 there's a chance that I can look for the right 0:19:48.224 --> 0:19:50.354 leader to speak to. You also know that there are 0:19:50.354 --> 0:19:53.505 leaders who are just on the ground for tokenism, just 0:19:53.505 --> 0:19:56.104 to show face. They're not really caring about the workers. 0:19:56.185 --> 0:19:58.704 So I think she needs to see other such people, 0:19:58.785 --> 0:20:00.375 such managers in the office. 0:20:00.770 --> 0:20:03.780 I think also in many companies they have got employee sentiment, 0:20:03.959 --> 0:20:06.760 engagement surveys. Has there been certain things like they've done 0:20:06.760 --> 0:20:07.879 before and 0:20:07.880 --> 0:20:10.520 feedback loops as well. Yes, there been things that have 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:11.589 been mentioned a few times. 0:20:12.079 --> 0:20:15.739 So usually like from my experiences, people do give feedback, 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.290 but they get very disappointed and discouraged when the feedback 0:20:18.290 --> 0:20:18.880 is not acted on. 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:22.040 And year after year, the same thing happens. I'm guessing 0:20:22.040 --> 0:20:24.510 here that Lucy's situation is not the first time. I 0:20:24.510 --> 0:20:26.709 believe that this has been repeated for a particular amount 0:20:26.709 --> 0:20:30.300