do you guys actually invest first?

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:34 pm

Just curious.....I see many people here buy expensive scopes, expensive accessories, and amazingly most are quite young.

Just wondering...did you guys already set aside a certain investment plan before buying these toys, or you just throw in your savings? Or money is least of your worries?

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:41 pm

Got burnt duing the 1997 Crisis. Now decided to spend it on something tangible instead. After all, I can liquidate it if I need the cash without suffering too much depreciation (as compared to cars, notebook computers, etc).

And the young ones probably have strong financial support from their parents?

wucheeyiun · Post by **wucheeyiun** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:44 pm

I always dream of owning a good scope but could never afford them till now....Bless the young adults today, they are looking up with the best we can afford them if they are willing to cherish their good life.

Post by **rcj** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:06 pm

hi,
i think i must be one of the "guilty" parties here as well!
admittedly, all equipment invested into astronomy has been bought using my own hard-earned money. earned from savings, from work, from odd-jobs, etc. In fact the only first telescope that was partly financed by my parents was the Celestron Firstscope 80 bought from the astro shop here for an amazing price of S$1500 back then...about 16 plus years ago...
have not taken a single cent from parents since, give them money now, pay for the house PUB bills, broadband, cellphone, very much the normal life of earning what you keep. Perhaps I don't spend much outside, predominantly on food only nowadays and lots of milk to stay healthy ;P
But back in uni days, i think i was more like a powerhouse, trying to attain an engineering degree and at the same time gave tutoring, teach piano all at the same time....so i guess that was how i managed to get better equipment and upgraded oneself continuously.... nevertheless i think i am a maniac....one of those who will probably try to live more than 24 hours a day...and yet trying to stay sane...;P
two cents!

Canopus Lim · Post by **Canopus Lim** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:07 pm

That is a good question. I think I burned a big hole in my savings buying astronomy stuff; I try not to look at it but to think positively that it is money well spent. Therefore I intend not to buy anymore scopes unless it is spoilt; touchwood that it spoils. Also my logic is since I started work for not too long, it would be wise to spend my money on astronomy stuff now as next time assumingly I get married etc, I won't have the kind of luxury of spending the money on my astronomy hobby as the money will be diverted to elsewhere. Since optics cannot really be improved further, and improvements are not really cost justifiable, buying the best optics that I can afford now will have a good future unlike computers which always gets outdated very fast. The problem is how to maintain them well for many years to come. Lastly, is to be contented with the equipment I have and not to spend more money on unnecessary equipment, and most importantly is to enjoy the nightsky.

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:11 pm

Tachyon wrote:Got burnt duing the 1997 Crisis. Now decided to spend it on something tangible instead. After all, I can liquidate it if I need the cash without suffering too much depreciation (as compared to cars, notebook computers, etc).

And the young ones probably have strong financial support from their parents?

Maybe you didn't diversified enough I guess....all in stocks?

Investment is suppose to be money that you don't need and put aside for it to grow till your retirement age. So even if your portfolio plundge, it shouldn't really hurt you. Infact, it is a good opportunity to buy more whether stocks, bonds or unit trust.

I don't want to be a busybody but I am concern that a lot of people do not have enough for their retirement. CPF can't help us anymore. If just save in the bank also will die because inflation is like 2-3% every year and the bank only give us 0.25% (used to be 0.125% nia) interest. Worse still if that person spend his savings on things that sure go down in value like cars, or even astro items (think only AP scope goes up in value).

Anyway, just curious....how you guys manage your finances for these toys. Or maybe my post is a wake up call? hehe

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:20 pm

rcj wrote:hi,
Celestron Firstscope 80 bought from the astro shop here for an amazing price of S$1500 back then...about 16 plus years ago...
!

Haha...those were the days. I still have the Firstscope 60 somewhere which I bought at 600-700 bucks those days. I think I saw an ad in Astromart recently selling this scope for only US$50. :roll:

elton · Post by **elton** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:41 pm

Bought a C90 for 1500 years ago and sold it for 300... probably my worst investment decision to date

Agree with VinSr that retirement can be scary for people who have not been saving. It helps to start saving young though I feel spending freely (but not getting into debt) for the first few years after starting work should be ok since earning power is low then and you still have time to make up. Preferably start working out your retirement plan by age 30 when you would have had a better feel of what your earning power vs spending patterns are like. The ones who should get worried are those above 40 and still with limited retirement savings. When investing for retirement, just stay invested and diversified.
2 cents

ariefm71 · Post by **ariefm71** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:17 pm

i actually invested in property first (bought a few lands in indonesia) before buying my first scope.

Tachyon · Post by **Tachyon** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:51 pm

VinSnr wrote:Maybe you didn't diversified enough I guess....all in stocks?

No. I invested in Unit Trusts - 4 of them at that time: IT, Biotech, European Equity, and Thai Equity. Now IT is worth 10% of the value, Biotech about 60% of value, European Equity just recently managed to recover back to the original value (ex inflation, that is), and Thai Equity is the only one that went up to 200%, which I promptly sold as it hit my 'sell' target. It did climb up to 215% after I sold but crashed shortly after. Now I added Singapore Growth and Asia Growth Funds to my portfolio. I don't do stocks as I do not have time to monitor them.

Investment is suppose to be money that you don't need and put aside for it to grow till your retirement age. So even if your portfolio plundge, it shouldn't really hurt you.

Yes, I have the usual x months savings. But it still hurts when you see more than few tens of thousands $ just disappear. Imagine the scopes I could have bought with the money!

I don't want to be a busybody but I am concern that a lot of people do not have enough for their retirement. CPF can't help us anymore. If just save in the bank also will die because inflation is like 2-3% every year and the bank only give us 0.25% (used to be 0.125% nia) interest. Worse still if that person spend his savings on things that sure go down in value like cars, or even astro items (think only AP scope goes up in value).

I totally agree! That's why I have my insurance agent friend who is also a financial planner to review my financial situation yearly to make sure I do not overspend.

Anyway, just curious....how you guys manage your finances for these toys.

Work hard, work hard, work hard!

Cheers!