Hello Grasshoppa,

A few weeks ago, I got in touched with Ing Hong aka The Stockmonger via Facebook on a possible meet up in Penang. After a short chat with him, I realized he is also a Penang based Personal Finance & Investment Blogger originally from Labuan. Throughout my BBM Blogging journey, I’ve always thought that I’m the only one that is based in Penang but I’m wrong.

Anyway, we have chatted few times & the idea of featuring him in #BBMGetInspired suddenly pops in my mind. I asked him about it & he was excited to share his Personal Finance & Investment Journey with all of you.

Enjoy.

1. Can you give our readers a short introduction about yourself?

Hey everyone, I’m Ing Hong. You may not know me by my name but you may (or may not) recognize me as the writer behind The Stockmonger, a blog that I started in December 2018. I write about investments (mostly stocks), personal development and personal finances. I’m an avid reader and book collector so I will occasionally share about books that I have read on my blog and social media.  

2. What inspired you to start your blog? 

I love reading updates from Dividend Magic because it shows progress toward a long term goal. One day I asked myself, “Is there anyone else who shares their portfolio openly like Leigh from Dividend Magic?” The answer seems to be no, so I decided to start one myself.

In addition, I always felt that I have some great ideas that are collecting dust in my brain. It so happens that I can express these ideas through a blog. Two birds with one stone. 

3. What is your financial goal?

My goal is to build a stock portfolio worth at least RM500,000 by 30 years old (I’m 24 at the time of writing). The reason behind the number is because assuming I earn a modest 5% dividend yield from my stocks, I will have roughly RM2,000 a month which is enough to sustain my most basic needs.

The end goal is not to have passive income so that I can just sit home and do nothing and collect dividend. I desire the freedom to pursue my passion without worrying about starving. I’m quite interested in woodworking and building stuffs.

4. Where do you learn about investing or financial planning?

My first ever investment book was Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. My perspectives about money changed after reading it. After that, I got hooked and read voraciously about the stock investment basics from financial blogs and books.

5. Can you share a glimpse of your investment portfolio or what are you currently investing in?

Sure! My investment portfolio is up on my website. As of now, all of my investments are in stocks. It made sense for me since I know more about stocks compared to other investment vehicles.

https://thestockmonger.com/my-portfolio/

6. Do you track your spending? If yes, how?

Yes I do. I just use a Google Spreadsheets to track all my income and expenses. Basically I just record down all my incomes and expenses. By the end of the month, I will know if I overspent or have extra cash.

I wrote a detailed post on my budgeting system in my website.

https://thestockmonger.com/how-i-manage-my-money-using-the-money-jar-system/

I’m sure there’s probably some app or system out there that can do better. But this is what works for me.

7. What is your worst financial or investment decision you ever made?

The worst financial decision I made was investing into stocks that I don’t understand during the wrong time. It hurt me badly financially and emotionally. I thought I would never invest again. But luckily, I managed to rise above that painful experience.

8. How do you define success in your life?

My definition of success changes very often throughout my life. I remember success means having the best grades in school when I was in high school. After that, success became having a beautiful girlfriend when I was in university. I wasn’t able to be consistently successful in both though.

My latest definition of success is having a growing net worth. In short, as long as my net worth or wealth is growing consistently every year, I label myself as successful.

9. Any advice to the readers on investment or financial planning?

On financial planning, spending less than you earn is something that won’t go wrong. But if you’d like to take it a step further, I advise you to use the money jar system like how I did. It’s well balanced and very easy to follow.

On investment, only invest in what you understand. I invest in stocks because that’s what I understand the most. If you find yourself knowing nothing about any investments, then the first investment you make should be on education. Start reading books, blogs or attending courses to increase your knowledge on your interested field of investment.

Once you know the basics, step out of your comfort zone and apply your knowledge. It’s okay to start small but make sure to get started because we tend to learn more from practical experiences. It’s alright to lose money at first, just keep at it and don’t give up.

THANK YOU Ing Hong for taking your time to complete this interview. Looking forward to work with you for more future opportunity.

You can also check him out on Social Media :
Facebook : The Stockmonger
Instagram : TheStockmonger

OSS!