Personally, i think the below is "prudent" enough gua - please correct me, with logic and reason, if i'm waaaaaay off

BTW, in my humble opinion, gold & commodities are a bit of pelik creatures - buy low, really make a killing (case in point, ProphetJul  ) BUT... don't know when the prices will actually soar heheh. Thus, i think of it as "trading".

Personally, i think gold is NOT at historical nor inflation (3%pa) adjusted lelong prices, even with the recent dead cat fall / cliff jumping.
Before any gold bugs come with pitchforks  , please note that i said HISTORICAL yar, as in historical data.
Future - gawd knows, i'm not omniscience.
[attachmentid=2842242]

As for "mostly in cash nowadays" and "pasting hunting FDs rate", may i suggest doing or looking into an Asset Allocation / rebalancing?
I mean, if U are holding like 80% to 90% cash/Fixed Income instruments (of your total investment /investable assets), i think U are losing out a heckuva lot to inflation, especially if just FD. Bonds / Bond Funds pun at least better

FYI - i was like 60%+ in Fixed Income and forced a rebalance, mostly into REITs / Properties late last year and earlier this year (broke up my "forced rebalancing" into 2 chunks).
Imagine FD or flex mortgage "giving" 3%pa to 4.4%pa VS REITs 6% to 9%pa (ignoring capital risk - er.. calculated risk lar, k)
Thus, perhaps a bit of investments "diversify" into other asset classes MAY be good.
However, ultimately it's your choice & comfort level - no right/wrong per se

Just a thought 

PS:
When i mentioned i was 60%+ in Fixed Income and then rebalanced mostly into REITs, please note that investments/investable assets to me EXCLUDES my emergency buffer (about 10 months' to 12 months' average expenses) & home (and of course "fake assets" like cars, Picasso, comics collection, etc )

Taken this from: http://tankinlian.com/FramePDF.aspx?ID=643

It can be extremely rewarding. Here is an example that I have quoted often.
If you save $500 a month over 35 years and earn an yield of 2.5% per annum on the life
insurance policy, you will get around $300,000 as cash value at the end of the period. If you
invest the same money in an exchange traded fund that is invested according to the Straits
Times Index, you are likely to get about $500,000.
By investing in the life insurance policy, you will be giving away $200,000. You can get an
accident or term insurance policy to cover $300,000 by paying an annual premium of $360 or
less. Over 35 years, you will spend only $40,000 (including interest lost), but you can save
$200,000.
So, by making the right investment decision, the consumer can be better off by $160,000 and
get 30% more than the $300,000 offered by a poor yielding plan.

---

Added on May 16, 2012, 11:30 amThe risk of buying something you are not familiar with and what more with your retirement fund.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC1Ajdse9Uk

Personally, i think the below is "prudent" enough gua - please correct me, with logic and reason, if i'm waaaaaay off

BTW, in my humble opinion, gold & commodities are a bit of pelik creatures - buy low, really make a killing (case in point, ProphetJul  ) BUT... don't know when the prices will actually soar heheh. Thus, i think of it as "trading".

Personally, i think gold is NOT at historical nor inflation (3%pa) adjusted lelong prices, even with the recent dead cat fall / cliff jumping.
Before any gold bugs come with pitchforks  , please note that i said HISTORICAL yar, as in historical data.
Future - gawd knows, i'm not omniscience.
[attachmentid=2842242]

As for "mostly in cash nowadays" and "pasting hunting FDs rate", may i suggest doing or looking into an Asset Allocation / rebalancing?
I mean, if U are holding like 80% to 90% cash/Fixed Income instruments (of your total investment /investable assets), i think U are losing out a heckuva lot to inflation, especially if just FD. Bonds / Bond Funds pun at least better

FYI - i was like 60%+ in Fixed Income and forced a rebalance, mostly into REITs / Properties late last year and earlier this year (broke up my "forced rebalancing" into 2 chunks).
Imagine FD or flex mortgage "giving" 3%pa to 4.4%pa VS REITs 6% to 9%pa (ignoring capital risk - er.. calculated risk lar, k)
Thus, perhaps a bit of investments "diversify" into other asset classes MAY be good.
However, ultimately it's your choice & comfort level - no right/wrong per se

Just a thought 

PS:
When i mentioned i was 60%+ in Fixed Income and then rebalanced mostly into REITs, please note that investments/investable assets to me EXCLUDES
a. emergency buffer (about 10 months' to 12 months' average expenses)
b. home (even though i rent out 2 rooms to friends)
c. and of course "fake assets" like cars, Picasso, comics collection, etc )

Just note the main concepts - Asset Allocation & Sub-Allocation + reasons shared earlier, absorb what is useful / fits, discard what isn't/doesn't fit (Bruce Lee and the Tao of Jeet Kune Do )

No right/wrong - just a thought 

Hi Wongmunkeong, thanks for the advices. A lot friends of mine suggested me to rent out the rooms so it can support me financially. I welcome this idea, the thing that hold me back is that I am not sure if I can stay together with strangers (tenants). I like my current location as it near to town. Very peaceful here. Do you rent out your house too? Ha..ha.. we are on the same boat here. Cheers!

"Home Alone"

BTW, beware of Magika's "rent to SYTs" - my sis rented out to a single woman (NOT SYT though) and this woman picked up my sis' credit card and started buying jewelry from Poh Kong! Not too smart heheh - CCTV in Poh Kong showed it was her.

Er.. elaborate on Fixed Income?
If U looked at the earlier screenshot, my "Fixed Income" sub-asset allocation are
a. Cash equivalent (Cash, Savings A/C, FDs, Pre-payment in Flexi Mortgage A/C, Trading A/C cash, Money Market a/c, etc.)
b. Bonds, Bond funds & EPF

What / how else to elaborate ar? Please guide me - i can't read minds.. yet
Help me out a bit - can bounce your Qs / thoughts?

Not all SYTs are like that lar (ie. stealing credit cards), U can try your luck
However, psychologically, i read that when a man thinks with his OTHER head, he usually takes more risks than usual in any decisions.
Thus, please try to be er.. "cool" or take a cold shower first before doing any financial plans or making decisions that impacts one's financials