Dividends and Dopamine, that other D&D I play

 

I made the right choice to read The Molecule of More by Lieberman and Long last month, and the core idea is that almost all of our motivation comes from the neurotransmitter Dopamine. The book's idea is also useful, as I take some time to understand myself slightly better.

After 5 decades, I've been noticing some of my own personality traits that are very different from those of others and from almost all my friends. I plan so far ahead and create so many contingencies that I don't really have the capability to enjoy the present. Otherwise, I can enjoy anticipating a nice soak at the Onsen at Kallang Wave, but often get impatient once I'm actually there, taking the dip in the hot pools. I can't seem to find an MBTI or Big5 explanation for this until I read this volume. The closest character I can find is a Warhammer 40,000 entity known as Kairos the Fateweaver, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch (shown above).

According to the book, I have a dopaminergic personality, which makes me more susceptible to a dopamine rush and less affected by other neurotransmitters like serotonin and endorphins that help me enjoy the moment.

Of course, the next thing I had to do was to understand my obsession with building a dividend portfolio that would allow me to live on my dividends, way before more people would even consider retirement planning a bad idea, so here is a powerful table of neurotransmitters that activate when a dividend hits your bank account.

As it turns out, dividends trigger different neurotransmitters, so psychological benefits accrue to people beyond the dopaminergic personality, but it is the anticipatory dopamine that drives the behaviour: self-denial, delayed gratification, and the obsessive frugality that enables FIRE to succeed.

Of course, the rabbit hole goes deeper. Do dividends produce different neurotransmitters than capital gains? ChatGPT has the following answer :

Capital gains may create a different chemical cocktail in the brain, which may explain the stubbornness of dividend investors and why it's not as simple as telling them to sell parts of an ETF to generate synthetic income.

I will leave some disturbing ideas for readers.

Once we know which neurotransmitter needs to be active to generate a financial behaviour, some crazy technocrat can find a way to stimulate a population into consuming recklessly. Technically, the approved technique is via a marketing campaign, but cocaine can throw a person's dopamine into overdrive. 

What if we're becoming unsure as to whether someone is really pulling the strings on our financial behaviour? 

I survived a nightmare scenario for CDP investors

 

Today's article is relevant to old-school investors who hold their stocks in CDP. I'm sharing my personal story for two reasons: first, to help CDP investors who haven't encountered this issue before; and second, to seek comments from other investors who have found better ways to deal with the situation.

So let's start with the investment that led to the fracas. I have an ETF called IS Asia HYG (Ticker: QL3). This is a good investment for me because it yields decently and is not correlated with banks and REITs on SGX, as it invests in high-yield Asian Bonds. It pays every 3 months at the end of March, June, September and December. Because payment is in USD, it is often delayed by a day or over the weekend, so it pays in the dividend dry months of January, April, July, and October in SGD directly into the bank account.

I was tracking the dividend, and on the 2nd of January 2026, not only did the dividend not arrive, but the Direct Credit Scheme, some sort of dividends pipeline that connects to a joint-account CDP of mine with a DBS joint account, was found to be suspended.

There was obviously some cause for panic, since this had never happened to me before, so I did the worst thing an investor can do: I consulted ChatGPT to find out why.

ChatGPT took me on a wild goose chase. It informed me that joint account connections are no longer valid and that banks will, based on events affecting the account, suspend these links in the future without grounds for appeal. 

As you can imagine, I panicked even further. 

I went online and tried to re-establish the link. On Monday, I went to the CDP office itself.

As it turns out, CDP no longer has counters. If you are physically present, there is a phone to dial in, and you wait like everyone else who calls a call centre. Eventually, I managed to get someone to explain to me that re-establishing the link was the right thing to do, and that the joint-account status just means the banks will take longer to activate the link. The call-centre staff explained that the breakage was a processing error caused on their side.

It took about 4 business days from link activation to re-establish the link, and the dividend came a day after that.

So the TL;DR of the story is: if a dividend is late, check the Direct Credit Scheme for the account; if it is suspended, just re-activate it using the bank account it was previously tied to.

 But the story is not over.

Before I even received my dividend, CDP decided to conduct a KYC check on me. Initially, I wrote back in anger, asking whether KYC was a prerequisite to re-establish my DCS, as it felt like a punishment when the processing mistake was theirs. 

At the moment, I submitted all my KYC documents as I did not want to delay subsequent payments, but that took at least 2 man-hours to generate my pay slips and bank statements.

So all-in-all, 2026 has been an administratively tough year because my dividend pipeline broke. 

I have no idea what would happen if the investor is an old boomer who suddenly finds his cash flow cut off and would need to go online to re-establish the link.

It's 2026 ! Happy New Year everyone !

 

2026 should be an exciting year ahead for Singapore investors, but I shall wait for Dr Wealth to publish my articles, so just hang on while Dr Wealth collates the input from all their trainers.

At the moment, I have yet to come up with a coherent plan for 2026. I would still have law lessons to teach, and I'm still forming my ERM class for March 2026. So there are no concrete plans to launch a new initiative as yet.

What is new in my life is formal singing classes, and I intend to do this until I can participate in a concert in April 2026. This is surprisingly uncomfortable and hard, as I've been singing wrong all this time at karaoke, and I'm going through the bottom of the J-Curve at the moment, as I can't hit my head voice yet. Still, I am patient and will see whether I can sustain this after April's milestone.

The rest of my plans will be finalised at the Chinese New Year. In the past, I have always been able to find something positive in every new year, as I follow both the horoscopes of the Tiger and Rat. (I was born in the year of the Tiger but the day and month of the Rat.) But according to some readings for 2026, both Rats and Tigers will have a challenging year ahead.

So right now I'm waiting for Joey Yap to release details on his projections. Joey Yap is my favourite astrologer because he sounds more like a management consultant than a Bazi expert. His advice is also good, even if you do not believe in astrology - it's probably the same thing that a business mentor will say.

The preview for me is that Rats need to experience some kind of change and pivot in 2026, while Tigers have strong academic luck. So I expect to find more creative ways to spend my SkillsFutures in 2026. I should also be attending a talk on PhD programmes in SMU. 

Anyway, here's to a fantastic 2026, and I will catch up with you for more updates over the weekend.

End of one month of not reading tech or business titles

As I spent the greater part of the year immersed in technology and finance books, I would now go through December intensely, reading things I would not usually read for my work. And the experience is actually more negative than I expected, even though I would enjoy a few fantasy novels. Still, then I would veer into the unknown, and last year I found this book, The Singapore Grip, by J. G. Farrell, really dull.

So this year, I will detail three books I did not enjoy, but I suspect some readers of my blog might find them worth reading.

1) I'm not lazy, I'm in energy-saving mode by Dancing Snail

This book's success is probably based on a single idea. Introverts read, but introverts are not as valued in the real world as extroverts. So let's make introverts feel good about themselves.

I finished this book in one day because it's mostly pictures and someone sharing inane thoughts. South Koreans are so stressed that a particular genre of cosy self-help is emerging to save some stressed workers from the toxic cultures they are stuck in. 

Authors in Korea can make a lot of money by simply telling everyone it's okay to be like that.

Maybe the working title of my next book should be My PSLE grades are shit, but I also want to eat  Chwee Kueh.

2) To the Moon by Jang Ryu Jin

Reading this book actually angered me. 

When I read a fictional story about cryptocurrency, I expect it to have a pretty shitty ending, with the crypto crashing and dreams and friendships getting dashed. It would be a moral lesson for the reader.

So imagine my shock that the book actually has a good ending with a plausible reason to exit ETH at its peak, and everyone lives happily ever after that.

I was initially afraid this would be used as marketing collateral for the next wave of shitcoin crypto schemes, but I realise that crypto bros and incels might be too dumb to read a work of fiction to understand its value.

Still, if you happen to be a deluded crypto bro who loves talking up shitcoins in your Tinder dates, this book is for you. 

3) The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa

I bought this book because I judged a book by its cover - and I paid the price for my folly. 

The edition with autumn leaves on its cover looks good on the shelf, except that nothing of note actually happens in the story on the Hankyu Line. 

Some unpleasant people met some less unpleasant people on a train, then conversations happened, some wisdom was shared, and some relationships shifted as a result. 

(You do realise that I enjoyed Warhammer 40k fiction, and Inquisitor Eisenhorn can lose an arm in the prologue of a novel and would eventually bind a daemon to his loyal friend's corpse, why the f**k do I care about annoying tai-tais reserving seats on a train?)

But I can imagine Western audiences lapping this up as its chapters are named after the stations on the line, with some flavourful local references, so it doubles up as a travel guide as well.

A local English Literature major can replicate the success of the book. Just take an MRT from Jurong East to Marina Bay, and at every station, something random but funny happens, like an uncle starts gooning an OL between City Hall and Raffles City and gets blanket-partied by a section of NS men.

4) So what's a good read?

Ok, some readers might get upset with me that I'm only sharing my worst reads this holiday, so what book of fiction should I recommend to a Singaporean reader?

It's not wise to judge a book by its cover. 

But I can judge a book by the hefty advance, and the author gets to write a work of fiction.

My favourite local book this year is The Original Daughter by Jemima Wei.

Just buy and read this for 2026. If you are very giam then wait for the Culture Pass to be enabled for local books.

See you tomorrow night for my article on 2026!

Personal update as I hit my 51st birthday

 

I get three chances to plan for any upcoming year. First round on Christmas Day, which is my birthday. Second round in the New Year, a week later. And a final round, which is quite far away in 2026, on Feb 17 for the Chinese New Year.

But as of late, whatever I have planned for 2026 is already in progress. I'm definitely winding down all my initiatives as I'm already around the 2/3rd mark of my life. I currently see three medical specialists - one for my diabetes, which I forcefully transitioned into insulin jabs to reduce my dependence on my drug cocktail, one for thyroid eye disease and now I have physio sessions to deal with my frozen shoulder.

a) Financial Markets

This is a rare year where folks who invested locally won big. I could not see it coming at all. Even though MAS had that EQDP planned, no one foresaw that Liberation Day would eventually push funds out of US bond markets to the rest of the world, with Singapore a favoured haven for its stability and strong currency. Valuations are still reasonable, and next year would not be as solid as 2025, so there's some more upside to go, especially for REITs. 

I'm one of the few folks who actually agree with DBS's forecast that the STI will reach 10,000 by 2040. I've been a believer even during the years when dividend investing on the Super Terrible Index was considered a "dangerous" thing to do. Now my family has reached a million per capita, thanks to this stubbornness, without a single person holding a "real job". 

I tell people that dividend investing in Singapore is a broken clock, but a broken clock can still be right twice a day, and you only need to be right once to get rich.

At around 5,160, I will take some steps to consolidate my assets. 

b) Work initiatives

Other than lucking out in financial markets, work has not been great, with lecturing gigs being sporadic and unreliable. Business is also bad in the training field. I expect 2026 to be the worst year ever. Still, I see myself updating course materials to sharpen my proficiency as an investor, incorporating LLMs into them and refining prompts to improve investment results.

In this area, I'm glad I actually did what I wanted to last Christmas: get the ACLP with my Skillsfutures credits.

The big deal in 2025 is that, as my gigs start to dwindle, I was able to create a fully monetised YouTube channel, opening another career possibility as a YouTuber. I'm cautious about advancing this area as I want to work on a more measured pace and build helpful videos once a week, but I can capture 1,000 views in a week. I doubt the investment of time would pay off without sponsors, but I am not willing to work with financial institutions that can give me a unique voice in this space.

c) Learning Goals

I'm not going to make big moves until I get the metaphysical readings right for the Year of the Fire Horse, which augurs a fairly terrible year for me. Right now, I'm enjoying singing lessons and taking them quite seriously. My school is fun, and students will be performing in April 2026, so I want to participate in my first-ever singing concert.

If gigs dry up in 2026, I may pursue a serious course and see whether I can get mid-career support from the government, but this is limited to 2 years for all Singaporeans, and I might want to save it for a rainy day.

d) Hobbies 

With singing and content creation, readers of the blog will notice that I've been contemplating quitting D&D for a while. You need to empty the cup before you can fill it with something else. But I don't think that it's time to make such a decision yet - it would be made if my kids have no interest in my hobbies. 

In fact, I spent $400 getting the deluxe versions of all three rulebooks and planned to game this holiday season. If the year of the Fire Horse is going to be that bad for me, I need more avenues to destress.

I would talk more about the year ahead next week. 

Useful instagram channels for you to enjoy this holiday season

As we head towards Christmas, I wanted to share a few Instagram channels I follow that can sharpen our investment savvy over time. I do not zoom into financial channels because I prefer to read to further develop my expertise. 

Hence, the channels I love focus on geographical regions I'm interested in. 

a) Tim Tiah for insights on Malaysia

Timtiah gives a more accurate view of the Malaysian economy than reading newspapers like The Star or The New Straits Times, which spend too much time on politics. Tim's reporting is very even-handed and paints a relatively optimistic picture of Malaysia. Over time, I suspect Tim's strength lies in his focus on the economy rather than on politics, so Singaporean fans won't be frightened off by UMNO's racial politics.

You can follow Tim here.

https://www.instagram.com/timtiah/ 

b) Yuan Pu Huang for insights on China

This space is actually getting crowded. Yuan is an interesting channel as he is a scholar who has made it his personal mission to help the Western world understand China a little more. China is too big to analyse as a whole, with Chengdu being a chill place and Shenzhen being way faster than cities like New York, so Yuan is a valuable guide to help us better understand China.

Like all media from Greater China, we have to absorb both the negative press from the West, such as The Economist magazine, and, while I found Yuan quite balanced six months ago, he has recently become more critical of the West and more defensive about China. 

Nevertheless, it's not easy to find balanced reporting, and we need to read books by Dan Wang and Hu Anyan to better understand China. This is a lifelong educational process.

Whether you like it or not, China will become more critical to the next generation. 

https://www.instagram.com/yuanunpackschina/

c) Nicholas Wu for insights on Indonesia

This channel is a guilty pleasure for me because Nicholas Wu is a seasoned businessman who has experienced a lot in Indonesia, and it's where he voices his frustrations about what it's like to be a Singaporean there. 

Singaporeans who want to build their credentials but prefer to do it in Hard or Inferno mode may want to try Indonesia instead of the unusual places like China or the US. It's videos like this that make me grateful for being Singaporean. 

https://www.instagram.com/paknicaman/

Why do I like channels like this?

I suspect it's probably a realisation that I've spent most of my career in Singapore and feel like a frog in the well. In hindsight, the most successful Gen X careers involve a long stint overseas.

Would I have been able to generate the same amount of wealth and cruise after age 39 if I had built an engineering career elsewhere? I can speculate. Fortunately for me, I no longer have a need to explore that.

But I want this option for my kids in the future. 

Made a rookie mistake contributing into Medisave this year.

 

I just came back from a 3-day holiday in Bintan and wanted to talk about it, because reading this might help someone else avoid the same mistake I made.

Earlier this year, my mum got hospitalised, and the hospital debited $12,000 from my Medisave account. As I wanted to lower my tax liability, I took dividend payouts to reimburse my Medisave, since all 5 members relied on it, as I have no ISP. 

So that was my first mistake: the maximum claimable tax deductible is capped at $8,000, at least based on what Havend's CPF guide said. The excess $4,000 does not do squat for my taxes.

I realised my second mistake two weeks ago when the CPF board wrote to me to say that I still need to make about $4k+ contributions to my CPF-MA from my freelance work in 2024. 

That was my second mistake because I thought my $12k contribution would perform double duty and offset the $4k owed from income earned in 2024. I found out the hard way that it was not the case. 

So I spent the day at the CPF Board to ask around if there's anything I can do to avoid the $4k contribution. The staff there cannot do anything for me, so they asked me to submit an appeal online.

But rules are rules, and I did not read the fine print. Even if the CPF Board can bend the rules because I am acting as a responsible member throughout the year, I'm not sure how many hoops I need to jump through to finally get the $4k waived.

In the end, what made me give up on pursuing this case was hearing a sad story about someone who got scammed. I imagine my funds safely tucked in my CPF-MA, and the only way I can get "scammed" is a policy change when every Singaporean gets scammed together.  

 

I went beyond just paying what I owed to my CPF-MA; I secured my mortgage for the upcoming year and covered family expenses. The damage to the liquid funds was profound, and I still need to have enough funds through January 2026 and the Chinese New Year, which is a dry dividends period.

Then I had an idea.

I have a toy leverage account with IBKR that I use to teach leveraged investing to my students. It's been collecting my training fees for a while, and I've not touched the dividends for aeons, as it was just there to offset the amounts owed to the broker. 

Looking at the interest rate, I realised that it has fallen so low that it is around 3.3-3.4%, lower than CPF-MA, and I am not counting the meagre tax benefits I get from my contribution. 

So I withdrew a small amount of SGD to cover my cash needs through January and February.

Right now, my leverage ratio is conservative at x1.6, invested in a dividend account that offsets margin account fees. 

But it's funny that I'm borrowing money to contribute to my Medisave. 

So am I a guru or a goondu?

Anyway, the moral of the story is, if you want to top up your Medisave, cap it at $8,000; there's always next year.