reporter2
02-05-14, 21:54
http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/sunday/premium/invest/story/economics-tutor-puts-theory-practice-20140427
Economics tutor puts theory into practice
He gave up steady job to pursue interest in teaching and run his own centre
Published on Apr 27, 2014 1:15 AM
http://i.imgur.com/pFuNc1v.jpg
Mr Fok standing next to a caricature of himself on a wall at his tuition centre. Since his is a one-man show, he says he cannot afford to fall sick but feels being self-employed is "much more financially rewarding" than being an employee. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
By Rachael Boon
A passion for educating and a keen in interest in economics have added up to a promising new career for self-employed tutor Anthony Fok.
Mr Fok, 30, looked set for a career as a number cruncher after he left Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with an accountancy degree in 2007 although his interest in teaching remained strong.
He had tutored throughout university and set up a tuition centre in his first year at NTU that he kept going after graduation.
Mr Fok secured a job at one of the big four accountancy firms but it was not to his liking. He left after five months to join the Ministry of Education (MOE) to become a school teacher, drawn by his passion in education.
"If you have no interest in the job, you won't be good at it and I wasn't," he said about his accounting job. "There was no point continuing so I left. I'm just not cut out for it."
He stopped working at the tuition centre as well to concentrate on his career.
After three years of teaching, Mr Fok, who is married with a three-year-old son, felt the business itch again and left the MOE.
He set up JCEconomics.com in 2012, which specialises in A-level economics, at the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, with about $15,000 while also embarking on a doctorate in education.
Economics was a natural fit given that Mr Fok was checking stock and property prices by Primary Three.
"My dad would ask me to check Teletext on television for share prices and the property classified section so that's how I learnt," he says.
Mr Fok says his weekends are taken up with tutoring. Since his is a one-man show, he says he cannot afford to fall sick but feels being self-employed is "much more financially rewarding" than being a salaried employee.
He has at least 50 students and an average monthly income at JCEconomics.com of about $18,000.
"The market is now more competitive, but parents now see tuition as a necessity and I believe I'm at the top for economics tuition," he says.
Mr Fok has also written a 10-year series exam preparation book for A-level Economics, which is sold in major bookstores, and plans to write more.
He does not regret leaving a stable teaching career, and adds: "I want to encourage people who have been thinking of stepping out on their own but are not brave enough to do so."
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I save about 30 per cent in cash and investment portfolio, while the rest goes into business and daily expenses.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I use two credit cards more often to take advantage of the petrol discounts available and for my household expenditure. My average credit card bill is about $5,000 a month. I make sure I pay my bills on time and use the accumulated points to redeem free gifts.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself? What do you invest in?
I spend a few thousand monthly on my life insurance plans, including term plans with critical illnesses cover, whole-life plans and investment-linked plans. I also have personal accident plans and medical plans.
My insurance life cover is more than $1 million. I also own a personal accident plan, a hospitalisation policy and a critical illness cover of about $600,000.
My mum died of breast cancer when she was in her 40s. The medical bills taught me not to "anyhow spend" money; better save some for rainy days. I was told it's hereditary and she didn't smoke or drink, so I'm very paranoid.
I invest mainly in blue chips such as OCBC, DBS, CapitaMall Trust and Singapore Press Holdings. I also park my money in fixed deposits and emerging markets funds that I bought into many years ago.
I stay away from derivatives products such as futures contracts and forex as I am not too savvy about such products.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a family that strongly believed in being frugal. My parents taught me not to spend unnecessarily and to save for rainy days.
Since young, my father would teach me about investments in stock and properties. He's a very thrifty person.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I wanted to try out some of the theories I had learnt at NTU. I invest with what I can afford and ensure that I have sufficient liquidity to buffer any impending crisis.
I also learnt along the way from my dad, but I don't think he intentionally wanted to teach me about investing.
Q: What property do you own?
I bought a resale five-room HDB flat in Jurong West about four and a half years ago to live near my dad.
I am waiting for the five-year minimum occupancy period to end and for the property market to cool slightly before moving out. I may rent first as I don't think prices have reached the bottom yet.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Something is extravagant only if I have totally no use for it - like a white elephant.
I have a three-year-old Renault that keeps breaking down four to five times a year. For one year, I spent about $15,000 on the repairs. I converted it to an off-peak car and just leave it in the carpark as a spare car.
I don't find my Mercedes extravagant as I need to move around but the Renault is because I never use it.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
As a self-employed person, I contribute $2,550 a month to my Central Provident Fund as part of my retirement plan - the maximum amount of voluntary contribution in one calendar year.
Retirement will be very far away, about 25 to 30 years later. As much as I enjoy my work, I do hope that I can spend more time contributing to charity as much as possible in the near future.
For example, I've worked with Fei Yue Community Services to write a book about understanding teenagers.
Q: Home is now...
The five-room flat in Jurong West, opposite Jurong Point Shopping Centre and Boon Lay MRT station.
Q: I drive...
A black Mercedes S-Class. It's a man's thing - cars and all, and it's more reliable.
[email protected]
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
In university, I invested in a business with a few other partners. I lost all my savings of about $100,000 when it failed. I was a sleeping partner and learnt that I shouldn't have touched it if I was not directly involved with it.
But with every mistake, you grow stronger, you have the determination to fight back. Some people who lose money don't dare to try again or risk things again. But at that time, I wasn't married so I wasn't scared of risks.
Q: And your best?
Spending on my own education.
After the Nanyang Technological University, I pursued my postgraduate diploma in education training at the National Institute of Education in 2008.
I spent another $35,000 on my master's in education in 2011, which helped further sharpen my knowledge in the field.
I believe that education is the best investment because it gives people the critical skills and tools to help them better provide for themselves and their family.
Economics tutor puts theory into practice
He gave up steady job to pursue interest in teaching and run his own centre
Published on Apr 27, 2014 1:15 AM
http://i.imgur.com/pFuNc1v.jpg
Mr Fok standing next to a caricature of himself on a wall at his tuition centre. Since his is a one-man show, he says he cannot afford to fall sick but feels being self-employed is "much more financially rewarding" than being an employee. -- ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN
By Rachael Boon
A passion for educating and a keen in interest in economics have added up to a promising new career for self-employed tutor Anthony Fok.
Mr Fok, 30, looked set for a career as a number cruncher after he left Nanyang Technological University (NTU) with an accountancy degree in 2007 although his interest in teaching remained strong.
He had tutored throughout university and set up a tuition centre in his first year at NTU that he kept going after graduation.
Mr Fok secured a job at one of the big four accountancy firms but it was not to his liking. He left after five months to join the Ministry of Education (MOE) to become a school teacher, drawn by his passion in education.
"If you have no interest in the job, you won't be good at it and I wasn't," he said about his accounting job. "There was no point continuing so I left. I'm just not cut out for it."
He stopped working at the tuition centre as well to concentrate on his career.
After three years of teaching, Mr Fok, who is married with a three-year-old son, felt the business itch again and left the MOE.
He set up JCEconomics.com in 2012, which specialises in A-level economics, at the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, with about $15,000 while also embarking on a doctorate in education.
Economics was a natural fit given that Mr Fok was checking stock and property prices by Primary Three.
"My dad would ask me to check Teletext on television for share prices and the property classified section so that's how I learnt," he says.
Mr Fok says his weekends are taken up with tutoring. Since his is a one-man show, he says he cannot afford to fall sick but feels being self-employed is "much more financially rewarding" than being a salaried employee.
He has at least 50 students and an average monthly income at JCEconomics.com of about $18,000.
"The market is now more competitive, but parents now see tuition as a necessity and I believe I'm at the top for economics tuition," he says.
Mr Fok has also written a 10-year series exam preparation book for A-level Economics, which is sold in major bookstores, and plans to write more.
He does not regret leaving a stable teaching career, and adds: "I want to encourage people who have been thinking of stepping out on their own but are not brave enough to do so."
Q: Are you a spender or saver?
I save about 30 per cent in cash and investment portfolio, while the rest goes into business and daily expenses.
Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
I use two credit cards more often to take advantage of the petrol discounts available and for my household expenditure. My average credit card bill is about $5,000 a month. I make sure I pay my bills on time and use the accumulated points to redeem free gifts.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself? What do you invest in?
I spend a few thousand monthly on my life insurance plans, including term plans with critical illnesses cover, whole-life plans and investment-linked plans. I also have personal accident plans and medical plans.
My insurance life cover is more than $1 million. I also own a personal accident plan, a hospitalisation policy and a critical illness cover of about $600,000.
My mum died of breast cancer when she was in her 40s. The medical bills taught me not to "anyhow spend" money; better save some for rainy days. I was told it's hereditary and she didn't smoke or drink, so I'm very paranoid.
I invest mainly in blue chips such as OCBC, DBS, CapitaMall Trust and Singapore Press Holdings. I also park my money in fixed deposits and emerging markets funds that I bought into many years ago.
I stay away from derivatives products such as futures contracts and forex as I am not too savvy about such products.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?
I grew up in a family that strongly believed in being frugal. My parents taught me not to spend unnecessarily and to save for rainy days.
Since young, my father would teach me about investments in stock and properties. He's a very thrifty person.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
I wanted to try out some of the theories I had learnt at NTU. I invest with what I can afford and ensure that I have sufficient liquidity to buffer any impending crisis.
I also learnt along the way from my dad, but I don't think he intentionally wanted to teach me about investing.
Q: What property do you own?
I bought a resale five-room HDB flat in Jurong West about four and a half years ago to live near my dad.
I am waiting for the five-year minimum occupancy period to end and for the property market to cool slightly before moving out. I may rent first as I don't think prices have reached the bottom yet.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
Something is extravagant only if I have totally no use for it - like a white elephant.
I have a three-year-old Renault that keeps breaking down four to five times a year. For one year, I spent about $15,000 on the repairs. I converted it to an off-peak car and just leave it in the carpark as a spare car.
I don't find my Mercedes extravagant as I need to move around but the Renault is because I never use it.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
As a self-employed person, I contribute $2,550 a month to my Central Provident Fund as part of my retirement plan - the maximum amount of voluntary contribution in one calendar year.
Retirement will be very far away, about 25 to 30 years later. As much as I enjoy my work, I do hope that I can spend more time contributing to charity as much as possible in the near future.
For example, I've worked with Fei Yue Community Services to write a book about understanding teenagers.
Q: Home is now...
The five-room flat in Jurong West, opposite Jurong Point Shopping Centre and Boon Lay MRT station.
Q: I drive...
A black Mercedes S-Class. It's a man's thing - cars and all, and it's more reliable.
[email protected]
WORST AND BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
In university, I invested in a business with a few other partners. I lost all my savings of about $100,000 when it failed. I was a sleeping partner and learnt that I shouldn't have touched it if I was not directly involved with it.
But with every mistake, you grow stronger, you have the determination to fight back. Some people who lose money don't dare to try again or risk things again. But at that time, I wasn't married so I wasn't scared of risks.
Q: And your best?
Spending on my own education.
After the Nanyang Technological University, I pursued my postgraduate diploma in education training at the National Institute of Education in 2008.
I spent another $35,000 on my master's in education in 2011, which helped further sharpen my knowledge in the field.
I believe that education is the best investment because it gives people the critical skills and tools to help them better provide for themselves and their family.