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Does your country have a nationwide life annuity scheme? Singapore does, and it’s called The Central Provident Fund (CPF).
So how does the CPF work? When young Singaporeans receive their first pay from a job, there is no turning back. A certain portion from the salary will be automatically deducted and then channeled into their CPF account, in what is perhaps the best illustration of “paying yourself first”. This continues until they reach the age of 55, in which the funds in their CPF account will be deposited into a Retirement Account. When they reach 65 years old, they will be able to enjoy monthly payouts for as long as they live. The exact amount of this payout depends on how disciplined Singaporeans are in terms of stockpiling money into their Retirement Account throughout their working life.
All this sounds very sensible and reassuring. And I’m grateful to be born Singapore because I can take advantage of this national policy that will ease my anxiety about retirement. In fact, I have been featured on CPF Facebook page before for extolling its virtues. (Check our my thumbnail.)
Nevertheless, CPF doesn’t ignite my imagination and set my adrenaline pumping as much as cryptocurrencies do.
People often caution not to invest ourselves - financially and emotionally - into cryptocurrencies because of its highly volatile and unregulated nature. Sharp plunged and dramatic theft heists further exacerbate the FUD people have towards cryptocurrencies.
However, is it necessarily true that our lives will turn topsy turvy whenever the crypto world is devastated by meteorite-like collisions? I think not. There are ways to earn passive income from crypto - staking, liquidity mining, lending assets to a crypto lending platform. If we don’t get caught up in impulsive trading and speculation, we ought to be able to remain unscathed.
When we venture into the crypto world with warrior hearts, we find an amazing world full of possibilities. Beyond the twin pillars of BTC and ETH, there are so many promising projects, so many exciting entrepreneurial efforts, so many fun frenzies.
When we diversify our crypto portfolio, we are indirectly supporting the founders and developers of these altcoins. We are indirectly shaping public opinion about how we wish to improve the world. When we buy NFTs, we are sustaining the livelihood of digital artists and affirming their life work.
The crypto world thus affords us opportunities to express our inner voice. Our crypto portfolio is imbued with power as it is life affirming and soul stirring. Doesn’t this enhance the flavor of our monotonous lives?
I see CPF and Crypto as yin and yang. They come together to make my life more meaningful.
