~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

This is not an account about skill, foresight, or macro-brilliance. This is a short account of how I ended up owning a small amount of physical gold and silver, largely through chance, modest curiosity, and a bit of luck, and what that experience taught me about diversification. How It Began I bought my first piece of physical gold in February 2024.  I was hoping to slowly dollar cost average into gold, buying one ounce yearly  to accumulate my position in precious metal, as a form of diversification.  There was no strong thesis behind it.  I was not trying to bet against fiat currencies or make a bold macro call.  It felt more like owning something tangible outside the financial system, even if the position itself was small.  I remember I was mocked by someone online, someone whom I did not know personally, for buying that piece of gold near all time high at that time. However as time passes, prices of gold climbed to further highs and it became out of...

One of the biggest perks of blogging is I can easily look back at previous posts and compare which are the goals I have successfully achieved and which has fallen behind.  In this first post of 2026, I will like to reflect upon 2025, and compare with what I had written in this  post  one year ago to assess my achievements. 1)     Liquidating My US Growth Portfolio This has been a huge debate with myself this year, whether I should continue investing in US Growth stocks, or liquidate the portfolio to pay off my Malaysia mortgage loan.  In the end, I chose the latter, and enjoy the peace of mind and positive cashflow with my finances in Malaysia.  I know I may miss out the huge upside (and facts has shown that), but I am not regretting what I am missing out, instead I am cherishing and looking forward to a slower pace of life next year, with lesser financial stress from the mortgage debts that I have. Will I restart and rebuild this US Growth P...

This month marks the end of the 4th quarter of 2025.  Thus being the last post of 2025, it is definitely a good time for me to record the performance of my portfolio to track how it has been. To recap, I started my SG Dividends Portfolio in late 2017, and I began tracking the dividends and all reinvestment done starting 2018.  To date, my SG Dividends Portfolio consist of banks, REITs and defense technology.  On the other hand, I only started the US Growth Portfolio in late December 2021, but I have since liquidated my entire US Growth Portfolio in September 2025 to pay off my Malaysia mortgage loan.  Currently, my equities allocation is 100% in SG Dividend Portfolio. Being a relatively conservative investor, I prefer to dollar cost average (DCA) into the market to slowly build up my portfolio.  The latest FED meeting in December has announced another 25 basis point rate cut, and has further signaled that there will be fewer rate cuts in 2026 (dot plot signale...

In a previous post, I discussed about budgeting and controlling expenses, and one important step in budgeting is savings.  Saving money does not have to feel like a chore.  In fact, with the right methods, it can become surprisingly addictive, just like a personal challenge one can look forward to daily.  Below is a list of 15 creative, practical, and beginner-friendly saving strategies that can suitably cater to students, working professionals, fresh graduates, or someone who always struggles to save.  There is always one method that is suitable for one's lifestyle. Savings can be flexible.  When income is higher, save more.  When money is tight, save less.  What truly matters is developing the habit of consistent, automatic saving, a habit that eventually gives one financial confidence and long-term security for investing and wealth building. 1)      The 30-Day Countdown Challenge A simple daily saving routine: Day 1 save SGD 30, ...