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My Dog Diva and My FIRE Journey

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When we talk about personal finance and FIRE, we usually talk about savings, investment returns, dividend income, cash flow, expenses, portfolio size and retirement age.  But sometimes, something indirectly related to finance ends up influencing our financial journey. For me, that something is Diva. Diva is a Singapore Special, a local mongrel, whom I adopted in 2020.  She was already seven years old when she came into my life.  Today, in 2026, she is 13 years old, and thankfully, she is still healthy and going strong.  I have to give credit to her previous owner for raising her so well.  Diva is obedient, well-mannered and remarkably easy to take care of.  Over the past six years, we have settled into a rather unusual but comfortable relationship. We both mind our own business. Minding Our Own Business When I first adopted Diva while living alone in Singapore during the Covid period, I suppose I imagined the usual pet-owner relationship, lots of playi...
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My Investment Plantation: Why I Still Prefer Picking My Own Stocks

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There is something wonderfully simple about investing in an ETF.  Buy it, hold it, collect the dividends, reinvest them and let the market do the rest.  There is no need to spend hours reading annual reports.  No need to decide whether CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) is more attractive than ParkwayLife REIT (PWLR).  No need to wonder whether Keppel DC REIT (KDCR) is worth buying today or whether another company might be better.  An ETF does much of the work for investors. So why do I continue buying individual stocks even when I know perfectly well that my portfolio could underperform an index ETF?  I continue picking individual stocks because I value something that an ETF cannot give me in quite the same way. Choice. I want to decide what companies I own, how much of each company I own and, especially as a dividend investor, what kind of income my portfolio produces.  However there is a trade-off involved.  The more control I wan...
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Eighth Month of Phase 1 Barista FIRE

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This post is just for personal reference, to record my personal income and expenses in my journey towards Barista FIRE. For the month of August, it was another simple month for me.  Simple life, simple expenses.  However, miscellaneous spending spiked because I am planning for a holiday with my mum and aunt to China this coming November, and a solo trip to Bangkok in January 2027.  This month I finally settled the flights and hotel stay for both trips.  To cover this cost, I decided to pay myself "bonus" in advance instead of as usual in December.  As I am self-employed, this is basically "ownself-pay-ownself", but I feel blessed to have the opportunity to plan and bring two elderly loved ones to somewhere chill for sight-seeing.  Hope all goes well. Besides expenses, I also receive 'bountiful' dividend harvest this month from banks and REITs.  Looking forward to more dividend payments next month.   All in all, after 8 months of phase 1 Baris...
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Portfolio Update for August 2026

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This will be a relatively short post, just to update on the transactions for the month. For the month of August, it was a jittery month.  With the on-going war and the increase in oil prices again back to the USD 80s level, the better than expected CPI numbers calmed down the markets considerably.  I do not really know what to make out of the numbers, as all these reports and numbers were out of my control.  I can only do what I could, which is to remain invested.   Closer to home, the SG markets were rather volatile as well.  All the companies in my portfolio have reported their earnings, and by the end of the month, all have XD, which largely explains the fall in portfolio value.  All the 3 banks announced their earnings, which were all quite expected.  United Overseas Bank (UOB) had an unimpressive quarter and that lead to its share price diving by around 10% from its high despite higher dividend payout.  Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporat...
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Why I Treat CPF As The Bond Portion Of My Portfolio

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My Central Provident Fund (CPF) is one of the less exciting parts of my financial journey is also one of the most important. While many investors spend countless hours searching for the next winning stock, the next high-yield REIT, or the next investment opportunity, my CPF simply sits quietly in the background, doing what it has always done - compounding steadily year after year.  I have never invested a single cent of my CPF monies. As of today, my CPF OA and SA combined are still below SGD150,000.  It is slightly above the Basic Retirement Sum (BRS), but still a long way from the Full Retirement Sum (FRS).  Yet I have no intention of using CPFIS or trying to squeeze out a higher return from these funds.  Instead, I treat my CPF as the bond portion of my portfolio.  For me, CPF is not a tool for maximizing returns.  It is a tool for managing risk. Building Stability While Taking Risk Elsewhere My investment portfolio already provides enough excitement...
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