~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

When I was younger, I used to think traveling was a waste of money, not because I hated traveling.  It was simply how I grew up.  I came from a single-income family in Malaysia.  My father was the sole breadwinner.  My mother was a full-time homemaker taking care of my brother and myself, and also caring for my father’s elderly parents.  Money always had to be used carefully. There was no concept of luxury holidays in my childhood.  No yearly overseas trips.  No airport excitement during school holidays.  No “family vacation” culture like what many middle-class families experience today. On top of financial limitations, my paternal grandmother was afraid of taking flights due to motion sickness.  Therefore, my family never travelled overseas together throughout my childhood and teenage years.  To me, traveling simply did not feel like a normal part of life. Growing up in that environment shaped how I viewed money very strongly.  ...

**Disclaimer:  This post is written with the help of AI, because as a total technology-noob, I do not have the insights to AI development.  As such, much information in this post is gathered with the help of AI. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The AI gold rush has created a strange divide in the investing world. On one side are the American monsters.  Alphabet, NVIDIA, Micron Technology, Microsoft.  These are some of the companies that are leading the AI arms race.  Their revenues are exploding.  Their valuations are astronomical.  Their capital expenditure plans are now measured in hundreds of billions.  Goldman estimates hyperscaler AI capex could hit US$755 billion in 2026 alone, up sharply year-on-year, with much of operating cash flow now redirected toward infrastructure rather than shareholder payouts. On the other side sit traditional dividend investors.  People like myself, buying banks, utilities, ...

Over the years, my Singapore dividend portfolio has slowly evolved into something more structured and intentional.  It is no longer just a random collection of high-yield stocks bought simply because they looked cheap or offered attractive dividends.  Instead, my portfolio today resembles a Qing Dynasty imperial harem ( 后宫 ) hierarchy.  Yes, this link is made because I am an absolute fan of the drama 后宫甄嬛传, even till today. This may sound ridiculous, but surprisingly, this framework actually helps me think clearly about: Conviction levels and portfolio weight Portfolio importance and risk management Dividend reliability and cash flow sustainability Capital allocation priorities (who gets my fresh cash) Promotion and demotion of holdings over time Not every stock deserves to become the Empress ( 皇后 ).  Not every stock deserves permanent favor. Some generate stable heirs (dividends), some stabilize the empire during difficult macro times, some are ...

This post is just for personal reference, to record my personal income and expenses in my journey towards Barista FIRE. For the month of May, nothing special happened.  It was just a normal month, with normal expenses.  I am glad I made time to return to Johor, to treat my mum and aunts to a simple Mother's Day lunch at My KOL cafe, which is quite famous for their curry.  Indeed, it was a great meal, and I personally loved every bit of the curry.  My mum and aunts also gave favorable feedback for this meal.   My KOL Cafe Curry Chicken Kway Teow Back to reality, expenses this month has been normal, with some surplus where I will need to save up for year end insurance payments.  There one additional cost of SGD 200.00 this month, due to the administrative fees for my mortgage repricing.  Starting next month, I get to save about SGD 200.00 per month for my mortgage instalments, so this is definitely good news.  How to spend this SGD 200.00 is still u...