~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

Over the past year, Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE) has had an incredible run.  Compared to just 12 months ago, the share price has risen by almost 100%.  That is a significant rally, especially for a traditionally defensive counter like this.  While I am glad to see one of my core dividend holdings performing so well, the sharp price appreciation has also changed the dynamics of the stock, particularly the yield, which has now been compressed to below 2.5%.  That is a little too low for my liking, especially considering my dividend investing goals. STE has benefited from several positive tailwinds over the past year.  Its aerospace division recovered strongly with global air travel rebounding, and its defense and smart city solutions continued to see robust demand.  The company also announced multiple new contract wins, both locally and globally, which boosted investor confidence.  More importantly, to dividend investors like myself, STE int...

Earlier this year, I made two new additions to my dividend portfolio, namely Riverstone and Kimly, as part of my ongoing effort to diversify my income stream with consistent dividend payers.  Recently, I am adding a new name to that list: HRNet Group (SGX: CHZ). This decision came after careful thought, and more importantly, as a tactical reallocation of funds.  I recently did a partial divestment of Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE), a strong blue-chip stock that I still like and hold.  However, with its share price shooting up significantly this year, the allocation based on market value to STE is growing too large for my comfort, and the dividend yield has already compressed to below 2.4% at one point, which no longer justifies a full position for someone like me who prioritizes dividend yield as part of my Barista FIRE journey. Why I Sold Part of STE I did not sell out of STE completely.  It remains a core holding in my portfolio, and still the largest ...

This is a relatively short post, and I just want to share my personal thoughts (to myself) and record it down as a constant reminder to myself in my dividend investing journey. This post is inspired by a conversation in the Dividend Investing Telegram Group.  How will one feel financially if one day, an investor is paid SGD 250 daily, rain or shine, not through active income, but through dividends?  Sounds too good to be true?  Maybe.  But let me churn the numbers to see if it is achievable. To Achieve SGD 250 Per Day: Annual Dividends required = SGD 250 * 365 days = SGD 91,250 Assuming 5% Dividend Yield, Portfolio Value Required = SGD 91,250 / 0.05 = SGD 1.825M As shown above, the capital required is quite massive (for me), and its not easy to achieve, especially when one is just earning a median income in Singapore.  However, dividend investing is never a one hit wonder nor a "get-rich-quick" scheme.  It is a journey, a lengthy, but in my personal opinion...

3rd July 2025 marks a historic moment for Singapore’s stock market.  The Straits Times Index (STI) has finally broken past its long-standing ceiling and closed at a new all-time high of 4019.57 points.  For years, the STI has lagged behind other global indices, frequently described as "boring", "defensive", or "undervalued", often trapped between 3000 and 3400.  Some others even nicknamed it the "Super Terrible Index".  However now, after what feels like a long, frustrating wait, I have finally witnessed a psychological and technical breakthrough and it feels both exciting and oddly sobering. As someone who has been building a dividend-oriented portfolio in Singapore for years, this moment is more than just a number.  It feels like validation, a recognition that Singapore-listed companies are not stagnant, and that patience can eventually be rewarded.  It is a reminder that value and yield still matter in the long run.  I have been collecting di...

This month marks the end of the 2nd quarter of 2025.  Thus it's 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.  Currently, my US Growth Portfolio consist of mainly big tech names, bank and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Being a relatively conservative investor, I prefer to dollar cost average (DCA) into the market to slowly build up my portfolio.  The advantages of using Interactive Brokers to buy the US shares via DCA are undoubtedly the low fees and ability to buy fractional shares of mega-cap technology shares like Alphabet and Tesla.  This month is marked by many events which heightened the volatility of t...

Just for heads up, I think this post may ruffle some feathers, but I want to say that I am not targeting any specific person.  I am just sharing my thoughts through a general post.  Most of the following points are my personal opinions while some are thoughts share by my friends during casual discussions.  I am not against any individuals following the recommendations by gurus and performing the investment transactions on their own.  Instead, what is baffling me is why individuals pass their monies to gurus who will "invest" on their behalf. In today’s financial world, it has never been easier for individuals to start investing.  With low-cost Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), robo-advisors, and a mountain of free educational resources from books, YouTube videos and blogs, anyone with a smartphone and internet connection can begin building their own portfolio in just minutes.  Yet, despite this transformation in the investing world towards simplification, many...

Two and a half months ago, I shared a post titled " Handling Challenges With Positivity: Improving Health When There Is Less Work ", where I opened up about the struggles I was facing and the mindset I hoped to adopt to navigate them.  Today, as I look back on that chapter, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude and renewed clarity.  Life has not become perfect, but I have changed, improved and adapted, and that in itself has made a world of difference for myself. Better in Body, Mind, and Spirit Since November 2024, I have lost 9% of my body weight.  That milestone did not come overnight, instead it came through consistent effort, healthier habits, and a shift in priorities.  More importantly, my latest health checkup confirmed that every one of my health metrics has either improved or stayed at a good level since February 2025.  This validation from within (my own body) means more to me than any external affirmation.  It is a reminder that progress ...

As someone who has been on a slow and steady journey toward financial independence, I have always believed in the power of investing for income, especially after I stuck on to this strategy since 2018, and it has proved to serve me well.  Recently, I read Get Rich with Dividends by Marc Lichtenfeld, and it helped to anchor and strengthen my belief in investing in dividend-paying companies, not just for passive income, but as a signal of a business’s financial health. First and foremost, many would think that the best system introduced by Lichtenfeld is the 10-11-12 system, which stands for aiming for 10% average annual yield on cost, 11% average annual total return, and 12 years to double your income.  To me, all this are too technical and too much of a hassle for me to keep track.  All I am looking for is consistent dividend payout from the companies I own.  As long as dividend-payment are recurring, I will continue to hold.  For cyclical businesses, dividend c...

If you are a dividend investor in Singapore working towards Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE), you are likely already focused on building a passive income stream that can cover your expenses without the need to rely on active employment.  However, generating consistent dividends is not just about stock selection, it is also about how you allocate your capital across different individual stocks. Many retail investors, including myself in the past, overlooked this crucial piece of the puzzle, only to find themselves overly exposed to risk or receiving unpredictable income streams during market downturns.  In this post, I will share my perspectives on why individual stock allocation matters, how it affects your sustainability in FIRE, and what a prudent allocation strategy might look like.  Do note that the following are not absolute.  Individual investor can further fine-tune the numbers to suit your personal risk appetite.   Of course, this will b...

This will be a relatively short post, just to update on the transactions for the month. For the month of May, it was a rather muted month compared to April.  The old adage of “Sell in May and Go Away” seemed to be missing this year, especially when the US markets have rebounded strongly back towards the high, as Trump continues to reach tariff deals of some sort with various countries.  How long will this last before Trump changes again is anyone's guess, and probably only Trump himself knows.  The only triggering event this month is the downgrade of US credit rating by Moody's from AAA to AA1.  Moody's is the last rating agency to 'kick' US out of the triple A ratings club, with Fitch Rating last downgraded US back in 2023. Another event that triggered me from making many moves this month is the further weakening of the USD.  Back in April, USD : SGD has weakened from 1 : 1.35 to 1 : 1.31.  In May, the exchange rate has dropped below 1.30.  So probab...

With the popularity of AI currently, I heard of many folks asking AI how well their portfolio is, and what be done to further improve their personal portfolio.  To join in the fun, I decided to the same, and asked ChatGPT the following questions: 1)     How does my current portfolio compare to the All Weather Portfolio (AWP)? 2)     Is my current portfolio sustainable for preserving and growing wealth? 3)     Can my portfolio reliably support living off dividends within 4 years (when I retire in JB)? The following are all the responses and analysis generated by AI. 1)      How does my current portfolio compare to the All Weather Portfolio (AWP)? Asset Allocation vs. All Weather Portfolio Key Differences: a)     Still very equity-heavy (73% vs. 30%) – more volatile and growth-prone, but riskier in downturns. b)     Low allocation to hard assets like gold/commodities. c)     ...

This is going to be a relatively short post as it is just going to serve as a reminder and reflection for my personal investing journey.  Nothing discussed here should be treated as financial advice of any sorts, it is just my personal thoughts and actions. In my previous post , I mentioned that I have the intention to liquidate part of my US Growth Portfolio to either further diversify into the Malaysia stock market, or to channel the funds back to the Singapore market.  The purpose for doing this is to further prop up my dividend portfolio, to increase my dividend income for the years ahead.  At the same time, I would probably focus solely on growing my US Portfolio via ETFs like VOO, VTV and FXI in my portfolio moving forward, instead of individual shares.  At the start of May, the currency movements were worrisome as the US Dollar started weakening rapidly against major currencies as well as all ASEAN currencies.  In addition, Singapore Dollar has also weake...

This month, I added 2 companies into my SG Dividend Portfolio, namely Kimly and Riverstone.  In this post, I will document my reasons for choosing these 2 specific stocks and some of the pros and cons of owning their shares.  Currently it is just a small addition, and they only take up less than 1% allocation in my overall portfolio.  However do note that this is not financial advice.  I am not recommending anyone to buy or sell these shares.  All that is written below is for my personal perusal and a record of my investing journey.  If any of the numbers provided below are wrongly stated, I would like to apologize in advance and kindly highlight to me to do the necessary amendment. Why I Decided to Buy Kimly Shares Kimly is a Singapore-based Food & Beverage (F&B) operator, and one of the largest traditional coffee shop operators in Singapore.  Its business is divided into Coffee Shop (Outlet Management), Food Retail (e.g. food courts, mixed ri...

This is going to be a relatively short post as it is just going to serve as a reminder and reflection for my personal investing journey.  Nothing discussed here should be treated as financial advice of any sorts, it is just my personal thoughts. It has been 88 months since January 2018 till April 2025, and I think it is a good time (and an auspicious number) for me to start looking back and reflecting on my investing journey thus far.  January 2018 is the time when I started recording and tabulating my investing journey with a concrete plan in mind.  I had decided to invest for the long term and accumulate shares of good companies for the long time, with dividend play in mind. Initially, portfolio growth was mainly due to capital injection and any growth was slow.  However, I understand this is how dividend investing is going to be.  No rocket to the moon, no exciting multi-baggers, just slow and steady compounding in play, and I am fine with it.  This is b...

As 2025 unfolds, savvy investors in Singapore are watching closely as a combination of macro-economic shifts unfolds: T-bills' interests are softening, the Singapore Savings Bonds (SSB) are offering declining yields, high-yield savings accounts like UOB One and OCBC 360 are trimming their headline rates, and the much-loved Central Provident Fund (CPF) Special Account (SA) for individuals aged 55 and above has officially closed. With these traditionally safe, fixed-income options becoming less attractive or obsolete, the big question on my mind is "will this wave of capital now turn towards the Singapore stock market, particularly into high-dividend plays like REITs and bank stocks, and push their prices higher"? Why I Think More Liquidity May Enter the Market And Boost Dividend Stocks 1)      The Income Substitution Effect With the erosion of “safe” passive income options like T-bills, SSBs, and high-yield savings accounts, income-seeking investors, especially retir...