~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

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...

This will be a relatively short post, just to update on the transactions for the month. For the month of April, it was a turbulent month of severe downs and ups.  The “Liberation Day” on 2nd April 2025 has caused the markets worldwide to crash by minimally 5% upwards.  The reciprocal tariffs and base tariffs imposed on almost all countries caused massive fears of uncontrollable inflation to return.  After the markets crashed for 1 week, the spike in US 10-year bond yields to above 4.5% levels inevitably freaked out investors further, and the probably the US Government as well.  Hence it lead to Trump's decision to delay the implementation of the reciprocal tariffs by 90 days, except for China.  This sudden 'flip-flop' in decision caused a major rally in the stock markets worldwide, exacerbating the volatility in the markets. Nothing much this month, except my regrets for not being able to buy more stocks during the crash on hindsight.  There was sufficien...

In recent months, the global economy has been rattled by a resurgence of trade tensions, most notably between the United States and China.  This modern-day tariff war, escalating into a full-blown geopolitical standoff, has created uncertainty in markets across the globe.  Amid this turmoil, gold prices have surged to new all-time highs, day after day. while silver has conspicuously lagged behind.  This divergence has puzzled many investors and prompted serious questions about whether now is the right time to continue to invest in these precious metals, especially when we start hearing more uncles and aunties beginning to talk about investing in gold (shoe-shine boy theory). Gold’s Meteoric Rise: A Flight to Safety Gold, together with the long term US Treasury bonds, have historically been viewed as a “safe haven” asset, one that holds or increases its value during periods of economic and geopolitical instability.  The first time I blogged about gold was back in...

This post is written with the help of ChatGPT, as I lacked the necessary in-depth finance knowledge.  There are some points here that are written and has been fact-checked with the relevant information from other sources. In early April 2025 after the "Liberation Day", where Donald Trump started imposing reciprocal tariffs to almost every country, besides the sharp plunge in stock markets which caused my portfolio to drop below the SGD 600K market value "support level", a bewildering sudden and sharp spike in US 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields (more specifically between 9th to 11th April) occurred and this caught markets off guard.  Investors were rattled because usually when stock market crashes occur, investors tend to move funds into the US Treasuries as a form of flight to safety, which tend to lower bond yields.  Hence when the 10-year bond yields suddenly spike from around 4.0% to above 4.5% in a couple of days, media headlines screamed about a potential b...

When I first joined a Telegram discussion group focused on dividend investing, I was looking for an environment with like-minded investors where insights, strategies, and real-world experiences are widely shared from fellow investors.  While I had a basic understanding of dividend investing, engaging in discussions with very much more experienced individuals exposed me to deeper perspectives and valuable lessons that are shaping my investment philosophy. Through my participation, I have come to embrace three key principles:  1)     The importance of staying invested rather than frequently trading; 2)     Managing portfolio allocation wisely to mitigate risks;  3)     Maintaining a calm and patient mindset while enjoying the rewards of dividends.  These lessons have helped me refine my investment approach and reinforce my confidence as a dividend investor. 1)      Do Not Buy and Sell Shares Frequently: Time...