~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

This will be a relatively short post, just to update on the transactions for the month. For the month of October, it was a eventful month for my portfolio.  In the first half of the month, attention was on the possible ignition of the US-China trade war as China started imposing more restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals, and implementing new controls on technologies used in rare earth processing.  This news angered Donald Trump temporarily, and he threatened to impose a further 100% tariffs on China.  This caused a short term blip in the markets, because soon after he TACO ("Trump Always Chicken Out") and declared such tariffs are not sustainable and he and President Xi are still on good terms. Another concern will be the frothy valuations in US Technology companies.  Although I no longer own any US stocks at the moment, the performance of the US markets will still have an impact on the performance of the SG market.  I am unsure if US big tech...

All these years, many financial gurus and YouTubers claimed that “there is no such thing as passive income”.  Their argument is simple- every form of income, whether from investments, property, or online ventures, requires some level of effort, attention, and maintenance.  To be fair, they are not entirely wrong.  However, from a Singapore context, I think it is worth taking a deeper look because to me, while no income stream is completely passive, some are sufficiently passive, and dividend investing fits that description quite well. The Naysayers’ View - No Such Thing as Passive Income Let’s start with the critics. Those who dismiss the idea of “passive income” often point to these realities: 1)      Initial Effort Required Every “passive” stream starts with effort, including but not limited to learning, research, and capital accumulation.  Whether it is building a dividend portfolio or buying a rental property, there is a steep learning curve...

Previously, I wrote about how compounding is the 8th wonder of the world.  When used wisely, it is the magic that helps me grow wealth quietly in the background, as long as I give it sufficient time, inject a big enough capital, and manage a sufficiently decent yield.  However what people often ignore, forget or dismiss, is how compounding does not discriminate.  It is just a force, and it can just as easily work against one, as it can work in one's favor. In my own journey, I have seen both sides of compounding. On the positive side, compounding has helped my dividend portfolio grow.  Every reinvested payout plants a seed that continues to bear fruit.  But on the negative side, I have also experienced how a property with negative cashflow quietly chips away at my finances.  Month after month, it drains resources that could have been building my future.  People often say mortgage debt is “good debt”, but I have come to realize that if it does not p...

Lately, it feels like every time I check the markets, both the US and SG stock indices are charting fresh all-time highs, and even my portfolio are hitting new highs daily.  What is more surprising is that this continues to happen even when the economic data, like the latest disappointing employment numbers, does not quite line up with the optimism we are seeing on the screen.  It makes me wonder are we riding too high on hope rather than fundamentals?  Consequently, the biggest question in my mind is, when is the next correction/ market crash that every seasoned investors are talking about, coming? Currently, markets are being buoyed by one main factor: the expectation that the FED will continue cutting rates, at least 2 more times this year.  Liquidity and cheap money are the oxygen of financial markets, thus every time the FED signals that cuts are on the horizon, investors rush to front-run that move, pushing valuations higher and higher. However, how long can ...

From time to time, people have asked me how I managed to build up my current portfolio size, especially when I often say I have always had a relatively low active income.  More questions actually popped up after I wrote the post where I decide to liquidate my US Growth Portfolio to pay off my mortgage in Malaysia.  To be very honest, the journey was not glamorous, nor was it the result of overnight success.  It was a combination of discipline, patience, keeping expenses low, and a few key decisions (and saddening privileges) along the way.  This post is written with much emotions, as it openly shares my entire financial journey along the way, filled with ups and downs, and scars in life.  Please be kind towards my financial mistakes, as I know very well I am far from being perfect. Early Days – Humble Beginnings I started working in 2007 at a Japanese engineering firm with a starting pay of SGD 2,400 per month.  It was not much, but it was the reality of ...

This month marks the end of the 3rd 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 has been completely liquidated to pay off my mortgage loan, and moving forward, my portfolio will be 100% Singapore centric. The most important event that happened this month is definitely the FED meeting and the speech by Jerome Powell on 17th September 2025.  As expected, the FED finally announced an interest rate cut by 25 basis point.  This long awaited event has finally materialize and I believe this bring cheers to many REITs investors like myself.  Movin...

I recently came across the phrase “ride the bubble”, and looking at the markets today, it feels very true, especially in the US markets where indexes just hit new time highs after highs.  Prices often move not just because of fundamentals, sometimes, just because of sheer momentum.  Bubbles seemingly form when investors chase higher and higher valuations, and those who dare to ride them can make outsized gains.  To me, as someone who knows little about valuations, there is a blur boundary between chasing the bubble or chasing the momentum.  But often, bubbles are formed when momentum runs are stretched, and the point in time when one exits the market differentiates momentum chasers from bubble riders. For me though, I believe I am more of a momentum chaser (if I ever succeed), and less so of a bubble rider.  This is because it has always been a struggle for me to ride through the momentum and I will often panic when the prices rocket exponentially instead of en...

This post is like a sequel to my first Cuti Cuti Malaysia post in January 2025 where I went to Kuala Lumpur (KL) for a solo trip.  So this time, I am off to another popular traveling, feasting and retiring destination in Malaysia, and that is none other than Penang.  Once again, I believe I should promote tourism in my country to readers of this blog! For this trip, I decided to fly from Singapore Changi Airport again instead of Senai Airport like during the KL trip, because the fares were quite similar, so not much benefits for me to travel all the way to Senai Airport first.  With that, I can start my short holiday with the unforgettable Singapore Laksa treat from SATS lounge in Terminal 1.  Of course, to save money for lunch, I had more than just one bowl, accompanied with other delicious dishes.  After a full lunch, it is time to prepare to board the plane for this foodie adventure! Finally, after 1.5hrs short flight, I arrived at Malaysia’s food paradise ...

For heads up, I am no property expert, in fact, I am more of an amateur.  This is also the main reason why I am rather hesitant to write this post as it discloses my "failed venture", or should I say, an investment decision that did not turn out the way I thought it would.  However I think it is important for me myself to look into my failure and scrutinize it so that I can truly learn and grow from this episode, and thus be in a better financial position to progress into Barista FIRE phase.  Note that this is not financial advice, and it is mainly as a personal record.  As I grow older and gradually refine my financial journey, I often find myself questioning the balance between investing for future retirement and reducing debt for peace of mind.  Recently, this question has become more pressing because of my intention to progress into my next phase of life, Barista FIRE.  The main issue lies with my investment property in Malaysia.  For information,...

Recently, I have been struck by two things I watched that felt uncomfortably close to home.  One was a video by The Joyful Investors , where Chief Corporate Officer from HRNetGroup shared that hiring demand today is strong at two ends of the spectrum: ground staff earning below SGD 5K, and C-suite executives above SGD 15K.  However the mid-level employees, those in the SGD 5K to 15K range, are increasingly being squeezed out.  The other was a video by  CNA Insider , which highlighted that workers in their late 30s and early 40s are now more prone to retrenchment compared to other age groups. Hearing both points together made me pause.  I am in my early 40s now, which means I fall right into that shrinking middle.  Is the middle class disappearing and is the middle age groups facing some form of employability crisis?  Even though I am self-employed, does that also mean that inevitably with time, my job (as a tutor) will also be replaced by AI?  Is...