Handling Challenges With Positivity: Improving Health When There Is Less Work

This is not really a post on personal finances or sharing of any little financial knowledge I had.  Instead, this is just a personal record of my current life journey, on how I choose to view the small hiccups in life positively and make changes to my life.

The past couple of years have not been great for my health.  In the pursuit of FIRE, especially after Covid, I began to work choose to work 7 days a week, though just for a couple of hours of work daily.  However, with no full day of rest, I find that I have gotten more unhealthy (in terms of dining and lifestyle), and it started to show.  To make matters worse, things got tougher on the work front too.  Due to the large number of students graduating by November 2024, it has been hard for me to get new students to fill up the slots since the end of last year.  This meant my working hours per week have dropped drastically since November and December 2024 (and evidently, I did not get many new students in January and February as well).  Instead of feeling down about it, I decided to take a different approach.  Thankfully, this mindset shift is actually possible because of the investment portfolio that I have accumulated, and the Barista FIRE plan that I have executed for myself.  Although I am not fully ready to advance to the Barista FIRE stage this year, but if work income continues to be insufficient in 2025, I think I can transit in July to start relying on a small part of my dividends income to get by.  With my dividend portfolio ever ready for me to fall back on, I am not too panicky or worried on how to get by.  That safety net enables me to have a mindset shift to highlight to myself that since I am not earning as much now with more free time on hand, I might as well make sure I stay healthy, so I don’t end up spending more on medical bills in the future.  After all, health is wealth!

With more free time, I started focusing on improving my health.  I made it a point to exercise daily (Yes, I was very lazy to exercise and thought that walking 10K steps is sufficient, but essentially I learnt this year that it was not the number of steps that matters but the speed), sticking to low-impact workouts that I could sustain long-term.  Whether it is speed walking, low-impact standing aerobics, or some basic strength exercises, I made sure to stay active every day, for at least 20 to 30 minutes minimally.  Most importantly, all these are free because I just follow the exercises on YouTube in the comfort of my home.  I was not aiming for anything extreme, I just needed something I could do consistently, so paid gyms or personal trainers are not required in my opinion.  

Food-wise, I also became more mindful.  I started portioning my meals, eating slightly less, and changing the sequence of my food intake.  Now, I tend to begin my meals with proteins or fiber-rich foods before moving on to carbohydrates.  It was a small change, but it helps.  Since November 2024, I have lost 5.4% of my weight over 22 weeks.  It is not a drastic change, but this time, it has been slow, steady, and most importantly, sustainable.  Unlike previous attempts where I saw weight rebounds via different methods of weight loss like keto diet (which was expensive and unsustainable in my personal opinion), this time, I have managed to maintain my progress without setbacks.  The best part?  My last check-up showed major improvements in all my health metrices!  Even the doctor was surprised at how much things had improved!

Interestingly, being more active has also helped me curb my expenses.  With a lower income, I have been more mindful of my spending, but surprisingly, I do not feel stretched at all.  I am spending less on unnecessary food (especially eliminating most of the junk food out of my diet now) and medical costs, which helps balance out the drop in earnings.

On top of that, things are looking up work-wise too.  Though it has been a slow start to the year, but in March, I managed to get more students, and my workload has slowly started picking up again, which means, improved income.  It goes to show that a positive mindset and persistence really make a difference, not just in health, but in life overall.  Thankfully, the great news for myself is starting April 2025, I finally have sufficient number of students to continue to work and have a full time income for the remainder of 2025.  As such, my dividend income for the remainder of 2025 can continue to be reinvested and to compound my portfolio to form a larger retirement nest!

This short 5-month journey has given me a sneak peek into what life could be like when I eventually transition to Barista FIRE.  My goal is to hit financial independence while staying healthy, both physically and financially, so I can enjoy a meaningful and lively FIRE journey, and be able to travel to many other places with my mum.  More importantly, by continuing to take care of my health now, I am setting myself up for a better future, one where I am not constantly worrying about medical bills or financial burdens.  With a positive mindset, consistency, and determination, I believe I can achieve both my health and financial goals.

So for now, I’m keeping at it, one step at a time, one meal at a time, and one positive thought at a time!  Barista FIRE, here I come...!