~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

This is my fourth trip travelling out of ASEAN region, where I have to plan every bit of the itinerary myself (the first was back in May 2024 where me and my mum travelled together to  Japan , the second was back in November 2024 where me and my mum travelled together to  Hangzhou and Suzhou in China, and the third was back in November 2025 where me and my mum travelled together to ZhangJiaJie and Guangzhou in China).  With these prior experiences, I am less concerned and worried about what to plan for our itinerary this time round, as I would have roughly known what my mum would like to experience, and hence what to include and what to exclude in the planning.  This is the first time we are travelling during peak season to see cherry blossoms, thus it will be a trip highly dependent on luck to see if we get lucky to view full bloom.  In addition, this is also the first time we get to experience Singapore Airlines Business Class travel for single trip, which i...

There are some journeys in life that feel extra special, not just because of the destination, but because of the experience along the way.  This upcoming trip to South Korea with my mum is exactly that.  Not only are we looking forward to the beautiful scenery (praying hard for cherry blossom views), food, and moments together, but this trip also marks our very first time (and quite possibly our last one) flying Singapore Airlines Business Class. What makes it even more meaningful is that this was not something I casually booked.  It took careful planning, miles accumulation , and a bit of strategy.  I got to say I am not a great miles player, as my miles accumulation journey was far from optimized, and thus resulted quite a bit in lifestyle inflation.  Thus I decided to end the accumulation phase earlier, and in the end, I only managed to accumulate and hence redeem enough miles for a one-way Business Class flight from Singapore to Seoul for both of us.  ...

The past couple of weeks had been a sobering reminder that the path to financial independence is rarely a straight line.  When the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran escalated at the end of February, markets reacted immediately.  Energy prices surged, volatility returned, and the calm and optimism that had slowly built up in the markets earlier this year in January was suddenly replaced by uncertainty.  For someone like me who has been planning for Barista FIRE, moments like this force a pause for reflection, fearing the negative sequence of returns. Higher energy prices do not only impact price of oil and oil related industries.  They eventually seep into everything.  Transportation costs rise, logistics becomes more expensive, and businesses pass those costs down to consumers.  In other words, inflation has a way of resurfacing quietly but persistently.  When inflation creeps back into the system, the biggest challenge for someone pursuing FIR...

This post is just for personal reference, to record my personal income and expenses in my journey towards Barista FIRE. For the month of March, I believe this is a better reflection of my average monthly expenses from the quarterly spending, due to the maintenance fees and sinking funds that are paid only once per quarter.  Spending this month is more than income, but from a quarterly perspective, it is still positive overall.  Seems like I am in the right direction after all. This month's miscellaneous spending is a little high due to preparations for my upcoming trip with my mum.  Definitely excited about the trip, and hopefully it will create more wonderful memories for us.  Barista FIRE, here I come...!