~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

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.  ...

After discussing about how I perceive mini-Retirements in my previous post , and looking at my current circumstances and regrets in my financial journey, I find that time is actually one of the most critical factor in personal finance.  The way one manages financial decisions early in life can significantly impact financial security in later years.  Whether it is leveraging the power of compounding interest, tackling debt before it spirals out of control, or making smart investments, time can either be an ally or an adversary.  Below are some key examples of personal experiences of how time plays a crucial role in financial well-being. 1)      Early Central Provident Fund (CPF) Contributions: The Power Of Compounding Interest One of the best financial moves a young working adult in Singapore can make is to aggressively contribute to their CPF accounts, particularly the Special Account (SA), as early as possible.  I came to realize this only recently ...

This is my second 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 ).  With the experience from the Japan trip, I am less concerned and worried about what to plan for our itinerary this time round, as I would have roughly known what mu mum would like to experience, and hence what to include and what to exclude in the planning.   However, this trip has a new worrying factor, and that is the use of Alipay!  As an individual who is not very tech-savvy, so much so that I do not even use Google Pay in Singapore, Alipay is one that I really need to learn how to use (frankly speaking, after using it this trip, it was super easy to use, seamless, but because it is so good, it made me worried if I overspent).  Nonetheless, the decision has been made in July when I saw that Scoot and Jetstar were running some promotions, and I booked the flights for 2...