~~Towards Barista FIRE~~

As a dividend income investor, my investment focus has always been directed towards sustainable and reliable dividend income.  I am not in this game for flashy short-term capital gains or speculative plays.  I invest in dividend-paying stocks because I want to build a consistent income stream that grows over time and supports my financial goals, especially as I inch closer to Barista FIRE. That is why dividend yield plays a central role in my stock selection, and just as importantly, in my sell decisions.   ** Before I get any objections, I would like to highlight that dividend yield is just one of the factors that help me decide whether to sell or not.  There are other very important factors like payout ratio, profitability of the business, dividend growth and other metrices like price to earnings and price to book ratios.  However for the purpose of this write up, I will only be discussing how dividend yield impacted my investing decisions. ** ...

Back in June 2023, I wrote a blog post titled " Which Is More Essential in Personal Finance – Cash or Cashflow? ", where I explored the age-old debate between the value of having cash on hand versus the importance of generating cashflow.  At the time, I concluded that both cash and cashflow are equally important, but still leaned slightly towards the security that cashflow provides, especially amid market volatility and rising uncertainty. Two years have passed since then.  Along the way, my investment journey has matured slightly, my financial goals became clearer, and most importantly, I found a firmer footing on the path toward Barista FIRE, which is aiming to begin my progressive semi-retirement in phases starting next year with a part-time income and a more robust investment portfolio generating passive income.  Now, as I reflect and prepare for this next life phase, I have a stronger conviction: cashflow is more important than cash, especially for someone approachi...

This will be a relatively short post, just to update on the transactions for the month. For the month of August, it was a month of joy ride.  Although the US markets faced slight volatility due to Trump's threat to fire Jerome Powell time and time again, but markets probably got tired of it and resumed its uptrend, with S&P 500 continuing to hit new all time highs.  However, the mega-news this month should come locally from Singapore.  On 21st July, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) allocated the first SGD 1.1 billion to three asset managers (Avanda, JP Morgan and Fullerton) under its SGD 5 billion Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) aimed at reviving SGX by driving institutional investment in small and mid-cap stocks.  This news gradually brought about a broad-based rally in the Singapore markets.  This is evident in the last 2 weeks of July, where many stocks not included in the Straits Times Index (STI) gaining steam and started their rall...

Over the past year, Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE) has had an incredible run.  Compared to just 12 months ago, the share price has risen by almost 100%.  That is a significant rally, especially for a traditionally defensive counter like this.  While I am glad to see one of my core dividend holdings performing so well, the sharp price appreciation has also changed the dynamics of the stock, particularly the yield, which has now been compressed to below 2.5%.  That is a little too low for my liking, especially considering my dividend investing goals. STE has benefited from several positive tailwinds over the past year.  Its aerospace division recovered strongly with global air travel rebounding, and its defense and smart city solutions continued to see robust demand.  The company also announced multiple new contract wins, both locally and globally, which boosted investor confidence.  More importantly, to dividend investors like myself, STE int...

Earlier this year, I made two new additions to my dividend portfolio, namely Riverstone and Kimly, as part of my ongoing effort to diversify my income stream with consistent dividend payers.  Recently, I am adding a new name to that list: HRNet Group (SGX: CHZ). This decision came after careful thought, and more importantly, as a tactical reallocation of funds.  I recently did a partial divestment of Singapore Technologies Engineering (STE), a strong blue-chip stock that I still like and hold.  However, with its share price shooting up significantly this year, the allocation based on market value to STE is growing too large for my comfort, and the dividend yield has already compressed to below 2.4% at one point, which no longer justifies a full position for someone like me who prioritizes dividend yield as part of my Barista FIRE journey. Why I Sold Part of STE I did not sell out of STE completely.  It remains a core holding in my portfolio, and still the largest ...