It’s April. Rainy and hot. Birthday month. Busy month. Of course it’s not your usual housework “spring cleaning”. Although I am still doing my share of the real housework. What I meant is re-balancing my portfolio. With the recent stock market highs, I have taken the opportunity to pare down my legacy positions in SC…
Category: FIRE
Breakeven
A year after being 30% down, my portfolio has finally broke even. I know this is nothing to shout about. Many people have done well in this type of market recovery. But imagine. 30% in a year. And my portfolio is significantly larger now than it was a year ago. Nobody knows where the stock…
My CPF angbao
The first few days of January are always exciting. Another year is upon us and there are hopes and well wishes all around. The weather also cooperated this year. It was cool and sometimes chilly for first two weeks of 2021. Not that cold until you have to bring out your winterwear like some people…
Cashflow game
Been playing the cashflow game from Robert Kiyosaki. Reread his books RDPD and its sequel Cashflow Quadrant. Interesting game. Quite addictive. You take on the persona of an employee, whether a high earning professional or a low wage worker. You choose a lifelong dream to achieve – travel the world etc. The game starts. Roll…
From 40 to 400
During the GFC, I had about 40k of investments, mostly in banks. I wanted to invest more but I didn’t earn much and had limited savings then. A decade later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have about 400k in my portfolio. Around 150k was added during 2020. I am looking to add more. This has…
Berkshire
It’s been staring me in the face. I first bought Berkshire Hathaway (of WB’s fame and B share of course) in 2010 in order to attend the shareholders’ meeting in Omaha in person. That was still one of my most memorable experiences. Not longer after attending the meeting, I sold the shares. This was due…
$1,200,000 and counting
A little more than a year after reaching the $1 million milestone, I have reached another symbolic number. This is largely in line with projections and I am still on target for the first retirement date in 2022. My CPF accounts are maxed out where possible. Now is just about sitting tight and watching the…
Disadvantage as an Advantage?
This is not the first I hear this. Of course, generally, the disadvantage shouldn’t be so great as to deal a fatal blow. A lot of successful people overcame disadvantage(s) to make it in life. There are many adages to this effect. It’s not the size of the dog but the size of the fight….
What is Essential?
It’s June and most of the world is still in lockdown mode. Life as we used to know has changed and may not return in a new normal. For me, essential boils down to family (including dog), food and shelter. I have a gym membership but since gyms are not allowed to operate for the…
Should you pay down your mortgage?
It’s been a while since my last post. I have been busy with work, travel and re-financing my mortgage. Some background is in order here. I took out a $300k mortgage 2 years ago. Back then in 2017, the interest rate was 1.3%. Given that the floating rate was lower than the fixed rate, I…