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…
How to lose weight effectively?
I never thought I will ever be in a position to write this post. I have been pretty athletic since young and have represented junior college and university in swimming competitions. I even achieved GOLD in my final few IPPTs. Alas. Age deals every mortal (athlete or not) a tough hand. As one grows older,…
CPF million (half a) aire anyone?
September 2019 has been a month of milestones. Earlier this month, I shared that I have reached the SA limit of $176,000 for 2019. Today, I am happy to share that I have accumulated half a million in my CPF accounts. For those readers who do not know my background, I am an ordinary employee…
What’s so special about the CPF Special Account?
I have recently achieved another milestone in my FIRE journey. I have accumulated the Special Account (SA) limit of $176,000 (aka Full Retirement Sum) for 2019. How did I achieve this feat? Like most people who are employees, I (and my employer) contribute to my SA every month through the mandatory CPF contributions. This is…
Should you contribute to SRS?
The Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS) is a voluntary scheme to encourage individuals to save for retirement, over and above their CPF savings. Contributions to SRS are eligible for tax relief. Investment returns are tax-free before withdrawal and only 50% of the withdrawals from SRS are taxable at retirement. As the name suggests, the SRS is…
GO(LD) for IPPT?
This is for the fitness freak out there or those who want to ace and profit (up to $500) from their Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT). The IPPT is a standard physical fitness test used by the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to test the basic…
My relationship with CPF
My relationship with the CPF system did not get off on the best footing. My starting pay as an overworked auditor was $2,000. This paltry amount became an even paltrier $1,600 after the mandatory 20% CPF contributions. There wasn’t much left after contributing to the family and paying the monthly installment on my education loan….
Warren Buffett
To accelerate my FIRE journey, I started reading books on investment. I was and still am a voracious reader. Of the many investment gurus I have read about, WB has the biggest influence on me. Despite being one of the richest men in the world, he leads a normal, some say, frugal life. He still…
The start of my FIRE journey
I have always been sensitive to numbers. Maths and economics have always been my favorite subjects in school. My earliest memory of $ was that of my grandmother saving coins of different denominations for me in figurine piggy banks. It is therefore no surprise to any of my friends and family members that I chose…
$1 million net worth – Mission Impossible?
This has been my goal ever since I started working. I finally achieved it after working as an employee for almost 16 years. Of course, there are many people out there who have reached this milestone much earlier – your super high flying bankers, lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs etc. My purpose is not to compare but…