uncle lim kopi

 Slowly but surely, it will succeed  How to defend? Sigh

 I wish an adult who has been through working and started retiring successfully was there to give me wisdom when I first started working. This is what I would tell my younger self when I first started working: - work is a means to a good life, not the life itself - prepare for a fix term of work and a target retirement age. Not a target retirement sum as that sum will keep moving. Work backwards from the target age - don’t be tempted for quick gains and don’t gamble  - buy insurance but don’t over buy. Set a budget - open trading accounts and CDP account - open a savings account in a different bank than your account where salary goes in. This is your real savings account. Set a percentage of pay you want to save every time your salary comes in. Start small is ok, say 10%, and stick to it. Transfer that 10% out immediately to the real savings account and then budget all your spending based on what’s left of your salary. If it’s too tight, find out why and what’s bleeding you. I...

 Whenever I feel unsafe at home, I go away for a while. It's better than to stay around and create more tension or let the issue start morphing into other issues.  Maybe it's like escaping, but we all need an escape valve, to realise tension. Some can take cold showers, eat comfort food, jerk off, punch a bag, but for me, I prefer to go away for a while to my safe space. It could be as simple as drive on the highway (no speeding), or going to a park to walk, and put on my AirPods to listen to my favourite songs. Will it resolve the issue? Nope, but it gives it a pause.  Many issues cannot be resolved so easily. That's life. But we can find ways to manage them so they don't become worser than they need to be.  Of course I want to resolve all issues. Man are fixers right?  That's why we are so stressed out lol. Anyway, life isn't perfect and it's futile to expect a perfect life, where you feel you have to have a life that is like what others are showing you. C...

 I think it's a matter of time I will start going on cruise ships as a way of life. No, I am not going to sell my house and live out of suitcases lol But Singapore being a port city of call, its easy to hope on board world class cruise ships and go Not the fancy expense Disney cruise. That's a little too kiddy and I don't want to be surrounded by kids and child-like-adults. I just want to chill and eat and enjoy life and exercise. Or just be disconnected from the net. And not all cruises are expense. a 4-night cruise from SG round trip that stops at Penang and Phuket, costs around SDG$650 per pax.  If wifey is not keen, I can just do a solo. If I don't buy things or gamble, that's the full price I pay, nothing more!  $650 that means $162 per night, with all food covered. And that's good food, and food that doesn't require you to plan and queue and travel to. And gym is there for me to do my daily workout, and room is always ready and clean each day.  Even if...

 As I approach the special age of 55 (that's why CPF changes happens)...my tolerance for risk in financial investments expectedly dwindles. It's funny, because like most folks, when I was younger in my 30s/40s, my thoughts are I will be ok to take risks even when I am 60s.  Now I am in 50s, I changed. lol Wiser I guess? At this age, what I have accumulated is precious, and I certainly do not wish to go back to slogging for income if my investments turn so bad that I need to top it up via my work income.  I feel this is why risk tolerance drops.  So, while I still want to be invested in the stock market, I will certainly start to gradually pivot the components of my portfolio.  Plan is to pivot to more ETFs, specifically STI ES3 and S&P 500. So my investments will depend on SG and US economies. Not that I think these will be the best countries, but these are places which I am very familiar with over many years of working and investments. Will I still own indi...

When I was young, it was simple. "I just want to earn as much as possible" Then when I am older, it became "I want to retire with as much passive income as possible" But I think this is not so simple, or it should not be so simple. It will be a huge regret when I am taking my last breath.  I should think about what kind of life I want to live now and going forward. While its good to remember what had transpired in my life before this, these are just memories and the real value, besides emotional connection, is ensuring I don't repeat stupid mistakes that wasted my life hours. So what kind of life? I am not gonna lie, I want a life with material comfort: - Live in a nice neighbourhood in a private condo that is nicely renovated - Drive a car I like to drive - Enough to go vacations wherever I want to go - Can buy the latest iPhone and MacBooks :) - Can wear quality shoes and clothes (I am not into luxury brands) I have since decided that I am not going to live an...

My SRS In the tail end of my career, I was fortunate enough to be earning a decent income, and that comes with its corresponding high income tax rate (20-22% range). In order to reduce the cashflow out due to income tax payment each month, I maxed out my SRS contribution which is $15,300 for 4 years. This cuts my income tax repayment per month by close to $300, which is better than nothing. I was paying $6000-$7000 per month of income tax back then for a few years (You are welcome, SG govt) My SRS account was opened when the withdrawal age was 62. This meant I can start penalty-free withdrawal when I reach age 62, and only 50% of it will be considered income taxable. And once I start to withdraw, I'll have 10 consecutive years to empty it.  So, my input into SRS = $15.3k x 4 = $61,200 Started in 2020. (Before that I was an idiot, as I didn't think of using SRS), and I stopped after 2024 since I retired by then.  Essentially, I used almost all my SRS funds to buy only 1 thing, ...