Wednesday, 31 December 2025

Year-End Resolution: Life is Short


Year 2025 Christmas Orchard Road

Another year gone. So what have I learnt?

Life is short. Very short. About 50 years only.

When I was young, I didn’t really feel it. Only when the limits of mortality start to show, then I realise how short life actually is. Stairs that I used to climb two steps at a time, now I need to hold the handrail. The fine details on miniature models that I could see clearly before are now blurred. The body is deteriorating, and time is running out.

How many things have I not done yet? Many. Too many. So many things I still want to do, and I keep wondering how much time I still have to do them.

Time flies, and here I am at the end of another year.

It has been 16 months since I exited the workforce, and I never looked back. Some people expected me to change physically—especially the stomach. LOL. But nothing changed. Some think that now I am very free, so they start to take advantage of me. But the truth is, just because I exited the workforce doesn’t mean I stopped working. I only moved from one stage to another. Now, I work for myself.

Some people thought I started my own business. When I told them no, I’m just doing my own things and there’s no income tied to it, they find it very hard to believe.

I suppose it’s quite natural to assume that someone who can exit the workforce early must be very rich—wah, very rich ah. But honestly, I’m not rich. I just learnt enough financial literacy to find a way out of the cycle, and I managed to do it by 50. Still, more than half my life is already gone. It took a long journey to get here. Now the best I can do is to make full use of whatever time I have left to finish the things I need—and want—to do before the end comes. 

Just yesterday, I managed to complete the first stage of a project that took me one year. Personally, I still feel it’s not good enough, so there’s more work to be done in the new year. I also received notification that endorsements for some of my earlier work have been cleared and will likely go live next year. It’s a start. From there, I’ll see how far I can go—
or rather, not how far I can go, but to go as far as I can.

 So, everyone—if there’s something you want to do, and you can afford to do it, just do it. Life is too short to live with regret.


 

Monday, 1 December 2025

Monthly Financial Updates

This monthly report excludes any salaried income. The purpose of this financial review is to assess the sustainability of my financial independence, focusing solely on the total amount of passive income received. As of 2024 September 1st, I have officially activated my FIRE journey, meaning I am no longer receiving a salary from a traditional job.

Well, the year is ending soon and Christmas is near. This is my second Christmas since I exited the workforce. November has been a very busy month for me, with multiple projects going on at the same time. I never seem to run out of things to do… ah… life is so short.

Dividend income amounted to $1,366.92 for November. Most of the household income was supplemented by returns from other investments. We should expect to see more expenses in December, it usually the month with the highest expenses—well, it is the holiday season and the spending season. Lol.

 

Portfolio remains unchanged. An analysis report says that the STI may hit 5,000 points in 2026. That’s pretty crazy if it really does.