Update on my 5 Pots of Gold for Perpetual Income [Financial Independence]

Back in Dec 2023, I explained my strategy for 5 Pots of Gold for Perpetual Income:

https://financeopti.blogspot.com/2023/12/plotting-my-investment-strategy-for-2024.html

Now that the first half of the year is over, it is timely to provide my progress on this strategy.

I revised my strategy and decided having 8 pots of gold is best.

Here are my 8 pots of gold:

Here are my 5 pots of gold in Dec 2023:

As of Dec 2023.

Here is how full each pot is now as of Aug 2024:

As of Aug 2024.

I have made progress on the TLT, S-Reit ETF, ABF Singapore Bond, and SP500 ETF pots. 

I wanted to start on the ACWI pot during the recent market downturn in Aug 2024. But it did not hit my target. I was planning to buy only when there is a correction, defined as a 10% drop from the previous high. 

The QQQ did fall more than 10% from the previous high. Unfortunately, my soldiers from the SRS battalion are not ready. They are still trapped in a fixed deposit 😣.

The US ETFs pot is something I started in 2017 after reading the classic "A Random Walk down Wall Street". I followed the book's advice and invested in equal proportions of US stock, International stock, and emerging markets. I follow a DCA strategy for this one, but I purchase only once a year. Each year when I purchase, I re-balance the portfolio at the same time. These are the 3 ETFs that make up this fund:

• Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)
• Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS)
• Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (VWO)

What is important is each of these pots provides dividends, ie. perpetual income. Further, by allocating across multiple countries and sectors, I believe it is defensive enough. This is unlike the case where I only invest in a single Reit to maximize my dividend yield. Since interest rates are now at all-time highs, the Reit can't be doing well. I will be suffering from paper losses if I use this strategy.

Will update my progress on these 8 pots of gold in Dec later this year.