Wrapping up my 21st month of Financial Independence

I just finished my 21st month of FI (Financial Independence) in Feb 2025.

Below is what I ate and did for fun, and a record of my expenses.

Eating

Usual home-cooked avocado-egg lunch.

Usual home-cooked avocado-egg lunch.

This is actually not bad.

Usual home-cooked avocado-egg lunch.

The best.

Fun

Paid a visit to this new hotspot in Singapore. Mandai Broadwalk!

Also, I made a few hiking videos, please check them out and give a thumbs up :D below:

                                    

                                  

Health

Health-wise I decided to keep track of my fitness:

Also decided to do some basic calisthenics (watch youtube) to build strength. 

For cardio I jog at least 2 times a week. 

Let's see whether my cholesterol levels will go down. 

Expenses (Discretionary only)

 

Eating Out Target: $650

Eating Out Actual: $648.58

Household Target: $600

Household Actual: $277.82

Travel Target: $100

Travel Actual: $160.28 (made at least 3 GetGo bookings to go Chestnut Nature Park)

Entertainment Target: $50

Entertainment Actual: $0

Personal Target: $250

Personal Actual: $35.82

Onwards to the next month of FI! 

 

My 10 Pots of Gold for Financial Independence - Completed 4 Pots!

Back in Aug 2024, I explained my strategy for 8 Pots of Gold for Perpetual Income:

https://financeopti.blogspot.com/2024/08/update-on-my-5-pots-of-gold-for.html

Now that it is 6 months since that post, it is timely to provide my progress on this strategy.

Here is how full each pot is back in of Aug 2024:

As of Aug 2024.

Here is what the pots look like now:

As of 25 Feb 2025.

For completeness, I decided to add in my SGP and USA pots too. They simply represent stocks of these countries that I bought and held till now. 

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

In fact, during this low point in S-Reit ETF prices, I topped up quite a bit. I plan to hold for the long-term and collect dividends. Long-term means 20 years or more. 

For the US ETFs pot, you may notice I slashed it by half. This is not because of some smart rebalancing/take profit and run move. Rather it is because I got fed up with my US Brokerage (Robinhood) and decided to pull all money out. For a few days, I was not able to access the account at all! And I called/emailed all the help numbers, all got hit with automated replies, which was ridiculous. If you use this brokerage and you need help at some point, good luck to you. 

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. 

One issue is all these ETFs are all listed on US stock exchange and hence subjected to 30% US withholding tax. I plan to switch them to irish-domiciled funds to save on this tax. 

Will update my progress on these 10 pots of gold six months later.

 

Portfolio Returns for Feb 2025

I felt it would be good to track the returns regularly since they fluctuate occasionally frequently depending on the stock market.

Here are the movements for this month. The unstoppable run of the cryptocurrency portfolio since Trump was elected as President has finally come to an end. Even so, it is still the fastest horse in my portfolio. 

                                

The same chart as above but converted to a column chart.

For the Robo-Advisors, it did go up again this month. However, Syfe Reit+ has dug itself into a hole again. I will employ the same tactic I have been using to get out of these 'holes': Do Nothing. It will recover eventually. After all, the whole ETF can't just go to zero.

REITs are down because Trump is re-elected as US President, and his policies are thought to be inflationary. As such, the Fed will likely have to maintain high interest rates for longer period of time, which is bad for REITs. 

The same chart as above but converted to a column chart.

Additionally, I think it will be interesting to see the breakdown of my portfolios in percentages (below). There is a component 'X' which I do not want to disclose for now. The concentration of 'X' is now 6.4% but is still too high. 

In terms of market events, this is the month of tariffs. Trump launched tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, set to take effect on February 4, 2025. However, on February 3, 2025, Trump announced that the tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would be paused for one month, following agreements from these countries to enhance border enforcement measures. I guess the next thing to watch is what happens on March 4 2025.

Stock market performance:

February 20, 2025: The S&P 500 closed at a fresh record high, as investors assessed the minutes from the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting and weighed President Donald Trump's tariff threats.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/stock-market-news-feb-20-2025

February 21, 2025: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 700 points, marking its worst day of the year, due to the aforementioned economic data and concerns about a slowing economy. There are concerns about Stagflation. Stagflation is a combination of inflation and stagnant economic growth. 

https://nypost.com/2025/02/21/business/dow-dives-700-points-as-latest-data-hints-at-slowing-economy

On the war front, on February 18, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held extensive discussions in Saudi Arabia, marking a notable shift in U.S.-Russia relations. They agreed to establish a high-level team to support peace negotiations, signaling a move away from previous isolationist policies. However, Zelensky was excluded from the talks and he made a lot of noise. 

As of today, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is ongoing, though it remains fragile. The hostage exchange almost didn't happen. It helped when Trump threatened 'all hell is going to break out' if the hostage exchange didn't happen. This reminded me of Thanos in the Endgame movie with his line "rain fire" when he almost got ripped to pieces by the Scarlett Witch. 

On the local front, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will launch a $5 billion programme through which it will partner with selected fund managers to invest in Singapore stocks. This is an interesting development, let's see the impact on the STI.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/new-5-billion-scheme-by-mas-to-boost-spore-stocks-as-part-of-measures-to-revive-sgx

To my Kids: Earning $1,000 per month in passive income is entirely possible!

Recently I watched a YouTube video from CNA MoneyMind about how to make $1000 a month in passive income:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBuXI0bFAAE

I want to tell you this is entirely possible, and I have done it. 

In fact in the below chart, you can see I have achieved this since 2022 (caveat: data point for 2025 has only 1 sample size):

You can read through all my blog posts with title "Dividends for <month-year>" posts such as the below, but I'll summarize my journey in this post.

https://financeopti.blogspot.com/2025/02/dividends-for-jan-2025-towards-5k-month.html

How I Started Dividend Investing

Like many foolish investors, I started dabbling in stocks as soon as I graduated and started working. I thought I will try and see if I could beat Warren Buffet. I soon realize this is impossible.

You can try too, but please make sure you draw a conclusion on whether you can beat Warren Buffet or not fast. 

I learned that what I was doing was speculating in stocks (ie. gambling) and not investing.

Hence I started reading up on investing. I found a book that systematically details how to derive the fair value of the stock. I will pass this book to you. 

Thereafter I acquired my first investing strategy, called 'Strategy Fair Value'.

Using this strategy I was able to determine at any point in time, which stocks are worth buying. I used this strategy on Singapore blue chips.

However, even with this strategy, it took a while to make money. This is because quite a number of stocks went down in value after I bought them. Yes, even with this strategy, the hit rate was not good. However,  the trick is to keep the stocks for the long term. If you add up the dividends collected over the years, the returns are positive.

Hence, the biggest learning I got was that for good stocks, you have to hold long-term. How long is long? At this moment, let's just say I plan to hold it as long as possible - the longest period I have held a stock thus far is 11 years and counting.

Later on, I learned about ETFs. The whole point of ETFs is about diversification. Rather than just holding one stock, you buy a bundle of stocks in a particular sector/country. If you are starting, my recommendation is VUSD. 

Tips:

• Formulate your investing thesis early - are you speculating or investing
• Buy blue chip stocks
• Hold long-term
• Don't speculate
• For dividend investing, make sure the dividend yield is > 0%
• For diversification, buy ETFs

Dividends for Jan 2025 - Towards 5k a month

Here are my dividends for Jan 2025:

                                    

So I collected $4,414.57 in dividends for this month. 

 
In case you are wondering, some stocks are repeated because I have 2 brokerage accounts.

Here are my monthly dividends over the last 6 years:

                                 

Here are the dividends I collected every year until the current day

                                

Here is the progress of my average monthly dividends over the years:

                         

The value for 2025 is just based on one data point though (Jan 2025), it should decline as we get more data points.

I plan to first receive $2500 (achieved), then finally $5000 in dividends every month on average.

Additionally, I share the interest I received from the various banks for the deposits in this month:

                                        

So I collected $747.67 in interest payments this month.

Also, in this month I made $100.20 from my side hustle - Grabfood delivery. 

All in, I made $5,262.44 this month from dividends, interest, food delivery.

Onwards!   

   

Wrapping up my 20th month of Financial Independence

I just finished my 20th month of FI (Financial Independence) in Jan 2025.

Below is what I ate and did for fun, and a record of my expenses.

Eating

My usual home-cooked egg-onion-avocado wrap.

My usual home-cooked egg-onion-avocado wrap.

My usual home-cooked egg-onion-avocado wrap.

Saw this in a food blog and decided to try it out. Turns out ok only.

My usual home-cooked egg-onion-avocado wrap.

This one not bad but quite a heavy meal.

                                                        

This malay dish was the highlight of the month. The sambal udang was really sedap, with old-school taste.

Fun

This month was the usual Chinese New Year visiting family stuff. Other than that, my younger kid learned how to cycle on 2 wheels! Achievement unlocked!

Since my kid just learned how to cycle 2 wheels, the whole family cycled from Changi Village to Changi Bay Point, each with their own bikes!

Expenses (Discretionary only)

 

Eating Out Target: $650

Eating Out Actual: $777.12 (a few birthday meals this month)

Household Target: $600

Household Actual: $318.43

Travel Target: $100

Travel Actual: $46.28

Entertainment Target: $50

Entertainment Actual: $144.55 (went rock climbing - expensive nowadays!)

Personal Target: $250

Personal Actual: $154.36

Onwards to the next month of FI! 

Portfolio Returns for Jan 2025

I felt it would be good to track the returns regularly since they fluctuate occasionally frequently depending on the stock market.

Here are the movements for this month. My cryptocurrency portfolio is unstoppable. Too bad it only represents 1.6% of my total portfolio.

                                

Same chart as above but converted to a column chart.

For the Robo-Advisors, it did go up again this month. However, Syfe Reit+ is still negative :( This is because Trump is re-elected as US President, and his policies are thought to be inflationary. As such, the Fed will likely have to maintain high interest rates for longer period of time, which is bad for REITs. 

Same chart as above but converted to a column chart.

Additionally, I think it will be interesting to see the breakdown of my portfolios in percentages (below). There is a component 'X' which I do not want to disclose for now. The concentration of 'X' is now 7.3% but is still too high. 

In terms of market events, recent inflation reports have been mixed, with some data indicating persistent inflationary pressures. This has led to a reassessment of the Fed's potential rate-cutting trajectory, with some analysts suggesting that the central bank may pause or even consider rate hikes if inflation remains above desired levels.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-may-halt-interest-rate-123742607.html

Also recently there was a downturn in my portfolio. But following my past practice, I just did nothing until it recovers. Recovered it did, with this piece of news coming out, which indicates inflation is coming down:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/15/cpi-inflation-december-2024-.html

With that, the stock market surged:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/futures-flat-caution-ahead-bank-earnings-key-inflation-data-2025-01-15/

I am reminded of the verse in Sun Zi's Art of War:

不动如山，动如雷震 （Unmoving like a mountain, moving like thunder）

I guess now is not the time to move yet. 

Dividends for Dec 2024 - Towards 5k a month

Here are my dividends for Dec 2024:

                                    

So I collected $3,177.71 in dividends for this month. 

 
In case you are wondering, some stocks are repeated because I have 2 brokerage accounts.

Here are my monthly dividends over the last 6 years:

                                 

Here are the dividends I collected every year until the current day

                                

For the year 2024, my average monthly dividends per month is now $2,514.39 - I hit my 1st target of getting 2.5k a month!. 

Here is the progress of my average monthly dividends over the years:

                         

I plan to first receive $2500 (achieved), then finally $5000 in dividends every month on average.

Additionally, I share the interest I received from the various banks for the deposits in this month:

                                        

So I collected $766.15 in interest payments this month.

Also, in this month I made $78.30 from my side hustle - Grabfood delivery. For the whole year, I made $567.80 doing food delivery. Overall, its great fun!

All in, I made $4,022.16 this month from dividends, interest, food delivery.

Onwards!   

  

Wrapping up my 19th month of Financial Independence

I just finished my 19th month of FI (Financial Independence) in Dec 2024.

Below is what I ate and did for fun, and a record of my expenses.

Eating

Christmas season so ate Hot Tomato

SIA food! The potatoes were really good.

Oxtail soup in Korea.

The highlight of this meal was the rice. Not too dry, not too soggy, very chewy.

Scallops! In Busan.

Some fancy restaurant with artisan dishes in Busan. 

Abalone rice.

More abalones in Jeju Island!

                                                    

Top it off with cake.

And ice cream snow dessert.

And coffee.

Fun

Vivaldi Ski Resort in Korea.

Nice ski slopes.

Busan. Leaves are still red even though it is Dec.

Mound in temple.

Busan.

Gamecheon village Busan.

Busan beach. I think Busan has better beach, though Jeju locals tell me otherwise.

Expenses

 

Eating Out Target: $650

Eating Out Actual: $864.63 (Dec holidays so ate more)

Household Target: $600

Household Actual: $1,242.11 (Bought a new washer dryer)

Travel Target: $100

Travel Actual: $66.07

Entertainment Target: $50

Entertainment Actual: $36

Personal Target: $250

Personal Actual: $1,002.84 (Wedding angbao)

Even though I busted the monthly budgets for some months, for the entire year, I did not bust my annual budget.

In fact, I underspent my yearly budget by $4,731.13. I will save this for a rainy day, when I need to spend more on household items.

For the record, also will like to add that I earned $567.80 doing my side hustle (food delivery) in 2024.

Onwards to the next month of FI! 

Author's note: I was pondering whether it is worth the time to write share these stuff.  In the end, I decided to continue this series for a while more, as it serves as a good record of my life at this point of time and how I manage my money.