Flickr image "Goodnight Sunset" by dbz885

This week saw the surprising news about the sudden death of DBS Group CEO Mr. Richard Stanley. He succumbed to an infection even after what appeared to be successful courses of chemotherapy with DBS Chairman announcing just a few days before that Mr. Stanley was on track to return to work after responding positively to treatment.

Death can strike anytime, anywhere to anyone as evidenced from the obituaries page. Young and old alike can be called to heaven depending on the circumstances. Sometimes when death strikes someone who is a top CEO of the largest bank in Singapore is such a dramatic fashion, it makes us think about our own mortality.

Enjoy your journey

The closer I get to my destination, the more I realise I should start to enjoy the journey more. Give myself more mini-breaks and time-outs and spend a little bit on the occasional small luxury to give myself a taste of something out of the ordinary. One of the reasons that I am making progress towards financial freedom is that I generally scrimp and save. I hardly buy new clothes or accessories and really make every cent count most times.

There’s nothing wrong with frugal habits. Frugality in times like this recession helps to make each dollar stretch further. However, I should also give myself permission to spend a little. My own rule of thumb has been to spend 10% of gains such as bonuses, dividends or capital gain from sale of equities. The more I approach my 40s, the more I realise it’s time to live a little.

I think I’ll revise my rule of thumb upwards to give myself permission to spend 20-30% of bonuses, dividends or capital gains. I don’t want to push so hard on my journey towards financial freedom to forget to appreciate what life has to offer today.

Smell the roses

Life does offer many roses for us to smell along the way. It doesn’t take much but a few additional dollars here and there can buy a little bit of paradise for a short while. I recall going to Sentosa with my spouse prior to my daughter being born and we enjoyed our two-day stay at Rasa Sentosa. It was slightly pricey but the hotel stay was enjoyable and a good break before we become full-time parents! I remember the thrill of taking my very first luge ride and it was really fun.

It’s the small pleasures and memories like this that stay with me. They don’t cost the earth but was well worth it for the quality time it allowed my spouse and I to share prior to taking care of my daughter from 0 mth to 13 mths old.

Living within your means (meaningfully)

If you have managed to live within your means, consider how you can afford to ease off a little in your own quest for financial freedom to give yourself more small rewards now and then. The road is long and the journey is far, it’s all right to give yourself permission for a few rest breaks now and then as long as overall you are still living within your means.

Be well and prosper.