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Financial freedom, one realistic step at a time.

Tag Archives: singapore financial freedom

Saving for a Rainy Day


Rain Day

I was catching up with three of my good buddies (ex-colleagues from my first job) over lunch and one of them remarked that he was not so sure that the growth and “good vibes” of the growing economy for 2010 was sustainable. He could see rising COE prices, prices of good class bungalows and private property as well as long queues for taxis and crowds thronging restaurants and cafes being signs that prosperity is flowing around. But can the tap continue to flow?

As I gain more little grey hairs and my skin starts to become less soft and flexible, I realise that age is catching up. But with age comes wisdom. Not because I can predict what will happen in the future, but because I have seen what had happened in the past. Continue reading →

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Financial Freedom Lessons from an Egg Sandwich


Flickr image Egg Sandwich by amanky

I am continually amazed at the power of the mind to control our destiny.

I thought for a change that I’d make my own lunches this week as work is getting busier and I wanted to experiment if I could actually make wholesome healthy lunches just using the office microwave and nearby supermarket.

I bought fresh eggs, lettuce, bread, cheese and ham that are perfect ingredients for a typical ham/cheese/lettuce sandwich. My office has a refrigerator so I could store the ingredients but I was thinking how I was going to cook the eggs. Turns out that cracking the egg and  microwaving it in a (micro-wave safe) bowl turns out a decent round shaped dry poached egg that is just the right size for a sandwich.

Continue reading →

Life, the Universe and Everything


Flickr image Planet - Jones Valley Urban Farm by Southern Pixel

Flickr image Planet - Jones Valley Urban Farm by Southern Pixel

Those of you who are readers of science fiction author Douglas Adams would know that the title of my post is taken from one of his book titles.

It’s a useful title because it can be used for more philosophical posts which touch on many topics and come back to the key theme of my blog, i.e. achieving financial freedom and the reasons we pursue financial freedom. Continue reading →

How movable is your net-worth?


Flickr image Apartments Croatia by Kavanjin Croatia Apartments

Flickr image "Apartments Croatia" by Kavanjin Croatia Apartments

The more I experiment and try out different ways to achieve financial freedom, the more I learn about real concepts of financial management of my own money.

Moving from One Asset Class to Another

As you live within your means, you start to have savings. Most personal finance books advise you to keep some buffer or emergency funds enough for 3 to 6 months of expenses or income. The additional savings you should invest in fixed deposits, mutual funds, stocks and shares or other asset classes that fit your risk-reward profile.

Different asset classes have different liquidity. Liquidity refers to how easy it is to sell your assets and convert it to cash. Sounds simple but can be fraught with challenges as I found out now that I’m selling most of my equity portfolio into the currently rising market to move into property investment.

Why am I moving most of my net-worth out of equities at this point in time? Continue reading →