My CEO Journey

I worked not this year, and here's my income for the first 3 quarters of 2023: My income comes from 3 sources: Interest income from T bills,  Interest income from bonds (which includes Singapore Saving bonds and other retail bonds), and  Dividends (mainly from STI ETFs, with some other stocks). This year was an improvement from last year's income ( read here ), not because of what I've done this year, but from what I've  done last year - delayed gratification. Even more delayed gratification, was from the saving I accumulated since I started working.  Grateful to myself for having few material desires.  If $2000 is the minimum survival sum, I probably survived 62.5% of the time. If I average out the 8 months, I met the minimum survival sum on a monthly basis. My goal for this year is to hit $24,000 passive income, and with 66.7% of the year passed, I'm 70% there. June has been the best month to date, and as you can see, it's contributed mainly through int

It's late January of 2023, and while it seems a bit late to talk about 2022, it's probably a year where I should pen down because it's different from the rest.  2022 was a year where I worked not at all since I graduated, and I wanted to pen my thoughts. For curiosity sake, I typed in my topic into the chatGPT, and this was what it gave: Well, how do you find ChatGPT's year? I would rate ChatGPT's response as highly excellent. If I were some student writing some journal entry just to submit for as homework, I'll probably submit this. But while AI can help us with general task, it cannot be us, unless we feed in enough inputs for it.  So below is my version, of how 2022 was, a year where I worked NOT. My Income For 2022 Below is a chart showing my income for 2022. And they are broadly divided into 3 sources: Interest from bonds (including the Singapore saving bonds, but excluding T bills), dividends and T- bills. My Income for 2022  The 6 months T-bills becom

I saw this article from Turtle Investor on Why Pay For Panadol When Generic Paracetamol Costs 73% Less? , which brought back the memories of cheapo me and my friends when we were trying to save cost during our pregnancies and after, and checked out each others' prescription from various doctors.  Disclaimer: Hey, before you read further, do not that I'm NOT a doctor, and I have no certification or knowledge of medicines/ healthcare and whatsoever. I only know how to google and read the labels.  The reason for checking one another's prescription was due to the differences in our bills. Some of us had a sky-high bill at the first gynae visit, and the one month's worth of vitamins (note: Vitamins, not medicines) cost way more than the consultation at the first visit. On the other hand, some of us, walked off the clinic with a month supply of vitamins at a mere fraction of the cost. Also, some of us had more vitamins prescribed than others. Here are some of the typical

I cracked the code of how to learn fast and easily. And I am going to share this with you.  For free! Recently, I was teaching my kids _(*secret*)_, and almost puking out blood, I decided, maybe the way I taught was not good. So I went online to search and found a course that answers all the problems I wanted. It promises a method that helps us learn _(*secret*)_ in a fast and easy method with their special method. There were also raving reviews. So I bought the course and watched it, totally anticipating it to solve my problem. The course was a great one. The instructor was clear, the presentation was nice. If I didn't know the topic, I would easily understand it by watching the video, so I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn this topic ( note: learn, not teach). However, there is this problem. The special method he used was exactly the same as mine. My method is as special as his. What's special was the copyrighting. Rather it is the copywriting that was special

Singapore is a food nation. As I am not working, I try to cut down on unnecessary expenses or reduce them. Food is one of them. But instead of downgrading my food, I realized I actually upgraded my food. One thing I really appreciate about not working is Food.  There is many great food in Singapore. And when I worked, I ate at hawker almost every day. If I had the time, I will travel further from office, to eat yummy food. What happens when you eat great food every day? They become not so great because it's just normal to eat it. Sometimes, due to time, I am forced to eat nearby, just to fill my stomach.  Now, with myself based at home, food becomes great again. I visit hawker and eat really great ones, not because I have to, but only when I really want to. Not able to get what I want, at the price I like, I can make it.  Like this awesome kids friendly version of Milo "tiramisu". Chocolate Tiramisu I spend way less on food now, but the quality and the yummine

I used to work in the field as an engineer. This means being at the front end of fumes, sun, climbing up and deep below and so on. I'll say the money I earned was blood sweat money, literally. Years back, I was overseas during winter at -27oC, and was climbing a tall tower. At the top of the tower, I could feel the slight swaying of the tower due to the strong winds, while shivering in the sheer cold. Up at the tower, I told myself, I will get out of engineering. Years later, I was going deep down into the ground, into a tunnel. About 40 m into the ground. My colleague, who was close to 60 years old later also went deep into another tunnel. I looked at him, and told myself, I don't want to be like him when I am that age. I changed job, in similar field, and I realize, no matter where I go, it is the same thing. Fumes, sweat, high above or down under.  Some loved it, but I wanted an escape. Armed with 5 years of income saved up, and a working husband, I quit my job in search of

 I decided to head out for lunch with my partner yesterday. And we went to a coffee shop for our chicken curry which we hadn't  have for maybe a year? It was a nice bowl of curry with noodles, chicken, beancurd skin and potatoes, as I remember. It was great tasting, and the last time I remembered it was $4 a year ago.  I was looking for my CDC voucher in my phone without being aware of the signboard, when my partner signal me to go home. And I soon realized why.... It was $6 a bowl. And for both of us, that would be $12. While I could pay with them with CDC vouchers, (thanking myself for paying taxes), I couldn't stop but ponder, did inflation went up by 50 percent over a year, or did my memory fail me. Nevertheless, I decided I wouldn't pay that amount for my meal, particularly if it is just to make myself full. Instead, my partner cooked that day. Thanks to COVID, and working from home, he is now an excellent cook. Much better than me. I aim not to get food poisoning when