A very long reflection of 2018

My baby just fell asleep, so I had to myself an hour or so to reflect on the year 2018. I started off by looking at the diary app that I had been conscientiously writing every night before I go to sleep. Here's a few highlights monthly: Jan: Went Bangkok for a trip with my wife, but not with son. Left him with my mum back in Singapore, and happily so! We're so tired and we need to take care of ourselves. Looking back, we're so...noob being parents,...

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2018 viewed in the eyes of the books

I set up a goal to read 52 books way back in 2007. I saw the list of all the books I've read, all typed out neatly in a Microsoft word document spanning over 11 pages in size 10 font. It was easily the best habit I've adopted and the effects are still rippling through me. It has been 12 yrs since I started this habit, and still going strong. I was a little behind my reading list last year when I only read 11 books, and that's because I just became...

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Networth update in 2018

2018 is a rather slack year for me. I don't think I work as hard as I do in previous years in terms of work, so the time that is otherwise spent working is channeled to my family, especially my growing child. This year is also a bad year for those who invested in equities. It seems like if you put money under your pillow, you'll end up being better. Will it affect my net-worth? Let's see. The last I wrote on my net-worth was back in 1st Dec 2017,...

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Nuances of financial independence

When we talk about financial independence, it suggest that we are trying to stand alone and be self sufficient. It reminds me of those doomsday preppers, where they store their own preserved food, carefully canning them to hoard a stash of years to come. Self-sufficiency is the key. And for a while, I thought that model is what I aspire to become too. After becoming a father, I saw from first principles how relationships are formed. My boy is...

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