Gone too Soon

I realize that the title of the post is similar to that of a MJ song, but there is no coincidence. Recently, my grandmother passed away at a relatively young age due to cancer. It felt and still feels extremely surreal and sometimes I do not even remember that she is gone.

While she was alive, I felt that she did live to the best of her abilities. She made plenty of good friends due to her good and loving nature, she traveled often and she will never let an opportunity to help anyone in need pass. What she left behind were good memories of her.

Throughout this time, waves of thoughts flowed through my mind:

1) We never know when the end will arrive - We often procrastinate what we want to do because we always believe that we can do it tomorrow, but what if tomorrow never comes and today is your last? If you knew the exact day and time you would die in advance, wold you live the way you are living now? Would you still plan to retire at 65 if you know you would die at 66? Hell no. The thing is that we do not know when it would happen. That said, we should not just let go and go mad. We should still save and plan for a long life, just in moderation. Balance the joy you desire between now and later. Die smiling with no regrets.

2) The people we leave behind are the ones who suffer the most - When she passed, I was there, together with a few close relatives. She did not suffer, was not in any kind of pain. She went peacefully( Thank God).
As for the rest of us, the emotional pain was excruciating. This was the first time I experienced such a close and loved relative pass away before my very eyes. But what I felt could not have been even a tiny fraction of what my Grandfather who has been her life partner, friend, confidant and soul mate felt. To me, he has always been a very strong man. Never complained, never cried and never troubled anyone for anything. When he broke down, you could really see how much love he had for her.  - I realize that this is what I want when I eventually die, to have people who love me surrounding me when I pass on.

3) We really have to set up a will, no matter how taboo it sound. - In this time and age, writing a will is less frowned upon but still a taboo subject. It will solve problems of who gets what. When it comes to money, it's really hard to tell. Maybe that's why they say that money is the root to all evil. Causes family conflicts and complications.

4) Just a memory - In the end, all we become is just a memory to those around us. And when they go, even that memory will cease to exist. We would just be a blip in the everlasting stretch of time, the fire in the matchstick that burn for the briefest of times. If that is the case, I want my matchstick to burn as bright as it can, no matter how brief. Let us live our lives to the fullest, love to the fullest, enjoy to the fullest to the best of your ability.

Joy and happiness does not have to cost a lot of money and spending a lot of money does not necessarily bring joy. Take an hour or two to think of what truly brings you joy. To me, joy is having my wife give me a loving hug when I return from work. Joy is going out with best of friends for a simple meal and having a ball of a time. Joy is seeing the look on my wife's face when I surprise her with a simple gift and most of all, joy is having family and friends who loves you for who you are.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely - not too much, not too little=)
P.

Know When To Alight

Dear Readers,

I'm pretty sure that like me, most of you have a set retirement date and amount of money you want to have at retirement in mind. However, can you honestly say that when you eventually reach that much awaited point in your life, you could just stop what you have been doing for say 20 years and start a 'new' life?

I wonder what I would feel at that time as a person who likes to have a large margin of safety. I guess I would wonder to myself as to whether I have sufficient funds to allow my family to live comfortably. I would also ask myself what I would do with so much of my time. I do have a list of things I would love to do now, but would it be the same 15 years down the road?

Anyway, what I wanted to say in this post is that, besides having enough money, there are other things to consider before alighting at your retirement stop.

• Friends - I'm talking about close friends that have been with you through the years. You having an early retirement does not mean that they too are having one. Will you have to look for new friends to participate in all the activities you planned for during your extra time in retirement?
• Health - Are you healthy? It affects everything, from the amount of money you will have to spend to the changes in your mood. Make sure that you are well covered insurance wise and also please eat healthily and exercise more so as to keep a healthy body. ( Note to self : Please practice what you preach)
• Family - Are your immediate family members supportive of your decision? Is your spouse going to continue working or is he/she going to retire early as well? I feel that everyone in your immediate family should be comfortable with the situation if you are to have a happy and early retirement.
• Career - Are you ready to leave your career behind? Something that you have been working hard for through the past decades of your life? If you are not, you could consider semi retirement first before the transition to a full retirement. Anyway, I feel that we should not let our careers define our lives. Straying a little bit from my point here but I was wondering, at the moment, if someone asked you what you do, without a thought, you would say Engineer or accountant or doctor. What happens when someone asks the same question after you have retired at a young age? Er, I do....things I like? I do..Life? Anyway, just a thought, no further thinking required. 
• Hobbies - What are you going to do during all that free time? It's not as easy to fill as you think. I once took a 1 week break and realized that it's extremely boring not to have a goal in mind. What's worse was that I was the only one I knew that was not working that week so in a way, I was alone. Perhaps a preview of early retirement if my wife continues to work. - I'll have to reconsider a full early retirement until my wife retires as well. Actually these days, I'm more inclined towards a semi retirement as my wife and I should be starting a business of our own real soon. Fingers crossed it works out.

So there you have it, some pointers to consider in order to make sure that you are ready when the time comes. I wish you all the best whether you are just about to start your journey or are towards the end of it.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.

The Savings Gene

These few days, I have been wondering to myself as to whether the habit of savings is something we train to do or is it something deeper. I guess your personal habits of savings can be partially shaped by your family background and upbringing. I stated partially because no matter whether your family is rich or poor, whether your parents are spenders or savers, there are always rebels in the family. ( Are you getting what I'm saying? I think the caffeine from my morning coffee is affecting my thought process..getting the buzz from the overly strong coffee...maybe I should cut down.)

Anyway, what I personally think is that the habit or need to save is ingrained in our genes, in our DNA. There are those that will never save no matter how deeply in debt they are, and there are those who will still save a high percentage of their income even if they are mega rich. I used to tell my friends who lived paychecks to paychecks to try to save a little, only to be dissed off and told that they know what they are doing...I have since tried subtler ways - See this post You can use some of the methods stated there if you have friends like that and want to help them save at least something.

How much are you saving every month? I did a calculation on my monthly accounts and was pretty shocked that my wife and I are saving 48.5746% of our take home income. ( Decimal points to add extra effect.....also something to confess.. as a spreadsheet junkie, I did not have to look or calculate to know..i look at it everyday..a habit I want to change..to something like once in 2 days...ok ok... once a month. I'm serious. Maybe we should have something like AA meetings. "Hi, my name is P and I'm a spreadsheedoholic")

Sorry about the ranting, anyway, everyone has different lifestyle and beliefs, but we must all try to save, no matter how much or little..better lean more towards the much. Try increasing your percentage of savings whenever you are able to. You can do this either by cutting your expenses or increasing your income. Always remember that what you can save = your income - your expense.

I hope that you uncover your "powers" of savings which is embedded in your DNA soon. It's never too late until its too late..( Don't Judge). What should a healthy percentage of savings? Like everything else in life, too much or too little of anything can be unhealthy...percentage of savings included.

As always save more, spend less and invest wisely.
P.

When Was The Last Time You Felt Happy?

Dear readers, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the words happy and satisfied? Take a few moments to think about it. I'm pretty sure that many things come to mind, but there is something missing in most of the images and you cannot put a finger to it. Could it be that in most of those things do not bring about true happiness and satisfaction?

Now, narrow those thoughts down to just experiences with friends and family, take away material purchases. Think upon for example, finally getting on the plane to for your honeymoon, gazing into the eyes of your better half, when your child was born or when you were on that beautiful beach with your friends, Malibu Orange in one hand, a cigar in the other. What do you feel now? If you are like me, you will sense that longing in your heart to feel that feeling again, you will feel that at that moment, you were truly happy and satisfied. No? er... maybe you have different priorities and needs in life. For me, these are the kind of moments that I truly treasure and savor.

What I'm trying to say in this post is what many other bloggers have said before, I just want to add a more mental picture so you can feel what I'm trying to say. Most things that you buy, say hand phones, new clothes, new car, new laptops and all other consumer products will only bring about a very short lived happiness. After a while, you wont even remember that tiny spike in happiness that occurred when you made that purchase. If that is the case, why not invest your money on providing yourselves and your loved ones with experiences instead?

Experiences don't have to cost a lot, but even if they do, in my opinion, I think they are worth it if it's with the people you love. Instead of buying that new phone, bring your parents or family on short trip, take many photos, laugh and have senseless fun. I'm sure everyone will remember the occasion for years to come.

So this week, think of how you can create experiences which will provide lasting happiness instead of buying another product that will only present you momentary satisfaction.

As always, save more, spend less on material stuff and invest wisely.
P.

The Spine of Early Retirement

I'm sure that most of you are familiar with some of the steps you have to take to reach early retirement, but bear with me as I repeat them once again for the benefit those who do not. These steps are not concrete and you can choose to take them or not to attain your early retirement but I believe that paths are similar to these. Only difference being your personal tweaks, luck and mistakes.

Without further ado, here they are:

• Start as Early as Possible - This applies not only to those seeking early retirement or financial freedom but to everyone. The earlier you start, the more time you have to allow the magic of compound interest to work. What's more, having more time allows for more margin of error. No one is perfect therefore we should always make allowance for mistakes.

• Manage your Consumption - One of the main reasons why most people are not able to save enough for an early retirement is because they spend to much. We are all wired to consume and many of us can't help it but conform. However, there is this rebel within us that does not want to conform, we want to break free from the norm - these are the people that are able to achieve extremely early retirement. Reduce spending now, stop spending money on too much wants, stick with the needs. You do not need that new hand phone just because it has a battery life of 1/2 an hour more than yours or a screen 1/2 an inch bigger than yours. Remember, you choose your enough, not your neighbor.

• .Cut down on Excess Spending -  I know it's often hard to form new good habits, but trust me, this will benefit you. For just 1 or 2 months, track every dollar you spend and at the end of the month, you will be able to see where you have been spending unnecessarily. These are the parts of your spending tree that you must prune away. If you feel comfortable keeping track of your expenses by then, you can continue doing so. If not, try to stick to your current monthly expenses less those unnecessary expenses and do a follow up 6 months later to find out your monthly expense status.

•  Be Frugal - This step is an acquired taste, once you get it, it becomes something you actually enjoy doing. However i urge you to do this is moderation if you are not alone in your journey. Your significant other might not share the same joys as you in being frugal. You have to take baby steps to let them see the benefits of being frugal. What you must do to be frugal is to view money as an extremely precious resource not be to exchanged for something of lesser value. For me, i feel that lesser value means items that bring no benefit or new experiences to your life. Most of the time, these items just bring you momentary satisfaction that last for a month at most. Not worth it.

• Never Trade Early Retirement for Happiness and Family - This is the last and most important key. You should never trade anything in this world for happiness and your family. What is the point of forsaking your happiness and family to gain early retirement? The point of early retirement is to be able to have time for both. Don't be over obsessed with retiring early that you forgo your current happiness or spend so much time tweaking your spreadsheet or monitoring your portfolio that you neglect your family. You have to set your priorities right.. what is most important in your life. For me, its family, for without them life would be quite meaningless even if u have all the riches in the world.

 I know that everyone will make mistakes as to err is to be human or was it to err is human... Anyway, i hope that on your journey to financial freedom or early retirement, you will make more right choices than mistakes. Ponder upon what is most important in your life, keep it close and never ever trade it for anything this world has to offer.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.
P.

Dealing with Early Retirement Obsession

There will come a point, no doubt, in every early retirement preppers journey where he/she will become extremely obsessed. (At least i hope that its not just me.)

You will start counting every day and dollar you have to retirement. You will search for every book and blog for every single detail which increases your chance of early retirement. And if you are like me, you will tweak and tweak your early retirement spreadsheet several times a day before you feel at ease. Don't judge me, you will get to this point if you want early retirement bad enough.

The key point is to realize that this is merely a stage that you have to go through and that these are just the means and not the ends of your goal. I have to admit that i am still at this stage, although i feel that I'm exiting it for the next soon.

For those of you who are beginning this stage or are stuck chest deep in this obsession, here are a few pointers to hopefully help you out.

ps if you say you are not obsessed and immediately have to check your spreadsheet or  think of new methods straight after you read my blog...sorry bro.. you are.

To the therapy room ~

• First of all, like all problems like alcohol or gambling addiction, the most important step is to realize and admit that you are obsessed with early retirement. Only then can you see the full picture. Having this obsession for a short while is okay as it drives you to save more in the early stage. Dragging it out for too long is where this obsession gets unhealthy, not unlike any other obsession.

• Next, you will have to realize that after the initial stage of planning and savings, the small little obsessive tweaks here and there will at most shave a few days off your retirement. The time spent will not be worth it. You should instead be spending your time with your family. All you have to do is stick to your decided path and only tweak or tinker when you hit a major milestone or feel that your are drifting off your path.

•  Lastly, pick up as many new skills and hobbies as you can - inexpensive ones of course. There are 2 reasons for this pointer. The first would be that it takes your mind off constantly obsessing about early retirement. The second would be that these skills and hobbies are the things that will keep you occupied and your mind alert when you are finally into retirement.

There it is, my humble advice to you. I really hope it helps, however much or little.

My last parting advice would be to always share your plans, your feelings and even your obsessions with your family or spouse. I know its hard...as a guy to share his feelings..(Gals have no issue in this department..at least my wife doesn't - sometimes i think i should invent pills for verbal diarrhea).

Anyway, sharing will really bond you and take some burden off your shoulders. Remember that you are never truly alone. Family is forever.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.
P.

29,200...29,199...29,198................RIP

Hi all, how has your day been so far? Or should i ask, how has your life been so far? Do you know what the title represents? Do you know what the numbers mean? Well, it's the total number of days that a person who lives till the age of 80 has to live.

Do you not feel that when you look how much time you have in terms of the number of days, it looks really short? Lets say you are 25 this year, you would have approximately 20,000 days left to live and if you are 35, about 16,500 days left to live.

Consider this example, Mike, who is 35 this year working at a mid level job with working hours from 9 to 6.
He takes an hour to travel to work and another hour back. That is a total of 11 hours of his day sacrificed in exchange for an income. Say he works till the retirement age of 65. For the sake of simplicity of calculation, a year would consist of 260 work days( 52 weeks*5 ). That would be 2,860 hours per year or 119 days and by the age of 65, would be 3,570 days.

The situation only gets more disastrous. Do not forget that out of these 16,500 days, about 1/3 of it or 8 hours a days will be spent sleeping. According to my calculations, you would be left with only a miserable 11,000 days left to live(16,500*0.66666), and that's considering you live to 80 and don't work over time and weekends.

How does it sound now that you have only got 11,000 days left to live? Scary right? Everyone has different choices in life. Mine is to try to save as much as i can, cut my spending to a minimum and invest wisely so i can stop wasting my life working and worrying about money. The precious number of days i have left would be better spent on my loved ones and myself.

What are your thoughts on this? Are you of a similar thought? Are you going to live to work or are u going to work to live? Share your thoughts, i would really appreciate views from different people.

As always, save more, spend less and invest wisely.
P.

About me and my goals

Where do i start? So many things to say but so little time.. I guess it's the same with life. So many things to do and goals to achieve but with such a limited time to do them. What if i could give myself more time to do the things i want to do? No, not by extending my life, ( although that would be nice in the distant future) but by retiring earlier than what most Singaporeans would call the norm. In order to do this, sacrifices will have to be made and rules will have to be strictly adhered to.

Through this blog, i will try to record my thoughts and methods i will use to achieve this early retirement. I am currently in my late twenties working in the engineering sector and I plan to retire no later than the age of 45. I am currently married and am waiting for my home. (Mortgage payments are a killer to my early retirement planning). As for kids, i am definitely planning for at least 1, hoping for 2. I am pretty sure that if i plan my finances well enough, my wife and I, together with our future kids would be able to live pretty comfortably when we retire.

I hope that through this blog, more Singaporeans would be encouraged to save more, spend less and invest more in order to be able to spend more time with their loved ones instead of sitting alone in a cubicle wherever they are in Singapore.

I'm kind of running out of time and would have to sign off here. Loads of work to do and daylight is running out. I'll be trying to post as often as i can with a minimum of 1 post a week. Till then, see you and live well.