I have been running this site for few years. In the initial years, I keep writing to share my thoughts. It was a very fulfilling journey.
Times flies and I am already 43 this year. Guess this is what many people called mid life crisis. I am trying to find my purpose of existence in this world and what things that I would like to complete before i say farewell to this world.
This blog is full of my wonderful memories but I no longer have any energy to maintain and keep posting new posts. I need more time for my family and more time for myself to find my true self in this world. However, many of things that I have shared are timeless and I hoped that you have found it useful.
Let’s face it: relying entirely on dividends might sound tempting for peace of mind, but high-dividend stocks can limit long-term growth. Plus, companies can cut dividends, leaving you in a lurch. On the flip side, relying only on a Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) like 3.5% from global ETFs can be hard on your mind and psychology aspects — it feels odd to sell assets when markets are down, not many are able to do it.
That’s why the hybrid approach should work well: ✔ Dividend stocks & ETFs provide a steady passive income stream. ✔ Global index ETFs offer long-term growth and inflation protection, with the safety of a 3.5% SWR. ✔ A cash buffer helps manage market volatility and avoid panic selling.
This balance creates a retirement plan that’s not just financially sound, but psychologically comfortable.
Step 1: Portfolio Allocation ($1.5M Portfolio for $5K/month FIRE Goal)
We’ll structure the portfolio into:
40% in dividend stocks & ETFs (~$600,000) for steady income.
55% in global index ETFs (VWRA & EIMI) (~$825,000) for long-term growth with SWR.
5% in cash buffer (~$75,000) to provide safety in downturns. This should last you for 15 months of ~$5000 per month such that you can don’t draw down if you need especially in downturns.
The dividend portion will focus on high-quality assets with strong cash flow and sustainable dividends. We’ll include:
Singapore Banks (DBS, UOB, OCBC) for stable and reliable dividends.
Net Cash Singapore Companies like Sheng Siong etc for low-risk, cash-rich companies.
NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF for exposure to REITs across Asia.
SPDR STI ETF for broad exposure to Singapore’s top 30 companies.
VHYL (Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF) for global dividend exposure.
Dividend Portfolio Breakdown (~5% Yield)
Asset
Type
Allocation ($)
Dividend Yield
Estimated Dividends ($/year)
SG Banks (DBS, UOB, OCBC)
Financials
$150,000
~5.0%
$7,500
Net Cash Singapore Companies (Sheng Siong etc.)
Dividend Stocks
$100,000
~4.0%
$4,000
NikkoAM-StraitsTrading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF
Asia REIT ETF
$150,000
~5.0%
$7,500
SPDR STI ETF
Singapore Index
$100,000
~4.0%
$4,000
VHYL (Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF)
Global Dividend ETF
$100,000
~3.0%
$3,000
Total
$600,000
~5% avg
$26,000/year (~$2,167/month)
Why VHYL?
VHYL gives you global exposure to high-yield dividend companies, diversifying the portfolio beyond Singapore.
It maintains a 3.0% yield, adding strong, reliable income from global markets.
Step 3: Growth Portfolio (~$825,000 in LSE-listed ETFs for SWR)
The growth portfolio will focus on global index ETFs and will be managed via a 3.5% withdrawal rate (SWR):
Asset
Type
Allocation ($)
Withdrawal Rate
Income Generated ($/year)
VWRA (LSE-listed)
Global Index Fund
$725,000
3.5% SWR
$25,375
EIMI (LSE-listed)
Emerging Markets
$100,000
3.5% SWR
$3,500
Total
$825,000
$28,875 (~$2,406/month)
The VWRA provides exposure to global stocks, while EIMI adds higher-growth emerging markets. Both are Ireland-domiciled, meaning they avoid high US withholding taxes and are more tax-efficient for Singapore investors.
Step 4: How Does This Portfolio Generate $5,000/month?
✅ Dividends from stocks/ETFs: ~$2,167/month ($26,000/year). ✅ SWR withdrawals from VWRA/EIMI: ~$2,406/month ($28,875/year). ✅ Total Monthly Income:$4,573/month ($54,875/year).
This comes very close to the $5,000/month goal, with a cash buffer to smooth out any shortfalls.
What if there’s a market crash?
The $75,000 cash buffer will ensure you don’t have to sell assets during market downturns.
In strong market years, you can reinvest excess dividends into VWRA and EIMI.
If needed, adjust the SWR temporarily (e.g., reduce to 3.3% in tough times).
Step 5: Long-Term Growth & Sustainability
Even with SWR withdrawals, this portfolio is designed to continue growing over the long term.
The VWRA portion should appreciate by around 7% per year, so even after 3.5% withdrawals, your portfolio will likely grow rather than shrink.
The VHYL dividend will likely increase over time, providing more income each year.
The SG Banks, STI ETF, and REIT ETFs should also grow with the economy, boosting your income over time.
How Does Net Worth Change Over Time?
Your global index portion (VWRA) will continue to grow, keeping pace with inflation.
EIMI emerging markets should continue to grow, keeping pace with inflation.
The dividend portfolio should keep increasing dividends, helping your income grow and maintaining long-term wealth.
✅ Stable income from dividends (~$26,000/year). ✅ Growth from SWR withdrawals (~$28,875/year from VWRA & EIMI). ✅ A resilient portfolio that adapts to market cycles. ✅ Capital appreciation over time, allowing your net worth to grow.
By combining dividend investing with SWR-based growth, this hybrid strategy offers a well-rounded retirement plan for a Singapore-based FIRE investor.
You get the peace of mind of steady dividends, the growth potential of global equities, and the flexibility to adapt during market downturns.
Would this portfolio works for you?
Deal 1:
Interest rates are getting lower everywhere and there are usually many hoops to jump to get higher rate such as OCBC 360 and UOB ONE! Consider Maribank, one of the fuss free and give you 1.28% daily without any conditions! Interest is credited daily!
Many people I realised that they have only shared things that give them the most commissions. I am different. I will only share things that I have bought, used and found it to be good.
Deal 3:
Webull – Get free money!
Good deal! Do not miss this! Sign up here now for free money!!
Deal 4:
Trust Bank New Clients
Sign up using referral code KNDBPEPT. Key in this code after you download the Trust Bank App from Trust Bank Website
FSMone – Cheap Comms and can transfer your shares to Personal/Joint CDP for Free
I am using FSMOne.com to invest in funds & ETFs (including money market funds). FSM is good due to the low comms and the free transfer from FSMOne to CDP (typically takes less than a week to transfer). If you do not have an account, you can sign up here. Please use my FSMOne referral code: P0413007.
For now, you can get 500MB for free just by signing up with my referral link, no purchase required (I get 500MB only too, but only if you buy a paid plan). Referral code: CHING104915
Money just buy you the chance of freedom but can’t buy back time. In life, there is no reset button. Time is limited but money is not.
When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed (your strong health, time with young child) while busying striking out in career.
Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?
We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.
We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.
Love your life daily.You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.Time is ticking away.
Focusing Careyourpresent & living a fulfilling life by supercharging your mind & investment/online income. Careyourpresent Series focus on things that one MUST know in their Life.
For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!
For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!
Telegram Group (Chat with me and other like minded people!)
We live in a culture that praises growth, accumulation, maximization. More promotions, more income, more achievements, more possessions. It feels like the path to success and happiness.
But what if chasing moreslowly robs us of exactly what we want most—peace, presence, meaning?
The idea of “enough” can be radical, healing, and deeply freeing. And how embracing enough doesn’t mean giving up ambition—it means becoming intentional about which ambitions we chase, and why.
Living in the Treadmill: The Quiet Burn from Chasing More
When I reflect on past years, I notice a pattern:
I would get a small win—a raise, a new investment portfolio doing well, a nice travel.
For a moment, there’d be satisfaction. But it would fade.
Then I was back to chasing what’s next: a bigger goal, a new project, another milestone.
That cycle leaves you perpetually in pursuit but seldom arriving. In the process, you may:
Lose time with what matters — family dinners, simple afternoons, unplanned conversations.
Carry hidden fatigue — even when things “look good,” your heart or mind feels worn.
Neglect presence — always planning, always moving, rarely fully arriving in the moment.
What is your enough in one area of life—work, health, relationships?
What are you sacrificing today in the pursuit of more?
What one action can you take this week to live closer to your enough?
More isn’t always better
More isn’t always better. Sometimes more distracts from what’s most profound: peace, presence, meaning, love.
What if today you whispered: “I already have enough.”
Because often, enough isn’t the end of the journey—it’s the beginning of living fully.
Deal 1:
Interest rates are getting lower everywhere and there are usually many hoops to jump to get higher rate such as OCBC 360 and UOB ONE! Consider Maribank, one of the fuss free and give you 1.28% daily without any conditions! Interest is credited daily!
Many people I realised that they have only shared things that give them the most commissions. I am different. I will only share things that I have bought, used and found it to be good.
Deal 3:
Webull – Get free money!
Good deal! Do not miss this! Sign up here now for free money!!
Deal 4:
Trust Bank New Clients
Sign up using referral code KNDBPEPT. Key in this code after you download the Trust Bank App from Trust Bank Website
FSMone – Cheap Comms and can transfer your shares to Personal/Joint CDP for Free
I am using FSMOne.com to invest in funds & ETFs (including money market funds). FSM is good due to the low comms and the free transfer from FSMOne to CDP (typically takes less than a week to transfer). If you do not have an account, you can sign up here. Please use my FSMOne referral code: P0413007.
For now, you can get 500MB for free just by signing up with my referral link, no purchase required (I get 500MB only too, but only if you buy a paid plan). Referral code: CHING104915
Money just buy you the chance of freedom but can’t buy back time. In life, there is no reset button. Time is limited but money is not.
When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed (your strong health, time with young child) while busying striking out in career.
Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?
We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.
We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.
Love your life daily.You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.Time is ticking away.
Focusing Careyourpresent & living a fulfilling life by supercharging your mind & investment/online income. Careyourpresent Series focus on things that one MUST know in their Life.
For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!
For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!
Telegram Group (Chat with me and other like minded people!)
The Magic Thread of Life and Time: Why We Must Stop Rushing
We’ve all wished time would move faster. Maybe during a tough work week, a sleepless night with the kids, or while waiting for financial freedom. At other times, we’ve longed for moments to last forever.
But what if you could control time? What if you held a magical thread that could fast-forward your life whenever you pulled it?
This is the essence of The Magic Thread of Life and Time. Though it’s told as a fairy tale, its lessons shine light on how we live today — in an age of endless hustle, future goals, and constant restlessness.
I found this interesting video when watching youtube with my kid.
Once, there lived a boy who found life unbearably slow. He wished away his schooldays, hated waiting, and longed for adulthood to come sooner.
One day, he crossed paths with a mysterious old woman who gave him a ball of thread. She explained:
“This thread is your life. Whenever you tug on it, time will leap forward. Pull it whenever you feel restless, and your struggles will vanish.”
The boy was delighted. Bored at school? He pulled. Facing exams? He tugged again. Suddenly, he was grown up.
As an adult, he used the thread whenever life felt heavy. When work became stressful, he skipped ahead to a better position. When family life became challenging, he tugged to escape.
On and on he pulled — never pausing, never enduring, never truly living.
And then, before he realized it, the ball was nearly gone. His hair was grey, his body weak, his thread almost finished. He looked back on his life with sorrow.
He had gotten what he wanted: he had skipped the waiting, the struggles, and the ordinary days. But in doing so, he had skipped life itself.
The Deeper Lesson
The Magic Thread is more than a tale for children. It’s a mirror for how we live.
How often do we say to ourselves:
“I can’t wait for this project to be over.”
“Once I hit financial independence, then I’ll live fully.”
“When the kids are older, then I’ll have time for myself.”
These thoughts are invisible tugs on our own thread of life. The more we rush, the more we risk waking up one day and asking: Where did the years go?
The truth is simple: life isn’t something to fast-forward. It unfolds moment by moment, and its value lies not just in the milestones, but in the journey.
Why We Rush Through Life
If we know that rushing robs us of presence, why do we still live this way?
1. Work and Productivity Pressure
From an early age, we’re taught to measure worth by output. Always asking “What’s next?” traps us in a cycle of forward-thinking, rarely allowing us to enjoy where we are.
2. FIRE and the Illusion of “Someday”
For those pursuing Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE), the danger is real. The dream of freedom tempts us to sacrifice today for tomorrow. But financial independence should free us to live both today and tomorrow — not turn us into lifelong thread-pullers.
3. Parenting and the Next Stage
Parenthood is filled with exhausting phases. It’s easy to wish them away: “I can’t wait until they’re in school,” “I can’t wait until they’re independent.” Yet each stage is precious and fleeting. Tugging the thread blinds us to the small joys that will never return.
4. Avoiding Discomfort
The boy used the thread to dodge hardship. We do this too — skipping past grief, boredom, or stress. Yet these are the very experiences that shape us, deepen us, and give us wisdom.
How to Live Without Pulling the Thread
What if we chose a different way?
Practice Patience in the Everyday
Life isn’t lived only in milestones. It’s in the commutes, the school runs, the dinners at home. Small joys are woven into ordinary days.
Embrace Your Current Season
Every life stage has gifts and trials. Accepting your season — rather than resisting it — opens the door to gratitude.
Plan for Tomorrow, Live for Today
Yes, save and invest for the future. But remember: tomorrow is uncertain. The only time we truly hold is today.
See Discomfort as Growth
Waiting builds patience. Struggles strengthen resilience. Even boredom sparks creativity. To skip hardship is to skip growth.
Treasure Time as Your Truest Wealth
You can always make more money. You cannot make more time. How you spend your days is how you spend your life.
What the Magic Thread Teaches About FIRE
For anyone on the path to financial independence, the story is a gentle warning.
Don’t make FI just another way of tugging at the thread. Freedom isn’t about rushing to the end of work. It’s about having space to slow down, live intentionally, and savor today.
True wealth lies not in fast-forwarding to an ideal future, but in removing the thread altogether.
It’s not Too Late
The boy realized his mistake too late. But you and I still hold time in our hands.
Take a breath. Look at your life right now. What season are you in? Are you pulling at the thread, longing to skip ahead? Or are you letting it unfold, moment by moment, as it was meant to?
The magic of life is not found in rushing, but in living — fully, intentionally, gratefully.
Final Thoughts
The Magic Thread of Life and Time is a simple story with profound truth. In a culture obsessed with speed and achievement, it whispers to us: slow down.
Life isn’t a race to the end. It’s a tapestry, woven from the ordinary and the extraordinary, the joys and the struggles, the days we wish would hurry and the days we wish would linger.
Don’t tug the thread. Live the thread.
👉 What about you? Do you find yourself wishing away the present? How do you remind yourself to stay present? Share in the comments — I’d love to hear your reflections.
Deal 1:
Interest rates are getting lower everywhere and there are usually many hoops to jump to get higher rate such as OCBC 360 and UOB ONE! Consider Maribank, one of the fuss free and give you 1.28% daily without any conditions! Interest is credited daily!
Many people I realised that they have only shared things that give them the most commissions. I am different. I will only share things that I have bought, used and found it to be good.
Deal 3:
Webull – Get free money!
Good deal! Do not miss this! Sign up here now for free money!!
Deal 4:
Trust Bank New Clients
Sign up using referral code KNDBPEPT. Key in this code after you download the Trust Bank App from Trust Bank Website
FSMone – Cheap Comms and can transfer your shares to Personal/Joint CDP for Free
I am using FSMOne.com to invest in funds & ETFs (including money market funds). FSM is good due to the low comms and the free transfer from FSMOne to CDP (typically takes less than a week to transfer). If you do not have an account, you can sign up here. Please use my FSMOne referral code: P0413007.
For now, you can get 500MB for free just by signing up with my referral link, no purchase required (I get 500MB only too, but only if you buy a paid plan). Referral code: CHING104915
Money just buy you the chance of freedom but can’t buy back time. In life, there is no reset button. Time is limited but money is not.
When you are young and working, you exchange time for money. When you are old, you can have lots of money but you can’t buy time back, especially the things that you have missed (your strong health, time with young child) while busying striking out in career.
Your kids grew up and they no longer need you to accompany them. They no longer want to sit on your lap to share/do things with you…all these time you spent in your 9 to 6 or even longer cubicles…can the money that you have earned by you back these?
We always thought we have more time with our old parents, but we are wrong. Time with them is ticking away every day. One day it will suddenly be gone. There is no regret medicine, no reset in time. Gone is gone and cannot come back. No matter you are billionaires or millionaires, you cannot reset this.
We always thought that we have more time with our spouse every day, but we are wrong. One day they will be gone too. When you read this, please go tell your spouse that you love him/her and he or she is the best thing that you ever had in your life.
Love your life daily.You have one less day with your spouse, parents, children and yourself.Time is ticking away.
Focusing Careyourpresent & living a fulfilling life by supercharging your mind & investment/online income. Careyourpresent Series focus on things that one MUST know in their Life.
For those who are interested in regular updates of my articles, please join the others to sign up for my free newsletter to has my newest blogposts sent to your mailbox for free!
For real time exclusive updates on market news/life (especially Crypto markets where the news move fast, important news will be shared directly via tweets or telegrams), do also join the platforms below and engage with other like-minded people!
Telegram Group (Chat with me and other like minded people!)
