Simple Budget, Simple Life

  Another end to a year. For the nth time, I dread reflecting on the year because I did not receive positive outputs from the pain I've endured. But here goes.  Here's a recap of my finances over the years: 2016 -  Unexpected review of 2016: hitting $200k in net worth 2017 -  End 2017 review - net worth at $287k 2018 -  End 2018 review - net worth at $372k  2019 -  End 2019 Review - inching close to $500k net worth  (~$440k) 2020 -  End 2020 Review - net worth at $550k 2021 -  End 2021 Review - closing in to $700k net worth 2022 -  End 2022 Review - failing financial goal for the first time, $660k net worth 2023:  End 2023 review: $819k net worth 2024 Review Borrowing my past year statement: This year, so much has happened, but not much have changed. Since I don't blog every month, here's a recap of what I've done across the past 12 months: Jan Did CPF MA topup of $3k Spoke about feeling depressed and signing up for counse...

For years, I've done CPF cash top-ups in a bid to reduce taxes. I typically did them at the start of the year. I had an inkling I wasn't earning a lot to warrant the tax reliefs, but felt compelled to do so to make it seem like my money in CPF was working harder.  Afterall, 4% on SA was much greater than leaving it in the banks. No doubt, these were money "stuck" until I could only withdraw them when I cross 55. In the past 2 years, I became more apprehensive of topping-up at the start of the year. I only did it for MA, but for SA, I decided to wait...till I had more cash on hand. This was because I was running out of cash reserves as I threw in quite a bit of cash in 2021 onto stocks, cryptos....and unfortunately, was not savvy in making good returns.  I had to rebuild my cash reserves. That meant just aggressively saving, without investing. This may not be the wisest, but I needed comfort and security that my cash nest is being built back to the original state. Fast...

As of 8 Dec 2024, I have officially unlocked the milestone of $1m networth 🎉 This is all thanks to the increased in value of my crypto holdings as well as my US stocks. My HK/CN stocks are still in bad shape. On stocks front, truthfully, my overall investments is still in the red. I had made mistakes in stock picking and has not taken the opportunity to cut losses. I had the view to hold and pray those stocks in deep red would go up - after all, I told myself I don't need the money right now. On crypto, given that BTC has bounced back, I'm sitting on decent profits. I've been cashing out bit by bit. The last I spoke in Mar , I cashed out a rather sizeable amount of BTC at 50% profit. On hindsight, if I had waited till now, I could have cash out 3000 SGD more. Anyway, this time round in Nov, I cashed out 2 times, at a 70%-80% profit. Not bad considering the rest of my investments. As long as there are no major global events impacting the markets negatively, I believe I woul...

Another blink, another year ending soon. How have you guys been? I wonder who else is still monitoring my blog despite my lack of updates. Again, so much has happened, but not much have changed. I travelled well, continued with a 3rd round of IVF egg retrieval (result was extremely poor), and went through uncertainty at work due to restructuring but was thankfully able to keep my job. I still haven't fulfil my dream of being a mother. Though honestly, it now feels more like a checkbox to be unchecked than the actual fulfilment of wanting to nurture and grow a child. I think the weariness is getting too much. I will embark on my final transfer within these few months. This would be my 7th transfer. If it fails, I'm likely going to stop further treatments. I have already done the best at my "peak".  I am telling myself that my life is still amazing despite these hiccups. Anyway, onto my financial goals. Back on 31 Dec 2024, I posted my goal to achieve $950k networth by ...

My first foray into crypto was during the hype. Back in Feb 2021 During Feb 2021 to Jun 2022, I added in bit by bit - DCA as what they say. BTC, ETH, MATIC, SOL and even the horror LUNA. Thereafter, as crypto crashed, I stopped, praying one day it will rise back. And today, as I found that BTC is now at ATH, I decided to cash out 1/4 of my BTC for some profits. It's still a far cry from the amount I've lost, but I'm glad I could recoup some losses. Just to detail for my future reference, I transferred my BTC from ledger to coinbase. And sold my BTC on coinbase to SGD, incurring an atrocious fee of $130 and GST of $12. Gone are the days of cheap transaction fees.  Please let me know if there are wiser/cost effective options. In total, what I took back was a profit of 50%.  May BTC rise up more so I can cash out at 100% profit next. -dated 9 Mar 2024-

Happy Lunar New Year! How has everyone spent their lunar new year?  On the first day of LNY, I woke up early to catch the sunrise, soaked in the sunlight and prayed for a good year. This LNY has been rather peaceful for me, as with the past few years - I was done with visiting on the first day, works well for my introverted personality. I confess I'm not an approachable aunt - I don't actively reach out to the younger relatives - I have no clue what to say; small talks are just not for me. So far, the start of the dragon year has got me checking off a few superstitious acts, just to make myself feel better for the new year. As I mentioned in my previous blog posts , my job is getting shaky again. I have no clue if my role will be affected, neither do I have inertia to find a new role; there's too many companies that I feel uneasy heading to.  Next, I thought I'd be celebrating the new year with a pregnancy. Alas, my fifth ivf transfer failed. It's draining my energy...

 2 weeks into 2024. Crazy. Crazy that time flies, and how the first two weeks of this year were marred with negative news - earthquake in Japan, plane crash, tuberculosis cluster, layoffs... On a personal front, negativity hits again. First week of the year set out ok, I was hyping myself up - new year, new thoughts - good thoughts only. The second week got me back to old thinking. Anxiety and self doubts are creeping in again. I previously mentioned in my  end 2023 review post  that company is undergoing restructuring and my job security is unknown. Closing in to my mid 30s (to think I started this blog in my mid 20s) is scary. I didn't feel like I've grown. As much as my networth increased from  $200k in 2016  to  $819k in 2023 , I surely didn't feel that I've grown  better. As I age, I feel more depressed.  I don't know what I am living for.  For now, work is a key part of my life. And work thoughts consumed most of my time. The current ou...