End 2019 Review - inching close to $500k net worth

This year flew by quickly again and I'm one year older, but don't feel wiser.

I feel more negative and jaded, especially relating to work. Now that I have my own house, all I want to do is stop work and nua at home haha

Reading back last year's post made me think - last year was pretty exciting. I like how I can read back on the little achievements I noted down on this blog. I'll use last year's post as a guide on what to blog about.

Key things that happened this year:
- Travelled overseas for work ✌️
- Travelled to 17 cities. Officially the most travelled year of my lifetime. Probably not able to beat ever
- Caught the Northern Lights
- Own my first property at a prime location

But the most important thing I wanted this year did not happen. Oh well, hopefully next year will be better!

On to my Goals in 2018 and the Reality in 2019

• Stay healthy and happy - ✅I guess.
• Have a little piglet in 2019 - ❌disappointment month after month
• Travel to Europe for honeymoon - ✅
• Plan another short getaway for hubby and my family - ✅for 2020
• Hope to move into my new house by mid this year and enjoy the reno process
• Keep within a $50k budget all-in - Half ✅Half ❌: the money just can't stop rolling out for home related stuff. But so far, reno and furnitures have been kept at around $50k
• Hit $250k in cash savings this year - Half ✅Half  : met and drop after paying for housing related stuff
• Pray for lesser stress at work than in previous company - Half ✅Half ❌

2019 review

Here's a recap of what went by in 2019:

• Jan: Talked about doing nothing at start of the year. I feel like I've been nothing much for the past year haha
• Feb: Shared my frustration about being questioned when I'm going to have kids. Interestingly, not many people asked anymore. Or maybe that's people I avoided those people who likes to ask :P
• Mar: 
• Tracked my 2015-2018 net worth. I thought my networth will drop below $300k. But nope. I've been doing good.
• Suay suay DBS and OCBC ibanking token battery died at the same time. I've been using their digital token since then.
• Wow, I blogged a lot in March. Questioned myself on what I've built after serving 5 years in the workforce. I am still as unambitious as ever and have rejected change in portfolios. I really don't want the additional stress. But as I get more senior and command higher pay, I can't be doing the same thing...my performance will also be affected. Sigh, people tell me I'm too young to think about cruising. But, there's a limit to how much I wanna slave for $ if I've no time for myself!
• Apr: Bought another 2.02% ELASTIQ plan and pumped in $5k. It has now dropped to 1.80% which is not attractive IMO. If anyone is still keen, you can use my referral code (R104346) to get 0.5% of policy’s premium value as a sign-up gift
• May: Upset that I no longer enjoy 10% cashback from CIMB card. My CIMB cards has not seen daylight since then
• Jun: 
• Topped up $7,000 into CPF SA. This has been my yearly to do to reduce income tax.
• Exceeded $400k networth and had $200k in cash savings. Bought Astrea Bond V
• Jul: Did $5 pap smear. Adding on to the post as I realised I didn't share. I went to my nearby clinic (this clinic does not have much patients generally) in hope of a quick test, only to hear from the screwed up female doctor that I can't be tested if I'm trying for a kid. The heck? In the end she asked me to lie down to do some quick checks, and stupidly, I had to pay $25 consultation charges when all I wanted was a $5 screening. No wonder this clinic does not have much patients. I went to the other popular clinic the next round and the screening was done within 10 mins. 
• Aug: 
• Questioned if it is wise to fully pay off my HDB loan. This was the most commented post of all time and I thank everyone for your comments. The varying comments goes to show, there's no best way to pay off the loan. In the end, my husband and I paid off $200k of our loan on the 2nd month. I find myself stupid for not paying the partial sum during key collection as I incurred extra $1k+ interest for delaying it. But I can't turn back the time for being indecisive and procrastinating. I still have another $200k to pay off.
• Signed OCBC Frank card for free staycation and $50 rebate. This is not a wise move but, with nothing to buy, I actually clock the minimum spend by buying NTUC vouchers 🤭Still have a lot of vouchers left, but I can now use it for household items!
• Oct: Top up $7k to my mum CPF SA
• Nov:
• Went crazy during 11.11 in hopes to score good deals for the new house. Spent close to $5.5k in just 3 days and saved ~$750. Also signed up Circles Life and am now enjoying cheap monthly mobile plan
• Complained about UOB One cc. Their slowness resulted in me losing out rebates and credit card sign-up bonus. In the end, my $5.5k spending on 11.11 using UOB One card was rendered pointless because of how they split my statement cycle! 😡 
• Dec: Bought Mapletree NAC Trust

Net Worth

As I track my net worth monthly, I realised I had $490k in Sep 2019.
- It has since dropped to $440k as I swiped out $50k+ of CPF from OA for housing
- Grew my networth by $100k if I compare Jan vs Dec networth
- Likely to hit $500k net worth in 2020

Investments and Gains

I've gotten lazy. I no longer track how much interests or dividends I got every month. I started using Seedly 1 month back to track my expenses but have since stopped doing so, because - lazy.

Dividends from stocks is ~$2.8k for the whole year. Very very little, considering that I set my goal to have $1k passive income by 30. OMG, who am I kidding when I set that goal at age 26. I thought I would become a more aggressive investor but no.

Surprisingly, I received ~$200 angbao money despite being married haha!

Low estimate of ~$1.2k interest from savings account.

Did not track how much I get from FD or SSBs.

Hopes and Goals for 2020

• Build my little family
• Treat family well + treat them during overseas outing
• Be positive and have more confidence
• Continue to pray for less stress at work and take things easy 
• Stay healthy and happy!

Ironically, I no longer wish for frequent travelling. JB as a short getaway seems good enough for me. But I do want to experience a Suites/First Class flight through my miles exchange. 

I used to be yearning for promotion and good performance grades. I must say I've been well appreciated since I started working with very good grades and promotion opportunities. Maybe it's because I've checked these tick boxes that I no longer feel as hard up about these. Maybe it's because, I've reached a stage in life where I think I've a decent amount of money (unfortunately, it's not generating much passive income for me to stop working), I know I'm far better off than many. For this, I am contented. Maybe it's because I know I've a decent amount of cash savings that led me to being lazy about tracking my expenses. Maybe I've become complacent. But, I really feel much at ease now, knowing I've accumulated a decent saving. It gives me a sense of security. This sense of security is very much needed for my weak soul and overthinking brain. It also edges up my confidence because I no longer need to care about how my relatives think of me, because I am self-sufficient. 

I hope to continue growing my savings and to continue my simple lifestyle. I've not set out any plans for retirement, but with my current savings and living habits, probably not difficult to attain in 20 years' time :)