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Covered Call / Cash Covered Put vs Dividends : I Chose Growth (For Now)

Is selling covered puts/calls better than earning dividends? It depends, mainly on your goals and how much effort you’re willing to put in. If I had continued my dividend investing journey, the path would have been straightforward. Buy REITs and blue chips, hold them long term, and let the dividends compound over time. The problem? Growth is slow. After running my own calculations and simulations, I realised it would take a very long time to reach the level of income I’m aiming for. So I changed my approach. In the past, I made a mistake, selling long-dated covered calls and treating them like dividends. It felt passive, but it wasn’t efficient. Now, I focus only on short-term (weekly) covered puts and calls. The difference is significant. For example, with around $30,000 USD deployed in cash-secured puts, I’m generating roughly $300 USD per week on average. If I can sustain that over a full year (52 weeks), that’s about $15,000 USD, effectively a 50% return on capital. Of course, this...
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Passive Income? Not Really, Here’s the Truth

Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t call what I have “passive income.” It still requires active decisions and management. Since the start of the year, I’ve been properly tracking my returns. One big move I made was selling off all my REITs, keeping only OCBC, and redirecting most of my capital into my IBKR account. Right now, my portfolio is very concentrated. I’m mainly holding NVIDIA and SEA Ltd. The problem?  They don’t generate much in terms of passive income. So where is my “income” coming from? Options. Specifically, I’ve been selling cash-secured put options on SEA Ltd. My strategy is simple, I sell puts at strike prices that are unlikely to be hit, but levels I’m comfortable owning the stock if it does. Because of the capital freed up from selling my REITs, I’m able to sell about 4 to 6 contracts per week. This generates roughly $300 to $500 USD weekly. That alone is enough to cover my expenses. But instead of withdrawing it, I let everything compound within the account. When oppor...
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Busy, Tired, but Still Showing Up

I went missing for almost three months. So what happened? Well… life happened. I’ve been caught up in the everyday grind: kids, office work, and a side hustle. It feels like there’s barely any space to breathe, let alone sit down and write. But despite all that chaos, something good came out of it. Since the start of the year, I’ve lost 8kg. Now, 8kg over six months might not sound impressive to some people. But for me, it’s a big deal. It means progress. It means consistency. More importantly, it’s given me momentum. I now have a clear goal: lose 15kg in total by 31 December 2026. And this time, I’m going all in. So how did I do it, despite having such a packed schedule? Simple answer: I stopped making excuses. My day starts at 6:30am. I get the kids ready and drop them off at childcare before heading straight to work. After work, I pick them up, settle dinner, and get them ready for bed. By the time everything is done, it’s already around 9pm. Most people would call it a day by then....
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Can Singapore Reverse Its TFR? A Financial Reality Check (And What It Means For Families Like Mine)

Singapore recently recorded a historic low total fertility rate (TFR) of 0.87 in 2025 , meaning that, on average, less than one child is being born per woman. The government has repeatedly emphasized that money alone won’t reverse this trend , pointing instead to societal, lifestyle, and work-related factors. But as a father of two, I have to say, I  disagree . From my perspective, financial support is not just helpful, it’s key . Raising children in Singapore is expensive, and even motivated couples hesitate when the numbers don’t add up. Why Money Matters to Families Like Mine Raising children isn’t just about love and time, it’s about balancing real financial responsibilities: Housing – Families often need larger flats or resale HDB units to accommodate children comfortably. Education & Childcare – Preschool, enrichment programs, and tuition fees can quickly run into tens of thousands per child. Daily Costs & Healthcare – Even routine expenses add up, especi...
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What Is My Side Hustle?

Recently, I received a few DMs asking the same question: “What exactly is your side hustle?” I have mentioned before that it is related to property, and that naturally made some people assume I meant property investing, property flipping, or becoming a real estate agent. But the answer is actually none of those. My side hustle is related to the built environment sector , which is also closely tied to my main professional field. However, instead of working purely within my job scope, I operate on the execution side of projects. In simple terms, I function somewhere in the space between contractors and subcontractors . Not Property Investing Let me first clarify something. When people hear “property side hustle”, the first thing they think about is buying and selling property, collecting rent, or doing property investment analysis. That is not what I do. I am not buying houses to flip them. I am not a property agent at least for now. And I am not running a property investment advisory se...
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Giving My Kids the Freedom I Never Had

I have two kids. This year, they will turn three years old and one year old. Becoming a parent changes the way you see life. For me, it also made me reflect deeply on why I am who I am today. I did not grow up in a wealthy family. My parents did their best, they gave me food, education, and a stable upbringing. For that, I will always be grateful. But as I grew older, I began to realise something. What my parents gave me was like a pair of running shoes, while some other parents had already given their children a motorbike, a car, or even a rocket. So while I managed to do well academically and eventually landed a decent job, my financial position today is still something that many of my peers had already reached five to ten years earlier, largely because of family support. That difference in starting points matters more than people like to admit. What I Want for My Kids Because of that, I often ask myself a simple question: What am I doing for my kids? I do not want them to feel trapp...
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What I’m Doing for My FIRE Journey Now: And Why FIRE Is No Longer the Destination

After sharing about my routine life, I had a hard realization: Even if I achieve FIRE tomorrow, nothing meaningful might actually change. Yes, I would no longer work from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Yes, I would have financial freedom. Yes, technically, I “made it.” But what then? If I remove the office hours from my schedule, my day would still revolve around the same cycle, kids, errands, family obligations, sleep, repeat. The structure changes, but the pattern remains. And that scared me. The Illusion of Freedom For a long time, FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) was the goal. The dream was simple: Build investments. Grow income streams. Escape the corporate grind. Reclaim time. But recently I asked myself a question that hit harder than expected: If I retire early, what exactly am I retiring to ? Most of my peers will still be working. Their lives won’t pause just because mine does. Weekdays will still be weekdays. People will still be busy. If my wife and...
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