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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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I Went Missing for a Month, Here’s Why

For the past month, I’ve been quiet. Not because I had nothing to say. But because I was trying to figure out what happened to me. Somewhere along the way, I slowly disappeared. The encounter with the fortune teller as mentioned in my previous post made me reflect a lot.  Not physically. But mentally. Emotionally. Personally. I realized I was no longer living as me . I was functioning as a Husband. A Father. An Employee. But not as an individual. It sounds dramatic, maybe even selfish. After all, aren’t these roles what adulthood is about? Yes. But here’s the problem: when you become only your roles, you forget the person inside them. Let me show you what my life looks like. Monday to Friday 5:30am: Wake up Get myself ready Prepare the kids for childcare 6:50am:  Leave the house 7:15am: Drop the kids off Before 8:30am: Reach the office From 8:30am to 5:30pm: Corporate life. Meetings. Deadlines. Targets. Repeat. 5:30pm: Rush out 6:10pm: Reach childcare before 7pm cu...
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A Fortune Teller I Met Made Me Re-Think My Life

Why I Went Quiet for a While I was missing for a period because I was lost, not in a dramatic way, but in a quiet, exhausting one. Life had become a routine of working, providing, and taking care of the family. I was doing everything I was supposed to do. Yet somewhere along the way, I disappeared. There was no space for myself anymore. No curiosity, no joy, no soul, just responsibilities on repeat. I wasn’t unhappy enough to break down, but I wasn’t alive enough to feel whole either. A Chance Encounter With a Fortune Teller One day, while walking around after my lunch, I passed by a fortune teller’s shop. I don’t consider myself someone who believes in fortune telling, but she caught my attention and said I needed her help. Out of curiosity, I walked in. Keeping Myself Grounded Before going in, I had a lozenge, half joking, half serious, just to keep myself alert in case I lost my mentality or got scammed. It was my small way of staying grounded. What the Fortune Teller Said She...
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Am I Buying Anything in This Pullback? Yes! But Selectively.

A Broad Pullback Across Assets There’s no denying it, the pullback is real and it’s broad. Gold, silver, and crypto have all come off their recent highs. Bitcoin dropping below USD 80,000 on 1 Feb 2026 has definitely shaken some confidence and stirred up plenty of noise. This kind of environment usually brings out two extremes: panic sellers on one side, and aggressive “buy everything” calls on the other. I’m choosing neither. Why I’m Nibbling a Little More BTC I’m not backing up the truck, but I am nibbling. Bitcoin remains my preferred hedge in this landscape. It’s liquid, portable, and easy to size up or down. More importantly, BTC fits how I think about long-term protection against monetary debasement and systemic risk. This pullback doesn’t change the core thesis for me. Volatility is the price of admission, and periods like this are exactly when small, disciplined adds make sense, not emotional all-in moves. Everyone Is Shouting “Buy Physical Gold and Silver” I see it ever...
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Am I a Bad Husband and Father for Wanting to Hustle Hard for My Family’s Future?

I currently work a standard day job from 8:30am to 5:30pm. I arrive on time and leave on the dot. I don’t entertain colleagues or clients outside of working hours, and I don’t make an effort to socialize at work because we’re simply on different wavelengths. To me, this is just a job. I dislike the work culture, though not the job itself. In fact, my role allows me to move around and meet clients instead of being deskbound, which gives me flexibility and time to think. Financially, the job pays well, but to me, it still feels insufficient. My Motivation: Financial Freedom for My Family My goal is simple: I want to earn enough so that my wife no longer needs to work. I want her to be a stay-at-home mother, not one burdened by household chores, since we already have a helper, but someone who can enjoy her life. I want her to be able to attend yoga or Pilates during the day, take naps if she needs to, and have the energy to be present for the kids in the evenings. I want this because ...
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Should I Liquidate My Singapore Stock Portfolio to Scale My Side Business?

Balancing Portfolio Gains, Job Dissatisfaction, and Scaling a Side Business Portfolio Performance So Far My Singapore stock portfolio has been reaching new all-time highs week after week. My strategy has always been straightforward: buy a small number of fundamentally strong stocks and hold them long term. Recently, the gains have become meaningful. My REIT holdings are up nearly 30%, while my non-REIT stocks have increased by close to 80%. Overall, my portfolio is up about 40%. This wasn’t the result of exceptional timing or aggressive trading, but steady accumulation over time. Growing Unease About the Market What has prompted me to consider selling is not FOMO, but concern. Given the current global economic conditions and geopolitical uncertainties, it feels like something may be brewing beneath the surface. This could simply be noise, but it has made me question whether continuing to build a dividend-focused portfolio is still the right move for me at this stage. The Side Bus...
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Am I Giving Up on FIRE? No, I’m Redefining It

FIRE Was Never the Enemy After my recent posts about mental health, contentment, and the dangers of chasing endless wealth, some people might wonder if I’ve given up on FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early). The answer is no, I haven’t. What I gave up was not FIRE. What I gave up was greed disguised as ambition . My biggest struggle with FIRE in the past wasn’t discipline or income, it was the constantly shifting goalpost. Every time I got closer, the target moved. I told myself I needed more, then more again. That made FIRE feel impossible, no matter how much progress I made. Not because FIRE was unrealistic, but because my expectations were. When “More” Becomes the Trap Inflation is real. Costs go up. Life gets more expensive. But lifestyle inflation is optional. We often confuse the two. Many people raise their income, then immediately raise their lifestyle. A bigger home. A nicer car. More expensive holidays. More entertainment. And slowly, more stress. Eventually, the...
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