It’s a busy period with the ongoing earnings season.
A happy busy that is, as I get to learn about the progress of the companies that I am vested in.
What’s even nicer is that these companies that include Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG), and iFAST Corporation (SGX: AIY) are turning in a good set of results.
More earnings are coming up this week, and I’m keen to see the latest business updates from my core holdings: Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET), Parkway Life REIT‘s (SGX: C2PU), Venture Corporation (SGX: V03), Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP), and DBS Group (SGX: D05).
Today though, I would like to share something different.
I’m sharing this now because I’ve realised many of you are approaching or are already in your forties.
As such, I thought sharing my story when I was in my early forties, could be useful for you. Especially if you are contemplating whether you should take a step back from your career at this current moment.
This story is also deeply connected to a cause I advocate for: Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) – ARC(S).
If you’d like to contribute to their vital work, you can donate directly here.
You’ll find more details about my involvement and ARC(S)’s mission at the end of this article.
Why I Slowed Down a Decade Ago
You might recall that I was a teacher in my previous life.
A life which I thoroughly enjoyed – from the interaction with students to curriculum design and setting strategic directions.
In fact, even at the beginning of 40, I was still very much into my work and energised by it. But by the end of the year, a deep unease began to settle in.
You could call it mid-life crisis.
To me though, this sudden shift in priorities was triggered by a trifecta of family circumstances: expecting my second child, my elder daughter starting Primary School, and my mother’s Transient Ischemic Attack (mini-stroke).
It made me re-think my life priorities — what was really important to me?
It did not take long for me to decide at that moment to prioritise my family and put my career on hold temporarily.
Nope, I didn’t quit.
I couldn’t afford to, and I still enjoyed what I was doing.
What I did was to step down from my management role and went on a part-load scheme.
I am grateful that the school finally supported my decision after numerous conversations.
Stepping back fundamentally reshaped my life. While it brought a significant change to my financial situation, it also gifted me something incredibly precious: mind space and time.
Navigating the Financial Shift: A Significant Drop in Take-home Pay
The immediate years saw my take-home income reduced significantly by more than 25%! The situation improved in later years though due to salary adjustments in the service.
While there wasn’t much impact on our daily lives, it largely decreased the amount available for investment.
Though I anticipated this, it still stung, especially when there were opportunities that arose in the markets.
The unsung hero was CPF contributions, which continued to build up my retirement fund.
In today’s language, I was probably on “Coast FIRE”. While I didn’t save aggressively on purpose in my early years, I wasn’t adding much new money to my investment.
Increased Mind Space: Focus on my Teaching
I had colleagues who advised against going into part-load scheme.
Perhaps from personal experience or hearsay, they felt that a drop in income didn’t translate to an equal reduction in workload.
There might be some truth in this perception since it’s really hard to match it perfectly, and any free time gained in one area of work often gets filled by another.
And I was guilty of that.
With the increased mind space, I did find myself spending more time to further improve my lessons, so that my students could have a better learning experience.
I also experienced new pedagogical approaches, and shared with my fellow colleagues both in school and zonal level.
But you know what?
I didn’t mind it. It was meaningful and purposeful for me. Again, it’s happy busy.
In the teachers’ fraternity, I became “HOT” – Happy Ordinary Teacher.
Additional Time: Caregiving and Personal Growth
While I remained active at work, the reduced workload allowed me to complete most tasks in school, freeing up time to be with my family after hours.
That became even more important, when my younger boy was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at two.
Beyond attending early intervention sessions, it demanded far more effort from us to help him regulate his emotions and navigate social interactions.
I am forever thankful for his teachers at Cambridge Pre-school, AWWA (Early Intervention) and Pathlight School for their guidance and patience towards him.
This societal support is essential and critical in assisting this group of children to feel included in our community.
Besides family, this was also the period of time I delved deeper into investment.
Though I had already invested for more than a decade, my knowledge was still superficial.
YouTube content wasn’t yet ubiquitous then. Instead, I learnt much from my subscriptions to The Edge Singapore and Motley Fool Singapore (which ceased operation in 2019, its leaders later founding The Smart Investor).
This had a significant influence on my investment journey, including my venture into US markets.
More importantly, it paved the way for me to achieve financial independence three years ago and what I am doing now.
Should You Slow Down?
The term “slow down” doesn’t quite capture it.
The real question is whether you are ready to re-prioritise your life goals at this crossroads.
I obviously can’t answer that for you, but I hope my story has given you some things to ponder.
- Can you afford it financially?
- What alternative work arrangements might pay you less but afford you more time and space?
- Is there something that you want to spend more time on to be happily busy?
- Are you comfortable living with uncertainty?
To answer the last question myself – I certainly did not expect how my life would unfurl over the past decade. But I can tell you I have no regrets and am glad that I continue to walk the path that is purposeful for me.
In the end, it’s not about one path is better than the other. I would imagine in a parallel universe, the other me who have chosen the other route, would not regret it too.
Most importantly, it is about walking the path that we chose.
Help Me Raise Funds for Autism Resource Centre (SG)
I’m participating in this year’s fundraising event: A Very Special Photo Challenge.
A little background on this challenge.
ARC(S) is building and expanding services to support adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), addressing their growing needs in areas such as employment, lifelong learning, independent living training, and residential housing.
Funds raised will go towards supporting these vital services to empower them to lead independent and meaningful lives beyond their school years.
If you’ve found value in my writings and insights, please consider donating to this cause by clicking here or scanning the QR code below.
Thank you.
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