It is a good start to my new journey with net worth up by about 3.6%. What is even more satisfying is current asset (cash and equivalent + stocks) increased by 4.1%, which is much better that the -5% projection I made in January.
Of course, it’s way too early to declare victory (sounds familiar? ). Let see how things turn out for another two years to see if the current strategy works for me.
What’s up for 2024?
Same old same old for financial
Jurgen Klopp is no doubt the man who has transformed Liverpool over the past 8 years. There were many things that he did that led to the current side. For me, one of the key moments is the signing of Virgil van Dijk and Alisson in 2018. They provide the stability at the back, so that the midfielders can focus on the game play and forwards can focus on the attack.
Yeah, at the time of writing, Liverpool is at the top of the table!
Reducing loss is as important as making gains
What it meant for me is I would continue to have about half of my assets in safe instruments such as CPF, T-bills, SSBs and cash in high yield savings accounts. The other half would then be in equities to generate a higher return.
Invest, Cash Flow, Active income
There will be no change in my investment approach too, since it seems to work for me. Three out of four years of positive return and a XIRR of 9% (read Achieved 12% Return for Portfolio in 2023) is something that I can live with.
So I am going to stick to the following strategies,
- 60% Income vs 40% Growth
- 70% SG vs 30% US
- Draw down on portfolio once it hits a return of 10% (includes dividend) or at least 6% by the end of the calendar year
Interest from cash and equivalent, and dividend provides only about 30% of next year’s expenses. If market continues to rally into January, then there’s a chance that I can draw down from my investment again. Else, it will be funded from the current holdings of cash and equivalent, which theoretically would last me beyond 2026.
There will also be a bit of active income as I will be going back to my previous school as a Flexi-Adjunct teacher for one semester. While the rate is not as lucrative as private tuition, the time period in which I need to be at work is better. I also look forward to interacting with my ex-colleagues. The bonus is getting an additional 2% interest for my UOB One account for 5 months due to salary category.
Less
With the above commitment, I will have “less” time to do other things. However, less might turn out to be more! When faced with limited resources, I tend to be more focus and deliberate with the use of it. I have to admit that I drifted a tad too much this year for my own liking. I don’t regret it as I believe it is part of the experience. What’s more important is what I am going to do about it.
Less Sharing, Social Media and Netflix
It’s unlikely that I will be doing 10 posts a month. 4 to 6 posts a month is likely to be more sustainable. I will stick to sharing on this blog, InvestingNote and Instagram. There will be little to no sharing on Youtube for the moment. Not going to close the channel yet but will just let it be dormant for some months. I am a fan of social media but sometimes I do think I spent too much time on it. So cutting it down is quite a natural choice.
As for Netflix, I only started subscribing in 2019 and only watched a lot more shows over the past two years. It was never a priority before and it should not become one. Having said that, I do enjoy some of the shows and documentaries.
More
There are certain things that I want to do more in the coming year. The key is to do things aways from the screen!
More exercising, reading and picking up a new skill
I lack the discipline to exercise regularly. Time is never the issue; exercise just doesn’t come naturally to me. Similarly, I did not do my mindfulness exercise regularly over the past year. Going forward, I am not going to just wait for it to happen but explicitly set aside time for them in my schedule.
I am a reader. There’s a lot less inertia to picking up a book to read. Not going to binge read and I will just start off with those books I have at home. Some I have not read since I bought them long ago and some I would like to re-read.
Finally, will aim to pick up at least one new skill. That is one intent when I decided to leave my regular work. To have more time to explore and experience something new. So that will be a priority for the year. Time to head to Skillsfuture portal to explore and utilise $1,000 credit.
While I have set out to do the above, I am not going to be too rigid about it.
This provides a general direction, and maybe a bit more structure. However, I am still going to be fluid with any changes that might come along the way.
Happy New Year!
May 2024 be a fruitful year for you!
Referral
These are the referral links for the services and platforms I used. If you would like to use any of them, do sign up my referral links.
Trust Bank (code: 1X9DDP1V, additional $10 Fairprice voucher)
Keppel Electric
FSMOne (code: P0003528)
StocksCafe (code: TFI)