My Sweet Retirement Annual Review of 2016

The year is ending and it is time to self reflect on the goals that I have set for myself last year. (My Sweet Retirement Annual Review of 2015)

1. Achieve 10K of Passive Income (Met)

Using SGX Cafe application to track my dividends, I have received a total dividends of S$10,132.04 for the year of 2016. I am glad I achieved this goal, thanks to the hefty and unexpected special dividend payout from Nera Telecommunications.

2. New Business Venture (Not Met)

No good ideas yet. It is so hard to be an entrepreneur in Singapore. I read many articles and life stories that entrepreneurship is not about money but about passion. As I have a family to feed, I guess I am not ready to venture out yet. But I will love to, one day.

3. Travel (Not Met)

I have only traveled to two countries this year. I went to Taiwan and recently to nearby Riau islands (Indonesia) for short break.

Taiwan

Bintan Lagoon Resort

4. Better Health (Met)

I am still trying to keep up with my exercise routine given my hectic work schedule. Ran a total of 122.6 KM in 2016.

What went well in 2016

1. Convinced my wife to start a stock portfolio

My wife bought a unit trust from a financial adviser that pays you around a hundred dollars every quarter for 30K invested. The unit trust is sitting at a loss right now. I tried to warn her against financial advisers but I failed. She is still hesitating whether to sell at a loss and put those money into the right stocks. Now readers, let me tell you this, fund managers still get paid whether the funds make money or not. Do you think they care to make money for you?

2. Getting a new car

The Certificate of Entitlement (“COE”) for my existing car is expiring in 6 months time. To be honest, I am not sure if getting a new car is a good thing or a bad thing. I have paid a deposit for my new car and I am currently bidding for the COE. I didn’t manage to get the COE in December 2016 but hope to get it in January 2017 bidding exercise.

What did not go well in 2016

1. Resignation of a Team Member

One of my team member have resigned. It impacts me in a way or another. I wish I can help him better settled down in the current company but unfortunately I feel that he cannot adapt to the fast paced and harsh work environment. Oh well, life goes on. Personally, I felt I have not done well to manage my team. I did not spend enough time guiding and teaching my team members. I shall improve on this in the year 2017.

2. No Job Promotion

Despite achieving excellent work results, I was not recommended for a job promotion. There lies the manager position still vacant.

3. Paid High Taxes

I paid more than I expected income tax in 2016. At the very last month of 2016, I started to do voluntary contribution to my CPF special account and also opened a SRS account. That should reduce my income tax next year a little. I admit it was very poor planning which resulted my cash on hand to dip significantly.

Planning for the year 2017

1. Achieve 15K of Passive Income

I think 15K of passive income is quite a feat for me given the weak economic outlook for 2017. Nevertheless, I will still try to invest my spare cash into dividend yielding and growth stocks.

2. Travel to at least 2 countries

To be honest, I have not decided where to go in 2017 yet. I wanted to go Japan but seems my limited budget does not allow. Things are expensive there.

3. Drive to Work

If I do manage to get my new car, I hope to drive to work. This should save me some time as I spend 2 hours travelling to work by bus to and fro daily. I shall spend the extra time after work to do some exercise. Driving to work should incur additional expenses such as season parking and petrol and thus I may have to scrim here and there to see how things work out.

4. Buy Gold

It is my dream to own a gold bar. Who doesn’t want to be rich? I missed the chance during Brexit but seems gold prices have gone down a bit recently. I shall be keeping a lookout in 2017.

Last, I will like to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2017!