My Sweet Retirement Annual Review of 2017

We have two more days before we say goodbye to the year 2017 and welcome the year 2018. As usual, this is the time where I reflect on the goals that I have set last year and also plan what I hope to achieve next year.

One thing I am glad is that My Sweet Retirement blog is gaining popularity and has survived more than 2 years. Gaining popularity is not really the objective of this blog. I started My Sweet Retirement to ensure that I have doing my due diligence in stock investing (My Personal Analysis on Stocks) and also financial planning (stock portfolio).

1. Achieve 15K of Passive Income (Not Met)

My total dividends collected this year was S$7,350.31 (Read more My Total Dividends Collected For 2017). What a disappointment. Most REITs are getting expensive with yield around 5% to 6%. As there are no major crashes this year, there lacks an opportunity to scoop up quality REITs at cheap prices.

2. Travel to at least 2 countries (Met)

As work gets more stressful, I was always looking forward to get out of Singapore whenever I can. I plan to cut down on travelling next year. The money saved from air tickets, accommodation and food can be invested for more passive income.

3. Drive to Work (Met)

I bought a new car somewhere mid of the year and has been driving to work since. Having my own transport certainly saves me a lot of travelling time. Expenses went up due to car loan, car park, petrol and car maintenance. They are still manageable.

I managed to squeeze in time after work to jog once or twice a week. Health is wealth!

4. Buy Gold (Not Met)

Gold prices have been high throughout the year and I will think it is foolish to jump in at this time. The disadvantage of holding physical gold is that we need to ensure the seal that comes with the gold bar is not broken else there will be some loss when selling the gold back. Gold coins with the high spread makes investing in gold coins non-lucrative as well. With the above considerations, I did not manage to land my hands on any gold.

What went well in 2017

1. My Wife Stock Portfolio

This year, I added two stocks which are Tai Sin Electric and SBS Transit to her stock portfolio. I am very conservative when adding stocks to her stock portfolio because she seldom tracks them and I am doing most of the tracking for her.

2. A Job Promotion

I was promoted to manager this year which I never blogged about. It was a promotion unexpected. As I have more responsibilities now, I also spend more time at work. Managing people is a totally different thing as I have to ensure my team is efficient and not just I am efficient.

3. Self Improvement in Stock Investing

Being determined to improve my knowledge in investment, I attended investment seminars and did a lot of self reading. I attended InvestX Congress 2017 By The Fifth Person which I felt was a really excellent event for investors to learn and share. With the knowledge I learnt, I did my personal analysis on various companies I spotted. I did a total of 6 personal analysis in 2017 of the following.

Why I Bought Into Mapletree Commercial Trust

My Personal Analysis of CapitaLand Commercial Trust

My Personal Analysis of Tai Sin Electric Limited

My Personal Analysis of Frasers Centrepoint Trust

My Personal Analysis of SPH REIT

My Personal Analysis of ISOTeam

I may not always be right in my stock analysis but I did my due diligence with my limited knowledge before I buy a stock!

Planning for the year 2018

1. 11K of Passive Income

I am not going to give up on this but as 15K seems a jump too far, I shall lower my goal slightly a bit.

2. Read (at least) 6 Books

If you have noticed, I have not done much book reviews this year. I have been so busy with my work that I did not have time to complete reading the books I bought. In fact, there are still two books sitting on my table untouched. Not all the books I read are related to investing though. Some are related to self improvement.

3. Contribute to SRS Every Month

I really need to set aside an amount for contribution to my SRS account. Similar to last year, I also did my SRS contribution at the very last minute which is this month. I shall set a goal to contribute at least S$500 to my SRS account every month in 2018. This is for the purpose of reducing the income tax I have to pay in 2019.

4. Jog (at least) twice a week

I still think I have not put in enough time to exercise. I really need to shave off some time from work and allocate those free time to exercise. Health is Wealth!

Last but not least, I wish all readers and fellow financial bloggers a Happy New Year in 2018!