Happy 6th Anniversary of trading and investing

Yes, as usual... 22 August, the date to remember when I started my trading and investing journey 6 years ago.

Where do I stand right now? Well... the good news is that my portfolio has not been wiped out yet (doubt it ever will) and the bad news, my trading is still in red despite my investing portfolio being pretty green. Overall, I am still at a loss. The trading venture took a bigger hit than expected even when one of my stock pick is up 800% and several others in the range of 100% profit. I am still a little red. If there is a consolation cry to my losses, at least it is not red in crimson dark red but slightly brighter fresh blood red, but red is red and a loss is still a loss. 6 years into this and I will be quick to console myself that even though I am in the deeper end of the balance, overall, the newly found confidence in my quest for retirement is darn bloody strong (pun intended). Last counted, I am a step closer to hitting my first 7 figures net worth. If all goes well, it will be before hitting the big 5. As planned, it was where I set out for myself 6 years ago when I first started this blog so I am glad I made it this far.

I can't deny that I have been lazy in blogging down my entire journey but I try to take score of where I am every time I am reminded by IBKR of my brokage anniversary. Honestly, I don't really like to take score but it is the a good way for me to stay committed to this journey. So here they are:

Goals for 2025/2026

1) I intend to add another $17K to my investment account with more US stocks, focusing on AI growth.

Pretty sure this was done with Longbridge. I didn't really buy into the US AI hype but decided to go with the Chinese instead. Alibaba and Tencent is where I built the extra $17K. - PASSED.

2) I intend to add another 20 - 30% more to my monthly regular savings plan (RSP) CPF OA investment through Endowus starting next month. This will boost another $3.6K every year for my retirement. Currently, my RSP plan is set for $1K every month.

Since then, I have set aside $1.5K every month so that's a 50% increase! - PASSED.

3) I intend to add another $3 - 5K to my crypto investment, same plan as last year.

Bitcoin just hit $80K after the Treasury decided on a treasury buyback. So this would be good. I didn't go $3K but have been consistent with $200 every month of BTC. That's $2.4K. - PASSED 80%. I can add another $600 to the year, split it over 12 months, that's just another $50 every month. Don't see this as a problem and can be done easily. - 90% PASSED

4) I am also looking at China A shares, I have a strong belief in the Chinese market and feel that their top companies are only starting to take shape in comparison to the US counterparts where the stock market is already a part of an Americans' life, e.g. the 401K. The younger generation are more exposed to investment and finance and are starting to invest earlier as compared to their previous generation. I have some Chinese holdings in Hong Kong listed shares but will be keen to explore Chinese ETF if any opportunity arises.

This is a total fail. I wanted to get in but was hesitant with the yield. Guess I didn't really miss much since A shares didn't move much this year due to tariffs and the property slump. - FAILED but got lucky that I didn't take the bite.

5) Need to build more capital for investment. Will be looking at more side hustles to gain constant cash flow. I don't have an idea yet but I know it needs to be done.

Starting to get some money from selling of cards since 7 months ago so that's good. So far, I have been profiting from every sales. Started Tiktok and a pretty decent run. Can definitely do more if well thought through in a more systematic manner. Also took on an international role to grow funds beyond monthly salary. - PASSED

I guess I did well, 4 out of 5 hits and avoided a non growth by not buying into Chinese ETF.

Goals for 2026/2027

1) For the first time this year, I am going to put physical health as the #1 top priority. While this is a financial blog, I have come to think that all the wealth without health just means nothing. So for the next 365 days till 22 August 2027, I will work more to get back strength and fitness. Jogging, swimming, brisk walking and eating right sounds do-able. Keeping it measurable, below 90kg and in the range of 80s sounds about right. Fingers crossed.

2) With $50 more into the crypto plan making it $3K a year on crypto investment sounds cheap! But hey, better in than out. Likely not going to hit more than that unless the token narrative changes. - $600

3) There is room for another $300 more from OA that can be contributed into Endowus, therefore I am going to add an additional $300 every month starting from September. This will add up to $1800 per month of OA investment. With a total of $21600 a year, hopefully being able to beat the 2.5% interest from CPF. This extra $300 will go into the Emerging Markets which focuses on the semi-conductor industries from Taiwan, China and Korea. - $3600

4) I will also add another $200 (60%) more to my FSM account, making it a $500 monthly investment, this will be allocated to dividend stocks in particular S-REITS with returns of at least 5% per annum. I have not be allocating much to my dividend portfolio so next year, I will focus on getting more blue chips Singapore stocks to buffer market volatility, given the many projects that Singapore will be undertaking in the next few years, e.g. Terminal 5, Mega Port, Jurong Lake District, Southern Water Front, Sentosa Development. Seems pretty good for the Singapore economy. - $2400

For SRS, I intend to increase another $200. This adds up to $500 monthly contribution to SRS for my retirement withdrawal at age 62. - $2400

5) Moving forward, I am also looking for declutter things in my life. I want to get rid of all the unnecessary access things that are sitting around in the house. Instead of just throwing them away, I intend to turn them into CASH, yes via Carousell. With these extra money, I put them to good use by buying fractional Singapore shares, an initiative by SGX to promote investing to younger retail investors. Will monitor this amount closely.

Overall, this year's change is considerably minor as compared to past years. However, my aim is staying consistent and continuing to grow my portfolio in a slow and subtle way, sans stress. 

In summary, it should look like this for 2026/2027:

1) CPF OA monthly investment (Endowus) - $1800
2) FSM One (S-REITs) - $500
3) SRS - $500
4) Webull - $300

5) BTC (Gemini) - $250

Total - $3350 monthly ($40200 / year)

About The Contributor

Ben is not financially trained. He is not a certified financial planner and he does not sell any insurance or investment plans. He is not financially motivated by any entities to produce this blog. He just want his friends to know more about money management and not have anyone fall between the social cracks. Nope, he is not a millionaire though he aims to be financially free before 50 years old.