Photo from: Grampians, Victoria Australia
A Quiet Start to the Year and I’ve finally settled back into my routines.
After the school holiday break — and a long road trip up north that took us all the way to Penang — I’m easing back into writing. The journey felt like a small milestone for our family. From Singapore to Penang (about 700km+ each way), and now we are just about two hours from the Thai border, it marked how far our series of road trips north has come.
It’s something we once talked about casually. Last year, we actually did it!
As is now a yearly practice, this feels like a good moment to pause and reflect on the year that was — not to summarise everything, but to notice what quietly mattered as we step into a new year.
Health
In 2023, I wrote about my struggles with a knee injury and three surgeries since 2019. The slow recovery forced me to accept something I resisted for a long time: that we can’t be perpetually fit.
That was a blow to my confidence. But it also reset my priorities.
I focused on what I could do — intermittent fasting to stay light, knee-strengthening work at the gym, yoga, and daily walks of around 12–13k steps. I slowed down. I stopped trying to rush recovery.
Only recently did I begin rotating gently between running, swimming, and cycling. Not to chase distance or performance, but to rebuild both physical and mental confidence. A short-distance triathlon may be on the horizon. Long races can wait. Foundations come first.
One small but meaningful milestone: I completed my second consecutive 10km run at the Singtel Cancer Run. This time, I improved my timing and ran without knee support. I recovered the next day with no pain.
That felt like progress but more importantly I raised money for a meaningful cause.
Beyond physical health, I’ve been more intentional about regulating my mood. I reduced my phone screen time from 4–5 hours daily to around 3–4 hours, with the eventual goal of 1–2 hours. I removed most social media apps and did some digital housekeeping on my phone.
I read more — 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History by Andrew Ross Sorkin, The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life by Morgan Housel, and several books by Haemin Sunim. I spent more time walking in nature, leaving devices behind when I could. These walks have become quiet anchors — moments of mindfulness and gratitude that ground the day.
Some of the nice books read last year.
Family
Last year was rich in family experiences.
We travelled to Melbourne in June, celebrated my girls’ 11th birthday at the newly opened Banyan Tree Mandai, spent a long weekend in Bintan, and ended the year with a 12-day road trip through Malaysia to Penang.
One unexpected joy was watching the kids become active participants in planning. They checked weather apps, used Google Maps, and helped assess routes — especially during Cyclone Senyar, when flooding in northern Malaysia meant our plans might have stopped at KL.
They learned to gather information, build contingency plans, and stay flexible. In the end, the weather cleared, the journey went smoothly, and we were rewarded with a trip better than expected.
More importantly, they learned how to think through uncertainty.
As AI becomes more embedded in daily life, I’ve been surprised — and encouraged — by how naturally they research online. Multiple tabs open, questions layered. Alongside that, we’re teaching them how to evaluate information, stay grounded, and maintain good digital hygiene.
With the kids turning 12 and 9 this year, memories are starting to stick. Looking back at our photos reminds me how important it is to build these shared experiences now, while we can.
(I’m still catching up on documenting our travels — a new travelogue section is slowly taking shape.)
Pictures from Penang
Work
Professionally, the year felt quietly meaningful.
As a financial coach, I’ve been grateful for opportunities to expand financial literacy through my blog, LinkedIn, and collaborations including my first chance to co-host a business show.
That still feels surreal. I was far more introverted in my younger years and never imagined myself doing this kind of work publicly. I’m thankful for the chance to grow beyond what once felt like personal limits — something I struggled to do in my former corporate life.
My mission remains simple: to help people achieve financial independence so they can choose how they spend their time — not necessarily to retire early, but to work on what matters.
On the learning front, Kate will complete her two-year master’s programme this year. I started my CFA Level 1 after completing my CFP last year. We’re firm believers in lifelong learning, especially as we move through our forties.
Financial independence, for us, isn’t about stopping. It’s about balance — doing meaningful work without urgency, and contributing without burning out.
Financial
This year brought higher family expenses — travels, the children’s needs, insurance, COE renewal, and mortgage repayments all accumulated quickly.
Despite this, our net worth grew, buoyed by rising global equities and gold. Performance was strong across the board: REITs delivered approximately 15% total returns including dividends, our global ETFs rose around 20% (slightly outpacing the S&P 500), and gold — which we began accumulating in 2024 — more than doubled.
We were fortunate, though we don’t expect this to repeat.
www.blackrock.com/corporate/insights/blackrock-investment-institute/interactive-charts/return-map
We’ve largely stopped adding aggressively to these positions. Instead, we’ve been steadily strengthening the more stable components: cash, bonds, and CPF. Following strong US equity gains since the 2022 rate hikes, we rebalanced modestly toward Asia and emerging markets, adding selectively during pullbacks. That was the extent of our activity.
Our portfolio isn’t designed to maximize returns, but to weather all economic conditions through steady compounding, stability, and sustainability. The first decade felt slow. Now, as we approach 15–20 years into this journey, compounding has become increasingly visible, as the chart below illustrates.
www.uccu.com/the-magic-of-compound-interest/
With ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, we remain cautious about chasing returns. Diversification, patience, and cash buffers stay central — not to time the market, but to remain prepared.
Final Thoughts
Last year was meaningful in simple ways.
More time together. More walks in nature. More patience. Less urgency.
Minimalism continues to shape how we live — not by stripping life down, but by quietly removing unnecessary pressure. Independence, to me, is not being overly reliant on any single thing including money, and having the ability to live competently and calmly through different seasons of life.
Cooking for the family and managing the household independently is deeply fulfilling, even if it’s demanding and often underappreciated. It’s still meaningful work — work that supports the family in ways that aren’t always visible.
Alongside that, there is space for work that matters, for volunteering, for learning, and for stepping away from the endless race for more. Learning to recognise when we already have enough has been one of the more important lessons.
Progress is often slow and easy to miss in the moment. But looking back, we’ve moved forward together — imperfectly, quietly, and with gratitude.
Minimalism isn’t about perfection or ease.
It’s about choosing simplicity, and learning to live well with imperfections.
Wishing everyone a gentle and fulfilling year ahead
Can read about my past reflections here.
Great Ocean Road – 12 Apostles