Quick wrap up for a year that flew past for me.
Family
This year we went to Bali again for our year end holiday. We stayed 4
nights at the mountainous region of Ubud this time which we really love
(last year we stayed entirely at Kuta). Our room opens up to this
view:
On the last 2 days we stayed at Kuta to be nearer to the airport. We managed to visit Waterbom Bali this time. I suspect I might just make Bali a yearly visit from now on ðŸ¤.
School work-wise, daughter got an award for Mathematics at the end of
school year. Guess it's a good end for her Primary 1.
I've never been worried about her school work. It's her stubbornness and
temper that I'm concerned with. I seriously think she inherited those from
me.
Son's also getting better at being focus at his work. I would like to think
his happy-go-lucky character is a blessing.
I will be very happy as long as they remain healthy and develop good
character. The latter is always my focus when I'm teaching them.
Work
My company remains the main focus. It has been 8 years since I started the
business bootstrapped. While it has its ups and downs through the years
including surviving Covid, our mission in providing solutions in emission
control and protecting our planet never change.
I would consider 2025 a so-so year for the company. While the numbers are
not that great compared to past years, the highlights are constant repeat
orders from a client - a testament to their trust in us, and a breakthrough
into the public sector with a prominent government agency onboard.
I'm looking forward to 2026.
Side line 1:
My side gig as a personal trainer yields better than expected income for
2025. While I was aiming for $20k from this in the beginning of the year,
the actual income achieved amounted to $23,640.
Not bad considering I only dedicate weekday mornings to this.
This is helped by the signing up of a private client who was introduced to
me by her family member who in turn was already training with me.
I find this really fulfilling.
In fact another of his family member contacted me yesterday to enquire
about my training schedule.
Side line 2:
I just embarked on this in October 2025, as an adjunct lecturer in a local
IHL. I am only taking two classes per week for now. Income achieved amounted
to $2,000.
I'm starting to get the hang of teaching and the administrative work but I
must say this side gig is taking too much of my time. Way more than what I
expected.
I will most likely continue for the next semester which should be less of a
learning curve by then.
CPF
Throughout the year I have made voluntary cash top up to my CPF SA. Total
top ups amounted to $5,590. These are taken from the side gig incomes.
In December I also made a transfer from OA to SA to achieve the FRS amount.
This is done to take advantage of the higher interest in SA in order to
further secure my retirement expenses.
Of course the downside is I have lesser amount to use should I decide to
purchase another property in the near future. It is because of this
consideration that I have taken so long to make this decision.
Personal Social Responsibility
For this year, my choice of causes remain the same: the young, the elderly
and the environment.
This is just a small gesture to contribute back to the society on a regular
basis.
Other than this yearly donation habit, part of the reason why I went into
adjunct teaching is also to inspire the younger generation. I am teaching
the subject of sustainability which is my area of expertise and which is
closely related to my work and passion.
If I can motivate more young people to live sustainably and equip them with
the knowledge to do so, there is a better chance our future generations can
have a decent quality of life.
"Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.” (Brundtland Commission)
Last but not least, my wife and I also donated our household CDC vouchers
to Tzu-Chi Foundation (Singapore).
Investment
2025 was a mini breakthrough year for me in terms of dividends.
For the first time since tracking, my annual dividends collected crossed
the 5 figure mark.
My number of holdings increased to 12 counters. A number not seen since
years back.
I invested about $29k in 2025 which is more than the estimated $20k figure
foresaw in the beginning of the year. This amount is largely from my side
gig incomes. I didn't really touch my savings or main income for investment
this year.
Local portfolio value also hit a new high of $235k.
Cumulative dividends since tracking amounted to $62,714.56.
Total portfolio value (SG, HK, US) amounted to $257k.
In December the last batch of dividends came in from SingTel ($656), MIT
($286.20) and MLT ($295.86).
I also bought CapitaLand Invest (CLI) @ 2.61 in December. This feels like a
renewed relationship as I have sold this counter few years back when it was
still known as CapitaLand.
For non-REITS, other than CLI I also bought ComfortDelGro (CDG) and Venture
this year. Lastly I also added more DBS and OCBC.
For CDG it's another reacquaintance.
Best performers in 2025:
1) DBS (+131.22%)
2) OCBC (+108.49%)
3) SingTel (+41.90%)
Worst performers in 2025:
1) CLCT (-41.39%)
2) MLT (-5.73%)
3) MIT (-4.89%)
CLCT continued to be the worst performer. Same position as last year
although there is a slight improvement compared to 2024 (-46.24%).
For the last two years I have tried to divert my portfolio away from REITs
by adding other equities. In 2026, I will adopt a more balanced view with a
mixture of both asset classes as I feel the worse is over for REITs.
Having said that I will still be prudent with my cash by holding a certain
percentage of it due to the present geopolitical risks and the whims of
Trump. This will be achieved by only investing from my side incomes while
leaving my main income and savings untouched. Same strategy as 2025.
I will probably only deploy the latter income sources if (a) a compelling
buy case arises or (b) more clarity on the geopolitical situations arise
e.g. concrete end of the wars, step down of office by Trump, etc. However
the trick is to remain nimble as is always the case in investing especially
so in this era where dynamics change ever so quickly.
For the US / HK portfolio, I will continue to concentrate force on the tech
sector since my outlay is relatively small for too many counters. In the US
market, I will continue to build a position in MSFT and NVDA. For HK market,
I might add more 9988 if it hits $120.
Talking about MSFT, it is the second multi-bagger achieved in this
portfolio with a P&L of +179.18%.
Worst performer: PYPL (-68.44%)
