Cory Diary : Retirement Reflections: A New Chapter

Retirement Reflections: A New Chapter

After 28 years in the workforce, I’ve finally stepped into retirement at the age of 54. Interestingly, I didn’t feel a big emotional release on the day I left, which surprised me at first. But looking back, I realize it’s because this decision had been in the works for some time.

I think back to almost 30 years ago when I graduated from university. That moment felt like a huge release from the pressure of exams and academic stress, even though I was always involved in extracurricular activities while staying in the university hostel. I still remember having nightmares for years after, dreaming that I was late for exams, only to wake up relieved to find myself in the working world.

Retirement feels different. It’s not just an ending but also a beginning. I’ve spent the last five years, largely due to COVID, building up buffers to ensure a robust retirement and family lifestyle. And although 54 isn’t that old compared to most people, it feels like the perfect time for me. I’m ready to invest more time in my kids and focus on what truly matters. The coming months will be full of activities centered around family, which I’m excited to embrace fully.

Interestingly, when I announced my departure, just two days before my last day of work, my team was completely shocked. It wasn’t something I had kept secret, but rather a decision that I’d been planning for weeks. I’ve received so many kind words and positive comments from colleagues, which has been encouraging. Given my macro management style, it’s no surprise that the company’s feedback system has been so effective in fostering a positive environment.

Now, I’m looking forward to diving into new experiences. I want to stay active and engaged, possibly even exploring passion projects that I never had time for before. There’s something liberating about having time again—not just for myself but for my family. The next chapter feels full of possibility, and I’m ready for whatever it brings.

Cory Diary

2024-0928

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Disclaimer: The articles presented in this blog reflect personal opinions and are intended for informational and sharing purposes only. Not responsible of errors. Readers are advised to seek professional guidance when making financial decisions and should take full responsibility for their choices.

Cory Diary : De-Cluttering our lifes

Declutter

Blog Articles

Did a clean up last week on my blog articles. Basically I deleted most of the dividend tracking posts. Reason i did that is because I feel is for the moment in time and when is over, a new article update will come for us to see the dividend increasing trend again. So kind of de-clutter.

Aquarium

A hobbyist in corydoras for decades. Decided to dried up my tank finally as family consume more of my time in-addition to others. There are at least 4 boxes of aquarium equipments left behinds in addition to few tanks. I guess more spaces too be available soon.

Office Cube

Is amazing how much stuffs i kept in the office. There is a disney doll which i never have a chance to give to my toddlers to play. A docking station decade old. An Intuit tablet for professional drawing which I happily give away. A company sleeveless jacket that has been buried for 5 years probably. Two desktop keyboards that could not remembered when i last use. Many others. All Cleared.

Large Baby Stroller

It has been with us for 5 years and occupy a large corner of the doorway. Is quite bulky and not easy to wield. The price aren't cheap but got it in a rush as i remembered. With our 2nd Child not needed it anymore, time to go. Lightning speed.

Pictures

Over the decades I have like "Tons" of photo that gave a lot of memories. They are acattered everywhere in different storages and devices. In all form of archiving methodlogy. Have all them dumped into my notebook, sorted them out be time order for family, categories of events and friends. There are probably 25% sorting to go which is too tedious to manage them singlely. This will be after i retired. They are all backup into different thumbrives storages which are quite cheap to get at today price.

So I've been doing a thorough decluttering across multiple aspects of my life, from blog articles to personal belongings and hobbies. Streamlining everything can be quite refreshing!

Here's a summary of what I've achieved:

1. Blog Articles: Cleaned up my blog by deleting outdated dividend tracking posts, making room for more relevant updates.

2. Aquarium: After years as a corydoras enthusiast, I decided to put aquarium hobby on hold to focus more on family and other responsibilities.

3. Office Cube: Cleared out a significant amount of accumulated items, like outdated technology and office supplies, creating a more organized and minimalist workspace.

4. Large Baby Stroller: Letting go of a bulky stroller that’s no longer needed with our children growing up.

5. Pictures: A big effort to organize decades of photos across various storage devices, though I am leaving the rest for a future project.

I am clearly making space in both physical and digital life, leaving more room for what matters to me, especially investing. Keep up the momentum!

Cory Diary

2024-0914

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Disclaimer: The articles presented in this blog reflect personal opinions and are intended for informational and sharing purposes only. Not responsible of errors. Readers are advised to seek professional guidance when making financial decisions and should take full responsibility for their choices.

Cory Diary : Rising Tide Lifts All Boats

With the recent revivals of Reit how do strong reits compare with each other. This is especialy cloudy when most reits do rise in tandem. One way to look at it is on recent Rate Cut Plan events caused by Interest Rate hikes few years back using TA.

The period of back up 2 year will be a good gauging point to study. For the exercise of this, we use FCT, CICT, Ascendas, MIT and ParkwayLife Reits.

FCT, CICT and Ascendas are in Positive returns 2% ~5%. Mapletree Ind (MIT) slights negative which if we include dividends which will be good plus. Interestingly, Parkwaylife Reit has -19.25% capital loss. It also has one of the lowest yield which may not help reduce the losses much.

Something to think about Rising Tide Lifts All Boats when they start to recede.

Cory Diary

2024-0907

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Disclaimer: The articles presented in this blog reflect personal opinions and are intended for informational and sharing purposes only. Not responsible of errors. Readers are advised to seek professional guidance when making financial decisions and should take full responsibility for their choices.

Cory Diary : Portfolio Equity allocation updates

Here's a quick update on what i did so far recently.

Sold a small chunk of DBS. Taking profits. This shares were acquired during the recent correction of Yen Crisis. Free money must take else lightning may strike. LOL. The rationale is quite simple. 6% yield on one of the world safest bank is not hard to pick. Even if there is a reduction in NIM this not going to hit the dividend largely because the payout ratio is only slightly more than 50% of earning unless management really want to. What makes it even more attactive is the NII which is still growing.

One of the learning I picked up is if the position is for trading, we need to treat them so too when is time to sell. And this is what I did exactly for recent share sales. And my allocation for DBS on my equity portfolio reduced from 28.8% to 27.6%. Good move right ? Well, wrong. Reason being I am expecting new large fund inflow (hopefully) coming in next month. And if i am to deploy them, i could be buying back those shares I just sold.... Well, we human can't be perfect. We can learn to try to ... end of story.

That's all i did mainly. Ah yes, i did bought back alphabats at higher price. darn. The plan is to have kind of peanut butter spread on a small group of selected US Tech stocks. So I may buy back Msft when market allows. Trying to minimise my transaction as this group of shares are in cash management account that don't go easy on trading fees.

Finally, what's the score so far ytd ? Meaning, from closing value on the last day of trading last year till today.

August has been kind to my portfolio. Hopes this end well for everyone by year end.

Cory Diary

2024-0901

CoryLogics Invest Chat - No Coin, No Porn, No Penny

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Disclaimer: The articles presented in this blog reflect personal opinions and are intended for informational and sharing purposes only. Not responsible of errors. Readers are advised to seek professional guidance when making financial decisions and should take full responsibility for their choices.