Month of October 2025

What is the longest and loneliest marathon?

It starts with a gasp of air and ends with a last breath.

That's finite and expended in a living body where

There's joy, tears, exhilaration, heartbreaks and a bit more.

Some you remember, others you choose to forget.

Each moment is made up of decisions.

Whether it's to college or be married to a first love.

Because no two persons are the same.

There will always be different viewpoints that

Brings pain from being misunderstood.

Sometimes you strive hard to make things right.

Only to fall short in the end.

Perhaps it's better to give and take.

The mundane, chaos and stress are frenemies.

What matters is the experience learnt since

This is a journey of never ending dilemmas.

Till when the head is full of white.

Then it's time to let go.

For the curtains to come down on the marathon of life.

Tip: Tignanello 2019, cold nose, surprise flower petals upon decanting. Young but ready

Finance Investment Movement 62

As we head into the last quarter of the year, there's positive momentum building where my overall portfolio climbed higher to 6.2%. This month gained in terms of cash savings where a portion went to SRS and another to CPF housing refund. Investments practically stayed still and the highlight was a decent amount of dividends received.

Throughout this year, I had been evaluating areas where I could control expenses. So I'm writing this down as a record for future recap.

1) No gym membership: exercise is free in the open areas

2) Lesser bubble tea: home brewed tea is easy to make and healthier too

3) Dental service: it's available at half the price in JB

4) Await promotions: most things can wait, patience rewards

5) Walk around to compare: fruits are expensive nowadays, the same apple can be a dollar cheaper.

6) DIY repairs: door lock, grouting, light transistor, parquet wood chip etc can be learnt online

7) Haircut: subjective but some barbers offer pretty good deals

8) Pickup deals: some apps give discounts for self service eg ice cream at petrol stations

9) Bar soap: lasts longer and cheaper

10) Probiotics: essential spending, clinic issued ones are overly priced

Dividends as of September 2025: $7976.55 (avg $886.30 per month)

Tip: Ryoko The Base Junmai Ginjo, balanced dryness, watermelon with a kick of mineral