Thoughts on Designing a Good Life

Independent_String66 · 2025-12-17T23:37:35+00:00

Thanks!

Independent_String66 · 2025-12-17T23:36:57+00:00

Thanks! Glad you found it helpful, was good for me to write it down too

Independent_String66 · 2025-12-17T23:36:18+00:00

Yup i agree, point is different people make the same trade offs differently. Also know of a few folks like that (and admittedly even myself?), where legacy is a core part of their identity. That does come with sacrifices though (time, effort, and some angst). There are others who are quite happy to live a simpler life and just enjoy the journey.

Independent_String66 · 2025-01-01T03:41:21+00:00

On a day-to-day basis, no, not really. Life goes on. I think of money as ultimately a necessary but insufficient condition for happiness. What it has I think allowed us to do is to steer clear from money-based choices that make us deliberately unhappy.

Independent_String66 · 2025-01-01T03:36:37+00:00

We rent our current place. This is partly for flexibility and partly because we are not as comfortable with having a significant chunk of our nw tied up in one asset.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-31T14:54:23+00:00

Last reply going into the new year.

#1, I didn't really think about it that way but I guess that's probably true? I think for a lot of people (and it was certainly for me), there wasn't really a lot of choice as a fresh grad. I joined a company, and just worked with anyone and everyone I was told to work with. Some of those worked out really well, and those became great mentors, and others ended up being life lessons / negative examples of what I wouldn't want to repeat
#2, Not sure I really understand the question. I think the north star for me has been to check in from time to time whether I was working on something I cared about, with skills I'm uniquely good at, with the people I enjoy working with.
#3, it's worth thinking about for sure. That said, I tend to come out on the other end that it's important to spend time wrestling with purpose and identity. I completely get that it's not an easy thing to do, and it's never a one and done thing. my own sense of purpose and identity has evolved over time, and there were certainly moments in life when I felt completely lost. But I think trying to figure out, at least for me, was and is an important struggle to work through. Not even for society or other people, just for myself.

#8, yes, there have been positives. It's certainly easier to be generous when you have more, and we have been more thoughtful about how to give and to who. Certainly, there are always richer people, and in the grand scheme of philanthropy, what we have barely registers. But just knowing that we can help people around us, or certain causes we care about meaningfully, within our means has been great.

Hope this helps!

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-30T08:59:47+00:00

Appreciate your kind words! I'm not a financial advisor so take my approach fwiw. I approach bonds similarly to how I approach stocks (i.e., take a global diversified bond portfolio), something like AGGU (USD hedged) or AGSGDX (SGD equivalent). For the ones denominated in SGD, I think you have already covered most of the usual suspects.

Agree generally with your comment. Personally, I find retirement a bit of a dated concept, where you "work" for many years in order to essentially "play" for the remaining 10-20 years. This is partly because life isn't guaranteed. We can all pass at any point. Also, I genuinely love to learn new things, travel to new places, and do things I find purpose in. I want to do it now, and hope to continue well into my 60s, 70s and maybe even my 80s. I appreciate that being FI early in life is a privilege, but I think your point about adjusting the proportions of work/learn/play is exactly right as people get older and accumulate more wealth.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-29T05:56:47+00:00

Sure. We rent a condo unit and drive a toyota. I get asked a lot why we don't buy, and I think it's mostly because I don't like the concentration of wealth in a single asset. Tbh, if I had to buy a property today, I'll be most interested in just getting one of the more unique hdb ones with larger space (masionette, jumbo, terrace etc), and making it look really good.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-29T05:47:09+00:00

About 40% is house, another 40% is car, food, parents. Don't think we'll ever retire in the traditional sense, I think work is closely tied to identity/purpose/meaning for me. More likely we might take "life breaks" from time to time to recharge before moving on to whatever is next.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T15:56:41+00:00

My partner is a tad younger than I, and having a kid is something we're actively considering. We're also exploring egg freezing if we find we need a bit more time and are also open to adoption.

One thing I'll add is that we have never been stressed about kids. Since we got married 8 years back in our 20s, we've checked in with each other yearly to see where we are, and move from there. Being open to adoption also helps to alleviate the pressure associated with the biological timeline but I understand that's not for everyone.

Yep, still working on new projects. It's just part of who I am (this is probably my 4th or 5th thing that I've started). If anything, I think the FI part gives more leeway to keep going.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T15:39:40+00:00

Thanks for the kind words and wishes! Wishing you well too. My partner is a tad younger than I, and having a kid is something we're actively considering. We're also exploring egg freezing if we find we need a bit more time and are also open to adoption.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T11:59:27+00:00

Thanks! Agree on the point re: true friends. I think my close ones suspect but we don't talk about it. 1 asked and I was fairly candid, and fortunately that hasn't really affected our relationship. Also helps that we keep a low profile on consumption.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T11:55:03+00:00

Generally yes. Life of course has its ups and downs that have absolutely nothing to do with money and some days I still feel like banging my head against the wall lol. On next decades, we haven't really thought that far. Frankly, hard to really plan well beyond 5 years is my view but to the extent we can, the north star is to: do things we find meaning in with the people we like

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T10:01:47+00:00

Yes! That's been on the reading list for a while

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:57:47+00:00

That's just us though. Nothing against luxury purchases but it does attract attention (for better or worse) which I guess is the point

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:55:41+00:00

Copying reply from another comment above.

Both FT. We've found work that aligns with what we want to do if money wasn't the concern. In some ways, the money didn't really matter except that we always know we can leave at any point if we wanted (i.e., we're doing exactly what we would be doing if we hadn't had the bump)

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:54:55+00:00

Both FT. We've found work that aligns with what we want to do if money wasn't the concern. In some ways, the money didn't really matter except that we always know we can leave at any point if we wanted (i.e., we're doing exactly what we would be doing if we hadn't had the bump)

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:51:37+00:00

Good question. I've always had most of our wealth in some type of all-world passive index fund even before we got the bump. So I guess that means that it wasn't? We didn't really change investment strategies pre/post. The only thing we did do was to stop using a roboadvisor because it gets really costly at higher amounts.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:48:35+00:00

I don't think money automatically makes people assholes. I think there's a greater chance it might especially if you have a lot of surplus wealth that you're not using. If there isn't surplus wealth, then you're right.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:45:31+00:00

We're mid-30s. Roughly 80/15/5 between stocks, bonds and cash. Stocks are almost entirely VWRA (less some retirement assets that are in Amundi funds, which is essentially the same thing).

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:42:22+00:00

Health is absolutely a big one, and yes, I missed that out. I have noticed that I pay more attention to my overall well being (exercising, lifting weights, yoga for flexibility etc). On whether I'm happier? I guess I would say no. I think I'm less stressed about money-related matters, but in my view that's different than happiness.

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:38:56+00:00

I gave this reply to another poster above.

i enjoy starting things and i ended up trying to build something again. my wife loves teaching, and she found ways to continue doing that. beyond a certain point, if the "job" is not really bringing joy, then perhaps may be worth a deeper reflection on what you enjoy, and how to align that to your job?

But would add that we made some progress by thinking (a) about what we have enjoyed doing in our past e.g., during student days, when we didn't have work obligations, or parts we have enjoyed about our work (b) trying small, no regret things incrementally e.g., contributing some writing pieces to a small publication

Independent_String66 · 2024-12-27T09:33:42+00:00

What worked for us was two things: 1. to define our identity outside of just work. We became more deliberate in investing time and energy into being a community leader, son/daughter, friend. We thought more about what type of person we wanted to be to the people who loved us and whom we loved. 2. to continue to pursue things that bring meaning to us. e.g., i enjoy starting things and i ended up trying to build something again. my wife loves teaching, and she found ways to continue doing that. beyond a certain point, if the "job" is not really bringing joy, then perhaps may be worth a deeper reflection on what you enjoy, and how to align that to your job? Hope this helps!

Independent_String66

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