My retirement goal: order the fish
Estimated portfolio mix as of September 2026
My retirement financial goal is to order fish at the chye png stall without thinking about the price.
Not a yacht. Not a penthouse. Just the confidence to point at the fish without first conducting a small feasibility study.
More seriously, I reckon S$5,000 a month should give me a comfortable lifestyle as a single person. Frequent short holidays, a few longer trips each year, a new iPhone every two years, regular restaurant meals, and getting around by Grab without caring too much about surge pricing.
I’m definitely not aiming for lean FIRE. I admire the discipline, but I would prefer not to pinch pennies during my retirement.
S$5,000 is my starting target. Whether it holds up against actual spending is something this blog will document.
Building a portfolio that pays me
I think of my portfolio in three parts: income to support retirement, growth for the longer term, and cash for flexibility. I review and adjust investments across all three as my needs and market conditions change.
The income allocation makes up about 58%.
This includes Singapore equities and REIT-related investments, bond ETFs, bond and multi-asset funds, fixed coupon notes, and retirement insurance policies.
These investments contribute dividends, distributions and coupons. The insurance policies add annual payouts, which make certain months look considerably more impressive than others.
The intention is to spread the portfolio across investments that respond differently to interest rates and market cycles. I don’t expect everything to perform well at once. Ideally, when one part is having a difficult time, the others won’t all decide to join in.
There will still be uneven months. The payments don’t arrive in neat monthly instalments just because I’ve put a S$5,000 line on a chart. Rather inconsiderate, but something I’ll have to work around.
Cash, with a job to do
About 30% is in cash and deposits. Reducing risk and letting go of some holdings left me with a larger cash position. I’ve tried to place it in higher-yielding deposit accounts where possible. I show it separately here because earning interest doesn’t make it the same as an invested income portfolio.
Growth, because the fish won’t get cheaper
About 12% is allocated to long-term growth.
This includes global equity and technology exposure, crypto, physical gold, and a gold-based mutual fund.
They serve different purposes. Global equities provide broad exposure to businesses around the world, technology adds a more focused allocation, and crypto is the more speculative part. The gold-based mutual fund can produce payouts; the bullion mostly sits there looking reassuringly expensive.
Together, this allocation is intended to provide long-term growth and help protect the portfolio’s purchasing power. My retirement could last several decades, and I doubt the chye png stall will freeze its prices out of sympathy.
I’d like to increase this slice over time. For now, valuations look high to me, so I’m cautious about adding too quickly.
Every quarter, I’ll review the total payouts against the target of S$15,000 and explain the main changes. I’ll share the income and broad portfolio mix, while keeping individual positions and transaction details private.