Early Retirement SG

Matrix Revolutions

8/5/2021

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why, why, why? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo :Because I choose to.

Have you ever wondered about life?
Is there a difference being in the real world or the matrix?
If everything is just electrical impulses in your brain.
And you live a life plugged into the matrix, but within the matrix you live a good life and you never knew about the existence of a world outside the matrix.
What difference does it make?
What is real?

Humans were used as batteries and kept asleep all the time. Like farmed animals.
And yet... humans all lived "good" enough lives in the matrix. Trapped in body, but the mind doesn't know it. Does it matter?

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Getting Another Car

4/5/2021

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Around a year ago, I wrote this post about my decision to lease a Toyota Camry in Houston.

So... leasing a car is pretty much renting the car with an option to purchase a the end of the period. My lease was for 2 years.
However, there were some unforeseen issues.
When we got the Camry, it was around 2 months into our stay in Houston.
My wife's contract in the US is for 2 years. Furthermore, we are planning/hoping to go back to SG in Dec 2021.
The lease contract ends in March 2022.
I'm contractually obligated to complete my lease regardless.
I was paying US$359.99 per month to lease the Camry.
If I leave in Dec, I would have to pay another 3 months worth of lease which I would not be utilizing.
Furthermore, there is also a "listing" fee of US$350 which the leasing company imposes for returning the vehicle. It's for their "effort" to sell the car after you've returned it.
So if we leave in Dec, we'll probably need to pay around $1,430. (US$360 x 3 +US$350)
Just to close out the lease contract.
Of course there's the option of just running away and just refuse to pay for the lease breakage, but... we're not going that path.

So, the above situation was pretty much unfavourable cos... well we don't have much of a choice cos it's a contract for 2 years. (From what we know, 2 years is the shortest lease contract for a vehicle.)
We had already renewed our apartment rental to end in Nov so that we would have more flexibility to plan to return to SG in Dec.
But the car was a 2 year contract and we were pretty much stuck with it.

Or so we thought...
By some stroke of chance, my wife received an email by the another department of the dealer who leased us the car, offering to buy the car.
The thing about leasing a car is that we can return the car after the contract.
OR we can choose to buy the car at any time, by paying up all the future lease payments PLUS a pre-stated cost of the car. This amount is fixed on the day we signed the lease.

When I saw the email, I was dismissive. Cos... everyone knows that this would be a loss making move.
No one is going to be willing to help pay for all my future lease payments AND the buy out price of the car AND give me extra money on top of it.
I mean... that's expected right? Who expects to make money after buying a new car? It's well known that new cars are a loss once driven out of the dealership.
So I told my wife not to waste her time, cos there's no real point to sell the car and get another car and need to take the loss now.
Might as well just wait til end of the year and pay it off when we leave.

But my wife had nothing better to do and, to her, it was no loss so she just asked me to leave her alone and she was going to try to get a quote from them anyway. Which is fine by me. I mean... she's just wasting her own time right?

So she filled up the online form, which asks when we bought the car, how much mileage is on the car, the overall condition of the car, etc... The car is pretty much in perfect condition. We didn't drive it much cos... well COVID, so I didn't even send my wife to work daily, and the interior of the car is in immaculate condition.
And the next day, she got a reply from a representative.

Somehow... the amount quoted, was enough to pay off all our future lease payments PLUS the buyout amount and then some...
Yes... we managed to turn a "profit" for the leased vehicle.
I'm not saying we turned a profit on the lease overall. We still leased the vehicle for over a year and that expense is gone.
This "profit" is just that we are able to get back some money in cash at this point in time, even after all the future lease payments are paid off and the buyout is paid for. AND the buying company will handle all the paperwork and administration, and contact the leasing company, etc. We just need to agree and sign the papers and we would receive a cheque for the excess amount.

I was pretty mindblown.
WHY?
Ok, I now suspect that it's cos of the supposed chip shortage which has been going around, and due to this chip shortage, there will generally be less stuff being available for sale in the coming months before the chip production ramps up to cover for the shortfall.
Unconfirmed, it's just my suspicion.

Anyway... who cares why right? If someone wants to buy out my car and I get some cash for it...
And the amount is enough to buy an old car, then basically, my vehicle expense for the next few months would be settled AND I wouldn't need to incur a loss when I leave.

I was pretty excited about it. And my wife told me not to ganjiong, cos she since this company was willing to buy us out at this price, then maybe we could get better quotes. So she went to submit our car details to a few more companies.
And... woah... one company actually was willing to pay even higher.

So we decided to proceed with this plan.
We would sell the existing car and use the cash proceeds to get ourselves an old beat up car which will last us til the end of the year, hopefully without any major issues.
This beat up car, typically called a "beater car" in the US, would be fully paid up and we would not need to pay US$360 every month anymore. Also, we save on insurance, cos... well it's an older car and since it's not leased, we can take a lower coverage. Leased vehicles have some requirements by the leasing company, so we needed to take up some higher coverage.

And over the weekend, we got ourselves an old high mileage Nissan Maxima. It's a bigger car than the Camry, with a 3-litre V6 engine. It is old and dirty and beat up, and inside was dirty, etc...
Unfortunately, I overpaid for this vehicle, cos I was lazy, inexperienced, and didn't do enough research and mentally not prepared to haggle, and a lot of other reasons.
It was just really poorly executed.
But it was still pretty much within budget.
So the objective was met. We managed to sell the Camry and using the proceeds, we paid off for an old car.
However, we could have done better as we could have had money leftover to cover repairs, if we were better prepared for the buying process.
We ended up having to pay an extra US$113 out of pocket.
(This also includes new cheap covers and steering wheel covers, which were needed, cos the seats were dirty and steering wheel sticky, and Uber costs to get between the buying and selling locations, and cleaning material and anti-bacterial wipes & spray. I've deemed these as capital expense as part of the buying of the beater car.)

So previously, I would need to pay US$360 for the lease payments, plus $156 per month for insurance. And when I leave in Dec, I would need to pay another lump sum of US$1,430.

Now, every month, I just need to pay around US$59 for insurance and maybe an oil change in a couple of months for US$30, and keep my fingers crossed that there will be no other maintenance required.
Not to mention, I'll also be able to sell this car when I leave for a fraction of the buying cost.

Ok, one thing to note, in SG, we mentally already think cars are expensive. So it seems kinda "wow" that I got a "free" car.
(This was one of the reasons why I failed during the nego, cos I already thought that the price of the car is already very cheap. In SG, car are in the tens of thousands. So I was pretty much a pushover during the nego.)
But in the US, beater cars are cheap. They are really old and worn out.
Imagine the worst old taxi you've ever sat in... and a beater car is worse than that.
There are holes in the seats, the car has dents, scratches, it smells bad, some areas are sticky cos the previous owner ate something or spilt something in the car, etc.
Which is why I needed to get cheap seat covers and steering wheel covers and wet wipes and anti -bacterial spray, to clean up the car.

The pictures are below.
The Toyota was my previous leased car.
And the Nissan is my "new" beater car. The outside is already not so bad, the inside is worse.

Anyway, that's it for now.
I think overall this was a good decision but poorly executed, as we could have gotten a way way way better deal on the purchase of the vehicle.
But what's done is done. And hopefully this vehicle will last me til the end of the year.

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You Either Get It Or You Don't Get It

22/4/2021

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Everything in it's own time.

Following up a bit on the last post, about almost everyone else around you being NPCs, the thing about it is... well, we are all pre-programmed since we are young based on different factors in our lives.
Be it our parents, our friends, our school, the environment around us, etc.
Also, each of us will react to stimulus differently. So even if we face the same lessons, we might learn different things from it.

Our ability to accept new ideas, our ability to learn new lessons, or how fast we learn from our mistakes is also part of the programming which we got when we were younger.

Some people, when you introduce them to an idea, they pick up on it very quickly. Build upon it and get up to speed very quickly. You see that when you work. Some people understand things very fast.
Others... you can explain it once, then they stare at you blankly, then you have to find a different way to explain it, then they still don't understand.

Now, this manifests in many aspects of our lives, and financial independence or early retirement is just one of the ideas which people get, or they don't get.

For some people, the pre-programmed idea that people need to work, is independent from the idea that work is to provide money.
For other people, work is for money, there is a clear direct linkage.
So for some people, they think that people need to work. Even if they have money, people just need to work.
Then for other people, they think that money is only earned from work, if you don't work, you don't have money.
The truth, as we know it, is somewhere in between.
Now, there's nothing wrong with thinking either way.
It's their own way of how they look at life and the factors that make up their lifestyle.

The issue, however, is trying to introduce new ideas to people when they are not willing to, or ready to accept it.
Now, I'm not saying everyone should gain be FI or retire early.
I'm talking about people being able to accept new ideas.
I have friends who understand the idea behind FIRE, but they don't aspire for it.

And I also have friends, who just don't get it. They get stuck at the point of "Then where are you going to get money?". To these folks, they believe that people need to work to earn money.
These are what I call the NPCs.
Cos I have to interact with them in predetermined ways to prevent their programming from breaking. Cos they don't know how to talk when they get introduced to new ideas. They need to keep within their programming.

BUT...
We all fall victim to this fallacy of being unable to accept new ideas.
For instance, some people reject the idea of dumpster diving.
Some people reject different religions.
Some people reject different foods. If you eat fish, chicken, beef, etc... then you shouldn't have anything to say about people eating dogs.

The thing is, we are probably all NPCs in our own way.
We are all pre-programmed with our own value system and belief system since young and what we are willing to accept as "ok" ideas.

And in our own way, we all either get it, or don't get it.
Like the idea of freedom in the US, vs the nanny style of governance in SG.
The majority of folks in US will never understand why we would want and allow the government to nanny us so much in SG.
BUT on the flip side, many of us also don't understand why Americans are unwilling to wear masks "for the greater good".
Or why they don't ban guns.
A lot of Singaporeans just "don't get" the American version of freedom.
And A LOT of Americans won't be able to accept the "just follow law" style in SG.

And... well... a lot of times... we don't need to get it.
I mean... who cares right?
We could live our lives ignorant and life would just go on for most of us.
Except certain personality types which value knowledge and understanding of the world. These types tend to be more open to ideas and want to learn more.
But for most of us, it's not important.

UNTIL of course... when we need the knowledge... Well, eventually, most people WILL need to retire.
And without years of planning, retirement is pretty hard to achieve in a short time.
And that's when some people suddenly "get it".

Just like that uncle/friend or whoever, who smokes and drinks and eats anything he wants. And when people warn him, he doesn't care... until he gets a heart attack, then suddenly he's preaching about healthy lifestyle to everyone else.
Yep... he suddenly "got it".

So to close...
Well for most of us, ideas and knowledge isn't really needed until we need it.
And for most part, we don't need to care about it. Cos we will continue to live our lives.
However, "humans learn from pain or gain, the foolish learn from pain, the wise learn from gain". We actually get to choose when we want to learn. It's just whether we are willing to accept new knowledge at different intervals in our lives and do what's best for ourselves.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.

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Challenges Of Early Retirement

14/4/2021

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Many times when we talk about FI or early retirement, it's always about the numbers.
$500k x 5% = $25k per year and that's good enough... yada yada yada...

I mean... it's like... when people haven't gotten FI or RE, that's the first and main issue, and that's understandable.
And most of the time, a lot of people stay at this stage and don't progress to FI or RE, for whatever reason, like they have children, they get used to the lifestyle, or they feel insecure at leaving their jobs even if they are already FI. That's fine.

And there's so much focus on the front part, that the back challenges are largely, ignored or under estimated.
Which is understandable, cos... haven't cross the first issue, why would people bother about the next issue.
It's like haven't find a girlfriend, why even talk about the cost of having a kid.

So today, I'll talk a bit on this, what I've faced and how I've handled them.
"How I've handled them", cos there are many ways to handle them, I find that most people who walk this ER path, we tend to encounter similar issues, but we each will handle them differently according to how our personalities are.

I'll talk a bit on the situations before and after the decision to retire early.

1. Issues before RE - People around you, colleagues and such
The first thing most people face is the people around you.
The general population doesn't really think about retirement. So it's hard to talk about this topic to many people. When you don't follow their usual trend of going out or buying stuff, or going on flashy trips and such, it's harder to interact with people. It's hard to discuss life goals and feel connected with people especially when you feel that others are doing things which are, in your opinion, pointless.

At this point, this issue isn't too big. Cos at this point, I was still working, so we can always connect with society about other stuff, like grumble about bosses, low bonus, still can talk about our trips, they take fancy trips, I take small trips, still ok, life is pretty much normal. I also learn not to talk about FIRE topics with most people.

2. Issues before RE - Friends and family
Family is always an issue. Mum, dad, etc... BUT... it's still early in this phase. They will typically think it's just a passing phase and ignore this topic. Pretty much the same as the folks above.
There's still stuff to talk about cos... well, family right? So there's still other interactions.

Friends are pretty interesting. There usually isn't much issue with friends. At least my friends. I'm talking about actual friends. Not colleagues or acquaintances.
My friends are usually people who are somewhat like me. So we can somewhat relate. Our spending patterns, our interests, going out and eating. Pretty much the same. They may not want to retire early, but we still can connect at many levels and they also don't get judge-y, when you tell them your plans that you plan to retire early.

3. Issues before RE - FIRE community
And online, as someone who's interested in FIRE, we usually would go and visit blog sites and finance sites and learn more about this path and lifestyle. We talk about withdrawal rates and how much return is required, we get in discussions in the comments, and stuff like that. There is a common interest, same challenges, same goals, so a lot to talk about.

4. Issues before RE - Partner
There are 2 types of partners in this situation. A partner who is onboard the decision and is willing to work on it together. Or a partner who doesn't like the decision.
Probability is against you. Most likely your partner will NOT be having the same idea as you.

Most likely, your partner will not be onboard with this decision and will ignore the topic just like your family. He/She will think it is just typical grumbling about work and just a passing phase.

I don't know anything about a partner who is onboard. Cos I've never heard of one who willingly embarked on the FIRE journey with their partner who decided to embark on FIRE.

5. Issues before RE - Yourself
At this point, there's no real issue with yourself. Cos... well you decided on this journey. There is a goal, there is focus. Life looks rosy ahead. No problem.

Then the next part... the shit gets real. You actually retire.
So somehow you've left your job. And you're totally chilling. You're happy. You've worked so hard for this. You know all your mathematical calculations, yada yada yada, you have confidence the financial part of it will work out... BUT...

1. Issues after RE - People around you, colleagues and such
Very quickly you will realize that the average world around you will be very disconnected from you.
The large population will have less things to talk to you about. colleagues will drift away. Or rather, you'll drift away from ex-colleagues. Cos the stuff you connected about... well, they don't exist anymore.
You don't have to grumble about bosses, project timelines, and all that stuff.
If you never shared any other interest with these folks besides work, then likely you'll have nothing much to talk about.
The relationship at this point usually break up. Cos previously these relationships revolved around the work and work environment, and now, there's little to connect you to these people.

At the start, I used to go out with them to eat and stuff, but ... really nothing to talk about. Their problems became so distant to me that I couldn't connect, relate or contribute to. And eventually, I stopped meeting them.
This break up wasn't too bad. For me, I was ok with it. For me, I view the people I encounter as passing through different phases. For me, most people I meet are only for that particular phase in my life, we interact for that period, then when we move on, we move on.
Most of them won't become friends. Just people whom I mingle with during whatever phase of my life.

2. Issues after RE - Friends and family
Family interactions become tricky at this point.
It depends on whether you still stay with your family. If you still stay with family, then there will be a good chance for more trouble. And depends if you're always at home.
So when I stayed with my parents and stopped working for 2 years. My mum would grumble at me regularly.

If you go out regularly for whatever reason, then they don't see you as much so the interaction would be less and more similar to when you were working.
Spending extra time at home creates times when they don't know how to interact with you.
They know how to interact with you for dinner when you're back at home after work, or on weekends when you visit. So they know how to handle you during these periods.

Problem is when you spend more time with them when you used to be doing something else at that time.

When I moved out, we don't have as much interaction so she just ignores that I'm not working. BUT even until now, she does find opportunities to put in the line "then go and find work". Really. Even now I face this, I mean even NOW, when I'm in the US, when I call her, if a topic comes up that allows her to talk about it, she will.

So I try to steer the conversations and interaction. For me, I don't like to go down this path of talking about FIRE. As I mentioned above, the general population cannot handle this. So there's really no point to go into in-depth detail about how this works.

It's kinda easy for me to handle family. Cos I just need to spend similar times with them as though as I was working. Then they know how to interact with me. Then they will interact with me as though as I'm still "working" cos we will only meet on weekends, or dinner, etc.

Or if I meet other family during New Year or Christmas, then I'd just steer conversation away from work.
A good offense is a good defence. Ask the questions first and control the conversation. Talk about their kids, their trips, restaurants, etc.

Once again, friends... I mean real friends... Friends tends to be ok. We tend to interact on whatever level we used to interact on. Whatever common interests that got us there in the first place.
BUT this could be just me, cos I have few friends. I have a few friends whom I'm close to who have similar values as me. They might not be interested in FIRE, but they are frugal and we have similar values and concerns and topics to talk about.

3. Issues after RE - FIRE community
This is probably one of the more interesting changes which I felt.
The FIRE community suddenly became pretty irrelevant. For a while I was still reading blogs about finance and the usual stuff...
Then after awhile it all changed. These topics... I don't relate to them anymore. At least not in the same way as it used to.
Finance in itself is always important to me. But FIRE topics are different. Usually, FIRE topics talk about how the math works, patting themselves on the back for not indulging in expensive stuff, how to be frugal, etc...

But... somehow after I retired, I couldn't relate to this community anymore. I only follow a few blogs which talk more about life rather than finance. Cos the finance part... well, what needs to be said, has already been said.
I kind of liken it to... well... teenagers talking about sex. If you've done it, you've done it. You don't talk about it. If you are still talking about it, most likely you haven't done it. (My personal opinion)

4. Issues after RE - Other community
Which leads to the need for other interests and other community.
It's a lonely road. Most other retirees are old folks. AND they will tell you that you're too young to retire, so you can't really interact with them as well.

So you need other interests, for me, this was tough cos I never had much interest, not to mention I was razer focused on early retirement so I didn't have much of any social circle. So for quite a long time, after I quit my job, my social connections was really low and things were pretty tough and lonely.
For me, I think this is normal for people who go down this path. It is a challenge, unless you have hobbies and other social connections apart from work.

My breakthrough was the freegan / food rescue community. I enjoyed the activities. It was a hobby to me, in line with what I was interested in.
It become just like any other hobby and I could interact with the folks in that community without any reference to my work or finances.

I think this will be crucial to anyone who is thinking about leaving their job. A community beyond their work, their family. A community of common interests, kinda like a hobby.
Like a diving community, or collectable cards, or church, or fishing, stuff like that.

5. Issues after RE - Partner
This issue is one of the most crucial.
Cos most of us will spend the rest of our lives with our partner. And we don't want a bad relationship with them.
As I've mentioned above, most likely, your partner will likely not be onboard this decision.
And I've had many many discussions about this with my wife.

I've come to realize that the path of FIRE is a lonely one. Even with a partner.
For me, I highly recommend NOT trying to convince your partner to FIRE.
Instead, I suggest, managing the relationship and expectations.

*This is what I feel after discussing with my wife for years. It may or may not work for you but after these years, I feel this is the best way to handle your decision to FIRE.

So you've talked about FIRE with your partner, as mentioned above. But now, it's the time to actually make it happen. The thing is... IF your partner accepts it and is willing to work towards FIRE together, then that's fine. No issue here. And I mean IF the partner is willing to accept it wholeheartedly, and not just cos he/she has been out talked and out convinced by you.
As in they really have to believe in it.

Most likely, this isn't the case. Most partners won't be so easily convinced.
And I think it will be better to instead manage the FIRE decision separately.
Meaning, do not expect your partner to FIRE with you. I feel, it will be better this way.
As long as you, yourself, handle your own part of the finances, your partner can continue working and both of you can continue the relationship as per normal...

Your partner will have their own perception of what is a "normal" life and how they want to go around their version of normal. And it's better that they are allowed to do so.
BUT... the partner needs to be willing to live a certain lifestyle due to your decision to FIRE. It may or may not be super frugal, but likely it won't be super luxurious.

At this point, if you're still struggling with this, then likely you have the wrong partner for this. Not to mention, I feel it's not fair to expect a partner who wants to live a life of luxury to suddenly give up her dreams. He/She probably got together with you cos you were kinda in line with their thinking. So, suddenly you want them to give up their dreams, well... not fair.

So most likely, when you both got together, you should have some form of similar values. Not over spendy, living a good enough lifestyle, etc... And now that you're FIRE, you can still maintain this lifestyle.
If you want to quit your job and FIRE, that's your choice.
And they shouldn't need to FIRE along with you.
So they get to live their normal life, and you get to live your FIRE life.

So instead of trying to convince them to FIRE, the path should be... to convince them to allow you to FIRE.
Their expectations need to be managed that this is the financial lifestyle that both of you will be living going forward and are they ok with it.
If they are the kind to want to keep upgrading, then you've probably got the wrong partner for this journey.

If they are ok with a simple lifestyle. Then they can live their normal life, and you can live your FIRE life.
Personally, I've found that this is a better way to handle this relationship with a partner.

This is one of the big 3 challenges.

6. Issues after RE - Yourself
And we're back to the self...
Now that you're jobless, it's not glamourous. It's the opposite.
You're supposed to be someone who's "won" the game.
But you won't feel like it.
You've completed the bulk of this "games" issues. The main grind is over.
And yet, congratulations... you're the loser.

Cos since young, we've been programmed to view success in a certain way. Work, earn money, retire FI at 65 and hang around with your other old friends and family.
Unfortunately, you didn't manage to do this.
Somehow, you managed to do this earlier, but you're not deemed as successful. You're deemed unsuccessful by society.
And it's so ingrained in our own mentality, that we may feel that somehow we have failed.
Logically, we think we succeeded in FIRE.
But mentally/emotionally, we may believe we failed.

And so this is another one of the 3 biggest challenges of FIRE. Yourself.
Overcoming all the past programming that you've learnt since young.
Like what Yoda told Luke. "You must unlearn what you have learned."

This is tough. Cos every interaction you have will remind you of the past. When you drop your old colleagues, you still have to meet with your family, they will continue to ask what you've been doing. When you meet new people, they will ask what you are doing, and they are obviously referring to your job.
And for me, I've learnt to live a certain lie. It's easier than to explain and convince everyone of early retirement.
So I'll tell the story of sabbatical, taking a break, stuff like that. It's a lot easier, and it makes interacting with others easier. At least they can relate to such topics.

Your sense of self MUST be very strong.
For me, I'm ok with living a fake life in front of others. It is a tax. A cost of my choice to leave the work force early. The alternative is to tell the truth and seriously. It's just not worth the trouble and I feel it's unnecessary to go down that path.

The fight is constant. Cos we are social creatures. Humans feel the need to conform. Cos conforming has helped us in our lives. We need to fit in with society cos society keeps us alive. It is part of how humans have evolved. We need to be part of the herd.

So we need to find a new herd. A hobby community, etc, as I mentioned above. A group where you don't need to interact with people and discuss the financial and work aspects of life.

I've found no easy way to handle this. It is a constant struggle.
The only way I've managed to handle this is to live my FIRE life, with my wife living her normal life with an appropriate lifestyle. And we show a "fake" life to the rest of the world, where I'm perpetually on sabbatical.

FIRE... is like Fight Club. You don't talk about Fight Club.

7. Issues after RE - Time
There's really a lot of it.
I've learnt that early retirement is a lonely journey.
It's how to manage it.
As I've mentioned above. You can't really expect your partner to be on board with this lifestyle. If they are ok to leave their job, then that's fine. But if not, then you're on your own.
After 6 months, the emptiness of it all will shock you.
Most FIRE won't be having loads of cash to go and travel and have a life of perpetual entertainment.

It wasn't like that previously. Cos previously you were razer focused on the path to FI.
But now... the problem is RE.

Of course those who are still at the FI phase will be thinking. Easy for you to say, cos you're already FI.
Don't tell me about RE problems when you're already FI.
It's like rich people telling poor people that they have problems.

This is another of the 3 big challenges.
There is too much time, and you will likely not have company.
Cos everyone else is working.
Even if you have a hobby... well, everyone is still working and won't be able to play with you.

So you'll need to find a way to spend time.
So some people go back to work. It's always an option. No shame in that.

And so it's the usual... we just need to fill our time with other activities.
Community helps a lot, and depending on community and hobbies, these groups may or may not have other folk who are free to interact with you.
It's easy for me to say to find activities to spend your time. But practically, it's not so easy.
Just cos people imagine that after FIRE, one can "do anything they want"...
Well the problem is... most people don't know what to do after.
"Anything" isn't that easy to find.

For me, this issue was settled when I had the freegan/food rescue community. Every couple of days, there was something to do. Someone to interact with. Then on weekends, I visit my parents.
So everyday, there was some stuff to do. Some days I get free food, some days I prep food at home, some days I do some home admin stuff, then visit parents, and each week would pass by really nicely.

Before that period, I was stuck with this issue of too much time.
And when I was in France and now in the US, I am also having the same issue.
Too much time with nothing that I want to do.
Note, there's always something to do. Many people can give you many suggestions. Go learn a language, go exercise, go... whatever...
BUT the whole point of FIRE is to do what you/I want to do.
So just cos there's a lot of suggestions, doesn't mean I want to do those activities.

========================

The thing is... many of these issues, we won't encounter til we're at this point in life.
It's easy to say. Oh ERSG has quit his job, now he's travelling, living a chill life...
It's not all fun and roses. I've had my issues and challenges.
And I've managed to handle most of them. Some things are a constant struggle. Some things can be more or less settled.
My "time" issue was fixed, but then now I have the issue again, and hopefully when I'm back, I won't have that issue anymore.

Think about life as a game...
Almost everyone else is an NPC. They more or less have a fixed way to interact with you.
So I don't expect much.
Some people interact with you on work matters. That's the work NPC.
Some interact as family. That's family NPC.
My mum is a mum NPC. She can't interact with me on a FIRE level.
So I don't go there when I interact with her.
When you interact with them outside their NPC programming, they run into an error. They don't know what to do. So don't do it. It causes unnecessary errors to happen in your game and it's just troublesome.
Interact with NPCs the way they want to be interacted with.
The topics to talk about, the time to talk and interact with them, stuff like that.
If you talk to the NPC at the wrong time, also could lead to errors. So I try not to interact with my mum when she's expecting me to be not at home.

So... don't think of early retirement as a walk in the park. It's a work in progress. It's going to be tough and depending on how well you handle it, it could be rewarding, or it could be a nightmare, and going back to work might be a lesser issue.

Until now, I feel that I've been more or less handling it quite well. Overall, I enjoy it. There are ups and downs. It's a constant challenge with myself, with others I interact with, etc.
But if you think that it's going to be an easy path to walk, I would caution you to think more about it.
Of course if you delay retirement until 65, then all these issues will naturally go away and you'd be deemed as successful in the eyes of society.
But that's not what we're talking about here are we?

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Beyond FI

6/4/2021

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Imagine you lived in Old England, or some European country.
Then you heard of this new land, America. A land of opportunity, and you tell yourself. Ok, I'm going to make my way to America and experience this land of opportunity.
Many people have embarked on it, some liked the experience and continued in America, some didn't like it and returned.
But for yourself, you decided that you're going to go to America and see for yourself, cos for whatever reason, you don't like Old England.

So you work hard and save up and you ask around and talk to people about your plans to save up and go on this trip to America.

Now... this story could go many ways.
Maybe this person didn't manage to save enough. So he gave up on his dream of exploring America.
Or...
Maybe this person managed to save up, but felt insecure, so this person continues to save up even more, cos well, it's a new land across the Atlantic, need to have more cash on hand to have security to move.
Or...
Maybe this person saved enough, and continued to hang around the bar and port area of Old England and keep talking to others about the journey that he's going to make but never makes.
Or...
Maybe this person actually makes the journey over to America, BUT hangs around the bar and port of America and talks about how he saved up all this money and talk about the experience of the journey and the boat ride, never leaving his port city to explore the rest of America for the opportunities he was dreaming about.
Or...
Maybe this person really goes and explores the new lands and tries to find whatever he's looking for.
Maybe he finds it, maybe he doesn't. But at least at this point, he's moved on.

And... I liken this journey to the journey of FI.
For whatever reason we each have, we have decided to embark on this journey.
So we work hard and save for it.

And some people... well, they never leave the accumulation phase. They keep working and earning and the goal posts keep shifting and they never really move on.
And some other people keep talking about FI, or FIRE, and the dreams and things they want to achieve when they finally reach FI, but they still hold on to their old mentality and don't move on.
Or some people have earned enough, and they quit their jobs and the idle at home and do nothing much with their time and money, they spend time on FIRE blogs patting themselves on their back that they've made it. They are finally FI, but yet they don't know what to do next.

And then... some people actually move on.
They recognize that their journey of FIRE, was just the beginning.
There are still things to do after. They decide to leave the old mentality behind and move forward and explore other things.

It's not easy moving on.
I've spent the bulk of my adult life earning, saving, investing.
I looked for credit card deals, new sign up deals, restaurant deals, etc.
I've spent time and energy following up on every small little over charge, or rebate that didn't go the way I expected.
This is how I've gotten to this point in my life.

But, I've been trying to reprogram all these mentality. Cos... I have to move on.
I haven't been writing about FI or deals, or savings very much. Cos... I don't relate to it very much anymore. It was a means to an end. And I'm trying to focus more on the living and overall lifestyle after FI.

At this point... I'm not supposed to be wondering about should I do DCA, or indexing, or whatever.
I shouldn't still be thinking things through. Things should be operational by now.
I can't be thinking, should I have taken the PIE when I'm already on the ECP. Both would get me wherever I'm going. Maybe one is 5 minutes faster. But to me, I shouldn't be bothered about this extra 5 minutes.

So if I've decided to build my portfolio in whatever way, I should just leave it alone. Another 2%, 5% more... is it really important? As long as it's good enough. That is enough.

Should I bother to go out of the way to look for deals?
Note: I highlighted "out of the way". If a deal is right in front of me, sure, I should take it.
But if I have to jump through hoops to get a deal or rebate, I'm wondering if I should bother about it at this point of my life.
I feel that continuing to over search for deals and rebate would defeat the purpose of the journey I've taken.

For example. I'm wondering what credit card I would be using when I go back to SG.
Would I bother going back to my old habits? Having to monitor monthly spending just to hit certain monthly limits so as to attain special rewards?
Or would I just get a good enough card, which I monitor less, but I get less rebates in total?
I have a feeling that I should/would be taking up the latter.

Would I still be going to get free food from vendors who are unable to sell their produce?
Good chance I'll still go for this, cos I enjoy the process.

Doesn't mean that I'll go and spend heavily without any consideration.
But yet, I feel I need to move on, evolve my thinking. The deals, savings, rebates, need to be worth the effort.

It's like playing an RPG... at the start, we may pick up all items, cos we are newbies and need money.
Then as we get more experienced, we pick up only select rare items.
BUT, as we get even more experienced, we might not even bother to pick up rare items. Cos it might not be even worth the trouble to bring a rare item back to the town to sell it. We may only be looking for epic items.

Of course everyone enjoys their game their own way.
No right or wrong. If someone wants to continue to pick up normal items and bring to the town to sell them, it's up to them.
If someone wants to or enjoys talking about the process of FI, then that's also up to them.

For me, I feel it's time to move on.
It's hard for me to keep talking about FI and the journey. Most of what needs to be said, has been said. At least for the actual money aspect.
It's the other topics which are more interesting now. The emotional challenges, the difficulties after, what to do after, being disconnected from the rest of society.
Every once in a while, an interesting question comes up. A commenter asking a unique question and there's something more interesting to write about.
Or, the actual spending of the money...
The idea of delayed gratification is that there actually is gratification after the delay.

Actually spending the money which was saved and invested. Buying conveniences which make life easier.
For me, this isn't easy, cos I haven't been living this way. I have to tell myself to let it go when a telco charges me an extra fifty cents. Eating out, maybe a place is $2 more expensive on weekends compared to weekdays. I have to tell myself once again to let it go.

There's a lot more to FI than the money aspect.
Beyond FI...
It actually deserves a lot more attention than what it's actually getting.

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Binary Thinking

30/3/2021

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I've recently found that there are quite a lot of people who think in this way.
Binary thinking. Yes or no.
And I think that's very wrong.
Many things aren't black and white.
A lot of time, it depends many factors, on the situation, the time, the generation, etc.

For example...
Cryptocurrencies.
Some people think it's the thing of the future. Some people think it's a bubble.
Why can't it be both?
It could be a bubble like tech stocks were in 2001. But in the long run, it also could be the thing of the future.
Is this discussion even important?
If you want to buy, then you buy, if you don't want to buy then don't buy.

In the end, big cat, small cat, black cat, white cat, it's still a cat.
If it catches a mouse, it's a good cat.
If someone manages to make money with crypto, regardless of short term trading or long term investing.
Well... good for this person.

Same as politics... It's not A is right, means B is wrong.
Doesn't mean A is always right. A lot of things needs to be looked at in context.
How do you know the media is telling the truth or not?
How do you know if the alternative media is telling the truth or not?
What's good for the individual may not be good for the country. What's good for the country may not be good for the individual.

It's similar as what's the best carrot cake or charkwayteow in SG.
There is none. There are a lot of good carrot cake or CKT stalls.
Some are better than others.
But it all depends on people and tastes. Some have more customers, could be due to price, location, etc...
Some people like it sweet, some like it less sweet, some like it fried til crispy, some don't like it too crispy.
There really isn't a BEST.
In truth, there are "some of the best". Cos these are all subjective. Depends on who's eating. AND also a function of TIME, cos maybe as generations change, tastes of the generations change as well...

And like sports... Some say, XXX is the GOAT (Greatest of all time) in tennis, basketball, baseball, etc...
At best, we can say this person was one of the best players of his time.
Things change, Agassi, won't be playing Nadal in his prime. We'll never find out who's better.
Maybe Jordan's Chicago Bulls team were all great in providing him support which allowed him to excel, maybe the other teams couldn't play as well together.
Maybe for a whole generation there might have been a lack of talent and technology, like how Schumacher owned the race courses for a whole generation. Then maybe now the standards for racing might have changed, and the competition standards might be higher now. We'll never really know if Schumacher would have done as well in this generation if he in his prime.
Right man, right place, right time.
I mean, fans boys love to say XYZ is the GOAT.
But really, we'll never find out.
I mean... if we put Lee Kuan Yew into SG politics now... Would he do as well? Change his name, have a new guy, with similar disposition, same style of politics...
(I mean, we can't use the same name LKY right, then everyone would know it's him. The only way to think about it is for a newcomer who enters SG politics who has the same style and way of doing things.)

The thing is, binary thinking is potentially dangerous and divisive.
It draws a clear line between people. And what's the point in that?
There's really no right or wrong in many issues.
Some people like strong coffee, some people like weak watery coffee.
Some people like chunky peanut butter, some people like creamy peanut butter.
Some people want to buy crypto, some don't... not your money, not important. The problem is... those who didn't buy get jealous when those who bought made money.

A lot of things... well, really not our problem. Nothing to really discuss.
It's only my problem if it affects me. And as I think about life... there's really very little things that affect me. I mean... I try not to get involved in things or issues. Too troublesome...

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Be Careful Of Phishing Emails

29/3/2021

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So recently, we received an email from Chope... saying that we had a reservation at a restaurant somewhere in SG.
Obviously we didn't make the reservation, so the natural response is...
Well... we didn't click the email. But that's cos we always try to be careful when clicking emails.

The natural response for most people would be to click the link to cancel the reservation or to find out more about it.
And it's pretty obvious that it's trying some phishing attack...
The email was from rez@chope.co
Whereas the usual reservation from Chope is @chope.com

Then I also had a friend who recently received another email from a restaurant chain, saying "Unfortunately, we weren't able to reset the password for XXX email account".
And once again, it's to induce people to click the link. Cos usually people will click links when it's not something they themselves triggered...

So it seems like recently, these phishing attacks are using some basic non important emails to try to trick people.
I mean previously, they used bank emails and try to phish info making people concerned that something wrong happened with their bank.
Or maybe it's their delivery of a parcel by the post office.
And now... seems like they are using some innocent emails like restaurant reservation or some random membership account to induce folks to click the link to see what's happening...

Well... DON'T CLICK...
Just thought I'd share.

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When Do You Know Life Has Changed?

19/3/2021

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I haven't been posting much.
No inspiration.
But, thanks to Mr15HWW, I got a topic to talk about.
So I read his recent blog post about not buying a Chanel bag for his wife.

The interesting thing about this post is that... well... many years back, I would have absolutely absolutely agreed with him.
Yet, now, maybe 5 years into my joblessness, I feel significantly different.

Ok so this situation really depends on circumstances. It's not that I would say that buying a Chanel bag is acceptable in ALL situations. But rather for Mr15HWW, I personally feel that getting that Chanel bag for his wife is acceptable.

Straight-out, I'm not criticizing Mr15HWW or his decision. It was not too long ago that I would have made the same decision.
Rather, I'm taking this as an opportunity to express how I've changed my views to spending.
Previously, I would consider this as wonton spending. Frivolous. Full stop. End of story.
I would think that previously, I would say, there's nothing to discuss.
And yet now, I would say... it depends.

Firstly, everyone has their own toys or hobbies. So it would not be right for each other to judge what each others' fancies.
A geeky guy might want a powerful computer for playing games, whereas his girlfriend (IF he has one), might not appreciate the powerful computer.
IF geeky guy has a budget for computers, then shouldn't the girlfriend have a budget for fancy bags as well?
Geeky guy can list all the pros of his tech purchases, but he will never be able to list the pros of fancy bags.
It's like... a golfer vs someone who enjoys fishing.

Next, perspective also depends on how often one desires to indulge in his or her toys/hobbies.
If Girlfriend of geeky guy, wants a new bag every month. Then I'd think that's kinda too much and may not be in line with the future goals of geeky guy.

Then there's the financial position of the couple.
If they can afford it, why not? How much does this impact their future life and savings?
Depends if they make such indulgences a habit.

Taking the Mr15HWW as an example, I will go through how I think about the situation with my new mindset.
Based on reading his blog, I would say they are doing well financially.
They have a sizable AUM and monthly income from their work.
Their lives have somewhat settled down and they don't particularly feel the displeasure of work.
They still save a large chunk of their monthly income.

At this point, I feel that their lives have already evolved to another state of life.
They are no longer struggling with wealth accumulation, they also have no significant displeasure earning their income.
They could potentially decrease their savings rate and continue this lifestyle until they are older.

I would liken this to the question, when does a child grow up?
Is it really just an age? Just cos legally by 21 you are considered an adult?
Now, we all know, age is just a number. Same as retirement age.
People can retire at 25, or 75. It's a state of mind.
Similarly, there are people at 50 years old who are childish and there are 18 year olds who are more mature.
There really isn't a cut off date of when a child grows up, that's why parents always think their kids are children. They just gradually grow up one day after another, until parents realize that suddenly their kids have kids of their own.

This is similar in financial health. A lot of times, we are stuck in our old position. This is especially true for savers and many in the FI community. We save, and save and save summore and don't evolve to the next stage of actually retiring. We may continue to work and say... just one more million, and the goalposts keep moving backwards.
There is a point where the child has become an adult.
There is a point where a person has become FI or comfortable, and they can relax on the savings.

Now, I don't know Mr15HWW savings rate. But let's say he saves $2000 per month, if he decreases his savings rate to $1900 per month for the next 5 years... Would that really be so bad?
(Although I think his savings rate is much higher than $2k a month.)
I'm assuming a Chanel bag would be depreciated over 5 years and his wife wouldn't request another bag during that period.

Once again, I'm saying this is situational. For a fresh grad still struggling in their career, or someone trying to become FI, or someone depressed with their work, etc... Then I'd probably say, that they shouldn't purchase that Chanel bag.
However, in the case of Mr15HWW, I would say, well, if it's something that the Mrs really really wants, and she doesn't always ask for such things, then... why not?
Although I do recall a couple of years back, she did request for a diamond ring. So maybe it's a bit more often than I actually know about. So I'd say, I don't know, which is why I'm saying this is really circumstantial.

The next change in my own mental perspective is the perception of value.
Mr15HWW did research on luxury bags by going to different shops and learning about the product.
Previously, I would think that learning about the product would be important to assessing the value of the product so that we can price it better and look for other alternatives.

BUT... now, surprisingly, I feel differently about this...
The whole idea of Mr15HWW going to retail outlets to learn more about the product, the quality, price point, alternatives... is irrelevant.
He's using his own value scale to assess the value of the different bags and alternatives.
Quality of material, utility, design, whatever...
That's really missing the point... It's. just. not. a. Chanel.

If we look at it from a logical point of view, yes, I can understand where he's coming from. I would have thought the same way myself just a couple of years ago.
It's like looking at computer specs, a few dollars for the motherboard, a few bucks for processor, RAM, hard disk drive, graphics card, etc...
Except that... it's not an Apple.

I'm sure Mr15HWW has his own toys and hobbies, and most likely, they would have a higher chance to be "approved" as a purchase, cos... well he values them based on his own value scale.
Everyone is biased. I'm no different.
If it's something I like, I'll value it more, I'll place more happiness points on it, so I can personally assess how much I'll enjoy this product. It might be more expensive but I feel it's worth it.
The problem comes when I'm trying to assess a product on behalf of my wife. And I now have to judge her happiness points based on the product which I have no appreciation for. There's a higher chance that I'll "not approve" the purchase and feel that there's no value.
Point I'm trying to make is... One cannot assess the value of something using the same mindset that does not value it.

This brings me back to a couple of older posts which I made
曾经拥有 I once used to have

Frugality for the Sake of Frugality
Both of which touch on the idea of doing things that you want to do with the money earned or saved.

Which brings me to another point...
Many of us know the experiment of the kids and marshmallows.
They put a kid in a room with a marshmallow on the table. They tell the kid if they don't eat it for 15 minutes, they will reward the kid with 2 marshmallows.
And legend has it that they followed up with the kids in future and found out that kids who were able to delay gratification were generally better off in their lives.

BUT... what many other folks don't know, is that there is a extension to this experiment.
Similar experiment with kids and marshmallows.
But the paper suggests that the capacity to hold out for a second marshmallow is shaped in large part by a child’s social and economic background.
This could be due to childhood experiences where their parents might have promised something but failed to keep their promises.
Or that there may not be food in the fridge tomorrow, so it's better to just eat when there's food instead of to wait.
So the kid has learnt that there is no second marshmallow.

So maybe the kid learnt that delaying gratification is NOT good for their own situation.
Cos they can't trust that there WILL BE another marshmallow.

And when I look at it from a spending perspective... well... then why are we delaying gratification for, if not to spend someday in the future?
Eventually, the idea of delaying gratification requires actually getting the gratification which was delayed.

Not to mention, sometimes, delaying gratification might not be the best course of action.
Financially it makes sense... But...
Visiting Disneyland when 12 years old is different from visiting it at 50 years old.
Driving a sports car is different at 25 vs 75.
Seeing polar ice caps now vs 20 years in the future... well there may not be any left...

Now, of course, as I said, all these are based on the situation.
This is based on Mr15HWW and what I perceive his financial situation is and current lifestyle.
There are other aspects which I will never know, like how often his wife wants stuff, etc...
And of course, I'm not saying his decision is right or wrong. Each of us will have to walk our own path.
Why I'm talking about this topic and his blog post is cos...
As I was reading his post, I realized my own reaction and reflection to the points he made differed greatly from my feelings couple of years back.
It's like... I could visualize my old self reading and agreeing with the points he made.
And yet... at the same time, when I read it, my new feelings towards spending and assessing value lead me to feel that such a purchase would be justified for a person in his financial and lifestyle situation, as the purchase would hardly make a dent in his assets or savings in the long run.
And once again this is dependent on how often such purchases are made.

And as I always say... this isn't any justification to YOLO and spend as much as one wants.
It's just... everyone has their own hobbies and toys and wants, and sometimes it's ok to indulge in them. As long as it's not all the time, and not unlimited.

Just thought I'd share.
That as life moves on, and I grow older... well... things change. Mentality changes, perception of life changes.
Same as when I realized that the truth is, no one really wants to retire early.

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The Effect Of Luck On Our Lives

24/2/2021

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Sometime ago, I posted about luck.
Are You Smart? Or Just Plain Lucky?

I chanced upon this YouTube clip which I felt was really worth the watch.
I highly recommend going through it.

He made a computer simulation whereby luck is only a 5% factor of a potential candidate.
And yet, with just a potential up to 5% bonus in "stats", the result was significant over a large population.
Within a large population, there are a lot of hardworking and smart people. The "stats" that each one is born with... well it's pretty average over a large population.

I ran a similar experiment.
For a population of 18,000, I ran some random numbers.
For the skill stat, I ran random numbers between 0 to 95.
For luck stat, I ran random numbers between 0 to 5.
With a large population size, there will be many people with high skill stats.
So the only differentiating factor is how much more luck that person is.

I cut out only the top 100 ranked to show.
On the left, I arranged in descending order based on Skill + Luck and ranked them.
The top 12 people need to have BOTH skill and luck.
On the right, I arranged in descending order ONLY BASED on SKILL.
As you can see, on the right, there are people with full 95 points of skill or 94.99 of skill. But are not in the top ranks on the left cos they just don't have the luck.
If based purely on skill, the 5th ranked candidate is actually ranked 99th.
That's not to say that skill is useless. Skill is also very important.
BUT in a large population, the differentiating factor could just be that small additional bit of luck for the right time, right place, met the right person, sent to right email with the right words to the right person, etc etc... AND you also need skill.

What's left is really how luck changes the outcome.
That doesn't mean just sit down and wait for things to happen. It also means to work hard and try to be smart and learn from others and all that.
AND to capitalize it when luck shines on you.

It's the idea of... if you want to strike the lottery, the least you could do is to buy a lottery ticket.
Unless of course you expect to be doubly lucky and FIND the winning ticket on the floor.

So the important thing is to be hardworking and smart and be willing to learn.
And when luck comes along, then recognize it and make full use of it.
Regardless, there's really no point in blaming bad luck, cos... well... there's nothing one can do about it.
We can only do what we can. And even if we are jealous of someone else's good luck... well... also nothing we can do about that as well. Their luck doesn't really affect our luck so... Life goes on.

We need to do what we can with what we have.

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Being Prepared (Part 3 - Texas)

23/2/2021

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I wrote about being prepared in previous articles
Being Prepared
Being Prepared (Part 2)

Soooo.... Unless you've not been reading or watching the news... Most people would know that a large portion of Texas were hit by power and water outage.
I think around 90% of Houston also lost power and water due to sudden freak weather.
Apparently some arctic air broke off the artic region and made its way southwards and brought cold weather along its path.

And since I am staying in Houston... well, I was hit by power and water outage for 36 hours.
Power went out first. Then after around 12 hours, water stopped.
24 hours later, power came back first, then after around 12 hours, water came back.

When power went out... I wasn't too concerned. Even when it went down to -10 degrees Celsius.
It was cold, but I could always wrap up with more clothes. I had all my France winter wear so it wasn't too big a deal.
When power went out, the main thing I lost was, heating, refrigeration, cooking ability as my apartment was fitted with an electric stove, hot water, internet. Telco reception was intermittent.
So heating wasn't too much of an issue for us.
For the first 12 hours, I left my food in the fridge using the residual cold to keep the food in good condition. After I realized my meats were getting soft, I put them in plastic bags and left them on the balcony. The temperature outside was cold enough to keep my food in good condition.
I bought a portable canister stove for hurricane preparation. So I still had cooking ability.
The loss of hot water was a bit troublesome cos we couldn't take warm showers, and with the kind of temperatures, we weren't going to take cold showers.
The loss of internet and reception wasn't too much of an issue. My wife couldn't work, but besides that, it was just boring.
The thing is, we had faith that eventually, in a couple of days, things would be fixed.
And I had enough resources to last me a couple of weeks anyway.

When water ran out, it was a bit more troublesome. Cos we couldn't wash our cooking or eating utensils, or flush the toilet regularly.
I had bottled water ready, cos... well it's Texas, we always need to be ready. Hurricanes and floods happen yearly, so it's always necessary to be ready.
I also had a big tub of water filled up as we heard some areas were starting to lose water before us.
So we had drinking water, and also some excess water for washing or flushing sparingly.

One thing that I didn't read in Singapore media was that the road were all frozen up. The media talked about power and water outages. I don't think I read that... well the roads were frozen. Means we can't drive safely. It's not snow. It's ice. So vehicles can't steer, cos there's no friction. Vehicles can't brake, they just slip and slide.
So things were pretty tough cos some people were stuck on the road when the cold came, or they couldn't drive out for supplies, or emergency teams couldn't go and help people, etc... It's not only the cold and power and water outages that was the problem.

Overall, the whole experience wasn't too big an issue for us.
The worst thing was that our hair got really oily after 2 days without a bath and that was gross.
Besides that, we were pretty warm, had enough food and water.

HOWEVER...
Since I had nothing to do, I was reflecting a lot during those 2 days.
There's a lot of difference between reflecting when there's internet and other distractions.
Versus thinking about life when there's really nothing.
We really take for granted these simple things like power and ready clean water.
And I thought back about history...
We watch so many shows about kings like... Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones, and other medieval shows.
People actually spend their lives fighting against the elements. They fight against the cold, floods, wind, rain, fire, etc. That's what their lives are about. Surviving in a harsh environment.
There's no electric to power their heating, there's no ready food and water.
Before winter, they need to prepare, food, water, firewood, etc.
In the shows, they only show the main characters who are usually the kings or leaders. They don't need to do all these menial tasks.
But that's what life was about. Surviving harsh environments.
People don't turn on a tap for warm clean water. People don't go to NTUC at anytime of the day to pick out food.
When it's cold... like what I was experiencing, I don't want to waste energy by going out into the cold and trying to find food or resources. That needs to be done BEFORE the cold hits.

Mankind has been improving their lives to get out of this problem.
To get themselves more secure.
They domesticated animals so they didn't need to hunt.
Farmed so that they don't need to forage.
Man has been trying to remove uncertainty from their lives.
And as things progressed, they had steam power. Which is using the power of steam.
Then after that they had electric power.
And then I also realized... Man has already mostly achieved what they wanted to achieve.
They have removed a bulk of the uncertainty of life. Survival became a non-issue.
We have power, water, gas, 99% of the time.
We have almost any kind of food.
We now have so much time to enjoy life. BUT yet... so many people cannot do so. There are more things to achieve... HUH? Doesn't make sense.
As I lay bundled up in the cold on my bed with oily hair, all I wanted was a warm shower, warm food. I really didn't care about any other material stuff.

In truth, most of us already live like the kings of old.
We have any kind of meat on demand, spices which used to be super expensive, we have heat and water on demand. Internet, TV, entertainment on demand.
But yet it is not enough...
I digress...

Be prepared... It's actually quite easy.
As I think back on the past few days, I realized that frozen food isn't optimal, cos it thaws out and I could end up with bad food if the weather wasn't suitable to keep it well.
Canned food is better. So I'm planning to stock up a bit more canned food. I had eaten up most of my stocks which I had bought when staying indoors during the onset of COVID. Looks like I need to stock up a bit more again.
Bottled water is necessary. Never know when I'll need it. I usually don't drink bottled water. I just use tap water. But it's important to keep a couple of cartons of bottled water just in case water runs dry, or if tap water gets contaminated. Houston was on boil water notice for a couple of days, cos there was no water in the pipes so germs could grow in the pipes, and even when water came on, we needed to boil water before consuming it.
A portable gas stove is also important. With enough fuel to last for a couple of weeks. This ensured that we would have a warm meal in trying times. I'll be bringing this portable stove back to SG. I never realized how important it is. Sure we take gas for granted in SG. But really... never know.

The thing is, we live in a very protected environment in SG.
We don't really need to think about being prepared.
After staying in US and COVID.
I feel, it's very important to be prepared. Even in SG. Cos... we never know when we might need it.
We don't want to be unprepared when we need things. There would be a mad rush when people suddenly want to buy the products, like face masks just a year ago.
Food, water, cooking ability, canned food, back up battery power...
And... CASH... we don't realize this, we think credit cards will work...
Well, they didn't work when the power went out in Texas. Some supermarkets were nice enough to give away the food.

4 days after we got back power and water... life has pretty much returned to normal.
Supermarket shelves were empty and are slowly filling up again. For most people life is slowly getting back to normal.
It doesn't seem like too big a deal for those prepared.
And yet, for some, these few days have resulted in their lives never being the same again. People lost loved ones during just these fateful few days. It's quite sad. It doesn't take a lot of money to be prepared. And yet, it is so important.

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