TJJ Learning Journal | Dividend Investing for FIRE

"DCA into the S&P500 and forget about it". This advice can be found everywhere, even on TikTok, Youtube, Reddit and many other forums. It’s not bad advice. The S&P 500 has minted millionaires. It’s diversified, consistent, and backed by decades of historical gains. But here's the thing, I stopped following it . I am not trying to beat the market or chase meme stocks. I simply walked away because what's optimal based on historical patterns is not always livable in real life. Your goals, geography and peace of mind may not always align with the all-American strategy.  The S&P500 Keeps Me Up At Night Investing is a super long-term project to me, and I want to build it on really solid grounds. Right now, the S&P500 looks unstable to me for a few key reasons. Valuations : Sky high valuations, with the index having an average P/E of ~28  well above its historical average of 19. At the price you are paying, it would take the companies 28 years to even earn t...

Many financial news sites and social medias say one thing about S-REITs. High interest rates have been crushing their profits and share prices. Price has been on a long downtrend since 2020, and many investors ran for the exits calling S-REITs uninvestible. Some people see risk but I see a once-in-a-few-years opportunity. What is an S-REIT? Singapore Real Estate Investment Trusts listed on the SGX provide investors with exposure to income-producing real estate, without the complexities of direct property ownership. Each REIT owns and manages their portfolio of real estate assets, and buying units of the REIT gives us a stake in this portfolio. Unitholders are like landlords collecting rental income without the headache of maintenance, finding tenants and other worries.  REITs have been in a long bear market since 2020 caused by higher interest rates affecting the profitability of real estate investments. This has caused some people to shun REITs as an asset class, citing the l...