Portfolio with the year ending 2019

Happy 2020, everyone!

2019 had been good year for US investors!
I have been pretty much missing in action in 2019. A post to end the year may be the least I can do.

Here are some updates to life. 

Finances:
Finally surpassed the 100k mark. (including investments)
The savings growth shall remain slow being in the rat race.

Investments:
Portfolio has been quite inactive this year mainly due to fear of high valuations, which also caused me to miss several good opportunities. Well, it happens.

However, I was extremely lucky to get out of Costa Group listed in ASX (buying some at $5.70, averaging down at $4.90 before escaping and selling all at $5+ in April’19). In June’19, it shares traded down to the $3.45 lows. It ended the year at only $2.47. Imagine the pain if I am still holding this!

Nothing else is interesting in terms of monthly transactions. However, I did missed another multi-bagger stock yet again. No point beating myself up but take this as fate.

I have been aiming to let go of Singtel to release the bulk of my portfolio to maneuver around, be it into other companies or loading up on cash levels. This too, will increase my confidence to invest into 1-2 new counters.

Overall, my portfolio has realized around 11% gain in 2019, beating STI’s return of 8% but greatly lacking behind S&P’s return of 31%. Can't complain much with less trades made this year. :)

Job:
I am working in an industry I do not yearn for and believed this is a very common issue in the society. I no longer feel pride working. Yet, it is not easy to switch careers during such cautious times. Job hopping is unhealthy as well, especially getting into jobs you may dislike for a higher paycheck. Many fresh graduates are currently struggling to find permanent jobs out there and having one is really something to cherish.

And how do I feel about my job security?

Let’s be realistic. Unless you work in government careers, in a niche market or are highly skilled in IT skills, job security should be pretty much non-existent given the competitiveness these days.
Making it worse, it is hard to find relevant skills to upgrade on - which employers will take into consideration seriously in their hiring decisions.

So what will you do when you get another $500 skills future credits?

Health:
Physical health has been fine doing gym, sports and jogging on a weekly basis. This too helped kept me sane, giving me temporary positive vibes.

Overthinking and over-worrying does take a toll on our mental alertness, fatigue level and affect our daily motivations. Being once poor, it seems that we are engineered to relate everything to monetary consequences. It is both a good and bad thing. It is nice to think ahead but it makes it hard for us to freely enjoy the things we do due to the guilt of spending. Funny enough, we do feel joy keeping more cash on hand. These are just some individual lifestyle choices I guess.


Ending the post, I hope to share more transaction updates in this new year to come~