I would think if you really hate the nature of your job, should you not look for another job? apalagi when you can already FIRE...

If the pay is good enough and the camaraderie with your colleagues and boss overweights the negativity of your job, then you can consider staying. If not, FIRE or not, you should actively look for opportunities elsewhere.
I don't think age makes much of a diff.

robbing the poor... hahaha...

STR and BKM and etc ... looks like many people are robbers now... what a great logic of a person that is pro brain. lol

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Aug 31 2025, 09:11 PM

twist... jangan tak twist... like how you forgot to declare tax properly rite? lol


Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) adalah satu program bantuan tunai langsung yang diperkenalkan oleh kerajaan Malaysia bagi membantu golongan berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana (B40 dan M40) meringankan beban kos sara hidup mereka. Program ini telah digantikan dengan Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR), yang merupakan kesinambungan BKM. Anda boleh menyemak maklumat lanjut mengenai STR di laman web Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (LHDN) di bantuantunai.hasil.gov.my.

ok lar... shall ignore your pestering and taunting already. have fun being silly... !

Actually, to some biz owners... you are the best.... still working on low paying jobs while your passive income is raking in 3X of your active income...
that's why the need by some to put you down... if you really think about it...

in a capitalist world, you are being inefficient in generating income for yourself... but apparently certain characters here are envious that you are not paying taxes on your passive income on options trading....
(i wonder if rentals should be paid taxes or not).

I'll go back to checking the HK market to lock in the gains while waiting for the older forumers here spew jealousy rants. should be fun reading later

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 1 2025, 10:31 AM

bros... allow me to ask... so that my understanding is same same book...

Do you guys mean:
A) div = 2 x monthly basic (today's 30++ age) x 12....
so for example, if today's basic is 5K, that is div = 60K per year.
or
B) div = 2 x future basic at retirement/trigger (pretend is 30K) x 12 = 720K per year.

very different woh....


the traditional advice is passive income can cover yearly expenses is pass for normal FIRE... can cover 2x gross salary is squarely Fat FIRE liao... haha...

allow me to provide a sampling point... and some comfort... although I know you don't need it as you already know...

if doing what you are doing with the option strategy, and target moderate to conservative versions, that's very safe 3% to 12% moderate risk extra "income".... and by the time you retire, it is basically about mult x 1 million of your portfolio you deploy.
even at 3% pa, and you deploy 5 million, that's extra 150K rm per year... nice boost in addition to your div.

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 2 2025, 11:29 PM

Agree, you don’t need every kind of insurance, but medical is the one I would really really recommend. Briefly, my view:

a) Life insurance – not necessary long term. Just use term life until you’re financially independent or no longer have dependents.
b) Critical illness / accident – not essential... can skip.
c) Medical insurance – this one’s important. Keep it at least until you’re “rich enough.” While working toward FIRE, you should definitely have it.
d) Others (house, car, professional liability, etc.) – just follow the law or requirements.

Like all tools, a medical card has its place in FIRE: depends on how you view it. Already suggested that a RM1 million pot can substitute for medical insurance. Maybe so, but if you don’t have that yet, you’re effectively not hedged.

That’s why, while building your pot, it makes sense to hold a reasonable medical card to cover the risk. At minimum, keep it until you actually reach FIRE. To be conservative, I’d say hold it until Chubby FIRE. At Fat FIRE, it becomes optional, though personally I still keep it. The same logic applies to family members.

Why? Because if you’re unlucky (an accident, sudden illness-think COVID, and such), the sudden medical bill can wipe out a big chunk of your retirement pot in progress. And at the same time, you’re unable to earn income... double whammy.

Those in active employment may think they’re safe. But don’t get sick for too long: you may lose your job. I’ve seen it happen to a few of ex-colleagues, and it’s not pretty.

Lastly, yes, Malaysia has kkm 1rm healthcare. That’s a safety net, but it should be the last last resort.

I do like the phrase "A Million Dollar per capita Family"...

and retired by 39 years old, to pick up some other money making venture...

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 5 2025, 05:31 PM

Finally, mod has spoken.... as much as I like reading about a variety of topics

Be mindful that each of us is gifted, hopefully on average, about 80 to 90 years of life: I like to picture them as 90 large diamonds. Treasure and spend them wisely.

And remember: not all diamonds are equal. The ones in the middle shine the brightest and are the most precious.

💎💎💎

Since a while ago, I've always been of the opinion that in the context of retirement in Malaysia, the swr is a higher number than 4%. Cos our risk free rate is a higher number.

Plus we have some unique vehicles like asm or epf that seems to defy traditional law of physics. Lol.

Plus we have "low" inflation for basic needs.

But all these are just based on personal reasoning. Not research based.

50X? that is really really conservative.... as it is just 2% wr...

i guess if one is really young... this can be a good justification for such conservative spending.... and can gradually increase one's wr as one ages.

Well… I also lean towards both your views; a lower SWR than 4% when I first FIRE’d.

Now, if I reset my spending budget to today’s portfolio value and apply a 4% SWR, my budget would jump by 150%.
That either means I could have afforded a higher SWR earlier… or that I can now reset to an even higher SWR, say 5% or 6%.

If set SWR to 2%, then really can throw bulk into EPF and chill.... EPF min div is 2.5% already...

Haha… I know that’s not how SWR is supposed to be used.
Still, I think you get the point I was making. If spending budget drifts too far from what an “optimal” SWR should be as time goes by, then something isn’t set quite right. If that wasn’t pre-planned, then it’s a signal to adjust and relook.
(of course, one can take it that the current path of asset prices movement so happen to be a lucky positive one and just hang on without the need to adjust anything)

In my case, spending as a % of portfolio has also dropped a lot... though not as much as yours, unfortunately… haha. I rationalize it by telling myself I’m still relatively young, even though already FIRE’d, so it’s okay.

But in your case, a 0.75% SWR is insanely good. From one angle, it basically means there’s virtually no chance of ever depleting your wealth. Even if all you did was park it in EPF earning 6%, your balance would still compound at ~5.25% a year… forever.
And the 0.75% budget is just growing at inflation rate of official 3%.....

Which leads to the obvious question: did you actually intend to underspend by that much or just how things turned out? your age? way below 50 or above?

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 9 2025, 11:04 PM

understand... the age part is good enough reason to have a low swr... its up to each what's a comfortable number to set despite the normal 4% advice (usually minus a bit for buffer)... although i think as one ages, that swr can be up'ed.

one thing for sure... I need my aircon... that itself is like 40 sen every hour... lol

As long as you’re aware of the outcome — and this is what you planned or hoped for — then all is good. Your plan is to leave behind a very large pot…

But for others, even a 4% SWR may not feel adequate, so they end up worrying endlessly about their retirement.
In reality though, for Malaysia’s context, 4% could actually be too conservative.
After all, the “4% rule” came from research in the 1990s, based on U.S.-centric data.
It may not translate perfectly here. It could overshoot or undershoot, though most people lean toward thinking it undershoots.

It should be the retirement pot.... so I take it as everything that one plan to use or spend... all investments and savings/cash should be included, including gold and crypto.
Even life insurance you plan to surrender (for the value) should be included.

EPF 7%... never say never! since MAG7 has rebounded...

the 7%.... is that your SWR or just your aim of div of 7%?

the withdrawal rate is what you want to spend for the year.... if not mistaken, this is why ramjade choose to look at "free cashflow", ie clean div after tax, into consideration in setting his SWR.

so, if you pick SWR of 4%, then you just need to get cash of 4% per year for your spending. say if div on your pot is already 3% on average, you need to sell 1% of your holdings... the 1% is the headache and is basically "drawdown of your principal"... many people don't like this.
if you pick swr of 7%.... then yeah, sell 4% of your pot.

SWR should really be based on the 200K, since that’s your target spending and ultimate goal. By definition, the 4% rule assumes that year in, year out, you withdraw 4% inflation adjusted to spend. That’s the “classic” FIRE model.

But if, like me, your budget is flexible, then you can build in a minimum spending budget. In years when markets underperform, you’re willing to scale down to that level. In effect, that’s like running with a lower SWR.


Think of it as having two FIRE modes:
Lean FIRE : your absolute minimum spending.
Normal/Chubby FIRE : your preferred lifestyle at the standard 4% rule.


Working backwards:
200K spending at 4% : you need a 5M pot (your true FIRE goal).
100K spending at 4% : you only need 2.5M (your Lean FIRE threshold).

So as you accumulate, your first milestone is 2.5M — once you hit that, you know Lean FIRE is possible. Keep going, and when you breach 5M, that’s when you’ve unlocked real freedom. That’s the mindset.

Even in retirement, you’re not locked in. Can mix in active or passive income, or just oscillate between Lean and Chubby FIRE modes as needed.
(personally, I am wondering if i should now consider oscillating between Chubby FIRE and Obese FIRE... )

This post has been edited by Wedchar2912: Sep 10 2025, 03:35 PM