Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Why I Started This Blog And What Will Happen Going Forward?

Looking back at my first post on SG Young Investment back in 2013, I was only 25 years old back then. How time flies, this is my 6th year of blogging and I'll be turning 31 this year. Till now, when I meet new people, often I'll be asked the question: "Why did I start blogging?" The answer was simple, because I was inspired by other financial blogs out there and wanted to contribute towards financial education too.

As time goes by and as life gets busier and also life changes along the way, it gets harder to blog as frequently as before with the limited time I have. As I document down my journey towards financial freedom, I also start to realise how hard it was. This is the reality of life because it is not as smooth sailing as what we would want it to be. Many ideas were written and said before but implementing it and seeing it through is another thing altogether. Many long time bloggers are not writing as frequently too and some have even taken a break indefinitely. They are all good people whom I've known for the past few years.

Blogging has enabled me to reach out to more people than I could have ever imagined. It has been an eventful 6 years where I have managed to meet many different people in the finance community. The community has evolved and the outreach is far wider now which attracts a lot of young people who are interested to manage their finances well with finance websites or groups such as Seedly, Dr Wealth, DollarsAndSense etc. They are operating full time and have much more capacity to outreach to more people as compared to part time bloggers like me who only write in their free time. We are all friends in this community.

If I look back at how many posts I have actually posted since SG Young Investment started, it stands at 483 currently. I would have covered all aspects of financial planning including personal finance, investments, housing, macroeconomics, insurance and so on. It becomes harder and harder to write new stuff and I sometimes feel I sound like a broken recorder repeating myself over and over again. Sometimes I sit in front of my computer and find that I have nothing to write or if I have ideas to write, I feel that I have not enough time to really sit down and write like how I do before. I have more important things to do in my life such as clearing my work, planning for wedding and most important resting and leisure as work is tiring enough for the week.

I have significantly reduced the amount of times I post articles for the past 1 year and I would think this would be the case going forward too. I do not think I know a lot in terms of investing and my philosophy for investing is very simple, to make it as fuss free as possible. Throughout the years, I've built up a rather passive portfolio which I don't really need to monitor at all and it still continues growing. It becomes really boring and there is nothing much to write about on investments when a portfolio is like that. I just do the same old thing over and over again and make sure I don't make stupid mistakes which I did just recently on an investment in Hyflux which I most likely have to write off . Still, life goes on and the portfolio will continue itself just that I have to remind myself to make it boring and not look for shortcuts and become greedy again.

I thank all readers who have supported me and many of you have been really kind to leave encouraging comments and even emails to me to say how my blog has inspired you. While in blogging there will always be negative comments too, I really appreciate the people who have encouraged me to continue writing. I may be blogging lesser but I will still continue to write.

Chinese new year is coming in just 1 week's time. Here's wishing everyone Gong Xi Fa Cai and happy CNY in advance!


12 comments:

  1. Hi SGYI

    Your post resonates with me. There are many occasions I can find nothing interesting to write about, and times whereby there are too much things to figure out. There are also times I thought of taking a hiatus to settle personal matters.

    I learnt a lot from your posts and enjoyed them. Hope you will continue your streak and happy CNY!

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    Replies
    1. Hi INTJ,

      Its true. Sometimes too many things going on in life that its hard to figure out. I'll continue to write when I really have inspiration for some good posts.

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  2. Look like casual blogging are for retirees. Lol!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Uncle CW,

      Looks like you're enjoying your retiree life. Glad to have met you back in our ex company. Haha

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    2. I went back to lim kopi at canteen many times. Just last week; I went down to lim kopi after receiving SMS that a bunch of guys happened to be there for afternoon tea break.

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    3. Wow i haven't been back for 2 years alr. Kinda miss that place now having worked there for 6 years.

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  3. A blog exists so that we can write anytime we want! We are not full-time bloggers anyway, so there is no commitment. I always think back on the good times, the fun of writing, making friends along the way etc. I will continue to enjoy seeing new blog posts from you, even if they are infrequent!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kevin,

      I like this attitude of yours. Indeed there are good times especially the friends we made along the way. Glad to have met all the others including you. Haven't see you for awhile now. Hope to catch up soon!

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  4. It always feels great to see your posts. You writings make a very nice read. I can keep reading them anytime. Keep it up!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Vineeta,

      Thanks for your kind words. Will try to write more again.

      Delete
  5. I tend to agree many financial bloggers who wrote frequently has wrote lesser now. As my work gets busier and my company gets more demanding nowadays, I also have less time and energy to write after work.
    Nevertheless, I do hope you write more as I enjoy reading your posts!

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    Replies
    1. Hi sweet retirement,

      Will try to write more! Happy CNY ahead!

      Delete