Passive income from REITs, CPF, and equity index funds covered 120% of family expenses. That had …
T=0: The Decision
SGD $310k per year. 18 years in financial services. Portfolio large enough — I had run the numbers six times in different assumptions. My direct manager was the most toxic professional I had encountered in two decades and the company's response to his behaviour was to promote him.
Passive income from REITs, CPF, and equity index funds covered 120% of family expenses. That had been true for 8 months and I had not acted on it because I did not know who I was without the job. My wife asked me at 6am on a Tuesday if I was happy. I resigned the following Monday.
A year from now, still certain it was right.
6 Months Out
The portfolio is performing well — passive income at 127% of family expenses. The financial thesis was correct. The identity thesis was harder: I introduced myself as "between roles" for the first three months because "retired" felt both wrong and vaguely shameful.
“Prepare for the identity adjustment as seriously as the financial one. The number is the easier problem. Knowing who you are when work does not define you is the harder one.”