Hello 2026, Goodbye 2025

 Wow 2025, what a fantastic year you’ve been.

It didn’t look it at the start but boy did we end with a power upshot, with further momentum to come going into 2026!

Here’s a quick look back on 2025 for me.

January was off the back of a wonderful and affordable Korea trip. It made me fall in love with Kore finally. Attended the girl’s orientation in secondary school, absolutely proud of her stellar achievement, felt like she scored full marks for her PSLE tbh. She’s quite set for life, is my hope. Actually had a short trip to KL for work, but any travel is good for me.

Feb was CNY, nothing super significant. Joker Xue concert at the National Stadium. Oh, financially we paid off our mortgage. Now that was fucking significant. 46yr old with no housing loan. What a baller!

March I visited Copenhagen for work. Was fun and I always love travelling out of Asia.

April 7th was a day of infamy at work, when we had a mega P1 incident, caused by Trump’s tariff announcement. There was the JPM Corporate Challenge. Then I brought the kids to Penang, it was so much fun!

May we went day camping on Sentosa Island. Then two amazing nights of Lady Gage concert for me. Also brought the kids to catch The Phantom Of The Opera.

June we went to Perth. It was so fun. Great break from the challenges and business at work. We also bought our new BYD Atto 3. Was due for delivery only in September because it was the hottest selling car.

July we celebrated many birthdays. Did a staycation at W Hotel on Sentosa Island. It was the best durian season too. I ran the Railway Corridor which was slightly more than a half marathon, on my birthday!

There wasn’t much going on in August. A DHS reunion. Some key changes at work, new org chains etc. oh we did a 3D2N getaway to JB right across the causeway.

September we took delivery of the new car. It’s a great drive. Nothing much else. Lots of work.

October was the busiest month for work I suppose, because nothing much else happened,

Nov it started getting better. Started with a Copenhagen trip again where we dipped in 10°C sea pool. Had a colleague’s son who was a finalist on Masterchef Denmark cook dinner for us. Then partied the night away in Denmark’s J Day, the launch of Christmas beer. Also I caught Singapore beating HK to qualify for the Asian Cup first time ever on merit!

Dec was a trip to HCM with the son to experience more about the Vietnam War. Then the legendary Paris, Tromso, Rovaniemi mega holiday where we were so lucky we saw the northern lights multiple times. Also stayed in a $4K/night Finnish igloo glass cabin for two nights. Some of the most magical moments happened in the middle of the frozen lake at -20°C.

Health was relatively good all year. Have made a conscious decision to cut down my alcohol intake. Could’ve exercised more though.

Family relationships were great. Again need to spend more time with my aging parents. Kids are getting more independent now, can talk back some more.

Personal finances weren’t the best at the start and then April Trump fucked me over for a bit, but by golly the stars seem to be aligning around mid Q4 and it looks to be even better into the new year.

Work was great. Very busy but I spent the whole year in a role that I was in my element. The foundations are set and this year is the year I get to outperform. Cautiously super optimistic about job satisfaction, target outperformance and earnings at work in 2026.

As with traditional, here were last year’s reviews.

And here were my 2025 resolutions.

Below are my 2025 resolutions review.

1) Average 10K Step Per Day Whole Year FAIL

I actually managed to average >10K steps per day for the month of December. Alas this was quite difficult to achieve. Maybe I shall attempt it against this year. In all I achieved an average of 8,387 steps a day in 2025.

2) Lose 3kg (from 85kg) FAIL

I start 2026 at 87kg. Nuff said.

3) Earn 100K From Investments PASS

‘‘Twas a great year for me on the investing front. Down from paying off the mortgage, some key bets took me back to a level as though I still had that mortgage money. Kudos to DRO, EOS and UNH. Two of which I carry into the new year.

4) Buy An EV PASS

You know the initial resolution was to ‘buy a Tesla’? Then Silly Elon Musk did things that didn’t align with my own thoughts so why should I give him my money? He’s already too rich as is. We ended up getting a BYD Atto 3 and I cannot be happier with it. It’s been a great and proud experience so far.

5) Drink Less Alcohol (max 5 pints per week) FAIL

I feel like I’m coming closer and closer to this goal every year. Could 2026 be the year that I finally go sober?

———

Ok so another year with 2/5 Passes.

Some were close, and I would get closer based on my resolve this year. Others might be unattainable so I have to tweak a little.

Here’s to an even stronger 2026 let’s go!

HUAT AH!!!