I happen to chance upon this reddit post from years ago https://www.reddit.com/r/fiaustralia/comments/r04inf/how_money_moustache_retired_in_10_years/ which lead me to actually read the original MMM post which he described his 10 year journey to “retirement”.
| Year | MMM | SG average |
| 1997 | US$41K (approx S$60k) salary. | S$20k if hired. |
| 1998 | US$57K (approx S$96k) salary. | No pay increment |
| Year | MMM | SG average |
| 1999/ 2000 | US$77K (approx S$128.8k) salary. | S$20K – S$24k |
| Year | MMM | SG average |
| 2001 | US$83K (approx S$143k) salary. | S$25K |
| Year | MMM | SG average |
| 2002 | US$100K (approx S$179k) salary. | $25K+ Junior $48K Mgr |
What Happened Next?
| Year 10 | MMM | SG |
| 2007 | Retired with NW US$800k (approx $1.2m) | Approx $72k-$85 Mgr |
I don’t think a comparison is neccessary. At year 10, it’s the first time a Singaporean individual can start to consider buying a home either HDB or Condo. Dual income households with kids at those levels are comfortable and afford holidays and condos. But would anyone do it, really? 2008 was the financial crisis. Job and money was stressful and portfolios fell like hair from chemotherapy.
He called himself retired but he pivoted to be an entreprenuer
He started a real estate business and underplayed how much income it brought in. This was known as flipping. You develop homes and sell them for a tidy sum. I have heard of those who lost money in this risky business but not in SG. His blog was another business/work which earned him lots – US$400k a year. What on earth to do with all this money? Took a risk and started a commercial enterprise.
Retired but Not Really FI bloggers
The dream of passive income is a huge selling point – so much so that FI influencers fudge a bit. “I’m not really working if I’m not in a corporate job. I’m not really working if I enjoy my work.”
Even a non influencer – the creator of stocks.cafe – is not beyond this dream selling. In an interview, he said his passive income was 100k to 200k for a DINK household. That included his stocks.cafe business, his gym business in Japan. On top of his REITs and Bank heavy portfolio for dividends, he does options. How on earth is that passive income? Has the meaning of passive income changed so much? My idea of passive income is literally 不劳而获. Their idea of passive income is literally going out and earning more money but pretending they are not working.
Retirement being optional = Work
I personally think this movement has reached its peak. Once everyone realises that retirement age is 65 for a reason this drive to urgently save and buy ETFs will slow down. At 65, nobody will hire you for work anymore. Not working is no longer optional. When the demand drops off a cliff, there is no choice but to deal with the anxiety of being nothing/having no income/having health issues by cueing in the bragging/complainy aunty/uncle persona. It forces a person to come to terms with living not happiness but actual business of living.
Non Sequitor
When trying to recall 2002, I remembered some time ago I was published in QLRS and decided to run the list of contributors in gemini to find people to read. It’s quite hard to find bloggers now. I found Jemma Wei who writes a chatty substack and started it rather recently in Sept 2026. She is a published writer and has never ever had a bad day. https://jemmawei.substack.com/archive