The Great Resignation Wave: 2 Singapore Financial Bloggers who just recently left their jobs and here’s a look at their net worth and passive income

The Great Resignation Wave

In the working world, trends such as work-from-home (WFH) and The Great Resignation have become the focal point for discussion (and disagreement) for many companies and their workers.

In Singapore, one recent headline that caught employers’ attention was “The Great Resignation Wave”. This trend is not unique to Singapore. US had already reported peak resignations starting from April 2021 to September 2021, resulting in a record 10.9 million job openings at the end of the period.

A possible cause for the high number of resignations in SIngapore could be fuelled by pent-up frustrations over the 2 years long COVID-19 situation. Employees felt unmotivated and were kept under prolonged anxiety.

On the other hand, employers had to struggle with managing cost and profit, while trying to keep jobs intact.

There is no lack of articles on the “R” word:

1 in 5 Singaporeans quitting job expects 6-year retirement delay: Prudential survey (read here)

Commentary: Why many workers are deciding to step off the corporate grind in 2022 (read here)

More than just the paycheck: Many S’poreans are quitting in 2022, what would change their minds? (read here)

Close to half of office workers surveyed in Singapore consider quitting their jobs in the next 6 months (read here)

It’s the Great Resignation: Before you quit your job, here’s what you need to know, according to experts (read here)

The Great Resignation: Has the global trend reached Singapore? (read here)

Over half of S’pore workers would consider quitting if made to return to workplace full-time (read here)

2022 will see a “Great Resignation”: What are S’pore firms doing to retain their employees? (read here)

The Great Resignation: How the global phenomenon is hitting Singapore’s SMEs hard (read here)

Great Resignation: Why Is Everyone Quitting? (read here)

The Great Resignation is coming for Singapore’s C-Suite (read here)

Would The Great Resignation Become The Great Retrenchment? (read here)

Singapore Financial Bloggers who just resigned, and here’s a look at their net worth and passive income.

Well, we can go into the details on why so many in Singapore are considering quitting their jobs, but this post is not about that.

I am sure, there are many things to consider when one is contemplating resigning. Among them, the key consideration, no doubt is one’s own financial situation. Unless one has no financial worries (eg. rich parents willing to support the lifestyle).

Here is a sneak peek into the net worth and passive incomes of these financial bloggers who recently left their job. I reckon they probably have the financial resources to stay ‘retired’, or at least explore what they really want to do.

They are very transparent in sharing this information.

Trust that they have made all the right financial moves before quitting. Well, if you are going to quit, you might as well have the ‘F*** You Money’ ready, right?

6 Money Moves To Financially Prepare for Quitting Your Job (read here).

Fuck You Money: Why You Need It And Where To Get It (2022) (read here).

To quote the article above: “F*** you money” is the amount of financial resources required for the average person to say “F*** you” to their employer but still be able to meet their financial commitments over the long term.”

Blogger from singvestor.com

I quit my job – monthly update July 2022 (read here)

Technically, he is not quitting for good.

In July he left his job, after 14 years with the same company to do something new and risky

His posting to Europe has come to an end and he has decided to join a startup company in Europe. He stated that he will earn less than 20% of his Singaporean salary each month and instead will get equity in the firm. High risk – high reward.

To quote him in his 29 Jan 2022 post:

“By the end of 2021 I finally reached a major milestone: lean financial independence.

What is lean financial independence?

Lean Financial independence is often defined around having USD 600,000 invested, which would allow for a passive income of USD 2,000 each month when withdrawing 4% of the portfolio each year. USD 2,000 a month is not much, but definitely survivable in many nice places in Europe, including the cheaper parts of Southern Spain etc.

Having some basic income secured for life feels very good and calming.”

Portfolio size:

In July his portfolio increased from SGD 820,557 to SGD 830,173.

His hypothetical income (on 8 July 2022, read here) at 4% WR was SGD 2,735.

Blogger from HAPPY REIT INVESTOR

So who is this blogger? Well, you can read his self introduction here.

He is 40 years old this year and is a Singaporean. He recently decided to have a career break (as of July 2022) to spend more time with his kids (2 of them, below 5 years old) and also to be a better husband, a better son and to refocus his life/career. His family has always been very financially frugal and thus the decision can be made to go from a dual income family to a single income family. This is with the blessing from his wife. In fact, she was the one who decided for him that he should quit.

HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED IN ORDER TO “RETIRE” IN SINGAPORE (read here)

EXPENSES FOR JULY 2022 (read here)

He handed in his resignation letter in April 2022 and he left the corporate world (off-shore O&G construction sector) around early July 2022. With a monthly passive income of around SGD $5000, and a target expenditure of $3000 to $3500.

Total net worth as of 15 July 2022 (read here), see below.

The financial products percentage is approx. 64.07% of his total net worth, which will be around SGD $1,289,539.11.

To quote (read here): “I will be taking a career break (or a career suicide as some may say) so that I can be in Singapore all the time. My work requires me to travel very often, unfortunately, due to family reasons, I can’t do that anymore. For now, I will spend more time with kids and also take the time out to recalibrate and refocus my life and career. On the bright side, I realised if I can cap my monthly spending to around 4000 per month and barring any black swan event, I can technically “retire”.”

Notable mentions:

Blogger (Kevin) from the blog Turtle Invest.

To quote Kevin: “To many of these travellers with whom I’ve had fleeting interactions with, I’m eternally thankful to them for giving me the impetus to try and live my life with no regrets – just like how many of them are actively doing the best they can, with what they have got, regardless of how old they might be.”

It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This (I Quit My Job And Worked Part-time At A Hostel) (read here)

Blogger from the blog Singaporean talks money.

She left her job sometime in Aug 2021.

I Quit my Job! | The Great Resignation (read here)

Resigning from your job – Should you quit when you can’t take it? Or stay on for the pay? (read here)

My mum resigned from her job, whats gonna happen next? (read here)

She is currently employed.

To quote her in her 25 June 2022 post: “Anyhow, I will just be working from home and making sure that I test negative before going out and feeling better is my priority. It really is becoming endemic but a lot of extra expenses, medicines for the symptoms like fever, sore throat, cough and even having to buy the ART kits for routine testing. All these does add up but ultimately, this has made me realised that HEALTH IS WEALTH!”

Blogger from the blog Simple Budget, Simple Life.

He tendered in June 2021.

I’ve resigned (read here)

He is currently employed. To quote from this post dated 5 July 2022:

“It’s all over the news that layoffs are happening, even in Singapore. While my company has yet to be affected, I can’t help but be worried.

I’d be hitting my one year mark in the company soon. It seems like I will never be happy working anywhere. Firstly, we are forced to return to office – as a social hermit, I dread this. Secondly, I feel that my work is getting monotonous and I’m not learning much. While I can pass time, the issue is I’m shortchanging myself in career growth. I’m not looking for upward movement or climb the career ladder, but I want to be skilled enough to move laterally. It is sad that I’m only in my early 30s and feel uncompetitive in todays’ market; I am already starting to feel that I could be expensive to hire and getting too old for some companies.”

To quote (as per his 5 July 2022 post):

“It’s mid 2022. I set a goal last year to hit $850k net worth end of this year. This will be the first time I fail to hit my goal. I don’t even think I can hit $700k end this year. As of end Jun, I am at ~$650k net worth. Worse than my Dec 2021 net worth of $690k. Can only pray for miracles to hit my $850k net worth.”

Dave and Kate from the blog Minimalist in the City.

The couple, together with their four-year-old daughter Ally and baby boy Ashton, they are a family of 4 currently staying in the sunny island of Singapore.

In 2022, Dave was made redundant – due to challenges in the business, partially due to Covid-19.

Subsequently, they executed their mid-career switch in a staggered manner, so that they will not lose all their income at the same time. Dave made the first move transiting to become a self-employed financial coach, striving to help sandwich-class families who might be facing the same financial dilemma as them, as well as to educate them about financial literacy. At the same time, it also allowed him more time to continue blogging.

Kate also then successfully did a career pivot about half a year later, into an area that she is passionate in and a role that would generate considerable social impact.

Minimalist in the City – How we executed our “Great Resignation” (read here)

Seedly Community member, Sera

Technically not a blogger. Seedly Community member, Sera left her first full-time job during COVID-19 (2021) without having another job lined up for her.

Here’s Why I Resigned During COVID-19 Without Securing a new job (read here)

Faith, a junior doctor who loves travelling, writing, art and all things film-related, from the blog Chasing Faith and Love.

Since 2016, she has written extensively about her life as a medical student & doctor.

Her choice to resign (in 2022) was influenced by her desire to seek out new opportunities, as well as multiple systemic issues.

To quote her: “If anything, I hope my story serves as a cautionary tale to aspiring medical students, or those rushing to choose their life paths at the tender age of 19. Take your time to explore other career/life paths, take a gap year to try new things/broaden your horizons (and work a part-time job to keep yourself afloat), do an undergraduate degree; once you understand yourself better, then take a confident step towards med school.“

The Great Resignation (Part 1): the journey of a burnt-out doctor + why you shouldn’t rush into Med School at 19 (read here)

Couple (Chia Kim Hui and Adrian Chew)

Chia Kim Hui, 35, and Adrian Chew, 34 who left their corporate jobs to become full-time globetrotters, kicked off their journey last November 2021 in Germany and hope to remain overseas for “as long as possible”.

After Saving Money For 6 Years, This Couple Quit Their Jobs To Travel The World (read here)

Jean Voronkova a Youtuber

Technically not a blogger. Nice video.

3 important realizations about money finally helped me to quit my $120,000 Big Law job. (Watch here)

How I retired at 38 to live in Bali – 5 Money Concepts that helped me get there faster (Watch here)

Blogger from Early Retirement SG

Technically, he left his job prior to the pandemic. Nevertheless, I thought this post is great as it is a personal reflection of the time he was ‘retired’ for 2 years and why he returned to work.

After he left his job, he was without a job for 2 years. Subsequently, he went back to his previous job. During these 2 years, he really understood what it meant to be “retired”.

To quote: “So back to work it was. I went back to work with a new direction. I always saved a lot but never knew what I was saving for. This time, I had a goal. I wanted to save enough to generate a passive income to sustain my retired life. I’ll probably do some simple work after I retire in future. Just to pass the day away faster and get some light income. The psychology of having a small income gives a sense of security rather than the necessity of the income. It will probably help me sleep better at night. I’m now on a good pace to my final goal.”

Leaving without a job (read here)

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