---
title: About Me
description: Who am I and why did I start this blog?
---

[Financial Freedom by 40 | An introspective journal about my personal investing journey ](https://finfree.joceyng.com)

# [About Me](https://finfree.joceyng.com/about-me)

 Written by [Joce](https://finfree.joceyng.com/author/joce) | Nov 4, 2019

### Who am I?

 I started investing (very very) small amounts in 2016 and have slowly built up my portfolio over the years. I enjoy reading up on new companies and searching for those that present good opportunities to invest. My goal is to achieve financial freedom by age 40!

 

### Why start a blog?

This blog is intended to be a chronological record of my investment journey, with an introspective focus. In addition to tracking my investment returns and dividends in numbers, I would like to document how I make investing decisions by putting my thoughts to words.

If there is one thing I'm good at, it's the persistence to build a habit of doing something I enjoy, and maintaining that habit for a long, long time.

I have been tracking my daily expenses since 2016 and I bake every weekend :D This year, I added meal prep to my weekly habits. My cadence of investing is not as frequent, but I try to check on my watchlist stocks and catch up on blogs I follow, a few times a month. 

Starting this blog is one step towards building that regular habit of investing and one that I hope will put me on the right path to achieving my goal of financial freedom by 40. As a record of my current thoughts, here is a list of reasons for starting this blog:

- Self-reflection - organize and find clarity in my thoughts through writing
- A reminder to stay focused on my end goal(s) which I wish to achieve through proactive financial planning
- Keep track of materials I've consumed, what has been helpful and how they have shaped my thinking
- Practice writing
- Achieve financial freedom by 40

### How do I define financial freedom?

Financial freedom is **not** financial independence. I define **financial freedom** as having **60% of monthly expenses (liabilities included) provided for by investment gains or returns**. This is a moving target which I may adjust as major life changes affect my expense profile.

### Why 60%? 

I am confident that I can live comfortably with 3 decent, balanced meals every day on a 60% "payout" assuming I do not work at all. Granted, I would have to forgo nice restaurant meals, paid entertainment and travelling overseas. The point here is not about stopping work when my investment gains/returns can cover 60% of my expenses. the goal is to get to 60% so I have the **freedom to prioritize other non-work things in life** and reduce my workload and/or work hours. 

### Why age 40?

In all honesty, 40 is a number I grabbed out of the air. It provides a goal post that is ambitious but not unattainable. Besides, it conveniently alliterates with "financial" and "freedom"<https://emojipedia.org/openmoji/12.0/smiling-face-with-open-mouth-and-cold-sweat/>

Maybe I'm being pessimistic here, but I don't know if I am capable of achieving full financial independence, especially if I start a family and have kids in future. So I've set my sights on financial freedom for now and may reconsider aiming for financial independence when I'm closer to 40. Meanwhile, [I have charted out a number of milestones ](https://finfree.joceyng.com/charting-ahead)which I am working towards! 

[View full post](https://finfree.joceyng.com/about-me)

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