Q1 2025 Portfolio Review | Back below $200,000 and on the downtrend

The portfolio has dropped significantly in Q1 2025 compared to 2024 all time high from the Trump effect. In 2025, every time Trump appears, it seems to make the market dump as 2025 seem to be all about tariffs and how to screw the world up.

It’s been tough looking at the portfolio and seeing it drop in value as Tesla and Bitcoin both hold a significant position in my portfolio and so the fall has been ouch.

Stocks

The stock holdings in my portfolio has been falling as Tesla gets hit by auto tariffs and deliver lower numbers of cars for Q1. There has been wave of unhappiness towards Elon which is being directed to Tesla car owners.

With that, we have seen individuals scratching and damaging Tesla cars and it will have some impact on the sale of Tesla. I think the brand of Tesla do seem affected and Q1 deliveries number isn’t looking good. Almost all bets are now on FSD and Optimus so if nothing happens by June or by this year, we will need to assess.

Adding CSPX as per monthly addition, other than that, nothing much.

Crypto

Just holding onto existing positions, Bitcoin has retraced quite a bit from it’s highs but is holding up pretty well in the face of tariffs. Ethereum has been performing horribly, basically not looking at this portfolio as I think there have been better times and hopefully better times ahead too.

REITs

This portfolio has been holding up not bad, adding monthly contributions to it, not huge and could have earned more if placed elsewhere but looking at the drop in the US stock market, glad to have this around.

I will continue to add here and hold on till retirement? haha, I think it does seem more like capital preservation kinda investment and dividends is the added bonus. Does seem nice to have something not drop as drastically compared to the US stock market.

Options

Not doing much on this end as volatility is real high but I did do a few covered calls the past week to earn some small change but with this volatility, I will see how, not an everyday kinda thing.

Holding on tight

It is difficult to feel secure or think that the market will be able to recover back to it’s high but we all know that this will be over except we don’t know when. It might drop further and it can get scary when looking at your portfolio every time you open the app.

I try not to check my portfolio often and don’t think so much about it. I have already automated my buys so it will continue but I will add some buy actions to take advantage of this downturn. Will be getting in by batches.

I have heard so many people around mentioning that they should have sold it last year when the market was at an all-time high but to be honest, heck, we though 2025 will be a bull market with Trump mentioning that he thinks the interest rate should be cut but look where we are. Well, we can be grateful that all we have to think is how much money we have lost and not whether will we be able to have our next meal. Grateful for that and all in all, great buying opportunity although we don’t think how low is low and how long this will last.

Options - The solution to income and capital growth?

My friends have been doing options in the stock market, buying puts and calls based on where they think the stock will be headed. With that said, one of them have just broken even but made himself pretty busy managing the options and the other have earned some money from it.

I was thinking if I should go in and start doing options as well as the FOMO hits hard when they share about their experiences especially when the trade is profitable. But I am lazy and don’t want to be stressing about positions. I did covered calls during the bear market and overall did earn some. But the bull market is here now and I do not have much cash on hand to do cash secured puts so I am happy holding my spot positions.

My friends said it is a good time to get into options as the volatility is high and market seems to be going well but I know it’s not that easy.

Taken from ChatGPT: Options trading is a form of financial trading that involves buying and selling options, which are contracts that give the buyer the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell an underlying asset (like stocks, commodities, or currencies) at a specified price on or before a certain date. Options are a type of derivative because their value is derived from the underlying asset.

Why 0DTE options are getting popular

One of my friend buys a 2 weeks to a month call/put but manages it daily and he says that once there is a certain profit, he will proceed to close it within the day. I didn’t really ask the details but it sounds tiring and so far he is profitable from what he shares.

Taken from Chat GPT: 0DTE options (Zero Days to Expiration options) are options contracts that expire on the same trading day they are purchased. These ultra-short-term options have gained significant popularity among traders in recent years due to their unique characteristics and potential for high returns.

I guess there is an adrenaline rush or excitement doing 0DTE options like you are earning money daily easily. I did not ask if he was earning money overall but I guess he is?

Using Covered Calls and Cash Secured Puts to earn some income?

I like using covered calls and cash secured puts as you will not lose money but in a way lose out in future gains if the stock soars up as covered call would mean that you would need to sell it once it hits the strike price and if the shares burst past the strike price, you miss out.

With cash secured puts, you miss out if the stock keeps going up and doesn’t come down to your strike price for you to get the shares at the lower price. In a way, it is a good way to earn some income although holding shares in the long term could turn out better in the case of covered calls. I have missed out in some gains for covered call so I only occasionally sell it. You don’t lose money but lose out future gains which is all right for me.

I do like the concept of cash secured puts but in that case, you would need to have some capital especially for shares that I would like to have in my portfolio.

Overall, I prefer holding spot positions and options are kinda secondary or optional in my case. What are you thoughts in using options as an income?

Is it really necessary to have a side hustle

I met up with my friend recently and she was mentioning on how she is planning to get a certificate for her career to progress to a better position or even branch out to something slightly different from her role but still in the same field.

She shared that many of her friends had side hustles that earn them a supplement income and she wants to have a side gig on the side as well but struggle to know what she can do. Not that I am an expert at it, I recommended her to start recording her travels as she loves to travel and is able to travel frequently due to the nature of her job but she was reluctant.

Do I need a side hustle

Vlogs on Youtube is a popular side hustle and some have succeeded in obtaining a following by sharing their lives. It is definitely not easy sharing your life and exposing almost everything online. It takes a certain amount of courage and I understand why my friend is reluctant in doing so. I believe many tend to give up as well as consistency is tough and the growth might not be the same as expected.

There are definitely many ways now to start something, an Instagram page or something that you are interested in on TikTok, I think there are many avenues to start but consistently having to post and think of new content can be taxing. Content creation is popular as the amount of time that each individual spends on social media is enormous compared to previous generations. I open my phone to check things like in almost every break that I take.

I do not have any side hustle at the moment and would love to have one. This blog can be considered (?) but at the moment there is no substantial income from it so I wouldn’t consider it. Maybe as a hobby or tracker for my net worth since most of my post is about my investment portfolio. As I advance in my career, I do find a 9-5 job restricting although it provides the comfort and stability. Also, it gets a little repetitive and the industry and work gets more cutthroat as you age and I might become seen as out of touch especially when you are not specialised or have not progressed to a certain level.

You don’t need a side hustle

On the flip side, some thinks that you do not need a side hustle as long as you continue to build on your main income and if it increases over time then it should work out.

I think this is more relatable to me but whether or not I am able to increase it over time is another thing as I do see things being really volatile with AI, automation and robotics being the focus for the next decade.

Anything can be a side hustle

As long as you can scale it, anything can be a side hustle. Of course, adding value to people’s life will be the differentiating factor. I guess trading or investing is also a side hustle and the building up and accumulation phrase is always the toughest of a side hustle. If you have a side business, building up the customer numbers or viewers if it’s a youtube channel will be difficult part. Do you have a number of side hustles or you are keeping it to your main job and increasing it?

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Is it all right to be staying with your parents when you reach your thirties? Why I think I will be doing that and how independent am I?

I came across a lot of videos that talk about how more people in their 20s and 30s are choosing to stay with their parents especially after the pandemic. Definitely, this is partly due to the cost of property and the rising cost of rent and living especially in the cities. In Singapore, I don’t think it is strange to still be staying with your parents in your 30s as we do not have the mentality that you should leave your home at 18 and start living independently.

It has it’s pros and cons but it definitely depends on your family dynamics and how your relationship with your parents are. After all, the property is indeed your parent’s and so there are rules that will need to be followed and if you cannot take it, moving out is the best option but can be affected by financial issues.

I would say that family dynamics are different for every individual and I am lucky to be living with a family that is close and we do blend well together with my mum being very accommodating so for me, living with her is a pro compared to moving out. But in terms of being independent, I definitely am not. My laundry, meals and essential housekeeping is not being done by me, embarrassing but I like to enjoy this as much as I can haha. Eventually, I will need to start doing them but staying with my mum means she will do them for me, I used to do them occasionally when my mum was working but after she retired, she has been doing it.

Cost/Housing system

Singapore is unique as we are a city state so that means that everywhere is accessible. We do not have to move to another city within the country to work for example in USA, some will need to move from Idaho or Texas to New York or San Francisco because there might be better opportunities or the headquarter of the office might be there.

In this way, most of us in Singapore do stay with our parents till we are able to afford rent or until we get our own property. Rent in the city is always expensive compared to the suburban as we see in the world, that is the same in Singapore, with Singapore being small, the supply might be lesser and so landlords do have the upper hand unless in unique conditions.

There are also certain conditions to be able to purchase public housing in Singapore otherwise, private is the way to go but it is not easy to have the sum of money for mortgage. This all accumulates and I just find it easier to stay with my family for now.

Freedom/Own space

I think this is a huge reason why most people choose to move out especially since in Singapore, most of us stay in flats or condo units, space can be limited for a family unit. We saw this during the pandemic as many worked from home and realised how having your own space is important. Many younger folks found it impossible to concentrate on work while having their parents go about their lives at home too due to the pandemic.

For me, it was all right, it was mainly being cooped up at home that was the issue. I don’t have a huge family so space was sufficient for us. It is nice to have your own space, I have friends who have BTOs and renovated them very nicely with a study/gym room and gadgets in the kitchen like a dishwasher, I think it is the feeling of going home to a space of your own that people yearn for.

Having your own space also means you can do things your way like not washing your dishes straightaway or buying your own ingredients to cook or to drink and heading home anytime you want to.

Independence

Similar to the above, you find yourself having to do groceries, housework and making sure that things are working at home otherwise you are the one to suffer. Settling your meals are also an essential part especially if you do not live near any food establishments and is a homebody.

Overall

It is a cost and space issue and financials play a big part since the housing space in Singapore is unique and in most cases costly. I have to say that I am very much dependent on my family and if in any case I do move out in the future, I do find that I will feel very lonely so that will be something I will need to adapt to.

Other than that, I think most people are not moving out as coast of buying a property is much more difficult and lesser people are getting married so individuals are able to stay longer with their parents and at the same time keep their spending low.

Q4 Portfolio Review | Investments has hit $200,000

Woah, another ATH hit after the previous quarter, the later half of this year especially after September has proved the power of the Trump Trade. Euphoria has flooded the market and we can see that from Tesla to crypto which I hold in my portfolio.

My portfolio has hit ATHs and went down but it is overall still higher than when the year started, the volatility is still there as we see Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time and moving up before going down due FOMC Jerome Powell saying that there will be one less rate cut next year. Although I did not make life-changing money, many others in crypto has made it through memecoins and leveraging, I do feel happy with achieving a $200,000 portfolio faster than I predicted/expected. It is kinda scary too so I might take some profits and move them to index ETFs or REITs, it depends. I have shifted some BTC position to ETH as we anticipate the alt season but ETH has not yet shown much strength, we will observe the bitcoin dominance as we enter 2025. I don’t do memecoins although I know that the gains there are unimaginable but I want to be able to sleep soundly in the night.

Stocks

Tesla and QQQ carried the gains for my stock portfolio. I sold my Palantir position, where my average cost was $34 and sold them for $64. Regretted that as it has since gone up substantially, I sold that and placed it into Bitcoin so it has some profits as well. Not really thinking of rotating back as Palantir is now at about $80. Well, can’t capture all the gains so that’s how I console myself. With that, the overall stock market in terms of index ETF has been great, I hold QQQ, CSPX and Tesla so pretty happy with the performance. Monthly I am just adding CSPX and saving more cash on the side.

Crypto

Crypto has been a whirlwind of emotions, we hit $100,000 twice and beyond but fell back below. Trump has not taken office and we can see the excitement for crypto as some promises were made including having a Bitcoin reserve but we will have to see if they come true. It has dropped a little since reaching it’s all time high but it has increased overall year to date. No adding any positions here right now.

REITs

REITs has been losing out in action compared to my stocks and crypto positions. It has actually decline and the portfolio value is now lower than the total capital that I injected in meaning I am losing money, including my dividends. This is a long term portfolio so I think there is no need to focus on the short term, so still contributing a small amount monthly to this.

Overall

The portfolio increased about 65% from last year’s ending value of $111,232.

Read more: End of Year Portfolio Review | Total Investments hits $100,000, marching towards $150,000 by end of 2024

There were substantial amount of capital injections but the last few months really accelerated the growth of the portfolio with crypto and Tesla. The FOMC meeting on 18 Dec confirmed one last rate cut of 25 bps for 2024 but in 2025 reduced the 3 rate cuts to 2. Many seem to be really bullish for 2025, from Tom Lee to Bitwise and Cathie Wood but we shall thread slowly and see. No leverage on my portfolio, only spot positions.

My friends have been doing options trading buying calls and puts but I think overall it is tiring and if in my case, I prefer doing cash secured puts means selling a put but it would require capital especially if you do it on stocks that you want to have. So for now, I am not dabbling into options in this volatile situation.

Overall, going into 2025, I am holding more of a wait and see position. Most people have a bullish outlook especially people with cryptocurrencies but no one knows if it will really turn out bullish, so let’s wait and see.