A Plan For 45 - Introduction

I turn 37 this year (2021) and I am currently a salaried employee in a (by public perception) comfortable though not glamourous (nor high income) job. 

I have worked for almost 15 years across several types of jobs but mainly in the professional development and adult learning areas. During my mid-twenties I had picked up investing via friend of mine as a way to boost income. My salary was considered below median for my age group back then in the country. measly $50,000 annual pay cheque for a 27 year old wasnt gonna cut it. 

Although not much by professional standards I have since dabbled in stocks, bonds and generally retail stuff for close to 10 years. It was not until 2 years ago that I started to develop a thirst for knowledge, partly after some chats with a friend who worked in an investment firm. I started to learn and try to incorporate concepts rather than "chase hot stocks" or "being a yield whore" Over the period and ongoing still, I am trying my best to incorporate the following into my decisions whenever I value an investment opportunity: 

• Portfolio allocation
• Risk management
• Recognizing the difference in retail vs institution (and making use of that advantage) 
• Country bias and advantages 

To that I would say that I did have some success in achieving risk adjusted returns. And thankfully, the last few years had been absolute blast for investors in general. 

Looking back at the opportunities that i missed and mistakes i made, i think the following struck: 

• Lack of due diligence which results in low conviction
• Fear of loss - could be due to the fact my savings were low and my humble family background 
• Both risk aversion and loss aversion resulted in selling winners and holding losers  
• But the worst was missing out epic opportunities when risk:reward ratio is so skewed due to above 3 mindset  

As I age toward 40s I realized time is precious (oh my basketball knees) and i do not want to spend precious moments slogging in the office. I do not mind having a job that I truly enjoy, either great work environment or meaningful / fun stuff. Time can be better spent maintaining fitness, with people I enjoy being around and playing games or watching anime. 

It is also opportune, that at this juncture in life, I feel that I have "stabilized" and could afford to take some risk. My total assets minus residence is now reaching half mil. The amount of capital that is required for life altering impact should any investment fail to work out is no longer significant to destroy what I have already established. I have also allocated enough cash locked in at 2.5% yield as backup for 5 years worth of my mortgage. All in all, so long I do not go "full retard" I can comfortably retire with a fully paid home by 55 (but fuck that) 

I will describe and log the plans for my own accountability so that I have no regrets when I reach there in 8 years time.