🐶 Options Puppy: Lean FIRE – My Journey to Financial Freedom by Saving 70–80% of My Income

🐶 Options Puppy: Lean FIRE – My Journey to Financial Freedom by Saving 70–80% of My Income

💰 Save First, Spend Later – The Foundation of Lean FIRE

Many people believe that becoming financially independent requires earning a huge salary. I think differently. My goal is Lean FIRE, which means reaching financial independence with a simple lifestyle and allowing my investments to generate enough cash flow to cover my everyday expenses.

Instead of upgrading my lifestyle every time my income increases, I aim to save between 70% and 80% of everything I earn. Every dollar that I do not spend today becomes another employee working for me tomorrow. The earlier I invest, the more time compound growth has to work in my favour.

Lean FIRE is not about being stingy. It is about buying freedom instead of unnecessary consumption. Every investment I make today helps me build future passive income.

🇸🇬 Singapore Dividend Stocks – Building My Income Machine

A portion of my savings goes into quality Singapore dividend stocks. These companies can provide regular dividend income while giving me exposure to stable businesses.

Dividend investing allows my portfolio to generate cash without me having to sell shares. Over time, I can reinvest these dividends to purchase even more shares, allowing the power of compounding to accelerate.

When my dividend income grows every year, my dependence on my salary becomes smaller and smaller. Eventually, the dividends themselves may help pay many of my daily expenses.

🚀 Growth Stocks – Let Capital Appreciation Work

Not every dollar should focus purely on dividends. I also allocate part of my portfolio to high-quality growth companies.

Growth stocks may not pay large dividends today, but successful companies can increase in value significantly over many years as their earnings expand.

This gives my portfolio a second engine for wealth creation. While dividend stocks generate cash flow, growth stocks help increase my overall net worth.

Having both income and growth provides a balanced approach instead of relying on only one strategy.

📈 Insurance Companies – Collect Dividends and Covered Call Premiums

I also like investing in insurance companies such as Prudential plc and Manulife Financial.

Besides receiving dividends, I may sell covered call options against shares that I already own.

Covered calls can generate additional option premiums while I continue holding my investments. If the shares remain below my chosen strike price, I keep both the shares and the premium. If the shares are called away, I still sell them at a price that I was already willing to accept.

For me, covered calls turn long-term investments into assets that can potentially produce additional monthly cash flow.

👩‍👦 Mum’s CPF – A Safe Anchor During Market Storms

Around one-quarter of my long-term savings is reserved for contributing to my mother’s CPF once she is eligible and if it fits our family’s financial plans.

CPF provides relatively stable interest rates, with balances earning attractive returns compared with many low-risk savings products. This creates a conservative foundation within my overall portfolio.

More importantly, during a major market correction or a rare black swan event, the monthly CPF payouts can act as a source of liquidity. Instead of panic selling investments, those payouts could potentially help fund living expenses or be gradually invested into quality companies through dollar-cost averaging when prices become more attractive.

Having a stable income source allows me to remain patient during periods when markets become emotional.

💵 Selling In-the-Money Covered Calls on Growth Stocks

For selected growth stocks that I already own, I may sometimes sell in-the-money covered calls.

This strategy generally produces higher option premiums than out-of-the-money calls because part of the option’s value is intrinsic.

If my shares are eventually called away, I have already planned my exit price beforehand. If they are not assigned before expiry, the premium still helps improve my overall investment return.

Rather than trying to predict every market movement, I focus on collecting income while managing my positions with discipline.

🧩 Multiple Income Streams Create Financial Resilience

Instead of depending on a single source of income, I prefer building multiple streams that work together.

My portfolio aims to generate:

• Salary savings from maintaining a high savings rate.• Dividend income from Singapore dividend stocks.• Capital appreciation from growth companies.• Covered call premiums from selected investments.• Stable CPF interest and future payouts.• Reinvestment opportunities during market crashes.

Each income stream supports the others, making my financial plan more resilient across different market conditions.

🐶 Options Puppy Philosophy – Every Dollar Must Have a Job

I believe money should never sit idle. Every dollar should be assigned a purpose.

Some dollars generate dividends.

Some dollars grow through capital appreciation.

Some dollars earn option premiums.

Some dollars provide stability through CPF.

Together, they create a diversified portfolio designed to produce income while still participating in long-term market growth.

🎯 Final Thoughts – Lean FIRE Is About Freedom

Lean FIRE is not about becoming rich overnight. It is about consistently making good financial decisions over many years.

By saving 70–80% of my income, investing in Singapore dividend stocks, owning quality growth companies, generating covered call premiums, maintaining a conservative CPF allocation for stability, and preparing for future market opportunities through disciplined investing, I am steadily working toward financial independence.

The destination is not luxury—it is freedom. Freedom to choose how I spend my time, freedom from financial stress, and freedom to let my investments work harder than I do.

Options Puppy believes that wealth is built one disciplined decision at a time, one investment at a time, and one premium collected at a time