Reflecting on 2025, and thoughts on 2026

I wished I reflected on 2024, but it still isn't too late to reflect on 2025 :)

So here are some of the best and worst decisions I made over the past year!

Personal Finance Mistake - Not buying more stocks during the 'Liberation-Day' sell-off

This was an obvious one - with the benefit of hindsight; April 2025 was a great time for buying stocks.

I'm glad that I bought stocks during the sell-off but I probably should have bought more. I practised what I preached, and it turned out well for me, but if I knew markets were going to rebound so strongly, and so quickly, I would have bought more.

Personal Finance Success - Buying my first property

I struggled with this section, for three reasons. One, I don't really view this property as an investment. Two, I probably shouldn't qualify this as a personal finance success either because that suggests that I've made money. Three, I've had some stocks which did well for me (unexpectedly so); never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Barclays to be up more than 75% year to date.

Despite all of the above, I'm still going with the property that I bought as my personal finance success for 2025.

Going into 2025, I didn't expect to buy a property but I'm glad I did it. This property (or unit) isn't perfect, no property is. However, home ownership is important to me; even if I don't end up staying in this unit that I bought, I'm sure that I will sell this unit and buy a home in the future. Taking this first step towards home ownership really means a lot, so I'm happy to say that this purchase is my personal finance success for 2025.

Most Interesting Restaurant - Potong

Luckily for me, I managed to avoid bad or underwhelming restaurants in 2025. I'm truly blessed to be able to dine at so many restaurants across the world in 2025, but I really wanted to give a special shout-out to Potong.

I wanted to do a full review of Potong, but I gave up - I realized no words can describe Potong.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll realize that in my reviews of other restaurants, I've pointed out how the food tastes, unique cooking techniques by the chef, the restaurant decor, or even service. However, I would argue that I shouldn't have to call them out - the restaurants I've reviewed are some of the most famous, and most awarded - the food should taste good, and the service should be great etc.

This is why I'm at a loss for words for Potong - I don't think I need to describe the food, the decor or even the service, instead, I want people to understand the origins of Potong, and the motivations of Chef Pam, who started Potong. However, I don't think I can describe all that in a single blog post.

I'll keep it simple: Chef Pam started Potong to honour her family, and I think she has done that in the best way possible. I normally leave a restaurant thinking how great the food was, and who should I recommend it to. I left Potong thinking whether I can do more for my family, and whether I can honour my family like Chef Pam did.

You need to experience Potong for yourself.

Travel Mistake - Not exploring more of the UK

I'm truly thankful for the opportunity to be able to spend a substantial amount of time in the UK earlier this year. My only regret was not spending more time exploring more of the UK.

If you are planning a trip to the UK, please take time to step outside of London. London is a great city, with plenty to do, and Heathrow is a great hub airport. However, there's more to the UK outside of London. I would argue that visitors to the UK should spend more time outside of London, Manchester, Edinburgh etc, and explore the small towns or visit the various national parks that the UK has to offer. I definitely regret not spending time at Snowdonia (Eryri National Park).

Best Attraction - Dolomites

This is a no-brainer for me, and I do wish I spent more time at the Dolomites, but I'll just comfort myself with the fact that maybe this won't be my one and only trip to the Dolomites.

Investment Strategy for 2026

I'm wary of the valuations across not just US stocks, but across most markets globally. However, despite the valuations, I don't think it is wise to sell or decrease my exposure to stocks.

There aren't any stocks that I'm looking to buy soon; I'm focused on diversifying my portfolio, and building up my war chest to buy if opportunities present themselves in 2026.

There are several investment themes that I'm paying special attention to though: cyber security, weight-loss drugs, and de-dollarization.

I'm not great at investing but I certainly don't see a point in trying to time markets; I'll just do my best by trying to buy the right stuff at the right valuations.

Dining Reviews for 2026

I'll probably review Restaurant Jag in early 2026, but no promises!

Subsequent restaurant reviews are dependent on where my travel plans take me for next year (see below).

Travel Plans for 2026

My travel plans for 2026 are more or less finalised.

In May 2026, I will be heading over to New Zealand and Melbourne. You can expect a review of Singapore Airlines business class, although I question if the internet needs more reviews of Singapore Airlines business class.

Later in 2026, I will be heading over to South America again, and there will be more trip reviews, including a surprise!

Conclusion

There's no point in blowing my own trumpet, and I acknowledge my mistakes.

Yes, I made some good decisions in 2025, but that doesn't hide the poor decisions made. I'm a big believer in learning from my own mistakes, so here's to a better 2026 by not repeating the mistakes from 2025!

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