People decide to resign early for various reasons. Maybe you could tell me why.

I think for me, it’s simply that I do not want to chase or achieve everything. I am content with having less of the stress I am facing right now. I do not have to care about everybody. I do not need to give advice to people who wouldn’t listen. I am prepared to eat less. I can buy fewer clothes, fewer books, and less store-bought coffee. Above all, I just want to keep myself busy by caring for my house, my family and my well-being. On second thought, maybe I am just not into primary care. I remember wanting to study psychology because it keeps my stress at bay work-wise. Now that I have completed my Final Year Project (FYP), I have more time to read and consolidate my knowledge in psychology.

Having the aim of an early retirement in mind, I need to keep my finances in check—just enough to keep me afloat until I receive my pension funds. At the same time, I’m learning to live and enjoy life beneath my means. That means less browsing on Shopee. More importantly, I am aiming to shrink my liabilities percentage. It seems that the general advice is to have a percentage between 30% to 35%. After the full settlement of my car loan, the percentage stands at 32%. I decided to take it one step further by terminating my ASBF loan.

No doubt I have reaped the benefits of securing a handsome amount of dividends over the past 12 years with the loan. However, considering a bigger goal in mind to settle my housing loan, I believe terminating my ASBF is a considerable option. After all, I will still be getting my Surrender Value (SV). I could use that SV money to pay the principal of my mortgage. If my calculation is correct and I am still alive by then, I should be able to clear my house loan by 2027.

Terminating my ASBF was easy. All I had to do was walk into my nearest banking branch with my MyKad. There were a few forms to fill in but the process was pretty straightforward. Now it’s the waiting game. Let’s keep ourselves posted on how long it will take for my SV money to be wired into my account.