Hello there!

You can call me FIRE-Path Lion, or FPL for short.

I’m a Singapore PR, and I’ve spent my career as a software product manager, mostly in banking and financial services. I’m also a husband, father of two, and avid gamer documenting my journey towards financial independence here in Singapore.

This site is the record of how I went from a failed startup and essentially no investments in 2016 to first crossing my personal FIRE number ten years later – including the decisions, mistakes, reversals and good fortune along the way.

How did you end up on this path?

In 2011, I left my job to build a startup. I spent nearly five years working on it without earning a salary, using up my savings and taking loans from friends and family to keep going.

It eventually failed.

By the time I returned to full-time employment in 2016, I felt incredibly far behind my peers. They had spent those years building their careers, earning salaries and accumulating savings. I had done the opposite. There were nights when I lay awake wondering whether I had completely messed up my future – and whether I would ever be able to get a proper job again.

Once I restarted my career, I decided I never wanted to feel that financially vulnerable again. I wanted to build a safety net large enough that I’d never have to be worried about money again. That search led me to FIRE.

I started reading everything I could find about personal finance and investing, came across the Bogleheads, Mr Money Mustache and JL Collins, and began putting as much as I could into broad index funds. At first, financial independence was about protection: never returning to the fear I felt after the startup. Over time, it became something bigger – the freedom to choose how I spend my time and what I want the next part of my life to look like.

Why did you start FIRE-Path Lion?

When I started this blog in 2018, FIRE and passive index investing still felt like fairly niche ideas in Singapore. I wanted people considering the same path to have an actual local example they could reference: real portfolios, real numbers and the decisions behind them.

That was why I decided to document the journey in public. When things go well, I share what worked. When they go badly, I share the damage. When I change my mind, I try to explain what changed and why. That has included career and savings decisions, property, CPF and SRS, index investing, market crashes and – for several years – the much riskier use of leverage.

Writing publicly also forces me to think more clearly. Readers have challenged my assumptions, pointed out blind spots and, on more than one occasion, helped me make better decisions. In 2026, I wrote that my plan to remain at 1.5x leverage was unchanged – then began unwinding that exact position two days later after readers pushed me to reconsider the risk. The timing has cost me roughly SGD 220,000 in foregone gains so far, but I still believe changing course was the right decision. You can read the full reasoning and result in my 2026H1 update.

This blog is one person’s record of trying to make thoughtful financial decisions in the real world, with all the messiness left in.

Why do you want to retire so early? What are you going to do with yourself?

For me, FIRE has never really been about sitting in front of the television and doing nothing for the rest of my life. It’s about freedom and control.

The freedom to choose where to work, when to work and whether to work. The freedom to spend more time with my wife and children while they are still young. The freedom to travel when friends and family are available, rather than when annual leave permits. The freedom to build something, volunteer, pursue a passion project or do work I find meaningful even if it earns very little.

Reaching financial independence doesn’t mean I have to stop working. It means paid work becomes a choice rather than a requirement.

Where does the journey stand now?

I first crossed my personal FIRE number in 2026. My wife and I are now working towards our combined family FIRE number, so the journey is not finished quite yet.

It also happened much faster than I expected. Strong career and income growth, six years living with my in-laws, a powerful bull market, leverage for part of the journey, support from the people around me and a healthy dose of luck all played a part. So please don’t treat my timeline as a benchmark for your own.

If you want the latest numbers and the decisions behind them, they are in my 2026H1 update.

Who is behind the lion?

Outside of work and writing, I play all sorts of games – PC and console games, board games, card games and mobile games. Probably far too many, according to my lovely wife.

I also enjoy reading, taking a nice stroll and having a cold beer with friends outside in the afternoon breeze. These days, of course, much of my time revolves around our two young children.

I write under a pseudonym because it allows me to be completely transparent about my finances without putting my family and me at risk. I recently stretched the definition of anonymity, though, by appearing on The Financial Coconut in a full, wife-approved lion costume. I could barely see, was slowly melting inside it, and somehow still managed to finish the interview.

You can watch the interview and read the story behind the lion suit here.

Where should I begin?

If you’re new to the blog, Start Here.

If you’d rather begin with the story, read From $0 to $4M in 10 years.

If you’d rather watch than read, start with my interview on The Financial Coconut.

I don’t post on a fixed schedule. I write when there’s a meaningful update, decision, market event or useful tool worth sharing. If you’d like the next post in your inbox, subscribe below.

Questions, comments and thoughtful disagreements are always welcome. You can reach me at lion@firepathlion.com.

Thanks for stopping by. Let’s get started!

FPL