Last reviewed: 9 August 2026
When I started researching investing in 2016, I learnt fairly quickly that most of the best material was not written for people living in Singapore. This collection of FIRE resources for Singapore is therefore a mix of universal ideas and local references.
The books and blogs talked about 401(k)s, IRAs and US-domiciled funds. Those details did not travel particularly well. The larger ideas did – spend deliberately, invest simply, keep costs low and build a life in which work eventually becomes optional.
I also did what most new investors probably do and opened far too many tabs. Some resources gave me useful information. A much smaller group genuinely changed how I thought or gave me the conviction to act. Those are the ones on this page.
There is an important difference between this page and Start Here. Start Here is the route I would give someone working through my own articles for the first time. This page is the bookshelf behind them – the external writers, research and books that shaped how I save, invest and think about risk.
This is a personal list rather than a ranking, and inclusion does not mean I agree with every conclusion. Most of the material still needs adapting for Singapore. Investments can fall in value, and the advanced material later on can involve very substantial risk. Nothing here is personalised financial advice. If a link ever has an affiliate or commercial relationship, I will label it clearly.
If you only read three
If you only have time for three, I would start here. Together, these resources explain why financial independence is worth pursuing, how to invest without making it a second job and why retirement planning requires more thought than blindly multiplying your expenses by 25.
1. The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement by Mr. Money Mustache
What it changed for me: Mr. Money Mustache’s writing helped reframe wealth as control over my time rather than a competition to accumulate more stuff. This article is a colourful place to start and introduces the relationship between spending, savings rate and the number of years it may take to reach financial independence.
The calculations use simplified return and withdrawal assumptions, so I would treat them as an illustration rather than a forecast. The mindset was the important part for me.
2. JL Collins’ Stock Series
What it changed for me: This was one of the strongest influences on how I actually started investing. It made passive index investing feel understandable and helped me get over the fear that I needed to become an expert stock picker before putting money into the market.
The philosophy applies broadly. The VTSAX, IRA and US tax details do not apply directly in Singapore, so we still need to adapt the implementation.
3. The Safe Withdrawal Rate Series by Early Retirement Now
What it changed for me: This series stopped me from treating the 4% rule as a magic number. It showed me how sequence risk, retirement length, asset allocation, fees and spending flexibility interact.
It is extremely detailed and largely based on US market history. You do not need to read every instalment unless retirement spreadsheets are your idea of a good Saturday night. Start with the overview and follow the questions that matter to your plan.
The Bogleheads framework behind my portfolio
The Bogleheads investment philosophy was where the pieces came together for me: live below your means, invest early, diversify broadly, keep costs low, avoid market timing and stay the course.
None of those ideas is especially exciting on its own. Together, they form a system that is simple enough to follow for decades. That matters because the best theoretical portfolio is useless if I constantly interfere with it whenever markets or headlines become uncomfortable.
The original material is written mainly for US investors. My Bogleheads 3-Fund Portfolio for Singapore shows how I adapted those principles for my own circumstances. It is simply the implementation I chose; other portfolios can be equally reasonable.
Books that reinforced the approach
The articles and writers above gave me the foundations. These books helped the ideas stick and gave me something I could return to when I wanted the full argument in one place.
The Simple Path to Wealth, Revised and Expanded 2025 Edition by JL Collins
This is the organised book version of the Stock Series and the first investing book I would hand to someone who wants an approachable explanation of financial independence and index investing. The revised edition is the one to buy, although its accounts and fund examples remain US-centric.
The Elements of Investing, 10th Anniversary Edition by Burton Malkiel and Charles Ellis
This book impressed me because it compresses decades of investment thinking into something concise and practical. It reinforces the parts that matter most: save, diversify, minimise costs and avoid turning investing into a search for the next clever idea.
The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer and Michael LeBoeuf
This one is drier than the two books above, but useful when I wanted the full framework in one place. It helped hammer home that low-cost passive investing is a complete strategy rather than merely the beginner option before graduating to something more complicated. The linked second edition was published in 2014, so its principles have aged better than its US account and tax examples.
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
The idea of leaving room for error has become more important to me as my portfolio has grown. A strategy can look optimal in a model and still be wrong for me if it requires more risk than I can carry through a long and ugly drawdown. That lesson played a real part in how I thought about reducing leverage in 2026.
Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung
This combines an engaging FIRE story with practical planning ideas. The Canadian accounts and tax details do not apply directly in Singapore, and I would pair its withdrawal ideas with the deeper research from Early Retirement Now.
I should also acknowledge that the old version of this page called it Retire Like a Millionaire for years. Apparently I remembered the idea more accurately than the actual title.
Rich by Retirement by Joshua Giersch
This is the most directly Singapore-focused book on the list and a useful bridge from passive-investing theory to local implementation. The latest clearly dated print edition I could verify is the 2021 fourth edition, so check any specific fund, broker, cost or allocation detail before acting on it.
The Wealth Ladder by Nick Maggiulli
What I liked most about this book is that it does not pretend the same wealth-building strategy works at every level. It helped me identify where I am, understand what might move me to the next rung and, more importantly, ask whether the extra work and sacrifice would actually be worth it. I also liked the 0.01% rule as a simple gut check for whether I can comfortably spend a little more on the occasional luxury.
Advanced ideas that influenced my decisions
This is the part of the bookshelf where the seat belt comes on.
These resources influenced positions I have taken on equity allocation, leverage, dividends and covered calls. They changed my thinking, although another investor could reasonably reach a different conclusion.
Why I held 100% equities during accumulation
Pre-Retirement Glidepaths: How Crazy Is It to Hold 100% Equities Until Retirement? by Early Retirement Now helped me understand the conditional case for a very high equity allocation while I was still earning and saving aggressively.
The Most Controversial Paper in Finance by Ben Felix examines a newer and even more aggressive argument for globally diversified equities over a lifetime.
Neither resource means 100% equities is automatically right. The case depends on savings rate, time horizon, risk tolerance and the ability to keep buying through a major fall. The calculation also changes as retirement and withdrawals get closer.
Why I used leverage
Lifecycle Investing by Ian Ayres and Barry Nalebuff gave me the theoretical foundation for spreading equity exposure more evenly across my working life. Ben Felix’s Investing With Leverage helped me think through the different ways leverage can be implemented and the risks hiding inside them.
Leverage can wipe out a portfolio. Borrowing costs, margin calls, amplified losses and our own behaviour can all turn a tidy model into a disaster. These resources explain why I used leverage; they are not a recommendation for anybody else to copy me.
My thinking has also evolved. I reduced my leverage from 1.5x to 1.05x as I approached my FIRE number, even though that decision came with a painful opportunity cost. My 2026H1 update explains why I still believe reducing the risk was the right decision for me.
Why I do not build around dividends or covered calls
Ben Felix’s The Irrelevance of Dividends helped shape my view that dividends are part of total return rather than a special source of free income. Dividend-paying companies can still be perfectly good investments; the distribution alone should not determine what I own.
His Covered Calls: A Devil’s Bargain explains the potential return we give up in exchange for the income from selling calls. That trade-off can disappear behind the attractive headline yield.
Tools I built from what I learnt
Reading is useful, but eventually I needed to turn the ideas into numbers I could use. These are the two spreadsheets I built for that job. They are free to copy and adapt.
Please check every assumption for yourself – my spreadsheet is a starting point, not an oracle. If it could predict the market, March 2026 would have gone rather differently.
Visual FIRE Budget Tracking Spreadsheet v2.0
This tool turns retirement spending into individual line items, separates must-haves from nice-to-haves and lets each expense use a different withdrawal rate. Kyith from Investment Moats pushed me to think more carefully about the level and duration of certainty required for different expenses. That change reduced my calculated baseline FIRE target by S$540,000.
Read the guide or make a copy of the spreadsheet. Revisit the expenses and withdrawal assumptions regularly rather than treating the output as a permanent answer.
FIRE-Path Lion Portfolio Tracking Spreadsheet
This tracks holdings, trades, portfolio value, cost, allocation, XIRR, fees, foreign exchange effects, projections and charts. It is the kind of sheet a data geek can lose a perfectly good evening inside. I say that with affection.
Read the set-up guide or make a copy of the template. This is an older spreadsheet, so check that the formulas, imported prices and scripts still work before relying on it.
That is the shelf for now. If a book, article or video genuinely changed how you think about money or investing, send it my way. Tell me what it changed for you – that is far more useful than simply adding another link to the list.
Until next time,
FPL