Dec 30, 2014

2014 in review

I struggled whether this post should be written or not, but then I decided what's the point of a blog if I can't be honest with myself and be accountable?

A few things came into mind when summarizing 2014 financially. "Haven't tried hard enough", and in similar vein - "gave in too easily", frailty. 

I began tracking my expenses during latter half of 2014, while the balance sheet is still far from being financially healthy, it allowed me to have a clearer picture of what areas are my weaknesses, what my priorities are, and where shall I head to, financially-speaking. 

But I did take the very first step into putting money for conservative type investment, this practice shall continue when I learn more about investment. No I'm ready to dump my hard-earned cash in one go into the market, I'm going to stick with the least risky side of things. It's that I believe getting it started should allow me to catch up with peers of the same age / situation. I'm not that positive about getting "ahead" of most others, but in the likely event I'm getting a raise next year, that shall leave me with more wiggle room and accelerate the savings rate, and hopefully figure out how to get ahead. 

The hardest part is how to get started, of course. But this is no excuse to sit and do nothing.

My keywords for 2015: Stay focused. Try harder. Don't succumb to the "wants" easily. I would try very very hard to stick to my budget in January, if I succeed in doing so even for a mere 1 month, I'd be ecstatic. 

(Random thought: maybe I should change the profile picture to Scrooge McDuck...)

In 2015, I will repeat this thought daily.

Dec 29, 2014

Getting ready for 2015!

It's been 2 weeks since I last reviewed the mini weekly goals *gasp*, and we're coming to a close of 2014, in fact, SO CLOSE. My dad suggested we go for a buffet to celebrate my birthday early, but I declined. You all know I am not a fan of buffet and my body doesn't need extra fat. There. I just want to stay home these days and avoid the crowds.

Beginning with the review first:

- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes) Sort of a YES
- Pick up remaining ticket from cinema Will do that this week
- Continue to search for new glasses To be continued
- Post remaining 2015 goals on the blog YES
- Outfit plan on Sunday for the week ahead Sort of a YES
- Track cashback transactions x 2 YES
- Track refunds x 2 To be continued
- Apply body cream and hand cream every night YES (and I'm writing this off for the lists to come as this is pretty much established)

And the icing on the cake: 

- Jogged 2x this week! More shall come;

- Read a few dozen pages on the book I put down and pick up a few times previously! No it wasn't a fun book to read but nevertheless I bought it at the time (now I know there's libraries I can always turn to), and so I must go through it and learn a thing or two;

- Mom mended the coat buttons for moi last night, I am so grateful for that!

- 11 No-spend days this month! Record broke :-)

Fast forward to the coming week:

- Read 50 pages of the said book
- Jog 2x
- See whether DB needs help with his house move
- Hand tiny gifts to DB's mom
- Pick up free ticket from cinema
- Track refunds x 2
- Make outfit plan on Sunday
- Ship 2 parcels to friends abroad
- Make a list of items for blog sale
- Continue the glasses search

If the progress with reading is good, I will begin borrowing books from the library. At this stage I'm not so sure of the reading rate hence I'm not confident to start borrowing as the books might get returned without a page being turned.

I can foresee a bit of cleaning is going to come as Chinese New Year advances in February. Will be meeting up with a friend from down under during that period and another friend from UK in mid January.

*the tags for the 2015 goals' posts have been changed to "2015 goals" instead of "goals" for easier review*

Dec 28, 2014

A chillaxing day

I know I shouldn't be complaining about having holidays, but I stayed home pretty much 3 out of 4 days and was kind of bored. Which got me thinking since when holidays must be related to shopping / going out / traveling? What's wrong with staying home?

I dragged myself to do a few things yesterday while at home: read quite a bit of the book I put on and off for a while; went for a jog (3 miles); trimmed my nails; cleaned some shoes; helped out mom with her groceries; washed some towels... 

The only thing I dreaded on was stitching my coat buttons! I had bad experience with stitching back buttons and they kept falling off not once, but twice afterwards (they were nowhere to be found of course...) and it felt like I wasted my time to do something which doesn't last. I told mom about this and said I'd rather go to the tailor's and have them stitched properly (maybe I wasn't doing it right) so that will save my time, and I don't have to worry about losing buttons everywhere! Deep down I know this kind of money shouldn't be spent (make do and mend with your own hands), but a part of me said it's just a couple dollars and it can save me time and effort from bobbling down my head with the stitching and buttons! Plus it may last longer if I take it to the tailor's and have them done properly...

Either way I'm going to ask her to show me how (she mends some simple stuff for me at times), or I'll have it done professionally. In the past I have made a mistake which took up a lot of my time and didn't yield good results! The coat can't wait any longer as the buttons are falling off...that happens with cheap coats that I bought. UGH.

Oh, and yesterday was a no-spend day as well ;-) gotta love it.

Dec 25, 2014

Christmas Day

First and foremost, Merry Christmas to anyone who is reading this :-)

It rained pretty much the whole day and it was cold. Today afternoon was spent (unplanned) on putting away clothes that had been piling up in the room, and (also unplanned) decluttering! A few tubes and jars were on the brink of expiration and they re-surfaced during the decluttering, they've been put to use already. 

Conclusion: I have way too many clothes, shoes and bags. Oh the horror! I can't fathom doing this decluttering every few times in the year and every year. Time-consuming.

In other news, I spotted some lovely Christmas charms with little gifts inside on sale, they were at 50% off original, plus the 25% off that I have, I got a handful of them and that's next year's Xmas gifts sorted out ;-)

A friend of mine will be visiting in February and suggested maybe doing a whole day out browsing (she won't be buying a lot on this trip she said), ideally half a day would be enough as I'm not sure if I can handle a whole day out, I'm getting old.

Hope everyone's enjoying the holidays!

Dec 23, 2014

FOMO (and a good one)

I woke up with a cracked throat, went to work, and went home shortly afterwards because I was feeling awful and might be having a fever. Anyhow, I got sick around this time of the year (around Xmas and birthday) without fail for every year known to me. 

Back to the topic: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

I went to visit a friend in her new apartment last week, the same friend I talked about HERE before.
Well, she and her bf bought that house (notice the word bought), and now the price of that property has gone up, way up. I know some of the figures incurred in the home purchase, together with down payment, closing and mortgage fees, fitting out (a handful of furniture and decor), now that's where my problem is.

If I were to shell out this amount of money, I can just barely make it. 

Mind you, the above sum is minimal by any standard: by that I mean, the apartment is not big, its price is not too unreasonable for its size, it's not a prime location, it's a rather new-ish property, the house is furnished with decor and stuff so only a handful of furniture, new lock, and electrical appliances had to be added. In short, it's second-handed but still new, with the bonus of existing decor and furniture. I would say that's a gem in the market. The view was quite nice, it's high up in the building, reasonable price. It's hard to come by now, because the housing market has gone crazy high. Her house has become an investment in itself if she wishes to sell it or rent it out in future.

Back to the problem: If I were to shell out this amount of money, I can just barely make it. That amount makes me cringe. Although I can foresee the amount of payment I expected to pay when buying my own home is higher than hers, it (still) even makes me cringe further.

"I make more money than her, and I can't help but wonder where has my money gone?!"

OK, ready to move on for more?

This said friend also has money in stocks, funds, US stocks, investments, and they are up and running, generating money. After graduation, she has studied for a full year WITHOUT INCOME. She's thinking about taking up another program for 2 years ALSO WITHOUT INCOME. She has confidence that money won't be a problem (tuition fee, living expenses, mortgage). At this time, she is paying her monthly mortgage, still give money to her parents monthly, daily expenses, YET she is confident she can make it through 2 years on no income!!! She told me she never check her bank balance, as long as she can withdraw money out she doesn't care what the number is.

Let's pause: How is that even possible? Can that possibly be true (with the amount of money she's making)?

Or maybe I should ask: How can I do this? Why does it look impossible to me now and in the near future? Where has my hard-earned cash gone?

Of course, everyone's (financial) situation is different. Maybe I pay more to my parents than she does, maybe she already was sitting on a mountain of cash when she graduated, maybe she's way more frugal than she looks (I'm sure she is), maybe.......maybe.........

That made me really unhappy where I'm at right now, ultimately it's not (only) about comparison, catching up, but really something was wrong. With the salary that I'm making now, I should be doing much better than her (and yet I ain't). Really unhappy about that. PJ, you can't let this silly spending continue, a complete overhaul of your mindset and your life is direly needed. 

In that sense, this FOMO is a good wake-up call (I'm sure I said that in the last post already)!

Dec 21, 2014

2015 Housekeeping / Misc. decluttering goals

Housekeeping / Home / Decluttering goals:
  1. Bleach room twice a year
  2. Purge closet minimum once a year
  3. Sell old books, DVDs, CDs or donate them
  4. Practice minimalism: borrow, not buy
  5. Use up things, watch them die and go to the trash! Bottles and jars you know who you are
  6. Be resourceful: re-purpose things
  7. Practice "going without"
Goal (1) is self-explanatory, I do this whenever spring rolls around and in fall. This goes hand in hand with goal (2) together. 

I've asked a colleague at work about goal (3), basically the library doesn't take donated books anymore unless it's special collection or a limited edition thing. So I would either sell my pile at second-hand bookstores or donate them to school, or donate to charity. I need to call the bookstores or pop by to ask and see if they'll take any.

Goal (4): Stuff that I rarely use but wish to use one time or the other (like a cheese fondue), I'd ask my aunt if she has a fondue set to borrow. Same goes for travel books.

Goal (5): I intend to live by the generosity of my friends and refrain from buying beauty supplies as much as possible. There'll be some staples that needs to be replenished, those had to be planned sensibly.

Goal (6) targets at waste reduction. Whenever I bin something, think about ways to re-purpose it. The last time I was about to bin a pair of torn pantyhose, I googled and who would have thought that a pair of pantyhose have so many uses? Read HERE if you're interested.

Goal (7): Whenever I felt I "need" something, go through it a few times, when will I use it, how often will I use it and where I can find space to store it? And try to go without.

2015 Family/Friends goals; Career goals

Family & Friends goals:
  1. Take parents to travel and experience more
  2. Continue being good to those family members who are good (aka get over the black sheeps)
  3. Reconnect with friends by texting more and meet up occasionally
Goal (1) will be accomplished, depending on the time that my dad can walk away from the office, be it long or short, we are definitely going on a trip. If we're going on a long trip then I'll have to do more planning work; if it's short trip then I'll just sign everyone up on a decent tour so I don't need to worry about anything, and my parents would feel more comfy sitting on a coach as well.

Basically I've come to terms with goal (2) that there's always some black blood in the family and that nothing can be done to mend these fragile and broken relationships, plus it isn't like I'm the only grown-up to think about this, every other person has their responsibility in this too. 

Goal (3): o be honest I quite enjoy having weekend off and I try not to schedule many meetups with friends over the past year, instead I chose to spend more time with my parents. However there will always a few friends that I'd meet from time to time, I just need to remember to text them more.


Career goals:

  1. Limit occasions of official lunches/farewells unless attendance is an absolute must, and when needed be, socialize and be present
  2. Remain cordial, maintain a cordial, purposed and respectful distance with others. Avoid being too friendly with anyone, and stay away from gossip-mongers at work
  3. Have outfit planned out for the week every Sunday
  4. Consider taking a masters degree
Not much to say about these, just to keep working quietly and get through each day with some sanity (hence I bring my brown bag and eat alone).

2015 Personal development goals

Echoing a bit of health goals HERE and the library card post HERE, the personal development goals below also have something related to books and reading. I've put aside books, classes and learning for ages but I really enjoyed my undergraduate life. Too bad we all have to work to make a living.

Personal development:
  1. Finish the magazine backlog
  2. Read 3-5 books during the year, non-fiction and health books mostly
  3. Make to-do lists every week, month and year to keep on track and do better planning mentally, financially and physically
  4. Be surrounded by people who "do good"
  5. Empower self
Goal (1): there are about 6 issues at hand. If you're interested, the magazine starts with an "M" and has about 150+ pages each...I love the quality of writing there and the variety of topics (travel! society! geopolitics!) but found that my reading rate was far lagging behind that I cannot catch up with the past issues, plus the subscription fee was too high (although quality matches with the price I'd say), this year I didn't renew the subscription and I have no plans to do that in near future. There's another quarterly mag (here if you're interested) that I'd like to subscribe but I didn't, owing to space (storage) issues and being the slow reader that PJ is (know thyself lol). It costs much cheaper and the quality of writing is still there, and its content is what I'd appreciate: getting connected with life, objects around you and nature, people, etc. It explores a different theme in each issue: on aging, hosting dinners, travel, farming, food.

Goal (2): I know the target 3-5 books is rather pathetic in numbers, but I"m aiming to start small here. I know very well what would happen if I target 10 books or 12 books a year, the reality is I wouldn't be able to accomplish that I(unless all are fiction books) and it'll make me feel bad. In high school I was told by my English literature teacher that I read too much fiction books (she guessed it by my writing style, lol) and she wanted me to spice things up a little by changing the genre I read. Non-fiction was hard and I didn't like it at first, but a year later I began to understand why she recommended that and I thanked her in my heart when I'm rushing for deadlines in my Uni essays.

Goal (3): Risking to sound I'm too micro-managing in every aspect, it's just to make things easier. I have drawn up a list of yearly events: Mid-autumn dinners, red packets for Chinese New Year, dental checkups and washes, insurance renewal, i.e. things that require tremendous effort like bleaching and wiping, or events that incur expenditures. Having this list at hand would help me have a better idea of the monthly budget, how much free time that month I would be, and how much breathing room I'd have (financially and time). Another good things about the list is, it basically works year after year with some minor tweaking.

Goal (4): Let's just say I'm surrounded by negativity and ungratefulness / asinine people particularly at work on a daily basis, 2015 I want to be surrounded by people who 'do good' and make good things happen to others.

Goal (5): It felt as if I've been in the backseat watching my life for so long (years), in 2015 I'd like to take the steering wheel again, metaphorically speaking. I wanted to pick up that 'can do, will do' vibe and that can be done if I can draw up weekly or monthly goals and taking baby steps to empower the self again and tell myself it's possible if I put my mind to it. Goal (5) is closely related to goal (3).

Family/Friends goals and career goals up next!

Christmas came (a wee bit) early!

I had parcels coming from Singapore and Sweden yesterday and on Friday, they were of course, from my dear friends! *claps and does happy dance*

They would always send beauty supplies to me, and particularly in December for my birthday. We would send stuff to each other a handful of times during the year, sometimes they come to visit me  in HK as well. Their kindness and generosity is way beyond anyone I know from daily life. The people I know/see/meet/work with day to day is none of the above, but the best people I know are not the ones I see day to day, isn't that ironic? It's one of my personal development goals (to be posted shortly) is to be surrounded by people who "do good", aka kind and helpful to others.

Back to the parcels, they sent me body lotion, cosmetics (lips and eyes stuff, tons of it), a hair mist, and a few items that I had on my secret wishlist, in fact I almost ordered them months ago but didn't. Here it is on my desk! I wonder how would they know?!

Anyways, it's always nice to have friends remembering you, I love putting stuffs together in a parcel send some RAOK (random act of kindness) back, it's fun! And, I thank god for these friends that I have.

Dec 19, 2014

Lucky Draw and (more) frugal entertainment

Christmas celebration went about at the office and we had a lucky draw every year. This year I got a box of chocolates. And I took some leftover whole fruit home :-) those will be eaten tomorrow. 

It was a nice day, although I would really want to win that electric kettle / cordless travel kettle (or any sort of kitchen appliance) / cash vouchers they had there! It'll be much more practical and healthy than having confectionery. 

The Nespresso Dolce Gusto coffee maker isn't my cup of tea though, because I don't particularly like coffee (drink only a handful of times a year), and because you have to keep buying those coffee capsules to feed into the machine (and they aren't cheap)! Now that's not anywhere near frugal to me :-)

To be honest each of us paid something for the celebration, but it's nice to be able to take something home and not just the food we had at the celebration.

A colleague handed me 2 free movie tickets, which would be frugal entertainment for the weekend! I checked the screening and unfortunately only tomorrow and Sunday morning showtimes are available (then it's off-screen for good), so I won't be making use of them :-( am looking forward to re-gifting it to someone else now. Very often when he gives out the ticket the showtimes and locations are already limited to a few. Since I'm not a retired person yet, it's hard to make use of these frugal fun things!

Frugal entertainment: Where's my library card?

Thinking about the trips next year, I dropped by the library during lunch the other day just to see what sort of travel books they have (and how new or dated). Holy molly, while not all are the latest editions, they do have quite a nice selection of travel guides there!

What remains uncertain is the travel dates and location, this depends on my parents mostly. We won't know until next year's spring.

I haven't been to the public library (or Uni library) for years, and I think I might be missing something, something frugal, something fun, something satisfying to the mind and soul :-) It's time to renew my library card and get borrow some books to read. I still have some books I bought long ago (and those that kept sitting on the shelves) with pages un-turned. 

There's this one book I kept reading the first 20 pages and left it aside, when I picked up I re-read the 20 pages and then stopped, this has repeated several times. (And I'm still on page 20 if you want to know)

Over to you, do you stay on course with one book until you finish it? Or read a few books at the same time? And what do you read mostly?

Dec 17, 2014

Random thoughts on wardrobe

I wore a grey jumper yesterday, while it may seem like just another "work / office" color to some, but I hardly had anything in my closet that veers into grey. OK I have a coat that's charcoal grey, a cropped jumper that's charcoal grey, but not grey-grey if you know what I mean. 

And then it occurred to me that I should look for that kind of grey items to add into my wardrobe when replacing any items. I wear lots of bright colors - but mostly dark ones: burgundy, electric blue, neon pink, mustard yellow, and I wear quite a lot of blacks and blues in general. You'll be hard pressed to find anything in white or pastel (or greens and browns) in my wardrobe. 

The frugalista in me stayed away from white because it 
(1) attracts dirt; 
(2) easily turned yellow or grey if not maintained properly (it ages fast);
(3) my mom and I would have a hard time doing the laundry, to make sure nothing will stain the white-colored items when washing with other items;
(4) requires bleaching at times (see 1,2,3 above for why) and this means extra work;
(5) I am a klutz, often spilling soup and drinks and sauce...

Now back to that grey-grey sweater, it made me look both casual-appropriate and work-appropriate (where I work we don't have strict outfit codes).  It can be played up (black pants) or down (with jeans). Most importantly, that grey made everything look effortless, timeless and yet chic. With its ability to double as both office- and work-casual, low-key yet chic, not a hard color to mix with laundry, and it never goes out of style, what more can I ask? 

More greys, that is! 

If you think about it, a grey-grey purse or a grey pair of shoes would pair with just anything, be it light or dark/bold colors. *made mental note* Next time when I'm replacing stuff, I'll focus on that grey-grey color (not light grey nor charcoal grey though, it's the medium-toned).

Dec 16, 2014

Winter woes (I sinned)

It is in the most critical temperature that I have begun to think about how good it is to have the following with me while typing away with freezing numb fingers:

(1) An electric blanket to warm up the bed before tucking in; (I can't fall asleep until a good 2 hours later because my bed was too cold and my feet were not warming up at all)

(2) the above or a warm quilt / duvet; (I actually woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go to sleep, but had to add another blanket on top of the base blanket)

plus

(3) a cat / dog that can curl up at my feet and keep them warm and toasty. (Not to mention that I'm a huge animal lover)

(1) will be good but I can't fathom the idea of sleeping on some electric currents (lol), (2) is most sensible and practical but my room / home doesn't have space to store it during summer, and no, I'm not going to wrap myself up with that with the air-conditioning blasting in summer, so no. (3) is too high maintenance and my mom doesn't like pets, pets aren't supposed to go along well with my asthma either.......

And I have a pair of furry slippers, thank god for that. They aren't cheap nor well-made so they would last one season only...*makes mental note* must do research on more durable ones next year, wearing socks alone wouldn't work because our home is dusty.

...And then I sinned. I caught a cleanser and a toner on sale and bought them. Makes me wonder what was going on, as I was doing great at closing down the tabs of various stores, promo emails. Not blaming the weather entirely but you know, I only have myself to blame for this!

Dec 15, 2014

Goals of the week

Goals of last week:

- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes) NO.
- Clean the summer shoes and put them away YES.
- Pick up birthday tickets from cinemas Yes, took one, but another to be picked up in early January.
- Continue to search for new glasses Keep looking.
- Finish drafting up goals for 2015 and have them published here Still have some more to post.
- Track cashback sites for purchases that are made Keep tracking
- Drink more water during the day. YES.
- Apply body cream and hand cream every night. ALMOST.

Goals of the coming week:
- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes)
- Pick up remaining ticket from cinema
- Continue to search for new glasses
- Post remaining 2015 goals on the blog
- Outfit plan* on Sunday for the week ahead (see below)
- Track cashback transactions x 2
- Track refunds x 2
- Apply body cream and hand cream every night

I turned down an invitation to all-you-can-eat hot 'n' spicy BBQ with a group of friends simply because (1) the location is too far, it's not even close to the train line; (2) the BBQ style they chosen is the hot 'n' spicy kind, which is not so good for my skin; (3) the weekend getaway with the said group of friends last time didn't leave me completely enjoyed or happy; (4) that time of the year I'd most prone to various sickness, I don't want to complicate matters by adding frost to ice. Self-care is what I put first, I'm no longer a teen.

*For the outfit plan, it'll help me save so much time in the mornings trying on stuff, thinking about what to wear, and deciding what to wear. My mornings should be easier and quicker. The daily commute was rough for me so I don't think wearing tights daily are realistic, and frankly speaking this year I put warmth in front of style, putting on tights requires a few more minutes than usual (if it's not broken or torn by cuticles and sharp accessories before leaving the door...). Pants, jeans, leggings and extra padded tights with thermo layers underneath (not so easy to tear) will be my company. I've also fitted a pair of flurry fleece socks into the wellies I wear, it shall keep my feet toasty. The only gripe was that I picked the right size and it should fit, but it made my otherwise roomy wellies very tight in space! My calf paralyzed when I was trying it on and removing the shoe on the spot. #Fail I need to find out what happened and probably need to re-size the socks by taking it to the tailor... but I'd rather not.

[Ed note: I have put a new page "Outfit and temperature guides" on the nav bar. But weekly outfit still has to be planned every Sunday based on the latest weather forecast.]

I did pull out my mittens and gloves and warm base layers yesterday though :-) the clothes and shoes pile is still a mess though.

Office rant

I've had enough. 

Some folks treat their office their second home, but not for moi. I'm fed up with the people there.

It doesn't matter whether they are junior or seniors (in terms of age or rank), ignorance and stupidity always reigns. Every time these people talk (loudly), they're completely oblivious to the fact that they are exposing their ignorance and stupidity. I can't help but roll my eyes for the thousandth times on a daily basis. 

Example: 

"Don't you know that celery as a negative-calorie food?" 
and this person believe in it, even as to eating it often and on its own. 

Unfortunately, the said person (who have no cooking experience as far as I know, other than chomping on celery) and would say that congee is more stomach-filling than rice. She was quizzical as to why she had congee and thought it made her full, only finding herself hungry an hour later. 

Fact 1: you put less rice and double/triple amount of water when you make congee as opposed to rice, I don't know how to cook this but this is common. sense.)

Fact 2: this person is older than I am by a few years. 

I enjoy working with highly efficient, clever, practical and humorous people. People who put their minds onto real stuff. I have no time nor tolerance to things other than the above, e.g. frivolous things nor bragging about their "pursuits", their "awesome" travel experience which comprises only designer brands outlet shopping and tax-free shopping. 

This, of course, makes it difficult for me to find someone I truly respect to at work, nor can talk truthfully.

May I add that the same person also works on a group of followers (namely lower rank female staff), and always stand and chat for hours instead of going back to her own seat to work daydream. She is always so willing to tell everyone her opinion on everything. Hate that. I don't want to hear her opinion on anything. As far as I know, I'm not in her league and neither is she in my league. We're just different. I wish she would just shut up and do her own work. If she's free, stay in her seat and keep her mouth shut. 

I keep reminding myself to be open-minded and easy-going (read: don't care whatever is happening) to everyone, the fact is my tolerance has its own time span...and some people's tolerance seems to exist perennially. I need to work on this in 2015 especially the place I work/live in is full of ignorant imbeciles.

Dec 13, 2014

Out and about, frugally!

Met up with a friend for brunch, we haven't seen in almost 1.5 years I think! It was nice catching up, I also redeemed my free movie ticket since I arrived early (but I forgot to pick up another birthday gift from a dept store...). Anyhow the meetup was positive and I felt good about connecting with friends (haven't felt this for a while). The best part was the whole bill got 30% off, lol because the protests had been driving the businesses awry so they gotta do something to keep customers coming in - good news for us! 

Last week I mentioned my friend and I would go clothes shopping...well I said I would abstain from this. I didn't leave with my hands empty BUT, I did much better than previous visits. In the past I would have left with 8-10 items back home but today I got only 2 :-) the best part was, they only costed me US$15 for 2. I don't know if it was the horror of purging my closet, the piles of clothes in my room, or that I have become too old to battle with other shoppers in the tiny but dense mall. My friend and I both felt the same - in the past we would still be energetic at the end of the visit (4 hours later) and today my shoulders felt like they're going to break down after an hour. Plus, the clothes in the mall no longer intrigued me, I either find them too "fast fashion" (short lifespan in the closet), taking up space in the closet, or just not top quality. Anyhow this is good news for me. I kept delaying this visit with friend (she suggested back in October), and I can see that we won't be needing such a visit until half a year or more later. 

The 2 items I got are: a functional skirt + legging one-piece, and a long-line black cardigan with neon pink trims, both US$7.5 each. I turned away from shoes, bags, tops, anything really. The skirt + legging piece would fit with any top, cardigan, or hoodie on top so this will be a staple bottom piece. Am OK with that. I could have skipped the long-line cardigan to be honest though!

Also picked up some soft gummies, oh god I felt like a kid at the candy / snacks store. I happily went home with a 500g of pick 'n' mix gummies. *eats one* Oh penguins, hearts, mangoes, grapes, all shapes and sizes. *eats another* Guess how much 500g costs? US$1.5, now I just need to keep my grubby hands away from the bag. I picked up some dish detergents on the way home, that's US$1.8 for 2 bottles, a house brand of the grocery store (no frills).

I had chunky mushroom soup for dinner -  first time having soup for an entire meal! I used canned cream of mushroom soup (expired for 2 weeks but smells just fine! lol), bought a few mushrooms for US$1.2, added some faux crab sticks and it tasted amazing. I love mushrooms of any kind, and I love me a warm hearty soup. Oh I had a banana before the soup to fill up the stomach, or else my stomach would be screaming an hour later.

All in all, today was a good day :-)

Dec 12, 2014

2015 Health and Personal Care goals

Comparing to financial goals, the list of health and personal care goals are less daunting, easier to quantify and easier to achieve:


  1. More greens, less meat
  2. Eat / cook whole foods whenever possible, avoid processed / packaged foods
  3. Tuck in by 2330 every night, bonus points for making it at 2300
  4. Walk a lot, walk far, mostly referring to short distances between subway stations
  5. Similar but different to (4), go for a walk at the park 6x per month, jog if my knee joints allow
  6. Read Chinese medicinal/health related books
  7. No snacking in between meals
  8. Do menu planning for breakfasts, have 1 or 2 staples ready (keywords: variety, hot, filling but not fat)
  9. Do facial mask and hair mask once a week, condition hair once a week
  10. Apply body creams and hand creams every night

(1) and (7) aren't difficult in that I can ask my mom to help me with (1) in her cooking, and I usually have very good discipline with snacks (sadly not money). The only snacks I keep in the office is nuts and dried fruit, oatmeal, plain biscuits. Have been practicing (4) for months.

(3) will be a medium level challenge, (8) only requires some thought and it shall run itself after initial set-up. I'm confident with (9) and (10) in a way but (5) is the most difficult - I might consider joining my dad in his walks to have a person to keep me on track / motivate me, as well as more family time.

2015 Financial goals

I'd be posting 2015 goals on the following areas in separate posts shortly:-
(i) Financial (this post you're now reading)
(ii) Health and personal care
(iii) Personal development
(iv) Family & friends
(v) Career
(vi) Housekeeping / Home / Decluttering

A few things would be happening in 2015. I maybe getting a raise sometime later in the year (or maybe the next...), and my commute costs might rise since there's a new option going to work: train. If things go according to plan, most of the money from the raise would go straight to the savings (most probably due to me being too occupied by work to care about shopping anything else). 

Earlier on I talked about 2+ trips in 2015 but those would come before the raise, so that travel expense would come out of the savings' pocket, not from the raise. This is not the best idea but if I don't take my parents to travel next year, I'd be hard pressed to find another time in the coming 2 years, and they are getting old.

Let's start with financial goals first:
  1.  Make 150 No Spend Days happen, aiming for 12 days/month (currently 10 days/month)
  2.  Make extra 2-3k from side hustles each month (fluctuating earnings atm), explore other side hustling opportunities come April (the companies and their jobs I get assigned is seasonal)
  3. Put up a blog sale (ideally before February) on another page
  4. Track savings progress monthly - put up a progress bar on the blog
  5. Set aside a designated amount for "yearly replacement items" (things that are expected to be replaced/bought/encountered) each month after each paycheck
  6. Never buy anything full price, always ask for friends/staff discount first. Thoroughly analyze each purchase, no impulse buying. Do better to turn a blind eye on sales (sales = more stuff / more clutter). 
  7. Related to (6), if something is needed, wait until there's a good deal (FF sale or GWP). But don't fall for GWP. Rinse, repeat (6) & (7). 
  8. Learn about the stock market, funds, and ETFs (Question: where to start?)
  9. Put *some* investment into ETFs, mutual funds, dividend-yielding stocks and bonds
  10. Manage and organize retirement fund accounts, request online access to manage the funds easier
  11. Continue building up the emergency fund (at the current state this should take about 2-3 years more, this is NOT a travel fund)
  12. Say NO to friends asking for sponsors 
  13. No buying of "gifts" (re-purposed gifts are OK) to colleagues and friends. Unless it's someone special or the relations are worth keeping
  14. No new handbags / shoes
  15. Switch to cheapest cell phone plan to the previous service provider once the current contract expires in Nov 15
  16. Don't enter supermarket/grocery store without specific things in mind, aka no random browsing
  17. Make a habit of not bringing credit cards on most weekdays (I do better on days without cards in the purse)
  18. Cook more at home and reduce frequencies of meals out, or reducing cost per meal out (need to talk with bf about this)
Phew, it's a long list for one aspect (financial) alone, with "don't" more than "do". Some tasks that are "restrictive" in nature (item 6, 12-14, 16) might be a no-brainer for some but it's a challenge to me, and I really want to beat a challenge for real and for once! Honestly a restrictive approach might not work for some but I decided 2015 will be a year of saying NO to a lot of things.

Don't worry, the financial goals are the longest...I'm going to be focusing on money A LOT more than other aspects this year.

Item 4 may look ambiguous without a real percentage given for monthly savings rate. Still figuring that one, but I'm hoping to be able to save 40% of income (exclude earnings from side hustle) but then it doesn't leave me with much wiggle room. However when I get a raise, the savings rate would pump up higher.

Dec 10, 2014

Hang in there, December!

Let's take a look at the to-do list for the past week and how I've done:


Coming week's goals:
- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes) NO.
- Clean the summer shoes and put them away NO.
- Pick up birthday perks/gifts from various stores and YES. cinemas NO.
- Scheduling a farewell lunch for a retiring colleague YES.
- Replacement of new glasses (this one will take a while...still searching for the right pair and it's not easy) Looked but found nothing that I like.

I thought December is a pretty quiet month for me, but alas, the invitations for casual lunches out kept coming in, I had about 4+ of these with 2 are pending. Let's just say that I've 3 No Spend Days so far! But I did get some good tea as a gift (for a retiring colleague and myself), it doesn't break the bank and I can enjoy it for a month. Not too bad. Met up with grannies and gave them pocket money...shipped some Xmas gifts overseas, mailed a cardigan for return and refund, fingers slipped and purchased a backpack made of leather-and-suede mix (about 30% of the price of another nice backpack I saw but made of sheep skin...) OUCH!

I did earn a $300 voucher to spend on an online clothing store (oh dear...), let's see who will be using it.

Fast forward for goals for the week ahead:
- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes). I have a feeling it's gonna be a constant item for every week!
- Clean the summer shoes and put them away
- Pick up birthday tickets from cinemas
- Continue to search for new glasses
- Finish drafting up goals for 2015 and have them published here
- Track cashback sites for purchases that are made
- Drink more water during the day. My fluid intake yesterday was soup, medicine, milk, and tea...anything but water. No good.
- Apply body cream and hand cream every night. Sounds like a no-brainer but really a challenge #Firstworldproblem

I went to the facial treatment session and left with a mega red face...pain was relieved, even though temporarily. The next 2 days I've been wearing a mask to work instead and didn't bother to conceal the large patches of redness. This saves 5-10 minutes' time in the mornings by skipping some of the makeup.

Hang in there and create more No Spend Days for the next 2/3 month!

Dec 7, 2014

Doing the right thing

I changed my mind (sort of ate my words) - I declined the wedding banquet invitation. To be honest, my initial reply to her was I"d get back to her whether I can make it or not - so my answer now is a NO, and I told her I'm sorry I can't make it on such short notice.

Come to think of it, it's not just about the money. It's about sincerity. The colleague who was getting married invited me a few days ago, and her wedding is in early January. I mean hello, you don't decide to get married in a 5-star hotel suddenly, right? IF I"m one of the "valued" people in her life ,I"m saying IF, which I'm not, neither was she in my life (brutally honest I know), wouldn't it make sense to notify people months in advance? Not weeks. It's barely 3 weeks until her wedding here. Which makes you hard NOT to wonder whether she didn't have enough guests, but she booked a large venue and paid a large deposit, so she scrambled everyone to attend to glean money out from the guests who were not invited in the first round, but only much later, aka last week.

I know some people who handled this tactfully by asking first, then handing the invitation (if the reply was a yes). She didn't. I don't have obligation to "make up for" her lost guests who were unable to attend. In short, I felt a bit cheated. If she doesn't think of me as a valued guest (to ask me to save the date way before), why should I value her invitation and attend? I've done a few favors for her (unrelated to work / wedding), and this is how she treat me? Like an ATM of last resort or some kind?

Oh and by the way, I know *some* colleagues are going, but some are not. My supervisor was definitely not. Either way, I made a counter offer for her to make up for the absence, but she hasn't replied.

And I slept well at night.

-----------------------------------

Another good news is, I found myself less and less attracted to the thought of shopping now. Except I bought a comb /hair brush yesterday. I never had a comb / hair brush, or have ever bought one, because I felt I don't need one. Until lately my hair seems to be falling off more than before, I"m hoping this would help. It costed HK$150 and I would be able to use it everyday. This purchase would be practical and well-considered. I'm starting to like this way of considering a potential purchase, thinking about it back and forth, doing research, choosing the most suitable one, starting with the simple one! I've been going through my head that every purchase should be done the way this is :-)

Hope everyone's having a good weekend!

Dec 4, 2014

!!! Just as

Just as I was drafting up the budget for 2015 (and January's to be exact), a colleague popped in and invited me to her wedding banquet! Unfortunately to us Chinese, it means that I have to sip in a bit of money (and not little anyway, it could mean anywhere between US$65-100!) should I decide to attend! 

Then, as if it's not enough news for the day, another colleague (a senior) would be leaving and there would be a farewell lunch as well! I was thinking "no I won't go..." until a colleague said she thinks we should go. BAM!! Another dollar note went away from my pocket literally!

Part of me kept telling myself that it's essentially a "career capital / socializing" thing and while it's not very desirable expenses, it can't do any harm for my career. But my major gripe is that I hate not to be able to control little things like that! You know, those things where you just HAVE TO and there's no way around it. (Not to say the least, my colleagues are a mixed bunch - imbecile, arrogance, boastfulness, ingratitude, and even some truly naive enough to listen to the endless crap they boast about. I don't give any responses to their boastfulness unless it's something really ground-breaking which is, none at all. Yep, that's PJ. PJ believes you shouldn't reinforce those people and it's not my job to make them feel good about themselves that certain way.) 

Money aside, I don't enjoy sitting at a banquet with guests I don't know and being stuck for a dinner for HOURS and eat at the same table with strangers. The most sensible choice I"ve heard (from an oddly wise old lady) was, throw them the money and spend the time your own, i.e. give what you have to pay but don't waste your time there. Because time is finite and money can be earned again. It's bad enough to give money away but even worse if you lose the time as well. Even though it's socially/politically impolite to highlight this fact, but HOW WISE IS HER COMMENT! Spot-on.

But seeing that a few of the colleagues would probably go, and it's been a long time since I last attended a wedding banquet which might be nice to catch up with what the banquet craze these days are about, and it would make me look better socially and politically VS. if I chose not to show up (yet still pay for the banquet). I reminded self to remain "cordial but distant" from colleagues (not to get too close or too friendly) so that they won't think of me whenever they need funds via the form of weddings/banquets/casual lunches out everyday. So far that has been successful? Until today. 

With these unexpected expenditures arising, I'd be trimming the "eating out" money for January as well as December. I have budgeted for the "eating out" money to cover the office lunches occasionally but "invitation to banquets" are not covered normally, and I don't see why I have to give them a place there, maybe I should budget for it from now on. Stubborn moi? No?

It's not how much you earn, but how little you need

I was inspired by a local TV documentary (HERE if it works for you) which told a story of two men who had given up their jobs and live in nature. They are both uni-grads, who could earn from their profession and yet choose to retreat to a life of peace, non-materialism, happiness and simplicity. And before you ask, no, I don't intend to live in a homestead or retire right now, I won't eat what others have left at their fast food plastic trays (not even for the sake of wastefulness), I can't DIY nor make a fire out of the bush etc, but I appreciate a simple and happy life. Whether you aspire to live a life like theirs or not, there are certainly lessons for everyone in the logic/wisdom/principles behind.


Here are a few memorable quotes:

"Why make ourselves busy? The goal of living a life is to be happy, peaceful and healthy"

"Aligning with nature / Getting close with nature means meeting your own needs and NOT harming the natural environment"

"City dwellers have lots of resources but are lacking in consciousness, thinking if they have the money they can throw away things at their disposal. Being rich has nothing to do with wastefulness"

"I eat leftover food from others not because I"m poor but because I want to reduce the burden to our Earth"

"It only gets more ironic when the stuff/junk I pick up from others' unwanted trash is getting newer and newer. Why do we dump things that are so new? I haven't bought any new clothes for 10 years, but I could find brand new clothes from others' trash (still in bags/tags)"

"Wearing clothes is not about satisfying others' sight / eye pleasure"

"Happiness coming from consumerism or shopping is a pleasure that puts the earth's resources on expense"

"I never ask how much I earn per month, but ask instead how little I spend"

"The less you own, the more freedom you have because you don't have to worry. I don't ask everyone to do the same but I challenge myself how little I can live on.

"I consider myself rich since I have the right and freedom to choose the way of life I want"

"Simplicity means not to let MONEY have control over TIME, nor control over what we DO"

"I do DIY home-perfecting projects and am not bounded by time. I wait for the materials to come, sometimes it means waiting to find it in the trash or waiting for people to give them to me, I see it as a training for Patience"

"City dwellers tend to think that money solves everything, hence they make themselves busy because of Money. I don't busy myself for Money, I use my brain to solve problems (life), hence I'm not bounded by money nor am I a slave for money"

"A life of simplicity is an attitude, it does not a definitive standard. You don't have to live on an island. It doesn't mean you have to burn the wood logs to get fire to cook, you just reflect on your life (how far you've come) and take the opposite direction"

"Living in nature doesn't mean not spending a dime on anything, it's about avoiding unnecessary consumption, purchasing it in the greenest manner (bringing our own containers when buying food). We don't refute civilization, we're just don't want to create wastefulness (plastic grocery bags and packaging)"

"I don't think my way of life is 'bitter', in fact it is the city dwellers' way of life being 'overly sweet' (saturated with materialism and its abundance)"

-

Please allow me to say that I haven't been touched or felt moved by a documentary for a very long time. The last time was probably about polar bears losing their homes in the arctic, starving and died because they are forced to move somewhere they're not familiar with. 

"How do I want my life to be?" is a fundamental question for me, unfortunately it's not an easy one to answer either. Too many people have lived their lives in a breeze and chase after things that they don't intend to, at the end they might not get anything they want from it - because most of the times they haven't even looked and asked themselves what do they want from it? Sure, life gives everyone their share of sh*t now and then. ..Anyhow this is a reminder of why I need to live my life with a clear purpose (aka consciousness above everything I do). I hope my life would be more than just working and spending money on various things in life "mindlessly", and those things might mean nothing to me at the end!

Dec 3, 2014

Kicking off December with 2 No Spend Days

Traditionally, December is a busy time. Winter solstice, Christmas and my birthday. This year, I'll take it easy and slow. Christmas is probably my favorite season of the year but I'll look at it differently this year. This is not to say I'm anti-Xmas, not at all. I merely made a decision not to have a "fancy" time.

The main activities would be family winter solstice dinner, another family lunch (broken into small groups after the nasty rows we had, we won't be seeing each other in a big group this year), a relaxing birthday meal, and turning a blind eye on the sales frenzy. Oh and maybe a meal with some uni friends, but that'd just be an one-off thing and no major revelry. They're the bunch I went to the weekend getaway with, I have decided that I won't join their weekend getaway (traveling) anymore but a meal somewhere for a few hours locally is OK and still fun to do.

Most families here don't really celebrate Christmas, so you'd notice there's nothing Christmas-themed in the above; instead they are related to winter solstice. I'd like to point out that this has more to do with culture and history and the older generation. 

A lot of thinking has been going on with regards to 2015 goals, am still considering how to categorize and lay them out nicely here. But the keyword is: SAVE. Not buy. I'd be putting up a progress bar on the blog shortly, I will be track my spending, while saving towards a down payment. It won't happen next year, but it'll happen eventually so we're talking about saving for 2-3 years. The figure I'm after may look quite high but when you factor in the home decor, furniture, brokerage and closing fees, relocation fees etc, a larger picture will emerge. In fact coming to think of it, I might be underestimating the current figure...*palm slaps forehead*

Notice I said saving for down payment, not wedding banquet. That's because we both believe in a simple, beautiful but no-frills wedding.

To help me stay on track and make real progress, I'd also be posting the monthly / weekly goals from now on, now a revisit of last week's goals:

- Return merchandise to 2 retailers Done. Already had 1 reimbursed but waiting for the other.
- Visit to the doc  Done, but another visit to doc is needed, I think the cold still haven't left me
- Call up the clinic where I had blood test last week to see if the results came yet Yes, the results said negative. Need to look for another doctor.
- Track recent purchases with cashback site Done.
- Cash out amount from cashback site Done. 
- Donate purged clothing items during weekend Done. Although not donated, but sold. For a penny.
- Fix dinner dates with a school friend who lives nearby Will be rescheduled until later. I talked her into trying a restaurant that has a BOGOF offer, looking forward to it! This place is near where we both live so I did my best to make dining-out frugal!
- Go for a walk at the park I think this is a Yes. I didn't walk in the park but I walked 2+ hours (8 subway stops) on weekend...
- Fix brunch date with a uni friend (Yes) fix a tea session with a guy friend on the same day (No, will leave this idea for now), possibly dinner same night with one close relative (Will forget about this one)
- Check with a uni friend to see how her house moving is going No.
- Contact a childhood friend to see how her leg is healing Yes.
- Consolidate a group order (list of items with specifics) for friends and arrange the money transfer Will be done in the coming week.
- Fix a day out with friend to go clothes shopping (I will abstain from this)  Yes. And I managed to squeeze this in after the brunch date with uni friend! So I don't have to spend extra day out and extra commute costs! Win-win!
- Apply hand cream before bed every night Yes
- Apply body lotion/oil after shower every night Mostly Yes.
- Top-up transport stored-value card for December's commute An obvious yes.

Coming week's goals:
- Tidy up room (clothes and shoes)
- Clean the summer shoes and put them away
- Pick up birthday perks/gifts from various stores and cinemas (No spending will be involved)
- Scheduling a farewell lunch for a retiring colleague
- Replacement of new glasses (this one will take a while...still searching for the right pair and it's not easy)

I've had 2 No Spend Days in the first week of December, it requires active consciousness for the most part. Today I'll be visiting a store selling teas with a colleague, I love me some good Pu'er tea! Pu'er tea bags are just miles away from the real thing. I'm not sure how much is a good tea worth, but it's not a necessary. This will be my first venture to a tea store and I have no idea about the prices. If it's worth it I will get a tea cake /biscuit and savor it for a few months, if it costs more than what I had in mind, I'll forgo it. Actually, we had been doing swapping - part of his Pu'er tea for my chocolate drinks/snacks/Earl Grey teas. It'll be fun to visit a tea store in person to sniff at the real leaves! I've never entered a tea store on my own as I'm afraid of getting scammed because all I can read is the labels on the jars (how many years the tea is), but no real knowledge of teas. I can tell by sniffing and drinking it though, if that's any helpful at all.

Hope everyone's getting a good start of December!

Nov 27, 2014

A home is a wonderful thing

By that I don't only mean owning a home is a wonderful thing (mortgage aside), but when life gets tough, I can't wait to dash home after work and wait for dinner. I'm very grateful for my parents who never fail to put food on the table. There's absolutely no place I want to be except home, after work. All the chaos and hustle bustle out there just don't compete. The older I grow, the less I appreciate crowds and noise. 

My colleague seems to be getting worse, and he IS still coughing frequently next to me. My symptoms are slowly improving, I will make another trip to the doctor's tomorrow to get rid of the bug completely. I gave up a free movie night yesterday because the show time was rather late and I don't want to lose any sleep. I've learned in recent years: nothing is worth losing sleep for!

Some highlight of this week: I bought a body pocket (lingerie-like) for traveling in June and the zipper broke when I busted it out to use in my weekend getaway early this month. I was kinda disappointed to be "stood up" during the morning when I'm about to leave the house! I used it to keep my travel documents, cards and money safe under my T-shirt. It was not cheap, but it wasn't expensive either, but it shouldn't break after my 2-week trip to the US! Now, imagine if it broke during the middle of the trip? It'll be a nightmare. Now, I wrote to the manufacturer (not the seller - I got it at some fancy grocery store that has a nice selection of travel accessories) last Saturday, someone called me yesterday and said even though the product is not bought via their retail store (vs some distributor where I bought from), they are fine with taking up this case. I sent them pictures of the broken zipper. And to follow-up, they asked if I'd like a replacement or a discount in future when shopping at their store. I think I will choose the latter as I'm quite sure the pocket will break the same way it did, and other "styles" available are not that discreet (the straps are not lingerie-like so it's obvious even after putting clothes on).

A little lesson learned here is ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep the receipt no matter where you bought at. Buying directly from the manufacturer/producer instead of some distributor store will probably give you better warranty and after-sale service. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that sometimes convenience does take away some intangible benefits.

[Edit: I told them I'd take the discount and it's a mere 10% off the next purchase, expiring end of this year *sad* I might go and take a look and perhaps contemplate on a travel multi-national adaptor/plug. Or something else, or maybe nothing at all. It all depends on when I will feel like heading to the crowded store...]

Now let's revisit the weekly goals:

- Return merchandise to 2 retailers, obtain proof of postage for reimbursement
- Visit to the doc tomorrow Done, but another visit to doc tomorrow is needed
- Call up the clinic where I had blood test last week to see if the results came yet The results said negative.
- Track recent purchases with cashback site (after these are done, this will be the end of the online madness)
- Track cash out amount from cashback site
- Donate purged clothing items during weekend
- Fix dinner dates with a school friend who lives nearby Next Monday, I talked her into trying a restaurant that has a BOGOF offer, looking forward to it! This place is near where we both live so I did my best to make dining-out frugal!
- Go for a walk at the park
- Fix brunch date with a uni friend, fix a tea session with a guy friend on the same day, possibly dinner same night with one close relative (Squeezed onto the same day as another activity, see below. I'm going to forgo the rest of the dinner thing)
- Check with a uni friend to see how her house moving is going
- Contact a childhood friend to see how her leg is healing
- Consolidate a group order (list of items with specifics) for friends and arrange the money transfer
- Fix a day out with friend to go clothes shopping (I will abstain from this) I managed to squeeze this in after the brunch date with uni friend! So I don't have to spend extra day out and extra commute costs! Win-win!
- Apply hand cream before bed every night -- I do this almost everyday but not quite there yet. My finger just had a knife cut yesterday (slicing lemons! in the morning! without glasses on! the knife slipped.) and a little inflammation going on with my pinky. Not the greatest time, but I'll do what I can do.
- Apply body lotion/oil after shower every night -- 50/50. Mainly because the weather gets warmer this week, but it'll get much cooler next!
- Top-up transport stored-value card for next month's commute

Nov 25, 2014

Catching the bug, making use of the downtime

So I caught the flu bug rather inevitably (many, many are sick in the office and spreading germs knowingly without any sort of masks), getting sick disrupts my routine. I've a free movie night on Wednesday and I might have to give my tickets away and skip it altogether, we'll have to see. Then I have my work meeting today and being sick wasn't the greatest feeling before a major meeting! There's of course the visit to doctor's and taking medication, drowsy or not it'll mean more time for rest. When you have a family member who constantly leaves the TV (and the lights) on, it isn't a desirable environment to rest at all.

However, this is not the time to get irritated as it'll make things worse. This week will be all about resting, nursing back to health, and thinking about 2015.

I wrote about the credit card purchase "blips" last week. Those sort of stuff seemed to happen more and more, I recently ordered 5 items with the Single's Day discount but when they came, I liked none of it - what it meant was I had to pay for the return shipping to get my refund! These days shall STOP. I gave it a bit of thought the other day, after working for 3.5 years, my savings rate seems to be lacking far behind than my target (I don't think it's ambitious at all), and this is really a wake-up call. There's not much time to be wasted on dilly dally with flinging money injudiciously, I don't wan't to be "too late to do anything about retirement" (or anything at all, for the record). Simply put, I want a healthy relationship with money in 2015. This means reigning in every penny to be spent. I have added up the totals of foreseeable expenditures (not the everyday ones but annual ones), divided that by 12 and realized I have less than 50% left for savings, even without replacing personal stuff (clothes / beauty supplies). This is no good. 

In 2014 I've explored other ways of making money and it has been great for a while, but eventually put to a stop. I think I do need to give the company a call to check what's going on, I've done that before a few times, but don't want to be seen as pushy, but I really need that money. And I feel more productive during my free time when I'm working and earning money. (Edit: I sent them an email last week, hasn't heard back, now I'm popping in another message via text to see what happens)

In 2015 I doubt if I can find any new ideas of making money from side-hustle, so I am considering selling some of my possessions. It'll require a lot of prep work but at least I'll get some hard-earned cash back. This is all I can think of now. 

Goals for this week:

- Return merchandise to 2 retailers, obtain proof of postage for reimbursement
- Visit to the doc tomorrow
- Call up the clinic where I had blood test last week to see if the results came yet (called today: nothing)
- Track recent purchases with cashback site (after these are done, this will be the end of the online madness)
- Track cash out amount from cashback site
- Donate purged clothing items during weekend
- Fix dinner dates with a school friend who lives nearby (Monday/Tuesday)
- Go for a walk at the park
- Fix brunch date with a uni friend, fix a tea session with a guy friend on the same day, possibly dinner same night with one close relative
- Check with a uni friend to see how her house moving is going
- Contact a childhood friend to see how her leg is healing
- Consolidate a group order (list of items with specifics) for friends and arrange the money transfer
- Fix a day out with friend to go clothes shopping (I will abstain from this)
- Apply hand cream before bed every night
- Apply body lotion/oil after shower every night
- Top-up transport stored-value card for next month's commute

Nov 21, 2014

Slipping down the rabbit hole...

I made a trip to the doctor on Wednesday, asked for a blood test, it was expensive. I had to go private because my employer's clinic cannot do that test for me easily. Anyhow, it'll be worth it since I'll know whether the results aligned with the guess works. If the results doesn't match with what I had suspected, then it'll be tough work to look elsewhere, but that's a topic for another day.

On the same topic of doctor, I had a skin condition that seems to be slowly coming back and it's not a good thing. The past 2 years had been an ordeal for me until I found a dermatologist and went to a facialist. The facial lady could only offer temporary relief for me, while the dermatologist was able to diagnose my condition, put me on some antibiotics and topical gel, but the condition didn't really go away as I discovered lately. Hence I was reluctant to go back to the derm. as there's nothing much he can do except asking me to consider taking the last resort: use a higher grade medication that can have side-effects (and they can be huge or life-long, different for everyone). With that in mind, I visited the facial lady and put in a large sum of deposit, well, to me it's large. Previously I put about half the amount of the current sum and the package will give me 20% off every treatment. Now that I put double the amount in the deposit, the package will give me 30% off every treatment, I figured I would need more frequent visits to the facialist hence the deposit could last me an entire year and would stretch further my budget.

My colleague next to me had been coughing seriously for the whole week. This colleague called in sick on wednesday, the next day didn't see any improvement at all! Now my supervisor has noted that one by one we had fallen sick, I should be the next. It's annoying to be surrounded by sick people who should just stay home (but they don't!), my sick colleague told me that he had a party to go tonight. I rolled my eyes in my heart, he should at least wear a mask for the whole week instead of spreading germs. Completely inconsiderate. I feel glad it's Friday and I've been tolerating this since Monday.

With winter looming close and my determination to tweak my breakfast, I headed to the grocery store to stock up some stuff that I can have as easy meals, at home or the office, they would help me reduce my spending on food perhaps. I bought a few energy bars for just under US$0.5 each! Also got something slightly more fancy to drink (strawberry milk parfait powder sachet, I don't drink these every week so that's OK), instant noodles, some chocolates (those are delicious but I can exercise self-restraint so no problem with overdose), plain oat biscuits, soda crackers, a can of sardines. We'll see how it turns out with some instant pasta I got a while ago! If it works out, I know what I'll be stocking up next time :-) At the moment this pile should last for a while so we're set here.

The colleagues are talking about having a steak lunch with unlimited fries sometime next week, and honestly I don't care if the chef comes from France or Hell's Kitchen, I just don't. care. Guess what, the lunch could cost HK$230!! That amount of money will see you through in a lunch buffet at a hotel nearby our office, WTF?! Oh and last time I checked, fries are not really friends for our health. We'll see how this roll out next week.

My dad mentioned that he might not be able to go to the long-haul trip with us next year due to work, this needs further thinking, I certainly could go with mom but I really wanted all of us to be able to go! Granted the costs will be higher but I've come to realize that the time for all of us to go on a trip together isn't that much...and they are getting older, I want to bring them to places that they've never been and be amazed!

I had abandoned the pair of sneakers that I had my eyes on earlier, but I ended up with another 2 pairs of sneakers that look nice and versatile enough. If this works out, I might get the other 2 colors as well later on. 

I talked about putting funds for investment before end of 2014, but this plan has to wait. The bank I went to told me they had no new offers for the rest of this year so I might want to wait for 2015 if any new offers come out (some costs could be waived / rebated).

November has seen me slipping down the rabbit hole financially, but I still hold hopes for 2015 whereby unnecessary spending could be reduced to a minimum, given the tight wiggle room.

Nov 17, 2014

Quick link to an inspirational post

I stumbled upon this post last week and can't get it out of my head, it's HERE.

Christmas can look a bit sh*t, y'all.

If you're reading that post, make sure you go through the comments as well. 

In the past year or so I started to think that it's OK not to enjoy a particular festive day. Obviously I haven't told anyone about this. (You should look at their faces when I said "food is just food, sure, I enjoy eating nice food but I don't think more than that. I won't actively seek out the nicest places to have food", I should also mention that I like cooking more than eating.) My mom would say I'm a bit of a party-pooper (is that the word?) whenever I expressed ambivalence/distaste about doing what she thinks is traditionally -and-socially appropriate and expected of certain festivals. I refused to pay extra for an everyday meal at a restaurant chain that charges more just because it's "Christmas" or "Chinese New Year", I refuse to pay a hundred bucks more for a hotel buffet just because it's "festival season" and the hotels are charging more for the same thing. For the past few years I've gone the complete opposite way - to eat at places that people would never think of going during that time period. One, I get my peace of mind; second, anything to avoid the crowds and the madness; third, I don't have to feel coerced to paying more for the same thing.

Honestly, Christmas or other festive occasions is just another day in the year. To some, it may mean gifts and dinners; but to some, to the elderly / homeless it may mean loneliness and helpless, or to an average person it may mean too much kitchen prep work for zero appreciation, or don't-know-what-to-do with disagreeing relatives/cousins. This year, the last meaning is spot on.

This post resonated with me most in the part where it talks about feeling inadequate. Now that I don't come from a very well-off family, but I think we have more than enough to live by, and YET I still do feel incomplete/inadequate at times like these. I feel ashamed. There are the constant "wants" that disguises as "needs" under the bells and charms of the festive season. There are tons of other needy people out there to be thought of, even if we don't live under the same roof.  

For a start, I'll be looking at Christmas (or other festivities for that matter) a bit differently this year.

Nov 14, 2014

Wanted: A healthy relationship with Money in 2015

I can't help but feeling "damn that's me!" when reading Pru's post here

I was searching for something else on Google yesterday and then I stumbled upon a good discount (20% off) and I made an order for something which is clearly a "want" instead of "need. Then, 3 minutes later, I discovered that I could have made a slightly different order which will come with a gift with purchase! I cancelled the order (awaiting confirmation whether it is successful or not), and made 2 different orders, one with the gift) and another without. They are technically the same stuff but I ordered it differently to get the gift. So, I placed 3 orders, cancelled 2, but the cancellations weren't successful! Which means that when they come, I'll have to pay for shipping to return it, and some of the stuff is heavy as well, I might end up paying half of the amount just to have the full refund, roarrrrrrrr.

All this has taught me a great lesson: Never buy out of impulse, especially if it's a time-limited discount (1% less discount count by each hour, starting with 20%), I might as well skip it because the (perceived) lack of time = lack of sufficient information for judgment = more prone to mistakes = regrets to come.

I've decided that in 2015, I want to establish a healthy relationship with money. No more love/hate relationship, I don't want any love/hate relationship with money, nor any purchase mistakes like the above. Every purchase I make must be well-thought of (need vs. want) and thoroughly considered (how often will I use it, purpose), researched (specifications), assessed (features, functions), evaluated (best deal out there or not). I would avoid buying anything full price, period. 

The 2015 budget definitely needs to be drawn out, followed by some tweaking. I'll be ticking away expenses for weekend getaway with friends...or slightly reduce it to 1 trip instead of 2, we'll see. 

Nov 13, 2014

Sitting, waiting, wishing

What a week.

We visited a staff sale at a sports chain and got 40% off for my gym bottoms (1 long, 1 short), so that's a good deal! I have enough long gym bottoms to last me for a good while, together with the ones I got from GAP last month. If I see something of the short variety with a serious discount later on, I might consider getting another pair. I skipped another warehouse sale yesterday because I didn't feel like queuing for half an hour just to go in and see/try what might look good on me, I already have my eyes set on a pair of sneakers elsewhere. That pair costs HK$800 and I'm refusing to buy it FP, lol. I've been asking around friends if anyone knows anyone who works for sports chain and is able to get at a nice discount (meaning anything more than 10% off). Normally I have 10% off on *some* stores but not every brand/item is eligible. I tried looking online and had no luck with finding that color which I'm after, which I believe is limited edition. Ideally, I want to pick a color that goes with pretty much a lot of the things I normally wear - flippy skirts, *some* one-piece dresses, jeans long or short, dark or light. The good news is, I *might* be able to get a staff coupon but it remains a mystery for now.

I also caved in and made an online order for clothes (a lot of it) for 30% off on Singles' Day (ok I'm not, but it's just an occasion to do serious shopping), I'm waiting for them to ship, here's to hoping they fit nicely so I don't have to pay for shipping to return anything! On the other hand, I returned some items I got from the store last week for refund. It was quick and a breeze, except for the checkout beeline. I also made a mental note that I should not step inside that store ever. The last time was about 6 months ago and I didn't buy anything, however the last time was a complete fail of coming to the senses! Willpower I'm calling thy name!

The side-hustle front has been really really quiet lately, and I'd like to spice it up a little even though none of it falls within my control. However I did send out an email today to check if they have anything new for me and that I made a point I am ready to take up any training from them if needed be. Once that cycle has been set up, it'll take up my time on the weekend mostly and I'd be happy having a steady flow of income from it...and happily working in front of the computer. It will just have to be started! I'll see what I need to do if it doesn't work out / they don't need an extra pair of hands anymore.

I treated my folks teppanyaki lunch yesterday and it went OK, I had better experience with the restaurant last time, oh well. This morning I was sitting and pondering the financial goals for 2015, waiting for some inspirations to dawn on, meanwhile tweaking other lifestyle goals for 2015. 

Another major drawers' purge is expected this weekend (I worked on the closet two weeks ago), the goal was to free up space for the new pieces that are on their way, some are sitting on my chair since the closet cannot accommodate. Once this is done, some of the clutter shall be gone! An IMAX movie on sunday, brunch with a former colleague before the movie , that's the plan! Oh and check out the sneakers while I'm in that area! I doubt if they will sell below full retail price though. A department store sales week is starting on Friday and I'm not even winking at it this year, nothing caught my eye. Made a mental note to avoid that store and its nearby area for the next 3 weeks and it'd be jam packed with people! 

Tonight I'll be making noodles for dinner, time to pull out the festive candle from the deep end of the cupboard and I shall light it on Saturday!