This and That

This is going to be a mish-mash sort of post.

1) Picked up some cookies on the way home the other day, I should just stop buying snacks in 2016. That might not be difficult as it have sounded, my biggest hurdle would be special flavors (case in point: I just bought butter & maple syrup, and cheese). It'll be a good move to save me $ and waistline.

2) I had been surviving on breads and congees and a small bit of rice (nothing chewy), next to none veggies except for the odd bit of grapes and a few leaves. That said, I craved hot food (and normal food). While at the dental check up the other day, I passed by the canteen and my stomach growled. Had a hard time deciding what to get - whether I can eat/chew it and whether it's worthy of that money, at the end I spent $15 on getting steamed rice flour rolls which I easily slurped on, is warm (and most importantly it's no longer bread!). I was happy but I broke a No Spend Day...I would say the urge to have something is a cross between "want" and "need".

3) Speaking of (2), I must stop getting that much bread once my condition recovers. I'm not that much of a bread-eater, well depending on the type of bread.

4) My neighbor made awesome curry which I can smell from my vicinity(!), it ignited a crave, naturally. I must go have some curry once conditions improved. You see, I saw that dental extractions coming and had sushi the week before, so glad I did!!!

5) I have changed a new set of pillow, pillow case, duvet and duvet case last month, I had wanted something warmer but it was much more $$. At the end I got a cheap set for everything (the pillow case being the most expensive item out of all 4 - ha!) and it's always a good thing when you find yourself feeling cozy the moment you slump on your bed. I hardly have that feeling in the past, and the change has changed everything. I literally fell in love with bedtime now. 

(Lesson: always spend $ on things you use everyday, it pays!)

6) While at the pharmacy, I came across a cheerful pharmacist making announcements over the mic, the hall was so crowded with folks coming and going, queuing, waiting, you know, every age group. It makes me happy to see that someone is still keeping up the spirits even when under such a pressurized environment! They look like a nice team there too.

7) On the way home I saw students coming out from exam hall which I used to take my exams at. Oh the days and joy of being a Uni student! The time is yours and there's such a great sense of possibilities - arguably I have none at the moment. Being a Uni student will always be the best time in my life, period.

8) My raise has come through this week and it's literally pouring an ice bucket over my head. I really needed to do some serious and comprehensive calculations about 2016's savings and spending. There are a few things that I can think of off the top of my head already, including cell phone replacement and my new savings policy, need to budget for them.

(I deliberately put savings in front of the latter...)

9) Taking more stairs will be one of my goals in 2016...

Alright, gotta sign off and think some more!

December = Excess = Sick

Disclaimer: I went a little crazy during November and December and just did a huge shop yesterday - it's making me guilty, regret now due to the excess. 

I should know it's coming. Right? Right??? 

The end of the year is always the worst - different sales going on, birthday discounts, etc. Excess makes me feel sick. And I am sick of the stuff piling in my room, sick of the wrong decisions I made, sick of repeating the same route again as the years before.

Definitely some goals are in the making with regards to that, the difficult part is "how to". While it's probably easy for some people who "just don't", it's going to be a bit tricky for moi. In the past I found that too much time on my hands = more mindless purchases, fully busy = less time to shop. However just look at the past two months will tell you otherwise. Busy = stress shop. 

I start to think that clarity is the key, when my mind is clear and focused on goals, and that means really focused and determined without distractions, I generally do better. The environmental factors of course play a part, I do better on days without any credit cards around aka (limited) cash only. I also do better when I have time to connect with frugal bloggers and posts...which comes to the conclusion that while I don't really have spare time as in my previous position, and it's not a thing I have control over. I definitely can do something on my part by leaving the cards at home, go limited-cash-only on days that are planned to be no-spend. Some unsubscribing actions must be done to get rid of the distractions.  

Lastly, how do I maintain the clarity and focus? How can one make frugality on auto-pilot without the need to even think?

Woken by pain...

this morning at 9am that is. Got up at 3:30am last night and popped a painkiller, rinsed my mouth with saline water before returning to sleep. It felt like somebody is chiseling away at my jaw. Well, the dentist surely was, I heard sounds from the electric drill. Face/jaw is still swollen. 

Just had my breakfast (congee), medicine and now slowly (really slowly like you wouldn't believe) chewing on grapes, my mouth immediately felt sore the moment I opened it. Great. Mom's been helpful in suggesting that I cut them in halves to make easier entry to the mouth. The pain is still putting me off from doing anything productive, so catching up with blog posts that is!

2015 goals reviewed and looking forward

So I had the privilege of a few days' down time chillin' at home, due to a surgical dental extraction (PAIN!!) and wound stitching (TMI!). When the anesthesia is gone, it's really painful to the point that I couldn't sleep and had to take analgesics, and keeping a liquid/soft diet. Now half of my face is swollen up like a balloon. Not pretty. Plus, it hurts like somebody had punched my face, bruised and dug a hole on it, it felt very sore. The few days off could be more productive (had plans in the household area) but the pain is keeping me off from doing anything at all. Not even Internet, but hey, I remember and cherish this little corner and you lovely frugal friends on the cyber space :)

I haven't properly posted here since April, can you believe it's that time of the year already?? The past few months had been a blur, I dreaded in going to work, once I struggled to, it's like 11-12 hours per day, go home, have supper, shower, do the dishes, then off to bed. Barely any time to wind down and do my own stuff (from idling to Internet browsing, let alone blogging). If I stayed up at night (aka more 'me' time), I'd be exhausted the next day and the cycle repeats. One thing I had to be strict about is bed time, yeah like a kid. If I'm lucky that night that we're heading out for supper, which means no dishes. The work situation really is dreadful - there's no way around it and won't change anytime soon. I used to joke that the current role enables me to save more, i.e. too busy to do any mindless shopping, but being the holiday season in November to December, it isn't helping so far, lol. We shall see.

Back to the core business. Frugal living. Makes me panic the other day when I looked up and realized I had no definite ideas of what goals to achieve in 2016. More panic when I realized the latter half of 2015 was gone and I didn't do well in terms of adhering to my budget. Here's some financial milestones of 2015:

- I had taken a baby step towards investment, e.g. buying some stocks (on the advice/recs from my dad), earning dividends. I have no intention to put more money in it now since it's a volatile market and there's a possibility I will get carried away and put more/win some/lose more money;

- I just signed up a savings plan, which I consider it a safety nest to put some of my eggs into, and will start earning some guaranteed interests (similar to dividend but it's not a stock, idk how to call it) starting the 2nd year. This is a big step for me as it means I need to be financially committed (in the form of a fixed amount) every year, also a step that I've dreaded for 3-4 years. Sure I could be more aggressive in terms of the financial commitment per year as well as the guaranteed interest rates, but then I had other plans in mind that I'd like to purchase in the coming few years such as insurance, which is why I think I'm happy with the amount signed up for now;

- Who knew I could make some extra earnings from doing surveys? I did :) and I kept a figure of how much I made, it's not much but it certainly helps;

- I discontinued a monthly subscription box which brings happy little surprises, originally a monthly treat to self, I now find my room is stuffed to the brim and don't need any wondering of 'hit or miss'es;

- I did only 2 major clothes shopping this year, aside from undergarments and replacement of PJs, not sure how it will be like next year but it certainly cheered me (& wardrobe) up without breaking the bank. I didn't buy any shoes (slippers not counted) nor handbags;

- Aimless trips to supermarkets avoided.

Things I could have done better (financial or not), these will probably be 2016 goals:

- Adhere strictly to the budget, precisely spending on entertainment, cutting away mindless/impulse buys, and stop being sucked in by the word 'sale' and 'offer' and 'gifts'. Apparently this is still a MAJOR work in progress;

- Clocked in approx 130 No Spend Days this year, could definitely do more and get closer to 150;

- Side hustles fluctuated plus I'm busier in new role right now, 2-3k per month used to be attainable but no longer, I'd be ecstatic if able to make extra 1k per month;

- Saving for down payment: see financial milestones above, still a MAJOR work in progress, I'm thinking what to do with the blog progress bar;

- Explore funds and ETFs;

- Could be more diligent in cleaning and tidying my room (dust bunnies);

- Working out what are the 'essentials' in everything: from wardrobe to timetable, to routine to life;

- Traveled more;

- Be a better listener and partner;

- Keeping up with frugal blogosphere, internalize frugal living as a habit;

- Read more books/magazines, plus I'm close to not 1 but 2 libraries;

- Reevaluate my assets distribution, particularly the retirement funds (dreaded for a few years), do a shopping on bank offers;

- Exercise!! 

- Not bringing credit cards out on most days will help greatly in driving down impulse buys;

- Clear new emails every day.

My goals for next year is loosely laid out, some of the housekeeping/personal development/health and personal care goals will be similar to that of 2015 so they are likely to stay on the 2015/6 page...all in all, it's an OK year but definitely could accomplish a lot more. As far as 2016 is concerned, I'm not sure how the struggle between work and life will be, so I tend to be on the safe side not to make goals that are too radical. The older I become, the more I appreciate certainty and routines. The adventurous side will be kept for travels :) Very often I find myself hoping for a 'normal' year instead of an exciting one. Is anyone of you like that?

Now off to do the calculations of November...

Hello, world!

I've left the blogosphere for a good 6 months, with some quick monthly wrap-up in between but that ain't blogging!

The latest development was: I got switched to a much busier role at work, so for the coming months I would be making a huge transition in terms of mindset, workload and routine. It'll probably mean a big overhaul of everything: from wardrobe (still feeling like a drab with clothes that have seen better times), to exercising, to discipline (time-wise), etc. If I'm adapting well, this should take 6-9 months before I can truly settle down.

On the other hand, stuff and more stuff are piling up in my room that I absolutely want to get rid of, but they're not trash nor papers, so that's going to take some time.

I hope everyone has been doing well during my absence, I'll make extra effort to post regularly, because I clearly need to establish a routine amidst everything that's changing.