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!

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...

Monthly Wrap-Up: June 2015

Yoohoo! Since I was away for most of the month, my savings rate pumped up to 55.33%! But I was spending money everyday when on vacation, so up to 30th June my NSDs for this year is 65. My goal is 150 days, well I'll try to make it happen! There's no granny money to be paid this month, nothing, nada, so my monthly contribution money went straight to its determined account, that was great.

So, the trip, it was a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am thinking of going back there again already (even though impossible in the near future). Now I know the freedom (also peril) of traveling and spending money every day. It was great to be able to forget most 'rules' I've set for myself, and get a treat/eat/try anything I want; but once I'm back home, old habits die hard! 

Other than the trip, nothing much has taken place this month, zero exercise, read 1 book (travel-related). I did try my best to settle the post-travel materials (wash and everything) into their respective place in the wardrobe. The investment earnings in the account seemed to be dropping this month was the general market wasn't doing very well, I'm a bit worried but think it should be OK as long as I'm holding onto them and not desperate to sell them at their lowest. I heard a good advice though - I get muddled when being a bit desperate with the "wealth creating wealth" mindset, the advice was that don't put all your money in it, even if you're making earnings! There's that temptation thinking that the more money you put in, you're maximizing the earnings, but it isn't always about earning, it's also about timing, being sensible, rational and cautious.

What's to come hither? I had a few people to see, hopefully some exercise when the temps are cooler (can the weather get any hotter?!), a wardrobe culling and maybe a shopping trip (see below) is in store in August? I'll get a tiny raise so that helps with the savings rate too. A couple meals would be done outside as well since you know, catching up...it's not a very frugal outlook come July and August. As I'm writing, I've taken advantage of a mid-year sale and stocked up on some personal care items. Again, not frugal at all! Need to put more effort tuning back to frugal mode!

Things on my mind to think about:

- from 2 haircuts per year I'm starting to think it'll be nice to have it 3 times a year, I felt "lighter" (literally the way your shoulder does) once I've had a trim. Also thinking about making it shorter;

- *maybe* taking up swimming (classes or not) again because my belly could use some fat-burn;

- need to get new swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles in that case;

- my wardrobe, badly needs an update I think?! Some of the items albeit I love them, is becoming tatty or just looks out of place? I felt a bit old-fashioned sometimes compared with what others are wearing - but tbh there's nothing wrong with the clothes I was wearing, no they aren't from the 90s! Don't know what was going on, my eyes or brain playing a trick on me?

- in relation to the previous point, perhaps I should consider going on a white/black/grey/navy color palette with my wardrobe so time and effort can be saved each morning, and each time doing laundry. Have to think more on this first, since I'm not ready to give up on colors!

Hope everyone will have a nice month ahead - I'll be slowly catching up with unread blog posts...but time for bed now! :)

Monthly Wrap-Up: May 2015

Hi, I'm slowly easing back to frugal blogging :)

Will start off with a not-so-frugal wrap-up for May first. Firstly I had a haircut, my grandpa's birthday was also in May so money had gone to "granny money" (hardly anything though tbh), I also got myself another pair of glasses because the new ones I got earlier this year was too heavy to wear on a daily basis, my work requires close attention to the screen so I figured it'll be a sensible thing to get something more comfortable. The other pair will be for special occasions - when a little class and oomph is needed (please don't laugh).

Since I'd be away for most of June, the library books had been returned even though I'd just finished one, but nevermind, since I don't see myself burying in books the first instance when I come back. Exercising was of course, zero progress at all. Most of the time was spent studying for the trip to come, and it was rather stressful as I wanted to make it "complete", all that was stressing me out, this to visit, there to try, there to eat, things to see, etc.

Money-wise, I opened an investment account last month, this month I've put in money into it and let my folks run it - I know I know, one shouldn't rely on others' advice when it comes to investment, but I'm slowly learning. A tiny dividend was also credited to the bank account, but otherwise, not so much extra earnings from side-hustling. In fact, all my side-hustles had gone quiet since April, one of them I have a vague suspicion about what's going on with the company but there's no way to know. Except that signing up with other companies is on my to-do list in June. 

The savings rate for May is at 34.3% which was quite low, but it's slowly climbing up I hope, last month was 29.6%. Like April, most of the expenses went on the long-haul trip for June. the fund I set up was not enough to cover it and I knew it, and it was OK in the way that I wouldn't be able to do a long-haul trip in the coming 2 years or more, the longest I can do is a week.

Phew, a lot has taken place in May but it has also become a blur to me now, since I'm writing it now.

Monthly Wrap-Up: March 2015

If I remember correctly, I spent almost 2 weeks with a flu bug and could not recall anything much, except that I spent less on eating out (since I wasn't going out, sick at home), and I did not buy any grocery food for the home (no stocking up). Here's the figures:

Overspent HK$419.45

Savings rate 45.41% (before tax)

Not too shabby methinks. My savings % had a dip last month, most likely due to me booking my vacation. But how did I manage to still overspend when I'm mostly home-bound for 2 weeks (except for work)? Well, I did a bit of shopping for the upcoming trip, mostly on a bug spray, sunscreen, mosquito repellent sticker patches, stuff like that do add up...

On top of that, I also got some footsies / shoe liners that will go with my sneakers. Also took the chance of a special promo and got a few bottles of fruity bath gel, they were $59 each normally, $99 for 3 when on special offer, but the cheapest (when I got them) was $25 each. Why the shop does this, I have no idea. Perhaps they'd like to increase shop traffic and get people to buy other things as well besides the promo? I also got 5 books on clearance, all related to health. I know I've got enough books and shouldn't be buying them, but I figured I'll lend them to DB or my family after finishing them, and not sure if they like library books! I think I've also mentioned in a few posts back, that I bought perfumes.

And let's not forget the cute Moomin tote I got, not a need but entirely a want, but I'll use it happily. Here's Moomin family again, if you're not familiar: (or you are like me, like looking at them)

Pic found on google images

Pic found on google images

As far as money things go, I've shared in the Moneytalk post (HERE) I've met the target saving amount, albeit very humbly. But still, the sense of accomplishment! :-D I've also gone ahead for the credit card upgrade, I should have done it sooner after figuring out there's nothing to lose! The minimum % you need to put down for a home's down payment, however, has risen. This is bad news for those who are struggling to save, now you have to save even more!

As far as dieting, healthy eating and exercising goals are concerned, I did very poorly in March. Been to the park for only once. Sick for 1 week, took another 2 weeks to recover. I've slowly started making changes to my breakfast routine, since I need to slim down that protruding belly, and while not in time to get fit before my vacation, still it's nice to have a start. More oatmeal will be on the way!

Personal development goals: remember I shared that I've signed up to become a volunteer then heard nothing? Well, I finally heard from them. Last week I went to a briefing and met other newbies, up to this date there's some volunteer opportunities but I've looked and found nothing close to my home and the time doesn't fit (afterwork?!), so we'll wait and see what comes next.

So what's in store for April? Lots of eating out, a rise in commute cost, and less NSDs since I'll be traveling a bit.

I'll treat a very good friend of mine for a birthday dinner. She's happily retired at the age of 56 and I'm just very grateful to know her before she retired. Even with our age gap (she has a daughter whose age is practically same as me), we got along very, very well and still are. Happy times! Then there's this senior colleague who lives so close to me, and we will be dining out near our place. It's hard to decline when she's more senior than me, but I've talked her into a place which has special offers, the frugal kind. In fact I gathered that she's a very frugal person. Since it's Easter holidays, I'll be meeting up with friends for tea, for some catching up. I did decline a weekend getaway trip with them, because I did not thoroughly enjoyed it last time, plus I could see my money is better spent elsewhere. Tonight I'll be shopping with a friend for a few personal care items, using her discount, and making use of coupons.

Grandma's birthday is also coming up, so there goes my "granny money" after March's grandma (another one) birthday.

A rise in commute costs from April onward is also on the chart, and for once I think it'll be a worthy sacrifice: money does buy you time, in this case. However the leap in cost will be quite a sharp one compared what I used to have. Plus, summer is near, which means I might be walking less and taking more trains! I'll observe how my commute costs rise for the coming month, then I'll make adjustments in my budget...

April's a bit quiet on the side-hustle front, so it might actually be time to get on with a blog sale (not on this blog), or maybe catching up with reading books and magazines. I hope April will be a better month!

Moneytalk, March: the good and the bad

This post will cover anything related to $. The monthly wrap-up will be another post.

Let me start off with something good. Previously one of my goals in March is to pump up my savings to a certain amount by March, and I've JUST achieved it, albeit marginally. The sum will all go to my down payment in future. This sum excludes my day to day cash in my wallet, my emergency fund, the account I set aside for yearly categories (more on that), any money tucked away in bonds and stock (I only hold one, looking to expand the profile). For the past few months, I have a new habit of putting *some* notes at home and replenish the wallet when the notes run out. For some reason, this worked for me, the thought of going to ATMs every week worries me and I panic at the thought of it. I intend to go to ATMs not more than 4 times a month: paying my credit cards in full, wiring money to my folks (this is safer than handing them cash), withdraw cash (to replenish). Sometimes I even do same things at once to save me time from the ATM queue, the queues can be horrible I tell you: there was once I had to wait for 10-15 minutes, it depends on where you are.

Well the not so good news was, the authorities have made people who are looking to buy their first homes much more difficult now. In the past people can walk away with 90% mortgage 10% down payment (minimum). No more of those days...it's now 30% down payment for everyone. Which, to me, is a sky-high number! I did a count, if my salary and savings rate stays the same, it'll take me close to 10 years to accrue the figure that would allow a down payment for a very, very modest house. But the amount wouldn't be enough to cover any lawyers cost, stamp duty, renovation, fitting-out, etc. It's very sad and more so when there's nothing I can do about it. 

Another piece of news is: huge change in commute pattern has taken place, I just did a very modest calculation and found that I'll probably need to pump up 50% more than my previous budget on commute. I'm curious to see how this change of commute pattern will influence my way of thinking about what transport to take; and how the item will play out in my budget. I have not revised my budget yet, as I would like to see how it play out in the first 1-2 months. Meanwhile I might need to start chanting *money buys time*, I need to look at where else I can cut back on...

Moving on, I've come to a decision regarding the talk on credit card upgrade. After a few calls to the hotline, I found out that I had nothing to lose after all! The worst case scenarios if I cannot meet the spending limit was (1) I had to call them to waive the annual card fee, which I have 70% they will do so, if not, I'll just cut the card or I can (2) downgrade it to my current card, without any charges. The upside was, I'll accumulate my points quicker, have unlimited access to the airport lounge. The even better part was, I can sign up for subsidiary cards for my family and DB, the subsidiary cards have no minimum spending per year, no annual card fee, and same unlimited access to the said lounge. Now I want to kick myself for not going for the upgrade sooner. The subsidiary cards I'll have their spending limit lowered if I should apply any, however my hesitation is whether getting the subsidiary cards will affect my credit score.

Thee coming of April will see the whole city "doing without" plastic bags, the shops will impose a levy on most plastic bags used. Some items that are frozen, fresh (think fish from the market), or bread from the bakery, will be exempted (but I don't know what else). This is a big problem for moi as I tend to buy a few items here today and a few items the next day, and I hate bringing an extra bag with me to carry groceries. Hopefully this will wean me off from buying unnecessary groceries, but this policy is a royal pain to housewives and everyone, really. Paper bags can be the new option for shopkeepers but their cost is almost double or even more than a plastic one. Talk about conundrum. 

The following paragraphs is for Pru, I figured it'll probably be best fitted under "Moneytalk" ;) Do remember I am only speaking for what I do, and some or most people may not do what I'm doing, or maybe they are doing even more. 

Every month I set aside a certain amount of my salary to be given to my parents, right now that sum is at 25%. I would adjust it every 2-3 years when I get a small raise, but the % will be 25. My folks used to say their generation would give 70% of their income to their families, but they have siblings and people were generally very poor back then. We had arguments about this before, but 25% seems to work best now, although I'm sure they want more, and that they can take more...In our culture, sons and daughters "should" (although arguably some don't) give some money to their parents regardless whether they are still living with them or not. Agreeing with the spirit behind this practice, I intend to continue this practice even after getting married or moving out one day. It's just the right thing to do and I don't question it. My folks have given me the best they can, and are as frugal as they are.

Another related "expenses" to the above, is the money for my grandparents (I call it "granny money"), it's not an obligation (read: I'm not their direct offspring, they have a handful of them and the offspring are the ones who should be giving them money like I do in the above paragraph), but it makes them happy. Plus I don't see them often, like 4-5 times a year, each time I'll give them a few hundred to let them buy what they want, eat what they want. They are not working anymore and solely rely on their savings, and if not, their offspring to support them. So whenever it's birthday of my grannies, around Chinese New Year or Mid Autumn Festival, I'll shell out some. I know some people who don't do what I'm doing, but I always say you never know how long they're still there for, and in their prime age they were working hard for the family and now it's the time they should be taken care of. 

Crunching the numbers

So here we are...16th of February!

A quick trip to the budget number reveals that I've spent 78.5% (!!!) of the monthly budget. The remaining days in the month will see me teetering over the edge, and I'll be clutching my wallet very, very tight. There will be a trip to the health practitioner tomorrow and it'll send me right over the budget. 

Previously I made it clear that there won't be any stockpiling purchases this month, but I've made a few slips here and there. I caught the oat biscuits (cheap and tasty) back on shelves again and got two boxes without thought. (Hey they last until December...) With the coming week is major Public Holidays (PH) I should have no problem with 3 NSDs in a row. Next week there will be a banquet (saved for), and an official lunch treat (shared with peers, also saved for) so those won't hurt my monthly budget numbers. But there's another trip to the doc next week, but we shall see.

I'm going to spill the beans about an awesome deal we had on V Day, since me and DB don't want to succumb to paying triple or double prices for poor quality set dinner and such. In the past we've deployed our twisted logic, had our mouths fed in a fast food chain and we can't be happier! Here's why:

(1) no crowds next to us

(2) no need advance booking via phone, no head-wringing moment of "OMG where should we eat at?"

(3) we never like "V Day set menu" prescribed by the restaurant and have the same food as everyone else *BORING*

(4) not dining in a restaurant means we won't be extorted $ (mind you the quality usually goes downhill on fully booked occasions like this, and Xmas)

(5) no pressure to "do what everyone else does", aka a bouquet of flowers and all that sh**

So, what did we have? *cues drumroll*

Our dinner for that night (1 big pizza + 1 baked rice) only costs HK$108, for 2! We could have gone to a fast food chain cheaper than HK$54 per person, sure. But HK$108 for 2 is a major win considering that it's not a fast food chain quality food! (Pizzas do not belong to fast food "menu" where I live.) I had a coupon for a big pizza at $69 versus the usual $149, and since we're *kind of* big eaters, we added a baked rice, it was $45 but the cashier told me the set (same size) is $39 and comes with soup/soda, that's even better! The only downside was that I had to go to the place to order (the place is far away from everywhere else) and self-deliver it home by transit instead of the motorman buzzing it to our doorstep. Sure it took quite a bit of walk and strong arm muscles but hey it's a win-win for everyone! We got our fab deal pizza dinner and can't be happier.

I also booked tickets for DB and I for a short trip somewhere in Easter - it wasn't the prime time for fab travel deals but this period is easiest to allow taking day-offs to make it into a trip. So I guess that'll have to do. Location-wise, it's not where I felt 100% attracted to go but DB really wants to go there so no problems with that. Any travel related costs shall not come under the monthly budget and shall be taken out of another pocket - which I hope will be adequate to fund it...

January's Saving Rate

This is probably a bit late but who cares ;-)

I've just finished dabbling with the figures, the calculations are based on pre-tax income I made (after retirement compulsory contributions), any extras I made (via side-hustles, allowances, vouchers, birthday money). Expenditures include the regular ones that take place monthly, and yearly categories that I've budgeted for (e.g. new eye glasses, work-related expenses, money for grannies, tax) and money for folks (this amount is almost the same amount of my monthly budget, kinda huge).

*cues drumroll* So I managed to save 45.85% of income in January! Pre-tax.

For those who wonder why I kept my calculations pre-tax when calculating the savings rate...well, that's because I"m new to the tax system and there are a lot of factors that drastically changed the amount I was paying for before, and now. I cannot calculate exactly how many % of my monthly income will go to paying tax but all I can do, right now, was putting away enough money each month and build up a cushion. 

Right now I have a savings account, a checking account that includes tax and emergency fund (so 3 accounts). I also have a fixed deposit account tucked away in another bank, that also comes with a checking account which I do not use currently. I prefer to separate emergency fund from the tax reserve fund, and another account for yearly categories/replacements (stuff like dental checkups, and replacing electrical appliances in the household), savings account for savings, checking account for regular monthly expenditures. I'm thinking maybe I need more number of accounts than I thought I need. But that's for another day!

When looking at the 45.85%, I was thinking those extra income I earned really made a difference. Guess how the number will drop if I'm relying solely on one job??? That kinda worries me...

Tick Tock Tick Tock

The clock keeps ticking...

and I kept working :-S

I came home past 10 on Tuesday, and was completely beat. Completely. Like someone has knocked me out, I couldn't manage anything except shower and went straight to slumberland.

It was some side-hustle post-work hours and silly me I thought I could squeeze both side-hustles and kill two birds with one stone! I ended up finishing job A, then stayed behind to work on job B. All these are done in the same day after finishing day job C. Earning money was not easy, but I'm grateful I had the opportunities to work extra by choice.

On the bright side, it means I should be able to hit my monthly goal of making extra 2-3k a month! *pops the champagne open* 

It feels really great not having to rely solely on one job only! #securityissues 

Sometimes I feel OK proud of myself for being active in seeking out side income sources, except via investment which I aim to touch on soon, maybe later part of the year. Because there's just so limited time to be completing jobs and it's better to make money generate money (be they how little).

10 NSDs and financial goals update

Achieved 10 NSDs as of today. Could have been 2 more days but mom was sick so I had to buy dinner for her and lunch myself since she didn't feel well enough to cook anything. I'll have a couple more NSDs before the end of month so looks like I would be able to achieve my monthly financial goal.

One of my financial goals (HERE) was to make extra income (2-3k) per month and with a little luck, I made it this month! Could have made more than that but I had been sitting on a side-hustle forever and not starting it. Must get that one started this week! If I added in the gifts I received this month from a side-hustle event, the total amount would double the said figure. But, gifts are gifts (can't be cashed in unless I sell them).

I talked about putting away funds to an investment account a while ago, well I popped by the bank last week and they were having an offer (no money rebate, though, just waiving *some* of the transaction fees) but I decided to wait for the next round of offer, probably later in this year. The market is not at its lowest moment right now and the banks are fully saturated with money from everyone...it's not like a once-in-a-century kind of deal so this can wait...although the earlier I invest, the better it will be.

Each penny has been tracked this month and so far the numbers looked OK. I broke the clothing ban - because I had a gift card to spend...I tried looking for something that can be topped up with the least amount of cash as possible but the brands (that site kind of suck to be honest, but I was gifted with the card so no choice) they stock there hardly fit the "quality" or "durability" bill, so I ended up shelving out extra money to get something that should last twice as long as the cheapo stuff. It fits OK but I felt kind of "cheated" by the thought of a gift card, you know...

As of today (22/01/2015), I've spent 52.23% of my monthly budget (excluding shopping for personal care items), or 64.4% if it's also factored in (I didn't set a budget for those this month). A few things to note though, since DB is working on weekends this month so we've been meeting less and less meals out; no great movies on lately so I haven't spent a dime on entertainment budget. I also put in "networking or work related expenses" in my monthly budget but IRL I'd like to leave them untouched and so it is this month! However, next month the spending on work related matters would be different as Chinese New Year kicks in...

Next week we will see a medical expense coming up, so other than that my wallet should have continuous moment of peace. Stay tuned.

Price hike = YIKES!

Went to run some errands today, it seems every single store chose to increase their prices all in the same day! The minibuses and electricity company etc chose 1st Jan which is usually understood, but the small shops, oh they are bad!

The story went something like this: there's a noodle stall near where I live, and around 10 years ago it was $17 / bowl. Last week (damn sure about this as I walked past it deliberately), it was at $30. TODAY: $35!!! Yikes!!! I discovered the price hike after I was seated. To be honest I nearly stood up and leave the stall, thinking I could use the dollar menu from McDonald's (fillet o' fish bun!) at less than $10, but I didn't leave. The place was crowded and getting ever more popular than before (thanks to media exposure and the general hype around this stall), uncomfortable seats, boisterous, etc. I don't eat there often, maybe 2-3 times a year so it was somewhat a 'treat'. Thinking about it, my experience there seems to dwindle every time I visited it, so I swore to myself I'd NEVER step in that place again.

Fast forward, there's an artisan bakery selling pastries of all sorts, it's very traditional and also getting more popular like the above store. A catty of the fried pastries would cost about $3x in prior years and today I saw $56. I'd not be getting their stuff to consume myself ever again, it's (still) delicious but the price is getting ridiculous...However I need to buy a catty of those to some friend I'll have lunch with next week. This will be it.

Another store where I got the ingredients for the soup noodles also had increased their price by $1, it was acceptable but it's just the moment you are caught off-guard until at the cashier till (or cue the above scenarios) just sickened me, you know? [rant over]

If nothing more, all these just highlighted the 2015 goals I have to cook my own meals, eat at home, and eat whole foods!

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.

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)!

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.

!!! 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?