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...

On the Agenda this week

Yesterday it occurred to me how close we are to our upcoming trip, a mere 3 weeks away!

I've flipped through the travel book borrowed from a friend and had some idea of what to do during the few days at the destination. I've also texted the driver who we would be hiring for a day or two in the trip. Normally hiring a driver for a full day isn't an option I'd consider at all, but for this certain location, I do think it's warranted, now I just need to finalize on a lot of things for the trip in the coming week:

- call up / ask different insurance providers to ask about their coverage plans, decide and buy;

- looking at sunscreens and bug sprays;

- have the currency exchanged;

- lose some belly fat before going!

- go through my wardrobe for suitable pieces to bring with me, alas I have no long summery dresses can you believe that!

- going for a facial, haven't had one in a month, am trying to delay the visit there;

- get movie tickets for weekend;

- attend dental checkup.

I started reading Mrs Moneypenny's book today and got to say I like her style of writing! Wish I had access to FT so I can read more of her work.

The free supermarket voucher came yesterday! I had doubts about the online survey company previously (still have), instead of counting them in as "side-hustle" money, I'd give the vouchers to my mom for her grocery shopping. I will keep a record of how much I was able to make across the year from online surveys though, be they peanuts, but it felt good!

Hurray Dividend!

I just got HK$234 from some bonds that I was holding for half a year, it 'll go straight to the side-hustle count for the month. Woot Woot!

*note to self* must open an account sometime during mid year and hopefully buy more bonds later, since I'm not really familiar with stocks yet. 

Mid Week Update of sorts

My eating has suffered in the past 1 ? 2? weeks because the schedule of my mom and mine don't sync - there are times when she's home to cook and I'm not, and vice versa. My vegetables and fruits intake fluctuated dramatically. The fruits lately sucked and I don't fancy the thought of biting into cold, dry cherries. I'll be home for dinner but not sure if she'll cook as she's just had a work shift...

Given how it is, I will make a mental note to ask her to get the house filled with greens by Wednesday as the supermarkets probably won't get restocked with nice stuff over the long PH weekend, yikes.

The weekly walks in the park has virtually fell by the wayside - no trips had been made to the park at. all. Must get back on the wagon during the weekend when out of things to do! Catching up with reading and past issues of magazines will also be on the radar. Hopefully I'll declutter a bit (WHO declutters on a New Year against the tradition?! No one.) and start getting the blog sale up. Been sitting around this forever and not started a thing.

The considerations of getting a post-grad degree had also diminished - partly because after some thoughts, I realized I am not likely to become the candidate that they're looking for - those intangible attributes that can't be bought / doesn't come automatically with qualifications on a piece of paper. The degree probably might add *some* value to my current job, but it might not. There's also the thought of taking some online courses and purchase the end-of-course certificate and add it to my CV, some certificates maybe better than nothing at all. 

Another week of February

The first week of February had seen me working extra hard and reached the peak of exhaustion. It's already taking its toll on my energy, spirits, health and what have yous. The long hard thinking about career decisions isn't helping either. Tomorrow night I'll have a meeting after work somewhere (whoever's idea of having a meeting at dinner time, that person is just downright stupid).

In other note, I've come to the conclusion that an outfit plan every Sunday is not going to work for me - not because of the weather but because it simply is exhausting my brain. On most days when I am not meeting any one after work I just wear what I want (usually is whatever that's not going to the wash). If I have things to do after work, I would have come up with what to wear day(s) before. Waking up each morning and getting dressed is a tough task, in summer it's easy. 

This week will see a family dinner, maybe I'll contribute a dish or two, but I'm going to to take things easy on the weekend. Don't think a jog or a walk can be squeezed in. so that goal has fallen by wayside! It appears that I can hit one of my financial goals of making an extra 2-3k. Only 3 NSDs so far, 2-3 more will happen this week, so my monthly total won't exceed 10, given February is a short month, but a quick trip to the numbers found me spending 60%+ of the monthly budget already(!).

I've done no readings this week and the "eat more greens" goal is not making any progress. Hope the holidays will allow catching up with the monthly goals, the weekly goals list remains pretty much the same as last week's:

- schedule dental check up after CNY (remind DB about this since we attend appointments together)

- update the balance on passbook as well as the progress bar on the blog (I just chased after someone to return the money she owed me but so far nothing is showing up)

- start small on a side hustle (...)

- read 20 pages on the unfinished book (...)

- be in bed by 2330 (this one is ultra important)
- eat more fruits / greens
- research on a few easy peasy dishes to make this weekend
- discuss with mom about food arrangement during the 5-day long weekend, don't want nasty surprises (aka freezer stuffed to the brim but falls short of anything I want to eat), shops don't open / restock, etc

I try to keep in mind whenever I sign up for more work that I must not let any other commitments in my life suffer - be it rest, time spent with loved ones, etc. So easy to say, not exactly easy to do!

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).

Frugal February: Refocus

I realized today being the first day of February and it being a Sunday, there's no better time than laying out goals to be achieved in the coming month. Yesterday's post is a recap, today's post will help to refocus.

Financially speaking, I still aim to make an extra 2-3k from side hustling, so far I'm positive about achieving the 2k mark. Now if you add the pocket money which will be gained (notice I didn't use the word "earn") during Chinese New Year, it could well go over the 3k mark. I need to drag myself up to work on a few bits which had been sat on forever. Oh yes and the blog sale, I hope with the 3 public holidays in mid Feb should help me iron out a bit of the logistics. If the sale went live, the extra income will go to March :-) 

One of my financial goals for 2015 is to better manage my retirement fund, well where should I begin? I'm waiting to receive a quarterly summary (of my account) from the company that manages my retirement account, so that I could create an online account platform to manage the fund. Why wait for the summary to come you may ask? Well that's because I don't want to rustle through my papers in the shelf...it'll work out easier for me to use the info from the latest report they sent me than finding my papers at home. After the account is created, I'll take closer look to their quarterly performance reports of various funds, this is the part I dreaded, but it has to be done eventually.

Since February is a short month, I'd be hitting the jackpot (literally) if I manage 14 NSDs - aka half of the month I won't be fishing a penny from the wallet. I can't quite say whether it is too ambitious or not, since there are some scheduled events coming up (big family dinner post-CNY, meeting friend from overseas, friends' gathering, office lunches, office expenses, shipping gifts overseas), but here's to hoping! Contrary to traditional practices of stocking up pantry before CNY, I will be looking out for post-CNY sales, mostly food! Many of the shops will close on PH or worse, they open but will charge you more than what normally was, dining out during this period is akin to an extortion. I'll make sure we have enough variety of food during the holidays so it won't drive me crazy to eat the same things three days in a row. It's quite dreadful coming to think about how long the CNY stretches out to be: restaurants would start having "regular" price meals just weeks before the holiday actually is, and continue for a week after the actual holiday ended. Hence the food (and variety) we need to have ready at home needs to cover more than just the handful of days(!), if we want to stay frugal and sane.

Health-wise, I'd struck gold if I can manage to hit the park 4x within this month. Meanwhile I always try to walk a lot and walk far, to make up for times when I couldn't make to the park. I'll try to make sure to keep an early bedtime during the holidays though! Unfortunately, festive holidays also means a period of indulgence when it comes to food...the festive cakes, puddings and various delicacies. Will try sticking to whole foods as much as possible. On a personal care level, I've been keeping on with moisturizing in January but need to up the ante this month - so is conditioning my hair and masking! 

In other areas, I should probably get the book reading back on the bandwagon, and finish it ASAP. I don't have to make myself read if it's an interesting book - but it isn't, but it's a useful read. As far as the housekeeping / decluttering goals is concerned, if I can map out the basic logistics of the blog sale, that's part of the decluttering done already. The other decluttering work I foresee will be in March or April when the weather is really sucky (read: humid, foggy, cold, drizzle, grey skies, hazy) and I'd do anything to stay indoors. This, together with food supply (meals at home), shall be the key in March. Oops...got sidetracked! February I will be seeing an overseas friend and perhaps a group of friends, that's enough for my schedule already but if anyone wants to meet, I may consider that...or not. It'll depend on funds and time.

Before this gets too lengthy, I'll end it with weekly goals:

- schedule dental check up after CNY (remind DB about this since we attend appointments together)

- update the balance on passbook as well as the progress bar on the blog

- set up an auto-transfer for the paycheck in Feb to the "yearly replacements" account

- start small on a side hustle

- read 12 pages on the unfinished book

- top up transit pass $200

- be in bed by 2330
- get distilled water and blank masks

Hope February will treat you to a good start!

Monthly Wrap-Up: Jan 2015

I'm excited to be writing this. This year I'm really taking my finances seriously, like really seriously.

So how did I do in January? *crunches numbers*

I overspent HK$895.1. It was a major success for me already (don't judge). Due to various circumstances this month, I managed to stay on course in almost every category, until the last few days of the month completely blew it: (1) we dined out fancily, although the meals were very, very good; (2) I overspent in personal care items, this is my primary vice (again, don't judge).

In other aspects, I did OK, but definitely could do better. I exercised for 3-4x during first half of the month; achieved 13 NSDs, read a dozen pages of an unfinished book. The exercise and the book reading fell by the way side for some uncertain reasons, plus the flu bug has knocked me out for a week. I also couldn't go to bed by 2330 on most nights, definitely need to work on that.

I cooked noodles for simple meals at home vs. going out to eat, didn't buy clothes except for the gym bottom where I was given a gift card and needed to top up with cash. I made an extra 3k as well this month, with a little luck of course, and I felt grateful. Random supermarket trips had been reduced - my "frugal slips" were a couple boxes of butter shortbread(!!) on clearance. I did stock up on some breakfast items - granola bars, muffin cakes, also some noodles for home.

What can I say? I feel very confident about the no (unnecessary) clothes goal so far, by that I mean if some undergarments need to be replaced, I'd buy them. But I won't go out of the way to sneak in something. No. And I don't feel I'm missing anything.

I didn't spend all of the budgeted amount for groceries this month, which was a good thing. Fast forward to February, I decided that I won't be stocking up staples in the coming month, the focus will be on finishing things up. Speaking of which, my mom found an expired bag of oatmeal under the kitchen sink two weeks ago, it's in my office now. And while it's still looking good, no one has to know about it ;-) I'll bust it open on Monday. Think the bag will last me an entire month, and February is a short month with a couple public holidays in between!

I planned to stay home or do free stuff during the holidays. Don't get me started on V Day, I can't speak of the contempt associated with it. It's the worst time of the year to find somewhere to dine. I think DB and I would probably go to a local diner or something off the radar and away from crowds. If we are sharing a home, we would be staying home, not kidding!

Conclusion: Things went well and January had been a good month overall. Started out small in January, hence February will be all about staying on course and being more conscious of my spending! Only after then we can talk about adding more stuff on, right? Right?

Will catch up with some blog reading tomorrow! (Ooops it's past bed time already...)

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.

First week in review and change of plans

So much has been done in the past week, yet still so much to do.

While at the park for a jog yesterday, I realized the workout playlist on my phone was terribly outdated. Yep, it's been ages since the last (proper) workout. The playlist definitely needs some updating and ideally should be tweaked every 3-4 months, which wouldn't be too troublesome; plus it'll help to upkeep the exercise mojo tremendously!

I've only read 30 or so pages of the said non-fiction book. It's quite boring and at the same time needs some brain work when reading it, on hindsight I should have picked a fiction book to slowly ease my way into the reading habit.

My eyes are getting so dry these days that the glasses search becomes more and more important. But, I have looked everywhere and can't find a good pair of frames *fist pump*! And it has nothing to do with the price, either.

The outfit plan - I'm almost ashamed to say that I haven't done any planning - which I said to myself 2+ weeks ago. Really need to get this going.

The travel plans that I had for 2015 (2 long-haul trips), well, 1 of those had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. Good news to the wallet, but bad news to the inner PJ that has been looking forward to it. Can't complain really, I guess.

Random trips to the supermarkets must be avoided, my last visit there had me scooping up 2 packets of Hershey's nuggets for US$1.2 each, some Walkers' shortbread (!) for US$1, and Mincemeat Tarts for US$1.5 - oh dear. They are all post-Xmas clearance items. The chocolates would suffice for Chinese New Year's candy box (thank god I can think of a way to use them instead of *eating*), and would be given out to the property guard and a colleague. They will expire in September 2015, not too shabby! The shortbread would be slowly chipped away at breakfasts :-) and the mincemeat tarts would be heated in DB's new home this week and shared!

Oh, and a frugal thing I did yesterday:

6th Jan: Had a visit to the doctor's, I was shocked (perhaps silly) to find out there's another bus reaching the same place and was much cheaper and the journey was less nausea-inducing. So glad I asked the driver out of curiosity and discovered this!

Fast-forward to goals this week:

- Read 30 pages of the said book

- Update playlist for workout

- Jog 1x (or walk if calf doesn't allow to jog)

- Hand tiny gifts to DB's mom, bring over the mincemeat tarts

- Make outfit plan on Sunday

- Make a list of items for blog sale

- Continue the glasses search
- Gather some nice food for a former co-worker for lunch next week
- Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize (face)
- Get to bed by 2330 (need to get better at doing this. Haven't been getting enough sleep lately and hence crankiness)

I've had 4 No Spend Days so far in January, being in control (in terms of finances) feels really good. The willpower muscle needs to be further flexed though!

Everyday frugality

Happy new year everyone! 

The first week of the year was a rather eventful week, so far I've done the following on my to-do list:

- Read 50 pages of the said book read 30

- Jog 2x walked 1x, jogged 1x (but my calf starts to hurt after i'm done with 1.25 miles...had to switch to walking)

- See whether DB needs help with his house move I spent much of Saturday helping him and his mom to pack and move...

- Hand tiny gifts to DB's mom handed her some, still some more

- Pick up free ticket from cinema  done

- Track refunds x 2 done

- Make outfit plan on Sunday shamefully not yet...

- Ship 2 parcels to friends abroad not yet

- Make a list of items for blog sale not yet...but needs to be done soon

- Continue the glasses search looked at a few places, found nothing, the search continues

New year calls for a new way of doing things :-) I'm noting down the frugal things I did each day this week, whether they are on purpose or not! I doubt if I can come up with a frugal thing to do on a daily basis (dig hard and deep enough?), but so far so good. As long as frugality is practiced everyday, I'm contented.

1st Jan: Went for a walk at the park, healthy and free. What's better than the feeling of getting a head start on first day of the year (health goals)?

2nd Jan: Took home from work some leftover cakes and pastries. Dad was kind of excited about one of the pastries being his favourite. The pastries are individually wrapped so they can sit for a while, yum!

3rd Jan: Took my complimentary ticket from the cinema, picked up some beauty samples. Free of course! I re-gifted a purse to DB's mom, it was new but not my taste, she happily took it, win-win!

4th Jan: Can't really think of anything - except that all my spending were on food today.

5th Jan: I could have asked a colleague to share with me the Starbucks BOGOF offer which expires tomorrow, instead I made hot cocoa using what I have. Frankly speaking I just need a hot sweet beverage as I was feeling a bit nauseous whole day. Also I also picked up some free samples on the way home from a chain store, nothing beats beauty on the cheap (free)! Will be cooking up some instant noodles tonight for dinner (1 person serving) using what food we have. Oh and I received birthday money from my distant family, this will be counted as part of the extra income made this month. [Edit: I bought some butter shortbread, mincemeat tarts, and Hershey's nuggets on clearance! The chocolates would be gifted, the shortbread would be an indulgent treat. Talk about a frugal slip! Today is not a No Spend Day hence, but tomorrow will be!]

So far so good : ) I hope everyone's got a gentle but good start of the year.

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.

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*

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)!

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?

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).

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.

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!