Something frugal, and something not that frugal

Shall we begin with the not so frugal thing about this week?

Well, I caved and bought this mook (a Japanese term referring to a book magazine with gift, usually a pouch or a tote). Do you recognize the character? She's Lilla My from the Moomin tribe! The cartoon is originated from Finland.

 

The mook is not very expensive, but surely it's not a need, but a want. The bag is made of nylon, has no zippers, but I like the way the colors combined and the cartoon on it. So much for saying to 'pay thyself' first...hahaha.

Moving onto the frugal things this week:

We went to the movies, but we chose to eat at a food court, that cut down our dinner to about US$4.5 for me, US$8 for DB. We bought bottled water because we were both coming from work, usually if it's on the weekend I'd bring my own.

I checked the travel insurance price last week from our usual provider, they offered 10% off throughout the year for their members. Today when I looked at it again, they are offering 35% off for members - YAY. It pays to wait, but I really wouldn't recommend you to wait to buy it at the last minute since the companies take time to process before they issue a green light to your insurance policy. I would suggest if you know you're needing it anyway, go check in with them every now and then, and pounce when a special offer (than usual offer) is there.

I took some time off due to a dental appointment this week, and managed to squeeze in an hour brisk walk at the park, that's gonna be the single entry in my March exercise goal, lol. The said dental appointment meant a surgery date pushed earlier (end of 2015) than the old date (2017 / 2018, which was way too far away). I have doubts about this dental operation, since it's not necessarily a life-threatening situation, and they told me they'll give me 2-3 days off after the operation. Seriously! I must have underestimated it based on my one time experience with removing a wisdom tooth. Well, at least, the operation should save me from seeking private dentist. I also scrapped plans for the dental checkup-and-wash in March, one that I have to pay for, since I have an upcoming visit to a dentist covered by my employer in May anyway. BONUS: I made progress on the Mrs. Moneypenny book (!) instead of the book I'm supposed to finish, but sorry, not sorry!

Tomorrow we'll be dining out WITH coupons, you guessed it. The other day I told DB that since we usually eat out (because we aren't sharing a home together), we might as well: (1) eat more frugal sometimes; (2) when we eat fancy / more up-scale, relatively speaking, we might as well do some hacking, that includes Super Monday deals, going on days / to places that let you multiply the points / miles on your card (travel hacking); (3) make use of coupons from newspaper and flyers. DB agreed. 

I applied for an equivalent to Nectar card in the UK - a moneyback card from a supermarket chain, I don't know why I didn't apply it sooner, I should have! I don't shop at supermarket much, if at all, but it makes sense to have it ready when I do shop there, no matter how infrequently and how small the amount usually was. I had this "ding!" moment when I was paying for the cheese fondue pack at the cashier a few weeks ago. The card took more than 3 weeks to arrive in the mail, but I'm happy that I made a sensible decision :-) Note: supermarket and grocery store are not the same thing (for me).

Upgrading my existing credit card to the "elite" status had been on my mind for months but haven't got around to actually ask about it in detail. To be honest, apart from accumulating miles quicker, it doesn't really offer that much benefits (unlimited access to airport lounges throughout the year? I don't travel more than twice a year and twice a year, the maximum amount of how frequent I can use the airport lounge with my current card, is enough for me). Second, the annual card fee was much higher than the current one, and can only be waived if I had a 150,000 spending, which is rather impossible. Don't think I'll be making the upgrade in this case.

A friend sent me some goodies from the mail - she ordered a matching set of a perfume for both of us, how sweet of her! Her parcel totally made my day week.

The past week had seen me really busy with work so this weekend will be all about catching up with blogs! This week had been not very good, hope you have a good weekend.

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!

Revelations

I returned from a weekend getaway yesterday night, exhausted. In short, I didn't have much time to think about my financial goals for 2015 (too much distractions, too much nonsense with my friends on the trip). There were a few things that I'd like to mention though: 

Last Friday when I was out for lunch (I do that 2-3 times per month) and I heard a loud noise when I'm walking on the pavement. A shop that has a ground floor and a first floor was under renovation. They put scaffolding (google it) with canvas and nets so the things don't fall onto the pavement as they renovate. Back to the noise. I instinctly knew something is falling, and for that split second I hesitated whether to move a step forward (which would be under the scaffolding-canvas-net cover) or backwards (without anything over head, a la normal pavement). My hesitation was due to the fact that even with the scaffolding-canvas-net something could still fall and break the layer and fall onto me. (Hindsight: I should consider dashing into the nearest shop) Then I gathered myself to sprint for a step or two, what I saw was a tile that landed next to my right foot. NEXT TO!!! It broke into pieces, of course. WTF, that was SO CLOSE! I was so close to having an object fallen from height and a big head injury! 

A few other pedestrians saw that and shouted to the first floor that something has fallen onto the pedestrian road. I of course was in shock and hurried away to meet my friend at another restaurant. My friend then asked if I had called the Police, I was unaware that whether I should / can call the Police. I felt extremely lucky that I survived and I'm like, wow, luckily I bought an accident insurance literally at the start of November!!!!!!!! Imagine if I was hurt and being without any insurance coverage. Of course I'd still be treated at the public hospital but it was just not a good feeling. Funny the other day I was just wondering if I need to spend another HK$800 on an insurance like this and I probably won't do reimbursements at all from it. It was a just-in-case decision really. Now I know why I need it. Phew.

Another revelation came in the trip, I went with a bunch of friends (10 of us), and I felt like I'm taking on too much risk, stress and damaging my health / mental well-being this time. They were a restless bunch, although we all grew older and would eventually lost that "energy", but for now, they are still a bit too much to handle. Let me put it shortly, I woke at 5:15 to catch the bus and train, then we started the trip following a tour guide in a coach, the night should end at 9 something. But our pack decided to go out for karaoke, of course the city we went to isn't a top-tier or second-tier level city, hence it wasn't that safe when you heard the tour guide saying something about thieves and mugging. The 10 of us took 2 cabs to went to the karaoke place, we asked for a big room (only the 10 of us) and they started singing away. Then what got me was someone started to smoke IN THE ROOM. I freaking hate that. This lasted until 12 something in the night and I went bonkers and yelled that it's time to head back to the hotel. I mean, I woke at 515, and they woke at 5 or 6 (similar)! Aren't they tired? Breakfast is at 8am the next morning! I'm not even counting the washing up before bed!

All in all, I felt I was taking up too much risk when going out with them traveling, they don't seem to know what 'danger' in a foreign place means...we know all the words, but it was not our land. As a pack, we don't have any significant advantage anyway...Then there was the late-night sleeping and reveling, and second-hand smoking that irritated me. I told myself I will not go next time. It just doesn't worth shortening my life by hours with the smoke just to be able to laugh silly with them and to be honest, I'm growing a bit tired (with the world, and most of its people) lately and I found this pack not as funny as before. We took lots of photos and surely they were great, I'm still debating. I just don't want to compromise about the smoke and late-night sleep thing. We'll see next time when a trip like this come around, for now I'd very much like to curl up in my PJs and snuggle the duvet, but I'm sitting in a bright-light office typing away...and it's a Monday today.

There's lots of unexpected shopping opportunity lately and I abhorred myself for not able to withstand the temptations. Though to be honest, we don't have Thanksgiving sales over here and prices are high after the bi-annual reductions, which is nothing compared to the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals the US folks have! My SO told me to get a pair of sneakers (which I don't have) which can benefit my feet more than wearing flats, he has a major score point in this. I'm going to look at it after work tonight with my cousin since she has a 40% off coupon. Then there's another 35% off coupon for another sports store. I'll see if I can find the right color of sneakers tonight, if not I'll head to another store with the coupon on Wednesday. 

Later today I'll also be picking up a windproof and waterproof (Gore Tex!) outer shell as well, normally anything with that patented technology will cost HK$1-2k easily, but let's just say I'll get mine in a three-digit figure ;) With a bit of defects of course but they are nothing to worry about, some are fixed and some can't, and certainly I don't mind.

Come Wednesday I will also treat my folks for a nice lunch somewhere near my office (teppanyaki), I didn't expect this to come in November but well, it has to be done anyway in December so why not get it off my list when the time is right! On the food note, I received a HK$50 voucher from a survey I filled in earlier on, yay!

The "Reset" button

I spoke of purging and cleaning the wardrobe, room, hanging up the curtains etc last week, I went through the process during the weekend and it was a nightmare. Every time I cleaned I am shock at the sheer amount of stuff I have, how much space they are taking up, how much effort they require to be cleaned regularly. This serves as a reminder every single time that I need to downsize, and stop bringing things home!

While I was cleaning, the picture became clear again: there's always something I don't wear in the closet, yet I can't bear to donate them. This alone is making the closet burst and finding clothes a difficult task. I found 2 long coats bought at the charity sale last year which were WAY TOO BIG for my built, the size made me look like a homeless person (the horror), I thought about getting them altered but the cost will definitely be higher than what I bought them for! So they are still sitting in the closet now, until I figure a way to make them wearable.

I put aside some unwanted clothing and sold them for $10 together with some old papers. I also picked up another $10 from the pavement the other day. Yay!

With that in mind, I probably will not go to the charity sale this weekend. If I do, it'll be helping my mom to carry her stuff, and I'll not spend a penny on any clothes. A lesson should be learned here: NEVER, ever buy clothes that don't fit (a bit small or a bit big), don't harbor the thought of I'd fit into them *someday*, I won't.

I've been doing some small reading ion ETFs and stocks, I really need to get my dough, albeit small, to start rolling. The question is where, and how. I was told it will be a lengthy journey for anyone who wants to learn about investment, hopefully I will get it right. My goal before the end of the year is to open an investment account and put in funds for some dividend-paying stocks and maybe a bit of ETFs / funds. 

The weekend getaway in November came at HK$200 below the expected amount, another thing to be happy about! I paid for it promptly but it'll technically be a November spend. On a health-related note, I need to get on with the jog this weekend to give November a healthy start.  I also have started thinking about the vacation plans for next year (2 trips), it'll be a financial strain for me (given my late start in budgeting) but thinking that for the next 2 years I won't be able to take any long leave from work, it'll be OK. Now all that's left to do is to tighten the belt and how to make it work, stick to it.

Here's to a good start for everyone in November!

Stocking up on essentials

Yesterday I had lunch out with a former colleague who is also a friend of mine (despite she's retired at her 50s), we talked a lot about the strikes going on in the city, and our family members who hold different views. I told her I'm sourly disappointed with the people around me who seemed to be in support of the strikes, now I don't think it's wrong to voice out opinions, but a fine line has to be drawn when it comes to the consequences. The collateral damage incurred in the "supposedly innocent" strikes here we're talking about are: bus drivers, minibus drivers and taxi drivers driven out of work because the major roads are blocked, routes are cut (until god knows when), no surprise to believe that some are told to take days off. We're also dealing with shopkeepers and merchants who have to close their stores due to the riots and possible chaos of the strikes, the insurance companies DO NOT insure / reimburse damages due to political riots / instability. We're also talking about numerous working adults who had to "fight their way" (me included) when commuting to work each day, students who cannot attend schools because of the chaos and lack of transport. A resident of the strike area complained that he has to walk 2 hours to a nearby place where he can get there in a little bit more than 30 mins. I told my mom to stock up on some fresh food in case the trucks aren't coming in on time to replenish the supermarket stores...I've been so turned off by these people causing all the troubles.

Then we went to a grocery store and I happened to see the cotton puffs I plow through monthly is back in stock. PJ being PJ, jumped at the opportunity and stocked some - well, a lot - boxes up. I gave 1 box to the colleague. They'll be enough to run for entire year without the need to replenish, this quantity will cover both my mom's and my usage.

Then I headed to a "beauty samples spree" after work, paid NOTHING but got a handful of tubes, jars and sachets, gotta love beauty memberships, YAY! Also had a bowl of my favorite noodles and it was a hearty meal. I deliberately went home a bit later than the usual peak hours to avoid the rush hour crowd and traffic, and it was way easier to manage than returning home straight away. 

For the whole life insurance thing, I decided to sleep on it a bit, still on the fence. Term life insurance is an option but one that I'd like to forget - term life insurance here insures up to age 75 only, which is nothing but a gamble whether I'll die before 75 or after 75. If it's the latter, nobody will be able to get a cent out of the payments. One could say that the money I put away monthly for whole life insurance might do better if put into a mutual fund or something, I don't know if it's true (yet), and I'm too new to the field of investing. Speaking of which, I have a plan to get into investment next year...we'll see. My former colleague suggested I buy some gold because its prices are dropping, but I'll have to rent a safe deposit box at the bank and pay rent for it (!), plus it's not like they have tons of safe deposit boxes at the banks for rent, so one has to queue for god knows how long.

I'll probably have a trim at the hair sometime this month - it's looking awful in photos since August. The shampoo stockpile is running out so there will be a chance that I'll do an online order for shampoos in November. My online liquid soap order arrived yesterday and it was splendid. I'm also hoping to get a few hyper-pigmentation spots on the face removed come winter when I sweat less and see the light less.

About a week ago I've sent documents to the Tax people and am waiting to hear from them. Stupid me, I forgot to fill in some information 3 years ago and hence they did not factor that the retirement contribution I paid when calculating my taxes back then. The good thing is that the person on the other hand of the phone said they could do a re-assessment to see if there'll be tax dollars returned to me. :-)

Life insurance - dilemma AGAIN

One of my October goals is to have some of the insurance stuff sorted out - I met up with the agent with SO last week, I have asked the agent to show me the different options for a Life Insurance plan for moi. He had made 4 different payment plans, the insured amount + insured age + terms being the same for all plans. The plan was, of course, not for me (I'm not a beneficiary but my parents will be).

I did the math at home, the shorter the payment cycle is, the smaller the overall amount I need to pay in total. The 4 different payment plans can be paid monthly or yearly, in essence the math is:

(1) $113,860 per year x 5 years = $569,300 i.e. $9,488 per month.

(2) $59,680 per year x 10 years = $598,600 i.e. $4,973 per month.

(3) $41,660 per year x 15 years = $624,900 i.e. $3,471 per month.

(4) $34,720 per year x 20 years = $694,400 i.e. $2,893 per month.

................That's a tough math! But what in life isn't?

Option (1): As much as I want to pick this, there's hardly any money left for savings per month after all my expenses are deducted, and we're talking about 5 whole years without savings (!!!). This is out of the question I think?

Option (2): It's thinkable, it'll leave me a bit of wiggle room for savings (down by half than I plan to save per month), but shall I decide to buy a house, it also means the down payment sum will be smaller/slower than I want it to be.

Option (3): Not so much different than (2) above, but even more wiggle room for savings. Not the most ideal but thinkable.

Option (4): This one is easiest to manage, if I can stick to my budget each month, I'll still be able to achieve the minimal savings goal set per year, albeit I have to keep telling myself I"m walking a tight rope. Here we are talking about 20 years of payment so things will become easier when I get raises across years. BUT, I don't like the thought of owing something and paying something for 20 years (except mortgage)!!!!!! Also, bear in mind that the difference of the total sum between Option (4) and Option (2) is > 98,000!

If you know PJ, PJ is the sort of person that if she wants something done, she wants it to be done quick, neat and efficiently (cost, energy, effort).

In 5-7 years time, I plan to buy a house and get mortgage. I don't have exact figures or plans yet but I know I want to do that, better as soon as possible. I also would like to add that anyone of my age should easily have at least 300k net worth and I'm falling far behind.

Have you faced such dilemmas? How and what did you end up deciding?