RM13,000 poorer today.
Terus no appetite. To eat. To work. To do anything.
To that person who owes me RM120,000, when are you going to pay me back??!! Must I crawl on my knees and beg for my own money before you acknowledge the issue between us?
Dasar kawan makan kawan.
Dania's Kafa school fees: RM70
Dina's Smartreader fees: RM290
Apartment's assessment taxes (cukai taksiran): RM380
Apartment's maintenance fees: RM660
Ikea Credit Card bill: RM185
Dania's bus fee: RM35
The fact my wallet now has an echo: Priceless
ps: Sungguh tak romantiknya caraku menghabiskan day date. Muahahaha...
There are currently 3 things on my To Buy list. I’m sure there’s actually more than 3 but these things are what I’m actively searching for.
1. Transition eyewear
I used to wear contact lenses but after numerous times of losing them, either dropping them on the floor or losing them in my eye (!!!), I decided to just wear glasses. So far, glasses work for me and it’s more economical. No need to buy contact lenses cleaners and stuff like that.
However, lately I’ve been driving a bit during the day and the sunlight has really been bothering me. I’ve been thinking about buying sunglasses with power in the lenses, but then I saw the ads for transition lenses. They basically change from normal to dark lenses when you’re out in the sun. All the better, no need to carry around 2 or more glasses with me all the time. I checked a few stores regarding the price; it would cost me around RM600++ to change the lenses in my current glasses and more if I wanted to change the frame also. I plan to just buy them this week and hope I can opt for the 6 or 12 months interest free payment plan.
2. A dressing table
At our old home, I didn’t have a dressing table because our master bedroom was kind of small. Since our new master bedroom is much bigger, I’ve been thinking of buying a dressing table so I don’t have to put on my make up and tudung in the bathroom. I’m looking for something simple and with a few drawers. As for my budget, the dressing table should cost no more than RM500, complete with mirror. Oya, the bigger the mirror, the better. Hehehe. A few samples are shown as below. I like the first design the best; clean and simple. Plus the colour scheme matches our bed and wardrobe. The 2nd one I like because it has a lot of drawers though I can't think of what I would put in them. The 3rd one is just a funky, fun design for a dressing table that would certainly be a converstaion starter piece if I could ever find one.
3. A pearl ring
This is rather surprising considering I don’t particularly like buying or wearing jewelry of any kind. However, ever since that day I saw a magnificent piece of pearl earrings at the Penang International airport last year, I’ve been harboring this desire to own a piece of pearl jewelry. Since a authentic pearl necklace would probably cost too much and earrings don’t make much sense since I wear a tudung, I thought maybe a black pearl ring would be nice. Why black? Because I like to be different plus a black pearl ring looks sexier, don’t you think? Oya, budget again not more than RM500. Can get ah? A few samples are shown as below. I like the 1st design because it looks very exclusive but I think too many diamonds might take away the focus from the pearl. The 2nd design looks very simple and I like that the pearl is not jutting out on top of the ring. However I like the 3rd design best as it's simple and classic and the diamonds complement the pearl.
We got letters from our HR announcing our new salaries according to the new “broadbanding” concept. I’m still a bit blur on what all that means except that my salary increased a bit from last time, so I’m happy. Hehehe. We also got a lump sum of backdated salary so everyone’s very happy for Chinese New Year. I, on the other hand, need to think of all the bills and credit card charges I need to pay end of the month. Kitchen cabinet, new bed, new curtains….bla, bla, bla. Hmmm…money, easy come, easy go.
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Hubby and I have started watching One Tree Hill again. Problem is it starts at 1030pm and ends at 1130pm. Wayyyy to late for us nowadays. So hubby decided to download the entire 5th and 6th season. Hehehehe…I guess we have an activity for weekends.
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I think Kara D rocks as the new American Idol judge. I think we can do without Randy.
Petrol prices increase starting 12 midnite tonight from RM1.90 per liter to RM2.80 per liter. Holy cow!! What does that mean for me (and the family indirectly)? Means that now I'm paying around RM65 for a full tank on the Myvi; starting tomorrow I'll be paying around RM96 for a full tank. That's over RM30 increase!! RM30 times 5 full tanks and I'm dishing out over RM150 extra on petrol. And that's just if I'm driving to and fro to work. Doesn't include any detours or joyriding. Sheeeshhh...
Hubby and I realise we need to relook at out expenses and figure out how we can be more frugal to accommodate for this price hike. Coz you know it's gonna happen; first fuel prices go up, next thing you know, everything goes up. Roti canai will cost RM2.00 per slice. Basic chicken rice will cost RM5.00. Warm water will cost RM 1.00 (more reason to bring my water bottle everywhere I go).
I'm running through a typical day in my head and already identifying a few areas where we could, as a family, be more frugal.
1. Make sure everyone has breakfast.
The kids are pretty set in this area, they have a full bottle of milk as soon as they wake up. It fills them up and gives them energy to start the day. I tried giving them cereal and bread as breakfast but it didn't work as well. For starters, my kids are slow eaters. A bottle of milk takes them 5-10 minutes to finish. A bowl of cereal might take them 15-20 minutes, which won't work for Dania on her school days. Hubby and I usually take breakfast but not all the time. We usually skip it of we have a morning meeting as most of the time, food is provided but there have been instances where the meeting only had water served. As a result, I felt hungry and by lunch time was famished enough to eat a horse. Of course, that made me make poor decisions in choosing a place to eat and I end up spending RM10 on lunch. Which brings me to my 2nd point.
2. Limit lunch money to only RM5 per day.
We have yet to see the food prices go up and I bet you they will, but until then I hope to be able to limit my lunch expenses to RM5 per day. I know I can do if I cut out having to buy drinks, so that means carrying a full water bottle everywhere. Thank god for my humongous handbags. Heee. Plus plain water is free in my office so yeah, all the more reason. Better yet, I plan to drink at least 1/2 a bottle of water 1/2 hour before I go for lunch, so that I don't feel too hungry.
3. Going to work - carpool.
There are a lot of people who work in the same office as we do near our home. It wouldn't hurt to relook at the carpool idea as it really would save a lot of fuel. I intend to contact some of my officemates and see if they are open to the idea and hopefully set up a schedule where we can take turns driving to work. I know carpooling is somewhat of a grey area for some people; some people cherish the time alone they get in the car on the way to work but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see how this goes.
4. Scheduling all my meetings in the same day.
I especially hate it when I have one morning meeting in KL and then one afternoon meeting back in the office. Eventhough the company pays for our T&T, it's not nearly enough and the cost of petrol, toll and the headache of driving around is just too much. Luckily I have an understanding boss; usually if she has me go for a meeting in KL, I get to stay there the whole day and do my work and not have to go back to the office. Carpooling with hubby also is a plus. We get to talk to each about our day and also stuff that matter to us in a way that makes the whole driving to and fro from work a little bit more bearable.
I'm pretty sure there are a lot more areas where hubby and I can cut down on our spending (like grocery shopping) but it's getting late and I have a training session I have to conduct early next morning...yawn!!
I would like to know how other people are planning to accommodate for the hike in petrol. What are you guys going to do differently?
Today and yesterday I attended a very interesting course; Finance for Non-Financial Executives. The reason was initially so I could make heads and tails out of all the financial reports and P&L statements I had to go through during the course of my work, but in the end I came out with a lot more knowledge.
During one of our chit chat sessions, our lecturer touched on the subject of personal financial planning. She gave an example of her ex-colleagues who had retired but were forced to dive back into the corporate sector because they had non or insufficient savings to last them during their retirement years. She then gave an example of another ex-colleague who is not only currently enjoying his retirement years playing golf, but also has 3-4 houses for renting, thus generating passive income on the side.
Being seated in the front of the class subjected me to be the "example" during the lessons. The prof asked me whether I had any assets to my name; I mentioned I had a car and an apartment, both of them already fully paid for. To say she was impressed was an understatement. In fact looking back, I probably was the person in the class with the most net worth to my name.
During lunch hour, I was approached by one of class members who asked me about my financial strategies; how on earth was I able to afford a car and apartment and not have any loans to burden me with? Did I win the lottery? Did I get a huge inheritance from anyone?
My answer was simple; I made sure I spent less than what I earned.
Sounds simple, right? Yet you would be surprised to know that a lot of people I know, not only live from one paycheck to another but also accumulate debts on a monthly basis.
She then asked me, I make so and so every month and it's barely enough to get by. How can I ever have enough to start saving?
I told her, make your savings automatic. Fill out the form from HR and allow them to deduct a certain amount from your salary that will be autodeposited into your ASB or Tabung Haji. Just make sure you place this savings into a place that you can't just use an atm card to withdraw money from. Depositing money into another bank where you don't have an atm card is also a good option.
My concept is "out of sight, out of mind". If that portion of money is not made readily available for me to spend, I usually find that I don't even miss it and even find ways to compensate for the decrease in spending money.
Ways I've cut down my monthly expenses.
1. I sometimes bring breakfast to work. Usually I eat it a bit later in the day, at around 930am. That way, at lunch I'm still half full and don't feel the urge to stuff myself. Another idea would be to also bag your lunch to work, something I'm also considering after I get a more reliable maid.
2. I drink lots of plain water. At my office, we have a ready water cooler so basically plain water is free for the staff. When I go out for lunch with my colleagues, I fill up a bottle of water and take it with me. That usually saves me RM1.50 if I were to order hot lemon tea. Times that by 5 days a week and 4 weeks a month and the savings can really add up.
3. I carpool when going out for lunch. We usually take turns driving so everyone gets a chance to save on petrol.
4. I make a grocery list and make sure I stick to it. It's very easy to get "lost" at the grocery stores and by pushing the trolley down every aisle, I would normally find myself spending up to RM200 per trip, mostly on items that were never on my list to begin with. By sticking to my list and minimizing the amount of time I spend at the grocery stores, ensures that I cut down on fraudulent spending and increase my savings.
There are a lot of ways to increase your savings. Another tip that I found extremely useful was to meticulously track my expenditures for at least 3 months, then go over the receipts and figure out where my money was going to and how I could cut down on the spending. I found out that one of my weaknesses was to visit the store at the petrol stations whenever I stopped to fill up on petrol. Those RM2.50 cups of corn can really burn into your budget if you allow them to.
I would recommend everyone who's interested in finding out how to improve their net worth to visit The Simple Dollar. I find the articles to be very informative and really easy to understand, which is important for a non-finance executive like me.
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