It pains me to see people I care about that are so apathetic, ignorant, or even plain stubborn about financial literacy.
They can scrimp on 10 and 20 cents when groceries shopping, when buying food, when taking public transport, but have no qualms about giving thousands of dollars to insurance agents.
And the worst part, I can't convince them.
I can't get them out of their old mindsets.
They can always counter with:
1. Everyone will eventually dies.
2. If I don't save through insurance, I'll spend it anyway.
Haiz...
I am not against insurance in anyway, but people still don't understand that insurance is an expense and NOT savings.
People don't understand expense eats into your cashflow, and there are much, MUCH better alternatives that are safer, have greater liquidity and has no penalties.
Alas... I can't convince them, and I'm not going to try anymore.
I don't want such debates to spoil our relationship.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Monday, September 26, 2016
Singapore Wedding
"Unfortunately, many couples spare no thoughts on how their guests are experiencing the wedding celebration. It's mostly all about them them them.
Can couples please aim to provide their guests a good experience instead of focusing on the "me-me-me" mentality and "how to make a profit" mentality ? Sure, it's the couple's wedding but all your guests are making sacrifices of both monetary as well as non-monetary value to attend your celebration in many ways. The least you can do is to have the decency to ensure they have a good time instead of thinking how to profit from them.
1) Guests have to make time out of their precious weekend to spend several hours on a mostly boring run-of-the-mill type of celebration instead of tending to their important family matters like visiting their sick parents or bonding with their kids instead.
2) Most guests will have to fork out cab fare to get to a boring run-of-the-mill type of location. It can get very expensive if it's in town and during peak hours. Or if your guests live in the more ulu parts of Singapore.
3) Many female(and also male) guests will have to spend extra money on dry cleaning their outfit after attending your wedding. And don't forget the time it takes to style and groom their appearances too.
4) If seated with strangers, they have to pretend to enjoy making small talks with people whom they do not know and have no interest in knowing and will likely never meet again in a thousand year.
5) They will have to go through cringing "entertainments" such as watching your how-you-met-each-other powerpoint slides smiling and laughing pretending that it's the most moving and touching love story they have ever heard in their entire life.
5) Last but not least, after sacrificing and doing all of the above they are still obligated to give you the most bo liao gift of all - an angbao that in no way justifies any of the food that they had eaten.
Going to a wedding banquet is one of the most non-productive activity anyone can do. If anything, it is counter productive for most people but many will still do it because they regard the couple as good friends, good relatives and family members."
Can couples please aim to provide their guests a good experience instead of focusing on the "me-me-me" mentality and "how to make a profit" mentality ? Sure, it's the couple's wedding but all your guests are making sacrifices of both monetary as well as non-monetary value to attend your celebration in many ways. The least you can do is to have the decency to ensure they have a good time instead of thinking how to profit from them.
1) Guests have to make time out of their precious weekend to spend several hours on a mostly boring run-of-the-mill type of celebration instead of tending to their important family matters like visiting their sick parents or bonding with their kids instead.
2) Most guests will have to fork out cab fare to get to a boring run-of-the-mill type of location. It can get very expensive if it's in town and during peak hours. Or if your guests live in the more ulu parts of Singapore.
3) Many female(and also male) guests will have to spend extra money on dry cleaning their outfit after attending your wedding. And don't forget the time it takes to style and groom their appearances too.
4) If seated with strangers, they have to pretend to enjoy making small talks with people whom they do not know and have no interest in knowing and will likely never meet again in a thousand year.
5) They will have to go through cringing "entertainments" such as watching your how-you-met-each-other powerpoint slides smiling and laughing pretending that it's the most moving and touching love story they have ever heard in their entire life.
5) Last but not least, after sacrificing and doing all of the above they are still obligated to give you the most bo liao gift of all - an angbao that in no way justifies any of the food that they had eaten.
Going to a wedding banquet is one of the most non-productive activity anyone can do. If anything, it is counter productive for most people but many will still do it because they regard the couple as good friends, good relatives and family members."
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Minimalist Lifestyle
The Less You Have, The More You Own
"You won't find happiness in a brand new car or the latest iPhone. Once that initial excitement whizz off, and it will, you still have to make the monthly payment. You're happy in the moment, sure, but only because the thrill is in the chase. Ultimately, the void you're trying to fill will not be fill with stuff."
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I have been instilled with the idea of a minimalistic lifestyle for a while now, and even more so recently.
In the future, I'm going to take a "dump or digitize and dump" approach - Insurance papers, bill statements, receipts, etc...
Anything not needed (few months to 1 year) should be dump, or digitize and dump.
Past few weeks I've also been doing a spring cleaning of my stuff.
Products documents: IT gadgets and old components, many which are no longer functioning and I've thrown away, and yet somehow I'm still holding on to their "packagings", "user manuals", "receipts", "quick start guides", which I haven't used since I brought them and won't ever use again.
Old Handphones & Gadgets: Are you really going to use back to using your old HPs when your current one fails? Don't kid yourself. You'll 100% buy a new one. The same thing goes for PC components. Really.
I also have computer components dating back to pre 2006. Yes, before I even built my first full system. Floppy drives, 256MB DDR rams, 80GB hard drives, sound cards and who knows what obscure graphic card.
And what's more? Some extremely obsolete items that I have no idea are still rotting in my cupboard. Examples:
- Sony Ericsson HP earphone connectors/Bluetooth (Some weird proprietary nonsense)
- Creative Zen Stone (it is using some old form of USB that I can't even find the cable to)
- Some 'really dusty' headpieces that I don't even know if they are working anymore
- STACKS and STACKS of foolscap paper, notebooks, notepads, etc... that date as far back as my PRIMARY SCHOOL.
I'm also hoping to slowly consolidate the old files I have on CDs (each 600Mbs) to a external hard drive where I can keep everything.
Don't buy useless stuff you don't need.
Afternote: Also 'mass unsubscribe' to dozens of useless email groups and clear my mailboxes.
"You won't find happiness in a brand new car or the latest iPhone. Once that initial excitement whizz off, and it will, you still have to make the monthly payment. You're happy in the moment, sure, but only because the thrill is in the chase. Ultimately, the void you're trying to fill will not be fill with stuff."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have been instilled with the idea of a minimalistic lifestyle for a while now, and even more so recently.
In the future, I'm going to take a "dump or digitize and dump" approach - Insurance papers, bill statements, receipts, etc...
Anything not needed (few months to 1 year) should be dump, or digitize and dump.
Past few weeks I've also been doing a spring cleaning of my stuff.
Products documents: IT gadgets and old components, many which are no longer functioning and I've thrown away, and yet somehow I'm still holding on to their "packagings", "user manuals", "receipts", "quick start guides", which I haven't used since I brought them and won't ever use again.
Old Handphones & Gadgets: Are you really going to use back to using your old HPs when your current one fails? Don't kid yourself. You'll 100% buy a new one. The same thing goes for PC components. Really.
I also have computer components dating back to pre 2006. Yes, before I even built my first full system. Floppy drives, 256MB DDR rams, 80GB hard drives, sound cards and who knows what obscure graphic card.
And what's more? Some extremely obsolete items that I have no idea are still rotting in my cupboard. Examples:
- Sony Ericsson HP earphone connectors/Bluetooth (Some weird proprietary nonsense)
- Creative Zen Stone (it is using some old form of USB that I can't even find the cable to)
- Some 'really dusty' headpieces that I don't even know if they are working anymore
- STACKS and STACKS of foolscap paper, notebooks, notepads, etc... that date as far back as my PRIMARY SCHOOL.
Don't buy useless stuff you don't need.
Afternote: Also 'mass unsubscribe' to dozens of useless email groups and clear my mailboxes.
Friday, September 09, 2016
Road to FIRE - Finite Time
The older I got, the more I realized how finite our life on this planet is.
Every day we spent, we are never going to get back.
That makes me even more determined to reach FIRE.
Do you want to endure the political bullshit of the working world for 40 years of your life?
Do you want to waste your one and only life on climbing the corporate ladder?
Do you want to put on a false front to make "connections" so that you can clinch more businesses?
Do you want to suffer humiliation when you are middle-aged and be forced to take up terrible jobs to make a living?
Human capital is limited.
We need to make hay while our sun shines.
I believe there's greater things in life than focusing all your energies on chasing more numbers.
Our time in this world is finite.
The struggles are real, but so is our courage.
"Work hard now, so we don't have to work hard all our lives."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The biggest benefit of financial freedom (IMO), is the ability to walk away from toxic bosses and workplaces without fear over your financial situation. Granted, it is easier to do so for singles, but if you have a wife that shares the same values as you, the support will be great.
After going through many things in life, I come to the conclusion that life is about being happy and being able to do what you want to do. It's not about chasing after some career goal or earning a high pay if you hate what you do such that you wake up every morning hating to go down to office, or that your health suffers from it.
"My motto in life is ć èŠćç. Those who want to YOLO it is their own life. It is not funny when you are 50 years old and still broke especially in a country such as Singapore."
Every day we spent, we are never going to get back.
That makes me even more determined to reach FIRE.
Do you want to endure the political bullshit of the working world for 40 years of your life?
Do you want to waste your one and only life on climbing the corporate ladder?
Do you want to put on a false front to make "connections" so that you can clinch more businesses?
Do you want to suffer humiliation when you are middle-aged and be forced to take up terrible jobs to make a living?
Human capital is limited.
We need to make hay while our sun shines.
I believe there's greater things in life than focusing all your energies on chasing more numbers.
Our time in this world is finite.
The struggles are real, but so is our courage.
"Work hard now, so we don't have to work hard all our lives."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The biggest benefit of financial freedom (IMO), is the ability to walk away from toxic bosses and workplaces without fear over your financial situation. Granted, it is easier to do so for singles, but if you have a wife that shares the same values as you, the support will be great.
After going through many things in life, I come to the conclusion that life is about being happy and being able to do what you want to do. It's not about chasing after some career goal or earning a high pay if you hate what you do such that you wake up every morning hating to go down to office, or that your health suffers from it.
"My motto in life is ć èŠćç. Those who want to YOLO it is their own life. It is not funny when you are 50 years old and still broke especially in a country such as Singapore."
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