So, my 2 years+ HTC One finally up lorried, 2 weeks after being completely submerged in water.
Thankfully, it made a "fake recovery", allowing me to recover all the data inside before the screen was killed.
I have been using HTC for a VERY LONG time. From the Desire to HTC One - about 7 years.
While I still love their design, I decide to go for a different brand this time to "switch things up". The main reason being their flagship seems to be getting worse while still being overpriced.
At first I thought of getting something cheaper like xiaomi, but guess I was too deeply "poisoned" to go back to using a 'non-premium' phone haha.
Finally decided on the S6 after a day of reviews reading. And it stood up to the hype.
I think I have absolutely zero complains with the phone aside from the average battery.
1. Amazing build/grip/feel. Gone are the cheapo plastic. I would place it on the same level of the HTC flagships, only much lighter.
2. Minimalist software. One of the biggest reason I didn't go Samsung earlier was because of their bloated Touchwiz. This is all gone now in this version, and I'm super impress. They stripped it down to bare essentials with minimal nonsense.
3. In terms of UI, I would still give a slight edge to HTC, but it's really close now. Samsung more than makes up for it by offering some pretty cool and actually useful features like multi-window and fingerprint scanning.
4. The camera is freaking amazing. It totally BLOWS HTC out of the water. You can go read all the reviews, and this truly stands as one of the best smartphone camera of 2015.
---
I have been using it for barely a day, and I'm already falling in love with it.
I think this is one purchase I won't regret.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Monday, August 17, 2015
Langkawi Trip!
My first real overseas trip in a really long time!
To keep it short. I had a lot of fun and I think it's a really good place to get away from the 'cities'.
The trip main event was XJ proposal, which was a great success!
I really enjoyed the road trip feel, where we rent our own vehicle, and blast/sing music in the van.
The drinking session on the first night was also the most intense one I've ever had. I finally know what it felt like to reach the stage where you 'can't walk in a straight line'.
It's a really 'high' feeling though. The best is to reach the 'sweet spot' where you're not throwing up, your mind is still pretty clear but your physical world is slightly spinning. It's a really good feeling.
Other than that, we went island hopping to a few nearby islands (which was quite tiring) and just took lots of photos.
The only 败笔 came on the last day, when I careless forgot my phone is in my pocket... and jump into the water -.-
...
That will be the story for the next post.
To keep it short. I had a lot of fun and I think it's a really good place to get away from the 'cities'.
The trip main event was XJ proposal, which was a great success!
I really enjoyed the road trip feel, where we rent our own vehicle, and blast/sing music in the van.
The drinking session on the first night was also the most intense one I've ever had. I finally know what it felt like to reach the stage where you 'can't walk in a straight line'.
It's a really 'high' feeling though. The best is to reach the 'sweet spot' where you're not throwing up, your mind is still pretty clear but your physical world is slightly spinning. It's a really good feeling.
Other than that, we went island hopping to a few nearby islands (which was quite tiring) and just took lots of photos.
The only 败笔 came on the last day, when I careless forgot my phone is in my pocket... and jump into the water -.-
...
That will be the story for the next post.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Saturday, May 30, 2015
My Financial Business Intelligence
At the end of 2014, I made a resolution to dutifully track ALL my income and expenses for 1 year.
I am really glad I followed through and did exactly that. 5 months onwards, I finally have some results to show for it!
What's more - Hey, I'm in the Business Intelligence field.
This is only for a 5 month period (actually only till 29th May), so I'm really looking forward for the full year results!
*All figures excludes CPF, investment gains/losses (but includes dividends).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Income VS Expenses
My 5 months cashflow statement is summarized by 2 simple graphics. The huge spike in February was of course due to my major mattress hoot.
Yes. I have only spent 16+% of my income so far!!! Sick!
Of course, this is largely bias due to the bonus income in March - That expense % will slowly increase for the rest of the year. There are also some other major expenses I am preparing for the 2nd half of the year (e.g. Vocation!).
I reckoned it'll be in the region of 20% to 25% by the end of the year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recurring Income VS Recurring Expenses
- Income excludes 'one-time' items like lottery, CNY angbaos, SAF allowances, bank special promotions, etc.
- Expenses excludes 'one-time' major hoots
Again, this is largely bias due to the bonus income. If I normalize it, my expenses is around 20% of my monthly income.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expenses Breakdown
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper, Snack, Groceries
Entertainment: Toto, 4D, KTV, Video Games, Movies, Etc
Healthcare: Doctor, Dentist
Household: Household Items
Personal: Clothing, Personal Care Items
Social: Wedding, Social Functions
Travel: Public (e.g. EZ-Link Topup), Taxi
Treat: Non personal expenses
Utilities: Telephone, Internet
I was quite surprised when I first saw this breakdown. Nearly 50% of all my expenses are on food.
The absolute essentials, Food, Utilities and Travel expenses already make up 70% of all my expenses.
I don't spend a lot of food, that means I'm spending too little on entertainment and life. Life of otaku. :(
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passive Income VS Active Income
The most important chart of them all, and the best measurement to my ultimate goal - financial independence.
My short-mid term goal is to have passive income form 10% of my overall income.
Since I spend around 20% of my income... If I can increase my passive income to 20% as well... does that mean.... !!!
...
Long way to go man. Long way to go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous
Some other interesting facts...
I spend $2.46 on Breakfast, $4.96 on Dinner, and $5.15 on Lunch on average.
The approximately cost per restaurant visit (includes low-end ones also) is $19.14.
I also spend approximately $8.6 per month on lottery. And no, I haven't won back any for the year. :(
I highly encourage people to take up this challenge of recording your expenses.
It's a huge pain at first, but it becomes habitual very fast.
And the insights you gain can be quite invaluable.
I am really glad I followed through and did exactly that. 5 months onwards, I finally have some results to show for it!
What's more - Hey, I'm in the Business Intelligence field.
This is only for a 5 month period (actually only till 29th May), so I'm really looking forward for the full year results!
*All figures excludes CPF, investment gains/losses (but includes dividends).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Income VS Expenses
My 5 months cashflow statement is summarized by 2 simple graphics. The huge spike in February was of course due to my major mattress hoot.
Yes. I have only spent 16+% of my income so far!!! Sick!
Of course, this is largely bias due to the bonus income in March - That expense % will slowly increase for the rest of the year. There are also some other major expenses I am preparing for the 2nd half of the year (e.g. Vocation!).
I reckoned it'll be in the region of 20% to 25% by the end of the year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recurring Income VS Recurring Expenses
- Income excludes 'one-time' items like lottery, CNY angbaos, SAF allowances, bank special promotions, etc.
- Expenses excludes 'one-time' major hoots
Again, this is largely bias due to the bonus income. If I normalize it, my expenses is around 20% of my monthly income.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expenses Breakdown
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Supper, Snack, Groceries
Entertainment: Toto, 4D, KTV, Video Games, Movies, Etc
Healthcare: Doctor, Dentist
Household: Household Items
Personal: Clothing, Personal Care Items
Social: Wedding, Social Functions
Travel: Public (e.g. EZ-Link Topup), Taxi
Treat: Non personal expenses
Utilities: Telephone, Internet
I was quite surprised when I first saw this breakdown. Nearly 50% of all my expenses are on food.
The absolute essentials, Food, Utilities and Travel expenses already make up 70% of all my expenses.
I don't spend a lot of food, that means I'm spending too little on entertainment and life. Life of otaku. :(
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passive Income VS Active Income
The most important chart of them all, and the best measurement to my ultimate goal - financial independence.
My short-mid term goal is to have passive income form 10% of my overall income.
Since I spend around 20% of my income... If I can increase my passive income to 20% as well... does that mean.... !!!
...
Long way to go man. Long way to go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous
Some other interesting facts...
I spend $2.46 on Breakfast, $4.96 on Dinner, and $5.15 on Lunch on average.
The approximately cost per restaurant visit (includes low-end ones also) is $19.14.
I also spend approximately $8.6 per month on lottery. And no, I haven't won back any for the year. :(
I highly encourage people to take up this challenge of recording your expenses.
It's a huge pain at first, but it becomes habitual very fast.
And the insights you gain can be quite invaluable.
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