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How I’m Setting My Goals for 2020
Truth be told, I’m terrible at goal-setting. For most of my adult life, I’ve either: 1) not set any goals at all, 2) vaguely visualised goals in my mind, but never took actionable steps to see them through, or 3) set goals so unrealistic, fall very short of the mark as I tried to reach them, then, feeling discouraged, I’d abandon the effort altogether. Everything I’ve done up to this point in my life, such as getting good grades or saving money, unfortunately, wasn’t achieved through positive goal-setting. No. Instead, I achieved milestones out of sheer fear and panic that life would crumble right before my eyes if I didn’t.…
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Asset Allocation for Malaysians: What is The Best Portfolio Mix for You?
Over the last few months, I wrestled with the concept of asset allocation. In theory, this is a straightforward concept but in practice, I don’t take asset allocation into consideration when making investment decisions. What Is Asset Allocation? At some point in your investment journey, you might find yourself thinking, “There are just too many investment options out there, how do I choose the right one?” The answer is there shouldn’t be just ONE investment option that you should be putting your money into. Ideally, your investments should consist of a variety or a mix of assets that fit you. This mix is different for each individual. Think of a…
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My Stock Investing Workflow: A Step-by-Step Guide
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Mid-Year Review 2019
We are now at the halfway point of 2019. I am positive that all it took for us to get here was a blink of an eye. Money The first order of business is a budget update! I’ve cumulatively included both May and June expenses since I was on a hiatus. Over the past two months, my expenses in Singapore averaged SGD2,530 per month. There were many large one-off expenses that I made including: lending money to friends and family buying a book on Amazon (which is still stuck in customs!) converting SGD995.20 to MYR, which provided me with approximately RM3,000 for investing I also applied for a US visa….…
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The Costs of Being A Woman: Why I’m Choosing Not To Pay Them
This post comes after a lot of thought. Thoughts that I’ve mulled over for most of my twenties. Thoughts that have led to purchasing decisions, that have led to where I am today. The day after International Women’s Day, I was at a baby shower thrown for a heavily pregnant woman, who was a literal stranger to me. There I was, no idea who anyone was. To make the situation more awkward, I sat across a chatty young mom holding her 9-month-old girl precariously in her arms. “Only have children when you’re really ready for children,” she warned me. That struck me as odd coming from a new mom. In…
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My 2018 Expenses and Income
Some days ago I read a blog post from Suraya of Ringgit Oh Ringgit in which she reveals her annual income and expenses for the last year. I thought, “Hey, I’ll do that too!” Naive, little ol’ me thought that this was going to be an easy breezy fun post to write. I was sorely mistaken. I spent the whole weekend confronting the numbers that my year essentially boiled down to. The more I looked at them, the more anxious and afraid I became about sharing it with the world. It’s one thing to hold those numbers close to yourself but it’s a completely different thing to let other…
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Month in Review: November 2018
Money November saw some huge expenses that ate up a lot of my budget. In my last review, I mentioned that there’s going to be bigger car expenses in November. Can you imagine, I spent RM2k just on my car?? As time goes on, I become more bitter about owning a car. Back in college, a car felt like a privilege, now it feels like an unnecessary burden. A few times I’ve thought about selling off my car but other people in my family depend on the car as well. Adui, I feel a bit sakit hati looking at the numbers. I spent about RM200 on a facial (under personal) in…
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I Traveled Six Weeks in Europe for RM14,000
I’m having a hard time structuring this post. For one, my trip was long. I spent 45 days traveling through Europe. It’s hard to condense that into 1,500 words or less. Secondly, I am not sure how this post can help anyone budget their very own Europe trip. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that most people can afford an extended holiday, much less one that costs about five figures. Other people have done better than me at budgeting a backpacking trip to Europe. And at some really unbelievably low numbers. But I can honestly say my European trip was one of the most life-changing experiences that I’ve had. For…
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Month in Review: October 2018
Money It’s been a pretty chill month. It’s a bit unsettling that I’m starting to get used to seeing my monthly expenses hit the RM5k range. These days, the bulk of my monthly money drain goes to paying rent. But I’ve reduced a lot of unnecessary expenses last month. Overall, I spent about RM5,211.58. My total spending last month is down by 15% compared to September. In September, I spent a lot to furnish my home. Nine months after moving into a new place, I finally bought a sofa and a fridge. Don’t judge me. In October, there wasn’t much spending for home upkeep, thank god. There’s a slight increase…
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5 Financial Personality Types That Affect Your Money Habits
I would hazard a guess that most of us never thought about how our personalities could affect how we spend, save, and invest. But improving our personal finance game requires self-reflection. What fears cause us to spend too much money? How are we motivated to save money? To understand what compels us to spend or save, we need to look inwards. So, let’s look at 5 financial personality types and how they affect our money habits. 1) The Spender We all have that one friend. You know the one. He’s got the nice car, goes on luxurious holidays, and always first in line to buy the new iPhone. That person…
