I generally don’t have the habit of keeping cash in my bank account, because I will always be tempted to use them, either spending on contemporary cute frivolous stuff or yet another live performance or shopping around the investment space and locking the money up in a new vehicle. The best way to resist the temptation is just to make it irrelevant, so I try to hide my money in places that are less accessible (in investments) or somewhere I will forget (in my favourite books or old wallets or some decorative storage space – alike to Grandma’s biscuit tins under the bed) So what if I found myself in an emergency situation in need of cash? While it wouldn’t be regarded as a safety margin, my first response would instinctively be to cut down on expenses. My lifestyle is very flexible, so while I do splurge on theatre tickets, meals in award-winning restaurants, quality education in denominations of thousands and sports activities in hundreds, I could still enjoy my life with free ...

  Congratulations to me for receiving the offers to read Bachelor of Technology at NUS!  Other than providing for two cats, pursuing a bachelor degree with a local uni is another thing on my list of  "Things I Want To Do After Saving $300K" :D I have been thinking and preparing for this for many months.  Even though NUS has launched Advance@NUS to offer a more variety of full-time courses including non-tech-related courses for working adults, I still decide to bite the bullet and pick up a computing course under the part-time programme. There are a few reasons for this. For starters, part-time degrees are way cheaper than full-time degrees. For the same cohort, the tuition fees for a full-time computing programme is $8,200 per year which amount to $32,800 for four years, while the part-time degree costs only $23,520 for the whole course of 160 module credits, without factoring in any exemptions that are granted for polytechnic diploma holders. Part-time students are ...

It has been 11 months since my last post that I almost forget I have a financial blog :P Life was so busy and after staring at screens for more than 16 hours every day for work and study, the last thing I want to do is to whip out my laptop and write a blog, plus I have adopted one cat and rescued another kitten last year, so those adorable burdens do take up a huge chunk of my time ;) Milestones Had a major shift in my financial strategy, so I consolidated my assets to update my net worth. A couple of financial milestones: Reached 250K by Dec 2020 ( up 50K in 7 months) Reached 300K by Feb 2021 (up 50K in 2 months) Reached 100K in CPF Special Account by Apr 2021 Reached 200K in Current Assets (assets that can be liquidated in less than a month) by Apr 21 Net Worth on Apr 21 hit 333K (what a nice number :)) the 33K is the money in my Medisave and an outstanding loan to a friend for his university education. The first 50K increment is due to capital gains in investment and the bonus rece...

Please click on the link to read Part I and Part II Maintain 25. Take care of my things I put in the effort to take care of my things because I want to be able to enjoy using them for the long term It doesn't mean that I live my life around my things because after all, they are just tools to make my life more comfortable and convenient, and make me happy. I just take care of my stuff when I use them and maintain them whenever necessary. This allows the things to last longer and reduce the need for repair or replacement Another perk of taking care of your things is that they will retain a higher resale price when they no longer add value to your life, and it would be easier to rehome them than to trash them unless they are beyond   26. Repair my stuff That's right. I don't throw away my stuff once it's damaged or spoilt.  It probably runs in the blood. I have repaired my alarm clock, mended my clothes, stitched my backpack, replaced cracked screens,...

Following up on Part I   Live 11. Develop good habits I don't smoke, go clubbing, or gamble (includes lottery).  Bad habits are bad for a reason, and bad habits are expensive now, or when accumulated into the future (think health problems) Good habits, on the other hand, are good for our health and our finance. Drink lots of water, have a good night's rest, eat more veggies, exercise, maintain a good posture, go for regular dental and health check-ups.  Develop good habits. They are good not only for your health but for your wallet in the long run. 12. Consider a low-cost or free hobby There are many hobbies that can keep you healthy, occupied, or even enriched with low or even no cost at all.  Before reaching my first 100k, I used to spend my free time reading, swimming, rollerblading and playing my keyboard under the guidance of YouTube tutorials Since then, I have tried out a few paid activities and committed to those that I enjoy greatly. Even though they have be...

Last month I wrote a post about this but it wasn't saved before it was published so I had to rewrite the post. During the past month, both the equity and crypto market have been volatile and that affected my net worth but as of now, I'm still safely above $200k :) Despite still in my 20s, I'm already well known for being a long-winded naggy person who is bad at summaries and extremely good at complicating simple things (it's a skill), and that is further proven when I finished writing this post with close to 36 points (gasps!) I have been contemplating on cutting out some points, but it's hard because it's really all those little things that add up and help me reach my milestones. So instead, to save the readers' attention span and prevent this tab from getting closed out of boredom, I have broken this long post into 3 parts: Earn & Save, Live &Spend, Maintain, Invest & Others   Without further ado, allow me to share how I achieved my 200k milest...

The last time I checked the definition of 'toxic', it means poisonous, which is a substance that can cause or be capable of causing death or illness if taken into the body. So anything that is toxic is bad for you. Toxic relationships, toxic plants. Stay away from them. There is also such a thing known as the toxic work culture. I have to agree that stress is necessary for growth and learning and if you are not stressed, you are not becoming better. And tired is normal after a long day of work.  But I think there must still be a limit to it.  A toxic environment is one that harms your physical health by overworking and mental health by constant exposure to negativity. We are more easily influenced by the environment that we thought we are. It also hinders your opportunity to develop your career unless you participate in the right clique of office politics and belittles you making you lose confidence in yourself to get a better position. But the bottom lin...