Thursday, 9 August 2007
Was spending my national day @ home, just ~ 75% finished packing my bag for this wkend trip. Well to me, it's just a public holiday cos i'm not those patriotic type n i have not been watching the national day parade for many years. Just dun feel like watching cos like every year the same stuff again n again.
Was browsing my friend's blog today n my friend was blogging on how come she still got $$ to travel although she's still a student. Well, her points r well noted n i'm a bit surprised tt these pts came from someone who didn't study accountancy or finance. Cos i expect someone who study accountancy or finance to noe much much more. Read a newspaper article few wks ago n there is a formula which will give u a clue on whether u r a spender or a saver:
Saving = Pay - Spending / Spending = Pay - Saving
If ur anwser is the 1st, then u r a spender. If ur answer is the 2nd, then u r a saver. It really make a lot of difference. If u belong to the 1st, without budgeting how much u wan to save @ mth end then i doubt there will be saving @ mth end cos u may have the mentality tt leftover = saving but there may not be any leftover @ mth end.
Well, although i belong to the 2nd category, the actual saving @ mth end may not be the same amt of my target saving @ beginning of the mth cos sometimes i may oso overspend n have to reduce my saving. But without budgeting ur saving, there is a higher chance of overspending. Say is easier than done. These few mths i tend to spend more n more, gonna control my daily expenses. Seems tt i lack discipline recently. The remaining expenses like transport can't varies much, allowances to my parents, yoga class fees, CPF study loan repayment, mthly insurance premium, internet bill r oso fixed. Yup, i oso set aside an amt mthly for my exams fees, ICPAS & ACCA subscription fees n yr end insurance premium. One of my friend comment tt althought i set aside an amt mthly but there is no cash outflow, i agree but i dun wan to c @ end of the year, suddenly i have a huge increase in expenses. Well, accountant should understand the meaning of expenses accrual rite?
For purchase of big items n travelling, it's currently dipping into my savings so tt's y although i set aside an amt mthly but @ end of the yr, my saving is not the amt i set aside mthly x 12. In the future if i have enough dispensable cash, then i will oso budget a certain amt aside for travelling every mth. I dun feel tt i treat myself v badly just feel tt everything shld be spend within ur limit. Without limit, it will surely blow.
Whenever ppl heard of the liabilities, ppl tend to have -ve thoughts on it rite? Well, having liability may not be a bad idea. Let me give an example. I have $6k study loan to repay into my dad's CPF a/c but i choose not to repay the whole amt n instead, spreading the loan repayment of $200/mth over 30 mths. Let's assume tt CPF interest rate is 2.5% yrly for the next 30 mths, it work out to an extra $189 interest to be repaid. But if i use the $6k to invest n as long as the return is > 2.5%, wouldn't i be richer? Understand y having liability may not be a bad thing? B.t.w if u invest $6k in the bank fixed deposit a/c, i doubt the interest return will be >2%. The higher the return, the higher the risk. Got it?
Was reading Tuesday Life! just now n there was an article on more n more women r travelling nowadays expecially single women without major financial commitments. One person was quoted: "Travelling allows me to take a break from work n is one of the joys of life. It isn't a luxury but a necessity." I totally agree with this person. Currently, travelling is one of those which i look forward to very much n it's become part of my life, without it is like without oxygen. Hehe, must be wondering got so serious mah? There is an ITE lecturer who travel at least once a mth for leisure, using wkends for short trips n school holidays for longer trips. Hmm... travel at least once mth mayb a bit too much for me now, mayb a short trips once evrey 2-3 mths n a long trip twice a yr, so works out to abt 4-5 trips a yr. If too much short trips, all nearby destinations will be visited n may lack of destinations soon. N with 2 days over the wkend, how far can i go rite?
A socialogist notes that women r different from men, men tend to spend on objects like cars, gadgets and toys which can be appreciated by others but women spend on themselves taking care of their inner peace n aesthetic pleasures.
For the travel agencies, packages catering to female traveller is a booming biz. More n more women r signing up for exotic locations n r more adventurous. Some men r turned off by adventure travel b'cos they feel tt it's too similar to their national service day. I suddenly remember one of guy friend was quite put off by camping. Cos i told my friend tt my gal friend went camping wif her bf n he was asking me whether her bf enrol in army b4? He say for guys who went to army is unlikely to go camping loh... he say @ home got comfortable bed, dun wan meh, y go camping loh? Just ask another guy friend in msn, he dun mind camping, depending on who u go wif. Mayb my friend who is put off by camping is too lazy, mayb he went too much camp in army n was always deployed to the desert, haha... he always comment tt his room is so comfortable loh. I doubt he will be reading my blog bah, even if he read, he is unlikely to scold me bah cos he acknowledge to me tt he is lazy! =p
