Simple Budget, Simple Life

I confess I seem to lose the ability to write. I practically use co-pilot to rephrase my emails through my broken English. And here I am, trying to make an effort to write, but feeling stucked. I am alone at home, enjoying my quiet time, while R&B music is playing in the background. Chinese R&B music to be specific. I realised there are so many nice songs by China songwriters and composers now - their names unfamiliar to me, but their melodies and lyrics touched my heart. It brought back sweet childhood crushes and memories.  I also realised I am now old and at another stage of life where these love stories are past tenses. It is a bittersweet realisation that time has gone just like that. When I wished I could grow up faster, where I wonder how I'd be like when I'm in my late 20s, 30s, I'm now living it. Life has been good so far. I am not trying to force my contentment, but I must pat my back and thank God for giving me a comfortable life.  For the past few months...

31 January 2026. End of 1st month in 2026. I'm proud of myself for trying - trying to fill my life with more new activities.   I felt I've been cruising along, and "wasting" my time for years since covid. Events in my life has made me weak. I lost hp, but took potions along the way to grow it back, and I accumulated more xp and levelled up.  I am now learning to add more sparkles into my calendar.  In this month, I went for health screening, went for makeup class (which was more of a product pushing/mlm sales pitch), started seeing a woman's health physiotherapist to improve my body, attended workshop on investing, went for a community tour, went for a church tour, and now - hoping to learn crocheting. All in attempt to be less idle, learn something new, and tell myself - my job is not my identity. Internalising this idea is still a work in progress. I guess because I've not much going on in life (which I remain thankful that things have been smooth for me), I...

As I started to type, the first word that came to my mind was "Nonchalant". I'm feeling more and more so. It seems like a protective layer or persona I'm taking up. So that I gets less f up by external factors. I used to be diligent updating here, but I lost the joy in sharing what's going on.  I was even nonchalant about updating my net worth. I used to track it monthly; and more so on 31 Dec 2025. Yet on 31 Dec 2025, I slept at 10+ pm. Not sure what time I really fell asleep. Sadly, I woke up at 5.30am and it hurts my head. I never had good sleep. What prompted me to do an update here was just in case one day, I have records to track back my thoughts, and my financial journey. Like how I could check back my interest on 1 January 2025 easily through my blog. --- Here's a recap of my finances over the years: 2016 -  Unexpected review of 2016: hitting $200k in net worth 2017 -  End 2017 review - net worth at $287k 2018 -  End 2018 review - net worth at $372k  2...

<post created in July> Dear Universe, 7 months have passed. Many things have happened, positive ones, because I choose to see things positively. And I'd like to express thanks for each of these positive things. As I mentioned in my previous link , I reached FRS for CPF, sold my house for >1m, clocked my business class flights for my hubby and I. Aside from these, I made our family trip happen which made my dad really happy. My mum, though she is not a fan of travelling, enjoyed herself too.  I thank God that my parents are healthy both mentally and physically to enjoy a 2 weeks trip with us.  I thank God for providing such a smooth journey with great weather throughout my trip in a land frequently visited by natural disasters. Everything was amazing. I am thankful to my dad for being so selfless and paying for bulk of the trip. I know he felt satisfied that he could once again pay and bring the whole family out for holidays.  I had a business trip where I got to ...

Thank you to the well meaning people who commented on my previous post.  I am learning about myself, learning to be a better person. Learning to validate and appreciate myself. I've been watching more meditation and spiritual videos, and learning to look and grow from within. Through the videos, it taught me to be more contented and appreciative (I have been learning to give thanks every day), to complain less and gossip about people (because it is creating negative energies, hatred and bitterness in myself).  On the latter, it is easier said than done. I reflected that I've been very bitter about many things, having a lot of hatred for people whom I've crossed paths with for their treatment and attitude towards me. From relatives, to people I interact at work. I try to rationalise that these people are just passer by and have no real effect on my daily life - if I could cut ties with my toxic relatives, I can also cut off may things that expend my energy. I reflected that ...

I am sitting in my husband's childhood home, feeling emotional.  In the backdrop, I am playing a healing meditation bgm to make me feel more calm. I've been playing such singing bowl music to soothe my nerves and my anxiety. Sometimes, my anxiety comes out of nowhere. Often, it is triggered by my overactive brain and oversensitive heart.  My logical brain tells me - I've mostly what I need. A good income, a loving husband, a supportive family (both mine and in-laws) - everything is pacing out well; except a child which I've come to terms with. My emotional wiring stirs up shit. It could be comments made by colleagues, looking down on me/my role, comments from boss showing favouritism and lack of appreciation for my work, comments from other colleagues who gave negative comments about my output. I don't like to be looked down. I hate these little comments floating past my brain, made from little people who I know are not an integral part of my life. I know, but I sti...

If you've not heard of Chocolate Finance and Heymax, here's the deal: As of 11 Feb 2025, Chocolate Finance is partnering with Heymax to allow 2 max miles per $1 through their Chocolate Visa Platinum Debit Card. We can now earn 2 Max Miles per S$1 spent on virtually everything - charitable donations, education, hospitals, insurance premiums, utilities, and even AXS transactions. What is Chocolate Finance? Chocolate Finance has been my sidekick saving account since Jul 2024 where I placed $20k for 3.3% p.a. on the first S$20,000. So far, I've earned $454.98. Not too bad for an account that allows easy and immediate withdrawal.  What is Heymax? Heymax is a rewards platform that offers Max Miles which can be transferred to various airline (excluding SQ) and hotel programs, making them highly valuable for travelers.  I've been using it for the past year as it helps maximise rewards on my credit cards by recommending the best card to use. Simply key in the cards you have on h...

I have been feeling stuck for years. 6 years in fact. I felt like I did not live for myself. That I did not love myself enough. I blame my body for its weakness. I blame my overactive mind for giving me heartaches and tears.  I didn't give time to heal. I was chasing against time, against my biological clock. But I missed out taking care of myself. The pursuit for a child seemed like a blackhole. Only pouring in, with no outcome. I am now stopping this journey. Whether it is a pause or a full stop, I am still uncertain. But I know I need to live for myself NOW. Therefore, 2025 is going to be my year of healing. I had this thought nearing the end of 2024 - that I've suffered enough. Sure there were happy moments, but I could not live in the present.  I wish for reborn. 1. Physical Healing I've made steps to better my health.  Due to my frequent indigestions and stomachaches, I've gone for gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Fortunately, the results were not earth shattering. It...

My favourite activity for each start of the year is checking my CPF interest. And on 1 Jan 2025, I've received the following interest: 2025 will also mark the year where I reach FRS of $213,000. This will mean limited tax relief, unless I've deductions from Medisave that can allow $8k top-up. It will also be the year where I receive my CPF OA used for housing, upon the sale of my flat. That said, the amount will likely channel out to my new home (which I'm still hunting for). Overall, I know 2025 is going to be eventful. It is definite that I will get a new home under my name. While cashflow is tight, I'm proud that I am able to scrap through owning a >1m property by my own. Though, servicing another one under my hubby's name will be a headache. Anyway, we will get there.  Things are looking rosy and 2025 will be a great year for me!

  Another end to a year. For the nth time, I dread reflecting on the year because I did not receive positive outputs from the pain I've endured. But here goes.  Here's a recap of my finances over the years: 2016 -  Unexpected review of 2016: hitting $200k in net worth 2017 -  End 2017 review - net worth at $287k 2018 -  End 2018 review - net worth at $372k  2019 -  End 2019 Review - inching close to $500k net worth  (~$440k) 2020 -  End 2020 Review - net worth at $550k 2021 -  End 2021 Review - closing in to $700k net worth 2022 -  End 2022 Review - failing financial goal for the first time, $660k net worth 2023:  End 2023 review: $819k net worth 2024 Review Borrowing my past year statement: This year, so much has happened, but not much have changed. Since I don't blog every month, here's a recap of what I've done across the past 12 months: Jan Did CPF MA topup of $3k Spoke about feeling depressed and signing up for counse...

For years, I've done CPF cash top-ups in a bid to reduce taxes. I typically did them at the start of the year. I had an inkling I wasn't earning a lot to warrant the tax reliefs, but felt compelled to do so to make it seem like my money in CPF was working harder.  Afterall, 4% on SA was much greater than leaving it in the banks. No doubt, these were money "stuck" until I could only withdraw them when I cross 55. In the past 2 years, I became more apprehensive of topping-up at the start of the year. I only did it for MA, but for SA, I decided to wait...till I had more cash on hand. This was because I was running out of cash reserves as I threw in quite a bit of cash in 2021 onto stocks, cryptos....and unfortunately, was not savvy in making good returns.  I had to rebuild my cash reserves. That meant just aggressively saving, without investing. This may not be the wisest, but I needed comfort and security that my cash nest is being built back to the original state. Fast...

As of 8 Dec 2024, I have officially unlocked the milestone of $1m networth 🎉 This is all thanks to the increased in value of my crypto holdings as well as my US stocks. My HK/CN stocks are still in bad shape. On stocks front, truthfully, my overall investments is still in the red. I had made mistakes in stock picking and has not taken the opportunity to cut losses. I had the view to hold and pray those stocks in deep red would go up - after all, I told myself I don't need the money right now. On crypto, given that BTC has bounced back, I'm sitting on decent profits. I've been cashing out bit by bit. The last I spoke in Mar , I cashed out a rather sizeable amount of BTC at 50% profit. On hindsight, if I had waited till now, I could have cash out 3000 SGD more. Anyway, this time round in Nov, I cashed out 2 times, at a 70%-80% profit. Not bad considering the rest of my investments. As long as there are no major global events impacting the markets negatively, I believe I woul...

Another blink, another year ending soon. How have you guys been? I wonder who else is still monitoring my blog despite my lack of updates. Again, so much has happened, but not much have changed. I travelled well, continued with a 3rd round of IVF egg retrieval (result was extremely poor), and went through uncertainty at work due to restructuring but was thankfully able to keep my job. I still haven't fulfil my dream of being a mother. Though honestly, it now feels more like a checkbox to be unchecked than the actual fulfilment of wanting to nurture and grow a child. I think the weariness is getting too much. I will embark on my final transfer within these few months. This would be my 7th transfer. If it fails, I'm likely going to stop further treatments. I have already done the best at my "peak".  I am telling myself that my life is still amazing despite these hiccups. Anyway, onto my financial goals. Back on 31 Dec 2024, I posted my goal to achieve $950k networth by ...

My first foray into crypto was during the hype. Back in Feb 2021 During Feb 2021 to Jun 2022, I added in bit by bit - DCA as what they say. BTC, ETH, MATIC, SOL and even the horror LUNA. Thereafter, as crypto crashed, I stopped, praying one day it will rise back. And today, as I found that BTC is now at ATH, I decided to cash out 1/4 of my BTC for some profits. It's still a far cry from the amount I've lost, but I'm glad I could recoup some losses. Just to detail for my future reference, I transferred my BTC from ledger to coinbase. And sold my BTC on coinbase to SGD, incurring an atrocious fee of $130 and GST of $12. Gone are the days of cheap transaction fees.  Please let me know if there are wiser/cost effective options. In total, what I took back was a profit of 50%.  May BTC rise up more so I can cash out at 100% profit next. -dated 9 Mar 2024-

Happy Lunar New Year! How has everyone spent their lunar new year?  On the first day of LNY, I woke up early to catch the sunrise, soaked in the sunlight and prayed for a good year. This LNY has been rather peaceful for me, as with the past few years - I was done with visiting on the first day, works well for my introverted personality. I confess I'm not an approachable aunt - I don't actively reach out to the younger relatives - I have no clue what to say; small talks are just not for me. So far, the start of the dragon year has got me checking off a few superstitious acts, just to make myself feel better for the new year. As I mentioned in my previous blog posts , my job is getting shaky again. I have no clue if my role will be affected, neither do I have inertia to find a new role; there's too many companies that I feel uneasy heading to.  Next, I thought I'd be celebrating the new year with a pregnancy. Alas, my fifth ivf transfer failed. It's draining my energy...

 2 weeks into 2024. Crazy. Crazy that time flies, and how the first two weeks of this year were marred with negative news - earthquake in Japan, plane crash, tuberculosis cluster, layoffs... On a personal front, negativity hits again. First week of the year set out ok, I was hyping myself up - new year, new thoughts - good thoughts only. The second week got me back to old thinking. Anxiety and self doubts are creeping in again. I previously mentioned in my  end 2023 review post  that company is undergoing restructuring and my job security is unknown. Closing in to my mid 30s (to think I started this blog in my mid 20s) is scary. I didn't feel like I've grown. As much as my networth increased from  $200k in 2016  to  $819k in 2023 , I surely didn't feel that I've grown  better. As I age, I feel more depressed.  I don't know what I am living for.  For now, work is a key part of my life. And work thoughts consumed most of my time. The current ou...

  Earlier in my post , I mentioned that I will be topping up $2k+. Silly me. That was before the MA interest gets rolled out. Today, I made a top up of $3,000 via paynow. This is because my company contributions usually come in on 7th or 8th of the month.  Now that this is out of the way, I will have $5,000 more throughout the year to top up. Will ponder about this later. Till then :)

This always boost up my mood every start of the year 😊 My beloved CPF interests. This time, I crossed 5 digits interest, clocking in $11,291.01 for 2023. Back last year, I was receiving $9k+ interest. I will be topping up  $2,085.62  max out my MA and for tax relief purposes. I didnt hit BHS as at 31 Dec 2023 as my MA was deducted for my surgery.  -- Last night, I slept early and didn't do countdown. My hubby lie on the bed with me a while and hugged me. He wished that in 2024, I will be happier and able to achieve my goals, whatever that may be. He said he wished I will go back to my young happy self years ago, and the depressed me will go away. I cried. I recognised that I've become unhappy and unsettled easily, especially in the past few years.  I don't know if my younger me was really happy, but I do know as I grow older, negativity has been clouding me. He told me to cry out and let out my concerns. I wasn't able to articulate what's making me depressed. ...

Here's a recap of my finances over the years: 2016 -  Unexpected review of 2016: hitting $200k in net worth 2017 -  End 2017 review - net worth at $287k 2018 -  End 2018 review - net worth at $372k  2019 -  End 2019 Review - inching close to $500k net worth  (~$440k) 2020 -  End 2020 Review - net worth at $550k 2021 -  End 2021 Review - closing in to $700k net worth 2022 -  End 2022 Review - failing financial goal for the first time, $660k net worth 2022 wasn't a good year for me and I spoke about it  here . I summed up 2022 with: To sum up 2022: I paid tons of money on fertility treatments and embarked on the the most painful (physically, mentally and for my pockets) -  IVF . The worst? Seeing no result despite the money and efforts poured. Stocks, crypto crashed which means a beating on my net worth. Income received couldn't cover the losses. The best thing that happened was a new job, with a better compensation. I hope the 2023 r...