Simple Budget, Simple Life

In end 2021, I shared that I was hitting close to $700k in net worth. I did. On 1 Jan 2022.  But, things just went downhill from then on.  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 Targets review: These were what I set out for 2022: Aim to achieve $850k net worth in 2022❌ Bring my parents out for an overseas trip; if not make do with cruise trip❌ Grow crypto portfolio to 10% of networth❌ Material wants: buy a rolex and LV/chanel bag✅ (no rolex or chanel, but a LV) 2022 Review Here's a recap of what went by in 2022: Jan Started the year with $8728.48 in CPF interest Made my first CPF top up of $3k to MA in 2022 Shared...

This year is definitely going down as my WORST financial year. For the first time in my working life, my net worth DECREASED, although my income increased. But I'm still holding on some hopes till 31 Dec 2022.  Praying for better stock and crypto market. This year hasn't been kind. If not for my own intuition and initiative to job hunt, I'd be jobless. I am thankful to myself and any higher beings for blessing me.  I now have an inkling of how it feels like IF I had no income stream. While I have at least $100k cash savings across FD, banks, it's not as much as before. Most of it are stuck in stocks, for which I'd incur losses by selling now. A good portion is in crypto, which I'm preparing to write off as 0. I blame my poor planning and eagerness to strike it rich, fast.  If I had been more careful with my money, I'd be richer. I'd have more disposable cash to plonk into high interest accounts. I'd feel less jittery if I had no income for a while. B...

I can't proclaim I know it all. But after close to 10 years of work experience, I have my own reflections and thoughts about when it is time to pack you bags and leave a company.  1. When your boss doesn't like and understand you I've been blessed in my first job that my bosses likes me, a lot. I was given opportunities (though I felt stress) to do various projects, and I was given limelight. Even when I made mistakes, my bosses were empathetic. I am still young and learning, they said. I think age might have played a part. Because I was young, I was inexperienced, they were more forgiving. I was also less of a threat to them.  In my next role, I was half lucky. My bosses also like me and were rather kind to me. However, when there was a change in boss to someone just a few years older, things changed. She put on a fake front, and was difficult to engage. As I felt less respected, I was very open in showing my dislike for her as well.  In my current role, I was unlucky. I...

One year ago, I spoke about Tiq 3-year endowment plan at 1.62%. This time, they are rolling out a   3.60% 3-year endowment plan   with a minimum saving of $5,000! Who is this useful for? If you've max out your SSB and have spare funds, you may want to consider this You are ok to spare your funds for 3 years. The min amount to put in is $5k You are happy with their Guaranteed Maturity Benefit of 3.60% Death benefit where they pay "101% of your single premium upon your demise" is a bonus. Choy, I hope nobody gets this Registration What I love about tiq is their fuss-free and simple sign-up. You can refer to my past posts where I blogged about my "investment" into them. I treat these as an alternative savings plan with additional protection benefits! https://simplebudgetsimplelife.blogspot.com/2019/03/elastiq-another-guaranteed-202-pa-for.html http://simplebudgetsimplelife.blogspot.com/2020/06/maturing-202-endowment-and-185-fixed.html All you need is to visit  this...

I was hopeful that this month would be a good month, but an event scarred this. Work Last month, I started looking out for jobs aggressively.  Of the 4 roles that I went into 2nd round for, I managed to get 2 offers this month. Of which one was my top choice. I was elated and thought this was a good start to the month. It also heartened me that I am still of value in the job market as I successfully negotiated a higher package despite the current situation.  As I was pondering how to resign, when to resign, I got a shitty news from my company that scarred this month. It made clear to me the ugliest side of the company and the people and I'm glad I'm getting out of it. I hope things will go well for me and nothing screws up my new role. If not, I'd have to rely on my husband for a while. Expenses I haven't been saving much. Succumbed to buying a new iphone 14 pro despite getting the iphone 13 pro max last year. I thought I should treat myself for getting an offer. But on...

This month has been rather unpleasant. 2022 probably isn't a good year for me. I look at my past posts and it's generally negative. Perhaps the macro environment affected me personally. Work I was complaining last month that I've subscribed to quiet quitting. Due to some changes at work, it made me see things clearer - that my boss sucks, the role is not gaining me any skillsets, and I need to move. So I started applying for jobs. Rather aggressively. So far, I've submitted 26 applications, got called up for 5 and got into 2nd round for 4.  I wonder if I should wait for my end year bonus. But I'm also doubtful whether I'd get any bonus. I don't feel my boss appreciates my work enough and I may well get 0.  However, I figured I should just see what leads me and decide one step at a time. It doesn't seem to be a good time to find jobs now. What's more, I've been hearing layoff news and this means the job market will be inundated with younger unempl...

It's the time of the month...the ladies would understand. Every month, I'd get bad cramps which makes me breathless, giddy and helpless. It's during such periods of sickness that I have morbid thoughts - what if I drop dead and die? How can I avoid such pains? Why do I have to suffer like this? Can I just remove my womb? It's also during such times that I pause to think about my health. I start to think I need to exercise more, eat better, treat myself better, and take care of my health. When I'm my usual self, I don't bother much with such thoughts. Anyway, for the first time in my 30+ years of life, I've started acupuncture...in a bid to get pregnant. I wonder how long and how much more I have to spend. Getting pregnant is not an easy task for me. After the TCM consultation, I know I've a lot of issues to tackle. I've poor sleep, poor appetite, frequent back aches, frequent cramps, cold feet and arms, poor blood circulation, poor digestion. All the...

Look what came in my mailbox today! Presenting 2 versions of Trust card - one for NTUC Union member and the blue trust card for non-member Honestly, I could do without the cards as we've stored the digital card in our apple wallets. What we've redeemed Anyway, we've redeemed our FREE 1kg rice - which was tough to find btw. Take note that this voucher expires first and you need to click "Coupon" at self-check out counter and scan barcode to redeem . Also, our FREE kopitiam breakfast set. The auntie was very kind and allowed me to  top up 20 cents for milo. All you need to do is to go to your coupon, click "Redeem", key in the code that the staff tells you and show it to them. Take note the voucher expires 31 Oct 2022 and the set is only available before 11am #fortheearlybirds I've also redeemed my sign-up reward of $10 fairprice e-voucher for my grocery shopping! At the self checkout counter, click “All Other Payments” and scan your voucher's barc...

It's been long since I saw so much hype in the blogosphere given the sour macro environment. After reading a few articles and realising the perks without doing much, I decided to sign up for a Trust account. Read on for more about the perks! PS: easy, $35 fairprice e-vouchers combined, 1kg rice, free breakfast set at kopitiam, chance to win Tesla and more! Registration steps Sign-up was fuss free. Here're the steps: Download the Trust Bank app - you can head to this link to scan the QR code  or scan from the above image Click "Use referral code" to get $10 Fairprice e-voucher. You can use your friends or mine i.e  AP1PJBRK   if you don't have a code. 😊  Upon entering the referral code, you will see this page 3. Click "Apply for savings account"  4. Sign up using "myinfo" and it will extract info from your Singpass. 5. Some of the information you need to key in are Employment Type, Name of Employer, Nature of business, Job Title , whether you a...

Work 1 year into my role and I'm jaded. I guess I'll never find a job I'm happy with. But the consolation is that this job is relatively easier than the previous, so I'm just cruising along...until I get fired.  I resonated with the quiet quitting term that's been all over the news recently. I guess I've been quiet quitting all these while. People said it's a term for cruising, doing the minimum, or performing at your payscale. I've always been the type who knock off on time, though I am more enthusiastic in my first few work years. Somehow, my bosses acknowledge my efforts and I don't have to wayang. As I grow older in my career, things change. Because of how "quiet" I am, I may not get into the good books of bosses. I don't talk to bosses nor bother talking to colleagues to showcase what I'm doing. I don't bother  to wayang. I don't bother suggesting ideas to improve work - I did try recently, but it backfired. I'm bet...

Another month down and I still have not achieved much. I havent been feeling great. Is it the macro conditions or am I just getting old and cranky? Work I'm getting jaded at work, again.  While work is manageable, I lack bootlicking and show-off skills. I feel my bosses don't quite see the value I'm bringing. I'm not sure if they are too "smart" to understand operations and I feel we are on different frequencies. That would make it tough for me to get a good end year bonus.  Because of that I'm on the lookout for jobs. However, it seems like a "wrong" timing due to the impending recession and hiring freezes across the globe. I don't want to join a new firm and be laid off like what crypto.com did to their new staff.  Crypto.com Speaking of cro, it's unfortunate to note their downwards revision to netflix and spotify rebates . I'm currently on their ruby steel member, and have been enjoying spotify rebates. Just this month, I received ...

I wished I had good news to relay, but there's nothing exciting to talk about.  Work It's all over the news that layoffs are happening, even in Singapore. While my company has yet to be affected, I can't help but be worried.  I'd be hitting my one year mark in the company soon. It seems like I will never be happy working anywhere. Firstly, we are forced to return to office - as a social hermit, I dread this. Secondly, I feel that my work is getting monotonous and I'm not learning much. While I can pass time, the issue is I'm shortchanging myself in career growth. I'm not looking for upward movement or climb the career ladder, but I want to be skilled enough to move laterally. It is sad that I'm only in my early 30s and feel uncompetitive in todays' market; I am already starting to feel that I could be expensive to hire and getting too old for some companies.  Yet, while I could be expensive compared to younger folks, my pay has not risen.  I would be...

I blame the green tea from koi for my insomnia. I woke up at 3 plus am and tried to get back to sleep but my mind was wandering off to unimportant stuff - like tasks to assign my staff while I'm away, to a sudden realisation that I've changed, quite a lot. Or maybe it's age. So, I started this blog as a way to post my reflections and for me to look back at my financial journey. I'm happy I post my thoughts on and off because I seem to feel like I'm reading someone else's blog. The things I worried about then like not having a home, seem so recent yet far away - and here I am, sitting cozily in my home typing this. Getting old and no longer low maintenance I don't want to look down on myself/ladies - but I'm starting to understand the adage shared by ex-male colleagues when I was in my earlier 20s, that women crossed 30 age like milk, whereas men age like wine. Back then, when I heard it, I was pissed - these colleagues were men in their 30s, talking abou...

  If you're new, you can click on the SRS tag to see my past posts. Anyway, time for Apr updates. SRS With the recent dip (again), I've done my 4th transaction for 2022. The amount is split between Dimensional Global Core and Emerging Markets Large Cap. Jan: $3,060 Feb: $3,060  Mar: $3,060 Apr: $2,000 Instead of going in with another tranch of $3,060, leaving myself one last $3,060 bullet (and mind me, this is just Apr. We've plenty of months till end 2022), I decided to enter in with $2,000. This leaves me with $4120 left from my $15,300 pool. I'd still have room for 2 (or more) transactions this year. As I mentioned previously, I may have been too hasty in splitting up $15,300 SRS contribution to 5 transactions. I didn't know I'd enter so quickly haha. Because it seems that every month, there are dips to enter 😭 Amount pumped: $21,181 ( back in 2021, I've pumped $10,001 ) Results:  -3.76% CPF OA investment In Apr, I've made 3 transactions from my CPF ...

Thanks to those who left comments in my earlier post. Appreciate all your kind words. Anyway, time flies and it's another year of insurance payment. I have been on NTUC Enhanced Income Shield Preferred hospitalisation insurance plan with plus rider for many years. Not cheap, but it's a must have for peace of mind. As part of yearly insurance renewal, my CPF MA was recently charged $656. Since I was previously at the MA ceiling of $66,000, I wanted to maintain this for both 4% CPF interest and to maximise my tax relief. You would have known by now that, each of us are able to top up a maximum of $8,000 per year for your self account to either MA or SA for tax relief. Mistake I made a mistake of topping up my Grab with UOB Absolute Amex (which gives 1.7% cashback), thinking I can use my grab to top-up to CPF. Turns out this loop has been cut. I already knew of this, but not sure why my pea brain still went ahead without double checking. Instead... I top up my CPF MA via Paynow t...

I've drafted, deleted, drafted, deleted my thoughts for the past years.  Thoughts on my fertility journey.  I was filled with angst each time I write and was worry of being judged. I feel nobody understands how I feel unless you're going through it. Tears were shed. Silent screams were made. After a few years, I decided to pen my disorganised thoughts down. Background I wanted to marry early and have kids before 30 but my plans were delayed by the lack of luck in securing a home. We bided and managed to secure a spot after 4 years. Since it was a balance flat, it was ready within 1.5 years. I may have used up my luck for this.  Long story short, we got married and stayed apart while we wait for our home to be completed and renovated. During this period, we tried on and off to no avail. I decided to go for fertility checks and thankfully, everything was positive. Pushed my husband to do his as well and it was fine. I was reaching 30. Making a child became a scientific expe...