Simple Budget, Simple Life

In Mandarin, there's a phrase called 手机不离身. To translate, this means our mobile phones being an integral part of our life/body - we need to constantly hold and have it near us. I got reminded of this phrase as I was about to jot my thoughts. That came from my mum.....who nags that we are constantly on our phones haha I used to have a habit of turning off my phone at night to: - save battery -remove radiation - prevent calls/msgs from disturbing me But I no longer do so. In fact, my phone is on 24/7, and I even put it beside my bed while I sleep. The phone is smart enough to set "Do Not Disturb" mode come bedtime as well.  Anyway, this post serves to share the apps I used the moment I wake up and throughout the day. Perhaps years down the road, new apps would overtake the old ones?  And yup, first thing I wake up is to grab my phone! Tiger Brokers App Daily routine to collect tiger coins. I currently have 7000 coins, still far from the 18k coins to claim a $88 stock vouche...

I've always been appreciative of WFH. Even before the pandemic, I enjoyed telecommuting because it gets me away from office politics and tensions with people. I really hate (fake) social interactions. So after close to 2 years (time flies), I'm documenting my quick thoughts about my mundane rhythm so that I can look back fondly if we were to ever be forced to return to office😠. For context, I love staying home. I'm glad to be able to move into my house and settled the renovations before the mass disruption. Having 3 bedrooms meant my husband and I have our own room for work. We started off working in the same room, but given the number of calls and meetings we need to attend, it was difficult to be together. Nope, we didn't quarrel. Now that I reflect upon it, it seems like my husband is the BEST co-worker I've ever worked with! We are comfortable with each other, and shoot what we think, yet are respectful of each other space. He doesn't judge me regardless o...

If you're on Netflix and don't know what to watch, I recommend "The Squid Game". This is a Korean suspense drama of only 9 episodes which I binge watched over the weekend. I'll leave the link to the trailer here. In gist, it is a survival game where 456 players (all cash-strapped and in heavy debts) accept an invitation to compete in 6 rounds of games. The reward is 45.6 billion won (equiv to S$52 million) for the final winner. PS: if you're on tiktok, there are way too many spoilers. Lucky I watched it when it was released. Pretty mind blowing seeing the hints that were already laid out throughout the show. After the intense 9 episodes, I had several thoughts. Note that the reflections may contain spoilers to the show. 1. Do not subject yourself to financial difficulties. It leads to desperation 2. Human are greedy 3. In this world, it's every man for himself. 4. The world is a rich man's play, while the poor are treated as pawns. 5. The rich gets aw...

As a budget lady, I love getting my goods on sales. The competition between the online platforms are great for consumers given the discounts dangled. Did you purchase anything for 9.9? Amongst the various platforms, which one did you use?  Honestly, it's a headache to squeeze the best deal. You have to think which items are cheaper here, or there; which cc has additional promotions with the platforms plus gives you extra cashback; and when is the best timing to buy (most dangle special perks at strike of midnight). Here's a brief sharing of my game plan leading up to 9.9. You gotta start early . 1. Make a list of the items you want to purchase and cart them 2. Collect all the vouchers you can get leading up to the event 3. Play their games for extra perks - for eg. I played a game called Lazzie Star on Lazada app and got a 19% discount voucher 4. Check out your carted items to see the special price on the event day (note - there are some fakes where the prices are MORE EXP on 9...

The first week of 2019 has passed. Again, just like that, in a blink of an eye. I didn't had a pleasant end to 2018, nor start of 2019 as I was sick with cough and phlegm. Still have not recover till date. The first week of work was pretty chill given that we only worked for 3 days. Things will pick up speed soon and I'm not really looking forward to it, but, I gotta work for bread and butter right? This weekend was spent doing nothing. I was mindlessly looking at financial blogs, in awe of some's investment prowess. If I could do as well as them, would my net worth double? hehe. In any case, I shan't compare since I think I'm not doing too shabby either. Btw, in case some people think I got to where I am because I earn a lot, I can only say - I wish. I'm far from a $100k annual salary, though I do hope to hit it in the next 3-5 years :P I was also mindlessly scrolling instagram, youtube etc. I've not stepped out of my house except for work so fa...

I went for my 7 days holiday to Taiwan in Sept and was thankful that the typhoon didn't disrupt my trip but it was super hot there! I always thought Sept would be a pretty good time to travel - think autumn leaves and cooling weather. I was so wrong. It felt hotter than Singapore, and the sun was just so unforgiving. I turned from a pale girl to a roasted one there. So, if you're travelling these these few weeks, please put on your sunblock, sunglasses and a cap! My 7 days trip brought me to places like Hualien, Yilan and Taipei. I would say this was a pretty relaxing trip since my partner and I went back to the hotel at around 7-8pm each night. Our motto for our holiday was "No rush, no madness". Honestly, it was made possible because it was pretty boring in Hualien and Yilan. Here are some of the places you can go in Hualien, Yilan and Taipei: Hualien 1. Wang's Tea House  - this was my breakfast and lunch to-go place. Love their red tea with bubble and t...

When it comes to skincare products or toiletries, I've a few rules that I follow: - as best as possible, items should be free from SLS and parabens - application should be hassle-free - and most importantly, product must be value for money With that, I'm going to share with you my budget 4-steps skincare routine which cost you less than  $55 , bearing in mind some of the products could last over a year! 1. Makeup/Sunblock Remover >Nutive Organic Virgin Coconut Oil : $18 for 444ml In recent years, there's been a hype surrounding the many uses of coconut oil. One of which is the use of coconut oil as a makeup remover. What attracted me to this method were 2 reasons. One, a tub of coconut oil is cheap (I found it on qoo10 which sells a tub of 444ml oil at $18), much cheaper than some commercial makeup remover. Second, it is a natural product compared to the chemicals loaded drugstore remover. I have been using this for close to a year now, and there is ...

Happy Lunar New Year! With mandarin oranges being one of the core items that you bring along for house visiting, I'm sure you'd have at least a pair of oranges in your house. Other than eating it, how about making the full use of this amazing fruit by saving the peels? It's environmentally and pocket ($) friendly. FYI, these works well for any citrus peels :) Here's what you can do with your peels: 1. Make it with tea  You could either dry it like how the video does, or just pour hot water on freshly peeled skin 2. Use it as a air freshener  Boil the peels in hot water to help freshen the air in the kitchen and pour it into a spritz. 3. Make candies 4. Put it into green or red bean soup Add zest to your dessert with these mandarin peels! My parents do that to give the soup extra taste :) 5. Make an all-purpose toxic free cleansing agent Lastly, my personal favourite for kitchen use. For those families who whipped up many dishes over the...

I like the caption below: With the Powerball jackpot soaring to $415 million, it’s important to remember that money doesn’t solve life’s problems . In fact, many people’s lives took a turn for the worse, and they managed to lose all the money.  What would I do if I strike the lottery? 1. Keep quiet This might be hard to do considering that I like to share my joy. But, I'd like to keep my mouth shut and not share this news to anyone - not even my partner and family. I can already imagine what my dad would say and think - he'd expect me to fork everything. He'll probably share this with the external family who wouldn't let me off easily. More family politics will ensue. As for my partner, he'd probably still treat me the same, but I can't trust his mouth. If he'll to share this news with his family, I'll be labelled as niao if I dont pay for stuffs. Tongues will wag, and I can't take these. Keep quiet for my own sanity. 2. Continue w...

image from google   Hold on to your Disney dollars as the currency's value is set to rocket Anyone holding onto your prized Disney dollars? It's now out of production. Time to sell? I've only been to Hong Kong's Disneyland but was not aware of the existence of the Disney Dollar (oops). Only knew of it when my bf gave them to me during his visit to Paris Disneyland. Unfortunately, I can't find my Disney Dollar from him but I managed to find the Disney Coin. Does this count? :P