Simple Budget, Simple Life

At 7.30pm, my fiance messaged me.  JUST IN: Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat collapsed during Cabinet meeting; CT scan shows he had a stroke says PMO. I was shocked.  Judging by the number of posts published by the various MPs and Ministers, we could tell that his stroke was a serious one.  I've have never met him, and we don't know each other, but I was affected.  I was possibly feeling concerned because he is a respectable Minister yet, as with all humans, succumbed to stress, leading to a poor health. Many people are like him. Or are on the way to be him. One Minister wrote, " I could see that he was very tired. I have been telling him that he was overworking so much that it will affect his health ." Mr Heng has been steering many big and heavy projects/committees and could possibly have neglected his health at. And then, I reflected on myself. Obviously, I don't hold as big a hat as him, but, would I one day work too much that I breakdown? How

Another month. Again? April zoomed by so quickly that I couldn't remember much that happened. Luckily, I take note of my expenses giving me an inkling of what I did/spent on. My expenses in Apr were as follows: Fixed expenses:  $525 Variable expenses: $1,355.07 Food - $260.82 Had 5 western food this month such as Astons, Tender Chicken, Texas Chicken Treated my family to korean food @ Masizzim via my groupon voucher - not fantastic, but something special for my folks but I reckon they prefer Chinese food more :P btw, even with my $50 voucher, I had to top up $43 more *gasps*...nvm, once in a while indulgence. I really think we can eat more at the same price at tze char stall haha! A treat for my fiance at Tsukada Nojo for their famed bijin nabe aka collagen soup. My 2nd trip here and am still loving the soup. I'm a soup lover, what's more, their collagen soup is so thick....but I got quite a bit of sore throat after the meal. Also, the price is n

Other than sharing about my financial journey, at the end of it, what I want is to have a healthy body and mind to enjoy my fruits of labour. I'm not just financially conscious, but health conscious as well. I used to not care about what I eat since I wasn't fat. But, I would always have bad stomachaches and cramps. Furthermore, I don't exercise. After a few painful episodes, and after visiting the TCMs, I knew I had to do something to improve my health. One of my New Year Resolutions is to eat better. I am trying to cut down on my fast food intake, and raw food such as salad and sashimi. People tout salads as a healthy choice, and I wont' disagree depending on what sauces you add, but I don't think my body suits cold food like salad and sashimi. I still indulge in my hawker food such as hokkien mee, char kway teow, but usually eat less oily food such as fish porridge, fish soup bee hoon, ban mian etc. I have also cut down on my cold drinks intake as my body con

I'm not actively looking for a job. So when I received a call for an interview, I was puzzled. Turns out, I applied for this position months ago. I'm in my first job and feels comfortable with what I have now. The first 2 years were tough. High turnover led me to covering the roles of colleagues until we got people in, trained new colleagues who are much older and "experienced" plus expensive, feeling stressed out from the deadlines and non-existent SOPs, feeling angry because of messy instructions from different bosses who sometimes can't make up their minds, knowing that I'm not paid as well as others, having crappy colleagues who create politics, gossips and do not cooperate and the list goes on. There were times when I felt like giving up. But I knew I can't because, as a fresh grad, there's not much places for me to go. I wouldn't hire people who jumps around within 1-2 years, much less do it myself. And so, I shouldered on. As I got th

Previously, I talked about my upgrade of my NTUC Enhanced Incomeshield Plan from Advantage to Preferred , because I wanted to purchase the best plan possible when I'm still healthy (and could afford the not-so-hefty-yet premiums).  If you purchased The Sunday Times (3 Apr edition), you can take a look at the article on the comparisons of the various IPs from the major insurance companies. A good read to tell you that it is best to purchase "as-charged" plans.  Anyway, the cause of this post is to complain . I went down to the Income branch on 3 Mar for my plan upgrade and was told that I'd receive my documents within 3 weeks and I'll have to make payment for it. It's been 1 month and I've yet to receive my document. Was told it is still in processing stage. Huh? Why did it take so long? I'm feeling anxious cause my Advantage plan was supposed to end on 31 Mar 2016. Did a check on the Income portal which showed that my plan is still "i

Time flies. It's April tomorrow. I've been getting a little lazy with my budget tracking. Used to key in my purchases immediately into my phone but am now more laid back by keying in only at the end of the day or days later. Thinking back about what was most memorable in March were the following: Exercised on 27 Mar by hiking at Mount Faber BUT  not only did I not sign-up for the 2x bonus points for my steps tracker , my tracker died on me during 3/4 of my trek! Hopes to continue such long walks with my partner on a monthly basis Having a pleasant shock when I knew of my bonus :O. Was expecting a good grade, but not such a good grade. I know such luck might not come again, but 曾经拥有，好过没有。So glad to be rewarded well, although my basic pay is not very competitive la.  Visited Gardens by the Bay for the Sakuras but I'm so disappointed. It was Good Friday and the place was so packed. Not only that, the flowers seem rea

In my previous post, I explained why there is a need to buy the best hospitalisation plan . Note: that is if you can afford the premiums. Purchasing a hospitalisation plan is to protect your wealth from hefty medical charges but the key is to protect your health. I'm always heartened to see the Government spending all efforts to encourage citizens to eat well, exercise, retire well etc. I came across the Screen for Life website , which is really wonderful in guiding you the type of health screenings and immunisation you need to take at your age. Have you also attempt to walk 10,000 steps a day? On a long day, I will hit 20,000 steps. Usually, on a work day, it's 8-9k. At work, I try to walk about as much as I can, doing simple things like filling up my cup or taking toilet breaks. My bf has also set an Exercise Day on 27 March, so that we can take part in StepsChallenge.sg Bonus Points Day ! Got their free steps tracker watch months ago as well, just not wearing it