Simple Budget, Simple Life

It's amusing to re-read my blogpost more than a year ago. Back then, I submitted my 3rd $10 bet. I akin it to TOTO because it's like striking lottery. If you're lucky, you'll get the place you desire (for some, it's literally worth a million-dollar ). If not, you'll just keep betting till you...someday, one day, hopefully, gets it. And I, one year down the road, am still betting on my chance. How interesting. I haven't realise how desperate I must have felt each time I got a rejection. One year down and I've already made 3 additional bets, all of which I didn't even get a number! I felt like a jilted lover every time I receive that heartless email from HDB which says Unfortunately, as your balloted queue position has far exceeded the flat supply, we regret to inform that your application has not been successful. I should have been luckier. After all, I applied numerous times under MCPS. Why didn't I get a number? Why didn't I ...

Cash is king. Or so the old saying goes. As we move towards a cashless society, we should rephrase into this thinking - money is forever king, but cash? We probably can do without it. Take my case for example. I have been living nearly cashless ever since I have my credit cards four years ago. I barely have much notes in my wallet. Receipts? Aplenty. Ask my mom and she can testify. "Aiyo, your wallet always no cash, so poor meh! How you buy things?" "Use cards lor!" You see, the moment I step out of my house. I have no need for cash. Very very minimal actually. My credit card with auto reload function, works as my ezlink card. Tap, and off I go to my office. During lunch, I’d dine at restaurants where visa, mastercard are accepted. Even for Food Republic, I'd tell the cashier, "paywave pls". Occasionally, we'd dine at coffee shops which requires cash transactions. That's where if my wallet lacks cash, I'd just withdraw at nearb...

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...

Reading this Seedly article inspired me to do a stock-take of my insurance plan. Some background about me: - I've a few more years to welcome my 30s - I've worked for 4 years - I bought my 1st insurance (hospitalisation plan) when I started working - I'm not married yet I feel that buying insurance is a responsibility.  It is a responsibility towards myself and my loved ones. Nobody wish to deplete their hard-earned savings for a sudden incident. If you're lucky enough, your incident could be a once-off, curable event. Otherwise, your incident could cost you your life and torture you and your loved ones. Here's a comparison of the plans I have versus what the Seedly guide: Term/Whole Life  The recommended coverage is 5x my yearly income i.e estimated at $350,000. The actual coverage I have? $200,000. The main beneficiaries of this sum would be my parents and it should be enough for them for I've 2 siblings who are working and would be able to...

Like all budget savy young couples planning their banquet, we all aim to clock as much rewards be it cashback or miles from our banquet purchase. After all, a banquet, even at a restaurant, sets us back to a 5 digit sum for more than 100 pax. My partner and I have decided to hold our banquet at a Chinese restaurant next year. So, a few months back, we made our deposit of $2000 to lock in the wedding date. Prior to this, I was at my desk calculating the different cashback I would receive using various cards. After all, my coordinator assured that I could swipe different cards to gain the maximum rebates. Also, it helps that my Chinese restaurant is categorised under "Dining", which meant...more cashback :D (too bad if you hold it at a hotel!) After researching, it boiled down to 2 cards: 1. BOC Family card 2. POSB Everyday card The BOC family card gives me 7% cashback from dining and the cap was at $100. Really good card to use. Also, as a Smartsaver account user, I ...

Right now, my head is still spinning. Spinning from the unfriendly ibanking BOC portal and trying to figure out my credit card statement and payments. I was palpitating when I saw huge amounts debited in my Aug statement. It was a $280 "annual fee", $19.95 "goods and services tax", and near $80 "interest in the payment" amount. As much as I enjoy earning BOC's interests and rebates, I get confused sometimes with their ibanking portal. BOC has gotta up their portal design man. I always have difficulties understanding their credit card statements. Called BOC and it turns out it is my CC anniversary so I was "welcomed" with a $300+ annual fee charge, which they will help to waive off. Goodness, what if I didn't check my statement properly? As for the interest in the payment, apparently, I didn't pay my bills?! How could I have let this happened?! Hope they waive this off cause I've been paying my bills diligently. Followi...

One of the best feelings in the world is travelling for a holiday. But before this, we often go through the worst feelings planning for a budget holiday (if you're a rich kid, please ignore this post 'cause it's not relevant for you yo!) I recently went through a hair-pulling experience planning for my Taiwan trip for 2. My partner is supposed to plan it for me, but I trust no one when it comes to making wise (money) decisions. I don't know what type of personality I have, but I really need to be in control and know I'm making my money worth when booking for flights, hotels and what's not. I'm not niao ok, just particular about how I spend my money 😂 Who wants to pay full price when we could pay cheaper by being a little more diligent? I'll summarise the following tips on what I did to save money from my Taiwan trip. Look out for airlines promotion - Sign up for your favourite airlines newsletters to know the promos first hand and hit it when...