You cannot give what you do not have.
To do good to others, one would first need to accumulate the goods that can be shared with others.
These days, the trend is for the individual to view himself as a supreme being, the one and all. According to this life philosophy, the individual is the be-all and end-all. Good is achieved whenever he or she is able to live a life without intentionally causing harm to others. For these individuals, they argue that as long as no harm is being done on others, they are morally entitled to do anything under the sun. There is no sense of responsibility towards the community or civic duty - one comes and goes as he pleases.
When I write this, I am highly aware that 95% of readers would find this philosophy laudable. They clap their hands to applaud this philosophy - the "do-no-harm" philosophy.
What would this same audience of readers think of events such as the Dunkirk Evacuation? Why I cite this seemingly random event is because it is a fairly recent war movie that moved me. Another movie that was unforgettable for me was Hacksaw Ridge, based on the war hero Desmond Doss.
In Dunkirk Evacuation, British civilians with sea craft volunteered to fetch soldiers stuck on Dunkirk Beach at the risk of their own safety. Desmond Doss volunteered as a war medic despite being a Conscientious Objector, sacrificing his own safety beyond the call of duty to save many lives.
Will this generation ever produce selfless acts of heroism? Is altruism dead? It is logical to deduce that it is - because individuals think that the noblest act is the preservation of himself above all other motives.
Many people still want to be heroes, but the ones who want to be are the ones who don't know the true meaning of heroism. What's more, many people crave heroism without being fully self-aware of it.
I am referring to the vandalism in street protests. Vandals do not view themselves as bad, in fact, they see themselves as brave. They may even justify to themselves that their action must be bad in order for good to be achieved. In other words, ultimately they still see themselves as heroes.
Are these vandals willing and able to pay the price? Which is arrest and jail?
Would they able to look back on their lives, after having paid the price, and judge themselves as having done GOOD?
Going back to the theme of this entry, you cannot give what you do not have. Once you have embarked on a course of action, you would need to pay the price for it. And if you have not set aside the payment for it, it would be wrenched from you involuntarily. Maybe sometimes due to pure luck, one can escape the consequences, but what point is there to rely on luck.
If we can only truly exercise good after having lived an exemplary life, conversely is being bad an output of a wretched existence?
All the street vandalism is an outward expression of inward rage and deprivation. Society needs to address this. One group of people can only advance so much at the expense of another - once social disparity rises to an unacceptable level, upheaval begins.
So ... in the midst of this ... the prevailing belief is still that the highest good is no more than to live and die unto oneself? I find it highly ironic. And most of all, an unsustainable belief system.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Life lived in a sea of numbers
It has been a while since I last updated. It is because life has been a tsunami, has been a landslide. I feel myself dying to my old self everyday.
Somehow, I feel myself growing stronger. I no longer feel the pangs of anxiety that I was susceptible to when I was younger. I am not perfect, but I can feel myself evolving.
Treating Myself Well - Creating my own Enjoyment
10 years ago, I would wear myself down wondering about "What could I be doing instead of this? Where should I be instead of here?" What other people are wearing, eating seem infinitely more interesting than my own life. I practically lived my existence wearing the lenses of "What should have been", and boy oh, boy, was I a miserable person through and through.
So what have I been doing over the past two months? I have broken the tenets of frugality. Over the last two months, I have:
- Gone to have Afternoon Tea in three posh places, averaging at about USD 40 per establishment.
(Fullerton By the Bay, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Goodwood Park Hotel)
- Bought two pairs of shoes - Melissa rubber flats, which I declare the best in terms of comfort-attractiveness-practicality scoring in the entire universe.
- Bought an entry-level designer handbag - Coach, shoulder-carry flap handbag with hardware in an exquisite pale gold, approx USD 400
- Ate out at restaurants at least 8 times (hello Thai Express, Soup Spoon Union, PS Cafe, Canton Paradise, Swee Choon Tim Sum, Tim Ho Wan)
What happened?
I want to be good to myself. I want to feel that I am enjoying something. I have the sense that if I do not treat myself in this manner, no one else would do it on my behalf.
There is something very sobering in this realisation. This realisation is accompanied by a sense of urgency to treat myself well. With all the feeding, I am now 2 kg away from my dream weight. I am dealing with this because I know that nothing in life is for free, but in the meantime, I am having a very good level of self-awareness about my behavior and actions. Ultimately, I am managing the situation well enough.
As for the shoes .... they were purchased as replacement of an outgoing pair. But why must it be 2 incoming for 1 outgoing? Yet, they make me quite happy. In fact, I dream of obtaining another two designs from the same shop. I feel a little foolish about this vanity, I feel that I am a little too old to play dress-up. Clothes and shoes do not change lives, it is a renewal of mind that transforms. But well ...
As for the designer handbag, it looked so lovely when I drape it on my shoulders. It upgraded my appearance instantly. So, what is done is done. We all need some beauty in our lives.
Am I Nothing But a Stream of Numbers?
I spend a lot of time contemplating and planning my personal finances.
I stare at my Excel intensely. I have an all-consuming fascination for this.
If I were to rate myself over the past 1 yr 10 mths, I would give myself a B for how I have conducted my affairs.
I cannot be graded A because I did get carried away with some useless cosmetics (just how many lipsticks does a woman really need, we are each born with just one pair of lips and cosmetics are perishables!).
I bought too many paintings on a trip to a certain Southeast Asian country.
That stupid Fitness First membership that I subscribed to on impulse, which I never broke even on. That holiday trip in August which was ultimately pointless.
Still, I do stay on track on an overall basis, and my mind remains very focused.
Recently, I thought, after yet another session of Excel-staring, that I have metamorphosed into a data table, that my life has converted into a cash flow projection.
In fact, sometimes I wish that I can be hyper-rational, be almost robot-like. Notice the movie genre of the robot-hybrids superhero - we look up to their superhuman abilities. Being a robot would save me from many errors, defects and sub-par decisions. It would render me insensitive to beauty, which is many times nothing but conceit and an inflation in perception. Being robotic can distill everything to clinical-like simplicity, burn away the fluff and the dross. Coldness and indifference should bring me to a higher level of excellence. And I do crave for excellence - yes I do.
After I have accumulated the amount of capital that I aim to, completed this Capital-Formation Stage, I would allow myself to be more human.
I want to think about the meaning more and deeply. Meaning of everything.
Having the room in ones life to seek meaning is a supreme luxury. I want to be able to put myself in that position to chase it.
That is after all, what most people are after whether they realise it or not.
Somehow, I feel myself growing stronger. I no longer feel the pangs of anxiety that I was susceptible to when I was younger. I am not perfect, but I can feel myself evolving.
Treating Myself Well - Creating my own Enjoyment
10 years ago, I would wear myself down wondering about "What could I be doing instead of this? Where should I be instead of here?" What other people are wearing, eating seem infinitely more interesting than my own life. I practically lived my existence wearing the lenses of "What should have been", and boy oh, boy, was I a miserable person through and through.
So what have I been doing over the past two months? I have broken the tenets of frugality. Over the last two months, I have:
- Gone to have Afternoon Tea in three posh places, averaging at about USD 40 per establishment.
(Fullerton By the Bay, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Goodwood Park Hotel)
- Bought two pairs of shoes - Melissa rubber flats, which I declare the best in terms of comfort-attractiveness-practicality scoring in the entire universe.
- Bought an entry-level designer handbag - Coach, shoulder-carry flap handbag with hardware in an exquisite pale gold, approx USD 400
- Ate out at restaurants at least 8 times (hello Thai Express, Soup Spoon Union, PS Cafe, Canton Paradise, Swee Choon Tim Sum, Tim Ho Wan)
What happened?
I want to be good to myself. I want to feel that I am enjoying something. I have the sense that if I do not treat myself in this manner, no one else would do it on my behalf.
There is something very sobering in this realisation. This realisation is accompanied by a sense of urgency to treat myself well. With all the feeding, I am now 2 kg away from my dream weight. I am dealing with this because I know that nothing in life is for free, but in the meantime, I am having a very good level of self-awareness about my behavior and actions. Ultimately, I am managing the situation well enough.
As for the shoes .... they were purchased as replacement of an outgoing pair. But why must it be 2 incoming for 1 outgoing? Yet, they make me quite happy. In fact, I dream of obtaining another two designs from the same shop. I feel a little foolish about this vanity, I feel that I am a little too old to play dress-up. Clothes and shoes do not change lives, it is a renewal of mind that transforms. But well ...
As for the designer handbag, it looked so lovely when I drape it on my shoulders. It upgraded my appearance instantly. So, what is done is done. We all need some beauty in our lives.
Am I Nothing But a Stream of Numbers?
I spend a lot of time contemplating and planning my personal finances.
I stare at my Excel intensely. I have an all-consuming fascination for this.
If I were to rate myself over the past 1 yr 10 mths, I would give myself a B for how I have conducted my affairs.
I cannot be graded A because I did get carried away with some useless cosmetics (just how many lipsticks does a woman really need, we are each born with just one pair of lips and cosmetics are perishables!).
I bought too many paintings on a trip to a certain Southeast Asian country.
That stupid Fitness First membership that I subscribed to on impulse, which I never broke even on. That holiday trip in August which was ultimately pointless.
Still, I do stay on track on an overall basis, and my mind remains very focused.
Recently, I thought, after yet another session of Excel-staring, that I have metamorphosed into a data table, that my life has converted into a cash flow projection.
In fact, sometimes I wish that I can be hyper-rational, be almost robot-like. Notice the movie genre of the robot-hybrids superhero - we look up to their superhuman abilities. Being a robot would save me from many errors, defects and sub-par decisions. It would render me insensitive to beauty, which is many times nothing but conceit and an inflation in perception. Being robotic can distill everything to clinical-like simplicity, burn away the fluff and the dross. Coldness and indifference should bring me to a higher level of excellence. And I do crave for excellence - yes I do.
After I have accumulated the amount of capital that I aim to, completed this Capital-Formation Stage, I would allow myself to be more human.
I want to think about the meaning more and deeply. Meaning of everything.
Having the room in ones life to seek meaning is a supreme luxury. I want to be able to put myself in that position to chase it.
That is after all, what most people are after whether they realise it or not.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
Of the inequality among nations
So I went on a short trip over the Singapore National Day holidays. I had not intended to go on any holidays this year for two reasons. The first is that I have intended 2019 to be a year of ultra-austerity, to test myself how far I can go and to push myself towards the edge. The second was that I have some work that makes it inconvenient for me to be out of the country. I agreed to go on this trip due to a momentary lapse of judgement. I was feeling down over some personal affairs and thought that a trip could cheer me up.
On retrospect, did the trip cheer me up? I have since a few years ago concluded that it does not matter where a person is physically as long as he/she has a strong mindset. As long as I am in an environment with a reasonable standard of tidiness and cleanliness and a good level of comfort and privacy that is conducive to organised thinking and focused thought, the physical locality does not matter. I do not buy into the hype that you must sip a cocktail by the beach or a resort poolside to "get away from it all". I do not subscribe to a "change of scenery" concept. What I do believe in the utmost is in mind over matter. So no, the trip did not cheer me up more than I was able to elevate my own mood. All it did was to provide me something different to stimulate the senses, and I do agree that there is intrinsic value in variety.
It was interesting watching the work dynamics in a resort and at the spa. This was an upmarket place of business where the clientele are generally nice, affluent people who are polite and have money to spend. Perched on a hill, the resort abounds with tropical greenery and has a quiet and peaceful ambiance. The staff-to-guest ratio was high so that each employee can specialize and not be overburdened, which translated into their calm and pleasant demeanor.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to work at such establishment? I thought that working in customer service in upmarket places would be a good deal for barista FIRE. But I checked my own thoughts and rebuked myself for being naive. Everything looks good if one does not scratch beneath the surface. There are always unpleasant politics in any environment no matter how menial the job is. And the lushest environment becomes mundane and boring, losing its charm once one gets accustomed to it. Interestingly, though my attraction will never evolve beyond a passing thought, I am not the only person in my social circle who commented that working in the upmarket segment in the hospitality industry can be fun.
I am not proud of how I spent my time in the resort. I would have preferred to be more productive, but I did manage to clear a hundred pages or so of a book called "Why Nations Fail". Why are some countries more prosperous than others? Does this prosperity last? It was very fitting for me to be reading such a book when the context was that I was the affluent tourist from a rich city state visiting a tourist spot in a less developed country.
How did I deserve to be where I am, doing what I do? I am keenly aware that it is because my government has performed better than another government. The political-economy of my country has outperformed that of my neighbouring countries, which account for a large part of who I am. As the saying goes, without a nation, there can be no family formation. Without a family formation, there can be no individual. Without my country making me what I am, I would not be able to take a plane to go somewhere to get some resort R&R. In a less developed country, I could still be a white-collar worker, get on the middle class of that country, but earn low wages when compared to international standards.
Political stability breeds economic growth. When economic growth is threatened, it will generate political instability. I believe this explains the fundamentals of the unrest in Hong Kong now. There is fierce debate on social media where Hong Kongers deny that the root of their anger is economics, claiming that what they are fighting for are political rights. What they do not see is that political rights is just another word for economic rights. You can be confident about your livelihood and your right to your economic assets only after you have secured what you deem to be the political might to defend them.These go hand-in-hand.
To put the same thing in another way - if most citizens have good housing, a fair and meritocratic employment market and a good income, and there is assurance that their social rights to these will be safeguarded, no one would be on the streets right now. Demonstrators are fundamentally worried that they will never get on the property ladder in their lifetime, that they will never find a dwelling whether they can form their own family nucleus. A residential property is not just a physical object, it represents life itself - having one determines whether one gets the chance to form a family, whether one develops a bond to his nation. It is the very symbol of a person's fate and future. If there is no hope for the future, then there can only be hatred and the destruction that it will bring.
Do the fortunes of nations last? Nothing does. Great civilizations crumble and fall, and each successive generation can be worse off than the one before. Creation and destruction is a constant cycle as long as this world remains. I am grateful for what I have, at the same time I want to be mentally prepared for challenges of changes.
On retrospect, did the trip cheer me up? I have since a few years ago concluded that it does not matter where a person is physically as long as he/she has a strong mindset. As long as I am in an environment with a reasonable standard of tidiness and cleanliness and a good level of comfort and privacy that is conducive to organised thinking and focused thought, the physical locality does not matter. I do not buy into the hype that you must sip a cocktail by the beach or a resort poolside to "get away from it all". I do not subscribe to a "change of scenery" concept. What I do believe in the utmost is in mind over matter. So no, the trip did not cheer me up more than I was able to elevate my own mood. All it did was to provide me something different to stimulate the senses, and I do agree that there is intrinsic value in variety.
It was interesting watching the work dynamics in a resort and at the spa. This was an upmarket place of business where the clientele are generally nice, affluent people who are polite and have money to spend. Perched on a hill, the resort abounds with tropical greenery and has a quiet and peaceful ambiance. The staff-to-guest ratio was high so that each employee can specialize and not be overburdened, which translated into their calm and pleasant demeanor.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to work at such establishment? I thought that working in customer service in upmarket places would be a good deal for barista FIRE. But I checked my own thoughts and rebuked myself for being naive. Everything looks good if one does not scratch beneath the surface. There are always unpleasant politics in any environment no matter how menial the job is. And the lushest environment becomes mundane and boring, losing its charm once one gets accustomed to it. Interestingly, though my attraction will never evolve beyond a passing thought, I am not the only person in my social circle who commented that working in the upmarket segment in the hospitality industry can be fun.
I am not proud of how I spent my time in the resort. I would have preferred to be more productive, but I did manage to clear a hundred pages or so of a book called "Why Nations Fail". Why are some countries more prosperous than others? Does this prosperity last? It was very fitting for me to be reading such a book when the context was that I was the affluent tourist from a rich city state visiting a tourist spot in a less developed country.
How did I deserve to be where I am, doing what I do? I am keenly aware that it is because my government has performed better than another government. The political-economy of my country has outperformed that of my neighbouring countries, which account for a large part of who I am. As the saying goes, without a nation, there can be no family formation. Without a family formation, there can be no individual. Without my country making me what I am, I would not be able to take a plane to go somewhere to get some resort R&R. In a less developed country, I could still be a white-collar worker, get on the middle class of that country, but earn low wages when compared to international standards.
Political stability breeds economic growth. When economic growth is threatened, it will generate political instability. I believe this explains the fundamentals of the unrest in Hong Kong now. There is fierce debate on social media where Hong Kongers deny that the root of their anger is economics, claiming that what they are fighting for are political rights. What they do not see is that political rights is just another word for economic rights. You can be confident about your livelihood and your right to your economic assets only after you have secured what you deem to be the political might to defend them.These go hand-in-hand.
To put the same thing in another way - if most citizens have good housing, a fair and meritocratic employment market and a good income, and there is assurance that their social rights to these will be safeguarded, no one would be on the streets right now. Demonstrators are fundamentally worried that they will never get on the property ladder in their lifetime, that they will never find a dwelling whether they can form their own family nucleus. A residential property is not just a physical object, it represents life itself - having one determines whether one gets the chance to form a family, whether one develops a bond to his nation. It is the very symbol of a person's fate and future. If there is no hope for the future, then there can only be hatred and the destruction that it will bring.
Do the fortunes of nations last? Nothing does. Great civilizations crumble and fall, and each successive generation can be worse off than the one before. Creation and destruction is a constant cycle as long as this world remains. I am grateful for what I have, at the same time I want to be mentally prepared for challenges of changes.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Tell me what you wear and I will tell you who you are
Many stray thoughts cross my mind everyday, seemingly random but coalescing into my world view, like the separate dots of a Pointillism painting shaping up to a landscape. One of these is how well-dressed people were in the past comparative to the current age.
I go this observation from watching a lot of Nazi-era documentaries on Netflix - binging on these on some weekends. For no reason other than I am somewhat interested in World War II history and that Netflix is so rife with material on this era. On film, non-dignitary citizens were dressed smartly by today's standards. They wore clothing which evince structure and design, there was attempt at embellishment even in the garments of ordinary folk.
I have seen a very short footage of street scenes in New York in the 1900s. People had carriage - they walked with straight backs and with their shoulders back. They wore hats and suits on a normal day. Why has it all seemingly gone downhill from there?
Fashion evolved at breakneck speed from the 1940s. The trend is towards slouchiness, which is synonymous with sloppiness. Slouchy clothes that serve as enabler of slouchy posture and slouchy attitudes.
I have a theory for this.
If you knew that you may die suddenly, abruptly and young, would you treasure each day more? And part of treasuring life is to look ones best. You would take the pains to dress well today if it is plausible for tomorrow not to come. It would make sense to put on your best dress frequently if you were aware that the average lifespan was a constraint on this frequency.
Of course, this is just one of many reasons why fashion has gone casual. Modernisation, mass production of clothing and participation of women in the workforce are forces that make casual clothing a staple in busy lives. No one can afford to dress fussily on a daily basis when there are no ready pairs of hands at home to prepare, launder and maintain these clothes. But I still believe that the sensitivity to death was a determinant of how people dressed and affected attitudes about clothes.
I visited Versailles Palace once. The museum guide described how Marie Antoinette fled through one of the passageways of the palace. In my mind, vivid images of a opulently dressed woman in incredibly exquisite, intricately crafted clothes escaping through the halls with absurdly decorative shoes on her feet. If you were a queen, all the more you would consciously choose to be fabulously appareled everyday, for who knows, you could be captured by your enemies and executed summarily any day. So adorn yourself in resplendence while the good times last.
There was a scene in the first Hunger Games, when Katniss put on what was apparently her best dress to attend the ceremony to pick the Hunger Games gladiator. When striking the gladiator lottery is akin to a death sentence, one should be dressed in ones coffin-best.
We live in a world where cheap clothes, fit and ready for the landfill, abound. Everything is made of depressing material like nylon, polyester, acylic and rayon. It is increasingly hard to find even a full cotton dress. Few consumers seek out natural fibres like wool and linen - the plasticky sheen and texture of man-made, petroleum-derived fabric is widely and unquestioningly accepted. Clothing made of silk have become a specialty item. Even if silk has never been common in mankind's history, our prosperity relative to our ancestors should rightfully make it more accessible for us. Yet, it remains a niche item that few modern consumers have a keen sense of appreciation for. For the average modern consumer, every piece of garment is meant to buy-and-throw-away, so fabric can be flimsy and the workmanship can be poor. Nothing needs to last because fashion changes rapidly and demands wardrobes to be renewed constantly.
***
My Frugal Philosophy
More than 15 years ago, as a young girl, I went to local fashion shop Bysi and bought a cute little top with a heart-shaped neckline and drawstring embellishment at the chest. It was cotton, and it lasted till today. About one or two years later, I bought another cute little top from Bysi that had a pinched-waist, which was similarly made of cotton. Both are cherished possessions and still-active serving members of my wardrobe.
Recently, I visited Bysi at Bugis Junction, inspected a few tags. The few tags that I examine all say 100% polyester.
It is better to have fewer pieces of clothings of higher quality, than to have more at lesser quality. No wonder it has been easy for me to stop buying clothing over the past 8 months - everything that I came across in the retail scene has been disappointing.
So no, I am not a fan of local darlings like Love, Bonito. I simply dislike the sensation of polyester against my skin, is it such a crime?
It seems like when we aim for quality, we will ultimately end up saving money. We buy less, and the fewer things we own last longer. This is interesting food for thought.
I go this observation from watching a lot of Nazi-era documentaries on Netflix - binging on these on some weekends. For no reason other than I am somewhat interested in World War II history and that Netflix is so rife with material on this era. On film, non-dignitary citizens were dressed smartly by today's standards. They wore clothing which evince structure and design, there was attempt at embellishment even in the garments of ordinary folk.
I have seen a very short footage of street scenes in New York in the 1900s. People had carriage - they walked with straight backs and with their shoulders back. They wore hats and suits on a normal day. Why has it all seemingly gone downhill from there?
Fashion evolved at breakneck speed from the 1940s. The trend is towards slouchiness, which is synonymous with sloppiness. Slouchy clothes that serve as enabler of slouchy posture and slouchy attitudes.
I have a theory for this.
If you knew that you may die suddenly, abruptly and young, would you treasure each day more? And part of treasuring life is to look ones best. You would take the pains to dress well today if it is plausible for tomorrow not to come. It would make sense to put on your best dress frequently if you were aware that the average lifespan was a constraint on this frequency.
Of course, this is just one of many reasons why fashion has gone casual. Modernisation, mass production of clothing and participation of women in the workforce are forces that make casual clothing a staple in busy lives. No one can afford to dress fussily on a daily basis when there are no ready pairs of hands at home to prepare, launder and maintain these clothes. But I still believe that the sensitivity to death was a determinant of how people dressed and affected attitudes about clothes.
I visited Versailles Palace once. The museum guide described how Marie Antoinette fled through one of the passageways of the palace. In my mind, vivid images of a opulently dressed woman in incredibly exquisite, intricately crafted clothes escaping through the halls with absurdly decorative shoes on her feet. If you were a queen, all the more you would consciously choose to be fabulously appareled everyday, for who knows, you could be captured by your enemies and executed summarily any day. So adorn yourself in resplendence while the good times last.
There was a scene in the first Hunger Games, when Katniss put on what was apparently her best dress to attend the ceremony to pick the Hunger Games gladiator. When striking the gladiator lottery is akin to a death sentence, one should be dressed in ones coffin-best.
We live in a world where cheap clothes, fit and ready for the landfill, abound. Everything is made of depressing material like nylon, polyester, acylic and rayon. It is increasingly hard to find even a full cotton dress. Few consumers seek out natural fibres like wool and linen - the plasticky sheen and texture of man-made, petroleum-derived fabric is widely and unquestioningly accepted. Clothing made of silk have become a specialty item. Even if silk has never been common in mankind's history, our prosperity relative to our ancestors should rightfully make it more accessible for us. Yet, it remains a niche item that few modern consumers have a keen sense of appreciation for. For the average modern consumer, every piece of garment is meant to buy-and-throw-away, so fabric can be flimsy and the workmanship can be poor. Nothing needs to last because fashion changes rapidly and demands wardrobes to be renewed constantly.
***
My Frugal Philosophy
More than 15 years ago, as a young girl, I went to local fashion shop Bysi and bought a cute little top with a heart-shaped neckline and drawstring embellishment at the chest. It was cotton, and it lasted till today. About one or two years later, I bought another cute little top from Bysi that had a pinched-waist, which was similarly made of cotton. Both are cherished possessions and still-active serving members of my wardrobe.
Recently, I visited Bysi at Bugis Junction, inspected a few tags. The few tags that I examine all say 100% polyester.
It is better to have fewer pieces of clothings of higher quality, than to have more at lesser quality. No wonder it has been easy for me to stop buying clothing over the past 8 months - everything that I came across in the retail scene has been disappointing.
So no, I am not a fan of local darlings like Love, Bonito. I simply dislike the sensation of polyester against my skin, is it such a crime?
It seems like when we aim for quality, we will ultimately end up saving money. We buy less, and the fewer things we own last longer. This is interesting food for thought.
Friday, July 5, 2019
Missha versus SK-II
This blog is about frugality but I have dished out little to none about my practical action so far. Frugality is within the reach of anyone who is intentional enough and pulls out all the stops. Yet, frugality is in itself meaningless if it is not subsumed under the service of an overarching vision.
Today, in a moment of self-reflexivity, I looked on myself as a third party would, with objective eyes and a different perspective. It occurred to me during that nano-second that it is truly pathetic for a person to think about money all the time. There is something pitiful and lowly about such an individual. I think it was wisdom that brought about that flash of epiphany, rather than something ignoble like envy or defeatism. I reminded myself that aiming for frugality and planning for money is a means to an end and should always be regarded as such.
Coming from a person who works in an office, living in an air-conditioned nation, who is childless, this could seem trite, as if I am superficially parroting what I heard from someone else, somewhere else. It is easy to lapse into thoughtlessness when we live in an environment of abundance. Abundance can distance us from our humanity, but it does not have to be this way.
What is Frugality?
Frugality is to minimize wastage, eschew from unnecessary consumption, in an effort to optimize and maximize the usage of resources. Frugality is not to cut corners towards oneself, to be penny-wise but pound-foolish, or to gain some advantage at the expense of others.
To define what is unnecessary consumption, we have to first define what is necessary consumption. What is necessary is determined by ones value.
Welcome to Singapore, Land of the Slovenly
To me, being well-groomed is a basic in life. Yet, the typical Singaporean women is frumpy and disheveled. This is a country where it is acceptable to go to work bare-faced, without a stitch of make-up on the face. In most places, there is neither social nor professional expectation to put on make-up. In other countries, from time to time, reports surface of the public disapproval of women who apply make-up while on public transport. (That is a disgrace, it is inappropriate for personal grooming to be brought to the public, public transport should not be used as ones' dressing table or a toilet). In Singapore, there is no similar report because women generally don't care about make-up enough to begin with. It is ok to board public transport with hair still wet from the shower. On a normal day, most women do not style their hair using a blow-dryer and styling products. In terms of clothings, the average woman does not care about fabric - whether it is cotton or silk or some synthetic material. Most of us do not pay attention to the cut and the fit - you rarely hear of people rushing to the seamstress for alterations. Although knowledge of sun care is increasing, the woman who takes effort to avoid the sun is mocked at as a fussy freak by those around her. Oddly and ironically, even though living in the equator makes us most vulnerable to the sun, a woman here who uses a UV-parasol is viewed as an aberration. In summary, in Singapore it is justifiable to look a mess, as any shortfall can be conveniently attributed to the hot and humid weather. According to this popular line of thinking, not making any grooming effort makes the greatest sense in the tropics - meticulously arranged hair gets oily in no time, fine clothing makes easy victims for sweat, any make-up is readily melted off. Hot country populated by people who are 'too cool' to care.
Skincare, when no one cares
So, is skincare product necessary when one lives in an environment where no one cares?And in the first place, do skincare products even work?
To the first question, our environment is a projection of our mental state. If we consciously or subconsciously perceive ourselves as slovenly hags, then truly no one cares and no one deserves to be cared about. If we start to value our appearance and present ourselves befittingly, we make a positive addition to the environment, which in turns reflects onto us and creates a spiral of good.
In other words, no one cares when one does not, and when one starts to care, others would. Let's be the standard bearer, shan't we?
To the second question, skincare products work if they contain actives - Vitamin A (retinoids), B (niacinamide) and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) all help skin cells to grow and replenish. Sunblocks, whether containing physical or chemical agents, prevent UV damage that ages skin directly. Some ingredients provide only temporary optical effects (moisturisers that blur lines and fill pores). Even though they yield no further benefit to the skin once washed off, the cosmetic enhancement that they produce do have intrinsic value.
Missha vs SK-II
Being frugal does not mean foregoing skincare products, it simply means to seek out quality replacements for the expensive. Hello Missha First Treatment Essence, goodbye SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. Both are fermented filtrates that are full of niacinamide, but Missha is less than half the price of SK-II at the same volume. 150ml of Missha First Treatment Essence costs less than SGD 70 (USD 52), while the 75ml of SK-II costs about SGD 100 (USD 73) (the 75ml bottle is sold in a box set with a couple of other sample-sized items. I usually buy the SK-II 75ml kit because given an option I prefer my skincare products in small bottles for maximum freshness).
For the fun of it, I have been experimenting by using SK-II on the left side of my face and Missha on the right. The effects on the skin are very similar but the SK-II side of the face ends up oilier at the end of the day. As such, I will not renew the SK-II purchase once the current bottle is depleted.
How interesting to know what are the new possibilities when we increase our demand on every dollar spent!
Today, in a moment of self-reflexivity, I looked on myself as a third party would, with objective eyes and a different perspective. It occurred to me during that nano-second that it is truly pathetic for a person to think about money all the time. There is something pitiful and lowly about such an individual. I think it was wisdom that brought about that flash of epiphany, rather than something ignoble like envy or defeatism. I reminded myself that aiming for frugality and planning for money is a means to an end and should always be regarded as such.
Coming from a person who works in an office, living in an air-conditioned nation, who is childless, this could seem trite, as if I am superficially parroting what I heard from someone else, somewhere else. It is easy to lapse into thoughtlessness when we live in an environment of abundance. Abundance can distance us from our humanity, but it does not have to be this way.
What is Frugality?
Frugality is to minimize wastage, eschew from unnecessary consumption, in an effort to optimize and maximize the usage of resources. Frugality is not to cut corners towards oneself, to be penny-wise but pound-foolish, or to gain some advantage at the expense of others.
To define what is unnecessary consumption, we have to first define what is necessary consumption. What is necessary is determined by ones value.
Welcome to Singapore, Land of the Slovenly
To me, being well-groomed is a basic in life. Yet, the typical Singaporean women is frumpy and disheveled. This is a country where it is acceptable to go to work bare-faced, without a stitch of make-up on the face. In most places, there is neither social nor professional expectation to put on make-up. In other countries, from time to time, reports surface of the public disapproval of women who apply make-up while on public transport. (That is a disgrace, it is inappropriate for personal grooming to be brought to the public, public transport should not be used as ones' dressing table or a toilet). In Singapore, there is no similar report because women generally don't care about make-up enough to begin with. It is ok to board public transport with hair still wet from the shower. On a normal day, most women do not style their hair using a blow-dryer and styling products. In terms of clothings, the average woman does not care about fabric - whether it is cotton or silk or some synthetic material. Most of us do not pay attention to the cut and the fit - you rarely hear of people rushing to the seamstress for alterations. Although knowledge of sun care is increasing, the woman who takes effort to avoid the sun is mocked at as a fussy freak by those around her. Oddly and ironically, even though living in the equator makes us most vulnerable to the sun, a woman here who uses a UV-parasol is viewed as an aberration. In summary, in Singapore it is justifiable to look a mess, as any shortfall can be conveniently attributed to the hot and humid weather. According to this popular line of thinking, not making any grooming effort makes the greatest sense in the tropics - meticulously arranged hair gets oily in no time, fine clothing makes easy victims for sweat, any make-up is readily melted off. Hot country populated by people who are 'too cool' to care.
Skincare, when no one cares
So, is skincare product necessary when one lives in an environment where no one cares?And in the first place, do skincare products even work?
To the first question, our environment is a projection of our mental state. If we consciously or subconsciously perceive ourselves as slovenly hags, then truly no one cares and no one deserves to be cared about. If we start to value our appearance and present ourselves befittingly, we make a positive addition to the environment, which in turns reflects onto us and creates a spiral of good.
In other words, no one cares when one does not, and when one starts to care, others would. Let's be the standard bearer, shan't we?
To the second question, skincare products work if they contain actives - Vitamin A (retinoids), B (niacinamide) and Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) all help skin cells to grow and replenish. Sunblocks, whether containing physical or chemical agents, prevent UV damage that ages skin directly. Some ingredients provide only temporary optical effects (moisturisers that blur lines and fill pores). Even though they yield no further benefit to the skin once washed off, the cosmetic enhancement that they produce do have intrinsic value.
Missha vs SK-II
Being frugal does not mean foregoing skincare products, it simply means to seek out quality replacements for the expensive. Hello Missha First Treatment Essence, goodbye SK-II Facial Treatment Essence. Both are fermented filtrates that are full of niacinamide, but Missha is less than half the price of SK-II at the same volume. 150ml of Missha First Treatment Essence costs less than SGD 70 (USD 52), while the 75ml of SK-II costs about SGD 100 (USD 73) (the 75ml bottle is sold in a box set with a couple of other sample-sized items. I usually buy the SK-II 75ml kit because given an option I prefer my skincare products in small bottles for maximum freshness).
For the fun of it, I have been experimenting by using SK-II on the left side of my face and Missha on the right. The effects on the skin are very similar but the SK-II side of the face ends up oilier at the end of the day. As such, I will not renew the SK-II purchase once the current bottle is depleted.
How interesting to know what are the new possibilities when we increase our demand on every dollar spent!
Monday, July 1, 2019
What Character are You?
In the News:
Trump ended the G20 meeting by visiting North Korea and becoming the only sitting US President to visit the DMZ. I am no political scientist, but why, why, why? Is this some deranged desire for yet another high-profile, history-making photo op, or is there some method beneath the madness? Jokes abound online about Trump's ill-fitting trousers - neither being a billionaire nor being a president nor having an ex-model for a wife serves as any assurance against fashion disaster.
In my Life:
What would you do with yourself if you were guaranteed basic income?
Ideas are emerging about paying universal basic income to all citizens as compensation for loss of employment arising from Robots and Artificial Intelligence. In a similar but much more pragmatic vein, the recent conversation of billionaires and civic-minded heiresses have taken a slant towards socialism.
If the Gini Coefficient were to be lowered drastically, guaranteeing each human being subsistence, what would we all do with the spare time? Or to frame the question differently, what would we do with our time and talent if we can survive even if we do not take on paid work?
My dream job would be to work in a plastic surgeon's office as a marketing executive. I would spend my days introducing all types of treatments to clients and explaining the pros and cons of each. Or I would work as a professional counselor and hear people's problems as part of my work. I like to be a witness to drama, especially more when it is real and riveting.
What if I swing the question to the other end of the spectrum?
What if, instead of being guaranteed a universal basic income, we are given access to an awe-inspiring amount of money? That kind of money that can enable us to jet-set and play all day long?
I do not know how mindsets change when we come into money; I have never been there before. It is said that money does not change us; it merely reveals our true colors. Lottery winners often end up broke again, because the act of lottery buying signals a flightiness of character that goes hand in hand with easy-come-easy-go windfall. The introspective and methodical character of giants like Warren Buffet is how they create their fortunes and most importantly, keep them.
Ten years ago, I would have wished to live like her. This is indeed one way to live if you are rich. How would you conduct your life if you had serious money?
How we make and spend our money reveals almost all there is to know about us
Let me describe using true characters that have come (and some have gone) from my life:
1) Miss A - was forced by family's economic circumstance to shorten her studies by going the Polytechnic route instead of University, despite doing well enough to qualify for A-levels studies. As she took on a typical job in an institution that paid salaries capped at educational levels instead of a job with a pay structure that correlates more closely to personal contribution (eg sales), her lifelong earning capability is permanently impacted. She spends the rest of her life taking on external tertiary studies, earning one degree/ masters after another. Her obsession with higher education took a toll on her finances but she justified it by saying that she is retrench-proofing herself. Is she trying to make up for her lost dreams; isn't there an element of overcompensation in her behavior?
2) Miss B - married a husband with unstable income and ended up in a predicament where she is subsidizing her household more than she should. She deflects the pain by focusing on her child, consoling herself that without this husband she would not have this lovely addition to her life. Isn't she the classic case of the overly virtuous wife/mother who gives more than she should out of tender love, ignoring how she would be financially disadvantaged later in life if she continues to hold up more than her fair share?
3) Miss C - holds a relatively well-regarded degree from a local big-3 university, yet shunned the typical career path. Waking up in the morning like everyone else and being strapped to the office distressed her, hence she took on a high-risk sales job. After burn-out, she left that industry and chose to spend her days in low-end assignments such as part-time retail shop assistants. Was not above gambling in casinos or punting on the stock market during her sales job heyday. Does not care about the socio-economic perception of either her prior job or her current jobs. Indifferent to what people think or say. Does not spend any time imagining what others may think or say about her.
I find traces of my old self in Miss A - that love of "face", that strong desire for others to acknowledge my credentials and validate my talents. Miss C's attitude is what I wish to model myself on - that presence of mind and preternatural self-confidence that is revealed on the outside from the inside. (In fact, some people achieve the degree of Miss C's defiance/deviance only after they imbibe alcohol, but that is a story for another day.) As I grow older, I find myself evolving in Miss C's direction. I guess most of us do.
Daily Spending
- $0 - brought food from home
Trump ended the G20 meeting by visiting North Korea and becoming the only sitting US President to visit the DMZ. I am no political scientist, but why, why, why? Is this some deranged desire for yet another high-profile, history-making photo op, or is there some method beneath the madness? Jokes abound online about Trump's ill-fitting trousers - neither being a billionaire nor being a president nor having an ex-model for a wife serves as any assurance against fashion disaster.
In my Life:
What would you do with yourself if you were guaranteed basic income?
Ideas are emerging about paying universal basic income to all citizens as compensation for loss of employment arising from Robots and Artificial Intelligence. In a similar but much more pragmatic vein, the recent conversation of billionaires and civic-minded heiresses have taken a slant towards socialism.
If the Gini Coefficient were to be lowered drastically, guaranteeing each human being subsistence, what would we all do with the spare time? Or to frame the question differently, what would we do with our time and talent if we can survive even if we do not take on paid work?
My dream job would be to work in a plastic surgeon's office as a marketing executive. I would spend my days introducing all types of treatments to clients and explaining the pros and cons of each. Or I would work as a professional counselor and hear people's problems as part of my work. I like to be a witness to drama, especially more when it is real and riveting.
What if I swing the question to the other end of the spectrum?
What if, instead of being guaranteed a universal basic income, we are given access to an awe-inspiring amount of money? That kind of money that can enable us to jet-set and play all day long?
I do not know how mindsets change when we come into money; I have never been there before. It is said that money does not change us; it merely reveals our true colors. Lottery winners often end up broke again, because the act of lottery buying signals a flightiness of character that goes hand in hand with easy-come-easy-go windfall. The introspective and methodical character of giants like Warren Buffet is how they create their fortunes and most importantly, keep them.
Ten years ago, I would have wished to live like her. This is indeed one way to live if you are rich. How would you conduct your life if you had serious money?
How we make and spend our money reveals almost all there is to know about us
Let me describe using true characters that have come (and some have gone) from my life:
1) Miss A - was forced by family's economic circumstance to shorten her studies by going the Polytechnic route instead of University, despite doing well enough to qualify for A-levels studies. As she took on a typical job in an institution that paid salaries capped at educational levels instead of a job with a pay structure that correlates more closely to personal contribution (eg sales), her lifelong earning capability is permanently impacted. She spends the rest of her life taking on external tertiary studies, earning one degree/ masters after another. Her obsession with higher education took a toll on her finances but she justified it by saying that she is retrench-proofing herself. Is she trying to make up for her lost dreams; isn't there an element of overcompensation in her behavior?
2) Miss B - married a husband with unstable income and ended up in a predicament where she is subsidizing her household more than she should. She deflects the pain by focusing on her child, consoling herself that without this husband she would not have this lovely addition to her life. Isn't she the classic case of the overly virtuous wife/mother who gives more than she should out of tender love, ignoring how she would be financially disadvantaged later in life if she continues to hold up more than her fair share?
3) Miss C - holds a relatively well-regarded degree from a local big-3 university, yet shunned the typical career path. Waking up in the morning like everyone else and being strapped to the office distressed her, hence she took on a high-risk sales job. After burn-out, she left that industry and chose to spend her days in low-end assignments such as part-time retail shop assistants. Was not above gambling in casinos or punting on the stock market during her sales job heyday. Does not care about the socio-economic perception of either her prior job or her current jobs. Indifferent to what people think or say. Does not spend any time imagining what others may think or say about her.
I find traces of my old self in Miss A - that love of "face", that strong desire for others to acknowledge my credentials and validate my talents. Miss C's attitude is what I wish to model myself on - that presence of mind and preternatural self-confidence that is revealed on the outside from the inside. (In fact, some people achieve the degree of Miss C's defiance/deviance only after they imbibe alcohol, but that is a story for another day.) As I grow older, I find myself evolving in Miss C's direction. I guess most of us do.
Daily Spending
- $0 - brought food from home
Friday, June 28, 2019
Of Dave Ramsey and the selfish adherents of the FIRE movement
Macro:
The G20 talks are currently being held in Osaka, Japan, where Trump and Xi will conduct their trade talks.
Micro:
Dave Ramsey and the Anti-debt Movement
I have been listening a lot to Dave Ramsey over the past month. Yes, it is easy to dismiss him and his fans if you are Ivy League educated or have pretensions in that direction. No, he is not some simple-minded hill-billy. The fact that he espouses very simple truths in life and repeats them over and over again does not lower him to a simpleton - it is a sign that most of us have lost our common sense and perseverance that he is able to find fans and audience.
Of Truths & the Need to Repeat Them
If good habits and values are the persistent and repetitive exercise in simple truths, why should the repetition of simple truths ever be denigrated? Repetition is the reason why chanting is performed in many different types of religions, isn't it? It is because people are naturally inclined to deviate from the truths that necessitate the repetition of truths.
Of Overconsumption & Shame
Successful personal finances begin with defining our consumption patterns. Perhaps, I am a very self-aware person, that is why over-consumption tends to make me cringe inside with shame. Last weekend, my friend and I patronized the new darling in the local food scene Beauty In A Pot, over-ordered as we were not able to pre-empt the size of food portions and ended up with distended bellies. Such experiences make me feel shameful - overeating is a source of shame - overspending on food is a source of shame.
Why shame? Because we should respect the universe's resources and take only what we need and truly want. Because we should respect our own resources and not end up paying for what we do not need or truly want. Because I am well-acquainted with the concept of respect, I am attuned to shame, and ashamed was what I felt.
Of Obese Women & Daisy Dukes
But why are people so shameless these days? I see obese women with huge thighs wearing Daisy Dukes and walking up and down in town. The current (nonsensical) line of thinking that everyone is entitled to self-esteem and we should all leave other people's self-esteem alone (an oxymoronic argument) would condemn me for my negative response.
Some form of overeating gave the women those huge thighs (don't give me the dysfunctional hormones crap). Now these women are flaunting to the world the retribution for their overeating. They may not be "flaunting" as a conscious act - they may justify their choice of garment with the "hot Singapore weather". But does it matter what their uttermost intention is when all that is visible are fat thighs exposed to the world? Isn't the meaning of modesty to cover up oneself instead of being an eyesore to others?
Back to the Anti-debt Movement
Because my mind has been soaked in Dave Ramsey over the past month or so, I now realise that the most of the world around me has been de-sensitized to unhealthy forms of debt, namely consumer debt.
Credit cards - Credit cards induce higher expenditure, even among those who make it a point to pay off their cards every month. Psychologically, the parting of cash induces subliminal pain, whereas payments using credit cards neuter the pain. I watch myself and I realise that this is true.
Cars - This is a very old and tired topic in the Singapore context, where cars are very rarely truly needed as we have an advanced public transport system. Cars are a status symbol here and are sold at exorbitant prices (this is a land where a 10-year Toyota Corolla Altis can be sold for SGD 32,000 (USD 24,000)). Yet people still buy cars - saying that they do not evaluate the purchase based on its price tag, but based on its monthly cash outflow. At least, this is the rationale that one of my colleagues revealed to me.
This is irrational to the extreme, because it clearly ignores the impact of expenditure to an individual's overall net worth. To them, affordability is not assessed based on net worth as benchmark, but using cash flow. To express the same idea in another way, in the minds of such individuals there is neither concept of net worth nor opportunity cost. All it seems that is that they live for the immediate or near-immediate time frame. Or they view net worth as something very distant in the infinite future, something very nebulous and malleable that they can shape by their future economic activities and not to be impacted by the cash outflows from their current purchases.
Now that I have bought fully into the anti-debt philosophy, I am very energized to extinguish debt. I have zero consumer debt, having only housing mortgage. For at least the past two weeks or so, I have been living in a constant preoccupation on this topic. This obsession is a rather cheerless one, and one with a strong undercurrent of anxiety. I belong to the personality type that enjoys looking for things to worry and obsess over - this is hardly healthy!
FIRE Movement & the INTRINSIC SELFISHNESS
Recently, I read about a FIRED blogger who practises FREEGANISM as part of how he sustains himself. I feel very disgusted by this.
There are people who regard work as a great taboo, and scorns it so much that they will do anything not to work even if it entails scavenging and salvaging. Scavenging and salvaging is their act of defiance against the system that they abhor - they want to prove to the system that they can live well and sustain themselves without playing by its rules. Yet, in doing so, they are only unwittingly reinforcing the system. The system is created by those who work and labour, collecting the crumbs that fall through the crack only reinforces the presence of the source.
By all means, become debt-free, become financially independent, but the best state to be is to be financially independent to the extent that one is able to help others and still contribute to society.
FIRE is intrinsically a self-centred movement. Its adherents aim to live and die unto themselves. They plan to fall off the grid once they FIRE.
How about having excess, above FIRE minimum, to help those who are worthy of being helped if and when they fall on hard times? Your own siblings, your own nieces and nephews, your own ageing parents? I rarely hear of FIRE calculations that factor in reserves to help worthy people in worthy causes. FIRE is just about "me, me, me and me" - lazing the days away in hobbies and pastimes after achieving the means not to work.
No wonder many FIRE adherents are cold in temperament and unlovable - they care only about themselves and no one else, and the word "giving" is missing from their vocabulary. There is really nothing quite as narcissistic and egoistic in this - how interesting it is that narcissism can assume so many different forms. So yes, they should indeed go and live and die unto themselves, because this is still better than being a burden on others, isn't it?
Daily Spending Report (28 Jun 19):
Breakfast - Soya bean muffins X 2 - SGD 3.20 (USD 2.37)
Lunch - Brown rice with sliced potatoes, box beans & egg beancurd SGD 4 (USD 2.96)
Snack - Brownie from Posh - SGD 3.80 (USD 2.81)
Printing service - SGD 1 (USD 0.74)
Hair Spray - SGD 8.45 (USD 6.25)
TOTAL SPENDING - SGD 20.45 (USD 15.12)
The G20 talks are currently being held in Osaka, Japan, where Trump and Xi will conduct their trade talks.
Micro:
Dave Ramsey and the Anti-debt Movement
I have been listening a lot to Dave Ramsey over the past month. Yes, it is easy to dismiss him and his fans if you are Ivy League educated or have pretensions in that direction. No, he is not some simple-minded hill-billy. The fact that he espouses very simple truths in life and repeats them over and over again does not lower him to a simpleton - it is a sign that most of us have lost our common sense and perseverance that he is able to find fans and audience.
Of Truths & the Need to Repeat Them
If good habits and values are the persistent and repetitive exercise in simple truths, why should the repetition of simple truths ever be denigrated? Repetition is the reason why chanting is performed in many different types of religions, isn't it? It is because people are naturally inclined to deviate from the truths that necessitate the repetition of truths.
Of Overconsumption & Shame
Successful personal finances begin with defining our consumption patterns. Perhaps, I am a very self-aware person, that is why over-consumption tends to make me cringe inside with shame. Last weekend, my friend and I patronized the new darling in the local food scene Beauty In A Pot, over-ordered as we were not able to pre-empt the size of food portions and ended up with distended bellies. Such experiences make me feel shameful - overeating is a source of shame - overspending on food is a source of shame.
Why shame? Because we should respect the universe's resources and take only what we need and truly want. Because we should respect our own resources and not end up paying for what we do not need or truly want. Because I am well-acquainted with the concept of respect, I am attuned to shame, and ashamed was what I felt.
Of Obese Women & Daisy Dukes
But why are people so shameless these days? I see obese women with huge thighs wearing Daisy Dukes and walking up and down in town. The current (nonsensical) line of thinking that everyone is entitled to self-esteem and we should all leave other people's self-esteem alone (an oxymoronic argument) would condemn me for my negative response.
Some form of overeating gave the women those huge thighs (don't give me the dysfunctional hormones crap). Now these women are flaunting to the world the retribution for their overeating. They may not be "flaunting" as a conscious act - they may justify their choice of garment with the "hot Singapore weather". But does it matter what their uttermost intention is when all that is visible are fat thighs exposed to the world? Isn't the meaning of modesty to cover up oneself instead of being an eyesore to others?
Back to the Anti-debt Movement
Because my mind has been soaked in Dave Ramsey over the past month or so, I now realise that the most of the world around me has been de-sensitized to unhealthy forms of debt, namely consumer debt.
Credit cards - Credit cards induce higher expenditure, even among those who make it a point to pay off their cards every month. Psychologically, the parting of cash induces subliminal pain, whereas payments using credit cards neuter the pain. I watch myself and I realise that this is true.
Cars - This is a very old and tired topic in the Singapore context, where cars are very rarely truly needed as we have an advanced public transport system. Cars are a status symbol here and are sold at exorbitant prices (this is a land where a 10-year Toyota Corolla Altis can be sold for SGD 32,000 (USD 24,000)). Yet people still buy cars - saying that they do not evaluate the purchase based on its price tag, but based on its monthly cash outflow. At least, this is the rationale that one of my colleagues revealed to me.
This is irrational to the extreme, because it clearly ignores the impact of expenditure to an individual's overall net worth. To them, affordability is not assessed based on net worth as benchmark, but using cash flow. To express the same idea in another way, in the minds of such individuals there is neither concept of net worth nor opportunity cost. All it seems that is that they live for the immediate or near-immediate time frame. Or they view net worth as something very distant in the infinite future, something very nebulous and malleable that they can shape by their future economic activities and not to be impacted by the cash outflows from their current purchases.
Now that I have bought fully into the anti-debt philosophy, I am very energized to extinguish debt. I have zero consumer debt, having only housing mortgage. For at least the past two weeks or so, I have been living in a constant preoccupation on this topic. This obsession is a rather cheerless one, and one with a strong undercurrent of anxiety. I belong to the personality type that enjoys looking for things to worry and obsess over - this is hardly healthy!
FIRE Movement & the INTRINSIC SELFISHNESS
Recently, I read about a FIRED blogger who practises FREEGANISM as part of how he sustains himself. I feel very disgusted by this.
There are people who regard work as a great taboo, and scorns it so much that they will do anything not to work even if it entails scavenging and salvaging. Scavenging and salvaging is their act of defiance against the system that they abhor - they want to prove to the system that they can live well and sustain themselves without playing by its rules. Yet, in doing so, they are only unwittingly reinforcing the system. The system is created by those who work and labour, collecting the crumbs that fall through the crack only reinforces the presence of the source.
By all means, become debt-free, become financially independent, but the best state to be is to be financially independent to the extent that one is able to help others and still contribute to society.
FIRE is intrinsically a self-centred movement. Its adherents aim to live and die unto themselves. They plan to fall off the grid once they FIRE.
How about having excess, above FIRE minimum, to help those who are worthy of being helped if and when they fall on hard times? Your own siblings, your own nieces and nephews, your own ageing parents? I rarely hear of FIRE calculations that factor in reserves to help worthy people in worthy causes. FIRE is just about "me, me, me and me" - lazing the days away in hobbies and pastimes after achieving the means not to work.
No wonder many FIRE adherents are cold in temperament and unlovable - they care only about themselves and no one else, and the word "giving" is missing from their vocabulary. There is really nothing quite as narcissistic and egoistic in this - how interesting it is that narcissism can assume so many different forms. So yes, they should indeed go and live and die unto themselves, because this is still better than being a burden on others, isn't it?
Daily Spending Report (28 Jun 19):
Breakfast - Soya bean muffins X 2 - SGD 3.20 (USD 2.37)
Lunch - Brown rice with sliced potatoes, box beans & egg beancurd SGD 4 (USD 2.96)
Snack - Brownie from Posh - SGD 3.80 (USD 2.81)
Printing service - SGD 1 (USD 0.74)
Hair Spray - SGD 8.45 (USD 6.25)
TOTAL SPENDING - SGD 20.45 (USD 15.12)
Monday, May 20, 2019
Humanity, time and money
Macro:
Trade war intensifies as the US added Huawei to a blacklist that restricts its ability to procure components from US companies, as well as its ability to sell to the US and its strategic allies. The tech cold war has begun.
Micro:
What imbues mankind with our humanity is our concept of time.
A past, a present and a future. The English language, the dominant lingua franca, is rooted in the concept of past, present and future. The past occupies our consciousness as our memories, the present is where we live at this very moment, while the future is what we direct our plans towards.
For accountants, our lives revolve around the measurement of numbers over a scope of time.
How do assets depreciate over time? How do cash flows materialise over time? How should certain figures be projected into the future? What is the cut-off point for revenue recognition? Has an entity, based on its past records as accumulated in its retained earnings, evinced an ability to subsist as a going concern?
Mathematics is so cold. Mathematics don't lie. And to borrow the lyrics from Shirley Bassey's famous song, Mathematics won't leave in the night and we've no fear that they might desert us.
The irony is that while our concept of time confirms our humanity, so does our irrationality towards time. Exactly because to err is human.
The mismanagement of personal finance is nothing but an error made when cash flows are matched against time.
We should all approach personal finances with a cold-hearted view, structure it as a business and manage it with a cynical and calculative hand. By doing so, it would unshackle us from the many miserable, petty and ultimately meaningless struggles that we put ourselves through.
Are we not happy at a job or an occupation? Gain perspective that by staying on for X years, we would save $Y from the stint that would buy ourselves our freedom. During that X years, as we mark the days counting down to freedom, the moping and whining naturally subside. When the end is in sight, what happens on the journey can be shaken off instead of being taken personally. We attain true self mastery when we consciously serve Company Personal Finance and refuse to be held emotionally hostage by a work situation that is less than pleasant.
I find that those who are extremely focused on numbers are effective people. What gets measured gets done. Numbers don't lie to us in the way that emotions do. When numbers become an all-consuming focus, extraneous concerns burn away and fall by the wayside.
Yet, extremely calculative people are often not joyful. There is something unattractive about them. They are inward looking, selfish and sometimes even lack optimism and hopefulness. Some of them fear to dream, to think big, to exercise creativity and imagination.
Running Company Personal Finance should be tempered with joyfulness. Joyfulness stems from a worldview of gratefulness, which should always entail giving back to the stakeholders in our lives.
Who are the stakeholders in our lives? Have we defined who they are? Are we ready to pay them the dues of gratitude? How much are we ready to give?
This is a profound question which demands soul searching. It deserves soul-searching.
Daily Spending Report:
Late Lunch Total SGD 6.75 (USD 4.93) - Duck noodle soup SGD 4.32 (USD 3.15) + mixed beans in syrup dessert SGD 2.43 (USD 1.77)
Missha brand skincare products - SGD 121.82 (USD 88.92)
Trade war intensifies as the US added Huawei to a blacklist that restricts its ability to procure components from US companies, as well as its ability to sell to the US and its strategic allies. The tech cold war has begun.
Micro:
What imbues mankind with our humanity is our concept of time.
A past, a present and a future. The English language, the dominant lingua franca, is rooted in the concept of past, present and future. The past occupies our consciousness as our memories, the present is where we live at this very moment, while the future is what we direct our plans towards.
For accountants, our lives revolve around the measurement of numbers over a scope of time.
How do assets depreciate over time? How do cash flows materialise over time? How should certain figures be projected into the future? What is the cut-off point for revenue recognition? Has an entity, based on its past records as accumulated in its retained earnings, evinced an ability to subsist as a going concern?
Mathematics is so cold. Mathematics don't lie. And to borrow the lyrics from Shirley Bassey's famous song, Mathematics won't leave in the night and we've no fear that they might desert us.
The irony is that while our concept of time confirms our humanity, so does our irrationality towards time. Exactly because to err is human.
The mismanagement of personal finance is nothing but an error made when cash flows are matched against time.
We should all approach personal finances with a cold-hearted view, structure it as a business and manage it with a cynical and calculative hand. By doing so, it would unshackle us from the many miserable, petty and ultimately meaningless struggles that we put ourselves through.
Are we not happy at a job or an occupation? Gain perspective that by staying on for X years, we would save $Y from the stint that would buy ourselves our freedom. During that X years, as we mark the days counting down to freedom, the moping and whining naturally subside. When the end is in sight, what happens on the journey can be shaken off instead of being taken personally. We attain true self mastery when we consciously serve Company Personal Finance and refuse to be held emotionally hostage by a work situation that is less than pleasant.
I find that those who are extremely focused on numbers are effective people. What gets measured gets done. Numbers don't lie to us in the way that emotions do. When numbers become an all-consuming focus, extraneous concerns burn away and fall by the wayside.
Yet, extremely calculative people are often not joyful. There is something unattractive about them. They are inward looking, selfish and sometimes even lack optimism and hopefulness. Some of them fear to dream, to think big, to exercise creativity and imagination.
Running Company Personal Finance should be tempered with joyfulness. Joyfulness stems from a worldview of gratefulness, which should always entail giving back to the stakeholders in our lives.
Who are the stakeholders in our lives? Have we defined who they are? Are we ready to pay them the dues of gratitude? How much are we ready to give?
This is a profound question which demands soul searching. It deserves soul-searching.
Daily Spending Report:
Late Lunch Total SGD 6.75 (USD 4.93) - Duck noodle soup SGD 4.32 (USD 3.15) + mixed beans in syrup dessert SGD 2.43 (USD 1.77)
Missha brand skincare products - SGD 121.82 (USD 88.92)
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Of Labour and the Value of Time
Macro:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of my country, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, weighed in on the US-China trade spat.
Micro:
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
I made a new friend recently who shared with me his world view about the ultimate meaninglessness of most people's forms of employment.
The true movers and shakers who will change the world and improve people's lives radically are the ones who have true meaning in their employment.
I can sense the heartfelt sentiment in his words, but I reminded him that none of what he observes is original or novel.
After all, hasn't King Solomon, son of David, lamented the same more than 2000 years ago?
The Elon Musks, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Albert Einsteins and the Wright Brothers among us have created true value for mankind.
This does not detract from the fact that the rest of us ordinary mortals have contribution to society.
While it is true that the humble cashier at 7-Eleven could well be fully replaced in 7 years' time, this does not detract from the fact that he is providing a service that commands economic value now.
While it is true that this cashier can be easily replaced and is perfectly dispensable at a moment's notice, this does not detract from the fact that he is contributing by rendering a service right now.
It does not matter if this service is puny or measly or lowly. Economics have determined that at this current point in time, this is a service that is worth something, hence the cashier gets paid for his job.
To dismiss the cashier and to write him off, is tantamount to saying that life is meaningless because eventually we all pass away, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
What, then is the meaning of labour?
Labour is to exchange time for money, money to sustain us and keep us alive.
What, then is the meaning of time?
Daily Spending Report:
Lunch - Cai png (brown rice, steamed steak consisting of the tail part of a fresh fish, long beans) - SGD6.00 (USD4.38)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of my country, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, weighed in on the US-China trade spat.
“And one point is that for us in the middle,
and especially for smaller countries, we do not wish to be forced into
making invidious choices,” he said
I live in a tiny island nation in Southeast Asia. It is easy to get tossed aside as the giants fight. My forebears on this land have survived. I want to survive - I want those who come after me to survive too.
Micro:
Ecclesiastes 1 King James Version (KJV)
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
I made a new friend recently who shared with me his world view about the ultimate meaninglessness of most people's forms of employment.
The true movers and shakers who will change the world and improve people's lives radically are the ones who have true meaning in their employment.
I can sense the heartfelt sentiment in his words, but I reminded him that none of what he observes is original or novel.
After all, hasn't King Solomon, son of David, lamented the same more than 2000 years ago?
The Elon Musks, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Albert Einsteins and the Wright Brothers among us have created true value for mankind.
This does not detract from the fact that the rest of us ordinary mortals have contribution to society.
While it is true that the humble cashier at 7-Eleven could well be fully replaced in 7 years' time, this does not detract from the fact that he is providing a service that commands economic value now.
While it is true that this cashier can be easily replaced and is perfectly dispensable at a moment's notice, this does not detract from the fact that he is contributing by rendering a service right now.
It does not matter if this service is puny or measly or lowly. Economics have determined that at this current point in time, this is a service that is worth something, hence the cashier gets paid for his job.
To dismiss the cashier and to write him off, is tantamount to saying that life is meaningless because eventually we all pass away, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
What, then is the meaning of labour?
Labour is to exchange time for money, money to sustain us and keep us alive.
There are indeed people who feel philosophically aggrieved by the apparent meaningless of labour in and of itself, and seek to fall out of the grid.
To these people, if labour were simply and only for the purpose of generating income, once income has been accumulated into self-perpetuating wealth, labour should cease.
Although I am not fit to pass judgment on these people, as I am compelled by necessity to fall in line with the grid, I do venture an opinion that labour can have meaning in and of itself.
Labour can be emotionally rewarding if our skills and talents yield a positive response or outcome where they are directed.
For those among us who are less skilled and less talented, labour serves a pragmatic purpose in keeping us out of trouble.
Because the unemployed will gravitate towards mischief, this is but the natural tendency of man.
What, then is the meaning of time?
If time can be traded for money, then why do people spend a disproportionate amount of money trying to buy time?
Let's say Mr ABC earns $5,000 per month, which for the sake of simplicity he earns $0.50 per productive minute ($5,000/ (22 work days*8 hours * 60 minutes)
If he saves 60 minutes each day per month by driving instead of public commute, he saves 1,800 minutes over a month.
The economic value of the time saved is just $900 (1,800min X $0.50 per minute)
Yet, in Singapore, the average all-in costs of car ownership can come close to $2,000 per month.
Mr ABC cannot afford the car because it is costing him more than his per-minute worth. i.e. the car only makes sense if it costs him up to $900. So if he is spending $2,000 per month for a car, the difference of $1,100 ($2,000 less $900) is simply for vanity, for intangibles, for "face".
This can be boiled down to a simple mathematical question that even a primary school pupil can assess and answer. But no one cares about mathematics when ego comes into play. In Singapore, cars can be a status symbol, and many men here feel socially pressured to obtain a car. In fact, it has become a little bit of a veben good - the more irrationally costly car ownership is, the more desirable it gets.
Daily Spending Report:
Lunch - Cai png (brown rice, steamed steak consisting of the tail part of a fresh fish, long beans) - SGD6.00 (USD4.38)
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Personal Grooming in the Light of Frugality - Manicures
Macro:
So the newspapers say that China will depreciate its currency and lower its VAT to stimulate its exports in the face of US tariffs.
Does this mean that Iphones will become more and more expensive for the Chinese consumer? China is both Apple's manufacturer and consumer. What does this augur for Apple in the short- to mid-term?
Micro:
So a friend regaled us with accounts of her trips to Johor Bahru where she scored manicures at what she deems as a "steal".
What does a manicure even mean? To me, a manicure is a social signaler as much as it as a product of grooming. A manicure tells whosoever looking at your hands that you have disposable income (social signalling effect). Of course, a well-done, tasteful manicure is in itself a beautiful rendering. (On the nails of a client with gaudy tendencies, a manicure is a parade of unsightly ostentation, but I have digressed). So, how does making an arduous journey into Johor Bahru gel with the concept of a cushy lifestyle associated with disposable income? Enduring that awful trip is in fact a very violation of cushiness!
A manicure should be performed in a cool, quiet, and elegant ambience for it to qualify as a worthwhile experience. One should never need to fight the throbbing throngs at that Johor customs clearance, undergo the roller coaster ride of public commute, and withstand the awful traffic pollution to reach the manicurist.
I cannot pretend to be holier-than-thou, because I too, have sought the services of manicurists from time to time. I enjoy the attention, interaction and personal touch of the manicurist. There is a comforting pleasure in the physical contact in such a context. I love the mirror gloss of a fresh gelish manicure. In particular, I like my nails in a shade of fiery red. It beautifies my hands instantly. But let's consider the costs - is it worth it?
Market rates for a plain (with color coat but strictly no artwork) gelish manicure is about SGD40 (USD29). A well-done gelish treatment (performed by a skilful manicurist using quality paints) should last a fussy woman three weeks, a less fussy one about 4. Assume for simplicity 12 manicures a year.
A woman who spends SGD480 (USD350) per year on manicures is forgoing SGD800 (USD584) of compounded interest (assuming 4% p.a.) over 25 years.
Let me reiterate that I am in fact an extraordinarily vain woman. At the same time, I am a highly calculative woman. I am mulling over these figures to make sense of it.
Conscious arguments for continued vanity spending:
- Why are you so sure that YOU WILL BE ALIVE for another 25 years? Who promised you that? Life is unpredictable. YOLO
- Why are you so sure that this WORLD will still be in existence for another 25 years?
- Why are you so sure that FIAT CURRENCY will continue to be LEGAL TENDER in another 25 years?
- Why are you so sure that whichever currency that you are holding will not inflate itself into BANANA?
Sure, while there are a lot of crazy, unpredictable twists and turns to life, such wild theories about the unknown have crossed into the realm of fantasy. Chaos is everywhere but we have to super-impose some assumptions over the murkiness to begin any sort of orderly planning. Eventually, simple mathematics should trump all wild speculations about the faraway future, shouldn't it?
Daily Spending Report:
Lunch - Cai png (brown rice with sliced pork stir-fried in soya sauce gravy, french beans) - SGD4.30 (USD3.14)
So the newspapers say that China will depreciate its currency and lower its VAT to stimulate its exports in the face of US tariffs.
Does this mean that Iphones will become more and more expensive for the Chinese consumer? China is both Apple's manufacturer and consumer. What does this augur for Apple in the short- to mid-term?
Micro:
So a friend regaled us with accounts of her trips to Johor Bahru where she scored manicures at what she deems as a "steal".
What does a manicure even mean? To me, a manicure is a social signaler as much as it as a product of grooming. A manicure tells whosoever looking at your hands that you have disposable income (social signalling effect). Of course, a well-done, tasteful manicure is in itself a beautiful rendering. (On the nails of a client with gaudy tendencies, a manicure is a parade of unsightly ostentation, but I have digressed). So, how does making an arduous journey into Johor Bahru gel with the concept of a cushy lifestyle associated with disposable income? Enduring that awful trip is in fact a very violation of cushiness!
A manicure should be performed in a cool, quiet, and elegant ambience for it to qualify as a worthwhile experience. One should never need to fight the throbbing throngs at that Johor customs clearance, undergo the roller coaster ride of public commute, and withstand the awful traffic pollution to reach the manicurist.
I cannot pretend to be holier-than-thou, because I too, have sought the services of manicurists from time to time. I enjoy the attention, interaction and personal touch of the manicurist. There is a comforting pleasure in the physical contact in such a context. I love the mirror gloss of a fresh gelish manicure. In particular, I like my nails in a shade of fiery red. It beautifies my hands instantly. But let's consider the costs - is it worth it?
Market rates for a plain (with color coat but strictly no artwork) gelish manicure is about SGD40 (USD29). A well-done gelish treatment (performed by a skilful manicurist using quality paints) should last a fussy woman three weeks, a less fussy one about 4. Assume for simplicity 12 manicures a year.
A woman who spends SGD480 (USD350) per year on manicures is forgoing SGD800 (USD584) of compounded interest (assuming 4% p.a.) over 25 years.
Let me reiterate that I am in fact an extraordinarily vain woman. At the same time, I am a highly calculative woman. I am mulling over these figures to make sense of it.
Conscious arguments for continued vanity spending:
- Why are you so sure that YOU WILL BE ALIVE for another 25 years? Who promised you that? Life is unpredictable. YOLO
- Why are you so sure that this WORLD will still be in existence for another 25 years?
- Why are you so sure that FIAT CURRENCY will continue to be LEGAL TENDER in another 25 years?
- Why are you so sure that whichever currency that you are holding will not inflate itself into BANANA?
Sure, while there are a lot of crazy, unpredictable twists and turns to life, such wild theories about the unknown have crossed into the realm of fantasy. Chaos is everywhere but we have to super-impose some assumptions over the murkiness to begin any sort of orderly planning. Eventually, simple mathematics should trump all wild speculations about the faraway future, shouldn't it?
Daily Spending Report:
Lunch - Cai png (brown rice with sliced pork stir-fried in soya sauce gravy, french beans) - SGD4.30 (USD3.14)
Monday, May 13, 2019
The Weekday Food Question - Cai Png is KING
Macro:
The trade war between China and the US escalated last night, with China erecting retaliatory tariffs against the US. President Trump blustered on Twitter. Stock markets worldwide fell.
Micro:
FrugalSingaporeGirl's food prejudices.
As I have stated in the introductory blog post, I fell victim to lifestyle creep over the years.
During at least the past 5 years, I was seldom satisfied with a simple, bare basics lunch. I feel compelled to eat something fanciful (double of the price of a cai png**?) - a Soup Spoon set meal (approx. SGD 10, USD 7.30), an entry-level restaurant noodle soup dish at Xin Wang (approx. SGD 13, USD 9.50), or a takeaway Cold Storage salad (approx. SGD 9, USD 6.60). If I eat cai png, I would forsake rice, ordering a lot of meat and vegetables to upgrade it to a low-carb meal. This approach inevitably cost a premium. If I ate at a cheap place like a non-air-conditioned hawker centre, I would round up the meal with a freshly squeezed fruit juice (approx. SGD 3, USD 2.20) to use up what I saved on the main meal/ compensate myself for eating at an uncomfortable location.
** Cai png, that humble meal consisting of a staple base of rice accompanied with a selection of pre-cooked vegetables/meat/fish/egg, had fallen so far below my radar that I nearly forgot that it can be a meal choice. It is the cheapest type of meal available and it offers good variety in terms of taste and nutrition. It is value for money.
Why have I grown to dislike the Cai Png?
Cai Png is not necessarily the healthiest food you can find
Because of white rice and palm oil. I have grown snobbish with the years and developed a disdain for white rice. It is too high-GI and contributes to weight gain. Sugars in refined white rice surge into the blood stream and wrecks havoc with the skin, causing collagen elastins to collapse. Palm oil is the other evil - hawkers not only use it liberally but also use the worst-quality, cheapest version they can get their hands on. Cai png is gross!
Cai Png is .... depressing
Nutritional considerations aside, cai-png is associated with a particular way of life in Singapore - the humble and the poor and the unglamorous. It is a fixture in the (not unfunny) stereotype of the fat and unattractive male office worker who buys cai png and eat it alone at his desk, spooning out of a styrofoam box in front of his computer. Lifestyle creep meant that I outgrew it. But being now determined to be humble (for blessed are the humble in spirit), I decide to fully embrace the cai png every lunch!
Intermittent Fasting promotes frugal eating
Since I started practising Intermittent Fasting after Chinese New Year, I am only eating two meals a day, breakfast and lunch over a 4-hour window. This opens up a leeway for me to eat starchier, more filling foods during these two meals. I have observed myself for the last two weeks after I reverted to cai png. My weight has been under excellent control - white rice during lunch has had no adverse impact.
Moreover, my strictly controlled eating hours ensure that my body fully burns up the carbohydrates as fuel during the time when I require energy, which is essentially the office hours (9am to 6pm). When I reach home, I dive into bed on an empty stomach, ensuring no lingering ill effects from carbohydrate ingestion in the afternoon.
How to address the nutritional concern?
Nutrition can be achieved by selecting better cuts of meat/fish from the caipng stall - I usually order a fish steak that is cooked and served on its bones. I value protein and must have a portion every day, and Cai Png is one of the rare places that still cook fresh fish in their bones.
Food Spending - SGD 6.60 (USD 4.82)
In the morning, I begin feeding at 9am. Breakfast consists a soya-flour muffin with tuna fish filling from Mr Bean and a wholemeal bread sandwich with organic hazelnut spread. The sandwich is prepared with materials from home. All coffee and tea from the office pantry.
1) Soya-flour muffin with tuna fish filling - SGD 1.60 (USD 1.17)
2) Cai Png (white rice, palm-sized stingray steak, sliced potatoes) - SGD 5.00 (USD 3.65)
Food Tips
1) Eat Less - By practising Intermittent Fasting. Imposing a feeding window naturally ensures that volume of food intake reduces over time. I have also observed a genuine decline in my appetite with time - physical needs do shrink with psychosomatically. I have lost 3 kg over 3 months on IF, may not sound impressive but considering that I am 1.6m tall and began with an already relatively low base of 52kg.
2) Prepare Food at Home - In time, I shall cut out that breakfast soya-bean muffin habit.
GOAL REITERATION
I aim to spend SGD 310 (USD 226) on food per month including occasional trips out with my friends. Will I achieve this?
The trade war between China and the US escalated last night, with China erecting retaliatory tariffs against the US. President Trump blustered on Twitter. Stock markets worldwide fell.
Micro:
FrugalSingaporeGirl's food prejudices.
As I have stated in the introductory blog post, I fell victim to lifestyle creep over the years.
During at least the past 5 years, I was seldom satisfied with a simple, bare basics lunch. I feel compelled to eat something fanciful (double of the price of a cai png**?) - a Soup Spoon set meal (approx. SGD 10, USD 7.30), an entry-level restaurant noodle soup dish at Xin Wang (approx. SGD 13, USD 9.50), or a takeaway Cold Storage salad (approx. SGD 9, USD 6.60). If I eat cai png, I would forsake rice, ordering a lot of meat and vegetables to upgrade it to a low-carb meal. This approach inevitably cost a premium. If I ate at a cheap place like a non-air-conditioned hawker centre, I would round up the meal with a freshly squeezed fruit juice (approx. SGD 3, USD 2.20) to use up what I saved on the main meal/ compensate myself for eating at an uncomfortable location.
** Cai png, that humble meal consisting of a staple base of rice accompanied with a selection of pre-cooked vegetables/meat/fish/egg, had fallen so far below my radar that I nearly forgot that it can be a meal choice. It is the cheapest type of meal available and it offers good variety in terms of taste and nutrition. It is value for money.
Why have I grown to dislike the Cai Png?
Cai Png is not necessarily the healthiest food you can find
Because of white rice and palm oil. I have grown snobbish with the years and developed a disdain for white rice. It is too high-GI and contributes to weight gain. Sugars in refined white rice surge into the blood stream and wrecks havoc with the skin, causing collagen elastins to collapse. Palm oil is the other evil - hawkers not only use it liberally but also use the worst-quality, cheapest version they can get their hands on. Cai png is gross!
Cai Png is .... depressing
Nutritional considerations aside, cai-png is associated with a particular way of life in Singapore - the humble and the poor and the unglamorous. It is a fixture in the (not unfunny) stereotype of the fat and unattractive male office worker who buys cai png and eat it alone at his desk, spooning out of a styrofoam box in front of his computer. Lifestyle creep meant that I outgrew it. But being now determined to be humble (for blessed are the humble in spirit), I decide to fully embrace the cai png every lunch!
Intermittent Fasting promotes frugal eating
Since I started practising Intermittent Fasting after Chinese New Year, I am only eating two meals a day, breakfast and lunch over a 4-hour window. This opens up a leeway for me to eat starchier, more filling foods during these two meals. I have observed myself for the last two weeks after I reverted to cai png. My weight has been under excellent control - white rice during lunch has had no adverse impact.
Moreover, my strictly controlled eating hours ensure that my body fully burns up the carbohydrates as fuel during the time when I require energy, which is essentially the office hours (9am to 6pm). When I reach home, I dive into bed on an empty stomach, ensuring no lingering ill effects from carbohydrate ingestion in the afternoon.
How to address the nutritional concern?
Nutrition can be achieved by selecting better cuts of meat/fish from the caipng stall - I usually order a fish steak that is cooked and served on its bones. I value protein and must have a portion every day, and Cai Png is one of the rare places that still cook fresh fish in their bones.
Food Spending - SGD 6.60 (USD 4.82)
In the morning, I begin feeding at 9am. Breakfast consists a soya-flour muffin with tuna fish filling from Mr Bean and a wholemeal bread sandwich with organic hazelnut spread. The sandwich is prepared with materials from home. All coffee and tea from the office pantry.
1) Soya-flour muffin with tuna fish filling - SGD 1.60 (USD 1.17)
2) Cai Png (white rice, palm-sized stingray steak, sliced potatoes) - SGD 5.00 (USD 3.65)
Food Tips
1) Eat Less - By practising Intermittent Fasting. Imposing a feeding window naturally ensures that volume of food intake reduces over time. I have also observed a genuine decline in my appetite with time - physical needs do shrink with psychosomatically. I have lost 3 kg over 3 months on IF, may not sound impressive but considering that I am 1.6m tall and began with an already relatively low base of 52kg.
2) Prepare Food at Home - In time, I shall cut out that breakfast soya-bean muffin habit.
GOAL REITERATION
I aim to spend SGD 310 (USD 226) on food per month including occasional trips out with my friends. Will I achieve this?
Me and My Blog Manifesto
What happens when you trawl the internet for information on Personal Finance and all you can find are blogs written by men? Everything is written from a man's perspective and sensibilities. So I have decided to fill in the gap by joining the blogosphere and putting up my two cents' worth.
PERSONAL FINANCE FROM A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE. What kind of frugal woman do I wish to be?
1) To look good while practicing frugality
The stereotype of the frugal woman is one who is just a depressing sight to behold. She wears her frugality on her face and her body as if it were a shroud of sadness. She is probably not even proud of it - her constant frugality has muted all her sense of self-awareness, reducing her to a walking personification of miserliness.
You know - that type of woman who has a yellow-green or grey-brown complexion from denying herself a proper skincare routine. Who wears dull clothing from obscure sources. With the blunt haircut from continually deferring trips to the hairsalon.
Yes, you can get rich from being drab, but have you deprived yourself from the healthy joys of life in the process?
I want to be stealth-frugal. To upkeep a positive and upbeat appearance without anyone suspecting that I am a practicing penny-pincher. It is easy to get rich by abusing oneself like a scarecrow, it is a higher level to be frugal but to look as if one is worth a million bucks.
2) To feel good while practicing frugality
Frugality is to exercise a high degree of discretion over all forms of spending.
In popular parlance, it means to be "WOKE".
To be deeply conscious of the immediate and long term personal impact, as well as the externalities, of ones consumption decisions.
To be "WOKE" is to be in touch with ones inner truth. Making sound decisions on what to spend on and how to spend comes nothing short of that.
ABOUT ME
I need to explain who I am in order to set a context to the above objectives.
I am a Singaporean female residing in Singapore. I am a Chartered Accountant of Singapore.
I am single, childless and without dependent.
I spent the initial years of my working life as a penny pincher.
Over the years, lifestyle inflation crept in and I lost my edge. I went through fits and phases of extravagance, now I would like to resume the straight and narrow path.
I will use the blog to document my EXPERIMENT.
The objective of this blog is to find out just how low my spending will be, starting from 14 MAY 2019.
I aim to keep my spending to SGD 24,000 (USD 17,525) per year, or SGD 2,000 (USD 1,460) per mth, excluding my mortgage payments (there is no other liabilities).
JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY!
PERSONAL FINANCE FROM A WOMAN'S PERSPECTIVE. What kind of frugal woman do I wish to be?
1) To look good while practicing frugality
The stereotype of the frugal woman is one who is just a depressing sight to behold. She wears her frugality on her face and her body as if it were a shroud of sadness. She is probably not even proud of it - her constant frugality has muted all her sense of self-awareness, reducing her to a walking personification of miserliness.
You know - that type of woman who has a yellow-green or grey-brown complexion from denying herself a proper skincare routine. Who wears dull clothing from obscure sources. With the blunt haircut from continually deferring trips to the hairsalon.
Yes, you can get rich from being drab, but have you deprived yourself from the healthy joys of life in the process?
I want to be stealth-frugal. To upkeep a positive and upbeat appearance without anyone suspecting that I am a practicing penny-pincher. It is easy to get rich by abusing oneself like a scarecrow, it is a higher level to be frugal but to look as if one is worth a million bucks.
2) To feel good while practicing frugality
Frugality is to exercise a high degree of discretion over all forms of spending.
In popular parlance, it means to be "WOKE".
To be deeply conscious of the immediate and long term personal impact, as well as the externalities, of ones consumption decisions.
To be "WOKE" is to be in touch with ones inner truth. Making sound decisions on what to spend on and how to spend comes nothing short of that.
ABOUT ME
I need to explain who I am in order to set a context to the above objectives.
I am a Singaporean female residing in Singapore. I am a Chartered Accountant of Singapore.
I am single, childless and without dependent.
I spent the initial years of my working life as a penny pincher.
Over the years, lifestyle inflation crept in and I lost my edge. I went through fits and phases of extravagance, now I would like to resume the straight and narrow path.
I will use the blog to document my EXPERIMENT.
The objective of this blog is to find out just how low my spending will be, starting from 14 MAY 2019.
I aim to keep my spending to SGD 24,000 (USD 17,525) per year, or SGD 2,000 (USD 1,460) per mth, excluding my mortgage payments (there is no other liabilities).
JOIN ME ON THE JOURNEY!
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