Find your own poison..
I do not have a budget or keep track of my spendings.
I know, I know, I am not really wise in this aspect. I believe if I don't spend extravagantly but spend things on what I feel should be spent, like groceries, shoes when they are spoilt, some dresses when I feel like it... I should not need to keep track. After all, these are things that I need, not a want arguably. Of course, keeping track of it helps to keep me focused on savings.
I just don't feel like it.
It's not like I buy $1000 handbags or $500 shoes.. I don't often buy things when I go shopping, why should I not indulge when I feel like it? When make it a hassle saving money, and then make it a torture to spend as I see fit?
Some investors I know see cars, family, babies, wedding, honeymoon, travel as wasteful.
I see them as necessary, as nourishing, as what I need in order to keep me sane. Car is of course a no brainer for me as I am in a sales line. Family, babies, wedding are all part and parcel of growing up and going through life. I don't believe that you should avoid those to save money.
Rather, this is what we should do to live life without regrets.
YOLO = You only live once. You can't, or rather, I can't keep saving and investing and earning without spending on things that I feel worthy of my money. Travelling is my bucket list, if i have tonnes of gold chest laying in my house while my life flash past me.. What's the point?
Everyone has their own poison. For me, I like to travel, see the world, experience life to the fullest. Even though I may not be a millionaire, I am happy. I would rather be not rich yet happy than rich and unhappy. I will not want to be poor definitely and worry about the most basic meals and survival.
Here's the thing, I save on other aspects.
We cannot take too many poisons at one go, it will kill us too quickly. I try to save on my lunch, eating around $3 if I could and cooking at home for dinner. Breakfast for me is usually bread or cereal. Online shopping is the best of all, letting me save lots of dollars on cheap yet quality dresses. I have introduced so many colleagues and friends to online shopping that I think I should blog about it soon. I am lucky, I can eat good food on company's expenses. That's the good thing about being a salesperson. But I digress.
I think we should all recognize what's our weakness and save up for it. Then set the weakness as the goal. Like for example, if you have saved $10k, you can go for a trip to Bali, the rest is to invest. 20k is to Taiwan... 30k to Japan and then further and further away. Better still, set it with your partner. Life is boring enough, we need to make things interesting.
Only then, will we find happiness saving for ourselves.
I know, I know, I am not really wise in this aspect. I believe if I don't spend extravagantly but spend things on what I feel should be spent, like groceries, shoes when they are spoilt, some dresses when I feel like it... I should not need to keep track. After all, these are things that I need, not a want arguably. Of course, keeping track of it helps to keep me focused on savings.
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| A windfall will definitely help! |
It's not like I buy $1000 handbags or $500 shoes.. I don't often buy things when I go shopping, why should I not indulge when I feel like it? When make it a hassle saving money, and then make it a torture to spend as I see fit?
 |
| Retail therapy to distress (Source: Wikipedia) |
Some investors I know see cars, family, babies, wedding, honeymoon, travel as wasteful.
I see them as necessary, as nourishing, as what I need in order to keep me sane. Car is of course a no brainer for me as I am in a sales line. Family, babies, wedding are all part and parcel of growing up and going through life. I don't believe that you should avoid those to save money.
Rather, this is what we should do to live life without regrets.
YOLO = You only live once. You can't, or rather, I can't keep saving and investing and earning without spending on things that I feel worthy of my money. Travelling is my bucket list, if i have tonnes of gold chest laying in my house while my life flash past me.. What's the point?
Everyone has their own poison. For me, I like to travel, see the world, experience life to the fullest. Even though I may not be a millionaire, I am happy. I would rather be not rich yet happy than rich and unhappy. I will not want to be poor definitely and worry about the most basic meals and survival.
Here's the thing, I save on other aspects.
 |
| Remember, every penny counts! (Source: Wikipedia) |
I think we should all recognize what's our weakness and save up for it. Then set the weakness as the goal. Like for example, if you have saved $10k, you can go for a trip to Bali, the rest is to invest. 20k is to Taiwan... 30k to Japan and then further and further away. Better still, set it with your partner. Life is boring enough, we need to make things interesting.
Only then, will we find happiness saving for ourselves.
Jes
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Ha that makes two of us who are new to the scene. Money is mean to be spent and the dream is meant to be lived. Nobody wants to die rich. Most of my expenditure is on travel as well and we all choose our own happiness nothing wrong with that. It is only when the expenses get in the way of your goals that it becomes a problem.
ReplyDeleteSo long as expenses are still less than income/revenue, including that set aside for investment.
ReplyDeleteIt tends to be "spend today and no worries for tomorrow" in the 20s. Followed by lots of commitments and expenses in the 30s (wedding, housing, kids). And then, realisation that time is short when one reaches the 40s. And by the 50s, health start to be more serious concerns.
Time is on the side of the young, but don't waste it. Enjoy.
Hi Ladykiller,
ReplyDeleteWoah such nickname, must have quite a lot of girlfriends huh =P Anyway, hi 5! I like your straightforward blog post and looking forward to more of your posts being a trader. Yeah, I can say that I will monitor my spending and savings and I hope others will too!
Thanks for dropping by!
Hi Lizardo,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hope that the message across is that we can set aside some for investment and yet, have some left to do what we want.
Thanks for the advice, I guess my thinking is old as I always feel that I do not have enough time! Haha.. Time.. seems like you have lots of stories on this and I look forward to reading your posts too!
As the saying goes, we can really "enjoy" the value of money when we spent it! So, keep it up with your YOLO mindset and keep going, keep smiling..
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, thanks for visiting! :) Spending money is like taking drugs.. it's an addiction that can only get worse for YOLO mindset so I have to maintain disciplined!
ReplyDeleteCash is like stock warrants. If you don't exercise the warrants, they will expire and become worthless eventually. Learning when and how much to exercise is the key.
ReplyDeleteHi Dividend Hermit,
ReplyDeleteNice portfolio you got there! I don't think cash will expire and become worthless.. that will be a catastrophic day. Yeah, 2 key points - when and how much.. that calls for some elaboration :P Happy investing!
i didn't have the time to visit till now sorry. its not that we find it wasteful but one has to develop an appreciation of why we want something and be comfortable with what we do. if you arecomfortable not going for holiday than its ok. as you grow older, you develop a better appreciation of life and your value of each of these things change.
ReplyDeletewhen we track its not like we want to scimp and save everything. this is like brushing teeth for us. its a habit really. the moment u get to that stage you wouldnt ask yourself if you should be being so particular about eveyrthing down to a single cent. it becomes an extension of your day.
Hi Kyith,
ReplyDeleteNo apologies necessary, thanks so much for dropping by!
yeah it's a habit to you.. but if it's not a habit, should we develop the habit to jot down everything if we are able to consider each purchase carefully? I guess I am just lazy =P
no solution to laziness there! i guess the reason why u do it is important. ask yourself for a lazy fella why do you still brush your teeth first thing in the morning and then you will get the answer. to build on the main reason i do it is to keep the spending as a diary. i found so much stuff that i have forgotten based on it, such as when did i have my MRI 6 years ago. which 4 weddings did i attend last year. has my warranty for mom's iron ran out?
ReplyDeleteHi Kyith,
ReplyDeleteYeah you are right. I don't think it's necessary which is why there is no motivation to do it. It's good enough that I do not 'anyhow' spend! Thanks for the comments anyway.