A different perspective

So, now that Colin is in primary school, I was just thinking back, making a mental calculation on how much money it may take for any average couple in Singapore to have children & afford childcare. While I did get a shock after realising what I've spent, what I cannot understand is how many of the people I know/see, are more or less doing the same level of childcare (as me) but on top of that, they are still able to bring the entire family on fantastic holidays;  places exotic to me. I could only think that they have returns on investments and / or dual incomes while I don't. Please don't mistaken this as any sort of complain or dissatisfaction; this is just me figuring out my own life. I am one who will always ask "How to do it", rather than sulking. I don't believe in sulking. 

So anyway, before you get me wrong, I am not a typical representation because there are loads of parents doing much more and spending much, much more than me, at the same time there are loads of parents spending much, much lesser. I'm just taking stock of my own situation. 

First and foremost, Childcare fees by itself differs a lot. For my case, I chose to put KiCo to a private childcare that charges $990 per month. Minus subsidy for working mom, the childcare fees works out to be $650++ thereabout. However, we have got the school bus fare which was $230. There are other miscellaneous expenses like school's outings and other subscriptions but I'll round off downwards to $1000 for childcare per month. So, two kids would be $2000. 

Now, come to the part about domestic helper. Average salary, plus discounted levy, plus food & lodging, miscellaneous like medical check-up, etc, works out to be more than $1000 but just to round off, I'll use $1000 as the sum for having a domestic helper. I needed to have a helper because I am not able to manage work, kids, plus special needs dependents under my roof all by myself. 

So that makes $3000 worth of a realistic fixed expenses per month. 

Multiply it by 6 years (72 months), I would have spent a whopping $216,000

If I had looked at the amount before I embarked on this part of child raring, it would have been overwhelming. It is a good thing I don't look at it this way because things might turn out differently had I considered solely about money. 

Of course there are cheaper childcare schools, just like there are more expensive ones. It is up to Parents to decide for themselves, so, when I've made my choice, I don't go around crying foul. For all that's worth, you can even don't send your kids to childcare until they are due for K1 & K2. But that's to each his own, not for me to comment. 

So anyway, one thing for sure is that the outlay I've made is way more than this amount. Because we had all the various extra stuff like Baby NLP, Baby Gym, music from the time they were babies, Abacus, dabbled in Art & Crafts, Speech & Drama, oh yes, the formidable Chinese classes, not forgetting Piano & Violins. Again, I don't feel I've done any wrong, so don't flame me for my choices and I've learned now that if I ever feel pitiful, I ought to give myself a kick. Given limitation to earning power, I have chosen this style of parenting over having a more lavish lifestyle and I am at peace with this. So now, it is to deal with my nagging anxiety, perhaps now with some form of a respite, I could take a breather, slow down a little, and pace myself for the next six years (till Colin completes PSLE). To the next six years and beyond! 

Step by step

For two decades I had not rolled on my credit but now I have.
Working towards paying off the credit card, hopefully by end of August I will be free from debt.
After which, I ought to save up a comfortable amount. They say eight months worth of salary would make a reasonable and realistic emergency fund. I think so too. So I want to achieve that, and I hope that we will be blessed in the process.

P for Parasailing: Day 3

Day 3: June 20th, 2017 Tuesday

 After one night of contemplation, I'd decided to let her go parasailing. 

Firstly, I do agree with my cousins that it is quite stable and safety measures all taken. 

But still it was very unnerving for me. 

Secondly, Kiki really wanted it. 

Thirdly, I don't think I would ever go on another parasailing ride, hence I must take the opportunity that my sis is present to do what I couldn't do, that's to accompany Kiki to parasail. 

So that was how I've taken the plunge and summoned my courage to give them the Green Lights. 

Baht 2,800 (S$116) for two persons. Baht 1,600 (S$67) for one person.
When I did mine in 1995, it was only S$30.

I was so unnerved that I had recorded the video in slow motion mode!!!
Am I nuts or what. So now I'm left with the beginning and the end of the flight.
All other three videos I've taken for my cousins & sis were perfect shots.

 This view is taken from my sis' camera, she wore it on a strap around her neck.
Great view.

Great adventure

I told Kiki, the waves come in hard and strong. You will have to watch it.
Do not go heads on with it. You will tire out.
You either ride it before it folds, or turn your back against it and let it carry you. 
Always be aware that when the waves roll out, it will drag you if you are at its draft.
So, stay away
but in case you get caught, take a deep breath and keep your focus on swimming back to shore.

Colin piggy my back
Lala & her Mama

#SAVEMONEYFASTWITHFIVES

Month of January 2016

 #SAVEMONEYFASTWITHFIVES   Hashtag on Instagram

Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan: Approximately $975

(FYI- I've banked in my money instead of stashing them under my pillows)

Joy Mangano

So last night I watched "Joy" as it was Cheap Tickets Tuesday. (CTT, my own acronyms)

As much as I like Jennifer Lawrence, I do not think that Golden Globe for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy should go to her for her role in "Joy".   First and foremost, "Joy" is not Musical nor Comedy. There is nothing musical nor amusing about that movie nor how it was made. None. Unless the Americans find that the Struggles of a single mom with a divorced hubby living in the basement of her apartment, who also has a dysfunctional family, a restless father, an emotionally absent and self-absorbed mother, an aged but inspiring Granny, an ever-so-jealous half-sister, plus money woes- you know, if the Americans find this kind of life comic then I have nothing to say. 

No lah. I don't mean it. Of course I do get the pun that the only thing left to do with a life like that is to laugh.  

Secondly, Jennifer had only brought out like......... 15% of Joy's character?   15% is very lousy acting for firstly, a good actress like her, secondly an amazing real life character like Joy Mangano. Oh come on, this is a real life rags-to-riches during the best of prime neoliberalism period ley! How come so mild one? These freaking idiots. How many real life female business moguls are there! Such a real person and they developed her on-screen character so lousily!   Even Julia Roberts brought Erin Brockovich out better and Sandra Bullocks brought Leigh Anne Tuohy out better. Jennifer, are you okay or not?  Seriously, I feel that they didn't do Joy Mangano justice. Even with that Golden Globe and all the funfare afterwards, I still feel that they should have dwelt deeper into the character. Even that movie (Flash of Genius) was way much better in bringing out the agony, trials and tribulations of the inventor's (Kearns) battles with Ford Motor Company who stole his patented technology of the intermittent windshield wiper. After a long, legal battle spanning over a decade, Kearns won the case but he had lost his marriage and relationships with his children. You know, there's so much room to exploit on biographical films, so I guess my expectations are higher. 

Nevertheless, Joy is still watchable although I feel that the days of Patenting are numbered. Many inventions are made free to consumers. If you don't make it free to consumers, the free market will still copy it. One way or another, someone else tweak your ideas or your inventions and claim their own, nobody wins except lawyers. Serve the people and you will be on the right track. Well, that's my 1.4 cents' worth. (USD 2 cents = SGD 1.4 cents)

Saving Fast with Fives

December's Saving Fast with Fives came up with $230 

=)  cool

When Bren gives me two or three fives, I would borrow the phrase-- Better than roses! 

 

Save Fast with Fives

November- $220!
October $160
September $125

Yeah

Letter to Marie

********************************************************************

Dear Marie,

I've started collecting $5 notes sometime in September after reading an article about your adventure. In Singapore where I reside, $5 are fewer in frequency; we get lots of $2, $10, $50 but seldom $5 because whatever change from $10 is normally made up of $2 notes with the rest being coins.

Nevertheless, I try. And my hubby gives me all the $5 he comes across too.

So far in September, I've got $125 in $5, while October, I've got $160. *photos attached.

Anyway, I just want to tell you that I've put a hashtag on my photographs on Instagram and I've tagged it "#savemoneyfastwithfives" (there isn't any prior photographs with this hashtag) hope this idea helps to propel the inspiration in saving small to save big. You might like to tell your fans about the hashtag idea, I think it's already a movement =)

Sometimes I worry about when the day do come when I have say-- $32,000 in $5, the bank might reject my deposit or that the volume of $5 notes I have were made redundant. Anyway, it's still a long way to go and my worry is unfounded, really. I am just anxious about having that large sum of money stashed away in my drawers. But it's a happy problem.

Another one bites the dust.

Another one bites the dust.

Under-utilized cards, cut. 

Budget Mama

So, 2.5 weeks into self-restraint of credit card, I had used my card not for myself but for my aunt and my colleague who.............asked me to help them get the SG50 Hello Kitty plush toys. The cats are on pre-order and being snapped up like hot cakes. Oh sorry, I forgot Sanrio says that Hello Kitty is not a cat. Hello Kitty is a "Girl character", she has a sister and she has a pet cat. Her pet is a cat, not her. For those who insisted that Hello Kitty is a cat, Sanrio asks-- Have you seen her on all fours? -_-" LOL.

Being a more conscious consumer, I became alarmed that I had overshot my data plan. Hey, this is the first time it happened. Has it got to do with my new phone? Okay...... now that I am more alert, I've switched off all notifications on low priority Apps. Plus, my mobile data is set on off mode until such time when I want to browse FB. My home has wifi, my office has wifi (but banned FB), and my data plan is only at 2GB! That sucks.

That night as I was channel surfing, I came across a programme on TLC called - Extreme Cheapskate.  It is awful! I mean being a conscious consumer or frugal consumer, does not mean you need to be cheapskate. I think the programme's aim was to show us some tips or tricks to save money, for entertainment's sake, they also showed us the extreme measures some people take to avoid spending money. I don't judge that that lady washes her family's clothes in her own swimming pool since she says that the chemicals in the pool is the same as the detergents etc. etc. but I think it's an overboard when she goes to a store that sells gym equipments to.... use the stationary bike regularly without the intention to buy nor pay for using it. Eew. Well..... I guess cheapskate people may be anywhere and that's none of my business. So anyway, just focus on being a conscious consumer will do.

Budget Mommy

 So I became Budget Mommy, went Daiso to get my phone cover & screen protector. 

I know Daiso surely have iPhone covers and I also know that they surely do not carry phone accessories for the other brand that starts with letter "S".

He wants to buy a bell for fun and I said ok. 

The bell is now affixed to his skate scooter, something of a novelty for him as he went ringing the bell, zipping around the playground.

Tired of saying no.

So last night, we met PW briefly. She goes to the same hair dresser the past..... 18 years but her hair dresser moves about; perhaps relocated a few times over the course of 18 years. Currently, her hair dresser is at the East, so she comes here when her haircut is due, and she would call us for dinner or coffee or whatever, just you know, see each other in the flesh as I would put it. 

PW invited us to join her at Gili Islands, she's going there sometime end July for about 2 weeks. 

She asked us to join her to explore the three islands, where we could do this--

 and this--

(photos not mine; Googled from Gili images)

It felt lousy to be turning her down. I would love to go! Although I don't scuba dive, I would have loved to snorkel. Some more its underwater inhabitants are still in abundance. 

So what happened to me?! I am short of free-spending money and that is not a nice feeling. That's not the end of the world lah you know. It's just not a nice feeling. 

I had a wake-up call regarding money. It is running from one hand to the other, still, it is not enough. Had been eating into my reserves until I had to cash out my $1 gold coins last month to give Maricar an advanced salary as her hubby was relocating to Dubai to work and her kids' new school term began. Imagine I used my year end BD present of $700 to pay her salary. (no, I didn't pay her in coins, if you're wondering. I banked in the coins and gave her cash). I will have no gold coin for myself this November and that would be a first in my 12-year-long tradition. What's happening to me!

I hate to budget. I am a free spender. Is that so wrong?

Perhaps not wrong but surely something's wrong now isn't it? And I would surely need to be more conscious of my spending. 

So I check my big bill items and aim to strike of unnecessary stuff. 

Turned out there's not much I could strike off. 

What?

School fees, school bus fees, helper salary, levy, insurance, enrichment classes, utilities, grocery, transportation; exceeding my monthly salary. I might be scaling back on one Chinese class but that's about all I would scale back. Haven't even include some allowance for my mom, and all sorts of occasional occasions like BDs and condolences.

Bren has two more modules at ITE, completing end of this year. Meantime the market outlook is gloom. Still, he is taking up another security supervisory course now as we're talking. He says he can go work at the airport. 

So as I was mulling over how to execute an overhaul of my budget, I came across two bloggers who have had some success with their budgeting projects. 

The first is by a 30-year-old lady, she banned herself from shopping for ONE, WHOLE, YEAR. Plus, she gave away all the things she had over-bought. Her idea is to be a conscious consumer and to be free from materialism. The first habit she kicked was takeout coffees (like Starbucks). It was really tough for her in the beginning.

http://blondeonabudget.ca 

The other blog is about a couple with a baby, they say if they could figure out their freaking budget and still go on holidays, so could anyone.

 http://www.ourfreakingbudget.com/about-us/

So how now brown cow? What can I do?

Let's start by........................................(shivers)     ** DRUM ROLL PLEASE! *** 

Stashing my credit card & bank card in my office! 

Let them not see daylight at least until the break of a new moon. 

(shivers and bites fingernails)