Saturday, October 16, 2010
OBS and money
Felt like talking to myself again.
OBS was quite fun! Fortunately or unfortunately we are in a corporate setting, so it wasn't as physically demanding or tough. However, I would loved it to be at least more intellectually challenging, more "mf" basically. Not bad, at least I:
- got to know more friends, and better
- do some good tanning and exercise
- feel young and eager to move around again, in sports attire instead of corporate wear
- get to do something (at least parts of it) I missed out during my sec sch days (now I still don't understand why my family was so kiasi - I'm a guy - I didn't even go to the P5 camping trip!)
- tried crawling the tunnel in total darkness
- enjoyed forest and nature not in SAF no. 4
- had time to reflect what kind of personal relations I want to build with colleagues
- regained that 'active feel' again
Life's good, really. Work's sufficient, not too easy but not too xiong. Starting pay's rather high (but perhaps the grouses will come when others fly few years later). People around me are friendly, even as I'm still trying to understand their likes and dislikes.
But well, again the constant calculations and some worries about money. Perhaps it's just me. Always thinking ahead. Always wanting to settle into some sort of a rhythm and sticking with it, as soon as possible.
I am impatient by nature, so I have to make use of this characteristic to its best: Make use of it to plan far, to do things fast, to be efficient, to innovate, yet being able to withstand others' inertia and slowness, and be able to enjoy and tahan the transition between the present and the 'settled state'.
Seeing this, it's quite demoralising that despite my so-called higher starting pay, i'm not being able to save much, incurring even negative savings. I have less in my bank account now at the end of each pay month than when I started work. Why? A big chunk goes to the study loan.
And after downloading some excel file from some financial site, and deducting monthly fixed expenses (e.g. insurance, normal food, public transport, study loan, phone and utility bills) from my post-CPF pay, I only have a few hundred to save every month. So, any luxuries or daddy spending (better meals, cab fares, shopping purchases, dunno-what bills uncleared) will eat into this portion. With more of these, I can easily save nothing.
With so many wants: build up buffer for emergency, travelling, marriage, current consumption etc, it certainly isn't easy.
If I'm like that, I shutter to think for the rest of society. There are certainly others who earn less than me, have worse family situations or more commitments, how do they live their lives? If they don't do financial planning (perhaps they don't even have the spare cash to), how are they going to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Are they contented to live like that always, living from paycheque to paycheque, not having any buffer or cover for emergencies?
The ultimate question if you are a compassionate policy-maker: How are you going to make life better for them? Or are you going to see that since your life is ok, you disregard the rest of them, stating: "life is just unfair, suck it", while you're happily in your sheltered dome?
That being said, I'm not in the business of economic policy making, and for now I can't do anything. For myself, perhaps I can plan like that:
Short term: Get that bloody study loan cleared ASAP. Be stingy on the unnecessary spending for now.
Mid term: Once cleared, can afford to enjoy a little more. Have more liquid money, both in savings plus wants like travels, future house renovations etc.
Long term: Devote a few hundred monthly into long-term compounding for retirement purposes.
At all times, have good insurance coverage for myself and daddy.
Ok I'm glad I wrote them down. Hope it will help me think less about money daily!
lowtide blogged @
1:40 pm
