Inflation kills?!?!

SIM is just right beside Ngee Ann Polytechnic and I have gone to the canteen there to eat a few times. I find the prices in the canteen very subsidized and that's why many SIM students would go there to eat if they were having any long breaks. I usually eat the sliced fish mee sua, at a price of $2.80, it amazing value, of course you wouldn't expect fish slices as thick as Piao Ji (Amoy Street Food Centre) but you could just buy 2 bowls for the price of one outside.

Of course, you might say that schools have subsidized pricing and hence their food is cheaper than outside. However, growing up, I have been feeling the effects of inflation. Take chicken rice for example, my all time favourite dish. Previously, chicken rice (breast meat) would cost about $2-$2.50 but now it cost around $3-$4 at some places. 鸡腿肉 will cost $4.50 and above.




Of course, inflation has been going on for years, I think why I really start noticing it and its effect is because I start using my own money for my expenses. This really makes me track prices and hence noticing changes. I remember when I started my gap year working, I ordered chicken rice with 鸡胸肉 rather than 鸡腿肉 because I can save more. When I was young, I never ever order 鸡胸肉 because it's dry and flat. So now, having 鸡腿肉 is like a bonus enjoyment for me. HAHA

Another observation of inflation for me is bubble tea. I remember in secondary school after my class, I would go to those bubble tea shops where the auntie would have flavours like blue coral or oreo crush. I used to love oreo crush in secondary school and I found it expensive as it was about $2.20.




The traditional bubble tea stores are rarely seen nowadays and replaced are brands like KOI, Gongcha and LiHo, all of which are more expensive then the traditional bubble tea shops. Waffle prices from bakeries have also increased. I used to have plain waffle for a dollar but now it has increase to $1.20-$1.40. Definitely, with rising rent and utility bills, businesses have no choice but to increase prices to cope with rising cost.

When I was young, my mum told me that when she was really young, a bowl of noodles only cost like $0.20 (if it is familiar to you then you must be around my mum's age 😏) I guess this is also what I will tell my children in time to come. I am glad to have a place to write down my reflections and feeling about my surroundings. Hope you do enjoy me sharing about my thoughts!

When expenses exceeds income: Is retirement possible?

Thoughts of my mum retiring soon has gotten me to think about the expenses that she incurs monthly. With me entering the workforce soon and my brother just starting his university, my mum definitely still has to work a few more years. However, she has mentioned to me a few times that she hopes to retire as soon as she can. Her friends currently are still employed however she has a friend who is retired and told her of her lifestyle which my mum looks forward to.

Find out more: Retiring Early and comfortably?- What is FIRE?

Over the past few months, I have noticed that we have high expenses that if it were to continue after my mum has retired, it would drain her savings in no time. We normally do spend within the budget and go out to eat only during the weekends. This is because we are a single income family so my mum does not have much savings for herself after spending on necessities for us all. Maybe because between the end of last year to the beginning of this year, my brother ORD-ed followed by entering an overseas university so my mum really wanted to spend more time with him as he will be away for quite some time.

Read more: How to retire and still survive

The first major spending was renovation. Our home underwent the home improvement project (HIP) which was proposed by the government. Subsidies was given for this and actually most expenses are covered however, because we had to cover up everything and our are pretty old. So we ended up throwing our sofa, coffee table away. We also did a repainting of our home and because our accessories of the bathroom were quite rusty, we had to change them. This all added up to a pretty hefty sum.




Another thing we spend on this year was our trip to Japan, it is our last family trip before m brother flies overseas for his studies. In the later half of the year, my mum will be flying over with my brother to send him for his studies. This will incur another sum of money being spent. Even though my brother will be on a scholarship while studying overseas but his expenses are also pretty tight due to him studying in the city.




I have realized that my mum spends a large proportion of money recently on traveling for example for 2019, she has a trip planned with her friends too. Even though I am worried for her in terms of her savings, I am also glad that she knows how to relax and reward herself. I do know that I cannot force her to restrict her spending but I have trying to ask her to park her money at places that can earn her a better interest like the SSB. Of course, I do hope for her to be able to enjoy her time and retire soon even though I am not too sure if she can cope with the extra time. I think from young, I always thought that we would be all right because my mum would always be working however now is almost the time when she wants a break. I shall take a step at a time and see how everything goes.

Turning 23

My birthday was on 10th March and this year was a little special as it falls on a Saturday and usually when my birthday is on a weekday, I don't really celebrate it due to school or work. So since this year, my birthday was on a Saturday, there was a celebration and my whole extended family celebrated my birthday with me including receiving another round of angbaos. I usually just have a good meal with my mum and brother if it falls on a weekday. As I get older each year, I feel like birthdays are a day for us to reflect on what we are ever so grateful for in our lives.

Since turning 23, my perspective on some things have changed and whether for the good and bad, there have been some changes due to the experiences that I have gone through.


Perspective on Money

I have started to value money a lot and not to spend freely like I used to in secondary school. This is due to all the part-time jobs, working experiences and also when my mum told me that she wanted to retire soon as she is very tired of her work.

My brother and I had a conversation a few days before my birthday because we do buy presents for one another.
Bro: "Hey, what do you want for your birthday?"
Me: "Well, I think at this stage I would prefer receiving money then getting presents"
Bro: "Me too"

I think recently both of us now know the value of money and how hard it is to earn it. My brother recently ORD and he is currently waiting to matriculate into university so he took up an internship with a Government agency and he was paid $600 for a month. It was pretty tight for him and lucky for him that he saved up during his time in army. So we now don't really look for materialistic items as gifts and would much prefer cold hard cash. HAHA.

Another thing that changed my perspective on money was the part time job that I chose to take up. In my polytechnic days, I worked as a waitress earning $8/hour and to me that was pretty good at that time. When I started university, my friend introduced me to tutoring and I earn $20/hour right now.
I teach tuition 5 days per week right now and I earn about $150 per week. Pretty neat for me as the locations are within walking distances for me from my home.

Without tutoring, I would have to spend about $150/$8 = 18.75 hours working in a cafe. While right now, I spend about 10 hours a week. This hit me hard when I thought about it one day, if I am able to increase my hourly rate means that I can afford to work lesser hours. And this brings me to my next point, perspective on education.


Perspective on Education 

I think in Singapore, education matters a lot. Being enrolled into a private university means that certain opportunities have been taken away. For example, when I was applying for internships, I was not able to apply to quite a few as they had certain requirements about the interns that they wanted. Also, I am studying psychology which in a sense is a very general degree and not very niche. I am currently trying to get into the HR industry having done one internship in HR.

I am hoping to build up my portfolio using more practical skills. Usually, private uni grads get a lower starting pay compared to our fellow local uni grads and with my degree, I am actually not too optimistic about getting a good job when I graduate in 2019. But I will have to work with what I have so improving and learning more is what I am aiming for.

Perspective on Family

Recently, my mum has repeatedly mentioned to me that she wants to retire soon and that her work is draining her out. During this period, I started thinking about expenses and how if my mum really retired, would she be able to enjoy herself? Being a single parent means that her savings are not very substantial due to spending on me and my brother. She is also a very generous person who buys gifts for people quite often.

The uncertainty that lies ahead worries her and also because my dad has incurred debt once and she had to pay back for him. It was extremely tough for her and I know that money to her is very important. Even though she does not have a lot of savings but I am glad that she still uses her money to travel and buy stuff that she wants because I wouldn't want her to be controlling herself just so she can save more as she is getting older and I feel that she should enjoy the companionship of her friends.

My brother has just ORD-ed and he is rather smart, coming from a prestigious JC, he is planning to study economics in uni and is currently in the process of obtaining a scholarship, still awaiting the medical and psychology checkup before he will be offered it. This will really helps to ease the burden on my mum and hopefully she can retire in the next 2 years or so.

It was a great celebration for my 23th and hoping 2018 to be a great year ahead.