My First Step in Earning

I am one who has been very lavished..by myself. I spend money on almost everything. Clothings, transport (like cab rides), food (and we're talking really paying for food), etc. I usually end my month with a small fraction of what's left of my monthly income. We're not even looking at a "slice of the pie".. think "scraps".

Time to make a change.

I HAD to bold that line and isolate it. This is to emphasize my point and keep it as a constant reminder. I'm awfully pampered by $100 dinners, $20 cab rides home with night surcharge, buying things I don't need. My obsession with music instruments doesn't help either.

I remembered myself as a kid enjoying the reality TV show The Apprentice by Donald Trump. Allow me to quote his statement,

"A penny saved is a penny saved."

Well, if you actually dwell into his statement, it makes a whole lot of sense or cents (pun super-intended). I have to admit, I'm one that easily buys random things that I THINK I need which eventually ends up at the corner of my room, or in the depths of my cupboard. I am sure we are all guilty of that.

This blog could have been called the 20k pot or the 50k pot.. but no. It's called the 10k pot. Only because I'm a victim of my own nonsensical expenditures. Well it doesn't take a genius to know that money makes more money. The more you have, the more you will have in return. Sadly, I'm forced to live with my disastrous consequence.

Savings goes a long way. Saving a dollar today could mean earning you easily much more in the future. I believe I do not need to cite an example for this. The more you save, the more your investing power, the greater the earnings, the closer you are to your financial goal. This post seems totally unnecessary, but trust me, you'll be amazed at how many Singaporean youths are actually NOT saving up each month.

Here are some steps I took to cut down on my monthly expenses.

• Take the buses and trains. I learn how convenient they are. Walk if you can..
• Find less expensive entertainment. Go for evening jogs instead of late night parties at clubs. Spending your nights at clubs is a killer. Drinks are expensive and you have to pay for a hefty cab ride home. Let's not forget about you feeling like crap.
• Avoid fast-food. I'm always tempted to "drop by macs" and grab a burger. Check, it's $6! Eating at home is cheaper AND healthier (if you want it to be of course.)
• Borrowing books from the library instead of buying them

Well, that's about all I can remember. Usually it just hits me very naturally now and I learn to be reluctant on splurging. In fact, I even went to the extent of taking up another job during the holidays (despite the fact that I'm leaving Singapore in a month to study) to earn extra pocket money or hopefully pump more into positive-looking stocks.

Saving is a first step in earning.