The 200K Yakezie Roundup (and some personal note)
It’s Saturday here, and there’s nothing more relaxing than reading what my fellow Yakezie members wrote. Being in the group has been an interesting and, at the same time, confusing experience to me. Even more baffling than the hail we just had. It’s just the beginning of autumn here, but we still have 30+ degrees … Continue reading
Day 19: How to Pay Off Your Mortgage in Record Time
When we bought our house a couple of years ago, we already had credit card debt, two car loans and a margin loan (shares investment loan). We estimated that it would take 10 years to pay off the mortgage and other debts. However, with aggressive lifestyle adjustments we have been doing in the past 1.5 … Continue reading
Day 14: The February Purge Challenge
After a month of philosophising, I decided to get off the chair and do the hard stuff, the real work, the hard yakka! Now, I’m not going to give up the luxury of being an armchair life commentator completely, I just need to do something outside my comfort zone and see some real results. Thinking … Continue reading
Day 13: Will You Be Missed When You’re Gone?
A few days ago, I listened to Seth Godin’s interview on Untemplater about his entrepreneurial endeavour. It is interesting how he reminded Jun about dozens of his past failures which have been dwarfed by his successes. True to his style, Seth provided sharp and inspirational advice to his audience. While his advice about being passionate … Continue reading
Day 12: How the Economy Works: The Merry-Go-Round
Yesterday, I invited a couple of real estate agents to perform an appraisal to our house. After two years of home-ownership, they told us that the house value has increased by 27%. Well, actually that’s our conservative number. They predicted a more upbeat number of 35%. So there we were, woke up one morning, and … Continue reading
Day 11: Designing Your Life with Savings Snowball
Most PF bloggers talk about the legendary debt snowball method but only a few who discuss about savings snowball. Since the method is simple and efficient, why not apply it in other areas too? The goal of this exercise is to utilise your extra cash efficiently and design the life you wish. By listing your … Continue reading
Day 2: Budget Review, Part Deux
Today I finally stepped my foot to the gym after procrastinating for six weeks. I don’t know what it is that I fear about exercising. Oh wait, yes, the muscle pain and the slow result. Regardless, I finally did it and it felt good. Probably more to the absolution rather than the physical fitness, but … Continue reading
Day 1: The Game Plan
Ahh, 2010 is finally here! I’d been looking forward to it. My beloved and I started the year merrily by having a delicious breakfast and watching the visually fabulous Avatar (did I hear “2-D plot on a 3-D movie”?). It has been a lovely, lovely day. Now it’s time to get serious. I have planned … Continue reading
Is Frugality the New Superiority?
We’ve heard the stories before; a couple with average income who managed to rack up $200k in consumer debt, a guy who had to declare bankruptcy due to overspending or a woman who toted a Gucci handbag while lining up for the meal van. These stories are run on various TV shows, magazines, newspapers and … Continue reading
Cash Reserve or Emergency Fund?
One of the most supported strategies in personal finance is to build your emergency fund. The idea is sound; your car might decide to retire, the kitchen might nag for more attention and your government might decide to switch off the analogue signal and force you to buy a digital TV or a set top … Continue reading
151 Days Off 