I am a Millionaire, and I love Frugality

Ever since we cancelled our CableTV, I have did more reading in the past year than in the last 10 years. It all started with the pregnancy and parenting books, and I got bored. So I moved onto books on budgeting, finance and investments.

Currently I am on Thomas Stanley's 'Stop Acting Rich... And Start Living like a Millionaire.' He is the author of the phenomenal bestseller 'The Millionaire Next Door' as well.

I told you I am on a frugal journey now. And I have a sneaky suspicion that apart from being a better steward of money, God has brought me on a journey on learning about finances and prosperity. So in this book, Thomas Stanley shared on his observations on the millionaires. I am about 1/3 through the book and there are common traits amongst the rich and powerful.

1) They usually have supportive spouses and happy marriages
2) They believe in integrity and discipline
3) They are frugal, they believe in paying for value rather than extravagance (No you won't see them in expensive suits or upscale neighborhoods)
4) They usually live under their means (Note it's not within, they live way below their means)
5) They usually would be seen in Toyotas and Hondas, rather than what you expect (Mercedes, BMWs, Maserati, Lamborghini)

and the list goes on...

So I was right. The advertising/marketing messages are all meant for people who are acting rich, who have problems with keeping up with their expenses rather than building their assets. And I am so proud I took on the path of frugality, because I am on my way to having my first millionaire.

If I can't get there by way of offensive, I will go defensive. I defend my wallet and future security. But out of all these, I am still paying my tithes and offerings to God. At the end, I still believe that God is the one that grants me the ability to attain success and wealth.

Happy Tuesday everyone :)

What is Our Purpose?

Last night I was having a conversation with Brandon, we talked about how some people was born to know their purpose in life. "I always know I am meant to be a doctor, I always know I am meant to a ballerina, I always know..." Unfortunately I am still seeking my purpose today. I always see myself as a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

I reckon it would be easier to know what your extreme love is. Just look at Steve Jobs, a man's love for technology and his passion to transform the world through it has brought so much to mankind. I think it was beyond love, it's gotta be hard work, tears, pain and do-it-again-and-again. But at least they know what is their purpose, what they are meant to do.

I am still searching and seeking. But one thing I am very clear is that God has given me the role of being a wife and a mom2b. And I will give my 101% to fulfill the roles. That is why I never take my household chores lightly. I do it unto my Lord, unto the family God has given me. There is joy and satisfaction in keeping the house in tip-top when we think like that.

I am in my homestretch now and I am very excited to have the new addition. I should be nervous about the delivery and the new routine, but thankfully with God, it's much easier. How great is our God, He is all we ever need. I needed Him when I was studying and He came true for me. I needed Him when I was dating, and He came true for us. I needed Him when we were looking for a house and He came true for us. I needed Him now when I was pregnant and He came true for me. And He was with me every step of the way.

If there is one thing I can leave with you today, is God will come true for us again and again. I know He will come true for you today.

Have a blessed weekend y'all.

RIP Steve Jobs

Hey, sorry I was missing in action for a few days.

I was awaken today by the sad news of Steve Jobs' death. It really came as a shock especially when iPhone 4s was just announced yesterday. Anyway I told B (Out of sarcasm) that we can fly to US for his funeral if he wants. In reference to his obsession with Apple and the guy. Anyway the truth is, the world has lost a great genius.

I cannot imagine how the world would be, without all his innovations and products. RIP Steve Jobs.

I will be going on maternity soon, in 2 weeks' time. So I figured I will have the time to keep up to this space. See you all.

Meantime, let's take today to mourn for the passing of the most brilliant mind alive. Pretty sad that L would not have the chance to even see him alive, not that we would take L to see Steve in person, but well you get the idea.

RIP Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

Frugal Spending - Credit Cards

Good morning, the weekend is here.

I am happy to sip on my hot chocolate and write my weekend post. We are heading to HDB council in a while to re-adjust our HDB loan. Our goal is to pay less interests, shorter our loan years and clear the house loan within 7 years. We have heard how our friends could pay off for their houses (Both living in EC) in 5 and 7 years respectively. Imagine that! This is what I call owning a real asset!

So anyway I said I would talk about credit cards. An average American citizen owns 5 credit cards. I believe the figure for Singaporeans are comparable. I started using credit cards because I like the idea of the convenience of online payment, rebates and the points system which allow you to clock for airmiles or vouchers. But how do you manage the credit cards so that it works for you and not against you?

I have known friends who got into credit cards debts and it rolled into such a huge amount that they literally carry the debt for years. Credit cards, as you've probably guessed, represent the worst kind of debt. That's not just because you are likely to pay higher interest rates, than you would for a mortgage or school loan but because carrying a credit-card balance is an indication that you're overspending on a regular balance. A credit card lets you pretend that you can afford a lifestyle that's actually beyond your means - for a little while. Not only can you end up paying as much as 30% more for your purchase when we use a card rather than pay with cash.

It's heartbreaking to see couples who started off well in their marriage but winded up in divorce because of their financial debts. Money is often the number 1 issue that couples quarrel about. Thankfully Brandon and I have never quarrelled over the issue of finance before. Here are some tips on managing credit-cards.

1) Prioritize. I have a Everyday POSB Credit Card that I uses to pay for all my bills. When I get my salary each month, the first thing I do is to render the Lord his (Tithe), then clear all my bills and expenses. If you really ask me, the rebates are not THAT fantastic. Probably gives me some points to offset at Watsons.

2) Brandon has this habit of paying his credit card debt ASAP if he buys any big items. For e.g we bought L's crib and baby furnitures from Ikea, it added up about $700. He would not carry the balance beyond 2 days. He would pay off the loan amount the very next day. This is to avoid being shocked at the end of month. What the credit card is not telling you is, they are just waiting for us to screw up so that they can earn our interests for paying late.

3) If you can pay cash, you should. We often pay with our credit cards and forgot all about the debt. Then it all adds up and come to you at the end of the month. So often we wonder how did we ever spend so much money? Use cash, for food, for grocery especially. There is something painful about parting with real notes than using that piece of plastic card.

Ok, I got to go. We need to head to HDB then go see the gynae. I will be back tmrw. Frugal spending guys. It is far better to have financial stability than to enjoy the temporal ownership of the dress. Have a lovely Saturday peeps!

Frugal Spending - CableTV & Internet

For the longest time, I have pride myself to be a shopaholic. I used to remember I would spend every single cent I earned. But my outlook towards finance gradually took a turn when I started work in SPHM and it became even more intense when I realised I was pregnant.

Apart from devouring books on pregnancy and childbearing, I have been reading up on managing finances, frugal living and investments as well. The truth is, everyone of us can get better in managing our finances. And I have been yielding the fruits of frugal living and careful planning of my finance. I feel very strongly about this aspect for a while and I figured it would be good to share some on some of the stuffs we did.

Brandon and I are both movie-junkies. We enjoy time park in front of the Tivo and coming back to the cable channels after a long day of work is a highlight for us. Not to mention the tidbits and junks that went with it. I enjoyed watching E!news, which is junk as well (What's with me and all the junk in my trunk!) to family, cooking programs and all. And Brandon is just happy to have all these options, it's our way of rewarding ourselves for slogging so hard in our jobs. It's not to much to ask for actually. But we cancelled our cable and internet about 6 months ago and we have never looked back since.

You probably think it's crazy, to not have internet at home. That was Brandon's response when I gave him the proposal. I have my reasons.

1) To cut down on our expenses, $100 per month means we would save $1,200 a year. That easily can pay for a vacation for the entire family.
2) We only watch the CableTV 3 out of 7 days per week. We were out for church activities or with family/friends rest of the time. It's not justifiable.
3) Both of us are in the digital online business, we have access to the internet at work for 12 hours a day. Any work done require the internet can be done at work. So we don't need internet at home.
4) And if ever we need the internet, we can use our iPhones, which runs fast-speed internet.
5) I came to a conviction that when we come home, we want to spend the time unwinding. Not having Cable & Internet gave us more time to read, talk to each other and pray. Our life has become more meaningful after we cancelled our Cable & Internet.

You probably would think having Cable and Internet is no big deal, but for us, and even with the arrival of the baby, we want to choose a lifestyle that enhances building of relationships, not just what the culture tells us.

We had a couple of adjustments other than this. And believe me, all good things comes through sacrificing. Sometimes we have to sacrifice a temporal pleasure for a long-term goal. My long-term goal is to build my finance and savings and find a good channel to invest in them. And let me money works for me and my family.

How about you? I will share on credit cards tmrw. I have very brutal but interesting perspectives on it. Have a lovely Friday y'all :)

Hello again!

Hey you, I can't believe that my last post was almost a year ago! I was just going through my calendar and I realised that many good occasions and memories all happened in the month of November. I got married during November and I am probably gonna give birth in November as well.

Brandon has been asking me to go back to writing for the longest time. I remember I do enjoyed writing and having a little corner to share my thoughts, but somewhere along the line I lost the momentum to Facebook & Twitter. I still do believe in writing and recording down my thoughts.

Well so what have I been up to? I am a Mom2b and this is probably the biggest milestone of my life so far. For the past 8 months, we have been excited, apprehensive, thankful, nervous, all kinds of emotions mixed together all at the same time. This whole pregnancy and childbearing thing is very new for us and I guessed it's normal to feel this way. I am in my 33 weeks today and we are welcoming Baby L in less than 8 weeks' time, if he chooses to come on 11 Nov.

So I'm gonna get back to this space again and please bear with me. There isn't much to share unless you are interested in my new routine. Ever since I got preggo, the toilet bowl has become my best companion, day and night. It has gotten worse now as L has shifted position and his head is pressing against my bladder. So there you go, nothing very interesting. Just lots of trips to the toilet, and many silly incidents which I won't bore you now.

Please come back again. It's nice to have someone being interested in what you are doing. As I am going on maternity leave soon, this space would probably serve as a social entertainment for me.

Have a lovely day everyone, leaving you with L's 4D scan.

L at 23 weeks :)

November

Hi peeps :) I'm here again. Things has just been crazy but in a good way lately. I just had my Lasik done last Friday and I'm still in the midst of recovery. It was an anniversary gift from Brandon and I am just so thankful for having not to wear specs and lenses again. I really have to make mention how much of a good husband Brandon has been especially for the past few days since the surgery. He served me on an hourly basis and really took good care of me. Thank you Brandon, for everything ;)

Well the year is coming to an end and this year has gone by so quickly. It's our 3rd Christmas at our new place and I am just really excited about 2011. 2010 has been the best year for me so far and I know 2011 is going to be better.

Okay will write again! Hava good november.

xoxo

I disappeared!

Hi peeps,

I apologised for the lack of appearance. I have been complete takeover by work and just couldn't find the time to come to this space. Well like I say, work has been busy but I am enjoying every bit of it. I truly want to thank God for a good boss. I believe having a good mentor is extremely crucial, it breaks or makes your future.

God made everything good for me. I thank God for His grace upon my life every single day. Frankly speaking, I could never go through a day without His grace. It is that simple but yet supernatural. And so the year is also coming to an end, Brandon and I are hitting our 2 year mark as a married couple. I said it before, that marrying him was the best decision I have made for myself. Brandon has enriched my life in every way. The most important thing is, your partner should made you love God, love life, love people more. And that is what Brandon has done for me, he made me a better person altogether.

So whenever I see him, he is a reminder that God is good to me. He is a reminder that I don't have to fear for anything. He is a reminder that God is real. I see goodness and love in him. So I pray that you will find that special someone :)

Alright I have to go. I will write soon. This time the interval won't be a month.

Take care and have a cosy quiet Monday.

Muaks XOXO

Walk with Jesus

I have started writing in a journal again. I want to be able to look back and remember God has been with me every step of the way.

It has been a good week of rest. I had 5 days of MC from the surgery. I watched Mad Men, cleaned the house alot and caught up with a few people. I don't think I would want to go for the surgery again (I still have 2 more), unless it affects me again. The whole process is just a lil' traumatic. But on a good note, Brandon took leave and stay home with me for a day. It is always nice to have Brandon for myself.

So work began for me today. It has been good so far. I give the credit to God, I needed grace and strength to go back to work and I got it. I just cannot imagine doing life without God, it's just too hard and demanding. Please do yourself a favor, give Him yourself. There will never be regrets when you do that. But you could end up having regrets if you put yourself too much in other areas. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ALL wisdom.

Once you set your priority right, everything else falls into good place. My love for God enables all the areas in my life to flourish. So I would like to see that happen for you too. Get a grip on Jesus.

I got to get back to work. We will talk again.

Love,
Someone who needs Jesus for everything

Life as of Now

Hi peeps,

just some snaps. I removed my wisdom teeth (2 of them) on Monday. I think I lost 3 kg from the water diet.

Felt like I have got alot of things done this year. I removed much junk and added onto the useful stuffs to-do list. So I am giving myself a pat on the shoulder. Please second that.

As of now, this is how I feel:-

Marrying Brandon was the best decision I made in my life.

I am thankful for friends like Euzanne, who is willing to come bring me porridge and keep this sick girl company.

I miss my cell group, and especially like Gina who is away again this week.

I am hoping to see my folks today, family brings me perspective and keeps me going.

Brandon is songleading this weekend again. I guessed at the end of the day it's all about doing it well. We need to not be hard on ourselves. Life is not just about ministry.

I have a blessed life, I have no lack as of now.

Have a great week y'all.

Mr B

With Harrods Bear :)

"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." John Barrymore

To my lovely Mr B, who made me feel like the luckiest woman every day of my life.

Trip After

I'm back. And I promised alot of fotos on my private page on FB :)

It was a long-awaited trip and we did have a good break of catching up. There were great breakfast, nostalgic heritage tours, colonial architectures, friendly warm people, lotsa hugging, kissing, teasing, the pool, lots of jogging, sunrise, sunset, cuddles.

Few things I am looking forward to: My driving, the 5KM MBS run with the girls, my paycheque, getting a LASIK done, hosting a Christmas party.

Did I mention to you on Drew & Nora's renewal last night. So much tears and love, 10 years of marriage. It is NOT easy but it is possible in every way. I am looking forward to my 10th year mark with Brandon. Yipee.

Have a good, wonderful, sweet, loving weekend y'all.

Fun Times

Hey yall :) We're currently out of town.

We got here late afternoon yesterday. I have to say that this place exceeds our expectation. It's a cosy town with lots of colonial architectures & heritage. I think both B and I already fell in love with this place.

So anyway I am sitting in the Executive Lounge now, using the computer. I remember praying about this trip, asking God that everything will be smooth. Well we needed this getaway, and the last thing we need is murphy's law on us. And everything has been perfect so far. We are staying in an Executive Room, got upgraded and tapped into the corporate rate. So we feel really blessed and thankful.

We both spent abit of time praying and thanking God yesterday. I think we all need to break away from the pace of work and get in tune with God again. It was really good peaceful time for us. I like what B said, it is more than a physical escape, but it's a spiritual rejuvenation with the Lord. So it's really good fun times for us. We feel very at peace here.

Ok got to go. We are trying to catch the evening yoga session later! Will share about our trip more.

Love you all :) Whoever that's reading.

Our Sacred Call

Hello,

this is June. How's things going for you?

I have abit of time between work so I decided to unwind by coming to this space. I didn't tell anyone this but recently I questioned myself why does people have to go to church. I question my own priority, my loyalty towards my church and my leaders. I asked myself what am I living for and what am I willing to pay the price for.

I believe that every good thing in my life comes from God. I recognised that Jesus gave me the strength and joy to live my life despite of all situations. I commit myself to church because I want to continue to learn. Church is a place where we learn knowledge, social skills, sharing of each other's breakthroughs and directions. I go to church because it prevents me from being selfish. I have a responsibility to share my life and love with the people around me. Going to the church gives me strength and power to excel in my life. Jesus went to the cross for me, and the equation is simple. I need to give Him my life. And the only way to do so is to give Him my time, my affection, my finance, my worries, my weekends and my all.

This is why I can never understand why people refused to commit themselves to church. I understand people's reservations concerning the leadership, but I believe that God is bigger than any physical entity. Sometimes it really hurts me that people choose to live their lives without Jesus. Life can be so hard-pressed at times, and we need God and one another.

The call of God is sacred. When we say yes to God, it is sacred and precious.

I am sorry, I just need to get this off my chest. Get your life right, give your life to Jesus.

Jetting-Off

Hey peeps,

sorry I was swarmed. And I am still swarmed! I was caught up with work, the house (did a lil' refurnishing), lots of family & friends get-togethers and planning for the upcoming trip.

I am so looking forward to the trip, I need to unwind. And I am looking forward to have Brandon for myself. No ringing phones, no incoming smses, no immediate work requests, no internet, no disturbance... Just me and my best friend, Brandon.

I look forward to the serenity. The last time I sat by the pool with a book was in January. I miss the feeling of not worrying about deadline and let the wind hit my face gently. We all need to disengage to engage better.

Farewell my friends :) I'm celebrating a new me.

Have a wonderful August.

Your friend,
June

Mummy

It was Mummy's Day out yesterday. I think I found my perfect friend, my mum. It has been ages since we had gone out.

I always remember Mum working and toiling for the family. So it was very good bonding and loving time for both of us yesterday. We went to Orchard Ion and did some eating, shopping and walking.

I never realised this but my mum is a wonderful person with the biggest heart I know. She is a virtuous lady who taught me how to be gracious and not speak a word of evil against anyone. She taught me how to be clean and how to be organised. Essentially I am a fruit of my mum, I am a fruit of her heart.

So I am really thankful and happy to be spending some time with her. I look forward to bring my folks on a trip in time to come.

Be good to your parents :)

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."
Abraham Lincoln

TGIF again

Hey all. TGIF :)

I had a restful week. This week was incredible. I felt that my life has inched forward. I heard God spoke to me clearly on the areas I should work on in my life. God really has a way with me.

The year is coming to a close. This year is an incredible year. I reached much stability in the area of my career, family, my walk with God and my relationships with my family members and friends. Thank you for making this ride so worthwhile.

Ok I have to get back to work. Happy weekend guys.

In a brief

Let me take a breather. I am swarmed this week.

In a brief, what I can remember from this week are work, meetings, good quality lunches, laughter, GV Gold Class, Salt, meetings, meetings & meetings!

B & I went for Gold Class last night, I didn't want to leave the recliner chair. It is complete pure luxury and we are contemplating to get the recliner chairs for our crib. I told B I will only do Gold Class from now on. Go give a try. My body literally sank into the recliners.

What's ahead, Dental, Family Lunch, Housework, Vene's birthday dinner, Service, CJ & Mich's Housewarming, Chillout, Dine with BVs, Love, Laugh, Joy, Daddy's birthday dinner..

I am sooooooo looking forward to the weekend ahead. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :)

Katriya

Here's a lil picture of Katriya with her new bag. I was awfully surprised. She drew a picture of a trampoline for me. I brought it home and stuck it on the fridge. I'm swarmed with work, but am looking forward to the many good family times ahead.

Dinners, Birthday Celebrations, Housewarming, Gold Class Movies!! Sweet.

Have a fantastic week guys. Love love and more love xoxo

"Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music."
William Stafford

Happy Birthday CHC

Happy Birthday CHC.

To the place where I found a second chance in life.

To the place where I found my wonderful husband B.

To the place where I learn how to love and honor my parents.

To the place I made beautiful great friendships.

To the place I found my dreams.

To the place where nothing is impossible.

To the place where I am accepted for who I am.

Happy Birthday CHC, happy birthday to YOU.