Financial Woes

I didn't realise the extent of my financial discapabilities until my mother just highlighted to me that I've now one less channel of income, which came really at this very bad time when I just found out that I'm below par in my financial health due to overspending no thanks to the Great Singapore Sale.

The first warning sign came when I was cashing my purchases at Mango but my Masters couldn't get through, I had to pay by NETS. I have been boycotting NETS recently because I think that their fee hike is unjustifiable, but because my Masters couldn't get through, I had no other choice. When my Masters couldn't get through I knew with a sinking feeling that it was because my account balance ran below the minimum of $500 so needed for the Masters to get through. Immediately, armed with the remaining of my monthly allowance, I had $250 deposited into my bank account to top up my account balance to the minimum $500 so that I won't need to pay the bank levy for the month.

Side track a bit, I don't understand why does the bank charge a levy for accounts with less than $500. Isn't it because these people don't have enough money in the first place that they fall short of $500, why still add onto the financial burden? Crap... Banks only know how to make poor people unhappy and rich people happy no thanks to the so called privatisation.

Anyway, I was hoping that after depositing the $250 into my account, I'd see my balance to stand at about $600-700, but it came up to a little more than $500, even after that $250. That only meant that before my $250, I had less than $300 in my bank account. Horror of horrors!

And because I won't be getting my allowance anytime soon (I get my allowance in the mid-month), it also means that I cannot spend anything until I get my allowance, because any spending will cause my account balance to fall short of the $500 minimum. Okay la, I still have some token sum kept in my milo tin can to tide me through difficult times, but that still means that I cannot buy any more stuff unless I starve. It's still opportunity cost, if I eat I can't buy, if I buy I can't eat, and Joan being Joan would of could find it extremely difficult to resist food.

My sister says that my dire plight is due to me overeating. I've been going out close to five days a week (ie every weekday, I'd be damned if I were to go out and squeeze in the crowd on weekends) and eating out ever so often that it's no surprise that I'd be broke. This is especially so in contrast to my last vacation when I was practically a hermit hiding myself at home and watching anime all day long. But in my defense, I think that I haven't been overeating. Yes, I've been eating out a lot but I haven't been spending as much on food as I usually do because because I don't, I know it. With my allowance, my budget on food should have been more than enough for me. So where did the money go to?

I think it went to basically four places, The Body Shop, Mango, Zara, and Comfort delGro.

I just busted more than $110 at The Body Shop buying godknowswhat. I was at AMKHub looking at the stuff there when I picked out some essentials such as facial wash and make up remover and the bill came up to $40-50. The very helpful salesgirl then proceeded to tell me that I should top up my purchases to $65 to get a free gift set worth $50+. Joan being Joan decided to pick up some make up which she uses daily but already have spares at home. The bill came up to $80+ but she was happy because the free gift set was worth $50+. So now Joan has TWO free gift sets at home because the last time The Body Shop had a similiar promotion and Joan overspent to get that other $50 gift set, thank you very much. Anyone wants a Grapefruit gift set or a make up gift set please let me know, I'm willing to SELL, price negotiable. The story doesn't end there because later that evening, I was with my sister at Parkway when we saw another promotion. My sister wanted to pick up the perfume set, but because The Body Shop have another deadly thing called the stamp rewards, I decided to buy some other stuff to top up the purchase to $30 to get another stamp. At this rate, I will definitely be able to qualify for yet another year of free Love Your Body STAR LOYALTY membership.

Mango and Zara sucked my money in the usual fashion, pun not intended but left because it's so apt. The usual Mango sales, Zara sales, Joan enjoying a horizontal growth sprout, Joan need more clothes to accommodate her new size, Joan buys clothes, Joan buys more clothes, Joan becomes broke. Total damage came close to $200, but but but, it's still okay la, since the original price of those clothes would have came up to $300++ so still worth it la. And besides, the new semester is coming up and I'd be needing more clothes to wear, especially when I don't have the luxury of a three day week next semester.

Comfort delGro earned a ton of money from me because I started paying my cab fares with my Masters hoping that I can win something in their Mastercard Promotions stuff. And also because I seemed to always be running late for my appointments because I've been sleeping late, and well, sleeping late. I don't know how much I spent on these cab fares, and I don't want to find out. grr... I shall not be opening up my Masters statement for this month.

After all these major spending, it's no wonder that money can disappear from my hands just like that. grr... I hate going cashless, it's so convenient, it's too convenient.

Another reason for my severe financial woes is also because I started a savings programme. Ya, weird right, because I'm saving I'm broke. It's like those kind of monthly investment, you need to pay a premium every month to save, and because you need to set aside this sum of money, the disposable income is greatly reduced. I'm not so advanced in my savings programme la, my savings programme is the traditional and conventional piggy bank. Because I managed to clear my table of stuff, I managed to unearth my piggy back previously for the past twelve months or so hidden under piles and piles of worksheets. I'm now putting ALL my loose change into the piggy bank. Although it might be loose change, but if there happens to be dollar coins, then my daily savings is actually pretty high, on very good days I can be saving up to $4 a day. This was actually a savings programme I devised when I was a secondary school kid, and I was saving a lot of money using that method, hence after eight years, I decided to try it again. As a long term plan, I can be richer.

Actually, it's not really that long term since I plan to count my money and hopefully get about $200 from it and stuff it in my savings account because of the loss of one of my channels of income. This is needed to replace that channel.

Yes, if you're following my blog you'd know that my grandfather recently passed away. My grandfather used to give me money every month to save. My mother would force me to save the additional income from my grandfather because she knows that I don't save. I try not to dip into that pot of money but there are times when I overspend and I'd dip into that reserve. Now, after his passing, I'd be cut of this savings reserve and financially, I've nothing to fall back on if I don't save and I overspend. Hence, there's the need for the above mentioned savings plan and the need to create another pot of reserves.

I don't know why but a lot of people seem to have this warped idea that if I overspend I can just stretch out my hand to ask for money from my parents. I'm sorry to disappoint, but even though I'm one spoilt girl, that's not the way how things work. I'm proud to say that ever since I started receiving allowance in Primary One, I never asked for more money from the parents to tide my overspending. Yes, sometimes I'd ask my parents to pay for stuff, but that's the other way round, I need to buy something but I don't have enough money so I ask from them, and not because I am in debt that I need to get money from time. Right now, most of the stuff that I'm buying are not things that I'd ask my parents to buy for me, in fact, now I don't even ask my parents to buy anything for me. I may be a spoilt brat, but I'm financially responsible.

With regard to my financial plight, I'm not really that hard up for cash, just a little unhealthier than usual but I'm in no means of poverty, so no worries about me. I can still go out as often just that I cannot indulge nor can I buy anything that I don't need, which is that I not buy anything at all.

Just two more weeks to endure~