Covid has change the way I approach many things at work. In the past, I would force myself to go attend at least one networking event at least once a month, meet new people or even try to get to know someone new anywhere.
Lunch was a common period to network and attend events. There were plently of opportunity and too many events (free or paid) but the choice is really one to choose.
Fasr foward three years, working from home. Having a new structure, cancelled events and reduce social interactions slowly back tracked into what I fall into. That is to become introverted.
Lunch seems to always be an extra meal for me. When you start breakfast from 9.30 onwards, 12 is too early for lunch and 3pm is too late. Yet, it is good to find a time for a logical break and get out of the space for an extended period of time.
Depending on your own company culture. Arranging lunch used to be one of my dail affairs. At the same time, lunch buddies are hard to find. However, today I really cant be bothered. I prefer to just have some me time and settle lunch somewhere. I dont mind company but if there isn’t any, it is really fine for me.
I dont know much about how many of you out there enjoy lunch. I certainly dont quite fancy it. I prefer to get the work done and then head back earlier to beat the crowd. Everywhere on the roads or public transport is just slow traffic. 2 hours of commute is really quite a waste of time. However, to a certain extent, some kind of work doesn’t have the luxury to work from home.
It does seem like readers like to understand and know more of the struggles and discussion about personal life instead of new products, promotions or deals.
Thanks for reading. Covid made me start this blog which I have put off for at least 5 years. I wasn’t sure if anyone wants to read what I pen down and if my content would attract any. At the end of the day, I also realise that penning down my thoughts through the years also let me bookmark some of the financial decisions I made previously.
Eventually, if there is an opportunity to monetise the content, I would not miss it. Writing and managing a blog is not as easy as I thought it would be but it is manageable. At least it isn’t as time consuming as editing and shooting a youtube video.
Thanks again for hearing me rant. I rant from time to time to vent mt frustrations and express some of my personal opinion. While I may not be correct, it is just my way of de-stressing.
2020 is going on by quickly as with any other year. Especially this year, with the Covid-19 announced as a pandemic. The world went into a global communism, shutting off the doors everywhere quickly. It feels like Industrial Revolution version 0.0 but yet you have technology that kind of connects you with the rest of the world as well. What makes it different is that some industry do well, some medium, some would benefit in the longer term. Irrelevant businesses would eventually shut down while new ideas continue to grow in the market.
Looking back there have been some hits and misses and while things didn’t shape up nicely. The year ended off with a small little cheer that can light up our faces.
There are some segments I would like to focus on in review. That would help me to understand what I have done right, do better or not to do at all. This very blog started on the basis of money matters and personal finance – This shall be the basis of the review. Christmas and the New Year is coming and so I would also like to wish everyone a Happy Holidays. I am for once looking forward to the coming year and for a great 2021!
Thank you everyone who reads my blog or thinks that it is worth looking at. I am humbled by anyone who actually stumble or read what I have penned down online. Hopefully, the coming year would see some interesting moments for my blog or perhaps even more interesting concepts.
Money Decision
The Good
The decision to enter the market during the market dips in March 2020.
The decision to divest funds into StashAway, Endowus, Syfe, MoneyOwl and Autowealth. This has proven to be an asset for the long term.
Full contribution to the SA account for both Tax Rebate and Retirement Fund in CPF.
Usual contribution to SRS account which supplements the Retirement Funds.
The Bad
Didn’t save as much as I wanted due to a lot expenses. Staying at home also meant that there were more expenses for food deliveries.
Celebrations were a little more elaborate due to the covid. More shopping and gifting at home since there wasn’t any travelling that can be done in the next year or so. Which I kind of miss and it has been taken granted for.
Not too sure if it is actually is a good or bad thing that Covid hits the business. We are actually pretty resilient to the situation.
Mental Health
The Good
It has been pretty refreshing to work from home. After 3 months of working from home, things have been turning rather boring but it is family bonding indeed.
It is actually better to avoid a lot of negativity in some offices. Luckily for me, I don’t have that issue but it kind of helped for the family mentally.
Work has more flexibility and there isn’t that much of a rush so it helps me generally.
The Bad
It became kind of stressful with the wife and kids and in laws.
Working from Home became both good and bad because it has become rather boring where I miss the hustle and bustle of communicating with colleagues and networking with new friends.
There are no limits to when working hours end so I can keep on working throughout which isn’t that great. My place of relax now becomes a place where I need to focus and work.
Fitness
The Good
Definitely more time to do more crunches and jogs.
A change in lifestyle and a change in diet.
Exercising is actually an individual sport. Group exercising are sometimes counter intuitive.
The Bad
The diet and exercising kind of slowly died off and I see myself seeking more new ideas to be more active.
The holiday weight doesn’t help so I need to work harder to stay focus.
Group games are pretty impossible now so less options to stay in better shape.
Summary
The Good
Finally, after procrastination for years. I decided to put in the effort to pen down and build a personal finance blog. How far will I go? I don’t know but due to the Covid situation, I took some time during the wee-hours of the morning when I could not sleep to build in some hosting, webpage, WordPress setup and finally writing articles which I think people might like to read about.
I would like to thank those readers who picked up my codes for the services that I use. Hopefully, these services will bring the same level of expectation that I already have since I have been using them for a while now.
The Bad
I am still deciding whether I should attempt to write a book. A simple and funny one. It’s just to figure new projects to work out on.
A long-term objective is to explore alternative income/passive income
I’m still in the infant stage of this personal finance blog. The growth rate isn’t quite what i expected but hey I’m still learning and exploring so I’ll keep trying.
Conclusion
I decided against looking at winners and losers in the equity markets as time and again I have traded, won and lost. At least 3 or 4 cycles it happened. Using the right services to not let my emotions go wild or make irrational decision only to regret it later on. The focus of investing money should not just be money but also investing in yourself. There should also be time taken to upgrade ourselves, improve our own health and find out what matters to every individual.
Disclaimer
This is not a sponsored post. This is purely my own opinion after using their service and/or products. If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.
If you like what I am sharing or if it resonates with you, do use my referral codes here at https://atomic-temporary-178675883.wpcomstaging.com/contact/ for the services.
The pictures were taken from the websites for this article.
Life is very strange. It can be tough for some, easy for others. Sometimes smooth sailing while some have to ride heavy waves for extended period of time. Covid-19 has not been great to many people and companies globally. This also pretty much sums up the cashflow situation most companies are when the economy shuts down for months. The typical companies who are in debt are just simply living on future money, future growth and future prospects. Never touch those companies.
Uncertainty
Life has a lot uncertainties but these should not be the decisions you make in your life. Life will also give you a fair share of knocks but these knocks when looking back ensures that these formulate and set you up for the future. It is actually kind if you look back in that way however at the very moment that things happen, it isn’t easy to take.
Personally, I do understand how it feels and it is totally fine to feel dejected, upset and even cry about it. Immerse into the whole dejection and slump but don’t drag that out for too long. It is equally important to pick up and build the self confidence from scratch.
Your plans will change. Your ideas will fail and things will not fall in the way you want it to be. Truth be told, that is reality. The world starts dropping on you and the worries start formulating in a strange way. Whatever the situation is – It is a setback and you need time to recover. Be it one month, one year for 2 years – that is a process that everyone have to go through. It strengthens your resolve and makes your mind work so much harder.
Moving Forward
The first step is the dismay and anger. Get it through thoroughly and do not withhold. The next step is actually crucial – your own support group. Your family, your parents, your friends, your spouse, your extended family. This is also the time when you will start to realise who you can depend on. Some friendships will be lost while new ones will be developed. The support group is important to keep the sanity going.
Step number 3 is the recovery part and at times, mood will change from step 1 to 3 but that is not a step back but a step forward because there is a plan to go ahead. Regardless you like it or not, you will have to accept it and move ahead. The important thing is to push ahead. At this point in time, confidence can be at a all time low and you will definitely know what you need and what you don’t need.
Moving Backwards
Many times, when you feel that the world has fallen right in front of you. You are not alone and it happens to many people. No one likes to share to tell you the bad things. After all, everyone really just tell you the positive and optimistic stuffs. Social norms say you can’t say but I beg to differ on that view. I’ll say, it is better to speak your mind than keep it under a smile or silence.
I can’t say that this is a good feeling but it is indeed a humbling experience. It can be a time to rethink and/or reevaluate.
It will not happen
Most often, things happen at the most unexpected moments. I often hear people say things like this will not happen. These companies are too big to fail. These are the monopolies or even “My plan is …..” Well, I would say that who knew Covid will actually be a global impact to our livelihoods. The thing is really never say never. Humans are forgetful but these setbacks brings you back to the ground. When you struggle to find a solution, the struggle makes everyone resilient. We are only resilient when you experience hardship.
The Impact
What is impacting is that being a majority middle-class, we are all sandwiched-class. Being financially savvy brings your step out of the sandwich class. A close friend of mine once said that your best gift to your child is getting your own retirement plan ready. I reflected on that statement multiple times and it is true to a certain extent:
a. It is intangible and your child will never be able to understand it until their later stages of life
b. Being financially free and getting ready for retirement gives less stress on your kids as compared to now when you are sandwiched between the seniors and your young ones.
c. By getting ready for retirement, you will eventually also prepare for your child’s education. This is reality and it is real. Imagine contribution CPF to your child’s account and compounding at an early age. This kick start their beginning where most of us either started too late or had to little to begin with.
Conclusion
The purpose of this is really to gain some awareness about personal finance and how important it is over the longer term. You have to know what you have or what you don’t in order to cover what you are lacking.
As each and everyone of us are different, if you are in difficult times. Don’t worry, it will pass and something better will come by. You may or may not see it now but it will be better as time goes by. Health is important so take care of your own well-being and be mentally stronger over time.
Sustain, maintain and grow your wealth. There is no rush as baby steps are the ones which brings you confidence. Each time, you fall as a kid, you just got to get back up. Similar with your own investments (Be it personal investments or monetary investments) every step of the way is an experience. No one said that it was easy. Tough knocks makes you a better person and let you make better future choices.
Disclaimer
If you like what you are seeing, do remember to check they out and do your diligence. There is no one size fits all investment strategy.
Able to write and share is my main objective is to create a community and blogging what I want to do. Being mentally well and put down content is something I always wanted to do. Trying out new things will definitely bring one’s horizon to a different level.
