Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Just some pic I took from Pangkor. Originally res is 1280 but blogger bot can only support up to 1024
If frugal living was the order of the day, these are what we would have done..
1) Taking the LRT to work. But don't forget a trip from Tmn Bahagia to KLCC is about Rm2.50. To and fro makes it Rm5/day .Multiply 22 work days and you get RM110. Decent if you earn above 2K. However, what of those not living within the circle of influence? Throw in a cab probably costs you another RM3-4 depending on the distance and you multiply the return journey and 22 work days. You can do the math.
2) We could avoid eating breakfast and lunch and just go home for dinner (assuming you are staying with your parents). You just gotta pray hard that the dinner you eat can last you till your next dinner. But of course, if you do come down with gastric or something worse, the medical bill will be quite high. You can do the math.
3) Since we don't want to buy a desktop /laptop which easily cost 2-3K/4-5K. So, forget computer games. But, cyber cafes charge RM2.50/hour on weekdays and Rm3/hour on weekends. You can do the math. And oh, by the way, you don't have a car. Throw in the cabby fare.
4) Lets say we don't want to do that either. Lets watch TV. But, since we are practising frugality, it means no DVD players/movies. Okay, we'll just watch RTM1,RTM2 and TV3(assuming your TV can't tune into NTV7 and those new channels).
5) Or we can skip the above and go straight to bed.
6) We can't buy clothes except those from FOS or the morning market.
7) Forget books, newspapers, mags, etc.
8) Forget music CDs. Go listen to the radio from those mini radio tuners.
The price to pay for being frugal.
1) Taking the LRT to work. But don't forget a trip from Tmn Bahagia to KLCC is about Rm2.50. To and fro makes it Rm5/day .Multiply 22 work days and you get RM110. Decent if you earn above 2K. However, what of those not living within the circle of influence? Throw in a cab probably costs you another RM3-4 depending on the distance and you multiply the return journey and 22 work days. You can do the math.
2) We could avoid eating breakfast and lunch and just go home for dinner (assuming you are staying with your parents). You just gotta pray hard that the dinner you eat can last you till your next dinner. But of course, if you do come down with gastric or something worse, the medical bill will be quite high. You can do the math.
3) Since we don't want to buy a desktop /laptop which easily cost 2-3K/4-5K. So, forget computer games. But, cyber cafes charge RM2.50/hour on weekdays and Rm3/hour on weekends. You can do the math. And oh, by the way, you don't have a car. Throw in the cabby fare.
4) Lets say we don't want to do that either. Lets watch TV. But, since we are practising frugality, it means no DVD players/movies. Okay, we'll just watch RTM1,RTM2 and TV3(assuming your TV can't tune into NTV7 and those new channels).
5) Or we can skip the above and go straight to bed.
6) We can't buy clothes except those from FOS or the morning market.
7) Forget books, newspapers, mags, etc.
8) Forget music CDs. Go listen to the radio from those mini radio tuners.
The price to pay for being frugal.
Monday, May 10, 2004
well i'm having drinks with some people from a particular company (which i'm not gonna name but starts with an 'M' and they make software .. go figure) .. and we're leaving and we all walk outside to get into our cars ... one walks into her Audi A4T, another into his alpha romeo, and another into her VW Beetle (yes, the new one).
and i'm sulking back to my beat up old wira with plastic bumpers and a crack headlamp hoping no one saw me and thinking to myself, "man i work for the wrong company"
as the malaysian work force we are used and abused by corporations, simply because they know they can. i look with scorn upon anyone who exclaims with glee "oh its so good to be in malaysia, cost of living is so low!". yeah sure, you can get your teh'o limau for RM1 at a mamak .. but i can't replace engine oil with teh'o limau or use 'roti kosong' as brake pads.
we are not fortunate, we are abused. i am abused for having to by a sub-par quality car at over 2-yrs worth of my salary, whereas my fellow college graduate can buy a USD15k car, a mere 1/4th of her salary. and since when is "living frugal" a requirement of a low cost of living? if thats the case i could move to London and live off saltine crackers and tap water and call London a city of "low cost of living"
and i'm sulking back to my beat up old wira with plastic bumpers and a crack headlamp hoping no one saw me and thinking to myself, "man i work for the wrong company"
as the malaysian work force we are used and abused by corporations, simply because they know they can. i look with scorn upon anyone who exclaims with glee "oh its so good to be in malaysia, cost of living is so low!". yeah sure, you can get your teh'o limau for RM1 at a mamak .. but i can't replace engine oil with teh'o limau or use 'roti kosong' as brake pads.
we are not fortunate, we are abused. i am abused for having to by a sub-par quality car at over 2-yrs worth of my salary, whereas my fellow college graduate can buy a USD15k car, a mere 1/4th of her salary. and since when is "living frugal" a requirement of a low cost of living? if thats the case i could move to London and live off saltine crackers and tap water and call London a city of "low cost of living"
These days, I found out how fast Rm300 disappears. Two weeks. Thats all it takes. Throw in a few PC games, lunches at Midvalley and a few other essential items and hey presto, its gone. Then it came a burning question. Was it because of excessive spending or we are simply not earning enough?
The days where a piece of fried chicken(drumstick, mind you) costs RM1 harkens back to just under 15 years. The same piece of drumstick probably cost as much as RM4.50 these days. A good 450% increase. I somehow didn't recall my dad ever gotten 450% increase these past 15 years.
So, we are paid lower than what we can afford (for those who are not so fortunate to be working overseas). After paying off our monthly hire purchase installments, we are left with probably 60% of our pay. Other commitments probably tally up to another 40%. 20% of my pay ain't gonna get me those cool looking Harman Kardon speakers. Oh wait, there's always the credit facility.
Still, we are paid lower than what we can afford. We compensate by attempting to extend our financial power through a thrid party. Wrong move. Definitely wrong.
So, what do we mean by thrifty spending? Lets see, if we can avoid temptations like the cinemas, PC games, DVD movies, music CDs, techie gadgets, car improvements, house improvements, nice food(fried chicken comes to mind), maybe we can then stay away from potential creditors. But of course, the next person knocking on your door would probably be psychiatric wardens.
Yup, and the straight jacket awaits. So, have you bought a fried chicken lately?
The days where a piece of fried chicken(drumstick, mind you) costs RM1 harkens back to just under 15 years. The same piece of drumstick probably cost as much as RM4.50 these days. A good 450% increase. I somehow didn't recall my dad ever gotten 450% increase these past 15 years.
So, we are paid lower than what we can afford (for those who are not so fortunate to be working overseas). After paying off our monthly hire purchase installments, we are left with probably 60% of our pay. Other commitments probably tally up to another 40%. 20% of my pay ain't gonna get me those cool looking Harman Kardon speakers. Oh wait, there's always the credit facility.
Still, we are paid lower than what we can afford. We compensate by attempting to extend our financial power through a thrid party. Wrong move. Definitely wrong.
So, what do we mean by thrifty spending? Lets see, if we can avoid temptations like the cinemas, PC games, DVD movies, music CDs, techie gadgets, car improvements, house improvements, nice food(fried chicken comes to mind), maybe we can then stay away from potential creditors. But of course, the next person knocking on your door would probably be psychiatric wardens.
Yup, and the straight jacket awaits. So, have you bought a fried chicken lately?
