I've pretty much gotten over my downward phase and am looking forward to a brighter 2021 and finishing my WS hopefully later this year... (NS = National Service, WS = ???)
So recently we needed to review our rental agreement. Cos it's been a year and renewal is due.
We went around looking for lower cost alternatives.
And of course there are lower cost alternatives. We could easily get rent at 50% cheaper.
It all depends on WHERE the location is.
There are places 20-30% cheaper as well, and those are in good places, nice new apartments with a view over a lake, near to office, but may have less amenities around the area.
We enjoy staying at our current place. It's near a lot of food areas, on the edge of the city, so it's near enough to the city area, but yet not too crowded. Good community, there's lots of Asians in our apartment, Japanese. So we feel pretty safe around here.
The problem is, it is significantly more expensive.
BUT, it still is affordable. I mean, affordability is relative right? Depends on earnings.
Todays post is about the slippery slope of savings.
And also the slippery slope of spending.
As much as we can get too obsessed with saving, we also can get to lazy to manage spending.
In Singapore, we saved a lot. Looked out for good deals, went to get free stuff.
Getting deals, saving, getting free stuff, were all fun last time. I was in Singapore. I was comfortable, felt safe, knew how people would react to certain things, etc.
Saving can get extreme. We all know that.
I mean... Homelessness by choice is a saving method.
But I doubt any of us will go down that path.
Recently, we have been more lax in our spending.
We're more willing to pay for convenience. What's another $1, or $300 per month.
It's affordable. We are spending comfortably within the allowance provided by the company.
And getting lax in spending can also get extreme...
What's another $50 meal here and there?
And logically, if it were my younger self 5 years ago, I definitely would have changed apartments to save an additional $300 per month.
But we're in a phase of life that we are more willing to spend on convenience for now, especially since we're in the US. Convenience, safety, comfort, all mean a lot more than what it used to.
And of course this could easily get out of hand. We could end up increasing our spending and justifying it to ourselves.
So for every additional dollar that I'm willing to spend, there's always another dollar that is waiting to be spent. There's always another dollar for us to justify our spending.
More convenience, better food, make myself happy cos I'm in the US, etc.
On the flip side, savings, or wealth accumulation, works similarly.
I could find a cheaper place, eat cheaper food walk to work, etc...
And in the end, I could just find a job and earn money.
If saving is going to be a pain or troublesome, then seriously, just go back and work.
And like all things in life, it needs balance
I tell myself that we've increased our spending cos we are in the US. Maybe that's true.
I can only check myself when I'm back in SG and if I can get back my lower cost lifestyle.
That's not to say my spending in US is exorbitant. But I would consider it as much less controlled versus my previous self.
Similarly to being frugal and saving. I tell myself, if I end up going down the path of being miserable while being frugal, then I might as well go back to work.
Saving and being frugal has always been fun for me. Even getting free stuff has been fun. But if someday I end up being stressed or our overall lifestyle decreases. Then maybe getting back to work would be more logical than just pushing down the savings path.
So what's another dollar?
The thing is, there's always another dollar after that.
I could spend more for more convenience and more luxuries. There's always another dollar to spend.
And there's also always another dollar to save.
I could always move to a cheaper place. I could live in a car to save money.
I could always end up homeless by choice and eating leftovers by others, and not have any internet connection and no health insurance.
(Hey, that's an option, nothing wrong with that if it's your choice.)
But to me if I'm going to do that, then I might as well go back to work. It's hardly what I, personally, feel what life should be about.
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