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Living in a Different World

15/9/2020

So during quarantine, there are some activities planned by the hotel. Where we connect via Zoom and we can get to know the other folks on quarantine.
There's also a Whatsapp group which was created so that the folks can just chat and moan about being stuck in the room, or give each other ideas on what to order for food, or some people chat about their lives and all that kinda stuff. It helps to pass time cos there's someone else to chat with.

One thing is, that most folks who's coming to Singapore during this period who's on quarantine, they are mainly post grad students who are coming home, or Western expats, and the thing is, their world is really very different from mine.

They don't mind spending money. Now, I don't know if there are representative of other Singaporeans. Cos I know there are many Singaporeans who love to spend money.
For example, someone might order in 2 slices of Awfully chocolate cake with the delivery charge probably the cost of another slice. It's not particularly unaffordable, but yet, to me, it's pricey. Total cost could be $7 per slice and $5 for delivery, so it could be $19 for 2 slices of chocolate cake or tart.

Or they order wine or other forms of booze from the hotel, also not particularly unaffordable. $14 per glass, which is typical restaurant prices. But it's not cheap.

In the chat group, they will also plan purchases of alcohol when they leave quarantine. Recently Hyatt hotel seems to have some discount on champagne, so they buy 6 bottles or 12 bottles to be sent to their homes, which could easily cost them $600 or $1100.

Or they could show pictures of restaurants which they go to after quarantine, most of which are fancy places, many which I haven't even heard of. A place they sent was this 1880 club, which is some "by membership" club with a restaurant.

And the thing is... I cannot relate to these folks.
I've deleted my Facebook app for sometime already so I haven't checked my Facebook for very long as well. Also, over there, I find it hard to relate to the people on my social media.

I'm not particularly freegan in America. I spend money. Very much like my frugal life before my freegan days in Singapore.
But the things I purchase is way way way different from the kinds of things I see on social media or the bulk of society at large.

Which leads me to conclude, that... actually my lifestyle is extremely abnormal.
We don't particularly buy stuff, we don't eat out much, except when I'm back in SG, cos I wanna eat all the stuff I miss before I go back to US. But when I'm in US, we cook at home most of the time.
We don't go around looking for the next fun thing to do, the next thrill, next new experience, etc.
I think I'm really living in a different world. Cos... I think "they" are living in the real world. "That" is the normal, a life of consumption, when there's money, spend, earn more, spend more, earn less spend less.

I've lived my way for a bulk of my life. I think it's normal.
I hang around folks who are somewhat like me, not as frugal, but also not spendy.
And during this course of hanging around my own social circle, I fail to realize, recognize that actually, there are more of "them" than there are of folks like me. A lot more.

There are plenty of folks who don't think twice when buying stuff. They don't think twice when they enter a restaurant, they order whatever they want. They order delivery anytime. Price is not a concern. Even kids these days don't think twice about ordering delivery for a bubble tea.
Or... There's lot of folks who smoke, I mean... Imagine dropping $10 per pack if you're low income.

Now, of course, their money, their decisions. Not my problem.
Can't expect people to live like me.
Just that. I think I've been deluded most of my life, thinking that people are rational. Or at least somewhat prudent or think a bit more about their spending.

But I'm severely wrong.
Most people don't have a cause an effect relationship with their money.
People don't think, I've worked so long to earn X amount, should I spend it on this or that?
People don't think, if I spend it now, I don't get to spend it in future.

So yes... I think I'm living in the wrong world.
My world is not the correct one.

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It's Not A Staycation

10/9/2020

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A lot of people might think a Stay Home Notice (SHN) at a hotel would be like a staycation.
Hang around in a hotel and enjoy yourself.
All the better with a nice view.

It's easy to think that way. Cos our minds are conditioned as such.
We relate flights, travel and hotels with holidays. So our minds trigger memories of our previous times where we fly, travel, or stay at a hotel and we conclude, how bad can it be?

Well, imagine staying in a typical HDB master bedroom for 14 days.
If alone, then you get more space, but it's lonely.
If together with someone else, then there's less space.
Food is delivered and left at the front of the door, you can't leave the master bedroom.
If you're lucky, you have a view or balcony, else too bad.

There's really nothing much to do.
Wait for 3 meals a day, maybe do some exercise, you may do some work on your laptop or make calls, watch TV, stuff like that.
If you're someone looking to get away from society, disconnect with people, I suppose it's a good getaway.
However, I doubt it's entirely a fun experience for most people.

It's bearable, don't be mistaken. It's not suffering. But it's not a staycation where you can lounge at the pool, get drinks, chat with friends, choose your food, etc.

Food isn't too bad, it's by the hotel restaurant. Hits and misses, but can't really complain. It's not some cheapo catered food.

Some are nicer than they look, some look nicer than they seem.
The simple food make me happier cos, well, I just came back from almost a year overseas. So the fried bee hoon or nasi lemak are somethings we miss.

I heard there're travelers who are doing this for the 2nd time.
Seems like there are people who travel for longer term business, like a month or two, then they return to Singapore and do their SHN, then their company pays for the stay at the hotel.

Nonetheless, it's nice to be home. Looking forward to going out once the SHN is over.

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A Better Way To Fly

9/9/2020

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So a couple of weeks back, I wrote about an experience with SQ.

I received some comments, some readers understood the point I was trying to make, whereas some other readers chastened me for not earning my SQ status and not deserving it.

From a business point of view, I can hardly say that SQ impresses me.
As I explained in my previous post, during these difficult times, it makes sense for businesses to try to gain more market share. Try to convert previous non-customers to become new regular customers.
Cos... it's during these difficult times, that there's opportunity. There are less flights globally, so now's the best time to try to get people to try new carriers.

So recently, I was looking for ways to fly back to SG.

I wanted to fly from Houston to France to SG, cos I'm used to AirFrance, but that's troublesome cos I need to take a swab test 3 days before going to France.
I wanted to fly from Houston to Taiwan to SG, cos I'm familiar with Taiwan, but there aren't any EVA flights out of Houston.
Wanted to fly to San Frans then to SG, but there's no direct flights from San Frans so SG, I have to fly from Houston to San Frans, then to Tokyo, then SG.

Qatar Airways stood out.

Qatar Airways has led the industry during these challenging times taking people home safely and reliably on more flights to more destinations than any other airline, becoming the largest airline in the world over the past three months. These efforts have established the carrier as the airline passengers, governments and industry partners can rely on and trust.
https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/qatar-airways-becomes-largest-carrier-operating-over-15000-flights-to-take-18m-people-home

Simply put, they are trying very hard and are probably succeeding.

From Houston, there are only a couple of flights back to SG, most need to transit through 2 cities.
However, if I fly by Qatar via Doha, I only need to transit once.

You see, during these trying times, people are more willing to try new things. Cos we don't have a choice.
And it gives businesses an opportunity to impress new customers.
So that when COVID is over and business returns to normal, these new customers would have tried a new experience and maybe they would like it and continue to fly with them in future.

I would never have thought about flying on Qatar in any normal circumstance. BUT, these days, when there aren't many options, I tried it.
And they are impressive.
Nice food, good service, entertainment system is good too.
Good modern, etc... I flew via economy, and based on my limited experience flying with SQ, I would say AirFrance & Qatar are better than SQ already.

Transiting at Doha is also pleasant.

If I don't tell you that the above picture is Doha airport, it could easily be mistaken for Changi.
It's almost like Changi Airport. There are lots of open shops, luxury outlets, food courts, etc
It's like Jewel shopping area, but within the transit area.

AND millions of business travelers are experiencing this during this period. Cos Qatar Airways is flying people home via Doha.
It isn't hard to see what this means 5 years down the road when COVID is over.

Unfortunately, Qatar Airways isn't listed. Else I'd seriously consider buying some shares.
That's the thing about it. I look at how Qatar Airways is managing this crisis, vs how SQ or any other airlines/airport is handling it.
It's different. And it's impressive.

Anyway, that's just my current impression of SQ vs Qatar Airways based on my limited experience with them. Maybe I'm wrong and reality is different but... ah well... who knows.

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Why Voting For Trump is Rational

8/9/2020

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When we look at other countries, we wonder why their politics is the way it is.
This is particularly true for the USA.

I mean, we look at it from an external point of view and wonder why would anyone vote for Trump.

However, after thinking about it for very very long, I've come to understand why people would want to vote for Trump.
Everyone has their own reasons.

Remember, politics is a game. It's the same as for Singapore. It's a game and different people vote or want different things.

Even as Singaporeans, many of us aren't particularly happy when large numbers of foreigners come to Singapore to work and are unable/unwilling to integrate.
Over the past 10 years, numerous people from China, Philippines, India have arrived, and taken up many jobs where we used to see Singaporeans in.

Remember, what is good for Singapore, might not be good for the individual.
What's good for the individual might not be good for Singapore.
And it's up to the politicians to determine how to manage this disparity between individual vs country.

So if we look at the USA...
Who would want to vote for Trump?

Well...
Business owners who want low taxes for companies.
Gun lovers who don't like the hassle of gun control laws.
People who are racist or xenophobic.
Or people who just don't like too many immigrants in the country.
People who don't like China.
People who are in the oil industry.

The list goes on.

It's not that Trump is a great guy. He's not.
But he stands for the things that some people believe in.
Stands for the things that actually impact their lives.

As an individual, I might not care if he's racist if I'm a white business owner.
I might not care about how he treats China or Mexico, or his relationship with Putin.

As an individual, I only care about how my vote will impact myself.
My wife is in the oil industry. And as we were reading the news one day, we chanced upon an article that said that Biden will ban or attempt to ban new drilling on Federal land.
Immediately, it became clear why people would want to vote for Trump.
Cos IF we were US citizens, we might want to vote for Trump too.
Cos the fact is, if Biden gets elected as President of the USA, then my wife's job would be at stake.
It is a very clear and direct impact on myself/ourselves.

In fact, it would be highly irrational to vote against my own interests.
And everyone has their own interests that they want to protect.
It's really not easy to care about the "bigger picture" when thinking about it from an individual point of view.

It's similar to why GRCs might not want to have an opposition in charge in Singapore.
Cos there is real concern that property prices might drop in opposition GRCs.
Or they may not be eligible for HDB upgrades and stuff like that.

So the thing is, when we look at it from an outsider point of view, we might think, "why would anyone want to vote Trump, he's... or ... or ... "
Cos as an outsider, we don't think of life as a citizen, the problems aren't "real" to us, it's easy to look at things from a big picture point of view, as a whole country, outsiders would think that USA would be better off with a different President.

Similarly, people from other countries might wonder why Singaporeans continue to vote for PAP.
Cos... to Singaporeans, voting for PAP is rational. Most Singaporeans want PAP to still be in charge, BUT with better accountability and oversight.

So it's kinda different when I looked at it from a personal point of view.
It made perfect sense to me once I realized that Biden being President would directly impact our own situation in the US.

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Coupon-ing in the US

2/9/2020

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I'm sure many frugal folks know about extreme coupon-ing, the US "reality" show, where they show Americans using coupons to get items at the supermarket for cheap or free.
And the thing is, it is somewhat true. It's not entirely impossible.
But there are different levels of success depending on how much effort one is willing to put in it.
Some coupon-ers would intentionally subscribe for coupon booklets or online digital coupons. So some folks actually invest some money on this. But overall, they would likely make it back in terms of products.

Recently we've also started using coupons to reduce our costs.
Also, it's fun looking for deals.
Of course the issue that comes along with deals is that it will induce spending for items which we might not use usually.

For example, we sometimes get a coupon to eat at Wendy's, the fast food outlet.

We can get a maple bacon chicken croissant (left picture) for free with any mobile purchase.
So we buy something (honey biscuit, right picture) at 99¢ which is $1.08 after tax and we get the croissant for "free".
The offer isn't everyday or even every week, so when it appears we just buy 2 for our breakfast for the day.
Is this induced spending? Yes.
If I make some simple breakfast at home, it would cost maybe 50¢.
But it's cheap and it's a good deal.

This is an example of a normal promo/coupon. We might find something similar in Singapore.

What we NEVER find in Singapore, is the ability to stack coupons and promotions.
In Singapore, it's always "not valid with other discounts & promotions".

BUT, in the US, that's not the case.
In US, there are multiple promotions and they all can be stacked.
There are retailer discounts, or clearance, meaning a supermarket itself is running the promotion.
Then there are manufacturer discounts. Which is the company producing the products.
Then there could be cashback apps, which are probably marketers or data miners, who are helping companies market products or they themselves are trying to mine consumer data so that they can further sell the data.

So an example of this is, recently...
The above Starbucks picture is for ground coffee. Typical retail price is $11.99.
There was a 25% retailers discount. Making the price, $8.99.
Then there was a $2 manufacturer coupon, so the price I needed to actually pay is $6.99.
After paying for the product, I scan the receipt on 2 apps.
One of the apps gives me $5 back as vouchers or Paypal credit.
Another app gives me $2.50 cashback to my Paypal once I reach $20 worth of accumulated credits.
So total for this purchase we actually made 51¢.

Or this Impossible Meat patty... it was retailing at $6.99.
With $1 off retailer discount. So we paid $5.99.
Then submitted the receipt on a cashback app and got $5.99 worth of cashback which we can withdraw once we hit $20 accumulation.

As you can see, it's not hard to hit $20 worth of accumulation. Already the Starbucks and Impossible meat add up to $8.49. There are numerous other deals which we use to accumulate to withdraw the funds into Paypal, and we can just use the funds in Paypal to pay for our auto insurance.

There are times when I buy a single banana, cos the cost of a single banana is around 20¢, and the cashback is 25¢ for purchase of any banana.

Or we can buy a reduced to clear item, and submit the receipt for a full cashback.
So maybe at regular price, the item is $1, and the cashback app only gives me 50¢ cashback.
I could potentially wait and if there is a reduced to clear product, I could buy the item at maybe 40¢ and make 10¢ on it, or I might buy the item at 60¢ and get 50¢ cashback, meaning I only pay 10¢ on the item, if it's something I use on a normal basis.

There's really quite a lot of deals and promos if we are willing to look for them. We aren't considered heavy coupon-ers.
Cos there are other folks who just buy even though they don't need it. So they might be willing to pay 50¢ for a $5 product which they don't use, then they might hold a garage sale to sell their stockpile once it gets large enough to do a sale.

For us, we don't have the willingness and place to do a sale so we just buy what we will be able to use, even though I might not use that item usually.
Unless it's a money maker, cos I'm willing to buy dog food if I get money from it, and just give the dog food to a neighbour who owns a dog.

Of course this isn't for ALL items.
Coupon-ing does reduce costs cos I can buy items which I can use as substitutes. Like I can use Impossible Meat for a couple of meals, but the coupon might be only good for 1 use so I might not be able to buy it multiple times.
But it is a fun hobby for the both of us, cos we also use this as an excuse to go out to walk around supermarkets and look for stuff, or we go to a couple of supermarkets in a row to pick up a couple of items at each place.
Also, this is only possible in Houston, cos petrol is cheap and parking is free.
Else if petrol is expensive and I have to pay for parking, then the discounts might not be worth the effort as well.

Anyway, just sharing how the coupons and promos work here. It's significantly different from SG, where we only have one promo at a time and we can't stack stuff.

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Living in a Different World

It's Not A Staycation

A Better Way To Fly

Why Voting For Trump is Rational

Coupon-ing in the US

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