76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
130750 won / 140000 won (93.4%)
Spending has come to a halt!
I've been staying home and keeping myself busy with the laptop.
Spending has come to a halt!
I've been staying home and keeping myself busy with the laptop.
I failed my No Spend January challenge. But now with the boyfriend gone, and hardly any friends in this country, I can only really inconvenience myself by saving. That means no guilt. Yay! So let's try again, this time using a hybrid of two challenges, Frugal February, and Low Spend February.
Frugal February challenge rules:
I vow, for one month from 4th Feb, to avoid shopping for anything other than essentials.
Details of Low Spend February:
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
130750 won / 140000 won (93.4%)
Yesterday was Day 20 of No Spend January and because I already failed half my challenge, I decided to stay home. A church lady came to my place with her husband for our weekly Christian talk. I only had two working chairs, so we used the bed to seat the third.
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
130750 won / 140000 won (93.4%)
It's Lunar New Years today. Some people call it Chinese New Years, but really, most of East Asia and a little bit of south east Asia celebrate it too. In Korea, it's Seollal.
I was lucky enough to be invited to a special family event.
Everyone was very welcoming. At the end, I must have won the hearts of some of the family members as they hugged me and with genuine twinkling eyes, wished me a new year - in English.
Food was delicious.
Like Chinese New Years, the younger family members get money. Unlike Chinese New Years, they bow before the older members. They go through a mini-interview (or it might be just the family I observed) and then are given money. I loved the family dynamics of the celebration.
After was a famous New Years game, Yutnori. It's actually really fun, and I'm contemplating bringing the game to Canada to play with my friends.
It made me miss my family incredibly, but it was wonderful and it beats staying in front of the computer the whole day.
No expenses today ;)
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
130750 won / 140000 won (93.4%)
And, he's gone. Just like that.
I used to be proud of my unwavering blunt emotions. Only the Notebook made me cry once a year. Or something ridiculous like that. But this man, can make me cry at the mere thought of not being able to cuddle with him ever again, unless we pay 100 bucks for a motel room.
So yes, there were waterworks.
We had about 12000 won left from our week of spending, and we decided to use 8000 of it on KFC. I know right? We've been eating in most of the last few weeks to save money and when we finally eat out, it's KFC! They didn't even have popcorn chicken! Psh.
Anyways, I came home with an extra 4000 won. I have until Friday, the end of this challenge, to not spend a dime - unless it is for groceries or transportation of course.
Surprisingly, I've only spend 40 000 won on transportation this month. A very decent price considering I've been bussing to the next province and such! Public transportation for the win!
On the way back from the airport, I chose the longer route to save 8000 won. The old me would have never thought an hour of my time was worth less than 8000 won, but the new me...is just that pathetic.
But these stupid inconvenient sacrifices have to pay off one day, right?
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
130750 won / 140000 won (93.4%)
The last day before the boyfriend leaves. =(
The boyfriend had a hang over, so I went to the market for some electrolytes and a hangover drink (Yes, there's such thing!) I'm not sure if I'm suppose to report that on leisure allowance, medical expenses or groceries. Hmm, I guess groceries will do.
Anyways, after cooking him up some chili, we headed to Seoul.
After checking out the tallest building in the country, and getting lost, we met up with a couple people from high school for a nice Chicken dinner.
We went to bowling afterwards, and I kicked ass! (7000 won)
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
Our good buddy from high school took us out for drinks that night - kind of like a good bye to my boyfriend who was leaving soon. It's been months since we went out to drink, just to drink.
The sober talk turned into a tipsy discussion about life and what we want to accomplish from it, to those trendy big hipster glasses. Once we left the restaurant, we bumped into a turkish man from Vancouver, and took pictures of other equally drunk people on the streets. Their English, they told me, is much better when they're drunk.
In the midst of it all, my boyfriend almost made me cry. He said that when he's out trying to make money, he's making it for both of us, for our future. How, unlike a couple years ago when he's drop a grand on a hockey ticket like it's nothing, he never spends money recklessly because of us. That no matter what, we'd be together, the only variable is whether we'd be able to have comfortable lives or not. And he so badly wants us to have a good life. The thick and thin stuff.
I can't believe I'm at that stage. It's set. We want to spend the rest of our lives together. We're going to get married. It's just a matter of time. And who would have thought four years ago, I didn't believe in marriage?
Once I get from Hong Kong, I'm going to save like a mofo for us.
Yea, you can start barfing now.
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
Yesterday was awesome!
After eating some leftovers for breakfast, we went to Seoul to take the bus to a small village, about three hours away. For lunch, I packed us some sandwiches, banana chips and pretzels, which we ate on the bus.
There was a military base nearby, so there were lots of young men in their camouflage outfits, skating on the frozen river that runs through the village. We went ice fishing and found a station where they woud cook the two fish we caught.
"Why did you catch such small fish?" the man said as he covered them in salt. He gave us another small fish because he felt sorry for us.
They charged us 2000 won for using their oven.
It was the most wonderful meal ever.
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
We woke up at 1pm, and went to a local shop that was advertising for cheap oranges. We ended up buying some apples instead lol. Then we headed to the closest pharmacy and bought five months of over the counter birth control pills for ~$35.50. Yup, it's cheap here, and my skin is 100% better. I'm considering stocking up when I return to Canada.
For dinner, I improvised a dish that was inspired by the burrito. It turned out to be super yummy. With my awesome number crunching and nutrition googling, it turned out to be one of the more healthiest, cheapest and yummiest dinners I've made!
My students from the orphanage finally met my boyfriend. And they loved him. Instead of a hardcore English lesson, we ended up playing Slap Jack, Cheat (a new word for them) and Go Fish (after teaching the difference between using "an" and "a").
Tomorrow, we're planning on going out of this province for an ice fishing trip, so that should be fun. And cold.
 |
| Some of the stuff that came free with our meal. |
"Service" is a term they use to say free food.
We were in Wolmi Island, a few hours from Seoul. The place is usually swarming with visitors in the summer, and on weekends. But yesterday was a weekday in wintertime. Older ladies stood outside their restaurants, asking us to come in.
We figured that we should help one of them out, since rent was probably expensive, and it was off season. We didn't know the difference between restaurants so we opted for one on that stood on the second floor, where we could view the harbour and ocean below.
The boyfriend is leaving the country soon, so we decided to try one of Korea's delicacies: live octopus ($35). Because we were poor, the plan was to only order the one dish, and a bottle of their version of sprite ($0.88). Then later, we'd munch on some granola bars I had stashed in my bag to fill us up. (Uh huh, that's how pathetic we've become.)
But we ended up leaving the restaurant completely satisfied. The lady ended up giving us "service" of fresh seafood that they had caught from the coast of the island. Some of the service items included: jellyfish salad, a big bowl of mussel soup, four fresh oysters, two prawns, seafood tempura, fish (couldn't tell which one) with spicy sauce, apple cucumber salad and to finish, two cups of coffee.
Mmm.
Service isn't uncommon Korea. You almost always get a side of kimchi in Korea.
To take advantage of this you can order a 1500 won ($1.40) roll of kimbap (korean sushi, I guess). Some restaruants will give you a free bowl of tofu soup and all of them will give you unlimited kimchi that you can stuff your faces in. It's a cheap and nutritious meal, but really, how many of us can eat that every single day?
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
I am not letting myself fail TWICE! I will NOT buy groceries! (Except for tomorrow, there's a store with oranges on sale tomorrow.)
We used money given to the boyfriend for a trip to another city (4500 won). I threw some pretzels and banana chips in a zip lock bag, and stuffed a few granola bars in my bag. We walked around China Town snapping photos, and then down to the harbour for a romantic stroll.
10 more days!
You live with your boyfriend for now, and find that Costco is selling 2 kg of meat for 20 000 won (~$18). If you proportion it carefully, you could probably make the meat last two weeks and a bit between two people. But how on earth could you eat the same thing, and not go crazy?
In my case, I learned how to cook Korean! Check out some of the food I made with the same stock of beef, for 16 days.
 |
| Bulgogi and Pajeon |
 |
| Bok Choy, Mushroom and Beef Soup |
 |
| Stove Top Tortilla Pizza |
 |
| Kimchi Beef Fried Rice |
 |
| Beef Mandu (I ate most of it before I realized I should have taken a picture) |
I think I'm great with groceries. Horrible with wasteful spending though. Blah.
Leisure allowance
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
Yup, call me a failure. I'm hanging on for dear life, while I really really really want to go out and do stuff with the boyfriend before he returns home. He just came back from his Grandma's, and received some more money for our "week."
I stayed at home and looked up how to save money. Haha.
We also took a trip to the bank to exchange some currency, and cash in our coins! We got about $90 CAD with all the change in our piggy bank, that we've been collecting for five months now. It's to go to this week's spending too.
Leisure allowance
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
124150 won / 140000 won (88.68%)
Wow. I am doing horrible now.
As we prepare for the boyfriend's leave, we went to Costco to bulk up on some non-perishables for me. You see, I don't have car, so I need some man power to help carry all this stuff on the bus. Haha I know, with him, I turn into some kind of princess.
But for 97 000 won, I bought enough protein and carbs that should last me for about two months. With variety too, so I don't go crazy. Check out my stash:
Leisure allowance
76150 won/ 75000 won(101.53%)
Groceries
27150 won / 140000 won (19.39%)
I failed!We went to Seoul tower on Day 10, eight more days before the boyfriend leaves. At the base of the tower, were a whole bunch of love locks on the fences.
What are love locks? Locks affixed on the fence put in place by a couple in love. They throw the key away to symbolize everlasting love. As a hopeless romantic, I just had to buy a lock for the boyfriend and me. It was pretty awesome. But with that, I went over budget.
Damn it. Over budget with 11 more days to go. Not even close. XD
I feel horrible.
But hopefully, I won't be doing anymore spending. The boyfriend and I are heading to the bank to finally change our huge bottle of change for cash. Cash that we'll be spending his last week here. So using that plus, the 200 000 won his aunt gave him, we should be able to survive, and hopefully, I have some money left over to pay a little chunk of my student loans.
Let's see how well we can do with our groceries budget...
Leisure allowance
62150 won/ 75000 won(82.87%)
Groceries
27150 won / 140000 won (19.39%)
Lunch was treated by our head Art teacher, and my vice-principal let me go home early. I considered it as a present for two very successful Winter Camps as he shook my hand, and told me I did a great job.
It was vacation time. =)
I came home to the boyfriend who had hung up our laundry and was working on the dishes. Cooked up some dinner. And for desert, we had Nutella my co-teacher had given to me as a present (they are rare in this country.) We cuddled and my boyfriend took us out to the movies.
Life felt very, very good.
It was vacation time. =)
I came home to the boyfriend who had hung up our laundry and was working on the dishes. Cooked up some dinner. And for desert, we had Nutella my co-teacher had given to me as a present (they are rare in this country.) We cuddled and my boyfriend took us out to the movies.
Life felt very, very good.
Ah, I'm falling behind in updates! Yesterday was Day 8.
Leisure allowance
62150 won/ 75000 won(82.87%)
Groceries
27150 won / 140000 won (19.39%)
The boyfriend received 200 000 won from his relatives that we can spend his last week here. *phew* We went out to see Puss in Boots 3D, and splurged a little on love seats (basically a love seat in the theatre where you can cuddle with your beau) and onion popcorn. The 3D technology in Korea are a lot better than in Canada!
Bought a bag of garlic from an older lady at the station for 3000 won.
I know, I shouldn't be spending too much. Especially with two weeks left. Bah.
But our grocery bill is kept to a minimum - I really think that will have a lot of money left over! (Am I allowed to carry our grocery allowance over to our leisure? Haha)
Bought a bag of garlic from an older lady at the station for 3000 won.
I know, I shouldn't be spending too much. Especially with two weeks left. Bah.
But our grocery bill is kept to a minimum - I really think that will have a lot of money left over! (Am I allowed to carry our grocery allowance over to our leisure? Haha)
Leisure allowance
24150 won/ 75000 won(31.3%)
Groceries
24150 won / 140000 won (17.25%)
Yesterday was Day 7 for No Spend January.
Again, my co-teachers, thinking they're doing me a favour, and me being to afraid to tell them otherwise, ordered me bibimbap.
The boyfriend having a body check up planned for the next day, had a 7pm deadline for eating. I sent him to the market to grab some onions (2600 won) and cooked him up a big meal.
I went to a nearby orphanage where I volunteer at weekly, and taught them how to play the card game, cheat/bull crap. They loved it, and requested to play it again next week. I told them I was going to take that week off to spend with the boyfriend, but totally changed my mind a minute later. They looked so sad. I told them I will come next week, and we will play cheat again. Sigh, I'll probably be those mothers who have fat children because I don't know how to say no to adorable faces.
Two weeks more to go!
Leisure allowance
17500 won/ 75000 won(23.3%)
Groceries
21550 won / 140000 won (15.39%)
I did so well the first four days! It's all falling apart now!
My co-teachers decided to order me bibimbap (without asking me) for lunch. I guess they think they were doing me a favour so I can't really hold a grudge against them. Well, that was 6000 won down the drain. I didn't even eat the whole thing. *grumble grumble*
On Thursday I'm going to be holding a Ramyun party for my camp kids. All camps are strongly recommended to have a food day, but the school doesn't have a budget for that. Yes, it's unfair, but I pick and choose my battles. I figured instant cup noodles would be the cheapest (about 500 won or $0.44 CAD per cup), so I headed to the local homeplus and bought 9 of them. 4500 won right there. They came with chopsticks, so that's good!
As for groceries, we picked up a few essentials while at Homeplus: soy milk, green onions. and mandu shells to make dumplings. Mmmm. 5500 won.
Hopefully I spend nothing today!
Leisure allowance
7000 won/ 75000 won(9.93%)
Groceries
21550 won / 140000 won (21%)
Aside from that, I didn't spend any money. I came back from school and yay! my boyfriend had passed his crazy/worried/anger/emotional-mess stage.
A church lady came by and gave me a kind of one-on-one bible study. (I'm not Christian, but very, very curious about it all). She comes by almost every Monday, and we surely but slowly go through the bible and complementary materials. Today she brought in a DVD about how the the creation of Earth and everything in and out of it couldn't be a coincidence. After all, everything is so beautiful and carefully designed. I didn't really buy the argument because they didn't have much to to back it up besides randomization couldn't have done this! But I'll stop right there - this is my budget blog!
Until tomorrow :)
I'm ruining my boyfriend.
He has this misconception that he's suppose to be the bread maker, and that he's suppose to be taking care of me. He thinks he's doing a terrible job because I've started to record every dime I spend and declared eggs and cabbage to be my new diet. But really, he bears no responsibility for this.
Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and catch him staring at the ceiling.
"What are you thinking about?"
"How to make some money for us."
I used to tell him not to worry, and that we'd get by, but I don't think he's listening. He'd only wonder out loud why I picked such a loser like him.
And then, like we really needed it, he got robbed.
He couldn't even see the damage because he's here in Korea with me, but his parents say it doesn't look too good. (I guess this is a bad time to tell him to stop keeping wads of cash all over the place. ) And ughhh, I'm probably the most terrible at consoling.
I hate to see him like this. I feel that every restriction I put on him like, "Let's bus instead," or "I think I'm just going to eat one and save the other for tomorrow," drives him closer to the edge of craziness. And trust me, last night was crazy. But I can't keep spending ridiculously and pretend everything is okay.
I guess I'll end this post with, I don't know what to do.
He has this misconception that he's suppose to be the bread maker, and that he's suppose to be taking care of me. He thinks he's doing a terrible job because I've started to record every dime I spend and declared eggs and cabbage to be my new diet. But really, he bears no responsibility for this.
Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night and catch him staring at the ceiling.
"What are you thinking about?"
"How to make some money for us."
I used to tell him not to worry, and that we'd get by, but I don't think he's listening. He'd only wonder out loud why I picked such a loser like him.
And then, like we really needed it, he got robbed.
He couldn't even see the damage because he's here in Korea with me, but his parents say it doesn't look too good. (I guess this is a bad time to tell him to stop keeping wads of cash all over the place. ) And ughhh, I'm probably the most terrible at consoling.
I hate to see him like this. I feel that every restriction I put on him like, "Let's bus instead," or "I think I'm just going to eat one and save the other for tomorrow," drives him closer to the edge of craziness. And trust me, last night was crazy. But I can't keep spending ridiculously and pretend everything is okay.
I guess I'll end this post with, I don't know what to do.
Leisure allowance
0 won/ 75000 won(0.00%)
Groceries
21550 won / 140000 won (21%)
I used to love going out on adventures, partying, hiking, climbing buildings I shouldn't be climbing. I guess sometime last year my boyfriend domesticated me, and I'm satisfied with cooking and cuddling at home.
Today we cooked up some breakfast, cuddled, goofed around, put on face masks, fell asleep again, and then woke up to have dinner with his cousin. She is the sweetest lady. She spent a year studying in Seattle and had some lonely moments. After the boyfriend leaves, she told me to call her up any time if I'm going through similar moments.
We stopped by the local mart to pick up some eggs, lemonade, and spinach. And then had a wild night. Get your head out of the gutter and read the next post to get a better idea!
Spending on social outings/new toys/something dumb:
Grocery bills between two people (for now):
The boyfriend is out of town visiting his relatives today, so I finally spent the afternoon catching up on reading. Ordered 12 2L bottles of water for 9800 won online. (Tap water is not safe here.)
I went for dinner with a sweet friend in Seoul today. I ordered an 8000 won Sundoobu, and had a pleasant conversation with the lady, laughing at how much of a ditz I am, and discussing about her new-age-woman mother. We touched on some world events, and the latest Ted Talks. It's nice to have an intelligent conversation in unbroken English. (The boyfriend only talks about sports and poker, so he doesn't count.)
We fought over who would pay for the bill and she won. Apparently, I'm still a guest in this country, and it's her duty to show me a good time. We agreed I'd get the meal next time.
On my way back I bought some grapefruitade for the boyfriend who doesn't drink water. 2200 won or 1.94 CAD. I think if anything, these sweet drinks are going to ruin our goal!
0 won/ 75000 won(0.00%)
15300 won / 140000 won (10.93%)
The boyfriend is out of town visiting his relatives today, so I finally spent the afternoon catching up on reading. Ordered 12 2L bottles of water for 9800 won online. (Tap water is not safe here.)
I went for dinner with a sweet friend in Seoul today. I ordered an 8000 won Sundoobu, and had a pleasant conversation with the lady, laughing at how much of a ditz I am, and discussing about her new-age-woman mother. We touched on some world events, and the latest Ted Talks. It's nice to have an intelligent conversation in unbroken English. (The boyfriend only talks about sports and poker, so he doesn't count.)
We fought over who would pay for the bill and she won. Apparently, I'm still a guest in this country, and it's her duty to show me a good time. We agreed I'd get the meal next time.
On my way back I bought some grapefruitade for the boyfriend who doesn't drink water. 2200 won or 1.94 CAD. I think if anything, these sweet drinks are going to ruin our goal!
Long background story short, one of the world's biggest genocide occurred in Cambodia where everything associated with capitalism was burned and killed. Chinese people who often set up shop in Cambodia was definitely associated to capitalism. This included my parents.
So after some desperate escapes, and hopping around in refugee camps, they came to Canada and settled in a small town in Saskatchewan.
They, like most refugees at that time, had nothing. Like stereotypical Chinese people, they quickly attained two jobs each as they mourned about their lost loved ones. About 16 hours a day.
They knew very little English, but thankfully the community they lived in consisted of super nice Christians. They provided my parents much unconditional support. I'm thankful for them. My parents relied on them to help them with life events, such as having a baby, and purchasing a car.
One day, my dad told one of his friends, "I want to buy a house."
The friend looked at my father with doubt. My dad worked super minimum wage jobs, had a child, and had only been living in Canada for a few years. The friend's salary was double, and just recently sold his car because he could no longer afford it. If he couldn't afford a car, how could my dad afford a house?
He hesitated to answer, hoping to not break my father's heart. "I don't know...you need to have about *** amount of money to put a down payment on a house," he finally said.
My dad laughed. He and his wife has been saving up. They had enough cash to buy a whole house on the spot. Apparently, his friends jaw dropped - but I think my father was just being dramatic when he told me.
Chinese people at that time, my father told me rather proudly, worked like slaves, wore second hand clothing and ate cheap food in order to save for a better future for their children. White people, my father looked at me (because he thinks I act too white), like to have fun, and spend more money on today than tomorrow.
Which makes sense to me. Why save for tomorrow if tomorrow never comes? Say two 27 year olds all of a sudden die. Who had the better life? The miserable tightwad who never saw the world because he was too busy saving up for house? Or the near broke world traveler?
In a way, the "old fashion Chinese way of living" still doesn't make sense to me. But in another way, I really wish I could live that way.
Take an acquaintance of mine that I've known since high school as a case study. I rejected him when he tried to woo me. I thought he was really weird because he wore weird clothes and was always uber cheap. But after high school he went to a good school and got an impressive job.
He's only a couple years older than me and isn't drowning in student debt like the rest of us. In fact, these days, he's freaking prosperous. Ttoday, he has a fat savings account, dresses ridiculously well, and drives a shiny new yellow sports car. He's waiting for the one before he purchases a house that he already has the money for.
How did he do that? He did the Chinese way of living with an education and look at him, all rich with girls all over him and stuff. He only had to spend his childhood in frugal living. And got out of debt asap so he could enjoy life.
Sigh.
PS I know not everyone likes generalizations. I don't either. But when my father generalizes, I give him an exception, because, well, he's my father.
PPS I've heard this story multiple times. Each time I hear the story, some parts change - probably because he only likes to tell stories after a couple beers. (Yes, many Asians get drunk by a couple beers.
PPPS Remind me next time to ask my dad why he didn't just take out a mortgage.
So after some desperate escapes, and hopping around in refugee camps, they came to Canada and settled in a small town in Saskatchewan.
They, like most refugees at that time, had nothing. Like stereotypical Chinese people, they quickly attained two jobs each as they mourned about their lost loved ones. About 16 hours a day.
They knew very little English, but thankfully the community they lived in consisted of super nice Christians. They provided my parents much unconditional support. I'm thankful for them. My parents relied on them to help them with life events, such as having a baby, and purchasing a car.
One day, my dad told one of his friends, "I want to buy a house."
The friend looked at my father with doubt. My dad worked super minimum wage jobs, had a child, and had only been living in Canada for a few years. The friend's salary was double, and just recently sold his car because he could no longer afford it. If he couldn't afford a car, how could my dad afford a house?
He hesitated to answer, hoping to not break my father's heart. "I don't know...you need to have about *** amount of money to put a down payment on a house," he finally said.
My dad laughed. He and his wife has been saving up. They had enough cash to buy a whole house on the spot. Apparently, his friends jaw dropped - but I think my father was just being dramatic when he told me.
Chinese people at that time, my father told me rather proudly, worked like slaves, wore second hand clothing and ate cheap food in order to save for a better future for their children. White people, my father looked at me (because he thinks I act too white), like to have fun, and spend more money on today than tomorrow.
Which makes sense to me. Why save for tomorrow if tomorrow never comes? Say two 27 year olds all of a sudden die. Who had the better life? The miserable tightwad who never saw the world because he was too busy saving up for house? Or the near broke world traveler?
In a way, the "old fashion Chinese way of living" still doesn't make sense to me. But in another way, I really wish I could live that way.
Take an acquaintance of mine that I've known since high school as a case study. I rejected him when he tried to woo me. I thought he was really weird because he wore weird clothes and was always uber cheap. But after high school he went to a good school and got an impressive job.
He's only a couple years older than me and isn't drowning in student debt like the rest of us. In fact, these days, he's freaking prosperous. Ttoday, he has a fat savings account, dresses ridiculously well, and drives a shiny new yellow sports car. He's waiting for the one before he purchases a house that he already has the money for.
How did he do that? He did the Chinese way of living with an education and look at him, all rich with girls all over him and stuff. He only had to spend his childhood in frugal living. And got out of debt asap so he could enjoy life.
Sigh.
PS I know not everyone likes generalizations. I don't either. But when my father generalizes, I give him an exception, because, well, he's my father.
PPS I've heard this story multiple times. Each time I hear the story, some parts change - probably because he only likes to tell stories after a couple beers. (Yes, many Asians get drunk by a couple beers.
PPPS Remind me next time to ask my dad why he didn't just take out a mortgage.
So far, not bad! Here's my progress:
Spending on social outings/new toys/something dumb:
Spending on social outings/new toys/something dumb:
0 won/ 75000 won(0.00%)
3300 won / 140000 won (2.36%)
Again, I spent the day cuddling with the boyfriend. I love how we can do absolutely nothing together and have a wonderful time. Yes, he turns me into mush. *blushes
We decided to experiment with food and ended up with surprisingly delicious tortilla stove top pizzas. We ended up going to the mart next door to buy a little jar of pizza sauce and 1.5 L of orange juice for 3300 won. (Less than $3 CAD)
Winter in Korea is insane. It just keeps getting colder and colder. I've caught my second cold this season. But you know what that means! I'm not going out tomorrow! Who knew that catching a cold would be a financial blessing?
I am 23 years old. I know I'm still young.
I have a boyfriend who I've been dating for almost three years now, and he is the one.
So we plan on having our first place together literally our place.
But before all this, before the wedding, I need to pay off my debt. As soon as possible too, because the interest rates can kill you if you take your time.
Then, after I pay off my student loans (fingers crossed) I'm going to be taking out another 30K+ for my MBA. Can't wait. *rolls eyes*
But it's easy to pay off my loans, my parents tell me, get a proper job. No, I tell them, I'm staying true to myself. I absolutely refuse to accept a job outside the non-profit sector.
Lastly, because I can't please them professionally, I want to make my parents proud financially. My extended family has a wonderful history of putting their money away and eventually becoming filthy rich. I'm an anomaly in the family tree, and my parents don't hesitate to remind me every Skype date: If you are not going to become a Lawyer you need to do what *insert family member that's close to my age here* does: Save.
That's my story.
Success! Or in Korea...Asa!
After work, I marched on home into the arms of my boyfriend and told him about my plan. He seemed really supportive, but for good measure, I told him that if my new-found stinginess was annoying, he'd have to confess to me.
We spent the day having little debates, googling information to end our arguments, and cuddling. I taught him how to make rice for the second time. Then, I used his proud creation and soon-to-expire ingredients to make marvelous fried rice.
Not spending today was easy, really.
But as the days get closer to my boyfriend leaving, it will definitely become more difficult.
Still 75000 won left to spend, and 21 days to go!
After work, I marched on home into the arms of my boyfriend and told him about my plan. He seemed really supportive, but for good measure, I told him that if my new-found stinginess was annoying, he'd have to confess to me.
We spent the day having little debates, googling information to end our arguments, and cuddling. I taught him how to make rice for the second time. Then, I used his proud creation and soon-to-expire ingredients to make marvelous fried rice.
Not spending today was easy, really.
But as the days get closer to my boyfriend leaving, it will definitely become more difficult.
Still 75000 won left to spend, and 21 days to go!
In Korea they say if your blood type is O, you are very determined, and pursue many challenges. But when you face an obstacle, you're quickly discouraged and give up pretty much at the same time.
I really, really want to prove this belief wrong. Here's my next challenge:
What: No-spending in January! means:
Free budget worksheets are easy to find on google, and they look like they can work...for families. I downloaded half a dozen of them before I accepted the terms that nobody is going to create a budget worksheet that suits my situation:
- This is a single household
- I live in Korea
- I do not own a home
- I have my housing payed for by work
- I don't have a car, pets, children
- I only want to keep this up for five months
Although they had a plethora of categories to report my expenses into, the vital ones were missing. Not to mention, they are ugly. I don't want to be staring at a worksheet made in the 1990s every single day.
So I decided to take it upon myself to create a personalized budget workbook through MS Excel.
It's that time of year again. The time of year where we are reminded to get ourself together...onto the next stage of our lives, whatever it may be. Grad school, marriage, weight loss. In my case, it's debt.
Within the next five months, I'm going to try to penny pinch my way out of debt without ruining my life completely. And write about it so you rich folks can get a kick out of my misery, or you college kids can learn a thing or two. Most importantly, I can look back and laugh at myself, or feel uber proud that I put myself up to a challenge. Only time will tell.
My situation is special. I am living in South Korea, teaching English for next to nothing. The school decided to place me in a very little studio where the stove is literally three strides from my bed and equip me with a mini-fridge with a very little slot they call the freezer.
So yes, my shiny new Costco card does have its limitations.
But this is a challenge I cannot decline.
Bring it.
Within the next five months, I'm going to try to penny pinch my way out of debt without ruining my life completely. And write about it so you rich folks can get a kick out of my misery, or you college kids can learn a thing or two. Most importantly, I can look back and laugh at myself, or feel uber proud that I put myself up to a challenge. Only time will tell.
My situation is special. I am living in South Korea, teaching English for next to nothing. The school decided to place me in a very little studio where the stove is literally three strides from my bed and equip me with a mini-fridge with a very little slot they call the freezer.
So yes, my shiny new Costco card does have its limitations.
But this is a challenge I cannot decline.
Bring it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
