I have realized after reading an article from my friend’s Elle UK that I am financially incompetent.  My job status right now is ‘part-time’ and my monthly paycheck barely covers my living expenses in this big city. I’m not even 30 and according to the magazine article, I am already a financial black hole. Sad… and it gets better! Don’t be surprised when I say that the only saving account that I have is the one where my salary came in every month. I am not on any insurance or healthcare plan. I am not eligible for credit-card because of my part-timer status and the worst part is I splurge at least half of my paycheck every month on my shopping addiction.

Shoes, clothes, fashion magazines, Starbucks, dinner at fancy restaurants, Marc Jacobs sale, DKNY sale, M&S sale, IKEA sale, Friday nights at the club… these are all the unnecessary events that have been burning hole in my 70% off D&G jeans pocket. I take pride on my ability to shop on tight budget (like the APC sweater that I got for 40 bucks), but it has finally started to take its toll on me.

Last week while waiting for my friend to leave his office at 6pm, I decided to buy some instant coffee and creamer at Cold Storage as part of my plan to cut back on my Starbucks java dependency. But I ended up at the cash register with the instant coffee and a packet of creamer along with a hand painted coffee mug, organic brown sugar and at least five bags of overpriced imported chips and cookies. I paid almost 100 bucks at the counter which is actually my whole week worth of soy latte at Starbucks.

These are tiny little things that really add up. I’ve tried to keep track on my spending by putting it all down on a list, but I kept on starting a new one each time I messed it up. I just wish that I am the kind of person who rather has a lot of money in the bank than this silly amount of color-coordinated outfit in the closet. But sadly, I am not.

So now that I have my hand painted coffee mug at home, I no longer have any good enough reason to spend 100 bucks on Starbucks coffee every week. And I bought oatmeal so that I don’t have to go out for dinner every night. Plus it’s good for my heart.

I will only allow myself five new items of clothing every month. Unless we are talking about 2 for 1 H&M or Gap tee at my favorite outlet store or 50& off on shoes. And I guess I don’t need any more jeans, shades or bags. I’m good for now. Instead of taking the train, I will also try to take the bus home from work every day. I get off work at 3.30pm when most people are still in the office. So it will not be too crowded. By the end of each week I will have extra RM10 in my wallet.

Clubbing will only be a monthly occasion from now on. Maybe I should try my hands at hosting dinner party at home or something. I have a balcony that can works for barbeque.  This might be a little ambitious but definitely worth a try.

And I better start saving and shop around for a good insurance plan. Some people might read this and say “What’s wrong with you dude?” Well, I might not shop at Prada sample sale or pop champagne at some A-list party, but for someone who’s only in his second month in the city with a very small paycheck, even a trip to Zara for a pair of jeans is a huge event on the financial calendar. So an insurance plan is seriously a really huge step for me.

This is not about drastic change or making premature decision, but this is about me concerning over the zeros in my saving account. During these times of difficulties, we should always keep track of how and where we spend our cash. It’s the best thing that we can do before this whole situation started to get back to where it used to be.

Additional note:  After almost a year living in the city, the writer has since changed his suicidal financial habit and opted for a better one. He has quit his part time job for a secure fulltime position. He has also started on a saving account, health and insurance plan and found a way to get his homemade coffee to taste similar enough to his favorite at the Starbucks.

Photos from: Wikimedia Commons & Freestockphotos

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