How Do You "Lean Burn" For A Year? share your tips for living well but spending less

[Kxbc]

2 minutes ago, Throttle2 said:

Talk so much but still driving your cars, cant save signifcantly lah, muayhahahaha….

all the savings get eaten up by pump prices.

that's true.

I was thinking of extending my COE in 4 yrs time but if the current COE price and petrol prices still continue to trend like this 4 years from now, I will likely BMW. Closer to retirement age by then.

[Stary]

2 hours ago, Scion said:

another wasteful expense is upgrading to new phones every year

i think i'm already quite zen about this 😁

still using an old Xiaomi note 7 (now already 12 i think)

not to mention i'm using GOMO $20 for 20Gb which is enough for me

Still using iphone 6.

As long the latest apps still can use, no reason to change.

 

[therock]

I wonder if keeping a car for another ten years is better than a new car for savings and lean burn..

the downside is maintenance, tax and less safety features? FC may be worse too..

[Mason016]

16 minutes ago, therock said:

I wonder if keeping a car for another ten years is better than a new car for savings and lean burn..

the downside is maintenance, tax and less safety features? FC may be worse too..

Get rid of car? Confirm save money  

[therock]

6 minutes ago, Mason016 said:

Get rid of car? Confirm save money  

Hard la

now with the baby... so many appointments..

grab daddy... 😅 

[Ingenius]

You only live once , why not treat yourself better if you can ? 

When one leaves this world, you have absolute no control over how your leftover wealth will be spent or squandered away.  Might as well spend it and live a better life for yourself and loved ones while you can. 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ingenius

[therock]

That has some truth but make sure you don’t do the American way and spend first save later.. you might not have enough and you may live longer than you think 😛 

[Stary]

58 minutes ago, Ingenius said:

You only live once , why not treat yourself better if you can ? 

When one leaves this world, you have absolute no control over how your leftover wealth will be spent or squandered away.  Might as well spend it and live a better life for yourself and loved ones while you can. 

Actually, I prefer to think that since we have only a short time on Earth, let's treat others better and kinder if we can.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Starry

[therock]

1 hour ago, therock said:

That has some truth but make sure you don’t do the American way and spend first save later.. you might not have enough and you may live longer than you think 😛 

Americans with 250k per annum living paycheck to paycheck ..

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-01/a-third-of-americans-making-250-000-say-costs-eat-entire-salary?utm_medium=cpc_social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=BLOM_ENG_EDITORL_Y0469_FB_SO_WENG_FOCUSPROSX_INTST_00XXXXCPM_2PFB_XXXX_GENERALINTSTX_XXXXX_Y0469_XXXXX_ALLFOA_PCHE_C3_EN_PG_NFLINKS&dclid=CNeR6YjSqfgCFW2JrAIdWlkO_Q

[Stratovarius]

On 6/11/2022 at 7:19 AM, Sosaria said:

Wow which ministry has 4 month?? 

You talking about the best performer is it?

Usually increment for zhenghu work is very low and if you only meet requirements during appraisal annually, the bonus is not that high too. Only a few people can score better and get higher bonus.

But more stability, that is true.

A few of my friends are getting around that range. Bonus are paid like 3 times per year. High flyers on super payscale are much higher than that. 

i dont think pay is really low but your career path is fixed once you join. So there is a limit on how far you can go. Unless you are a scholar on the super payscale grade. 

[Kxbc]

18 minutes ago, therock said:

Americans with 250k per annum living paycheck to paycheck ..

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-01/a-third-of-americans-making-250-000-say-costs-eat-entire-salary?utm_medium=cpc_social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=BLOM_ENG_EDITORL_Y0469_FB_SO_WENG_FOCUSPROSX_INTST_00XXXXCPM_2PFB_XXXX_GENERALINTSTX_XXXXX_Y0469_XXXXX_ALLFOA_PCHE_C3_EN_PG_NFLINKS&dclid=CNeR6YjSqfgCFW2JrAIdWlkO_Q

if expenses more than pay, earn how much also not enough. Want to live the high life also must know that cannot spend future money.

[Throttle2]

27 minutes ago, therock said:

Americans with 250k per annum living paycheck to paycheck ..

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-01/a-third-of-americans-making-250-000-say-costs-eat-entire-salary?utm_medium=cpc_social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=BLOM_ENG_EDITORL_Y0469_FB_SO_WENG_FOCUSPROSX_INTST_00XXXXCPM_2PFB_XXXX_GENERALINTSTX_XXXXX_Y0469_XXXXX_ALLFOA_PCHE_C3_EN_PG_NFLINKS&dclid=CNeR6YjSqfgCFW2JrAIdWlkO_Q

This is the same report as the one where High Income Earners in Singapore have problems coping.  Its about where and what you put money into.

Americans today are quite showy and big spenders and many out spend their income….

[Arogab]

😁 I go temple to chat and 保佑平安😂

[Sosaria]

5 hours ago, Stratovarius said:

A few of my friends are getting around that range. Bonus are paid like 3 times per year. High flyers on super payscale are much higher than that. 

i dont think pay is really low but your career path is fixed once you join. So there is a limit on how far you can go. Unless you are a scholar on the super payscale grade. 

Promotion is super-slow and many people hit ceiling, very hard to justify promotion because there are only so many prominent "score-point" projects to do. Candidate for promotion must survive a few hurdles through various committees where your boss' boss and boss^n (nth power) decide your fate and also depends on HR's whim and flavour-of-the-month.

Some fortunates can climb the ladder to middle management, but you are right, the upper-most management and highest position is reserved only for anointed scholars.

[therock]

ST recommendations for lean burn:

https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/money-saving-meal-hacks-st-food-writers-dish-on-how-to-stretch-your-dollar

[Etnt]

Money saving tip: dun subscribe to ST

[therock]

https://www.facebook.com/LowCarbingAmongFriends/photos/a.291353690889162/5549086868449125/?__cft__[0]=AZXJk2Xwjh5oMNP7uqVEi9DnbhN0aqCDXB6NJZ5iBjQHqwsGifg3KSMzmAYoefhX9IRk6MpKl3MgZ4QzpEvIFiO7cpRpgpJ60ciT-5ydupJjyPsXX9xC7I2o9Hqy9v7d_mpXF1rWIjcDC4uriITdXanDTiPWyw8NYqNGIWHIdXPHHnRomO2fDqtZZlg3aIE_dY68KI8LgIuoaIzpPEYFg9Ba&__tn__=EH-R

[therock]

I like this term: "lifestyle creep":
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/being-a-victim-of-lifestyle-creep-when-treating-yourself-goes-too-far

Quote

Getting a pay raise recently has prompted me to keep a browser tab open for a $325 Reformation dress that was promoted to me on Instagram.

I felt I could afford it as I was earning more and wanted to treat myself to something nice.

That is, until I read about a phenomenon called "lifestyle creep" and wondered if I was spending too frivolously on fashion, food and other comforting luxuries.

Lifestyle creep is when your income goes up and spending creeps up to match it. Over time, you start to get used to that growing taste for finer things that it becomes normal to you.

Why not sleep in and take a cab to work? Maybe try the new omakase restaurant my friends are raving about? How about a trip to Europe?

Before I knew it, I was using ride-hailing services more frequently than public transport, dining in restaurants almost every weekend and splurging on the latest technology, like a new iPhone.

I used to save about 40 per cent of my previous income each month, but the added expenditures have meant that the proportion of my current salary I'm saving has dropped even though the amount I am putting aside has stayed the same.

The danger of lifestyle creep is that it can go unnoticed for an extended period of time and eat into larger financial goals such as buying a home or saving for retirement.