[PERSONAL] 6 Things I Learned in 6 Years of Being A Solopreneur

I’m a solopreneur. That’s just a fancy way of saying I’m self-employed, but I like the -preneur suffix: yes, I am ‘a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit’, absolutely. How else would you describe someone obsessed with having multiple streams of income?

Here are 6 things I learned in 6 years of being a solopreneur.

#1 – Not everyone can or should be an employer and that’s okay

Usually, the career development arch for someone who chose to work for her/himself is: Freelancer > Self-employed > Agency.

That means, first they start out as a
freelancer
 to see if they could sell their own skills, test the waters. They rely on freelancing platforms and job boards to get jobs.

When they get past the initial hurdles and decide to stick with the business, they become
self-employed
.

Then, as their reputation grew and they get more work than they can handle, they’ll hire employees and start an
agency
 (a company).

But I never got to the last stage. The thing is…

I’m happy as a Pikachu

Ok so this is a hyper-specific reference but do you remember that Pokemon episode where Pikachu had the opportunity to evolve as a Raichu but he didn’t want to? And the reason for that is he wanted to get stronger as a Pikachu, and not as a Raichu.

That’s how I feel about being a solopreneur
. I don’t want to ‘evolve’ into an agency. I just want to be an even better solopreneur.

#2 – It’s absolutely possible to have a business without employees

There’s this, I guess expectation (?) that if you want to have a business, you must have employees.

If you believe in this, I just want to clear it out: that’s not true at all, at least not for
internet-based work
. For the most part, I have been doing almost everything myself as a one-person team.

Once, I experimented with having a virtual assistant, just to have a taste of having employees to delegate to, but it didn’t work out – I felt weird being a ‘boss’.

However, it’s also impossible to do it all myself, therefore…

#3 – I am reliant on tools

I rely on so many productivity and outsourcing tools – in both my personal and professional life – to do my work. In fact, I’m lost without it.

You can see the various tools and services I purchased over the years to improve and maintain RinggitOhRinggit.com in the
My Personal Blog Costs RM1,646.36 per Month
 article, and the tools and hacks I use to improve my productivity in my
3 Productivity Tips Women (and Men) MUST Know
 article.

Aside from all those, I spend a lot of (admittedly fun) time searching for and testing new tools. I hunt for tools and resources from various places, especially:

ProductHunt
 – I found
ExplodingTopics
 and
SideHustleStack
, among others from here
AppSumo
 – [note: Get $10 if you sign up through the link] I found Sendfox (email marketing), Linguix (proofreading software), Socialbee (social media automation), among others from here
Android Authority Tech Deals
 – [Note: Get $10 if you sign up through the link] I found Microsoft Office deal, among others from here

When it comes to outsourcing, generally speaking I like to do all the work myself
since I’m a control freak
, but once in a while I get one-off help on project basis. Here are the places I depend on:

Twitter
 – Tweeting out a work opportunity usually gets me some replies. Building a following was tough but ultimately worth it!
Fiverr
 – [Note: Get up to $100 if you sign up through the link] Hired people to design RoR logo and video intro for RoR Youtube channel
Whatsapp groups – Joined a couple of groups
Facebook groups – Ditto

#4 – Imposter Syndrome is something I constantly work on

Listen, I am self-aware enough to know that my decision to remain as a solopreneur also came from my own feelings of inadequacy as well. I have the Imposter Syndrome, big time.

No matter how much I want to be in the ‘your only competition is yourself’ camp, I am constantly exposed to better content creators on the internet and can’t help but feel like my skills are
nowhere
 near as good as theirs. I mean, there are people out there who scaled so well, their audience reach millions!

I feel like, sure I’m good but I don’t think I’m
great
, so how can I expect to mentor my employees, if I have them? My employees deserve someone who can lead them and that’s not me, or not yet anyway.

Sebab nak maintain solopreneur. Dari dia reject kita baik kita reject dia awal2 padahal sendiri tak confident kita yang terbaik utk dia 🥲
https://t.co/ocvtzJpfE8
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 25, 2021

I’ll work on this at my own pace, but the thing is remaining as a solopreneur isn’t a particularly bad thing for me. In fact..

#5 – I’m enjoying my leisure time

When you’re good at being a solopreneur (and I use ‘good’ loosely to mean: you have both high-paying clients and already optimised work processes so even the toughest jobs don’t take too much time), you gain arguably the most important resource of all:
time
.

You see, I work hard, but I don’t work all the time. I used to, when I first started out and had to figure everything out from scratch, but not anymore. If I ‘evolved’ into an agency, I wouldn’t have time – if be busy working on projects or mentoring employees.

Nowadays, as long as I make enough for necessities plus a bit for savings, I don’t really care about earning as much as possible. I have rejected tens of thousands worth of income because I value time – and specifically leisure, idle time – more.

(To be fair, most of those rejections fall under my do-not-promote rule)

If only you know how many 'gurus' promoting property and trading courses reach out to me…
Not to mention the forex platforms and credit and loan service providers..
On average, I reject 1 potential client a day 🥴
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
July 6, 2021

And what do I do with all this time? I learn new tools. I attend courses I want. Read books I want to read. Waste it on social media. Whatever – the point is I get to decide.

#6 – The importance of finding a job that fits your personality

I no longer believe in being passionate in your work. It’s not sustainable. Nowadays I believe more in sustainability. What work can you complete even when you don’t have the mood for it? Find that.

For me, I love being a solopreneur. It fits my introvert-leaning and homebody nature.

The solopreneur life is also perfect for me because according to the
Financial Behaviour Report
, I am both reserved and creative. Therefore, going solo allows me to quickly act on bursts of creativity, without waiting for approval from superiors. I have complete control of and am responsible for everything (for better or for worse).

(I highly recommend
Financial Behaviour Report
 so you can design your life based on YOUR inclination, rather than live as others expected of you)

However, I’m cautious of recommending solopreneur-ship for you, because it might not be the life for everyone. There are downsides as well – the obvious one being – what if you work better in a team?

I’m going to end this article with that food for thought. Thanks for reading, and hopefully some parts of it made you think.

If you are a fellow solopreneur, I’d love if you can share the tools you personally use and can’t live without in the comments section 🙂


What Subscriptions I Pay For And Why

The other day I was reviewing my budget and asked the question on twitter. The founder of SubteraTech, Amit Bajaj (twitter handle:
@amitsinghbajaj
) replied with the below gem:

‘Cancelling your unused subscriptions’ is a common money-saving advice, but little did I know Amit knows his shit when it comes to tracking his monthly and yearly subscriptions. He has a
spreadsheet
 on it, tracking:

Monthly/yearly cost

Payment and renewal date

Subscription status (active, consider to cancel, cancelled)

Whether the subscription is a necessity or optional

…My explanation doesn’t do it justice, must screenshot and show.

Amazing right! If you want the template,
ask him on twitter
.

So I used the template as a guide and compiled my own subscription list in my notebook, now reproduced here. For the sake of being comprehensive, I’m adding ALL my monthly commitments. I also consider ‘recurring payments’ as a type of subscription.

Monthly subscriptions I pay for

Necessity – ongoing

Medical card and Personal Accident Insurance.
 RM120.13 and RM31.80 per month respectively. Related:
44 Thoughts While Buying Myself Insurance in Malaysia

Virtual Assistant
. RM800. To help me with my work – I’m self-employed but that doesn’t mean I have to do eeeeverything. Related:
Incomes and Expenses of a Freelance Writer in Malaysia

Rent
. RM1200 (Subang). Related:
Earning RMx500? Here’s the places you can afford in Kuala Lumpur

Mobile plan
. RM128+GST from Maxis. They increased the monthly quota and eliminated the stupid weekday/weekend rule, so I’m happier with them now.

Avast Anti-Virus.
 Somehow free? Bought a 3-year plan from lelong.my, the fella gave me a code eligible for 1.5 years only. When I asked, they refunded and allowed me to use the 1.5 years. So nice la people, faith in humanity restored betul 🙂

Necessity – until final payment date

Braces
. RM300. Paid the RM3000 deposit and must commit to pay off the rest of the balance in monthly instalments during checkup. Related:
3 Things to Know About Braces Cost in Malaysia

Laptop
. RM568.08 until August 2018. Bought Surface Pro 4 in September and took advantage of 0% fee instalment spread over 12 months as opposed to paying oneshot in advance. Related:
4 Best Tips I Got From You Guys When I Wanted to Buy New Laptop

Yearly/Annual subscriptions I pay for

Necessity – ongoing

Grammarly Premium.
 Editing and proofreading tool, handy to have as a writer. Paid RM300.42 renewal in November 2017 during Cyber Monday, got 50% off.

Individual memberships
 for
Malaysia Writers Society
 and
ACCESS Blockchain Association (Malaysia)
. The linkage to these groups helps me professionally.

Domain/hosting for Ringgit Oh Ringgit
. I just paid RM923.45 in November 2017 for another 3 years of hosting 🙂

Optional – consider to cancel

Spotify Premium
. Took the Family plan, costs me RM44.80 per year. I don’t think I’ll continue next year, turns out I don’t listen to music that much. That said I really like being a Premium user, so maybe I’ll just use Grab points for it or something in the future. Related:
3 Ways to Get Cheaper Spotify Premium in Malaysia

Subscriptions I’ve cancelled

Gym membership
. Nightmare dowh. Not only I was pressured to buy more personal training packages, the gym also ‘accidentally’ charged me for one more month. After two months and constant back and forth with their staff to get the money back, I gave up. Only left them bad reviews online because when I tried to fill in the consumer complaint form at
Tribunal For Consumer Claims Malaysia
, the website didn’t work. (For the record, the gym is e-fitness at One City. Don’t go there, they suck).

Subscriptions I’m considering

VPN service
. Now I use a free option (Touch VPN), but wonder if I need to get a paid one.
Those of you familiar with VPN, do I need a paid one or will Touch VPN do?

Netflix
. As of time of writing, I’m trying out the free trial valid for one month. I have to say… it’s nice to use, the user interface is amazing. Probably going to share a premium account with some friends to save some money. RM51 divided by 4 people is just RM12.75 per month :p

Beauty boxes.
 Because it seems fun, but totally unnecessary, so I won’t unless it’s a crazy deal.

What subscriptions do YOU have?

What subscriptions are worth and not worth the money, for you? Share in the comments section!


15 Things I Stopped Buying and Didn’t Miss

This post was inspired by one of my favourite personal finance websites, The Financial Diet. Check out their version of the article
here
.

‘Don’t buy shit you don’t need’ – how many times have we all heard this six-word money advice? It sounds so simple, right?

The thing is, the definition of ‘shit you don’t need’ will differ greatly from person to person. What I think I don’t need and can cut from my budget may be someone else’s
‘worth it’ purchase
 – something they decided is worth the expense and thus budgeted in (instead of budgeted out).

Here are 15 things I have personally stopped buying and realised I didn’t miss.

#1 – A Car

Sometimes, the fact that I don’t own a car really surprises people around me. It’s considered a rights-to-passage-to-adulthood expense, something people buy as they start working.

I used to have a car. Not mine, my family’s. Am privileged enough to be loaned a car by my Dad, who is something of a car enthusiast. He enjoys buying still-in-good-quality secondhand cars. And I benefited from it. All throughout college and uni, I had no problems going around.

But after I lived in KL for a few years, I realised I didn’t need it, I can take the public transport to work. In 2014, I returned the car and never looked back.

Not having a car had its downsides, definitely. But I think it also led me to this career path – I became a work-from-home writer thanks to being car-free. I’m thankful that the limitation guided me to where I am now, because I genuinely love my work (on most days).

Shoutout to Grab, Uber (RIP Uber Malaysia) and various ride-sharing and car-hiring platforms for helping me get around, when I need to!

Money saved: at least RM1000 a month.

#2 – Extras

‘Extras’ is just a catch-all phrase I use to categorise ‘things I don’t need more than one’. For example, a water bottle. I have exactly one bottle, that’s it.

Another example is phone case – I only have one. Just don’t see the point in having more.

#3 – Sanitary Pads/Tampons

One of the best purchases I made is a menstrual cup. It saved me so much money, no joke!

Rough calculation on how much I save in 5 years’ timeframe:

Years used – 5 years = 60 months
Usual sanitary pads expenses per month = ~RM10
Rough estimation of money saved: RM10 x 60 months = RM600

My menstrual cup costs around RM80, so you can see how much it paid for itself several times over. If you don’t like the idea of menstrual cups, there’s also the washable sanitary pads option.

If you’re interested to try, I got the one from
The Hive Shop
 and recommend it, the quality is good.

#4 – Starbucks

I go to Starbucks (or other coffeeshops) maybe like once a year, and mostly out of necessity, like when my home wifi failed on me.

Work today sucks. my internet got cut off mid-webinar. After that kelam kabut cari starbucks to so I could attend another meeting. Melayang RM15 for a drink I don't even want just so I could get WiFi code
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 25, 2021

If not mistaken, the last time I went to Starbucks for their drink was to try their Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s ok, too sweet for my taste. Managed to satisfy the basic white girl in me.

#5 – Game consoles

God, I used to LOVE playing my PlayStation and Wii consoles. But I don’t think I can or want to go down that rabbithole again. I don’t want to start collecting game consoles again.

In any case, it’s not even a big deal. Steam is there whenever the mood for gaming strikes. This is enough, I don’t need to buy a RM3k device plus hundreds per game (and they don’t even sell pirated DVD games anymore, unlike last time… not that I condone pirating..)

#6 – Hair Colouring Products & Services

I’ve done red, jet-black, blue-black and light brown. And my favourite hair colour is still my natural hair colour.

My sisters say my white hair makes my hair appear lighter in colour. I’m okay with that! Plus I think women with silver hair are sexy af.

#7 – Piercings

I used to have 7 piercings in my left ear. Took all but one out.

In all sincerity, it was a failed attempt at self-expression. I’ve accepted I’m just not edgy enough to live with the inconvenience.

#8 – Red meat

Okay, technically I still
sometimes
 buy them, but very, very rarely. Beef is expensive. And I know they take a lot of energy to produce and generate a lot of waste to the environment.

When the cravings do kick in, I simply plan social dates around it. Others can cook it much better than I can anyway.

#9 – Jewellery

I get enough jewellery hand-me-downs and gifts that I never need to purchase more of them.

I still check out Lovisa at the malls though because God they’re pretty.

#10 – Home decor

As much as I like the
idea
 of home decor, in my household they have the tendency to become clutter instead.

I have no idea how people maintain living spaces full of knick-knacks. Is there magic involved? How do you find the time and energy to dust everything?

#11 – Contact Lens

Can’t justify the expense when glasses make much more sense. Plus I like my eye colour too.

Related:
3 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Glasses in Malaysia

 #12 – Tote bags

Companies at events can’t seem to stop giving them away for free, so why should I buy them? I have like 10 now.

In the same context, I’m still using the reusable bags HappyFresh used to give out last time. I can’t recall the last time I bought a reusable bag.

#13 – Panadol

When I do need to get medicine for simple colds, I get the generic paracetamol, not Panadol, the branded version. Does the same thing but big price difference.

#14 – Clothes and Makeup I Don’t Think I’ll Wear Often Enough

Clothes-shopping and makeup-shopping take me forever. Whenever I see something I like, I will always ask myself if I will wear it enough to justify the expense.

It’s still fun to browse in shops, add stuff to my online shopping carts and turn it into a fun little activity, before closing the tab.

In fact, every time I
didn’t

make the purchase, I do a little joy-dance inside. I feel happy overcoming all their marketing efforts, you know? In a you-don’t-have-that-much-power-over-me sort of way.

Related:

How to Spend Less Money on Clothes in 5 Mindful Steps
My 5 Rules to Make Beauty Products Affordable

#15 – Things I Can’t Afford to Pay in Full

And lastly, OF COURSE I won’t buy anything I can’t pay in full.

A house may be the ONLY exception, but for everything else, I will only consider purchasing IF I have the money to pay for it. If I don’t have the funds, then no putting the expense on credit card, no turning into instalments, no BNPL, nada.

Things I Want to Stop Buying

There are still some things I can’t wait to stop buying. Things like fast food, for obvious reasons.

Then there’s all the plastic in my life that I want to significantly reduce. The
zero-waste community
 gave me some great ideas. Maybe I’ll stop buying plastic toothbrushes (and use bamboo ones) and stuff with unnecessary packaging. I like the idea of switching to soap bars and shampoo bars too.

What Have You Stopped Buying?

What have you realised you didn’t need and stopped buying? What do you plan to stop buying? Share in the comments!


6 Things I Want to Buy If I’m Rich (And How Much They Cost)

“If I’m rich, I would ____”

Take a second to answer that before you continue reading. What’s your answer?

There is usually an answer. I mean, most of us have daydreamed about being rich. I have. You have. Even rich people dream of being even richer.

Because I have no life and spend pretty much all of my time on social media, I’m quite familiar with the types of answers to this question. It’s almost always a variation of:

I would travel

I would buy [big-ticket item, usually property]

I would donate time and/or money to [X] charity or cause

I would make my loved ones happy

I would buy all the [hobby items]

Recently, I thought of what *I* want if I were rich. What is my desires, and how much they would actually cost me? Here’s my list.

#1 – Experience Burning Man

It’s so surreal that something like this exists at all, and I am curious enough to make the pilgrimage to check it out.

According to my research, the cost of Burning Man greatly depends. I’ll need to pay for:

The tickets – $400+

Travel from Malaysia – RM5000 return perhaps?

Truck or RV rental – $1000-4000 (able to share with others)

Enough food and water for 1 week – $500?

Costumes – RM1000+

Misc – $1000

Estimated cost:
 RM15,000-20,000. If any of you Malaysians reading this have made the trip, please comment how much you spent for Burning Man!

#2 – Plastic surgery in South Korea

This is my fantasy list, so no judgement. As happy as I am with my God-given features, something can always be better. I like feeling good about myself.

Plus, I’m also curious about the beauty, plastic surgery and medical tourism industry in South Korea. We all know that South Korea is leagues ahead of everyone else in these industries. I want to see how good is good.

I found an article which
compiled the cost of plastic surgery as indicated by the Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare
. The price of most, if not all types of procedures are listed there.

According to my research, the cost of plastic surgery in South Korea would cost me:

The procedures – ranges from 800,000won to 24,000,000won (RM2,700 to RM83.6k), depending on which ones I want

Flights – RM2000ish

Food and Accommodation during recovery – RM3000 for the whole period?

Misc – RM10k just to be safe

Estimated cost:
 RM10-15k ish for a minor procedure, up to RM100k all in for a major or multiple procedures

#3 – Own a Fruit orchard

For some reason, I really, really, really like the idea of owning a fruit orchard. Imagine a few hectares of fertile land full with fruit-bearing rambutans, mangosteens, mangoes, cikus, durians, cempedak and other Malaysian fruits.

There’s business potential here too. I could open a BnB service offering guests an all-the-fruits-you-can-eat deal (walk-ins are possible too). I could sell the excess fruits to suppliers.

According to my research, the cost of owning my own fruit orchard includes:

The land itself – from mudah.my, I can see a few options under ‘dusun buah’, ranging from RM100k all the way up to RM1.5million depending on location, size and other factors

Hired help – Around RM50k per annum to hire people to tend the orchard?

Renovation – Doing ground works and making new infrastructure for personal or commercial use – RM1 million?

Business operations cost – RM100k per year? For the trucks and stuff. Not sure

Estimated cost:
Either way I have to have around RM1-1.5 million of capital to start before I can even consider pursuing this. Still don’t know what else I’d need to pay for

#4 – Fulfil all my travel fantasies

I’m lumping all my travel fantasies in one heading, because there’s a lot of them.

2 weeks Road trip in the United States

2 weeks Rail trip in Asia or Europe

2 weeks RV trip in New Zealand or Australia

2 weeks exploring all of China

2 weeks exploring all of India

1 month country-hopping all over Europe

1 month country-hopping all over South America

1 month country-hopping all over Africa

1 to 3 months’ stay in various cities around the world, including but not limited to: Berlin, Okinawa, Hawaii, Chiang Mai, a city in Sabah and Sarawak,

Estimated cost:
To make things simple, I’m just going to allocate RM20k for each of them, regardless of location. I don’t know if its enough, but it should average out.

#5 – Buy a house and renovate it to my liking

Isn’t this pretty much
everyone’s
 dream?

In fact, because this is a fantasy list, I’m going to say I want multiple houses in different locations, all of them renovated and fully customised to my liking!

I want:

A beach house

A house in the mountains

A house near a lake

A condominium overlooking the city skyline

Estimated cost:
Is RM2-3million for each house enough? It’s not just the cost of the house, but also the cost of renovations and furniture and everything related to home ownership

#6 – Start my own intentional community

An intentional community is ‘
A group of people who live together or share common facilities and who regularly associate with each other on the basis of explicit common values.’
It may include cohousing, ecovillages, cooperative houses, communes and other shared living arrangements.

The lifestyle aspect of it is highly appealing to me. It
would
 be nice to be surrounded by people who share the same values as you. Imagine the quality of human connections. My go-to place for information and resources is the
Foundation for Intentional Community
 website.

In Malaysia, if I want to be part of an intentional community, I’ll have to start one, because none exists yet, as far as I know. Well, there are commercial coliving solutions, but that’s not quite what I’m looking for, in the long term. There are also kampungs, which is the OG of community living, but maybe not that suitable for me too.

I guess the easiest way to start is to buy a big-ass bungalow with land and offer rooms to like-minded individuals. Each of us have responsibilities and contribute to the well-being of the small community.

Thinking out loud, I want to find people who can contribute in these ways:

Farmers who can grow vegetables, rear chickens and bee-keeping

Builder-engineers who can DIY and fix stuff

Creative persons who can inject beauty in our lives

Accounts person to make sure resources are well-utilised (I volunteer this role!)

And more

Estimated cost:
RM2 to 3mil or so for a decently big bungalow at a central-ish area in Klang Valley? Something big enough to accommodate a dozen people or so.

Personal reflections

I’m both happy and sad that I made this list. It shows how I value human connections and experiences, but also shows how I still place value to outside appearances and grand, over the top living. Notably, it didn’t include things for others, like family or charity. It’s a selfish list.

And it’s telling that even now, even knowing that
looking
rich doesn’t necessarily mean a person is actually rich, I still hold the stereotypical ‘rich person’ image in my head.

You know what I mean. Full-on designer clothing. Big mansions. Garages full of expensive cars. Private planes and yachts. Travels to exotic places. Basically #richkidsof, TV3 dramas’ anak Datuks-type of rich.

It’s a really hard stereotype to shake off, because the media and society in general like to reinforce this worldview. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I’m just saying it’s common.

Related:
Where Do People Get the Money to Afford Their Amazing Lifestyles?

I don’t know how long it’s going to take for me to tick off each of the items in this list. I don’t know if I even want to tick them off, even if I can afford them when the time comes.

For now, it’s enough that I’m fortunate enough to enjoy other things that make me feel like a million bucks:

Being able to shop at the groceries store without worrying about the bill

Having enough money to pay my rent, utilities, food and basic needs for the rest of the year

Being able to afford replacing items that break down with higher-quality versions

Being able to splurge on family bonding experiences maybe once a year

Being able to donate a small but sizable amount to whoever I want, whenever I want to

Being able to make small but regular trips throughout the year

I think, the biggest takeaway from writing this is a personal reminder that happiness and fulfilment don’t have to wait until I’m rich. I can still experience them now, with the modest income I’m making.

That said, this was still a fun list to make. I’ve never put a number to those experiences until now, and knowing the cost estimation is a fun (if useless) activity.

What do YOU want to buy when you’re rich? And have you made the cost estimation? Share with me in the comments section!


[PERSONAL] 5 Thoughts I Have About Marriage (and Money Management)

I hated the idea of marriage.

Not the love and commitment part. That part is amazing. The part I hate is the traditional view of ownership; the complete submission of a woman to a man.

But I am also a believer of Islam and by extension, Sunnah Nabi, which encourages marriage and family life, so like it or not I have to find a way to be at least okay with it.

I also had to be okay with the idea of marriage, because I was hopelessly in love with my now-husband and desperately wanted to marry the shit out of him.

And maybe it’s a mind trick, but I’ve finally come to terms with marriage:
by framing it as an act of rebellion by two people who demand the right to lifelong private counsel and decision-making within the
ungovernable private space
.

(If it sounds like I’m basing my argument on the loosest of straws, then let me; I needed a way to justify this using the
doublethink
 method)

By framing marriage this way, I started seeing norms of married life as dictated by religion, culture and society as mere
suggestions
 rather than rules; my husband and I are free to decide our own relationship based on what works for
us
.

This article explores my thoughts on marriage now, under the lens of money management.

#1 – Men as provider; women as homemaker roles won’t suit us

Both of us work. Our parents work/worked (three have retired; one to go). All of our adult siblings – male and female – work. Everyone in my friends’ circle work. If it’s not for social media and news sources, I wouldn’t know that some women never had careers or never entered the job market. This is just our reality.

(Of course, homemakers aka stay-at-home-moms work too. The only difference is their work is unpaid and their labour and productivity – the backbone of any society – is not economically measured and factored in the GDP. It is important work, but you cannot call it a ‘career’)

Counter-argument: calling it a career implies job progression, salary increase and pension/ability to contribute to retirement fund

Motherhood is great but it is also one of those work where labour is expected to be given for free, without complain

— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
December 20, 2019

Therefore, it never crossed my mind that I won’t contribute financially to this marriage. Of course I will. I’m expected to, I
want
 to.

Plus, aside from giving me joy and fulfilment, my work also provides me with financial stability. All women need access to funds for practical, recreational and yes, safety reasons.

#2 – Therefore, we’ll need a domestic helper in the future

Back when I was employed, our office held a farewell party to a lady who just had a newborn. Amid the goodbyes, she told me how she didn’t want to quit but they had no choice; childcare is too expensive and it makes more economical sense for her to be a stay-at-home-mom.

I only nodded and wished her well then, but have since realised how common it is for working mothers everywhere to leave the workforce once they had children. In fact, my
 mother is part of the just 46% of women who participate in the Malaysian labour force
 (among the lowest in the region). A big reason why she could remain working is because of Kakak and Bibik, who lived with my family while I was growing up.

Yes, we were privileged; we had domestic helpers. Husband grew up in a similar household, too. That’s the reason why our mothers weren’t homemakers – our parents could afford help, so they could focus on their careers. They suffered less of the dreaded
double burden
: having a career AND doing the majority of unpaid care work.

(Statistics available in #1 in the
Here are 4 Ways to Support Women in Your Life
 article)

As much as I want to say husband and I are more equal when it comes to housework, I know that the balancing act will be a tough one to implement perfectly if and when children enter the picture.

So the only solution for us is to get domestic helpers, when the time comes.

(Happily, there are more options nowadays. We don’t have to get live-in domestic helper – there are companies that provide domestic services like cleaners and part-time nannies and more. We’ll figure it out when we get there – but first, save the money we’ll inevitably need)

Bonus: This is how we divide house chores now

Married people who both have careers, did you have the 'you take this chore I take that one' chat before/after you got married?

We did and it helped a lot. I don't want to and will not do everything ON TOP of my work
https://t.co/bOznHn3acj

— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
January 30, 2022

Protips:
– you are free to outsource the tasks you don't like (paid with own money)
– of course there will be give & take when work is busier for one person. adjust
– do not dictate how the other person do the chore. if they do it X way & you prefer Y, keep opinion to yourself

— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
January 30, 2022

#3 – Claiming my right to add on additional clauses in taklik

For financial and (most importantly) love reasons, I am NOT okay with polygamy. Sharing my husband with another would shatter me completely – body, mind and soul. I’d rather get a divorce than be in a polygamous marriage.

I’m not the only person with this view. According to
one study
, only 32% of Muslim women in Malaysia allow their husbands to take on another wife.

Thankfully and happily, husband heard me out and agreed as well – no polygamy while he is married to me.

So we put it in black and white and added it in the taklik – the husband/wife agreement in Islam.

In addition to the no-polygamy clause,
I also included clauses that do not take away my personal autonomy: no restrictions on travel and career decisions
. We’ll discuss everything important of course, but
I don’t need ‘permission’
.

It’s amazing how much his agreement to these additional clauses in the taklik made me submit more easily and freely. After all, love and loyalty are strongest when it’s freely given and made by choice, not by force.

More information about taklik in my
How to Avoid Polygamy in Malaysia: Add it in The Taklik
 article.

#4 – Applying feminist principles

Husband doesn’t identify as a feminist (in fact he thinks that word has a negative connotation), but I am, and I’ve been sharing and showing how applying feminist principles in our marriage
benefits
 him.

Actually, it’s been benefiting him
since we first dated
. For example,

Contribute financially as well – dual-income household = better standard of living

If work/home responsibilities ever get too much, each of us is allowed to take time off and/or use our savings to solve it

It’s not ‘his money is my money, my money is my money’. It’s
our
 money

Tbh I don’t care about nafkah. I can buy my own shit

My duit hantaran (which I never wanted in the first place, but defended as ‘adat’) is currently invested and earmarked for our new house

Assuring him that he matters as a person, not just his role as a provider

I want to expand that last point.

#5 – He’s my life partner, not a mere provider

Similar to how the burden of care work is placed on women, the burden to provide is also placed on men.
Women talking openly about unfair housework is common, but I don’t think we talk enough about the way society ostracizes men who are unable to provide.

I’ve seen so many comments telling financially struggling men how they failed as husband/father, as if being a provider is the only thing they’re valued for.  I mean, they say things like ‘men without money shouldn’t even think of marrying as they couldn’t afford it’. The harsh wording is so normalised, but it
shouldn’t be
.

You might say the burden to provide is part of being a man.

But some will crack under pressure. Some get depressed. Some take unnecessary risks. Some become abusive to family and society….and some kill themselves. It is a fact that suicide rates are higher among men.

Gendered expectations are double-edged swords; its harmful to everyone.
 I hope this will make you realise how patriarchy hurts both men and women in different ways.

Sadly, there are so many men (and women) who attack feminists and their efforts towards gender equality, instead of working together to
demand equal pay for work of equal value, affordable childcare services, longer paternal leave, sexual harassment policies, and more.

All those things help women earn (instead of dropping out of the workforce), which leads to men getting a better quality of life (instead of working all the time to provide)!

Thoughts on *staying* married

Being married is one thing. Staying married… that’s the tough one, right? Or so I heard.

As open as I am to the idea of divorce (if staying together is bad for both of us, then heck yes it’s a good idea to part ways), I do desire longevity.

As an optimist – and blinded with love at that – I am hopeful. I want to make my marriage work.

But as someone who is a realist, there’s a reason why I personally don’t want to follow conventional marriage advice too closely: according to the
Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Marriage and Divorce Statistics
, the number of divorce cases in Malaysia is rising.
Whatever is the norm now isn’t working in favour of married couples.

Considering
the biggest predictor of divorce is contempt
 (as per research by
The Gottman Institute
), hopefully I’ve done enough through thoughts and actions #1-5 to reduce, as much as possible, the possible scenarios inviting contempt into our lives.

For example, I will absolutely hate it if I have to do all of the unpaid care work ON TOP of my career. And I know husband will feel taken advantage of if I ask him to be my personal ATM and pay for all of my expenses.

Is what I’m doing enough for a happy, long-lasting marriage? Who knows? But at least I know I’m giving it a fighting chance.

As an ending note, and last but not least – to my darling husband Aizat. I just want to tell you how much you are loved. You keep telling me how lucky you are but honestly honey, I’m the lucky one. I promise to enable your happiness and growth as much as you have vowed to enable mine.


[Personal] Why Should I Save Money When The Future is So Uncertain?

Why should I work hard to earn and save money for my future self, when I’m facing an uncertain future?

Seriously, why should I? When we don’t know if the future is guaranteed. As I’m writing this, we are simultaneously going through wars, pandemics, and heading towards self-inflicted climate disaster.

Credit to
https://twitter.com/habitual_truant

If things will go to heck anyway, why don’t I just focus on enjoying myself now? Spend all my money now?

Please excuse me, I’m not usually this negative. I’m actually a natural optimist.

But still, it gets to you, you know. All these things that affect you but are outside your control – it affects you, and I’m tired of pretending it doesn’t. Why is it that all that I can or should do is ‘ignore the noise’ and continue work as usual?

(This feeling is so weird. I first noticed – and made a Reel about it – in July 2021. It never really went away)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

So, back to the original question.
Why should I work hard to earn and save money for my future self, when I’m facing an uncertain future?

This has been the subject of countless thought articles, and I guess it’s my time to dwell on it. Let’s start with the chirpy fact that…

Money doesn’t matter when you’re dead

No matter how much money one has, it doesn’t matter when you’re dead. You can’t take it with you.

I don’t know about you, but I frequently hear stories of people who waited too long, until they ran out of time to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

I’m sure you have heard stories of people who worked non-stop to build their nest egg, but got sick and passed away, sometimes just days after their awaited retirement. The future they hoped for never arrived.

As someone who believes and practices delayed gratification,
this scares the shit out of me.

The pandemic reminds you of death every day

I know I’m not alone in saying the pandemic reminds me of death every day. Perhaps this is the reason why some people YOLO-d and bought themselves things to enjoy NOW rather than later.

This isn’t a hypothesis. It can be considered a fact.

..psychologist Sheldon Solomon, who has spent three decades researching how fear of mortality motivates an extraordinary amount of our everyday behavior, even if we don’t consciously think about death that often:
Literally hundreds of experiments have shown that when people are reminded of their mortality-such as by being interviewed in front of a funeral parlor or having the word “death” flash on a computer screen so fast that they cannot see it-they respond by behaving in ways that bolster faith in their cultural worldviews and fortify their self-esteem.
For example,
after being reminded of death, materialistic people become more interested in owning high-status luxury items like fancy cars and watches
..’
– from the book Carpe Diem: Seizing the Day in a Distracted World

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

This explains why
luxury car brands experienced amazing sales during the pandemic
. Cars like
Bentley, Bugatti, Porshe, Lamborgini, Rolls-Royce all delivered more units than before
.

And it’s not just luxury cars. Sales of other luxury items went up too during the pandemic. In an article about
the pandemic and the booming luxury industry
, one person is quoted as saying,

“You know what, for me and my family… This period showed us that it is not clear whether we will live tomorrow or not. So if you have a chance, I think you have the right to spend some according to your wishes.”’

And… I get this person. I really do. No matter how much I am an advocate for financial literacy (it is STILL important!), I also want to acknowledge this very real and very human feeling of wanting to savour the now while you still have it.

For now, the rational side is still winning

Listen. I’m still rational. I’m not going to spend ALL my money now, that’s too risky. And happily, I’ve never been (that) materialistic to begin with, so luxury items never really appealed to me.

Note: This is less to do with my ability to be ‘above’ their marketing gimmicks, and more to do with my confidence level.

I'm different, sure, just like everyone else. But special? No. The same like everyone else.
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
March 25, 2021

But just because I don’t buy (much) material items doesn’t mean I don’t splurge. Of course I do.

I splurge on food. I splurge on loved ones. I splurge on travel
(traveling as a hobby is a luxury because not everyone can afford the cost nor the time off, yet it is considered acceptable spending because it is ‘experiential’
). And whenever possible, I
splurge responsibly
.

And allow me to pat myself on the back here because I also NEVER take loans for splurges. Not credit card. Not
BNPL
 (evil in my eyes). Loans are ONLY for necessities, full stop.

Viewing death positively

Unfortunately I’ve forgotten where I read it from, but I read something that changed my world-view: not every culture around the world view death negatively. Some cultures view it as a celebration.

I can’t overstate how much this really changed my life. I’m so used to seeing death as huge loss (and it is), but it is also just like ‘traveling’ to the next phase of life, the afterlife, where everyone will meet again. So the loss is just… temporary.

(Even if you don’t believe in the afterlife, you can go with the ‘we are all made of stardust’ approach. Given enough time, we’ll simply be transformed into another form of carbon-based entity)

Plus, there is also the whole ‘make it count’ approach. In the same way we don’t appreciate food if we don’t feel hunger – if there is no death, how would we appreciate life?

A reminder to myself to plan ahead… but enjoy the journey

Somehow, in the personal finance world, there is this narrative that we have to get rich first BEFORE we can enjoy life, when in fact
we can attempt to do both at the same time.
I can save for the future AND treat myself.

(And as I mentioned in my
How to Buy Happiness: 5 Science-Backed Principles to Know TODAY
 article, a treat is only a treat when it is far between, not daily)

Don’t get me wrong. I still feel the doom and gloom. But it’s up to me to channel it into a healthy way, because YOLO spending my last cent isn’t the answer. At the same time, I’ll continue to be optimistic for the future, and cling on to that hope that humanity is able to save itself.

Thanks for reading. I wrote this primarily for myself. For the longest time I didn’t know how to put these feelings into words and finally I did, and it’s been cathartic for me.

It is my hope that this rambling of mine can help you make sense of your emotions as well, as a fellow human being. At the very least, we can all agree how absurd to live at this moment in history, where everything is chaos yet we’re expected to continue ‘business as usual’.


Wedding Planning During Covid-19: How Plans & Budgets Changed

“Wow, so lucky you do wedding planning during Covid-19. Can save cost!”

Generally speaking, that’s true. Not denying the cost-saving aspect of it. My wedding, scheduled in Nov 2020, will be significantly downsized.

Additionally, I have extra money to re-allocate towards the wedding as my tunang event, which was scheduled during MCO, got cancelled.

I don’t know how much everything will cost yet, but I doubt it will reach RM50-70k originally planned.

If I’m honest, I am… 80% happy and 20% sad about all this. Happy because, yeah the cost will be lower than projected. But I can’t ignore the 20%, which comes from OH I DON’T KNOW PEOPLE DYING AND BREADWINNERS LOSING JOBS AND INCOME AND STUFF. And also, seeing deals I can’t take advantage of.

Nowadays banyak wedding-related deals. Venue, photography, baju etc. Understandable, they do it for cashflow reasons

But no matter how good the deal is… I can’t take now because all plans up in the air 🙁

— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
April 23, 2020

So I thought I’d write a post about it, to both organise my thoughts and also find people in the same boat (in my experience, writing about it attracts people in the same predicament). I’d like to share how it was like to plan a wedding when you have Covid-19 rudely interrupting the process.

Note: This is written from the woman’s perspective. I’m not responsible for a few expenses, like rings and mas kahwin and stuff. You can check out
BalkoniHijau’s wedding survey
 for the guys’ perspective.

Planning Stage

After my partner sweet-talked me into marrying him, we did the necessary: informing our parents, arranging for family introductions, negotiate on important things like dates and stuff. I am very, very grateful to have full blessings from my parents. In fact, they are
very
 enthusiastic about this whole me getting married thing.

And let me tell you, boy do they have
ideas
of how they envision the wedding to look like, shaped by tradition and adat and social expectations. I very quickly learned that ‘something simple’ will not do at all.

I tried, but the tug-o-control didn’t last long. And so it was eventually, wordlessly decided: my parents will have their way, and I will fund it. My input is, of course, required throughout the process.

I’m okay with this. It’s quite nice to be able to make them happy (for once haha wait wut).

Before Covid-19:

Before the world changed to what it is today, I was mostly concerned about missing important tasks. So when I came across this
wedding planning book
 – specific for planning a Malay wedding – I bought it immediately. It contains checklists, calendars, budgets (for different events and for both sides) and more.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
 on
Jun 7, 2020 at 3:35am PDT

After Covid-19:
All plans, of course, went to whack. Let’s break it down by categories-

Venue + Food

Venue + Food (plus overall event management) is usually the most expensive part of the typical wedding. Wedding organisers will usually calculate it by number of pax, and it is very common for Malay weddings to host between 500-2000 guests.

Price-wise, for a 1000 pax-package, I’ve seen anywhere from RM12 per pax at the low end all the way to RM100++ per pax at the high end (this is VIP, Bayswater KLCC level).

From my research, Venue + Food packages typically include one or more of these additional services as well:

outfits for bride+groom

hall and pelamin decorations

makeup and hair/hijab styling

photography and videography

invitation cards

and more

Like many other comprehensive packages, it’s extremely value for money
if

you wanted it anyway.

Before Covid-19:

We decided on 1500 pax, combined in one reception (instead of doing two receptions, or one per bride and groom side).

After surveying around, I was looking at venue + food packages that range between RM25-35++ per pax. There were plenty of wedding halls and event spaces that fit the bill, although hotels were out of the picture.

Venue-hunting with my mom and sisters was fun, one of the highlights of this whole experience 🙂

Life is better ever since I accepted my wedding = my parents’ event, and gave them a budget to work with. They can do anything they want as long as within budget

I’m really enjoying teman mom to search for wedding venue too. She looks so happy ❤
pic.twitter.com/lp0EuCSrLS

— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
February 20, 2020

After Covid-19:

We waited until the MCO was over to start venue-hunting again, now prioritising wedding organisers that can adhere to the New Normal SOPs. The good news is we found one, and they are also willing to postpone the event *in case* we have another lockdown.

The organisers are also kind enough to let us book the venue without finalising the number of pax – we have to put that on hold, depending on the situation nearer to date. As of writing time, we are only inviting 100 pax, just family members. If the situation gets better, we may increase that to 200, 300, maybe even up to 500 pax.

I don’t know yet how much everything will cost, but I am allocating around RM10-15k all-in.

Bonus service: the wedding organiser included a photography session and a makeup artist as part of the package.

Bridal Attire

The expectation for a normal wedding is two outfits: one for the nikah, and one for the sanding (reception). The former is typically white in colour and the latter can be super modern, super traditional, anything in between… or even
Power Rangers theme
.

Before Covid-19:

Price-wise, I didn’t really set a budget. I knew I like value for money more than I like cheap. Although I may have set myself a hard cap at, say, RM1000 per dress.

After Covid-19:

I bought a kurung set from an IG shop. One, I thought hey good, I don’t have to go for fittings, less risky. But I bought it mostly for reason number two – fell in love with the design, and that’s that. Cost: RM349 + RM80 (heels)

Hantaran

This is the ‘gifts’ that the bride and groom give each other, to exchange during the ceremony. The tradition is (1) it has to be odd, not even numbers, and (2) the bride side give additional 2 extra trays aka dulangs. I didn’t make the rules, follow only.

 Image credit: https://pengantinbaru.com.my/

Before Covid-19:

He was supposed to give me 5 dulangs, and I was supposed to give back 7. We plan to simply buy our own gifts, then exchange it before the ceremony, so we can make them look presentable like in the picture.

Budget: RM5000 in total per side.

After Covid-19:

We decided on 5 and 3 dulangs respectively instead. This way, in case the lockdown happens again, we don’t need so many people to carry said trays.

Budget: same, RM5000. I still don’t know what to get for myself. Worse come to worse I’ll spend a big chunk of that on a 10g gold bar or something, then at later date turn it to cash so we can use it for something practical like fund our home renovation or whatever.

Things that are still pending

As of now, I think we’ve got the bare minimum covered. Everything else is optional, to be booked at a later date, or not at all. This includes:

Entertainment – band/musician/singer

Emcee

Invitation cards

Doorgifts (if more than 100 pax)

Cake

Inai/Henna

Any other ‘nice to haves’

I think, my plan for the above is to look for vendors who accept a minimal booking fee (non-refundable is fine), but full payment on or after the event, in case it had to be cancelled or postponed. It would really suck to part with a lot of money due to factors outside my control. I’m aware that many people did, when their weddings got cancelled due to sudden MCO.

Other than that, I am going to use the same advice people give to travellers: Calculate how much you need, then double it because things you need to pay for will. suddenly. crop. up. out. of nowhere. Happily, this advice is doable because of reduced expenses.

Okay, I’m done. I think I pretty much covered all the new plans and budgets for wedding planning during Covid-19.

Thoughts about this piece? Are you planning your own wedding? What was the sudden expense for YOUR wedding? Do you have tips for future brides and grooms out there? Let me know in the comments section!

Quick Word to the ‘Big Weddings Are So Unnecessary!!!’ Crowd

For some reason, there are people out there who
really
 want to make it known how much they
hate
 big weddings. They’re all your parents’ friends, not yours, they say. What an unnecessary expense, they say.

Okay, you do you, but don’t rain on my parade.

One, I can afford it. No loans, all savings.

Two, I quite fancy ‘stimulating the economy’ by spending in the super-affected, women-centric wedding planning industry.

And three, after I realised how much my parents want this, his parents too, heck he wants the wedding ceremony as well – I embraced it, despite not really a fan of big weddings myself.

I shifted my perspective and looked at the whole wedding planning process as a group project: this is the time and opportunity for me (and them) to see how well we work together, how we negotiate, and even how we cope under stress.

Soft skills, baby. This is the time to use them.


Everything I Paid For During My 10-Year Weight Loss Journey

I grew up fat. Or as my family calls it, ‘sihat’. I was the biggest in size in primary and secondary school. At my highest, my weight was almost 100kg. I was 20 years old then.

Now, 10 years later, my weight hovers around 75-78kg. My lowest weight ever was 72kg, right before I stopped
keto diet
. I think it takes this long because half the time I’m still unlearning bad habits accumulated over the years.

I’ve been taking fitness and weight loss seriously for about 3 years now and lost the bulk of the weight during this time. I have to stress that even before that I was non-stop dieting and trying to lose weight, but admittedly my attitude towards it was just warm-warm-chicken-shit. Now, I’m happy with my progress, but I know
my fitness and weight loss journey is far from over.
 Someday I’ll hit the 60s range, just you wait.

To be honest, the slow progress frustrates me. I just want a nice body and be ‘the hot girl’ already. It takes all my willpower to consciously stop all the negative self-talk and remind myself of the progress over the years. That was also the main inspiration behind the
[Personal] I Never Imagined Exercise Would Help My Career and Income, Until It Did
 article – I reread this piece every time I need a reminder of how far I’ve come.

How to save money on weight loss in Malaysia

Obviously, as a personal finance enthusiast, I’ve read the shit out of these ‘save money on weight loss’ types of articles. You’ve read these too, right? Most people do want to lose weight and/or get fit.

But, like, can I admit something?

I find that doing
only
 the free/cheap options didn’t work??

My weight loss journey pretty much looks like this:

Try the free/cheap options

Get frustrated. Try the paid/more expensive options

Stick with what I enjoy and stop paying for the rest, after much trial and error

I’m so jealous of the people who managed to skip (2). That means they genuinely enjoyed the free/cheap options they tried, like ‘run at the local park’ or ‘follow free classes on Youtube’ or ‘run up and down the stairs at your condo’. The free options simply didn’t bring me enjoyment – something I’ve realised an important element in this whole weight loss journey.

What I’ve learned is:
the only way to successfully lose weight is to try a bunch of things and stick with the ones that you enjoy.
That applies to both fitness and diet.

This post is all about the process of trying out different things and estimating how much they cost, what I’m sticking to now, and what I’m keen to try out. There are three major categories of things I spent on: fitness classes/memberships, fitness attire and accessories, and food and supplements. Let’s get into them.

#1 – Fitness classes/memberships

What I’ve tried:

Karate class.
 Can’t remember the cost for this one, was ages ago. Martial arts was fun, but I also twisted my knee unfortunately. Years later the pain never quite went away.

Following Youtube exercise videos.
I’d try them once but got bored very quickly.

Crossfit classes
. RM120/month. Enjoyed it and even though I moved away from this particular gym, I still incorporate Tabata in my workouts now.

Fitness bootcamp.
 RM50 or so for 10 classes. Bought from a Groupon (now Fave) deal ages ago. I stopped going after 3 classes or so.

Personal training sessions.
 It was RM1000 for 10 sessions and was… OK. I think my form improved but they definitely tried to get me buy more sessions
during
 my session. I didn’t like that part.

Gym memberships
. I’ve paid for a RM120/month gym and enjoyed the yoga/dance classes in addition to the other facilities.

Condo gym and swimming pool.
 Free at my condo. Facilities are super limited, but at least it’s there. Cannot complain.

What I’m doing now:

I spend RM80/month for membership at a
weight-training gym
 in Subang. There’s a reason why it’s low – it’s a special promo price for ladies (apparently it used to be called ‘the testosterone gym’ because only gymbros go there lmao)

What I’m keen to try out:

Those gym class passes thing
. KFit and Classpass would be so fun to try out. I’ve always wanted to try those fancy classes like spin and aeriel and barre and all that.

#2 – Fitness attire and accessories

What I’ve bought:

Basic fitness attire.
 For me, basic fitness attire means sports bra, leggings, socks and shoes, that’s it. I’ve tried a few brands over the years, and some definitely stand out more than others. Estimated spending for this category alone would be around RM1000+.

Attempts to make workouts more ‘fun and varied’
. Yoga mat. Foam roller. Skipping rope. Weight training gloves. Hmm that was less than I thought.

What I use now:

Lots of Nike products
. I hate to say it, but I’m a Nike convert. All the ones I’ve tried works well, looks good and lasts long. I refuse to buy leggings, sports bras, sports shoes and socks from other brands now.

What I’m keen to try out:

Cute gym tank tops.
 I want them but I don’t want to pay RM100+ for them, you know? So I just wear my RM5-10 tank tops to the gym. Whatever la I look damn ugly at the gym anyway.

Gym bags.
 Thanks companies that give free tote bags

Home gym kits.
 Was super tempted to buy weights from Decathlon and build my own home gym.

#3 – Food and Supplements

What I’ve tried:

Many, many types of diet.
I’ve restricted my calorie count in more ways than I care to admit. The cost is reflected in my groceries bill.

Weight loss pills.
 Yup, I’ve tried them. Some make your heart rate go super high. Some make you shit oil. Maybe wasted RM500, all in all. Waste of money – gained back all the weight I’ve lost.

Meal replacements.
 I’ve tried a few brands, including Herbalife. Also a waste of money.

Detox tea.
 Same – waste of money.

What I take now:

Protein shake.
 I’m quite loyal to MyProtein’s Chocolate Smooth protein powder, I think it’s delicious af. The price is good too. RM150ish for 100 servings is just RM1.50 on average per serving. That’s the price (and protein macros) of 3 jumbo eggs, more or less.

Chia seeds.
 Only when I don’t think I’m eating enough fiber. RM45 per kilo or so from Lazada. They last me a long time – maybe 6 months or more.

Fish oil capsules.
 RM100 for 330 caps during a Guardian sale. I heard it’s good for you but not sure if it works tbh. I think I’ll just finish my stock now and make the decision to repurchase or not later.

What I’m keen to try out:

Hypnosis or therapy to help me with overeating
. Unfortunately, I equate feeling full = comfort. I may eat healthy, but I eat a LOT of healthy, if you know what I mean. Would love to hire a professional to help me develop a healthier relationship with food.

What did you try out during your weight loss journey?

Share with us what you tried out during your weight loss and fitness journey. What was cheap but good? What was expensive but didn’t work? Likewise, share too what was cheap but didn’t work and what was expensive but worked. Help me share this article to that one friend of yours who lost a bunch of weight – would LOVE to hear what worked for them, what they spend on, and what they want to try next.


Welcome v2

Welcome to my new website, take 2! Yep, it’s still about personal finance, my favorite subject.

For those of you who don’t know, I used to write about personal finance under chickenflossbun.com. I had a mascot and everything. But that website was short-lived.

Because was I a nOob. After a year, I renewed my domain name but deleted the hosting plan. One day I went to the website and find that it was… gone. My face was like 0_0;;; I was going to correct the mistake and pay for the hosting plan, but when GoDaddy was contacted, they wanted USD150 just to restore it. Oh, capitalism… you bleeping bleep.

Seriously, you bleep bleep bleep bleep. Bleep.

Anyway, enjoy this second attempt. Some pages are still under construction but it’s going to be better than ever. So don’t be a bleep and share my content if you find it helpful, okay?


What’s On My Bookshelf: What I Read and HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Let’s just skip the whole ‘why reading is important’ part because you already know that and I don’t want to insult your intelligence.

After showing you
the contents of my bag
, today I want to show you another aspect of my personal life: the books I read. These are the worldviews and ideologies that shape me: I am who I am because of these materials. Everything I write is directly or indirectly influenced by these authors.

My bookcase contains more than personal finance books
.  I read a wide variety of topics, mostly non-fiction. If you want personal finance-specific book recommendations, do check out these articles instead:

10 Best Books to Learn About Investing, According to Malaysians (With Video Summaries)

10 Personal Finance Books Millennials Should Read

Without further ado, let’s start. I’m not going to list ALL of my books, just the ones that truly made me think and self-reflect, even years after I read them. Some of them also inspired RoR articles (I’ll link them too).

Have fun checking out what’s on my bookshelf. As if you need a reason to buy more books, lol.

What’s On My Bookshelf – Oranges and Yellows

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all of these books:

1.
How Women Decide: What’s True, What’s Not, and What Strategies Spark the Best Choices
 by Therese Huston

2.
Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan
 by Kim Barker

3.
The Rules of Wealth
 by Richard Templar  *Inspired the
Book Review: The Rules of Wealth by Richard Templar
 article

4.
The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
 by Gretchen Rubin

5.
 Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money
 by Nathaniel Popper

6.
Thinking, Fast & Slow
 by Daniel Kahneman

7.
New Aging: Live Smarter Now to Live Better Forever
by Matthias Hollwich with Bruce Mau Design (Big Bad Wolf Booksale) *Inspired the
How My Dream Home in Malaysia Would Look Like
 article

8.
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
 by Elizabeth Gilbert

9.
Emotional Currency: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Healthy Relationship with Money
 by Kate Levinson *Inspired the
[Personal] How it feels like to constantly obsess over money
 article

10.
Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness
 by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler

11.
Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 1
 curated by Suraya Zainudin (hehehe of course I’m going to include my own book. Pls buy –
here
 or at major bookstores nationwide!)

What’s On My Bookshelf – Blues and Greens

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all of these books:

1.
Everything is Figureoutable: How One Simple Belief Can Help Us Overcome Any Obstacle and Create Unstoppable Success
 by Marie Forleo

2.
Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight
 by M.E. Thomas

3.
Ani’s Railway Odyssey: An Exile’s 18,200 KM Journey Home From London to Kuala Lumpur
 by Nooraini Mydin (Buy at
GerakBudaya
; major bookstores)

4.
Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100
 by Michio Kaku

5.
Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of Rejection
 by Jia Jiang

6.
You’re a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth
 by Jen Sincero

7.
Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
 by Adam Alter

8.
The Man Who Quit Money
 by Mark Sundeen

9.
Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey
 by Hannah Yeo (Buy at
GerakBudaya
; major bookstores)

What’s On My Bookshelf – Reds and Browns

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all of these books:

1.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
 by Yuval Noah Harari

2.
Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals
 by John LeFerve

3.
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success
 by Adam Grant

4.
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life and Times
 by James Finn Garner

5.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
 by Dale Carnegie

6.
Nickeled and Dimed: On Getting By in America
 by Barbara Ehrenreich

What’s On My Bookshelf -Whites, Greys and Blacks

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND all of these books:

1.
Tengku Noor Zakiah: Malaysia’s Pioneering Stockbroker
 (Major bookstores)

2.
7  Habits of Highly Effective People
 by Stephen Covey

3.
Fashion Babylon
 by Imogen Edwards-Jones  *Inspired the
How the Fashion Industry Makes Money (Credit: Fashion Babylon)
 article

4.
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
 by Adam Grant

5.
Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect on What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong

6.
The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
 by Belle Du Jour

7.
Eat, Pray, Love
 by Elizabeth Gilbert

8.
Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World
 by Mark Ellwood *Inspired the
Why We Can’t Stop Spending Money
 article

9.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
 by James Clear

10.
Around the World in 50 Years: My Adventure to Every Country on Earth
 b
y
Albert Podell

11.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
 by Yuval Noah Harari

12.
1984
 by George Orwell

13.
Homo Deus
 by Yuval Noah Harari

14.
Moody Bitches: The Truth About the Drugs You’re Taking, the Sleep You’re Missing, the Sex You’re Not Having, and What’s Really Making You Crazy
 by Julie Holland, MD

15.
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu

16.
Holy Men, Holy Women
 by Dina Zaman (Buy at
GerakBudaya
; major bookstores)

What books do YOU have on your bookshelves?

(Or your Kindle. Or your audiobook playlist – listening to books is reading, too!)

Note: If you want to get your hands on any of the books I recommended above, consider getting them from:

BookDepository.com
, the online book marketplace. Deliveries are free (but admittedly lengthy), the prices tend to be alright, sometimes way cheaper than bookstores and

Kinokuniya
 – you know them. Buy from here if you want faster deliveries

If you buy through the link, I’ll earn a small commission without any additional cost to you.

I love getting book recommendations. Share with me a book (or a few) that made a deep, lasting impact to you in the comments section below, can? It doesn’t have to be money-related.


What’s Its Like to Work From Home (4 Years Update!)

Wow, it’s been almost four years since I work from home full-time.
The last time I wrote about it, I was only one year in
!

It’s still a little bit surreal. Like many of you, I grew up thinking that 9-6 working days is the default. It’s even more surreal when I remember that this work from home thing was an accident.
The plan was actually to do a bit of freelance writing to make some extra income while I find myself a new, stable job.

Then somehow work turned to more work and I just never stopped and here I am? Sometimes I still catch myself thinking ‘ah how nice would it be to work from home wait Suraya you
do
work from home you dolt’.

In any case, in this article I want to share with you the good parts about working from home, the bad parts and tasks I personally do as a work-from-home writer. I think it’s fair to say this article is written based on experience. Enjoy.

Work from Home: The Good

#1 – Generally saving money

I really like this part. There are many areas where I get to save money, or do money-saving experiments. It’s brilliant.

For example:

I find that I no longer need to maintain my car, so I gave it back to my dad (yes I’m privileged). My monthly transportation costs are now around the RM300-400 range via Grab and public transportation, as opposed to at least RM500-800 per month on car maintenance, not including the repairs

I get to make homemade meals, which tend to be cheaper and healthier than outside food

I don’t need to stock up on too many work clothes

Love love love adding small but satisfying life upgrades but on a budget. Like
making fresh coffee at home
 instead of instant. Mmmm

#2 – The general flexibility is nice

I rarely use alarm clocks. Yes, it is amazing, not even going to lie about that.

And because I set tasks for the day without locking it to any timeslot, I don’t really care what I do for the day as long as I get shit done.

My productivity level depends on my mood, which to be fair can be a good or a bad thing. Sometimes I’d finish my work early and reward myself with Youtube videos. Sometimes I procrastinate like crazy then use the deadline stress to force myself to work.

#3 – The extra time is a blessing

I didn’t realise this until someone pointed it out, but people who work from home gained so much time from one single thing: no commute to work.

(And sometimes we get extra time when we feel too lazy to change out of our pajamas too!)

And what do I do with this blessing? I waste it on social media smh

#4 – The possibility of working from anywhere!

The term commonly used for this dreamy-sounding lifestyle is digital nomad, which I’m sure you’ve heard.

Personally, I
used
to like the idea of travelling while working – it still seemed like the perfect, responsibility-free life, mind you – but have since accepted that it’s just a matter of the grass looking greener on the other side.

Thinking about it, yeah I don’t really want to work while on vacation. I just want to chill and eat food and get fat.

Plus I have two cats I love too much to leave behind. How can I not fall for them ugh.

View this post on Instagram

I gave birth to two cats this morning

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Jan 6, 2017 at 12:22am PST

#5 – Going to malls and offices at non-peak hours

Going to crowded places during weekends now legit stresses me out. And when I get stressed out I get cranky and a bit bitchy. In my head, everyone who so much breathes near me gets cursed for seven generations.

#6 – You can order stuff online and wait for it to arrive at home

I can confirm that this is really really nice (but a bit dangerous!)

#7 – Picking and choosing who you want to work and hang out with (and who you don’t)

This privilege is only available after you established yourself as a professional, after you start getting work inquiries and word-of-mouth referrals, basically after you can afford to say no.

Unlike traditional work settings, where you are forced to get along with annoying characters to get your workload done, being your own boss means you can always say no (politely) if you don’t want to.

Pro-tip: make your own contacts list, comprising of people you can pass off jobs to. For example, sometimes when I have too much on my plate and receive yet another job inquiry, I would share the work opportunity among my contacts for free.

It’s the best win-win arrangement- the client still thinks you’re reliable and your colleagues will like you for sharing work opportunities around.

I would say the best perk here is definitely the ability to pursue genuine friendships with like-minded individuals and avoid the toxic crowd. I can’t tell you how much I value being away from people who love complaining and think everything in the world sucks.

Those who have these people as colleagues – I’m so sorry for you. Hang in there. Pakai earphones.

Alright so far everything’s been good. Got bad parts meh, working from home? Goooot.

Work from Home: The Bad

Time to burst some bubbles.

#1 – Work from home is only fun if you’re not stressed about money

This is the real truth right here. If you’re not financially secure, your house will feel like a prison. There’s no fun to speak of, just stress. Not knowing where your next paycheck is going to come combined with dwindling savings is like 10/10 in the modern-day stress scale.

#2 – Work from home is only possible if you can avoid distractions

Some people resort to placing their phones in another room while they work so they don’t get distracted. Others make themselves a study or a den. However you do it, you need to optimise your surrounding to encourage something called ‘flow’.

Sometimes I get angry when people say things like, oh stay-at-home mothers/fathers can still work from home and get supplemental income for the family. Kids are distracting af. Can’t focus.

#3 – People think you’re free all the time

And may take advantage of you because of it.

Protip: Don’t call yourself a freelancer. The ‘free’ in freelancer somehow makes people think that your services are worth less than what it is and you’re somehow free all the time.

Call yourself something else: founder, consultant, specialist, whatever. I notice that people took my work a lot more seriously after I stopped calling myself a freelance writer and started calling myself a communications consultant.

#4 – It’s very hard to switch off from work

I’m writing this article at 2am on a Monday night. My brain is still on work mode and I don’t know how to get it to stop.

#5 –
No medical leaves, EPF contribution from employer or other employee benefits

Obviously. By now I’m used to it, and I make my own arrangements, but I remember panicking about losing my income while I fell sick once, early in the work from home phase of life.

Protip: You can make voluntary EPF and PRS contributions and earmark those as retirement savings. Both also can get tax relief.

Ok those should be all the good and not-so-good parts about working from home. Some of the points overlapped with the
1-year self-employed progress article
, and I’m glad I’m finding it easier, not harder. Maybe it’s a simple case of me simply getting used to the hard parts, but I’ll take it.

Work from home: A typical week

What I
didn’t
 expect after I started working from home is the surprising variety of my tasks in my to-do list. I thought I’d face the computer screen full-time. Not really.

In a typical week, my tasks would include:

Content creation and optimisation
. Writing articles for RinggitOhRinggit.com. Generate and pitch content proposals to clients. Not all ideas made it into articles – I balance between what I want to write and what’s a good SEO strategy. I also update older articles to be more relevant

Business writing
. I get everything from scripting to website copywriting to report-writing jobs

Digital marketing
. Ideating and scheduling posts for social media channels for Ringgit Oh Ringgit

Client management
. Nurturing potential leads and giving updates on pending projects to existing clients

Project management
. Hiring and outsourcing other freelancers to complete bigger projects, either my own or clients’. For example, Money Stories from Malaysians book series is one of my projects

Social media engagement
. Replying comments across all RoR channels

Attending industry-related events
. Always good to learn new things. I’d call this networking but truth is I get too shy to talk to people I don’t know, so I stay quiet at the back

Administrative works.
 Preparing invoices and organising folders, signing contracts and scheduling meetings, replying emails and removing spam in website’s comment section, updating contacts list and doing deliveries. Things like that

Analytics and technical
. Checking if the website and social media’s growth is on track. Make amendments to growth strategy if needed. Optimise website’s speed, layout, navigation etc

Networking.
 Mostly online, through various communities I’m part of

I have a nice routine going on now, rotating all of the above in a way that still balances my work/personal life. Getting that balance was tough. It was hard before it was
easy
 somewhat tolerable.

Do note here that my typical week as a work from home professional might differ from someone else’s, even if we could be working in the same industry*. Even so, I thought you could find this insight interesting.

*My industry: Business writing, article-writing, digital marketing, website maintenance

The ‘path’ or someone who works from home

You know how you were blind to something and then once pointed out, that’s all you could see?

Yeah that’s what’s happening with me and this strange little community of work-from-home people.

I know people who set up
home offices
. Like really nice ones. One person did tech support. Another did party planning. Another did English tutoring to Chinese kids, with e-commerce on the side.

I know people who decided to get an office to work from or
return to the workforce
 because they actually got sick of working from home. For some reason or another the novelty wore off. I guess irregular paychecks is not for everyone.

I know people who do the
digital nomad
-ing thing. In this region, Langkawi, Bali and Chiang Mai appear to be favourites.

I know people who started working from home
from necessity
, not by choice. It’s just a way to save money on business expenses in the early stages. As soon as they could afford to hire a team, they moved to co-working spaces and offices.

I know work-from-home people who appear to travel a damn lot in order to recruit more people into their
MLM
. The irony is they used the work-from-home lifestyle as a bait.

I know people who intentionally
 learn skillsets
 that would allow them to be able to make a living from home. Because they are sick of working for other people, and they just crave more independence.

And I know other people, who, like me, rent their own place and
double it up as their office
. Sometimes we go work from cafes or co-working places just for a change of scenery, but mostly we’re quite happy being solitary.

Each of the above groups, while being part of the same community (so to speak), face their own set of challenges.

Last words

Tell me about yourself. Do you have work from home fantasies? Or do you currently work from home yourself?

If you’re the latter, let me know what you do and what you think of this article. How similar or different is my experience from yours?

The comments section is below. You know what to do 🙂

Further reading:

11 things I learned about self-employment in Malaysia

How to Get Clients: A Guide for Malaysian Freelancers

How to Charge Clients: 5 Methods Freelancers Can Use


10 Affordable Homes in Malaysia to Check Out if You Earn Average Income

For the average person earning average salary and income, getting an affordable home in Malaysia can be a challenge, no doubt about it. Many of the options available on the market will be ‘severely unaffordable’* to you.

*According to
Khazanah Research Institute
, property prices in Malaysia is ‘severely unaffordable’ at 4.4 times the median annual household income (2014 data). A more acceptable range is 3x

Yet, some affordable home options do exist. 10 options, in fact.

Before I get your hopes up…

Affordable homes in Malaysia won’t be the same as housing offered by private developers

First of all, you have to accept that any type of affordable house in Malaysia will NOT be at the same par with the more expensive options offered by private developers. No matter how you put it, a house costing less than RM300k or so COULD NOT offer the same things as a house costing RM500k and above.

So yes, do not expect the bells and whistles in these low cost housing in Malaysia. Instead, do expect that there will be downsides. Some that I could think of:

Located far from public transportation/work

Lack amenities

Bad management and maintenance

On the small side

Super dense and lack privacy

Lower-quality materials

Hard to get (lottery system)

Not applicable to you (don’t fit the requirements)

Lots of T&Cs (cannot rent out, etc)

Etc

(Feel free to confirm these downsides, or add more that I missed.)

On the plus side, you do have the ability to choose which downside(s) you can live with (or even enjoy). With that established, let’s go ahead with the choices of affordable homes in Malaysia you can get.

#1-6 – Affordable Housing Schemes by Malaysian Government

 As of writing time, the
MyGov portal
 lists these 6 affordable housing schemes for Malaysians. Each of them has their own T&C – click on each one to learn more.

Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia (PPAM)

PR1MA

My First Home Scheme

Federal Territory Malaysia Home/ RUMAWIP

MyHome

My Selangor Home

Before you click on any of those links, again I want to say- these affordable housing schemes have T&Cs. There
might
 will be requirements for applicants, and even rules for buying/living/selling the house. For some, I’m aware you can’t even rent it out (not that it stops *some* people..)

#7 – Buy flats instead of other types of housing

This one is no secret – a type of low-cost housing in Malaysia, flats do tend to be priced cheaper than other types of housing.

You can find flats at all major property listing pages, like PropertyGuru, iProperty, Mudah.my and more.

#8 – Buy a cheap plot of land then DIY your small house

Next is building your own small house.

However, I feel like this option is a bit deceptive since you’ll probably spend more than you think for basic infrastructure, like electricity, water, sewerage system and roads.

If hooking up your house to the grid is not possible, then you have to install solar panels, rain water harvesting and filtration system, and more. All these costs good money.

Regardless, it may be a valid choice for some people, so that’s why I’m including it here. It is possible to build the house on your parents/relatives land (with their permission of course). That’s what these Youtubers did:

#9 – Buy a house outside of cities

You already know this option, but worth saying anyway: generally speaking, properties sold outside of cities, like in smaller towns and kampungs tend to be a lot cheaper.

If so far, #1-9 is not suitable for you, here’s one last option especially for people looking for affordable house in Selangor area.

#10 – Consider Yayasan My First Home

And last but not least is an option I found out from ex-Berjaya CEO Jalil Rasheed sometime back.
Yayasan My First Home
 is an affordable house in Selangor that is championed by the foundation linked to (under?) Berjaya Group.

As of writing time, they have one project located in Subang, Selangor. According to the website,

Strategically located in Subang, this low-density development consists of 402 dual-key apartment units that sprawl across 3.3 acres of freehold land.

There are three unit types, each with a built up of 900 Sq. Ft. Featuring, Type A: 4 Bedroom & 3 Bathroom, Type B: 5 Bedroom & 4 Bathroom and Type C (Universal Unit): 3 Bedroom & 2 Bathroom.

I also found the financing options on the website, here it is. It looks like they scrapped the (supposedly) 60-year loan idea and retained 35-year loan term (common for mortgages taken by Malaysians).

There you have it, 10 options to get low cost housing in Malaysia. Click on the respective links to find out more information.

To end this, a reminder. Like I said in the beginning, each of them CANNOT be compared to the more expensive options offered by private developers.

Regardless, I hope this list helps aspiring homebuyers who also want to be financially responsible and live within their means can pick the best housing option for them.

Before we part, I’d love to hear from people who have picked one of these affordable home options – what would you do differently, if you were to do it again? Share with us in the comments 🙂


My 5 Rules to Make Beauty Products Affordable

I talk about money and currency all the time – things that are valuable; that has value. Beauty has value as well, and this post is all about that.

Makeup and skincare are something I took up seriously early on, but never really mastered. I’m still navigating this world. Some women are really good at it, and I salute them. If you don’t, it’s worth trying – wearing makeup (or at least good at grooming)
may help you to earn more money, according to this research
. There is financial benefit in being more attractive, so why not? Worth noting: the effect is similar to men, albeit a smaller boost.

I have 5 general rules when it comes to beauty. It may help you, it may not, but this is what helps to make beauty affordable to me.

Rule #1 – If it doesn’t fit in this pouch, I’m not buying it

This is my makeup pouch. It doubles as my travelling makeup pouch. It’s a good size – not too big, not too small.

My first rule is about space. Space for beauty products. Ending up with too many products is something I want to avoid even from the start.

So this helps me to visualise available space. I’d love to have a full set of makeup brushes, but nope, it doesn’t fit, oh well. Having lipsticks in multiple shades would be dope as well, but nope, no space.

I saved a lot of money with this rule.

Rule #2 – Moisturising + Sun Protection is Non-Negotiable

This is what my mama teach me 🙂

My mom has really nice skin at her age. No sun spots, so much less wrinkles. She’s gorgeous, and I can only hope to look half as good as her.

She uses Murad skincare, which is a brand I really like, but can’t really afford. But I take the basic idea – sunscreen (30SPF and above) and some kind of moisturising product. I really like this Hada Labo Hydrating Lotion thing – it’s like RM40+, and people have been saying nice things about my skin so I’m going to keep using it.

I’m still trying to expand m skincare routine, slowly. It’s a bit hard because I’m picky- I hate fragrances in skincare. If you have a good product to recommend, please comment.

Rule #3 – Groom your eyebrows, it frames your face

The first time I got my eyebrows groomed professionally, I cried. It hurts so bad, omg. But the effect was… noticeable… highly noticeable.

Here’s my eyebrows game: professional salon/threading (ranges from RM10-35 per session), then I stretch out between appointments by plucking stray hairs as they grow. When it gets too out of hand again, I go for another session. The products above are cheap, and I’d like my eyebrows cost to stay cheap.

My sister is really good at eyebrows. She has this brow tint thing, and this brow powder thing, and jeez her eyebrows are on point. I’m nowhere near as good, but at least now I can balance my eyebrows  most of the time.

Rule #4 – 2 Kabuki brushes = enough brushes

I get tempted to get more makeup brushes all the time. ALL THE TIME!

But I’ve had these brushes for years and they kinda fill almost all of my needs so I always talk myself out of buying new ones. One for blush, one for face powder.

I
don’t do
 am unable to do contouring, or fancy shading techniques. I should learn, because those things are goals. Use light manipulation on the face, whatttttt you clever witch you. Teach meeee

I have a sponge (not pictured), too, which helps me apply my concealer – but most of the time I end up using my fingers.

Rule #5 – Whatever you get as a present, use it up!

The above are some stuff I received as presents from amazing people, for birthdays, Christmas, contest rewards, or ‘just because’. Thank you, you kind person you <3

I love my ‘use it up’ rule. My brain: Oh! That shop has sales! Eh, I don’t need another body lotion at 50% off, I still have them at home – that’s 100% off.

Sometimes I get really good stuff, too. I’m now a fan of Paul Panders lipstick, Bodyshop Satsuma Body Scrub, and Kerastene shampoo.

If you generally have a lot of products (presents or otherwise), aim to use it up. Using up stuff is a great way to make beauty a lot more affordable, and it forces you to think of what you buy because its a commitment to use it up.

Bonus: Rule #6 – Stocking up on clearance sales is ok, occasionally

No picture because I used up most of the products.

Like anyone else, I enjoy a good haul. I can’t/won’t do this from Sephora, but clearance sales are ok, if I can get a good amount under RM50 or so!

I’ve bought a lot of Himalaya products on clearance, and now I’m a big fan of Himalaya Walnut Face Scrub. (Something something don’t use scrubs with plastic beads they kill the ocean something something)

I’ve also bought a shit load of face masks on sale from pop-up booths. RM1 per face mask? Yass

Sometimes Jusco, Guardian and stuff have clearance on beauty products, which I’ll snap up. I’m talking about items that are 70% off, not mere 10% off.

I try not to do this too much because I know quality products costs money, but hauls are fun and an occasional treat.

Do you have your own rules to make beauty more affordable for you? I’d love to know tips and tricks! Please comment below or tell me by tweeting to me at @surayaror!