Budget Update: May 2017

Budget Update: May 2017

Eventful month. Between work meetings, business travels, networking events, liaising with existing and new clients, getting a new addition to the family, relationship issues, creating a new website from scratch and God knows what else, I barely had time for myself. Or rather, when I did have time, most of it were spent thinking about things that needed doing. I tried to read books, but found that I couldn’t focus on the topic.

On the upside, earned > spent. My highest-earning month to date.

So obviously working from home is good for me, income-wise. However I struggle with ‘switching off’ my mind off work. People have advised me to use co-working spaces, to work from coffee shops (can’t now during Ramadan obviously) and generally to be more disciplined with time management.

The thing is, I can only work to improve on this when I have time. What a catch-22. Motivators among you, can you yell at me, please? I think I need the tough love approach.

Yay of the month:

I’m an aunt!
My sister gave birth
 to a healthy baby boy. I have to find out his name.

Experienced
positive discrimination
. The field I work in – blockchain, cryptocurrencies, fintech, and finance in general – are male-dominated. Some of my colleagues took effort to improve women participation in decision-making level, you guys. I’m VP in a newly-established blockchain association.

Fun month trying
different forms of workout
. Finally tried yoga and Zumba at my local gym. Got a free personal trainer session and she taught me the proper squat form. I’ve been doing it wrong! I was going to get the personal trainer package, but legit forgot about Ramadan month. Have to postpone it for next month.

Paid off final Tesco and IKEA installments
 for fridge, couch, washing machine and other home stuff. RM450-ish freed each month from now on!

Splurged on
 exercise gear
. Bought a second pair of sports shoes (the first one is dying) and gym pants. Also bought myself sneakers, because I’ve never had one.

Bought a kilo of roasted almonds for RM61.50 (cheap!) and 6 1-liter packs of almond milk for RM63.50 (also cheap!). I love
almonds
.

A popular cashless payment service provider organised a bloggers session. We all walked away with a
gift of RM200 in credit
. To be honest, I’m fairly conflicted. Is this a gift, or is this a bribe? The power is still on me whether to write about them or not, but I admit now I’m slightly more biased towards them. Having said that, I really appreciate that they were open to feedback and criticism during the session. The world of influencers is new to me, it’s very interesting to navigate. Everyone wants you to say nice things about them.

Nay of the month:

Despite being my birthday month, I didn’t take much advantage of
freely-available birthday treats
 🙁 The Twitter community said that I could claim free tickets from cinemas, get free food and drinks (Starbucks, My Burger Lab, Boost Juice, Tealive), free stuff (Sephora), vouchers (Parkson, AEON) and more. The only thing I used, without my knowledge, was the free 1GB high-speed internet from Umobile.

I notice now, on dates, I’m
 much less stingy with food prices
. I had two meals over RM100 for two – quite rare. Need to be mindful of this and limit to only once a month, at the most. It’s not a luxury I want to get used to.

I tried to go
keto for Ramadan
, but it didn’t have the effect I wanted. Instead of having full mental clarity, I was just lethargic and barely productive. Went off it.
Really
 enjoyed my chocolate chip apam balik, you guys.

I have a thing for
disclosures
 – it’s only fair to disclose to your audience that you were paid for an ad, right? Unfortunately, no less than two potential clients wanted me to write for them but requested it to be a native advertisement. Aka they don’t want me to label it as sponsored. Had to turn down those jobs, so no income from them. As a side note, one Instagrammer I really like doesn’t tag her posts as sponsored, even though it’s pretty damn obvious. It pisses me off because I really like her content. Be careful of how marketing agencies use this tactic to sell stuff, guys.

Things to Look Forward to:

Raya so I can drink freaking
coffee
 again. There is no perfect time to have coffee during Ramadan. Drink it when breaking fast at 7.30pm, can’t sleep at night. Drink it when having sahur at 4.30am, can’t go back to sleep -_-

I really do like my work though. I look forward to work plans progressing.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
review
).


Budget Update: May 2018

Budget Update: May 2018

I have a confession – in the last few months, I have been spending more than I earn.

This is weird to admit, but I have let lifestyle inflation creep up on me. I honestly didn’t realise my bare-minimum monthly spending – the amount I need to live comfortably but minimally – is now a whopping RM6k per month. Per month!

I dunno why. I kept thinking the number was closer to RM2.5k. Missed the mark by a mile. My goodness.

Breakdown of that RM6k:

Monthly must-pay (fixed) – Rent, Mobile, Insurance, Braces, Laptop payments, Investment repayments, VA – RM3.5k

Monthly must-pay (variables) – Business, Groceries, Misc needs, Transportation – RM1.3k

Monthly nice-to-haves (variables) – Social, Misc wants, Donations – RM1.2k

A few thoughts, since I guess I’m woke now.

One. I have
seven
 major recurring monthly payments (!!) The good thing is my laptop and braces payments will end in September 2018 and December 2018 respectively. Can’t wait until I finish paying off these two and free up RM880 monthly. After that, all I have to do is not to get itchy backside and add on other monthly payments.

Two. I’ve been spending a lot for donations lately, and for the most part they’re for my family. I don’t wish to be stingy with them, I really don’t, but it’s getting a bit unsustainable. How do I go about this? Do I just say no? But I don’t want to say no? Do I cap the amount? How do I say that in a nice way? Do you have advice?

Three. Yes I’m freaking aware RM6k per month is a ridiculous amount. I thought I’m spending well and getting my money’s worth, but it’s time to reassess what I actually need versus what I want. Ok then. No new pretty things, no more outsourcing if I can do it myself. I’ll prepare more vegetarian meals. Whatever it takes to lower my bare-minimum monthly spending.

Four. Seriously, how the hell did I allow my bare-minimum monthly spending to reach RM6k??? I don’t even have car payments or mortgage?!?!

Have you calculated your bare-minimum monthly spending? What’s the number and breakdown?

Yay of the Month:

Pakatan Harapan
won GE14 😀 Remember the
elation
 during the time? Something to commit to memory, forever!

Read 4 books.

The Rescue
by Nicholas Sparks (meh);
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance (freaking good read, insightful peek into the mind of a hardworking genius);
Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World
by Mark Ellwood (the chapter covering historical evolution of retail strategies was the best); and
Committed; A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
by Elizabeth Gilbert (takeaway; women lose more in a bad marriage. It’s absolutely essential for us to get married to the right person. There is no ‘making do’ when it comes to life partners, or we’ll suffer the consequences soon enough.)

Organised Ringgit Oh Ringgit’s first-ever
personal finance meetup
! I randomly brought up the idea in RoR FB group, and was surprised by the positive demand. Some even want me to do it in Penang! So yeah, a bunch of us personal finance nerds met up on a Saturday afternoon, chatted about money strategies, and agreed to channel RM200 of our money towards an NGO listed at
NGOHub.asia
. It was a fun day 🙂

Attended a few fun
community events
, including a copywriting talk, a Wordpress anniversary party, and a Pecha Kucha event.

Turned 30
. Mood changes between ‘IDGAF’ to ‘my God I’m old’, all the time.

Had fun exploring all the
ewallets
 and getting cashback, discounts and bonuses from them. I think I earned about RM300 in total? Check out
Reviews of All The Ewallets in Malaysia I’ve Tried
 article for deets.

Passive income
 from this website increased significantly after I implemented Ezoic. If you have a website with >10k traffic per month, you’re eligible. Contact me if you want an honest review.

Nay of the Month:

Went off keto, weight immediately ballooned. Now practising mindful eating, which is like 10x harder than keto for me tbh. I need to have a better relationship with food. Something to work on.

Splurged on a few
beauty products
 to make myself feel better. The damage was around RM120 and includes: hair oil, eyeliner, lip balm, mascara and skincare samples bought from Carousell sellers

Until someone pointed it out on Twitter, I didn’t realise ringgitohringgit.com stopped people from
submitting comments
! I have no idea how many reader comments I’ve lost, so kinda sad about that 🙁 Oh well, at least it was fast to fix. The comments section should work properly now. Open invite to everyone reading this to send me website improvement-related suggestions – I want to improve it further but sometimes don’t know how.

Bought a couple of
games
 from Steam (RM30+) and some gems for that Harry Potter game (RM5~).
Rakuen
 was great, but I can’t see myself finishing the other games.

 Did not regularly exercise. Only went to the gym twice all month. I miss my muscles.

Things to Look Forward to:

Raya
 End of fasting month.

Enlisted myself in a
Writers’ Retreat
in June, something I’ve always wanted to try!

Bought tickets and accommodation to
Good Vibes Festival
 in July 😀 RM600 gone, but heck it, I want to experience a youth-centric music festival, for once in my life.

Can we end this budget update article with a question about motivation? What’s your motivation in life? What keeps you going? How do you maintain it? What do you do when your motivation is low for extended period of time? Asking for, uh, a friend.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
review
).


Budget Update: May 2019

Budget Update: May 2019

An okay month, budget-wise. Things slow down due to fasting season, less events and meetups than usual. That gave me more time to spend on online courses.

The one I’m enlisted in now, Dream Job course by Ramit Sethi, has a component forcing me to identify and list down my mental barriers, or negative beliefs that stop me from achieving whatever it is that I want to achieve.

After taking some time to think about it, I came up with 6 mental barriers that I personally have:

Fear in managing a team
. This has kept me as a solopreneur all this while, a one-person team. I realise that while I can grow fast, I can’t grow far without hiring people.

Hard to get out of scarcity mindset
. It’s not as bad as before, but my default is still to save money rather than earn money.

Need to improve my presentation & speech skills
. It can be better. It can always be better.

Stingy with higher-cost self-development tools and courses
. Self-explanatory.

Don’t like working with VIPs or bigshots
. So I prefer not having them as clients, despite the big paychecks. I’m okay with this barrier actually.

Uncomfortable with outbound sales
. I guess the solution for this is to be really, really good with inbound sales.

‘Fixing’ myself will be a process, hopefully a fun and fulfilling one. I just want to be the best version of myself, you know? After talking to some friends, a few suggested going to Toastmasters meetups to improve on #3.

If anyone has more suggestions on how I can improve my presentation skills, I’m all ears 🙂 Been getting more speaking and presenting gigs nowadays. I just want to do a good job and be worth people’s time.

Yay of the Month:

Booked flights to Perth for a
family trip in August
! Managed to get RM800 return flight tickets, which is pretty good for a non-AirAsia flight. Yay can’t wait to pamper my parents.

Crypto is bullish
 again yaaay

Watched ‘
Talking Money
‘, an observational documentary by Sebastian Winkels and screened during the
Freedom Film Festival
. This was the first time conversations and power dynamics at the bank is recorded in this way (see the trailer below). At the end of the screening, during the Q&A session, I asked Sebastian about what he learned from the interactions. He said that customers tend to talk too much, explain themselves too much, offer too much personal information. We feel the need to talk through the silence, but sometimes this is used against us. Good point – banks do their best to portray a friendly image, but sometimes we forget they are profit-focused institutions, too.

TALKING MONEY – Official Trailer (2019)
 from
solo:film
 on
Vimeo
.

I like trying out different digital marketing hacks, and one of them worked particularly well in May 2019. I managed to
grow my
Ringgit Oh Ringgit Facebook page
 by… 1.4k. From 6.2k likes to 7.6k likes in one month, as of writing time. Ask me how 😉

In other digital marketing updates, I also started offering a lead magnet (a downloadable freebie) to
grow my mailing list
. That’s working as well – it’s growing around 2.5x the usual rate. I made it using Designrr, a marketing tech tool which helps you to easily turn existing content into other formats.

Read
 3 books.
Becoming Hannah: A Personal Journey by YB Hannah Yeoh
 (very inspiring! I cried a few times),
Disrupted: Ludicrous Misadventures in the Tech Start-Up Bubble by Dan Lyons
 (laugh-out-loud behind the scenes of Hubspot, an inbound marketing and sales startup) and
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
 (I prefer the movie)

Attended SJ+ Youth Forum’s event ‘
Clickbait
: The Changing Face of Today’s News’ to learn about the use and ethics of clickbait in journalism. Nandini from SAYS couldn’t make it, but it was informational nonetheless.

Started a
decluttering challenge
! I aim to get rid of 30 things in 30 days from my home. Got the inspiration from other bloggers, thought it’s a good idea to do it myself. It’s Day 7 as of writing time, so far so good. I’ve donated, sold and threw out a few items.

Nay of the Month:

Delayed the
writing contest announcement
for Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 2. Facing some mental barriers – for some reason, I fear no one will join this time around. It’s an irrational fear yet it’s still a fear. Need to work on overcoming it.

Had to pay
RM25 x 2 credit card service tax
. I tried to call them hoping they’d waive it, but no dice. Ah at least I tried.

RM480 for
monthly groceries
 is a reduction from the previous month, but still too high for my taste.

I am obsessed with
this one bag
 from The Weekend Edit. It’s so pretty, God so pretty. Obviously they installed Pixel in their website because the ads keep popping up in my Facebook and Instagram, reminding me to buy it. Usually, when I want something expensive that I don’t technically need, I will force myself to wait. If I still remember it after a few months, then I allow myself to make the purchase. It’s a good strategy because 99% of the time I’ll forget it anyway. But this one. I have a feeling I’ll keep remembering it. But I don’t need it, I already have enough bags. But it’s so pretty. This mental dilemma is driving me nuts.

Another live plant died, so I bought a damn fake plant.

View this post on Instagram

After multiple attempts to keep a damn plant alive on this shelf and failing because the damn cats keep knocking them down, I’ve finally decided to buy a damn fake plant . Cost: RM9.90 for the plastic palm leaves from Kaison. Wasted: approx RM100 between 3 or 4 live plants . #igiveup #kaison #kaisonmalaysia #lifewithcats #dekomalaysia #dekorumahmalaysia #malaysiahomedecor

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 29, 2019 at 11:18pm PDT

Things to Look Forward to:

Raya
 End of
fasting month
. Not particularly excited for Raya to be completely honest. It’s just, meh.

I might… go to
Estonia
 in June? I applied for a journalist programme that I saw from a random Twitter post, and suddenly informed I got it? Nothing’s confirmed yet so far, but if yes, wow. It’s fully-sponsored too!

I’m one of the speakers at
People Power forum
, as part of the Popular Bookstore-organised Bookfest Malaysia 2019 event. Come see me 🙂 More info at
https://bit.ly/bfmted19

View this post on Instagram

I’m one of the speakers at @popularmalaysia ‘s People Power talk. Come see me 😊 More info at https://bit.ly/bfmted19 Registration fee: RM10 (includes entry tix to BookFest Malaysia 2019) Date: 8 June 2019 (Sat) Time: 11.00am – 1.30pm Venue: Hall 5, Hospitality Lounge 5 Speakers: Suraya Zainudin – Enterpreneur, Speaker and Consultant M. Krishnamoorthy – Author, Professor and Trainer Ching Lee Hwa – Author, Master Trainer and Coach #bookfestmalaysia #bookfestmalaysia2019 #popularbookstore #tedxkl #trainasia #malaysians #malaysia #KLCC #kualalumpur #bookloversmalaysia

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 27, 2019 at 10:57pm PDT

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin. Please drop a prayer for my late grandmother, Hajah Kamariah binti Sidek. This is our first Raya without her, and we miss her very much.

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
how expense tracking works
)


Budget Update: May 2020

Budget Update: May 2020

In May 2020, I spent a total of RM4799.69, with two-thirds of that across only 2 categories: Donations & Gifts and Rent & Utilities.

Most donations went to Raya food orders (saved my family the trouble to cook on Raya Day 2) and duit raya giveaway. At first I was like hmm I should donate to other causes too (and I did), but then I remembered, charity starts at home.

May 2020 was a very strange month. I think I was out of focus for a good chunk of the month, due to (1) fasting, and (2) still processing the pandemic. Some days I feel like I’m handling it well, some days I just kinda zombie out and just do the bare minimum, professionally speaking.

What would you suggest I do? Advice wanted. I want to ‘snap out of it’ so bad. I want my pre-pandemic mental clarity back.

My Spending Breakdown in May 2020

In this section, I’m sharing what I spent on in the whole month, in their respective categories. From highest to lowest, my expenses were:

Some categories, like Social (activities with friends) are not recorded at all, because those expenses didn’t happen.

Moving on to the yays and nays of the month –

Yay of the Month:

Bought my first ever premium phone –
 iPhone 11
. Managed to put it on an instalment plan, so that’s RM289.12 which I need to pay every month for the next 12 months. (warning! not promoting instalment plans! I can afford to pay in full.) (I need to mention this purchase enough times so I can justify it as a business expense come tax season lol)

Happy to say that MPH Distributors agreed to stock up
Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 2 in bookstores
! You’ll soon see copies in stores. (although…  I’m aware bookstores aren’t doing too well nowadays 🙁 Support your bookstores if you can, everyone)

View this post on Instagram

UPDATE! Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 2 will be available in major bookstores near you soon!! You can get a copy at #mphbookstore #popularbookstore #kinokuniyamalaysia #timesbookstore #bordersmalaysia I. Am. So. Happy. Thanks korang for the support 😭❤ I can’t believe I’ll have 2 books in the bookstores uuuu so happy #MYmoneystories #malaysianwriters

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 21, 2020 at 12:54am PDT

Sent flowers to my Mom for
Mother’s Day
 and made her very happy 🙂

Had an okay
Raya
, considering everything. My first time Raya-ing in Klang Valley.

Website traffic
 SHOT THE HELL UP. RinggitOhRinggit.com recoded 75k views in May 2020 (it was hovering between 55-65k per month previously). I still don’t know which page shared it. If that’s you, THANK YOU

View this post on Instagram

WHO SHARED MY ARTICLE ON FACEBOOK?! Traffic exploded yesterday and easily broke previous highest single-day view record 🤯🤯 in my analytics I can see the traffic came from Facebook but I can’t find out which page! The new record now is 5878 views in one day. And it looks like I may break it again today – it’s only 9am and I already have around 2000 views. I’m happy and all but WHAT IS GOING ON #malaysianblogger #wordpressblogger #personalfinanceblogger

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 29, 2020 at 6:11pm PDT

Did a few collaborations, including with
Unrestricted Stage
:

View this post on Instagram

“Branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room” Catch me on Facebook live this Saturday, 16 May 5pm at @unrestrictedstage 🙌 My topic is personal branding and social media for creatives. #unrestrictedstage #personalbranding #socialmediamarketing #inboundmarketing

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 14, 2020 at 11:34pm PDT

And did my first
 international webinar

View this post on Instagram

My first international webinar this MCO! Join Fouad, Miriam and I this Friday, 15 May 2020 at 10pm Malaysian time. Moderated by *the* Islamic banking expert and @getniyah co-founder Safdar Alam Register at getniyah.com/webinar #islamicfinance #islamicbanking #pengurusankewangan #perbankanislam #getniyah

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
May 11, 2020 at 8:09pm PDT

Nay of the Month:

Didn’t read any books. Again.

Paid a
backlog of electricity bills
 that I completely forgot about, totaling RM194.15. Sigh, the sucky part of being an adult is forgetting a problem = postponing the problem, not eliminating it. So it’s just best to tackle it head-on (I should take my own advice)

Website income
 was greatly affected due to less ad spend by companies

covid-19 has greatly impacted my income from website ad 🙁 USD200 in Dec ’19 to USD80 in May ’20
#ezoic

pic.twitter.com/ivZ3bNNws8

— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
May 26, 2020

Paid RM75 in
service tax for my 3 credit cards
, or RM25 each

My
driving licence expired
, so I paid RM152 to renew it for another 5 years

The SOCAR car I booked had a flat tyre. Not their fault, and to their credit, they replaced with another vehicle soon enough, but wow was that mafan.

Things to Look Forward to:

…? What am I looking forward to? I’m not sure. I’ve always had some sort of travel planned out, but obviously none of that is happening now.

What are YOU looking forward to? Do share, can do with new ideas and inspiration. Feeling a bit lost.

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
how expense tracking works
)


Budget Update: May 2021 – Blurry Days

Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month!

May 2021 was mostly spent at home. Except for grocery runs and vaccination shot, we didn’t go anywhere else. We haven’t met our families in more than a month now. To pass the time, we’ve been binge-watching Modern Family on Netflix – definitely getting our money’s worth there.

I have a lot of trouble with focusing. Between Covid-19 cases and death rates which reach new highs on daily basis, and crypto swings (like normal; I’m hodling and DeFi-ing) and the news, I feel like my head is all over the place. Days feel like they blur into weeks and before I knew it, May was over. It’s the strangest feeling yet I know I shouldn’t complain – I’m still one of the lucky ones.

How do you keep your days exciting? Please give suggestions. I miss life and doing stuff.

Okay, let’s get on to the budget part.

Budget Update: May 2021

In May 2021, I spent RM6,106.41. The top 3 top expenses were:

Utilities & Rent (RM1,901.11)
 – Gotta keep a roof over our heads
Donations & Gifts

(RM1,204.25)
 – Parents’ electric bill, donations to an NGO helping Palestine and Kebun Rahmat, a permaculture farm
Groceries (RM933.60)
 – Bought extra groceries to make Raya food and desserts

My Spending Breakdown in May 2021

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of May 2021, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Got vaccinated! (First dose)

Am extremely grateful to be able to get my (first) shot early-ish. Additionally, I’m thankful to be able to get the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, the (only?) one which promised to NOT profit from the pandemic and
sell the vaccines at cost price worldwide
.

If everything goes well, the rest of my family members should also get their AZ shots in June and July. I can’t wait to hug them.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#2 – Raya

Puasa came and went. Ngl, it was a sad Raya – it was just the two of us (four if you count the cats).

However, I am grateful to celebrate with my partner and be each other’s strength. Both of us had moments where we wanted to break SOP and visit our families because we miss them so much, but we reminded each other to stay put. It’s the right thing to do.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#3 – Managed to sell Baju Raya

I bought the Baju Raya above for the sole purpose of picture-taking, then managed to sell it. As a frugal person, I know I could have just used my old baju kurung for Raya and feel slightly defensive of this technically unnecessary ‘want’, but hey. You only experience your first Raya as a newlywed once.

It is worth buying a new baju raya set just to be matchy matchy with husband on our first Raya together, right? 🥺
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
May 1, 2021

#4 – Completed 2-months SEO consultation

Back in March I invested in a professional SEO content audit for RinggitOhRinggit.com. It was absolutely worth it. We had weekly chats and covered areas for improvement, as well as future content strategy. Been implementing some of her tips in May 2021 and I’ve seen my web traffic increase, so it’s working.

Spending RM2500 for professional SEO content audit 💪 it's time to take it to the next level
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
March 23, 2021

#5 – Gave 3 talks

I did:

Journey to Financial Freedom webinar in collaboration with MyAgeing™ Financial Literacy and Educational Hub (MyFiLE), UPM
My Investing Journey in colalboration with AFS Antarabudaya Malaysia
Money Matters: How to Manage Personal Finances as a Fresh Graduate with Faculty of Social Sciences, UM

Thank you to everyone who attended <3

#6 – Turned 33

One year older 🙂 Gifted myself one pretty dress via Ellegra and Body Shop shower gel.

#7 – Misc

Read
one book
:
Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World
 by Fareed Zakaria. The part that I remember the most was how the antivaxx community isn’t ignorant nor stupid (as what I would assume), but rather consume literature that strengthens their bias. And all of us do this – we pick and choose what to believe.

Nay of the Month:

#1 – Palestine attacked by Israel

Like many Malaysians, I too followed the news and updates of the attack on Gaza Strip by Israel. The sheer feeling of helplessness was unreal.

#2 – My stand fan died on me (again)

I don’t know why I have such bad luck with stand fans. This is the second one that broke after lasting barely a year.

#3 – Paid outstanding Indah Water bill

I don’t know why but I kept thinking Indah Water bill is more like a suggestion than an instruction…

I haven’t paid for so long, they sent me a stern-looking letter from a legal company and said they may be taking action over the unpaid Indah Water bill, which ballooned to RM576.

Lesson learned. Paid the whole outstanding amount in one go and will be taking the next Indah Water bills seriously..

#4 – ‘Burned’ a pre-paid hair perm session

I could have used it before it expired in May 2021, but the number of cases were rising so I thought it wasn’t a good idea. Oh well.

Things to Look Forward to:

Completing work commitments. Am lucky enough to be blessed with paying jobs. Alhamdulillah.

Well, that was my May 2021. How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: May 2022 – Awesome Month

Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month.

So how was your May? Was it good, bad or meh?

For me, I had an
awesome
 month. I had my birthday (turned 34 yay) and was spoiled rotten by my loved ones. I got: a hotel staycation, two nice birthday dinners, a girls-day-out spa session, and a bunch of presents. At one point I cried because I am so happy with how my life turned out.

And then, because I like to overthink, I immediately worry. Crap, I am now expected to return the favour, when their turns come around.

Now, this is a problem, because I suck at gift-giving. It is not my primary love language, in fact it is my least favourite. But I have no choice but to learn to be good at it, because I refuse to be the person who only receives but never give back in return.

If there is one thing I have learned so far in this short life. You must never be a Taker. No one likes Takers.

Let’s get on to the budget part.

Budget Update: May 2022

In May 2022, I spent RM14,745.17. The top 3 top expenses were:

Donations & Gifts (RM5,788.85)
– Cash gifts to family members
Misc Needs (RM5,238.45)

–
Paid taxes
Utilities & Rent (RM
1,268.47
)
– Half mortgage and bills

Cumulatively, the top 3 expenses make up 84% of my total May 2022 expenses. (My belief is, if you want to save money, always trim from the top 3 expenses rather than cut out a few ringgits from other already-low expenses)

My Spending Breakdown in May 2022

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of May 2022, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Received *most* of my pending payments from clients

I had 12 pending payments from clients. By writing time, 8 of them had paid 🙂 It’s a good month, cashflow-wise.

#2 – Found the perfect sofa

This scratch-resistant sofa is not a want, it is a NEED. Tanks to my cats, my 5-year-old fabric sofa is practically a goner.

For those asking, I got sofa with custom Aquaclean fabric upgrade. A few shops offer it so ask around (I found a shop near to me via Google)
pic.twitter.com/8xA7uwfyxb
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
May 9, 2022

I am not kidding about my cats

Look at their handiwork look
pic.twitter.com/hwqcDcrmkq
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
May 9, 2022

#3 – Paid taxes, maxed out tax relief for EPF and PRS

In May 2022, I’ve:

paid taxes YA2021
self-contributed EPF RM4k to max out tax relief
self-contributed PRS RM3k to max out tax relief

And just like that, almost spent all payments received from clients :’) Oh well, being responsible feels good too.

#4 – Sold old laptop

Managed to sell old laptop for RM250 yay. Glad I took the time to list and sell it, instead of just sending to e-waste centre.

Thanks to everyone who advice to terus jual without fixing. Sold for RM250. Buyer wants it for parts, mentions the screen mahal
Later I check on shopee, screen replacement for surface pro je dah RM500++ Happy for the buyer 🙂
https://t.co/36u1QeYpJH
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
May 5, 2022

#5 – Appeared on..

#1 –  Ringgit & Sense on BFM Radio

Thanks BFM Ringgit & Sense show for having me again 🙂 Find my travel budgeting tips in the podcast, listen to it at:
https://www.bfm.my/podcast/morning-run/ringgit-and-sense/how-to-budget-when-planning-your-travels

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#2 – “Ringgit Dijaga Keluarga Sejahtera” Webinar with AKPK

Thank you Experian for having me, happy to present ‘Cara Berbincang Kewangan dengan Pasangan (Tanpa Bergaduh)’ in the webinar. My slot at 50 minutes in, watch here:

#6 – Misc

Read:

Tate No Yuusha No Nariagari manga Vol 1-18 (this counts!!)

Noteworthy shows:

Everything Everywhere All At Once
Dr Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Bought for myself:

New powerbank
Sunscreens and liptint
Iphone cable replacement
Gym shoes
Spray mop replacement
Laundry bag so I can wash and sell clothes

Nay of the Month:

#1 – Vet fees

Noticed my cat Lemon peeing frequently, everywhere – on couch, bed, carpet. It turned from bad to worse when I found blood in his pee, so off to the vet he went.

Thankfully it was just an inflamed bladder and he recovered without needing surgery. By the end of the antibiotics treatment, I became quite the pro at administering pills.

Cost: RM85. Also upgraded cat food – they eat Royal Canin now.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#2 – The market sucks

Horrible month for investors. Everything is red, my portfolio is down by at least a third. Trying my best to ignore it. Nothing I can do but just continue DCA as usual.

Things to Look Forward to:

Hopefully can fully move into new place 🙂

Well, that was my May 2022. How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: May 2023 – Birth and Taxes

Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month.

So how was your May? Was it good, bad or meh?

For me, May 2023 was an eventful one: we welcomed our first child. Baby Mika was actually due in early June but decided to come earlier.

In fact, he couldn’t wait to come – I had a relatively
short 2.5 hours birth and actually delivered him before we even reached the hospital
!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

Thank you again to everyone who wished us well, I super appreciate it. Feel so loved, honestly.

Thanks to the whole experience, I have ideas for at least 2 articles. The first one is on baby stuff that I bought (and splurged/skimped on):

– all parenting books especially by Emily Oster is worth it! 💯
Splurged & not worth it:
– doomoo pillow RM450 (it's good just not great)
– Summer & Peach nursing bra RM200+ for 4 (bad quality straps!)
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 28, 2023

And the other is on the decision to have a child:

Someone asked what made me decide to transition from DINK (dual income no kids) to having one, and how I planned my finances
Love this question. I think I'll write an article about it
pic.twitter.com/OxJncJP0MJ
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 31, 2023

Look forward to those articles in the next couple of weeks 🙂 For now, let’s get on to the budget part.

Budget Update: May 2023

In May 2023, I spent RM11,058.38 The top 3 top expenses were:

Misc Needs (RM5,708.29)
 –
Mostly for income tax – 2022 and 2023

Utilities & Mortgage (RM1,327)
 – Half mortgage and bills

Donations & Gifts (RM1215.90)
 – Parents’ electric bill, Mother’s Day, paid for my partner’s medical consultation

Cumulatively, the top 3 expenses make up 75% of my total May 2023 expenses. This is quite the anomaly, as far as monthly budgets go. I don’t pay that much in taxes every month.

If we take out Misc Needs, the next biggest expense is Social – managed to get a ticket to the Coldplay concert!

(My belief is, if you want to save money, trim first from the top 3 expenses rather than cut out a few ringgits from other already-low expenses)

My Spending Breakdown in May 2023

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of May 2023, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Welcomed baby Mika

My default is no kids unless I can afford it AND found someone to go through the parenting journey together.

On the latter, I sure am grateful with how life turned out. I love seeing my partner happy whenever he held baby Mika. He’s going to make an excellent father. I am very very blessed now I have two boys to love.

He remains the same amazing partner and husband so I made good on my promise 🥰 turned a good man into a father today ❤
https://t.co/jxl1yVKK08

pic.twitter.com/aLxA9Ykgam
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 19, 2023

Something I am VERY happy about: we have already opened a SSPN account for Mika, as well as submitted to receive the Itizam Anak Selangor initiative. I mean why not – it’s free RM500 towards Mika’s education fund!

Siapa duduk Selangor & ada lahirkan anak tahun 2022 ke atas? Boleh claim RM100 setahun untuk 5 tahun (total RM500!) untuk masuk SSPN!
Syarat permohonan in pic. Apply di
https://t.co/cw9fZx35yT

https://t.co/jwdY2vbXtC

pic.twitter.com/RmStPTJVPt
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 10, 2023

#2 – Managed to buy Coldplay tickets

My sisters and I will be going to the Coldplay concert, yay!

#3 – My book, Bergaji & Pokai got #1 bestselling spot again

Again, thank you <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#4 – Avoided jail time by paying income tax 🙂

Don’t ask me about my tax arrangements, but I’ve paid around RM5k for taxes in May 2023. It’s… a lot. Sure paying taxes is my responsibility but I’d be lying if I say I’m happy to pay it, more like I have to lol.

Instead of being bitter about paying taxs, I’ll convince myself its just a fee I have to pay to avoid jail time. I’ll put any positive spin on it, cos if not my heart still pain.

#5 – Misc

Read 0 books

Bought for myself:

A large tote bag from Jalan Jalan Japan

A cute pot from Jalan Jalan Japan

A pregnancy photoshoot

Nay of the Month:

#1 – CLOSING DOWN LLP IS A HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS!!!

I – along with many other LLP owners – were hit with compounds from SSM in May 2023. After much back and forth with officers, I have since found that winding down one’s LLP in Malaysia is next to impossible, even though it has been dormant.

I mean, look at this level of beauracracy just to get the necessary documents and information just to get SPC from LHDN.

SUSAHNYA NAK TUTUP LLP
NAK TUTUP, KENA ADA SURAT PENYELESAIAN CUKAI (SPC) DARI LHDN
NAK SPC, KENA ADA NOMBOR PENGECUALIAN CUKAI
NAK NOMBOR, KENA MINTA TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN)
NAK TIN, KENA HANTAR PROFIL COMPANY WALAUPUN MMG DORMANT
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 23, 2023

In case you want to know the process to close down your LLP in Malaysia, you can use the steps below. As for me, I’ve given up. I’ll pay the bloody RM200 fee for each annual submission.

Am getting too many DMs about this, so compiling what I know from officers I talked to and also from y'all
THREAD: What to do if your LLP kena compound by LHDN
Pls add on w more info / correct if wrong!
pic.twitter.com/PTx21Hg3pB
— Suraya: bestselling Bergaji & Pokai book (@surayaror)
May 11, 2023

#2 – Anxiety about not working

This may sound weird for some of you but as someone who is self-employed and brain always on ‘work mode’, I find it hard to be on maternity leave, even though I know my body needs the rest after childbirth. I also know we need time to transition into parenthood. When it comes to caring for a newborn, there’s a LOT of things to learn.

But it’s hard to NOT work, because I had always done the work/life integration thing (instead of work/life balance).

Case in point: I’m forcing myself to write this budget update to publish. Not so much for everyone else to read, but more to out of habit.

I do like that I write a lot though.

Things to Look Forward to:

My maternity leave

Well, that was my May 2023. How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: November 2015

November 2015 felt like 3 months. I had so much
time
. It was such a luxurious feeling, even if it was tinged with homesickness.

I spent less than RM2k, which is pretty rare. That even includes some furniture shopping, new gym fee, pet costs, and some leftover utilities bills from last month. Lower cost of living in Ipoh FTW. If I was still living in KL, I would have been hit by LRT increase, toll increase, rental increase, among a bazilion other things. I would have been making more money at work, but even with the raise, it wouldn’t be enough to counter the rising cost of living, no doubt about it.

This is why I’m such a big advocate on trimming your expenses. You can grow your income but if you can’t keep up with the spending, its time to take a step back and reevaluate what you value in life and cut back everything else.

Yay of the month
:

Yoshi the kitten came into my life <3 In the span of 2 weeks, he turned from being a scrawny kitty to developing quite a belly.

Started Cross Fit. After last month’s unhealthy binge eating, I decided to resume some sort of fitness regime. Cross Fit is RM120 per month for unlimited classes. I must have attended at least 15 classes so far, making cost per class extremely affordable!

Learning coding. So far, HTML & CSS. I want to learn how to develop mobile applications – I have this amazing idea for an app and I want to try and develop it.

Nay of the month
:

Freelancing/having own business – while it was a romantic idea, I’ve since realised how tough this actually is. My current plan is to get a job AND do freelancing/own business on the side. My pride and ego took a serious hit when my income is low. It sucked, big time.

Due to some delays in receiving past income, I had to take out some money from my investment account to buffer my lifestyle.

Still no job. There’s one that I really, really want. The interviews went really well, but in the end they decided to go with someone else. It’s making me feel down, but hey, trying to keep positive and look for other opportunities.

I have the opportunity to go back to telesales job (selling hotel membership) and while I’ve done it before and I know I can do it well and make a lot of money, sales jobs drains my soul. I’m stuck between the pressure of making serious money but wanting a worthwhile career.

Things to look forward to:

The New Year, because dividends will be coming in then. Yay monieesss

Taking it easy and use this opportunity to learn new skills and be in better shape. Coding and Cross Fit are proving to be extremely addictive, which surprises me.

Edit: I am using an expense-tracker app called
Money Lover
. I’ve used a lot of apps and this is the best one by far. It’s a
Vietnamese startup and was one of top contenders during MaGIC ASEAN Track Demo Day 2015
  – support your ASEAN buddies!

Want to read more budget updates?
Click here!


Budget Update: November 2016

November Budget Update Summary

Earlier this year, I set myself a target – to earn RM10,000 or more a month. It’s a big amount, and I came close to it in September 2016 at RM8,743.22.

In November 2016, I’m happy to report that I overshot that target. I earned a cool RM17,911.27. Breakdown:

RM168.63 in cashback via
Shopback
 (note: referral link for RM5 bonus. None-referral link
here
)

RM4000 in advertising revenue

RM13,742.64 in writing services

How? I don’t know, I’m still digesting this. I mean, Alhamdulillah and everything. The crashing MYR against USD worked in my favour. I got new clients, one of them incredibly generous (told me to increase my fees!). My VA is a superstar. It feels weird to brag, almost feels like I’m gonna jinx myself, but there you go. When things work out, when rezeki comes, it freaking
delivers
 man. *knocks all the wood in the house*

Speaking of house, I moved back to Klang Valley. That’s why my spending for November was so high at more than RM7k. Over half of what I spent last month was on Misc Needs – new things needed for the house. Now that I’m self-employed, I thought it would be a good idea to invest some money in making my living space – also my working space / home office – as comfortable and productive as possible. It feels great to move to a new place and furnish it (almost) from scratch 🙂 I’m going to do a before/after post with spending breakdown on the cost to furnish this place, once everything is settled.

Yay of the Month:

Saw
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
. Twice. Can’t wait for the next installments. Can’t wait for gay Dumbledore to show up and make magic rainbows. Please J.K. Rowling don’t die ever, no one else can re-create the same universe!

Lifestyle upgrade
. After years of budgeting and saving money and keeping living costs low, I’ve decided to live it up a bit and give myself a small lifestyle upgrade. I’ll actually sleep on a bed, not just a mattress, you guys! New bedsheets to replace my 4+ years old one!

My friends visited me in Ipoh and we had the best time and ate so many things <3 Finally visited the
Yasmin Ahmad Museum
 (RM3 entry fee). Guys, I highly recommend this place. It’s now included in my
Cheap Things to do in Ipoh
 guide.

Managed to
sell off some of my old stuff
 and gained RM470 yay.

Saw a great show at
TheatreThreeSixty
 –
My Every Brilliant Thing
 by director Christopher Ling (Twitter: @
chrisling
). It’s about a man’s journey through depression, and the delivery was sweet; hopeful; raw. I loved the character’s list of ‘every brilliant things’ – small things that make life great. It was worth all RM38. Such a joy to experience.

The packing process was fun, if brutal. I tried to downsize my stuff as much as I can, but I think I still have too much. At least what I do have, sparks joy #KonMariReference

Had one of the best
pineapple tarts
 in my life. My ex-colleague sells it from her instagram page
here
. I am #teamcrust more than #teamjam, and I enjoyed both. Thumbs up Kak Azreen!

Nay of the Month:

Getting lazy in working out. The other day I challenged myself to do 100 squats, and I’m still suffering the aftermath. I have to climb up a flight of stairs to get to my bedroom and fml, so pain.

I love my new place, but it’s also a commercial building, which comes with commercial rates. Did you know that commercial buildings have to pay 20% more for utilities? Yeah…

AND I can’t apply for home internet either! I have to get the business one, which is more expensive. Decided not to get home internet for the time being. Sad 🙁

WHY ARE THE TOLLS SO EXPENSIVE?? I moved to Ipoh just when they started to raise the toll price, so coming back to it was a nasty shock. RM3 tolls? Uggghhhh

After moving, I have a lot of leftover boxes. I made this DIY cat scratcher for Yoshi my cat. Turns out he prefers to scratch on my mat rather than this thing. I even bought catnip to entice him, but no dice. Weirdo cat.

Things to Look Forward to:

This bag
 to arrive

I’ve been here for a week and already made plans to attend like 5 events/meetups. Ahaha it’s nice to be back to Klang Valley.

I’m particularly excited about one workshop: Blockchain workshop with Vitalik Buterin ie the posterboy behind Ethereum. I’ve always wanted to see the guy in person. I have a small crush on him.

Gardening is one challenge I’ve always failed. Now that I have a balcony, I’m going to try again. I like the idea of having chilies and curry leaves at my disposal anytime I want lol.

More work, more money hopefully.
I doubt I can earn this much again

I will earn this much again
.

Let’s make the best we can out of life and this economy. Thank you for reading and for your continued support for RoR. I appreciate it. Much love.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
.


Budget Update: November 2017

Budget Update: November 2017

I spent RM6.8k, eep. A good chunk of that (41% or roughly RM2.7k) is for business purposes though, so all good.

November was bittersweet. I’ve parted ways with a long-term client. The decision was not a whim, I sought advice from friends and mentors. I’ve been with them for a good two years and helped out in various capacities: including website copywriting, content creation and management, email and app copywriting, automation and onboarding processes, translation recruitment and management, growth hacking, community management and overall business development.

I had to do this because I was feeling stagnant, professionally speaking. It was hard because I also had to let go of financial stability – now I know why some people get stuck in careers they no longer enjoy. Thankfully my savings will be enough to last me for months and even years to come, so I’m not particularly worried, although I am itching to start something new to not waste this momentum.

On another note, what a relief, owed to savings. I can only afford to let this stable job go because of my current financial security. I sincerely hope all of you get to feel this type of joy, because it’s awesome.

Looking forward to deciding on my next career move in the crypto/blockchain space. In the meantime, I still have my other clients to keep happy.

Yay of the month:

Went to
Singapore
 twice. Once for Singapore Fintech Festival (7 days) and another for Blockshow Asia (2 days). I learned so much about the blockchain and crypto world, including in relation to its progress in this part of the world. Also made new friends and gained new mentors.

Receiving
work inquiries
. My writing business continues as usual. The day I told people I parted ways with Wirex, I received three potential offers. At time of writing I’ve received five. It’s a very odd feeling, being wanted for collaborations. On the one hand I’m incredibly flattered, on another hand it makes me very aware that it’s not because of just my abilities, per se. It is possible that its simply because of the lack of talent in the blockchain space and there’s barely anyone else to ask. How do I improve this gap in job demand/supply?

Doing the

Christmas Giveaway

gives me so much joy! I have gold, bitcoin, ether, Zcoin, Focus Malaysia subscription and Kinokuniya vouchers up for grabs, so make sure to enter it okay. It’s raffles slash lucky draw style, and you can earn more entries by completing certain mini-tasks.

 My
Grammarly
 subscription ended. That’s the editing software I use to double-check my writing work. Managed to get the annual subscription for 50% off thanks to Cyber Monday. Love it when you get a discount on something you plan on paying for anyway.

Treated my family to a
family getaway
. Booked an apartment in the heart of KL and brought them to the Islamic Arts Museum and Central Market. At night we played a ton of board games. The only person I’ve ever lost Scrabble to is my dad. He’s a sore winner but I let him boast – it takes me off my pedestal lol.

Attended
Wordcamp KL
. It was the first Wordcamp organised in Kuala Lumpur, and my first foray into the local Wordpress community. Met a friend who’ve I’ve chatted to online for at least a year in person there, finally.

Ringgit Oh Ringgit’s hosting plan was due to end in mid-December, so I shopped around for better options. I had an optimisation report done last time by
David Wang
 (also the friend I mentioned above) and he suggested switching to SiteGround to improve on
website speed
. I did, and oh my goodness this website is so much faster now! Bought three years hosting plan for RM923.45.

Earned RM605.47 in
Google Adsense
 in two months. This was the highest payout yet in this timeframe! I believe a lot of it is due to increased traffic – Ringgit Oh Ringgit recorded 67,000 monthly views in November alone! The improved website speed helped too, I think!

Bitcoin
 price increased by a lot. Yay.

So I have
braces
 right? It’s working. Lately I can scrape the top and bottom teeth, and omg it’s the weirdest feeling ever. My top and bottom teeth have never touched before this. I’m developing this weird habit where I’ll randomly scrape them against each other because the feeling is so foreign.

Nay of the month:

Had a
haircut
. The hairdresser tacked on a vague RM20 ‘consultation fee’ on top of the normal price. I countered, but paid anyway. I liked the haircut and the service but made a mental note to not go there again in protest of this practice.

Wanted a holiday, decided on Lombok, Indonesia. Then the mountain erupted. Switched plans.

Really getting self conscious of my dark
under-eye situation
. A part of me is like, yeah rock it, Elon Musk does so why not me right. Another part of me gets really annoyed when people assume I’m tired all the time. I’ve tried creams, balms, masks, concealers – nothing works so now I’m considering dermafillers. I have no idea how much they would cost, now in research stage.

Things to Look Forward to:

Booked my holiday to Maldives 😀

Stocking up on books from the
Big Bad Wolf Book Fair
. It’ll run from 8-18th December 2017. Same location – Mines Exhibition Centre.

Making 10 people who entered the
Christmas giveaway

very happy. Reminder that you can get additional entries by visiting daily!

Welcoming 2018
. It’ll be a good year, I know it. Can’t wait to learn new information about money and share it with you guys.

Have an amazing new year. Thanks for supporting me all this while. You guys are awesome.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
review
).


Budget Update: November 2018

Budget Update: November 2018

Spent under RM6k in November 2018. Top 3 categories were Business (no issues there), Utilities & Rent (ditto) and Dates/Travel (… I think I need to talk to the partner).

Anyway, hey, I want to talk about something else in this section. Martech. Do you know this word? It’s short for
mar
keting
tech
nology, and companies love it because it helps them rake in more sales. In fact, companies love martech so much that
Chief Marketing Officers are now spending more on martech tools rather than human marketers
.

In November 2018, I attended a digital marketing bootcamp where I learned about the
many types of martech tools
. For example, chatbots which reply to people who type ‘pm’ in Facebook posts. Platforms connecting companies with influencers. Automated video creation tools. And more – I’m barely scratching the surface here.

Martech is fascinating to me for a few reasons:

It’s quite fun to go to a company’s website/platform and see what kind of martech tools they are implementing. Last time, they used to prioritise collecting emails. Now, I’ve received promotional updates via Facebook Messenger too! (I hate this btw, so invasive, any company that does this will not get my money)

Which martech tools can *I* use for my own websites? I’m constantly trying out new ones, hoping to find the perfect free+good combinations. Many martech services use subscription-based models, and they can get pretty pricey.

Learn about martech. If you’re a business, it’ll help you make/save money. If you’re a consumer, you’ll be more aware and therefore less susceptible to strategies companies use to part you with your money.

Yay of the Month:

Overall pretty happy with our new government’s
Budget 2019 plan
, announced in early November. To read my thoughts on it, and to check how Budget 2019 will personally affect you, see #1
in this article
.

Spoke at
WordCamp KL
 and got good feedback – that always makes me happy 🙂

Gave away an Apple Watch Series 3 to one winner, as part of VISA x AKPK’s
Treat Your Money Right Campaign.
 See the winning entry
here
.

Got extremely
lucky with hotel bookings
in November 2018. On one occasion, I discovered I have enough Expedia points to cover a night’s stay at a hotel – saved me RM70+ and at least 4 hours of travel time for that weekend. In another occasion, a homestay provider cancelled on me but Booking.com honoured my booking anyway and replaced it with 4 nights’ stay at a 4-star hotel
without additional charges
. The cost of ONE night stay at the hotel was more expensive than 4 nights at the homestay!

Signed up for
3 months’ gym membership
 for RM240. Did the calculations – if the walk-in rate is RM15 per entry, I’ll break even if I go to the gym at least 16 times during the whole period, or 5+ times per month. Doable. Aiming for 2-3 times per week.

Used Yoodo referral money to pay for November 2018’s
mobile expenses
, making it essentially free! Yoodo is that select-what-you-use telco plan under Celcom, and I like it because you can choose your data/minutes/sms plan and change it anytime depending on your needs. If you want to try Yoodo out, get FREE RM 20 when you sign up using my
referral link
 (I get RM20 too).

Read
3
 books
:
The Accidental Renovator
by Barbara Briggs (a funny account of a woman who bought an apartment in Paris on a whim, and the soul-crushing renovation process that follows after),
Do Less, Get More: Guilt-free ways to make time for the things (and people) that matter
 by Shaa Wasmund (this book motivated me to continue on with my
book-publishing journey
!) and
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
 by William Zinsser (it all boils down to – write simply and clearly).

Coincidentally there was this warehouse sale thing near the place I live at. Snagged 2 x 500ml bottles of Tresemme
shampoo
 for just RM18. Downgrading from my usual brand, Kerastase, which is good but hella expensive

View this post on Instagram

According to my records, this 1-liter Kerastase shampoo lasted me 16 months. At RM212 per bottle and an average of one wash every two days, that’s around RM0.88 per hair wash. . I really like this shampoo, but it is kinda pricey for my taste so I’m switching to a cheaper brand. Recently bought Tresemme shampoo after reading good reviews. Let’s see if my hair likes the switch. If not, I’ll probably go back to Kerastase. . Yep, would totally pay extra for nice hair haha. What’s your shampoo? Do you know more or less how much it costs per hair wash? . #kerastase #kerastaseshampoo #haircare #shampoo #malaysianblogger #expensivebutgood #hairroutine #selfcarematters #lookgoodfeelgreat #malaysianhair #valueformoney

A post shared by
 Suraya
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 9, 2018 at 6:29am PST

Featured in
Lifetime Asia’s Woman of the Day
 series <3 I’m super happy and flattered about this!

View this post on Instagram

Thank you @lifetimeasia for featuring me as one of the Woman of the Day ❤ I think you’re too generous with the compliments, but I’ll take it ☺ . @Regran_ed from @lifetimeasia – Inspiring young women in Malaysia to manage their personal finances have always been @surayaror mission when she started her blog Ringgit Oh Ringgit. Since 2015, she has been chronicling her journey on managing her own finances when she couldn’t find Malaysia-centric information and advice on the topic. Going by the mantra of “save aggressively, live minimally”, she finds that success is when one always strive to improve him/herself instead of staying stagnant. Young people in Malaysia have since started sharing their debt-clearing journeys online, all thanks to Suraya’s efforts. Her advice for young women is to “free up time for yourselves and use it for self development and money-making activities”. So go attend that networking opportunity, enlist in that enrichment course, travel or open your own side business. #WOTD #LifetimeAsia #Inspiring #Finance #Growth #Success – #regrann

A post shared by
 Suraya
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 25, 2018 at 8:00pm PST

Nay of the Month:

Not a great month for
bitcoin and cryptocurrencies
– the price went down like crazy. I feel like the sports fan whose team is suffering a losing streak :/

Ringgit Oh Ringgit suffered a
technical issue
 and was down for a few hours. Lost some income, and had to pay for technical help.

Could not resist a
Lovisa sale
 and bought 2 chokers, 6 hoop earrings and 2 drop earrings for RM60.
Technically
 I saved over RM100 on the original price, so…

My weight increased 🙁 I need to improve my relationship with food and practice mindful eating. I tend to scarf down food without really noticing. Do you have any tips for me?

Missed two Poslaju deliveries
 and wasted money. Item 1 is a phone screen. Item 2 is a face wash. I gave up on Item 1, and asked for Item 2 to be shipped to me. The re-delivery cost would be much cheaper than Grab-ing to the collection centre myself! (estimate RM40ish)

Did not manage to quit smoking 🙁

Things to Look Forward to:

Finishing my book project, a compilation of personal finance stories 10 authors, including myself. My story is a fictional story about how Malaysia looks like if we implement universal basic income. More information coming soon!

Launching a new website project:
a deal-hunting platform
!

Re: the deal-hunting platform. I am so obsessed with this project right now. It makes me so happy to finally work on the idea that’s been in my head for
years.
If you like deals, you will
love
 this platform. I’m going to make it easy for you to know which deals are good and which aren’t.

Who here genuinely enjoys looking for deals? Do you want to help me test it out? If yes, comment below – I’ll send you the link 🙂

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
how expense tracking works
)


Budget Update: November 2019

Budget Update: November 2019

I spent RM5066 in November 2019 – top 3 expenses were Rent & Utilities, Business and Public Transportation – all functional expenses. Quite happy with my spending decisions for the month. You can see the deeper breakdown below, in the yay and nay sections.

Here I want to take the opportunity to share my thought process for future work decisions. By this point in my career, I have given so many talks that I can give the following presentations from memory:

Investment options for Malaysians

Budgeting tips and implementation

How to charge clients

How to publish a book

Starting and growing a website

Digital marketing for content creators

Personal branding

And more

Doing presentations and talks still make me go dub dab dub but what they say is true – the more you do it, the better you get at it. And feedback so far has been good and very very encouraging.

I had few discussions with friends and fellow colleagues and it’s been increasingly clear that I should pivot from providing writing services (my main service offering for the last 4 years) to providing trainings, workshops and consultations in areas related to personal finance and digital marketing.

I’ve already been doing the consultations on as-requested basis so it’s not like there’s no demand. As for writing work inquiries, I can always pass those to writers in my networks, who are always looking for jobs. Not an issue.

What do you think? Is there anything that I’m not considering before I make the switch and edit my
Hire me
 page?

Yay of the Month:

Decided to
 translate Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 1 into Malay
! Lots of people have advised me to tap into the Malay market, and this is the perfect opportunity for it. Plus, I like the idea of contributing to Malay literature. The Malay language is only spoken here in Malaysia. If we don’t produce Malay-language content, who will?

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New update! To diversify my income, I’ve decided to get my book Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 1 translated to Malay! . Personal finance content is in demand and it would be stupid of me to not tap the big Malay market right not 😉 . Any of you sell products/services primarily to the Malay market? What’s your advice to make sure sales can jalan? . #MYmoneystories #malaysianauthors #personalfinancemalaysia #malaysiablogger #bloggermalaysia

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 3, 2019 at 8:54pm PST

Hired a voice and speech consultant (from
Vocapedia
) because I want to improve my presentation delivery – an investment into improving my public speaking skillset. It’s not particularly cheap but completely worth it! I find myself being more mindful of my pronunciation, pacing and I even have fun using the speak-from-diaphragm tip to sing along to songs??? (I never sing!!)

Got interviewed in
MyPF’s PodCat series
! Embedding it below, do watch it 🙂 Protip: Watch at 1.5x speed

Bought myself flight tickets to attend
WordCamp Asia
 in Bangkok next year! Caught it at a good price, too, I’m happy 🙂 Now to sort out the accommodations… Should I go cheap and hostel it or splurge on a nice hotel room hmmm..

Made good investing decisions. I transferred R
M3k into my PRS fund
 for the tax relief.

Did my annual RM3k top up to PRS fund via fundsupermart. The fund is doing meh. Increased 10% since 2014, effectively 2% per year ROI. Fund management fee 1.5% annually. So in effect it makes very very little profit

Oh well, at least get to claim tax relief for income tax

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
November 7, 2019

Thank you everyone who started investing in roboadvisory platform
Wahed Invest
 with my referral code. A few hundred is quite the number – thank you for your trust in me and my recommendations.

Truthfully I’m nervous – what if this company turns out to be bad and take all our money? You will blame me, and I don’t blame you. Just want to say that I have done due diligence to the best of my ability and I have skin in the game – I have RM11k of my own money in Wahed Invest. So if anything happens, it’s my loss too.

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I opened an account with Wahed Invest, the SYARIAH-COMPLIANT roboadvisory platform just approved by Securities Commission! Here’s a step by step 😊🙌 You need: 🔹 Initial fund (RM100 can already) 🔹ID card/passport 🔹 proof of address doc (MYKad, driving license, utilities bill, etc) 🔹my referral code ‘surbin1′ to get free $10/RM40 😀 🔹 your phone 🔹 1-2 working days for verification and funds transfer to complete Step 1: download Wahed Invest into your phone Step 2: Create an account, complete the 8 questions and let the platform suggest you which portfolio to take. They will also show how they divide up your portfolio which is cool Step 3: after you select which portfolio you want, complete the rest of the registration and verification process. Don’t forget to insert my referral code 👉’surbin1’ for $10/RM40 bonus! Step 4: Fund your account. Can do bank transfer from within the app also. It’ll take a couple of days (if you stopped at step 3, make sure to complete step 4 ie fund your account within a month! If not no bonus already) Thats it really. Done. At 0.79% fund management fee, Wahed Invest is effectively the lowest-fee roboadvisory platform in Malaysia, at least for investments up to RM50k (and its the only halal one so no choice for us Muslims anyway lol) I’m so excited 😆 how long already I wanted to try roboadvisory platform 😆😆 #wahedinvest #halalinvestment #roboadvisory #pelaburan #etfmalaysia #syariahcompliantfinance #investmentmalaysia

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 5, 2019 at 11:06pm PST

Attended kursus pengurusan

jenazah wanita
organised by the local surau. When I shared this, lots of you mentioned how you didn’t know something like this is even offered, and now that you know of it, you’d also like to attend the same course. Hope you find one near your area.

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Mom asked us to attend kursus pengurusan jenazah at our neighbourhood surau, how could I say no? . It was very comprehensive. And they only charged RM15 per person, including breakfast and lunch! . Always admire organisations that only charge minimally so the price is not a deterrent to learning beneficial information. May God bless you with rezeki always . #kursusjenazah #shahalam

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 9, 2019 at 8:21pm PST

Dropped some peria seeds into mixture of soil+leftover ground coffee mix and holy shit, they actually grew???

View this post on Instagram

Saved some seeds from bittergourd / peria. Online guide said need to dry them under sunlight, then only its ready for planting . All (yes, all) the plants I cared for so far died, so I’m not optimistic about this one. Still, never try never know I guess :/ . Home gardeners, especially with balcony space only, any tips for me? I’m just planning to drop the seeds in soil + leftover ground coffee mix. What worked for you? . #peria #bittergourd #homegardening #balconygardening #zerowastemalaysia

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 11, 2019 at 7:44pm PST

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These were seeds a week ago, saved from peria I cooked for lunch! 🤯 the seedlings grow so fast! . I feel so… What’s the word? Encouraged. Now I’m googling what other plants are suitable to grow in soil+leftover ground coffee mix. Cost out of pocket is literally zero . #balconygardening #amateurgardener #peria #zerowastemalaysia #tanamsayur

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 22, 2019 at 7:56pm PST

At RM782.91, my
public transportation expenses
 for November 2019 was MUCH higher than usual. But. It could’ve been WAY higher, if I didn’t use SOCAR. Loved the service so much I wrote a review – read it here:
SOCAR Review: 7 Tips to Get Cheap Car Rental in KL, Penang and Johor

Read two books
:
Tengku Noor Zakiah: Malaysia’s Pioneering Stockbroker
 (co-founder of Kenanga Investment Bank – easy-to-read memoir. Get it in the
XMas Giveaway
); and
Thinking, Fast & Slow by Daniel Kahneman
 (GREAT book. Amazing insight into the human psyche – I highly, highly recommend it. Not the easiest book to go through though. See a snippet of what’s in the book below)

This book pretty much said that successful fund managers even in the biggest firms are mostly lucky, not skilled

Consider that the next time you come across mutual fund/unit trust companies bragging about their awards
pic.twitter.com/i5MBwIeA7j

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
October 30, 2019

Nay of the Month:

Had
bad online shopping experience
. I bought a bunch of things during the 11.11 sales – needs not wants! – and one of them was cancelled (sorry hoh out of stock) and another arrived broken (it was a face serum so you can imagine the mess!). Thankfully both were refunded without problems, but I had to make alternative plans and reorder. Wasted my time haih.

Had to return some money – to the tune of RM2500 – to a client as they decided not to proceed with a sponsored post. It’s not a huge amount in the overall scheme of things but still lost income opportunity. From what little I know, it seems like a startup running out of runway money problem.

Really struggled with binge-eating habit – sugar is an even more powerful drug than nicotine!! And promos didn’t help – I ordered more Grabfood than usual *because* of the 50% off code.

Bought some games from
Steam Black Friday sales
. Welp, there goes my productivity for the next month. (I discovered you can use a game controller to play PC games! It excited me so much that I impulse-purchased a Sony Dualshock 4 controller from Lazada. Then buyers remorse set in so I cancelled the order a few hours later).

Things to Look Forward to:

Continue working on Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 2

Running
Ringgit Oh Ringgit XMAS GIVEAWAY 2019
!!! So exciting, I love me a good win-win-win situation.

Going to Bali for a holi-yay!

Freaking 2020 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

In December 2019, I want to try my best to hit my personal goal of hitting six-figure income. My current income for 2019 so far is not super-near that figure but hey, last push. Let’s see what happens.

What’s the one goal you want to hit in December 2019, before January 2020 rolls along? Share with me 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
how expense tracking works
)


Budget Update: November 2020 – I Got Married :)

Budget Update: November 2020

In November 2020, I spent RM14,369.99. The top 3 categories and top expenses within the categories were:

Business – Reprinted Money Stories from Malaysians Vol 2 (stock ran out!), Payment for CFP Module 1 out of 4

Donations & Gift – Present for mom, various tips and donations

Misc Wants – Teeth whitening session, skincare products, books

My Spending Breakdown in November 2020

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of November 2020, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Got married 🙂

Among the first few topics of conversations I had with my partner and his side of the family + friends is my tweet going viral on Twitter LOL. Last I checked,
this tweet
 recorded 1.06 million impressions (!!!).

Thank you for all the well-wishes. I’m blissfully happy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#2 – Appeared on Minggu Saham Digital

Definitely one of my 2020 highlights, thanks everyone who tuned in and shared with me your kind feedback, that’s very sweet of you!

You can watch the full video here
.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#3 – Taking CFP course

Decided to do something about my Impostor Syndrome – enrolled myself in CFP course, so I can be a CFP holder. You can read Part one here:
My CFP Journey, Part 1: Why, Where and How Much to Be A Certified Financial Planner in Malaysia

#4 – 11.11 Sale

I went on a budgeted-for, guilt-free shopping spree on 11.11 and bought skincare, books, groceries and even one pair of gold hoops!

The price-checker extension REALLY helped. I decided not to buy a few items because it was on ‘fake sale’.

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A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#5 – Bitcoin reached All-Time High!

I *don’t* encourage speculation-as-as-an-investment-strategy, even though ngl I’m glad I did.

Here’s a super-defensive post detailing why I choose to keep a large percentage of my net worth in crypto:
Breakdown of My (SUPER HIGH RISK) Investment Portfolio

#6 – Bought a Critical Illness plan

Finally I have all three: Medical Card, Personal Accident, and Critical Illness.

My monthly commitment for insurance now is RM338.26, combined. Have to be okay with this adult purchase :’)

Related:
9 Things You MUST Know Before You Buy Insurance in Malaysia

#7 – Received RM150 Lazada voucher

I won a lucky draw from InvestSmart event and got RM150 in Lazada voucher! Used that to buy some grocery items and a bokashi bin

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#8 – Misc

Read
one book
:
Data, A Love Story: How I Cracked The Online Dating Code to Meet My Match
by Amy Webb.
This is such an awesome book! I find it inspiring how she studied algorithms of
online dating
 sites, applied best practices so it gives her profile an advantage and eventually found her partner by working with the algorithm instead of against it.

As well as one comic: Covidballz by Bro, Don’t Like That La Bro. The series is one of the best things about the pandemic, it gave me so much joy and chuckles. Happy to support by purchasing.

Treated myself to a house-cleaning session for the first time.

Nay of the Month:

#1 – High groceries bill

As predicted, last month’s super-low groceries bill achieved through eat-out-the-pantry challenge resulted in major restocking and high groceries bill for November 2020, totalling RM910.33.

I wonder how much my expenses will change, now that I’m buying for 2 people.

Note to self: re-read
5 Things I Did To Reduce My Damn High Groceries Bill
 article

#2 – Kind of regretted doing teeth whitening?

Don’t get me wrong, the results were all right. It’s just.. this is just a vanity thing. As a daily coffee drinker, the results won’t last that long, 6 months to 1 year max. I don’t know if that is worth RM849 (which is on the lower side as far as professional teeth whitening sessions go, but still).

Things to Look Forward to:

Married life <3

The usual December rush to self-contribute to EPF and PRS, and pay zakat – I want the tax relief and exemption!

Starting Money Stories from Malaysians Vol 3 process!

What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section!

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: November 2021 – 1 Year Wedding Anniversary

Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month!

So how was your November? Was it good, bad or meh?

November for me was… full. It went by in a flash. I worked, studied, and enjoyed life. Nothing to complain about, truly.

A lot of good things happened, but one of the things I’m most grateful for is marking 1 year anniversary with the wonderful person that is my spouse. Going through the pandemic lows with daily hugs and assurances, sharing meals and household responsibilities – all these things are exactly what I was looking for in a partner and I got it.

And now when I read about how they say your spouse selection is one of the most important financial decisions you’ll ever make… I get it. I truly get it. The people who say it’s better to marry late (or not at all) than marry wrong are absolutely right.

(If you’re on the fence about the person, remember – if it’s not a yes, it’s a no.
Thank you feminism and the women’s movement for giving me the ability to choose my own spouse
)

Let’s get on to the budget part.

Budget Update: November 2021

In November 2021, I spent RM10,724.55. The top 3 top expenses were:

Donations & Gifts
 (RM5,071.70)
 – Dad’s dusun project, Parents’ electric bill, Family dinner, AFS lifetime membership
Utilities & Rent (RM1,276.90)
– Gotta keep a roof over our heads
Groceries (RM1,034.88)
– Gotta eat

Cumulatively, the top 3 expenses make up 70% of my total November 2021 expenses.

My Spending Breakdown in November 2021

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of November 2021, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Reached my income goal for the year

Reached the income goal I wanted to hit. I can take December off, yay 🙂

#2 –  Did my medical check

Thanks to twitter, I realised the importance of getting a medical check-up AND found deals. My results were good. Some lifestyle adjustments needed but alhamdulillah no major issues 🙂

Personal thank you to everyone who helped to answer this Q (click to read replies).

Does anyone know of any good deals or promo for medical check up?
Would still pay without discount but hey never ask never know
https://t.co/lIe53Ight8
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
October 13, 2021

#3 – Successfully cut my own hair

I cut my hair! Just the bangs/fringe part but it counts! I always get excited when I learn new skills that can save me money 😀

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A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#4 – Gave 4 talks

I did:

Jenis Pelaburan Patuh Shariah with MyAgeing™ Financial Literacy and Educational Hub (MyFiLE), UPM
Making and Managing Money: Solopreneur vs Enterpreneur with Dr Nur Aisyah, founder of IMAN Media Group
Peluang Pendapatan Pasif dalam Salam & Kripto with Hi WEALTH
Make your Money & Passion Work for You with SunLife Malaysia

#5 – Got another RM500 from GKP

Total received so far under GKP (
Geran Khas Prihatin
): RM6,500

#6 – Had a fun (and budgeted for) 11.11 shopping spree

Shopping sprees are better when it’s budgeted for 🙂 No guilt just whee

So what did you buy this 11.11 and was it a responsible purchase?
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
November 11, 2021

I bought:

Covid test kits (responsible)
Groceries (responsible)
Kimchi kit (consider groceries so responsible)
Snacks (not responsible but will reduce my grab delivery hopefully)
Clothes from uniqlo (on sale and I need it so can consider responsible)
A pair of jeans bought on impulse (Not responsible.. Dammit the countdown timer got me. But still within allocated fun budget)
Ikea rug (purchase for new house, responsible)
Paint by number kit (my allocated fun budget)

#7 – Misc

Read 3 books:

How to NFT by CoinGecko
MONEY SMART: Achieve Your Financial Goals Faster With Less! by KCLau
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Eric Jorgenson

Noteworthy shows:

The Eternals at GSC (4DX screen)
Selling Sunset Season 4 on Netflix
The Mind, Explained on Netflix

Bought for myself (in addition to the 11.11 haul):

1 x book
1 x computer game

The book one I got with discount. Pretty happy about it!

The book I'm looking for is RM66 new (paperback) but RM50 on Carousell (hardcover). Then got delivery discount code and redeemed grab points. Final payment RM38.55. Awesome morning 🥳🥳
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
November 30, 2021

I also managed to borrow a couple things I needed from family members, so that’s as good as a few hundred ringgit saved 🙂

Sold:

A pair of shoes

Nay of the Month:

#1 – Unstable internet

I don’t know if it was just me, but my internet was quite choppy last month. Even my backup pocket WiFi was not working as good as it should.

It hit me at horrible timing, too. It got cut off during a webinar I was delivering. And during another webinar the following day as well. Honestly frustrated.

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 ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
November 25, 2021

#2 – Busy weekends

I was working/studying almost every weekend in November. It’s good for personal development and income but also very exhausting. Can’t wait to get the life part in work-life balance back, in second part of December.

Things to Look Forward to:

Completing CFP Module 4 exam
Planning our travels at the end of the year (please no border shutdown please)
Receiving keys to our new place (it’s taking a while but eh. It’s ready when it’s ready)

Well, that was my November 2021. How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: November 2022 – Election Fever

Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month.

So how was your November? Was it good, bad or meh?

I thought October was dramatic, but November 2022 was on a whole new level. Such an emotional rollercoaster. The ending was unexpected. I don’t like the compromises but hey, better than the other alternative.

I am personally ecstatic that a former student activist AND someone from relatable financial background became an elected MP. Did you know his declared assets is only RM28.5k, INCLUDING RM13.6k in EPF and RM13k for his car? Good for Adam Adli, seriously.

Adam Adli punya Aset: RM28.5k. Dari situ, tunai RM1.8k, RM13.6k KWSP, RM13k kereta Kelisa, RM111 ASB. Gaji RM3k, perbelanjaan bulanan RM2440
Another candidate yang relatable for many Malaysians
https://t.co/wdRa49oyA0

pic.twitter.com/Sz3nAnSZhy
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 7, 2022

However, the best part of the whole thing to me was the fact that Twitter didn’t die (understandable worry due to all the Elon Musk hoohaa) and let me just say, netizens definitely went nuts in the shitposts department.

If twitter dies pls make it after GE15 results cos I wanna see your shitposts one last time
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 18, 2022

I enjoyed the shitposts so much, I compiled the best shitposts for my own amusement, and now yours. Please enjoy:

List of best shitposts during
#GE15

1) Wong An Wah
(pls add whatever I missed)
https://t.co/o3M29oJMTF
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 24, 2022

Click on the thread and laugh your ass off. Do that then let’s get on to the budget part.

Budget Update: November 2022

In November 2022, I spent RM8,538.49. The top 3 top expenses were:

Business (RM1,677.69)
– Subscription renewals Cyber Monday, Niche site project

Home Reno + Deco (RM1,662.63)
–
Monthly EPP for renovation

Utilities & Mortgage (RM1,284)
 – Half of mortgage

Cumulatively, the top 3 expenses make up 56% of my total November 2022 expenses. (My belief is, if you want to save money, trim first from the top 3 expenses rather than cut out a few ringgits from other already-low expenses)

My Spending Breakdown in November 2022

Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of November 2022, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:

Spending notes:

Paid off 1 of 3 credit card EPPs (easy payment plans)! Now my monthly EPPs will just be RM649.50 instead of RM1662.63 – freed up RM1k per month!!

Kinda spent too much on social activities, must reduce that for the following month. Next time choose less hipster places Suraya

Yay of the Month:

#1 – Bergaji & Pokai Book was on Bestsellers List!

The good folks at Iman Publication team told me that my book Bergaji & Pokai sold well. In November it even made the MPH weekly bestsellers list!!

Wait a sec…
Bergaji & Pokai is on MPH bestsellers list???
THANK YOU KORANG 😭😭😭 this means so much to me thank you thank you!!! ❤❤
pic.twitter.com/JKI0XHW6wH
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
December 3, 2022

To say I am happy is an understatement. I am ECSTATIC!

If you haven’t gotten a copy and want one, you can buy Bergaji & Pokai book online at
linktr.ee/surayaror
 or at bookstores nationwide 🙂 Get one before December and you can use the receipt to claim tax relief too :))

#2 – Went to Hatyai for weekend trip

We had the BEST time eating amazing food there. Totally worth it, highly recommended weekend trip!

You can read the budget breakdown in the
2D2N Kuala Lumpur to Hatyai Trip via ETS Train – Cost Breakdown & Tips!
 article 🙂

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#3 – Hit my income goal for the year

I hit my income goal for the year and am close to hitting many other goals in my 2022 for 2022 list! Yayyyy

The list in question:
My 22 for 2022 List: Money, Work, Learning, Health, Relationship and Misc Projects Goals

#4 – Starting a new project with husband!

Bought hosting plan and domain for a new niche site project with husband! Spent around RM225 or so for this, very affordable.

Convinced the husband to start a niche site project together 🥳🥳 best case scenario it makes us at least $1000 a month a year from now, if not he learns website creation process and turns it into his portfolio 🙂 Either way is good, I'm excited!
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 29, 2022

#5 – Appeared on..

#1 –  Lepak Talk organised by GigVentures

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A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#2 –  Get Ready: Recession 2023 organised by Iman Publication

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A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

#3 – Nak Buat Apa Lepas Dapat Gaji organised by Iman Publication

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by IMAN Publication® (@imanpublication)

#6 – Misc

Read:

[Reread] The Tightwad Gazette: promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative Lifestyle by Amy Dacyczyn

Bought for myself:

2 Steam games

Another IKEA shelf because we need the storage space

Some skincare products

Ice cream mold from Mr DIY

Nay of the Month:

#1 – Paid RM100 for stupidity

Like seriously it was such a ridiculous unexpected expense and I’m so pissed at myself for it.

Yuran kebodohan pagi ni – tutup pintu tak check, dah terlocked pastu spare key dalam bilik tu. Dah kena bayar RM100 utk locksmith bukakan 😮💨
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
November 18, 2022

#2 – Problems with my Maybank Amex card

So my Amex card stopped working. I have no idea why, been using this card for around 10 years.

Maybank Amex card not working
Called hotline a few times over a few days, high call volume memanjang, please call back later, send us email
Sent email, no reply
What am I supposed to do 🙂 go to branch is it
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
December 3, 2022

After about 25 calls attempts or so, at around midnight, finally someone from customer service picked up my call. They say they’re going to do something about it, hopefully everything will be ok in a few days from now.

Things to Look Forward to:

My trip to Vietnam!

New Years

Selangor International Book Fair (come by on 9 Dec!)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)

Well, that was my November 2022. How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂

—

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (
find out your budgeting style
)


Budget Update: October 2015

October was Buzzfeed videos and unhealthy binge-eating. I forgot how much I rely on work as distraction against destructive behaviour. Without formal 9-5 employment to structure my days, I fell into an endless loop of ‘I need to catch up with so-and-so series’, and like a zombie, I started watching clip after clip after clip.

In a very self-actualising moment, I realised that
my savings is actually preventing me from being productive
. I *want* to accomplish this and that, but somehow, the motivation is not there because it’s not a sink-or-swim situation yet. In the current situation, I can last for at least a year without panicking about food, rent, you know,
necessities
.  At the same time, I am comforted with the fact that my money is growing due to investment choices made years ago.

You know what this feels like?
Retirement
. I wake up when I like and do what I like. This is good, but bad too, because I’m super procastinating on Kotak Koffee and this blog. On the other hand, I admit that there is that fear – is my money going to last? How long?
 I imagine most retirees feel like this all the time
. Since being old and broke is pretty much my biggest fear, at some point, I have to force myself to be as productive as possible to maximise my earning potential. If you have solid advice on how to be super productive, I would appreciate the tips.

I’m also thinking, if procastination and non-motivation comes easily to me, is that my default setting? Or is it just a ‘funk’, a temporary phase? Did I really quit my job to pursue own business to discover that I needed to be in an organisation in order to be motivated to work? That would suck, because that would mean that I draw motivation from external validation (to not fail others’ expectations) rather than own motivation. Oh well, still figuring this out as I go along.
Yay of the month:

I spent a lot, but most of it is necessity spending – due to moving and all that. I traveled from KL to Ipoh multiple times, got some furniture, hired a cleaner to clean my old place, and hired a plumber/technician to fix up what needed to be fixed. I’m glad and surprised that I didn’t break the RM3k limit.

Nay of the month:

Spent way, way too much on food. I know I gained weight.

Things to look forward to:

Having a long, hard conversation with myself to decide what is it that I want to do.


Budget Update: October 2016

October Budget Update Summary

In October 2016, I earned about RM6.5k but spent RM10k. Well, gave away, more like. My family needed help with money and as above, 64% of my October expenses went towards them. My bank account is bare now.

‘Mak/Abah, takpe, ini Aya bayar’ is such an emotional sentence. I experience positive emotions (pride, joy, fulfillment) but at the same time, can’t dismiss the negative emotions as well. There is a slight bitterness even if I did manage to overcome the stinginess. But I’m glad to end up with no regrets whatsoever. Amin.

October was hectic, because I’ve decided to move back to Klang Valley. November will be my last month in Ipoh. Moving is stressful and chaotic, but I enjoy the new experiences that the new place can offer. In the last 10 years, I’ve lived at at least 6 locations – most within Klang Valley itself.

Oh gosh, my budget will balloon after this move. Klang Valley is expensive to live in. What have I done.

Yay of the Month:

One of my articles, about
discrimination of Malay graduates
 (originally published
here
) were picked up by a couple of online media (
VulcanPost
,
World of Buzz
) and created a mini, and sometimes heated discussion about discrimination. It was interesting to read through them, and the messages and pledges I received about making the situation better (without pointing fingers) gives me hope for a better Malaysia.

Aside from Donations, my other expenses were
relatively low
. Thank goodness, because I need money for this moving process.

I think I have the best
virtual assistant
 ever. She’s so helpful. Thank you Jocelyn <3

I’m going to be an
 aunt
 🙂 🙂

I saw
Dr Strange
 at the movies. It was late night showing and I was sleepy and grumpy but it was so good omfg. Why is it so good. Why do I like this movie so much. Dammit Marvel, you beautiful corporate angel, you.

Saw a really good ballet performance by the
Royal Durian Academy
 (no link because the FB page is broken?). It made me laugh out loud, which was not what I expected out of
ballet
. They have ballet classes for non-dancers.

Fixed my first
flat tire
. Knowing how to fix flat tires makes me feel more empowered. Awesome.

Bitcoin
 price went up again yay.

Nay of the Month:

Mi Tarik Warisan Asli opened a branch in Ipoh. I’ve visited and broke my diet twice. It’s so delicious omg.

Wasted like RM80 in cigarettes. Quitting again.

The moving process required me to view some places in KL. So my travel expenses for the month were pretty high.

I had to turn down a few writing jobs because I got too busy. I hate saying no to clients 🙁

Things to Look Forward to:

I have quite a few big writing projects lined up, which will secure my finances for the rest of the year (if it goes through, touch wood).

I’ve decided to pick a semi-furnished place. It does not come with furniture or important electrical appliances. Browsing for furniture and making checklists for things I need to make this place livable has been fun and a new experience.

Need to live way below my means for some time, to replenish my bank account. And of course, work like crazy to get the amount back up.

Oh, while you’re still here. I’m selling the below (email me at kotakkoffee@gmail.com if interested; first pay first serve!):

Moto G original casing (white) + earphones + box – RM35 inc delivery

AntVR Virtual Reality headset for Lenovo (K4 Vibe) – RM50 inc delivery

The Other Boleyn book x 2. Both for RM35 inc delivery.

(Received 2 books from seller and told to keep it. I read one, but the other is practically new. Gift it or whatever and keep one for yourself. Christmas is coming)

Various small cloth casings. RM40 inc delivery.

Here are a bunch of things you can give as Secret Santa presents this year.

Here’s to a hectic November.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click
here
.