Here are my monthly financials for March 2022.
It is good to keep track and review your monthly financials so you can be in control of your finances.
Having a fixed income and knowing my expenses will not exceed my budget allowed me to not track my expenses before I left my job. I did not feel a need to track my finances strictly as I know I can control my spending. I only tracked my investments diligently.
Since I will not have a fixed source of income soon, I decided to start tracking my financials starting from January 2021. Money will be tight so I need to be extra prudent. This also helps generate content for my website.
Top 3 Income Sources
Interest – S$216.27
This is made up of the coupon payments from Singapore Savings Bond and interest from Singlife and Dash PET.
Dividends – S$201.57
These are dividends from IREIT.
Merch Sales – S$71
I received US$53 worth of commissions from selling merch on TeePublic and Redbubble. If you like to find out more about selling merch, you can look at an article I wrote here.
Top 3 Expense Sources
Investment – S$200
S$200 of it is my monthly DCA into STI ETF using POSB Invest-saver.
Transportation – S$31.59
This is my public transport costs.
Groceries – S$27.83
This is for groceries at NTUC. Just a side note that egg prices have been increasing like crazy. Eggs used to be a main source of protein but I will be switching to alternative sources like soy or frozen meat until the prices calm down.
CLL’s Infrequently Curated Videos
Russian Sanctions And Global Economic Risk
The sudden invasion of Ukraine by Russia has led to quick and heavy sanctions on Russia. Both Ukraine and Russia are a major cog in the global supply system so the war and the sanctions will have serious ramifications for all of us. Coupled with all the different crises like the China property sector default and others, we might be heading into a financial crisis from this humanitarian crisis.
The Rather Pathetic Economy Of Russia
Although the Russian sanctions are placed to place pressure on Putin and the oligarchs to stop the war, the ordinary Russian population are the ones that are truly hurting. I remember Russia to be part of the BRIC group of countries that showed promising growth but now, due to bad decisions at the government level, their economy has been suffering ever since they defaulted in the late 1990s. With Russia retaliating against “unfriendly” countries and companies, they can be sure that foreign investors will think long and hard before placing additional money into the Russian economy.
I Quit! – Why Millions of People Are Quitting Their Jobs
The pandemic has led to many employees rethinking their careers. Is it worth it working such long hours? Do I really need to commute for 20-30 hours a month when I can do my job at home? People are also tired of management’s bullshit and are looking for employers that respect them and with better benefits. The Great Resignation has returned some of the negotiation power back to the working class. For those that are in the position to do so, they will rather spend more time doing what they love and with who they love instead of slogging it out for corporations with CEOs getting hundred of times more than them.
The Chinese Student Crisis
This video shows the relationship between the high number of Chinese foreign students and college admissions and university rankings. Chinese undergraduates make up a high amount of the foreign student population. With the pandemic, there are a lower number of students choosing an overseas college has dropped, affecting the income of colleges as these foreign students pay an unsubsidized tuition fee. The lower number of foreign students will also affect the rankings of universities as it makes up a portion of the scoring criteria.
These ranking companies are for-profit and they have become so entrenched in the system that if you don’t play the ranking game, you lose. With most major universities playing the ranking game, if you don’t play the game, you will get a low ranking which ultimately affects the college’s income. This is similar to credit cards overall increasing prices but if we don’t use them, we are losing out. Reducing the entire university to a single score is ridiculous as it is way more complicated for that.
Former Fusion Scientist On Why We Won’t Have Fusion Power By 2040
In the latest report by the Energy 2050 committee, nuclear energy is being considered to help Singapore reach energy independence. Fusion energy is relatively safer and its waste will remain radioactive for a shorter period. Although there might be advancements in nuclear energy, specifically fusion energy, this former fusion scientist states that we might not have Fusion Power so soon. First, even if there is the technology fully developed, it will take multiple years to make the power plant fully operational. Additionally, the technology is still not mature yet and at the current stage, the energy and cost efficiency of the nuclear fusion technology is still not viable for it to be an energy source.
Money Manager App
I am using an app called Money Manager to track my income and expenses. It is a free tool available on mobile available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
As far as I know, the data collected from the app is for tracking the ads you view and interact with on the app.
Please check out their privacy policy on what information they collect and what is it used for.
Personally, the value this app brings to me outweighs the value of the information I provide to them.
