Saving up for the new year


Piggy Series
Originally uploaded by Jepster
It's a fresh new year and I'm still trying to pay off the expenses I incurred during the holidays. That is why for this year, I have resolved to be more budget conscious (no more impulse buying *sob*) and hopefully finish the projects I have started last year that I was not able to complete because of lack of funds. The biggest of these projects is of course my flat which after more than 2 years since moving in still looks like a storage space with a small clearing for the bed and a small table.

Things that I should spend less on:
* Eating out -- I used to cook often but lately I have been eating out a lot. I hope to change that this year. The downside is that I tend to get fatter when I do my own cooking :p
* Buying overpriced coffee -- Ok I admit it, I have probably spend a whole lot of money on coffee than I should have just for the months of November, December and January. All because of a lousy planner that I have just gave away to friends. It would have been cheaper if I just had bought them the planner instead of collecting all those promo stickers from Starbucks.
* Impulse buying -- the year 2007 was a landmark year for me in terms of impulse buying. The items ranged from a nice mini tripod that I just had to buy to a very nice Bluetooth keyboard for my equally nice new phone (the keyboard was one-third the price of my phone). That also includes all the cheap but moderately useful items I buy from my favorite budget gadget store (CDRKING). And did I really need that new widescreen LCD monitor? I'm guessing not.
* Fuel and car maintenance related expenses -- I'm not sure what I can do about this category but this represents a huge chunk of my total expenses in 2007. A colleague suggested I stop doing my maintenance checks with the OEM and stick with 3rd parties offering the same services instead. Almost all of my Christmas-bonus just went to that single maintenance repair. Bummer huh... :(

Comments

Anonymous said…
willing to help paint your walls, lay down tiles on your floor, and arrange your furniture for food.. hehe
JEP said…
Haha no deal. I'm not letting anybody see my flat until it looks decent and presentable.
Anonymous said…
eh hello!? kaya nga aayusin noh..
i also heard laying tiles down is rewarding and fulfilling.. like work.. hehe