I'm hardly immune to impulse buying - my friends would certainly attest to the endless Kinokuniya / MPH bags I cart back each time I go out. At the end of each month though, the extent of my credit card statement would have eyebrows raised ( certainly my frugal brother's ) in astonishment. Fortunately I somehow manage to scrounge enough crumpled dollars ( beg, borrow and steal! ) from my emptied pockets to cover my debts on a monthly basis.
Care to loan a fella a dollar?
But with Charming Calvin gone on his half yearly sabbatical to Beijing, I've decided to start on an austerity drive. Been trying to work out how much I can save by turning into a penny-pinching skinflint eschewing all ( well, most! ) worldly luxuries in pursuit of that ever-burgeoning trust fund.
Turning into a miserly hermit for the week limiting myself to a minimal expenditure of a fifth of my meagre pay cheque.
Confined my caffeine addiction to precious weekly visits to the temple of java, Starbucks while subsisting on substandard 3-in-1 packs for the rest of the week. Daily work lunches consist of pre-packed sandwiches if not unappetizing protein bars that I hide in my trusty white coat. Or on special days in the week, I feast on fresh chicken pies humbly donated to the famished poor by the good samaritan Jaunty Jared courtesy of the Jaylex Foundation. Contemplating hanging up an IV drip for dinner ( parenteral nutrition full of processed milky goodness ) but I figure someone at work's gonna comment on that.
Obsessive bibliophile / bibliomaniac that I am, spending on books seems to be my fatal addiction so I try to avoid bookstores ( including online stores ) as much as possible - limiting them only to my weekly java visits. Staying away from furniture stores / clohing stores at all costs to avoid aggravating my latent oniomania.
Still using premium oil for my car ( would diesel be cheaper? ) but I've been avoiding toll booths maniacally all week. Of course it involves stumbling onto horrid circuitous little backroads ( with all the other stingy freaks in their economical tincans ) to avoid the expensive highways but hopefully it's worth it. I've even taken to parking illegally at unusual parking lots miles away from my scheduled appointments to escape the monstrous meter maids. Even considered the feasibility of cycling to work but I'm sure I'll be knocked down by distracted ( and homicidal )physicians speeding heedlessly on the hospital grounds, if not drenched by the torrential rain.
How the mighty have fallen. At this rate, I'll be starving, pathetic and miserable - but hopefully wealthy beyond my wildest dreams in a millenia.
Of course you guys know I'm gonna blow it all in Beijing, right?
12 comments:
Jaylex Foundation haha.
How do I qualify for assistance ar? ;-)
Cold turkey austerity drive does not work for me. I need to do it gradually.
Hey try what happened to me.
Get non stop duties n overtime.
Save the cash since ur too tired to spend on anything else like books n clothes n u get your overtime pay.
make your spurge in china even more satisfying!
I've bought sufficient groceries for a week then (still trying) locked myself up at home. Not going anywhere except for classes. Hopefully, I won't spend by that way...ish ish*
Boy, I would just love to be there when you do!!!!
LOL, self inflicted torture for splurging in Beijing.
I can never do that. I am addicted in using money. As long as there's penny in my pocket, I'll look for anything I can spend on.
Expensive stuff from books, ktv session, luxurious dinner to cheap stuff like magazines, watching movie etc. I sure know how to indulge in the world of money-spending. And I surely know how to treat myself good time.
Having said that, I can't even dare to open my monthly credit card statement. Oh, the statement just arrived yesterday. I left it un-opened on my table... :p I can wait till I got my salary at the end of the month.
Since you talked about bookstores, I'm really curious about this: Do the bookstores in Malaysia sell gay books/novels? And I mean the gay pop/modern novels, not the stuffy gay literature.
I once went on your so-called “austerity drive” for a month (by staying away from ATMs to withdraw cash; hiding then 2, now 3, painfully annoying credit cards to purchase useless stuffs; self-imposing Starbucks moratorium; and blocking off online shopping sites), only to splurge in a week long Boracay (beach in the Philippines) trip. I guess it was worth it though. =)
I hope this aversion therapy works well for you doc paul. Wishing you the best of luck on your Beijing trip.
By the way, that cycling to work idea looks promising. Might as well try that myself.
Good golly Pauly, it's like dieting, isn't it? You spend agonizing months eating carrot sticks, celery, bird seed and starve until you get that perfect size waist.. then BLOW IT on scarfing down a whole bag of oreo cookies and suddenly like magic, you gained 20 lbs all back! Same goes with the money. *sad face*
oh my... don't ask me to save money like that, i'll sure fail lol... well most of my money is spent of food, and yeah i'm a real sucker for good food. thats why whenever i'm free i'll just lock myself at home to avoid going out for lunch because lunch means kfc or mcd or ayamas or nandos... and it's not cheap for a 20yo student k haha
Gonna do it slowly. Still using my credit card but cutting down lah, jaded jeremy.
We don't get overtime, gauzzel. We do horrific 24 hour calls that leave us barely alive at the end of it.
Whoa. Now that's saving money, m5lvin.
When i do what? Blow the cash, sue? You should see me shop.
It's only the beginning, jonzz.
I'm pretty addicted too, ryan so I'm taking it slow.
Gonna address that in my next post, lada. Promise!
Boracay. Giving me ideas, ruffnurse :P
I know what you mean, anniiieieee :) But at least it's a start!
No worries. You'll have enough when you start work, conan.
Paul
Yeah, I want to be with you in Beijing to see you shop!
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