Enjoying the summer break 🙂 here are some photos from various places in Yunnan. If you go to Lijiang, skip it and choose the smaller ancient town of Shuhe about 20min drive further north, much less commercial and with a great relaxed vibe.
I’m still a terrible travel blogger so my only word on going is I like the place, but if you don’t go then you’re not missing out on a life-changing event or anything. If you’ve considered travelling to China, Yunnan is a great option.
Spendings Report: $2,200
The leisure spending includes everything I spent while on vacation, all kinda lumped together.
Last month I mentioned a tax bill, it’s >7,000rmb *cries*. I’m waiting until my next paycheck to pay it off however because I sent 90% of my money in China back to Canada and I don’t want to reduce my available liquid cash so low in case emergencies come up, as they already have in the form of an infection after wisdom tooth removal.
Over the next school year I want to reduce spending to prepare for a very costly visit to see family+friends in Canada that I haven’t seen in 3 years. The increased cost of flights due to covid plus having to pay for my own quarantine hotel upon return to China will take almost two months’ salary. I’m willing to pay it and it’ll require tightening the belt since I don’t want to cut into my savings too much.
I’ve looked at my transport costs trends since I started keeping a tally and I can definitely cut them at least in half. That will be the goal for August and September, getting them to sub $50 levels by taking the subway more and using my e-bike for places closer.
I plan to reduce travel outside of Beijing, choose the train over flights, cut down on winter sports, stop paying for my own internet, and have friends over for potlucks instead of going out to eat. Do more activities like biking around the city exploring instead of driving out to overnight hikes.
Net Worth Update: no longer stagnant
My net worth has been fairly stagnant for the last 6 months even as I continued to earn a regular income due to my investments decreasing in value at the same rate. I’m pretty happy with the progress and will basically continue doing what I’ve been doing.