Duck feet pedalling under the water kind of feeling into the holiday season.
Spendings Report: $2, 726
Very low-key month in terms of finances despite how busy it is at work and personally. It’s quite interesting that although my life has changed a lot in November it’s not reflected as a much higher or much lower than average spending. I was expecting my spending to be higher because my boyfriend is in town visiting so we’ve been doing a lot of fun activities together. Maybe the savings are from not having time to impulse buy more on Taobao?
Don’t worry, I still made some impulse purchases like a new red handbag (look, I can quit anytime I want), more bubble tea than I’m comfortable admitting, and Swiss rolls. A lot of Swiss rolls.
My daily routine has changed a lot and it’s having a knock-on effect in terms of my sleep, free time, and how focused I have to be at work. Usually, I would bring unfinished work home to leisurely complete after dinner, however, to prioritize time with my boyfriend I now try to finish everything at work. It’s made work feel more hectic because I’m trying to be extra productive, and also my free time more hectic because I want to show him the sights and sounds of Beijing while he’s here.
I’m looking forward to when things settle into a new routine and I can go back to lazing around the house on my days off. And publish these monthly blogs on time, not halfway into the next month haha!
Net Worth Update: choices choices
The decision I made for the situation I mentioned last month is that I’m going to erase $65k from my net worth until I get it back as cash in my accounts. At this point, I’m treating it as a loss/donation, and if I get anything back, it’ll be a pleasant surprise.
I’m surprised I don’t feel more intensely than I do about it. It’s…freeing.
8 years ago I had my bag with my laptop and passport in it stolen while traveling through Vienna. I remember it was $3000-$4000 to replace the items, and the anger I felt stayed with me for months after. I think a few factors are different now:
- That loss was a huge portion of my entire net worth at that time
- My salary is much higher now at a job I find a lot of fulfilment in
- This loss has no impact on my day-to-day life.
I feel more secure in my career and have more confidence in myself now as well. Day-to-day, I feel content with work and life, and I expect I’ll recover from this within a few months.
Thanks for reading this far, it got a bit rambly so I hope you at least found it entertaining.
Happy holidays!