In my previous post, I had discussed how life might have been different if I had pursue my academic passions (or my self-perceived passions), and perhaps would end up with a different faculty, career, and ultimately, a different life. I might be doing something very different right now. Perhaps I am an art curator, in…
I chanced upon a post by Sillyinvestor and the subsequent commentary between him and his readers and it hit me strongly. Perhaps because I think it kind of reflected my situation then. By way of background, Sillyinvestor is a primary school teacher in Singapore and his latest blogpost chronicles some of the issues and challenges of…
Ok, perhaps I am a bit late to the party, since this has been widely covered in the mainstream press, as well as various other bloggers and sites. As many of our readers would know from our monthly updates, one part of the fixed expense would be our insurance premiums. This also include the partial…
February is the month that Kate and I celebrated our birthdays which falls on the same day. How coincidental is that even though we are three years apart. Ashton also celebrated his very first Chinese New Year with us and I guess he is the centre of attraction for all our visiting done this year.…
A reader once commented, even though he has no kids now, but he would envisage minimal outlay when he has one, perhaps mainly the diapers and milk powder. To be honest, raising a child is not exactly that expensive an affair. It is also highly dependent on the expectations of the parents, and striking a…
A happy Lunar New Year to all our Chinese readers! I recalled when I was a kid, during the Lunar New Year period, I will be super excited. My mum will take me and my sibling to go shopping and we will buy two sets of new clothing (predominantly red) so that we can wear…
Aside from the cost incurred during pregnancy and delivery, another area which could potentially chalk up quite a bit during the first few months with your newborn is bringing them for their respective vaccinations. During the first year, there are a few which are compulsory, though there are other vaccinations that are optional but parents…
January is the month that we start managing baby Ashton on our own without the help of the confinement lady. The days are long but before we realised, he is already 2 months old. I guess we are coping better this time round as we are more physically and mentally prepared as compared to our…
Monetary gifts are pretty common in Singapore and certain parts of the world, where we would gift money to congratulatory parties, mainly celebratory occasions, such as weddings, baby showers, housewarmings, etc. In fact, it is also an easy (and lazy) way to prepare a gift, as you do not need to think about what to…
A reader asked us to share our “minimalist wedding”. However, when Dave and I got married more than 5 years ago, we were not yet minimalists, nor aware of this concept of minimalism. Now, to think back, ours was in no way a minimalist wedding, and it was every way pretty similar to the traditional…