Budget Update: April 2021 – A Slow Month
Welcome to another edition of my monthly budget updates, where I break down my expenses by category and share the highlights and lowlights of the month!
April 2021 was half of puasa month, which usually slows down the pace of life. We spent a lot of time staying home and, when I do venture out, spending time with family. Because we’re told to abstain from food, so naturally food is everything I think about and plan my days around.
My expenses reflected that: Both Groceries and Social expenses increased in April 2021. I’ve been having fun cooking up new dishes to try out. I made: Spanish omelette, Coriander baked dory, Creamy spinach mushroom gnocchi, Salted egg chicken, Terung berlada, Baked camembert and more. I also had fun buying various food from different vendors to bring to family gatherings, so we could share together.
All in all, it’s been a nice, peaceful puasa. I’m glad that it is, because it’s the zen I need after getting angry over the news, from #MakeSchoolASaferPlace to #KerajaanGagal to #JusticeforGanapathy
Okay, let’s get on to the budget part.
Budget Update: April 2021
In April 2021, I spent RM5,794.72. The top 3 top expenses were:
- Utilities & Rent (RM1,379.98) – Gotta keep a roof over our heads
- Donations & Gifts (RM1227.73) – Parents’ electric bill, donation to Global Sadaqah, etc
- Groceries (RM771.39) – Stocked up on buka puasa and sahur food
My Spending Breakdown in April 2021
Here’s what I spent on in the whole month of April 2021, in their respective categories and from highest to lowest amount:
Yay of the Month:
#1 – Paid fellow writers
My fellow writers who contributed short stories to Money Stories from Malaysians: Volume 2 and Cerita Duit Orang Malaysia: Jilid 1 who chose to be paid via profit-sharing method (profits of book sales after 1 year) received RM1,224.54 each! I absolutely loved writing the email to inform the writers about the money they’re due to get. They were so happy!
Wouldn’t have done it without you, dear readers. Thank you so much for your support. Hope you’ll continue to support Money Stories from Malaysians: Vol 3 as well (in progress)
#2 – High ratings on my webinar
If you’ve been following me, you know that I conduct workshops and webinars sometimes. I used to self-organise, but nowadays I only do collaborations, because I was accused of being unqualified on personal finance topics.
And you know what? I’m good at what I do.
#3 – Helped to promote my sisters’ boutiques
I love having sisters, it’s the best. Helping them makes me happy <3 Thanks to everyone who supported, hope you have a wonderful photo session this Raya 🙂
If you’re reading this in early May 2021, there may still time to browse and buy! See their collection here: [Nepotism] Shop My Sisters’ Baju Raya 2021 Collection (Regular & Plus Size)
#4 – Went flowers shopping with mom and sisters
We managed to fit in one last family activity before puasa, so we chose Mom’s favourite place – anywhere with plants and flowers.
#5 – Tried a personal styling service
I tried Ellegra and had fun trying on different outfits that they picked out for me! Basically I answered some questions about my preference and they send over 5 curated options to choose from, all of which I could return if I didn’t want them.
(If you want to try it out, use this ref link. You’ll get 50% off styling fee, and it also includes cost of delivery and returns)
#6 – Received a big mirror
A big, full-body mirror has been on my wishlist for the longest time. I delayed for years, before ordering one, but it accidentally broke during delivery so my seller cancelled my order.
And then my sister reminded me that I left a mirror at my parents home during my moving phase years back, so would I like that back?
!!! I completely forgot all about it!
So I took it home and saved the RM300++ that I would have spent on one!
#7 – Hit 25k followers on Twitter
Thank you for following! If you haven’t please follow me here (as well as Facebook and Instagram). The more followers I have the more I can charge my clients – this business model keeps my content free 🙂
#7 – Misc
- Read two books: Bad Choices: How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter and Live Happier by Ali Almossawi and Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life – Strategies for Co-operation by Len Fisher
- Bought a kettlebell after years of deliberating. Now if only my willpower is stronger :’)
- Bought a new baju raya set (this is rare for me – I usually recycle or buy from my sisters to support). I just want to make memories
Nay of the Month:
#1 – A reminder that technology can fail you sometimes
Pros still outweigh the cons, but paying RM14 unnecessarily kind of sucked.
#2 – My flower plant
My plant-killing streak continues 🙁 After my kailan plants died last month, my salad plants and new flower plant died as well.
I am..sad. I don’t have any other plants, and am extremely discouraged to try again.
#3 – Google Analytics glitched
I don’t know what happened, but Google Analytics stopped tracking website data for a solid 2 weeks in April 2021.
It’s fixed now, but sucks because there is no way for me to retrieve the lost data, and now the data going forward is inaccurate 🙁
Things to Look Forward to:
- Raya, and finally able to drink coffee again (I abstain coffee for 1 month, because the withdrawals are ridiculous)
- My birthday! I’m turning 33!
- A hair perm session which I got for super cheap but expiring in May 2021, so I have to schedule that soon
Well, that was my April 2021! How was yours? What’s your yay of the month, nay of the month, and something you’re looking forward to? Tell me in the comments section 🙂
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To read about my past monthly budget update, click here. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (find out your budgeting style)
