Budget Update: November 2017

Budget Update: November 2017

I spent RM6.8k, eep. A good chunk of that (41% or roughly RM2.7k) is for business purposes though, so all good.

November was bittersweet. I’ve parted ways with a long-term client. The decision was not a whim, I sought advice from friends and mentors. I’ve been with them for a good two years and helped out in various capacities: including website copywriting, content creation and management, email and app copywriting, automation and onboarding processes, translation recruitment and management, growth hacking, community management and overall business development.

I had to do this because I was feeling stagnant, professionally speaking. It was hard because I also had to let go of financial stability – now I know why some people get stuck in careers they no longer enjoy. Thankfully my savings will be enough to last me for months and even years to come, so I’m not particularly worried, although I am itching to start something new to not waste this momentum.

On another note, what a relief, owed to savings. I can only afford to let this stable job go because of my current financial security. I sincerely hope all of you get to feel this type of joy, because it’s awesome.

Looking forward to deciding on my next career move in the crypto/blockchain space. In the meantime, I still have my other clients to keep happy.

Yay of the month:

• Went to Singapore twice. Once for Singapore Fintech Festival (7 days) and another for Blockshow Asia (2 days). I learned so much about the blockchain and crypto world, including in relation to its progress in this part of the world. Also made new friends and gained new mentors.
• Receiving work inquiries. My writing business continues as usual. The day I told people I parted ways with Wirex, I received three potential offers. At time of writing I’ve received five. It’s a very odd feeling, being wanted for collaborations. On the one hand I’m incredibly flattered, on another hand it makes me very aware that it’s not because of just my abilities, per se. It is possible that its simply because of the lack of talent in the blockchain space and there’s barely anyone else to ask. How do I improve this gap in job demand/supply?
• Doing the Christmas Giveaway gives me so much joy! I have gold, bitcoin, ether, Zcoin, Focus Malaysia subscription and Kinokuniya vouchers up for grabs, so make sure to enter it okay. It’s raffles slash lucky draw style, and you can earn more entries by completing certain mini-tasks.
•  My Grammarly subscription ended. That’s the editing software I use to double-check my writing work. Managed to get the annual subscription for 50% off thanks to Cyber Monday. Love it when you get a discount on something you plan on paying for anyway.
• Treated my family to a family getaway. Booked an apartment in the heart of KL and brought them to the Islamic Arts Museum and Central Market. At night we played a ton of board games. The only person I’ve ever lost Scrabble to is my dad. He’s a sore winner but I let him boast – it takes me off my pedestal lol.
• Attended Wordcamp KL. It was the first Wordcamp organised in Kuala Lumpur, and my first foray into the local Wordpress community. Met a friend who’ve I’ve chatted to online for at least a year in person there, finally.
• Ringgit Oh Ringgit’s hosting plan was due to end in mid-December, so I shopped around for better options. I had an optimisation report done last time by David Wang (also the friend I mentioned above) and he suggested switching to SiteGround to improve on website speed. I did, and oh my goodness this website is so much faster now! Bought three years hosting plan for RM923.45.
• Earned RM605.47 in Google Adsense in two months. This was the highest payout yet in this timeframe! I believe a lot of it is due to increased traffic – Ringgit Oh Ringgit recorded 67,000 monthly views in November alone! The improved website speed helped too, I think!
• Bitcoin price increased by a lot. Yay.
• So I have braces right? It’s working. Lately I can scrape the top and bottom teeth, and omg it’s the weirdest feeling ever. My top and bottom teeth have never touched before this. I’m developing this weird habit where I’ll randomly scrape them against each other because the feeling is so foreign.

Nay of the month:

• Had a haircut. The hairdresser tacked on a vague RM20 ‘consultation fee’ on top of the normal price. I countered, but paid anyway. I liked the haircut and the service but made a mental note to not go there again in protest of this practice.
• Wanted a holiday, decided on Lombok, Indonesia. Then the mountain erupted. Switched plans.
• Really getting self conscious of my dark under-eye situation. A part of me is like, yeah rock it, Elon Musk does so why not me right. Another part of me gets really annoyed when people assume I’m tired all the time. I’ve tried creams, balms, masks, concealers – nothing works so now I’m considering dermafillers. I have no idea how much they would cost, now in research stage.

Things to Look Forward to:

• Booked my holiday to Maldives 😀
• Stocking up on books from the Big Bad Wolf Book Fair. It’ll run from 8-18th December 2017. Same location – Mines Exhibition Centre.
• Making 10 people who entered the Christmas giveaway very happy. Reminder that you can get additional entries by visiting daily!
• Welcoming 2018. It’ll be a good year, I know it. Can’t wait to learn new information about money and share it with you guys.

Have an amazing new year. Thanks for supporting me all this while. You guys are awesome.

To read about my past monthly budget update, click here. Graphs are taken from my expense-tracking app Money Lover (review).