Reasons why we need to be Intentional Shopping

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Jeannine

We all love the feeling of being able to purchase something. It’s feels great knowing you’ve worked hard and able to afford the things you want to buy. But is that it? Aside from the financial burden this purchases can give someone, if money’s not an issue, then why do we need to still be intentional in shopping?

Time is precious

May say time is money, I prefer saying it as a precious. Why? Because, it’s not always that we need to associate time with money. If we have enough money, then should that be an excuse to simply let time pass by?

Time is precious as we need or rather would want to use it wisely. There’s more to life than earning $$$. We have a life to live with, a family to spend with, children to see grow, ourselves to relax and do some self-care, etc.

So why should we waste our time in the mall, going around and around shops finding sales? Why would we spend hours and hours online finding stuff to buy when it’s a SALE DAY when we might not even use it anyway?

WHY? Ask this question to yourself before your next trip to the mall.

Be wise with your money

You’ve worked hard for it! I know, you know, we all know. So why spend on stuff when you already have more than enough?

Here’s a scary reality on how much clothing we buy:

As humans, we mostly stop growing at the age of 18-20. This means, whatever height you’re in or shoe size you have, you’ll pretty much be the same in 10 years time. And as for your size, as long as you maintain a healthy diet, then you’ll also stay the same all those time. So why do we need to buy that much clothes?

I love this article by my good friend Natalie Ricaud of Get Organised and Beyond where she wrote about how much clothes do we really need. It’s a must read so do make time to read it!

This might change your mind and be more intentional with your clothing purchases the next time you plan to add some items to your wardrobe.

The Clutter

If you haven’t guessed yet where this article was going when I mentioned Natalie, then you might not know her yet. She’s a professional organiser who has helped clients make their home clutter free! Basically our local Marie Kondo, if you want to say it that way.

Anyways, intentional shopping has something to do with the clutter you have at home, of course! It’s not only your finances that’s on the line here but also that space at your home and the stress you feel when you’re surrounded by stuff you’ve bought that you don’t need at all.

The word “intentional” has been mentioned on this blog for a reason. hahaha… At the end of the day, there’s no reason why we should feel bad about making a purchase. It’s a blessing to be able to afford to buy something and we should never feel rebuff that positive energy that’s coming our way.

We welcome it with intention. There’s much more your money can be of good use. If you feel content with what you have, you’ll never have the urge to buy unnecessary stuff that could only lead you to feel stress at the end. Save yourself from that.

Tips on How to be intentional with your purchases

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Jeannine

I love sale and any freebies!!! Who doesn’t?

There’s this funny story during our first months here in Singapore. We used to live in Choa Chu Kang that time and there’s this store named Etude near the entrance door who would always have a sales lady say, “Gift for you!” to everyone. I knew that in order to get that freebie, I needed to buy something from them. Being the usual me, even with a tight budget, I tried to save a few dollars so I could buy something from them.

The day came and I finally was able to buy something. I was actually more excited to go home and open my “free gift”. hahaha….Can you guess what’s in it?!

…

It’s just a freaking COTTON PADS!!! About 20 pcs of them!!!!hahaha…. My hubby would always tease me until now whenever we pass by Etude and whisper to me, “Gift for you!”

Do you have any experience like that too? If so, I hope you comment below your story. I’d love to hear about it too! Going back to our topic, INTENTIONAL PURCHASES.

With just 72 days before Christmas (as of writing), the biggest celebration of the year is coming again! It may be the joyous, yet also not the joyous to all pockets 🤪 especially if you don’t have a budget. It’s the month were endless parties and get-togethers usually happens and when it does, it’s only natural as human not to show-up empty handed, right?!

It’s during these times that I really make a conscious effort to be mindful of my presence whenever we need to visit the mall. It’s not only you who celebrate of course. December is also when business is good for those store owners, hence, all the “sales” you can think of appear during this season as well.

Here are some tips that can help you be more Intentional with your Purchases:

Make a list and stick to it!

It’s not gonna be easy but it’s doable. To make your life easier, listing the item and budget can help you lessen the stress of finding the one you’d like to purchase.

Shopping hack: Check online before hand. You can just go to the store to verify the fitting (if it’s a clothing or footwear) then purchase whichever gives the best price. More often it’s the one online as you can find some “promo codes” somewhere.

Plan your day out to the mall

I’m pretty sure this won’t be your first trip to the mall you’ll be going. You’ll know where to find the stores you want to go. Avoid window shopping on shops that doesn’t include items on your list. Know that brands have spent $$$ and tons of marketing efforts to lure customers it. Don’t make yourself one of those who get caught with their bait.

Sleep it first

And if they happen to be too persistent that you can’t resist, your last resort is to think over it first. If you still have time to go back the next day for it, then sleep it over first. You might change your mind or find it a hassle to go back the next day just for it (so you get to save yourself from that!!!woohoo!!!)

If not, then maybe have a snack or eat lunch first. You can also finish the other items on your list first. By the time you finish, you might not be thinking of that item anymore.😉

Do budgeting

I’ve been saying how important this is in a couple of my blog posts already and I’ll say it again, make a budget! You’ll be surprised how much less stress you’ll have after you’ve done your shopping. You’ll enjoy the experience, or if you’re me, I call it “a hunt” for that item that fits my budget.

What’s great about this is that you don’t get to go back home with your hands full of bags, and empty pocket, and a mind wondering where to get payment for all of those purchases. You won’t have that mental burden since you’ve allotted already for that.

Resist the temptation of SALES

Don’t be like me on my story who gets lured by that “gift for you”. As I’ve said, brands prepared well for seasons like this. They know what they’re doing and who they are targeting for and how much sales they need to get everyday.

Don’t fall for those ON SALES items that you don’t need. Think of the reasons why you’re doing this intentional purchases in the first place.

And whenever you feel that you’ll miss out the sale if you’re not getting it today. I guarantee you, that will be on sale again the next “sale season”. By the time that season comes again, make sure you have the budget for it. That’s the only way to go to be able to develop that discipline within you and keep your financial health in good shape.

Know how to separate Self-Worth vs Net Worth

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Jeannine

I guess it is utmost important to for us to be very clear on the difference of Self-Worth from Net Worth. As most of us live believing on what the society perceive on us, and with that, thinking that our worth depends on what we can afford to buy, all it gives us is just stress. Added stress, to be exact!

Self-worth according to Wikipedia means, confidence in ones’ worth or abilities. It’s all about what we think and feel about ourselves. Net Worth on the other hand simply means the value of all your assets vs your liabilities. Does that need to be the one to define us? I don’t think so.

That’s why if our mindset isn’t that clear on its objectives, its too easy to interchange the use of Self-worth to Net worth to our advantage.

You see, if you don’t feel your worth of anything and your self-esteem is too low and your brain dictates that you can’t afford that buy that dress even if it’s already on sale, then all you’ll think of is all the negativity of not having enough money. Your world gets full of pessimism that make more poor decision on your finances.

A big difference if you know you’re worth of all the blessings you receive, that considering in abundance or just enough. You’ll always stand by your values, beliefs, and morals. You’ll engage more on doing habits that you know would help you become better as a person, in your goals, and life in general. You’ll be able to make better financial decision and not be carried away by impulse buying.

With that, you’ll be able to build wealth and therefore have that net worth you want to be associated with. Isn’t that what we all want to have?

Life is all about making choices. While it’s not easy to make a decision, making one today is better than not doing anything at all. If you find yourself on the other side of the road, remember that it’s never too late to change. Start with your mindset, then your habits to follow. With just this two changes, you’ll be surprise on how much difference it can make in your life.

Find out if you have a Poor Mindset

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Jeannine

Don’t you just have days when you can’t help but procrastinate about life? Maybe you have been eyeing something for so long and despite working so hard….you still can’t afford it.

Everyday, we strive to be optimistic about life in general and be grateful of the things we have yet sometimes, it is our limiting beliefs that hinders us without us knowing it.

It is only through mindfulness that we’ll be able to stop ourselves from our “poor” thoughts and change it to a better one.

Here are some limiting beliefs that may have hindered you from having better finances:

I am poor

This is one phrase you’ll never hear from someone who’s financially stable. Not only because their finances are in good shape but they don’t dare let those words enter their brain. It’s important to remember that if our brain has one flaw, that would be to determine your subconscious thoughts vs real ones.

So even if as a joke, when you say “I am poor”, there’s a part of your mind that would believe that.

I am not capable

I’m pretty sure you’ve seen any of those documentaries where someone went through a tragedy in their life then turned around their life to become an inspiration to others. I would often hear from them that they won’t be the person they are today if that didn’t happen to them.

How true it is that most of us humans only exert more effort than needed when you’re faced with urgency. Oh I remember how fast we’re (me and my 2 sisters) able to bring to the 2nd floor of our home most of our appliances and lift into mono-block chairs those that can’t fit anymore in our rooms when flood struck our place in Manila way back in college. All that in less than 30 minutes plus food that could last us for 2 days!

We are more than capable of the things we aim to have yet we mostly exert only half of the energy we can. Why? Just because….we can.

I am not deserving

If you have transitioned from a working mom to a SAHM, I’m pretty sure you have felt this at some point of your life knowing you haven’t contributed financially to your household. That guilt feeling every time you buy something or receive something.

Remember that you deserve everything that’s in front of you and given to you. You might not see yourself to feel you deserve it but others do and they appreciate you. The only thing you can do is to say, “Thank you!”

I am not skilled enough

We’ve all been blessed with a unique skill. Our job is to find what that skill is and put into good use. What has been blocking us to find this skill is the influence of society believing that only white collar jobs are the ones we should aim for and if you happen to be doing a blue collar job, there’s no way you can be successful in life.

Have you heard of Steve Harvey’s barber? Here’s the clip of Steve Harvey himself telling the story which I hope inspires you as well. Finding your gift as important as knowing yourself.

I am NOT…..whatever that is!

I’m a firm believer of “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. Sometimes this belief puts me into trouble but my persistence have surely have brought me more little successes. Having that mindset of belief within you helps you be always a step forward towards your goals.

It’s time to change that mindset and start believing in YOU! Believe it or not, we’ve all been blessed equally to be successful in life.

The only issue is sometimes, we chase the wrong path or we don’t try to find our path. Either way, you’ve been BLESSED with TODAY, a chance to believe in what you have in you and let your soark be brought to life!

Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Baked Happily Ever After

Kinds of Budgeting you need to know

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Jeannine

Do you do budgeting? If not yet…WHY?! Don’t worry, I’m not here to give you lecture or whatsoever nor to judge you in any way. As a matter of fact, that’s the main purpose of this article and blog as a whole, to provide learnings and understanding in hopes to help you make a change to your finances.

With that, if you aren’t into budgeting, you might want to consider having a deeper understanding about why budgeting is essential.

If you are already into budgeting, WELL DONE! Do you know there’s different kinds of budgeting? Learn more and see which one are you currently doing and see if other rules/methods may work better for you to maximise more your use of your hard earned money.

Types of Budgeting Rules

50/30/20 Rule

This maybe the most popular rule of all. In this kind of rule, your budget is allocated as follows: 50% for needs*, 30% for wants*, and 20% for savings*. This perhaps is the most friendly budgeting method for everyone and I would recommend for those new to budgeting. Why? Because as you can see, though half of your budget goes to your “needs”, there’s a still a big percentage that goes to be spent for your “wants”.

And though there’s only 20% allotted as “savings”, this may feel like torture at first even with that small amount, but trust me, this can help make a change to your finances. It’s always those small but consistent changes that counts.

70/20/10 Rule

Unlike the usual savings-needs-wants split that most of us know, this rule does it a bit differently, not only in terminology. Here your budget is allotted as follows: 70% towards living expenses, 20% towards repaying debt or savings if you got your debt covered, and lastly, 10% towards what everyone wants to hear about….your “fun money”!

While its the 50/30/20 Rule that’s most popular, I guess, with the rising cost of living nowadays around the world, it’s this rule that most end up with. That’s regardless if given the choice or not.

30/30/30/10 Rule

I find this rule the most spoon fed yet probably effective one for beginners. You aren’t even need to think much as the categories itself of your expenses has been laid out for you to follow.

How does this rule go? Here’s their specific categories: 30% for housing, 30% for necessities, 30% for financial goals, and 10% for your wants.

60/30/10 Rule

If the 50/30/20 Rule is for the first timers, this 60/30/10 Rule is for sure for those veterans in budgeting already. If newbies would try doing this, they probably won’t consider doing budgeting for the rest of their lives! Why?

It’s because on this rule, you get to allot 60% for your savings*, 30% for needs*, and only 10% for your wants*. You read that right! This rule belongs to those who had instil the discipline with their spendings and got the hang of saying “NO” to everything that can ruin their budgeting plan.

*Notes:

Savings – This means build your savings, pay off debt or invest the money.
Needs – You will spend 30% on your basic needs like bills, groceries, rent, and transportation.
Wants – You will spend 10% of your budget to pay for things you want that are considered non-essential expenses, like Netflix or gym membership.

Always remember that discipline is the foundation of learning. Money is a tool everyone of us will need for as long as we live on earth. It is important that we respect it, use it wisely, and hopefully, for the good.

If you’re new in budgeting, always remember that to succeed, it is important to be kind to yourself and always allot some of your earnings to be spent for something that makes you happy. You’ll be surprised that the longer you do budgeting, the more you spend less on this “fun bucket” yet get the happiness more than what your never thought you’d feel with a lot more money you spend before.