Taking a quick rest in my bed one evening, I suddenly remembered about my time letter. Back in 2008 I decided to write a letter to myself that I intend to open ten years later. I quickly searched for the letter in my computer, and opened it for the first time in a decade.
July 13, 2008
I pride myself on being conscious about my time (or at least I like to think I am). I set up a daily routine in the morning when I read my devotionals, do my personal projects, and write something in this blog. I have written posts about time management like “Consistency Beats Intensity” and “How to gain extra time“. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks daily, and give my best to my work every day. I might even like to call myself Mr. Productivity.
I don’t like it when something happens in the day that ruins my routine. Some days there is something that needs to be done, or something unexpected that needs to be fixed and cleaned and it disrupts my schedule. I am also uncomfortable when I feel like I am not doing anything useful, like just lying down to rest or sitting somewhere to talk.
I consider myself an introvert. As an introvert, I am supposed to be “recharged” when I am alone. So when I was given a chance to be at home alone for a week, I was excited. Finally, one whole week of me having my own time and being able to do the things I wanted to do!, I said to myself.
I thought of the things that I can do for the week, I can:
When was the last time you have looked at your expenses this month? How much are you saving per year? Do you pay all your bills and debts on time? Do you have investments years ago that you have forgotten about? The new year can be a good time to reflect on how you are doing with your finances and to see if it has turned cold in some way. If it has, then maybe it is time to reignite your passion about handling your finances well. This is my story on how I regained my passion on personal finance after almost a decade.
After I graduated from university in 2005 I immediately found a job at a software company for printer hardware. I chose this job because it paid well relative to the other job opportunities I had. When I received my first paycheck, it felt very weird as it was my first time handling a “huge” amount of money. As with most people during college, I constantly lack money and sometimes had to borrow from friends to get by, so a month’s paycheck looked a lot of money for me then. Not knowing better I then proceeded to find a way to lose all that money again by spending and giving it away, probably because I was not used to having money before. This continued on for months.
2016 will be over in less than an hour, and as we all welcome the year 2017, here are some of the things I have learned in the past year as well as adjustments that I need to make in the coming new year.
In the middle of the year my father had a serious illness which required hospitalization for several weeks. My mother did her best to take care of him physically while me and my siblings took care of the finances. In the end it was well worth it as my father recovered and is doing well.