Living paycheck by Paycheck

"You can be young without money, but You can't be old without it"

"If you are born poor it's not your mistake, but if you grow up to still be poor it's your mistake"

Those are the quotes that I have encountered just recently. Good timing actually. 

Dear Readers,

Before I continue with the actual main topic for this blog (Financial Freedom), it is best for me to introduce myself. I am living in one of the well known rich country in the world, Brunei Darussalam, yet is stuck in the situation where most of the other people in the world also have. Being Broke. 

I am not proud of saying it but in order for me to solve this problem, I have to face it, finding the best solution for it and help others on how to manage it. 

I am currently working under private sector earning not more than BND27000 per year. Having a lot of responsibilities on my hand, I somehow transform my life into a life full of debt. The reason as to why I am posting this blog is to track my progress and also spread the knowledge to others. I know that I am not alone in this money loving world. I do hope that with this blog, people will be inspired to take charge of their life and step out of their comfort zone just like what I am going to do now. Changes is not easy to make considering the fact that.. the bad habit is already instilled in my life. But most importantly, I never want to go back to the person I was a year before. Let 2018 be the change of something new. 

Let's take a look at what I have gotten myself into...

1) 2 Car loan which totals up to         = BND 39000

2) Personal loan which totals up to    = BND 8000

3) Other Debt which totals up to        = BND 3500 

Total Debt : BND 50,500

You may ask why and how come I am putting myself in this situation? To be in this mess. First of all, I will drive you to my background. I have 9 siblings, my dad is already retired when I was just in Primary 2 and my mom is a housewife. Our family is struggling for how many years ever since I was Primary 2. We survived because the government is generous enough to give us a certain amount of monthly allowance to our parents yet it was still not enough as we were just kids and all of us need money for school. Most people in my age during that time, still have parents who are working. But in my case it was totally different. I don't get to enjoy a lot of things like all the other children. My only goal was to study hard, have a job and enjoy my life. 

Because of that goal, I have been spending a lot of money in terms of entertainment and things that I don't need just to cover my lost childhood time. I went for a vacation saying that I need it for my reward. Joined gym membership yet is not fully utilising it. Spending on unnecessary clothes, foods and additional stuff that go to waste. Basically, I am spending every cents of my money just to keep up with the trend nowadays and not thinking ahead of my own future. Only when i am reaching 30 years old, I started to realise that I do not have any savings let alone an emergency fund. The worst part is that, even when I realised that I need to save, I did not start immediately. In fact, I still spend my money like I used to. 

But now, it's time to change. 2 years passed by and I have not reach that financial goal which I made 2 years ago. My goal 2 years ago is to save up to $3000 for my emergency fund while at the same time finishing up all my debts. Wish me luck :)

Mathematical calculation : If I were to calculate from my income per year. I may be able to finish all my debts within 3 years without adding up new debt and without entertainment, holiday and cutting unnecessary items. 

How can I proceed with this? First, I will need to add up extra income. I can do a part time job and find ways on how to increase my income through investments. Hopefully, throughout this major life transformation, I will be able to gain more knowledge in terms of investment and passive income. 

Do leave a comment below if you have any suggestions on the investments and passive income ideas that I can try in Brunei. I know the fact that Brunei has a lot of restrictions in terms of this.. yet I do believe that there will always be a way on how to solve this solution. 

Have a great day ahead and always be positive no matter how hard it is. 

Fighting!

Best regards from, 

FinancialFreedomFighter