What Is Your Spending Weakness?

 

What is your spending weakness? For me, it is books. I usually find it hard to go into a bookstore without buying a book. I have two rooms just to keep my book collection. The bookcases that you see above are already full although I have already arranged two rows of books per rack.

I realize that I splurge on books and sometimes I buy  because I am afraid that I will not be able to find it again when I need it. Now I do not worry so much because of Amazon.

In the last few months, I’ve cut back my spending on books and I only buy books that I really want to read straight away. I also start to read those books that I have bought but not read yet.

I think we all have our own spending weakness. As you can see in the photo below, my sister’s weakness is clothes.

 

Some other things that I can think of:

• DVDs, CDs
• Soft toys
• Shoes, bags, accessories
• Fridge magnets and other souvenirs

What about you?

Learn and Grow!

Be Optimistic and Be Prepared

During my junior high school’s reunion, Alfa  and I were in charge of making the audio visual of the SMP PL Bintang Laut 50-year history and had it up and running on the giant screen. We have prepared a power point presentation with animation and music. I even rendered the power point presentation into MPEG and AVI because I didn’t know whose computer would be used to play the video clip. 

It took me days to prepare the power point presentation. It was not as easy as I thought because I needed to choose the right soundtrack and made sure that the length and timing were perfect. Since I used power point instead of movie maker, I had to preview the slide presentation from the beginning not just from current slide to make sure that the soundtrack matched the slide transition. Rendering into MPEG also took around 10-15 minutes and sometimes I had to do it three or four times until I got it right.

On the first day of reunion, there was supposed to be a teleconference after the video clip. The person in charge of the teleconference said that he was ready and he has tried it in the morning. Since he said that he was ready for teleconference, I assumed the computer would be ready and I could use the computer to play the audio visual.

At noon while I was perfecting the audio visual, I decided to burn the movie into playable DVD. I just wanted to be prepared if anything unexpected happened.

When I arrived there in the afternoon, I found that the cable for the LCD projector was RCA cable and not VGA. If I wanted to use VGA cable, there was no sound cable near the projector. It was a dilemma, picture without sound or sound without picture. Fortunately the person in charge of the video brought a DVD player and the plug for RCA cable, I also had burned the video clip into playable DVD, so at the end the show was a success.

What did I learn from this experience?

1. Be positive and optimistic, but be prepared for any eventualities.
2. Always have a back up plan
3. Do not assume anything – especially if the person in charge is not reliable nor responsible
4. Coordination is very important to make an event successful

Learn and Grow!

SMP PL Bintang Laut 50th Anniversary Reunion

This is the multimedia presentation that Alfa and I made to be shown at my junior high school’s reunion. It is less than 10 minutes, but it took us more than three days to make this. I am proud of myself being able to whip up something like this because I’ve stretched myself both intellectually and emotionally doing it. I am also glad that the reunion was successful and I could contribute to it. 

My Personal Time

Yesterday afternoon I went to Excelso, Solo Square to read “Harmonic Wealth” by James Arthur Ray and to write in my journal. It was awesome. I totally enjoyed myself. I was sitting outside, sipping coffee, enjoying the sunset colored sky and watching people that came to the mall.

It is personal time at its best for me. Read a good book, write my thoughts and have a cup of mocha coffee…hmm perfect!

Do you have a personal time? What do you usually do?

Learn and Grow!

My First Experience as Member of an Examination Panel

This morning I had a very interesting experience as a member of examination panel in Sebelas Maret University, Solo.

Frankly, this is my first time and I have no experience whatsoever in this matter. I have never written a thesis before because I did not need to write one to graduate. I only needed to get good examination marks to graduate and I could get my Bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Western Australia.  

I have never had the experience of having my thesis scrutinized and asked so many questions about what I had written, yet today I was on the other end of the table, scrutinizing and asking questions about what my student had written. I did not ask too many questions because I did not know what kind of questions are usually asked in this situation. I also do not have the heart to ask questions that are too hard or difficult because I personally know how hard he has worked on his thesis. The other member of the panel however, they really dug deep and asked hard and challenging questions. I learned a lot about what I need to do and I am sure that I will do better next time.

What have I learned from this experience?

• Learn to ask better questions
• Stretch my comfort zone doing something for the first time

Learn and Grow!

Look…What is going on down there?

THE CURIOUS DOGS

This photo was taken in Jakarta on 13th July 2008.

Financial Advice and Insight From Suze Orman

Yesterday I watched in Oprah about a family in a brink of bankruptcy because the wife is a shopaholic. The husband didn’t know that they were in so much debt because she hid the transactions from her husband. All the credit cards were maxed out, the total debt was around USD 640,000.

Suze Orman advised the family to move from California to Seattle, Washington to start a new life. She told the wife to work at Starbucks because after three months, she’d get a health insurance for her whole family and she could drink latte too (she usually spends USD300-400 per month for latte). The husband could also get higher take-home pay because there was no income tax in Seattle, Washington.

Suze Orman said “We spend money that we don’t have, to impress people that we do not know or people that we do not like”

It is so true how nowadays we try so hard to look rich, to impress people with what we have. We define ourselves from what others see instead of how we truly see ourselves. By giving other people the power to define who we are, we have lost the power to be who we are destined to be.

Suze Orman also gave an advice about three questions that we have to ask before spending any money:

1. Is it kind?
2. Is it necessary?
3. Is it true?

We only spend money if the answers to these three questions are all YES. Otherwise we do not spend the money.

We really need to learn and increase our financial IQ so that we can make better decision when it comes to money.

Learn and Grow!

Airport Check-In Jam

Yesterday my flight to Solo was at 6.05AM. I arrived at the airport at 4.50AM. It was more than 1 hour before take off. I thought there would be enough time to relax and drink cappuccino in airport lounge. WRONG!

When I arrived at the airport and walked to the door leading to check in area, there was a very long queue. There was only one door open serving so many passengers. The queue was more than 10 meters long snaking on both side of the door. I was queuing for more than 15 minutes there before being able to get in into check in area.

When I got into the check in area, I immediately raced to Garuda Frequent Flyer counter for Platinum and Gold Card. There were about eight people queuing in front of me. The first person checked in swiftly, but the second one took ages. Apparently she had upgrades, overweight luggage and she didn’t have enough cash with her so she needed to get her husband to get cash.

There were still three people in front of me when they announced that my flight was boarding. I immediately cut in line and asked the person to let me check in first because my flight was boarding. Fortunately these guys were very understanding and they let me check in first.

Once I got my boarding pass, I ran all the way to the boarding gate. Whew…early morning exercise done!

Lessons: Arrive at least 2 hours before take off!

Learn and Grow!

I am sorry, I don’t know how to turn it off

This morning on my Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Solo, I saw something very amusing.

At first, I was quite annoyed to see the lady sitting in front of me was still using her mobile phone to call while she was already on the plane. Then I heard the announcement to turn off any mobile phones and the stewardess started walking up and down to aisle to check. The stewardess finally came and asked the lady to stop calling and turn her mobile phone off.

Stewardess: “Please stop calling now and please turn off your mobile phone, madam.”

Lady: “I am sorry, I don’t know how to turn it off. I’ve never turned my mobile phone off since I bought it.”

Then she gave her Nokia 5310 to the stewardess and asked her to help turning the phone off. The stewardess was very patient, kind and understanding. She even taught her how to turn it on again after the plane landed.

When I heard that the lady could not turn her mobile phone off, I don’t whether to laugh or to pity her. Sometimes people just buy gadgets that’s way beyond their knowledge and skill to use.

These days many people buy gadgets because of trends and good looks instead of functions. It is simply a race to own the latest gadget to show off and get other people’s attention. In the past, I often made the same mistake of racing to own the latest, fastest, meanest gadget, but now I know better. I am still tempted to get the latest gizmos, but I’ve learned to control my urge and wait for a while. Fortunately I have some friends who remind me whenever my eyes turn green seeing the latest gadget hahaha.

Lesson: Learn to use your gadget more effectively. At least learn to turn it on and off :)

Learn and Grow

Enthusiasm Attracts

Yesterday my friends and I went to i-Tutor.net to check out their franchise opportunity. We went there with lots of enthusiasm and spirit. As accounting & finance people, we are very serious about the business aspect of the franchise, yet we can have fun with the evaluation process.

We were so full of enthusiasm during the presentation that we joked a lot, laughed out loud and just had lots of fun. We definitely made lots of noises because many of their staff commented, “So these are the prospects who were so loud and enthusiastic?” They have never had a prospect like us before. HAHAHA

Enthusiasm attracts attention!

We could see and feel how our enthusiasm affected others. The marketing executive who did the presentation became enthusiastic, as well as a few others who came into contact with us.

Enthusiasm attracts more enthusiasm! Enthusiasm is contagious!

Learn and grow!

Inge Santoso

Motivation – Avoiding Pain

I have had some pain under my second toe since Monday. It was quite painful to walk. I had to wear loose footwear because there was swelling too. I was quite worried because I have never experienced such pain before.I had suspected high level uric acid because I have not eaten well, especially last week.

Yesterday, I decided to get a blood test because I wanted to make sure. I’ve been putting off getting a blood test because I was afraid to see the result. This time, the pain is greater than my fear, so I chose the alternative that give me less pain, getting a blood check. (The basic of human motivation to avoid pain is really a great motivational force)

I was feeling anxious the whole day because I was afraid to see the blood test result. Finally when I got home last night, I opened the test result. You know what…Everything was good! I felt so relieved and grateful!

What do I learn from this?

First, my health is extremely important!

I confessed that I have not taken care of my body. It is this pain that makes me realize how uncomfortable, painful, inconvenient, difficult, stressful, irritating, shameful and expensive for not having a healthy body. PAIN, PAIN, PAIN! Why do we often have to feel the pain before realizing how important and valuable something is?

Second, my motivation to avoid pain is stronger than my motivation to seek pleasure.

Until now, I have been trying to deceive myself by pretending to be a pleasure seeker because I thought it was better. Now I realize it is not about better or worse, but it is about what works for me. I am going to use both pain and pleasure, but I will make sure that there is enough painful reasons to propel me forward.

Learn and Grow!

One of My Favorite Series

Yesterday I found one of my favorite series – She Tiao Ying Xiong (Sia Tiau Eng Hiong) in DVD format. I was so happy to finally found it because I’ve been looking for it for years. Although it is a bit expensive, but it is definitely worth it.

Although there are many re-make of this series, with better sound effect, younger stars, but I simply love the original. I don’t know how to describe the feeling but I am sure that classic movie lover out there will understand the feeling. I think it is because the images and sounds just bring me back the treasured memories of my younger days. 

I remember the first time I watched it was when I was in primary school, about 20 years ago. My friends and I usually watched together after renting it from our local video store. The format back then was still Betamax video tape (ancient…ancient…HAHAHA). We would sit in front the TV watching it with full concentration. Sometimes we didn’t hear our parents’ calling us because we were so engrossed in it. After watching, we usually played and acted out the characters…it was our favorite game.  

When I think about it, playing pretend-to-be is really beneficial. It exercises our imagination and it develops the skill of modeling. Nowadays, mostly during NLP training, we are taught about modeling success, act as-if…the same skills as what we have naturally when we were young, just more directed and focused. It’s like re-learning what we used to do naturally when we were young, and I wonder why we are willing to pay so much money for the training HAHAHAHA

Advice for parents, let your children play pretend-to-be as long as they want, just direct them to play more positive characters.

Learn and Grow!