AK's birthday wish is for everyone to be wealthier.

UPDATED (10 JAN 17):
People say this Oyster Omelet best.

Quite yummy. $5.00 only. We are so lucky to have good food at reasonably affordable prices in Singapore.
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I always say that packing food to work daily would save us plenty of money. 

My mom prepared a bento for me today.
Steamed rice, stewed fish and ginger.

If we want to eat out, we can also visit the many hawker centres in Singapore which I think have good and inexpensive food.

When my family asked where would I like to go to have dinner to celebrate my 43rd birthday, I suggested Whampoa Market! Surprised?
Actually, there are many millionaires in our HDB estates and they lead simple lives. 

We might not know much about them because they are not very talkative (like I am) but they are more common than we think they are.

I like fried Ngo Hiang et. al. very much.

Realised I don't have a photo showing only the food.
This is the best shot after some cropping.
The Hokkien Mee was already half eaten. -.-"

Decided not to have a birthday cake.
Just stacked 3 waffles on top of one another.
Then, just eat with ice cream! I like!

(Apologies for the photo quality. The photos are in my mobile phone. I used a digital camera to take the images from the screen of my phone and cropped them. I am such an IT dinosaur, I know.)

Good company. Good food. Good price.

We don't have to go to "atas" restaurants to be happy.

People who have above average income would often tell me that it is difficult to build wealth in Singapore but if they were to examine their lifestyles, they might be surprised at how much money they could actually save if they were to make thriftier consumption choices.

I know it is possible to build wealth more rapidly in Singapore and some readers who have decided to make changes to their consumption choices with an eye on wealth building have written to me to say that they have made good progress. 

Get the whole family in on the project (which some readers have done) and our success rate would be even higher.

Remember, it is always the toughest in the beginning but if we are determined and disciplined, my birthday wish for everyone to become wealthier will come true.

Related posts:
1. AK's free birthday cake (2010).
2. Good food at good prices (2011).
3. The Millionaire Next Door.
4. Financial freedom is a family affair.
5. If we are not rich, don't act rich.
6. Be $48,000 to $60,000 richer in 10 years.

Do we need new or is old good enough? (How to be richer? Another personal story of frugality.)

UPDATED (22 DEC 16):

Related post: Never bored in retirement.

Old game but still a fun game!

As I play the game, I am also watching the anime online. All 180 episodes! I can binge watch!

All for FREE!

Wahahaha! Bad AK! Bad AK!
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I hear friends talking about getting good ear phones so that they can enjoy music on the go many times before.

A friend actually brought me to a shop in the basement of ION Orchard to look at these super earphones before and when I saw the prices, my jaw dropped.

I don't know if you believe me but a pair of these diminutive ear plugs, yes, they look like ear plugs, could cost more than $300 or $400! 

How could something so small cost so much? It is simply mind boggling! What is more amazing is that some people actually buy the latest (expensive) ear phones as and when they become available!

When recommended to get a pair for myself, I politely declined, saying that I don't have use for earphones. Actually, that is not true. I do use earphones. I use them when I watch movies on my iPad. I use them when I travel. I use them when I go to the gym (once in a blue moon).

However, my earphones didn't cost me $300 or $400. They didn't even cost me $15, if I remember correctly.

So, what do my earphones look like?

I don't know if they still sell earphones like these. They come in a plastic case with a nifty rotating feature to reel in the cords neatly. I like the neat design very much.

I happen to leave my earphones on my desk today because I used them in the gym yesterday. A friend who was visiting remarked at the "antique".

Well, I must have had these ear phones since I was in college or when I was in National Service. I cannot remember exactly. So, they are pretty old but they still work.

I have shared in various blog posts before on the things I have and some of these things I have had for a long time and still using today. (See related posts below.) These ear phones are another example.

I don't see the need to get the latest gadgets which are usually rather expensive, anyway.

If the older stuff still work, unless there is a very good reason, we shouldn't replace them.

Waste not, want not.

Related posts:
1. Some of my stuff (Part 1).
2. Some of my stuff (Part 2).
3. Some of my stuff (Part 3).
4. How I earned $9,216 with a mug?
5. AK denied Starhub extra income!

A meal for $2.00 from McDonald's!

My Christmas Eve lunch:

A McChicken Burger and a 16oz cup of Iced Milo.

$2.00 only.

A friend told me about McDonald's Surprise Alarm and now I get a surprise almost every day!

For more information, see: McDonald's Surprise Alarm.

This is not an advertorial. I just like McDonald's and I like freebies. LOL. ;p

Related post:
McDonald's Singing Bones Kitty!

An important message from AK as ASSI turns 5.

It was on Christmas Eve of 2009 that ASSI was born out of boredom and curiosity. Yes, it has been 5 years! 5 incredible years of (mostly) happy blogging!

The journey has not been all smooth sailing but we have had many more days of good weather than bad. The stormy days were made more bearable because of the kind words of encouragement from many of you and that kept me going. You know who you are. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As we celebrate my blog's 5th birthday, I wish to remind everyone that most of us in Singapore will be able to find financial freedom using some common sense and following some tried and tested principles in personal finance and investment.

Regular readers will know that this is true and some have shared with me that their savings, investments and passive income have grown tremendously in the last few years. New readers who hoped to find some mysterious get rich fast method in my blog have been disappointed or so I was told but to those who have decided to become income investors, I am hopeful that all will find success.

There were also readers and guest bloggers who have contributed comments and guest blogs, respectively. They have shared their experience and shown us how they were able to achieve or work towards financial freedom as well. So, if you are among those still wondering, please remember that financial freedom is not just a dream.

As we celebrate the festive season and be charitable to those who need help most, we want to be reminded that nobody cares more about our money than we do. The blog post that received the most "Likes" this year in ASSI is one example of how we should give more thought to how we treat our money.

Which blog post am I referring to? This one:

FREE Investment Linked Policies or Term Life Policies?

Share the link to the blog post and it might be one of the best presents to give to your friends and family this festive season.

"... what makes sense for the investor is different from what makes sense for the fund manager. And, as usual in human affairs, what determines the behaviour are incentives for the decision maker." Charlie Munger

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Related posts:
1. ASSI turns 4.
2. Retiring before 60 is not a dream.
3. Nobody cares more about our money than we do.