I'm currently passing my second wave of "poverty" since year one (semester one) of my undergraduate studies. Growing up, our family didn't have money to splurge on but we were fortunate to have enough to live a modest life. My father was not able to afford a good education for us with his job in Sri Lanka, so he spent most of my childhood working overseas. My mother had boarded students from time to time and she tried out a myriad of small scale businesses to contribute to our home expenses. Of all the mini-businesses she tried (which included catering, cookery classes, making envelopes, cultivating mushrooms, cultivating ginger, sewing clothes, buying and selling clothes, pasting vesak buckets, making incense sticks, and a few more which I can't even recall now!), only the production and sale of soy tofu still continues. When I was a lot younger, I occasionally felt embarrassed to let people know this is how we got by because my peers were often from better socioeconomic standing. It was only later I realised what incredible resolve my parents had (and the things they compromised) to give me a good education and a fighting chance to survive in this world.
I started to become financially independent around the time of my O/Ls (aged 14-15) through English tuition classes for about 10 children in the village. My charges back then were Rs 100 (USD 0.63) for a 1 hour (sometimes 2 hour) class. With the money earned, I was able to contribute a little for the house expenses and buy small things that fancied me as a teenager. Just after I left school, our principal employed us as teaching assistants in primary school (for about Rs 3500 or USD 22 a month, if I recall correctly) till it was time to leave to university. With this and the money earned from tuition, I was able to contribute to my share of rent and food. While studying in university, I worked all my permissible work hours (I think it was 14 hours a week back then) as a Student Assistant in various university administration offices earning between SGD 6.50 - 8 (USD 4.85 - 6) per hour, which gave me enough money for my general expenses, air tickets for the holidays and a bit extra cash every month to send home for the parents. In Dubai, I managed to drive 3-4 other people to work and back (I was also making up for the environmental sin of using a 3.7 liter fuel-drinking monster engine with a bit of car pooling!), which helped me cover my Jeep's fuel costs with ease. After I returned to Singapore, I didn't need to do an extra job and that fortunately gave me more time to volunteer at the Singapore Zoo.
My story isn't unique and I know many who went through similar (or worse) times of hardship at some point in their lives. Also, there are many others who are in much more dire straits, not having the opportunities or the ability to crawl out of their current conditions. The point of reminiscing in this post was to probably to remind myself that I have the coping mechanisms to be resilient. Taking more than a 90% pay cut to return to Sri Lanka was a rather risky move (the struggle is real now), but if we played safe all the time, we may never recognise our hidden potential or even get close to achieving those near-impossible things we dream of! Life really is like being at a casino.
My latest favourite comic strip by Stephan Pastis! (Source: https://www.facebook.com/PearlsComic/)
The following are some of the ways I've tried and mastered in keeping my costs down:
1. Walking, taking public transport and hired tuk tuks, instead of hired cars or owning a car (on lease). Trains with a reserved seat, as I have discovered, are the most comfortable transport means for long distances. For shorter distances, public buses are good too. Although everyone seems to be in a rush, I usually wait till I see a bus with free seats or adjust my time to beat the peak hours. Tuk tuks are also cheap here, and sometimes the amount of time they can save is far more valuable than the few hundred rupees I would save by taking a bus.
2. We don't need as many clothes or shoes as we think we do. Over the last 2 years, I have bought less than 10 items of clothing and no shoes. They were all bought out of necessity rather than desire. Also, the clothes I spent on when I was faring better, mostly from good quality brands, have proven their value and durability. As an added incentive, I no longer feel compelled to keep up with the latest beauty or fashion trends or worry about the reality than I am aging. Unlike my younger years, I also don't feel embarrassed to live within my means or be open about it. Having said that, I did receive clothes, shoes, bags and such as gifts (more than I need) from friends and family in the past two years, which have kept my own expenses down.
3. Food is something you have to be careful about. You can't eat less or poorly without risking bad health issues later. For my mornings, I mostly eat oatmeal or a local nutritious cereal (called Samaposha), both of which are very cheap and keeps me fit. My lunches are usually home-cooked and this has helped me to save cash, minimise the generation of waste packaging and eat healthier. I do spend a little extra on buying organic vegetables and multivitamins, which I hope will be a good health investment. As for the rest, my own home garden is like a mini-market so when I return from the weekend, I bring fruits, greens and some vegetables to last me the work week. Plus, my mother sends me with a lot of frozen food which saves my cooking time and costs. Occasional food treats are no longer a method of rewarding myself!
4. Monthly trips to the salons are also completely out now, except when I have to go to a wedding (see point 5). Earlier, I used to make a monthly trip to the salon to get services like eyebrow threading, waxing, pedicures and haircuts done. Now, I have resorted to doing what I can at home and my hair has grown rather long (and wavy) from a lack of haircuts.
5. I'm not very social and I am very content with my current list of friends so I don't feel the urge to socialise in order to make new friends (I am aware this also reduces my chances of meeting a potential mate, but this is not a deal breaker). I save a lot by just simply not taking part in social events because they entail transport costs, dressing up, bills for food and drinks, gifts, etc. I only participate in the social events that matter and those that aren't too costly.
6. Sanitary pads can be a significant expense on a girl's budget. I shipped a stock of them with my cargo when I returned to Sri Lanka and besides that, I got a supply from a friend and several loads from my sister after she had to get a hysterectomy. I am covered with sanitary pads for some time.
7. Gym memberships are really a thing of the past. Owning to my lack of discipline for exercise, in the past, I resorted to paid gym memberships. Knowing that I've paid a big amount was the only motivation that made me go for regular yoga and Zumba classes. Now though, without that luxury, fitness and stamina are really lacking in my life.
8. I can no longer spend on entertainment like new books, movies at the cinema, renting movies online, buying gifts for friends (I've asked some friends not to send me any gifts since I can't reciprocate), buying new gadgets and even travelling (the biggest deal breaker so far but it helps that my work involves some travelling). However, having a good internet connection is enough to satisfy one's basic entertainment needs.
Fat and lazy sounds perfect to me too (Source: https://www.facebook.com/PearlsComic/)
These times of adversity have forced me to value the joys of simple pleasures and be grateful for what I have (which is everything I need plus a lot of love). I've found it has made me a little more grounded and conscious to the needs of others. It has also made me waste less resources.
When I had a fat wallet, I knew it wasn't going to be forever that way. Likewise, this too shall pass.
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