ya, , ya ya, I think same here I think nowadays you know because, all of us are like you know the the outdoor activities have lessen so most of us are are like stuck at home so I guess like the the most commonly activities either playing games or like watching netflix and all ya I think almost everybody have have a netflix account nowadays as well ya so


so I I also love to watch dramas but you know I I have to manage my kid and my drama so probably one episode of of uh uh drama would take me like probably a one week every day I can only spend like ten minutes only


ya but okay but I'll just slowly get to the end of it ,


yes, ya at the end of the day you know after you work hard then you look forward to something to reward yourself and and you know just chill, ya, okay (hmm)


, ya I think mine also similarly like yours like I guess like proposals are like most of our best surprises but but mine was a bit something different so


because we we have been like dating since a very long time so we actually started applying for a house when when we were still studying , so and and when we actually got our house he he only just started working and we we had to go on with our


wedding stuff and all so so he, so called you know our proposal is like the house so he actually made it up to me actually after we got married so I thought it wasn't going to happen so it's like after the fact but he's still like you know made it happen and and he actually


uh did we uh a random photo shoot and then he started like you know taking out the ring and all which was a bit, unexpected ah, ya but, ya, , ya


okay, despite the ongoing global uncertainty what makes you optimistic about the future


ya, , ya


better, ya every every day I look forward to see the number of cases going down


ya, ya I I guess like maybe for a start I I've seen like those staycation deals in singapore coming up


probably that that is like the first step of optimism , that that we can look forward to for a fake holiday first, before we start going on an actual holiday


oh what did you, , oh, dining credits


!wow!, ya, ya I'm sure, ya cause I was looking at the article saying that actually ninety percent of tourism as in the the hotel stays actually come from tourists


so so ya I guess like they largely depend on like you know the local residents to to you know start giving them some business, , okay describe, experience


, , uh


, I'm sure you have come so far right like why not just just spend it eh when when do you ever get a chance again right


ya for myself I think, uh my I had a trip uh my honeymoon I went to south africa, so we actually went to Johannesburg and cape town, so actually when when we came back a lot of people were were like telling us you you went to Johannesburg it's actually one of the most dangerous places in the world and and


and what what uh actually left me in awe is is we actually made it uh we did a self drive, uh to the safari park and we managed to see the the big five, ya so so like the elephants the cheetah the lion and we we even actually caught the lion


they managed to hunt down a prey and and and he was eating on it for like already three days or something like that so we actually managed to drove drive past it to to see and , I guess this is something that you know uh it's a different experience from what you will see on television like you know national geographic and all like having to see in person is is really like amazing


ya and I I'm glad I'm glad we I did it lah, uh I don't know maybe maybe not I guess like probably with now with a kid on hand


it's a bit tough unless you know somebody is willing to take the kid for two weeks , , ya, ,


, very happy


ya I think I agree uh I think back then uh I I used to take the train to work, uh there's this particular uh blind lady, uh where I I see her every morning and you know usually at the train station there's two sides like uh one side is usually an escalator and the stairs and then there the other side is just the dual escalators so she every time has to actually go down to the stairs to get to the platform


so every time uh when I see her somebody's always helping her so I I I always was thinking like eh when to I get a chance to actually help her, you know down the stairs like you know one day so it it really happened so I actually helped her down the stairs and it it really felt good and and and ya and


and helping her into the train getting a seat for her it, and and you can you can feel her her gratitude as well like towards you though like she can't see but you can feel her sincerity like saying thank you and all, ya and and it's, ya


ya I think similarly I also get an adrenaline rush I think also related to work like whenever I have to do presentations like in front of like a big crowd you know like being in in the team that that has like thirty or forty people in the room you know sometimes you get nervous, and and ya ya


, , felt the luckiest


you've got, !wah!,


they must have hated the banker , I think for myself luckiest probably a house balloting, because uh I think over cause cause we actually bought the condo so so how it actually goes is we go by batches so we had like a queue number of like uh fifty something so like the first batch is like thirty people and then we were in the second batch's slot


so I think uh first batch went through and then we we actually shortlisted our units and then we were actually part of the second batch like maybe like the the tenth or eleventh queue number, but, actually uh quite a a bit of people gave up so we became third in the queue and we managed to get our first choice


so I think we were like pretty pretty lucky in getting like the unit that we want and it was the first choice that we wanted so, pretty good, ya, okay


okay, uh part one financial related topic


, yes, okay, yes I have the high interest yield savings account with UOB


uh where if you credit your salary and uh fulfill the GIRO requirements and credit card requirements they will give you higher interest rates, ya yourself


(mmhmm), ya same uh UOB also have the same issue they they just reduced the rates today uh I think this month again they just reduced it I think march one time and then they're reducing it in july again


ya, I think I think it's the same for everywhere I think it's a global thing right now then I I I think I was reading also DBS also had the same issue so, doesn't seem like there's a lot of options for us also


, ya, okay, so other than that do you have fixed deposit


to earn interest,


okay, uh I don't have fixed deposit I open the account but end up I find that their rates wasn't very good so end up I I did investment in stocks instead lor,


, correct, okay, ya guaranteed lah


correct, uh okay then you I I'm assuming it because of OCBC you also have their credit card, uh I use I use UOB and amex in conjunction


uh so amex is a true cashback card where all spend is one point five percent uh cashback, uh UOB is if I spend a minimum I also get to hit for my high yield account so it's like a win win for me lah cause I get a rebate on the UOB card and then the interest rate for the UOB bank


then also one point five right, , ya, so I I think I think also the same uh I I I used to use miles when I was doing the bigger purchasers but then I realised there's a lot of limitations then actually when you redeem miles also


you end up having to pay like the uh airline tax airport tax which also adds up to quite a bit sometimes so after awhile I also get sick of I uh, I I get a bit sick of it uh need to keep track and then need to keep finding so I what I do is I change it all to cashback mostly lah


, so don't have to think about it, ya correct correct


, ya lor, agree


okay so what's do you have any have you purchased any insurance products from banks


oh, , uh I think when I first started working I I went to UOB and asked them if there were any uh in in savings plans that I could sign up for and it turns out that UOB had a


had a I think uh, a relationship with prudential so I actually ended up signing up for pru flexi which deducts like hundred and fifty dollars a month from my bank account to to build a savings plan lah for I think another twenty or for twenty years so I'm I think I think I'm uh halfway through that now


so I'm waiting to cash out, uh they say guaranteed three percent lah but you know they always say oh it's subject to market conditions so I'm hoping that uh by the time we can draw it out it'll be a bit better


, ya, ya, correct correct, then on top of that do you buy any investment products from the banks


oh, oh ya lor I actually I also when I read it ah I also find it's a bit difficult to to go into it without uh so much knowledge


even then when I buy stocks it's also through stockbrokers so, ya and and and and then I I, easier to understand lah I mean stocks uh you just buy in if you trust the company to not go bankrupt it's pretty okay


ya, , oh ya I recently just refinanced my home loan uh so I previously was doing the HDB home loan


and then uh when when the COVID first hit uh the the interest rate went down so I was very I was very excited I went to sign up for it then two months later when I was signing and waiting for the legal documents to come through it went down even further so I was like quite upset


ya so I ended up buying the or rather I end up signing for DBS five year fixed loan at uh one point eight percent which is a lot lower than what HDB gives us lah so, I'm pretty okay, two point six


ya two point six so I guess I I saved about I saved about eight uh zero point eight percent and they have like this thing like you can free, repay capital so I mean if I Zhong toto I can still get I can use it to pay pay for the the home loan without penalty la


!wah!, , ya ya ya


it is it is, (mmhmm), ya it's it's hard to predict lah really everything that's happening now is is very unprecedented


ya !wah! negative , , so so which which bank did you sign your bank loan with


ya and I think if you do have with the DBS multiplier is actually quite a good good uh link ya but a bit lazy to change everything also, (mmhmm)


, agree, , true, me too me too


oh okay, oh okay okay so you are halfway through already lah


, true, , ya


, agree agree, okay


no uh no we don't so because uh my husband leaves it up to me to to manage our finances, uh he doesn't really care so what I do for us is I help him to manage his account also so so it's it's quite okay I mean for bigger purchases we we do talk about


it before we do do any spend expenditure ya so we we managed it because I think we wanted it separately so that we can both enjoy the high yield account we have the salary it's credited in each individual account so we didn't see the need to do a separate joint account for


for us specifically lah, what about you


, true,


then which which account which which bank do you use this joint account from, oh okay


oh okay okay, , ya it's easier lah


, ya ya ya agree, okay, at what age uh so uh


I I myself got it when I was in secondary school so I think I will do the same for my children when they reach a stage where they I think that they can manage money on their own, , uh but the thing is it I I know of people who will instantly go and spend everything that is available because !wah! suddenly got !wah! like piggy bank you know


ya so, uh I think I previously had was the POSB the junior savers account, , ya ya ya


ya ya ya as if, agree, uh, okay so uh uh I guess we can talk about the last one the the bank's interest rates are unattractive


but the money is safe and accessible uh I would still put my emergency funds inside my bank because, I would still like I said it's a emergency fund lah if I put it anywhere else or invest it right it will take a bit of time for it to turn liquid where where when I really need the money for any


uh emergency matters it still I still would keep I would keep a basic amount in my bank first then invest the rest, ya, what about you


, ya you shouldn't you'll pay penalty right


oh, ah


ya agree, I also I I think I I also know this because like my family when when we did run into some money troubles at the end of it right uh what my parents had to do was to stop all the investment plans and they had to withdraw it and they lost quite a bit of


uh what they could have earned if they manage to hold it for a bit longer, so I think learning from that experience I I I feel that I need to keep more cash, the you need to estimate lah how much cash is good enough for you to to sustain uh in ya for like in case of emergency oh


, ya ya, correct correct, ya


ya eh some more this COVID really hit us very very quite suddenly lah globally and and and the economy just folded quite hard lah, so it a lot of money a lot of people use it to hoard toilet paper so yes it was good way to convert money I mean to I mean the money while it's not attractive inside the bank


uh it's not earning a lot but at least you know I I can run to a ATM that is within one kilometres of wherever I am ah and and have cash just in case lor, ya


I mean at the end of the day now you see a lot of restaurants were closing down but hawker centres are still open right hawkers don't really accept credit card so, I still need the cash you know it's not something that I can borrow money to pay the hawkers that kind of thing so ya still still need it to be accessible


ah ya ya ya, ah ya ya because it's not a credit is is direct debit in a way lah


!wah!, , okay okay ya I think I think uh I think everyone now prefer cash over everything lah now that now cash is still king lah


, ya correct correct so you still keep your business afloat ah


ya the cash lor, I know I know a lot of people also lost their jobs ya


ya lor, ya ya ya, still not safe to keep it under my bed lah but the bank is a good place


okay


okay, negative experiences okay uh what what frustrates me I think


a lot of things frustrate me uh when it's out of my control I think I think that's generally human behaviour where where it's where people, don't seem to understand you so you have to find like different ways to


convey and and try to let the, people see from your point of view like I think even professional or personal sometimes when you start fighting with people is because you know they don't understand what you're trying to achieve, ya


ya, true true true, ya, what what's the worst thing you have witnessed and kept quiet about,


ya ya, , correct,


oh no, ,


agree agree, uh okay I actually I remember for me I won't say I witness , cause I I do visit my grandma fairly often uh and my grandma lives around rental flats so there are quite a bit of unsavoury people around that area I remember growing up there lah so I think this was about two or three years ago


uh I went there in broad daylight I was it was days it wasn't even dark or anything and I started seeing this I I'm going to assume that he is drunk because he was very very loud, this drunk man he was, strangling his wife but but not in the sense that she was suffocating but he was trapping her against a wall and then he was he was very


he he was holding a bottle, I cannot I I now on on hindsight I cannot remember what bottle it was but I'm going to assume that it was alcohol lah and then he he was uh because because they were indian so they were they were shouting a a lot in tamil I I'm guessing because I couldn't understand it


and and it was in a fairly narrow walkway, so I I had to get because I already started my walk there right and then he already noticed that I was walking towards them, it was quite scary because, if I backed away from the it right I I didn't know whether he was going to chase after me


and I had I had earphones on that's why I at first I didn't hear the shouts until I turned the corner and walk into the walkway , so when I turned at the corner and walked in the walkway right and I saw him lah but at the time I saw him he already noticed me which was a bit too late so, I was quite scared I didn't know whether I should run or I should uh so I just


at that point there I pretended that I didn't see anything which, on hindsight now I I was quite upset myself lah maybe I should have done something about it so I I just walked past it and he just froze there but he he kept her trapped against the wall, and and she also didn't she didn't like yell for help or anything she just kept quiet as well so when I walked past at the end of it right after I finally reached


the bus stop which was uh they he cannot see me from there right then I figured I should do something about it but at that point of time I I felt I should have done something which, I was also very scared for my own personal safety at the point of time ya I didn't know whether he was going to turn the rage at me because I didn't know whether


they were really husband and wife or you know there was maybe some family or or he could have just very easily turn against me , so when I reached the bus stop I finally I I called the police lah but subsequently they called me back they said that when they went to patrol that area they didn't find such people lah but I I think


uh, I uh well after sharing this I I realise of course personal safety is important but at the same time I was also worried for for the lady lah I mean it could've if I had said something may be she she might not have been been abused or something


ya ya it's true, ya, I I was quite I was quite scared for her also lah because I'm guessing a lot of these kind of abused uh victims right they they don't really know how to


voice out sometimes you know they they say that uh sometimes they might even want to protect because if it's the her husband she might want to protect her husband even though he's actually the one abusing her, but in this kind of cases, !wah! it was quite it was quite scary I guess to to see it happen uh is is it was definitely something that


he could have definitely overpowered me lah that's for sure because he's a lot bigger a lot ya so, I didn't know if he had weapons also


, ya so, ya lor so so I think that was that was that was also I I I didn't know whether I managed to help her maybe maybe because she he saw that I walked past that he he brought her to a different place that's why the the police didn't find anything


but at the same time , !aiya! I I I I I felt I felt a bit bad that I didn't do anything there and then lah, , ya because I I think I think now also have a lot of this kind of domestic abuse cases which is a bit


sad to know lah, , ya, ah, what is your greatest fear


oh oh ya ya true, especially now you have children right


oh uh sorry #heng jie# ah I think my my phone timed out so it stopped at seven minutes uh, uh


so sorry ya ya ya, okay, okay, okay fine, yes I submitted


yes, okay, ya, yup so sorry, I don't know why it timed out I was tapping it, okay , my greatest fear is actually for me is


is falling sick because I have I have had a bit of uh health issues on and off before and and I think , uh being sick myself and seeing my loved ones


their their the faces of fear the faces of , worry is is one of my greatest fear so I think for me now I I try my best to keep healthy and and try to do more wellness things goes go and did go TCM you know so that so that it can help


, prevent this fear of mine lah, ya


, ya agree, , agree, ya


uh okay I uh I have phobia I can tell you uh I have a trypophobia which is the fears of little circles, , I how do I overcome them ah I I I don't ah so every time I do see things that can trigger it so something that always triggers this is lotus root so you know when you drink lotus root soup ah I I I get very scared so I have quite a phobia for lotus root soup because of it


ya


, so how did you overcome them , true true true, so cannot do you can't do bungee jumping lah


, I I I think I think I also quite scared because I I generally cause of my medical conditions ah usually I don't I don't jump I I don't think that it will be very safe for me to do this kind of like high adrenaline things


ya ya, it's okay we are safe where we are , uh describe something you watched or read that give you goosebumps uh I think I think links back to my trypophobia whenever I see those kind of scenes where there are a lot of holes


which which is a bit more , like crocs are fine because crocs the holes are a bit further apart but and they are quite standard size you know but when the moment the holes are a bit different sizes and quite clustered together right I, I will get a lot of goosebumps and and it really it really scares me quite a bit so it it it it it very it ya it just makes me feel very weird


, , agree, describe an event that made you very angry uh


I think I think quite recently there was this video of this uh woman that that yelled and threw the tray of food at the elderly, cleaning tray I'm not sure if you did see it was quite a viral video I think about a year ago where this auntie was basically


at a Kopitiam ah uh and and needed to clear the table and then she got a fairly elderly cleaner to help clean but I think the cleaner accidentally uh, cleaned out her her uh untouched food


and then she was very very angry and she started berating that that poor cleaner and and like you know she just went on even though he apologised a lot and and and that was, that was really quite bad because she really


scolded him until he was he was really like bowed down and really like there was nothing else that could be as could have been done you know and and she didn't need to keep going at it which was really really very rude of her and very, it was very it it's very


the thing is then uh everyone that was around that Kopitiam didn't help you know like nobody ya nobody step in also so while I'm angry at the lady I'm also very angry at the people around there they could have just stopped her from, ya like !wah! really like scold until very very bad lah so yes it was quite bad


, (mmhmm)


, okay uh what is an issue you feel upset over because you feel that world needs to do more about it uh I think climate change and currently pollution is something that


uh even myself lah I think the world includes me so it's it's it's simple things like even taking a extra straw uh drinking bubble tea you know bubble tea is like, basically all plastic but at the same time I really really like bubble tea also so it it I mean there there are some there are some bubble tea places that that do a bit better they they don't give you plastic they give you like cardboard which is a little bit better


but at the same time, it's if we are still consuming a lot of it and and they did say that because of this COVID right everyone Dapao back and it's it's all plastic containers plastic bags nobody is using , anything to to their own containers which all of this accumulates and actually pollutes our environment lah to a point where


there's microplastics in our food now they've already detected it in in in our food that means you know it's very very ingrained in our system now in our ecological system which, uh it's it's terrible because you know your children our children will be eating these things when they're growing up


ya,


ya ya I mean I I I I can totally agree sometimes I end up actually go out only want to buy one thing then you think oh actually no need bag one but actually when you are there oh eh this one I need to buy that one need to buy then you got oh no at the end of the day , you only need one bag but actually ya there was actually four bags you know then sometimes I see other people in front of me they bring out their their recycle bag then I feel very I feel very guilty you know like


I should have done I should I I I can do better they and we should do better and then on the other hand uh where we feel guilty then there are still aunties uh at the fruit and vegetable they're still trying to pull, ya then they're trying to pull the entire roll out and bring home I don't know


ya, ya


(mm), ya ya


oh, okay


what makes what makes you want to be alive okay maybe I share first lah maybe uh I think I I genuinely really love food a lot and I discovered this, a lot later in my life I think my parents are more uh


eat to live kind but I think I'm more live to eat, kind where I I really genuinely enjoy food so uh my husband is is a fairly good cook uh so uh I guess, I always look forward to my next meal and also I always look forward to to experimenting the the new kinds of uh cuisines and things that I can eat ah


(mmhmm), ya agree agree same uh I think I think part of part of eating also ah uh has to play with a lot of travelling because eating at the same place for long is is very boring


so when you go to a new place you experience new kinds of cuisine new types of uh food and different different things that you can try lah, ya


agree , okay a skill or ability that I'm secretly proud of having uh I guess I I don't think it's a secret but I I think I I genuinely love to problem solve which translated to a lot of


coding and uh excel skills lah which I think uh has has benefited me a lot professionally, and and to a point where uh I also like to do this even at a personal level so


while a lot of my colleagues think that I'm a bit crazy to to have personal accounts P and L I actually do have my own personal P and L so , uh it's it's quite it's quite fun for me I guess uh to see like my spendings uh go up and down or my income go up and down hopefully always up uh


ya it's so so it's something that I think uh I also help my colleagues wherever possible, and and while doing it it has increased my skill I upskill myself also lah so I I kind of think I'm quite proud of that, you anything that you are proud of


!wah!, !wah!


singapore,


, ya agree


true true true


, ya agree it's it's it's it's difficult lah but it's it's worth it after after going through all of that,


ya agree, uh my favourite activity to unwind and relax uh now is uh because my hobby is still reading so I I I split my time between reading my kindle uh reading my favourite author if not K drama


ya I've been read I've been binge watching a lot of K drama and netflix uh it's it's quite it's quite relaxing uh at the same time eat eat ice cream so getting fatter


then, ya ya


ah true true true, ya lor, uh it's okay I'll watch and tell you , ya it's it's it's actually quite fun lah it's it's quite relaxing also on top of like uh everything that is happening at least you can distract a bit then you know don't feel so stressed


, agree, uh, my best surprise uh I guess when I got proposed to uh it was it was a very big surprise uh it was it I I'm surprised that I'm surprised because


uh we had been dating I think coming nine years at that point of time so I thought that whatever he did uh it's gonna be obvious but uh apparently not because at that point of time uh I was I was distracted with work and everything then I was uh I wasn't feeling well


but he he managed to force me to wear a a a formal clothes for a dinner that he came out with a random reason with so when he when when he actually proposed I was like !huh! so it was it was a big surprise for me I guess I and I guess it is is is my best surprise lah


oh, that's nice that's that's a very good surprise


uh I think


I think it just has to be positive lah I think I there's nothing there's nothing currently that is optimistic everything that is happening even, even now during election there's a lot of mudslinging there's a of like you know character assassination not just even in singapore I mean talking about like US everywhere it's it's quite bleak but at the same time


hope gives human beings the the drive to to live the next day lah so I think, we can I mean now that it's rock bottom you can only go up you know, so just hoping that it'll be optimistic enough you know like we are already very very very very bad now so it it will only get better I hope


ya I know so so it's like it it hopes it hopes that the places that I I want to travel to like I also really want to go korea and japan again but if their numbers don't go down then it's like no so I'm hoping that they will open up to to uh tourists as well so that we can start planning potentially planning travels you know


, ya ya ya ya so


ya ya ya, oh ya talking about that I actually managed to to secure a few there are there are actually quite a good few good deals now because now that the singapore tourism board is like opening it up lah if they have the clean, uh so I I went to book one farrer hotel via agoda


quite eh quite cheap then they they now give you like a lot of free upgrades they will give you like uh executive lounge access, ya ya then then you can have like alcohol you know that kind of thing so it's you're being ya is is I guess is a is a holiday but is is quite


is is better than anything lah I don't think it will be opening until next year so we have to Tahan for the rest of the year


, ya okay, okay travel experience, that left you in awe uh I I have one uh I I I went I went for my honeymoon in japan right so we went to this place that serve


uh certified cows so uh it why it left me in awe was the price tag lah when when when they show me like it was a hundred and eighty gram slab of beef but it was like, three hundred over dollars just for the beef I was like oh my goodness but but it was it was fun uh it took me it took us a while to convince ourselves that we deserve this after a very very long wedding planning


then we decided that okay fine we will go for it so it was really very amazing so I guess that that was a very good travel experience for us, ya ya ya


ya ya you,


oh !wow!


!wah!, true true


!wah! I think I also want, !wah! okay will you go back


, bribe your parents , okay, , okay, uh biggest reward ever received for doing a awesome good deed uh, I,


I don't think it was a awesome good deed but uh it's, for me I think is something very simple because, eh I I grew up around my grandparents so they're a lot older, and I have a soft spot for elderly so I think whenever I do see elderly struggling a bit in terms of even getting food to the table at the hawker centre


or something that I think that I you know just take a extra few steps for them you know help make make sure that you know the food gets safely there because they might have weak arms or like trembling arms so I I think the, I in this case the reward I do receive is always gratitude and they always try to talk to you they always try to uh girl you you know which which is


which and and then when you see them eating and and being uh happy you know just for a simple all you needed to do was take a few steps for them and they were very very happy and they're very grateful, and I think that's that's a very good, reward in that sense ah that that people like people's gratitude to to your your help ah


(mmhmm),


ya,


, true, what leads you to experience an adrenaline rush uh, I think whenever there is issues at work I always have adrenaline rush uh in in a way I was so scared that I I will I will


Kena from my boss uh that's why in a way is a bit of a adrenaline rush and uh rush against time so being at finance you know uh there's a lot a of deadlines so that that gives me , uh slight adrenaline rush on a quite regular basis to make sure that things get done lah


ya ya true, , uh, describe a moment where you felt the luckiest uh


I I don't think I am a very lucky person oh oh I I have I have two years ago when I was playing blackjack during chinese new year as the banker, so we have this house rule where if you get triple seven which which is very very rare like you'll pay seven times uh the the betting amount so for me I think that was


the luckiest moment cause I was the banker ya I was playing against like five or five or six people uh and I got the triple seven and everyone was very very upset but I I think was very lucky for me so , so I guess that's the moment that I felt !wah! luckiest cause I usually always lose money while I when I gamble playing Mahjong or playing blackjack but that was the first time ever


ya they they hated me they don't want to play with me after that , oh


!wow!, !wah! that's that's very lucky, !wah! that's that's very good, ya, okay


(mm) stop and


financial related topic, , ya


ya, no it's like sec sec four


I also, share the same exact sentiment I saw myself as a student and I think more than that so my duty as a student per se was just to study it wasn't to like earn any money and that I saw it was like my parents' duty


so I can't really give any financial advice myself five years ago since it wasn't even in my priority list at all not only was it not on my top priority it was not on my priority list ya exactly


(mmhmm), ya I think cause, I think, I didn't really think about financial matters also because like I was lucky enough like


my parents provide my allowance and stuff like, that so that that was the only form of financial, income I suppose that I was getting ya cause, my dad gave me lunch money and stuff but, if I had to think about an advice I wish I took it a bit more seriously at a younger age and I realised that it was like


uh rather like it can be a detrimental like factor in your life or what not cause I kind of just saw it as like money not really as like more, like I don't know ya , ya exactly like you you don't realise how like


taxing can be as you grow older you're like man I really have to plan my financial budget and stuff like that, ya it's just


ya no but I think, I think it was like if I was in a different like circumstances than I would have been be more like it would have been a more urgent or sensitive matter but I was I was really like god bless our privilege lah so, I didn't really like think about it at all but I really wish like I took it cause I only took it seriously like last year per se which is I feel like a bit late for a twenty one year old you know there's like man I wish I took it like maybe three years ago like a bit more seriously ya


ya, iffy, ya , same


stuff,


, (mmhmm)


, oh


ya, oh that's interesting cause like in my household it's like the opposite it's like my money is my money your money is your money ya and it's like because now I'm a I guess like a working adult like I am earning some form of income and so is my sister


and everyone in my family is earning a form of income is that like for example I want to buy like a, like, food uh and I loan like I take my mum's ten dollars that she would expect me to like pay her back so is really like my money my money your money is your money and we don't


ya we don't like touch each other's money because Iike I think my mum, has set like an establishment or, like a, I guess a routine or habit of being more protective of your money even though you are like family because I think she has seen like I guess households in her experience like


when they share money and suffer that things get mixed up and things get messy and sometimes that becomes like the downfall of a relationship per se so she's always been very like a protective of her own money even with my dad that kind so is like, and we also always viewed like


financial consultants as people who like, who have, a lot of like excessive disposable income and have more assets like, more asset to have, rather than like cause we don't see ourselves like like we have all this tax for now we can I guess


we can how say like, afford to to like planning on, our own, you know and because of my mum's nature, like, ya cause my mum's nature like how she views money like very protective I don't think she will be very comfortable to have a external source to tell her ya to manage her money that kind so


I think and I quite grateful for how she manages her money cause she teaches it a lot to like me and my sister I'll bet she brings like raises up raise us up to be like selfish people, like being very protective but I think it's a is it like important because and I have a good balance of like


knowing what's my money and knowing how much I should be giving or stuff like that so, ya so I have this like, I don't know about you but I feel like, , when it comes to like finances and when you talk about it to your friends even it it gets very like like I get very defensive


and maybe I adapted that from my mother but I get really like so like to have an external like consultant like is a very like I feel very defensive to even see how much I'm earning, that kind ya


oh ya, there's like a stigma lah right ya


ya, ya, ya


, ya


ya, ya, ya , oh then after that it accumulates right then it's like !wow! lots of money


ya ya ya ya no you told me this before right, no I didn't cause I never, I whenever I five dollars I just wanted to spend it I didn't like think about saving it I only started like, proper saving when it was after poly and I had to like my laptop crashed and I had no choice but to buy new one and I decided to use my own like savings to buy and then I saw my savings drop and then that's when


like money is important and then I started saving like even more ya, but like uh I I, I have I see this question I think it's quite interesting like how do you manage your financial commitments before and after marriage because I feel like the switch is very like


jarring ya and that's like like something that my parents loved to focus on when it comes to, like a, a financial restrictions and financial like commitments in a marriage and, I think like personally for me like I said cause of


how my mother raised us up and stuff like that she's always been like oh my money is my money your money is your money and I think that's very fair cause is like, if I'm working like if I'm working and I get the money that thing is my money what right like I don't need, to share share don't need to like go around and give and I feel like


like unfortunately, , unfortunately like when you start, share money and stuff like that, maybe you will have like, , some repressed anger


you know like, because the other person is not contributing as much or stuff like that ya and then like it will just accumulate and then like I suppose my, like, although we are married we are not one person we're still individuals and that comes with like assets


that's my personal belief what about yours


oh ya ya, (mmhmm), ya so like how my family does it is cause my dad is the only one who uses the car so he pays for the car as for the house it's a split in half like fifty fifty


like uh they've done that because they were like together for five years before they got married so they had a joint bank account for like the last four years of their relationship and the joint account they will put thirty percent of their salary in to save up for the house ya


ya but then like for like groceries for like phone bills all that kind of stuff so groceries phone bills electrical bills my dad pays my mum pays for the helper because she says that it's her duty as a woman to clean the house but she just like get someone else to do it so she pay for it I quote her and then like


ya part ya exactly, ya and because my dad is the breadwinner of the family and he can afford more things he pays for more things and I think as long as my mum and dad are comfortable with it and that's how it should be for me even when I get married is like that


I think a bit messy if like electrical bill okay then half then do I have to chip in that kind then it's like rather you settle, ya exactly like allocate, , do you have that habit of saving


ya, ya


ya as, continue no no you go first


uh I forgot, I I I don't think I have the like save I don't think I have a habit of saving only until like recently like I really only talk about money only after poly that's basically when my duty as a student is over you know like okay now I don't have to study now is like the next thing and is quite like


like it is like inherent in us to think that okay after studying you earn a little bit of money even if it's just in your gap year cause like I don't want to spend my gap year taking my dad's money and like like searching my soul in Bali or something like that I'm not for it, and save lah like I I I like whatever I can freelance with


whatever skillset I have I will do and it's very difficult for me to say no when it comes to jobs like when I see something that's accessible and something that I can do or even if like, it's something that I haven't learned in school but I will be able to learn in that industry itself I'll just go for it cause on top of haveing like great exposure and have black expanding your knowledge and stuff like that I'm getting paid on the side that


that kind ya but, I also have toned down right I guess like what they call retail therapy because, ya because it's like like a lot of like environmental like, sustainability and also like labourers jobs and capitalism and all that kind of stuff like you have to resort your priorities and understand like


this shirt really worth it because it's like it's just a shirt at the end of the day and you have to acknowledge if it really fills up like whatever sadness you feel, ya no


ya at all and you don't think twice especially when it comes to cheaper clothes which is even more detrimental to like the environment and also like the, workers that were doing it oh yes, going back to finances,


and wants,


(mmhmm), ya ya and it's also because when you're young you're not spending your own money you're spending like your parents' money ya really, so like when parents really say like you don't feel the pain it's really like I really didn't feel the pain bro now is like when I want to spend that five dollars is like don't need lah I rather buy like chicken rice you know like again like needs and wants


ya, (mmhmm)


ya no , same I was just thinking about it yesterday because I went out with my friends and then we went to buy ice cream and I was the oldest there they were all students and I was earning incomes so I was thinking to myself cause like it is circuit breaker it's really bad


like period for everyone everyone stressed ya so I was like guys ice creams on me and like it was twenty seven bucks because it was like waffles and ice cream and I was like ya that's fine, as I said that's what as I paid I sat down I I was like twenty seven bucks is like half of what I earned yesterday when I was working my retail job now I just kinda like ya


I was thinking so I divided twenty seven like by five because they were five friends so then I was thinking like man I could have been getting this money but I really also don't know where is the line because half of me, like, I I want to make sure that when I like buy things from my friends it's out of like sincere and I don't rethink but I


can't help that every time I spend on my friends I like rethink a bit it's like you know, ya, ya no but what's the line also like if I ask my friend back for like two fifty is that am I cheap ya


, am I cheap but like girl I need that two fifty back , yup same same but then there are also like friends who were who are like oh like very like they are so shameless like oh fifty cents please give back


and then, and then I have like I judge them for that so then because I judged them for that I, ya the same thing back cause it's like girl it's thirty cents where you can't even buy chicken nugget you know so like what's uh but then you also forget that it's thirty cents by like


eight people yes


, ya, oh when I like cap a certain like like when I earn income and it's like for example like


two hundred at my disposable bank account I put like a like hundred in my savings account so when I reach a certain number I put like a certain number back that's how I like save my money ya like a benchmark


part three negative experiences


(mmhmm) uh in the most like recent, memory I guess uh, I‘ve always had trouble with, presenting when I first got into poly so I had stage fright despite being, like


trained in theatre it's just a struggle so remember WPS so it's a module that like teaches us to present and write in a professional setting I had to present like a short story about my ethnicity or something of that sort and the night before I was really having


really really like, uh bad anxiety I suppose I was texting my friends I was like oh my god tomorrow's my, turn and it's a solo presentation so I was alone with no slides whatsoever it's just me like it was public speaking basically so I struggled a lot and I thought that you know, when you go about like things that like you know you have to overcome you always like as much as you expect the worst to happen you also feel like I will prevail like at the end of the day you will be okay but I did not prevail when I was when I was


presenting I forgot everything that I had to say so literally in the middle of, me speaking so ever like confidently I stopped, and I started shaking and I couldn't go on I forgot everything I said I thought it was very embarrassing because it was my first year poly was one of my first modules I don't really know them my friends or they will I guess and so no one was able to comfort me because they don't know what I was feeling so uh I just went to the toilet


and I cried ya that was pretty embarrassing, and humiliating ya because even the teacher didn't really know how to comfort, me so I just kind of like ya what about you


okay ya, I don't think you'll remember why that it's like one second, uh


I can't remember any if I'm being completely honest like, I remember like falling down in front of a bus that kind of thing, and I've done that so many times that this point I'm like immune to like embarrassment because of my, clumsy ass


but it's cringe worthy, (mmhmm) ya ya I agree especially in a time or age now like where google is available that's really like no excuse to be ignorant


ya, what dreams of yours die a little with each passing day


ya, sure I used to , cause like I was brought up in a very like art, art centric families so like my grandfather was a dancer my sister was a dancer and then


like my aunts do theatre and stuff like that so, I have always like my dreams as like innocent like as it sounds I'm going to be an actress like on theatre not on film, and as like I grew up I got myself trained in theatre and then I got like jobs and get and stuff like that but I've always focused on acting because I never knew anything else other than


but then now that I know there's like stagement stagement management and stuff like that despite trying all that and despite being like rather, I guess adequate in the other aspects of theatre I still always wanted to do acting but then, , as time goes by I realised that to do acting in theatre in singapore like it it's best when you have


, like connections and those connections are forged when you're in art school and I'm not going to art school I was never from an art school so I'm not technically like I'm more industry trained than like, professionally trained per se so then I know that my dreams to be able to act


in theatre like even part time it's not as feasible as I thought it was one day so as day goes by and I see like especially in singapore when the theatre industry is so small they use the same actors like I like like on a, cycle because at like I don't blame them because they are more comfortable with working certain like companies and stuff like that it's it's like almost like the same as like employer and employee like you choose the same


things like that so like as I see there I'm like oh like, it just it gets further and further away, from me and on top of being a like, like uh brown woman which is like there's an influx of like a lot of women, in the theatre industry they need more men that's why like my guy friends who are in theatre like get scouted much more than I do because there's not enough men ya so then I know that that dream is like and further


away from me ya


yup yup, ya


ya, ya ya again like a side dream lah side character, oh ya pipeline dream, pipe dream ya pipe dream pipeline , okay , I was going to go describe a time when you were heartbroken


okay it's like not like romantic like situations or whatsoever but the time when I was really heartbroken was when I got rejected by my dream school, so I applied to five schools in UK and I only could apply to five schools because I went I didn't go through an agent what I didn't know is it when you go through an agent you can like


, apply for all the schools but I didn't look that up and also it's like extra cost and it's not very cheap and I thought that, the difference is not a lot so that I went to just for myself so my dream school was like the london school of economic and political science which had deemed to be a very like, I think was a bracket


bracket school like it's one of the I won't it's not ivy league lah so it's a bracket school, and , like cause you're away from the country I'm away from london I'm not really sure about the standards that are set there and I'm going for a more competitive course I'm studying law so it's a a lot it's very competitive there although they said that the


like GPA requirement was a three point five and I meet the GPA requirement I'm sure that it applied to only certain courses like history and stuff like that but I don't know about law so, I already submitted my application and whatsoever,


and I was pretty I would say like, , obnoxiously confident that I get accepted to like two out of five of my (ppc) like two out of five of my uh choices, and I was very like adamant of getting accepted to LSE cause I knew like a friend who was the same who had the same like I guess


were on was on par with me when it came to, academia that she got accepted so I was like all right like then the probability of me getting accepted was pretty high and, it was mentioned that if I like I submitted my application I would get to know the results in like three to five months or stuff like that


eh three to five months my bad two to three months, ya but , mine came really early I it was like a week, or even lesser than a week of my application, uh the first school to reject me was my dream school and it was like less than a week so that I was really super heartbroken and the thing was that I didn't check it only after like five days after I got rejected because I didn't see the email like it it I missed it


so I was like oh like the school emailed me and I pressed on it then I was like oh ya you got rejected and that was, man that was like I was really heartbroken because like, it felt like they didn't even consider me because they rejected me in such a short time and they didn't look at my application properly and like


ya, so when I got rejected by my dream school it felt like, like, uh because that school in comparison to other schools were like I won't say consider like by was like in the middle and there were schools I applied for that had like stricter, requirements and those schools I applied that had like more lax requirements I just felt like that was like the middle and if I got rejected by the middle then what


who am I to say that I will get like accepted by the rest and I was right I was rejected by four out of five schools I was accepted by one only and it was the last choice I got accepted by my last choice, but I'm also like a firm believer that like I guess things happened for reason but I was really heartbroken lah I couldn't get over it I was crying for days


(mmhmm), ya


oh ya


ya , ya , ya


I think like, friendship heartbreaks are, hit tougher than like romantic heartbreaks cause I feel like with like romantic relationships when you get into it you know there's two outcomes like you work out or you break out eh you, break out break up lah break out lah break up and like I'm always prepared to like break up because it's like ya only two outcomes so with friendships you don't think that it will ever end you know


like there's no like you don't think like okay lah this one is either we work out or we break up and then when it actually breaks up you like wait what we're friends and how can it how did we fall out ya, ya ya


ya, ya, I guess ya, oh really


ya, ya


ya, same, same and I think that I like what ucks about like the injustices in the world that makes me angry I that is what keeps me up, at night like I think a lot of like uh


like the conventional racism and poverty and like a lot of uh gaps in inequality especially in the local setting because I'm right here like it keeps me up awake at night because I feel like I'm fighting a fight that I can never win, ya and that's like and it's very frustrating because ya I I see my friends doing good work I want to believe that I'm doing some form of good work but at the same time it's like


it's like, like it it is it worth it if knowing that like I'll lose at the end of the day but then like, ya and that's very frustrating and talking to like, people of like different races who don't really understand the sentiment and the frustrations that I feel that also keeps me up awake at night because it's like


it's like I can never fully articulate in like words how I, feel like you have to go through it to understand this frustration but you can't go through it ya and then it's like how unfair is that like that you cannot go through it that you don't have to go through and I have to like what wrong did I do in my


past life for me to like go through like this injustice and you don't have to and here you are basking in like , self, like very like self centric, , roots of career is like you want to do this for yourself and that's frustrating to see because it's like I see a lot of people who


are who get gunned down and all that kind of stuff who are actively working to help other people but they are not the most like, they don't have the most empowered voices raised those who are like more listened to and like are the majority I suppose it's like they just focus on themselves and that frustrates


me like, crazy and it's just not fair and we think about at night sometimes like I cry because it's like man I'm really fight, ya and it's all like trial and error but how am I suppose to even try I'm one person I cannot be the person that like starts something what but like and it's damn frustrating lah it's just like man I will really never win this fight so is this fight worth it


oh okay ya, ya ya it's very like hypocritical ya it's very I also experienced the same thing it in the company where I was the youngest


and they just deemed all my flaws as something like oh you're still young and I hate that, cause it's like, ya it's extremely unreasonable or like they are mean because they are I mean but it's because I know my stuff and it's like how is that a justification ya that is not a justification it's very frustrating right ya super frustrating


part two positive experiences


oh oh , that's nice but I thought that was a like song like what a wonderful day something like that's a song right like what a wonderful okay uh, for me what, for now I think cause I I look at life in like phases I don't want to


see like until when I'm seventy and stuff like that so what makes me persevere now it's like the fact that I'm going to school and I got accepted to like a course that I really enjoy like that I already worked hard for and, ya like that's about it and that's what keeping me like waking up every morning it just like man I can't wait to start school again and be able to like learn something that I really love and ya


it was interesting what was the best meal you've ever had


ya that's quite true lah it's the company but I feel like, ya I was, just gonna say like I feel like, uh, it is true lah where you have meals, if, ya the best meals I've had are all like ice cream like yesterday I had like speculoos ice cream with waffles my god guys


oh my god I really cannot stop thinking of her eh like when it went to sleep I was like man that was a beautiful one and twenty seven dollars who cares that ice cream was beautiful, three's a crowd like over here ya dude their speculoos is


really eh you know the, ya that we bought like, that we bought like the speculoos type ice cream from double scoop right then the one at three's a crowd is exactly like how we describe it to be like a bit saltier like it's not as sweet and it's so damn good it tastes exactly like the lotus


biscuit and I was like but softer texture my god, yes, ya ya ya


same same no but I think is because, , okay,


ya like I would say my best meal but it sounds so like, Bougie I hate it so like there's this like arab, store in london when I went but then they like sell english food then but got like spicy Falafel next to the english breakfast and that was like the best meal I ever had


cause like the next yacause the next five days when I was in london I kept going to that same random store that was in the middle and it's quite good lah oh, , describe a time when you laughed too hard oh sorry, when I was in primary school


, when I was in primary school I was thinking of my best friend and we used to play pretend right so play pretend that it was war I don't know why we chose that but we play pretend like it was war, , ya so we were hiding under the table and then got the laundry basket like my


my, my laundry basket and then she wanted to take like she wanted to pretend like the shelter so she wanted to take the laundry basket's top and put it on her head but as she did that my underwear , followed and it was also like the time when ipad just came out so we were playing like farting noises


on the ipad I laughed so hard I peed that has never, happened in my life eh I peed, I peed my pants , like it trickled down eh


and, ya so that's and that's the only time I ever like peed my pants laughing I didn't think it was physically possible I thought it was like in movies but,


when I peed I was like oh my god, , ya so I went to the toilet and had to change pants and when my friend asked what happened I just told her bluntly I peed my pants, , I was laughing at farting noises on the ipad ya that's the time I laughed too hard


what about you, , !aiyo!


ya , oh ya oh ya at the same time at the same spot


that's hilarious eh, okay


oh man


ya I know you always like take a picture you're like I want to surprise but I bought you this by the way


that's nice, I can't find the question, what's what's the question where is it oh what is the best surprise


I generally don't give gifts very often at all because like, I, I rather pay for someone's meal and stuff like that as a surprise rather than because I, quite bad at like like I'm, like when it comes to gifts I'm such a people pleaser cause I'm very picky with gifts so like when someone gives me a gift and I don't see a use for it I don't like hurt them and go like what the freak is this you know


I I just like don't really use it and I feel very like bad for that and I don't want the same thing to happen for the person like I rather straight up as in like oh do you want this ya and then like I I'll just get it for you that's why like meals are a lot, easier but I think (ppc) like the


best kind of gifts is like, when I like write letters like I think that like, properly encapsulates how I feel about that person whether it be like a surprise, or not, but gifts in general gifts in general in my life is not a very


significant thing I feel like paying for meals and stuff like that is more like surprise I got you this time, that kind ya okay let's see uh


ya that's why, , okay you choose you choose you choose, describe a time when you took a risk and it was rewarded with success oh I have


uh so like when I was in secondary school cause I do theatre right and I wanted the role juliet like cause my show was putting Romeo and juliet and it was like uh, , ya and I didn't get juliet LOL, I got like the side character and I got so mad and I was so like upset about it so I memorised the script of juliet and every time like the girl was sick right I would just be like I'll be the I'll be the backup


ya like immediately and then like the risk that I took was really like I I became I didn't become like a, mean person that was Iike oh I can't wait for you to not be able to perform well and then I'll take over the role no it's just that it was very evident that I wanted that role


and I risked a lot of like, uh how people viewed me and my friendships because they thought that I was being very like uh controlling and demanding and authoritative when I didn't have the right to be, eventually I got the role anyway like a month before the before the show because they felt that I was doing a better job as an understudy when a self proclaimed understudy and then


uh I lost a lot of friendships lor but like it was worth it , because the like I had someone give me a card on the day of the show saying like good job on finally getting juliet but I still think the other girl did better though, , but I was like okay but it was like that was like the


catalyst for my, strong passion I had for theatre like that was the one that like showed me that I could do it and I carry that success until this day, ya what about you


, ya, oh


poly is like , yes , oh ya


ya, ya


, ya no I just didn't feel like going and then at night you were just like kinds of like okay even though I paid for the ticket already see I didn't think about the financial things I was just like I'm not gonna go because I wasn't feeling it


ya


ya because then we were paying so much money for like five people to put for with it felt that way it's like okay it's gonna be half an hour and done it felt that way, ya can't wait to attend especially went a concert I wish lah but now the concerts are like


(mmhmm) (mmhmm), oh I saw I saw


I think there's no special event or concert I'm just I'm looking for I can't wait for like when all the borders are open, and when we can like I know that things won't go back to normal completely and that's a for sure and that's something that we have to accept right but it's like I really can't wait for like, just to go to like to a movie theatre oh my god I miss watching movies I


cause the last time I watched a movie was with you Aishah it was the eh was it with you, no it was at the projector remember ya and I like I wasn't even a film buff before like, COVID I didn't even go to the movie theatre like often so that now it's like man I miss like


ya goddamn it and it was like it was a good movie lah I felt, so I can't wait for not things to go back to normal but I just can't wait to go to a movie theater and just watch ya lah, or like be able to see like more than five of my friends at one time


, it is it is, ya ya ya ya ya


same and then like you don't text anyone you're just like, ya same I also feel the same way, ya


oh that's nice, my parents have been quite like flexible with me I've just been going out every day so that's why I look forward to around lah hor like just going out everyday whether it's be work also even if it's work I'm like man the trees look beautiful today


ya got ya like my sisters started doing hiking even though like, uh in the post-COVID world personal growth, ya let's try


no you can go first, , ya, constant


tomorrow I am a stagnant person


is called the gen Z thing bro, ya, ya and where is smart like where okay continue


but when was like a pivotal moment like do you remember an age where you like had this pivotal moment where it's like man I think this is when I should start like focusing on myself cause I don't think we have the capacity to think that when we were eleven you know, ya ya


okay but that's pretty recent that's quite good, yup no that's recent what right that is recent like when people talk about personal growth it's like uh when I was like fifteen and when my boyfriend broke up, with me then I my personal growth


but okay my one was the complete opposite I felt like my personal growth was when I was seventeen and everything like


part one financial related topic, so I can just start right okay


I don't know actually I think of myself from five years ago, I think I didn't really, think of like financials in general because what was I like secondary school young poly I think like poly year one or something right


in my head I eh but how would you like in sec four with regards to your finances because I can tell you honestly that as a student like, especially in secondary school and poly right in my head is like oh I'm not an earning adult I don't have disposable income I'm still in school my job is to study I'm a student so I didn't really


think of finances as something that is my responsibility directly, but that's just me I don't know about you in your secondary school self maybe


ya like it's not, like and all right but I guess now that I'm thinking about it


I think one key thing that my parents always tried to tell me when I was growing up was to really distinguish distinguished ah distinguish between like needs and wants but I think when you're young it's really not easy to see that, but I think maybe if I really have to give advice to myself five years ago would be to be more like sensitive where I more aware that like if I don't have this certain thing can I survive and if I can survive then it's a want


and it's indulgent so I guess I'll go by that


ya I know what you mean


ya like you you don't allocate like oh I need to plan for this I need to save for that, like I think my biggest problem was also not seeing the bigger picture but I guess I don't I I I don't really blame anyone because when you are young you don't you know like what is a big picture you know you just like ah can I go to poly can I go to uni so I understand why it wasn't a priority


sensitive ya, I know what you mean


but I guess we all start somewhere lah so it's okay even if it's late and then if we look at planning finances actually this is, something that I'm still a bit I was ya because, part of me is like oh it's my money so it's my business and I think my dad also has this mentality of like oh we like it's it's our not our problem lah but like


it's your own assets you should know what to do ya like you don't need an external party to meddle with it but at the same time I see all my friends like selling insurance and all these right, and I understand why some people engage in a financial consultant but I think maybe for my family personally right now it's not something we are eyeing because


while my father is still able to like manage expenses how to say ah like even though I have my own bank account and like my different family members have their own bank account at the end of the day in my household at least it's like my money is your money, it's not really a distinction or whatever like if let's say even if my sister is working or what ya like whatever money she has we have like a a joint account where we all try to chip in like X percent of whatever we are earning so I think that's why in my household at least uh we don't really


immediately see an urgent need for like a financial consultant or advisor or planner, oh okay


oh !wow!


, okay


party managing


, I I know what you mean I think it goes like for me personally I have thought about financial adviser and I think I'm even like more aware or like sensitive to it because there are so many people around me selling it and engaging in like the whole scene that's one thing but another thing is that these are people I trust


like some of them I are my good friends so I know that oh if really you were to become my financial consultant you won't scare me right because I know that generally the industry doesn't really have like the best, uh what's it called, not impression but you know I mean right I not like the idea of like oh people selling insurance I know it this uh like a bitter taste in a lot of people ya it's the stigma that is the word stigma so


ya I mean I guess I am also guilty of having that thought previously but I talk to my friends sometimes and I ask them what do you do actually like why do people why do people call it such a dirty thing I don't understand, so I think the idea of a savings plan makes sense especially since it's something gradual and this kind of things really helped with the big picture but I guess


the main reason why I'm not engaging in one now is because I'm not actively earning income, and I mean as much as I can save in terms of like setting aside some money or stuff like government payouts it's a bit on off it's not guarantee that every month I would have X dollars in my bank account so I don't want to anyhow go and like take on a savings plan but then I cannot even


commit to the monthly what do you call them deposits ya so I guess that's one thing that's like scaring me a bit but that's not to say I completely don't save, like I I used to do this thing where I think especially in poly whenever I had a five dollar note I will keep it once like I just won't touch it ya ya because like two dollars is too common then ten dollars is too much so five is a good in between


do you ever try it , alright, ah okay


ya drastic


oh no okay just continue


, I get what you mean but I think like for me or at least in my household at least it's not it's not really a thing because


if really me and my sister were both to be full time adults right now and we both have like our monthly income, I think my dad is a reasonable in the sense that he will ask us uh oh to contribute X percent of whatever so whatever you contribute is proportionate to your salary and you won't need put in a spot where you like cannot manage


ya but then I guess, on the note of marriage right then my confusion with regards to yours your system, like how you I don't know operate financially would be, what if it's something like a house or a car like you know in my head these these are shared assets so shouldn't it be like a not exactly half half but I think percentage again like make sense because it's relative to what you earn


ya,


(mmhmm), so that's for like their joint assets and expenses okay that makes sense


, I guess that makes sense lah because ultimately it's still like everyone is doing their part it's not imbalanced or anything so I think that's quite rational


, oh no ya no I think it makes sense to have like one person settle one thing ya I think that's an approach that makes sense to me ya


I'm just gonna like, I think I do but it's something that I cultivated the older I got because I can tell you honestly like I want to say past few years but regrettably I know it's the past


few months the past few months, I'm actually very guilty of being like a very materialistic person and I acknowledge that when I'm stressed my coping mechanism is to spend like I feel like oh I buy things I feel happy I don't know if it's like circuit breaker making me like spend more time with myself or whatever but


I think I slowly feel less of that urge and I think with things like sustainability and fast fashion and surge of labour on the rise all the more I feel like it's really not justified, for me to just engage in mindless spending to make myself feel better so I would say saving is


I was gonna say it's a bit easier as you grow up but then I realised that it's really not the case because you just need to spend on different things and those different things although it's one thing the cost is higher, so, ya but I think like oh no go first oh I think for me like how I try to cushion my savings so whatever is if I can freelance anywhere I will like with whatever limited skill set I have if there's


, no as in you know what I mean if someone has a job opportunity and I'm a match and like if I'm lucky enough with my friends refer me or I will just like go ahead and do it lah because it doesn't take much time and if I make like a reasonable (ppc)


extra like oh this amount can last me for one NTUC trip for like a week then I think this kind of things really helps but ya you were saying


oh ya


correct ya, I know what you mean and I think like I'm literally just looking at my clothes right now and I feel quite guilty, because as we speak I'm like !wow! I really was


not cautious at all about my spending, ya, okay but like going going back to finance I think I think again it goes back


to how like my parents raised me to like really tried my best to distinguish between needs and wants because like okay I want this I don't know pair of pants cause it's cute and it would match with a lot of my clothes, but it's not like my current wardrobe there's nothing at all that I can pair with this top you know like this kind of things really make you think and I think when you're young it's really very easy to just gloss over that and ignore it


ya so you don't feel the pain, ya


okay this is something like a bit petty and small but you know when okay I don't know okay cause you are defensive, about money so I don't know about you but I'm really like for the most as in I I love money but at the same time I think I'm reasonably generous with it


like if I were out getting drinks with my friends and I think if like each cup is below two dollars I just would or I'll be like ah whatever lah so you know where do where do you draw the line with these kind of things


ya, you feel obliged right


is this really okay three way oh five okay


correct, no lah I think you are sensitive because it's your money you know it's your earning, I I know you don't want to look petty right ya


cause I don't know if they process that it's two fifty times five


ya ya I know I would never have this kind of courage , ya you don't want to do that, okay


should we wrap up, okay but I think for me like just a one liner what I did especially when I'm like on internships or what and I have like income for the month is, to track my spending because I felt like it really really helps me save and it makes me super hypersensitive and aware of where my money is going and how much like input output so I use this app called wally but I have friends who just use an excel sheet or whatever


what about yourself shania in twenty seconds,


like a benchmark [lah] (mm) okay okay makes sense


part three negative experiences, uh, okay let's start with embarrassing moment cause it's negative but it feels a bit lighter uh you do you have one like in mind


, I just had something in mind okay mine is I won't say as major as yours, although it was in a public setting but cause I'm in like my school's percussion band so uh we busk every christmas and


I and I completely forgot that I even messed up on this front because because of my instrument I usually need to stand like in the front row and then because now everything is at home so we can't really perform outside right so they are trying to like, recycle in a sense like all our past materials so they uploaded videos from our last busking sessions which was last december


and then I was like oh so fun like uh, back back in the day when we could go out and play in a band of fifty so I went to watch the video and the ending post was like everyone had their face up and they had to look up but I looked down, and it's it's a very like glaring mistake cause I'm in the front row and I'm like the only girl in the front row so mine was just like uh I put my head up then I looked down then I looked up and you could see in my face that you


I was sheepish lah so I guess it's embarrassing because it lives on like everyone who watches that video will know like this batch this band this batch this uh instrument player she didn't know the ending to this one song


and I think that's very scary as my first time busking cause I just joined the band but this is my legacy which is quite painful and embarrassing, but ya I mean it's a minor thing but I I just hope I'm not remembered as that you know like the girl who don't know the ending post for funk


embarrassing moments that make you cringe


I think a personal embarrassing moment of like my own that makes me cringe would be if I would ever ignorant and in the past and I believe strongly in my views that I was correct and I don't mean this in a very like social justice warrior kind of way but


it's just the fact that oh I was young and I didn't know a lot and I thought that I was right like I didn't want to correct myself so I think that is, not so much like it is embarrassing and it really makes me cringe ya because it's like how can I someone so ignorant like choose to stay ignorant like I was willfully not educating myself when that makes me cringe


ya I think ultimately like the onus is really on you to educate yourself that's why if I were ever like mean spirited or malicious without knowing and like I don't want to fix that then it's on me and that like is very disappointing and cringe worthy on my end


do you wanna go first or okay


, I think hearing you speak I just thought of how, like okay I don't consider myself a professional model at all but I acknowledge that I do model here and there on the side freelance to earn income or especially if there are opportunities


and I I won't say it's a serious dream because it's something I always thought with on the sidelines like oh it's a nice to have but if I don't do it's fine but I do find that when I go for like, gigs or whatever I enjoy what I'm doing and what I'm learning but I think increasingly the dream dies with each passing day because


I feel like there are a lot of barriers for me personally things like, I I okay it it might be a bit sensitive but I think okay this one is not very sensitive so I just move here I think like on my end personally I also struggle a lot with my own body image like issues so even if everything is fine like to the photographer to the creative director all these kind of things


I kind of shoot myself in the foot because from the get go even if the photographer has no qualms or whatever everyone on set is okay I will think that I'm doing something wrong or I'm like oh my body doesn't look right I don't deserve to be here so I think it's just, it's it's a lot of things and I think now with like


barriers to entry being very low like anyone online as long as you are considered like conventionally pretty like nowadays who isn't a model you know I mean, so as much as it's something in my head and it's like a fun idea I have and I toyed with a lot I think increasingly I'm like it's just not sustainable it doesn't make sense I don't really need to channel effort


so I don't know if I can continue calling it a dream now it's like a !wah! bonus it's like a eh, whatever ya it's a pipeline pipeline right pipe dream it's not pipeline pipe dream pipeline okay what keeps you awake at night I'm guilty oh go go go ahead when you're heartbroken


when I was thinking of heartbreak also like in approaching this conversation my most immediate thought was like uh a romantic break up but then I realised that that's, !huh! like there's not only one format of like heartbreak and, like I love you doesn't have to come from just one person so I think it reminds me of like when I used to hang out in a group of four people like four girls and we all very close


so we met in poly and then we would I think the fun thing about this uh circle or was it a square because got four people but anyway , it was it was very meaningful because we experienced a lot of firsts together like we all went for our first internships together cause we all like same batch kind of thing and


we really thought that we would grow not not to sound melodramatic but we really thought that we would be in each other's lives for a long time we always talk about like who would be the first to get married out of all of us, kind of thing but then uh one of the girls she got attached and like this is fine I mean life happens right but when she got attached she just completely didn't make time for us at all like the other three of us so


it's in the small small things like we would text the group and be like eh we haven't met in a long time let's meet up the four of us it just like old times you know just girls hanging out and she'll be like, oh I'm sick but then on that same night she would like post on her social media that she's hanging out with her boyfriend so is this kind of things that really make you question where you stand in someone's life and I think that


like it was just extra painful because all three of us would take turns to try and reach out to her but all our efforts will very futile in the sense that she would just much rather spend time with her boyfriend or like, just not make time for us so after a while we realised like okay maybe we are not her priority anymore and I guess that was heartbreak because we didn't know what went wrong or like why it became like that like how come suddenly we just cannot communicate and it was it was a very like


unpleasant and sucky feeling so that was heartbreak to me like it's a friend breakup, and that like I still I still think about it today and that the three of us cause the, three of us are still like quite close and we talk to each other we still think about it a lot we just like what do you think happened like why was it like that you know like it didn't have to be what we were fine for how many years then why suddenly she just


like !huh! one boy and the like even more painful thing is that she's not even with that guy now so we like, you know sometimes you think about it like maybe if you didn't meet him would we still be friends, and then it's it's in the small things like you listen to this song and it's like oh the four of us used to listen to this song together like the first time this band came to singapore we all went together and things like that really made me sad


ya, ya because ,


ya, I know what you mean I think for me the fact that to me


friendships feel a bit purer in the sense that there's no basis for your connection at all I just want to be here I want to support you as a person I want to be your friend, but when you are romantically attached to someone I guess there's other things like physical intimacy like emotional support and like these are things that you can get from a friendship but the fact that it's


not your partner it's what makes it different, actually that's something that keeps me up at night like not knowing what went wrong with this friend like I still think about it sometimes, but other things that keep me awake at night are like not knowing how the future will be because you know everyone is just trying their best to make things better but it's also very easy to think I'm just one drop in the ocean what difference does it make


so I think who increasingly when everyone has this mentality is it very easy to just like give up and you know sometimes I think about like things are activism and I just see people around me doing good work or trying to like bring like to issues that are, like not okay in the world but it's so easy to just get gunned down by like a megacorp or something like that so these are things that keep me up at night because I know like like why is it that way but I also don't know the solution or don't know what to do


ah that's that's a nice phrase to like sum it up


(mmhmm)


but you can't go through it because you are not


you don't know what to do ya,


I think ya on the note of unfairness, I think and I've been feeling it a lot recently, sometimes people treat me differently or unfairly just because I'm the youngest in the team like just because I'm an undergraduate in a room of adults they suddenly think that whatever I have to say it's all fluff there's no substance I don't have experience


I've never done like whatever like I don't have the same lived experiences that they have but I think this is like, completely ridiculous of them to think because yes maybe I'm not lived as long as you but, I do like you need to acknowledge that what you experienced when you were younger what I'm


experiencing now is different so in the context of like relevance not not to be rude but sometimes there are experiences that I have that are more relevant to present day settings than what you have lived in your life so, just because like I don't understand why this explanation of you are young you don't know anything I think it's a bit nonsense and I feel like that's very unfair


so these are moments that like really rub me the wrong way but I know I cannot do anything because if I were to speak up they'll be like why are you being rude but it's like I'm not being rude I'm just trying to have a discussion why are you taking offence,


ya it's unreasonable, like I've lived through it ya


positive oh my god part two positive experiences I'm very sorry, okay okay


I think what makes you persevere it's a very important question especially looking at the state of things I can tell you honestly like at the start oh no sadness but I didn't want, what makes me persevere is really knowing that I don't really know what the future is like so there's this quote on my laptop actually what a wonderful thought it is that


some of our no we didn't press talk, what about what a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet anne frank said that and I think that's something that keep me going


what about yourself , uh no is it I don't know


I was actually thinking about this very hard when I when I was looking at the email because as a person I feel like my standards for food not very high like for the most part right if I eat something I very happy I'm like sustenance very good you know, but I think for me as cheesy as it sounds right the best meals sorry to make it plural the best meals that I had are the meals that I have with friends


that like I had a good time talking or like laughing this kind of thing so even if we ate food that tasted kind of bad or whatever or like I don't know you go, some restaurants then you know clearly that oh they just heated up this dish it's not good food but if I'm having a good time my friends and we can laugh over that to me that's more than enough


ya but for the most part dessert lah ,


wait where did you go, oh, no because I feel like if you wanna eat speculoos right I feel like the best one is at merely merely ice cream


I don't think this sensitive information I just want to share the goodness with the world , their salted butterscotch is so good, the (uh huh), ya, ya ya


miss it ya, I think I'm sensitive to food when it comes to dessert because if if I had like a bad lunch or what I'm just okay but if I had a bad dessert it really stings and I think about it for a few days but okay your best meal is that lah I think my best meal is


#pulut hitam#, everywhere all the hawker centres or <mandarin>汤圆:tang yuan</mandarin> from ah chew desserts I'm an #ah pek# actually I'm an uncle I love all these kind of desserts but ya


like a hybrid ya, ah okay, okay understand (hmm), describe a time where you can't wait oh okay laughed too hard no you go first you go first


!wah! in primary school man


, okay


okay, describe a time when I laughed too hard


I can't like remember I feel like it's quite sad that I cannot remember specifically you know when this happened but I know that it happened so many times in my life so I'm grateful for that but I just if you ask me now I cannot remember specifically


oh I think okay one since I'm talking to you and it's easy to recall things that happened with you you know that instagram filter the who's more likely to and then we both wanted to like tilt tilt our heads but then both our necks cracked


ya same time so I think there's just a like an ode to us aging together, but ya I thought that was a bit like it's so ridiculous was what are the chances so ya that was that was quite funny to me best surprise or gift you ever given someone


I'm very like big on gift giving so I think this question is very like (oo) to me , surprise I feel like my gifts are generally surprises because I don't believe in like I don't know if someone will be anxious not knowing something so I don't want to suddenly like !hey! surprise you know


so I will I will like give a teaser I'll be like oh I'm going to give you thing X I won't tell you what's a thing but you know to expect something I guess for me my best gifts I've given to people are very like curated to the person themselves so I know it sounds


very like nonsense and novel movie romcom kind of thing but I quite like curating like playlists for people so I like make you a mixtape and I think the beauty in that is that, oh I'm putting in this song cause it made me think of you and then cause I feel like


there's just a lot more layers to a song so if you have songs plural there's just a lot of contact for someone to think of and it's just I feel like songs are very nice bookmarks for various like phases in life, so to me that's the beauty of like sharing music with someone so I would say my best gifts I've given to people lah are like playlists


do you have one like a special gift, oh my question was what is the best surprise or gift you've given someone but you don't have to talk about that if you don't want to


, what you want ya


all these questions are so fun I don't want to just choose one, okay okay uh (hmm), if we do the risk one is that like too serious


cause I'm okay you go you go, (mmhmm)


, so you just made yourself an understudy


, yup


, I think mine I mean I won't consider it, a risk per se because on my end okay but to me I would say going to polytechnic instead of like a junior college because I, I think early on in sec three when I realised that oh I'm not


that into academia and I I knew that the subject combinations that junior colleges offered in singapore at least were not really things that I was interested in so I always knew like early on that okay ya maybe I wanted to go to a polytechnic but it wasn't really, heard of or spoken of like go into poly instead of JC in my batch and in my secondary school at that time and even at first to my parents like oh I want to go to poly they weren't like super supportive they were like oh why you wanna waste time three years when you can just take two years instead so


I think that was a risk in terms of I knew that I was upsetting my parents but I would say I was rewarded with success because I found myself thriving in poly and the, the setting was just something that was very positive to me because I was doing something that I like then something that I enjoy and I think one key difference of like poly versus JC is the fact that poly is so much more technical and hands on


so I guess I appreciated that more like I wanted to do things because I could see oh I'm solving a real life problem instead of I'm answering an essay question I mean it's important to answer essay questions, however that was not something I was like fiercely passionate about so I think that's why I thrived in poly and I fortunately did well enough in poly to go to a local uni so I think


that's why in my head it was like ultimately a success and I made the right choice but until sometimes my dad is like you know actually you wasted one year, that's why that's why to me, I don't view it as a risk but I understand why my parents were like very hesitant so I guess there was a risk especially cause like my sister went to JC and a lot of my seniors at that time they went to JC so honestly


I didn't have a lot of knowledge of what like a polytechnic education would look like so there was a risk also on my end but I really don't regret and I'm super happy with my decision, describe a time when you can't wait to attend a special event or concert I mean like for us it was garden beats


so basically garden beats is like a a music festival electronic music festival at fort canning park uh every year around like end february or end march and we were very excited to go because the last time we went together was like what twenty seventeen


and we had such a good time and shania didn't even turn up for the whole duration of the festival she was late I don't know did you come from a flight or something, it's just, ya


but ya so we ended up having like way more fun than we expected and it was so cool because honestly neither of us knew the acts that were playing like we just went without really caring or knowing the band's because we thought like, !aiya! just try and see how and then we were excited to go this year but then a lot of the lineup changed because of COVID and


like we slowly with the like all the changing lineups and how like oh everything's oh it's DORSCON orange then I think we just became a bit like oh maybe we just shouldn't go, ya


so that that is that was the thing that we couldn't wait to attempt but like we didn't really attend ultimately, but I think it goes like this kind of bring me to a post-COVID world like I'm thankful for I really took a lot of things for granted last time like I never saw the day that oh we cannot have concerts or like festivals because people cannot stand next to each other


ya and then when I see things like videos or I think it was in like europe or something where people will go to a drive-thru and then they enjoy a rave like that so you are in your car, and the DJ is in front ya so I'm like actually I'm a bit excited to see this kind of things happen you know so that's a post-COVID world that I'm like


I'm scared to see but I'm excited to see because is it, as unsettling as it is it kind of just shows how, what's the word flexible and like how much humans can adapt so it's quite interesting to see to me


ya it was ya ya the thai movie, like just when you were gonna start getting into movies in the cinema


like fifty percent normal I think it is really just, ya it's just the things like the small small things that I took for granted like I realised I really miss walking home from the MRT station like it's uh to me there's a very nice way to end my day you know and especially cause I always go home at night so it's a bit chilly then I'm just like !wah!


the weather very nice then I listen to like music of my choice and then like I'm just alone nobody disturb me lah just like ya ya this is nice then I think ya, but now I cannot as in I can but the fact of the matter is that I'm going out less or like even if I go out I don't go home so late stuff like that as much as possible my dad is like


oh if you can don't take public transport just don't like if you're going the same way and I can drop you off like might as well or if your friend can send you there then just catch a lift


ya I get what like I just want to go out and see nature , personal growth like a fast game one minute personal growth discussion I think uh you wanna go first


I think to me personal growth uh talk about a time ah, I think I see it a lot no as in I don't think there's a time I experience personal growth because to me personal growth is really like a lifelong thing like it's really a lifelong journey there's no like uh today I experienced personal growth


like ya so to me I think it's really just growing up and believing in myself, more because I think and it's not just me I think a lot of people my age we have this very very bad habit of settling ourselves short or like we don't believe in ourselves I also don't know for what


no it's not even a gen Z what I don't understand is when people say oh strawberry generation just so they can exploit you I don't think that is fair because I think our generation is very hardworking so I think to me, , personal growth just looks like me growing up and acknowledging that I have my merits and I have my strengths like it's okay to acknowledge I'm not good at everything but like where I'm good at something I don't discredit or like ignore so ya lah it's in small small things like


I think like, ya lah I I get what you mean it it's like finances everything you like you you really get better with age I think for me was when I entered poly and I was waiting for uni and I was like working a bit here and there and a lot of people I come across a bit like eh you are so young but you know so much or like you are doing a lot


and then I was like man if strangers can tell me these why am I so mean to myself, so ya girl that's like two years back okay lah


ya no lah I girls school mah okay your personal growth in forty seconds


uh, ya part one financial related topic


uh, ya


okay , what I look for in an insurance agent is that, he or she cares for me, and is not greedy, and uh I would ask the insurance agent about, things like, the price the benefits


the terms and conditions, and uh how easy it is to, to claim, when something goes wrong, how about you #ying kai#


how, , I would, ask them what do they need


personally, and what is their, situation like, uh get to understand them and, what their personalities are like, , how much uh, how much they are willing to spend what is their, their budget


so I can cater to their needs instead of, uh pushing the most expensive plan, ya


ya, I agree too uh in your first question you mention, you you would like the insurance agent to be reliable, uh, how would you show that, you are reliable as an insurance agent


ya, I agree that's a good method also, uh, should we move on to the next question, buy term and invest the rest, do you mix insurance and investment or do you keep them apart


ya, personally I would also keep them apart, because from what I've seen in the past few years, , mixing insurance and investment, the plan that comes with both parts uh have, lesser


uh interest rates on the investment the return on the investment and uh, the insurance uh benefits are also lower than as compared to uh, insurance uh so insurance policies


and so investment policies, so I think uh, if people are going for this, mixed policies I, think the benefit for them is the convenience, because they do not have to deal with


uh, uh a separate insurance agent and then and uh, a agent from the investment company, they only have to deal with uh one, agent, which is, which uh helps them to do both their insurance and investments


so, I think a part of the price is paying for the convenience of, mixing them both together


, I do not have, any, ILPs, because I think that the the ILPs are for the greater convenience but they have, lower, , insurance and


investment, parts to themselves as compared to the, the pure, uh insurance and investment plans, so, I think that separate separate ones are still better than the, ILPs


how about you #ying kai#


yes I I agree because they're easier to understand so they're, uh much more simpler to, take on, , so do you think CPF insurance coverage is enough for your insurance coverage


uh, what are your thoughts on that, dependent protection scheme medishield life, and the eldershield, and medisave


personally I think, it's it's uh it's enough for me because I'm more of a, uh I'm a risk taker than, risk adverse person, so, the the basic level of insurance that the CPF provides