Elizabeth Tai's Blog, page 11

My "Live My Best Life Now" Bucket List

I’ll admit it. I was hesitant to create a bucket list because to me goals = pressure, and at this point of my life, I don’t really want more of it.

But i’ve come to realise that when it comes to me and bucket lists, I often only include achievement-oriented goals. What I call my “shiny penny” goals. My Type-A tendencies tend to push me to collect achievement after achievement - be it degrees or amount of money in the bank. There’s little fun in my bucket list. It’s exhausting.

However, inspir...

My favourite personal finance articles & videos - April 2019

Lately, I’ve been reading more personal finance blogs and have found a few favourite bloggers that I’m now following religiously on Twitter. What I love about these bloggers is that they are so transparent and candid about their financial journeys.

Several of these articles have made me think and go, “Wow - you can do that?”

So, in no order, these are the articles that I came across that I truly inspired me this month (not all are written in April):

My job vs my mental health - at a crossroads...

River of Life - turning the Klang River into a viable waterfront

This spot is just a few steps away from the Masjid Jamek LRT station.

I wonder if many Malaysians realise that we have a beautiful waterfront right in the middle of Kuala Lumpur?

Well, at least, a waterfront in the making.

The River of Life project is a massive undertaking to transform the muddy Klang River into something we can be proud of. According to the project's official website, it aims to "transform the Klang River into a vibrant and livable water front with high economic value."

In ord...

My favourite personal finance Youtube channels

So, personal finance is a huge favourite topic of mine. Reading about the topic and following the advice of budget/finance hackers have hugely changed my life so much. And thanks to Youtube, I watch a few channels to keep the spirit going - because the road to financial independence can get really lonely and tiring.

Here are some of the channels I love to watch and which I highly recommend:

Budget Girl

There are several things that attracted me to Budget Girl’s videos and is the reason why she’s...

I embraced "lifestyle creep" and upgraded my lifestyle - here's what I learned

Okay, I didn’t get THIS crazy. Photo by @scottwebb

Last year, I got a new job. And with the new job came a 25% bump in my salary. My frugal self said that this was the time to save up like crazy and accelerate my journey towards financial independence. My other self however…

Well, instead, I did what many people do when they get a bump in pay, a bonus or a sudden infusion of money: I upgraded my lifestyle.

Back then, I reasoned that I deserved it. I told myself that after years and years of st...

Adventure in Los Angeles, circa 2006

Once upon a time, I led a surreal life. I would fly off to various parts of the world to interview big shots.

Like actors, directors, producers.

I was a journalist, and entertainment was one of my beats. In this #FlashbackFriday post, I repost my travelogue of one such trip. Enjoy.

Going to LA

April 13, 2006

I've been so busy that it hasn't sunk in that I'm going off to Los Angeles at the end of this month. 

I'll be there to interview the cast of Poseidon. I loved the original and it looks like th...

5 uncomfortable truths about changing careers

Do you want to leave your comfortable career path to brave the great unknown? If so, be prepared for these less-than-discussed realities of career change. - Pic by Ursula Madariaga

Around 2012, as print journalists were getting laid off and newspapers were shutting down around the world, I decided that it was time to change careers. I had no guide book, no guru, no career coach to show me the way. I just knew I had to do something or end up a casualty of print media’s inability to pivot to a...

Seoul's Oil Tank Culture Park

At the foot of Mount Maebongsan in the Mapo-gu district of Seoul sits a unique cultural centre. The stark, minimalistic buildings’ of the Oil Tank Culture Park would look at home in a science-fiction movie.

However, once upon a time, these 15m-tall oil tanks held 69.08mil litres of oil. Now pieces of the tanks have been carved out, reused and rebuilt to become theatres, buildings and community centres.

Last year, I had the chance to visit these wonderful examples of urban regeneration. It was...

I went carless for a year - here's what I learned

My daily companion.

Last year, I moved to a studio loft. It was er, rather swanky. So swanky that car parks cost about RM250 per month to rent. I figured that since I could walk to work and the apartment was literally next to an LRT station, it didn’t make sense to rent an expensive car park so that I could “store” my car. So, I left my car back in my old place 20km away from my studio.

It was a weird arrangement, especially in car-mad Kuala Lumpur, but it worked. Still, many expressed confus...

Burnout - when work becomes too much

Burnout can creep up on you.

For some, the word “burnout” means “tired” or “exhausted”. The kind of tired you get after a hard week’s work and you can’t wait to chill by the pool with a mojito.

But Burnout is more serious than that. It’s a state where you’re so drained emotionally, mentally and physically that you’re incapable of functioning normally.

Burnout is literally an exhaustion of resources, physiological as much as psychological, over an extended period of time, which plunges people...