Elizabeth Tai's Blog, page 8

How to manage debt stress (an article for AIA)

Once upon a time, I had a six-figure debt. It was a stressful time. In fact, so stressful was it that I still the effects of it till this day. You can almost say that I have financial PTSD because of that time. Although I now live debt free, I remember how stressful it was for me to pay down my debts, each day hoping tha...

Managing uncertain times (Money & Minimalism Monthly Roundup #1)

Welcome to the first edition of the Money & Minimalism Monthly Roundup . On the last day of each month, I will share my favourite content from personal finance and minimalism bloggers in Asia.

I debated about creating this series for the longest time because I wasn’t sure if I had the time to commit to something like this ...

Managing uncertain times - Money & Minimalism Monthly Roundup #1

Welcome to the first edition of the Money & Minimalism Monthly Roundup . On the last day of each month, I will share my favourite content from personal finance and minimalism bloggers in Asia.

I debated about creating this series for the longest time because I wasn’t sure if I had the time to commit to something like this ...

Suicide isn't the answer to your debt or money problems

Last week, I came across a shocking story of a 20-year-old university student in United States who committed suicide because he thought that he was nearly million dollars in debt. Alex Kearns had been investing via an app called Robin Hood. One day, when he opened the app, he discovered that he had somehow incurred a loss...

No, you don’t have to be productive during a global pandemic

Unsplash photo by Ales Me

Most of the world is under lockdown. We have all this free time now. Its time to do all the things, amirite? 

Companies, solopreneurs, heck, anyone with a WiFi connection, are offering courses, products, surveys, subscription services free for a COVID-19 pandemic, limited time. 

You think: I must take advantage of all these delicious opportunities! After all, I may never get these opportunities ever again! Id be silly not to, right?

The FOMO is high. The FOMO is...

Scribd: Is it worth it? (2020 review)

Unlimited reading with Scribd? Not quite.

Scribd, an online subscription service of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and more is offering 30 days of free access (no credit card required) in response to COVID-19. Youre probably wondering, should you even bother? Is Scribd worth it?

When I first reviewed Scribd in 2015, I didnt have great confidence that it was going to last. It had pulled out a number of romance novels from its catalogue; the business model seems to be standing on shaky legs....

Is minimalism practical in the age of COVID-19?

Photo by @shvets

When Malaysia started lockdown procedures in mid March thanks to rising COVID-19 cases, I found myself in the supermarket staring at empty shelves. Ive long been an ardent fan of minimalism and have adjusted my life to buying what I need, nothing more and that applied to my pantry. I regularly had pantry challenges where I made sure I ate everything in my pantry/fridge. So, a week before the coronavirus-induced movement control order was imposed on March 18, my pantry...

A pandemic, a lockdown and how nothing will ever be the same

I long for the days when I could just walk outside without worrying that Id somehow bring back a virus that will either make me or my family sick.

Almost overnight, my life, no, the world collapsed around me.

Late February, I was going through something that left me shaken and stirred (but not in a good way). Then, I made a huge, pivotal decision in the first week of March. Then, the world went upside down and sideways up.

COVID-19 / Novel Coronavirus / SARS-CoV-2 grew from being a weird...

7 steps to becoming debt free

Don’t let your shopping habits get the best of you. Pic from Unsplash

It’s 2020 and I’m thinking about my finances. Then again, I'm always thinking about my finances. I'm a tad obsessed about investments and savings and debt. Just a tad.

Speaking of debt. Perhaps this is the year that you will eliminate your debt? However, you’re probably thinking: where do I even begin? Can I even unload this massive load off my shoulders?

Speaking from experience as a person who has unloaded a six-figure...

Changing careers? Give yourself time to grieve

It was the best of times, and it was also the most awful of times … Photo by @sharonmccutcheon

I was supposed to be happy.

I had gotten a job in my chosen Plan B career. All those years of working hard to upgrade my skills have finally paid off.

Yet, on my last day, as I placed goodbye cards on my colleagues’ desks before they came in, tears welled up.

I was saying goodbye, not just to my wonderful colleagues at the newspaper who have become like family to me, but also to to my long journalism...