0:07

Hey and welcome to

0:07

Let's Talk CPF, a podcast where

0:11

we bring conversations on CPF to

0:11

your years, brought to you by

0:15

the CPF board. This podcast will

0:15

answer common questions, offer

0:19

tips, and feature interviews

0:19

with industry experts on CPF and

0:24

financial planning. Thanks for

0:24

listening and let's get straight

0:27

into today's episode.

0:32

Although the pandemic

0:32

was challenging, there's a whole

0:34

new set of challenges going back

0:34

to the office, which is why

0:38

today's episode is all about how

0:38

to protect your wallet as you

0:40

head back to the office. I'm

0:40

Calvin, and welcome to Let's

0:44

Talk CPF. I'm joined today by

0:44

two amazing guests, Nicole and

0:48

Priscilla from the Simple Sum,

0:48

you may have seen some of their

0:51

comics on social media. The

0:51

Simple Sum was created with the

0:54

goal of improving financial

0:54

literacy of millennials through

0:57

entertaining and easy to

0:57

understand visuals and articles.

1:00

Thank you both for coming on.

1:02

Thanks for having us. My

1:02

name is Nicole. I am the head of

1:05

learning and partnerships at The

1:05

Simple sum what I do is I work

1:08

with brand partners at the

1:08

Simple Sum to come up with

1:11

educational content around

1:11

personal finance.

1:14

Hi, I'm Priscilla.

1:14

I'm the creative lead of The

1:16

Simple Sum and I work with our

1:16

group of illustrators to bring

1:20

you the cute and colorful comics

1:20

that talk about personal finance

1:24

in a fun and interesting way.

1:26

Okay, so now I'm going

1:26

to kick this off with a very

1:28

simple question. Are both of you

1:28

table buddies at work?

1:32

Yes. What would you

1:32

define as table buddies? We sit

1:36

back to back? Yes, we don't face

1:36

each other. But we are aware of

1:41

each other's presence all the

1:41

time? Yes. Well, during the

1:44

pandemic, it obviously was a bit

1:44

more difficult to create that

1:49

organic conversation because

1:49

everything was done online. And

1:53

you had to set meetings. So

1:53

definitely when we were back to

1:56

office that brought back that

1:56

spark between all of our co

2:00

workers of being able to, you

2:00

know, have that interaction and

2:04

crack jokes. And yeah, and

2:04

sometimes I realised that, you

2:07

know, it can be a little bit

2:07

disruptive to my work. But you

2:09

know, Priscilla adds a little

2:09

bit more spiciness to, to the

2:14

conversations when we have it in the office.

2:15

Yeah, that's my USP

2:15

adding spice and flavor. But I

2:19

also think it's really hard to

2:19

share jokes with your

2:23

colleagues, because it's not

2:23

that you can set a meeting and

2:26

then like, Hey, I found out

2:26

something funny. It's a good

2:30

experience that to be back in

2:30

office where you can have like

2:32

fun conversations.

2:33

Yeah. And it helps with

2:33

collaborative work also, because

2:36

a lot of the ideas that we

2:36

generate come up very

2:40

organically through conversation

2:40

when we're having conversations

2:42

at at our desk when we're

2:42

getting coffee and things like

2:45

that. So it does help with, you

2:45

know, letting the creative

2:49

juices flow a bit more.

2:50

I have a very important

2:50

question to you, Priscilla.

2:53

According to your bio on The

2:53

Simple Sum website, something

2:56

happened on Black Friday 2020.

2:56

Tell me a little bit more about

3:00

it

3:00

just after the

3:00

lockdown or something like that.

3:03

And then I basically spent a lot

3:03

of money because I didn't spend

3:08

on anything. The month before

3:08

that I had grown out of a lot of

3:12

my clothes. I guess I couldn't

3:12

fit into my clothes anymore. So

3:15

I spent a lot on clothes. Yeah,

3:15

I think I spent like a few

3:20

hundred.

3:21

But did you get any good

3:21

deals or not for that particular

3:23

Black Friday? Do you remember,

3:25

it was a lot of good

3:25

deals. But to be honest, I don't

3:27

really even wear most of the

3:27

clothes that are bought from

3:31

that time anymore.

3:32

Nicole, you're a

3:32

financial minimalist and

3:34

investment returns maximalist

3:34

during the pandemic, most of us

3:38

were able to work from home and

3:38

had limited places to go. Now

3:41

that we're mostly back in

3:41

office, there's this notion of

3:44

increased spending. Do you

3:44

agree?

3:47

I do think that there is

3:47

increased spending for myself

3:50

personally, I noticed that there

3:50

is a shift in the level of

3:55

budget that I've have to set

3:55

aside for things like food,

3:58

transportation, and etc. So yes,

3:58

definitely, I've seen an

4:01

increase in spending when I have

4:01

to go back to the office, for

4:04

sure. Yeah,

4:06

I definitely feel

4:06

that my wallet is feeling a bit

4:10

lighter after I've come back to

4:10

the office. Especially the food

4:16

prices, I'm a lot more price

4:16

conscious when it comes to like

4:19

lunchtime. So cause especially

4:19

since inflation is on a rise,

4:23

right? So I see like prices, and

4:23

then they have the sticker over

4:26

it. So that's when you know, it

4:26

didn't used to be $6. It used to

4:30

be like 550 Yeah, so then I'm

4:30

like, I feel very affected.

4:34

I think the adjustment

4:34

after coming out of like a

4:39

hybrid work environment or full

4:39

work from home environment back

4:41

to the office. It's a lot more

4:41

apparent that you're spending

4:45

more because of the added

4:45

pressure of inflation. Yeah,

4:48

like if it weren't for the fact

4:48

that prices were going up every

4:52

you know, six months. Maybe we

4:52

may not have noticed it but I

4:55

think a lot of people out there

4:55

do feel the impact of the

4:59

increased spending because it's

4:59

coupled with inflation as well.

5:02

So for some people, one

5:02

thing they didn't expect was how

5:04

inflation will rise to a high

5:04

after the pandemic. So how much

5:08

did each of you spend monthly

5:08

during the pandemic as compared

5:10

to now.

5:11

So when I was fully

5:11

working from home, I was

5:15

spending 70% less than what I

5:15

would be spending if I was

5:19

working from the office. So it

5:19

was a huge saving. For me,

5:23

particularly like I cooked at

5:23

home, I didn't buy anything

5:27

extra in terms of like my home

5:27

setup, I did only buy a

5:33

makeshift standing desk. So it

5:33

was literally on a desk. And

5:36

then I bought this contraption,

5:36

where I can put my laptop on,

5:39

and I can stand, but that was

5:39

pretty much it. So it did keep

5:43

my expenses low, which I, which

5:43

I did quite like, because I

5:47

managed to put a lot of money

5:47

aside in savings during that

5:50

period. But now back in the

5:50

office, more price conscious, as

5:56

well. So I do try to save more

5:56

than what I used to. So it's

6:01

about 20 to 30%. More than prior

6:01

to the pandemic that I'm saving.

6:06

So actually I used to

6:06

spend about a very humble amount

6:10

of $200 to $300 a month. And

6:10

this was because during that

6:15

time, I was quite focused on

6:15

health and fitness so I wanted

6:18

to cook a lot of my meals. So

6:18

that didn't really cost much,

6:22

actually, especially since I

6:22

still live with my parents. So

6:25

they still they still cook

6:25

dinner. Yeah, so I knew I only

6:28

needed to spend on groceries for

6:28

lunch. Yeah. And then I instead

6:33

of going to like classes as I

6:33

would pre-pandemic, I just

6:37

follow a lot of free YouTube

6:37

videos, and I will go on walks

6:40

which are also free. Yeah, but

6:40

right now, because we're back in

6:45

the office, right? So we go out

6:45

for lunch, and then instead of

6:49

following YouTube videos, I will

6:49

go to fitness classes instead of

6:53

working out for free at home.

6:53

Ah, yeah. And that has been

6:57

eating a lot at my budget.

6:59

Okay. Okay, so it does

6:59

seem like we're in office. Now,

7:02

we are a little bit worse in

7:02

terms of budgeting. But I'm sure

7:05

for both of you the work from

7:05

home period has definitely

7:08

instilled some good habits. So

7:08

are there any good financial

7:11

habits that you picked up during

7:11

the pandemic? And has it carried

7:15

over to work in office?

7:18

I think it's because

7:18

I started cooking at home. So

7:21

actually, right after we came

7:21

back to the office, I cooked a

7:24

lot and I brought it to office

7:24

to eat for lunch instead of

7:27

buying food outside. But the

7:27

more I have outside food, it's

7:32

so delicious. And then I get so

7:32

tired. And then I've fallen off

7:36

the bandwagon, and then I need

7:36

to get back on it.

7:40

accountability buddy, I do and I

7:40

see you bring food home cooked

7:44

food to office and I'm like,

7:44

Okay, I should do that.

7:47

For myself, I would say

7:47

that I didn't really pick up any

7:51

like good habits during the

7:51

pandemic. However, I already had

7:55

a pretty decent hold of my

7:55

budget prior to the pandemic. I

7:59

set aside money for different

7:59

things such as my needs and my

8:04

wants. And I have set aside

8:04

money for what I call my fun

8:08

budget. So things that I would

8:08

like to enjoy going out and

8:13

doing. So it could be you know,

8:13

going on a night out with my

8:16

friends, or going for a concert,

8:16

or some sort of activities that

8:19

required a certain sum of money.

8:19

So during the pandemic, because

8:24

we're just stuck at home, and

8:24

you know, you can't really go

8:26

out, you can't really go and

8:26

have fun, you can't really

8:28

travel. So all the money that I

8:28

had from the fun budget, I

8:32

actually ended up saving. So

8:32

that was actually quite good. So

8:36

now that we're back in the

8:36

office, and we're able to

8:39

travel, we're able to go out and

8:39

participate in different

8:42

activities, I just tap back into

8:42

that fund budget. So I think

8:46

it's it's important to at least

8:46

have a budget. So whether you're

8:50

working from home or working in

8:50

the office, for both things that

8:54

are your necessities, like your

8:54

food during lunchtime, and your

8:58

transportation and your data

8:58

plan and all of these things.

9:01

Yeah, because if not,

9:01

if you don't have that budget,

9:03

you just feel like you're

9:03

depriving yourself, then

9:07

eventually, when you're just so

9:07

stressed, you just like revenge

9:09

spend, then, either way, you're

9:09

spending that money. So you

9:12

might as well have it in a controlled manner.

9:14

You know, my philosophy

9:14

is that a budget is not

9:17

restrictive, it actually gives

9:17

you more flexibility and more

9:22

space for you to be able to

9:22

enjoy the things that you really

9:24

truly love.

9:25

That is so true. I think

9:25

it's very important that we do

9:28

look after ourselves. Stay

9:28

healthy, make sure we treat

9:32

ourselves, right. And to ensure

9:32

that you don't overspend, you

9:35

also set a fun budget first off

9:35

monthly. So that actually does

9:37

make a lot of sense. So speaking

9:37

of fun budgets, you know, you're

9:41

spoken about spending more on

9:41

food and transport now that

9:44

you're back in the office. So

9:44

what are some of the other

9:46

spendings that could creep up

9:46

and we should take note off as

9:49

well.

9:50

I don't know about

9:50

you guys, but I find myself kind

9:54

of running out of essential

9:54

supplies a bit more quickly for

9:58

example I mean when your work

9:58

get home, you don't need to

10:01

spray perfume right no one's

10:01

gonna be smelling you so. So I

10:06

find that I had to, like

10:06

replenish my perfume a bit more

10:09

often than I used to. And

10:09

perfume is not cheap.

10:13

Yeah, so I think not

10:13

just perfume, but I also find

10:15

myself running out of shampoo a

10:15

lot quicker. Because like what I

10:21

what Priscilla said, right? Like

10:21

when you're at home, you don't

10:24

need to take two, three showers

10:24

a day. But when you're going

10:27

out, I do take showers in the

10:27

morning before going to work.

10:30

And then coming back from work.

10:30

I also do take showers. So that

10:33

kind of Essentials, where we

10:33

don't really think about as

10:36

something that runs out more

10:36

quickly, because you're going

10:38

out more, it's also adding up to

10:38

your expenses, but in a very

10:42

small, incremental way.

10:44

So it seems like most of

10:44

the things that we spoken about

10:46

earlier are things that we deem

10:46

to be quite essential, because

10:50

we do have to use them and go

10:50

back to the office, right. Also,

10:52

depending on the job

10:52

requirements, we also need to be

10:54

aware of what when how much

10:54

we're spending. And that also

10:58

leads to peer pressure. So how

10:58

does that affect your spending?

11:01

In a way? Yes, peer

11:01

pressure is something that I

11:04

think everybody faces. And you

11:04

can't really like, always get

11:09

away from it. And it does impact

11:09

your spending in certain

11:12

capacity. So one example that I

11:12

would give is that, you know,

11:16

when you're back in office,

11:16

there's a lot more socializing

11:19

that you have to do. Perhaps you

11:19

have to have after work drinks

11:23

with your colleagues, or with

11:23

your bosses or clients. And in

11:27

that situation, you might end up

11:27

having to spend a little bit

11:30

more in order to socialize,

11:30

because it's part and parcel of

11:33

your job. And that was something

11:33

that was not possible during the

11:36

pandemic, right. And so it's one

11:36

of those areas where it leads to

11:41

unexpected expenses that crop up

11:41

in your budget, because it's not

11:44

something that you are factored

11:44

for ahead of time.

11:47

I think there are a lot of ways to say no, when you're faced with that kind of

11:49

situation, you can always say,

11:52

is there a cheaper place that we

11:52

can go to this place is kind of

11:56

like a little bit out of my

11:56

budget. If your colleagues are

11:59

reasonable, I don't think they

11:59

will mind at all. And they'll

12:02

totally be understanding. For

12:02

example, what you're saying

12:05

about going to drinks right and

12:05

getting the cheapest thing on a

12:07

menu. I mean, do you really have

12:07

to buy an alcoholic drink to

12:10

have fun there and to enjoy like

12:10

socialising with your

12:13

colleagues? I think just buying

12:13

a Coca Cola, even if it's like

12:17

an overpriced Coca Cola is still

12:17

cheaper and cheapest alcoholic

12:21

drinks.

12:21

You guys mentioned a lot

12:21

about the whole negative side of

12:24

peer pressure. But there's

12:24

definitely a positive spin to it

12:27

as well, because I see at The

12:27

Simple Sum you guys have

12:30

different challenges every month.

12:32

Yeah, so for us,

12:32

internally, we also have our own

12:35

challenge. So for our lunch

12:35

group, we'll be like, okay, we

12:39

have a $5 lunch, we have to keep

12:39

the $5. So everyone would

12:43

challenge each other. Okay, find

12:43

the nicest lunch within $5. So

12:48

we found this cai fan place in

12:48

the food court, they used to

12:51

sell $2.80 cai fan, can you

12:51

imagine is in the heart of town,

12:56

and it's $2.80 to find where can

12:56

you find $2.80 cai fan? Yeah, so

13:01

I think it was quite, it's quite

13:01

nice to have that kind of

13:04

positive peer pressure, because

13:04

I think everyone keeps everyone

13:08

else accountable.

13:09

And the thing is that I

13:09

think a lot of people are very

13:12

much aware now that prices are

13:12

going up. So it's not to say

13:15

that your colleagues are

13:15

completely clueless to the fact

13:19

that you know, the current

13:19

environment, the food prices are

13:21

actually a lot more expensive.

13:21

So I do think that if you're

13:24

open about it, and you do

13:24

mention that, okay, like, you

13:28

know, you have a specific food

13:28

budget that you need to stick

13:30

to. I think they'll be very

13:30

reasonable and be they will be

13:34

very understanding as well,

13:34

because, you know, they're

13:36

facing the same sort of price

13:36

pressures as well.

13:39

So do you think that some people might feel embarrassed or paiseh about

13:41

saying that they have a budget

13:44

that month for food?

13:45

I mean, I personally don't feel pai seh, because I don't think there's any shame in

13:47

saying that because everyone's

13:50

budget and everyone's financial

13:50

commitments is very different.

13:53

So I think we should all do our

13:53

part and like, try be

13:56

understanding of other people as well.

13:59

But just to be

13:59

realistic, right? We do know

14:01

that not everybody's work

14:01

environments can be quite

14:04

understanding. So that's where

14:04

you need to strategise a little

14:07

bit more as to what you say or

14:07

don't say. So one example you

14:13

can give, oh I have a lot of

14:13

stuff to clear out during lunch.

14:17

So I can't join you guys for

14:17

lunch. I personally do use that

14:20

excuse not because it's an

14:20

excuse, but I really do

14:23

genuinely have a lot of stuff to

14:23

clear out during lunch. And

14:26

people are understanding because

14:26

it's work related. And they do

14:30

generally just leave me alone.

14:32

I understand you, Nicole.

14:34

Well, thank you for

14:34

joining me on Let's Talk CPF,

14:37

Nicola and Priscilla. I've

14:37

learned quite a bit from our

14:39

conversations, such as the tips

14:39

for managing our wallets, like

14:42

setting aside a fund budget, and

14:42

the importance of being firm,

14:46

not being ashamed that you

14:46

should let your friends know

14:48

that you're on a budget that

14:48

certain month. If you like our

14:51

content, follow us and give us

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14:57

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