2020

Posted on by Jamie Liew

I’m not sure how many of you do this, but I’ve always low key believed in feng shui. At the end of every year, I check how the following year is going to be like for me – to be exact, for a water monkey; because that’s what I am.

Before 2020 came, I thought 2019 was one of the worst years. Well one because feng shui said so, and for reasons that I cannot even remember anymore as I’m writing, I just remembered feeling like I had a very difficult time, and that 2020 is where my “bad luck” will turn, also because feng shui said that it will.

Trying to think back on what happened in 2019, I spent the first half of the year studying like I had no friends and no social life for a difficult financial exam, which I fortunately passed. The process was excruciating because I felt tired after work, and I still had to fit in 2-3 hours of study time. Not to mention I studied for 6-8 hours on weekends. On the exam day itself is where Hong Kong saw one of the largest protests in history, shutting down most transportation.

Continue reading “2020” →

Living Expenses in HK

Posted on by Jamie Liew

hello all!

it’s been a long time. time flies and I’ve already lived in HK for over 2 months. it’s crazy how fast time goes by when you’re busy at your desk. I thought I would have a lot more time to blog because I get off at 6pm sharp everyday haha but my brain’s pretty much paralysed at the end of every day. but it’s going to be better. I hope. haha.

for today, I thought it would be interesting for me to share about the (crazy) living expenses in one of the most expensive countries in the world.

if you’re a long-time reader, you probably would’ve known that I am very (very very very) frugal. but as frugal as I can be, this city definitely isn’t cheap. at all. and  living expenses here is like 4 times of what I spent back in Seoul, which isn’t the cheapest city out there. the average salary here is 16,000HKD which is around 2,000USD. starting salaries are obviously different across industries but it can go as low as 9,000HKD and as high as 70,000HKD for fresh grads in the financial industry. honestly, it may sound a lot to some people but very little to some as well, especially when HK is considered one of the most expensive cities out there. but let’s do a little breakdown on what’s “normal” from my observations so far. Continue reading “Living Expenses in HK” →