February 21, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

In the previous blog post, I addressed the three banks I researched for our Savings Account assignment. These three banks were Bank of America, Chase, and Wells Fargo. As I wrote in the previous post, I think that I'm going to be choosing BofA. The reason for this is that it's convenient: when I turn 18, my minor's savings account will be converted to a regular one automatically. BofA is also the bank that my parents use, so they know more about BofA than about other banks; I know that it works for them.

In addition, I'll earn a 0.01% interest with 0.01% Annual Percentage Yield. So far, according to my February budget, I have about $50 saved up. Because I will need $25 as a minimum opening deposit, I'll be using half the amount I've saved to open the account. I can't wait to go to the US after interim! Even though I'll be missing class (and definitely missing out on some new financial insights), I will be able to set up my account and get started saving.

I think setting up an account in the US and starting to save there is a great idea. I won't be able to access that money while I still live in Singapore. (Well, I suppose I can, but it wouldn't be very convenient). Because of that, the money I deposit will have sat for a little bit. Besides, I don't think that when I move there for college, I will withdraw that quickly.

February 9, 2017 Reflection (Personal Finance)

Personal Finance is such an applicable subject. I really enjoyed the savings account exercise - it was really helpful. Of course, without doing the research, how will we know which bank and savings account works for us? I looked up US banks, because when I go to the US for college it will be most useful. The banks I researched were Bank of America (BofA), Wells Fargo, and Chase.

When I visit the US after Interim, I'm planning to head to BofA to set up my savings account. I chose BofA because it is the most convenient, and also because it has the most attractive benefits. I only need an initial amount of $25 to create my account, and I have saved more than that through budgeting. Speaking of, budgeting is really helping. I set a very lofty goal for myself by cutting my spending by half. I spent $300 in the month of January, and so am trying to spend only $150 in February.

(This is also because my dad only gave me $150. He wanted to see how long I'd last.)

It's not easy. I spent almost a $100 this week alone. It seems like I'm spending on average $80 a week, which multiplied by 4 weeks gives $320. There are some things that I can definitely cut back on (taxis, etc.) but also some things that I need to continue spending money on. Taxis are the biggest sink of money, I'm finding out. I've taken 2 cabs in the past week and the cab total has already become over $40.

In the event that I can't reach my goal of $150 a month, I'll set my goal back a little bit - maybe to $250. Keeping my fingers crossed, though! Hopefully I can become thriftier as time goes on.