Reading Time: 4 Minutes Howdy peeps, how’s everyone’s week going! Yesterday in Oz, we just had the “race that stops a nation”, the annual Melbourne Cup. Although a workday traditionally (except for our Melbournian cousins – who are bestowed a public holiday, (yes gambling is so in our blood, we need a mandated day off just to gamble)), everyone knows that you don’t do actual work on the first Tuesday of every November. It would be un-Australian to do so. Hmm you know, between you and me – this year I can’t help but feel a different vibe beneath it all. I mean, in years past the day would go something like…
-
-
From Small Things Big Things Grow!
Reading Time: 4 Minutes What’s up guys! Welcome back for another installment of your favourite Frugal Samurai! There’s a general sense of optimism in the Frugal Samurai household recently because we’ve been attending a number of weddings in these last few weeks – Kev/Di, Viv/Juju, Cosi/Nick, Spencer/Jess – all whirlwind romances. You know how it is at weddings – where the weather is glorious, the venue is amazing, people look beautiful and where, the bride and groom are radiating perfection. All that good vibes can’t help but rub off on ya right? Every time we attend one it reminds me of that magical day in April when MrsFrugalSamurai and I…
-
Australian Household Wealth Update – and How YOU Can Get There!
Reading Time: 6 Minutes Ever wanted to know how Aussie household wealth is doing? Well, it seems like the gap between the have’s (them) and the have-not’s (us) is increasing. That is to say, methinks dem rich are gettin’ richer. But don’t just take my word for it – the latest Roy Morgan (amazing research guys) Wealth Report has shown that the biggest gains in the past decade have been among the wealthy top 10%. What about us poor buggers in the bottom 50%? Our share of private wealth fell from a measly 3.9% (yes, 3 point freaking 9) a decade ago to… 3.7%. “Shakes head” Just wow, those at the…
-
4 Things to Know in Beijing (and My Brush with the Authorities)
Reading time: 6 minutes “Halt!” Shouted the voice outside the barracks. I turned, to come face to face into the glaring eyes of a soldier on duty. “What’s wrong?” I enquired with a quizzical look. ”Show me your phone”. I looked around, there were now FOUR soldiers in a semi-circle facing me. Without further protest, I handed it over to the first soldier, who proceeded to scroll through my photo album. “Delete this”, he pointed at the last two pictures I took. Meekly I obeyed, what else could I do? Because this here is China – the country of my birth. In China, taking pictures of government buildings and military…
-
What Path Would You Tell Your 15 Year Old Self To Go Down (Part 2)
Reading Time: 13 minutes OK guys, we are BACK! Who’s excited?!!! I know I am, let’s DO THIS. Do what you ask? Finish off the last post (read here), which was the first part of the response to my schoolmate DP ‘s question: Knowing everything you do now, what path would you tell your 15 year old self to go down? So let’s get to it, onto the next part! Wait, aren’t you forgetting something? Oh yeah, that’s right – before we jump in, I have to mention a big THANK YOU to everyone who commented and read through the previous post, it was one of the more commented on posts I’ve…
-
What Path Would You Tell Your 15 Year Old Self To Go Down (Part 1)
Reading Time: 13 minutes What’s up guys and gals! How’s everyone’s weekend coming along? SPRING is finally here for reals – WOOP WOOP! For those of us who are a bit pooped out from all that glorious sunshine and outdoor activities, what better way to unwind than to sit back and relax for another rendition of… THE FRUGAL SAMURAI! Cue drums and buxom dancers. Been so darn busy recently that it’s the first proper time I’ve had, to take a breath – so you’ve caught me in a bit of a reflective mood. Yesterday, I was going through the old Facebook absent-mindedly, checking out who’s doing what and with whom…
-
4 Things My Late Grandma Taught Me (RIP)
Reading Time: 5 minutes RIP Grandma. Early yesterday morning, the beloved mother of my mother slipped peacefully into the next life. She was surrounded by her loved ones and in a way, I am glad that my mother was able to rush back home from overseas, to share in her last moments. I think as we reach a certain age, the mortality of our parents becomes an increasingly conscious thought, but the finality of the situation never really sinks in. Last year my Grandpa passed away, which was the catalyst for starting this blog – you realize that time is the most precious resource of all, that there is more…
-
Father’s Day Special
Reading Time: 4 minutes Hai Guyz! How’d your weekend go? Did you spend it with Dad (or at least share a moment with him)? MrsFrugalSamurai and I certainly did, having dinner with our respective parents as they regaled us with stories from the old country. I’ve heard many of those stories before of course – yet I often reminisce and wonder what would have happened if we had stayed in the country of my birth. Certainly life would have been very different. However as a second generation migrant, myself – like so many others, are now blessed to call Australia home. It was very different growing up for I remember my…
-
Amusing Timeline of (Recent) Australian Prime Ministers
Reading Time: 7 minutes Hey y’all! How’s it all going? Hope you’ve had a great week so far! I’m here in old Melbourne town actually, on a national work conference for a couple of days. As much as I would love to see the sights and catch up with old friends, frankly the schedule and activities which work has placed on us doesn’t allow for much, if any, free time (I’m writing this at 4am as we speak). Still! Looking forward to a couple of days out of the office with everyone from around the country – should be exciting! I was going to continue writing on the previous post…
-
What Are The 3 Big Financial ‘Mistakes’ That People Make (and the first thing they can do right now to rectify them)…
Reading Time: 5 minutes Today’s post is courtesy of my friend Light Beam AKA “Mike’s friend from Canberra”. Light Beam works and resides in our nation’s capital and is employed in the public sector. But what makes Light Beam different to most public servants is that he works for the government body which sets and implements our economic policy. That’s right – Light Beam pulls the strings for the Treasury department. Suffice to say that Light Beam is a pretty switched on kinda guy and someone who knows a thing or two about finance. Inevitably our conversations end up talking about a financial topic or two whenever I get the…
