Reading Time: 7 minutes Hey guys! How’s it all going? Brrrr it’s so very, very wet and cold here in Old Sydney Town, you’d be forgiven to think that winter is coming with the freezing rain and icy winds. Man, I wish I was back in China! Unfortunately I am back, but not in China you see – back at work. Sigh, that’s what happens to us 9to5er’s ain’t it, we’re only allowed 4 weeks a year to venture outside and see the world. Those precious 4 weeks of annual leave is what generates our… William Wallace voice on FREEEEEEEDOM!!! William Wallace voice off Suffice to say I’ve had many…
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Chinese Golden Week
Reading time: 5 minutes Whew, we are back boys and girls! Back from where? Well, China of course! Been a pretty epic trip this time, as chronicled in the last two posts (here and here). Although we spent the majority of the time in Beijing, we were pretty lucky (or unlucky) to experience Golden Week. What’s Golden Week? Well, Wikipedia explains it as the “week from the 29th April to early May containing a number of Japanese holidays”. Nice, nice – the Japanese really deserve it you know? What with their car-making, raw fish and exemplary manners. Good for them. Eh? Why’d you tell a story about Japan, weren’t you…
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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…
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CHINA!
Reading time: 3 minutes Yes, that’s right party people, The Frugal Samurai is reporting back behind the Great Firewall! Ahh Beijing, how I have missed you! It’s gonna be great to spend a couple of weeks with the extended family and friends, can’t wait to catch up with them all! MrsFrugalSamurai is joining me for the second week – should be great showing her around the old haunts. Been back in China a couple of days now and I have to say, the changes in the Motherland every time I get back is astounding. This time last year, I was amazed at the technological advances – the free public wi-fi,…
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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…
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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…
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Latest CoreLogic (RP Data) Property Report and What Does it Mean?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Hi guys! How are we all going? Been a full on week so far – spent the last couple of days out with some clients in the Greater Western Sydney areas. They were showing me their development and residential building sites all across the Western corridor. Currently there’s nothing there except barren land, as far as the eye can see – but one day in the medium term, it’ll come good. They were incredibly bullish on the prospects of their sites, ranging from a few acres to dozens of hectares – but hey, that’s property developers right! So bullish in fact, they were projecting 20%+ development…
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Is the Trillion Dollar Company Here to Stay?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Howdy there fella! Whatcha up to? Stopping by for the latest fix of TheFrugalSamurai? I don’t blame ya! But bear with me a little please, it’s the morning after of the buck’s party for my friend Bubu. Mind you, after the passing of my Grandma recently, I wasn’t quite in the mood for excessive celebrations and called an early night. But that’s not to say that we didn’t have a great get-together. Between all the drinking and cheering and light misdemeanours – I managed to have a few words with a couple of the guys about investing and the markets in general. “Yeah, I prefer Vodka myself…
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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…
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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…
