Should I Have Stayed in the Corporate Grind?
January 1, 2020. This date is fast approaching. In fact, only 55 days remain according to my countdown app. Oh, how I used to obsessively check this countdown clock to…
Give the Gift of Experience, or Cash
Last week, I published our approach to unique and affordable wedding planning. Unexpectedly, readers seemed very interested in the Chinese hong-bao tradition – giving cash in a red envelope. Hong-Bao…
Four-Part International Wedding Under $8k USD
Today marks one year since Xav and I concluded our around-the-world wedding celebrations. Recently, I’ve heard and read various reports on the ever-growing wedding cost, and the trend of newlyweds going…
Float Spa: Weightless Body and Restless Mind
A friend recently gifted us certificates to a float spa here in St. Louis, at Float STL. I adore the gift of an experience, and float spa has been on…
Redefine What It Means to Work
My parents grew up in Taiwan in the 1950s, the country was poor, and stories of their childhood without shoes or other basic necessities juxtaposed with my fortunate upbringing. In…
My Version of Financial Freedom
When I decided to get serious with this blog, I got back on Twitter, and tapped into the personal finance community. Boy, what a world. The conversations are equal parts…
Why I Don’t Budget
Budgeting, does this word make you cringe when you hear it? I definitely cringe. I get an image of envelopes labelled “grocery”, “gas”, “fun fund”, etc., and comes with them…
What I Learned One Year After Corporate Grind
As we grow older, the phrase, “time flies” is uttered often. For me, however, this past year did not fly by; the year progressed seemingly slowly in the best possible…
Minimalism Journey
8 months ago, Xav and I got serious about becoming more minimalistic in our lives. We were very far from it. Every drawer and shelf of our 110 squared-foot apartment…
1000 Days to Freedom
I’ve been chasing the dream of living a location independent life since my days in the Peace Corps. I’ve wanted the freedom to live and work in parts of the…
Road to Positive Net Worth
Bold Move During fall of 2012, just months after I finished a very expensive graduate degree, I took the plunge and moved to Shanghai, with nothing but negative $120k of…