Wrap up

Dear Andrew Hingston,

This will be my last post to you. I thought to fit in some sort of conclusion into my GENC3003 journey on this blog. I have learned a fair bit over the course of this subject. And the stuff I learned here, I know I can definitely take away and use for my benefit in the real world. Which of course is why I decided to take GENC3003 in the first place!

I've gained a better understanding of taxes, superannuation, investments, and most applicable to me at this point of time: the importance of saving. Starting early, and planning for the future are two important aspects of this, and I am thankful to have realized this now rather than after a few years of working life - which means I get a head start.

What I've found particularly helpful is the expense tracker assignment. Even subconsciously, I refrain from making purchases that I do not need, because I know that at the back of my mind I would have to log it into the spreadsheet later. And logging expenses into the expense tracker is not that fun when I see my income draining away faster than I would like. Also, it gives me a handy tool to analyse where exactly my money has gone. It has definitely been an eye opener - especially in the small things that we don't really think about. They really do add up! This helps me to target cut backs in certain areas of expenditure each month. To sum up, I will be continuing to use my expense tracker even after this course is over.

I've realized that I there are creative ways to maximize my money - like automate direct debit from my normal account into a savings account each month. This would mean I save a certain % of income monthly. Other ways are to sell unused items on eBay, and get higher interest rates on my money in the bank if I open an account and make no withdrawals for a certain period. Investments are of course profitable (if I knew how to do it well) but I'll save up that knowledge for when I have enough as a savings buffer in my account for security.

The financial plan that I came up with was a time consuming process because I had to project myself into the future and estimate how I would want my financial situation to be at that point of time. It was very helpful though, to actually lay out a plan for my life - it gives my more perspective on how to work towards those goals.

All in all, I've gained a greater understanding of how to set myself up for a financially secure future. GENC3003 is definitely a course that I would recommend for anyone who wishes to learn and apply some practical financial knowledge for their own betterment.

Thanks, and good luck marking all our submissions!

Sincerely,

Stefanie Chuah Mei Mei