Or it will consume you

I was walking inside Ngee Ann City and Wisma Atria earlier. Both establishments sit atop Orchard Rd. The commercial stretch frequented by tourists and casual shoppers alike and where it is very apparent that Singapore equals shopping.

I had been drawn a couple of times out of my way to check out good deals on some products

G2000 long-sleeved shirts: $19 (~P603.00) each
Giordano grey shirt (just the way I like it): $39 (~P1240.00)
Empire Magazine Feb 2007, Optimus Prime cover: $16.50 (~P525.00)

Sale here, sale there. "End of Season sale", "Final Sale"...

It's very difficult to resist some bargains or just plain good products. And it's very easy to pull out the plastic, and sign away the purchase into the next statement date.

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Well, you've dreamed about this since when you were a kid and you couldn't buy that toy that you've always wanted.

At least I did.

And now after a couple of hours a week, sitting down and "applying" myself, I get paid every month. With that, I get to buy whatever the heck I want. The trick, of course, is not to get crazy with the spending. Because the more money you have, the easier it is to get carried away.

Starting next pay day, every expense is going into this nifty Microsoft Money program installed in my laptop. That way I can track spending and forecast cashflow (or so the program says). I also need to set up another account, maybe a time deposit or a unit trust just to have a place for my money to sit in. I've been advised to look into more long-term investments next year probably. Property and such. But that's still too far ahead.

Don't work for money; make money work for you.