How to Save Money Part 1 - How to Spend Less

If you're serious about saving money, you've got to spend less. That's the only way you'll have something to save. So here are my tips to spend less money, without starving yourself or anything.

1. Don't cut down too much on food.

It will affect your health, which may come back as a huge medical bill. Where I live, fast food is so ridiculously expensive that it's cheaper to eat cleaner, but even if junk food is cheaper, it's actually not that cheap. Eat as healthfully as you possibly can.

2. Buy used.

When I needed something, my first instinct was to go to the supermarket or the mall. Now I hit thrift stores first. Of course, you can't buy food or toilet papers used, and I would not buy underwear used, but most non-consumables can be bought second hand. Thrift stores and flea markets are your friend. If you need a coat and have $50, buying $100 coat second-hand for $50 is much better than buying a $50 coat retail. Online second-hand exchange can be wonderful but since you often can't see the product for yourself, you need to be more careful. Also, never underestimate hand-me-downs. Half of my clothes and many of my best clothes came from my mother's closet.

3. Think 8 times before you buy something that isn't absolutely necessary.

I only allow myself to buy one non-essential thing per month at most. I kind of want cocktail shaker right now, but could I live without it? Yes, therefore it can wait. After a while you stop wanting unnecessary things. Shopping was an amusement for me, but now that time and money used to be spent on shopping can go somewhere more important.

4. Pack your lunch and bring your own beverage.

$6 lunches and $4 coffees add up to a significant amount of money. It's $10 a day, which is $220 in a month (22 business days), which is $2640 in a year. If you'd rather have Caramel Machiatto more than anything else, you do you, but ask yourself, would you really rather have a cup of coffee than (insert whatever matters to you)? If the answer is no, then you know what you have to do.

5. Go through your things. Sell what you don't use, and remember the things you have.

SO much money is spent because you buying something not remembering that you already have something like it. Get rid of the clutter and know what you have, and try to make use of what you already have instead of having to buy something new. Also selling things that you don't need can get you a decent amount of cash.

6. Think of the long-term cost.

Remember what I said about cheaping out on food can lead to hefty medical bills? Cheap things are not always actually cheap long term. If you buy cheap clothes, you'll have to replace them pretty soon and if you keep doing that you will end up spending more money than buying one, expensive, good quality clothing that will last you years after years. Of course price doesn't equate to quality, but remember that there are lots of overpriced things, but underpriced things don't exist (the spell checker is putting red line under "underpriced" as I type, that should prove it). You can use cheap toilet paper. Although pricier TPs feel nice, cheap toilet papers don't lead to anything bad and you'll use up expensive toilet papers just as fast as the cheap ones. Cheap bag? It will probably fall apart soon and repeatedly replacing bags can add up to greater sum of money than just buying one good quality bag.

7. Use rebate sites when you do buy something.

When I encountered the idea of these sites I was quite skeptical. Cashback for buying thing I would buy anyways? That's too good to be true, right? However, you do really get money! I personally use Ebates (referral link). However, beware. If you don't control yourself this might cause you to spend more money. Always be mindful!

Review: Alter Eco Organic Chocolate (Vegan and Fair Trade)

These amazing chocolates are:

• Organically Grown
• Fairly Traded
• 70% Cocoa
• USDA Organic
• Fair Trade Certified
• Vegan
• Soy Free
• Gluten Free
• Non-GMO
• No Artificial Flavors
• No Emulsifiers
• Certified Organic by QAI

I do strive to eat local produce whole food diet most of the time. I also tend to avoid chocolate because most of them are destructive in many ways. (related article from Vegan Feminist Network) but I decided to treat myself with some organic, vegan, fair trade chocolate.

The packaging is FSC certified responsible paper and the inside of the packaging explains how these products are saving the forests. For someone who is concerned about environmental issues especially when it comes to packaged foods, this is a huge selling point.

The Dark Quinoa one was less crunchy than I imagined, but it was nice. Usually crunchy chocolates make a lot of noise and are very sweet, but this wasn't. It was nice that I can enjoy a slightly crunchy chocolate without all that problem.

The Deep Dark Sea Salt one was the perfect harmony of sweet and salty. The lovely flavor of dark chocolate, the right amount of sweetness, and the slight saltiness was just amazing. The sea salt really adds to the flavor. I liked the sea salt one better.

I love that they are 60% and 70% cacao each and are not overly sweet. People tend to equate chocolate with sweetness. I can appreciate a little bit of sweetness, but when it gets to the point that the sweetness masks the unique flavor of cacao, that's counter-intuitive. If I wanted something that sweet, I have multiple kilograms of sugar and syrup in my cabinet.

$3.38 price tag is slightly hefty for a bar of chocolate, but it's fair trade and organic so I would expect that. In fact, they're not that much more compared to the TESCO chocolates I would buy here, and I would totally spend a little bit more for better working condition and sustainable farming.

TL;DR - 10/10 would recommend.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I bought the products with my own money. iHerb inc provides rewards program for anyone who signs up for their website.

Tips for Ethical, Sustainable Wardrobe.

The clothing industry these day have so many problems. Fashion industry is the third most polluting industry, and many of the clothes we see at shopping malls are made by people in awful, unfair working condition. We should do what we can and avoid positively reinforcing such unjust business practices by paying them money.

Learn about the issues.

To be more educated on the subject, I would start by watching The True Cost and reading Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. There are more resources, but these two would give you enough insight to the problems.

Get clothes second hand whenever possible.

I do think that supporting ethical companies is very important, but nothing will ever be as environmentally friendly and suffering-free as second hand clothing. That's why I almost exclusively buy second hand. There are some misconceptions about second hand purchases, but I can assure you it's a great way to get lovely clothes without worrying about whether the clothing came from exploitation or not. Plus, you save your own money!

Tips for thrifting and buying second hand clothes.

• I know there's the 'ick' factor, but try them on if possible. You should make sure you're buying something that actually looks good on you. You can take a shower afterwards.
• It's cheaper, especially in thrift stores, but don't get carried away. Know what you need and want, and stick to that.
• If you have specific item in mind, visit thrift store/second hand exchanges regularly. If you're using online stores or apps, you may be able to set an alert that sends messages to you when something you're looking for is posted. (If you are based in South Korea, I recommend 중고나라.)
• Inspect the item thoroughly. Second hand items my be difficult to return or exchange, so you should be careful. If you are buying online, check the measurements and scrutinize the photos to see what you're getting. If you're buying second hand from an individual seller, not a company, it's likely that they will provide these information for you when you ask. If you're buying from a company that deals second hand products, the information should be already available, but if not, ask them. 
• If you buy second-hand items from someone online, use a site that has some kind of scam protection. Scam isn't common for clothes that aren't worth much, but it does happen. If you're trying to buy an expensive designer piece, then scam is definitely possible.

When you do buy new, buy from more ethical brands.

30 Ethical Fashion Brands You Need to Know from Into Mind
BetterThread
True Cost Website: Buying Better
Fashion Revolution
Sustainable Apparel Coalition

I recommend visiting all of the above but if I had to pick just one website, it would be BetterThread. You can effortlessly browse fairly made, sustainable, vegan clothing manufacturers.

disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links

Slunch Factory: Vegan-friendly Restaurant/Cafe in Sangsudong, Seoul

Slunch Factory: Vegan-friendly Restaurant/Cafe in Sangsudong, Seoul

When you are a vegan in South Korea eating out can be very stressful. I have resources and tips for that on my blog but I try to review vegan/vegan friendly restaurants whenever possible to guide other vegans and show these amazing restaurants some support.

Slunch Factory is in Sangsudong area of Seoul. It is kind of hard to find, but I'll post the map below. They have vegan dishes and vegan things are clearly marked vegan on the menu, so there is no hassle of trying to find out what is vegan and what is not. THEY HAVE VEGAN CAKE! I was so excited when I found out their cakes were vegan. I didn't get to try them this time, but I'll definitely come back for them cakes.

Mushroom rice noodles

Mushroom over steamed rice with perilla seed sauce.
Photo by my friend.

The food is good, but if you eat a lot you may find that their portions are a bit small. Their prices are slightly higher (10000 won ish) than average in South Korea, but I think it's good price for the quality you get.

• There are steps and the door is rather narrow so wheelchair access may be difficult.
• The terrace (which is right in front of their entrance) is smoking zone so you may have to walk past smokers to enter.
• They have free wi-fi

Click each image to see the menu. Sorry for potato quality

My Vegan Shower Routine

Even after my transition I still kept my nonvegan products because I felt like sending them to landfill wouldn't do anyone any good. So some of the products I use in the shower were not vegan until recently. Finally, my shower routine is now 100% vegan.

Pure & Basic Natural Clarifying Shampoo

I don't use it every time I take a shower, I just use it when I feel like there's buildup in my hair, which is every 7-15 days. It makes my hair feel really clean and fresh. A lot of people I know who have oily hair swear by this and they use this more frequently.

Skincure Sandawha Camelia Shampoo & Conditioner

Skincure is one of the very few Korean companies that have wide range of products and are 100% vegan. They are confirmed to be cruelty free and vegan by Korea Animal Rights Advocates. I need to show them some love, right? To be fair, I don't have high bars for hair products. My hair is naturally pretty nice, and these keep it that way so I'm satisfied.

Dr. Bronner's Fair Trade & Organic Castile Liquid Soap

I. Love. This. This is on my holy grail list, too. This makes my skin feel so squeaky clean. I use it both on my face and on my body. You can clean everything and anything with this (except the things that shouldn't touch water). Clean yourself, clean your home, clean your food, clean your clothes. I usually use my hands to wash my face and body, but occasionally I'll use loofah or washcloth thingies for more intensive cleaning.




So that's my shower routine. My vegan skincare routine and everyday makeup routine will be up eventually, so look out for that :)

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. All products purchased with my own money and this post wasn't sponsored. iHerb inc and Amazon provides rewards programs for anyone who signs up.

What I Eat in a Day as a Vegan

Breakfast:

Toasts with peanut butter and raspberry jam

Half an orange

Lunch

Rice with avocado, onion, mushroom, paprika, garlic, soy sauce and red pepper powder.

Dinner

A full Korean meal!

Seaweed, tofu with soy sauce, radish, spinach, bean sprouts, rice, pan fried onion and mushroom.

Weekly Sophia

Spotlight

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I do not even know how to explain how amazing it is.


Read 70 pages of books daily. - I was SO busy during the week, but I got a lot of reading done during the weekend so on average, I did read 70 pages a day.

Be less grumpy. - I think I did okay. Didn't have a tantrum even though I was menstruating. 

Don't buy anything. - Well, I bought MATLAB, but that was for my computational physics. Other than that I didn't really buy anything.

Write 3 blog posts. - I delivered. :D

• Digital Security and Privacy 101
• Vegan Recipe: Mushroom Tteokbokki - Seasoned Rice Cake
• On My Bookshelf

Goals for the next week:

Eat zero junk food.

Catch up on my studies.

Get 8 hours of sleep every night.