Relationships

Why My FIL Is Coming To Help Us With Our 2nd Baby – Our Fight & Career Opportunity

Why My FIL Is Coming To Help Us With Our 2nd Baby – Our Fight & Career Opportunity

As I am typing this post, my father-in-law (FIL) is preparing to get on a plane to fly from China to the US to help us with our baby. Mr. FAF and his dad made the decision just a week ago, and now our plans […]

How We Keep Our Monthly Expenses At $2,200 With A New Baby (sans Mortgage & Daycare)

How We Keep Our Monthly Expenses At $2,200 With A New Baby (sans Mortgage & Daycare)

Before our second baby’s arrival, Mr. FAF and I prepared ourselves mentally and financially for big expenses whether it’s a medical bill, Chinese take-out, or baby-related items. Although we wanted to save money, we also understood that our spending might go through the roof, at […]

Getting A Taste Of FIRE – Being On Maternity Leave

Getting A Taste Of FIRE – Being On Maternity Leave

I am writing this post after staying at home with my baby on maternity leave for three weeks. It makes me feel like I’m already retired early and financial independent (FIRE), at least for the time being. I don’t have to go to work, which […]

How 2 Frugal Parents Take Care Of A Newborn & A Toddler

How 2 Frugal Parents Take Care Of A Newborn & A Toddler

When Mr. FAF and I found out that my mom couldn’t come to DC to help us with our second baby, we freaked out. Big time. We still remembered those sleepless nights when our son was born 3.5 years ago. We were sleep-deprived and exhausted, […]

Announcing The Birth Of Our 2nd Baby – How It All Happened

Announcing The Birth Of Our 2nd Baby – How It All Happened

Mr. FAF and I are very happy to announce the birth of our daughter – Baby F2. She was born one week early. Both mommy and baby are doing well. Now that the frenzy of having a new baby is finally slowing down, I want […]

When You Let Insecurity Dominate Your Life

When You Let Insecurity Dominate Your Life

Have you ever been in a conversation where you wonder why someone talks about a certain topic so much? It doesn’t matter what it is. The person you’re talking to just keeps going on and on about how wealthy, smart, influential, well networked or attractive […]

Musings on Crazy Rich Asians Movie/Book

Musings on Crazy Rich Asians Movie/Book

There has been such a hype about a movie/book called “Crazy Rich Asians” that I can’t help but noticing. This is one of the rare Hollywood movies with all Asian actors, something only The Joy Luck Club movie had 25 years ago. The movie and […]

Is It A Mistake To Get Married?

Is It A Mistake To Get Married?

This post was written a couple of months ago when I started having doubts about my own marriage as I mentioned in the posts below. Since then, things have improved a lot between Mr. FAF and me, mostly due to our open communication and efforts […]

Money & The Self-imposed Resentment

Money & The Self-imposed Resentment

Mr. FAF and I have a generally happy marriage. I said “generally” because we do face problems in our marriage. Sometimes it takes only a brief conversation to address the issue at hand. Sometimes our conflict resurfaces multiple times until it’s resolved with a huge […]

How We Are Preparing To Welcome Our 2nd Baby

How We Are Preparing To Welcome Our 2nd Baby

We like planning One thing Mr. FAF and I have in common is that we like planning for the future. We have short-term plans for the weekend, mid-term plans for the end of the year, and long-term plans for our kids, our retirement, and everything […]

What Has Surprised Me About My 2nd Pregnancy

What Has Surprised Me About My 2nd Pregnancy

When I made the announcement about my second pregnancy in February this year, I was overwhelmed with the great feedback and encouragement I received from you all. Over the past five months I have experienced a lot of change in terms of our financial plans, […]

Dating, Marriage, Income & Background – Why They All Matter

Dating, Marriage, Income & Background – Why They All Matter

Itching to move out I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this on my blog, but I have a little sister. She’s 24 years old and currently lives in Vietnam. Recently, her company asked her if she wanted to be transferred to their office in Malaysia. […]