2012: Increase Personal Net Worth

Seeing the final blog entry of 2010 still manifesting itself on the main page of my blog is an embarrassing testimony to my failure in meeting targets, especially when it comes to improve writing skills. Despite having a great year at work, only one out of 5 goals has been fully achieved, which is to secure a job, and it is now sponsoring me a longer term visa to remain in the UK, and to reach saving target, despite the latter being a short-lived achievement due to unforeseen circumstance. 

Without dwelling on the details of these failures generated in 2011, I would like to move towards deriving a clear, and hopefully a winning strategy, that would steer 2012 into a even greater year than 2011.

My experience in writing resolutions in the past two years has made me realised that there is a need to distinguish between things I want to do and a mission statement that serves as a guidance to achieving goals.

While my focus in the past – listing things I want to do, for instance, number of countries I want to visit and number of books I want to read - has actually helped my otherwise less-disciplined time management to become more properly structured and properly utilised, this approach hasn’t vastly exploited my individual potential.

Joining my company in the past year and having the opportunities to work with many of my colleagues whose first jobs are with my company, I came to observe that these younger generation is more inclining to committing personal financial suicide than me and most of my peers back home who are now mostly into their 3rd or 4th year of employment. Worse, to be informed that some are still depending on parents’ financial support occasionally was beyond my comprehension. I don’t think it is the age factor, but the upbringing background and the society seasoning have definitely equipped myself with a better personal finance management.

Witnessing my co-workers chasing luxury and the in-my-opinion non-necessities, plus demanding high quality of living is not an issue. It is the sadness that the pursue of  indulgences is based on an inadequate level of income. And the most devastating sight was the complaints that came after. I blame the society and the working environment which have corroding the virtue of modesty that would potentially lead Confucius to confusion.

Fuelled by the growing hunger for greater spending, an influence of my surrounding, and the witness of my financially trapped colleagues, I come to derive my own personal statement: To increase personal net worth by identifying and expanding indirect income sources and to reduce personal liabilities through careful financial planning.

There are still things which I want to do, but keeping this mission statement in mind should steer clear of any unsolicited temptations that would deviate from this central motto, and help consolidating all efforts in the things I do for greater personal achievement. And here are the list of things I want to do:
1. Travel: Home, India, and 2 more to improve life experience and photography skills;
2. Create and maintain photo-blog: improve photography skills and serve as additional income;
3. Improve financial knowledge, for greater career prospect and personal investment;
4. Saving target; and
5. Read.