17th March, 2019 - 2

We continued driving towards the destination with our stomach filled. There's a entrance fee of RM 3. We arrived approximately 9 AM and it was already pretty much crowd already. I happened to overhear an uncle said he had come since 7 AM.

 You may simply park the vehicle anywhere by the road side so long as it doesn't block the way of other motorists. My friends went a little bit serious here. They had bags stuffed with items just to create weight to it. It helps to simulate the actual Mount Kota Kinabalu climb next month.

While as for me. I had nothing on and I wore a simple kampung "Adidas" rubber shoes. Obviously it is not the authentic Adidas. That's how people called the shoes - kampung Adidas.

I don't require a pair of expensive hiking shoes. I most probably would only use it once! RM 6 rubber shoes is good to go.

And we began the hiking. I am unsure how is the terrain in Mount Kota Kinabalu. For Gunung Pulai it does come to some points where you'd experience really challenging terrain. That is where you really get to feel the stress and strain in the legs, thigh and knees!

Hu! Imagine Mount Kota Kinabalu...

Golden rule here is don't rush. One step at a time. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the mother nature. Enjoy the creation from the Creator. I saw really big rotan. It grows all the way from the top of the tree to the bottom.

I saw snake! I saw scorpion!

Why rush. We ain't gonna live long.

 Before I die, I saw a wild scorpion. Not in the zoo. In the wild.

That's part of the Mount Kota Kinabalu expedition team. There are total of 14 of us going for the climb. Know what. I am going to hike Gunung Pulai again on the 30th March, 2019!

This time would gonna be a little special. We are going to have a light picnic at some point of the top of the mountain. Plus, we are going to visit the waterfall in our next visit!

By the way, coming down the hill is quite a nightmare and I injured three toes.

17th March, 2019 - 1

We were told to wake up at 6 AM and started car engine departing from our place by 7 AM. It was early for five of us!

We passed by Senai on the way heading to Gunung Pulai and decided to have a light breakfast in Senai first. We came to 利利兴咖啡店 at Kampung Baru Senai, 81400 Senai, Johor.

Personally, I find the wantan noodle was pretty delicious!

I would like and I am supposed to document down about my trip to Gunung Pulai last Sunday (March 17th, 2019) but it is 5:20 AM now. I need to catch some sleep.

Feeling meh.

Anyway. Before I die.. I managed to conquered Gunung Pulai.

My current study loan (PTPTN) has converted to Ujrah according to my parents. They actually converted for my behalf. There are two types of payment schemes for study loan: Conventional 3% and Ujrah 1%. I'll skip the technical part here.

I did a Google search about the difference of both and realized there are many people with mixed feeling for both. Majority I came about advised not to convert from the conventional 3% to Ujrah 1%.

After paying for close to 10 years only I started to dig information about the difference of those two payment option schemes.

I have already converted to Ujrah 1%. If you're under Ujrah 1%, it is not worthwhile to pay in one shot. To put it simple, Conventional 3% is like having a mortgage loan and Ujrah 1% is the hire purchase/car loan concept where you are servicing the loan in a fixed amount basis (interest included) until the loan is cleared.

I am always having this dilemma and thought in my head. Should I pay up my study loan in one go or should I just pay the installment monthly. What's the pro and what's the con if I pay the balance up in all.

I want to reduce my liabilities. Currently I am undergoing negative net worth. Two biggest liabilities on hand are mortgage loan and study loan. That's when this thought came to me. If I could "kill" the study loan and at least I can see improvement in my net worth.

Let's weigh...

I started trying out Dollarbird since last month to track all my daily expenses and earning from my work. I have used a few of other apps before. Apparently, I like Dollarbird. It comes with a free version and paid version.

I went for the free version though. :)

It is clean and straight forward. The whole app is very minimal. White and clean background. It is just suitable for any minimalism person out there. Apart from that, it is also linked to Dollarbird on the web. Whatever it is recorded in your smartphone, it will be linked to web-based Dollarbird. 

I am all by myself now. Therefore, every expenses is crucial and I have to manage it well. The next thing I have to tackle is to understand what is my current net worth. 

One bad news: My Amazon is not doing so well. 

February is over. March is here. Another challenging month to go. Surprisingly I was still having more than enough money earned and saved approximately $800 up. I, myself did find it rather impressive though. 

I'd say that by keeping a close track of your daily expenses really helps. It does really help!