MAcc graduate

Another chapter has gone by in my life. I officially graduated from my Masters of Accountancy from Bowling Green State University. I do not think I can do this without the support of my family who has guided and helped me through my graduate life. I do appreciate my family for all the work that they have put in me to accomplish this milestone in my life. I actually took a lot of pictures at the ceremony. 

ISAC group members

me and the world

Another pic of me

ISAC group

Close friends group pics

Xiaomeng and me

Posing with our MAcc degrees

My roomate and I

BG Falcon mascot

Better way to save...

I watched this advertisement from Geico insurance and its theme is always "There is an easier way to save, get Geico". And then I thought to myself, this theme can be applied to my life as well. Since being in graduate school, I realized the importance of money and savings. Not like I did not before, but I tend to value money even more. Especially, when you have rent, food and bills to pay off. These are my top 5 list that I have save of:

1. Brought a Wahl hair cutting kit on Amazon with a coupon for only $5.
- Probably my best investment ever. I learned how to cut my own hair. It's pretty easy to do because I only want a normal hair. The downside is that I have to cut my hair once every 1.5 months. But that is okay. Gradually I am getting better at this.

2. Look at the dollar store to find new deals.
- Instead of going to Walmart to find things in bulk, the Dollar Store can be a good bargain. For example, you can buy like paper towels and toilet tissue for $2. My genius mind also helped to buy dog plastic at this store too. Works every time.

3. Walking and biking instead of driving.
- Sometimes, this can be really tiring and boring. If you have a car, you can go places and come back right after. However, biking or walking to college is a good form of transportation. Plus, it helps you to exercise too which is good for your health. :)

4. Renting books instead of buying them
- Buying textbook can incur a large expense. Chegg is a website that allows students to rent textbooks for a semester and you have to return it before the deadline. The delivery is faster too. Another method is buying used textbooks on Ebay or Half.com. If you are lucky, you might find a textbook in the Ohiolink and renew it every time. Best thing ever. Why buy when you can rent. And professors only use like 10% of the book anyways. I bet they are getting a commision from this too.

5. Buying grocery and cooking by myself and refraining from eating out.
- I always go to Kroger or Meijer to get grocery and plan my lunch and dinner for the week. If I have the mood, I will make something delicious which will last me at least 3 days. But I think I can only cook for myself because I don't think other people will like what I eat. Now, I notice that I am not that choosy with food anymore. I sure used to before.

There is an easier way to save. You just have to think of a plan and work towards it. Okay, these two months will be bad because I am no longer on payroll and need to rely on my savings accounts that I accumulated. Good thing I am not a spendthrift type. Hopefully, things will be better in the stretch and I will get some good news in terms of job or CPA examiniation license.

Time or Money

I happened to stumble upon a portrait photo that titles: Time or Money. That statement motivated me to blog about this topic. And it got me thinking too. Which one do I want more? Time or Money. At first, I debated choosing money because I think that money can be more beneficial during emergency situation. If you don't have money, well you practically cannot do anything in life. Everything is about money these days. Right. Where in the world can you go that money does not matter? But then I realized something. Time is also as valuable. With time you can get to do all the things you ever wanted. You know the saying, "If I had the time, I will definitely do .....(fill in the blank). And then I realized that I cannot make a decision. So I started to ponder on myself. Time or money. In the end, I shifting towards Time because. with time you are able to get more money, assuming you are being productive. But, if you have no time, then your money will be to waste. My question is which one do you think you value the most? Time or money. It's not a difficult question to answer. Choose wisely. I know I did. :)

Bdups & other stuff

Finally, Buffalo Wild Wings opened in Bowling Green after they decided to renovate to a new location. I wonder what got me into this wings craze. They have this special days, Tuesday, wings night or Thursday boneless wings. Maybe because it's the price. Maybe because it's the sauce, Parmesan Garlic and Spicy garlic. Or maybe I am just too lazy to cook. Whatever the reason it may be I just love this place. If I eat there, there are gazillions televisions to watch sports. Kinda reminds me of mamak where you go there and order a cup of teh tarik and sit there from 10-2pm watching soccer all night long. After some time, you feel hungry and you order food. But that's different I guess. Sometimes I order takeout because I don't want to wait in line for a place to sit and not pay sales tax. Yeah, life as a college student is difficult. Especially when you are in a financial situation with limited sources of income. Getting my paying off bills one  paycheck at a time.

Since being here, I began training to cut my own hair. It's not that difficult. At least I try to not make it be. I brought these hair clippers on Amazon which costs only $25. It's not perfect or anything but at least it saves me on trips to the barbershop. If I have a good mood, I will cut it too short, which is good because it can last longer. On other occasion, I try to trim it. Hopefully this haircut can last me three more weeks.

Somehow, I managed to put in time to clean up my room. Did some spring cleaning around the house. Vacuum the apartment and my room. (Which my messy roommate dirtied it again). Sanitized the cook area. And cooked herbal soup for the weekend. All in all, it was a productive weekend. Yeah, I also spend time studying for my CPA exam. Man, I really need to pass FIN. Time is of the essence for me. Please, I need all the help I can get.

Cost Accounting

At the beginning of the semester, I heard some good and bad things about Cost Accounting. The only reason why I took this class so that I only have two days of classes. Plus, I wanted to learn more about internal financial reporting. To be a good accountant, you need to know external financial reporting as well as internal financial reporting. Hence, I decided that this would be a good choice. I kinda underestimated this class because he does not collect homework nor attendance is mandatory. But when you consider that you are paying thousands of dollars for university, at least you need to attend class. The first exam was rough and I told myself that I was going to study harder for the second one. On Tuesday, I took the 2nd exam and it was a little bit harder than expected. You know the feeling when you walk out of an exam and you know that you are going to get a bad grades. Tuesday night, he sent out an email saying that the grades are posted on Blackboard. Before I checked my grades, I was trembling because I did not know whether I did good or not. When I look at my grades, I was surprised that I got 83%. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I refreshed the page and still the magical number 83% came up. Well, I will take the 83%. No doubt about it. Phew, at leasat now I am still in the game. Hopefully a B or an A is possible.

Spring

After months of blazing through the blistering cold weather, I think spring is officially here. At least for now. These two weeks have been amazing weather. People are starting to wear shorts, biking and skateboarding around campus. No more big puffy jackets, Northfaces or Ugg boots on campus. Just t-shirts. Somehow I feel that this year's weather is unheard of. There is not much snow but downpour and rains occur regularly. Since spring is almost here, homeworks, assignments and exams also starts to pile up. This week to next week I will be having exams, quizzes, and assignments on a regular basis. Almost one each week. The final stretch is here alright.

March Madness

March Madness is here, this means that College Basketball fantasy team is on. I decided to join in the fun and fill up my bracket. A lot of people take this very seriously, looking at statistics and past history to make up their bracket. I, just randomly pick teams that I feel would likely go through to the finals. Until yesterday, I was ranked first, and then my picked teams got beaten and I dropped down the ladder. My final four consists of Syracuse (not sure they can make it), Kentucky, North Carolina and Marquette. Hopefully my picked teams can successfully go through the Final Four. I chose North Carolina to win the NCAA tournament. Not really a fan of college basketball, but just for the fun of it. We will see how my bracket stacks up against US fans around the world.