I am an accountant with a numbers problem. I mean, I'm good with numbers and using them to report what's happening, but I'm also concerned with the full story behind those numbers, the part that gets lost in translation, the part that numbers can't quite tell, the story that goes deeper than mere strategies for saving and earning money. And without that story, I don't think I'm doing my job well. That's why I've dedicated my career to figuring out how my work as an accountant can tell stories about people, stories that will ultimately help them improve their lives. Let me explain.
Saya seorang akauntan yang ada masalah nombor. Maksud saya, saya cekap mengira dan gunanya untuk laporan, tetapi saya juga prihatin dengan kisah sebenar di sebalik nombor itu, bahagian yang tak dapat ditafsirkan, bahagian yang nombor tak dapat beritahu, kisah yang lebih terperinci dari sekadar strategi menyimpan dan menjana wang. Tanpa kisah itu, saya tak rasa saya buat kerja dengan baik. Sebab itulah saya dedikasikan kerjaya saya untuk ketahui cara kerjaya saya sebagai akauntan boleh terangkan cerita tentang orang, cerita yang akhirnya akan membantu memperbaiki hidup mereka. Biar saya terangkan.
It all started when someone told me, "You're obsessed with chocolate." And I was like, "What? No, I'm not." But then I wondered, could I be in denial about my own obsession? Was I actually spending a lot of money on chocolate but blind to it? Well, here was a chance for me to test this theory. Using my accountant lens, off I went tracking my spending on chocolate -- and there it was, my love for chocolate. I was spending about 50 dollars a month on chocolate, especially in months when I was overstressed and months when I was overjoyed.
Semuanya bermula apabila saya diberitahu, ”Awak gilakan coklat.” Saya balas, “Apa? Taklah, saya tak gilakannya.” Kemudian saya terfikir, mungkinkah saya menafikan obsesi sendiri? Adakah sebenarnya saya habiskan banyak wang beli coklat tetapi tak sedar? Ini adalah peluang untuk saya uji teori ini. Melalui kaca mata akauntan, saya mula meneliti perbelanjaan coklat -- lalu mendapati, perasaan suka saya terhadap coklat. Saya belanjakan 50 dolar sebulan untuk coklat, terutamanya jika bulan itu saya tertekan dan pada bulan saya terlalu gembira.
Analyzing my expenses helped me to understand that I had an emotional pattern where when I'm struggling or celebrating, I binge on chocolate. I had struggled with my weight for a very long time and I was convinced that my diet was not the problem. I was convinced that it was my lack of effort in exercise, and certainly not chocolate. Tracking my spending on chocolate, though, helped me realize that I was afraid of facing myself in the mirror, literally and figuratively, and that I lack the courage to deal with the real problem, my diet. So I continued to exercise, but devoted less time to it and instead shifted my focus and energy towards developing a more healthful diet. That year I lost 50 pounds.
Meneliti perbelanjaan membantu saya memahami yang saya ada corak emosi iaitu ketika susah atau senang, saya akan lepaskan pada coklat. Saya alami masalah berat badan untuk masa yang lama dan saya yakin diet saya bukanlah isunya. Saya yakin ia disebabkan kurang bersenam, dan tentunya bukan coklat. Melihat perbelanjaan saya pada coklat, buat saya sedar saya takut menghadapi diri di depan cermin, secara tersurat dan tersirat, dan saya tak berani hadapi masalah sebenar, diet saya. Jadi saya teruskan bersenam, dan kurang luangkan masa untuknya lalu alihkan fokus dan tenaga ke arah membentuk diet sihat. Tahun tersebut saya turun 23 kg.
Our relationship with money represents our relationship with life. The accounting of my own chocolate behavior told me the story of my own denial. I realized that perhaps I could also help my clients see what they were overlooking in their own lives and help them realize their own emotional patterns through their tracking and spending of their expenses.
Hubungan kita dengan wang menunjukkan hubungan kita dengan kehidupan. Kira-kira kelakuan coklat saya memaklumkan kisah penafian saya. Saya sedar mungkin saya boleh bantu klien saya melihat perkara yang mereka terlepas pandang dan bantu mereka sedar corak emosi mereka melalui catatan perbelanjaan.
So I started to pay close attention to the story behind my clients' expenses that may be hidden to them. One of my clients, a critical care nurse, was convinced that her personal budget was reasonable and expenses justifiable. She had struggled to build up her savings and I noticed that she had minimal records of her expenses. I suggested to her that her lack of savings could be due to more than just a gap in her financial knowledge and offered to help identify the problem. I encouraged her to start tracking and charting her expenses. After a few months, her financial records revealed that most of her spending was on expensive clothing and shoes. As we sat together, she was genuinely surprised to see just how much of her budget was going towards fashion. She remarked, "Wow, these are impulsive purchases, aren't they? I guess I didn't realize that."
Saya mula ambil perhatian terhadap kisah di sebalik perbelanjaan klien yang mungkin tersembunyi. Antara klien saya, jururawat rawatan kritikal, rasa yakin bahawa belanjawan peribadinya munasabah dan perbelanjaannya masuk akal. Dia sukar untuk menyimpan dan saya perasan rekod perbelanjaannya agak minimum. Saya sarankan kesukaran menyimpan bukan sekadar jurang ilmu kewangan dan bantu kenal pasti masalah. Saya galakkan beliau untuk mula catat perbelanjaan. Selepas beberapa bukan, catatan kewangannya menunjukkan perbelanjaan paling banyak pada pakaian dan kasut mahal. Ketika kami duduk bersama, dia benar-benar terkejut melihat jumlah dibelanjakan pada fesyen. Getusnya, “Wah, ini perbelanjaan tanpa dirancang, bukan? Rupanya saya tak sedar tentangnya.”
She analyzed further and realized that she was buying clothes in an attempt to impress and appear successful to her friends. And also when her confidence was low, buying clothes temporarily boosted it. She told me that buying clothing was her attempt to find meaning in life and feel valued. She sighed, and she set a goal for herself and her finances. Six months later, she called me to tell me she had saved a bunch of money by reducing her spending on shopping and instead choosing to exercise when she felt the urge to shop. She's much happier around her friends. Three years later, home ownership is on the horizon.
Dia selidiki lagi dan sedar dia membeli pakaian untuk buat orang kagum dan tampak berjaya depan kawan. Juga ketika rasa yakin diri rendah, beli baju dapat menaikkan untuk sementara. Dia beritahu beli pakaian adalah usahanya untuk mencari makna hidup dan rasa diri bernilai. Dia mengeluh dan menetapkan matlamat kewangan. Enam bulan kemudian, dia hubungi saya untuk maklumkan dia simpan sejumlah wang dengan kurangkan perbelanjaan dari pembelian dan memilih untuk bersenam ketika rasa ingin berbelanja. Beliau lebih gembira bersama kawan-kawannya Tiga tahun kemudian, berhasrat membeli rumah.
Sometimes, though, charting expenses may not reveal something specific, as a chocolate addiction or shopping problem, but what it reveals can be just as valuable. A marketing strategist and upcoming musician needed help with her taxes. When I met with her, I immediately took note of the fear in her face as she looked through her records and expenses. I checked in with her and she expressed to me that some things in her life didn't quite seem to work out, including her relationships. She was afraid of facing how much money she was about to lose after taxes. As we continued talking about her finances, she started to notice a connection between her fear of losing money and her fear of losing relationships. She went on to tell me that she was afraid of committing to anyone because she didn't want to get hurt. She expressed that she had not been close to anyone in over seven years because she feared failure. And maybe she might have an avoidance strategy around both her money and her relationships.
Ada kalanya, mencatat perbelanjaan mungkin tak dedahkan sesuatu yang khusus, seperti ketagihan coklat atau masalah membeli belah, namun perkara yang didedahkan juga bernilai. Ahli strategi pemasaran dan bakal ahli muzik perlu bantuan tentang cukai. Ketika saya bertemunya, saya nampak ketakutan di wajahnya ketika dia lihat catatan perbelanjaannya. Saya menegurnya dia dan dia maklumkan ada sesuatu dalam hidupnya tampak tak kena, termasuklah hubungannya. Beliau risau kekurangan wang selepas dicukai. Semakin kami berbincang tentang kewangannya, dia mula perasan kaitan kerisauannya kehilangan wang dan kerisauannya putus hubungan. Dia beritahu saya dia takut jalani hubungan kerana dia tak mahu terluka. Dia maklumkan sudah tujuh tahun tak jalani hubungan kerana dia takut gagal. Lalu mungkin dia ada strategi mengelak terhadap wang dan perhubungan.
It's been six years since I first help her chart her finances, and she's still consistently keeping up with her spreadsheet. As she confronted her personal accounting and grew her savings in advance of each tax season, she developed less fear of loss and grew more open to relationships. She tells me that she even has the courage to walk away from a relationship when it's not serving her. She recently told me, "My spreadsheet is basically a story of my life's progression and I can see it through the numbers.”
Sudah enam tahun sejak saya bantu dia merekod kewangannya, dan dia mencatat perbelanjaan secara konsisten. Dia berdepan dengan akaun kira-kira peribadinya dan meningkatkan simpanan setiap kali musim cukai, dia kurang rasa takut kehilangan wang dan semakin terbuka dengan hubungan. Dia beritahu dia juga semakin berani untuk putuskan hubungan yang tak beri manfaat. Baru-baru ini dia beritahu saya, “Akaun saya sebenarnya menceritakan perkembangan hidup saya dan saya boleh melihatnya melalui angka.”
I believe we can all do this type of audit of our own financial behavior and that we can learn surprising things about ourselves through tracking and charting our expenses. Here's how. Number one, take a look at your bank statement for the last six months and categorize the expenses by type for a more holistic view. For example, your spending on shopping versus transport versus entertainment.
Saya percaya kita semua boleh buat audit terhadap tingkah laku kewangan dan kita boleh belajar perkara yang mengejutkan tentang diri melalui catatan perbelanjaan. Begini caranya. Pertama, lihat penyata bank anda untuk enam bulan lepas dan kategorikan perbelanjaan ikut jenis untuk nampak lebih holistik. Sebagai contoh, perbelanjaan beli-belah berbanding pengangkutan dan hiburan.
Number two, when an expensive pattern emerges, see what that pattern says about yourself. Be curious and inquisitive. At first, it may not be that obvious, but asking yourself what led you to make that choice in a given moment can provide some clues. Do you buy pizza every Wednesday night because that's when you're too tired to cook after a stressful weekly meeting?
Kedua, bila ada perbelanjaan tinggi, lihat apa yang corak itu beritahu tentang diri anda. Perlu rasa ingin tahu dan suka bertanya. Mulanya mungkin tak jelas, namun dengan bertanya diri sendiri perkara yang buat kamu memilih ketika itu dapat memberikan beberapa petanda. Adakah anda beli piza setiap malam Rabu kerana terlalu penat memasak selepas mesyuarat mingguan yang memenatkan?
Number three, observe if there are any line items that you are shocked by in terms of value or volume and see what patterns emerge. For example, did you buy that new smartphone just before a major function or event so that your friends would notice? Or do you tell yourself you only take taxis late at night, but then realize that you’re taking way more taxis every month than you thought? Are you working late more than you thought?
Ketiga, pantau jika ada perbelanjaan yang mengejutkan anda dari segi nilai atau jumlah dan lihat corak yang timbul. Sebagai contoh, adakah anda beli telefon pintar baru sebelum majlis atau acara penting supaya kawan-kawan perasan? Atau adakah anda beritahu diri hanya gunakan teksi pada lewat malam, kemudian sedar yang anda gunakan lebih kerap setiap bulan dari yang disangkakan? Adakah anda kerja lebih masa lebih kerap dari sangkaan?
There's so much that we can learn about ourselves if we take the time to look. And sometimes our money knows us better than we know ourselves. Tracking our finances can reveal what we are in denial of, our hidden biases, our fears and what might be holding us back. Though it can be difficult and uncomfortable to take a good, hard look at our financial behavior, it can reveal some deep emotional truths. Some truths that can help us re-evaluate our careers, our relationships and our priorities. So give it a try. The payoff could be huge.
Ada banyak yang kita boleh belajar tentang diri jika kita ambil masa untuk perhatikan. Kadangkala wang kita lebih kenal diri dari kita sendiri. Mencatat kewangan sendiri boleh dedahkan apa yang kita nafikan, pandangan berat sebelah, kerisauan kita dan perkara yang menghalang kita. Walaupun ia mungkin sukar dan kurang selesa untuk lihat betul-betul tingkah laku kewangan kita, ia boleh dedahkan kebenaran tentang emosi terpendam. Sesetengah kebenaran dapat membantu menilai semula kerjaya kita, hubungan dan keutamaan kita, Cubalah. Hasilnya mungkin lumayan.
Thank you.
Terima kasih.