The Road to MO-ship

Almost there. Sauce

Or should I say, 'well-beaten yet overgrown dirt path'?

I cannot find good resources on how people filled out the forms required for MO-ship.

Where I'm concerned, the process I'm currently undergoing (because I still have yet to receive my MMC number and would say I'm not really qualified to say anything of it) is rather easy so far. As I have documented earlier during my early HO days, my hospital's administration staff are highly helpful and efficient. I just ask and they will provide.

Just makes our jobs a lot easier; I can't begin to imagine how much of a headache the staff in charge of us feels, now that there are over 100 HOs in the hospital (I kid you not)! But she's always very pleasant and eager to help.

Anyways, once I have more details I will update this space.

For now, all I can say is:

1) Send your logbook from your 5th posting EARLY. Try at least 2 weeks before ending, so your admin staff's work is easier.

2) Prepare RM150 for the full registration fee (which could be reimbursed later LOL) and this will have to be done by wang pos, mostly.

3) Think (and pray) hard about what you want to do later and where.

4) Don't get hung up on a specific place/department to practice for now, unless you're married or have strong cables (yaknowwhat'msayin') OR have passed the first part of the paper, if applicable (i.e. MRCS, MRCP and the ilk).

5) Don't panic and freak out.
Which is exactly what I'm doing.

And perhaps,what I should be doing better,
6) PREPARE MONEY FOR THE UPCOMING UPROOTING TO UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Movers and house rental deposits? Not cheap y'all, not cheap.

7) Get credit cards
Seriously, don't panic and freak out. Just keep revising man. It's all on you in a few months, man. All that responsibility and life-altering decisions.
All you.
So, you know, don't freak out or anything. It's chill.

Off-Day Thoughts: RTD Summons & Obligations

I just used my Raya 'bonus' to pay a traffic summons from 2015.

Why didn't I pay it earlier? Because I didn't have the money for it and felt too embarrassed to ask my father to lend me his money for a third summons that I received *laughs*

Instead, I vowed to myself that I would pay it with my own money once I worked; funnily enough, I kept forgetting to do it until today. And I thought, "What better way to use the extra money the government gave me, than to fulfill what is due to said government?"

So... Yeah.

Why did I get the summon? Honestly, I didn't know the speed limit changed in that area, and suddenly there was a flash of light. It wasn't an area I frequented. Oops. I think I was even talking to a friend at that time, so I was preoccupied.

Anyway... This is a weird topic to blog about, it seems, but my message is this: If you have something pending, and you have the money to pay for it, then pay for that first instead of things that you want. Like, I could have used the RM 300+ for extra books, which I always want, but I didn't. I also wanted to save the money for my wedding, but I couldn't.

Don't talk about baju raya; I won't get new clothes unless I really have to, and it's not like I can really celebrate raya this year. Haha.

Plus... When Raya season comes, there will be a barrage of things I feel that I need, especially now that I'm earning my own money. Kuih raya (like I would even have open houses, those things are for ME), raya apparel, Corelle dinnerware... Whut?

It's very difficult to be on social media and abstain myself from looking through various shopping catalogues- when I have the time, that is. Even gaming laptops have special prices this season! If I had the money, I'm not entirely sure I would be able to resist!

But you know. All I need to do is close the tab for that particular product, and think to myself: Do I really need a Corelle dinnerware set to survive when I can buy plates, bowls and mugs for a small fraction of the price in the supermarket? Sure Corelle sets are famed for their resistance to breakage, but how often do I break my plates or mugs? The answer is probably once in a few years. And replacing them is still cheaper.

Same goes for baju raya- once I wear it often enough, the novelty wears off and it becomes just another piece of clothing.

And books... Well, books are another different thing entirely. I can't say the same about them, but I can talk myself out of splurging for them online most of the time.

Instead, how about being responsible, or using the money for other people?

Being charitable is something that never gets old. There will always be people who need help, and that satisfaction you get doing charity, that is a feeling normal humans will rarely get enough of. Not to mention, it is an investment for the afterlife, and every little bit helps. But even if you don't believe in such things, think of how you would want the world to be for your children and grandchildren. If there was an important lesson I learned in my life, it is the fact that law of attraction does exist. When I do good and feel good, good things tend to come my way sooner rather than later. Different beliefs and languages just have different names for it.

Giving to your parents: Social obligation where I'm from, AND a form of charity. Double yay!

Fulfill your obligations.

The rewards will come your way soon enough!

Slip Gaji/Payslip

Here you go. This is how your payslip would look like without any increments yet, including the amount deducted for KWSP.

That is not a small amount.

The Elaun Sara Hidup, if I'm not mistaken, can be more or less depending on where you work. Actually, just bear in mind this may vary depending on where you work.


Work hard.
And budget your spending wisely!

Off-Day Thoughts: Where Does the Money Go?

First salary has been here for barely a few days, et voila! More than half is gone.
Such is the way for salaries, I suppose ^^;

There are two ways this could have gone: You could have expected it and shrugged it off, budgeting for the rest of your month, or this could have been a total shocker and you find yourself floundering with almost no money to spend for the rest of the month.

And guess what, if your student-day allowances don't fulfil your needs, chances are your working day salaries won't either, despite the hefty increment.

So what gives?


PLANNING

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, an old adage goes. I concur with this.

I am very much the planner type. To avoid future mishaps and try as much as I can to navigate the unforeseen, I plan ahead- very much ahead.

In fact, knowing more or less the salary I would be given, I have started planning- very amateur-ly- my salary since my second year of medical school. From then, I knew the luxurious lives people keep saying doctors have, is utterly non-existent in my earlier years of working. I expected that I wouldn't be able to get a decent gaming laptop until at least several years of working and not spending on anything. I knew I wouldn't be able to realistically change my cellphone to a newer model every year without having to lose weeks' worth of groceries, and thus that is not going to happen.

I knew all this since my pre-clinical years in medical school.

I have thoroughly planned my salary division since a few months prior to entering the workforce, and I know how much I can expect to have left to myself after all the essentials are paid for- essentials being rent, bills, loans and insurance, as well as some fixed savings. I already know how much I can afford, more or less, on monthly groceries and phone bills.

This means even before working, I know what I can and cannot afford and I did not get anything I feel I cannot pay for in the future.

This will be grossly different depending on the lifestyle and upbringing you already have. I know of some wealthy people whose parents still give them a hefty sum of money every month even after they start working. I know of people who have to pay for EVERYTHING of their parents' after they start working. The key here is to suit your own budget, and NOT expect to get anything for yourself the first few months. That way, even the smallest extras for yourself feel rewarding!

Which brings us to the next thing...


MINDSET

Reward yourself, but don't do so lavishly.
Unless you're wealthy and you can afford it.

If you think a RM 15 chicken chop is a just reward, it WILL be. But if you keep on fixating on a RM 250++ lavish hotel dinner course as a just reward, then your pay as a new government servant won't be rewarding at all.

Therein lies the problem in most of my generation: We are so self-entitled, we think we deserve better than most people, when in fact, we ARE most people. And it's so much worse in new doctors sometimes, because they keep thinking their salaries are so high that they should be able to spend more than the regular office clerks or other hospital staff.

What we should realize is the fact that 1) those clerks we see have been working WAY longer than us; 2) people have other sources of income than their full-time jobs nowadays; and 3) most of us have massive student loans to pay for. The combination of these three points alone is enough to make you feel like salary-pinching.

So you're going to be a doctor.
That doesn't mean you can afford that expensive smartphone contract for 2 years.
So what if you don't have the latest phone? In reality, in the hospital, NOBODY CARES WHAT PHONE YOU USE. You can use the NOKIA 3310 and people will be stupefied, but any smartphone capable of making calls, staying in touch through group WhatsApp and surfing the web for medical information is enough for any young doctor. And these things do not require a RM3500++ stylish iPhone.

That contract looks small in comparison to your gaji.
But believe you me, small things tend to pile up, and there are always other costs incurred that you've not even entertained before.

So where does the money go?

Where your planning and mindset would lead them, silly!

Ah, and always keep aside some of your salary for your emergency savings account!

Okay bye must enjoy the rest of my off day!

First Gaji

Gaji dah masuk.

In a timely manner, my first salary has arrived in my bank account- with no proclamations or fanfare. I checked my account online and, lo and behold, my bank account was in its 4-digit state again.

(Yes, I was that broke prior).

Unless some very generous chap is donating money to me for no apparent reason, this is it, folks: My first ever salary is here~!


I'm telling you it feels like some of your blood, sweat, and tears, intermingled with the patients', is worth it.
Some la. 
The rest is left for your own personal job satisfaction.


Anyway, don't ask me how much I got for each tiny thing (the specific allowances, PTM allowance, etc). I'm not sure, and the first salary is usually larger than your subsequent salaries until your increment comes, because of PTM. Furthermore, it's not like I got the salary slip (slip gaji) yet- I'm not sure if that's something I get physically or online; something they send to me or I have to retrieve myself from the office.

Be that as it may, this will be a day to remember!

Alhamdulillah.




Although, owing to many loans and obligations... I won't stay this rich for long heheh.