Realities of the new year

Everyone is getting ready to meet the challenges of 2014. Travel less, car pool, use more public transport. Turn up the air-conditioner to above 24C- Less cold in the malls and the likes. Bosses have already started the practice of -off with  the air con and the lights during lunch hour. On the home front, use the fan instead of the air cond. (Carry one of those paper fans around for personal comfort, they say.) Those who only use the air con for an hour to cool down the room, plan to silence their  air conditioner forever. Drastic measures. Well, those are the plans and we will  have to see how well that is followed through.  BUT again high cost of living may force those plans through, whether you like it or not. One thing for sure, you don't need to go to the saunas now,  sweat will pour naturally.

On the food front, many are already cutting down on the quantity and the quality-more meals in and that too, budget marketing for the cooking. Many are planning to stock up on instant noodles-there are a huge variety in the market due to economic situation and  the demand.

Entertainment? Many say the parks and the natural freebies are the best, but of course they say, group activities are best due to safety concerns. Wow!! such alot of  thoughts and plans to beat the coming challenges of 2014- it sorts of open this Writer's  eyes to situations around her. Seriously.

One thing for sure, the internet will be more widely used. To avoid high transport cost-more will opt for cyber facilities -online studies, one line purchases , transactions , xtra..xtra. This may see the bloom of the internet business. Malaysian society may rethink the way they live and work. We may Skype more. Off-location work and flexi work may be the in thing . And why not, you are practically reachable, track-able  just about everywhere in the world.The media have  carried out surveys and found that people are already talking about work from home. Practically everything is wired now. Google peeps at you from  every corner with plenty of reflecting mirrors for good effects (if that is not powerful, what is??) so off location work for certain sectors may gain popularity. With the sophistication of smart devices, you are tracked where-ever you go-Big Brother moves with you. I have people calling me with weird requests-I used to wonder at their sanity-until my sources tells me, that's just to see where you are. So there you are, the seemly simple tools and devices we use daily -they are really practical  communication gadgets and work companions.

Yesterday, I read a comment in the main stream media -from someone, everything is up except his pay check. How true. If you are on  fixed wages, a salaried staff, tough times  ahead . Get ready  to put your budget plans, A,B, C into action in 2014. If you are in business, times will also be tough,make no mistake about that  but at least you can pass on the increased cost to your consumers and customers, but how you do it is key to your continued sustainability and survival. Everyone will be affected .

Without doubt, 2014 will see the wheel of change churning out innovative ways to combat the high cost of living and reform  living styles. Now is the time, this writer wish she has a plot of land where she could rear her own chicken and ducks, plant her own vegetables and fruit trees-live off her land, her own produce  so to speak. But not everyone has the good fortune of having land at their disposal, let alone owning plots of  land.

So what is the next best thing? Live simple and  within your means. My friends says, besides the instant noodles, eat more porridge. Oh, by the way, money is getting smaller-so small that in the future, you will need a microscope  to see its proper shape  and value. So if you have the means, and are able to-try to convert your cash into solid, touchable assets, do that..One appreciates and the other depreciates.  Good luck people!