First of all, if the food reviewers are skinny then I definitely try out their foods. Like I see some ladies and gentlemen on YouTube and they have thick faces and necks that definitely discourage me from eating rather than wanting to eat. Other than that, I don’t think promoting packaged noodles and fast food is positive, I mean yes it looks tasty and yum yum overall but in fact that kind of food can cause obesity if you eat it for a long period of time like every day. I mean surely it tastes good but because it goods it’s a sugar-coating bullet it can cause more harm than good.
In fact, I do enjoy burgers here in Canada, A&W is a good fast-food chain with fresh burgers, by saying “fresh” I mean the veggies in burgers are just amazing. I would recommend anyone to try their burger. Other than that, Burger King is obviously a standard chain to go. I like McDonald but I don’t eat them as often while being here. My first meal in Canada is actually McDonald’s breakfast, with pancakes, a cheeseburger, and chicken nuggets. Of course, I cannot eat all of them in one go, I have a bite each and then bring it home for the next day. Therefore, I’m not against anyone eating fast foods, I’m just saying that the habit of eating that kind of food daily will be harmful, it’s just as dangerous as eating sugars (like donuts, cakes, and cookies), as dangerous as smoking tobaccos and drinking alcohol every day. For me personally, I’m ok with giving me a fast food treat once or twice a week. I feel like I’m still looking fine (speaking about my belly) in front of a mirror for a month already. You know that we cannot be perfect, this world is not perfect, right? we have to be balanced by treating ourselves with “bad” things sometimes. I mean it is not always good to work 365 days continuously, you must have some break time, like weekends break and holidays. We should spend time outdoors for sports or socializing, family gatherings, hanging out with friends, having any kind of gossiping, or playing video games. Of course, all of those things if you overspend your time in it then you’re becoming lazy. It’s like 80/20 rules, 80% of your time for productivity (like doing your work to make a living or studying), and 20% for recreational activities like chatting, playing games, dining out, and exercising, and I’m not counting sleep here, sleep for at least 8 hours is inevitable for well-being. Sleep deprivation is one of my main issues right now, I’m fine with having little socialization but lack of sleep just makes me crazy and on some occasions, I feel like I’m 90% close to depression.
The only downside of A&W, I think, is the price. I don’t like the pancakes either. They tend to be moist, but I prefer my pancakes to be dry and fluffy, not wet and sticky like wet powder. Today, I had a teen burger with diet root beer and sweet potato fries, along with 3 pancakes. It cost me over 22 Canadian dollars. With this amount of money, I could purchase almost 1 kg of beef, which could last me around 4 days if I cook it with some rice. This is much more economical compared to a single meal at a burger joint. It’s almost 4 times more expensive. However, I’ve tried McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Tim Hortons, KFC, Church’s Texas Chicken, Jolibee, Subway, Pizza Hut, and Pizza Zolo, and now A&W. I still have 8 more fast-food chains to try. It’s a fun journey to experience them all, although I haven’t been particularly impressed with any of the fast-food chains yet. I don’t like them because the food tends to be dry overall. However, I think Wendy’s makes their poutines pretty good, and I like Tim Horton’s cookies and coffee. I enjoy McDonald’s pancakes, A&W’s burgers, and Pizza Hut’s pepperoni pizza is okay, but I prefer their fried chicken. KFC here cannot compete with the one in Vietnam; it’s too salty, so I don’t plan on returning. However, if I had to recommend something, I think their zinger burger is a good option. For Jolibee, go with the French fries; I don’t like their chicken because it’s too sweet. The only thing I find good about Church’s Texas Chicken is their burger buns and biscuits when refrigerated overnight and eaten as breakfast (or when hungry). As for Subway, their sauces are good, and I recommend their tuna sandwich with plenty of sauces. But the most impressive food item at Subway is actually their cookie. That pretty much sums up my go-to choices if I ever visit those food chains again.
And now, let’s talk about the title of this blog, “Saving Early”. I decided to write this blog because I’ve been contemplating opening a managed investment account. Although I’m not an expert in investments, I have been focusing on saving money for the past six months. I started saving in 2019 when I began my career. However, looking back at 2023, I realized that I wasted a lot of money on unnecessary things. I spent 80% of my yearly income on dating, video games, building a home data center, refurnishing my home, and buying new furniture and equipment. I also splurged on new MacBooks and iPhones. In hindsight, I realize that I didn’t need to upgrade from the M1 to M2 MacBook or from the iPhone 14 to the 15 Pro. The first version of these devices was sufficient for my needs. I also didn’t need to purchase a MacBook Air or an iPad mini 6, or buy a second Apple watch just because I lost the first one. I mention these examples not to show off my wealth, but rather to highlight the regrets I have for wasting money. In my opinion, true wealth is not measured by material possessions like clothes and gadgets, but rather by financial security. If you have good financial security, it means you have a stable passive income and substantial savings. Ultimately, wealth equals freedom in my perspective.