People often ask me why I'm doing it. I'm flying business class for free on my honeymoon. I want to ensure our subscribers don't repeat my mistakes. Stop the video for a moment and consider this. Huh? How much do I spend on fixed expenses each month? If you don't appear in three seconds, you'll have to [censored]. Hello, this is "Country Mouse." Hey everyone, tomorrow is already the New Year. Time really flies, doesn't it? I'm actually recording this video on December 14th. I don't have many friends, but with the year's end, I'm quite busy. Today, I've put together a list of five things I think subscribers should do to welcome the New Year. These are tasks we've been avoiding, so let's tackle them to start the New Year right. Let's dive in. First up, card remodeling. We all use a lot of cards. But honestly, one good card is better than several with mediocre perks. Sure, take advantage of card company events, but generally, sticking to one is best. So, which card is the best? I'll reveal that soon, but typically, card benefits fall into three categories: discounts, points, and flight miles. Discounts are often 10%, sometimes 20%, but the issue is the monthly limit. If my monthly spend is between 500,000 to 1,000,000 won, the limit is usually around 20,000 won. So the maximum discount I can get annually is typically 100,000 to 200,000 won. Now let's look at points. Points are a great deal when you earn 2% on all purchases. However, few cards actually offer 2%. Sometimes there's a 5% offer or similar. You can't expect to earn 10% daily, as points are often given on specific days or for specific purchases, like KTX. So, if we're earning 2%, we'd need to spend 10 million won to earn 200,000 won in points. Indeed, 10 million won is a significant amount. But when I calculated my monthly expenses, I was spending more than expected. So, you can see how you might earn around 200,000 won. The third benefit is flight miles, which I've mostly been earning through these specific cards. Why do I prefer this airline mileage card? Mileage cards typically offer 1 mile for every 1,500 won, or 1 mile per 1,000 won for higher spenders. So, if you spend 10 million won, you'll get 10,000 miles, as we've calculated earlier. But 10,000 miles isn't the same as 10,000 won; typically, we opt for business class flights. For example, a 7-hour flight to Bali costs 35,000 miles one-way in business class. So, if you spend 35 million won, you essentially get a business class ticket. But how can one spend 35 million won, you ask? You might be wondering just that. But if we reverse the calculation, we spend about 10 million won a year. That 10 million won translates to 200,000 won in perks. Over three years, that's 600,000 won in value to me, plus 30,000 flight miles. And those 30,000 miles are typically equivalent to about $1,600 in cash. Because a business class ticket to Bali typically costs over $1.6 million if paid in cash. Of course, not everyone is into traveling, but consider honeymoons, your parents' birthdays, and such. I believe it's worth saving miles for such occasions. I began collecting in my early to mid-20s. Now, I have enough for roundtrip first-class flights, not just business. But here's another tip: you earn one mile for every 1,000 won. This is the Heritage Smart card from Kookmin Bank. And to clarify, this is not a sponsored mention. I purchased it myself. It even has an annual fee of 200,000 won. The reason I mention this card is that we often add our cards to Samsung Pay. But there's also an app called KB Pay. It functions just like Samsung Pay. But with KB Pay, they reward me with an extra mile for every 2,000 won spent. No matter what you purchase. So he gets 3 miles for 2,000 won. How much did you say on average? One mile for $1.00. So normally, that's 2 miles for 2,000 won. But here, it's 3 miles for the same amount. Earlier, you mentioned needing to spend 30 million won for a business class seat. With this card, the amount is reduced to just 20 million won. So I thought it was a smart move to make. After doing this, despite initial hassles and questions from others, I flew business class for free on my honeymoon. And my boyfriend joined me as well. But do you know the actual cost of a business class ticket? One-way to Paris costs 3.7 million won. That's 8 million won for a round trip. But with business miles, it's entirely free. However, this card requires a minimum spend of 500,000 won per month to earn rewards. But our viewers might not spend that much. You're only spending about 100 dollars a month, right? In that case, "Samsung & mileage" might be more suitable than this card. You can opt for that one. It doesn't require last month's spending performance. So for lower spenders, "Samsung & mileage" is the way to go. But remember, with this card, you only need to spend 20 million won for a business class ticket, whereas with the other, it's 30 million won. That's an important consideration. Okay, the second tip is to switch mobile service providers. I assume that half of our subscribers are already with a budget carrier. The rest might think, "I'm with one of the big three and can't switch yet because my contract isn't up." However, as I mentioned in my last video about cutting fixed expenses, I had a year left on my contract. So I was considering changing it after a year. But then I checked my carrier's page to see the cancellation penalty. I realized it was a hefty 150,000 won. Of course, that's a significant amount. But with a less expensive carrier, my phone bill would be around 15,000 won per month. That includes unlimited data. Typically, my bill ranged from 90,000 to 100,000 won. So switching to a budget carrier for just two months would make up for the penalty cost. Don't wait for your contract to end—switch to a more affordable option now, even with the penalty. I hope you do the math and consider moving to an MVNO. To find out how, search 'Moyo' on Naver for the 'Everyone's Plan' site. On Moyo, select the plan you want. I chose 71G because I use a lot of data. When I applied, it was about 11,000 won. But now it's around 15,000 won again. Promotions change daily, so it's worth checking regularly for the best deals. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's worth it once you switch. Remember when changing to an MVNO, you need to buy a Usim. Usims are usually available at convenience stores, or through quick service or home delivery. Make sure to choose an NFC Usim. Look for the NFC label. There are regular Usims and NFC Usims. For transportation card functionality on your phone, you need NFC. Samsung Galaxy users, for example, only need their phones. No physical card needed. I switched to an MVNO and tried to use my phone in the subway as usual. But it didn't work. Turns out, I had bought a regular Usim instead of an NFC Usim. In a rush, I didn't pay attention and just clicked next repeatedly, missing the Usim option. So I accidentally got a regular Usim instead of NFC and had a complete disaster of a morning. Our subscribers truly want you to avoid the mistake I made at all costs. Firstly, card remodeling is critical. Secondly, if you're not using this budget carrier, you're not yet savvy in finance. Act quickly and switch to MVNOs like I did. I've done a lot of reflection. This leads us to the third point: studying year-end tax adjustments. We perform a year-end tax adjustment annually. But if the government says to pay more, you do; if they say you get a refund, you're just passively accepting it. That's what I used to do. But, about five years in, I became genuinely curious about this process. It was bothersome, but after some research, I found out how to get reimbursements by using a certain method. Since then, I've received reimbursements every year. Even high earners can pay less tax by understanding how year-end tax adjustments work. I think we could all benefit from studying these adjustments. However, researching year-end tax adjustments can be cumbersome. I made a video two years ago explaining the adjustments, but there have been changes since then. That's why I'm preparing a refresh video on year-end tax adjustments. It will be uploaded before you start your adjustments, so I hope it helps you advocate for yourself and secure your refund this year or next. Join me next Sunday for a session on year-end tax adjustments. Now, the fourth step is about setting goals. Don't just talk about this goal. I'm not suggesting you shouldn't have big aspirations. The book "The Secret to Success" advises writing down your goals. Initially, I wondered what difference it would make to write them down. However, the sense of achievement from noting and achieving even the smallest goals is remarkable. We encourage our subscribers to set annual, quarterly, or monthly goals and experience daily or monthly fulfillment. This practice has certainly enriched my life and made my days more fulfilling. Whether it's reading a book a month, I hope you'll write down a goal too. Lastly, the fifth step is managing your family budget. About a month ago, I posted a video on organizing your family budget. Yet, many of you probably haven't sorted out your family budget after watching it. We always get views, but only about 10% of viewers take action. You may have noticed, this is typical behavior. With the new year, I've decided to review my monthly fixed expenses to see where I stand. I'll cut back where possible, aiming to reduce more unnecessary expenses next year. Consider your own spending habits for a moment. Hmm? How much are my monthly fixed expenses? One, two, three. If you can't answer in three seconds, you need to review your fixed expenses. I've done the same. Remember, all this is for our subscribers. Oops, I'm lecturing again. That concludes today's video. I suspect some of our subscribers have already implemented points 1 through 5. If you know someone like that, please comment below. They deserve a pat on the back. Let's aim for a fiercer and happier year ahead. And that's all for today. Bye! Ding!
