红 packet

I used to be at the other end of the bargain ... 28 years to be exact ^^!
Now that I've assumed new role 3 years back, comes with it are some great perks =p 
One that really worth mentioning is
the chance to 包红包 
Not that I've not 包 before in the 28 years. I've done it for many many times.
But to 包红包 (with own money that is) a totally different ball game.


Just like 孙子 Art of War 战争兵法, 
We also have Art of 包(红包)法
After 3 years of trying very hard to master, (yes, I do understand I still have a long way to go)
these are my major & not so major findings : 


(a) budgeting
Yes, the word budget is overrated. Even going from one end of the bargain to another end of the bargain requires a big budget..but let's leave that topic for another day.
Yes, although 红包 is the focus, we all know what is the actual 'focus of the focus'. I call it 重点的重点. The timing is also crucial for consideration. If you are like half of the working population who receive bonus year end, it may help to lighten your burden as chinese new spring celebration usually falls on Jan/Feb - just nice after year end bonus. However, if you are not in that group, you'll need to foresee this inevitable expenses and start preparing for it. 
If in any case you wish to escape by travelling away during this celebration duration, you'll also need to 'budget' in your travel expenses.
And also, budgeting involves you deciding your allocations - in order words, how much to give who. You may need to balance & rebalance and have backup emergency plans. 
Banks are not open for you during CNY and ATM machines are usually out of money especially over long weekends / holidays. Moreover ATM machines doesn't spit small notes.


(b) sourcing 
This stage to many people may seem 'remeh temeh' but I choose not to underestimate the power of sourcing (for your resources). The resources here refer but not limited to
1. money (the total amount) - covered in chapter (a) budgeting
2. money (the amount in different denomination a.k.a change to RM1/5/10/50/100 notes) - this may requires you tapping into your intersocial skills. It will be best if you know someone who can help you to change or join into groups (tumpang). There are things you may need to consider if you decide to do it lone rangerly such as logistic and safety besides time & effort.
3. ang pow packets - yes, you can buy but why buy when everyone else is getting it free? This requires some intersocial, communication, thick-skinned skills. I'm not sure about others but I realised I have a need for not only 1 design angpow, I need a few designs at least and in sufficient quantity. This I'll elaborate further in chapter (d) 包'ing
4. sourcing for the sources - need I explain further? 


(c) getting 
After you've sourced for whatever that you require, automatically the next stage will be 'getting' or 'receiving' what were sourced. Let's take for example, if you've changed money, you need to think of ways getting those money safely home. Same goes for angpow. You may need to consider whether is there any need for additional resources. If yes, this is the time to gather sufficiently.


(d) 包'ing
Now I'm at this stage as I'm writing this. 
This stage consist of repetitive work that requires full attention. Need to ensure exact piece(s) of note(s) inserted correctly before sealing. 
Here comes the trick, usually I'll need to have at least 4-8 different designs angpow and in sufficient quantity. This is due to the fact that when all the angpow are sealed, I determine the amount of money inside by looking at the design. Also, the different design is to differentiate different categories of recipients ie.parents/siblings/close relatives/friends/colleagues/someone's friends/someone's relatives and even stranger like those very hardworking alam flora sanitor.
Sometimes I find it hard to remember which design is for which and ended up had to open the angpow to check the content, which isn't something nice to do eh...
Among other challenges here is to ensure angpows are sealed properly to contain the money...else paiseh people receive empty angpow.
We also have to ensure the total no. of angpow tally with no, of pieces of notes for that denomination


(e) logistic'ing 
Again this is another often overlooked concern. It's not so bad when you're at home, you know where you put which design angpow. The challenges for me comes when we go visiting many places at one go. Either we need to prepare different bags for different types, all put all into 1 bag but with rubberband segregation, or bring bags with different compartments. Again, if you're with young children like me, please do take into consideration that all your kids angpow will eventually end up with you...so be prepared and ensure no mixup. 
Another pointer to think of, if like me not going back to my parents' hometown, we need to pre-arrange and coordinate to tumpang relatives to bring balik kampung. Plus, you need to give clear indication on how to distribute the angpows to avoid confusion / embarassment such as not enough...moreover so when you have different allocations like bigger angpow for grandparents, standard angpow for kiddies, another set angpow  for pai nian.
So I hope you see that logistic is just not as simple as transporting the angpow from A to B.


(f) giving
This is the fun part but also the confusing part (for me). Maybe it has got to do with my ever deteriorating memory. I have no problem with giving but when there are so many kids and teenagers (and sometimes adults with children who didn't come), I have a very BIG problem. I CANNOT remember who I gave or had not ^^! Mind you, kids nowadays doesn't remind you that you've given them earlier. To them, the more the better so they won't mind you giving them bonus. 
Oh...and sometimes when someone with children but children not with them and they give your children angpow, I really have a hard time remembering how many children that person has. I can ask but sometimes it's not that nice ... people will think I know how many children you have and how come you not know mine?
What more when these people and families come & go at different intervals. Some families comes separately ie. parents comes 1st, kids come later, you gave the parents and kids give you 'give me angpow' look and you're downright confused.
Sometimes you do get some special guest, by special I mean, they are not really budgeted for. It's ok if you have a few which your backup stash can last, but if there are aplenty, you'll need to 'borrow flower offer buddha'. I admit, I recycle money ...haha..


(g) receiving
Yes, this is affecting me (indirectly though, or maybe directly). As mentioned earlier, if got young children, all their angpows will eventually end up with parents. 
The thing is when these angpows reaches me, I don't know where they come from (unless some people write giver name on angpow, they seriously do). 
This will have a cause and effect ... in term of 有来有去 (a very dominant chinese tradition which I call mild kiasu'nism)
At times, when small children play together, they may tend to leave angpow laying around and some smarter ones will tend to end up with more angpows... hehez.
Again, this also influence the choice of angpow designs (point (d) ... usually people will choose angpow design that can be closely associated with them or special limited edition to differentiate angpow from them (in other words, outclass the rest!)


(h) profit & lose'ing
After the whole 15 days, it's time to do some profit & lose'ing. I'm not sure whether others do but realistically & materialistically, I do. I need to know where we stand. 
I need to do financial decision for my children ... either to have their money stash in their kiddies account or to have their parents loan their money for cashflow while recovering from festive bankruptcy...lol, bad mother am i not? 
Of course, remember I did some money recycling? We need to take that into consideration as well. 
As our children grow, this process does serve another purpose..a more noble one..haha.
Educating the young ones the importance of 'delayed gratification' and the 'wonder of compounding interest'. 
Well, till then I will still call this process profit & lose'ing. 
When time comes, this process will be addressed as financial planning.


(i) guarding
This I must say is an ongoing crucial process that needs to be applied throughout (a) to (h).
As the chinese spring comes every year, we have to be prepared for the next cycle and the cycles thereafter.
Worth mentioning are events within your circles such as yearly reduction (people getting married) and addition (new family members)
Last but not least, anything that i forgot to cover on 'Art of 包' in the previous paragraphs should be considered here.


It's true that when they say 'Chinese people are sophisticated people'.


I wonder whether there'll be e-angpow in near future? 
Cause I'll very much need it. It will help me in managing my activity (a) to (i) 
and it'll do the environment some good deeds (the packets, the plastics, the CO2 released in the entire process production & logistic, the waste created, etc...)