Everyone knows that the financial institution, generally known as a bank, is a safe place for keeping money and valuables. All the safety precautions and features installed and available in the branches of the bank mean that keeping your money with the bank is safer than keeping it at home in a rusty tin can, hidden in some dark corner or below the bed.

The bank takes in your physical notes and coins, and creates a paper value in a little book. This value in the book increases or decreases each month, depending on how much the you spend or save. Yet in the entire process, you do not see the actual physical notes or coins increase or decrease.

So does the physical notes and coins just sit in a random bank vault somewhere? If they do, how does the bank manage interest payments to its customers annually? Besides, where does the bank get the money for paying out this annual interest to its customers that perhaps number hundreds of thousands or millions?

Any economics student will tell you that when you place physical notes and cents with the bank, the latter takes your deposits and invests them.

What kind of investments? Your guess is as good as mine, but it could include stocks, shares, unit trusts, huge loans at even higher interest rates, and more. After all, the bank is essentially a business.

They use customer’s cash to generate profit for the shareholders of the bank, something that may not be possible without the money deposited by customers. Yet at the end, the people who provided the capital for the bank to invest, are only given a small portion of the huge profits reaped.

So there you have it: the best way to safekeep and multiply your money at the same time is open your own bank and accept deposits. Some former sex worker in Calcutta, India has done it, and I am sure you can too.

However, the reason for the post, which inspired the topic of banks, was sparked by the S.O.’s experience with his ATM card from a bank that can be found in a few Asian countries.

The initial card that he had only displayed Bahasa Indonesia on the ATM screen. There were no options for other languages like Mandarin, English or others, as you would find on Singapore ATMs.

Despite his limited knowledge of Bahasa Indonesia, the S.O. has so far managed cash withdrawals without any mistakes. Yet recently, he decided that being greeted with a familiar language would make the money withdrawal experience a little less intimidating.

However, the only way for English text to appear on the screen was by applying for a new ATM card that activates the English text at the ATM. This is a new experience for the two of us, since before coming here, we both lived in countries where the ATMs had language options.

We have no idea why the bank could not install a language option system on the ATM; perhaps it involves more work than re-issuing an ATM card.

Whatever the reason, it is another indication that banks do not operate for the good of their customers, but rather, exist for the pleasure of irritating those who leave money in the bank’s vaults.

So my conclusion is that I should take out all my money from the bank, and keep it in a metal safe at home.

One of the things I miss the most about Singapore are my dance classes. Ever since moving to Bali I have not attended a single dance lesson for jazz or ballet, and I feel restless because of that.

It is not that there are no dance schools in Bali. There is one fairly good one, operated by a girl whom I know when she was in Singapore for work.

However, having been pampered by a monthly unlimited dance package of S$85 (Rp 495 620 / US$54.50) per month for jazz, adult ballet, hip hop and salsa at my usual dance school in Singapore, paying Rp 400 000 (S$68.60 / US$44) for eight one-hour lessons in either jazz, adult ballet or salsa seems extravagant. Especially when the S.O. and I are trying to make and save sufficient cash for our visit to Italy next year, after our return to Singapore for Chinese New Year.

Yet despite his best efforts, clients seem only too happy to withhold payment or pressure him to push down the amount the owe him. So each month we have just enough to cover our monthly expenses with little left to spare.

As for me, the amount that I have earned so far from an odd assignment here and there is just barely enough for me to pay for a replacement identity card in Singapore!

Yet, I long so much to dance again, as dance makes me feel free and feel happy. Not being able to dance seems to have taken away a part of me. And no, running or going to the gym does not work in keeping the weight off because I just do not enjoy it.

What is even more discouraging is that the S.O. does not seem inclined to take up salsa: we went for a free salsa lesson one night in September, but since then, he has not been practising the basic steps. And I have no interest in dancing with other guys on the dance floor while all the S.O. can do is sit and watch.

The answer to our problems is more cash to meet our minimum monthly expenses comfortably plus a bit more for spending and saving. I can only keep hoping that both of us come into some serious huge amount of money soon, so that we can do all the things that we wish we could.

One of my favourite beliefs about life is that things will happen at the right moment for the right reasons. So far, this seems to apply very well for the S.O. and myself. We also noticed that if one area of life goes smoothly, it will help to smooth out creased corners in other areas.

For one, we have both been kept busy over the past three weeks. The pace is picking up for his company with the inclusion of new staff, and the commencement of new, exciting projects. Add some active involvement with some of the Italian community here, and you have a very tired S.O. As for myself, I have been keeping myself busy with miniscule assignments as well as learning the very gender-challenged Italian language.

Perhaps keeping busy has introduced some schedule in our routine, so time passes quickly and I feel more settled in despite being here for slightly over three months.

It also helps that we are surrounded by people who are friendly, unassuming and easy going. Besides the usual bunch that I met since my first visit to Bali in April this year, we were also fortunate in meeting two couples that the S.O. and I feel totally comfortable with.

One couple is an Italian man married to a Javanese lady, and the other is an Italian man and his Norwegian girlfriend. As you probably guessed it by now, the S.O. met the Italians during one of the gatherings of Italians. Our age range is from late 20s to late 40s.

We first invited the boyfriend-girlfriend couple for dinner at our humble abode last Saturday. We spent more than four hours talking about life and living in Bali, working in different countries, and general issues touching on current affairs. Then all four of us had dinner at the married couple’s home last night. There were no awkward silences, conversation flowed easily and we all had an enjoyable time.

Tomorrow night, we are having dinner at another married Italian couple’s home, with the boyfriend-girlfriend couple. However, one wonders how the night will turn out as this married couple are in their 70s, and the husband does not speak any English. This means that there will be four people speaking Italian most of the time, leaving the Norwegian girl and myself to ‘depend’ on each other.

Other than these couple of dinners, we had a quiet barbecue with the usual bunch in Ubud on Monday, and tonight we invited the S.O.’s business partner, his mother and his best female friend over for dinner at our home. Yesterday afternoon I shared a cosy lunch with an English lady and American man at his place, where conversation covered jewellery, travelling around India and neighbouring countries, and of course, Bali.

While all the company is good, there is only one downside: we have officially chucked our diets out the window for now. Cross your fingers that we stick to our guns and manage to hit the gym next week!