Welcome to MONEY MASTER. Money Master is a financial management and money talk blog where our aim is to become the money master rather than the slave to the money. Making money is no easy job if you treat it as a burden but once money becomes your friend and work for you, that is when cash flows in. Becoming the money master rather than slave to it helps us redefine the whole idea of earning more - it's more like the money working for us.
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Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Summary on FY2013
I have posted my financial resolution for the year 2013, in the beginning of the year and for the year 2013, I have set a rather cautious outlook on the global equities - thus, I'm targeting about 10% equities growth and true enough my total local equity growth is about slightly more than 10%, which is within my financial goal target, and in fact it is in almost in line with the local stocks growth. There are some increase in other area especially cash allocation for local equities and the growth in oversea stocks portfolio.
Existing housing loan is reduced periodically, while I've finally settled the education loan, PTPTN in order to enjoy the 20% discount. A major purchased done through the end of the year, in which I'm hoping to have it finalized within the first quarter in 2014 so that I can plan ahead the budget throughout the year.
Overall, it's been quite an eventful year for 2013 for me, at least, having settled one of the loan; while committing to another major purchase. The year 2014 is expected to be way more challenging, given the way our Government rationalizing the subsidies while the pay is expected to be about the same.
Friday, December 20, 2013
2014: Increased expenses
Well, like it or not....2014 is the year for increased expended....a 15% increase in electricity bill, increase in tolls, LRT, sugar etc...
It is probably one of those time when the Rakyat asked the question....what about my salary?
I think this story best sum up how Malaysians feel about 2014...
A bit of laughter and humor on this is good...after all, whether we like it or not, 2014 is going to be a year where your expenses go up even though you try to tighten your belt.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Ways to Save Money In the Midst Of Rising Cost of Living
The article is about the unconventional money savers and talk about cutting cost - by all means which include unconventional method. The article is as follows:-
Naturally, there are many ways of doing this. The following are some obvious, though not necessarily conventional methods to cut down your costs.
Unplug
According to ABC.com, certain home appliances and electronics will continue to use power even when they’re switched off. It estimates that 10% of the average home electricity bill comes from the energy used by these products, which are popularly called “energy vampires.”
“The only way to completely prevent such appliances from using standby power – that is, drawing on the energy supply even after they’re turned off – is to unplug them.”
According to ABC.com, such products include those that typically have standby power use, such as a remote control, external power supply, digital display, LED status light, or digital clock, a battery charger or a soft-touch key-pad.
Paint it white
According to an article in The New York Times, painting your roof white can actually reduce air-conditioning costs by 20% or more in hot, sunny weather.
“Lower energy consumption also means fewer of the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. What is more, a white roof can cost as little as 15% more than its dark counterpart, depending on the materials used, while slashing electricity bills,” it says.
Freeze it
Contrary to popular belief, the freezer in your fridge can be used for more than just preserving food. According to apartmenttherapy.com, a website that provides interior design tips and ideas, the lifespan of candles can be almost doubled if they are placed in the freezer for a day before using them.
“Chilling the wax gives it a bit longer before burning through and leaving you with an empty jar. For some candles this will also cause them to drip less and burn straight down without burning through the side of the candle.
“Although this isn’t a life-altering tip, nice candles can be pricey and making them last a little longer might mean you get to purchase them in the first place, or purchase them more often, or possibly more like all those tables in the magazines that seem to be loaded up with flickering wicks,” it says.
Battery life can also be extended when stored in the freezer, according to how-to website, lifehacker.com.
“A number of studies have shown that storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer.
“This is less true for alkaline batteries (freezing extends their shelf life by only about 5%) than it is for NiMH (nickel–metal hydride) or and Nicad batteries often used in electronics. Keeping NiMH batteries in the freezer can boost battery life by 90%.”
Citing battery-centric site GreenBatteries, lifehacker.com says alkaline batteries stored at room temperature tend to self discharge at a rate of less than 2% per year.
Normally refrigerating or freezing them will only help maintain their charge by a tiny amount. Hardly worth the effort of chilling them. However, if alkaline batteries are stored at higher temperatures they will start to lose capacity much quicker.
At 85 degrees Fahrenheit, they only lose about 5% per year, but at 100 degrees they lose 25% per year. If you live in a very hot climate or are storing your batteries in a very hot location, it may be worthwhile for you to store your alkaline batteries in a refrigerator instead.
Flush it less
While not related to electricity cost, flushing your toilet regularly can add to your monthly water bill.
A popular (though probably not regularly followed) tongue-in-cheek adage on when to flush your toilet immediately comes to mind: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.”
According to Mother Nature Network (MNN), an environmental and social responsibility online network, the average person urinates six times a day, which is about 7.6 gallons flushed.
“That equals 2,774 gallons per year to dispose of just 171 gallons of urine. The average person defecates about once per day, and if that were the only occasion you flushed, it would equal 584 gallons of water, saving 2,190 gallons. If a household of four followed this flushing rule, they would save 8,760 gallons of water a year.”
However, not flushing can be considered as a very unhygienic, unappealing practice by many (if not most). MNN does go on to note that there is an aversion by many people to looking at urine.
“Then there is the more serious concern about toilet bowl cleanliness. True, “letting it mellow” increases the rate at which a toilet bowl becomes scummy.
However, in many households, the toilets are brushed at least once a week (hopefully) anyway, and so there is no chance for significant scum to build up.
However, for the purpose of this “money-saving” tip, it is suggested that one should definitely consider the hygienic practicality first before the financial implications that come with flushing (or not flushing) your toilet.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Understanding GST
We have been talking about GST for a while now and with the implementation set to be in 2015, a lot of Malaysians are starting to worry about the impact that it has upon the country.
While the Goods and Service Tax (GST) has a lot of positive wealth impact that was lauded by a lot of experts in the economy, common folks in Malaysia still worry about the negative impacts on the livelihood and affordability of the Rakyat.
Before we move to talk about the pros and cons of GST,
what is GST in the first place?
GST is a consumption tax that is imposed on goods and services at every stage of the supply chain, which typically begins at the manufacturing stage and ends at the retail stage.
GST is based on the “valued-added” concept to avoid duplication in tax collected.
Here is a simple scenario of how the implementation of GST will look like, assuming we take the 10% tax rate.
A) Let's say we take a manufacturer of dairy product. The manufacturer of dairy product will have to buy from the supplier....for example, at RM1 to manufacture the dairy product. Under the GST system the manufacturer paid RM1 and RM0.10(GST), where the RM0.10 is collected for the government.
B) The manufacturer will charge the retailer RM3 and a RM0.30(GST), where the RM0.30 will be collected for the government.
C) After that, the retailer which sells the product to the end user (consumers) at RM5 and a RM0.50 is charged as GST to be given to the government.
After the numerous stages, we can see how the GST add up as a collection of tax for the government.
The next question that comes to mind:
how different is the GST from the current tax system (Sales Tax and Service Tax, SST).
For many people who know and follow about the development of the GST in the country, one will know that it is not a new tax charged on the Rakyat but rather, a replacement to the SST system.
There are two key parts in this tax system, one of is the goods while the other the service. For goods tax, it is normally at 10% and the tax is normally priced into the product price while 6% is charged on the service and is indicated in the receipt.
GST Impact on the prices of goods
There are a few scenarios that we have to look at when we talk about how the impact will be on the prices of goods as there are no straightforward answer. Here are the few scenarios by taking the announced 6% rate.
Scenario 1:
Paying 6% more for certain products that were previously not tax under the SST system. With the GST system, there will be wider range of products/services that are covered.
Scenario 2:
Paying less for the products that were also tax under the SST system for goods and services.
Scenario 3:
Paying the same amount for products previously taxed under the service tax (6%) but not the goods or when the products/services are not covered in both the GST and SST.
Scenario 4:
Paying more because at every stage of the supply chain, there is an increase of products/range and companies that will be charged with the GST system.
In conclusion, there is a risk of the GST implementation that leads to an increase in prices but it is not in a universal manner.
No doubt, concern over the impact of the GST implementation is understandable but given the examples from country like Singapore, there is every reason to be optimistic and confident that GST might just be the right step for Malaysians.
However, the obvious concern here is to make sure that businesses do not take advantage of just the fact that GST has been introduced as a reason to raise prices of goods and services indiscriminately. To this end, the Anti-Profiteering Act has been tabled to enable enforcement against such practices. In theory though, the multi-stage tax nature of the GST should allow the Customs department to aggregate pricing information far more accurately than they do currently, the implied monitoring of this should serve as a deterrent to unscrupulous businesses.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Is Medical Insurance important?
- Medical Card/Health Card – covers hospitalization and surgical benefits
- 36 Critical Illness or Dread Diseases Insurance – a lump sum benefit
- Disability Income Insurance – stream of income when you are unable to work
- Hospital Income Insurance – provides a specified sum of money on a daily, weekly or monthly basis if you are being treated in a hospital
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Malaysia’s electricity tariff hike...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
ELECTRICITY TARIFF HIKE...YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! |
check out the new rate |
Friday, November 29, 2013
10 Simple & Realistic Way to SAVE MONEY
GOODBYE TO TV! |
This will help you save about RM120 to RM200.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Group or Bulk Purchase of Property?
GROUP PURCHASE OF PROPERTY |
TAKE CAUTION |
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The Consequences of Showing Off With Expensive Things, Which You Cannot Afford
I am sharing the following article to raise awareness among the youngsters who are not having good sense of financial management; but at the same time placing too much importance on appearing "rich" rather than really rich in net worth although the article applies to almost everyone.
The article is as follows:-
Placing too much importance on appearing rich can affect one’s net worth. One may want to delay self-gratification in order to build a strong financial foundation
I ONCE asked someone who looked like a million dollars on the outside but was totally broke, this question:“Is your self-worth destroying your net worth?”
Some of us have defined our self-esteem from the external things - the car we drive, the handbags we use, even the pen we write with. We want to be seen as “rich and successful” but we are secretly struggling with our finances.
Even if we are not broke, some of us have placed the external outlook of ‘looking rich’ as more important than the milestones in our lives, for instance ensuring a secure retirement or building a strong net worth that can last throughout our lifetime.
Wanting to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ maybe due to a lack of self-esteem. Those who buy things they can’t afford sense a boost in their self-confidence by having these things, particularly in the public.
Having luxurious items is fine as long as you know your net worth can sustain it and you do have a financial plan in place.
However, if it is draining your pockets, then you need to wake up and change before it is too late.
Stop placing so much importance on demonstrating socio-economic superiority.
Rather, focus on owning a strong financial foundation that can sufficiently meet your life’s goals.
Delay instant urges to gratify your self-image until you are sure your net worth says you can afford it.
If you do indeed have a self-worth issue, fulfill the void with family and meaningful relationships, a heightened appreciation for self, charitable works or even spirituality for some.
There is nothing wrong looking ‘less rich’ than others as long as you know that happiness is sourced internally and not externally.
After all, money does not buy you happiness but managing it well can get you there.
I urge you to ask your self this question now: “Which is more important: your self-worth or your net worth?”
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Money Can't Buy Me Love
Indeed, love is a many-splendored thing. When we are passionately in love, nothing really matters in the world. But when the romance settles and financial issues start to pile up, can love be thrown out of the window?
MONEY certainly can’t buy us love but it can to some extent, prevent financial struggles.
I have seen many relationships fall apart due to mismanagement of family finances.
Arguments about money can also multiply into other emotional issues.
That is why financial planning must start as early as family planning.
Couples must make time to ensure that money issues do not stand in the way of their relationship and their family goals.
In managing family finances, both partners need to be financially responsible and
accountable.
There are many instances in a marriage that one of the partners takes charge of the finances.
Usually he or she is the one with more financial knowledge and experience, the so called “Finance Minister”of the home, whilst the other partner is left tofocus on other family matters.
This sort of arrangement can be beneficial as different partners focus on different areas in their family life.
However, it is advisable that the financially astute partner shares with his better half what he or she does with the family finances so that his partner is more aware of where the family money goes to and learns to be more financially literate.
This becomes especially important in the unfortunate event where the “Home Finance Minister” passes away first or becomes unable to manage the family funds.
Many couples make the mistake of leaving the family financial matters to solely one partner and the surviving partner becomes “financially incapacitated” due to financial inexperience.
Involving your partner in the family’s finances must stretch beyond just having joint accounts to updating your partner about your loans, retirement plans, insurance policies, wills, and where important documents are kept.
If you hire a financial planner to assist you, make sure your better half is included in most of your discussions.
We have often heard that the love of money is the root of all evils.
Conversely, the lack of it can be so too.
Think about it.
Monday, September 23, 2013
The Rich Don't Save, They Borrow
Having said so, I don't really mean that we should go and buy lots of stuff and then finally go into bankruptcy. In my opinion, one should really have the balance between debt and cash, in order to fully optimized the money to improve the lifestyle. In fact, a lot of affluent people have certain level of debts that they are comfortable with.
To begin with, there are two kinds of debt, often called “good” debt and “bad” debt. Good debt is the money that you borrowed and spend which will in turn generate income to you. Bad debt on the other hand is money that you borrowed and spend but will not generate income to you. While many financial planners or advisers categorized property loan as good debt and vehicle loan as bad debt, I don't really agree with that. Property loan might be "bad" debt if the property don't generate income, eg. you cannot rent out the property due to no tenant while a vehicle loan might be good debt, if the vehicle can turn out to be income generator, eg. car rental.
Having no debt can be a good thing, but one will not be able to take advantage of the current low interest scenario, and for every dollar you save in the banks, earning you less in interest than inflation and thus losing you money, represents a lot of money other people can use to make more money. The bank can lend out multiple dollars for every dollar they have stored in savings.
Always do what the rich do. Even if one have the cash, I will say it will definitely be a bad idea to buy a business, real estates or even stocks full cash without leveraging the low borrowing cost provided by the banks. We always read news about whenever the rich buy businesses, real estate, even stocks, they borrow money to do it, they get grants, subsidies, whatever. They use leverage to keep money working for them. The savers empower them. Even the Sage of Omaha embrace leveraging when it comes to private-equity buyout recently - read more on Berkshire-Heinz-Deal.
Having said so, it doesn't mean to say to go all out and leverage everything to buy on things that will not be generating income for us. One has to be smart, and buy smart and make more money than you pay for that money, otherwise you’ve got “bad” debt. “Bad” debt makes people poor, it doesn’t matter whether it is a nice car or a big screen HDTV or a bad investment. People still lose money whenever a debt is categorized as bad debt.
Saving isn’t the path to wealth, and the system isn’t corrupt either. It is just that not putting money into good use that makes the poor people poorer while the rich richer by fully optimizing their money. Incomes generated only determine one's capability in making money, but it will not bring one to the next level if he or she does not know how to utilized the money - and this is how the rich will then become wealthy. Read more on Rich or wealthy, which are you?
In conclusion, spent money (expenses and savings) is dead money, and dead money can’t make you anything. Money has to be put into good use to generate more money; and again this is why I named this blog Money Master, because as Money Master, we instruct the money to work for us - like what all the employers do, instruct the employees to generate money for them.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Silver Sky Imports
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Apple unveils new iPhone but stock still drop...
Monday, September 9, 2013
When 20 cents Are Not Just 20 cents
While the subdue Independence Day celebration clearly shows that the government is running out of fund, not many of us would have imagine that the government would increase the price of the RON95 petrol by 20 cents, and clearly this move brought criticism from almost every one. And while it is hard to swallow, everyone will have to accept the fact that the petrol price will go up by 10% no matter what.
There is an economic story behind the hike, although the "hike of the petrol price" should be more referred to as the reduction of the petrol subsidy - because that is actually part of the subsidy rationalization plan that was promised by the government even before the election. One very clear reason for the reduction of the subsidy is to reduce the government deficit to prevent further downgrade by Fitch. And yes, after the announcement, Fitch maintain the rating on Malaysia's debt and clearly stated that the government is on the right track but not doing enough.
Some are praising and applaud the move, and although I agree that the government should, I still think that petrol subsidy should be the last one to get reduced. The 20 cents petrol price hike might not seems much, but the 20 cents hike are not just 20 cents hike. Many of us will dropped the 20 cents coin without realization, but the current 20 cents are not just 20 cents. It will leads to more 20 cents increases and further reducing the purchasing power of the Malaysians.
In fact, by raising the petrol price, the prices of other goods and services will go up accordingly and finally Malaysians are the one suffering for the mismanagement of the Malaysians' money by the government. Just the day after the announcement, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) announced that the property prices might go up 10% because of the material transportation cost. Service providers that uses petrol or diesel will increase the price of their services accordingly - the public transportation will charge the increase to the fares; while transporters will charge to their customers which will indirectly push their customers to increase the price of the goods.
We do not have much choice but to just lower down our expenses. While it is not the 20 cents that makes the people angry at the government, it is because the 20 cents will not just be 20 cents. It is whenever the government coming out the austerity plan, it is the people who has to bear the brunt while politicians continue to enjoy their larger than life style. If the whole nation should face austerity, it should starts with the government not having their rights to pump the petrol using the nations coffer and they should be the one to have pay cut rather than increases; just like what the private sectors will do, should they have austerity.
Monday, September 2, 2013
10% increase in petrol...TIME TO CUT EXPENSES!!
sometimes you even have parking benefits when you carpool |
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 4)
Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 1)
Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 2)
Credit Card - Friend or Foe (Part 3)
While part 1 and part 2 mentioned mostly on the pros of the credit card, part 3 talks about the con of using credit card in which I will talk about it in this part.
Aside from high interest and a lot of hidden charges, swiping credit card actually give one the false sense of affordability when it comes to buying "wants" products rather than than the necessities. What are the things that we can consider as "wants"? These are the things like the hot gadgets that just released to the market, like the Apple iPhone and iPad, the latest Samsung S4 and many more.
These "wants" products are usually not cheap, especially in Malaysia which can cost almost a month of salary, but there is one feature in credit card, in which I mentioned in Part 2 as the pros, if used wisely - the easy payment scheme. With so many easy payment scheme from credit cards, some come with small amount of interest, some banks don't charge any interest, nevertheless, things that are not needed suddenly become so affordable that people will be tempted to do so and raking up debt because of unnecessary stuff is always a bad idea.
So, we can see that a feature that can lessen our repayment burden can suddenly become a feature that will burden us in near future; and the higher credit line one might enjoy it might turn against the person and eat him or her alive by trapping him or her deeper into the pit of debt without him realizing until it is way too late.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Mr Money Mustache and How He Retired At 30
There are few reasons that I don't feel comfortable; the first being not accumulated enough invest able cash and investment assets in which can generates the amount of cash that I need to have my current lifestyle. Another reason is I'm still aiming for property and still paying for my property; in which will increase my expenses. So, I look into the advice of Mr. Money Mustache and learn something; though I cannot emulate him 100%, I'm sure there are some key learning from him.
The article is as follows:-
Meet Mr. Money Mustache. Hundreds of thousands of readers follow his bold advice on his self-titled blog — and for good reason. He has cracked the retirement code while many of us were struggling with student loans. At 23 years old he began working and saving…and saving some more. By age 30, he’d amassed some $800,000 in cash and investments, and then entered early retirement.
How, exactly? I flew to his home in Longmont, Colorado, where the now 38-year-old lives with Mrs. Money Mustache and Mustache Junior, for the scoop.
The Rule of 70%
While a popular rule of thumb is to try to save 10% of your income every month, in the race to retirement Mr. Money Mustache saved and invested close to 70% of each paycheck until he had about $800,000 racked up. At that point he felt comfortable quitting his job, as the dividends from his stock portfolio and income from a rental property were finally enough to support his family’s lifestyle. “I just figured based on a 4% withdrawal rate of your savings, if you have $800,000 saved, you could draw an income of $32,000 a year from that. Our needs are less than that, so we actually don’t need $800,000 in savings.”
Live Simply
But wait. How does the family live on less than $30,000 a year with a child? “It’s by cutting out stuff, the invisible stuff, that’s most expensive. I kept the headline items, like a house, trip to Australia and good friends and good food, but I cut out stuff like spending $50 on coffee a week or having a brand new car every few years,” he says. “We do a lot of stuff ourselves. We go to parks. We do music together. We ride our bikes, go to the library. Kids love it. Costs almost nothing to do.”
Treat Debt Like Your Hair Is on Fire
We should mention that Mr. Money Mustache graduated without any student loans. He never really had any credit card debt and advises his readers, who aim to retire early like him, to treat debt like a scary emergency, as if their hair is literally on fire. “If you have credit card debt, you don’t make little payments on it. You don’t go to the movies and put $10 on the credit card. You stay home, you earn as much money as possible, you eat the cheapest food possible and get that emergency solved,” he says.
Location Matters
The Mustaches intentionally live in a town with a relatively low cost of living. Their property taxes in Longmont are only $200 per month, and the home’s solar design and insulation keep energy bills to under $40 per month.
Who Needs a Car?
Longmont is also a bike-friendly town, which encourages even more saving. By biking to most places, Mr. Money Mustache figures it helps the family save roughly $10,000 a year on transportation costs. “I kind of have a rule: You do not drive the car for trips within the city, because you don’t need to. The bike will do it just as fast, and it’ll be better for you,” he says.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Settle PTPTN Now and Enjoy 20% Discount
There are few reasons I settled the PTPTN loan, the main reason definitely to enjoy the 20% discount, although some might argue that if the Opposition take over, we might get it waive 100%, in which I will not want to go to that. In my opinion and my second reason to settle the loan, I would think that we should repay the institution what we have borrowed, so that our children will continue to have the benefit of getting low interest loan for education; which again many will argue we should be getting education for free - again, I will not go into that.
Well, for those who intended to enjoy the 20% discount and to settle the PTPTN loan once and for all, the following is the step by step on how to do so.
1. Go this website: http://eform.ptptn.gov.my/borang-digital/sahbaki.cfm. After obtain the form, attach and and email to the one of the department in PTPTN bakihutang@ptptn.gov.my. stating your name and identification number and the loan reference number to get the balance as of the email date with the intention of full settlement of the PTPTN loan according to Budget 2013 to enjoy the 20% discount; and within the next working day, one should be receiving the email from a representatives from PTPTN regarding the balance as of the email date, as well as the full settlement amount with the 20% discount.
Example of the attachment regarding the full settlement with 20% discount |
2. Print out the attachment with the PTPTN full settlement details; it is a PDF file - the naming convention of the PDF supposedly be something like USERNAME
2. Go to any of the bank and issue a bank draft or banker's cheque with the stated amount. (It's just unfortunate that the PTPTN offices will not be accepting credit card as payment, else, I can give this step a go)
Bank draft/banker's cheque sample |
3. Go to any of the nearest PTPTN office and give the bank draft or the banker's cheque together with the printed attachment and pass everything to the officer and the officer will do the rest.
Sample receipt |
4. Wait a while for the full settlement letter to be issued by the officer to you and voila, you have just settled the PTPTN loan. When you check the loan balance online, you might still see the 20%, but it will be totally removed after 7-14 working days.
Full settlement letter |
Saturday, July 20, 2013
How Asian customers think?
How Asian customers think?
So, if you are thinking of ways to save money, here is a video made by Jin. Check it out...
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Income Not Enough?
Here is the thing that we encounter most often...."income not enough?"
A lot of people have criticize the Gen-Y for not knowing how to appreciate the jobs that they have or the opportunities given....it is true to a certain extend but what Gen-Y is complaining have its' valid points...ask most of the Gen-Y and they will tell you that their current companies are no good, income not enough etc.
Well, let us do some simple calculations shall we? Here is a simple calculation....
The average rate for a rented apartment in the Klang Valley costs between RM800 – RM1000 per month depending on location. Car loan repayments are somewhere between RM600 to RM1000 a month, while monthly fuel expenditure is RM 250 – 300 a month; exlcuding tolls. Food tallies up to about RM800, if you eat out everyday three times a day, averaging at RM10 per meal. Add other costs like cigarettes, entertainment, internet and telephone bills and all of that rounds off to about RM3000 – RM3500 a month. Well, if we try to minus off the entertainment, it will still account to about RM3000...or maybe we got a room instead, another 500 lower so about RM2500...how about taking LRT and not getting a car...so that will help our spending to be about RM2000....
And how much are the fresh graduates earning? Anything from RM1.8k to RM2.8k....so, is it logical that one complained about income not enough? I think it has its validity to a certain extend. Then, when marriage comes, one have to start thinking about more savings...buying houses, etc. Of course, the initial stage, it could be even easier when the couple get to halves the expenses....carpool, stay together, eat in etc. Some even stay with the in-laws but what happens next? Babies? Do we still consider 50/50 on the expenses? Things become an entirely different issue when that happen. What we see nowadays are a trend of getting dual income....working from home, people giving tuitions, online business and others. Are those choices come willingly? No, I don't think so. I have seen friends who took up teaching because they have to.
Income is definitely not that enough to cover for all that expenses...of course, not all is lost. If you are not earning that high amount, try to think of solution...those extra incomes could be of good use. Instead of driving, taking the LRT is not bad especially if you work somewhere in KLCC, Pavillion etc. The surroundings there are good for taking LRT and you could even save on gym since you'll be having your daily walks every morning and evening. The truth is ugly but if you are not earning enough, it's either think of ways to increase earnings or cut expenses.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Universal Rule of Personal Financial Management: #4 - Never Pay Too Much in Insurance Premiums
#1 - Spend Less Than You Earn
#2 - Earn More
#3 - Never Depend On Single Income
The rule of personal financial management #4 is more on the mistake that most people made when deciding on the insurance premium that suit them, and most of the time people either over-insure themselves or pay an excessive premium for insurance because they do not know how to optimize their money. For example, consider two insurance products for a person at age 35: term insurance for RM500,000 will cost RM1,625 per annum, whereas a whole life policy will cost RM14,225 per annum.
We have to understand that the idea of getting insurance cover to protect our loved ones from financial hardship in case of an untoward event; which is the reason why we should go for the lowest possible premium and then investing the difference between the two premiums to optimize our money.
Many have chosen the wrong premium mainly due to greed, as well as lack of knowledge in the insurance product that they were about to purchase. While the objective is clear which is to protect the loved ones from financial hardship in case of something bad happen, but many will treat insurance as part of the investment.
Overall, insurance cover is needed to protect our loved ones from financial hardship, should something bad happen to us. Having said so, one should truly understand the policy before signing up for the policy and most importantly not to over insured or paying too much in insurance premiums because eventually insurance will just serve as a type of protection.