Rules of Life by Bill Gates

This has been circulating on the net for a while now but I just read it. Whether its true or not I find some of the points worth repeating to those who wish to read and learn. If you do not read it too seriously, it might just lighten your day! Have fun listening to the world's richest man.......

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule #1 :
Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule #2:
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule #3:
You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule #4:
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule #5:
Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule #6:
If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule #7 :
Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule #8:
Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule #9:
Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule #10:
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule #11:
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Retirement Timeline

"Majority neglect retirement plan"; an article in The Star reads on 14 March 2008. Most of Malaysian have not prepared for retirement while those who have only started after age 40.

If you want to retire comfortably, it is definitely too late to start planning at age 40 not to mention wanting to retire rich and young. I asked myself "Why do we do that?" Merely because we are too busy with our daily life and kept putting off planning for our retirement because the word "retirement" sounds too far away?

Retirement is in fact the most important phase in one's life and I felt strongly that the timeline for retirement should begin the minute we finished college. Right, young people out there must think I am being ridiculous. You have not even started to earn money or gotten your first job, why should there be thoughts of retiring......

You are absolutely right, and that how the statistics ended ...."leaving it too late to plan for your retirement".

I was just suggesting that you start to plan towards your retirement. I am a strong believer of the phrase "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and it is necessary to include a retirement timeline to your aspirations and your life's goals.

Everyone should plan for their future and if your future plans include how and when you want to retire, it will help you have a clear view of how rich or how young you will retire. Planning this step of your future will definitely encourages and pushes you to achieve your life's goals faster and more effectively.

"You start to live once you do not need to earn to live!!"

Words of Advice for Stock Market Investors

With the "yoyo" market trends out there, everyone of us needs a dose of motivation to keep us going, to maintain our poise and confidence. Especially for new investors and the beginners, it is indeed a trying time as the market trend is so reactive, a lot of us are unsure what move to make.

Here is something I found in my newspaper clipping collections and I wish to share this piece of booster with you, a winning essay by Gan Hong Leong of Bentong, organised by SIDC published in the Focus column of The Star:

Words of Advice

For all stock market investors and speculators out there, here is Gan's advice:

Value for money you must insist

Buying in a downtrend you must resist

The trend is your friend

Follow it to the very end

Holding on to falling stock is unwise

Cut your losses quickly is advised

Never kill the golden goose when you have one

Never sell prematurely, let it run for once

Undervalued unpopular stock is never a fancy

Glamour stock is the choice normally

Join the crowd; enjoy the ride, if you wish

Be careful though, lest you fall out and vanish

The market is most tempting at the top

Lock in your profit before volume has a good drop

Sell your stocks when you love them most

Take your money and let the deal be closed

Buy when volume traded is at its lowest

The market will then be at its dullest

Investors should buy low and sell high

Traders should buy high and sell higher

Someday you will know what I mean

By then, you are a stock market dean.

How to be a Millionaire?

Does it take money to make money? People always say that the rich will get richer and the poor gets poorer and the gap gets wider. Every country the Government are trying their best to bring the gap closer by giving subsidies to the poor, providing opportunities and assistance so that they can live better. But we still see poor people everywhere; from dirt poor (homeless) to the just-barely-make-it poor.

Have you ever pondered how the rich gets richer? Or how the poor gets poorer?

My personal opinion is that both questions have the same answer. Let’s not waste time in “poor getting poorer” but if you do have the time to survey the poor, you might get to learn from their mistakes and how not to make them. I feel it is better to learn first hand from the rich and find out how the rich gets richer.

As you can see from today’s stock market volatile situation and it is admittable that it is now not so easy to make money just from investing in stocks or the mutual fund as it is very closely related to the market trend.

Let’s learn from the already self-made millionaires of the world. What are they characteristics and their attitudes towards life:-

80% of the world’s millionaires are

Physically:

• ordinary people (like you and me) who make it on their own and in his/her generation.
• Their wealth is accumulated slowly and steadily.
• Only 20% inherited their wealth and the rest never inherited a single cent.
• Most wear inexpensive cloths, drive home-country made cars
• About 50% of them still live in their first purchased house
• 20% of them are retired, 55% self-employed, remainders are working professionals
• All of these millionaires invested approximately 20% of their household income yearly.

Emotionally:

• They have winning attitude
• They always think positively
• They are always questioning to better themselves
• They are always on the look out for better and sure investment opportunities
• They do not take risk; only calculated risk
• They are the doer
• They have the “never-say-die” way of life

After studying the physical and emotional aspect of self-made millionaires, the question we should pose to ourselves is “How can we be like them?” Majority of us spend more than we earn. We are always lamenting about not having enough and we are probably spending our next pay check before it even arrive, thus creating a debt situation.

We live beyond our means, we spend more than we earn while self-made millionaires do the opposite, they spend less than they earn.

They live beneath their means.

Very simply put: They simply spend less!!

And continuously looking for ways to make money out of the money they did not spend.

If you need to learn more, you may want to read some of the related posts in this blog under the category of “Wealth Creation”. Be warned – it is not easy to do what the millionaires do but it is simple. Have fun changing the way of life.

Be a Master Builder of Your Life

Watch this — Building Life

I watch this slide-show by an anonymous writer and I find it to be true to life. Whatever we choose to do in our life, we need to do it with our heart, otherwise, we will end up like this excellent carpenter with immaculate carpenter skill but who built his own house shoddily.

Remember, your life is yours to live. You don’t live it for your parents, your spouse or even for your children. Evidently how you live and die rest fully upon yourself in your own two hands.

Be a master builder of your own life and allow the next generation to emulate your good example by living a healthy, wealthy and happy life. Take care of your own health, work hard to build your financial wealth and while doing both stay happy.

Spenders versus Savers

It is a universal fact that it is easier to spend than to save. Human has high level of needs and that is the main reason why we spend more than we save. Statistics showed 1 in 20 of us are unable to control the urge to spend, men and women alike.

It is also true that we spend as much as we earn if not more. There is never enough. If you have been working for 10 years and more, you can make your own comparison.

Assuming that you were earning just $24k annually 10 years ago, you get along fine with your income and expenses and now 10 years later if your earning has increased let say to $60k annually, I am sure you are not just spending $24k but that you probably are spending $60k or even more. If you are spending more then this will equate to the fact that you are in debt.

Conclusion here is, if you are one of those who said to yourself that you will start saving when you are earning more, stop it, because it will never come to that. If you do not have a financial plan in place, each time your earning increase you will have this other thing that you need or something that you are committed to. And “poof” there goes that additional amount of money you have.

So, are you a spender or a saver?

Savers

If you are a saver, fine and good but just saving your money is not enough to guarantee you a good retirement plan that will give you the lifestyle you are so used to now.

Read about “Put your money to work for you” and some of the posts here under “Invest” category. Find out how you can put your savings into earning money for you over the next 20 or 30 years before you opt to retire.

Spenders.

Spenders beware! Are you in the high-income, low net-worth category? It’s time to make drastic changes if you are reading this and you are aware that you are spending too much. Similar to people with tendency to violence, they are born with an extra “y” chromosome. You are probably born with a defective chromosome maybe a “s” chromosome :). You are born to shop, shop and shop. Or you may be suffering from a sickness called “shopaholic”. Following are 2 ways to help you fight your “sickness”, they can work but it takes some will power:-

1. Pay yourself first – before you can get your hands on your money end of each month, commit by auto-transfer the amount you want to put away to a special account where you have taken out with no “ATM” card. (Read about some posts here in “Wealth Creation” category).

2. Lock away all your credit cards. Credit cards are meant for convenience and building your credit score but if you are unable to control your spending, the best way is to get rid of the spending avenues. Keep only enough cash for you to get by daily and by all means avoid window shopping. The temptation may be too much for you to resist the inconvenience of running to the bank. After a while you will hopefully (depend on individual and the strength of your will power) get use to your forced new lifestyle of minimum buying and live with this new found lifestyle comfortably.

Rich Dad’s Words of Wisdom

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost, from ‘The Road Not Taken’

At times, when we come to the crossroads of our lives, where we turn is what we will make out of our lives therefore it is important that we make the right choice. Most people will not take the road less traveled due to the fear of the unknown.

Fear of the Unknown

Among all the fears, this is the most potent to human advancement. If you do not know whether you are suffering from this fear then you won’t able to “cure” it. Ask yourself truthfully whether you are afraid to venture into the unknown; whether you would take up a task you totally do not know anything about or you will accept a job that you have no idea how to do? Beware this fear as it may stagnate you. Stagnate your mind and soul and keeping you stuck on a spot. Get out of it, try a little adventure and feel the exhilaration.

I read the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and here are some of Rich Dad’s words of wisdom:

• You are what you Think.
• A job is a short-term solution to a long-term problem.
• A highly paid slave is still a slave.
• Why climb the corporate ladder when you can own the ladder?

Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something - Plato

All these wisdom words are good and fine. I suppose we need to understand them and learn to use them to our advantage, to guide us along and to help us make an effort to change our way of thinking. That is what wise words are all about – a guide and a constant reminder to make the right turn.

New Year – Time for Reflection

Every new year will bring us closer to the day we dream of. The day we can stop being in the rat race, the 9 to 5 routine or the weekly 3-shift work we are in. Whether we want it or not we will eventually retire one fine day.

The last day of the year; 31^st December, always give me that feeling of underachievement. Of not doing enough or not completing all that I intended to. It gives me the déjà vu feeling, that I have been on this road before. Why?

It is time for reflection….. had we done what we had set ourselves to do at the beginning of the year or had we done enough for ourselves and for others?

Your Successes

Have you been successful in some of your endeavours; if you have, are they good enough for you, is it up to the standard you want? Are all your successes beneficial to you and to others? Are they good enough for you to repeat over the coming year?

Your Mistakes

If you fail in some of the ventures you have got yourself into this year, are you able to learn from these mistakes (I feel strongly about calling mistakes failures as I believe no one will ever fail, you just miss your target). Mistakes are there for us to learn, we learn not to repeat them and learn to correct them so we make them into successes.

There is No Comparison

I would urge everyone who is on their venture to become successful to avoid comparing yourself with others. You should compete with yourself and not others. Do not compare yourself with your friends, neighbours or even siblings. Set your own standard and target and the only person you compete with is yourself. Everyone is different in their making and everyone succeed at their own pace. You will only get frustrated if you start comparing yourself to others and that will definitely be detrimental to your mental health. You do not want or need that.

I find reflecting a very good way to move on with our lives especially if there are obstacles that we have encountered and reflections give us time to heal and repent and it is good for the soul… have a fun time doing that on the 1^st day of the year.

Success is Predictable

Success is as predictable as the sun will rise in the east and will then set in the west everyday, 365 days a year. Success is not simply being in the right place at the right time. Success is not meeting one rich person who will help you out. Success is also not a matter of just good luck.

Success will only happen to you if you want it to. You have to work for it. You will have to learn all the success principles and guides given by all the “gurus” of the world and by putting into practice all you have learned you will then be moving to the front line of your life. Once you have attained those principles, you will have an incredible advantage over people who do not yet know or is willing to learn and put such techniques and strategies into practice. You will have the winning edge for the rest of your life and career.

A few good personal traits to have:

• Have a clear sense of direction
• Commit to excellence
• Willing to serve others
• Honesty is the best policy
• Be dependable
• Self Discipline
• Utilise your inborn creativity
• Be Decisive
• Be Action Oriented
• Be Consistent
• Be Persistent

Things you have to do and work on:

• Dare to dream
• Work towards being self employed
• Do what you love
• Work hard and long
• Have life long learning attitude
• Know the detail of your job and/or business
• Learn to prioritise
• Build a reputation for speed and dependability
• Willingness to advance in life
• Go out there and meet the right people
• Keep in good physical health

Last but not least ----- Failure is not an option

If you want to be a big success, all you have to do is consistently do all the things other successful people do. Observe the stuff rich people do and don’t do. Emulate them and learn to think and work like them.

You and you only can determine your fate and your destiny. You are the driver and the only person responsible for your own life. Remember, there is no limitations to what you can be and what you can do unless you put the limitation there yourself by thinking too much. Remove the fear and the disbelief from your mind.

Everyone is born a winner. Nobody in this world can stop you from being successful. You are the owner of your own destiny. You have the potential to hit the target you set for yourself. You have the creativity, the talent and the abilities for much greater things in life than what you are doing now.

Today, now, decide what you want, to the exact minute detail of what you really want to be and want to achieve. Your greatest responsibility now is to continue that dream and make your plans to achieve your goal. Take action towards your goals and never, never even dare think of giving it up. Once you get yourself started laced with all the above traits you need and things you need done, you will be unstoppable and success is confirmed.

Don’t forget

“SUCCESS IS PREDICTABLE

and

FAILURE IS NEVER AN OPTION”.

Discover the 90/10 Principle

Most chaotic situation are caused by the reaction of human population. Sometimes a single action causes a chain of reactions which allow situation to get from bad to worst.

This is so true to life that I felt compel to share with all the visitors of this site. This 90/10 Principle is written by Stephen Covey and is applicable to your business situation as well.

I once heard a simple story of a rich man who display a lot of expensive antiques in his home. One day his seven-year old son accidentally knocked down one of his favourite expensive vase and broke it to a thousand pieces. The normal reaction of a human being is to scold or even beat up the poor frightened boy but the reaction of this wise man was so touching. He not only did not get upset or angry, he was all concerned and fussed over the boy. “Did you hurt yourself” he asked, ” Did the sound of the breaking vase frightened you?” and he knelt down beside the boy hugging him tight, ignoring the broken vase entirely.

When asked by his visitor who happened to witness the incident, his explanation was simple. “I can replace any expensive items in this house but not my son; he is my only priceless possession.”

My outlook of children upbringing changed at that moment onwards.

Discover the 90/10 Principle.

It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations).

What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic.

We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? ……….By your reaction.

You cannot control a red light. But you can control your reaction. Don’t let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let’s use an example.

“You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened.”

What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse.You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus.

Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a30 mph speed limit.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home.

When you arrive home, you find a small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why? …. Because of how you reacted in the morning.

Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?

B) Did your daughter cause it?

C) Did the policeman cause it?

D) Did you cause it?

The answer is “D”.

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5
seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, “Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time”. Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why?

Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle. If someone says something negative about you, don’t be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don’t have to let the negative comment affect you!

React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc. Even to the point of ending in jail.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? (A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them?

WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive?

Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job.

Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.

The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take outpour frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on.

Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.

The result?

Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle.

It CAN change your life!!! It can help you change your personal as well as business life situation for the better.

發現了 90/10 的定律。

它將改變你的一生（最低限度，它將改變你對不同情況的反應）。

90/10 的定律是什麼？生命的 10% 是由你的際遇所組成，餘下的 90% 則由你的反應而決定。

這意味著什麼？我們無法掌握那 10% 的際遇。 我們無法阻止行程因汽車壞掉、航班誤點，甚或車子拋錨而延誤。

我們無法控制那 10% 的際遇，但餘下的 90% 則不然。你可以決定餘下的 90% 。

如何？ … 憑你的反應。

你不能控制交通燈轉紅，但你能夠控制你的反應。別讓他人愚弄你，你能夠控制你的反應。

讓我們舉個例子。

你與你的家人吃早餐，你的女兒不小心把咖啡潑倒在你的襯衫上，這是你無法控制的情況。

下一步將如何則由你的反應而定。

你開始責罵。

你狠狠地臭罵女兒一頓，令她陷於痛苦之中。然後你又把怨氣發洩在太太身上，責難她把咖啡放在桌邊。接踵而來的是一場短暫的罵戰。你生氣地上樓更換你的襯衫。你下樓，然後發現你的女兒正哭著吃早餐並趕著回校。結果，她錯過了巴士。

你的太太趕著上班，你匆忙開車把女兒送回學校。因為你已經遲到了，你以時速四十英里在一條限速三十英里 上的道路前進。

你付了六十元道路罰款，終於抵達學校，並已遲到十五分鐘。你的女兒沒有跟你道別便已跑進學校。你回到公司，已是九時二十分了，這時你竟然發現──你忘了帶公事包。這是非常糟糕的一天，而你感到你的運氣每況越下，你開始渴望回家。

當你下班回家，你感到你與太太及女兒的關係上出現微小裂痕。

為什麼？ … 一切皆由你早上的反應而起。

為何你會有如此糟糕的一天？

Ａ）是咖啡所造成的嗎？

Ｂ）是你的女兒所造成的嗎？

Ｃ）是警察所造成的嗎？

Ｄ）是你所造成的嗎？

答案是Ｄ。

你無法控制女兒打翻咖啡一事，但你在緊接那五秒內的反應讓霉運開始發生。

以下是你改寫命運的結局。

咖 啡翻倒在你身上，你的女兒幾乎要哭了，但你溫柔地說：「親愛的，這並不算什麼，但你下次得小心一點了。」你拿起毛巾便上樓去。在你更衣完畢並拿起你的公事 包後，你下樓去，望出窗外，你看到你的孩子正在上巴士。她回頭並向你揮手。你早了五分鐘回到公司，並親切地與你的同事打招呼。你的上司亦對你新的一天給予 正面的評價。

看到兩者的分別嗎？

兩個不同的情景，由同一個開首所引起。但結局完全兩樣。

為什麼？

皆因你的反應而起。

你或許真的無法掌控 10% 的際遇，但剩下的 90% 則可以由你的反應而定。

以下有一些實踐 90/10 定律的方法。如有人說起你的是非，千萬別當一塊「海綿」，讓那些攻擊性的說話像水在玻璃上一般的流走。別讓那些負面評價纏繞著你！

適當的回應能夠使你的生活免受破壞。一個錯誤的反應能夠使你失去朋友、生氣、甚或被壓力壓得喘不過氣來。

如果車子拋錨了，你會如何感想？你會生氣嗎？你會否猛擊車上的鐵鍊？我的一個朋友就把鐵鍊弄下來！你會怒罵嗎？你的血壓是否急速上升？你會否嘗試去踫擊他們？

誰會在意你上班遲到了十秒？為何讓車子破壞你的駕駛過程？

記著 90/10 的定律，別在意。

你被通知說你被辭退了。

你為何失眠與憤怒 ? 事情總是發生了。不如用你憂心的力量及時間去找尋新工作吧！

航班延誤了，而它將影響你一整天的行程。為何將你的怒氣發洩在服務員的身上？她並不能阻止事情發生。

如利用你的時間學習，或認識旁邊的乘客。不要憤怒，它將令你的一天變的更糟。

現在，你懂得了 90/10 的定律。實踐它，你將會發現它的驚人效果。嘗試實行它，你將不會有任何損失。 90/10 的定律非常神奇，而只有很少數的人懂得運用它。

結果呢？

超過百萬人沈溺在痛苦、嘗試、問題與心傷之中。我們必須理解並實踐 90/10 的定律。

它將改變你的一生。

願與各位並勉！

Save to Grow Your Money

Don’t give away or waste away your hard earned money so easily. Take time to find ways and means to avoid spending money unnecessarily. I know for sure some of us do not like this task and may even feel that life is too short to deprive oneself of some luxuries after a hard day’s work. Yes, this concept in life is fine. I am not suggesting you to be a miser but merely to be more conscious of where your money goes.

Here is a checklist of my own experience and how we can all save without feeling miserable.

Your Transportation

• Check your tyre pressure every month. Most car owners and drivers know that fact that it is a “must” task but a lot of us do not do it regularly and punctually. We are always postponing this task simply because we are either in a rush or too lazy. Unbalanced tyre pressure cause more petrol consumption and also additional wear and tear.
• Park at free car park. This may not be easy in the city but putting in your effort to locate one may save you a big chunk of your daily expenses. You may have to arrive early and may even have to walk a longer distance but if taken positively, you are having multiple savings; save on petrol; walking is a good exercise; waking up early is a healthy habit; helps you avoid the usual jam and in a way reduce your stress level.
• Car pool. If you have colleagues living in your neighbourhood, you may just work out a schedule to car pool. This will definitely cut down your transport cost by half.
• Take public transport. It is definitely cheaper to use the public transport than to drive to and from work provided it is convenient to do such.
• Wash and polish your car on your own. Instead of driving to the car wash and get your car wash and polished. Do it yourself. Dual advantages; you save money as well as get the much needed exercise. Make this chore a fun activity with the family.

Energy-efficient Your Dwelling

Energy-conservation is not only environmental friendly (statistics showed that in UK, housing produces about 30% of carbon emissions), it saves you a lot of money as well. Take the effort to gradually convert your daily chore and electrical uses to be energy-efficient:-

• Use energy saving products. It may cost you more to buy energy-saving bulbs or lightings but in the long run you will save on electricity consumption and cut down energy cost. Buy energy-saving products like boilers, heaters, fridge, dishwashers and washing machines. Look out for the Energy Saving Recommended Logo.
• Conduct a home energy audit. Some of your electrical equipment may be old and leaking energy so an energy audit may help you identify what is causing your electricity bill to go up.
• Generate your own energy. Use solar energy panel for some of your electrical equipment. Initial cost may be high but if it provides energy for 50% of your daily uses, it will eventually save money for you.
• Join some energy-saving movement. Or attend talks on how to save and control the energy usage in your home. Put what you learn into practise
• Switch them off when not in use. Turn off the lights, fan, air-condition, heater etc. when you leave the room. Check to ensure all are switched off before leaving your house to work.

Food Shopping

These are some money saving tips on food shopping which I felt personally that allow me to save. Next time you go groceries shopping put these tips in your “Groceries shopping list”:-

• Purchase generic brands. Most generic brands usually contain about the same ingredients and nutrients as your favourite brands. Products like coffee, oil, rice are nearly as good but sold at a lower price.
• Buy fruits in season. Fruits that are out of season can be much more expensive and may not be as fresh as fruits in season. However, seasonal fruits may be higher in price at the beginning of the season and it is better to wait awhile before buying. My experience is that I bought 2 persimmons for $8 at the beginning of the season and after 2 weeks I could get 4 persimmons for only $6.
• Avoid buying imported brands. You are not only paying for the food you want to consume but paying for the freight and handling charges as well as tax imposed by your local government. Support your local economy by going local and save.
• Buy from your local markets. Do your shopping at the local markets instead of going to the supermarkets where the prices are inflated. In some areas, the markets are now open longer hours. It may not be as comfortable as the supermarkets but the foodstuff are usually fresher and much cheaper as you eliminate the middleman cost.
• Do not overstock. Eat up all that you have bought. Statistics showed that one-third of the world foods are being thrown away. This is definitely wasteful. Foods usually do not last forever, so only buy the amount you need and avoid overstocking.
• Shop Around. If you have to shop for non-perishables in supermarkets, go shop around for the best buys. Here you can stock up your one month’s need to avoid going too many trips. This will save you petrol, parking, time and even to prevent buying extras (what you really do not need).
• Make your meals at home. Cooking your own simple meals at home is a much cheaper alternative to eating take-away or eating out. Pack lunch boxes (sandwiches and fruits, fried rice etc) for the kids as well as yourself to your office. Eat in restaurants only on celebrations, this will make the occasion much more special then eating out all the time.
• Use leftovers. Use your imagination to cook up new dishes from leftovers. I use left-over meat to cooked up “Shepherds” pie and fry the left-over rice. Its delicious and cost saving and food are not thrown out adding to the landfill and go wasted.

There are more ideas to share but I think I am stretching a little. What I am trying to stress here is that you can really save a whole load of your money if you ever stop to think of the wastage you have done thus far.

I like this simple phrase “BE BOTHERED”. Take charge of your life, take charge of your money, don’t waste it away. Practise the above suggestions and put any savings into a used tissue or shoe box (no need to waste money buying a money saving box). Commit to a monthly contribution into a trust fund to earn you money. Believe me if you start now, you will retire richer than you planned to be.

Readers can share any money-saving ideas by putting in your comment. I am pretty sure there are a lot more ideas not mentioned yet. Share your successful experiences with the world.

Are You a Procrastinator?

Are you one who will put off what you can do today till tomorrow. Are you in a habit of promising to do something today and went on with your daily routine and forget about what you have agreed to do?

Take note that sometimes putting off things you can do today till tomorrow might be detrimental to your financial health.

Here is a simple 3-questions checklist for you. Do not procrastinate any further. Use them to get your personal finance and life in order before any regrets:-

• Have you put up a financial budget yet?
• Have you put away an emergency fund yet?
• Have you taken care of your financial succession plan yet?

A Lifetime Checklist

1. Have you put up a financial budget yet?

It is important to plan your life and financially, a budget is important for anyone who is above 18 years of age. If you are 18, you are qualified to have your own personal budget. You may not have a permanent job yet but while you are studying you will still have to survive on a budget; be it an allowance given you by your parents or funds you have borrowed to take you on your pursuing journey and/or additionally you may do some part time job to supplement your monthly fund.

Plan out your expenses now and ensure that you go by planned budget and stick to your plan. You may be surprised that you might have left over after some careful budgeting. Put that immediately into an investment plan.

If you are already working, you would probably have done a budget for yourself. Are you on target with your budget? Have you revised your budget thus far? Remember, after a while, you budget plan may be outdated. Your needs may outgrow your budget so work on updating your budget every now and again to keep up with your lifestyle.

The essence of budgeting is to know where your money is going. Do not fear that you may see what you do not want to see by putting up a budget. You can only put in order what you can see. By putting up a budget will help you put your finances in order.

2. Have you put away an emergency fund yet?

Emergency happens to everyone at one time of our life or another. You have to be prepared and ready for such an occurrence; like temporary losing your job or a sickness in the family etc.

Decide on the amount you may require in case of such situation. You may want to put aside 3 to 6 months of your salary as an emergency fund. This fund should be set aside and should not be part of your expense budget. Take care to put it somewhere where it is earning you money yet can be liquidated easily during your need.

Having set aside an Emergency Fund will help put your mind at ease to get on with your daily life.

3. Have you taken care of your financial succession plan yet?

a. Retirement Fund

For Malaysians, we have our EPF, while the Americans, their 401K and Singaporeans, CPF. These are funds we contribute to in preparation for our retirement on a monthly basis while we are still working. Our employers are required (some countries by law) to pay an equivalent amount usually 10 to 12% of the basic salary.

Be aware of such benefits as soon as you start to work. If you are not receiving this, check it out with your employer. There may be some loop holes to avoid paying employee their due by employing them on a daily rate. Check this out in your own country and ensure that you bargain for this before signing any employment contract. This is a huge part of your retirement plan.

Keep track of your funds by requesting for a yearly statement and know how your funds are doing. Are you been fairly rewarded by leaving them with these organizations? If you are not satisfied with the fund earnings, check out where you can put your funds to achieve better rewards.

Have you assigned your beneficiaries yet? You may have done it years ago before you have a family of your own. Do take time to check this out and do your re-assignment as soon as possible.

b. Written A Will?

Accidents may happen. Sickness may happen to anyone who may be healthy today, so it is important for everyone to have a will done. Do not wait till you are 45 to do this. Your will can be changed as you advanced in age and as and when you want it to change.

Majority of people procrastinate to writing a will as they usually avoid talking about the subject of death. If you are borne, you will eventually die, the problem here is you do not know when you will die. This is the reason why you have to write up a will now.

Go to a lawyer to write up a simple will, it will not cost you more than a few hundred dollars. At least you know where your money will go when you are dead.

c. Bought a Life Insurance?

Have you insured your life against any eventuality? Getting yourself insured is more cost effective when done at a younger age. You don’t have to go for the fanciful packages. Get a simple life plan with critical illnesses. If you can afford it, an additional hospitalisation plan would be good but most organisation insure you for this. You have to assign your beneficiary for this as well.

These may just be 3 simple questions. If your answers are “YES” to all, very good, your financial health is in order but if your answers are “NO” for all or any one of them, my advice is to get to it right away. AIM TO LIVE A CAREFREE LIFE!!

8 Secrets of WEALTH CREATION

1 ADD VALUE

If you have invested in a business and in order for you to make your products or services more valuable, you have to work harder, work smarter, work longer. This is to ensure that your business will start creating wealth for you faster.

2 CONTRARIAN THINKING

A contrarian trading strategy is based on the assumption of negative serial correlation of prices: a predictable pattern such that if prices have gone up, they must come down eventually, and vice versa. This view of contrarians focuses on the important role of fads: rather than acting independently, investors exhibit herd-like behavior, following waves of mass optimism and pessimism, whereas a contrarian thinker /investor goes against the masses.

3 LET YOUR MONEY WORK FOR YOU

Buy things that CAN make money like mutual funds, stocks, bonds, properties and businesses. Buy them at the right time. You would want to buy into investments after the masses have sold, then sell when the bubble develops and before the bubble burst. You can buy the shares of excellent companies with good fundamentals during a recession or a meltdown. Or if you think that recent change of top management will turn around a troubled company.

4 LIFE LONG LEARNING

Take advantage of the traffic jam, put your travelling time into good use, listen to all the motivating audio programmes like the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” series. Fill your mind with “can do” daily. Read books that will put you in a positive mood. Just think, a simple idea from all these positive “vehicles” might just make you a millionaire.

5 LOVE YOUR JOB

If you have to work to earn a living, find a job that you love and enjoy. “When you start doing what you really love to do, you’ll never work another day in your life”

said BRIAN TRACY, author of the book called “The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaire”. Here while you are doing what you love and earning your salary, put a portion of which into your investment portfolio to create wealth.

6. IDENTIFY WITH SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

“Birds of a feather flock together”, this is a saying to determine what type of person you are in relations to the type of people you mix around with. About 90% of your success will be determined by the people with whom you habitually identify and pass the time. Your success and happiness in life is going to be determined by the quality of the relationships that you develop in your personal and your business activities. Find a few people who can mentor you, who can keep you focused and motivated.

7 ACTIVATE THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

Thinking positive is the key… Feed your mind with what you want, not what you do not want. Magnetise you mind to attract on what you want to do. Positive mind enhances the effect of belief and once you believe, you will be successful in all your endeavours.

8 SET YOUR LONG TERM GOAL

Write down your goal, what do you want to achieve says in 10, 20 or 30 years then work towards achieving it. Long term goals should be permanent and specific. It has to be realistic to avoid changes, remember it is harder to hit a moving target. Then work towards you goal every day with persistency. Daily, weekly, monthly, set your short term goals to help you achieve what you want in life.

Invest in yourself first

If you have been following this blog since the start and if you are new to investing or if you are working for others, you will probably think I am crazy......"why do I have to invest in myself first"?, you would ask. At the start I talked about "Pay Yourself First", now I want to talk about "Invest in Yourself First". Yes, before plunging yourself into the share market or dumping your hard earned money into some deal which some good sayers told you its a money churning wheel, you have to master the trick of the trade first.

If you are an employee, which majority of us are and if you are still trading time for money, you are on the single line earning power - linear power. Do not be mistaken, I am not against working for others, in fact for the "baby boomers", most of us only know how to earn a living by trading our time for money. We were brought up to "Go to school, get good grades to get a good paying job" and that is the way we are being conditioned. And that is the way the Y Generation are being brought up too. Thats why I am saying "Invest in Yourself First".

Be patient, do not be in a hurry to put your money to work for you. Learn all you can before deciding on what you want to do.

I have kept my postings simple and easy to follow with keywords relating to investing and if you seriously read, take action on the simple to-do steps you will eventually be resetting your mind to be an "investing mind".

Don't work for money, let your money work for you

Another beautiful statement but what has this statement got to do with you?............. Nowadays, young people with high qualifications get highly paid jobs and live in sheer comfort. Buy the biggest house they can afford, buy their dream car and the money they exchange with their time is being fully spent every month. Some even extend their credit by using multiple credit cards to keep up with the Joneses. Is this bringing you happiness? or more stress as you have to keep up with the credit payment not mentioning all the high taxes, high utilities and high mortgage payments. Your dwelling and car have now become a liability instead of an asset.

Lets change the picture here. Let say you are the highly paid young couple in your 30s, let say you decided instead of buying one big house, you bought 4 low cost houses near some college for rental to students and 1 medium cost house for your own dwelling, living in some comfort. You have a car each to take you to and from work, not a luxurious one but one that can transport you around. Whatever you collect for rental will probably pay for your mortgages so your 4 low cost houses are taken care off. Your own house maintenance is considerable and at the end of every month you still have money left over to put into your investment account.

I know you like the first picture, life is short and why must you be so frugal? You asked. But think about it......you will be happier in the 2nd picture, less stress equates to more happiness.

In the 2nd picture you have created four pipelines churning you continuous income. Imagine 20 years down the road, you have finally paid up your mortgages (1 by you and the other 4 by some other people whom you really don't care for and who don't really care for you but paid up your mortgages ----- how nice!!!) And from now on... you can retire ........

How old or young you retire is entirely up to you. If you are reading this and the ideas in this blog is giving you a good picture and if you are still in college........ immediately..... now..... put your feelings and thoughts into a plan and take action immediately.... you have decided to retire young. For those older ........ let me say this.... its never too late to change your style.

Bring this thought to bed every night and continue to think and feel that you are retiring young and I know you will........

Pay Yourself First

I first came across the term "PAY YOURSELF FIRST" in Robert T Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and I thought to myself "How can I pay myself when I am working for others?" Then again I learned something from Rich Dad Poor Dad...... that is "Don't work for money, let money work for you". Another simple but mind boggling statement. What Robert Kiyosaki meant by "Pay Yourself First" is actually self-discipline. The power of self-discipline!! If you cannot get control of yourself, do not try to get rich......if you are on the quest to learn to invest, you are indeed trying to get rich, so there, listen to the financial guru. It make no sense to invest, make money and blow it. It is the lack of self-discipline that causes most lottery winners to go broke soon after winning millions - people like to say this "easy come easy go" and its true because what the lottery winner is lacking is "self-discipline". You see, it is the lack of self-discipline that causes people who get a raise to immediately go out and buy a new car or take a cruise.

The Richest Man in Babylon, by George Classen, is where the statement "Pay Yourself First" comes from. Millions of copies have been sold but while millions of people freely repeat that powerful statement, few follow the advice.
The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaire by Brian Tracy mentioned "Pay Yourself First" in his Success Secret #8 and I share with you what Brian Tracy has to say ......

Resolve today that you are going to save and invest at least 10% of your income throughout your working life. Take 10% of your income off the top of your paycheck and put it into a special account for financial accumulation. If you save just RM100 per month throughout your working lifetime and you invest that money in an average mutual fund that grows at 10% per annum, you will be worth more than RM1 million by the time you retire. This means that anyone, earning minimum wage, if starts early enough and saves long enough, can become a millionaire over the course of his or her working lifetime.

(If you are in your 20s, this is the best time to start saving but if you are already into your 40s, its still the right time to start saving...... If you want to know how much you are worth, key in "What will my savings be worth?" on any search engine and it will tell you how much you are worth when you are in your 40s, 50s, 60s or even 70s. The point here is its never too late to change your mindset and start saving. By 40 you will probably be earning more and if you heed Warren Buffet's advice and not purchasing brand you will probably have more to put aside that those who are in their 20s.)

Developing the lifelong habit of saving and investing your money is not easy. It requires tremendous determination and willpower. You have to set it as a goal, write it down, make a plan and work on it all the time. But once this practice locks in and becomes automatic, your financial success is virtually assured.

(If you have read my first posting and if you are serious about getting rich, you would have by now calculated your worth, the least would be that you will have a mental plan of what you want, so let me nudge you a little....get on with it, put your thoughts and feelings into action....... write down your goals and set a plan and put it into action. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.)

Practice frugality, frugality, frugality in all things. Be very careful with every penny. Question every expenditure. Delay or defer every important buying decision for at least a week, if not a month. The longer you put off making a buying decision, the better your decision will be and the better price you will get at that time.

(I like this simple statement above, thank you Brian Tracy! It works for me. If it works for me, it can work for you too. You will be surprise how many things you don't really need to buy. Majority of people, includes you and I, BUY ON IMPULSE.)

A major reason that people retire poor is because of impulse buying. They see something they like and they buy it with very little thought. They become victims of what is called “Parkinson’s Law”, which says that “expenses rise to meet income”. This means that no matter how much you earn, you tend to spend that much and a little bit more besides. You never get ahead and you never get out of debt.

(There you are..........resolve not to be a victim of "Parkinson's Law".......resolve to retire rich......)

If you cannot save 10% of your income, start by saving 1%. Put it away at the beginning of each month, even before you begin paying down your debts. Live on the other 99 percent of your income. As you become comfortable living on 99%, raise your savings level to 2% of your income, then 3% and 4% and so on.

(IMPORTANT: Once you receive your salary, the first person you pay is yourself!!! Transfer that all important 10% of your salary to your Investment Account -- DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!)

Within one year, you will be saving 10% and maybe even 15% or 20% of your income and living comfortably on the balance. At the same time, your savings and investment account will start to grow. You will become more careful about your expenditures, and your debts will begin to be paid off. Within a year or two, your entire financial life will be under your control and you will be on your way to becoming a self-made millionaire. This process has worked for everyone who has ever tried it. Try it and see for yourself.

(CONGRATULATIONS......if you have come to this point, I know you are serious about getting rich and taking control of your life --- Take charge!!)

“A part of all you earn is yours to keep,

and if you cannot save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you.”

W. CLEMENT STONE

Put Your Thoughts and Feelings into ACTION

Open a special account for financial accumulation today. Make a deposit in this account, no matter how small. Then, look for every opportunity to add to this account. Begin to study money so that you understand how to make it grow. Read books and magazines by experts on the subject. Never stop saving, learning, and growing until you become financially independent.

(Remember that this account is not meant as a spare resource where you can withdraw during time of emergency. You must have another spare cash resource as I have mentioned in my earlier posting. If you are serious about getting rich you will "forget" about this account, put this savings into a trust fund that can churn you a minimum of 10 to 12 percent of earnings, compound this over 30 years...... you will retire rich!!!)