Sunday, August 03, 2008

Financial Problem Free

Yes I’m talking about money again and again. I never say that money is the root of happiness but without money can you get happiness? If yes, prove to me please?

I see my environment. I see my work place. I see my family. I see my blogger. I see friend. I see colleague. It is the same problem – money. Even though it is not about the whole community but it’s about 90% of the community facing the same problem called financial problem. Why I choose this title instead of Financial Freedom? Financial Freedom is different. Financial Freedom is when you are not afraid of losing job or not working where money works for you. Let say you have so many houses and the rental income give you a positive cash flow, when you losing your job you still alive and can survive with the income you get from rental. Get what I mean?

When we say financial problem, a lot of people get it wrong. Many people think if you are rich you are out of the financial problem circle. The answer is wrong. Doesn’t matter how much money you earn, but if you are a big spender you will face the same problem like any others too.

Here I want to discuss about this thing with you. Exchange ideas and tips too if possible.


1. Live below our mean


How many of you live below your mean? Live below your mean here means that you do not spend based on how much you earn or you can afford. Let say you earn RM1,000 monthly. You are not suppose to use up the whole RM1,000 without put aside some saving and investment. Investment here does not mean those investments like stock and others; you can simply put some amount of your money in ASB or ASN for your future. Remember, to be a financial problem free… you must at least have saving of 6 months of your salary. So it’s good for our rainy days. You never know something might happen and you have zero amount of money in your bank! I see most people in Malaysia use up all money and wait for the next salary money. What if all in sudden you fall sick and need some amount of money? What you can do? Borrow from the bank as personal loan? Borrow from family? Borrow from a friend? What if they are facing the same problem like you too and the bank just simply doesn’t approve your loan application? You’re dead my friend. So, try to reduce your monthly expenditure by write down your budget in a log book starting with the money you earn as your debit and money that your spend as your credit. Using a log book as your budget plan is the best way to see your cash flow. I know you can’t do it drastically but you can reduce it slowly. When you want to buy some things, put them in a list on a piece of paper and decide whether it’s necessary or necessity. Buy only necessary thing. There is no such thing as you have to pamper yourself after a hard work. Remember, when you have enough money and saving… you can enjoy yourself more without worrying at night before sleep that something bad might happen or it’s your down side of a life wheel. Do this and you will see your life is bright.


2. Do not use credit card


This is another thing that I always mention to my family and my friends. Credit card is the method for you to bring more debt into your life. It’s simple, don’t buy if you can’t afford. If you can afford why use credit card? Pay cash. Actually, I can’t say that using credit card is a bad thing to do. Only those who are discipline can use it. This does not mean you use credit card and waiting for the end of the month to pay the debt. You need to be honest to yourself and pay the amount that you spent last week in this week. That mean by spending your credit this week, you must be sure that you can pay the amount next week. By doing this, you already put aside some amount of money for credit card. Some of my friends feel weird that I never use credit card. I know bring some big amount of money is risky but I just simply don’t use credit card. The least I can do is to make debit card. You know what is debit card don’t you? It’s exactly like prepaid system for your cell phone. You pay before use. It’s safe and you don’t have to worry about any payment in the end of the month. Warren Buffet, the richest man on earth never use credit card. Why do you think you need it anyway? I was bad to my mom by breaking all her credit cards into pieces and left one for the petrol usage only. Actually I love her so much and I want her to be financial free when she retires. I don’t have certification on finance but I could help you with some advice on how you can save some money and have a financial problem free life.


3. Buy asset instead of liability


I see many Malaysian are crazy of car. Even some of my friends and colleagues prefer to buy a car rather than a house. Weird isn’t it? It’s totally weird. Remember, houses never depreciate and if it happens you can count by fingers. What about liability? Let’s take good example – a car. You buy a car this year and you want to sell it next year, do you think the price will gain and you get some profit? No, you don’t. But house will gain money and profit for you. It’s ok for you to buy a car after you already own a house. I know car is important in our life since there is no good public transports network. So, car is the safest vehicle at this moment. I was so shock when I found out my colleague changed her mind from buying a house with me and bought a car. I did advise her but she still stick to her own choice, buying a car. I hope she won’t regret with her decision since I know the price for house in Malaysia will increase more very soon. Oh by the way… do you know that sometimes liability can turn into asset when they make money for you. Let me give some examples for you. Let say you buy a car and you turn that car into a taxi, this car make money for you. So, it becomes your asset now. Another example is you buy a laptop for your business purpose. The laptop is not an asset anymore even though the price won’t gain any money when you sell but it already gives you some amount of money for your business by using it. These are good liabilities. Many people buying a house for rent using their own preference such as spacious and beautiful marbles. That is ok if you buy a house for you to live but it’s otherwise if you buy a house to rent. The location and the rental price are the only thing you need to consider before buying a house for rent. I see some mistakes made by some of my colleagues and friends. I shut my mouth for not being nosy. But if they ask my opinion, I have a bunch of them to share. I’m not a genius in this real estate business but I read a lot about it and exchange ideas with some friends who are already involved in this business for 10 years or more.


4. Diversify


To diversify you need to be creative. You need to work hard in order to be free financial problem unless you have great deal of salary. Work hard in here does not mean you have to work hard for your company. For many companies, do they pay you extra if you work hard for them? I know some companies do but can be counted by fingers. Your company gain profit but you gain nothing. Work hard here means you cannot be lazy. I like this quote:

“Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him.” –Benjamin Franklin-


I know many people out there want more income but how hard have they tried? Planning this and that without doing it is just a waste of time. It’s like daydreaming of you becoming a prince and when you are awake, you are just an average person who has nothing special but debt around. To get more income, you need to work hard (unless you are IT genius and you gain money by online business, but how many people can do it?). You need to diversify. Let say, you work from 8am-5pm. What can you do after work? You can bake some pizza and sell or simply on your laptop and build a website for people. Both make money. Both give you extra income. The more creative you are… the more income you get.


5. Business


Remember, you can’t be rich by working to a company or get highest qualification. The key is business. Do you think all people who own a private jet working with people? Do you think the richest man on earth work with people’s company? Do you think people that drive BMW and Mercedes normally those who work with people’s company? Some yes… but most people don’t. They own a company and they run business. The more business you are involved, the more income you get. To get or own more business you need to be creative like the 4th tip. Like me, yes I work with people and I do my part to save money for my rainy days and yes I will end up quitting with my job now and own a business. That is my promise to my body and soul. I keep praying to God and I hope I will be blessed.

"90% of wealth is from sources of business" -Prophet Muhammad S.A.W-

P/s: I have a link for you in case you still have doubt about how to clear your debt and be financial problem free. Click here.

Till later.

118 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:58 PM

    yeah, agreed with you. without money, i don't think we can get happiness.

    kehidupan sekarang ni dah makin mencabar. semua benda perlukan duit. kalau hidup kat bandar, lagi la perlu duit. nak parking kena bayar.. nak masuk toilet pn kena bayar. takde menda yg free.

    bukanlah bermaksud kalau nak bahagia tu kena ada duit juta2 kat bank. nope. cuma at least, kena la ada simpanan skit utk masa depan. if anything happen in the future, we still have our saving rite. that's why i says that money can makes us happy.

    ok,i better stop! dah pening ngn komen sndiri ni. haha

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  2. ixora,

    good comment ixora. agree with you.
    kehidupan di kota lagi susahkan nak jimat?
    jalan terbaik ialah tinggal di desa dan cari pekerjaan yang tak jauh dari desa.
    udara pun nyaman dan boleh jimat!
    orang yang jimat selalu akan jadi kaya kan?

    good comment :)

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  3. Anonymous4:33 PM

    Setakat nk komen je la saya pandai. hahahaha

    err,org yg jimat selalu jd kaya eh? aiseh, saya bkn tergolong dlm kategori tu!(tapi tak la bermaksud saya ni suka boros plak) huuhuu..

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  4. cuba try step 1 tuh... insyaallah leh jimat dan duit berganda :)

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  5. Anonymous5:39 PM

    aku dengar AKPK tu bagus. dia bantu sampai kita dapat langsaikan hutang kita.

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  6. mr penyubiru,

    betul tu. memang kerajaan nak tolong rakyat dari segi kewangan. bebanan kad kredit seluruh dunia dah melampaui batas dan harus dibendung. limit kredit yang banyak dan mudah untuk memohon kad kredit bukanlah langkah yang bijak. bank hanya memikirkan keuntungan di mana kerajaan perlu menangani masalah ini secepat mungkin.

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  7. Anonymous6:24 PM

    This entry is hot. thanx for posting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. hey gossip,

    i hope this post won't make big spenders hate me! :)

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  9. hidney,

    yes, but i guess the saying was made for those who spend on necessity rather than necessary? :)

    thanks hidney for your comment :)

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  10. Anonymous8:55 PM

    nice~
    but you know.. when u save some, for sure u'll use it to topup something else

    so it's not that u can save more money (just in case of some emergency) but it's more like u'r using the money for more beneficial stuffs

    why cant duit membiak by its own? LOL xD

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  11. woww... best lak dok baca ni... :)

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  12. adila - the amount that you save shouldn't be bothered anymore. assume that that amount has been used. let say you have RM1,000 salary, you use up RM800 for foods and living and RM200 for saving. you must assume that you only have RM800 for this month to be used and no more. by doing this, RM200 will be saved in the bank every month. imagine how much could you save for a year? :)

    duit can membiak... let say you put RM1,000 in ASB, do you know that end of the year you will get roughly RM100 as dividend? doesn't duit membiak? :)

    ej - hehe macam ej senang dah... tapi ej boleh try involve dengan real estate. mana tau ej pulak jadi jutawan hartanah! :) amin...

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  13. Anonymous10:50 PM

    hmm.... lets do leechs project with me..... and see what will happen to in 1 year..... money chase you hehehhe....

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  14. adlie,

    lets meet up and discuss more regarding this matter. want? ;)

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  15. the longest ?

    =) neway, nice post..

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  16. salam. wah, thanks for great tips. tapi, hidup kat bandar besar ni rsnya macam payah sikit nak berjimat. tu kdg rs macam nak cari keje kat kawasan luar bandar je. :)

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  17. dayah - lol. too many points and i already cut it half! :P

    thanks sis.

    hajar - kalau tak boleh jimat banyak, kita jimat sikit :) yang paling penting jangan terpedaya dengan SALE :) propaganda je tuh...

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  18. Anonymous11:22 PM

    Salam faisal admar...

    Nice post...may I say... :)

    I think to be financial free you have to start from the very beginning... means... maybe fr the 1st salary...

    financial problem nowadays are too common especially among fresh graduates with 1stjob-1stsalary-thingy.... they are too eager to spend their 1st time income by overspent it... so, it will put a trend to it... and without they even realize... they already in the zone of financial problem during the 1st year of working...

    they have to be thought on how to handle their salary wisely to prevent bankcrupt-c among fresh graduates employee... akpk is a good example...

    for me, I will put aside my saving by doing standing instruction (SI) and the bank will automatically put aside amount requested to my savings - ASB or even Tabung Haji...I even gave the bank book to my mum so I won't use it... I'll try to discipline myself, and only spend using the amount budgeted by week... If I overspent for week1, the amount for week2, week3 and week4 will be decrease and I have to live with it... by hook or by crook...

    so, that's the keyword... DISCIPLINE... :)

    business on the other hand also help... try to use skills and interests to generate new business... you have to have an interest in order to make it work... jgn nanti hangat2 tahi ayam je... :)

    great tips you shared with us... :)

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  19. i think it is an equal share of money and happiness. You have to have both in real life and balance it. But between the two, i opt for the later than the first.... it depends on one perception. I believe happiness and love comes first before you can make significant amount of money
    Health Ledger become rich at young age and he died young too..(don't wanna be like him...!!)

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  20. salam nurin,

    thanks for the compliment :)

    yes, you can start from the first salary but never too late too start from beginning even though you are old enough :) everything start with a 1st step...

    i agree, those fresh graduate should be advised or attend seminar regarding this matter so that they won't bring it further until they get marry. i hate to see youngsters get marry when they don't even have stability for a great commitment. this remind me of spiderman "with great power come great responsibility"... but we ain't spiderman either.

    yes discipline is important like i mentioned in the post. if you can't be discipline, you can either get someone like your mother or bank to do it for you. even government servant could do automatic saving with your payslip by telling your admin clerk about it :)

    yes, business need focus and you must be determine. if you always aware of your capital and the hard work, i believe you will be succeed. business is also about passion and patience :)

    hope you like this post nurin... take care.

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  21. hi syukur,

    yes agree with you that it depends on individual perspective. i have some friends with pathetic financial background and honestly is a nightmare to me.

    there are two type of people who borrow money from the bank or even other sources... those who borrow money and make more money than he needs to pay to the bank and those who borrow money and bring more debt into their life.

    i've been seeing sorrow and pain of struggling with this matter. sadly it involved my family member once too!

    i've been thinking of posting this post before but drag it till now because i do not want to disappoint those big spender and financial freedom peoples.

    when you struggling with money and debts is all around, you hardly smile... then where is the happiness? you can't even sleep well. make the matter worse, you can't even focus at work. some friends end up get fired and jobless. how are they going to pay up the bills and debts? only God knows.

    agree with you too, to say that money is the root of happiness is unfair. but money could lead us to happiness.

    let say you are not a doctor, and you are just a factory operator... do you think you can have a good life in town? i doubt :)

    anyway, thanks for the comment doctor. i love opinion trading :)

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  22. "90% of wealth is from sources of business" -Prophet Muhammad S.A.W-

    it's true dear..

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  23. cendawanintim,

    yes... couldn't agree more
    i'm working hard towards it... in fact i try to multiply!

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  24. Anonymous12:01 AM

    i like the post very much!!! :)

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  25. glad that you like it :)
    i will share some tips soon about stock... reading buffettology :)

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  26. i like the last line. hadith from Rasullah s.a.w.

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  27. meo,

    yes. i like it too. i found out that a lot of multilevel marketing nowadays love to use this quote :)

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  28. Faisal. What a nice post! Agree with you that credit card is the method to bring more debt into our life, buy a house will gain money and profit for us and do our own business. And i love your first tips. 'Live Below Our Mean'. For example many of the people we see toting around a RM400 purse/bag. They are everywhere.(Sorry to say) For me why not we just shop more for quantity than quality, which doesn't make any sense in the long run..Just my 2cent.

    skullsplitter

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  29. I learned the hard way about credit cards. I refuse to use them anymore and I cut up all the ones I had.

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  30. Anonymous7:29 AM

    money actualy not a problem, but money is Idea.

    Orang yang ada idea macam faisal berkemungkinan besar akan selamat dari masalah kewangan!

    Nice post! Very like it!

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  31. Anonymous8:09 AM

    "without money can you get happiness?"

    sure you can't. living nowadays, gosh! for sure you need money to survive.

    such a loooong post, but i managed to read it all.

    (usually i don't read long entry hahaha)

    p.s : hey, i link your blog to mine okay. tq.

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  32. Anonymous8:17 AM

    by the way, i use credit card to pay out my bills. usually for the broadband, my monthly gym fees and shopping at bookstores.

    it's not bad after all, unless you can disipline yourself to pay your monthly installment to the bank laa. or otherwise, bear the liabilities by your own risk.

    well, it's depends actually. some people last minute baru discover diorang berhutang banyak. unlike me, i pay my credit card RM500 per month so kira bayar broadband and the gym plus the shopping shouldn't get me more than that.

    for other retail therapy i usually used cash. so, no biggie.

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  33. skullsplitter - Live below our mean has been applied to the richest man in the world too -- Warren Buffett. Even though Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki said that they choose not to live below their mean, I still think that the first choice help us with our budget and the rainy day. Yes people are tending to buy expensive thing rather than seek for a better price with good quality. They simply called themselves -- branded. Some adult or even some teens love branded thing especially clothes. This is because they want to show people around that they are rich. World is getting crazy. Should you be suffering just for the sake of people’s sight? But that is what really happens in our world.

    Don’t you prefer to live in a rural area rather than seductive town hell? Town… it eats money!

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  34. tammy - That is what exactly happens to my mom. A hard way… I like those words :)

    Wan - Maybe apa yang maksudkan ialah pengetahuan. Ramai yang kurang pengetahuan pasal kewangan. Bila diadakan kursus atau seminar, ramai yang mengatakan kursus seperti tidak perlu. Kursus-kursus seperti mengawal stress dan refleksologi mendapat tempat di hati rakyat. Tahukan mereka stress rakyat Malaysia kebanyakannya datang dari masalah kewangan? Saya terselamat kerana pengetahuan yang saya perolehi dari buku-buku kewangan dari penulis-penulis seperti Mary Buffett, Azizi Ali, Robert Kiyosaki dan Donald Trump. Terima kasih kerana berkongsi pandangan dengan saya :)

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  35. gud info.
    i da praktis step 1 & 2.
    alhamdulillah tak terbeban dgn hutang.. cuma masih blm kaya je! hehe..

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  36. ayumi - Yes agree with you. With the cost of living nowadays, money has become our priority whether you like it or not. Some people might say that money is the root of evil. Well, depend on how you use it… just don’t be snobbish and greedy :)

    Yes, people who can use credit card are people who have discipline. Credit card is a liability since it takes your money out and not gaining any profit. But it’s good for safety and easy to bring along as it’s thin and people can’t simply use the card because they will need signature and so on. If they steal the card and want to use it for petrol, you can easily stop the card within minutes by calling the center. Yes, the machine at the petrol station does not need signature as approval hehe. By reading your comment, I could tell that you are a discipline person. You pay monthly bills and gym with credit cards and the rest you use cash. Meaning you only spend on thing you can afford. If there is no cash, no shopping. Keep up your good work :)

    I’ve linked you in my blog too. Thanks for reading this long post till the end.

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  37. arianna - When you have done step 1 & 2, you are not far away from the wealth. Step 3 needs your patient to choose the right one and step 4 & 5 are about increasing your wealth. If you stay focus, I know you can do it. Let us together be rich :)

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  38. aiyok..pasal card kredit tu mmg takut occay..

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  39. mummy - ye akak... kad kredit memang berhantu :(

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  40. Anonymous10:40 AM

    I think you need to take into consideration bank interest when you are going to buy a house. Say you loan for 20 years, each and every year is 7%/year average (can increase in future). A house of RM200k, rough estimate after 20 years is that you already paid RM480k for the house in total. So, it is already more than double of the initial value of the house. Can you sell your house at double the value after 20 years? Maybe you can, or maybe you can't. So, I think house investing is risky as well.

    I am no expert in this...feel free to correct me.

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  41. tinggalakn desalg best..udara segar..jimat pun jimat...neighbourhood kuat lg....but whateva pun ade pro's and kontra's gk....tp mmg plan nk stay desa pun but after dah stable kot..

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  42. Hi blogmalaysia.com,

    I have checked bank interest and the lowest are Maybank and Bank Islam with 5.5% interest. But it is depending on BLR if you choose conventional scheme. BLR can increase based on current economy but if you hate risk, Islamic scheme is worth it even though the interest rate is higher than conventional scheme.

    Let say you buy a house at RM200k price and you hold the property for 20 years, I doubt you can gain double price for the profit. Again, as I said in the post… don’t choose a house based on your preference such as spacious and beautiful deco, but choose a house based on the location and good rental price. You can simply ask the developer about project around that area in the next 2-5 year time. You can also ask the state development office for more information about future planning around that area. To see how good the rental is… there must be some houses around that area does not matter apartment or landed house. Go and figure out the rent they pay. If you are in Malaysia I’d suggest you buy house in 3 popular states -- Penang, KL and JB. Trust me, within 20 years time you will be amazed with the price!

    House price is increasing drastically if you realize. Why is it so? Do you know about RPGT? Yes our Prime Minister has vanished RPGT which make the house price rocket up. Years ago, people did not sell house within 5 years not because of the price not increase but because if they sell before 5 years, they will be penalized. They have to pay tax to income tax if I’m not mistaken like 40% from the profit but they will calculate based on how many years the age of the house when you bought. The younger the higher the tax will be! So, people will hold the house and sell it after 5 years. By doing this RPGT thingy we actually control the house price. But now… it’s different.

    To calculate the house price, you can’t simply multiply the house price with year and add the interest rate. Yes, house is not like car which you can get rebate if you settle the loan earlier. House price fix but if you sell the house the calculation is different. Remember the loan you take for your house based on the year you buy. After few years, the price will increase and do you know that you can even refinance the house with other bank and get the difference for the house price? Let say I buy a house in 2008 with RM100k after 2 years I found out that the price has increased drastically to RM150k. I can refinance with another bank for RM150k loans and I pay the old bank with RM100k… so I get RM50k in my pocket. Cool isn’t it?

    Real estate is the only investment you can control. Any other investment give you fully control like real estate? Remember, paper investment such as bond and stock are way riskier than real estate. If you interested, I suggest you read some book about property by Azizi Ali. He wrote based on Malaysia’s situation.

    Thanks for the comment. I was shock to see blogmalaysia.com visited my blog.

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  43. wahidah,

    ya tinggal di desa lagi jimat. kalau setakat di kota nak shopping... stay je di desa. kumpul duit then gi shopping di kota. oh ya jangan lupa buat list sebelum membeli belah ye :) untuk elakkan pembaziran.

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  44. Anonymous12:08 PM

    hahaha. am i good or AM I GOOD? haha. but nowadays i really hate the credit card la. the bank give out my number to other insurance companies and they love to call me and promoting on the insurance or whatsoever. banyak plak tu. luckily my phone can blocked their numbers.

    i think the bank shouldn't do that la. the best part is last week one of the insurance company called me in the office, during my busy hour and wanna talk about selling insurance. when i asked her where did she got my number, she said from my credit card company. WTH!

    i blocked them on my hp, now they calling me thru my office phone pulak. clever la sangat hahaha.

    i guess maybe i'm a good bill payer. this year je, my credit limit increase 3 times to almost RM10k. i'm just afraid that my evil side will shout 'go shopping dear, go shopping..' hahahahaha..

    lucky enough, i don't have time to do shopping nowadays hihihi.

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  45. ayumi,

    if it happen to me, i will war them. to both, insurance and credit card office. they should not do that to their customer. very annoying right?

    hmm yes agree with you. 10k is very tempting... be careful ;)

    er, you don't have to do shopping? hmm why is that?

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  46. Anonymous12:20 PM

    i don't have time cause most of my spare time either i fulfill it with sleeping or lepak at bookstores.

    one time i went out punya la beriya nak pegi shopping baju, jeans dan lain2 hahaha.. ended up i lepak kat kinokuniya for 3 hours. after that, the only thing i bought is just foods and fruits. hahaha.

    the best part, i tak beli ape2 pun kat bookstore hahahaha..

    next time i kena pegi shopping baru jejak to bookstore or else pity on my money, unspent. hahaha.

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  47. pity on your money? oh my! haha.

    i usually go to cinema early. buy ticket and straight go to MPH bookstore. get a book and a comfortable seat for me... start reading until the showtime :)

    sekarang buku pun banyak sale kan?
    so instead of buying cloth baik beli buku haha.

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  48. Anonymous12:26 PM

    yup. beli buku dapat exempt tax. yippie!

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  49. haha bijak! betul... jangan lupa simpan resit ok?

    boleh exempt sampai RM500 kalau tak silap :)

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  50. Referring to diversification, I believe over-divercified will reduce your investment return. As normal people like us, the best hedge against high inflation is still equities/stock, real estate, gold & hedge fund. Invest in hedge funds only if you know what you want to achieve.

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  51. joseph,

    Some good products that have been through diversification process are Kentucky Fried Chicken and Mc Donalds. If they don’t, I doubt they will be as famous as now :)

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  52. Anonymous12:38 PM

    boleh exempt sampai RM1,000. books and magazines.

    double yippie!

    (hey, i'm an auditor. i should know about tax too! haha)

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  53. Dik... boy u like writing... never mind... Abg dah baca abis dah tapi nasihat yg sangat berguna... tapi kalaulah kita ada sejuta keperluan dan keinginan apa pun jua dah semuanya terpenuhkan... hidup lebih indah lagi... dannn... untuk ke arah itu memang ada caranya...

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  54. Anonymous12:41 PM

    (hi..i'm salina...)

    rgdg to the topic discuss here, i cudn't agree more with the issue..money is everything...this has been discussed again and again with my collagues...it easy to see that money is everything NOWADAYS..we need money to mobilised, to eat and even to go to toilet, rite...

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  55. ayumi - eh are you sure sampai RM1,000? alamak i salah info ke... nih... if not mistaken RM500.

    beruang madu - hehe i write when i feel like to je bang. betul tu abang... kita kena set kan goal dan kena focus untuk mencapai goal tersebut :)

    saya ada post pasal focus baru2 ni.

    quote pilihan saya :
    There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who seek security and those who seek freedom.

    ReplyDelete
  56. hi salina,

    Haha! You pin the point right! I almost forgot about the toilet fee! Yes in this new world and great globalization money seem to be our first priority. It can buy all our need including our base food -- rice!

    We can say here… money is the root of happiness?

    ReplyDelete
  57. Anonymous12:50 PM

    yup, up to RM1,000. RM500?? are you kidding?? last year exemption pun RM700 la. RM500 dah outdated la dear. hihihi.

    ReplyDelete
  58. oh... adus! ketinggalan pula. hehe.
    hmm so tax payer should be happy lah kan?
    pay less for the tax...
    even tax exemption for computer pun dah naik kan?
    untungnya rakyat Malaysia :)

    ReplyDelete
  59. Anonymous2:08 PM

    orang yang kaya adalah orang yang takda utang hahaha

    ReplyDelete
  60. setuju! haha... kalau jutawan pun hutang berjuta... masih miskin kan?

    ReplyDelete
  61. selalunya org yg pendapatan tinggi ni banyak hutang...
    gaji puluh ribu, utang pun mcm tu jugak....

    ReplyDelete
  62. matt,

    ya gaji banyak pun tak semestinya tiada masalah kewangan. yang penting, pengetahuan tentang kewangan. bila ada pengetahuan tentang kewangan, gaji kecil pun boleh jadi kaya :)

    ReplyDelete
  63. Wow! you have so many comments already! I do not read through all the comments because I don't want my opinion to be affected by any. Thus, if it is the same as others, please forgive me. It just nothing wrong about same opinions but I just wanted to voice out mine sincerely - not just agree with others

    Before begin, just a little bit introduction about myself (for those who read my comment). I am a student in one of university in Malaysia. I am 21 years-old and a professed shopacholic even though my dad thought we well about accountancy.

    In college, I am supported by scholarship which amounted to rm6000 per semester. Apart from that, my parents give me monthly allowance range around rm450-600 - the total amount depends on me. They usually do not have problem giving me extra cash.

    I spend around rm150 for telephone bill and rm600 for foods and mineral water per month. Apart from that, I usually burn about rm500 for cloths and accessories for every three months - depend on the occasion and mood.

    One of the few rules I laid out for curbing my bad spending habits are:

    1. Write all the amount of spending on your working area
    2. Try to cut down unnecessary expenses (I stop spending rm7-8 per day buying all the main newspapers on the stand)
    3. Ask for your friend to stop you from over spending
    4. Share your financial statements with your close friends or family
    5. Avoid borrowing money from friends
    6. NEVER use a credit card (in Malaysia, the usage of credit card is still as an supplement not necessity as foreign countries and I totally agreed with your debit card moves)

    Apart from that, I agree with your no 3 point. Young people nowadays are prone to buy fancy car rather than use the money for buying assets. Oh, and my father is so diversified worker. I could count that he works about 4 different jobs at one time. And I happily spending most of it. LOL

    This is a really informative post. Well done man!

    ReplyDelete
  64. hey Bluecrystaldude,

    I have been reading your blog quite sometimes and I found out that you have a wealthy family background. To spend money is not a problem to you as I assume the amount you stated spent by you is peanut to them. Maybe you can change a bit of your spending life into something which can make you gain some profit out of your bunch of money. Let say, you could save a lot of money from your scholarship and pocket money… instead of spend them why don’t you save some in your ASB? Imagine you have RM250k which is the maximum you can put in ASB. How much dividend you can get per annum? You can even use the dividend to go for a vacation which you still have some saving in your ASB for your rainy days. If ASB is full, then save in the bank. Even though the dividend won’t be that great compared to fix deposit and other sources, you can use the saving for buying house. Again step no 1 should be followed:

    “Remember, to be a financial problem free… you must at least have saving of 6 months of your salary.”

    So, you are making more money and instead of negative cash flow, you will get a positive cash flow.

    You are lucky as you can take your dad as your hero and good example. Some people who are not that lucky need to struggle to find the knowledge themselves.

    Thanks for the great comment Bluecrystaldude :)

    ReplyDelete
  65. faisar admar,
    Money helps to stablize our mind so that we can live on.
    Save regularly, do not over-spend it.
    All tips you provided here really useful.
    A blogger award for you, please take it from my site, have a nice day.

    ReplyDelete
  66. good tips faisal...but it is tough to live below our means...if u know what i mean...hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  67. coolingstar9 - yes. money stabilize our mind. if there is no money, it's hard for us to cope with the current economy crisis. agree with you, do no overspend money as you need some for your rainy days... unless you can predict future :)

    thanks for the award coolingstar. that is so sweet and you bright up my day :) i will put the award at my tag & award blog.

    waliz - thanks waliz. i know it's hard to do so, but we must... as the economy is not fit enough for us :)

    ReplyDelete
  68. Sepanjang hidup ni aku dok ligan buat duit jer..Baru la ni aku sedar apa guna nya Merc & bungalow yang besaq ni kalau hidup x bahagia (tipu jer..!!) hehe.. Betoi la bro nak hidup senang kena bisnes. Setakat makan gaji tak ke mana la jawab nya...

    ReplyDelete
  69. Salam Faisal,

    Having a financial freedom is what most of us craves. Steps pointed out by you should always be pinned in our head, but its a norm that we only "seems" to know this in time of crisis, when in fact we've been knowing about this basic thing since childhood - where we were thought to buy things only within our budget. But that was when we were young. But when we have our own money, those 'wasatiah'/living moderately values are no longer stays with us, as our 'wants' exceeds our 'needs'.

    Funny is, I always look at those who have big cars/houses on loans at banks and use credit cards are not rich. My definition of rich and financial freedom is living a debt-free life. Everything is by cash, then that fits the definition of rich.

    At the same note, I noticed that there are lots of bankruptcy actions against the youngsters and those are just 21!! Pity.

    *This post is dayemmmm long, but informative. It's like getting a copy of pamphlet from Bank Negara! ;)

    Thanks anyway, for the reminder.

    ReplyDelete
  70. kamal,

    Ya, sama seperti quote yang saya masukkan dalam post ni :

    "90% of wealth is from sources of business" -Prophet Muhammad S.A.W-

    Setuju kan? Ramai kawan-kawan saya yang buat business sendiri sekarang tak kira sama ada 100% business atau pun makan gaji sambil buat business. Di mana ada kemahuan di situ ada jalan kan? :)

    ReplyDelete
  71. zackzara,

    I love your definition of rich Zara. Totally agree. Debt free is the right term for rich. Even if you drive Mercedes and have 5 millions price bungalows, if it is still under bank loans it is not your car and house yet. It belongs to the bank! I chatted with a friend of mine who I would called him rich since he is almost debt free just left a house to pay (he has 1 fully paid house and car, good saving, good income, good investment and so on… too long the list to state them all here). The conversation went like this:

    Him: if you still pay your housing and car loans… meaning those things are not belongs to you yet. It belongs to the bank.

    Me: Oh then if my friend ask me whose car and house, I should reply they are bank’s!

    Him: Haha that is a bad joke but yes it’s true.

    Me: Can I use the same bad joke against income tax when they ask me about my property?

    Him: Shut up you income tax people! Haha

    Me: *smile*

    For business people there are some reasons they must have debt. But it is not a bad debt but good one. Let say we want to make a bank loan… I mean personal loan. We must always see what advantage or profit we can get by apply a bank loan. To recognize bad debt and good debt is easy. I will give example to make it easier, bad debt is a debt which adds more debt into your life and you gain nothing from the debt. Good debt is the loan you apply for your business as example or you house for rental. Let say borrow from the bank RM5k and you buy 2 computers and put them at a cyber café does not matter its your friend’s or relative’s and you have to pay to let say sucker IMB Express Cash loan which interest is 36% monthly and the amount you need to pay is RM181 monthly (the interest is damn high like RM140+ for interest and RM30+ for the principle, imagine that? And yet we salute our lovely bank) but you get from the cyber café RM600 monthly. That is good debt! This kind of debt actually is making you rich. Same with the house… you borrow money from the bank for housing loan which you need to pay monthly installment RM500 and your rental is RM600. Isn’t this a good debt too? RM100 in your pocket and the tenant is paying your house while you enjoying RM100 extra! Remember the house price increase. So these kinds of debts just making you rich without you realize!

    So, hard for me to agree with only debt free is rich :)

    P/s: I always end up comment long like a new post! This is because you guys know what you guys are talking… with great comment, opinion and ideas! I just love that.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Anonymous7:48 AM

    hi faisal..
    it's bit long. i couldn't read the whole post.and i don't have any financial problems.
    well nice post
    cheers..
    i loved ur title
    LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE ORDINARY

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anonymous1:07 PM

    Slm faisal (janggal rasenya panggil nama sendiri):P

    Good post bro..walaupun ramai yg tahu kebaikan berjimat cermat tapi masih ramai yg susah nak buat..:) aku memang target camtu sbnrnya dari dulu..terpengaruh ngan buku sape tah tu" RObert Kiyossaki tah apa tu,huu..

    Perbelanjaan hidup aku mmg lagi rendah dari gaji aku..:) sbb aku tak byk nak benda bukan2..kete akupun dah nak abis bayar tahun depan:) aku dah lama tak pakai kad kredit..dan ngah planning beli umh..mybe lepas kahwin,hehe..aku dah ada tanah sendiri..

    Diversify tu aku lakukan melalui pertanian ngan business aku..:) videographerpun aku slalu buat kalau berkesempatan..cuma kena manage masa lebih baik lagi..:)

    ReplyDelete
  74. oh wow, this is a great discussion. Yes, I agree with you too Faisal, no one is ever satisfied with their financial situation. When you are rich, you have a high lifestyle and you spend like money grows on trees.The more you get, the more you spend, so, at the end of the day, it's all back to square one.

    I personally hate using credit cards, I mean, if I used it, I would pay the sum off within 3 days, it's been my habit. I hate to accumulate debts and I hate to think abt debts.

    We all need to be smart at managing our funds. Spend what we can and only what we have within the limit, never ever exceed the limit.

    ReplyDelete
  75. At one time Warren Buffett invested in only 6 companies even though his net worth was more than US$1bil then. Focus investment is the best strategy if you know what investment tools to choose from.

    ReplyDelete
  76. kaushal,

    thank you. yes this post is long compared to other post as i got so many points to put in this post from what i read and my own experience. i combined both of them.

    the title i chose is very meaningful :) at least... for me.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Hi faisal,
    Wow, very helpful and informative tips. When it comes to money, one must have discipline - and am working on it *wink. I agree with what you wrote about credit cards, as much as possible don't use one. And don't spend more that what you earn. Be sensible when spending and invest.
    thanks.. take care

    ReplyDelete
  78. Credit cards are an absolute killer!

    And yeah, money is definitely important if you want to experience and achieve things in life.

    Whoever said that money was evil was sooooo wrong!

    ReplyDelete
  79. salam acai,

    oh ko baca gak ye robert kiyosaki nye buku? hehe bagus wo buku tu.

    hidup di desa lagi jimat kan acai? tak le terpengaruh dengan hiburan dan barangan di kota. siap boleh cucuk tanam dan ternakan lagi kan?

    yep bab diversify ni memang aku puji ko. ko bela lembu, bela cacing, tanam buah naga dan buat part time photographer untuk majlis perkahwinan. superb! boleh kot aku jadikan ko idola aku? ;)

    p/s: asal ko nye link dah takde ek? delete blog ke acai? :(

    ReplyDelete
  80. farah,

    I suppose those who are really rich know how to spend on the necessary items? :)

    I know everybody can be rich. Just need some knowledge and focus. It’s just about you think about it and you do it. Nothing is going to happen if you just think about it and no action.

    Talking about debt Farah, this afternoon I made a loan settlement. Talking about this loan, do you know CIMB Express Cash actually not helping you but take advantage on you. Yes it is fast to get the loan but nobody realize its interest. The interest is very high – 36%. What do you think? My friend Joseph has made a post regarding this here. Lucky enough I could settle it fast.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Joseph,

    It is only Warren Buffett focus on 6 companies. Why is it so? Simple answer. He is a genius.

    Can you find me a boy who is 11; spend his money for buying his first share other than him? I guess it’s hard to find and if you found one, he must be another one in 10 million peoples.

    But if you are firm with your decision then I wish you luck. Stay focus on certain stocks only. To me diversification is still the best to see our creativity and less risk. Take example Bill Gates who was richest man in the world before Warren Buffett took back his place (Warren Buffet was the richest man in the world in 1974 eh? Correct me if I’m wrong) also diversify his product. Do you think Microsoft only invent program for single usage? No, he is creative enough to diversify his ideas into reality. Another example like Trump and Kiyosaki, they are not investing only in gold and silver, but they also invest in oil and involved with real estate. That is diversification. If stock is easy, why Warren Buffett the only rich man came from stock? :)

    I’m not killing your dream, but still sharing my 2 cents. :)

    ReplyDelete
  82. twinks - Do you know what happen now? Since credit card has been fighting with each other about which bank is the best and give more benefits… now one of the banks in Malaysia gives ATM card which function exactly like debit card with VISA logo on it. Meaning you can use it as a credit card too! Yes, it make life simpler but careful… you might use up all your saving if you are a big spender! :)

    rozella - You got the point right! Yes credit card is a silent killer. It rip your flesh from inside and when you realize you are already half dead!

    Money is never be evil… human is :)

    ReplyDelete
  83. Faisal, I think you missed my point. Warren Buffett invested in stocks for both short term and long term. He also invested in commodity and currency, plus some other derivatives, as well as arbitrages.

    His principle is more like: invest where the money is, and invest only when the risk is low. Diversification can't reduce much investment risk if you don't know what you are investing in, only buying a few good companies at a price with considerable margin of safety can. For that matter, even other investment tools will do the wonder if you know how and when to invest.

    Happy investing!

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous3:41 PM

    What u wrote is true but what most people fail to do is adhere to those rules that you rightly listed in the article. It's like a cancer. It doesn't just go by taking pill or medicine. That's why even a millionaire pun boleh jadi bankrupt. $$$ hard to come..easy to go. Nice blog pal, keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Joseph,

    Poor thing is that I couldn’t make it on 16th. It would be great if I could go.
    Last time you used to be a high risk taker. No more? :)

    With economic crisis like nowadays it’s quite dangerous to play with the wave. Risky even if play in safe margin.

    Hopefully the calculations and tips given by Mary Buffett can help us achieve our goal.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Ismail,

    Yes I agree. If we are in debt, we better settle it as soon as possible. Do not add more debt into your life unless it’s a good debt (refer to my post and comment if you don’t know what a good debt is). Most people keep digging holes… they dig here and dig other place to close this hole and the same thing keep going on. Some people even worse, the hole is getting bigger each time they dig just to close the smaller hole.

    Thanks pal, hope this post can help people who is in financial problem now.

    ReplyDelete
  87. but see..everyone wants to live like the celebs..hehe. i blame the marketing dept for this. they tell you what you should have..regardless whether you need it or not..then they tell you how you should look like..doesn't matter that genetically it is impossible for one to look like those undernourished models..hehe. they do not bother telling you that you should at least live within your means, if not below it. easy credit mahhhh...heheh

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous8:18 PM

    "If we are in debt, we better settle it as soon as possible."

    hahaha.. im suffering on it rite now. estimated will settle next yrs Jan.
    Even thought i know how to manager my $$, but sometime.. when feels come, u really cant control ur attitude of spending $$. I'm those kind of ppl.

    Lastly, SAYS NO TO CREDIT CARD. Really!! Trus me, No CC You live Better.
    Why? like me, i got 2 bank CC, master & visa, but cant use bcoz of overdude.
    hahaha...

    Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  89. it is nice to come back in your page with a lot of sense that your sharing.. i didn't mean you share without sense i mean, MORE and i love it... as for this post... hmmmm... i can say not all the time that money can make you happy or give you happiness, there are billionaires out there that you think they are happy as they have more money with them, they have a lot of complications too, they can't walk alone for they need to have security to defend their lives, they don't fine happiness because they would sure think somethings missing still and they felt empty because of it.

    anyways, there are a lot of certain ways to be a happy person and be more happier than be with your family instead of other things...

    as for your comment: i bet that's pretty hard, well if you really can't make it up then better to end things up.

    happy thursday

    ReplyDelete
  90. Nice post bro :)

    aku baca entri dan semua komen komen kat atas tuh...dan tima kasih, byk information yang aku dapat...

    salam mlm jummat :)

    ReplyDelete
  91. bunkerangs,

    Yes, to spend like celebrity is not really a good idea. Most celebrities are millionaire and to spend on those brands like Gucci, Prada or LV suit them. Agree with you, the least we can do is to live within our mean if below our mean is too much. At least the bank account is zero and not negative balance :)

    ReplyDelete
  92. Bagus sggh cadangan2 itu..Ada beberapa cadangan itu sgt sesweii untuk kebaikan diri sendiri..Even org yg pendapatan tak banyak pun bleh menyimpan jika dia berbelanja dengan berhemah ikut keperluan dan pendapatan sendiri..

    ReplyDelete
  93. thief,

    What I did to my family member was broke the credit cards into pieces so that they couldn’t use it anymore in the future. Can you do that thief? Yes it is painful in the beginning but you will use to it… like the old time. Remember credit card was not popular before? Why we must welcome it today and for our future? I don’t think we want to see our kids suffer like we do now. So we must teach them about how evil a credit card could be. But before telling them that, we must get rid of it first. Credit card is evil!

    I made a new ATM card with Maybank yesterday and now the ATM Card can be used like a credit card (even though it’s a debit card). It has VISA logo on the card and can be used at 26,000 outlets! Yes good for emergency but careful, you might use up all your saving too!

    ReplyDelete
  94. Nova,

    I couldn’t agree more that money is not the root of happiness but the advantage of wealthy is more than poverty. Don’t you think so? Let say you can be happy even though you are poor, but can you achieve your goal without money? If you don’t achieve your goal, can you be happy? Money is also been used for our basic usage like food, petrol, clothes and other things.

    When financial problem comes, it will spread like cancer (based on Ismail’s comment). It will drag your family too into it. Believe it or not, it happens to my friends and relatives.

    Happy Thursday Nova :)

    ReplyDelete
  95. Salam 13may,

    Diharap entry ni dapat memberi sedikit maklumat kepada bro untuk dikongsi bersama rakan, blogger mahupun keluarga yang mempunyai masalah kewangan. Kadang-kadang kita tidak dapat lari dari belenggu kewangan nih.

    Salam Jumaat :)

    ReplyDelete
  96. Tahniah la Faisal sbb dpt banyak respon untuk entri ni. Atas rasa tanggungjawab aku nak bagi hadiah kat hang. Sila klik di sini Tengok Sana Sini untuk claim hadiahnye. Peace..

    ReplyDelete
  97. Ad,

    Ya Ad... macam orang tua-tua cakap. Ukur baju di badan sendiri kan? hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  98. FAISAL,

    I think rich or poor, you have to be smart at managing your finances. Sorry to hear abt the horrible loan rate you took! shocking!

    ReplyDelete
  99. kamal,

    hehe TQ kamal. baik nya hati hang kan...


    award tu aku dah letak di sini.
    happy sangat! :)

    ReplyDelete
  100. Farah,

    Agree Farah. When we have knowledge about financial management, we won’t have to worry about been trapped in debt anymore.

    Yes, my fault for not looking properly at the interest before I agree to sign. I was careless and in hurry. But I have managed to settle it. Thanks God. :)

    ReplyDelete
  101. Anonymous12:03 PM

    Wow,dah seratus lebih komen!

    Saya baca komen kat atas, tertarik dgn komen blogmalaysia.com and yours. (tak sangka blogmalaysia boleh dropred komen.huhu) Banyak info berguna saya dapat dari post ni. Thanks to you~ =)

    ReplyDelete
  102. salam encik admar.
    good entry here!
    how about managing the fear of losing money & harta benda? kengkadang bila dah kaya manusia pon bleh jadi takut.
    takut kayap. hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
  103. ixora - hehe saya pun terkejut bila mengetahui blog malaysia comment di sini. happy sangat :)

    diharap sama-sama kita berkongsi idea dan pendapat :)

    mey laurie - salam mey laurie. thanks for the compliment. good issue there. maybe i will do some research and write about it in this blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  104. How to start a businees in a very young age like me? I like small business but I don't have any idea to start it. :(

    ReplyDelete
  105. ann - you always have to start with a small business. since you have a wealthy family background i guess there is no reason your family won;t allow you to start a small business and lend you some amount of money since you are still a student right?

    you need to find something you like to do and share it with people. let say you love gaming... why don't you try with cyber cafe? i guess bob could help you with his experience open a cyber cafe with kenseng?

    instead of spending time playing game with some friends at your cyber cafe you are making money at the same time too. don't you think it's cool? :)

    ReplyDelete
  106. HMMMMMM.... aku tak taw nak komen apa....

    aku suffer sebenarnya..hahaha..

    yet still dont know what to do..

    ReplyDelete
  107. hmm axim try ikut step-step yang disarankan. maybe boleh membantu :)

    ReplyDelete
  108. I totally agree with the steps posted. I am really against using credit cards. I'm glad my husband is no longer really using his credit card. I hate when I owe money to someone. It is really better to live in what you only can afford.

    ReplyDelete
  109. aisha - great that you guys have left credit card behind. a good move :) i hate to borrow money from people too... i always buy thing with cash. if you can't afford to buy with cash... meaning you just can;t afford to buy it :) i only use loan for car and house and try my best to settle the loan asap :)

    ReplyDelete
  110. nice tips..and nice blog..found ur blog while bloghopping..nice blog!

    catz

    ReplyDelete
  111. thanks catz :) hopefully you will visit here again.

    ReplyDelete
  112. this is a great post faisal! I totally agree with you about the credit card tip. Not a single person in our family owns a credit card at the moment. We just have a debit card at most. And at this moment, I think a whole lot of families are living way beyond their means. I hope all your readers get an eye-opener with this post! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  113. Yes Shemah. I hope I could help with some tips I have learned and experienced myself instead of observing around with my friends and relatives’ life.

    If they are happy, I’d be happy too :)

    ReplyDelete
  114. wow.. very inspiring and thoughtful article. i'll subscribe to you k!

    luv ur writing about money.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Thanks for the compliment. I just simply share my experience, information that I read from magazine or book and friends. Glad that you like it.

    Thanks for subscribing and I will write about money again… soon enough :)

    ReplyDelete
  116. ` gosh.. faisal... ur cat is so0o0oo0 damn cute... errkk.. hug them for me...` regards...

    ReplyDelete
  117. ` i hate bills so much.. so, i really dont ve any credit cards.. i buy things tat i can afford from my salary.. if not.. tunggu arr cite die.. ` bills rats!!..` hi3..

    ReplyDelete
  118. susy - hehe yes i couldn't agree more they are adorable :) will hug them for sure. no problem.

    hehe. yes i hate bills too. i do exactly like you. no money no talk.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for the comment.

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