Ten Top Money Advice

Top 10 money advice (to turn your situation around)

1. Find out how much you are worth.
Go ahead, put a price tag on yourself and find out just how much you are worth today.
Add up all your assets (cash, bank deposits, liquid investments, house, car, jewelry, and others), deduct all your liabilities (bills due, loan amount, credit card debt, long-term loan), and you will get your net worth.
A positive net worth shows you are on the right track, while a negative one will serve as a wake-up call for more financial discipline.
This 'snapshot' of your financial standing will also clue you in should you need to move your investment around or stop racking up new debt.

2. Save smarter, not just harder.
It's important to save for the future-when unexpected emergencies arise, there will be a fund to dip into.
It's also good to save so you can reach your financial goals, whether those include buying your own home, giving your children a good education up to college, or preparing for retirement.
But it's not enough to just save money and deposit it in a savings account, which will earn you a small amount of interest.
Other investments may possibly give you a higher rate of return.
Putting all your cash in a savings account will also allow inflation to erode the purchasing power of your cash. Go for investments that potentially offer rates of return higher than the prevailing inflation rate.

3. Plan for your future needs.
Whether it's for your dream wedding, children's college tuition, your car's annual comprehensive motor insurance, your summer vacation next year, or your Christmas gift budget for this year, plan ahead.
Find out how much this would cost, then aim to save for that amount monthly beginning today

4. Make a budget.
It can be discouraging to find out toward the end of the month that you are running low on cash-again.
To banish this problem forever, discipline yourself into making a budget.
Write down your projected income, deduct your must-pay bills (including savings), then apportion the rest into expenses you can control (such as food, groceries, going out, etc.). These amounts will be your spending limit.
Try not to go over your spending limit or else you will find yourself in debt.

5. Take only as much debt as you can afford to pay.
This goes for housing loan, auto loan, credit card debt and the like.
That means, before you buy something on credit, ask yourself first if it is something you need and can afford to pay in full the next month, or in reasonable installments over the succeeding months.
As for other loans, review the terms carefully and make sure your budget can accommodate the regular amortizations.

6. Teach your children to handle money well.
That starts by not buying them right away anything their hearts desire, whether that's the hottest new toy, game console or gadget. There is nothing wrong with giving children rewards, but if you keep giving them material gifts, they may not learn the difference between wants and needs.
Prioritize needs, not wants.
Give your children an allowance which will help them learn firsthand what it is to spend, save or give. Teach kids how to budget.
Open a bank account in their name and let them see how their money grows. Your children need to know the importance of eight things: budgeting, saving, investing, record-keeping, being content, being good stewards, giving, and having a reward.

7. Build an emergency fund.
As the name implies, such a fund is to be used only for emergencies, such as when you suddenly lose your job, or a family member falls ill, or a calamity strikes.
Set a time frame on when to complete the fund. Start small and increase amounts as you are able. And consider it a "bill" you have to pay every month. Invest this fund in an account which will help it grow.

8. Be adequately insured.
If you are the head of the family or have people depending on you, it is a must that you take out life insurance, as well as health insurance.
You'll never know what may happen in the future. A death, illness, or disability will not only be an emotional blow, but a financial burden on loved ones.
Take out as much coverage that will help your family tide over the crucial months after the event until they can get back on their feet.

9. Diversify your investments.
The old adage, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" holds true when it comes to investing.
Spread out your investment over different asset classes so that if one asset class is performing poorly at the moment, other assets' returns may make up for it.
Go for investments that will suit your appetite for risk, your time horizon for investing, and of course your available capital.

10. Live within your means.
You don't need to keep up with the neighbors whenever they buy something new.
Based on your income, spend only within your limits (as set forth in your budget).
Cut costs whenever possible: Take public transport instead of the car every day, make personalized gifts instead of giving out store-bought gifts, host simple instead of lavish parties, and hunt for bargains instead of buying the first thing that you see.
Little steps like these amount to a good amount of dollars saved at the end of the year, which you can add to your retirement fund.
This may all seem to be too much in one go, but if you truly wish to turn your situation around, you need to make a commitment for you and your families' financial future. We wish you financial independence and a life well lived. Cheers!

Why Worry

An Inspirational Thought, Motivational Thought -Think or Worry? By Harold B. Walker
You can think about your problems or you can worry about them, and there is a vast difference between the two. Worry is thinking that has turned toxic. It is jarring music that goes round and round and never comes to either climax or conclusion. Thinking works its way through problems to conclusions and decisions; worry leaves you in a state of tensely suspended animation. When you worry, you go over the same ground endlessly and come out the same place you started. Thinking makes progress from one place to another; worry remains static. The problem of life is to change worry into thinking and anxiety into creative action.

"As you grew, we helped you avoid unnecessary worry. As you leave, remember that 90% of what you worry about never happens." Catherine & Byron Pulsifer, from As You Grew

"When I look back on all the worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened." Sir Winston Churchill

"Once a decision was made I did not worry about it afterward." Harry S. Truman
"Worrying about it takes precious time and attention away from your priorities and increases your feelings of dissatisfaction about life." Christina Winsey-Rudd, from Life Balance Coaching: Balance Work and Life Like a Pro

"Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds - all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have." Edward Everett Hale

"As soon as we stop worrying, a solution pops up. " David DeNotaris

"Ninety percent of the things we tend to worry about we have no control over, so why worry about them?" Author Unknown

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight." Benjamin Franklin

It is not work that kills, but worry." African Proverb

"Don't worry, be happy." Bobby McFerrin

The Olympic Song "Beijing Welcomes You"

Changing Jobs and Mindsets

Changing jobs and mindsets By Grace Ng

SERIAL job-hopper Adrian Lee is living the good life.
He zips around in a flashy convertible, buys Ermenegildo Zegna goods for himself and Gucci for his girlfriends - and he just plonked down a sign-on bonus as deposit for a posh, district 10 bachelor pad.
"I got to where I am today by changing five jobs in 12 years," says the hotshot banker.
"It was at least a 20 per cent pay rise each time," he adds, twirling his iPhone that, until a few months ago, "still rang off the hook with calls from headhunters".
Not any more. With financial markets in turmoil, Mr Lee, 36, knows banks are no longer in a hiring frenzy. He also refuses to name his company and gives only his rarely-used English name, because "job-hopping...still gets frowned on in Singapore".
Money-seeking ship-jumpers who rack up costs for companies and raise turnover rates have given job-hoppers a bad name.
"Employers are bound to ask questions when interviewing a candidate who has switched jobs every two to three years", notes Mr Tim Hird, managing director of recruitment firm Robert Half Singapore.
"Still, there is a difference between job-hopping - to get a pay rise or for wrong reasons - and career advancement."
The belief that there is a malignant form of job-hopping and a healthy form is what prompted Mr Ku Swee Yong, 38, to change eight jobs in 14 years.
The director of property consultancy Savills Residential has moved every one to three years to big-name companies in vastly different sectors such as real estate, airlines and banking.
"I focused on developing my skill set in building businesses, growing revenues from overseas sources, and applied that across different industries."
He was not doing it just to get rich or promoted: "For several job changes, I actually took a lower salary, but I became a better-skilled and knowledgable worker at the end of every job.?
The father of two added that shorter economic cycles have made workers realise that the days of "iron rice bowls" are well over.
"The new school of thought for the next generation should be that workers develop their own areas of expertise and stay true to that expertise," says Mr Ku.
His view gels with that of human resource experts: While Generation X was all about staying ahead in the rat race, Generation Y workers agonise over self-fulfilment, job mobility, quarter-life crises and other concepts that their parents never heard of.
"Those under 30 are more likely to change jobs more frequently as they seek the best job fit," notes Mr Tim Nelson, Asia-Pacific president of executive search firm Futurestep.
What's more, the dot.com era and the ever-shrinking product life cycles have spawned a different mindset among some American companies: a 10-year long service award winner may be viewed as a non-performer.
But while staying 10 years in the same job can be a liability, less than two or three years is not advisable either.
"For some roles, especially middle management, it may be harder to demonstrate that you made an impact unless you stay for three years or more," says Mr Mark Ellwood, Robert Walters Singapore's managing director.
Job-hopping is also becoming less taboo now that ambitious Gen X and Y talent regularly take on senior positions at younger ages.
They may be more accepting of their own subordinates who scale the ladder quickly by job-switching," says one headhunter.
Ms Jacinta Low, OCBC's head of planning and employee communications, says it is also vital to look into the reasons behind a job change. For example, an employee with a young family may change jobs for a better work-life balance and may move again once the family situation improves.
If you want to job-hop - in moderation - make sure you do a proper career plan first, something many don't, says Futurestep's Mr Nelson.
"You need to explain to your prospective employer that your job changes every few years are actually a deliberate move to build up your repertoire and experience."
Amid the talent crunch in many sectors in Asia, companies are doing more to help staff build their careers and forestall job-hopping for the wrong reasons, such as a lack of new opportunities.
One way is to bring job-hopping "in house". HP's strategy is to regularly give staff new roles that develop their skills in different businesses, customer segments, functions and geographic markets. Staff "job-hop" by postingtheir preferences on the intranet and applying for new positions.
OCBC, which has a similar internal job-posting scheme, also started a Career Best Programme, which aims to help staff find the best fit between their talents and the bank's needs.
Will the day come when Gen Z workers say: "I'm a serial job-hopper, and I'm proud of it?"
Mr Ku hopes it will - when healthy job mobility becomes the order of the day.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Aug 11, 2008.

Evolution of Mobile Phone

Learning Tip 1

Learning is in Your Head - Having beautiful notes and a perfectly highlighted textbook doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the information in it. Your only goal is to understand the information so it will stick with you for assignments, tests and life. Don’t be afraid to get messy when scrawling out ideas on paper and connecting them in your head. Use notes and books as a medium for learning rather than an end result.

What exactly is wrong with our students?

TOO many children now have everything given to them on a silver platter. They grow up thinking that everything can be solved with the click of a button. I look at present-day students who spend so much time attending tuition, a luxury which during my time was unheard of. We had to study on our own, yet we had so much time to do other things; to indulge in sporting activities and also help out with household chores.

Students nowadays stay away from sporting activities, saying that it clashes with their time for tuition. Is there sense in what they say? After all, we exercise to stay healthy and to have active minds. They prefer to while away their time in shopping complexes rather than engage in wholesome competitive sports.

We've not been able to produce sportsmen and sportswomen of international calibre with the exception of Nicole David (squash). Parents push their children into joining various classes and in doing so, stress themselves too. Many parents work hard on their children's school projects expecting them to earn high grades. Then they compete again to see if their children can make it to the best colleges. If the children can't do it on their own - from filling out a simple application form to completing, perhaps a college assignment or project - Mum and Dad will again be there to complete the job or "make it happen".

When I recall my days in school, everything was in order. Students lined up to enter class before lessons started and again after recess. They showed respect for property and teachers. Vandalism was unheard of. Students would stop to greet teachers and offer help should they see them carrying books. Witnessing a student going out of his way to help a teacher or even wishing them is a rarity these days. Where have we gone wrong? Was it not long ago that someone said the introduction of Moral Studies in schools would instill some good values in our students.

Many teens and young adults, although adept at handling electronic gadgets are unable to handle power tools, set up laboratory apparatus, manage their finances or budget. Yet, academics and Education Ministry officials claim that education has been democratised to make total persons of our students. What exactly is wrong with our students? Are they really moving forward and getting a total education or are they degenerating?

This article was first published in The Star on June 29, 2008.