Fully Utilize Banking Facilities (Serie 1 - Car Loan Reschedule)

Nowadays, with life expenses soared and skyrocketting days after days, many of us think of how to reduce the debts and increase our cash flow.., surely. There are many ways to work on it.. The principle is, managing the debts commitment and in the same time able to maximise saving. Rescheduling car repayment period is one of the option. But this is applicable to those who doesn't have an intention to sell and upgrade their car to new one. Example.., one guy had a 3 yrs old hire purchase loan with a full settlement value of 58k. He signed up that HP loan which needed him to repay RM1400 per month with an interest of 3% per annum for a period of 7 years. He planned to reschedule it to increase his cash flow. The bank offered him to prolong another 3 yrs with the same interest rate. He pays RM840 per month and save RM560 a month by doing so.
Now, lets do some calculation. If he maintain current HP agreement and pays RM1400 per month for another 4 yrs (48 months), it will cost him RM66672 to finish the repayment at the end of the tenure. If he rescheduled and pays RM840 per month for another 7 yrs (84 months), he needs to repay RM70560 to finish the repayment at the end of the tenure, which means will cost him about RM3888. And if he save the balance of RM560 in unit trust (ASB for instance) which he made from rescheduling and considering 48 months to finish the payment if he maintained current HP agreement, he will save a whopping RM26880. In reality, the reschedule option will cost him RM3888 but instead he will manage to save RM26880. Good option isn't..?

The Power of Compounded Interest

The power of compounding interest… always regarded as the best option to grow the retirement nest or children education funds but yet always neglected by younger folks.. Why many said so.. While I am in a unit trust industry, I always met older professional folks from every background which having a stash of money either in EPF or their own saving portfolios. They always quoted and saying I am lucky enough been surrounded with sound investment knowledge at younger age… :) Not like them which felt isolated with investment knowledge and options until reached middle age. Yes, how lucky but it’s not as easy as ABC.. Knowledge without application always lead to disruption.. and spoilt.. OK.. back to the topic.. The power of compounded interest can be like this – You keep investing a pre determined amount of money into investment vehicles (unit trust funds, ASB and fixed deposit) every month, reinvest the return at the end of financial year for a specific long term period.. The principle amount invested plus return every year will grow your money excessively in longer period.. So, the younger you start, will be better and more opportunity and visibility for your money to grow bigger.. Example, a young executive, at 25 yrs old who set aside RM100 every month at the beginning of every month at dividend growth of 10% per annum until age 65, his investment would have grown to RM638,000!, That is a huge money compare with only RM100 sacrifice every month. The key element to compounding is time. The longer the period of time, the greater the growth.. :)

Start Saving..

There are a thousand ways to live on less. But you don’t want to make your life a misery. Here are some of the most painless ways you can economize, without losing out on quality of life.

Never spend a windfall. Take your income-tax refund, the RM16.35 overpayment cheque from the telephone company, cash rewards from bosses, extra money from part time jobs, profits on petrol claim any other extras and save ‘em all..

Haggle. You’d be amazed at who will drop their prices, fees and interest rates: airlines, hotels, credit card companies. Examples, Air Asia always advertised their extreme low fare in the web.. Imagine instead of holidaying at high cost, you can opt for cheaper holiday at Bali for just a couple of hundred RM.. Credit card is another option. Some of financial institution offered 9% per annum on outstanding balance instead of whopping 18%. The choice is yours.. Go and search them around.

Re-evaluate. Re-evaluate. Re-evaluate. That dinner out cost more than you spend on groceries in a week. That pair of shoes is worth half a commuter pass. Learn what your money is worth, and you won’t be so quick to dispose of it.

Get your mortgage costs down. First, look at whether the rate is too high. If it is, look at refinancing -- if you’ll save money.. Second, pay ahead on your mortgage. If you can swing an extra RM100 per month, you will save thousands in interest costs over the long haul.

Toss the catalogs. The most insidious form of spending temptation known to man or woman. Chuck them straight in the trash.. Sorry, guys.

Don’t pay unnecessary fees. Like the RM1 you pay just because the ATM is right there, right now as opposed to walking two blocks to your bank, where you don’t get charged every time you use your ATM card. Or the late fees for paying the bills late. Discipline discipline discipline…

Bank your raise. You may find that measly 3% to 5% boost in the paycheck irritatingly tiny. So add that to your direct savings basket and live on your previous salary.. 

Pay less for long-distance. Evaluate your phone bill and see how much you're paying per minute. Some dial-around codes or cheap calling cards (one without a surcharge per call) may give you a better rate. Else, go for tech.. msn messenger, yahoo messenger… is another option..

No pet pampering. Does your dog need those pricey snacks? Does your cat need acupuncture? We didn’t think so.

Never pay full price. If you must shop, discover the online world of discount Web sites. Ebay, murah.com, etc etc… you will find everything you want at cheap cheap cheap price..

Saving...???

Savings. When you hear that word, do you feel a clutching sense of guilt and inadequacy? If somebody told you that 75% of 100 respondents interviewed said they knew that their savings, specifically for retirement, were insufficient, do you believe it? That’s shocking, but not as remarkable as their discovery that how much you save has very little to do with how rich you are. But hooooow, you whine? How can you save a cent when you just barely live on what you earn? Well, since this is a question, so.., this is its answer : Saving is a two-step process. First you retrain your brain, and then you find all kinds of clever ways to live on less Step 1: Retrain your brain.. Saving money is a state of mind. Before you can start, you have to renounce the spending...., and stop believing you actually need all the stuff you’ve been spending money on. Just don’t. Spend, that is. Sure you want it, but that’s no excuse for buying it. The next time you want to buy something, take the 50 bugs or 100 bugs out of your wallet, and stash it somewhere. See? That's second step already.. and that’s called saving. You don’t end up with stuff; you end up with MONEY..

Saving Money Tips For Fresh Graduates

It can be tough when you're just starting out. Here, some creative survival strategies and tips for eating, going out and living well when money is tight.

Take heart, folks. A lot of people who are prosperous now started out just like you -- broke and looking for ways to save a few bucks. But still, you have a guts to try and save money at least…

It may seem hard to believe, but that banker in the sharp suit once recycled cans for nasi lemak outing money. That engineer who now vacations in New Zealand furnished his first home with yard-sale finds.
So if your bank balance is near zero and your next paycheck seems like a mirage shimmering on the far horizon, here are some tips from folks who have been there and lived to tell the tale:

Cheap eats
You probably already know that a RM9-a-day latte, twice a week habit will cost you more than RM864 in a work year, and bringing lunches from home a couple times a week can save you more than RM500 a year.

You’ll need to find other ways to cut costs, however, or you can easily spend as much on food as you do on rent. Some ideas:
• Co-op your dinners. If you are single and shared renting a house with few others friends, gets together with them who take turns cooking for the gang once a week. It is almost as cheap to cook for four as it is for one.
• Watch the grocery ads. Get notice what grocery stores are touting on the front page of their sale flyers each week. Normally they had a value for money items to buy..
• Freeze some assets. Any time you cook, make twice as much as you’ll eat and store the leftovers in your freezer.
• Have an emergency stash. Stowed instant soup, noodles-in-a-cup in office. So you minimized your trip for tea break and breakfast which could fork you more money.

Cheap dates
Dinner and a movie may be all right for a first date, but the routine gets old -- and expensive -- fairly quickly. Some alternatives:
• Stay on campus. Universities have everything from fine dining places, garden park and most are cheap, if not free.
• Used Student IDto watch movies. Normally, cinemas offered student’s price in any weekday.. This is great to save more. Sometimes they even offered 50% discount.
• Picnic in the park. What could be more romantic than a jug of lemonade, a loaf of bread and thou?
• Get physical. Hiking and camping are great ways to get to know someone. Other ideas: roller skating, Rollerblading, a trip to the beach or renting a rowboat, kayak or canoe for a couple of hours’ float at a nearby lake instead of persistent trip to starbuck coffee..

Cheap style
Entertaining your friends, furnishing your apartment and updating your wardrobe for adult life can cost a mint -- unless you’re smart. Here are some ideas for living cheap with style:
• Haunt yard sales. You don’t need to go into debt to furnish your apartment when your neighbors are practically giving away their barely-used furniture.
• Branded Clothes, watches etc etc. It’s not the brand that matter, It is how much you save money in your bank account. Chances are you’ll find gently used clothing that’s perfect for an office environment, and you’ll probably see some designer labels as well. If the brand still matters, heads on to Reject Shop, FOS or buy during sales… You will get flashy padini trousers and shirt at 70% discount…

The key to getting through lean time, was to focus on what you have: friends, good times and a bright future. Not having lots of money can seem like a pain now, but you wouldn’t be the first to find yourself growing nostalgic about these days when your fortunes improve.

Turn RM1 to RM67,815???

The coins rattling around in your pocket can add up to big savings over time. Don't you believe it..??? PLS BELIEVE IT!!!
Want a foolproof way to turn RM1 a day into RM67,815? It doesn't take a lot of money or time or personal sacrifice. There's no magic, no multilevel marketing salesman, no get rich quickliest on earth scheme salesman will call at your door or your cellphone.
In fact, it's the simplest and most-proven way to get richer, and if you extend this concept to other parts of your life, you could end up with an enviable retirement nest egg.
To start, all you have to do is take your pocket change at the end of the day and drop it in a piggie bank or 'tabung buluh'. If you can do that, and you put away about RM1 a day, that's just a humble RM7 a week. At the end of the month, you'll have about RM30.., still humble isn'it..??
Since this is money in your pocket, you've already paid taxes on it in the form of withholding from your paycheck. (If you're self-employed, that's not true, but we'll ignore that to keep things simple.) Every month, deposit your savings in a legal high divident saving account/ platform, where it can grow and be withdrawn in the future. High divident platform can be an ASB, ASN, private unit trust funds or any co-op share funds, i.e felda (if you are son of felda settlers, lembaga tabung angkatan tentera (LTAT) if you are son/ daughter of patriot or Bank Rakyat..
What's a paltry RM30 a month going to do for you? Growing tax-free (Remember, it was tax free bcs from your own pocket money/ salary) for 30 years, with a 10% annual return, your investment account will be worth RM67,815.
Not bad for pocket change, but that's just the beginning.
Here are some other ideas for saving a few bucks here and there that can add up to big dollars over time. Now, you can do a lil' bit of analysis work. Owh no!! Haha, you might be a lazy folks aite... Let me call you Mr A, you fork out RM500 every month do to these things;
>> RM100 (Dining out with families)
>> RM50 (DVDs/ VCDs/ CDs)
>> RM120 (Car wash or car detailing)
>> RM150 (Branded clothes)
>> RM80 (Indulge yourself with branded coffee at flashy boutique cafe)
I am pretty sure with some guts, Mr A can knock RM123 out of his monthly budget to be like this for the next 6 months,
>> RM55 (Dining out with families)
>> RM35 (DVDs/ VCDs/ CDs)
>> RM102 (Car wash and car detailing)
>> RM40 (Indulge yourself with branded coffee at flashy boutique cafe)
You know what, at 10% it RM123 a month it will grow to RM278,040 in 30 years. Mr A have practically financed your retirement with just a few small sacrifices.. How to cut this budget..???? I will tell you more next... And how bloody 10% can grow RM123 a month to be mounted at 6 figures..???? That is thepower of compounded interest (Which I will tell you more.........)