Pages

Saturday, August 30, 2014

5 money issues that can kill your marriage

Getting married is one of the happiest experiences in this life. Whether young or old, newlywed couples are excited to start a new life and look forward to the good times they will have together. They expect that there will be times of disagreement. But they rarely expect money, which is one of the biggest factors in divorce, to be the culprit. They are coddled by their naivety and end up being caught unawares when issues — past, present or future — start coming out of the woodwork. Arguing about money is the top predictor of divorce, especially when those arguments happen early in marriage. Otherwise happy marriages can disintegrate quickly when couples are unable to reconcile differences on habits and personality traits that were deeply ingrained long before the “I do.” Some of those marriages don’t end in divorce, but constant fighting about money problems and the tension that ensues can kill whatever happiness the couple once hoped for.
  • 1. Debt.

    Whether it is student loans, credit cards, an auto loan, or a gambling habit, most people have some sort of financial baggage that tags along with them to the altar. This can cause problems when discussions about budgeting and paying off debt comes up, especially if one spouse brings in more debt than the other, or even if one came into the marriage debt-free. Debt can act like an anchor that keeps your financial plan from moving forward, sometimes for years.
  • 2. Personality.

    Your personality is one of the biggest influences on how you manage money. It’s something that has been deeply rooted in you since childhood and is difficult to change. A couple might be completely debt-free, but can still run into trouble if one is a saver and the other a spender. This happens especially when the couple didn’t take the time to truly get to know each other before tying the knot and weren’t able to see anything but their spouse’s “best face.”
  • 3. Income.

    If only one spouse is working, or one spouse earns more than the other, it can be easy for the spouse with more income to initiate a “power play” and dictate how the money is to be spent. Some have called it financial bullying. This can be multiplied when a spouse is unemployed or underemployed, adding insult to injury. It is easy to rationalize the idea, but it undermines the importance of the couple working as a team toward common goals.
  • 4. Extended Family.

    His family wants to take a trip to Disneyland, while her brother needs a place to stay for a few months. His sister needs gas money, while her parents keep pressuring her to visit more often since you’ve moved out of state. Before you know it, one spouse is agreeing to things because “family is most important,” while the other spouse is wondering why “our” family and needs aren’t most important. It can also go the other way when one spouse’s parents are able and willing to pay for vacation expenses and extravagant Christmas gifts, while the other’s aren’t. And with that, extended family relations can reach their meddling fingers into your wallet.
  • 5. Yours, Mine and Ours.

    Sometimes money habits are so divergent that a couple decides to split their expenses and maintain separate bank accounts to avoid future arguments. While this is not always the worst solution to such a problem, and it allows each spouse to spend what they have left as they see fit, it can still build resentment over extraneous purchases either spouse makes. It can also cripple the couple’s saving power, making it difficult to reach future common goals such as retirement, traveling, etc.
    Source: http://familyshare.com/

Friday, August 29, 2014

Top 10 Things to Do Before You Invest

Top 10 Things to Do Before You Invest
by Michele Cagan, CPA




1. Pay off every penny of credit card debt. You'll earn sky-high (18 to 22 percent!) returns just by paying your credit card balance in full rather than making the minimum monthly interest-laden payments.

2. Build yourself an emergency fund. Start a separate bank account for this purpose alone. It should have enough money to cover at least three to six months of living expenses.

3. Set up and follow a household budget. Keep track of where your money comes from and (even more important) where it's going.

4. Set clear financial goals. Whether you want to save for a new car this year or retirement twenty years from now, you need to know why you're investing.

5. Determine your time frame. How long your money will be working for you plays a key role in designing the best portfolio.

6. Know your risk tolerance. Investing can bring about as many downs as ups, and you have to know just how much uncertainty you can comfortably stand.

7. Figure out your asset allocation mix. Before you start investing, know what proportion of your portfolio will be dedicated to each asset class (like stocks, bonds, and cash, for example).

8. Improve your understanding of the markets. That includes learning about the big picture, such as the global political and economic forces that drive the markets and affect asset prices.

9. Set up your brokerage account. Whether you decide to start out with a financial advisor or take a more do-it-yourself approach, you'll need to have an open brokerage account before you can make your first trade.

10. Analyze every investment before you buy it. Buy only investments that you have researched and fully understand; never risk your money on an unknown.

http://www.netplaces.com/investing/planning-for-success/top-ten-things-to-do-before-you-invest-1.htm

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

17 Facts About Warren Buffett And His Wealth That Will Blow Your Mind



Warren Buffett has been incredibly successful and he’s extremely wealthy. Warren Buffett’s wealth jumped by around $12.7 billion in 2013 alone.
But how much is $12.7 billion, anyway?
And how good an investor is Warren Buffett, really? We’ve put together some facts that really put him in perspective.

99% of Buffett’s wealth was earned after his 50th birthday.

Buffett made $62.7 billion of his $63.3 billion networth after his 50th birthday.
$60 billion — nearly 95% — is from after his 60th birthday.
Talk about long-term investment strategies.
Source: Fool

Berkshire’s Book Value beat the S&P 500 in 43 out of 44 years on a 5-year rolling average basis

From 2008 to 2013, the S&P 500 returned 128%, while Berkshire (based on book value per Class A share) returned 80%

Among legends, Buffett has the longest track record for beating the market.

That chart shows investor’s compared to the S&P 500 over time. You can see the longevity of his outperformance is greater than those of other great investors.

Buffett’s net worth of $63.3 billion is greater than the combined 2013 GDP’s of Ghana and Cambodia.

Ghana’s 2013 GDP was estimated to be$47,928,717,949.
Cambodia’s 2013 GDP was estimated to be$15,249,684,397.
Warren Buffett’s wealth currently makes him the 3rd richest man.
Source: Forbes

In 2013, Buffett made on average $37 million per day — that’s more than what Jennifer Lawrence made the entire year.

According to Forbes, Jennifer Lawrence is the second highest paid actress in 2013 — and she is estimated to have made $34 million that year.
Warren Buffett made $37 million per day in 2013.
Source: MarketWatch

You could pay the college tuition of 6 NYU students with what Warren Buffett made in a single hour in 2013.

NYU is the most expensive university in the United States — four years of tuition costs $247,908.
Buffett made $1.5 million per hour in 2013.
Source: CNBC

Buffett made his first stock purchase the same year that Pearl Harbor was bombed.

Warren Buffett’s first stock purchase was in 1941 — he bought 3 preferred shares for himself and three for his sister at $38. The stock dropped nearly 30%, and when it finally got back up to $40 Buffett sold. A few months later, the stock soared to $200.
Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941.

Buffett has so far donated enough money in his lifetime to build 4 Apple “Spaceship” Campuses.

Buffett has donated a lifetime total of $20 billion — the second highest amount (following Bill Gates).
The Apple Campus is a $5 billion project.
Source: Forbes

You could increase the annual salary of every North Korean living in Pyongyang by 50% if you took Buffett’s donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and distributed it evenly to them.

North Korea’s capital Pyongyang has a population of 2.843 million. And the average North Korean makes an estimated $1000-2000 per year (so we used the number $1500).
Buffett donated $2.1 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. That means that every person in Pyongyang would hypothetically get $738.65 — an amount that is 49.2% of the annual per capita earnings in North Korea.
Keep in mind, however, that Buffett’s donation is in class B shares.
Source: CNBC

Buffett is “ready” to double his investment in renewable energy — bringing the total to an amount that could build 46 Burj Al Arab’s.

Buffett already has $15 billion invested in solar and wind energy, and is “ready” to commit another $15 billion — which would bring the grand total up to $30 billion.
Dubai glitzy hotel, the Burj Al Arab, cost$650 million to build.
Source: Bloomberg

In 2014, a Singapore man bid $2.2 million for lunch with Warren Buffett. That amount could’ve provided 9,746 students with a calculus textbook.

In case you don’t have college-aged kids yet, text books are extremely expensive. The one that we used in our calculation costs$225.72.
Source: Omaha.com

Berkshire Hathaway’s cash balance is at $50 billion — that’s equal to the entire GDP of South Dakota plus 45 Airbus A318′s.

Berkshire Hathaway currently has over $50 billion in cash.
The GDP of South Dakota in 2013 was$46.732 billion.
An Airbus A318 costs $71.9 million.
Source: Bloomberg News

If you invested $1000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1970, you’d have $4.86 million today.

Berkshire Hathaway closed at $41 at the end of 1970.
On August 12, 2014, Berskshire Hathaway closed at $199,562.00
That’s a 486,636.59% change. You’d have $4.866 million today. 
Source: Yahoo Finance

If you invested $1000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1980, you’d have $531,165 today.

Berkshire Hathaway closed at $375 on August 12, 1980.
On August 12, 2014, Berskshire Hathaway closed at $199,562.00
That’s a 53,116.53% change. You’d have $531,165.30 today. 
Source: Yahoo Finance

If you invested $1000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 1990, you’d have $28,785 today.

Berkshire Hathaway closed at $6,700 on August 13, 1990.
On August 12, 2014, Berskshire Hathaway closed at $199,562.00
That’s a 2,878.54% change. You’d have $28,785.40 today. 
Source: Yahoo Finance

If you invested $1000 in Berkshire Hathaway in 2000, you’d have $2,218 today.

Berkshire Hathaway closed at $62,000 on August 11, 2000.
On August 12, 2014, Berskshire Hathaway closed at $199,562.00. 
That’s a 221.87% change. You’d have $2,218.7 today. 
Source: Yahoo Finance

If you invested $1000 in Berkshire Hathaway the year that Warren Buffett became the majority shareholder, you’d be up to $10.50 million today.

In 1964 – the year that Buffett became a majority shareholder — the stock was valued at $19 per share.
On August 12, 2014, Berskshire Hathaway closed at $199,562.00.
That’s a 1,050,226.32% change — which would be $10.502 million.
Source: Yahoo Finance

Source: http://www.businessinsider.my/


Sunday, August 17, 2014

Koon Yew Yin's Share Investment Strategies


How I started investing in shares?

In 1983 I had my heart bypass surgery in London. While recuperating in Harley Street Hospital, I read from the newspaper that the Hong Kong stock market crashed because Margret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister failed to secure the extension of British rule of Hong Kong. The British had a 99 years lease of Hong Kong and a part of Kowloon. The lease was expiring and the Chinese Communists would soon take over.

Everyone was afraid and everything was on cheap sale. The stock market crashed. 
At that time, I did not know how to select shares basing on the fundamental criteria of value investing. I did not know how to invest for long term or short term or timing the market to hit and run. I just bought shares that went down the most in terms of percentages. You can say that I started blindly.

As soon as China agreed to offer 50 years extension of capitalist system, the Hong Kong stock market rebounded and I sold all the shares I bought initially with more than 200% profit. With all the proceeds, I bought HSBC and other better known shares. After about 2 years, I made so much money that I bought 46% of the small stock broking company in Hong Kong that gave me margin finance which help me make more profit. 
   
After this short experience in Hong Kong, I decided to retire as Managing Director of Mudajaya and be my own boss. Why should I work so hard when it is so easy to make money from the stock market? Moreover, all my profit is tax free and I don’t have any management problem. I do not need to deal with people which I find most difficult. 
    
After my retirement, I have more free time to read. I have learned the investment philosophy of Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, Benjamin Graham and others. I found the best book is called “Valuegrowth Investing” by Glen Arnold. 
   
What is value growth investing? It means that the best stock to buy must be undervalued and it has strong profit growth prospect.

What is long term investment?

If I ask you all what long-term investing mean to you. I might get many different answers. Some may say 10 to 20 years, while others may consider five years to be a long-term investment. Individuals might have a shorter concept of long term, while institutions may perceive long term to mean a time far out in the future. This variation in interpretations can lead to variable investment styles.

For investors in the stock market, it is a general rule to assume that long-term assets should not be needed in the three- to five-year range. This provides a cushion of time to allow for markets to carry through their normal cycles. However, what's even more important than how you define long term is how you design the strategy you use to make long-term investments. This means deciding between passive and active management.

Long-Term Strategies

Investors have different styles of investing, but they can basically be divided into two camps: active management and passive management. Buy-and-hold strategies - in which the investor may use an active strategy to select securities but then lock them in to hold them long term - are generally considered to be passive in nature.

Active Management

On the opposite side of the spectrum, numerous active management techniques allow you to shuffle assets and allocations around in an attempt to increase overall returns. There is, however, a strategy that combines a little active management with the passive style. A simple way to look at this combination of strategies is to think of a backyard garden. While you may plant different crops for different results, you will always take the time to cultivate the crops to ensure a successful harvest. Similarly, a portfolio can be cultivated along the way without taking on a time-consuming or potentially risky active strategy.

Market Timing 

When it comes to market timing, there are many people for it and many people against it. The biggest proponents of market timing are the companies that claim to be able to successfully time the market. However, while there are firms that have proved to be successful at timing the market, they tend to move in and out of the spotlight, while long-term investors like Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett tend to be remembered for their styles. Studies have shown that most day traders cannot outperform the market index because of the transaction cost.

The Bottom Line

If volatility and investors' emotions were removed completely from the investment process, it is clear that passive, long-term (20 years or more) investing without any attempts to time the market would be the superior choice. In reality, however, just like with a garden, a portfolio can be cultivated without compromising its passive nature. Historically, there have been some obvious dramatic turns in the market that have provided opportunities for investors to cash in or buy in.


My investment style

Basically my style is a mixture of all the above mentioned strategy including the use of margin finance to increase my profit. With due respect to professional fund managers, they consider current earning EPS the most important criterion. But, I consider future profit growth prospect is more important. For example, Jaya Tiasa which has very poor current earning but it has tremendous profit growth prospect. That is why it has gone up about 30% in the last few months. 

It is easier for me to explain by showing you the shares I own and how I manage them. In view of the sustainable palm oil price increase in the near future, most of my investment are plantation shares eg Jaya Tiasa, Kulim, TH Plantations and Sarawak Plantations. Besides plantation, I have about 20% worth of my total investment on Mudajaya, MFCB and Success Transformers. I have only 7 counters so that I can closely keep track of them.

All my shares are pledged for margin finance. I normally use up to about 80% of the allowable limit.

How do I use Price Charts

I do not use charts to trade frequently. I only look at the long term price charts to buy shares that have been depressed for a long time. For example, Kulim is now selling at around Rm 3.50 which is lower than the average price in the last 3 years. This is simply not logical. It the last 3 years, Kulim’s plantation land especially those in Johore must have appreciated in value. Moreover, Kulim would have planted more oil palms and also made profit in the last 3years. I believe the price of Kulim will soon be re rated.

How I take advantage of the share price fluctuation

It is important to note that any share cannot continuously go up or come down for whatever reason. I must take advantage of this phenomenon to make money. For example, I have sold some Jaya Tiasa because it has gone up 30% within a few months so that I have funds to buy Kulim, TH Plantations and Sarawak Plantations which have been depressed for a long time. Jaya Tiasa is still my largest holding.
   
Please note that all the shares I bought are meant for long term. But it does not mean that I cannot sell them to get money to reduce my borrowing or to buy some other shares which are relatively cheaper.
Those who wish to know more about my investment style or have questions to ask, please attend my seminar on 1st June as according to my announcement.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Strategies to Grow Money Effectively

Taking stock of moves to tackle financial challenges
AS the new year takes shape, a number of hazards are expected to challenge the state of our personal finances. An early warning arrived when the sugar subsidy was cut in Budget 2014, a bitter indication that food prices would soon be rising.
Soon afterwards, consumers got a second wake-up call when news broke that the electricity tariff would be raised by 15% from this month, which would inevitably have an economic ripple effect. Yet, the bombshell of the year may be the stunning increase in assessment rates of up to 300% by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. Understandably, property owners have not taken the rate hike lying down.
External factors may also impact us, as the economic recovery in the United States has not been as robust as expected. There are clearly many threats beyond our control.
All these changes indicate that we are going to face more financial challenges this year. There is no better time than the present to take stock of our strategies to tackle these adverse developments.
However, one thing is in our hands and can make all the difference – at work or at home with regard to personal matters or our financial health – a positive, “can-do” attitude.
Eight Musts
Here are eight MUSTS that can open the door to financial success and a rewarding life this new year:
1. Determine the optimal return on investment (ROI) you need to achieve to enjoy financial freedom.
Everyone has a magic number by which they need their wealth to grow, say, 10% or 6%, that will take them to their financial goals. Simple as it sounds, there are real dangers for us if we are off the mark.
For example, without a target, we may be attracted to investments that promise unrealistic returns. Schemes like the under-probe Genneva Malaysia gold trading business or high-risk overseas investment plans are two perfect examples. So, be guided by sound parameters when making investment decisions.
Equally, if we set our ROI target too low, then we could become complacent about our financial plans, and run the risk of seeing inflation erode our asset value. As a result, the quality of life that we expect to enjoy may slip out of reach.
2. Set an optimal savings target, taking note that rising expenses will take a bigger bite out of our disposable income.
For example, the goods and services tax, when implemented in April 2015, and the continued cutting of subsidies will put upward pressure on the cost of living. On the other hand, the expected reduction in the income tax rate will put more money into our pockets. These two extra factors alone are enough to throw our current budgets off balance. Therefore, it is wise to review our current expenditure and adjust our lifestyle costs and savings targets accordingly.
As a rule of thumb, we should save at least 35% of our income, including our savings in the Employees Provident Fund, in order to meet our financial goals.
Just as crucially, we have to save and invest at the same time, as we need to grow our money faster than the rate of inflation to reach our financial targets.
3. Plan and provide for your cash flow needs before investing. This is absolutely crucial because without holding power, we are sure to lose money, no matter how good our choice of investment.
Guideline
As a guideline, we should set money aside for the following:
> Lifestyle funding. Working persons should maintain a six-month reserve, and the retired should have three years’ reserve on stand-by to finance living expenses, vacations, insurance premiums and housing loan repayments.
> Children’s university education funding. Keep the money ready three years ahead.
> Home purchase funding. Plan for financing three years ahead.
> Medical expenses funding.
4. Diversify and allocate your money.
A good rule of thumb is to allocate not more than 30% of our investable assets in a single asset class, such as property, cash, equities, bonds or commodities.
Taking a cue from Budget 2014, measures like the increase in the real property gains tax and the banning of the developer’s interest-bearing scheme to prevent the property market from overheating mean that the real estate sector could soften.
So, taking profit from the property asset class and divesting is a smart strategy. For example, if you have 80% of your investments in property, then you could cut it down to 40%, shifting to cash and equities instead.
5. Cut under-performers
Normally, when investing, we are very positive. For example, we may believe that our investments in unit trusts are going to perform well. In reality, however, we need to regularly monitor these investments. Say the fund promises to deliver a 10% return but is actually giving 3%, while peer funds are giving 11% or 12%. If this is the case, then it’s time to take immediate action. Many avoid taking that step because it is emotionally difficult to cut our losses. It is like jumping from a sinking ship. We must let go of our fear to make a new start.
6. Get a second opinion on any potential investment decision.
There are many innovative schemes being offered that attract retail investors, including oil palm growing schemes, offshore investment funds, gold coin trading, crude oil investment schemes and overseas property development schemes.
The best person to provide advice is usually an independent financial adviser licensed by the regulators. They are acutely aware of these schemes and know the inherent risks and benefits. Many of these schemes are clever at selling the apparent growth potential of the products, but are coy about their downside risks.
Questions to ask before signing up for these investments include:
> Is there a better option for the same type of investment? For example, instead of an oil palm grower’s scheme, it may be better to buy an oil palm company’s stock.
> If the promised return is 15% or 20%, is it deliverable?
> What is the potential for capital loss?
> Will my capital be safe?
Preferably, we should ask someone else these questions, and never ourselves, because when we are investing, we tend to be over-excited about the prospects of making money and often fail to answer these questions objectively.
7. Review your insurance coverage and the premium you are paying.
It is costly to have too high an insurance coverage if you already have enough insurance and assets to take care of your family. On the other hand, if your insurance coverage is too low, then your dependents are at risk of suffering a severe setback in case of any eventuality. Your insurance coverage is optimal if the total annual insurance premium you pay is less than 15% of your annual gross income:
Insurance premium ratio = total annual insurance premium/annual gross income (<15 p="">
Insurance for protection
If the ratio is more than 15%, then the chances are that you are paying too much for insurance. Rightfully, insurance is only for protection because insurance companies are not primarily dealing in the investment fund business, so, your money may grow slower than expected, and you may not have enough money for other purposes.
Note that while the above pointers are a rule of thumb, they may not apply to all age groups. As each individual will have different goals, it is best to tailor-make a financial plan that meets our specific needs.
8. Develop a tailor-made holistic financial plan to identify the OPTIMAL level of financing for your needs.
An individual’s financial needs will vary depending on a number of factors. These include retirement living expenses, children’s tertiary education funding, medical expenses, loan exposure and insurance. It also depends on the age at which we wish to retire, our savings target and the expected ROI.
In conclusion, if we use these checkpoints purposefully, we will be well-positioned to make the right decisions about our personal finances and can manage challenging financial circumstances with confidence. In this way, we can make good progress towards achieving financial freedom at an optimal pace.
Here’s to a fruitful year optimising our money!
Yap Ming Hui (yap@yapminghui.com) is a best-selling author, TV personality, columnist and coach on money optimisation. He heads Whitman Independent Advisors, a licensed independent financial advisory firm which has helped people optimise their wealth and achieve financial freedom since 2000.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

The effect of inflation on mortgage loan repayments

 
RM5 for a bowl of curry noodles? In my day, it was 50 sen!” Sounds familiar? No doubt you hear your parents and grandparents griping about today’s prices more often than not.
The reason for these price differences is simple and straightforward: inflation. We won’t go into the mechanics of inflation and its causes here; all we need to know in this context is that it devalues a currency over time by increasing the prices of goods and services.
Now, you might be wondering about the significance of inflation when it comes to mortgage loan repayments, and how you can utilize this knowledge. Let’s start from the beginning.

A misled mindset?
There’s a piece of conventional wisdom when it comes to property loans – pay them off whenever you have spare cash, and the more the better because you’ll be done with them earlier.
However, the opposite could ring true if you take into account the inflation factor. Simply put, RM1 – 30 years ago has a higher value than RM1 today due to inflation. Going by the same logic, RM1 now would obviously be of a higher value than RM1, 30 years down the line.
Imagine that a simple roadside meal will cost 10 times more, 30 years later. So, logically, paying ahead on your property loan instalments, you’d be using ringgit that would worth more compared to years down the line. Thus, wouldn’t you be losing out by paying more than you have to, despite shortening your loan tenure?

Inflation versus interest
Of course, the one major argument against this logic is that while you might save some money by outsmarting inflation, you would end up paying more anyway due to the huge amounts of interest over the years.
To gain a clearer understanding of the impact of inflation here, we have to get a little technical. Let’s take a home loan of RM450,000 paid over 30 years at a steady Base Lending Rate (BLR) of 4.2%. Your monthly repayment would work out to RM2,201.
For argument’s sake, let’s compare two hypothetical scenarios.
Scenario 1 – Standard repayments made to bank throughout tenure length

Scenario 2 – An overpayment of RM100 is added on each month throughout the tenure length
loanstreet From the table above, it can be noted that overpaying your monthly instalments consistently throughout tenure will save you RM30,729 in total. But, does that value reflect the actual value saved when taking inflation into account?

Let’s now look at the two different inflationary scenarios to get a picture of how much value you actually stand to save from repaying earlier. All calculations are based on the discounted cash flow of the mortgage amortisation.

* Discounted cash flow payment = Payment/ (1+ (inflation rate)) number of months
If average inflation rate in Malaysia is at 4% throughout tenure: The amount saved after takinginflation into account = Only RM157in today’s ringgit. This is the value of the amountsaved based on present day value.

If average inflation rate in Malaysia is at 5% throughout tenure: You actually don’t save anymoney but end up “losing” moneyin a sense.The total amount lost after taking inflation into account = RM 2,786 in today’s ringgit.
From here, it becomes clear that by overpaying and saving that additional RM30,729 in the future, translated into today’s equivalent, the amount might be much less than you think simply because of the effect of inflation.

 

Summary
The mentioned scenarios were based on certain assumptions. What is more likely to happen is a random fluctuation in BLR and inflation rates over time. Still, the principles shown hold true.
What we want to highlight is how you can extract maximum value from your money by just following Loanstreet’s three simple rules for stretching the value of every ringgit.

In a nutshell:

1. If loan interest rates are higher than inflation:-
a. Pay off your Loan (This article disregards investment options)

2. If loan interest rates are lower than inflation = Use your money for either:
a. Investments or
b. Consumption items

3. In most situations, keep only a minimum amount of cash (in savings/ Fixed Deposits (FD), etc, as your money generally devalues over time (Though there are certain exceptions).
One final note, please remember not to discount the importance of saving. There are times when you just might need that extra cash, or must save up for a future use. Do, however, practice wisdom and save just enough for practical purposes.
This is our simple guide to stretching the value of every ringgit.

>> To find out more about the best home loan interest rates in the market, visit www.loanstreet.com.my
>> Loanstreet.com.my is a website that helps Malaysians compare and apply for loans online, free of charge.

FOREX 4U