Life After SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia)

My eighteen-years-old nephew who got his SPM result last month was asking me for some advice about 'life after SPM'. He's asking which college he should go to, which course he should be taking, whether he should go to Form Six for 2 years, and many more questions. In return, I ask him what's his interest and from there to see what are the plan to meet his interest. I've also shared with him the followings:

1) Do some reading and research on different disciplines. I think other that that special gift or talent that we have, what we enjoy doing is very much link to our knowledge and our life experience. If the father is a doctor, very likely one of the children will become a doctor. If the father is a lawyer, very likely his children will become a lawyer. If the father is a businessman, very likely his children will also become a businessman. If the father is a successful athlete, very likely his children will excel in sports too. You see, there is really a link somewhere. So, since not all of us are lucky enough to have doctor father, a lawyer father, a successful business father or a successful athlete, the least we can do is do some reading and research on different discipline. In this way, we can expose ourselves so that we can have more choices.

2) Do something you enjoy doing. After working for many years, I realized that the most rewarding job is the job which you enjoy doing. What we enjoy doing might change from time to time, but, deep in our heart we know best what we enjoy doing. Maybe your father is a doctor and he wants you to become a doctor. If you know your interest is not in medicine, but in arts, you should really follow your heart. But of course, the best would be if your family background is in medicine and you have interest in medicine, then you'll really be a successful and happy doctor.

3) Do not follow your friends. We all have good friends and some friends who might influence our decision. It is important not to follow friends. If your friend wants to study engineering, it is not wise to follow him to study engineering while your interest is in arts. If your friend wants to go to Kolej A, it's not wise to follow him to Kolej A just because you're afraid you could not find new friends when to go to Kolej B. You will find and make new friends no matter where you go. Follow  your own path and do not let yourself drift away  with others path which might not be the best for your.

4) Believe in yourself and fight for yourself. If there're limitations of the number of students  in certain course, do not just accept it. Try to appeal or look for other alternative somewhere else. 

Most probably he'll go to Form Six. Mainly because with STPM, he will have higher change to get a place in local university. The other reason is, Form Six is the most cost effective way. I really hope that he'll find something he enjoy doing. And for the rest who's in the same boat with him, I also wish you all the best in your future undertakings. Some say, real life start after SPM :)

EPF@KWSP - EPF Declares 6.15 Percent Dividend Rate For 2012

Wow... News on last Sunday 17 Feb 2013 announced that EPF@KWSP declared 6.15% dividend for 2012. Such a good news for all EPF@KWSP members :) When I checked my i-Akaun that night, I saw the dividend has been credited to my account.

Keep up the good work, EPF@KWSP. And of course we hope for better dividend for coming year :)

The full news can be reached here or here.

Things to consider before quitting your job

It's February and still in early 2013. Some may find that this is a good time to quit your current job and go for your dream job or just to take some break from the hectic work schedule. I listed below, some of the things to consider before quitting your existing job:

1)      Your current financial commitment

Housing/car loan, monthly utilities (water, electricity, phone, cable tv), groceries, insurance, kids expenses, tuition fee and many more. Unless you have other sources of income, you are likely to have to use you savings to cover your expenses and financial commitment while you are out of work. Make sure you have enough to cover your expenses until the next pay cheque. And you must be aware that, while you don’t have your regular income, you are also spending your savings.

2)      Your new employment

Sometimes you just feel like you want to quit and don’t want to think about other things. I can understand that. But, in real life, you should really think and plan for your next step.  So, when you are really stressed out  and really cannot go on, take a deep breath, perhaps apply for a few days leave and spend some time alone. Think and I really meant think hard and plan for your roads ahead. Try to 'survey' around for a new employment before throw that quitting letter to your boss.

3)      Staff benefits that you  might missed out

Some employment come with additional staff benefits such as insurance coverage, medical fee, optical and dental benefits, company share benefits, lower interest rates (banking sector), petrol allowance, company transportation. If you are really planning to quit, make sure you include the above expenses in your budget.

Well, another benefit would be company bonus. So, plan your quitting will be more justified for you. If you know your company is giving away bonus, try to plan to quit after your bonus. Unless, you really don’t care about the bonus (which I think most of your would really care) :)

4)      Your reason for quitting

You can just tell others (your spouse, your parents, siblings, kids, friends, relatives, neighbors,  your customer, your business associates) you quit your job because it’s too stressful, or you can’t take it anymore. It does not sound cool for you. Find an alternative way to describe why you quit. So, getting a new employment is really a more professional way to tell others why you quit :)

5)      The unattached period

If all this while you’ve been occupied with your work, it is going to be tough for you to just sit around doing nothing. Perhaps for the first few days or perhaps weeks, you’ll be feeling so happy that you can wake up at anytime you wish, you no need to see your boss face, no need to face those difficult colleague/customers. But, as the time goes by, you’ll start to feel stress for being to free and have nothing to look forward to. So, it important to know what you want to do during your unattached period. Maybe cultivate some hobbies or visit some friends/relatives which you’ve wish you can do but could not make it previously due to your busy work life.

Don’t be surprised if you started to miss your work or your stressful time, a few months after you quit. Unless you can find something which you really enjoy or something better, you are likely to miss something.

Feel free to add in any other things to consider before quitting your job. I would love to add them to the list :)

Cheers and all the best always!

Financial Responsibility & Money Managers

I came across this wonderful article on The Star Online published on last Saturday - 'Creating a financial future through wise financial management today'.  I think this is a great article on financial education. Though just in 9 paragraphs, but almost all important points about money management are mentioned (differentiating needs and wants, setting financial responsibility, saving a certain portion of salary, creating emergency fund, creating & sticking to budget, resisting impulse buying and using the credit facilities wisely). This article is easy to understand and with consideration of 'modern life' which make it more 'real life'.

I love the 2 words used in this article: Financial Responsibility and Money Managers. A person who is financially responsible mostly will not be miserable when come to money management. That is an important part of life. Money Managers - everyone is a money manager himself/herself. So, I am a Money Managers too :) 

You can click here to read the article. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do.

How To Check for Bankruptcy Status in Malaysia

Recently had helped a friend to check  on some information on bankruptcy status in Malaysia. In Malaysia, when a person is declared bankrupt, he will not be allowed to travel outside of Malaysia (unless with permission from Direct General of Insolvency). So, one of the way to check on bankruptcy status in Malaysia will be through Malaysia Immigration Department.

You can click the link here from Immigration Department Malaysia. You will need the identification card (IC) number of that person. If a person is not allowed to travel to outside of Malaysia, there might be a possibility that he's in bankruptcy list. Bear in mind, there could be other reason as well such as blacklisted for not paying PTPTN study loan and etc.

But of course, the best way would be check through Malaysia Department of Insolvency (MdI). Through MdI, one can get a complete details of the bankruptcy info. You can get more info on MdI website here.

Hope the above helps.

Ten questions to ask before you put your money in the wrong place

I read this interesting article written by P. Gunasegaram on The Star Online today:

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Ten questions to ask before you put your money in the wrong place.

AH, people’s greed! It knows no bounds and everyone wants to make a quick buck with little effort.

They just can’t resist the opportunity to make easy money but too often they don’t stop to think. And they get burnt!

The sad thing is this happens over and over and over again despite all the caution that the authorities urge.

Eventually, when the scheme topples because the pyramid is teetering on the point and not resting on its base, and the sham is exposed, it’s to the authorities that the victims turn to.

So let’s not make noise when the authorities investigate money-making schemes, especially when they are too good to be true. Let the authorities investigate thoroughly because usually they investigate only after some complaints. And complaints are the first sign of trouble.

If there is absolutely nothing wrong with their business, and everything is legal and right, they will be allowed to operate again.

Nothing much would have been lost and they start again from where they left off.

But, if there is something wrong, the poker game is up and the house of cards will come tumbling down. In that case, all distraught investors can hope for is a share of whatever is left which often is not much.

There have been many kinds of scams over the years. Basically, all of them operate pretty much the same.

They actually pay out insane returns and dividends for a while and when enough people are attracted in, they disappear in a wink with all the money that people have put into the schemes, scams or shams.

And they pay attractive commission to those who get them customers.

It’s similar to stock market investors in ramped up counters: they know the fall will come but they hope to be among the first who get out before the values crumble and people start disappearing. That’s a high-risk gamble which for the most part is just not worth taking.

Here are 10 questions to ask before investing in a money-making scheme:

1. ARE the returns too good to be true?

If someone promises you 20% a year when fixed deposits pay 3%, that’s a damn good rate of return. But you need to find out what the risk is. Typically, the higher the return, the higher the risk.

2. DOES it claim to protect your capital?

If your returns are high and the scheme promises to preserve your capital, run as fast as your two legs will carry you. No one, not even the greatest investor the world has seen – Warren Buffett – can promise you that.

3. HOW is your capital protected?

If capital is protected and the return is reasonable, ask this question. If it is merely the word of the scheme or the company that is running the scheme, it will not be worth the paper it is written on if the scheme collapses and goes bust.

4. WHY does the company not make the money for itself?

If you are still convinced that they can give you such a return with no corresponding risk, ask yourself this question. They can very well borrow some money from their bank, sell all their assets or beg from their relatives if they can get that kind of returns instead of letting you make the money. Generosity like that does not exist.

5. HOW much work do you have to do?

The less work you have to do for the returns, the more suspicious you should become. If you are in direct selling, you have to work hard to get your commissions.

But if you are sitting back, kicking off your shoes and putting your feet up on the stool while watching the world go by and your money flow into your bank account, let me tell you something: It won’t last!

6. DOES it pay you when you recruit someone else into your scheme?

If it does, be very careful because that’s the classic way of spreading the scheme. You recruit someone, you get paid, your recruit gets someone, he gets paid – it spreads in geometric progression like wildfire.

But don’t forget, you most likely have not recovered your initial investment. The scam is still accumulating money and waiting for the last minute before it packs up, money and all, and flees.

7. DOES it claim that it has a proprietary product, service or method?

Oldest trick in the book, this one. They have such a fantastic advantage over the rest with this and they are so generous that they want to share it with you so that you will gain from it too. Charity from those who have not made enough money to be that charitable is rather suspect.

8. WHO are the promoters? Are they reputable people with solid track records and businesses built up through hard work? Or are they commission salesmen and saleswomen who have a glib tongue with which they smooth over the pitfalls of their so-called business?

9. HOW long have they been in business?

If they are new to the game, better be suspicious than sorry later.

There are many reputable direct sales organisations and if you are a good salesperson, you can make some money but usually they have been around for a while. I won’t name them, you know who they are.

10. HAS it started delaying payments?

Oh, poor you! If you are in it after asking all these questions and were still, well, conned, it may well be too late.

If they are delaying payments, they either got it wrong and can’t pay you or they are in the process of running and leaving you high and dry. Get the investigators in and salvage whatever you can.

Finally, remember, these scams can be quite smart, sophisticated and rather persuasive. Put them to the test by asking and answering these questions — hopefully you don’t have to answer question 10 by which time it may be too late — and we guarantee you will be safe.

Or your money back. Promise!

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Good 10 questions to ask before invest your hard earned money, especially in high risk investment. And always remember, there must be something wrong somewhere if the deal sounds too good to be true.

Twelve Years Old and Working Part-time

My 12-years-old niece who just completed her UPSR exam last week already start working part-time at a local supermarket. At first, I was surprised when she told me she's planning to work after her UPSR exam. But, after she explained it, I think it is also a good idea for her to spend her free time.

Her mum (my sis-in-law) also supported her idea of working part-time at the supermarket for 2 reasons. First reason is so that my niece won't be glued to her laptop from the time she wake up till she sleep at night. It's true. Since she has laptop and internet connection, she spent almost 100% of her time facing her laptop and facebook.

Even when she's doing her revision or homework, she still has her facebook page active. Wondering how she can concentrate on her study. Second reason is so that my niece will have her own pocket money to buy whatever she wish to have. Recently she told me she wants to buy a new smart phone.

Well, I guess there's a third reason - so that she learn to manage her finance early and so that she learn that the money does not drop from the sky :) Also, she'll be exposed to the 'working world' and gain some experience from there.

Comparing with my niece, it was really a different world for me. For me, after I finished my UPRS, I just enjoy my free time to the fullest. Playing with my younger brother, watching television and spending time with my parents.

How time really change the way we live!