Plan and Win RM50,000

FANCY learning about ­financial planning and at the same time grab a chance to win up to RM50,000?

Thanks to Axa Affin Life Insurance Bhd, now you can, by taking part in the online game contest Turning Point.

Turning Point is a virtual boardgame that simulates “quality-of-lifestyle and wealth-­management experience,” the company said.

Axa Affin Life Insurance said the game is aimed at creating ­awareness among working Malaysians that financial planning is an important element in ­everyday life, and that life comes with ­obligations and surprises.

The contest ends on June 30, 2008, and is open to citizens and permanent residents of Malaysia age 21 years and above.

The top eight who accumulate the most points will be chosen as winners. The grand prize winner will walk away with RM50,000, second prize winner with RM10,000 while the third place winner will win RM5,000. Consolations prizes of RM1,000 each will be given to the next five winners.

Small Things Everyone Does

With regard to man wreaking damage on the environment, one great scholar asks, “What is development if it is destroying our own future?” So, it is not the big things that the organisations do that count most. It is the small things everyone does that carry weight. As a Malay proverb says, “Sikit-sikit, lama-lama jadi bukit”, meaning “bit by bit it becomes a hill”.

In coming years, environmental issues will be a very important challenge to face.

How do we as consumers adapt to it? We can do the following small acts on our part to save the earth:

- Take your own bags for shopping to carry home groceries. Plastic bags are not eco-friendly and are non-biodegradable. Plastic bags take 400 years to bio-degrade.

- Use a bicycle or walk for short trips and local shopping. It’s 100% eco-friendly and keeps you fit.

- Turn off televisions, stereos and computers when not in use - they can use between 10% and 60% of the power when on and contribute to global warming.

- Prepare and bring home-cooked meals to work or school. It’s healthier and far more economical than eating outside.

- Collect unused paper products at home and take them to recycling centers. Recycling of wood products can save millions of trees a year.

- Stop using chemical pesticides. Planting certain plants in your kitchen garden, such as mint and basil can help to keep pests away.

- Replace lights used with compact energy saving fluorescent lamps. They use ¼ of electricity and last 4 times as long as a normal light bulb.

- Decide on what you need before opening the fridge. Repeated opening waste electricity and add up to your utility bills.

- Avoid using Styrofoam. It’s non-biodegradable and depletes the ozone layer.

- Volunteer for a green project in your local community. Start or join a community environment program to preserve the environment in your neighbourhood.

- Share the advice and tips you’ve learned on sustainable consumption with your family and friends.

- Cool your house the smart way. Use white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away. Air conditioners contribute to global warming.

- Buy locally grown food. Not only will you be saving money but you are also supporting the livelihood of local farmers.

- Help reduce the world’s rubbish dumps – don’t use disposable products like paper plates and napkins, plastic utensils and cups.

- Saving water means saving electricity; because one of the biggest users of electricity is supplying water and cleaning up sewage.

- Follow nature’s way to care for your garden. Use organic compost instead to improve soil health for gardening.

Source: FOMCA

Blogging Advices

Born out of the necessity for certain quarters to reach out to the people effectively and personally, blogging has shown its prowess in the recent general election and now many politicians are getting into the act.
This is what Oon Yeoh commented in The Star, he is a writer and a New Media analyst.

Here are some advice from him on blogging:

- Don’t outsourcing blogging duties. It’s got to be from you and the postings have to reflect your true personality and world view. If there are some grammatical mistakes, so be it. What’s important is that it’s real.

- Don’t play it safe. Express yourself. Nobody wants to read boring, politically-correct comments.

- Post updates regularly, at least once a day, ideally more. But keep them short. A paragraph or two is plenty for blog postings.

- A good practice is to embed links into some keywords in your blog posting. Such links are useful because they make it easy for the reader to do follow-up reading on the topic you’re blogging about.

- Respond to comments or at the very least let them run. Blogging is not column writing. Nor is it a monologue but rather a dialogue between the blogger and his readers.

- Like any activity that requires discipline and hard work, once you stop blogging, you’ll get rusty and it’s pretty hard to get the momentum going again.

Financially Secure Marriage Planning

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Some married people would joke that there are three “Rings” in marriage – the Engagement Ring, the Wedding Ring and the Suffer-Ring! Ouch! How did that “ring” ever get onto our finger? Statistics have shown that one of the root causes of marital problems revolves around money. Just imagine if one individual can’t manage his finances well, what more when you put the two together (along with a few more juniors!)

Let’s Talk…

Are you a saver while your spouse is a spender? Coming together from two separate worlds, we may have our own ideas and feelings about money. We should sit down with our spouse to discuss how we regard and use money – be it how many pairs of shoes you “need” to buy to how many packs of cigarettes you smoke per month. Be honest about all debts and loans, especially if you have any outstanding credit card loans or the number of Ah Long “friends”! Being opened with your finances, you can be difficult but it’s better to share that information now than face surprises later. Talking about money early in your marriage may save you a lot of heartache.


Tying the Financial Knot

When we tie the knot, we have to ensure that our own financial knot is not entangled. It would be wise to be clear on each other’s roles and responsibilities pertaining to household finances. For example, who is going to pay the bills, save for children’s education and pay those monthly loan installments? It is also very important to decide on the issue of parental allowance as both parties have to agree on giving an acceptable amount to parents on both sides. Ideally, if both the husband and wife are working, they should maintain at least 3 accounts – “My Account”, “Your Account” and “Our Account”. This would allow each party to maintain some independence over their personal purchases while contributing their fair share towards joint expenses. Having a combined Cash Flow Statement showing “His”, “Her” and “Our” income and expenses, may be a good idea.

Another area is on the treatment of each other’s assets and liabilities. If a marriage starts on a clean sheet of paper, then both of you could still decide later on – either in joint names or in either party’s name. However, if the union comes with “excess baggage”, then the couple would need to be clear on how to deal with their existing personal assets and liabilities. Are they going to combine them or treat them separately as their own responsibilities? Very often, couples tend to carry over their liabilities into their marriage and that may be the bone of contention later on in their married life. Having a combined Net Worth Statement showing “His”, “Her” and “Our” assets and liabilities, may prevent any arguments.

Peace of Mind

Another very important area that should be looked into is Life Insurance. It would almost be a necessity to have sufficient coverage when we get married and start a family. This is because we are no longer living for ourselves anymore but also for our loved ones. Are we to leave our spouse and children in dire financial distress should something unfortunate happen to us? Life Insurance ensures that our dependents can pick up the pieces and carry on living with some measure of financial comfort. They need not worry about where the money coming from or whether they would still have a roof over their heads.

For those who already have some life insurances, it is advisable to review your benefits. You may need to drop some coverage if your spouse’s plan covers the family or perhaps enhance them to include your family. It is also advisable to update your beneficiaries if necessary. Ultimately, we want to optimize our benefits to be able to walk down the aisle with peace of mind.

Plan Your Financial Future Together

After reviewing what you have and expressing your feelings about money, you can now start planning your financial future together, which in essence is planning your life together as husband and wife. The other area may be your love nest. Where is it going to be? When is it going to be? Will it be landed or a “space in the air”? If landed, will it be single or double-storey or perhaps a semi-D or your very own bungalow? Property cost may be the single largest family expense and both of you have to manage your expectations.

The second thing may be children. Those bundles of joy may need bundles of cash too! It’s not too far-fetched to say that we may need as much as One Million Ringgit to raise a child in the future as a big chunk of it goes towards their education. Therefore, if the both of you decide to have a football team, then you’ll really need to sit down and start planning!

Last but not least, one of you may decide to quit job after marriage to concentrate on building a family. That’s not a bad idea but this topic should be discussed as early as possible to better prepare yourselves. Both of you have to agree on who’s going to be the “Finance Minister” and who’s going to be the “Home Minister”. It may be gradual (like going from full-time to part-time) or it may be immediate but the decision should not give raise to financial predicament.

Living Happily Ever After…

Marriage is just not a word; it’s a sentence… a life sentence! As you enter into this new stage of life, remember to review your finances together regularly as both of you will be taking a long journey together as man and wife. While Love is important, Money is a necessary ingredient towards a blissful marriage. So, start Planning for a Financially Secure Marriage so that we too, may one day have a fairytale ending: “… and they Lived Happily Ever After…”!

Source : AKPK
Related post:
Effective Cashflow Management
Control Your Spending Habit
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays

Effective Cashflow Management

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Do you ever wonder why there are “too many months at the end of your money?” Do you find it difficult to keep track of your expenses? Ask yourself this: “Who's the Boss - ME or MY MONEY?”

Who’s the Boss?

One of the areas of Financial Planning is Cashflow and Debt Management. In this regard, it is important that we understand the kind of relationship we have with our money - do we have Control over our money or does money Control us? Who is the Master and who is the Servant? If we allow our Cashflow and Debt to manage us, then money’s our master. On the other hand, if we can manage our Cashflow and Debt effectively, then we are the master of our finances.

Let's take a look at this simple guideline:

Who's in Control?	Master	Servant
Cashflow & Debt	Money	Man
YOU	Man	Money

The question now is: "How do we make Man the Master of His Money?" BUDGETING, of course! One of the tools in managing our Cashflow and Debt effectively is through Budgeting. Even our country practises this and it is important that we too, form a habit of budgeting and more importantly, sticking to it!

What’s a Budget?

For most of us, a budget is perceived as something that restricts our spending and its main purpose is to make us Save, Save and Save some more. That is why so many of us just don't get down to it. In reality, a budget is a plan for spending our money - it does not tie us down. In fact, it liberates us! It does not tell us what we cannot spend, but rather it tells us what we can spend on without having to feel guilty about it later.

Let's take a look at some Key Components of a Budget:

Cash Inflow Cash Outflow Salaries Bonuses Dividends Rental Income Interest Income Part-time Job Fixed Expenses: Loan Repayment Children Education Life Insurance Premium Maid Salary Variable Expenses Income Tax Food Utilities Gifts Travel/Holiday Entertainment Road Tax / Motor Insurance Medical Expenses Car / Home Repairs

There are basically two main components to a Budget: Cash Inflow (Income) and Cash Outflow (Expenses). We’d have a Surplus if our Income exceeds our Expenses. On the other hand, when our Expenses are more than our Income, this would result in a Deficit. This Deficit would either eat into out previous years’ savings or force us into debt.

Needless to say, our goal is to ensure that our income is more than our expenses and most people will focus on increasing their Income rather than controlling their Expenses. Ironically, in our pursuit of increasing our income, we "unconsciously" increase our Expenses as well! The end result - our Net Cash Flow position would remain relatively the same or worse-off!

How Do I Do It?

There are really no hard and fast rules but below are some simple yet effective strategies for better control over one's Cashflow through proper Budgeting:

1. LIST
a) List down all your sources of Income
b) List down all Expense Items for the month, categorizing them as either Fixed or Variable (do not overlook one-off lumpy expense items like Road-tax & Motor Insurance premiums)
c) Calculate the Net Cash Flow position (total inflows minus total outflows)

2. CHECK
a) Screen through the list of Variable Expense Items and try to identify items that can be done away with or delayed.
b) Do a reality check to see if the budget is realistic and take one step at a time (don't be too hard on yourself, for starters)

3. TRACK
Warning: This involves a great deal of Discipline!
Depending on your preference, you could either record all your spending on a daily basis with the help of a PDA or you may stick to the conventional "555 Pocket Booklet". If possible, try to keep the receipts for all your purchases and sort them out according to your budgeted itme. At the end of each week, transfer the numbers over to the Master Budget Record. Do this religiously for the next 30 days and it will become your second nature.

4. REVIEW
After the 30-day period, sit down with your spouse or an advisor to review your progress by comparing “Amount Budgeted” versus “Actual Amount Spent” and determine the reasons for the difference. Adjust your budget or spending, where necessary.

In Summary…

The main thing to bear in mind is to ensure that our Cash Inflows are always more than our Cash Outflows in order to have “Cash Overflows” or what is commonly known as Cash Surplus. Only then could we embark on the journey towards Financial Independence. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So, take your first step by preparing your Family Budget and more importantly, stick to 'em!

Source : AKPK
Related post:
Control Your Spending Habit
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays