to keep saving your money is the best, you hv disciplined of saving or put aside to a bank account that you not able withdraw easily.

If you have enough emergency savings, why not just invest it? I also started my investment with few hundreds. It's now don't know how many times compare when I first started, maybe few hundred times more (but then again, I always set aside some money to top up on the investment)

Congratulations and well done.

hmm, thanks jasontoh for the precious advice (: then i should start allocate some money into investment but b4 i start invest, i need to do some homework about what am i going to invest,right?

Rule of thumb: Emergency funds should be expenses for 6 months. I keep 8 months just to be safe. 2 months in current account, 6 in savings and money market funds.

if that is the case,i shall target an emergency fund to be saved before i go for the investment thanks for the advice,kelvin

Everybody doesn't seem to understand the term investment where there is a 50% 50% chance of losing it if you f'up. Majority will loose it.

somebody doesn't seem to understand the term investment, where probabilities can be 60%win 40%lose, or even better odds due to asset allocation control + filtering for good businesses/properties + buying at a good value

.

This post has been edited by HW89: May 13 2013, 11:54 PM

Of course you need to do some homework. Else you will end up like many innocent souls who lost their money in investment.

Hi guys. Does anyone have any recommendation on how to go about with tracking personal finances (expenses, incomes, etc.)?
For eg., keep track of your investments and its profit/loss, incomes from savings such as FDs, and your misc. expenses.
I'm looking more at a software or excel spreadsheet.
Also, what's your experience for those currently already practising keeping tabs on your portfolios?

Thanks.

personal finances tracking in excel - i personally keep track for 1-3 month then giveup keying. http://www.spreadsheet123.com/ExcelTemplat...-statement.html

For stock- monitoring everyday.
http://klse.i3investor.com/jsp/pf.jsp

I'm using Excel sheet to keep do from budgeting to keeping track of my expenses as well as keeping track of investments portfolio.

There are many Andriod softwares free if u have tablets or phones , later u may see some Andriod Notebooks in the markets.

Windows based , can use Excel or else the software may cost some money to buy , and yet may not 100% what u wanted.

This post has been edited by SKY 1809: May 2 2013, 05:08 PM

Yeah, I think it's easy to give up tracking after a while too =/

I've been looking at spreadsheets too...still trying to look for a decent, not overly complicated one that will make things easier to track.

first, take a time to understand all of the meaning for the terms used in spreadsheet. only then you can put the correct value for each data stated. and it's important for us to know how to explain the data from the spreadsheet. because that's the only way we can improve our financial.

5 Critical Budgeting Mistakes to Avoid

By Sabah Karimi | U.S.News & World Report LP – Mon, Apr 29, 2013 10:56 AM EDT


While there's no simple formula for creating a household budget, there are some basic guidelines you can follow to maintain a realistic and accurate monthly spending plan. If you're tired of worrying about money--or just can't seem to meet your savings goals--you'll want to design a budget that accommodates your lifestyle. Avoiding these common budgeting mistakes will make it easier to keep your finances in check and stress less about money matters each month:

1. Setting budget that's too rigid. Most of your expenses likely fluctuate from month to month, so avoid making the mistake of setting a budget that's too strict. For instance, you might spend more over Fourth of July weekend or during the winter holiday season. An inflexible budget will not only make it difficult to save money but could inhibit your ability to maintain an accurate perspective on your finances. Consequently, it's crucial to leave some room to accommodate for unforeseen expenses.

2. Leaving savings out of the equation. Ideally, you want to include a savings contribution as a monthly expense in your budget. Many personal finance experts recommend using an automated savings approach to get in the habit of socking money away every month and help you resist the urge to blow cash on discretionary expenses.

3. Waiting until the end of the month to review receipts and expenditures. Tracking your spending is essential for sticking to a budget. If you're not making mindful decisions about your spending because you're waiting until the end of the month to log expenditures and review your spending habits, it's easier to go over your budget. Tracking your expenditures on a weekly basis can help you keep better tabs on where your money is going. In addition, logging a receipt on the same day of a purchase can help ensure you're not spending more than you planned to.

4. Inaccurately accounting for regular expenses. Unless you prepay or have set up a separate account to take care of property taxes, car insurance or other regular monthly expenses, your budget may not be accurate. Consider the typical cost of these monthly expenses and incorporate them into your budget. Knowing how much money goes out each month for necessary expenses will give you a better idea of how much it costs to maintain your lifestyle.

5. Making things too complicated. You don't need to create an elaborate system or use special budgeting tools to develop a realistic spending plan. Simplify your household budget as much as possible so you can easily keep a running total of your expenses next to your monthly budget and have the freedom to update and adjust your budget regularly. Instead of a paper planner, consider using a basic spreadsheet program, such as Excel, for easy updating and adjusting. By designing a simple budget, you can keep your monthly expenses in check and avoid tedious money-management tasks.


SOS

here is my financial management plan on the month 6th of working

gross salary-1500

insurance 180
church tithes 120
telephone bill 100
petrol 320
toll 40
internet 120

leftover 2 spend per month - 620

the rest of the costs all subsidized by parents

Hello Sifu, here is my personal financial plan.

Salary after EBF cut - RM 950
Comission - RM 300

Electric bill - 50
Parents - 100
Food - 200
telephone bill - 30
internet bill - 72

Savings - 500
Left 298

Should i change to more high salary job ? I want target my savings RM 30k
in 3 years.

Hi,

If anyone in this thread needs free financial advise let me know. I work for IPP one of the largest independent financial advisor groups in Asia and we offer free advice and servicing for all clients.

So if you are stuck drop me a pm or email me mattkerr@ipp.com.my and we can arrange a sit down.

All the best
Matt