hey Everyone!

Just looking for public opinion on two questions;

Im not from economics/finance background so i may be wrong, but
I feel quite insecure with the current inflated property price, and feel that a big bubble burst may occur.
In such an event, such as recession, i assume holding one currency (MYR) might not be a good idea. (if malaysia economy crashes)

1. Should i spread out my savings into a couple currencies? (USD, SGD, chinaRMB)?

2. If yes, how should i do it.. forex?

or 3. i have it all wrong. Currency is more valuable in a reccession

Thanks all!
P.S. apologies if it sounds like stupid questions 

Dear Forumer,

I'm 35 years old and I will be losing my job next month due to company down sizing.

My current assets are
1. Cash - 300K (90% on FD)
2. Stock - 50K
3. A house fully paid up recently

Liabilities
1. Car - 12k

My monthly commitment is minimum 5.5K. This is because I'm married with a child and I'm fully taking care both of my aging parents. My wife not working to fully take care of my child.

For the last 1.5 year I have been partnering in a business which generate 4K/month on the average. I work on the business on a part time basis or remotely as I travel alot.

Should I take more risk by investing more money and time in expanding my business or look for another stable job? Current economic outlook is quite grim and don't think I can get my previous pay scale as I've gone through multiple job interviews.

My uncertainties on my future really stresses me out. Anyone can offer some word of advice?

hi morning everyone,

i and few friend doing graphic design company, income quite steady , but the problem i like buy a lot of new gadget , cant save money >.< any suggestion to ?

hi morning everyone,

i and few friend doing graphic design company, income quite steady , but the problem i like buy a lot of new gadget , cant save money >.< any suggestion to ?

Create a saving habit

I am a degree graduate and am earning only 1700 per monthbeing an executive in retail industry, but im happy with my job and my current lifestyle. Having work for 3 years, i have limited savings due to the low salary and high living expenses. But this doesnt deter me from saving and start investing. Got no car, no house, no property whatsoever. Bad Bad

Due to peer pressure, i think its better off to bump up my self confidence and look for better opportunities, when most of my friends are earning more than 5k per month, im earning 1.7k. This is what we choose, what i have choosen 3 years ago. But this thinking had been in my mind the first day i started my current job, and time flies, 3 years later, im still here, complaining that i earn peanuts, but did i do anything? =/ Well, obviously i dint do enough. We must believe that there is a better and brighter sky out there.

For those who earn high income but complain that standard of living is too high, got not enough money to use, think of those like me who earn so little yet managed to save and invest. People earning 1k plus can start a family, by living within their means.  You can do it, the key is actually PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. Take it personal, there is no plan that is for everyone. Manage it perrsonaly, do not just whine and complain like me =/

Now for those who are like me, always complain that pay is low, do you have capabilities that proved that you are indeed underpaid, if yes, anything been done? Ever look for better opportunities, i believe a lot of you would say No. Because im in the exact same situation so i understand =/ Again, it PERSONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. Its your life, its personal, its how you managed it. I have been giving it a lot of thought lately, im getting older, i already have a slow start up, now my resolution for 2011 is to get a new job. Albeit slower than those who earn more and save more, we can also achieve it, thru various ways.

Take charged. Make it personal.

Hi, I need some advice on investing smartly.

My parents are very careful with all their savings and they are not very good in investing. Most of the money is just lying in FD's. Now it's my turn and i'm willing to take some risks.

I'm 26yrs this year and i have about Rm160k of savings (100k in FD) and some other FD's that my mum put under my name.

Initially i thought of using the money to do master abroad but i think i'm still able to invest here and there.

At the moment, i'm able to save around Rm2.5k to Rm3k monthly, i have no car repayment & i've not purchased a house.

Basically, i don't want to keep the money when there's plenty of ways to make money.

Some of the ways that i'm looking into at the moment are PB unit trusts, AS, stocks and new property development. I'm also on the look out for passive income.

Feel free to suggest if you have any good ways. Thanks! 

Dear Forumer,

I'm 35 years old and I will be losing my job next month due to company down sizing.

My current assets are
1. Cash - 300K (90% on FD)
2. Stock - 50K
3. A house fully paid up recently

Liabilities
1. Car - 12k

My monthly commitment is minimum 5.5K. This is because I'm married with a child and I'm fully taking care both of my aging parents. My wife not working to fully take care of my child.

For the last 1.5 year I have been partnering in a business which generate 4K/month on the average. I work on the business on a part time basis or remotely as I travel alot.

Should I take more risk by investing more money and time in expanding my business or look for another stable job? Current economic outlook is quite grim and don't think I can get my previous pay scale as I've gone through multiple job interviews.

My uncertainties on my future really stresses me out. Anyone can offer some word of advice?

A quick question. We all know it's best to spread our investment to obtain passive income.

How many % should be allocate between FD:UT:Stock (100% in total) to generate a comfortable level of passive income. We all know MOST people opt for their UT distributions to be reinvested which means there are no passive income technically, unlike stocks which gives dividends and FD giving interest.

Do enlighten me here.

The percentage is depending on your risk tolerance. The more risk you can take without emotionally troubled then you can invest in higher portion of your money in higher risk elements.

Basically the best advice is ... sell down your risky instruments and convert to FD until you can have a good night's sleep without thinking of your investment. Then you know you are at the right risk tolerance.

Yes, bro gark. I understand the risk tolerance element.

But referring to my earlier post, even if you fall under the higher risk tolerance (UT) bracket, most people opt for their UT distributions to be reinvested. This will not generate passive income. I'm not talking about passive income for 40-60 years old people. I'm referring to 25-40 to the very least. I believe passive income should start young if possible. In order to generate passive income from your UT investment, the person will have to cash out their distributions. For 25-40 years old, I personally feel they should opt for redistribution. So UT does not generate passive income, which means we're only left with stock and FD.

Not sure if you understand where I'm coming from, but you only answered partial of my question.

I'm holding stocks, FD and UT. But my UT holds around 40% of my total portfolio (FD + UT + stocks), and they are not generating me passive income. Only my stocks and FD. Hence, the question.

You got it all wrong about passive income.

There are two stages for investment, accumulation and  distribution.

During the accumulation, you are to take the passive income and capital gains to be reinvested FULLY for it to compound. Compound interest as Einstein said it is the 8th wonder of the world. This means all passive income and other gains from selling should be used as opportunity fund to purchase more investment to raise your total accumulated wealth. These passive income is not for spending otherwise you will not be able to compound your gains. Typically during this period depending on your investment horizon you would be in more risky investments. Typical ratio will be 50% to 80% stocks/UT, the rest in fixed income.

During the distribution, you are to convert your accumulated wealth generated during the accumulation stage and convert to yield investments, where you will be now time to enjoy your hard work and draw down your investments as cost of living. At these time your passive income will be most useful to you to spend and not for accumulate more wealth. Typically at these time you would want to be invested in safer securities with lower fluctuations. Typical ratio will be 0%-30% stocks/UT and majority in fixed income.

For most people, once the accumulation stage enable them to go to the distribution stage, they they can finally retire and stop working and enjoy their passive income. This is what we call financial freedom. Of course all of it depends on the risk profile as I have mentioned above.

So back to my initial question, passive income stage comes after your retirement? Accumulate stage is during your working life?

When u invest and receive dividend from stocks, u should REINVEST your dividends, not spend it. That's unker gark's point.

Of course 1 dividend is not sufficient to buy, u can always accumulate the dividends in a bond fund/MM fund, then when it's large enough, buy stock.

So back to my initial question, passive income stage comes after your retirement? Accumulate stage is during your working life?