Hi all experts/sifu,

This thread is amazing and i need advise for my current financial status and more wise planning as well:-

Age 28 now and start savings 2 yrs ago only...

Income
-----------
Net salary = RM 4.3k++
Side income = Rm 500 ++
House rent = rm 600

Expenses
------------
Car = RM 800 (4 yrs more to go)
Insurance = Rm 800++ per year
Petrol = Rm 350++(Travel very far from house to office)
Food = Rm 300++
Entertainment = Rm 200 perhaps , nothin mucn entertainment, mostly is hanging out with fren for drinking or eating nice food
Gym= Rm 129
Phone = Rm 70
Parent = Rm 400 - 600 , depends as if that months got more side income, so give more to parent
CC = Rm 200 free interest becoz in BT and 8 more mths to go

Owning
-----------
Property : Landed house 160k, collect rent mthly rm 600
Mutual Fund: 10k++ (Standing instruction: every mth deduct rm 100 from my account to this fund)
FD: 0
Saving accs : 5k++
Mom EPF: 10k (Invest on my Mum EPF account, higher rate ma..)

Expenses ranging max Rm2500 roughly

So monthly savings Rm2000 roughly

Any way to improve my financial? Regret start savings only last 2 yrs

im thinking to take my UT money since doesnt much improvement, but where i can invest to? Learning and monitoring share investment
but it seems require more money and quite risky for me now since i dont have much savings yet.

Any advise all sifu....?

Thanks in advanced

WTF2008 (World Taekwondo Federation? or... ) I'm not a sifu but may i point out some stuff obvious stuff?

Your average monthly expenses: $2.5K
Your Savings +FD: $5K
I ass-u-me that your mortgage isn't Flexi and that even if it is, U did not paydown extra principal.
Based on the above, U have only 2 months of emergency buffer, not bad and if U grow this further to about 6 months (assuming you're on a single income and your parents needs your economic support), U'd be in great shape fighting off Murphy (from Murphy's Law) when (not if) kaka happens.

Other than that, you're saving about $2K / $4.3K (excluding EPF right?) - 46.51% you're doing very well. I can bet U that if U continue saving & investing at that clip, including EPF, U'd be at least a $3M to 6M net worth before 55.

Things to watch out for:
a. Over leveraging
b. Back-side itchy (ie. suddenly getting "smart" and changing your savings & investing plan like ROBBING your investments instead of letting them grow or re-allocating them)
c. Women - , i ass-u-me U ain't married yet and are currently focusing on growing your career & assets. Some women are great, some are, hm.. how to put this nicely.. ultra high maintenance. Well, it's your choice - just go with eyes open.

You're paying for your own wedding?



Thanks for all those attachments, man!! Hopefully I can make good use of it.

I save for the whole wedding, but doesn't mean that I'll pay for the whole thing geh It's just so in case IF I go all Bridezilla on my fiance, I will be able to do it fairly from my own bank account lol

Boys these days need to have their own savings and buy their own gadgets also ma

Map, U are truly a thinking & self reliant lady - thinking & acting as a partner to your partner

Ohhh ... icic .. i thought you were really gonna pay for the whole thing yourself. lol.

How thoughtful of you, but I think your fiance will want to pay his fair share lar.

wongmunkeong, I'm hoping you could give some advice on your excel stuff. In the file "To share - PFP", spreadsheet "Retirement Plans", cell "C10", what is the rationale for that calculation? Expected Average Returns is for your investments, right? Not your expected expenses. So why not use inflation instead? Is it to ensure you have extra money and it will last in perpetuity?

I really learned some new excel formulas there. Hahaha.

Ola +Newbie+. Whoa.. nice pix at your signature, very distracting Chasity is a perversion.. Eat veggie, eat veggie

ok - Cell C10 at "Retirements Plan" worksheet - as per snapshot attached, is using
"Effect of 6% Inflation on Item (D) after XX yrs" ie Future Value (FV)
DIVIDED BY
"Expected Average Returns %pa"

"Rationale for the calculation" = in future, inflation will cause the $ needed to be higher than current amount of expected lifestyle.

"Expected Average returns is for your investments, right?". Spot on

I'm a bit unsure on your "So why not use inflation instead? Is it to ensure you have extra money and it will last in perpetuity? "
I dont use inflation because i need to find my total nest egg required by taking amount needed VS expected returns. If i used inflation amount, that gets me..?

The logic is:
a. U know the expected yearly cost required in future
b. U expect X% returns on your total nest egg
c. Calculate the total nest eggs required, based on (b.) to generate (a.) yearly. Thus, U dont eat into your nest egg


Good? BTW, like i mentioned, it doesnt take into account of inflation AFTER retirement, thus IF one wants to be prudent/safe, U may want to add about 20% on top of the required yearly amount (a.), thus, © also goes up to cover as required. Then SAVE & REINVEST the extras even during retirement. Like that, definitely (unless SHTF) something to give back to the world after one's gone. Good or Good?

This post has been edited by wongmunkeong: Jun 3 2011, 10:17 PM


Attached thumbnail(s)

It's too good. lol.

Thanks dude. I get it now.

Cheers.

Hi guys,I'm currently 19 and have a stash of cash in the bank. (read:accumulation of 19 years of angpau money and some 'rewards' for academic performance ). Is it wise to take 1/3 of it out to lock it in FD for 1 year?I mean all my money now is currently in savings,and as most of you here know,the yield of FD currently is almost 10 times more compared to the yielding of normal savings.

My question here is there any extra terms that I have to note for FD?My basic understanding of it is its a lock of the funds for a certain period of time..or is there additional charges or rules ?

thanks in advance

Bro, i think U shd just dump them all into a 2 mths or 3 mths FD now, WHILE U learn and plan what to do with yr $ as time goes on.

I'm assuming U dont need to touch these $ ok. If U do, please leave enough in Savings yar.

This post has been edited by wongmunkeong: Jun 6 2011, 05:46 PM

I think u can think of spraying pest chemical immediately before the termite become worst. Termite chemical can easily get from shop with cheap price.
Regarding the repair cost, discuss with u uncle as well since he is also one of the owner of the house before making any decision.
My existing house is from my grandfather and my child is the fourth generation staying in the house. It is built by planks also...
Planks built house must spray termite once in 3 months time.

If you don't need the cash then you should do something with it. You can roll them in FD by putting in few FD for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or even years. If you are a risk taker, maybe you can start with unit trust. At the same time, start investing in yourself by learning financial planning, investment tools etc. to prepare yourself to manage your $$$ better in the future.

Thanks a lot for both of your replies. FateTwister,are there any books out there that you would recommend to a beginner like me? Once again,thanks

Edit:How accurate is the data provided at http://www.bankinginfo.com.my/ are they constantly updated?

This post has been edited by Sicarius: Jun 10 2011, 02:47 PM

just come across the thread and would like to seek some advise,

currently i'm 21, just finished my first year in one of the public university at degree level.

although currently i'm supported with PTPTN loan, which is 28k for 4 years, but i've come across worrying my future after i graduate. from the PTPTN loan, actually there is not much to save up since half are for the course fees while the rest are for daily expenses.

after graduation, commitment such as PTPTN loan return and expected expenses (car, petrol etc)

so is there any option to gurantee an amount of $$ just to secure the future?
interested to start a FD in CIMB, is this a good choice?
already have some EPF saving because of previous employment, but guess it wont help much in the near future because cant withdraw it anyway.

thanks

Bro, if i may suggest, concentrate on your studies + perhaps take up some part time work in areas that are linked with your studies.
At this phase in life, your greatest investment is yourself.

NOTHING is for sure in the world - except for death (even taxes can be manipulated for the gungho ppl). FD? Nope - currency fluctuations & inflation hits FDs.

This post has been edited by wongmunkeong: Jun 10 2011, 04:33 PM

Erm, normally I read The Edge & Personal Money. If you know nothing about share market and somehow wish to start learning about it, I would recommend "I Love Stocks" by Pauline Yong. It's a good first book for stocks as it's simple to understand.

It depends what you want to achieve in your uni life. As what WMK said, your first priority should go to study, as that's why you are there. After that, you may want to think whether you want to be actively participate in projects/activities, be it campus/faculty/hostel level. For me, I will encourage you to join some activities, to expand your social circle and also to gain soft skills like communication, leadership, problem solving etc.

If you wish to earn some extra $$$ during your uni life, here are some suggestions:-
1) Tutoring secondary students - the pay is not bad, for SPM level is >RM40, you may teach subjects related to your course, to refresh what you learned in school

2) Streamyx agent - normally in public university, students are required to stay in the hostel for the 1st year, 2nd year onwards many will be moving out. And they definitely will need streamyx/unifi, here's a chance for you to earn some income. (it's seasonal though)

3) Promoter job - can utilize your weekend time. Pay depends on projects/event companies. Normally from RM80 for a 8-hour job.

4) Do some small biz that you can think of, like computer repair service etc.

5) Do some illegal biz such as selling cigarettes, write 4D, soccer betting etc. (STRONGLY NOT recommended, but yes, there are people doing that actly)

If you have extra $$$, invest in yourself. Buy reading materials, take up courses, take professional exams(if this is applicable to what are you studying)

This post has been edited by Fat3Twister: Jun 11 2011, 01:02 AM

Great thread. Just what I needed since I just enter the workforce few months ago.

Income:

Salary: RM2150 (After EPF)
Side income: Around RM500 - 700

Investment:
Investment linked insurance - RM10k/year (Only need to commit 6 years. Hong Leong Wealth Builder. However, me myself is an agent so I get around RM1.6k rebate back for every 10k I pay)

Considering my peanut salary, I am not really sure this investment budget suit me well. I mean 10k per year surely not a small amount. But my mom already help me to pay the first RM10k lol. Means I have 5 years left to pay.

Expense:

Food and entertainment - RM400 - 600
Bills - RM200 (Phone and streamyx) + Rm100 (Astro - sometimes mom pay sometimes me)
Petrol - RM200 - RM250


So overall I still have around RM1k to 1.5k to save per month. I have my own fully paid car but I am still staying with my mom. Just wanna ask, with my current potential savings per month, what kind of investment should look at to increase my money? I am still not looking to buy my own house or marriage any soon lol.

Hmmm ... I have some advice to ask from all the sifus here.

When I took my car loan, I took a 9 year loan and it was at 4.1% interest rate. I know. It sucks, but I had my reasons.

Now I'm thinking of settling the loan within 5-6 years because I heard that banks give a lot of discounts these days. Do you guys think it would be worth it?

Or would I be better off putting that money into those Cash Builder thingies or properties?

Another reason I'm considering this is because I also want to make sure I reach the point where car resale value > remaining car loan as soon as possible.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Bro,

You still young - should take more risk like playing shares etc but be careful........

High RISK but REWARD iS F**king high also!!!

"What kind of investment should look at to increase my money" is not a good question to ask. IMHO, all investment vehicles are good and each of them cater for different needs. The most important question to ask yourself what is the purpose of your investment, then look at the time frame, your risk appetite, your knowledge and you will know which investment vehicles to choose.

Since you just entered the workforce and i assume you are young, I suggest you invest in yourself first. The best investment is always to invest in ourselves. Gain more knowledge about investment such as the stock market, funds, properties etc. Gain more professional qualification or courses which can increase your earning power.

Check whether banks will impose any penalties on early settlement or not. When you want to make early settlement, calculate how much interest you can really save. This is due to car loan is different with mortgage, normally car loan are calculated based on simple interest and is charged up front. However, due to stiff competition in the market, some banks have car loans which similar to mortgage.

IF you are SURE that those cash builder thingies or properties can give you higher return, then you may go ahead.

This post has been edited by Fat3Twister: Jun 13 2011, 11:02 PM