If you post in this thread, you will keep on getting saving advices, even when that's not what you want. Simply because this is a savings thread.

On the other hand, there isn't a thread on what is the best investment because there isn't one. Something to do with one man's food is another man's poison.

So you have to look through the existing investment threads and find one (or more) to post your next set of questions specific to those threads.

Assuming we are not talking about toll calls here, ethics does not/should not even come into it. It's probably cheaper than the amount of office-provided coffee/tea/milo/sugar that some people consume.

Most, if not all, larger offices block toll calls by default AFAIK, while they would not even blink an eye on local calls.

Your other expenses are not unreasonable.

Which leaves this one item - do you really, really need to spend 25k?

It's a matter of balancing what you can afford, or cannot afford, and adjusting accordingly.

> I'm a uni student, graduating in 1.5 years time.
> am expecting to draw Rm 3k-3.5k per month once I start working.

3-3.5k is on the ambitious side, but still possible depending on your grades. And how well you come across in interviews.

> I will be taking over a critical illness & hospitalisation insurance policy

Take up whatever insurance you need - just make sure it's only insurance you need and not some other investment-linked insurance nonsense you don't really need.

> While I am working, I hope to save up for the following :
> - to start a business in 15 years time.
> - for retirement.
> - emergency fund.
> - future children's education.

Holy cow! You have your future all mapped out! Got a husband organized yet? But why 15 years? You can start sooner if you have the aptitude for it.

> 1. Is there a place where I can put my money such that I get a higher interest rate than FD? I am considering putting in foreign FD but I don't have enough to do so right now.

Plenty of other places where you can get much higher than FD. It also requires you to know what you are doing.

> 2. Is there any way I can make my money grow? I believe I should have a substantial amount of savings with my salary. Other than property, what else can I invest in? I'm more comfortable investing in something tangible like property rather than something with a very high risk like the stock market.

Stock market is not high risk if you know what you are doing. Property is a waste of time if you don't know what you are doing.

But really, your first priority is your career in your chosen field, which is where you will get your income from. That is, until you decide you are more knowledgeable in other areas.

As a fresh graduate, it's great that you are already thinking about savings. Please continue to think about savings, but that is NOT your priority.

Your priority as a graduate, is to spend your energy on how to improve your skills and your value to your current and future employers, and hence your future EARNING capability.

Keep savings in mind as you go along - but that is not your priority.

Amazing.

What about the following items?

* Household consumables, washing power/liquid, toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper etc?
* Household furnishings, chairs, tables, fans, TV, air-conditioner, washing machine, stove, frying-pans, fridge, etc?
* Clothing, shoes etc?
* Insurance for your medical, apartment, car etc?
* Car maintenance, servicing, tyres?
* Computer/s? How do you access the internet?
* Council rates/assessment?
* Misc like gifts, ang-pows when you are invited to weddings, birthdays, etc?

Work harder/OT etc, yes, that's part of your TOTAL income. But that's not my point.

My point is when you add all those things up, they will TOTAL more than the "I just spend RM800+ a month" you mentioned previously. In other words, your TOTAL expenditure is more than RM800+.

In fact, your TOTAL income would be more than what you mentioned too.

Huh? Who's giving excuses?

I'm talking about basic accounting here, total INCOME minus total EXPENSES = total SAVINGS. If you buy other things, and not include them in RM800+, it is not your total expenses, so that's inaccurate information.

In terms of income, working adults should leave "baby sitting, wash car, walk the dog" to those students who are still in school, and find a "Work smarter, not harder" approach. But hey, if you want to work harder, it's up to each individual.

This post has been edited by howszat: Jan 3 2013, 10:41 PM

Hehe, I'm not the only one?

Happy New Year!

And financial literacy cannot simply be taught by parents or anyone else either.

Some of it is in your genes, and others are in your education. In terms of genes, it doesn't mean everyone will look, think, feel and behave exactly like their parents. In terms of education, it can only go so far. Parents do provide a role model, yes - it helps the kids to have a useful role model. As long as it's not a bad model. But it doesn't mean they will do as you say, or think as you do.

In terms of personal finance and how people juggle between earning and spending, there is a vast range of different mindets out there, regardless of parents.

I'm aware of kids having to financially bail-out their parents. So what does that tell you? Such topics have been also posted in LYN as well.

So no, it's not a simple case of parents teaching kids and the world will be a happier place. It's a lot more complex than that.

Particularly if the parents haven't got a clue when it comes to financial management.

This thread is about Personal FINANCIAL (keyword being FINANCIAL) management.

Please don't turn it into "porridge, read bean tong sui, etc".

This thread should be about clever FINANCIAL management tactics, not about starvation and under-nourishment tactics.

Why would a person need an SG exit plan for?

The entry objective is quite simple - to make more money until your objectives changes if you have no better objectives in the meantime. When you are young/younger, you will never know exactly what you want until you try it out. Then you learn for your mistakes/experiences, and quite likely change your outlook/objectives in life. If it doesn't work out, or when your objective(s) changes, you try something else.

In a perfect world, everyone should know what their objectives in "3, 5, 10, 20, etc years" should be. But how many people have that perfect foresight?

>. Well, perhaps with objectives or reasons clear & focused, one would do better than just exchanging time/life/risk to chase after MORE $? Don't U think so?

No problems, I agree, it is "better", if you know what you want in 20 years. But that's not my point.

>. Oh well, of course if U insist that objectives/goals/reasons must be set in stone before planning ahead or knowing why we want the more $ for, then U live in a more perfect world than I heheh.

No, I did not say that. In fact, the opposite - most people don't know exactly what they want in say, 20 years. You may know you want $ now, but you may change into a monk in 20 years time. So you cannot set any realistic goals for 20 years ahead, except maybe very generic ones like I want to be rich, famous and completely happy, but then want something completely different in future. So it may be more relevant to look at say the next 1, 2 or 5 years and decide from there. If you want to try out Singapore $$$ in the next few years, and be a monk in 20 years time, why not? You would never know until you try it out.

>> To me, as long as i know where I want to be, I can take many different routes to the same/similar destination. As I travel, I can choose to vary or change th destination mar, right? But if I travel without some sort of destination or objective, I may be just drifting where the tides & currents take me. Can also ar but where I eventually arrive, I may not like lor

Agree. A plan is always useful. If you know what you want, great. But if not, go and earn that SG $ until you have a better plan rather than not doing anything. All I'm saying is you don't necessarily need a 20-year masterplan before making your next move.

Secret to becoming a millionaire is "stick the thin soap onto a new soap"?

That thin soap is a tiny piece of a one whole complete soap, which costs say (very expensive) RM5. So the small thin soap costs about say 1/20th of RM5, which is 0.25sen.

Let's say you use 1 complete soap every 10 days, so you save 0.25sen very 10 days. Equals to savings of Rm9.125 every year. You save that for 100 years, that would total a savings of Rm912.

So from an arithmetic point of view, saving RM912 over a lifetime is NOT GOING to make you a millionaire. You would probably die before 100 years, so that saving is going to be less.

Maybe there is a problem with my arithmetic. If so, please let me know.

Did you notice how I pointed out your example to "becoming a millionaire" doesn't add up.?

Who are they trying to "test"? Before I pointed out why it doesn't make arithmetic sense to give a "soap" example, you sounded like you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.

Did they fool you? If not, why are you giving an example that makes no sense?

Who are you trying to fool?

Whose IQ are you trying to test by posting the example?

By the way, can you give real Financial examples that make sense? This is a Financial tread - if you want to post Morals, go post somewhere else.

This post has been edited by howszat: Jan 24 2013, 12:41 AM

No, not mad

But many questions. Did you notice all the question marks? Just because millionaires share their lifestyle, it doesn't mean all their tips will make you rich.

Being able to discern which are applicable, and which are not applicable is far more important I believe, but it looks like you are not that fussy about that distinction.

PS: Just saw this from your link,
Wouldn't that suggest you should not focus on saving that small piece of soap?

This post has been edited by howszat: Jan 24 2013, 02:30 AM

No, it's not about the soap.

For many millionaires, their savings habit comes naturally and they tend to apply it across the board, for all items big or small or tiny. It's a natural part of their mentality, their thinking, their instincts, as someone already mentioned.

But for others, savings does not occur that naturally - it's something they have to make an effort to focus on. In such cases, it is better to focus on and start with the things that make can actually make a difference as opposed to things that are insignificant. Drinking kopi at a kopitiam as opposed to drinking at Starbucks is going to be far more significant in savings. One cup's savings will probably equate to many months, if not years of saving that tiny little piece of soap. Even more so if you drink regularly.

So, no, it's not just about the soap.

Why do you need to pity anyone?

All it means is they have different outlook and objectives in life. What is more important to understand is one man's food is another man's poison - your personal understanding of money is not relevant. A Ferrari may not make you happy, but it will for someone else.

In fact, they might pity you for being under-achieving and un-ambitious. So how can one decide who's wrong and who's right?

No, no nerves.

Just wondering exactly why there is any pity involved? Difference of opinion, outlook and objectives in life, yes.

"Pity - The feeling of sorrow and compassion caused by the suffering and misfortunes of others." (from Google).

Pity means your position and view-point is superior, and you are more fortunate than other people. What makes your view-point correct, and hence more fortunate than other people? What makes you think they are suffering and encountering misfortunes?

Just because you don't understand their outlook and objectives in life, it doesn't make them pity-full. It just makes you ignorant.

Looks like all you are capable of is Kopitiam-style posts. This is the Financial, Business and Investment forum, thanks.