hi all you pros. i have just graduated and entering working life in pj.
this is my current cash flow, pls comment

rental (condo, inc utilities, parking, net, and facilities) = 500
transportation (3.6x20) = 72
investment use (not sure what yet, maybe UT) = 500
rainy day savings = 240
insurance = 160
family = 300
food/petrol/everything else = 600-920 (20-30/day)

dont drive around much, mostly to malls at weekends. or back to hometown once or twice a month (cost around 35 in tol and petrol, but in return i can leach food off parents for 2 days, lol) i have around 300 unfixed income from freelancing. i think my rental is a bit over my capability, but its nicely maintained and comes with a 2mb streamyx that most of the time i'm the sole user.... addicted to the net lol

my lunch and dinner average to around 10 to 15 a day

anyway i can improve on this? plan to get more after hours part time to improve income, or maybe get a cheaper more run down place?

that would be slightly less than 30%

actually i would like to ask for more clarification to the opinion of "its your expenses that makes you poor, not your income" surely, you're financially poor because you cannot afford what you need/want. so you make yourself richer by getting more income (either active or passive)

of course, the theoretical best way is to live frugally, and use most of your income to invest in hope of an increased passive income in the future to get an easy life. all the "susah susah dahulu senang senang kemudian" stuff

however, i believe that balance is needed. you shouldnt overspend until you have no/too little savings, but you shouldnt hold off material fulfillment for 10-20 years (for 1 thing, i think my mind will crack 1st, lol)

erm....lol, how did *personal* finance management become corporate finance management?

in any case, i dont think much of corporate finance behaviour can be applied to personal life... you cant exactly "retrench" your children or parents because they are not contributing to your "profit margin" lol

however you can cut back on luxury. but i prefer to work harder so i can afford those luxury instead.ie, increase income. its a natural human urge, and what makes capitalist economy work so well. everyone strives to get more luxury and increases their standard of living

i hope i can resist the urge to spend future money though. i see the big traps, but sometimes temptation clouds the judgement. (which is why i havent gotten a cc yet, even if i'm qualified)

agree on the "pay yourself 1st principle" too. which is why my other expenses (food/petrol/leisure etc) comes after i deducted my savings away.

i disagree, savings is one of the main contributing factors to becoming a millionaire in US (look up millionaire next door, automatic millionaire) its not glamorous, but it has proven results. kiyosaki is not the only way to riches and financial freedom.

no, kiyosaki's "advice" are general brag-fest about how he got rich that offer no concrete reproducible methodology of repeating his success. which is ironic, given how he advocates buying "automatic business that require no active intervention". stuff like go start a business, go invest, etc anyone can say. he did not advise anyone about how to become a successful B, or I. he did not even give any advise on recognising good properties or business which are supposedly his main vehicles.

i'm not saying his advise are bad, just that i have found better books that gives clearer ideas and methodology with proper supporting facts and datas. Bach is one, smart investor is another. each is readily reproducible by the layman without the need of much skills. kinda like franchise of wealth generation/management. which is a good place to start for most until the are knowledgable/skillful enough to go into more advance topics. i guess i'm the kind of people that finds comfort in having proper clearly laid out plans to general go out and do business type of advise

readers must be aware that:
1. inherently B and I have more risk than E and S. yes, you can manage the risk, but that does not change that B/I is riskier than S/E
2. a person can be successful from any of ESBI via different method (kiyosaki's own words)
3. for every rich dad, there's many many poor dad that did not make it for one or more reasons. this is not a discouragement, but a caveat you must understand before you rush in without thinking.

no offence though.

This post has been edited by lin00b: Jan 3 2009, 09:29 PM

mind reposting in youtube or similar? hulu only shows in US?

that seemed a cumbersome and required very very much discipline.

try looking up automatic millionaire, same concept but easier implementation.

basically i dont think i will care where my money goes as long as my monthly expenses do not exceed the set %age. (currently at 70%) meaning my "FFA-JAR" is set at 30, and the other 5 jars i just bundled into 1.

RDPD is overrated (even though its one of the first book of its kind i read). and may not be that applicable to a non-B person (he only experienced B and did not go through E or S so most of his "advise" is more biased towards B)

normal E and S folks may get more bang from "Millionaire next door" or "automatic millionaire"

sorry, i cannot seem to get into ben graham's books - its like reading uni level text. definitely more of a chore/work than interest reading.....

plenty of financial books are non fiction and for serious people (mostly anything but RDPD). but ben graham's seemed to be the hardest to get into for me. perhaps its the writing style of that era.

earn more but spend more = same problem.

of course it wont be the same.

eg: a car loan of 500 will be 25% of your income but only 10% of someone with 5k income.

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Added on August 27, 2010, 6:12 pmwonder what low risk investment have a ROI of 8%? since after retirement, high risk investment such as stocks are a no no.

bonds give around 5% (sukuk), ASX for non bumi around 6%. rental property?

This post has been edited by lin00b: Aug 27 2010, 06:12 PM

no its not.

no we (or at least i) wont.

inflate figure by claiming you eat at palace of golden horses every night. claim you give 10k to your parents every month, etc etc.