Not really, its more of a hobby. Durians u need to wait for 7-8 years for it to give income. Mine is only about 5 years. Now bleeding money 💸

Or stocks at about 10% returns..

Share us more how you have achieved FI/RE at the age of 39. Self made millions or inheritance?

Boglehead anyone? hehe....i tot lowyat no such forum on FI thingy

register alex 50/50 on the way to FI by 39

ASEAN economies ill-prepared for old age

https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/FT-C...red-for-old-age

Fi/re may be inspiration for many but few could realize.

I think many countries in the world where the citizens have a large proportion of planning to do for their retirement will have this problem.

But there will be countries where the retirement benefits are very good from the gov't, then the citizens from such countries will be more relaxed ! These countries will then tax heavily onto the working population to cover the retirees. Hence,... I don't think this model can hold.

At the end of the day,.. everybody needs to take care of himself/herself,.... and his loved ones !

I’ve been trying to engage my entire family on the FI path. We’ve managed to find some great international blogs on the subject. The only couple FI blog we found from Malaysia is Mr & Mrs Money - https://m.facebook.com/1542520282706044/pos...7417437?sfns=mo.

We love reading posts from similar minded people. Can anyone share other Malaysian or regional blogs of couples/families on FI?

CL

I have been a practitioner of FI for a long time.

Stems from bad childhood experiences.

Basically there are a few principles to follow on this, here are mine :-

1) Have a clear goal in mind and always begin with the end in mind.

2) Be smart, be prudent, be somewhat secretive, be careful of false prophets and be kind especially to yourself.

3) Don't be an arse, don't be naive, don't be boastful and finally don't be too proud to ask for directions.

4) There is a BIG BIG difference between a need and a want, needs must be met wants does not need to be met. A venti latte at Starbucks isn't a need, an iPhone XR isn't a need, an outing at an Instagram cafe isn't a need if you can't claim the meal on your boss, eating out isn't a need and a Honda City/Toyota Vios isn't a need when you can get a car that is RM20k cheaper bare minimum and does the same job. Shelter is a need but having a nicely renovated landed house isn't a need.

5) No such thing as a shortcut to riches. No such thing as a free lunch. If a deal exist that is too good to be true then it most definitely is.

My goal of financial independence isn't really to retire early but to stop doing a job because I need the money but because it is what I enjoy doing.

I've had many turning points in life. I've had many challenges in life and if you think your life was difficult you clearly never walked a day in my shoes.

I've had parents that essentially said I'm not their kid from as far back as I was 10 when they went their separate ways.

Never had pocket money for school, went from 1 relative to another and when the going got tough I was passed on to someone else. Involved in gangsters became a norm, became a "loan shark" at 13 and you name the trouble in school I had it too from fighting to fucking in school I had it all before 16 years old. Oh yeah becoming a loan shark was my first taste of financial independence, used the ang pow money I had as capital. 50sen on Monday = 55sen on Friday.

Contrary to popular believe, despite coming from a wealthier background I haven't really been a beneficiary of that wealth because in my young days I've always opted for my road and my way. Stubbornness I suppose? Oh yes, I'm not really any smarter than any of you, for the record I mostly failed my UPSR and SRP and wasn't even offered a place for Form 4 in a SMK.

Only reason why I managed to continue school? I had a grandfather that in his retirement went on to become a Christian missionary and he used his influence to get me a place in an international school. This was where I had a turning point in life. Was among people that cared and guided me well.

I went on to Birmingham where I read engineering. During my time in England I picked up several jobs, one being a milkman and the other pulling pints at a pub. I bought myself a Morris Minor then because without it I could not get to work.

When I did my sandwich year, despite the new found income I still kept to my cheap ole student digs and made do with that Fiesta.

When I returned to Malaysia at the age of 23, I kept to it, what I have after savings was what I could live and spend on. That meant living at home in mum's house in exchange for paying the electric bill and some groceries. It meant no buying a Toyota Vios on 9 year loans, in fact there was no buying a Waja or any new car for that matter, instead I made do with a 1983 Volvo 244. Paid RM3000 cash for it. Fixed a couple of things on it on my own and it ran for 3 years. Guaranteed I was spending less per month on motoring than anyone else in the office at CyberJaya, because I had no car repayments and insurance was next to nothing. Meals? I used tupperwares to get leftovers from home or previous night's chapfan dinner I would take 1 or 2 extra dishes and ate it the next day.

Bought 1st house and 4 years later there was a major turning point. I lose absolutely everything, ex-wife decided she wanted out, she locked me out of the house and that was the end, savings, all the bonuses from previous years, everything gone. Only thing I had? A suitcase of dirty clothes and whatever I had on me plus that month's salary. Was 28 then.

I started over from scratch. I took a taxi to office, stayed at the office without anyone suspecting for a week that I was homeless. Looked for a room that was nearby, office was in Mid Valley, I rented a room at the low cost flats nearby. Walked to work everyday.

No issues with that, when asked why I did not drive I told them it was faster for me to walk, when I needed to go somewhere usually a distributor was more than happy to pick me up and give me a lift. Food? If boss paying then I go out, if can claim I would go out, else I would have a slice of bread with ham and hit the gym.
It was 5 months later when my mum finally asked where was I as she had driven to my former house to find I was no longer there. She asked me to let her help me I told her I did not need her help as I had everything I needed. It wasn't long before my dad found out I was living in a rented room in a low cost flat, he insisted I move to his house which was only a few km away, I declined as well.

A year later, my late grandfather left a house to 2 cousins and me, I borrowed money from my father to buy out the other 2 of them. Was originally going to live in a room but it turned out I saved more money by continuing to live in the rented room so I continued to live there. Rented it out whole and rental more than covered everything I needed to cover as well as make a profit.

When my financial situation improved, I got a mortgage to pay off my father for the balance of what I owed on the house, then I took some money to put as a deposit on a townhouse, a cheap one as it needed some work and there were issues with the strata title. After that as I collected enough I bought another unit and bought 4 within 2 years as there were many being let go on the cheap as no one wanted to buy one due to various reasons. In 2006 it cost less than RM120k to get a unit. Could rent for around RM1200 per month.

Then around 3 years later a new turning point came along, I started a new job that paid 30% more and while doing that job my uncle started selling off the late grandfather's properties and their businesses started failing and failing badly because of windfall money, gambling and poor business acumen. I saw a lifetime of an old man go gone with the wind within 6 months. I took the opportunity to buy up a property at a bargain, corner house for the price of an intermediate.

These days I keep a mantra of save 40% of your nett income. I also remarried and have a baby, the one thing that all the experiences made me realise, I can pass on every single one of my properties to my kid but without education it will be the same story.

Investing is important, how do I invest? 70% of my investments are in real estate. I pay 30-50% deposit, rentals pays off the 25 year loan. Profits? It goes back to reduce the principal. I don't really give a toss when people tell me there are better investments than real estate, you aren't walking in my shoes and I don't walk in yours.

Hey, what a great adventure you had there.
Admired your way of living your own style.

I guess people usually say poor will get poorer and rich will get richer.
People say the rich had more choice and chance compare to the poor.
But you had defeated the common belief!

You was given 2nd chance, if not, 3rd chance in your life and decided to keep straight and follow your own rules. Good luck working with that and I can see how you are moving near into FIRE

This post has been edited by 55665566: May 3 2019, 05:36 PM

Thanks for sharing.

This post has been edited by Kcee: May 3 2019, 05:35 PM

very good sharing and good points;
- don't overspent on needs
- don't give up to build up from scratch.
- save whenever you can
- grab opportunity.
- live low, buy asset and invest.
- Educate kids.

Thank you.

I vote this posting as the best posting of the year

Very inspiring indeed.
Thanks for sharing
Definitely article of the year material!

Your turning point was gift from your grandpa and loan from your father, and opportunities to buy cheap properties.

Very motivating post, it serves a good reference for those seeking better psychology👍

Rich will get poorer just like the poor remains poorer if they don't differentiate a need from a want. Just ask 4 of my uncles, 12 years ago they were left with 6 petrol stations, 2 hardware shops, 7 shops in prime KL locations and if I recall correctly around 20 residential properties of mostly freehold single storey terraces in KL and PJ area.
Today? These are what still remains in the same family:-
1) 2 petrol stations though none of the 4 uncles are shareholders any longer.
2) 1 hardware shop, again none of the 4 uncles are owners of it any longer. Only reason this one survives is my aunt, cousin and me couldn't bear with the indignity of a shop bearing my late grandfather's name being auctioned off, so we bought over the shares and kicked out the 4 uncles.
3) 2 residential property and very soon only 1 will be left. Why only 1 left? Because it is a PJ Oldtown Sec2 house that cannot be easily sold due to the leasehold title.

Where did all the money go? Well Genting was the biggest recipient of it. 2nd would be mistresses, pubs, clubs and fuck-joints.

I was fortunate and lucky all the turning points, 2nd and 3rd as well as 5th chances in life, I always knew to keep a straight and high road.

Always invest in kids education and their health. Money they can lose but the education will always remain with them.

Thank you.

The real turning point in life was his gift to send me to an international school.

The others were just opportunities in life not really turning points.

If they were turning points my 4 uncles on the mother's side would be worth RM50mil each today.

Most of the time, the biggest culprit of all is gambling......so many lives/families destroyed..compulsive gambling is a very scary thing as nothing can stop it...only a totally empty wallet...well, not even that most of the time

Your experiences are up and down,... not a straight-line up all the way,.. which is normal,...

You had your family advantages :-
1) your grandpa sent you to the international school. You got your education from here.
2) another relative sent you to Birmingham to further your education. You got your exposure from there.
3) your grandfather left part of a house to you.
4) your dad loaned you money to buy-out the house.Yes, you paid him back later,... this is good and independance.

Many of us would not have all these family-based advantages !

I'm not saying you don't have the necessary qualities to survive and do well,....

Seems like a person need to start from dirt scrap, where relatives are all beggars and broken family , preferable an orphan living in the street for their later successful life to be fully attributed to their efforts alone. By that same yardsticks, warren buffet, bill gates and mark Zuckenberg are all failures.... lol

They became what they are with privilege or advantage few have. Nevertheless, not everyone could take these opportunities.