Financial Planning

[iQing]

Financial planning is essential in our life..
Even we dunno anything about management, entrepreneur stuff..
we still need to know some basic financial planning...

wowder why some guys got broke?
wonder why u spend so much money per month without knowing the cash flow?

i think financial planning is important to students as well...

I believe there are students who receive scholarship allowance..
how u use them.?

some students receive lotsa allowance for a long period of time, say 5 years?
with such amount of time and money, do u know that it's golden opportunity for u to invest the money and become rich?
or u just use the money touring round the world?
or u just save it in the bank..
letting such opportunity fly away?

For other students who have to pay through thier nose to study..
how do u manage your money so that u dun have to "ikat perut" ?

how to plan our money when we r studying in oversea?

before we can invest..
the first step is to gather wealth ..
and proper financial planning is required to achieve this goal...

any ideas on financial planning?
I wish to hear from u guys on financial planing..

Remeber..
money is a good tool for us to carry out tasks.

that's all... have fun.

"think, try and triumph"

iQing

[chenchow]

i fully agree, it is very important for all of us to learn the basic concept of finance, economic, investment etc.

Fully utilize the e-learning section, we have a lot of good resources over there...

Anyone has anything to share over here?

[Schye]

I would like to know more about a students cash flow too as most of the books that i have read are written base one those who has started working(although they can be apply to us too)

I have read a few of the rich dad poor dad series .I hope that there will be others who can share their opinion here as i really dont know much on this but i am ready to learn ;)

[silverblue]

Oh! This is interesting! hehe... I am also thinking about ways to invest money for the future since I am now working and saving up on allowances...
but there are just so many ways to do that, that I am at a lost on which is the best or savest way to invest.. bonds? fixed deposit? property? pening la so many... can someone share some tips on how to invest wisely?

I am planning to put a certain amount of money in investment right now, so that after 3 years, when I graduate, I will gain from that investment I'd made and not just let it sit in the bank earning 0.5% interest a month...
It'd definitely be good to start saving for your future...

but of course, I plan to keep a certain amount of money for travelling... cos if you don't take your chance and travel now, when will u ever get that opportunity to come all the way to the west again? we might think that oh..we can earn money next time and use it to travel when we are older.... but in reality, when we start working, we'll rarely have the chance to take holidays to go overseas. So, I definitely also encourage people to put some money aside for travelling purposes... it's good to open your eyes to the world!! ;)

[chenchow]

I think one of the best way to invest for newcomers would be through mutual funds, as they would invest for you, generally with you having much less risk, unless the entire stock market and forex go tumbling. It would be fewer percentage of profit that way, but i think it pays a pretty good percentage...

[littlebigone]

mutual fund is good if you don't care and don't need control over your money. But will you actually learn anything about ecomics and financial planning if you use mutual funds? I mean, will the companies who manage the funds actually publish what they do with it or will the only give a broad view of the investments? Anyone knows or has invested in mutual funds?

[royston]

Hi Cheryl,

Investing huh... kinda interesting. I think this is depending on how much risk you are affortable.

Before I worked in Intel, I worked in a stock broking firm for 3 years, I have seen a lot of ppl out there, how they "invest" (or rather I say gamble)... too much risk as i would say almost 90% of the so-called investor out there are just gamblers.

Save money in bank, better put in FD. But this approach will be a little bit slow to increase the amount of your money, anyway, low risk.

Property? Hummm... you need to have enough money to have a property but depends on what type of property you wish to invest. Houses? Lands? Yeah... you may do that too. In fact, I am planning to do it now as well.

One way that I personally think it is good to invest, although there is some risk there. You may try to apply shares that are going to be listed. I know it might be a little bit childish but you just need to pay the money to apply for the shares before it listed, after that the related department will draw and if you are lucky, you will be selected. They will take your money and give you the shares. When the company listed, the price of the share will be "normally" higher than the price you have applied. I said "normally" is because I saw once, the share price was lower than the application price... heehee... :P I applied before, you may easily gain few hundred or up to few k ... 8O

For travelling, most of the students do before they came out to work. But do you know that after you came out to work, you will have more time to travel? It is not like how you imagine... You may take your annual leave and travel, in the meantime the company still paying you salary.

After you started to work, you will get to know a lot of ppl out there and this will give you more information on where to travel, what should u do and so on...

~ roy ~

[eeyore]

is it also easy to get leave if we're working in a public sector? i've heard a lot of complaints from government servants that their permonohonon cuti was not accepted ...

but in the private sector, i've heard stories from my friends that their company actually sent them overseas for business/training ... that sounds like fun

[royston]

I am not sure about government servent but what is the point you choose public sector? I mean... which ever sector we work, we are still contributing to Malaysia, right?

As per my experiences, working in private sector will give you more job opportunities and also this will improve our competancy in the sense that a lot of challenges we will encounter. For the training, yes, that's true. I used to sent to overseas for training and so on.

~ roy ~

[Schye]

About applying shares which is going to be listed , it is a good way but there wont be that many chances ;)And once the price go up, you better sell it fast as most of it will fall down back to the price or lower than that usually.
Bumi may have more chances of getting being that as they will have the the quota. As far as i know their cahnces will eb around double(hehe....maybe roston should answer this)
I have heard that some are using the name of their friends who dont invest to apply for more so that the percentage they are selected are bigger.

I know we can do this if we are in Malaysia.How about if we are studying overseas? Can foreign students apply for that too?

[royston]

Hey Seng Chye,

What is the difference between foreigner students and Malaysian? You guys are Malaysian. You may ask your family members to apply for you. You need to have an a/c, you are holding Malaysia IC, right?

Apply it. As I know, companies that queuing up to be listed, a lot !! Chances are there. I applied once, only once. I didn't have enough money that time (RM550 per month) but my friend asked to put my name, then we got that!! He share 1/2 of the gain with me... haha!!

For Bumi... kinda sensitive lah friend... No doubt, they have higher chance but that doesn't mean we have total lost, right?

You may keep trying to apply. One month you may try 4-5 times, one month you kena satu kali pun cukup already. Extra income besides your monthly salary, right?

Of course, like Seng Chye said, you have to sell it off immediately, no think for another second!! This is the way to get money... :P

I believe when iQing read this, he will have a lot of comments as he is much more professional than me... haha!! :lol:

~ roy ~

[Schye]

Well, about the favt of bumi getting more chances in the application,
just want to tell them to get use of the apportunity ;)

sorry if i said it in a way that any of you get offended :oops:

[chenchow]

On Initial Public Offering (IPO), I think it is a pretty good way to earn, especially now the market is going very well. Another point to look at would be to get blue chips(those respectable companies). If you have a lot of money to spare and you wish to get good profit over long run, then try those blue chips(Telekom, maybank, plus, astro, maxis, tenaga, genting...) If you wish to earn fast, i would think 2nd board would be better...

Royston, share your experience on stock market with us... About Mesdaq, I think it has good prospects too.

Also, we could use contras, if you don't have fast cash with you, but it is kind of high risk. Contras is like you buy and you need to sell within 3 days or something, something like T+3, i am not too sure about it though...

[soul_out]

Shall i share some "so called" experience of invenstment in property? See if you're studying in a place for more than 2 years...maybe 3 years? You may buy a house/flat at somewhere near your Uni, best is within 30 minutes walking distance, provided the house/flat is more than 2 rooms, so that you may occupy 1 room, then rent the other room to another student. Of course you need some cash as down payment, but you may pay your monthly mortgage from the rental that you get. Therefore instead of pay the hall of residence every month, y don't you pay the money to the mortgage to get your own property? Most of the time, you don't even have to pay the mortgage with your own money as the rental that you get is enough to cover your mortgage. This really works in UK, but i'm not sure whether it works in other place.

[royston]

soul_out, that is one of the skills in terms of property investment and thank you very much on sharing that... 8) You gained a lot right... haha.. :lol:

For the stock market, sorry lah... chenchow. I am not selfish but I have seen a lot of ppl sufferring while they invested in stocks. Even my papa, he was an experienced investor but he did suffer before.

Contra, short-selling, take up, no matter which way you choose, as long as you gain, definitely you will lose and normally you rugi... :cry:

If anyone of you would like to take a try in this field, remember something, between "air muka" and money, which one is important? Why I said so?

When you buy a stock for example, if after you bought the price drop, sell it off! If the price rise (you have to calculate at least how much you consider tak rugi), sell it off!!

Kinda stupid huh? It is not that simple, but most of the ppl, when they see the price drop, they will think "Aiyah, never mind one, wait ... it will naik balik"... eventually, the price keep dropping or even suspended. So don't be shy selling off your shares, as long as you don't lose much, you are the winnner.

Unless you are really good in investment then you may try to involve. But I can tell you honestly, none of the investors are good, they are just gamblers. The main groups who can control the UP and DOWN are those so-called syndicate. I know a little bit on how they control the market but it is not advisable to speak it out here ... heehee ... :P

~ roy ~

i agree with what soul_out said about buying a property and paying mortgage for it... in fact, that was how a Cornell student many years ago used to do. He bought some apartments in collegetown and he rented those out while he is student. As time goes by, the more profitable he found it, the more property buy and eventually, the entire collegetown in Cornell is owned by him.. .Guess what, he is a drop out of Cornell. he is too busy with his business, that he dropped out of school... But he is a millionaire today...

but getting a house for your own and then rent it out would be better... consider the present value and future value consideration...

[littlebigone]

hey guest, who are you?

ANyway, which part of collegetown does this person own? I would like to know and do more research about this person. Coz I have never heard this story before.

Anyway, collegetown rent sucks your blood dry, so it would be no wonder that this perosn is a millionaire if he owns all the property in college town

[iQing]

perhaps we should invite an expert, or local entrepreneur to discuss more about this stuff... I believe they will be willing to guide us....

if i have not mistaken, u can find these people in YMM (Young malaysian movement)

www.ymm.org.my

thanx

"think, try and triumph"

iQing

[silverblue]

Haha... actually I feel that property investment is one of the smartest investments ..oh and of course safest!! ;)

For example, my Mum bought 2 apartments when she was in mid 30s, and an office space. Now, in 50 years old, she's finished paying all her mortgage, sold one apartment, and happily gets monthly stable income from her other apartment and office!! I really admire my mum's foresight and wish to emulate her! keke

[iQing]

yes.. i have heard stories that people gut thier first pot of gold via investment.. not a bad choice...

if u r interested in properties... my hometown, Kepong is very hot now.. in just one year more than 30 appartment blocks have been built... come to Kepong and have a look.. now there's also a new Jaya Jusco being built in Kepong... no the land is a very good investment...

another good investment is the Barter trade.. it's very profitable but missed out by most malaysians as they miss our one good oppporrtunity is this field...

"think, try and triumph"

iQing

[silverblue]

Barter trade? My mum and I are members of the barter trade company...
the concept and eveything is really brilliant! but unfortunately, it's not working very well.... there are currently 2 major barter card companies...
but it's more for ppl who are involved in service business...

hopefully it will expand and improve their services... i wouldn't count that one as an investment though... it's more like an avenue to increase ur business... if u wanna know more about it, talk to me! i love the barter concept actuallY! ;)

[iQing]

yo silverblue
i have been to one of the enterpreneur seminar yesterday and one of the speaker is doing Barter trade and he's the CEO of the biggest barter trade company..
he says that for poor people to become rich, share market and barter trade are good choices...
his name is Mr Teng Han Ming... do u know him?

"think, try and try"

iQing

[Schye]

can someone elaborate more on what barter trade is and how can we benifit from it?
Is barter card part of barter trade?--- which i found on google


by the way , playing contra is too risky and for those who dont have too much time and cash, buying property are the safest though it still depends on the location etc.

[royston]

Well, playing contra needs time and if you are smart, not much cash involved.

Buying properties need a lot of cash before you can earn any yet. No doubt it is safe but again, no one can guarantee anything upon that.

I am not trying to promote or support who's idea or what. Investment can be really successful in variety way, that depends on which is/are your choice(s). You may find this safe but initially you need lots of money, you may find that lousy/less gain but it needs lesser money and so on.

I planned to start with less money less gain, meanwhile I bunch up my capital and go for more money less risk... try to play around.

~ roy ~

[soul_out]

Roy: How to invest with less money and earn less ya? I can't think of any other way to invest with less money. Unless you're talking about e-commerce, but it's not investment rite? Do you consider buy investment link as a type of investment?

[royston]

Hi soulout,

First of all, what do you understand about "investment"? Is it something to do with all the financial stuff? Something which is very complicated, full of numberings and so on? Well, for me investment simply carries the meaning of "Use money to increase money".

Buying a house or property, you need lots money... but to earn back, you may have collecting monthly rental (less money) or sell it off at higher price (still less money as you have to deduct away the money you purchased it).

The example I mentioned, is applying newly listed stock. When you apply it, you need about RM1-2K and RM0.65 of stamps. When the stock listed, you immediately sold off the shares, you gain less but also few hundreds or so. This is what I mentioned less money less gain.

Another example, like hawkers. They bring out a small amount of money, say about RM10K to prepare their accessories, their raw material and they earn it back plate by plate, daily.

I am not sure how a student in Uni think but as long as you can get your money increased fast in long term, this is one of the investment. Maybe my thinking is different with you all, but if the increasing rate of my money is higher than the bank interest, what is the big deal to become a hawker?

~ roy ~

walalla...i hv a friend, he's like 19, and he's already doing this kinda stuff...investing, buying stocks n stuff.. Guess he has this knack for good business. My main problem? No modal..haha :lol: So, a lil help here?

[Schye]

can someone elaborate more on what barter trade is and how can we benifit from it?
Is barter card part of barter trade?--- which i found on google

anyone?

[naturesimple]

what is the best way to earn first money for investment???

[naturesimple]

what is the best way to earn first money for investment???

[cling]

Hi everyone

I'm new here, was surfing around before bumping into this interesting topic, so I thought of signing up to reply :)

I think this book entitled "The Intelligent Investor" by Warren Buffett is a pretty good book for any target audience. Lots of intelligent insights given by him, a book that is strongly recommended in the financial community and maybe others. I bump into this book whilst reading Financial Times some time ago.
And yes, it does knock you hard on what a 'real' investor and investment is all about, how many confused the notion of investment with speculations (and gambling?), and other useful pointers along the line.

BTW, Warren Buffet is ranked world's 2nd richest person in the world (guest who's the first? :P) with the net worth of USD36 billion (as compared to USD46 billion by Gates). He's probably one of the most successful investors out there among others.

Hope that helps answer some questions posted out there.

Take care.

[kfyh2]

yeah! buffett's the way fwd. I recall reading a book with 'blabla sth sth Wall st" on it. fantastic stories about value stocks he found for his funds over the years.

There's one about a burial company (six feet under anyone?) where everyone didn't see the potential in it and he made loads from it.

great insights into fund mgmt. alas, short on the money to do anything about it.

[yekban81]

The very basic of investing is financial knowledge. Before we attempt to get oneselves into the investing world or business, I recommend that we better familiarize and master our financial knowledge first. Here, I recommend a good start of learning money and finance from:

"Robert Kiyosaki- Rich Dad Poor Dad"

I find it very easy to understand as it introduces and explains well the financial knowledge with examples in the form of real life stories. For young people like us, it gives revelation to the real world. For normal adults especially working ones, reading this will be of some kind shocking and unbelievable; you just can't accept the principles which the book suggests. Just read it with open mind and I am sure you will agree, or just accept in a win-win situation at least.


In my opinion, for those who are not yet really understand finance and investment stuffs but keens to start with some cash for "bigger" investment, I recommend you to learn more about unit trust or mutual trust from any nearby bank like Maybank. Just talk to the Financial Executive(staff who is working outside the counter).The traditional earning money from FD (fixed deposit) is outdated; it's too time consuming and has very low interest. So just forget it.

Well, I agree that property investment in such way by soul_out is financially smart and it's well applicable here in Malaysia. Many people do that overhere to gain extra income as modals for other investments. University area is good place to look for such investment. But do always do a research on the university future plan for student accomodation. btw, just wanna to inform that Skudai is no longer one of the best property investments here.

I think this book entitled "The Intelligent Investor" by Warren Buffett is a pretty good book for any target audience. Lots of intelligent insights given by him, a book that is strongly recommended in the financial community and maybe others. I bump into this book whilst reading Financial Times some time ago.
And yes, it does knock you hard on what a 'real' investor and investment is all about, how many confused the notion of investment with speculations (and gambling?), and other useful pointers along the line.


Yes, the "Intelligent Investor" is a great book on investing. It is written by Graham (not Buffett, although he's a student of Graham - Buffett thinks of himself as 75% Graham)

There is a new revised edition of the book by Jason Zweig. Any serious investor who intents to make long-term profits should read this book.

[yekban81]

Money and our life


Money is not everything but with money, life is easier.
Take a look at a life of an average-educated and hardworking people. A child gets excellent grades in exam. The parents are happy that their child gets accepted into university. After graduation, the child finds a secure job or career, may be a lawyer, a doctor or an engineer and gets paid with high salary. With lots of money generated monthly, credit cards come in mass, insurance policies(life, accident and medical) are bought, and a car is bought with low down payment perhaps or later on. The young man now finds life was full with lots of entertainment, hence spends more money on places where young men loves to hang over.

One day, he meets his lover and finally gets married. Life then is blissful as money is generated from two incomes (man and woman both works). Now the couple decides to buy an apartment (includes furniture, TV, refrigerator, so on), cars, spend money on vacation and have children. The demand for cash is increasing. Hence both of them work harder and seek for promotion or salary raise. May be they do get promoted with higher salary, so does another child comes and a bigger new house is needed to buy. Then when children are growing up ready for education, the couple begins to save for their children college education. May be they do buy some mutual funds, so do they buy their daily needs with credit cards. Demand for money pushes them to work harder and harder to get higher promotions. In short, they couldn’t stop seeking money as life pushes them. Now, the couple needs money to be generated in continuously. They simply couldn’t lose their job or not working for 2 -3 months. Hence the more they feel the needs for money, the more they seek for a secure job. Naturally, they advise their children to get good grades, get into university and get a secure job. Same typical life cycles are expected to continue with their children.

See how money plays a lot in our life. People are now looking for ways to decrease the influence of money on their life? I mean the kind of life we want to have. Not just keeping busy on working for cash regardless of your choice due to this kind of typical life mentioned above. Parents are too busy with their work, hence spend lesser and lesser time with children, have lesser and lesser time for their favorite outing, hobbies and etc. What I believe is that many people have such a typical life without realizing it before their life takes into such shape. Why? Answer- they are not well equipped with financial knowledge.

Well, I hope this thread will lead us to comprehend what money really is, how it works, and so on, anything related with money. Life should be more than making money. But it does play influence on our life, depending on our way of dealing with it.

[Randomphantom]

IPOs, unit trusts are good starts... maybe a blue chip or property if you have the dosh. You could pool your friends money together to invest if possible. There is no 'best' way to earn on your first investment, just treat it as a learning process.

About playing contra - IMHO don't try it unless you have money to burn. The first few(if any) successes will easily turn into huge losses slushed down the drain and you might be better off gambling in mahjong.

Burial company? local example: Nirvana :D

[fizzy]

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[dnsz89]

i need some guidance regarding investment ..im on a scholarship and i would like to allocate some money towards my savings n preferably multiply the amount for a span of time. so what kind of investment would you suggest? something with minimum risks but adequate returns. mutual funds? unit trusts? bank investments? preferably something that doesnt involve interests

[chenchow]

i need some guidance regarding investment ..im on a scholarship and i would like to allocate some money towards my savings n preferably multiply the amount for a span of time. so what kind of investment would you suggest? something with minimum risks but adequate returns. mutual funds? unit trusts? bank investments? preferably something that doesnt involve interests

While I am not an investment expert, I would say that it really depends on your objective..

If your financial needs are long term (more than 5 years), then you could look for more agreessive investments, eg equity (Stock markets or unit trusts in equity). You should definitely perform asset allocation, where a small percentage is put into REITs, foreign investment, fixed income (bond/money market), fixed deposit etc. That would reduce your risk.

However, if you are more on the shorter term, then fixed income or fixed deposit would be the more ideal choice. REITs would typically be more on annuity based, where you get a few % of returns each year.

To spread out your risk, do invest in different countries too. That would enable the risk to be spread out.

[Thirdshifter]

chenchow..

Is it me or you got the short term and long term mixed up?

Wouldn't make much more sense if your looking for a short term turnover to invest the money in a higher yielding, higher risk options?

[chenchow]

chenchow..

Is it me or you got the short term and long term mixed up?

Wouldn't make much more sense if your looking for a short term turnover to invest the money in a higher yielding, higher risk options?

What I mean is short term needs in using money. So, let say I know that I need to use the money to pay for my tuition fee in 6 months' time, I shouldn't be investing aggressively, as I can't afford to lose the money.

It really depends on what we need the money for. If we are short of money, and we need to grow our money fast and we are ok with taking risk, then higher risk option would be the choice.

[jackfook]

I am interested in mutual fund or unit trust.Are they same?I am been thinking to visit banks but I am not fully believing the prospectus or fund agents as they will tell you only advantages of fund.How to get an overall picture of the fund?Any recommended websites or books?

[Fourthshifter]

I am interested in mutual fund or unit trust.Are they same?I am been thinking to visit banks but I am not fully believing the prospectus or fund agents as they will tell you only advantages of fund.How to get an overall picture of the fund?Any recommended websites or books?

cincai pick a high risk fund
such as regional fund or sector fund

[Xon]

heys such interesting topic!!!

i hav read " RICH DAD POOR DAD" is a great book...
for newbie like me...i found a website introducing the definition and stufs related to stock market...

www.min.com.my

personally,i do part-time business...guess wad a form 5 student can do?

i am doing reload stufs...juz a begining...but lots of my frens support me...so by reloading rm30,i gain 40 sen...so if my clazmates (45+) and lots of other clas friends pluz outsides friends r suportting me... i guess ... i wil b doin great...juz start...LOLzzz...

ohya,agree wit the suggestion dat we buy some properties while studying in uni...will try it out if i secure jpa o petronas next yr...LOLZ

i m planing to open mamak stall wit frens too after spm (december onwards)...but wad i hear frm a officer frm kuching south city council is dat the police will catch us cos we r chinese...they wont take any action on malays (without license) dat open mamak stall beside the road...

hmm,any commentS?

btw,wad is barter card? can anybody teach me? hw the concept works?

lots thanks :D :lol:

[forEVA]

seriously, y whould u wanna open a mamak stall? sell dvd lah! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Xon]

KUCHING is so saturated with ppl selling dvd...
thanks for ur ideas...will discuss wit my partners....Hahhahazzz....

[YJ]

Regarding to the investment by buying the properties at somewhere near your university, I think that need quite a big amount of money for down payment. Otherwise, the monthly rental fee will not be sufficient to cover the loan payment. Anyway, investment through mutual fund or unit trust have lower risk right?How about the benefit? Compare to the normal fixed deposit?

[xpLosionzzz]

But all this financial planning, before u plan them you need one thing. Stable income. with no stable income, what are the plannings for?

[qedx]

With good financial planning, even if you don't have a stable income you should be okay. IMOTotal Income = Necessities + Luxuries,
Necessities = Savings + Investments + Expenditure
where Luxuries should not be more than 25% of your Total Income
If you use more than 25% of your money on luxuries, well... it's kinda sad seeing people who can't eat because they use their money to buy the latest mobile phone. And no, I don't share food with these people. Let them suffer BWAHAHAHA

You don't need a large amount of money to begin investing. Start small. You can open an ASB account with RM10, IIRC. I assume the other Amanah Sahams have similar requirements. Hell, some online forex brokers lets you open an account with them for as little as $1. That's about RM3.3 atm. The charts scare me though :p

[Xon]

With good financial planning, even if you don't have a stable income you should be okay. IMOTotal Income = Necessities + Luxuries,
Necessities = Savings + Investments + Expenditure
where Luxuries should not be more than 25% of your Total Income
If you use more than 25% of your money on luxuries, well... it's kinda sad seeing people who can't eat because they use their money to buy the latest mobile phone. And no, I don't share food with these people. Let them suffer BWAHAHAHA

You don't need a large amount of money to begin investing. Start small. You can open an ASB account with RM10, IIRC. I assume the other Amanah Sahams have similar requirements. Hell, some online forex brokers lets you open an account with them for as little as $1. That's about RM3.3 atm. The charts scare me though :p

Are you serious with the Amanah Saham thing? i plan to buy some shares using my first salary wor. Teach me more,please.

Let say my first salary will be RM 500,what's the volume of Amanah Saham i can buy?

If i buy merely share,i can only buy 5 volume of shares with the value of RM 0.10

Guide me...

[Salvation]

Are you bumi? I hate to bring in the race factor in, but unless you're a bumi, it's very hard to buy Amanah Saham.

A good alternative I think would be Public Mutual. I think that they have some good people managing their fund, the only b?mol is that they charge EXTREMELY high entrance fees.

The thing you can do is to invest a certain amount of money each month, say RM 200 per month. Sit back and watch your investment grow. The question in financial planning is not how much you earn, but how much you save regularly.

[Xon]

Are you bumi? I hate to bring in the race factor in, but unless you're a bumi, it's very hard to buy Amanah Saham.

A good alternative I think would be Public Mutual. I think that they have some good people managing their fund, the only b?mol is that they charge EXTREMELY high entrance fees.

The thing you can do is to invest a certain amount of money each month, say RM 200 per month. Sit back and watch your investment grow. The question in financial planning is not how much you earn, but how much you save regularly.

nah,i am chinese. thanks for the words.

i plan to buy unit trusts or invest on friend's business. =)

[Al-Bert]

Bear in mind that unit trusts won't guarantee you the profit on your fund... The performance of the fund can go up and go down due to many factors... So, analysis of fund before investment is imperative!

Investing friend's business is even risky... Could they be trusted? Will interest conflict occur in future? Since you gotta go back to your study after several months, you wouldn't have much time to continue the checking on business.... this would be a disadvantage for you as an investment partner!

Hence, i'm strongly suggest that you invest the money earned from somewhere into building your financial knowledge and wisdom by joining financial seminar or buying financial-related books... You could enhance your financial planning skill in this way which will certainly come in handy in the future!

[Caprio]

I wonder if anyone here has started financial planning for his future? Mind to share what is your plan?:P

[starlemon]

Investment? unit trust?
Xon. i think it is a bit early for u to start thinking of investment?
Didnt tat our age is not enough to invest in such a risky business world?
I thought we must be over 21 then oni can we start investing?

[Caprio]

Investment? unit trust?
Xon. i think it is a bit early for u to start thinking of investment?
Didnt tat our age is not enough to invest in such a risky business world?
I thought we must be over 21 then oni can we start investing?

It is never too early to start investing, at least in my point of view.

For those beginners, I think it is better for us to buy mutual fund, unit trust, REIT before venturing into the world of investing like the stock market and FOREX.

Hope to see some experts here share their experience about investing. :P

[Al-Bert]

Consult chenchow or thirdshifter....

-Based on my experience on reading their posts in ReCom, I'm pretty sure that they must be the sophisticated investors with lots experiences and information in regard to investment...


**I'm currently investing in my education field... Let me know if you wish to know my experience in making education investment... LOL!

[Caprio]

Consult chenchow or thirdshifter....

-Based on my experience on reading their posts in ReCom, I'm pretty sure that they must be the sophisticated investors with lots experiences and information in regard to investment...


**I'm currently investing in my education field... Let me know if you wish to know my experience in making education investment... LOL!

Haha... does that mean you are educating yourself in the investment world by reading, studying... things like that?

[Xon]

Investment? unit trust?
Xon. i think it is a bit early for u to start thinking of investment?
Didnt tat our age is not enough to invest in such a risky business world?
I thought we must be over 21 then oni can we start investing?

there is no such thingy as too early or too late in financial planning. =D




Al Bert,do you mind share it out?

[Al-Bert]

I have read Rich Dad Poor Dad books(the book about financial planning).. Below are my comments about the books:

I like Kiyosaki's idea but there are too many fantasies about getting rich in his books...

He made getting rich sounds so much easier than it really is...

He made it sounds like wealth could be achieved fast without/with little effort and risk only...

He made education sounds very much less valuable than it really is...

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Xon, do you think the same way like me after reading this books?

Btw, I mean i'm currently investing in my higher education ( now A-lvl ), nothing to do with investment world..... I have zero experience in investment world...

Edit: I came across a site which might be useful for those beginners in stock market.
http://www.investopedia.com/

[Xon]

i am somehow influeced by him not until my friend give me this link...

http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html


we gonna make the wise judgements everytime we read a book....


thanks for the link,Al-bert.

[Al-Bert]

I came across this link too several weeks ago too... ^^

However I personally think that John was merely trying to promote his books by criticising Kiyosaki's books... So, i just extracted some of John's ideas which i feel the same way!

Still, I reckon Rich Dad Poor Dad as a really fantastic book...

It taught me lots about financial planning ( despite a bit unrealistic )...

Are there any ReCommer having cashflow 202 game ? Lesson in this book is incomplete without this game... I would like to play...

[Xon]

I came across this link too several weeks ago too... ^^

However I personally think that John was merely trying to promote his books by criticising Kiyosaki's books... So, i just extracted some of John's ideas which i feel the same way!

Still, I reckon Rich Dad Poor Dad as a really fantastic book...

It taught me lots about financial planning ( despite a bit unrealistic )...

Are there any ReCommer having cashflow 202 game ? Lesson in this book is incomplete without this game... I would like to play...


thanks for your comment. we think alike.

the cashflow game,i am desperately looking for it too....

[Caprio]

Yeah... agree whole-heartedly that we should have a critical mind when reading. There is always something for us to learn in a book.

In Rich Dad Poor Dad, there are so many promotions about his own products. Haha... the most promoted product is the Cashflow game. I think we can buy it here in Malaysia. Try your luck on eBay.

Other than this book, which other financial books have you read?

Share here! Let's discuss and see!

[nhling]

I have read the Robert Kiyosaki's books. I admit there are too many fantasies without much reliable information on the way to get rich. Can anyone recommend any book on investing? I like to do some self-learning on them.

[Xon]

I have read the Robert Kiyosaki's books. I admit there are too many fantasies without much reliable information on the way to get rich. Can anyone recommend any book on investing? I like to do some self-learning on them.

recommend : The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. i havent read this. ><

anyone on thier financial plannings routes now??? share some thoughts or experiences ler...

[syamil_1]

Investment? unit trust?
Xon. i think it is a bit early for u to start thinking of investment?
Didnt tat our age is not enough to invest in such a risky business world?
I thought we must be over 21 then oni can we start investing?

Nah who said so, you can start investing even at the age of 15 haha. Anyway, I think that Public Mutual is a good option for students or those who intend to invest in a small scale (or even big scale). Try to look into their growth fund, all you have to do is pay some amount of entrance fee and bank in a minimum of rm100 every month. The thing about public mutual is that they charge 6.5 percent of administrative fee everytime you add on your investment. Say you invest a thousand more, and they will deduct 6.5 percent from that value. But their return is quite high depending on the type of fund you choose (but if you consider the admin cost its more or less the same with some other bank).

And one more thing, if you want a higher margin of return, they buy the units when the price is low, unit trust is a medium to long term investment and in this case, you wont lose your money unless you decided to sell those units when the price is lower than during the time you bought it. Fixed deposit is more for those who have lots of cash and want to invest in a short period but normally the return isnt that high, around 3-4 percent if im not mistaken (depending on which bank).

[nhling]

Does anyone know about Index Fund? Currently I'm reading a book called 'The Little Book of Common Sense In Investing' by John C. Bogle. It presents many facts that Index Fund is reliable and profitable in the long term. Even the current world richest man Warrent Buffet has positive view on this fund. Can anyone voice their opinion on the Index Fund in M'sia? Thanks very much.

[nadia.g]

Azizi Ali's series of jutawan books

[jackfook]

anyone has idea on how 2 use RM15000 to make profit which is available only now till before jan next year?

[jackfook]

jz want to ask recommers,if u hv RM15000 which is available now till b4 january next year,what r u going to do to maximize profit from it ?

[Xon]

jz want to ask recommers,if u hv RM15000 which is available now till b4 january next year,what r u going to do to maximize profit from it ?

Invest in some business? Save in bank? ...etc etc..:P

[Leen]

One advice from someone that have been sitting in a stock market company for days now (reading daily report of the company)

99 percent of the people who "invest" in stock market lose and the remaining 1 percent barely make any profit.

Lesson: Don't try it unless you know what you are doing. Trying to invest in stock market, mutual fund etc without proper knowledge = gambling

[weich]

hmm...like everything, there's a learning curve. You don't try you won't learn.

Anyway, here's my experience, started off with unit trust (a.k.a. mutual funds) when I was in A-levels like they say in alot of the books...yes, saving up on those scholarship money after 6 years in S'pore + working in Sim Lim Square as PC games salesman got meself a pretty tidy sum in the end.

Investment: Principal guaranteed investment in a "medium" risk unit trust with 50% on Korean stocks & another 50% on US stocks.

Return so far (after 5 years): -25% & still going down, waiting until it matures (<1 year to go) and get back principal.

Lesson learned: Money managers are content with just their 2% management fees, 20% commission from profits are nothing to them, considering it's easier to get a couple more multimillion dollar subscription on another new fund by piggybacking on the performance of a "lucky" fund backed by the same bank sold by overzealous young salesmen/women in shopping malls than to really work on investing your money. Also, don't forget that moving large sums of money in the markets is very inefficient, you get a big spread which eats into the profits or worse, even bigger losses!

So, after that experience, I moved on to invest my money for myself instead in stocks, focussed predominantly on fundamentals & within a year, I doubled my money. This year's not as good though with the subprime mortgage crisis still going on, so lesson learned, cut the losses as long as they are small, and reinvest.

[Leen]

^
If you are up-to-date with the stock market arena, you probably have noticed the warrant that ties itself to TA. There are still people buying the stock hoping that TA stock will go up to 1.00+ which I doubt will happen (especially since the price just readjust itself after the dividend). That stock is going to expire next June and I feel for those who might lose money over this deal.

Also, if you look at MRCB yesterday and today, it must be a very enjoyable experience for you. Having the price fluctuates all the way from 3.00++ to 0.9 to 0.770 and up to 0.8 and down and up again is crazy. If you go in the market at the wrong time or exit the wrong time, you might end up with a huge loss.

Lesson:
Do your homework. I agree about fundamentals. That's really important. And if you just go to google finance, you should know that MKLAND is probably not a good stock to invest in right now compare to say, PBBANK or even IOICORP(despite its fluctuation).

[weich]

a good read if you're interested:

http://www.fortunewatch.com/warren-buffets-investing-and-inspirational-quotes/

Some of the things I agree with:

• Wide diversification is only required when investors do not understand what they are doing.

• Never invest in a business you cannot understand.

• Unless you can watch your stock holding decline by 50% without becoming panic-stricken, you should not be in the stock market.

[nhling]

I have found out that there're three Index Funds in Malaysia namely the ABFMY1, FB30ETF, MYETFDJ. I have a few questions on these funds

(a) Are there dividend stocks?
(b) Can I invest them through dollar-cost average?
(c) IMO, these index funds invest in the local companies(Correct me if I'm wrong). Are there any index fund which invests/tracks companies in foreign stock market?

Feel free to voice your opinions on those funds:)

[Al-Bert]

99 percent of the people who "invest" in stock market lose and the remaining 1 percent barely make any profit

Erm... So where does the money go?

Anyhow, in my point of view, the night is at its darkest before the dawn. I am aware that current stock market is suffering bearish downtrend, but we know there's only very little chance for the market to collapse. What's the good time to enter then? I guess it could be the moment when you realize most shareholders have already gotten so desperate in selling their shares. BUY ON MARKET WEAKNESS, that's what i learned from the experience.

[vseehua]

Erm... So where does the money go?

Anyhow, in my point of view, the night is at its darkest before the dawn. I am aware that current stock market is suffering bearish downtrend, but we know there's only very little chance for the market to collapse. What's the good time to enter then? I guess it could be the moment when you realize most shareholders have already gotten so desperate in selling their shares. BUY ON MARKET WEAKNESS, that's what i learned from the experience.
The money went to the brokers :P and be reminded that the 99% refers to the people investing in the stock market and not the money itself. This will mean that the other 1% are making money big time...

[weich]

I have found out that there're three Index Funds in Malaysia namely the ABFMY1, FB30ETF, MYETFDJ. I have a few questions on these funds

(a) Are there dividend stocks?
(b) Can I invest them through dollar-cost average?
(c) IMO, these index funds invest in the local companies(Correct me if I'm wrong). Are there any index fund which invests/tracks companies in foreign stock market?

Feel free to voice your opinions on those funds:)

had a look & well the ones you listed are all ETFs, but FB30ETF tracks the largest 30 stocks in KLSE by market capitalization, so it's kinda like an index fund. But looking the current market sentiment, probably not the right time to enter the market yet.

ABFMY1 seems to be focused on Malaysians bonds, no stocks at all.

Dividends or not, depends on the fund management & since ETFs behave pretty much like stocks, except for annual management fees, you can buy more whenever you want to for your dollar-cost averaging.

If you're looking at foreign stock markets, they are normally in mutual funds or open a brokerage account in the US, you can trade pretty much any stocks in the world through ADRs.

[Athersin]

Nah who said so, you can start investing even at the age of 15 haha. Anyway, I think that Public Mutual is a good option for students or those who intend to invest in a small scale (or even big scale). Try to look into their growth fund, all you have to do is pay some amount of entrance fee and bank in a minimum of rm100 every month. The thing about public mutual is that they charge 6.5 percent of administrative fee everytime you add on your investment. Say you invest a thousand more, and they will deduct 6.5 percent from that value. But their return is quite high depending on the type of fund you choose (but if you consider the admin cost its more or less the same with some other bank).

And one more thing, if you want a higher margin of return, they buy the units when the price is low, unit trust is a medium to long term investment and in this case, you wont lose your money unless you decided to sell those units when the price is lower than during the time you bought it. Fixed deposit is more for those who have lots of cash and want to invest in a short period but normally the return isnt that high, around 3-4 percent if im not mistaken (depending on which bank).


i am interested in investing on public mutual fund..

could anyone provide any steps to me on how to begin investing?

Does it safe to start investing at early age?

[Casperloo]

i am interested in investing on public mutual fund..

could anyone provide any steps to me on how to begin investing?

Does it safe to start investing at early age?

i am interested too.... but i am onli 17... left few month to 18... am i eligible to invest?? btw, if i wan to invest on Public Mutual Fund, i hv to go to there by myself?? any advise pls...

[nickvl]

i am interested too.... but i am onli 17... left few month to 18... am i eligible to invest?? btw, if i wan to invest on Public Mutual Fund, i hv to go to there by myself?? any advise pls...

Why don't you do it but join with parents' name? When u turn 18 automatically transfer to your name...i think

Best to ask staff there to assist you

i am interested in investing on public mutual fund..

could anyone provide any steps to me on how to begin investing?

Does it safe to start investing at early age?

Ask your parents for assistance...it's good to start early because these sort of investments only bear fruit after a long period of time unlike shares.

It's much more 'safer' than shares and you must be in it for long-term

[ifa]

Yes..I absolutely agree.. We need to plan then we can have a better life... Anyway, I would like to share this clip about economy with u guys...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DClyXxtXQJM

[Athersin]

anyone from university can share their experience of investing in any large corporation?
What kind of benefits u can get? and mind to give some tips on that?

[ryantea]

My Message about growing money:

If you want to have fast money, do shares.
The return to risk ratio is relatively high compared to others (unittrust, FD blablabla,forex, this is only if you are playing direct money)
Now is the golden opportunity cuz of the global crisis.
For all potential investors, please pray that the economy will continue to reach the ground floor...

[yekban81]

Here's the magic number:
72 / % rate of return = years required to double your original investment
If you put your money into a saving account with 0.5% interest, you will get a double of your initial deposit after 144years! Haha..

[fdisale]

Planning your finances has several advantages. Whether you do it on your own or you hire someone, the main thing is to know that a good plan can can take care of many issues created by bad debts or previous mistakes. To make the maximum benefit of financial planning, it is must to do it properly and take complete control of your situation.

[decimator]

For newcomers, just avoid mutual fund as possible. The high commisions is going to mess you up. I looked at the Malaysian Mutual Fund industry and I found out that most of them have done pretty poorly. Most of them did not beat the market. You are better off investing in an Index Fund which buys all stocks in FBMKLCI. If you are going to lose money in this game, believe me, it is a better feeling to lose it yourself. Mutual Fund is one of the fastest way to poor house. Also, never believe what the analysts say about a particular company or industry. You can refer but always do your own research!

The Malaysian Stock Market is a very good arena to hunt for dividend stocks. There are many companies which pay more than 4% annual dividend without fail. That is double the interest rate in your deposit account already. However, Malaysia is a bad place to look for growth stocks. I mean the true growth stocks which are not cyclical. You might use the glove industry to refute my argument but mind you, the glove industry belongs to the cyclicals not growth!

I have read an article that the average earnings growth for the listed Malaysian companies is about 17%. Assuming that the growth rate stays constant, you are unlikely to compound your money more than 17% annually in the long run (30 or 40 years) if you have invested in FBMKLCI, unless you are a very very good stock picker.

Newcomers are advisable to invest in blue chips or stalwarts. But, the fundamentals are kings. Know everything about the company which you are going to invest your money in. Read their annual reports and look up for their latest news on the Internet.

Malaysians can open a brokerage account when they are 18. However, you can always use your parents' account if they are comfortable with it. Lastly, I am 19 anyway and is still taking my lessons off the market.

[sugan]

so, explain, do your own Research?

is it looking for yourself , the information you need?
________
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[g1noah]

However, in doing financial planning, shouldn't we start with something small first before going further? Like we should learn how to divide our incomes into appropriate portions and manage them before doing any investments? And at the same time cutting our expenses, and increasing our savings. For sure we cant just use all the money and put them all into investment right?

Any advice on this?

[Glassylicious]

However, in doing financial planning, shouldn't we start with something small first before going further? Like we should learn how to divide our incomes into appropriate portions and manage them before doing any investments? And at the same time cutting our expenses, and increasing our savings. For sure we cant just use all the money and put them all into investment right?

Any advice on this?

A piece of advice I received from one of my "frugal guru" friends is that one should always keep a cushion of at least 3 to 6 months' worth of salary for emergencies. So, yeah, ideally when you start working, your main focus is to save up for a bit, and once you've collected a comfortable sum of money, THEN you look into investments.

IMO, no point investing if you're going to do it with nominal sums of money.

[capablanca]

I recommend this book: I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi. Pretty good advice.

[Adrenaline]

A piece of advice I received from one of my "frugal guru" friends is that one should always keep a cushion of at least 3 to 6 months' worth of salary for emergencies. So, yeah, ideally when you start working, your main focus is to save up for a bit, and once you've collected a comfortable sum of money, THEN you look into investments.

IMO, no point investing if you're going to do it with nominal sums of money.

its quite hard to restrain ourselves..

[sleevelesssky]

its quite hard to restrain ourselves..

Such is the deplorable nature of men. It is little wonder that scientists predict that humans will go extinct in 100 years time. But I digress.

[g1noah]

Btw, here is a good website for complete beginner in financial planning. Don't be misguided by its name, it talks not only about insurance, but also money management and investment.

http://www.insuranceinfo.com.my/#

[frankchong]

It is important to plan early and invest, however, before that you need to acquire marketables skills to earn the money to invest. The normal calculation made by financial planners are easy to learn and you would find out soon that by saving alone you are not going to be able to afford a lot of things in life. You need to invest.
You better learn how to manager your own money, if a money manager is really good (gives you very good returns), he/she probably does not need your money. Most managed funds have pretty low returns, and in the stock market, most people lost money but a few make a lot.
If you are into buying stocks, you can set up a yahoo finance account and trade it on paper. Keep a log to see whether you make money over time. Stock market investment is not a casino, you better know what you are doing most of the time, otherwise the odds are against you. Having an account to try it out, you will find out over time whether you can manage your own money in the stock market.
After you have done some work and figure out which companies are worth investing in and why, we could have more meaningful communication as why I am soo worried for the future of Malaysia and those of my fellow Malaysians.

Best regards,
Frank

[frankchong]

It is interesting, there is little interest here, let me share the performance of a few companies that I implicitely referred to:

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=BIDU+Interactive#chart1:symbol=bidu;range=1y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=AAPL+Interactive#chart1:symbol=aapl;range=1y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=NFLX+Interactive#chart1:symbol=nflx;range=1y;indicator=volume;charttype=line;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=on;source=undefined

Hope this helps.

Frank Chong

[sugan]

is it possible to open a CDS and trading account with small capital( less than 10 thousand)?
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[KenT13]

Okay, there's one way to make your investment a sure to pay off. But you need a lot of money at start. It's gold. Its price rises fast and steadily. One gram costs you about RM130++(jaw-dropping)

[Xon]

You're considered smart ass if you have gold since 2000, not now. :P

[sugan]

Okay, there's one way to make your investment a sure to pay off. But you need a lot of money at start. It's gold. Its price rises fast and steadily. One gram costs you about RM130++(jaw-dropping)

no offense,

how does speculating gold help in financial planning?

actually , not much money is required to start just 5 grams,
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