A Simplistic Rich Life

Self Discovery Journey

2008-04-16T00:05:00.003+08:00

Life has always been a long and winding journey of self discovery. It often takes loads of courage and endurance to go through this journey. Often then not do others tend to discover more about yourself then you will able to by doing it yourself. So which category do you actually belong to?
Do you belong to the self discovery group or the group discovery group. Self discovery is often emotionally tormenting and taxing, but it is definitely the most accurate way for emotional growth as well.

It is easier to find something to fall back on rather then falling straight onto hard ground. The things to fall back on often comes in the form of friends and family. Some people will rather fall onto the ground and learn it hard by themselves then finding something to break the fall. Although self discovery is a way of learning about yourself, it also comes at a pretty hefty price. Imagine forcing your way into doing something that is obviously wrong when there are already people who have experienced it. Whats the point in mentioning this is obviously to remind people that you need to attain a certain level of maturity before one should even go into self discovery. If you believe that you are not ready for it, do listen to more experienced people and learn from their mistakes. Its only wise to be able to decide between which way to take in your life journey.

People who actually managed to embark on a self discovery journey are usually people who do not show their real emotions readily to people. The trust factor in people is always fluctuating because they tend to trust themselves more then anyone else. So if you manage to gain the little bit of trust and attention from such a person, it wil be too dumb to just let it go. The moment such a person start to doubt his own decision in putting trust on someone, it may well be too late to keep this friend close to you. Trust to a self believeing person is often in abundance within, but so scarcely shared. "A wise person is only wise if he makes the correct decision, while a dumb person is only dumb if he makes one wrong decision".

Man often think with their body, while woman think with their heart. So does anyone ever think with their brains? It will never happen unless you can calm yourself down before making any rash decisions. An emotionally inclined decision from a woman is often inaccurate if it lacks some logical analysis from the brains. You do not fall in love for the sake of falling in love, and you do not have sex with a man just because you think you love him enough to do it. Likewise a man should never have sex with a women just because his hormones is overflowing. If a person jut allow these to happen without even consulting your friends in the thick skull, who is going to bear the consequences? Does your tear glands help you solve the problem? Or does your anger come to your rescue by slaughtering whoever did it to you? So what are all these about? If you think you can get your brains involved in any of the situations above then probably you are someone mature enough to take on a self challenge. It is just a matter of time before you have to learn more about yourself, but choosing the right time is important. As for me, i think i have lost my way somewhere in the journey. Maybe its about time to do a soft reset and reassess the relationships around me before i start to have doubts about who i really am.

Something to leave you thinking. "Always start a relationship with 90% trust, and decrease it with every bad encounter. Beginning a relationship with 0% trust will leave you with nothing to gain from it." Wondering where did the 10% go for a start? Obviously nobody will be able to give anyone 100% trust. If you are already doubting yourself once in a while, then on what basis do you have to trust another person fully?

Friendship Vs Friendship

2008-03-09T13:06:00.002+08:00

What does friendship mean to you?
How much is friendship worth to you?
Do you think that there are different kinds of friendship?
or
Do you think there are just different kinds of relationships?

There are really no clear answers to these questions, but answers only come from the person who is thinking about it. What does friendship really mean to you? Is it as simple as one can think as hanging out together and sharing joy and woes? A personal opinion on this is not as simple as one can say. Although i stand by my life philosophy as life being simple, but i also believe that there are things that cannot be translated into words. Friendship is a feeling of the heart deep inside within one. Most people make friends with the brains and the mouth, but what a real friend needs is your heart's participation a well. We always believed that only the most intimate relationships requires commitment from the heart, but thats not really true. An intimate relationship is just another kind of friendship at a deeper level.

Friendships are made from relationships and there are different levels of it in my personal opinion.

1. Acquaintance - 0%
2. Friend - 80%
3. Close Friend - 80%
4. Buddy - 80%
5. Intimate Buddy - 80%
6. Spouse - 90%

Some of those seems obvious enough, but some seems so distant away. Some description will definitely be useful. The percentage simply shows the amount of heart commitment that should be made available. Every relationship begins from being acquaintances, simply because these are people that you probably know, but yet not familiar with. They may be people whom you see at your work everyday, but do not really talk to. A friend is really self explainatory because these are people whom you get to see and go out with probably most of the time in a large group. A close friend is someone whom you often go out with and talk to. You will share things with them, but with some reservation. A buddy is already one of the higher levels of friendship being someone you almost always go out with, share almost everything with. You will almost never reject to help when he/she is in need. An intimate buddy is what people usually call "Boyfriends" or "Girlfriends". There is really no distinct line that separates this and buddies apart other than the fact that an intimate buddy usually involves people from the opposite gender who shares not only almost everything, but also very close physical presence. The last one is probably self explainatory.

Whatever the relationship, one must understand that once you make a person your friend, the amount of heart you have to put into it is no different from any other levels of friendship. When i say heart, it simply means everything of you, which may include things like attention and time. Both is as important to anyone in the world, but it is something you have to make use of wisely. In any case, a normal person will always allocate up to 90% of his/her free time to the intimate buddy and ultimately neglect the importance of friends. This has always been the problem and will always be there, but one has to reduce it as far as possible. Friends is the next important thing compared to your family when it comes to human relationships. Everyone needs attention, and it definitely not only applies to situations when someone has problems. Remember you are suppose to share joy and woes together? Does being around when your buddy is down enough?
If that is seriously whats running around in your puny little brain than you should seriously restructure your heart and life before all is lost. Your buddy and friends all need to spend quality time with you be it bitching about others, a normal shopping trip or even just a meal together. That does not mean you appearing only when your friends are down. If that is what you only do, then your friend will probably be better off without you around.

A friend is as important as any number of intimate buddie you may have. Be realistic, you will get loads of time with an intimate buddy after you get married. If a friend is neglected, all is lost for you. The relationship will never be the same again no matter how both of you assure each other verbally. It is just like a thick rope being pleated together through numerous hours of effort. The bond will be so strong that its hard to break no matter how hard you tug at it. Once the rope snaps, even the strongest glue cannot bring it back to its original state. A buddy will almost never betray you, but it may not be true for an intimate buddy due to loads of other factors. A final word of advise: "If you cannot share your time maintaining bonds, do not go around making bonds that you ultimately break". The hurt a person gets from a broken bond is excruciating.

Valentine's Day?

2008-02-14T22:27:00.002+08:00

Is there any distinct differences between Valentine's Day and Non Valentine's Day?

Different kind of people will probably give you a different answer.

Romantic Man: "Of course, its the best time to give surprises for your hot date."
Economical Man: "Whats the difference? Its just a business opportunity for florists."

Dating Woman: "I'm hoping that i will receive something."
Married Woman: "I just bought flowers for him."

There is no difference if a man is married or not, but just a matter of whether he thinks its necessary/economical. To all men out there, whether you have been dating for 5 years or married for 1 year. It will always be a man's responsibility to pamper your other half. It is not about the value of the gift, but its a sincere heart that you put into getting the gift. The lady may eventually kick a fuss out of how cheap the gift is or how ridiculous looking it may be, but they are definitely full of delight.

The difference in the female answer is definitely an effect of prolonged expectation. Eventually they become so despair that they gave up any glimspe of hope that one day a deliveryman would knock on the door and say "Mdm, You've got a bouquet of flowers for you!" Once you get married, the gifts and flowers eventually dried up. The chance of striking lottery may probably be higher than that of you being on the receiving end of flowers from your husband.

Anyway, flowers or not is usually not the important point. I always agree with men who says that flowers is a waste of money. Is 12 stalks of roses really worth almost $100? Probably it will only cost you $20-$30 for the same 12 stalks in a market. Is the $200-$300 8 course romantic dinner really worth the money? So much for the fine dining part, but you'll only feel hungrier after the pathetic portion of dinner. All these commotion about being valentine's day is just a marketing scam where shrewd business people squeeze every drop of juice from your pocket, just to try convince the men that your partner will give you a good sex to reward your expenditure. If you think about it, probably the men will get a good sex from their female counterpart at a fraction of the cost. If you can just treat her better on a day to day basis, you will definitely save much more on this fateful day of the year.

Every little thing you do for her will make her feel special. These things may not even cost you a single cent. Giving her a morning call, making/buying her breakfast, sending her a good morning message may well be the simplest things to make her feel special everyday. Then comes the occasional shopping and dinner trips that you bring her to. Followed by the annual surprises that you give to her on Valentine's day, Anniversaries (Not the monthly kind) as well as her birthday. Out of the 365 days a year, these are definitely not too much to ask for after sticking with you through all the joys and sorrows.

Back to the point about Valentine's Day, its really not a special day because if you stick closely to the plan above, every moment the lady spent with you feels like Valentine's Day. It used to be a romantic day, but it seems more like a boasting day. It is the day where all female trainers out there reap their rewards for whipping their studs day in and day out to instill the gentledoggy mentality in them. The day where all women try to boast about how wonderful and romantic their male partners are. So where does the boasting rights come from? Obviously its the flowers and gifts because all the envious attention will be on the person who receives the most flowers and gifts.

So the conclusion for all men, do yourself and your partner a favour. The gifts can wait, but at least some flowers for the lady on such an important day. Their neck probably grew an inch longer just by trying to stare out of the door for a deliveryman. Not everything is about the economical value, but there are things that has to be done whether you like it or not. It feels just like a hero saving a damsel in distress. Stress from all the questions like "Hey gal, when are your flowers coming?"

Life-Changing Decisions

2007-07-10T20:55:00.000+08:00

While having lunch, a colleague asked me some very interesting questions and feedback with regards to Singapore education especially students. My colleague is from Indonesia and he completed his colege studies before arriving in our little island for his degree in Engineering. He mentioned to me that polytechnic students in his course seems to be able to get into momentum much easier than college students.

My colleague was on a contract, and he is looking to get a permanent position in the front operations of my company as compared to the back operations. He felt quite bad as he already knew that he will not be offered a front operations position due to the fact that there are better candidates than him. He is an engineering student and currently we are in the financial sector. In fact i pretty much believe that he actually has an edge in another sense. It is not difficult to be part of the financial sector regardless of the degree you hold, but it will be almost impossible for any person with a business or financial degree to have a part in the engineering sector. Since this is the case, i will believe that it is more logical to have a specialised degree for a specialised industry. With that, you will probably be more versatile in terms of the task you may be able to perform in any job. At least this is my perspective, but anyone can disagree with their own rational.

A question was popped to me with regards to the process that i went through to make a decision to enrol myself in a polytechnic instead of a junior college. The very simple answer will definitely be that i do not enjoy wearing uniforms and adhering closely to school hours. Any polytechnic can provide me with a more flexible education. As far as this question dependable on individual views, i have always believed strongly that a decent polytechnic student with good attitude should be able to do better than a college student. Pretty biase views, but until now i still believe in it. Lets put things in perspective. A polytechnic student spends 3 years to complete a diploma, but a college students spends 2 years. Sound like an advantage, but what if the polytechnic student decides to pursue a degree closely similar to what he/she did for diploma? He/she will probably get a 1 year exemption to go to year 2, and that puts he/she right back with the college people. On top of that, he/she will probably already have decent experience in doing what everyone is supposed to do for their course. This seems like a quick comeback by the diploma holder. There can be hundreds and maybe thousands of scenarios that a person will probably be able to come up with to rebut my reasoning against college students, but this scenario definitely still stands. There is also another saying, which can be a logical rationale. In this little island, having a diploma is not enough to get you anywhere unless you are doing sales. What happens if a college student did not make it through 'A' Levels? Theres actually quite a handful of such people who drop out of college to join a polytechnic after a year.

Please do not feel too personal against the post above as it is just a way to look at things. You may appreciate it as something that was never brought to your attention before or you can just take it personal. It is afterall just a blog post about my views about life that affects my decisions. At least my colleague nods in agreement with me although his a college student. It was not even emphasised that college students tend to be more arrogant as brought up in my previous blog post.

Advices that College Graduates Don’t Want to Hear

2007-07-08T22:12:00.000+08:00

I have recently read an article and i feel so obliged to share it with everyone because i am sure it will bring some serious issues to all fresh graduates.

Fresh graduates from all over the world suffers from this what i call it a "Post-Graduate Arrogance" syndrome. Do not be mistaken because it does not only refer to university graduates, but probably also to polytechnic and junior college graduates. You may think that my opinion is biased against a certain group, but i seriously believe that the majority of which suffers from this syndrome belongs to the group from the Junior College and university. Perhaps it is due to the fact that they have studied a quarter of their life for the coveted piece of certificate, but have any of them wondered as to whether is that piece of paper that prestigious? In my humble opinion, it is a big achievement to get that degree, but only as much. Take a wake in town and probably you will realise that you are not the only one with it. Whats more interesting is probably everyone in your age range will have it. Since this is the case, where is the basis for being arrogant and thinking that you are so much above anyone else out there?

Now it is time to take a step into The Real World, the place that you have talked about for years as if it were a planet in a distant galaxy. There are definitely things you need to know about life in your new reality. Some of it may sound vaguely familiar and ho-hum. Or it may be written in the foreign language of that planet. But one thing’s for sure: you don’t want to hear about any of it. Here are 23 pieces of valuable advice abstracted from the article, in no particular order. Ignore them at your peril if you believe you know much more.

1. Show up at work. Some people got through college without going to class. I don’t know how they did it. I guess I wasn’t smart enough. It’s a whole new ball game in the working world. It’s no longer cute to oversleep or be unable to get out of bed because of a hangover. If you take too many “sick” days, your income may suffer and you could even lose your job.

2. Deal with your debt before it gets worse. Most college grads have debt, either from student loans, credit cards, or both. While you may have a six-month honeymoon period before the first student loan payment kicks in, credit card and other revolving debt never sleeps. The first step is to stop charging stuff which would make the problem exponentially worse. And the second is to come up with a repayment plan that cuts your debt down faster than it grows.

3. Don’t rush to buy all the expensive toys and trappings of adult life. You are finally earning a real salary. After a meagre life as a struggling student, it’s intoxicating to have a big check regularly deposited in your account. Your first reaction is to spend it. After all those years of deprivation, it’s time for a nice car, fancy clothes and of course the HD TV, right? Be patient. You have your whole life to get the good stuff. Go back to Piece of Advice #2. Debt has an ugly way of kicking you in the backside when you’re not looking.

4. Don’t screw over utility companies. Pay your phone bill, electric bill, water bill, etc. on time. Life is not good without certain basic necessities. In areas where there is a monopoly for service, for example, only one provider of electricity, you may not be able to get the lights turned on at your new apartment if you ditched the bill at your last address.

If you are having trouble paying your bills, contact the utility’s billing department right away. They may be able to work out a payment plan with you. If you bury your head in the sand and ignore mail and phone calls, you are less likely to get any help.

5. Spend less than you earn. The whole concept of “budgeting” is that simple. You may think you know how much you spend, but you really don’t. So for three months, write down every penny that goes out, whether it’s for a parking meter or the car payment. You will surely be surprised to see where your hard-earned money goes. This exercise will help you cut back on the stuff you “want” to make sure you get the things you actually “need.”

6. Start saving for your retirement right now. Everyone tries to drum this one into your head, right? But it is true. Leaving the working world is an eternity away when you’re just starting out. It’s sensible to start good habits early. More importantly, if you regularly invest even a small amount in your future, the Miracle of Compound Interest will turn your deposits in a nice tidy sum further down the track. There are countless illustrations of this available online which show that someone who starts at 35 or 45 doesn’t stand a chance of catching up with a person who begins saving at 25, even if the older person contributes a higher amount.

7. Don’t get into car accidents (or get tickets), particularly if you are male. If you are a single guy under 25, you are in the most expensive category for car insurance premiums. Have a fender bender or receive a couple of tickets, and watch those costs skyrocket. For everyone else, insurance companies may want you to be claim-free for three years before they will give you a decent rate. It’s just like debt: your actions that take only moments can affect you for years.

8. Start an emergency fund. When you’re in your 20s, you think you are invincible. Nothing bad will ever happen to you. Well, guess what? You’re wrong. Chances are excellent that you will be adversely affected by job loss/downsizing/layoff, car break downs, divorce, disability, death (someone else’s) – or several of these – and you won’t see it coming. These events can be big ticket items. If you don’t have that cushion of savings, you could be blindsided by an emergency and begin a slow economic spiral downward.

Calculate what your expenses would be if you had no income for three months, and then save up that amount. Put the funds in an account that you can access easily (i.e., not invested in stocks) but don’t make any withdrawals unless a true emergency arises.

9. Don’t underestimate the importance of having health insurance. A large percentage of people who file for bankruptcy did not go on big shopping sprees; they were forced to file after they got hit with medical costs they couldn’t handle. If you are considering different job offers (lucky!), don’t consider only the salary. What kind of health insurance does the company offer? Get someone, perhaps in the HR Department, to explain the different options. My own personal view is that you should get the best coverage available, even if there are less expensive options.

10. Get regular exercise. At college, you may have had access to excellent gym facilities and played intramural sports. When you’re on your own, it takes a bit more effort. It’s worth it because a program of regular exercise walks hand in hand with good health. Bad health is very expensive. See #12.

11. Eat healthy foods. You may have been living on pizza and ramen noodles for the past four years. Here’s another part of life where it pays to establish good habits early.

12. Keep your resume up to date. The time to revise your resume is not when you are looking for a job. Every time you start a new job, revise your resume. Add your achievements, expanded duties, and awards as soon as they happen. Then if you suddenly need to look for a job, it won’t take much time or effort to have an up-to-the-minute resume to circulate.

13. Keep learning. Your education never ends. The older you get, the more you realize there is so much that you don’t know. Don’t develop tunnel vision. Take continuing education courses. You don’t have to master quantum physics (unless you want to). Sign up for an art appreciation course or a lecture series on a topic you know nothing about. Expand your mind.

14. Network, network, network. It’s “who you know” that helps you get somewhere in life. I don’t mean this in a slimy way. But people generally want to help people whom they like and respect, as opposed to strangers. Stay in touch with fellow alumni; some of the large universities have clubs in major cities.

Try to meet people who work in your current career field, or in the area you want to break into. However, don’t go anywhere with the conscious attitude that you are only there to network. People can smell it. Just take every opportunity to meet new people who may share your professional or personal interests. You might meet someone who can offer a lead on a new job or even the love of your life.

15. Put time and energy into worthwhile friendships. It’s far too easy to neglect your personal relationships once you start working. There are only so many hours in each day, and eventually you have to do your laundry. You may have made many friends in college and you can’t stay in close contact with everyone. But don’t abandon some of the people who were with you during a critical part of your development. And always be receptive to widening your circle. Friends will come and go, and you are lucky if you stay close to a few for many years.

16. Thank those who helped or inspired you along the way. Thank your parents if they supported you, whether it be financially or emotionally, on your journey. If a teacher or professor sparked an interest, let them know. It means so much to them to know that they made a difference in the life of a student.

17. Find a mentor. You and your friends can provide a lot of support to each other as you try to figure out the workings of the working world. It helps to find someone who, in your view, has already succeeded. At the very least, observe them and their work habits. Better yet, ask if they will take you under their wing. Most people will be flattered.

18. Get enough regular sleep. You must be able to function fully at work for at least eight hours per day. It’s not like your school days when you only needed to concentrate for a few hours, or you could pull an all-nighter when necessary.

19. Don’t eat out too often. The biggest problem with eating out is that it tends to blow the budget. It is far too easy to go out with your co-workers, or to meet friends for a drink or three that turns into dinner. It is also too convenient to grab something on the way home or to dial for delivery. Without question, making dinner is work and it takes planning. But if you track how much you spend on eating out for three months, it will probably be a rude shock. And if you put it on your credit card, it’s annoying to have to pay for it a month later when you don’t even remember what you ate.

20. Don’t sleep with your boss. This will almost surely lead to disaster. You may lose the respect of your co-workers and others. You may end up losing your job. How will you explain that on your next interview?

Graduates, go forth and conquer the world. Follow your dreams. Take risks. Have fun. But please follow some of this advice. Otherwise, in the not-so-distant future, in a not-so-distant galaxy, you’ll wish you had.

GST and YOU

2007-07-02T15:05:00.000+08:00

Have been seeing lots of news, articles and even advertisements on how GST hike seems like a big impact to our lives. Most interesting of all will be the exaggeration of the hike from the series of advertisements from your favourite "M" fastfood chain. Things that cost $1 will probably cost $1.20 after the hike, while things of $10 value will cost $12. Locals from all walks of life are crying out loudly about the "huge" impact it will make on our lives.

I have seriously been thinking about it, and have not reached a conclusion on how much it will actually impact us. I pretty much believe that how much the hike will impact your life depends on your own spendings. 7% sounds like a large amount when converted to monetary terms, but is it really 7%? In actual fact, it is just a 2% hike for now at least. Unless your lifystyle revolves around high-end products and services, i do not believe that the hike will actually affect you much. For example, if you constantly make purchases for electronics and branded goods, a mere $1000 purchase will incur you a GST of $20. In comparison, if your purchases revolves around purchases of maybe $100 on groceries, the GST will be only $2. So i actually i do believe that it is by choice how much you want to be affected by the GST. Why are so many middle class citizens also whining about the hike when they are so willing to spend on luxurious goods, which easily amounts to thousands of dollars.

Singaporeans do like to compare ourselves with lesser developed countires like some of our neighbours, but is the comparison really valid? If the hike is for the good of the country in general, i should believe that the hike is inevitable. Although i do agree that its hurts slightly when comes to making purchases, it still boils down to making smart purchases.

Help Needed For Fashion Survey

2007-05-30T16:07:00.000+08:00

I am currently in the process of conducting a simple survey for an assignment and will probably need the help from all who knows or do not know me. Requirement is simple, as long as you are a Singaporean, you qualify. So please do help me out and spread the link around to your peers as well. Its just a short survey that probably will not take up more then 5 minutes of your time. The link is as below. If the below link do not work, there is one on the right panel as well.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=K7crLYDUEMIw6uxN%2bKmkeA%3d%3d

How Much Do You Know About Insurance?

2007-04-16T23:27:00.000+08:00

We have often been very afraid at the sight of "Insurance Agents", simply because of an impression created by most of the agents as hard-sell salesmen. I will not comment on this issue because many a times even myself will shun away from such people because of the way they try to make me buy things that i do not really need. This creates a very strong stereotype on everyone representing an insurance firm regardless of what they intends to do. How many of us actually bother to spend sometime to think about what an insurance is all about and why we need it? As far as i will like to think, i seriously believe that an insurance is very close to a need rather then a want product, simply because it provides for protection of our assets as well as our dependants.

Hard selling of policies is pretty much a thing of the past although many still do so. There is seriously a significant difference between an insurance agent and what we call a financial planner. An agent simply tries to sell what the company wants them to sell at all costs, while a planner actually does a thorough analysis on their clients needs before recommending suitable products for them. Everybody needs some planning at some stage whether you like it or not, and believe me that you will not be able to plan anything for yourself because the discipline is too often too difficult to maintain. Please do not think that i am trying to convince you to buy something from me, but believe my knowledge and research is pretty much sufficient to make you trust in what i have said. I am a certified financial planner, but believe me when i say that i am trying to educate you on what you "NEED" to know. Its really not about how much you have to spend on a policy, but how much you need to prepare yourself for the worse situation. Unless you are some GOD or deity from somewhere, i do not believe you will be able to know when it is going to come at you. Below is an extract of what i have found, which is a research conducted by NTU with regards to how financially prepared are families in Singapore.

Protection Gap in Singapore Remains Wide
NTU Study finds families in Singapore are financially ill-prepared
for loss of breadwinner

Singapore, March 29, 2007

The loss of a loved one can trigger an emotional roller
coaster ride. It can also bring an unexpected financial toll on those who are left behind.
The bad news is that the majority of Singaporeans are not adequately protecting their
dependants from the ensuing financial burden in the event of their untimely death. The
sad news is that many don’t feel the urgency to do so.

These were the findings in two separate projects commissioned by the Life Insurance
Association of Singapore (LIA).

These findings are in line with the harsh reality that death claim payouts in Singapore
have averaged around $37,000 in recent years, significantly below what is deemed to be
sufficient to ensure that families can continue a similar living standard in the event their
breadwinner passes on.

The two projects which were independently conducted in the last quarter of last year
comprised a face-to-face consumer poll by Saffron Hill Research and an analytical study
by Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Key Findings

Of those polled,

• Two-thirds had some form of insurance, of which 26 per cent had no idea how much
they are covered for;
Almost half (46 per cent) think they are well-covered in terms of sufficient coverage
for their dependants;
• There is a high level of indifference about getting additional coverage among those
who are in a more vulnerable situation
• Of those who do not think they are well covered (54 per cent), as many as 70
per cent of them said that they have no intent to purchase higher coverage
• Of those who do not own a policy (29 per cent), some 73 per cent of
respondents said they had no plans to buy insurance

Reasons For Non-ownership

Among non-owners, half of whom were from the lower income group (household income
of less than $3,000), price was the key deterrent (49 per cent). While some said they did
not have the means to purchase life insurance, others said it took a back seat to “more
urgent necessities” such as a car and credit card loans.

Further analysis of the results revealed that there was the lack of understanding of how
much is needed to pay for premiums to ensure adequate coverage. The survey found
that while some consumers baulk at being advised by their financial advisers that they

need up to 10 times their annual salary for adequate protection and feel this figure is

overly inflated, some nonetheless said they would be prepared to pay 10 to 20 per cent
of their income towards monthly premiums.

“This is a silver lining,” said LIA’s Deputy President Richard Shermon, who had overseen

the project. “At least we can address the affordability factor through better education
and quality financial advice.”

*The complete article is available HERE.

The above is just an abstract of the report and i believe it will bring you to the attention of why there is a need for protection ahead of all other luxurious committments. Probably this is a reason why i ventured into this industry in hope of educating more people about it. Anyway, if you think that you will need some ideas or comments, you can always contact me by dropping me an email at faithboy24@gmail.com. Financial Planning is a free service provided by most of us FPs, and if after any analysis that there is no need on your part then there will also be no obligations to make any policy commitments.

Friendship Vs Success

2007-02-06T21:25:00.000+08:00

The topic today is slightly different from what has been going on in this place. Is money the only thing everyone is interested about or is success the thing that people are more interested in?

Without even asking anyone for answers, its pretty obvious. Probably you will get answers like there are lots of things that money cannot buy, but have you thought of the importance of money? Apparently there are the things that money cannot buy, like true friends and love. If you seriously think about this 2, they can actually be bought too. Without going too deep into it, money is the root to most evil. Not all evil begins with money, maybe temptations can be a root to evil.

Back to the main topic, what will you choose between success and friendship? Only you will have the answer to that and you will need to find that out yourself. Let us begin with pondering about what is the definition of true friends. The simplest of all will be someone who gets along well with you and understands you well. So how do you define knowing someone well? Is it by knowing what he/she likes to do or is it knowing what he/she likes to eat? If all these are a gauge of having a true friend, then you guys out there are just too naive. There is no exact definition to a true friend because human change and the environment changes as well, and so does your peers. Understanding your friend is just like doing a business, as your friend will always be under influence from different sources. One will never be able to predict when the fella will turn against you due to greater influence. So if i offer both you and your good friend a job that gives you a $100K annual income, and tell both of you that you get the job if your friend fail to turn up, what will you do? The default answer is obviously to not do anything and go for a fair chance. In truth, i do not think the chances of that happening is very high.

Sounds disheartening? Not to worry as in my life philosophy, everything is simple. There will always be a solution to problems. The elixir to solving this problem is simply the miracle "TRUST". If you do not trust your friend enough, whatever he/she do will probably cast shades of grey patches in your thoughts. How do we rationalise this? In the above scenario of the job offer, if your first reaction upon hearing the chance to get the job is to start thinking about what your friend will do to get the job, it simply means that the trust element is not there at all. If you simply start to think about how you should prepare for the job interview, it means that you definitely have ample trust in your friend. If you guys heard about the scenario about 2 partners in crime giving their statements in separate rooms, this is the logic. If both criminals do not admit to the crime, they will probably get away free. If both do not trust each other and choose to confess, both of them will probably get the worst verdict. So do you have enough trust in your friends around you? Why would you want to doubt your friends over negligible issues, when both of you will be happier off being friends as it is? I guess the success part is not an issue unless your friend come robbing you of all your assets.

Knowledge is power, but knowledge do not make a person mature. So when you decide to do anything to your friendship, think about it emotionally with your heart and not try to use your knowledgeable logical brains to think about it. That is simply why there is a distinct differentiation between Emotional Intelligence and Intellectual Intelligence.

Is AGLOCO the Answer to making Money?

2007-02-04T15:50:00.000+08:00

Here goes without saying that although the IT bubble has burst so many years back, millions of people are still earning their living through the internet. There are so many programs out there that promises to deliever their promises of allowing you to make loads of cash from their site by promoting or signing up to their programs. I will not give so much comments on whether i think they are really working or not, because if they are not working, there will not be so many people involved in it. In my earlier posts, i have introduced the google adsense, which has been around and working for quite sometime. If you study business, probably you would have heard of the "First mover advantage". What it means is simply to be the first or early group to engage in something.

Most of you will probably have seen loads of Get-Paid-To-Surf programs out there. I am going to introduce another one from which i heard from a friend about. If you start to think about it, how many long hours do you spend on the internet everyday? It is always the catch to be able to earn money just by surfing the internet. This time round, it is slightly different as you get a chance to hop onto it while its still in a relatively early stage. All you have to do for this AGLOCO program is to download a Viewbar from their site, and start surfing. Search using the Viewbar and also have to option to participate in sponsored activities, whichever you think is relevant. If you can accept the fact of seeing advertisements in sites like "Friendster", "MySpace" and "Youtube", whats the big deal of having some ads on your IE while surfing. If you people out there have seen programs like "EmailCashPro" where you get paid to read email and refer friends to join, AGLOCO is similar.

In AGLOCO, shares will be allocated to active members who participate in this program. It is never a harm to try out something that is free. the company who have created this program is definitely of experienced calibre as they are also part of the Internet bubble that burst some years back. so now they are back with a shout.

A millionaire is not made overnight, and loads of testing and trying are put into the formula of success. Many a time, people talk too much rather then doing it. It is no use having opportunities and ideas, but not putting it into practice. Until someone actually put what you have thought of into practice successfully, the whining will start to come accompanied by "I should have done it". Referring your friends is not a simple thing of making a post in your blogs or sending emails. You just have to use a little creativity to ganer interest from the people reading it. Feel free to give comments about this or simply try visiting AGLOCO to find out more. Start building your financial freedom now. =)

Education Vs Education

2006-12-24T12:20:00.000+08:00

Before anything else, i will first like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. The following content will probably be of interest to the younger generation out there.

Decisions are to be made on a day in day out basis. One of the most important decisions is to make a decision on whether to pursue your education in a Junior college or a Polytechnic and probably even an ITE. Theres a distinct difference between all 3, and people will usually have the best of both worlds if the choice permits. Let us have a simple comparison of the 3 in terms of focus.

Junior Colleges (JC) put their main focus in providing knowledge to the students in terms of general subjects and theory like what you do in Primary and Secondary schools. the only difference in this sense is they try to operate the school like any other tertiary institution by having lectures and tutorials. People always believe that choosing a JC between any other things is a shortcut to a university due to the course duration of 2 years. anybody ever did some thorough analysis and thinking about what happens if you don't make it either in JC or Uni? Maybe w will answer this question at the end.

Polytechnics (Poly) are more focused simply because they give students additional choices in terms of what they are more interested in, and also the thing that they will most likely be doing in the future. The subjects/modules that you take will depend on your course of study. Polys are more project oriented in terms of putting a heavier weightage in projects for most modules. This gives the the students weaker in examinations and theory a better chance in pulling through as compared to a JC. A typical Diploma course lasts for 3 years, which is a slight disadvantage when time becomes the main factor.

ITE are designed in a way to give more choices to students who do not do well in theory, by focusing more in practical work. ITE is basically like a preparation for students to pursue for higher levels of certification most probably being a polytechnic. In the modern Singapore, ITE certifications are also widely recognised by most organisations as our nation shifts their focus as a whole.

Here comes the last part of making a decision. There is no right or wrong answer, but only a choice that you believe is most suited for you. Remember the answer of what happens if you fail to make it through the JC course or if you are a JC student failing to make it through the Uni? My answer will most likely deter some of you from going to the JC. If you fail to make it through the JC in the first year, you still can make a decision to fall back to a Poly or to continue trying, but i seriously believe the second alternative is a waste of time. There is absolutely no point in wasting an additional of 1 year of your time just to struggle your way through as there is definitely better choices out there like falling back to a poly. Even if you make it through to the Uni, but what are the chances that you can get into a course that you like? What happens if you do not make it through the Uni? Do you seriously think the JC certification is of any use of helping you secure a job? It is only a shortcut through a JC when you are confident of pulling through and also securing a place in a course of your liking in the Uni. These people will most likely be only the top 25% of every JC, but i may be wrong in some ways. In comparison, admitting into a poly will provide you with a safer route although you spend an additional year before making it into a university. A diploma will definitely be more then enough to secure you a decent job with decent remuneration, but also depending on your performance in the poly. At least you still have a recognised certificate and also specialisation to hunt for a job. In fact there are quite a number of students who do very well in their 'O' Levels chose to pursue their education in a poly instead of a JC, and it is really not very difficult to go to the university when you study in a poly.

After analysing on what school to choose, we come to the issue of whether to further your education in a university immediately after you obtain a diploma in a polytechnic. Why do we have to even think about this? A degree is so important now that it becomes almost a must to have it. The issue now is not whether we must have it, it is more on the issue of when to get it. A JC student will have not much choices because the 'A' Level certificate will not bring them anywhere else. An additonal note will be that, a poly grad with degree will most likely to have an advantage over a JC grad with a degree. Not because of the duration of study, but more on the skills that you obtained during that period of time. a Poly grad with degree will have had more hands on practice as compared to their JC counterparts. Back to the topic of when to get a degree will depend very much on your/family's financial status. If you are rich, there will be no problems at all because wheter to continue will depend on yourself or your parents. What about those that are in the middle or lower income group? Is it really a must to get a degree immediately?

If you fall in that group, you will probably need to get a loan from a bank or any financial institute to finance your Uni studies. By doing this, you are directly putting your own financial status into debt. You will be wondering what is the alternative if you do not get a loan. The only alternative will be to get a job with your diploma (if you have one) and start working to save for your University fees. By doing so, you are also accumulating working experience, which is definitely more important to whether you have a degree or not. Some of you may disagree, but you just have to think and observe the job market hard enough. There are not many organisations out there willing to give loads of fresh graduates a chance to prove their worth as they prefer a quick fix then a long term investment. Lets do some calculation to compare the 2 financing alternatives for your university education.

Student A (Loan):

Income: $0.00 (Curent)
(Less) Debt: $20,000 (Future repayment of $333/mth over 5 years with no interests)
Cur Status: -$20,000
Pot Income: $2,400/mth
Act Income: $2,067/mth

Student B (No Loan):

Income: $0.00 (Curent)
(Less) Debt: $0.00
Cur Status: $0.00
Pot Income: $2,100/mth (Increment of $100/year)
Act Income: $1,800/mth
Bonus: 3 Years Experience (Considering Uni counterparts take 3 year course)

The above is just an illustration, but in actual fact, do you think you will still be earning $1,800 after 3 years at any organisation? I did not even factor in the bonus that you will get for 3 years. The degree holder will be repaying his/her loan for the next few years and with no working experience, it is no gurantee that you will be able to find a job immediately and also with a high starting remuneration. Student B can always pursue a part time course or some professional certification that is relevant to your industry of work. All these are just my thoughts, and if you think that it is utter rubbish, you can just ignore it.

Does Internet Marketing Still Work?

2006-12-06T23:34:00.000+08:00

So much so talking about goals and choices in life. When you come to think about it, what is the most important thing in achieving your goals?

I should believe that whatever your goal will be or is already in place, it will have something to do with this most miraculous thing in the world; Money.

I have long had a simple plan for my life, which i will be working towards from now onwards. I was taught by someone that setting goals for yourself adds spice to your simple life. Where can you get the drive from when you most need it or when you are feeling real low. By having precise and specific goals whether for the long or the short term, will give you a push in life. If you are disciplined enough to stick to your goals, the thought of having to achieve it should logically give you a lift in spirits. Just remember, there is no such thing as a miracle from nowhere. A miracle is only to be created by nobody else, but yourself. so what you should do now is to start thinking about what you have been doing with your life for the past years when many others already embarked on their journey to achieving their rich and simple life.

Enough said, everything exist for a reason and it is no exception for this blog. It may not be the primary reason that this blog existed, but it is still a good reason for it to be here. I want a change in my life, and hope to make more friends here. I want to share what you may already know, what you do not know and the best of all what you should know to get a more meaningful life. In the next section, i will give you an insight to something i was introduced to recently.

Google Adsense

Some may have heard about the above, but how much do you know about it? Anyway, i admit that i am new to this, but i sincerely believe that it will help me in one way or another to achieve my goals.

Internet marketing is a vast market that will never be saturated enough to engage in. With a good mix of Network Marketing elements in it, it may just be the thing you need to gain access to the vast riches within it.

Google Adsense allows any individual or organisation to post advertisements on their websites and earn money from it. Every company pays out thousands and millions of dollars on advertising every year, simply to try to create exposure for their companies to the public. In this case, google acts like a middleman where they receive ads from companies who pay them a considerable amount of money just to make the ads part of the reknown Google Portal. the best thing about this is, you can get a chance to become a distributor of the ads by registering and listing them on your own webpage for FREE. You will then be paid based on the number of times the ads on your site has been clicked. The amount may or may not be huge, but it really depends on how you are going to do it. The registration is simple and with no hidden agenders. You do not need to provide information like credit card or things like that. All you need is to provide an address and name for them to pay the cheque to. although the above is true, please be reminded to read up on it before you proceed with anything.

However, one may think it is indeed difficult to generate traffic to your site, what more to talk about getting people to click on the site. It is true, so probably you have to think about ways to work around it. For your information, google records the IP address of the workstation in which you use to register for your Adsense account. Enough said, it is obviously not that hard to make money, but you just have to put enough effort into it.

Enough said, most of you all will probably have difficulties in understanding the true value in the above concept/opportunity. Think deep into it to see if you can derive something from it. If not, just drop me an email at faithboy24@gmail.com and i will try to give you a more in depth look into it. I will be waiting for your mails. If you think you understand everything and is ready to go, click on the Google Adsense link at the top right corner of this site and you are good to go from there. Good Luck. =)

Everything Has a Beginning

2006-12-05T20:36:00.000+08:00

Ever wondered why do you exist in this world?
Common answer from a teenager will probably be that on a stormy night, my parents were feeling the hype from within and decided to chill it off. After they felt the chill and enjoyed the thrill, a few years later they have to manage the bills.

A more religious answer will probably be that we exist because of GOD. GOD created us in his own image.

My simple and realistic answer to this simple question will be . . .
We exist because we do not have a choice, as our parents already made the choice on our behalf. From another perspective, we made the choice ourselves because we swam so hard and fast to the goal simply to fight for a chance to exist.

Anyway, do you think all these are even important? There is a lesson to be learned from the above questions. You just have to think hard enough to realise what it is. My Motto in life is simply to keep life simple as nothing is more complicated then complicating your own life. In order to put things into perspective, you people out there will just have to think about your own life. It's either to live it simple and rich like what i am looking for, or live it complicated and bland.

Just in case you people are still thinking about the question and answer above, let me tell you what it's all about.

- A simple question can bring about more questions and perspective. Thats where you can see how a person can make a simple problem into more problems.

- A simple question can have many solutions. You just have to make a choice of which one you prefer.

- Life is about choices, it is just about making a choice in sync with your own values and not about making the right choice. There is no such thing as a perfect choice as the only perfect choice is to not make a choice.

- Life is about goals, we make choices to achieve our goals. We make goals to achieve more goals. It is through these goals that makes your life richer and tastier.

Think about it and comment on it. People may disagree as like i said, theres no such thing as a perfect choice. Similarly, theres no such thing as a perfect answer.

What i am trying to do here is to share with everyone what i intend to do to put my own life into perspective. In the process, i will probably go through things that are of my interest at this point, which i think will help me in achieving what i want. Things like investments in Unit Trusts, Financial Planning, Business Opportunities, Market Analysis, Love Life, Relationships, Family and many other things. Hopefully all of us will be able to learn together.