Getting Rich

`The poor and the middle class have a hard time getting rich because they try to use their own money to get rich.If u want to get rich,you need to know how to use other people`s money to get rich...not your own` RICH DAD

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What I do before 28 to make my first millions？

Sumber:http://investkk.com/make-first-million/
Live below my means

Life is fantastic when you received your first paid salary after so many years of parent support. A lot of youngster started their fancy life to convince themselves that they have the right to enjoy all of their salary because of the whole month of hard work and pressure. But this will hurt badly especially when they start to spend on the thing that they don’t “NEED” to impress other people. On average younger people is spending 90% of their income (or more) to maintain their life style. That is excluding economical support from their parent mainly free accommodation, free transport, and free of 2 meals per day.
Save money as much as possible to buy property

Earning money is tough but saving what you have earned is even tougher. But if you would like to have healthy financial life after you are 30, actually you mainly have no choice but to save any many as possible to start your property investment life. I started working at the age of 20 and only save enough to buy my first property at the age of 24!
Avoid luxury holiday

Few local airlines are giving fantastic deal to Malaysian to travel all over the world at very much cheap rate. But if you look at it from financial view, after saving from the travel fare, you still need to pay for the travel expenses like hotel, transport, food and shopping expenses. Just to share my personal “holiday life” with all of you. I started working in year 2000 and my first holiday is four years after that! Life is all talking about “delay gratification”.
Avoid over spend on credit card

Having credit cards is good. At least you don’t need to carry so many cash and its convenience and easy to use. But a lot of youngest using credit cards as their sources money to spend. And for your information, young adult is the easiest to be influence. Just to share with you all about my credit card usage;

1. Insurance payment
2. Petrol expenses
3. Occasional shopping expenses

On average my credit card expenses is below RM1,000 per month and I will make full payment before my due date. Are you practicing the same? I know some of you are not. Let me list out what is your credit card expenses listing;

1. Insurance
2. Petrol expenses
3. Shopping
4. Restaurant
5. Movie
….
20. Bank interest
21. Bank late payment

This can be avoid and it need to be avoid if you would like to have healthy financial life after 30.
Surrounded by good friends / partners

For me, all my surrounding friends are lawyer, valuers, real estate agent, bankers and property owners. You need to be surrounded by all the above people to have better deals on real estate.

Lawyer – give you advise on the deal and the most important discounted legal fees

Valuers – give you the information about the property, potential risk and return of the project.

Real Estate agent – Give you the “Good Deal”

Bankers – Give you the loan facility at the better rate, good margin, and fast approval

Property owner – Sharing of information and experience which can help you to save time & money
Read, gather and get more experience through sharing

My journey on investment started at year 2000 when I was reading “Robert Kiyosaki” books. The book really opens my eyes on how important we need to have financial literacy. From there onwards I keep updated myself by reading and sharing experience with all property owners and friends. From there my knowledge grows tremendously. It’s a fast track to financial freedom.

Above are all secret that I have to earn my first million before I’m 28. I’m gearing myself to achieve first five millions before I’m 33 as I’m confident on it! Furthermore millionaires nowadays can’t help much in giving me better life. I need to be multimillionaires.

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What is the Real Value of Gold?

Source : The Star
What is the real value of gold? Gold has industrial uses, especially in the electronics industry where it is used for electrical wiring due to its high conductivity. However, close to two-thirds of its demand is for jewellery, particularly in India and China.


Increasingly, it is being used again as a store of wealth as investors lose confidence in paper money, hedge against inflation or worry about economic and political turmoils. Other than buying physical gold, investors can invest in gold exchange traded funds (ETFs). SPDR Gold Trust, the largest gold ETF with a market capitalisation of over US$41bil, holds over 1,100 tonnes of gold.

Money could as well be in the form of sea shells and indeed Pacific islanders used sea shells as money. Before paper money, what constituted money came in many forms – sea shells, salt, leather, copper, silver and gold. Money was used as a store of wealth which could be used to purchase goods and services without resorting to barter trade. It was in the world’s oldest civilisation, Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), where metal coins were introduced around 2500 BC. Gold is valuable only because it is perceived so in the collective psyche of the human race, hence its value is subjective and relative to other alternatives. To be valuable, something has to be rare and desired.

In all of history, only 161,000 tonnes of gold have been mined, barely enough to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools, according to a January 2009 National Geographic article. To be valuable and used as money, it has to be something durable. That would exclude fair maidens as their perceived value in the eyes of lustful men may diminish with age. Still, without the demand of gold from the fairer sex, its value would be much lower.

In Einstein’s theory of special relativity, time is relative to speed but if we apply the theory of relativity to the perception of value, the relative value of goods and services is determined by comparing the desirability of one versus another just as we compare the relative attractiveness of bonds, real estate, gold and stocks.

Even within the same asset class like stocks, we apply the relative yardstick – should we buy DiGi or Maxis? The relative attractiveness is determined by supply and demand, interest rates, growth and dividends for stocks, personal preferences and many other factors. The fact that the prices of stocks, bonds and commodities quoted on exchanges are so volatile is a reflection of not only genuine supply and demand but also human psychological factors which cause irrational exuberance or pessimism.

The Chinese introduced paper money during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and with that they also invented hyperinflation when a large amount of paper money was introduced.

How does printing money cause inflation? In a simple hypothetical world where US$100,000 of paper money can only buy you a bar of gold or a house, doubling the paper money to US$200,000 does not create new wealth but merely causes the value of the bar of gold and the house to rise from US$100,000 to US$200,000, an inflation of 100%.

Wealth transfer

Printing of money merely results in a wealth transfer from the saver (who can buy less with paper money) to the government (as it can use the freshly created money) and borrowers (decline in the real value pf debt). Gold is perceived as an inflation hedge and a store of value. (See chart) Its price spiked in the late 1970s when the US and world inflation surged. The price is surging again due to diminishing confidence in paper money.

World governments are all undertaking fiscal stimulus to counter the economic slowdown. These large budget deficits eventually have to be financed by higher taxes but with unemployment in the United States at over 10%, politicians with an eye on getting re-elected may be tempted to print money to finance the budget deficits and bailouts.

Hence it is not surprising that with the United States, British and Japanese governments printing money, investors are flocking to buy gold or commodities which are a better store of value as their supply does not grow as fast as printed paper money.

The printing of money by the US government also puts other currencies at risk as over 60% of foreign reserves are held in US dollars. As the gold standard has been abolished, paper money cannot be converted to gold. No wonder the Indian government has decided to sell some of their US dollar reserves for gold. Perhaps the currencies of larger countries like Australia are relatively safer as they are sitting on large yet-to-be-mined gold reserves even as their US dollar reserves lose value.

So, should the fair price of gold be relative to paper money? Though the value of gold may be subjective in the minds of investors, the reality is that the amount of gold in the world is finite, but there is no limit to the quantity of paper currency which can be issued.

Therefore it is not surprising that the value of gold is at a record high as more money is being printed. All this is premised on the assumption that we will continue to treasure gold, which is likely to be the case as we have done so for millennia.

Choong Khuat Hock is head of research at Kumpulan Sentiasa Cemerlang Sdn Bhd

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Do you have the assets to pay for your liabilities?

Sumber:http://kclau.com/wealth-management/asset-liability/
No. I am not talking about your home with mortgage.
No. I am not talking about your hire-purchase vehicle either.

As most people understand, the mortgage of their home is the liability. You owe the bank money. In return, you need to charge your house title to the bank as collateral. So you think you actually have an asset to pay for your liability. You think your actual home is the “asset”, that when you can’t afford the installment, it can pay off your mortgage by being auctioned to third parties. You are right, but it won’t get you rich.


For the rich people with higher financial IQ, they know that the house they are staying in is actually a liability. It is a luxury item. It takes money out of your pocket! In fact, it takes more money than you think. Beside the mortgage installment, you are paying for the renovation, electrical appliances, household bill etc.

Now, let’s come back to the golden question: DO YOU HAVE THE ASSETS TO PAY FOR YOUR LIABILITIES?
A local entrepreneur in pre-school education wants to have a new S-class Mercedes Benz. That’s a liability. He recruited a new talented business partner and opened up another kindergarten. In 3 months time, the child care and education centre is giving him RM5000 net profit every month. His partner is taking care of the centre, while he is shopping for his new luxury car. That’s an asset.

BRABUS S-B8
Creative Commons License photo credit: mujitra

I have some down line agents who are very independent and making sales week after week. I trained them in the first few months in business, and they can practically do business on their own after that. I got overriding commission from every sale they make. They are my assets. They help to pay for my car loan, myliability.

So, do you have the assets to pay for your liability?

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Term Loan vs Flexi Loan for Property Financing

Sumber:http://1-million-dollar.blogspot.com/2009/12/term-loan-vs-flexi-loan-for-property.html
Currently, in the market there are two most widely known Property Financing. There are Term Loan and Flexi Loan. But for many of people, they have no idea what are the different between them & which one to choose when buying a property. Actually, in addition to Term Loan and Flexi Loan, there is a hybrid product called Semi-flexi Term Loan. This will make the confusion even worse.

In terms of interest calculation between Term Loan, Flexi Loan or semi-flexi Term Loan, actually no different between them. All of them use the same principal where interest is calculated base on principal balance. Nowdays, most of the Property Financing or Mortgage loan are based on "daily rest" calculations. In simple word interest is calculated daily based on the outstanding balance.

Also, monthly installment for Term Loan, Flexi Loan and Semi-flexi Term Loan are fixed unless there is change in BLR or BFR.

The main different between Term Loan, Flexi Loan and Semi-flexi Term Loan are,

Term Loan

* Bank allow you to make extra payment to reduce principals but sometimes you have to inform them prior to that. Depending on the Letter Offer, sometimes Term Loan does not allow for extra payment.
* Bank doesn't allow you to withdraw the additional amount you paid earlier in case you need to use it in the future.


Flexi Loan

* Bank will provide you with additional Current Account that link with the Loan Account. Bank allow you to make extra payment to reduce principals by depositing either through Loan Account or Current Account. At the end of the day, both account will be synchronized. You do not need to inform the bank regrading extra payment.
* Bank allow you to withdraw the additional deposit at any time by withdrawing via ATM or writing a cheque. You do not need to inform the bank.
* Bank will impose monthly charge of around RM10 but some banks may give a waiver for this.


Semi-flexi Term Loan

* Bank allow you to make extra payment to reduce principals but sometimes you have to inform them prior to that.
* Bank allow you to withdraw the additional amount you paid earlier but bank will charge you processing fee for each withdrawal. The fee is between RM10 to RM50 depending on banks. Some banks also place a limit on the number of withdrawal per year.

In conclusion, I definitely prefer Flexi Loan. It gives me flexibility to manage my money. Imagine that, if you combine all of your saving, FD & even salary to your flexi account, immediately you will save on the daily interest. And, if you need to use that money, you can withdraw it anytime as you wish. No limit what so ever. At the end of the day, you will save the interest and reduce your principal at a faster pace and finally shorten the loan tenure.

I am currently having a Mortgage loan from CIMB. I choose Flexi Home Financing-i. It is much better than conventional Flexi Loan as there is no monthly charge of RM10.

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Investment Strategy for a Student

Sumber:http://kclau.com/investment/student-investments/

A student emailed me to ask for advice on investment. Without revealing his true identity, let’s call him Ahmad.

Mr KCLau,

I’m a student at a local university and I’ve been following your blog for a very long time.

I must say, due to your articles, I’ve changed from a spendthrift person to a more financially literate individual.

But now I stand at a junction by which need advice to go on.

I’m a 1st year student, doing medicine for 5 years.

My current assets are:
1) ASB savings: RM87 567.00
2) Gold (current market price): RM7268.00
3) Fixed deposit: RM11 258.00 (with rate of 2.5% p.a)

Each month, I will be able to allocate around RM 1200 for the next 5 years.

Based on the above info, what would be the wisest course of action which would generate the most income in a 5-year period?

The current course of action is I’m putting 60% of my income in ASB, 25% in gold and 15% in FD.

With the restrictions such as being a student, I lack the capability to invest in real property and stocks. Being a Muslim, I am not going to invest in non-Shariah compliant investment vehicle.

Your opinion is highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Current Situation

First of all, it is pretty impressive that a student has a total net worth of RM106,093 since most students are in debt with study loan such as PTPTN. Moreover, Ahmad still has a positive surplus of RM1200 to save and invest every month.

The current asset allocation provides some diversification. Gold is a hedge against inflation. ASB provides steady returns every year. Meanwhile Fixed Deposit gives him the liquidity and flexibility during emergency.
Challenge faced

When we see no trouble in his financial situation, Ahmad is asking for advice to maximize his return in 5-year period. This is a common question people would ask when they are investing their money. But I think the more useful question should be

”What should I do to improve my earnings?”

In fact, there is no sufficient information to give the proper investment plan. The first thing we need to know is the financial goals Ahmad wants to achieve. For example, are you going to use that money for a business start up? Are you going to save that money as your retirement fund?

However, I would assume that Ahmad wants to learn what he should be doing with the money within this five years in school to produce the best monetary outcome when he graduates in the future.
Suggestion to produce the best outcome

Ahmad is doing great with managing his money. I would say he is well ahead of most people around him, who are still studying. He doesn’t spend much. He can really save money.

My three suggestions are

1. Continue to accumulate and invest your money
Now, you can continue to accumulate your wealth using your proven strategies to save in ASB, Gold and FD. There are two other options you can consider – stock and unit trust. There are many Shariah compliant funds and also fundamentally strong companies to invest in. But before you make anyinvestment decision, learn about this equity-type investment and the cost involved.

2. Invest to gain knowledge
You can take up some investment courses in the area most interest you. Some courses are not cheap, but most of the time, it is worth the money to pay hundreds or even thousands to attend the courses. You will be able to learn the tricks and knowledge to earn even more money.

Some courses you can consider include real estate investment, stock investment, self-development, business development and leadership program.

3. Invest to broaden your network
As a student, we are expected to spend most of our time for academic result. But in the real world, excellent academic result doesn’t ensure financial success.

“What you know” is important. But “what you know” will only produce the most financial reward when you know the right person. So “who you know” have to be coupled with “what you know” to give you the success you are looking for.

By all means, join some social works, networking groups, relevant societies and become a committee member. Being actively involved, you will show to the people around you that you are capable to getting things done. The trust relationship will be built along the way. This will be very useful when you doing business in the future.
Conclusion

When I was still a student, I don’t have much money to invest. But I have a lot of time. So I invest the time to gain knowledge and broaden my network.

Ahmad, you are even better. Your future profession is a very profitable career. Now you have time and also money. You can invest both time and money on the right area. I am sure you will succeed in a very short time.

Wish you all the best!

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From Credit Card Debt to Owning Six Houses

Sumber:http://kclau.com/wealth-management/0-6-houses/
This is a guest post by Sayeed, a senior manager in one of the multi-national corporation in Penang. Sayeed is an experienced property investor. Here, he shares his financial journey with you, unselfishly.

The journey for my financial world have been a tough one, after graduating we (my wife and I) got into huge debts, simply because a few mistakes :

1. We got married a year after graduation, the wedding cost was much higher than we can afford, so loans and credit card debts started to pile.

2. Purchase a house (was not a mistake) but at a wrong place where the appreciation was not great and we went on to renovate for huge $$, again more personal loans +credit card debts.

3. We didn’t have a clue about income and expenses, as long as it was within our salary its okay.

4. We had our 1st baby girl, again we were clueless about the $$ we need to set aside for the expenses of a baby.

Looks very foolish and maybe some of you are thinking, which planet we came from. How can we be so stupid? Well, first, I wouldn’t put up excuses of why we were like that, or lack of financial knowledge. We had big dreams and were pushing hard to achieve them when we were not really ready yet. That’s not all, then we have had our 5th mistake - this is a classic.
Five major financial mistakes

In midst of all the financial woes, we were struggling badly. One of our office mates saw us and asked us if we would be interested to make some additional income while keeping our current job….OH YES…that’s what we wanted.

He came to our house and ask us this question “What would you like to achieve in the next 5 years?”, the rest is history, 6 years we spend slogging and working hard in network marketing, we spend more than we made, (not the network marketing’s mistake, but we weren’t selling products to make money). After 6 years, we were exactly where we started. ZERO base.
Strategies to turn the situation around

Nothing to cry about, we regroup ourselves, rethinks of strategies: (from our lessons learnt by putting our pride a side for a while)

1. Resolve our finance loans and stop all our credit cards transactions, buy everything cash.

2. Sell our property and make money, invest in cheaper units and stay there until we are back up (downsize ourselves)

3. Plan our bill before going out to purchase groceries.

4. Focus on career instead of MLM to grow higher in corporate, only to earn more so that can have more income.

5. Help out some part time work with translations, tuition etc to make additional income.

6. Stay at home - at in laws house during weekend and eat at home.

7. Start to pay ourselves (saving) every month from our monthly salary…start with minimum as we could move up to 10%.

All these ideas came out with few simple activities:

a) Keep our dream intact, but 1st keep a short term goal and a 5 year plan.

b) Read a lot of books (I mean a lot).- started with Robert Kiyosaki…Azizi Ali…Milan Doshi…Peter Yee…now, KCLau.

c) Strategize our short term goals and then put a time line to it.

d) Monitor our account statements, income and balance sheet.
Magnificent Results

The results: (what we achieve in the last 6 years of planning).

1. Promotions in career, I still work but in a higher management as a Senior Manager. My wife left her job as a manager and went into her passion business earning similar to her “job” income monthly.

2. We have 6 properties, 3 of those rented, 2 currently in construction (for appreciation) and 1 we stay in

3. Our savings have reached 6 digits past 1 year.

4. Total net worth is 890K as of Nov 2009. (asset : properties, mutual fund, savings ASBN & business investment)

5. Total net saving monthly (income - expenses) is 15% without taking into consideration my wife business income.

Now we are focusing on the next 5 year plan:

Net worth 2.5M with target of saving accounts alone $1M.

Of course it didn’t simply worked out for us, there were mini strategies that we worked on and move towards this direction, while keeping our jobs. Here I am writing to give hope to those who are in financial crisis today, that you too can succeed, with effective planning.

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The Important Lessons I Learned On Investment

Sumber:http://kclau.com/wealth-management/important-lessons-investment/
I learned about managing finances when I was a child from my parents especially from my dear mom who has given me life and also taught me how to be prudent with money. I modeled my mom in several ways. We were not rich then, my dad was in business debts and I have to give tuition at age 13 to pay for my school fees and other expenses. However I thank them for giving me a fantastic learning environment ,virtues and values which has helped me in my later years.

Although I do high risk investment at times, I believe I am conservative as I usually invest with what I have. My mom’s investment rule is never borrow to invest & she is successful in investment, owning houses & stocks without debt , getting good passive incomes for retirement. My opinion is that it is ok to borrow from the financial institutions, in fact most investors and businessmen leverage on the banks too; it depends on our risk appetite and how well we manage it.

For me, I tried to keep it low because of my mom’s teaching. Also, I believe that greed and fear are buddy, it comes in a package. When we make friend with greed, we accept fear too. As I find fear draining my energy, disturbing me and making me lose my focus for bigger things in life, I choose to stay away from greed as much as I can.

Whether my approach in investment suits you or not will depend on individual. It worked well for me and I hope my sharing will help you too .By the way, I am not trained ininvestment and I have no background on crunching financial data, I learned through the many mistakes I made and they are my best mentors. My passion is on leadership & personal development.

Although investment is a different subject altogether, I find what I have learned in self development helps in my investment’s strategies and also in other areas of my life. I believe it is the attitude, character, belief & value system that make or break us. Luckily, all of these can be changed if we have a willing heart…

Firstly, I learned from the books I read that my hard earned money need to be protected, further I also need to make it work harder for me rather than sitting in the bank.
Lesson 1: Never Believe in “lobangs”

The no 1 lesson I learned : “Never hear say some lobangs and jump into it”, only a fool does that. Always do homework, there is no free lunch and we have our part to play if we want to be an investor . I saw people attracted by the money in the stock market or property market and follow blindly. When the investment fall apart, they usually lay blames. When we justify our self, we learn nothing. Take charge of our own action and be responsible. Instead, review what are the lessons we gain. If we got the right answer, we will soon be on the road to winning and success in life. God gives us a great mind to think, do not store it in the store room or backyard….

Now assume we did the homework and understand the investment well, do not start yet unless we want to lose our money. Understanding the ups and downs, features and options of an investment is an external exercise; we also need to do the internal exercise which is our self. Most of the investment’s consultants talk about checking our capital, our risk level, to invest long or short term etc which I called technical stuffs, I find understanding our attitude, belief & behavior pattern in different situations and outcomes are equally important.

This is the psychological part of a human being and we react based on the experiences, expectations ,values & beliefs. This is important because when there is sudden change ininvestment ’s climate , or so called good lobangs etc, our emotion will decide how we play the game, our logical mind no longer take control under such situations.

For eg, we can be easily influenced; if most of our friends had did it and make money, I believe you will not want to be left behind. When so called “opportunity” strike, even low risk takers are convinced to park their money there and expect to flip it soon… Knowing our self well is like knowing our enemies in the battlefield as quoted in the Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Ininvestment, we are our biggest enemy,it is crucial to know our self well so that we can discipline our thoughts when necessary
Lesson 2: Never invest with the attitude of gaining big overnight

Lesson no 2: Never invest with the attitude of gaining big overnight. Big gain comes with big risk…and unless we are well prepared for that. Maybe we strike it right the 1st time but believe me money that comes easy, will go easy too. There are people who were destroyed by their previous success and ended up worst than before. And I can assure you, more people lose money ininvestment than winning from it. If investing is as easy as 123, there is no poor people around. If you win it big overnight, it is luck and I suggest you to keep the money properly and be really careful in futureinvestment
Lesson 3: Invest to Win

Lesson no 3: Invest to win. The confidence of winning must be 75% and above before we put the money in. Why do we want to play a game that has 50% or probably lower chance of winning? Isn’t this like gambling ? Yes, I agree ininvestment , there is risk and there is no sure win, but we do have our choice not to play the loser game ( 50% or lower is loser game for me) . I saw many doing this…when the market is hot, they rush in, worry they may miss it…When the market plunge, they panic and dump it. They have no idea where the market is heading… they react because of fear. Actually, fear can only attack us when we do not have confidence or we lose our confidence for the future. If we have confidence with the company, the industry and the economy outlook, what will we do instead? Robert Kiyosaki has recently said in an interview that such economy downturn has got little or no impact to professional investors; it only gives them more opportunities. The professional investors do value investing, and they don’t fizzle out when the investment’s climate change. They invest with confidence and there is only one reason for them to invest, that is to win.
Lesson 4: Perpare to make mistakes

Lesson no 4: Prepare to make mistakes .Even professional investors make mistakes, so do we. Accept it and see if there is anything for us to learn from the experience. Here, I like to share one of my past experiences of having an invitation in year 2000 to participate in a pre-IPO private placement by Robert Kiyosaki’sinvestment team as I get to know one of them while helping them facilitate the popular cash flow game. The company was in the mining industry preparing for listing. Will you jump onto the opportunity since they are gurus? IPO is a hot subject then… is it risky? Very! But want to take it? why not, is a rare chance to tag along professional investors.

I was ruled by greed, believing they can’t be wrong and I jumped in with little information on the industry plus never familiar with the listing criteria in the Canada Stock Exchange, all the information I had were hear say….The IPO never succeed (so guru make mistakes too) I held a paper loss and has written it off long ago. Is the experience painful? Well, actually I am glad I had a chance to learn my stupidity at my early age; otherwise the losses may be bigger now. There is no sure win, the question here is can we afford to lose when we make a mistake ? Do we move forward or dwell on it ?
Lesson 5: Action

And last but not least, lesson no 5: Action. I saw some friends who done every checks but still worry so much when fear start to take control. This is what I shared previously on taking actions. If we stay in our comfort zone, definitely it will not be the track to success; in fact it is a fast track to nowhere. Start small if we are fearful…, my opinion is that, it is good to be fearful so that we can be prudent with our money, however, do not let fear paralyze us. If we have done our best to check out what we don’t know, let’s have faith, step out with courage and confidence. If we want to change our current lifestyle, changing our self is inevitable; let’s embrace change with the right attitude and I assure you, the speed of your change in the right direction will determine the speed of your success in life.

I hope the above sharing helps, but if you are looking for professional tips on investment, I afraid I might have disappointed you. The above are valuable lessons that I have learned and it has helped me make wise decisions for my investments.

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Gold vs. Silver Now

Sumber:GoldSilver.com
WHAT'S THE CURRENT GOLD/SILVER RATIO?

Silver - With the gold: silver ratio at 65 ($1117/$17.10/oz), silver remains a compelling buy at these levels and will likely be the surprise outperformer in 2010 as it was in 2009 (up by more than 51% YTD as per table). Silver’s industrial uses should mean that the gold/silver ratio will likely gradually regress to the average in the last 100 hundred years which is close to 40:1.
If the tiny silver market was to see real funds enter it than the ration could return closer to the historical average of 15:1 as it did as recently as 1980. Silver remains less than half of its nominal record price in 1980 and very undervalued from a historical basis.

Seeking Alpha 12/15/2009

WHERE IS GOLD GOING?

Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International said the precious metal's (gold) "more likely to hit $3,000 than $800 in the next two years."

"I am bullish longer term on the U.S. and global economies, but ... I feel the die has been cast for lower fiat currency prices in years to come and a global shift out of the dollar and into commodities as the new reserve currency," he added.

Kerr listed hyperinflation, more job losses in the U.S., negative interest rates for an extended period of time, efforts to price crude oil in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and attempts by China to move a larger part of its foreign currency holdings into gold as conditions that would support a further increase in the yellow metal's prices.

Amerifutures managing director Patrick Kerr lists gold purchases by central banks, "the deepest pockets of them all," as one of his 10 reasons why gold could shoot up to between $5,000 and $10,000 an ounce.

MarketWatch 12/18/2009

WHO IS NEXT TO GO GOLD?

Central banks and their "deep pockets" have been publicly buying gold reserves for six months now. India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Korea ---> they are all seeking more gold reserves.

We believe it's not a question of "if" these countries are going to increase their gold holdings, it is merely a question of "when" further purchases are announced.

2010 is right around the corner. Are you going to be on the winning side of next decades coming wealth transfer?

The economic fundamentals warrant immediate action. History shows that moving decisively into gold and silver cannot only help in securing your financial future but during the right part of the economic cycle (which we think is now) can lead to life changing wealth.

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I achieved financial freedom at 38-by WaiYin

Sumber:http://kclau.com/make-money-tips/financial-freedom/
I like to thank KCLau for the opportunity to write here so that I can share my experiences and journey to financial freedom at the age of 38. I find KC is a man that has his reader’s interest at heart wanting them to gain the knowledge and wisdom to financial independent. And to allow me do so, I am a person with no writing skill and neither do I know how to handle techno , KC has provided me guidance and support to get me started. I am thankful for this chance to allow me to share so that I can grow at the same time.

I thought over for the last 1 week or so for this first article that I am writing with regard to what I did to be where I am now and I felt my belief and attitude has helped and guided me most in my journey.
Dream

1) Dream: I have many dreams since I was little, dream to be my own boss, dream to have my property and finally dream to be able to retire with passive income in properties. I was running my own business at the age of 28, and retired 10 yrs later at age 38. I have my first property at the age of 24. Now at age 42, I have passive income from 3 properties. Man with no dreams shall perish, so start with today, think big and have a big dream being the first step tofinancial freedom. Those who think dreaming is a silly thing to do will miss out a lot . Dare to dream , dream big !
Learn

2)Learning : A mentor always said this to me ” When we stop our learning, we are die-ing”. There are so much for us to learn, financial literacy, EQ, etc etc. Make a a new learning day everyday, anytime, anywhere. If we are observant and rise our awareness, we can learn from anybody as long as we see strength in them. Look at their positive side of the person and we will be able to learn this strength from almost everyone and not just those who are smarter or have a better education than us. On top of that, I also read quite a fair bit, not on TV or fashion magazines but on self help materials . There are so much wisdom in there .
Value Time

3) Value Time : God is fair to give each and every one of us 24 hours a day, 168 hours per week, how to effectively use this time will determine how fast we can achieve in life. As we chose where to invest our money, we should even be careful where we invest our time. However this does not mean that we cannot watch TV and lay back and rest. Rest time is equally important too as we need to have a balanced well being so that we can achieve more in life
Integrity

4)Integrity : I once told a friend, my biggest asset is my integrity. Money when we lose it, we can make it back but once our integrity is lost, it takes many years and much effort to gain it back. Our integrity build the impression of others to us, when we lost it, we lost everything. A person with integrity attracts a lot opportunities. I am very thankful to all my friends that have trusted me and given me a chance to work along with them all these years
Embrace Change and Challenges

5) Embrace change and challenges : I believe ALL successful people went through some form of challenges and changes in their journey to success, we cannot avoid this just like when we learn to walk when we are still a baby, we will fall first before we master the art of walking gracefully. It is only through the challenges that we grow to become stronger and stronger each day, so instead of avoid it, love it and embrace it .
Blessing and Appreciating

6) Blessing and appreciation : Stop complaining and start to count our blessings. No one like to mix with negative people or complain king/queen. Being negative and keep complaining stop the flow of good energy
Develop passion

7) Develop passion : No matter what job or work we accepted, develop the passion in it. When I first started my business, I started a laundry shop. Before that, I was a marketing manger in a MNC. It is such a great contrast to the work I handled before and after. As a manger, I wore jacket suits to office, attend meetings in air-con rooms and etc. But when I run mylaundry shop , I am a general worker, rolled up my sleeves, wear t-shirts, shorts and do “dirty” work, sometimes it can be very hot too when I was at the factory sorting out clothes for ironing. But I am passionate with both my work and customers. I want to delivery my best to them and our customers can feel it too. One year later, I opened my 2nd outlet…

The above are some important attitudes and beliefs that helped me in my journey to achieve what I have today. I hope you will be able to benefit from my sharing.

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Inside the mind of Singapore's Youngest Millionaire - By Adam Khoo

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ‘He still looked pretty confused. This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self Made Millionaires’). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit in first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster. Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky). I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’s Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worth's well over $5m, traveled economy class and some even drove Toyotas and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth
(no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation. Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewelry or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just gives you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what makes ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries. What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone's life. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a meaningless life.

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Assertiveness Skills

Sumber:http://www.impactfactory.com/gate/fungate_1741-4102-18850.html

* What is the Art of Saying No
* It's not Assertiveness
* Not Nice - Not Nasty
* Managing Feelings
* Saying No
* The Nice Factor Book
* Change Yourself to Change Others


What exactly is The Art of Saying No?

A lot of people just don't like the idea of having to tell people they can't do something. Or they feel obligated when a colleague asks a favour; or feel pressurised when someone senior to them needs something done.

There are even some work places where saying no is definitely frowned upon; and in, say, the police force, could be a sackable or disciplinary offence.

After having worked for some time with people where saying no either feels impossible or just isn't allowed, we created a body of work to address it. In some cases it is indeed, how to say no without ever saying the word.

Of course, there are times when saying the 'n' word is a necessity. But in our experience, there is so much anxiety around the possible consequences of using it, that people don't say anything at all, or agree to things they'd rather not, or get landed with work that isn't theirs and so on.

That can't be good for anyone, but especially the person who finds themselves staying late at the end of the day to get their own work done after they've finished everyone else's; or who swallows their resentment when they are 'volunteered' for something they don't want to do; or who quakes at the idea of having to be a bit tougher with a supplier or even someone they manage.

This is one issue we have felt so passionately about that we even wrote a book that deals with it:
The Nice Factor Book (Are you too Nice for your own good?)

This document is going to focus on one aspect of that book, which is about how to say no in a way that's manageable, deals with the difficult feelings and actually might be some fun. For a more in-depth look, do have a peek at the book.
It's Not Assertiveness

Impact Factory has been running programmes on The Art of Saying No for nearly seven years and we are often asked what the difference is between our work and assertiveness training. The reason we've been asked this is that assertiveness training has been around for some time, and people wonder if this art of saying no business isn't just more of the same.

Well, no it isn't, and here's why.

We believe the very term 'assertiveness' is limiting. For instance, people say you should be assertive rather than aggressive, as if assertiveness is the only way to deal with a difficult situation. It isn't. If you are being attacked or abused, then aggressively fighting back may well be an appropriate thing to do. The key word here is appropriate.

So yes, aggressiveness may be appropriate, assertiveness may be appropriate, but there's a greater range of choice of behaviour than those two types that could be equally appropriate.

Before we discuss them, though, we want to talk about some of the things that happen to people when what they think and feel is different from what they do.

Many 'unassertive' people recognise that their pattern of behaviour is to be nice or compliant for far longer than they really want to until they reach the point of no longer being able to hold it in; then they explode nastily and inappropriately all over whoever happens to be around.

There are three ways this 'explosion' can happen. The first is that the rage happens inside the head and remains unexpressed. The second is that it is inappropriately expressed, and someone not involved, like a work colleague or secretary or even a bus conductor, becomes the recipient. The third is properly directed at the 'offending party' but is out of all proportion to the probably small, but nonetheless final-straw-event that unleashes it.
Not Nice Not Nasty

This leaves people with the impression that there are only two states or behaviours they can do: Nice or Nasty. When, in fact, they have forgotten a whole range of behaviour that lies between Nice and Nasty that can be termed Not-Nice (or even Not-Nasty).

What we've seen with assertiveness, is that it is often seen as a single form of behaviour: just say no, stand your ground, be a broken record - all quite difficult if you are truly unassertive, or in our jargon - simply too nice for your own good. The concept of asserting yourself, (getting your voice heard, being understood, being taken into account, getting your own way) needs to be broadened to include all forms of behaviour. It can include humour, submission, irresponsibility, manipulation, playfulness, aggressiveness, etc.

The key point here is that the behaviour - nice, not-nice, nasty - is chosen. We emphasise the word key, because until people are able to choose behaviour that's free from the limiting effects of their fear of possible consequences, they will not be able to act no matter how well they are taught to be assertive. They will still feel overwhelmed in difficult situations.


Managing Feelings

It needs to be acknowledged that the strong feelings associated with changing behaviour are real and valid. Once people do that, then these (usually difficult) feelings can be looked upon as a good thing, a sign that something new is happening. At this point people can start to 'choose' to have these feelings rather than having to endure them or trying to pretend they are not happening.

The idea of choice is very important. If people feel they have real choice about how they behave, they start to realise that it can be OK to put up with something they don't like. They can choose it because they want to; it is to their advantage. They then avoid the disempowering tyranny of always having to assert themselves. (Which is almost as bad as feeling you always have to be compliant or nice.)

Many people think that in order to be assertive, you need to ignore what you are feeling and just 'stand your ground'. In fact, you ignore those feelings at your peril.

Often the magnitude of peoples' feelings is way out of proportion to what the situation warrants. They may well reflect a previous difficult event more accurately. But because that previous difficulty was so difficult, it feels as though every similar situation will be the same.

It is only by beginning to experience and understand how crippling these feelings can be that people can start to do anything about changing their behaviour. Many people know what they could say; they know what they could do. Most 'unassertive' people have conversations in their heads about how to resolve a conflict they're in; but still, their mouths say 'yes', while their heads say 'no'. Knowing what to do or say is not the issue here.

Therefore, in looking at practising 'the art of saying no', it is wise to broaden the brief to so that it isn't about becoming more assertive; rather it's about changing your behaviour to fit the circumstances.

While in many circumstances assertiveness can be a straight jacket of it's own (often creating resistance and resentment), the full lexicon of behaviour can be freeing, because there is choice in the matter. Using charm, humour, telling the truth or even deliberate manipulation, may well get you what you want without having to attempt behaviour that may go against your personality.

If you add a dash of fun or mischief, The Art of Saying No becomes a doable prospect, rather than another difficult mountain to climb.
Saying No

Here are some pointers of what could make it easier to say 'no'.

If you're saying something serious, notice whether you smile or not. Smiling gives a mixed message and weakens the impact of what you're saying.

If someone comes over to your desk and you want to appear more in charge, stand up. This also works when you're on the phone. Standing puts you on even eye level and creates a psychological advantage.

If someone sits down and starts talking to you about what they want, avoid encouraging body language, such as nods and ahas. Keep your body language as still as possible.

Avoid asking questions that would indicate you're interested (such as, 'When do you need it by?' or 'Does it really have to be done by this afternoon?' etc.)

It's all right to interrupt! A favourite technique of ours is to say something along the lines of, 'I'm really sorry; I'm going to interrupt you.' Then use whatever tool fits the situation. If you let someone have their whole say without interrupting, they could get the impression you're interested and willing. All the while they get no message to the contrary, they will think you're on board with their plan (to get you to do whatever...)

Pre-empt. As soon as you see someone bearing down on you (and your heart sinks because you know they're going to ask for something), let them know you know: 'Hi there! I know what you want. You're going to ask me to finish the Henderson report. Wish I could help you out, but I just can't.'

Pre-empt two. Meetings are a great place to get landed with work you don't want. You can see it coming. So to avoid the inevitable, pre-empt, 'I need to let everyone know right at the top, that I can't fit anything else into my schedule for the next two weeks (or whatever).'

Any of these little tips can help you feel more confident and will support your new behaviour. For that's what this is: If you're someone whom others know they can take advantage (they may not even be doing it on purpose, you're just an easy mark!) you need to indicate by what you do that things have changed.


Here's an Analogy we use in The Nice Factor Book:

Let's say you're a burglar. There's a row of identical houses and you're thinking of having a go at five of them. The first house has a Yale lock on the front door. The second house has a Yale and a Chubb lock on the front door. The third house has a Yale and a Chubb lock on the front door and bars on the window. The fourth house has a Yale and a Chubb lock on the front door, bars on the window and burglar alarm. The fifth house has a Yale and a Chubb lock on the front door, bars on the window, a burglar alarm and a Rottweiler.
Which would you burgle?

When you make it easy for other people, they will naturally keep coming back. By learning more effective ways of saying 'no' you make it harder for others to expect you to do what they want without taking into account what's going on for you. You become more burglar-proof.


Changing Others by Changing Yourself

A lot of us wish that the person we are in conflict with, or feel intimidated by, would change. Then everything would be all right. We've all heard this from a colleague, friend, partner and even said it ourselves: 'If only he'd listen to me, then I wouldn't be so frightened.' 'If only she'd stop complaining about my work, I'd be much happier.'

'If only' puts the onus on the other person to change how and who they are and makes them responsible for how we feel. By using some of the tools outlined above, people can get a sense of being in charge of situations, rather than being victims to what other people want.

It does seem to be part of human nature to blame others when things go wrong in our lives, or when we're feeling hard done by. If you take away the 'if only' excuse you also take away the need to blame and make the other person wrong. It's also rather wonderful to think that rather than waiting for someone else to change to make things all right, we all have the ability to take charge of most situations and make them all right for ourselves.

What also makes it easier is that we all just have to get better at 'the art of saying no'; none of us has to change our whole personalities to create a more satisfying outcome!

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The Gentle Art of Saying No

Sumber:http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/the-gentle-art-of-saying-no.html
It’s a simple fact that you can never be productive if you take on too many commitments — you simply spread yourself too thin and will not be able to get anything done, at least not well or on time.

But requests for your time are coming in all the time — through phone, email, IM or in person. To stay productive, and minimize stress, you have to learn the Gentle Art of Saying No — an art that many people have problems with.

What’s so hard about saying no? Well, to start with, it can hurt, anger or disappoint the person you’re saying “no” to, and that’s not usually a fun task. Second, if you hope to work with that person in the future, you’ll want to continue to have a good relationship with that person, and saying “no” in the wrong way can jeopardize that.

But it doesn’t have to be difficult or hard on your relationship. Here are the Top 10 tips for learning the Gentle Art of Saying No:

1. Value your time. Know your commitments, and how valuable your precious time is. Then, when someone asks you to dedicate some of your time to a new commitment, you’ll know that you simply cannot do it. And tell them that: “I just can’t right now … my plate is overloaded as it is.”
2. Know your priorities. Even if you do have some extra time (which for many of us is rare), is this new commitment really the way you want to spend that time? For myself, I know that more commitments means less time with my wife and kids, who are more important to me than anything.
3. Practice saying no. Practice makes perfect. Saying “no” as often as you can is a great way to get better at it and more comfortable with saying the word. And sometimes, repeating the word is the only way to get a message through to extremely persistent people. When they keep insisting, just keep saying no. Eventually, they’ll get the message.
4. Don’t apologize. A common way to start out is “I’m sorry but …” as people think that it sounds more polite. While politeness is important, apologizing just makes it sound weaker. You need to be firm, and unapologetic about guarding your time.
5. Stop being nice. Again, it’s important to be polite, but being nice by saying yes all the time only hurts you. When you make it easy for people to grab your time (or money), they will continue to do it. But if you erect a wall, they will look for easier targets. Show them that your time is well guarded by being firm and turning down as many requests (that are not on your top priority list) as possible.
6. Say no to your boss. Sometimes we feel that we have to say yes to our boss — they’re our boss, right? And if we say “no” then we look like we can’t handle the work — at least, that’s the common reasoning. But in fact, it’s the opposite — explain to your boss that by taking on too many commitments, you are weakening your productivity and jeopardizing your existing commitments. If your boss insists that you take on the project, go over your project or task list and ask him/her to re-prioritize, explaining that there’s only so much you can take on at one time.
7. Pre-empting. It’s often much easier to pre-empt requests than to say “no” to them after the request has been made. If you know that requests are likely to be made, perhaps in a meeting, just say to everyone as soon as you come into the meeting, “Look guys, just to let you know, my week is booked full with some urgent projects and I won’t be able to take on any new requests.”
8. Get back to you. Instead of providing an answer then and there, it’s often better to tell the person you’ll give their request some thought and get back to them. This will allow you to give it some consideration, and check your commitments and priorities. Then, if you can’t take on the request, simply tell them: “After giving this some thought, and checking my commitments, I won’t be able to accommodate the request at this time.” At least you gave it some consideration.
9. Maybe later. If this is an option that you’d like to keep open, instead of just shutting the door on the person, it’s often better to just say, “This sounds like an interesting opportunity, but I just don’t have the time at the moment. Perhaps you could check back with me in [give a time frame].” Next time, when they check back with you, you might have some free time on your hands.
10. It’s not you, it’s me. This classic dating rejection can work in other situations. Don’t be insincere about it, though. Often the person or project is a good one, but it’s just not right for you, at least not at this time. Simply say so — you can compliment the idea, the project, the person, the organization … but say that it’s not the right fit, or it’s not what you’re looking for at this time. Only say this if it’s true — people can sense insincerity.

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Say YES to Yourself with a Personal "Don't-Do" Policy

Sumber:http://chinkk98.blogspot.com/
by Jack Canfield

Our world is a highly competitive and over stimulating place, and more and more concentration is needed every day just to stay focused on completing your daily tasks and pursuing your long-term goals.

With the explosion of communications technology we are more accessible to more people than ever before. Complete strangers can reach you by telephone, cell phone, pager, fax, regular mail, express mail and e-mail.

They can e-mail and instant message you at home, at work and on your hand held smart-phone. And with the explosion of social media, requests now find their way to us on our Facebook and Linked-In accounts.

It seems everyone wants a piece of you!

Your kids want rides or to borrow the car, your co-workers want your input on projects that are not your responsibility, your boss wants you to work overtime, your sister wants you to take her kids for the weekend, your child’s school wants you to bake four dozen cookies for teacher appreciation day, your mother wants you to come over and fix her screen door, your best friend wants to talk about his impending divorce, a local charity wants you to head up a committee, and your neighbor wants to borrow your van.

Not to mention the endless slews of telemarketers who want you to subscribe to the local newspaper, contribute to the nearby wildlife sanctuary or transfer all of your credit card debt over to their new card. Even your pets are clamoring for more attention!

We suffer from overload at work—taking on more than we can comfortably deliver in an unconscious desire to impress others, get ahead, and keep up with others’ expectations. Meanwhile our top priorities go unaddressed.

How much time do you waste with projects and activities that you really don’t want to do simply because you are uncomfortable saying no?

Success depends on getting good at saying no without feeling guilty. You cannot get ahead with your own goals if you are always saying yes to someone else’s projects. You can only get ahead with your desired lifestyle if you are focused on the things that will produce that lifestyle.

You will have to structure your work and life so that you are focusing your time, effort, energies, and resources only on projects, opportunities, and people that give you a huge return on your efforts. You are going to have to create stronger boundaries about what you will and won't do.

Most of us are busy, but undisciplined. We are active, but not focused. We are moving, but not always in the right direction. By creating a stop-doing list as well as a to-do list, you will bring more discipline and focus into your life

Start by creating a stop-doing list as soon as possible! Then make the things on your list “policies.” People respond to policies. They understand a policy as a boundary. They will respect you more for being clear about what you won’t do.

For example, some of my “don’t do” policies on a personal level are:

* I never lend my car to anyone for any reason.
* I don’t lend money. I am not a bank.
* We don’t schedule outside social events on Friday night. That is our family night.
* I don’t discuss contributions over the phone. Send me something in writing.

On a business level some of my “don’t do” policies are:

* I don’t give endorsements for books of fiction.
* I have a policy of not lending my books to other people. They rarely come back, and they are the source of my livelihood, so I don’t lend them out.)
* I don’t schedule more than five talks in one month.
* I no longer co-author books with first-time authors. Their learning curve is too expensive.
* I don’t do individual counseling or coaching. There is greater leverage in working with a group.
* Except for when I am doing a new book tour, I don’t schedule more than two radio interviews in a day.

It is very easy to say what your policies are, and you don’t even have to use the word no!

People respect policies. And it’s likely that no one will take your policy personally, they’ll realize it’s a boundary you have set for all occasions.

Be brave in saying no, stay focused on your higher goals and let people know that you are committed to those goals. People will respect your clarity and drive.

Remember, just as you are in control of your feelings and attitudes, other people are in control of theirs, so if they do get upset with you for saying no…well that is a choice they make for themselves.

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10 Little Things that Make a Big Difference

Sumber:http://chinkk98.blogspot.com/2009/11/10-little-things-that-make-big.html
By Molly Burke

It's the little things that count, it's true. We, all of us, have myriad opportunities every day to imbue the little things in our lives with enough power to make a big difference. It's easy, and it's fun. In the process, you'll gain goodwill, confidence and karma points. Ready?

Here they are, 10 little, kinda slightly random but ultimately powerful things that make a big difference.

1. Say "Thank you."
Such a small thing, but the effect it has on everything around you is profound. Gratitude is a force so powerful that it transforms the giver, the receiver, and the world at large simultaneously. Heartfelt gratitude, humbly expressed, heals as it praises. Write it on your checks as you pay your bills. Write it under your name on the checks you endorse. Look your food server, checker, toll taker, garbage man, crossing guard right in the eye and say "Thank you for doing this" and watch what happens. This is such a simple way to pay it forward, and it has such long lasting positive repercussions that you would be well served to make it a principle part of your spiritual practices. I'll be writing a whole series of blogs and articles about gratitude very soon, because this one concept can change your life for the better forever, starting right now.

2. Yield the right of way.
Let someone into your lane in front of you on the freeway, or the streets. Suggest that the person with a few items go before you with your full shopping cart. Step aside and let the harried mommy with the stroller and tagalongs through the door that you hold open with smile. Wait patiently while the elderly man tells his stories to the waitress, even if it means your breakfast will take a few minutes longer. Believe me when I tell you that doing all these things will give you a greater sense of community, deeper compassion, and it will serve to significantly calm YOU down when you're feeling stressed and hurried. Kindness expands, and it fills the space with goodwill and cooperation.

3. Give sincere praise.
Everyone I know appreciates being appreciated, though how they prefer it to be expressed varies. But overall, and with very few exceptions, an honest compliment is always welcome. It can create instant rapport, and bridge many an awkward gap. Do NOT, however, use it in lieu of a gratuity when encountering service staff. Layer the compliment atop a generous tip and watch what happens.

4. Be a generous tipper.
This may seem like an extravagance, and I am not condoning subsidizing bad service, but remember that our economic system is not set up to adequately compensate waiters, bartenders, valets and such. In addition, service personnel are assessed taxes on your tip whether or not you actually tip them, so do them a favor and give a bit more. They're working hard at a job you probably wouldn't do, or have done before when you were younger, so give 'em at least 20%. Unless they suck, at which time you should talk to their manager anyway.

5. Listen.
You were given two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion. Listening makes you appear more charming, too, so there's a bonus.

6. Floss.
Flossing alone can add 6+ years to your "real age". Don't forget to brush first. As a matter of fact, flossing is the one thing you can do that can affect not only your oral health, but the health of your heart, as well. Plaque is plaque, after all, and is not good anywhere. Floss!

7. Send a card.
Snail mail correspondence is a lost art. To make a big impression and touch someone's heart, send a short handwritten note inside a lovely card. The time and expense you incur will pay huge dividends in goodwill.

8. Pick up trash.
Yours, others, random trash. Pick it up, and put it in a trash can or recycling bin. It's the right thing to do, and it expresses pride of place, simple responsibility, and a commitment to improving the overall health of the planet as you act ever so locally. Teach your children to pick it up, theirs as well as the trash of others. Beautify the world.

9. Use your manners.
Good manners are social lubricant. They oil the machine of humanity. Using good manners conveys respect, both for self and for others. Civility in conversation allows everyone the opportunity to express themselves fully and be heard. Meaningful discourse naturally ensues. Good manners are the foundation of polite society, and politeness can be both charming and disarming. Use good manners and social graces to woo your love, court a client, ease your way with authority. You'll go far with good manners.

10. Share.
Whether it's your cookies or your time, share. Every single person reading this has something, some talent, some time, some money, some compassion, and some fun that they could share with others. This is an abundant Universe, with plenty for everyone, if we'd only share. So, share.

So there you have it. 10 little things that make a big difference. One by one, not so huge. Together, they make a glorious way to go through life. But more than that, these 10 little tips are concrete, attainable and immediate ways to shift your energy, your point of view, and the way the world works. Practice them regularly, and be prepared for a dramatic increase in abundance, personal confidence, ease and grace. It's all good.

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7 Disciplines for High Performance

Sumber:http://chinkk98.blogspot.com/
By Brian Tracy

There are seven disciplines you must develop if you want to achieve all that is possible for you. You can learn these disciplines through practice and repetition until they become automatic.

Goal Setting
Every morning, take three to five minutes to write out your top goals in the present tense. Get a spiral notebook for this purpose. By writing out your ten goals at the beginning of each day, you will program them deep into your subconscious mind.

This daily goal writing will activate your mental powers. It will stimulate your mind and make you more alert. Throughout the day, you will see opportunities and possibilities to move more rapidly toward your goals.

Planning and Organizing
Take a few minutes, preferably the night before, to plan out every activity of the coming day. Always work from a list. Always think on paper. This is one of the most powerful and important disciplines of all for high performance.

Priority Setting
The essence of all time management, personal management, and life management is contained in your ability to set the proper priorities on the use of your time. This is essential for high performance.

Concentration on your Highest-Value Activities
Your ability to work single-mindedly on your most important task will contribute as much to your success as any other discipline you can develop.

Exercise and Proper Nutrition
Your health is more important than anything else. By disciplining yourself to exercise regularly and to eat carefully, you will promote the highest possible levels of health and fitness throughout your life.

Learning and Growth
Your mind is like a muscle. If you don't use it, you lose it. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.

Time for Important People in your Life
Relationships are everything. Be sure that in climbing the ladder of success, you do not find it leaning against the wrong building. Build time for your relationships into every day, no matter how busy you get.

Action Exercise
These seven disciplines will ensure that you perform at the highest level and get the greatest satisfaction and results from everything you do. Study these seven disciplines and then make a plan for how you can incorporate each of them into your daily life.

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6 Factors To Consider Before Purchase Your First Car

Sumber:http://moneymagnet2.blogspot.com/2009/11/6-factors-to-consider-before-purchase.html
For those who just graduated and are planning to enter the workforce, a car is an important element. For example in Kuching, most of us drive to work. We cannot rely on the public transport. The local public transport is limited, inconvenient and not punctual.

There are several important factors to consider before you purchase your first car. I listed the factors as below:

1) Ability to pay the monthly repayment (car loan)
I listed this as the most important factor. One must know their budget well before they sign on the hire purchase agreement. Most bank will require a monthly income of at least three times from the monthly hire purchase instalment. To be on the safe side, I think it is a good idea if the monthly installment is 25% of our monthly salary. This will leave more space for our
money to grow.

2) Fuel consumption of the car
Unless someone else pay for your car fuel, you should really consider whether the type of the car that you are going to buy is high fuel consuming or not. I heard a lot of cases where one had to spend the same amount of car monthly installment for their car fuel. Bear in mind, the fuel price is increasing from time to time. It is wise to choose a car which requite less fuel for you to move around. It is environmental friendly too.

3) Yearly insurance of the car
Do check how much you have to pay for the car insurance. And do bear in mind that every year this should be in your budget. As no car is allowed to be on the road without an insurance.

4) Yearly road tax of the car
Imported cars and bigger car will require a higher road tax compare to locally made cars. The road tax also should be in your yearly budget.

5) Functionality of the car
Do you need a sedan car for your family? Or most of the time you travel alone? For family car, you will need a bigger car. And you will only require a small car if you are driving alone most
of the time.

6) Availability of spare parts
This is another factor which is always not in the considerations list of a new car buyers. It is normal for us to expect a brand new car to be able to serve us at least until we finish pay the car loan. But, unfortunately, even for brand new imported cars, someday, some parts will need to be changed and replaced. May be due to accidents or other matter. Try to get information on the car spare parts. You will not wish to know that, later, you will have to wait for months for the spare parts to be send from the original country. Or worse, the spare part is not more in production.

I do hope the above will provide first time car buyers with some information.

Anymore factors which I missed out? Do add in and share with me.

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5 Rahsia Kewangan

Sumber:http://usahawanbistari.blogspot.com/

Saya akan dedahkan 5 sebab mengapa ramai orang yang tidak akan menjadi kaya... dan bagaimana anda tidak menjadi salah salah seorang daripada mereka.
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Apabila anda tahu tentang rahsia ini dan buat apa yang mereka telah lakukan, anda akan menjadi seperti mereka. Sebaliknya, jika anda tidak faham dan buat apa yang mereka tidak lakukan, anda tidak akan kaya.
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Konsepnya cukup mudah tapi itulah hakikatnya.
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Selepas mengetahui 5 sebab ini, hidup saya mula berubah. Dan sekarang giliran anda pula. Berikut adalah 5 sebab mengapa ramai orang susah untuk menjadi kaya dan bagaimana anda tidak menjadi seperti mereka!
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Sebab #1 : Menunggu Untuk Bermula

Hampir semua orang tidak mahu menunggu untuk berjaya. Tetapi, pada masa yang sama, mereka sanggup menunggu untuk mula melangkah ke arah kejayaan. Nampakkah anda masalahnya disini?

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Lagi lama anda menunggu untuk bermula, lama lagi untuk anda menjana wang, kejayaan dan gaya hidup yang anda mahukan. Ramai orang yang menunggu sehingga semuanya sempurna sebelum mereka bertindak. Oleh sebab itu, mereka tidak akan bergerak dan tidak akan mendapat ganjarannya.

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Tiada perlumbaan yang akan dimenangi (atau diakhiri) oleh seseorang yang tidak melepasi garis permulaaan. Jangan menunggu untuk bertindak. Mulakan hari ini dengan melangkah ke arah kejayaan.
.~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~~=~=~=~=~=

Sebab #2 : Ilmu Kewangan Yang Teruk

Kunci kekayaan terletak kepada pemahaman tentang aset dan liabiliti. Perbezaannya saya ringkaskan disini: Aset adalah sesuatu yang masukkan duit ke poket anda. Hutang pula ialah sesuatu yang keluarkan duit dari poket anda.
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Aset : Wang masyuk

Liabiliti: Wang keluar

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Ramai orang yang berfikir bahawa rumah, kereta dan harta benda adalah aset mereka. Tetapi, yang sebenarnya ialah hampir semuanya menyebabkan anda keluarkan wang dari poket anda. Mereka MAHUKAN wang daripada anda. Mereka tidak BERIKAN anda wang.

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Oleh itu, daripada definisi diatas, semuanya itu adalah liabiliti = hutang!
Bila anda mempunyai wang yang banyak MASUK daripada aset yang sebenar daripada wang yang KELUAR untuk membayar liabiliti, anda akan bebas dari segi kewangan. Hanya terdapat satu cara untuk anda lakukannya. Dan ianyamembawa kita kepada...

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Sebab #3 : Fokus kepada pendapatan aktif daripada pasif
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Salah seorang jutawan yang saya kenali pernah memberi nasihat dengan selamba. Beliau berkata "Jika anda tidak buat duit semasa tidur, anda tidak akan kaya."

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Pendapatan aktif adalah gaji yang anda dapat daripada bekerja. Anda bekerja sejam dan mendapat bayaran untuk sejam bekerja dan sampai di situ sahaja.

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Pendapatan pasif ialah anda bekerja sekali sahaja tetapi terus mendapat bayaran tanpa putus daripada kerja yang tidak lagi anda lakukan. Dengan membuat pelaburan atau mencipta aset sebenar yang memberikan pendapatan pasif kepada anda adalah tiket untuk anda menuju kekayaan.

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Sebab #4 : Tidak faham atau tidak gunakan sistem menjana duit

..
Sistem buat duit ialah sesuatu aktiviti yang boleh buat duit untuk anda tanpa perlu kerja. Dengan lain perkataan, ianya satu sistem yang buat duit secara automatik.

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Aset yang sebenar hanyalah satu sistem atau yang berkait dengannya. Selepas anda mencipta atau gunakan satu sistem buat duit,tiada had berapa banyak duit yang boleh anda perolehi. Dengan menjadi pakar kepada sistem duit akan membawa kekayaan diluar dugaan anda.

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Sebab #5 : Tidak cukup sabar dan tiada keazaman
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Untuk menamatkan apa juga perlumbaan, anda mesti memecut daripada garisan permulaan dan mengikut terus sehingga ke garisan penamat.
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Ramai orang yang mencipta kegagalan mereka samada tidak bermula langsung atau tidak tamatkan, atau kedua-duanya sekali.
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Untuk menjana kekayaan, berjaya dan hidup bahagia anda mestilah mempunyai kesabaran dan keazaman untuk tiba ke garisan penamat. Anda bukan sahaja perlu bermula,tetapi mesti tabah mengharungi semuanya.
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Bunyinya mungkin sudah jelas, tetapi ianya masih menjadi punca kegagalan sesorang.
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Sebab itulah jika anda sanggup menyertai 5 peratus mereka yang mengikut 5 perkara diatas, anda mempunyai peluang yang besar untuk menempa kejayaan dan kemewahan.
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Ianya cukup mudah... anda perlu membuat keputusan untuk mengikut perkara di atas dan lihat perubahan pada hidup anda nanti. Tetapi, jika tidak, seperti kebanyakan orang lain anda tetap seperti sekarang, sama seperti dulu. Inilah masanya untuk anda membuat keputusan.

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Tips On How To Save Petrol

Sumber:http://www.alantanblog.com/petrol-hike/tips-on-how-to-save-petrol.html
With the hefty fuel price hike, I’m sure the question on everyone’s mind right now is how to improve your petrol consumption and save money on petrol.

Here are a few things I’ve been doing since the last fuel price hike to improve on my petrol consumption and minimize my petrol bill:

1) PUMP UP YOUR TYRES TO YOUR TYRE SPECIFICATION

Properly inflated tyres can bring you some petrol savings and improve your driving experience. Keeping your tyres inflated is one of the easiest and most important things one can do to improve fuel economy. The Tyre specification is stated clearly on it tyre Itself!

2) AVOID SPEEDING

Even if you drive very fast always keep to a certain speed limit. When you go above a certain speed limit, your car starts to face strong wind resistance. This threshold will depend on your car’s aerodynamics, but generally anything over 80 km/h means you are using up extra petrol just to overcome wind resistance.

Driving below the speed limit also saves money indirectly by avoiding traffic summons, and keeping you safe from accidents.

2) SWITCH OFF ACCESSORIES BEFORE START
Switch off all power consuming accessories like Radio, air-condition etc. before switching on the ignition so as to minimize battery load during the next start.

3) AVOID STRONG ACCELERATION
Eliminate strong acceleration (sudden acceleration from idle). It wastes fuel. Accelerate slowly when starting from dead stop. Accelerating suddenly, or jack rabbit starts will burn more petrol because you are using a lot of energy to get your car moving.

4) PUTTING YOUR CAR GEAR INTO NEUTRAL WHEN IN IDLE
When sitting at a set of traffic lights or in traffic for an extended length of time, put your car into neutral or park. This can save a significant amount of fuel.

5) SHUT ALL YOUR CAR WINDOWS.
Shutting all your car windows while driving will make your car more aerodynamic. This will improve your car’s fuel efficiency. Driving with them open drastically reduces your fuel efficiency. In highway driving, over 50% of the power produced by the engine is used to overcome aerodynamic drag.

6) TRAVEL LIGHT
Avoid carrying any unnecessary weight in your car. On the average, every 50kg added load in your car will increase fuel consumption by 2%.

7) PLAN AHEAD

Plan ahead so that you make a single round trip, instead of making many individual trips to do different errands. Traffic jams are terrible for fuel consumption. There’s a lot of starting, stopping, idling and excessive acceleration to prevent others from cutting into your lane. Take alternative routes to avoid traffic jams, or plan your trip to avoid rush hour traffic.

Accelerations and decelerations waste fuel. Braking and abrupt stops can be minimized by not following too closely and slowing down gradually when approaching a red light. It takes up to six times as much fuel to move a car from a dead stop than it does for one moving at just a few km/h.

PERIODIC CAR MAINTENANCE

Service your car regularly to Ensure it is in good condition all the time. A well maintained car will improve your petrol mileage.

9) SWITCH TO NATURAL GAS VEHICLE(NGV)

You can see that most of the cars queuing up at natural gas pumps are taxis. Now more and more cars joining the queue.

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Important! When buying 2nd hand homes

Sumber:http://www.facebook.com/#/notes/hartanahnet/important-when-buying-2nd-hand-homes/119923117795
Before you rush into paying your down payment for that nice house, why not spend a little time running through these items first?

1. Find out more about the house.

Talk to the neighbours, surf the net or just ask around for a history into the area and what kind of news made it to the newspaper. That way you’ll be less likely to be surprised by strange things happening to you or the house that may have been caused by previous owners.

2. Check the amenities in the house.

2nd hand houses may come with problems that can range from a stuck toilet, leaking faucet or even a broken window. Make sure to inspect every room in the house and test all the amenities. Make sure there are no water damaged walls and ceilings.

3. Make sure the structure of the house is stable and in good condition.

This includes foundation, walls, floors, ceiling, roof and attic. Watch out for water penetration and structural damage like floor beams that have been cut or altered. Any irregularities like warping, bulging or cracks can be signs of much bigger problems hiding.

If all satisfactory, the next thing that should be of concern is; Financing and legal.

- Try to negotiate for a minimal booking fee… normally 1% to 3% is the norm. Make sure that in the booking receipt, it is stated that the booking fee is refundable in the event that you fail to secure a loan on time.

- The rule of thumb is, you need to pay off the remaining downpayment (normally 10% of selling price) in 14 days and sign off the SPA then. However this is also negotiable.

- If you’re withdrawing your EPF to purchase , remember to bring your signed SPA to apply.

- If you’re applying for a loan, the bank will run a few things to process your application. This includes getting a valuer to ensure the selling price is as per the market, legal processes, etc. (This can easily take 2-6 months) Most of the time, you will have to bear the cost of these processes. However, try to get a ZERO ENTRY loan so that the bank will absorb your:

Processing fee
Property valuation fee
All legal fees pertaining to loan agreement including scale legal fees, stamp duties, caveat, disbursement fees, search,
- Most of the time, you are expected to settle all loan approvals and final agreements in 3 + 1 months where the seller can choose to terminate the contract due to non-payment.

Fees you need to be prepared for as a buyer (May differ from case to case)


1. Lawyer fees for SPA (1% on the first RM100,000.00, 0.5% on the next RM4,900,000.00, 0.25% on the remainder).
2. Stamp duty for property transfer - At the moment any property below RM250,000 is entitled you to 50% exemption on stamp duty. (1% on the first RM100,000.00, 2% on the next RM400,000.00, 3% on the nest RM1,500,000.00 and 4% on the remainder)
3. Cukai Tanah and Cukai Pintu.
4. Restoration/ renovation (if required)
5. Permit for renovation (if required)
6. MRTA - Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (Very important)
7. Utilities deposits

ps: Although not entirely truthful, it is quite common that under an agreement between buyer and the seller/agent, selling price of the property is stated at a slightly higher price so that a higher amount of loan can be applied. That way, you get a bit of extra cash to pay for unexpected expenses. HOWEVER, please do not abuse this. Any extreme hiking up of the price of a property may get you sued for fraud.

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Teknik Pelaburan Strategik Cara Jutawan

Sumber:http://www.buatbisnes.biz/usahawan/teknikpelaburanjutawan.html
Teknik ini biasa digunakan oleh jutawan dalam mengandakan wang mereka. Terdapat 3 prinsip simpanan yang biasa mereka gunakan.


Prinsip Pertama:
Lebih cepat anda menyimpan lebih senang
Tahukah anda seorang yang berumur 25 tahun menyimpan sebanyak RM100 sebulan (RM1,200 setahun) akan mengumpul RM349,000 apabila beliau berumur 65 tahun ( faedah sebanyak 8% setahun)? Jika beliau bertangguh selama setahun, “kerugian” sebanyak RM27,800. Jika beliau menunggu selama 5 tahun, jumlahnya kurang sebanyak RM120,000 selepas mencapai tempoh persaraan, dan jika menunggu sehingga 10 tahun jumlah akan berkurangan sebanyak RM200,000! Dengan RM100 sebulan, jumlah yang disimpan selama 10 tahun ialah RM12,000 tetapi kekayaan yang hilang ialah RM200,000.
Ini adalah satu impak daripada faedah kompund iaitu wang yang dilaburkan akan dikenakan faedah setiap tahun. Ia seperti pengembala kambing yang mendapat 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 dan seterusnya apabila kambing-kambingnya beranak dan beranak.
Adalah sesuatu yang rugi jika anda masih menunggu, dan ia seakan tregedi jika anda tidak menyimpan langsung. Mulakan menyimpan hari ini, kerajaan telah menyediakan ASN, ASB, Wawasan 2020 dan sebagainya untuk anda mula menyimpan.


Prinsip Kedua:
Bila anda menyimpan sama penting dengan berapa banyak anda menyimpan
Katakan dua orang yang sama umurnya telah menyimpan RM5,000 setahun selama 15 tahun. Jumlah ialah RM75,000. yang pertama menyimpan dari umur 20 hingga 35, sebelum berkahwin. Orang yang kedua menyimpan jumlah yang sama tetapi selepas anak-anaknya bekerja. Beliau menyimpan sebanyak RM75,000 dari umur 55 hingga 65.
Semasa berumur 65 tahun, orang yang pertama jumlah simpanannya menjadi RM750,000! – 10 kali daripada jumlah yang disimpan. Ia merupakan satu perbezaan yang besar daripada orang yang kedua yang mengumpul hanya RM75,000, walaupun kedua-duanya menyimpan jumlah yang sama. Perbezaannya ialah bukan berapa banyak yang disimpan tetapi bila simpanan itu mula dibuat.

Kesimpulannya ialah kita perlu menyimpan seberapa banyak yang boleh dan seawal yang boleh!

Prinsip Ketiga:


Berapa banyak anda simpan adalah lebih penting daripada berapa banyak pendapatan anda
Nampaknya seperti membingungkan, tetapi anda tidak perlu mempunyai pendapatan besar untuk menjadi kaya. Dinegara maju, ramai orang dengan pendapatan biasa sahaja telah menjadi kaya kerana mereka berjimat dan menyimpan lebih banyak daripada orang lain.
Mereka yang dengan konsisten boleh menyimpan lebih daripada 10 peratus akan menjadi lebih kaya dengan cepat daripada mereka yang tidak menyimpan. Contohnya satu keluarga yang berpendapatan RM30,000 setahun. Katakan mereka berjimat dan berjaya menyimpan 25% daripada pendapatan sebulan dibank, menjadi RM7,500 setahun (RM625 sebulan). Selepas 25 tahun, pendapatan yang dikumpul ialah RM594,000.


Sekarang bandingkan dengan keluarga yang berpendapatan RM50,000 setahun, tetapi mereka suka membazir dan hanya menyimpan sebanyak 5% daripada pendapatan atau RM2,500 setahun (RM208.33 sebulan). Selepas 25 tahun, pendapatan terkumpul dibank ialah hanya RM198,000.
Sekarang anda sudah mengetahui rahsia teknik pelaburan yang biasa digunakan oleh professional dan jutawan.

Bincangkan bersama-sama keluarga anda dan saya harap anda dapat menyimpan secepat mungkin!

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New homes vs. Old homes

Sumber:http://www.facebook.com/notes/hartanahnet/new-homes-vs-old-homes/152079487795
As much as I’d like to say there is a tried and tested formula to help you decide if a new or old property is more suitable for you, there isn’t.

The decision lies with you depending on your tolerance of certain issues.

Thus, I can only list out a list of pros and cons of a new home vs. an old one for your own evaluation.

Ask yourself this first:

* What kind of neighborhood am I interested in?
* How much am I willing to spend on the house?
* Do I have the time and money to invest in renovation projects and home improvement?
* How long do I plan to live in this house?

Issues

NEW

OLD

Location

Most established neighborhoods are in town’s center

Generally situated in outskirts. May cause extra expense of daily commute

Cost of ownership

Less expensive per square foot. But ownership costs are considered more predictable, considering cost of upgrade and remodeling. Can negotiate.

Price is more expensive and there are most probably hidden costs involved. Most of the time not negotiable. Cost per square foot is high.

Moving in

House is ready for occupancy.

Have to wait for completion.

Neighbourhood

Neighbourhood is already there before you. Tend to be more diverse in terms of backgrounds as people have moved in and out.

New and most of the time are homogeneous. You will most likely find your clicks in there as the thing that attracted you to staying there is the same thing that attracted them. You create your neighborhood lifestyle.

Living Space and designs

Most older homes have larger land as cost of land is lower during those times.

New properties tend to cost more per square foot, thus reducing size of living space in exchange for affordability

Customization

Fixtures, walls, and doors designs are already intact for you to move in to. Customization may mean a whole revamp that may lose the charm that drew you to it in the first place.

Completely up to you to decorate.

Security

Old properties may have lesser security features. Unless previous owner is a security focused person.

A lot of new properties now come gated, installed with alarm systems, automatic gates or simply have stronger doors and systems to prevent burglary.

Landscaping

With more land, there is more freedom for your creativity. However, if the previous owner is an avid gardener, he might have already left his mark.

Chances are, land is limited unless you buy a more expensive property.

Maintenance

If previous owner did not do a good job upkeeping the place, maintenance can be a real problem. Building materials may be harder to replace to match the old ones.

New properties come with at least a 1 year warranty for repair of some problems.

So it really depends on individuals what they are looking for. Some may find living in outskirts has its attraction as it’s less hectic and don’t mind the extra travelling time. Some thinks it’s not a good idea.

I hope the above comparison chart has at least brought to your attention the pros and cons for both types of properties. And will help you in making your decision.

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How to snap property picture with any camera

By Hasnuddin Abu Samah (fototeacher.com)

There are very few simple steps to shoot property picture that helps you sell your property faster on the internet. You don’t need a professional camera for that. Any basic point and shoot camera will do the job. You can even use your mobile phone camera if you like. The most important thing here is the technique.


USE THE HIGHEST QUALITY IMAGE CAPTURE
Before you start shooting, don’t forget to set your digital camera to capture the image in its highest quality with the largest size. In other words, the picture file must be as large as possible. With this setting, you can get the best quality picture in terms of sharpness, tone and color.

BEST TIME OF THE DAY
The best time to shoot the property picture is early in the morning (around 8.00am-9.00am) or late in the evening (around 5.00pm-6.00pm). At these times, the sun is quite low on the horizon, giving you a nice side lighting. The sunlight is also not too harsh as in the afternoon, and there are no ugly shadows during that time. Additionally, the early morning and late evening sunlight will give you a warm and slightly diffused lighting effect. In the art of photography, good lighting means good pictures!

CORRECT ANGLE OF THE LIGHT
To get the best picture, the sunlight must not come from the back of your subject. This will usually make the subject appear dark in the picture and you will not be able to capture the details of the property. The light should be coming either from the side or from the front of your subject. It’s good if you know the position of the sun according to the property beforehand.

GET THE BEST ANGLE
Don’t just stand in front of the property and snap the picture. Move and look around for the best angle. Maybe the property looks better from the side or maybe its look better from a high angle. Take as many shots as possible from various angles. You can decide later which angle is the best for your subject.

TAKE OUT THE RUBBISH
A property should look good in a picture, especially if you want to sell it. Take out any unnecessary elements around the property. Make sure there is no rubbish around the property, take out anything that doesn’t look good in the picture and hide anything that is not related to the property. Remember, you want to sell the property and you want your potential buyer to focus on the property. Do not distract their view with anything else.

COMPOSITION
Compose your picture nicely before you snap the picture. Only include necessary objects in your picture. Crop out anything else that doesn’t relate to your main subject. If there is a nice big tree beside the property, maybe you should include it in the picture. On the other hand, if there is a telephone pole near the property, you should move in closer and exclude the telephone pole from the picture. Think before you snap the picture. Try to capture the picture of the property in its best possible view and condition.

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