7 Smart Ways to Spend Money

You spend money every now and then, but how do you spend it wisely? Here are some tips to spend money meaningfully: 

1.      Buy what you need but not what you want: Your wants are unlimited but your resources are limited; it is best to live within your means to avoid overspending and getting into debt.

To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. - Bertrand Russell

2.      Buy things to enhance productivity: Technological items like smartphones, personal computers are tools to get information instantly and get work done faster and more conveniently like online banking and purchases.Where public transport is inadequate a car of the basic model is good enough to take you to your destination much quicker and save time.  

3.      Buy experiences to gain more than happiness: According to an article, Buy Experiences, Not Things,

 waiting for an experience apparently elicits more happiness and excitement than waiting for a material good (and more "pleasantness" too—an eerie metric). By contrast, waiting for a possession is more likely fraught with impatience than anticipation.  So treat your friend to a movie, go sightseeing, and have a lunch date with your co-worker. When you entertain others you are also networking and building a relationship.    

4.      Buy books and take courses as a personal investment: You take courses to gain new skills or sharpen your existing skills. Technical skills are essential for your career success. Books are food for your mind.  Books provide insights and broaden your horizon. You will be wiser and much more knowledgeable to deal with problems and make decisions. 

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. - Benjamin Franklin.

5.      Buy quality products for durability:  Look for quality products like buying a pair of quality shoes to last at least a year rather than buying one that lasts for two months. Quality goods are not necessarily branded items that are more costly. So choose wisely,

6.      Buy below normal price: Buy at the right time such as during a sale, at a discount, or when the item is under a promotion or it is offered at a special price.  Using coupons and buying generic brands for household items are the way to pay less and get similar quality.

7.      Buy with your credit card: When you use the right credit card you are entitled to a rebate or cashback for your purchases. In this way, you pay less. CIMB Bank PETRONAS MasterCard is such a card. In their monthly statements, the discounts for your petrol purchases and other purchases are stated separately. You will be happy to save while you spend.      

A man who both spends and saves money is the happiest man because he has both enjoyments. - Samuel Johnson

Noteworthy quote:

In my early life I made two very important discoveries. In the first place, I discovered that making money was easy. And in the second place, I discovered that making money and spending it foolishly was completely meaningless. - Peace Pilgrim

Credit blacklist for 170,000 PTPTN defaulters unless repayments made, ministry says

Graduates who have defaulted on their National Higher Education Fund (PTPTN) loans will enter Bank Negara’s bad credit list next year unless they start repaying the RM1.2 billion borrowed from the government, Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said today. Idris said these 170,000 PTPTN defaulters will be given a grace period of three months to avoid being listed in the Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) – which could affect their chances of securing car and housing loans.

“When we announce the implementation of that move later, we will give a period of three months for the borrowers to discuss and then make payments before their names are listed in the CCRIS,” Idris was quoted saying by Bernama today.

In explaining Putrajaya’s revival of its plan to blacklist defaulters, Idris said that some borrowers had taken advantage of  PTPTN’s flexible policy and refused to make any repayments.

“We have the borrowers’ details and know that some of them have lucrative salaries but do not come to PTPTN at all within three years to discuss or make any payments,” he was also quoted saying.

Earlier today, Berita Harian reported that PTPTN will list defaulters in the CCRIS from next year onwards in order to regain the funds.

The 170,000 defaulters are said to owe a total of RM1.2 billion which they borrowed in the 1998 to 2010 period.

Many students borrow from the PTPTN but the fund is itself teetering under the burden of unpaid loans and has resorted to blacklisting defaulters so that they cannot leave the country.

In February this year, Malay Mail Online reported PTPTN saying in a recent statement then that as many as 468,592 borrowers have defaulted on their loans amounting to RM3.3 billion as of November 30, 2013.

The fund said that as of end of November it has issued study loans to 2.34 million people, totalling RM53.23 billion.

On August 21 last year, the Cabinet scrapped Putrajaya’s plan to list PTPTN defaulters in the CCRIS blacklist after the proposed move was roundly criticised across the political divide – including Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Just a day before Putrajaya shelved the controversial proposal last year, Pakatan Rakyat leaders had threatened to kick off a nationwide protest campaign if the government continued with the CCRIS move.

The CCRIS is where information on borrowers to the Credit Bureau is stored. Credit data from financial institutions is automatically kept and processed in the CCRIS and subsequently synthesised into credit reports, which will, in turn, be made available to institutions upon request.

An individual with a bad credit report would automatically face trouble when applying for future loans with these institutions.

Source: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2014/10/09/credit-blacklist-for-170000-ptptn-defaulters-unless-repayments-made-ministr/760437

The Cheapest Smartphone in Malaysia

I have just bought a brand new smartphone from Digi with 1-year of FREE Internet plus a Prepaid SIM Pack of RM30 credit and 24-hour FREE calls & SMS to Buddyz™ up to three DiGi numbers free of charge at only RM180. There is no contract involved. I wanted to pay by credit card, but the booth at the mall accepts only cash. I have been using a mobile phone all along but lately, I am unable to perform online banking and receive my TAC numbers (A Transaction Authorisation Code is a unique, 6-digit code that provides an additional layer of identity authentication before you are allowed to perform specific tasks online) from Malayan Banking Berhad via my mobile phone.

The smartphone is a LENOVA A369i which is made in China with the following specifications:

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
	3G Network	HSDPA 900 / 2100
	SIM	Dual SIM (Mini-SIM, dual stand-by)
	Announced	2013, Q3
	Status	Available. Released 2013, Q3

BODY	Dimensions	124 x 64 x 11.7 mm (4.88 x 2.52 x 0.46 in)
	Weight	120 g (4.23 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	Capacitive touchscreen
	Size	480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 32 GB
	Internal	4 GB ROM, 512 MB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes
	Speed	HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	v3.0
	USB	Micro USB v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	2 MP, 1600 x 1200 pixels
	Features	Panorama, smile detection
	Video	Yes
	Secondary	No

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
	Chipset	Mediatek MT6572
	CPU	Dual-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7
	GPU	Mali-400
	Sensors	Accelerometer, proximity
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML
	Radio	FM radio
	GPS	A-GPS only
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black
		- MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - Organizer - Photo/video editor - Document viewer - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk - Voice memo/dial - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Li-Po 1500 mAh battery
	Stand-by	Up to 288 h (2G) / Up to 288 h (3G)
	Talk time	Up to 14 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G)

MISC

Price group

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_a369i-5850.php

You can purchase the set online at http://new.digi.com.my/ecomm_C/services/default/Whatshot_Internet_Made_Easy?gclid=CjwKEAjw2MOhBRCq-Nr87_j-lDASJAAl4FNhgjUCeBqTbisHLpfOyOw1EvXunvXp0fZee4dtc9TP6RoCYRTw_wcB or at their booths in most malls.  The smartphone is released in September 2013. The cost of the smartphone is only RM150 and you pay for the RM30 credit. Nothing is free.

Can you get a much cheaper smartphone?   

7 Effective Ways to Determine the Worth of a Stock

You have to look beyond the annual financial report of a company to decide the worth of a company‘s shares. The people behind the scene are pivotal in deciding the fate of an establishment. However, the people and the figures will give you a fair view of a company:

1.      Management: It is important to look into the strength and competency of the team and its succession plan to ensure the continuity of the company. Do they look after the interests of the shareholders and operate with integrity, reliability, credibility, and transparency? Are they innovative and introducing new ways of generating more income?  

2.      Earnings per share: It is to determine the profitability of a company. The higher the earnings, the more successful is the company.

The formula: Net income/ total outstanding shares

Example: Profit after expenses, interest, taxes, and preferred dividend: $200000

Total shares: 1000000

 200000/1000000=20 cents per share     

3.      Net asset value per share: The net asset value or the book value of each share of common stock is arrived at by taking the value of a company’s total assets less total liabilities and divided by the number of outstanding common shares. This is to illustrate what you would get if a company is liquidated.  

4.      Price-earnings ratio: It is the market price of a stock divided by the current per-share earnings of a company. Taking from the earnings per share as shown in No.2, with a current stock price of $2, its P/E ratio is 15 ($3/0.2). The ratio is used to determine whether a share is cheap or expensive 

5.      Cash flow: Cash flow is important to meet the ongoing obligation of running a business. The surplus find is also essential to pay a dividend to shareholders. There is a possibility that the company is showing a profit but not generating enough cash because of high outstanding accounts receivable. It is a dangerous sign.

6.      Yield: It is actually the relationship between the annual cash dividend and the current market price of a stock.

Example: Dividend per share 50 cents, current market price per share $2.5

 Calculation: 0.5*100/2.50=20%

7.      Debt-to-equity ratio: It is risky to depend too much on external borrowings to run a business, especially during an economic downturn. However, get more information to find out the high DER. It is possible that the company is expanding.

The formula:  Total liabilities/shareholders’ equity

Example: Total liabilities = 50 million and shareholders’ equity = 100 million

50/100=0.5 (For every dollar of equity there is a debt of 50 cents)

Do you have other ways to evaluate the worth of a company‘s stock? 

Source: http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2011/10/7-effective-ways-to-determine-worth-of.html

Are You Financially Responsible?

There are plenty of ways to get ahead.  The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it:  spend less than you earn. 

Paul Clitheroe

Here are some soul-searching questions to ask yourself about your financial responsibilities:  

1.      Do you spend less than what you earn?

If you don’t, it means you do not care about overspending and getting into debt. You do not consider the long-term negative consequences. You are thinking that things will sort it out by themselves, but the situation can only get worse because more and more interest will be added to your outstanding debt.  

2.      Do you discipline yourself to avoid spending unnecessarily on your wants?

A wise person will spend only when he or she can afford it. It is only prudent to stick to your budget faithfully and avoid getting into money problems later. 

3.      Are you financially prepared each time you charge an item to your credit card?

 Do not spend impulsively. You have to back each credit card transaction with the same amount of money in your bank account. You do not want to live on credit and get into debt and pay extra on interest charges. You treat a credit card as a convenience and a documented way of making purchases.  

4.      Have you considered all factors before getting a personal loan application?

Is the loan necessary? Are you spending on what you need? Have you factored the monthly repayment amount into your monthly budget? Are you comfortable with the additional outlay? Think carefully before you sign on the dotted line.

5.      Do you honor your monthly loan repayment commitments?

Do you treat your monthly repayments seriously?  Do you always pay when it is overdue or you miss one or two installments? It indicates that either you are taking the matter lightly or you are in financial difficulties.

6.      Do you make it a point to pay your credit card bills promptly and fully every month?

Paying in full when you receive the monthly statement is the only sensible thing to do. Paying the minimum amount is asking for trouble because credit card interest rates are among the highest in the industry. More people are declared bankrupt as a result of unmanageable credit card debt.   

7.      Do you value your creditworthiness?

It involves your financial reputation.  Can you be trusted to get a loan? Are you committed to pay the monthly installments?  The only way to establish your creditworthiness is to demonstrate a good record of your loan repayment pattern and make timely credit card payments.

You are a financially responsible person when you can say yes to all the above questions.  

Source: http://www.allaboutlivingwithlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/are-you-financially-responsible.html