How many of you here meticulously keep track of what you purchase? How many of you here realize that, even my meticulously recording down your expenditures, you still run short of cash at the end of the month?
Having financial control is not something that can be done overnight. It requires many trials and errors, many "I don't know what I spent my money on" reflections and sometimes, requires you to develop your own methods instead of going by the book
Let me share my financial experience with you:
If you have been following my previous posts, I did mention that I was cultivated by my parents, to save my money since I was probably 4 years old. At that age, spending money is not of any interest to me.
As I grew older, I came to a realization that, you NEED money to survive.
I got my first ATM card when I was 16. At that point of time, I had about $4,000 of savings which was accumulated since I was 9.
I decided to further my studies at a local polytechnic, and at the end of the 3 year course, I found myself with a mere $200 in savings left in my account. It might sound logical if I said I was supporting myself, but I was still getting pocket money from my parents, hence, there was actually no need for me to spend money from my savings.
This was the very first time I questioned myself with "Where did my money go to?" which led me to answering "If I didn't have that ATM card, I wouldn't feel so broke right now..."
Luckily for me, I was able to get a job within 3 months after graduating. I felt like a full-fledged adult, having my own paycheck, paying my own bills and I am finally able to buy what I want. BTW, at this stage, I have yet to turn 20.
When I received my first paycheck, I did what everyone else did.
S-P-E-N-D!
After, setting aside some money for my bills and transportation, everything else went to food, entertainment and other expenditures. I remembered getting myself a new mobile phone on my second paycheck. Then, by the third paycheck, I know my spending has to stop, because up till this point, I have YET to save any money from my pay.
The funny thing was, the moment I know how much I was getting paid, I had already planned my finances - I broke it down to the very essential - Bills, Food, Transport, Gifts, Savings, Misc. Somehow, I never followed through the plan.
I know this could not go on. I learned quickly, and I developed my own technique of saving. I created my own financial tracker, something easy and simple for me to use, and over the years, I have re-vamped this tracker to be as dynamic as my spending.
Every month, on pay day, after setting aside money for bills, I placed 40% of the remainder into savings. Whatever balance I have, I make do for Transport, Food and other items. This form of budgeting has helped me define what I want and what I need. It has also helped me to control my spending and to spend within my limit.
However, having lesser to spend has not stopped me from going out with my friends. Fortunately for me, my friends and I, we are like-minded. We strive to accumulate our savings (and some of us put it into small investments). Having friends like them means we will always scout for affordable hangouts, which is already awesome for me.
After 6 years of holding this job, I still don't own a credit card and I have no debt (yet and I hope it stays this way).
It doesn't stop here. I am still learning to have better financial control. I still read and see what other methods are available out there for me to use.
There is no one method that will work for everyone (because you cannot please everyone), but if you find one that is almost as close to what you want, then feel free to tweak it to suit your needs!
Good luck with controlling your finances! :)
Friday, 13 January 2012
Friday, 6 January 2012
Investments: Buy Low, Sell High
Before you start throwing in your money in to the financial market, you must first know why you are doing so.
Basic rule of thumb:
DO NOT INVEST JUST BECAUSE YOUR NEIGHBOR IS DOING SO.
Actually, this does not apply to only investment, it applies to generally everything else in life.
For me, investing means:
1. Taking risks
2. Accumulate my wealth
3. Secure my retirement
It took me a while to convince myself to start investing, because I am not a big risk taker. I prefer being safe and I have heard many scary stories about investing.
But as I grow older, I realized that, the more I hold back, the further I drift from my dreams.
So, what I did was research, research and more research.
I found out that, having an investment portfolio is just like running your own business.
- It requires you to know your "risk threshold"
- It moves with the market ups and downs
- You must have a plan or strategy i.e when to buy or sell, when to exit
Once again, do not invest in whatever your neighbor is investing, just for the sake of investment. Just like planning what business to start, you must also choose what you want to invest in, after doing your risk calculation.
One mistake that people usually make is that they expect high returns when doing investments, without considering market risks. They don't have exit strategies and blindly put their money where ever people tell them to.
Remember this: You develop your own portfolio, and you know your own risk threshold. If you feel uncomfortable with putting large sums of money into the "recommended" stocks, then take a step back to do your analysis.
Like I mention, one must have an investment goal before deciding to start up an investment portfolio.
In Singapore, citizens are able to use their CPF (something like pension money) to start investments. Normally these are tied to the bank and they can choose where they would like to put their money i.e. in mutual bonds, precious metals, unit trusts or structured deposits. This way, there is no need for them to have cold, hard cash on their hands to open an investment account.
Not all investments are the same. For example, when trading gold, we are allowed to open a savings account with a standard minimum of gold in grams, whereas for silver, the savings account will require a standard minimum of silver in ounces. The net worth of the item being traded also differs.
Other types of investments, such as stocks, can be traded online, with the additional charges of broker commission and trading charge.
Whatever you choose to invest in, the final goal of all investors is to Maximize Wealth. But don't let greed over-run your desire to grow your wealth.
Basic rule of thumb:
DO NOT INVEST JUST BECAUSE YOUR NEIGHBOR IS DOING SO.
Actually, this does not apply to only investment, it applies to generally everything else in life.
For me, investing means:
1. Taking risks
2. Accumulate my wealth
3. Secure my retirement
It took me a while to convince myself to start investing, because I am not a big risk taker. I prefer being safe and I have heard many scary stories about investing.
But as I grow older, I realized that, the more I hold back, the further I drift from my dreams.
So, what I did was research, research and more research.
I found out that, having an investment portfolio is just like running your own business.
- It requires you to know your "risk threshold"
- It moves with the market ups and downs
- You must have a plan or strategy i.e when to buy or sell, when to exit
Once again, do not invest in whatever your neighbor is investing, just for the sake of investment. Just like planning what business to start, you must also choose what you want to invest in, after doing your risk calculation.
One mistake that people usually make is that they expect high returns when doing investments, without considering market risks. They don't have exit strategies and blindly put their money where ever people tell them to.
Remember this: You develop your own portfolio, and you know your own risk threshold. If you feel uncomfortable with putting large sums of money into the "recommended" stocks, then take a step back to do your analysis.
Like I mention, one must have an investment goal before deciding to start up an investment portfolio.
In Singapore, citizens are able to use their CPF (something like pension money) to start investments. Normally these are tied to the bank and they can choose where they would like to put their money i.e. in mutual bonds, precious metals, unit trusts or structured deposits. This way, there is no need for them to have cold, hard cash on their hands to open an investment account.
Not all investments are the same. For example, when trading gold, we are allowed to open a savings account with a standard minimum of gold in grams, whereas for silver, the savings account will require a standard minimum of silver in ounces. The net worth of the item being traded also differs.
Other types of investments, such as stocks, can be traded online, with the additional charges of broker commission and trading charge.
Whatever you choose to invest in, the final goal of all investors is to Maximize Wealth. But don't let greed over-run your desire to grow your wealth.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
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