Love Gift

Christmas, chinese new year.

There's a spirit of giving and receiving in the air.

Especially for the unmarried.
Chinese new year is a time of an increased income for the month, not alot but still a few hundreds, well, i've heard of people ang bao coming in thousands of dollars, minorities, but still makes people jealous.

We give to somebody, because we like/love them.
Giving with an expectations of receiving something in returns, giving because we are obligated to.
Obligated to but you can still give out of joy.

Christmas, giving to friends, family members and even colleagues.
Chinese new year, giving to the younger generations regardless you're close to them or not.
In our chinese traditional, as long as it's CNY, and you're married, you're "obligated" to give to those who are not married regardless of how old they are, even though my mum is married for 20 over years, she still received an ang bao from her mum which is my grandma, giving out of love and joy.

But what are you preparing for your loved ones when one day, should you be taken out of this world?
Regardless it's by chance or by plans, it will come to you for no men escape death.
What are you preparing for your loved ones ?

I've heard a saying that since we're young and not yet married, we does not have so much liabilities so therefore we don't need so much death coverage, theoretically, you're right.

But there's much more in life then just your liabilities, it's a love gift you prepared for your loved ones beforehand, something which given a choice, we don't wish to talk about, but no men escape death.

This is a gift, a most selfless gift a man can give to his loved ones, when given, really, nothing in returns. But this gift shows your love, even when you leave this world, the love endures.

So other than your coverage just covering your liabilities, how much more do you want to love the people around you, how much more do we need to prepare for them, for when we are around, we tried our best to give them all that we have, what about when we're gone?

Today, we shall start planning this love gifts that last throughout generations.
From your parents, the same love gift can be shared with your spouses, children and even, people whom doesn't even know your name but whom you wish to do something for them, let this love endures.

It's Chinese New Year

Ang Baos, food, beer, gathering and not forgetting gambling.
GAMBLING?!

I'm sure at least half of you gamble during chinese new year.
It's fun and exciting.


But really, is it for leisure, for excitment or for fast cash ?
Is it an entertainment or an addiction?
Is it a blessing that we have this culture to gamble during chinese new year or is it a curse ?


Anything taken in excess isn't good, i'm not encouraging leisure gamble although i does that once every year. But just like medication, overdosing on drugs becomes a curse, but when it was first created, it's for the benefits of mankind.


abnormal use of something becomes ABUSE.


With casino accessible to us, i believe it's meant for tourists attraction to generate more revenues for us, and a form of leisure for singaporeans.
Leisure means you do it during your free time within your means, not making it your way of life.

But i read a news on yahoo news, source from channel news asia,
"Indonesian who lost all in casino at Resorts World Sentosa, stole at airport" Feb 18, Thursday 2010.


Back to the question, is it gambling or is it character flaws?
Any sociology students here?
What's the underlying cause?
money? fast cash?
so can we summarized, the love of money causes all these.

Money is unbiased.
It is neither good nor evil.

So actually, the problem is not with gambling or with casino, the problem lies with the love of money? Even if there's no such things as gambling or casino, it just means that there will be an increase of other forms of medium for these people to gather more money without working?


With all repsect and love, i do not have anything against these gambling addicts personally, not that i condone their actions, but it's just not right to condemn them just because they are addicted to gambling, cause the root problem i believe is they are taught to love the wrong things.


As i have mentioned, it's not how much money you have, is what your money can do for you and how it can adds value in your life and those around you.

My first valuable lesson on $money$

When i was a little boy, my parents taught me one of my most valuable life lessons.

The lesson of saving, a penny save is a penny earned.

It's not being taught in the classroom, it's being taught in my living room.

Well. some of you might says,"no, with inflation rate like that, it should be a penny invested is a penny well spent."

Well my parents belong to the more traditional generations.

I will received a pocket allowance of 80cents a day in primary school, yr1-3.

and everyday when i came home from school, i will put 10-20cents inside a metal container in my wardrobe.

And into my teenage years, my dad taught me another lesson.

That those money in my savings doesn't have an expiry date.

I can take my time to spend it.

And when i'm joined the financial industry, I've learnt yet another valuable life lesson.

There's power in budgeting.

" A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." C.E. Hoover

Personal budgeting is just another word for cash flow management.

If you really do your cashflow management diligently and properly, you will realised that it helps you to eliminate or decrease unnecessary expenses.

AND at the same time, you will unknowingly put your money into better use.

Doing a proper cashflow chart will:

1. Help you to understand your spending pattern.

2. and with the same chart, you will be able to allocate your funds more wisely.

with these 2 points in mind, you will have a better idea how to overcome excessive spendings!

I've done up my own cashflow chart and would like to share it with you guys.

Budgeting is estimating your income and expenses & setting realistic goals.

1. Priortising Your Goals

2. A penny save is a penny earned, pay yourself a salary 1st before your expenses.

3. Using your bank account as a platform, Savings & Current.

4. Make sure you've provision for the worst, since it's the worst, that's when credit cards can help as a temporary solution. But a better solution would be don't spread your finances too thinly.

5. Review your cashflow monthly.

6. Comparing targeted spendings with actual targets and improve on them.

With these points, I do hope i've empowered you and set you on your way to financial success.

Credit Card as a weapon ?

Credit Card is a double edged sword we are using in our capitalistic world today.

It allows you to buy now and pay later.

"HUH? what you talking"

what i mean is, exchanging future income for today's enjoyment, oops, i mean necessities.

I often joked," Wah you got 4 credit cards! that puts you into the top 10% earners in singapore because you would have access to $20,000 funds a month!"

The truth is that Credit gives you an immediate purchasing power even beyond your means but it doesn't increase your income.

Credit card is like the 2nd best thing that a human mind had ever invented, 1st being life insurance of course.

A person who understand the pros and cons of it often get the most out of it, but the same truth apply to people who doesn't understand credit.
It's that, it will get the most out of you.

There's a quote by THE JOYCE BROTHERS "Credit buying is much like being drunk. The buzz happens immediately gives you a lift... The hangover comes the day after."

The danger zone:
1. what girls call "shopping therapy" i mean for those who spend out of their means to service the bills.

2. Buying with minimum down payment, i heard some boos, some people say what about the opportunity cost involves? Ya I'm talking about minimum or even zero down payment.

That is provided the "opportunity" which you are talking about can hedge against the credit interests and make you some money.

3. Cash advances? heard of that, means when your bank no money, you can take your credit card and withdraw cash. check out the interests rate man !

4. Borrowing money, im not talking about emergencies.

5. Using your emergency funds to pay for daily expenses.

6. when you hit your credit limits. That's a classic.

However, with proper financial planning, you can avoid such agonies.
*Financial planning doesnt mean buying life plans, endowment or hospital plan although this might be part of it. Some people hear the word financial planning, "what you want to sell me ?"

1. Learn to pay your bills by charging to your debit card/NETS IT! But nowadays, different cards got different benefits and discounts at different places! so tempting. so make sure you don't choke up bad debts.

2. Spend your money wisely according to your cashflow plan.

3. Reduce your debts as soon as possible.

4. Do not borrow or take loans to pay off existing loans/debts. work harder instead.

5. Set aside a sum of money every month when you received your pay check on top of your existing liabilities, insurances, monthly savings and emergency funds.

I hope it helps !

History on the concept: Insurance

The idea of transferring and distributing risk were practiced by the Chinese(yay!) and Babylonia traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC.

The merchants when received a loan to fund a shipment, they would pay the lender additional fee in xchange to cancel the loan should the goods gone missing due to a certain circumstances.
So i would say that "GENERAL INSURANCE" was started first as compared to "LIFE INSURANCE".

But It's the Achaemenian monarchs who started something more practical to human life. But they don't pay premiums as what we did today, they pay with "gifts". So whenever the "gifter" was in trouble or his children wants to get married, the monarchs will help him.

However, the greeks and romans introduce "health & life insurances"
They got a guild called, benevolent societies, who cares for the families of the deceased as well as paying for their funerals. So let us not forget the basis in which why life insurance was started.

Insurance contract was first introduced in GENOA, and insurances pools was backed by pledges of landed estate.

The concept of health insurance was made available in 1694 by the efforts of Hugh the Elder Chamberlen from Peter Chamberlen family.

And from then on, insurances take on a whole new identity in the world as the manufacturers give it a new "facelift" every now and then. In our today's world, Insurance companies are the supporting pillar of every well to do society. It provides welfare benefits and it pays them when they need the money most.

The healthcare industry can only reached their fullest potential, provided first, insurance company in that country is doing well, when medical inflation rising at an alarming rate of 4-5% a year in singapore, how many of us, actually have that kind of funds available to seek the best medical treatment?

but in singapore at least, insurance was deem as a "dirty" word,
so why not called it "Indemnification".
High class word for insurance.

Zac on MC

As most employees do,

some of us have 14 days of MC, some are more fortunate, 21days a year.

Some are always sick till the extent they clear their MC every year.

Therefore it's important for us to have a good medical coverage, even as we are working, but it's even more important when we stop working !

The best part is that a medical coverage for most of us would come at a cost, at a cost of no cash involved because in singapore, a shieldplan is payable via our medisave account.

Most insurance company in market today are providing up to half a million or more coverage per year per person.

that means, every year when/if you are hospitalized, you would have access to half a mil or more to pay for your bills.

Great news ! please do sign up!

however as it's a term plan and premiums are adjusted higher at a certain age band, people are worried that they won't have money in their medisave account if they keep paying for their premium. But the main purpose of a medisave account is to pay for your medical expenses.

tell me people, how long will you need to take to acculumate half a million or more in your medisave account?
when right now, a premium which you know the amount can be xchange for half a million of coverage !

but bodies made of steel(still) are not encourage to purchase, cause it won't be of any benefits to them !