Credit Crisis Explained!

I have long been following these wonderful flash reports by AP. Its not about the cartoon but its the simplified explainations that gives me an overview of the current credit crisis.

You will learn about:

• fannie and freddie
• World Top CEO’s pay
• Mortgage-backed securities
• yadda yadda yadda……

Take a peek here : The Associated Press Multimedia Reports

This one is titled Credit Crises Explained.

Enjoy.

Oil Price fell 55% from Peak!!! :o

Excerpt – The price of crude oil has tumbled 55 percent from its peak of $147.27 reached in mid-July.  The Star

Pump prices was at RM1.92 when crude oil was trading around US70 – US90 per barrel. It shot up to RM2.55 when world oil price hit record high at US147.27 in mid-July.

Now that the oil price hit another record ‘low’ at US67 per barrel, I have the reason to hope for a drop of atleast 20% at the pump.

What shapes you?

Often we hear You are what you eat!

What about You are what you do!

What if I say You are what what you think!

Here is an interesting article published in thinkArete.com titled Attitude.

excerpts

“Your mind will be like its habitual thoughts;

for the soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.

Soak it then in such trains of thoughts as, for example:

Where life is possible at all, a right life is possible.”

~ Marcus Aurelius, 2nd century Roman emperor-(stoic) philosopher

It all begins with accountability. Unless you’re willing to take absolute responsibility for your life, there is no hope.

Seriously.

Lesson: Quit being a victim. Be a Creator.

So what do you think now? Are you willing to own your thoughts and shape yourself? Have a nice day.

Financial Landscape – Out of Balance (AIG)

A very disturbing fact I come across as reported at AP here What went wrong. Are you a concerned customer?

Hopefully the US85 billion bailout package will pull them through this horrible chapter.

Thank you for the 10cents reduction.

10 cents…lets see, its RM4 for a full tank (40L) and this is supposed to be an ‘Ease the burden’ package. Great Job Mr. BN!

For the record, the petrol pump prices went down 25 cents on 23rd August 08 after a tremendous spike on 5th June the same year from RM1.92 to RM2.70 per litre of RON 72.

Hmmmm…..

Ways To Slash Tax

It is this time of the year again. Looking through the piles of receipts and bills to search for anything that can help you reduce your tax amount. Gathering all your income statements to make sure you do not wrongly declared. So pious, so to speak.

So do you know what is your Income Tax relief and rebates like? For a start, you can always click HERE for the full details. Then there is the TAX REBATE for extras. The dateline is 30th April 2008 for employees and 30th June 2008 for individuals with business. Full details HERE.

Simplesteps:

1. Separate tax return for both spouses.
2. Get ready your insurance statements. (Life/Education/Medical/Annuities)
3. Subscription receipts for magazine or books.
4. SOHO expenses (e.g. rental, utilities etc)
5. Computer hardware & software purchases receipts.
6. 26-ways-to-slash-taxes

Some of the ways quoted guarantees to work. So do your duty as a citizen. Happy taxing.

Simple Man, Gigantic Dream = S350L

To my friend and mentor, to have a dream is like to breath. When we breath, the oxygen will carry the blood cells to every departments of our body so that each and every organ will respond to its master. The next thing he makes me remember is that a dream remains only a dream if we don’t take the necessary actions to achieve it.

My friend (at 33) is also a perfect example of a successful entrepreneur who rose from rags to riches. Almost seeing it all after finishing high-school he explained to me that in life, everyone will go their own path and each path has its own test of wits. The thing is never let your emotions get to you. It is very hard he says, to control your emotions when the going gets tough but at the end of the day the winner is always the one that can handle their emotions perfectly.

Having a dream is not just as simple as setting it but living by it. It involves going through the hardship of planning, execution, and re-alignment. Go through all the details of your plan, learn it by hard, know it at your finger tips. I can attest that many successful man shares the same thoughts too. Another great story which I will be writing soon is Mr. Li Ka Shing (Worlds Top 11riches).

To go through every details in the process is knowing how much you want it realized. Every thing has a starting point. Every big thing is made out of small actions. To summed up what he is trying to convey I have put it in these words:

“Take the first step of your journey now and you will reach your destination sooner.”

Set your dreams today. What is stopping you? A dream can be small or can be big. There is no limitation to it. According to the secrets which i have seen it so many times, and practicing it I tend to believe that setting a dream is important.

I will continue my friend’s story from time to time as I continue to seek the essence of his success.

Staying Alert is Staying Alive

I recently come across an article in a local mainstream media with this BIG title. Staying Alert is Staying Alive. Like the words are trying to describe itself although that article was meant for self defense against street criminals…but is that less applicable to other things in life?

Staying alert on your:

• Income
• Expenses & Purchases
• Savings & Investment
• Financial freedom plan

Nothing much to describe actually because it sounds pretty straight forward. You do the imagination.

Save $10, Earn $3.50?

• Hard work = high return?
• Long hours = high recognition?

Is that a simple equation? If yes, then our Malaysian Child Prodigy would not have got it wrong. That aside, we would normally think that getting a stable job with a stable income and everything would be stable. This is what normally be fed to us when we were growing by our respectful parents. I am not blaming them for this because what they have thought us is indeed true but only at the wrong century.

I have a friend who is a graduate from a reputable overseas university. He got back to KL and after a couple of hops he joined a giant listed organization. He holds a high profile job reporting to the CEO directly, he travels overseas officially, he holds meetings with high profile heads of organization as well as govt reps etc. He spends endless hours daily making sure all deals runs well. It was going into his 6th year and he suddenly realized that everything was increasing tremendously except his salary. How pathetic! I guess this is just a normal scenario many of you would have seen. My friend quit his job for greener pasture.

So how does the equation works? Hard work equals high return? Long hours equals higher recognition? To summarize, work smart and hard.

The save $10 earn $3.5 has already been in our economic system for so long but kept away from ordinary people. Some of your friends and relatives may know it but didn’t reveal it. You may have missed it if you have been too busy with your job.

You know where to find me.

How to restructure repayments?

Ok, earlier I have mentioned that some banks offer credit card owners term loans to offset your mounting credit card debts. That is provided you still have a strong flow of regular income, and a valid reason. Strong flow of regular income meaning a regular paying job or some regular income from your business. This you have prove. Be prepared to loose all your benefits like loyalty points and all when you convert to term loan. You need to obviously prepare all the necessary documentation like your payslip, bank statement, post-dated checks, and some post money for agreement. With the necessary documents, it may take you about 2~3 weeks to process.

Basically, what you are doing is stopping the high interest rates charge by the card and servicing your debt through fixed monthly payments with lower fixed interest rates. You will be saving around 10%~12% per annum.

The other way is to use your existing card for a transfer exercise. Not a bank-to-bank but card-within. This way, you can skip all the necessary documentation and convert it straight away. Also save up to 10%~12% per annum with easier steps. Fully legal and no-nonsense.