The Truth about Investment Linked

I love my work.

I know some friends who work till 12 midnight. And some who come back 3am in the morning, not because they were doing the macarena swinging their hips to the music at Zouk, but they were slogging away finishing projects that just needed to be done no-matter-what.

So far, I've been up till 1 plus in the morning before 'working'. And when it comes to my work, it usually means 'talking'. That's right. My mouth is my rice bowl. Rice goes in it, at the same time it's used to put rice on the bowl.

I don't like to use the word " convince" clients. I'm not trying to con or brain wash anyone. I'm just there to educate. Just as a teacher uses his or her mouth to teach, I'm use my mouth to help people plan out their financial profile.

So far, it's been a blast.

Anyway, today I'm here to educate about the truth about investment-linked insurance policies.

If you are an investment linked policy holder, please listen carefully.

If you think you have insurance your mommy or daddy bought for you, please go find out whether you have it or not, and listen as well.

If you're none of the above, don't skip this. Read on because it's really unwise to reach the age of 30, have a family next time and still know nuts about insurance. :P


The basic reason why you get life insurance is simple.

You fall sick one day. Fever and flu. You go see the doctor. The doctor charges how much usually? RM 50? RM 70?

Does that cripple your finances? Usually not. You still have enough money to eat and live till your next pay cheque come.

You fall sick one day. two days. three days. You go see the doctor, doctor sends you hospital. You have internal bleeding. Something might be cancerous.

Let's not get into the details. It ain't a pretty thing to talk about, aye?

Doctor charges you RM 20,000 end of the day. Does that cripple your finances?

Usually, yes. You've saved your sweat and blood for the past 3 years to almost RM 10k. You give it all up, and you still owe RM 10k.

Pain or not?

Pain laaaa. hehe.

This is where insurance comes in. It pays off your RM 20k so that your savings is still untouched.
None of your hard earned money has been blown off in one night.

Investment linked policies.

It ties your insurance policy together with investments through unit trusts. Truth is, if your policy is attached with a LOT of protection, e,g, PA, 36 critical illness, medical card... and you pay a minimal amount of around RM 150 to RM 200 per month, many agents go about telling their clients that you will have a certain amount of money saved when you're reaching 30-40 plus of age.

*EHKK!*

wrong answer.

As you age, your insurance coverages increases. Meaning the RM 150 you put it every month might not be enough to cover for you when you age. The interest and dividen you get from the investment links will be used to cover for your charges till a certain number of years before you'll start to receive a letter asking you to add on more money on top of your RM 150.

so:

1st myth: I pay a number of years then I don't need to pay already.
WRONG. This type of insurance you pay till 87 years old.

2nd myth: I'll have money later on in life.
WRONG. Unless, you have minimal protection. Throw off Personal Accident, medical card, 36 critical illness. Only basic sum assured . Then yes. probably.

Investment linked is good when we have low income, but we want high protection during the early days of our working career.

There you go.

Another day I will talk about unit trust. And how you can truly maximize every cent of your hard earned money to save and accumulate wealth to build yourself a financially comfortable future.


Hmm, I hope that these recent posts about money doesn't put any of you off.

Next post will be about music. :D

Ja.

Let's take a lil' breather off financial stuff ..

*We'll be back right after these messages..*


Stumbled upon this video...


I laughed the entire 2 mins...these lil' kids are so darn FARNEE...and cute...

And you'll be surprised, they ARE actually playing the real song...

Check it out..

trust me, you don't wanna miss this...




Oh, I need to get me one of theSe..






Maybe one day church will be able to sponsor..

one day...

* fingers crossed*


hehehe



Ja.

Things which you need to think about..

1.) Marriage.


Unless you plan to be a bachelor for life, ( which is not a bad thing and might be your calling in life), we need to start thinking and planning for it.

An average wedding in KL = RM 50,000.( approximately)
An average wedding in Alor Setar = RM 30,000 (approximately)

I compared both rates with the highest standard of living compared to one of the lowest in our country. You do the math if you plan to get married somewhere in between.

You can always opt for a cheaper, smaller function. Or you could start saving and planning now to give ( for guys) something special to your wives which they've already started dreaming since they were 9 years old.



2.) House



Nows'aday, a normal terrace unit in KL costs approx RM 250,000.00 to RM 400,000.00

A condo unit costs approx RM 150,000.00 to RM RM 250,000.00


Even if you get a house loan, you have to pay down payment of 10% for the house. There's even 0% down payment also. But you pay till the cows come home.

Down payment for house = RM 25,000.00 ( approx)


3.) Car.




( I lurve this baby)

Down payment for car costs RM 10,000 to RM 20,000. Up to the buyer's capacity.

The higher the down payment, and the higher your installments, the less years you have to pay them.

We put the down payment as RM 10,000.00 (approx)


What I'm trying to show here, is while we are going on with our daily lives everyday, soon we will face with these big commitments in the future. It is foolish to ignore all these, and 'hope for the best' when the time comes. I'm not ruling out the element of faith, as I'm a devout Christian myself. If God decides to bless you and support you financially when the time comes, then glory to God. But that doesn't mean we bamboozle all our money now, live for today and spend lavishly. God also told us to be good stewards of money.


Look at the figures above again. Do you have the money right now?
If Yes, then good. Cos it's not what you accumulated. It's mom and dad's sweat and blood put into proper savings and investments that's given to you. Go back and thank them now.

If no, don't worry.

Let me show you something.

I always tell my clients that though we don't have the money, we have another more important element on our side.

Time.


Putting your money aside every month, with a good return will yield this.

Behold the magic of compound interest.

1.)
Initial principal = RM 0.00
Money saved per month = RM 300
Money saved per year = RM 3,600

With a return of 8% per annum,

Money accumulated after 5 years = RM 22,809.34

Down payment for car settled.


2.) Let's say you already have some savings in the bank, say RM 5k. And you can only afford to save RM 150 a month.

Initial principal = RM 5,000
Money saved per month = RM 150
Money saved per year = RM 1,800

With a return of 8% per annum,

Money accumulated after 5 years = RM 18,751.31

30% of your marriage settled.


3.) Ok, let's say you're reeeally tight.

Initial principal = RM 0
Money saved per month = RM 50
Money saved per year = RM 600

With a return of 8% per annum,

Money accumulated after 5 years = RM 3,801.56

if put it as 15 years,

Total accumulated = RM 17, 594.57


Think I've said enough. It doesn't really matter how much you earn. It's how much you save. A millionaire and can RM 1 mil a month and save only RM 300 a month. A teacher can earn RM 2.5k a month and save RM 1k a month. Who you think will be more financially stable?


Start thinking for yourself. Start thinking for your future family.

Remember. The key is to start early.


Ja.

Silent Needs

I don't really know how to start this posting...but I'll write it as bluntly and directly as I can..

I'm addressing this mostly to young working adults.






Money. Most of us don't really talk about money cos it's something personal. Something private. We usually don't like to share to others how much we're earning. Probably cos it might come down to comparison, and we might start to envy other friends for being well off, for having better jobs at better companies. And we might start to feel inferior. Or depress. Whatever it may be.

Sometimes it's due to pride as well. Don't talk to me about money. I can handle it on my own.
Sad fact is, sometimes the very same people who are saying those very words are the ones struggling financially.

Sometimes when we do talk about money, we might get the impression that we're just money faced..or "all we want is money, money money" ..so we just tend to shut up for fear of being branded as " one-of-those-money-freaks."


It's OK.

I'll just let it out here and make a statement.

Most of us young working adults are suffering and struggling financially.

Silently.




My job gives me the chance to talk to so many friends our age and I really appreciate them opening up to me. Most of us have just enough to get by. That means having just enough to survive every month after paying for everything, with maybe the occasional movie outings and expensive meals. Don't talk about savings.

Some do actually have some money to spare and save every month. But then comes along a mega sale, an outing or something just goes wrong in your home or an accident that just comes along and wrecks your savings to shreds in a few seconds.

Some actually are struggling. Meaning maggie mee few meals a week. Having to say 'no' numerous times to friends when it comes to movie, or expensive meals. Being in debt.

Sounds familiar?

I've been there. Am still in there too.

And frankly, my heart goes out to this guys. I wish I could help somehow. I wish that somehow everyone I meet will be able to find financial freedom. That they won't have to worry and get frustrated.

Then I thought to myself. Actually, I could help them. I could help you.

Think about it. Most of our parents probably started off the same way. They might even start off worse than us. Lower salaries than us. But how did they manage to send us to college? How did they manage to own a car, a house now? How did they manage to feed you, clothe you and give you a comfortable life?

Simple. They lead prudent lives. And used the element of time.

That's the key, my friends.

If you wanna be financial free in the future, you have to use the only element we have that's cost free. Time.

Start saving your money now. The amount doesn't matter. It could be as low as RM 50 a month. Or even RM 1k a month. Commit yourself to a disciplined way of storing your money somewhere. If you can't have that control, then admit it, and use a program that will unable you to touch your money till it matures. Why?





Saving means creating your 'pots of gold'. The more pots of gold you have, the better will it be for you use that for future commitments. eg. marriage, car, house, family, e.t.c. You don't wanna end up having to apply for loans when these commitment comes, and spend the rest of your life trying to get out of debt.

We are still young. Time will compound money and use your existing money, to make more money for you. Thats why I mentioned that the amount does not matter. But of course, the more you save, the more money you can make.


I'm not here to advertise for my business. I just wanna help people become better and more comfortable financially. Because I experience all this myself, I understand the most how it feels.
I have the programs and vehicles to help anyone do this.





So, I dont know who will be reading this. But if you wanna know how you can start savings and investment for yourself, just leave a comment, or let me know. I will try my very best to help.



Ja.

I'll spend my always with you..

Something which might help you if you're going thru some tough patch now...

Felt it most when I saw one of the singers tearing when singing this song..






Verse 1
You know I've had some lonely days
I've made mistakes and had to pay
I've had some friends that walked away
Just like mama told me
But there's someone who's love is real
Who cares about the way I feel
(I know you feel)
Every pain that erase every stain
There's peace when I call out Your name

Chorus 1
Jesus You're my everything
The cross You did that just for me
So whatever You take me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always with You

Verse 2
No one can touch my heart like You
Or make me smile the way You do
I've finally found someone who
Who really truly loves me
And when my strength has come and gone
Your life in me it makes me strong
Your hand is where my heart belongs
You took all my pain
And erased every stain

Chorus 1
Jesus You're my everything
The cross You did that just for me
So whatever You take me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always with You

Chorus 2
Jesus my whole life has changed
Since that day I cried You're name
For everytime You brought me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always with You

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, Oh
Oh, Oh, Oh

Chorus 1
Jesus You're my everything
The cross You did that just for me
So whatever You take me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always with You

Chorus 2
Jesus my whole life has changed
Since that day I cried Your name
For everytime You brought me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always,
Spend my always with You

Chorus 1
Jesus You're my everything
The cross You did that just for me
So whatever You take me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always,
Spend my always with You

Chorus
Jesus my whole life has changed
Since that day I cried Your name
For everytime You brought me through
I promise You
I'll spend my always with You


Spend my always with You
Spend my always with You

Randomness

2.09am.

Wind's started to get stronger.

Probably another rain shower tonight..

Hayley's singing on my speakers again.

What's happening tomorrow?

Morning meeting ...followed by a conference in the afternoon...replacing someone on the drums at night...

Sore throat's bothering me. Please, I don't wanna fall sick.

I'm reminded of the time when I was studying in malacca. Had the hostel room by myself. The quietness and stillness of the night as I mess around on my pc...

And I'll get caught off guard when a sudden gush of wind comes blowing in...

followed by the howling and wailing of the wind...

and I liked to wrap my blanket around myself..and build a make believe ' shelter' for myself..


Heh...it's been a while..

Come November. Time to buck up on work again.

Funny is..

.


.


amongst it all...




I remembered you..



Ja.