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Financial Planning Workshop in Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia, Kuala Terengganu

This was an event that I have been looking forward to. I was invited to lecture in my home state, Terengganu by the Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) for the undergraduates of Universiti Darul Iman, Malaysia, in Kuala Terenganu on the 20th and 21st March, 2009.

The Financial Planning workshop was attended by more than 150 undergraduates. It was an amazing feeling to lecture in Bahasa Malaysia and the occasional use of some loghat Terengganu made me feel so at home.

Apart from the regular module on Financial Planning, I have included in my session, some very important aspects of personal money management which will be helpful for these final year undergraduates when the get in to their career world.

Click on the below arrow for a video shot of the UDM particpants of the workshop:

Save And Invest Seminar and Advisory Roadshow

I was invited as a guest speaker for the Save and Invest Seminar and Advisory Roadshow organized by the Money Compass, a Chinese personal money magazine on the 1st of March 2009 at Vistana Hotel, Kuantan.

The title of my talk was "From Debt to Wealth". During the 1-hour session, I shared with the participants on how to manage their personal debts and revealed powerful strategies to be debt-free in the shortest time possible. I have also received lots of feedback from participants through the telephone and emails after the session.

Financial Planning Workshop in Uniten

Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) with the cooperation of Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) organized a 2-day Financial Planning Workshop for Uniten undergraduates on the 7th and 8th February, 2009.

I was invited to lecture in this special workshop that was held in conjunction with the Signing Ceremony between MFPC and Uniten. Also present in the grand event were the President and Group CEO of Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Tan Sri Dato' (Dr) Hamad Kama Piah, Mr Alex Foong of MFPC and VIP's of Uniten.




Below are some photos of the event and a video shot of the workshop particpants:

Myths of Creating Wealth (Part 2)

Myth No. 5: It used to be easier
Statistics show an increase in the number of millionaires in the world every year. Talking about the "good old times" only offers comfort and a convenient excuse. If you look around, you'll see there are people who behaved the same way in the "good old times" as they do now, yet their success has been recent. With technology and progress come new ideas, desires and needs and there are more business opportunities appearing daily to serve them.

Myth No. 6: I'm too young
If you research the life stories of some of the most successful people, you'll see that this isn't true at all. Some became wealthy early in their lives (perhaps from the stock market), while others found their fortune in their old age. Ray Kroc, was more than fifty years old when he bought and made the first McDonald's.

Myth No. 7: I don't have enough money to start. You have to spend money to make money.This is no different from any other excuse or "myth." Like the others, it's obvious this one isn't true either. Many have made their fortunes starting from scratch, living in an apartment or working out of their garage and yet, they developed business empires that are worth billions of dollars today. The other elements of success are far more important than having seed money to start a business.
But yes, often money helps and it certainly doesn't hurt. Like everything else discussed in other myths: it probably helps, but it is not always necessary.

Myth No. 8: I'll begin when I know everything.
Do you believe that you will know everything someday? Or even that you'll know enough to ever be "really prepared now?" The more you learn, the more you see what you still need to learn. Success and obtaining wealth is a dynamic process. Even if you "could" come out of the gate knowing everything there is to know, some of those elements will change immediately and many will change rapidly. If you don't decide now, nothing will happen. Live and learn.

Some millionaires have even allowed themselves to go bankrupt and then (even faster) recreated their wealth, sometimes even greater than before. Money itself isn't the obstacle that is keeping you from being wealthy. If you're really good in your business, don't worry, because someone that will offer you money (a bank or business partner) will appear who will appreciate your talent knowing you are a very good investment opportunity. But you can't sit around waiting for this - make it happen.

Exercise "taking action" as much as you can. Make your workplace better or more efficient. After all, even if someone else signs your paycheck, you really work for you. Even if you are an employee in a large corporation - it isn't your corporation - but it is the only corporation through which you can prove what you are capable of right now.

All of us have what it takes to become a millionaire! Born winners, yet few of us know how to take advantage of and cultivate the possibilities hidden inside our own mind!

No one can ever grant you greater potential than your heart already holds…you need only discover its contents to find the one true path to your success in life. Born with the seeds to our success, the greatest decisions must always come from the inside! You will discover a new, deep well of fortune – yourself!

Myths of Creating Wealth (Part 1)

You have probably read or heard about various myths (these are the truths that are valid only for certain cases, but not in general) surrounding wealth and wealthy people, all of which hinder your quest for financial independence.


Here are the most common and most destructive:

Myth No. 1: How much you earn depends on how hard you work
If this were true, then the physical, blue-collar workers, who have been working hard for years, would have been the wealthiest people on earth. Of course, this isn't true. They form most of the workforce and the vast majority of the middle-class.
If you witnessed your parents coming home tired from a long day's work in your youth, you probably learned that money wasn't a sufficient reward for all that effort. People who work "just" for the money often have debts because they comfort themselves with whatever they can buy, beautiful things they lack when working.

Myth No. 2: Being paid for something you enjoy isn't work and you shouldn't ask for money for doing something that is enjoyable.
Check this with millionaires. They all have so much money that they don't need to work anymore. Nevertheless, they work for other reasons, challenge, satisfaction, fullness of life, activity, fun ... and all are connected to a love for their work. If there was no joy in doing a certain task, they would do something else that would make them much happier and that enables them to realize their dreams.
In fact, if you don't enjoy your work, you will never become wealthy doing it! However, just because you enjoy your work doesn't mean you shouldn't get paid for it - in fact, that is the ultimate goal, to get paid for what you already enjoy so it never feels like you are at work!

Myth No. 3: You need to be in the right line of business to amass wealth
Do you think so? This must mean that all the people who are involved in the same business are millionaires. Of course, this isn't true. In each business there are winners and losers; winners abound, even in businesses that consist of distasteful (to most) or "impossible" work like sweeping the streets, collecting the trash, working in a factory, pumping gas, selling newspapers, etc. On the other hand, there are just as many "losers" in businesses like selling real estate, management or being a stockbroker.

Myth No. 4: You need the right education to make a fortune
Are the most educated people really the wealthiest? Not at all! In this case, university professors would be the wealthiest people on earth. Ask them about their salaries, if you get the opportunity. The truth is vastly different - the wealthiest people are those who can convert their knowledge (or education) into money, in the best possible way. They can be highly educated people (like inventors, scientists, etc.) or almost ignorant.
Being formally uneducated does not equate to poor performance on the job or the inability to form a strong enough vision to carry a person to success - they can easily be experts without having a formal education.

Financial Concept Undergraduates Must Know(Part 4)

The miracle of compound interest



This is a concept best illustrated by example. Let's say I give you 1 cent today, and promise to double the amount every day for a full month. How much money would I be giving you on the 31st day?





The answer: $10.7 million. Check it out:

It all adds up Day 1 $0.01

Day 2 $0.02

Day 3 $0.04

Day 4 $0.08

Day 5 $0.16

Day 6 $0.32

Day 7 $0.64

Day 8 $1.28

Day 9 $2.56

Day 10 $5.12

Day 11 $10.24

Day 12 $20.48

Day 13 $40.96

Day 14 $81.92

Day 15 $163.84

Day 16 $327.68

Day 17 $655.36

Day 18 $1,310.72

Day 19 $2,621.44

Day 20 $5,242.88

Day 21 $10,485.76

Day 22 $20,971.52

Day 23 $41,943.04

Day 24 $83,886.08

Day 25 $167,772.16

Day 26 $335,544.32

Day 27 $671,088.64

Day 28 $1,342,177.28

Day 29 $2,684,354.56

Day 30 $5,368,709.12

Day 31 $10,737,418.24


Each day, the "interest" I paid you the previous day earns more interest. At the beginning, the amounts are nominal, but by the end we're talking big bucks.

Of course, no one's going to double your money every day. But this concept explains how people who save relatively small amounts over the years can build rather substantial nest eggs. After a few decades, their actual contributions represent only a small part of their burgeoning wealth -- it's mostly their returns that are earning returns.

But this also illustrates how debts can quickly balloon out of control. If you're paying interest, rather than incurring it, and you're not diligent about paying off the finance charges in full every month, the unpaid amount will incur additional interest charges, increasing the total amount that you owe. This is why so many families who incur credit card debt eventually find themselves in trouble as the amounts they owe explode past their ability to pay.

Financial Concept Undergraduates Must Know(Part 3)

Why supply and demand rule

For the most part, prices are set by the interaction between supply and demand. If demand for something suddenly shoots up and the available supply of that something doesn't change, then prices will increase. If demand drops or supply increases, prices typically fall.

Here's an example. Say football star Ronaldo is photographed wearing a cap with the brand name of Merah Jambu. Suddenly, all his fans and half the people reading Football magazine decide they, too, need the Merah Jambu hat. The farm supply companies that stock these hats figure out a good thing when they see it, and double, then triple, the price. The hat actually worn by Ronaldo sells for a mint on eBay, earning a notice in mainstream newspapers and furthering the craze.

The Merah Jambu company wants a piece of this action and starts cranking out hats by the ton. Suddenly you can find one in every Carrefour and Wal-Mart. The retailers can no longer command a premium for having a rare item, thanks to the increase in supply. In fact, the hats start seeming a heck of a lot less cool, lowering demand; Carrefour and Wal-Mart slash the price still further to get rid of their unwanted supply.

Supply and demand have a lot to do with our incomes as well. If we have rare skills that are in high demand by employers, we can negotiate higher pay. If, on the other hand, a lot of people can do what we do or the employer need for what we do is limited, our incomes are likely to be stunted.

The time value of money



This boils down to a relatively simple proposition: that the dollar I get today is worth more than a dollar I'm promised sometime in the future.

There are several reasons for this. One is the "bird in the hand" reality: the dollar I get today is real, but the dollar I'm promised in the future likely will be worth less (because of inflation), or I might not get it at all (you might renege on your promise to give it to me, or die, or cease operations if you're an employer or business). Also, the dollar I get today can be invested to create more dollars in the future.

Turn this around, and you'll see why lenders charge interest for loaning money -- and why the interest rate depends on your creditworthiness. Lenders want to be compensated for the erosion in their dollars due to inflation, and for the risk of lending money to you.

The higher the perceived rate of future inflation and the more lenders doubt your promise to pay the money back, the more interest they'll charge to compensate for the risk.

Financial Concept Undergraduates Must Know(Part 2)

Scarcity makes your choices for you

It's lovely to believe in a world of endless abundance, but the reality is that at any given point in time, our resources have limits. Whether it's oil in the ground, our time here on Earth or the cash in our pockets, there's only so much available to be spent.

People who ignore this reality are the ones who run out of Ringgit before they run out of month, or who extend their unsustainable spending by relying on credit cards, home equity loans and other reckless borrowing. Their refusal to make the sometimes-hard choices needed to responsibly manage money means that they will have even fewer choices in the future. The money they spend on stuff and on interest can't be invested in other goals, like retirement, so odds are pretty good they'll wind up old and broke.

The pointlessness of the hedonic treadmill

This isn't the latest workout device at your gym. The hedonic treadmill means that we quickly adjust to improved circumstances. A raise at work or a new possession may make us happy for a little while, but we soon take our situation for granted. Our expectations continue to rise: if only I could get another raise, or a better car, or a bigger house. Should those expectations be satisfied, again we'd adjust and quickly want more.

This has a lot of implications for personal finance and the economy, but here's something to consider: Maybe we need to look beyond our wallets for true happiness.

Every money decision has a cost of its own

"Opportunity cost," very simply, means what we give up to get something else. In every choice, there's an opportunity cost. If you decide to go to college, for example, you're giving up the income you could have earned by working full-time during those years plus whatever you could have purchased with the money used to attend school. You also may take on loans to pay for school, which will have to be paid back with future income that could have gone for other purposes.

The good news, of course, is that even with opportunity costs, college is a slam-dunk for most people. The average graduate makes 70% more over his or her lifetime than someone who stops with a high school diploma.

Financial Concept Undergraduates Must Know(Part 1)

Here are the economic and financial concepts I wish everybody knew:

The difference between needs and wants
Our actual needs are pretty limited: food, shelter, clothing, companionship. Just about everything else is a "want," and our wants are essentially endless. Because our resources are limited, we have to make choices about which wants to fulfill.


Also, the way we fulfill our needs involves a lot of choice. Shelter, for example, can be a bed at a mission for the homeless or a $125 million mansion. Our food choices offer a similar range, from beans and tap water consumed at home to steak and Dom Perignon at an exclusive restaurant.

I've discovered many people believe they have to spend money in certain ways or in certain amounts, when in reality their spending is a choice -- or is at least based on choices they made earlier. If you're facing a monster housing loan payment, for example, it's because you chose to buy that home and selected that particular housing loan.

Taking responsibility for our choices can be scary, but it should also be empowering. After all, if you have choices, you're not just a victim of circumstance.

Selamat Datang Ke Blog Tabung Duit Siswa

Terima kasih kerana melayari blog Tabung Duit Siswa.

Sebagai seorang trainer Financial Planning Workshop anjuran Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC)saya berasa cukup bertuah kerana dapat berkongsi pengetahuan serta pengalaman dalam aspek pengurusan serta perancangan kewangan kepada mahasiswa-mahasiswa serta mahasiswi-mahasiswi Universiti-universiti serta Insitusi-institusi Pengajian Tinggi di Malaysia.

Saya juga amat kagum dengan sokongan serta sikap ingin belajar sertiap mahasiswa serta mahasiswi semasa menghadiri program Financial Planning Workshop tersebut.

Sebagai lanjutan kepada program tersebut, saya ujudkan blog ini untuk menyampaikan maklumat serta pengetahuan tambahan untuk semua peserta.

Adalah diharap maklumat yang diisikan dalam blog ini dapat membantu semua dalam mempertingkatkan lagi pengetahuan serta amalan pengurusan wang serta perancangan kewangan yang baik.

Semoga sihat-sihat serta kaya-kaya selalu....

Tan Choon Kiang