2008年3月29日星期六

The Secret Paths to Financially Independence

During my time as a journalist with both Oriental Daily and The Star , I had many opportunities to meet people from different background, ranging from those stucked in twilight zones and those tycoons and multimillionaires who are enjoying a noble life.

"What makes them so different", i muttered to myself, and it took years before I finally found the convincing answers, and something that I would dubbed as the secret paths to financially independence.

Regardless of when you begin, it is better to be late than never. The following are some practical methods for ones to achieve financial success. Well, just keep in mind that this secret path has been invented by no one but merely the experiences from those who had already made it to their desired financial status.

1. Spend Less Than What You are Earning

No matter how much you are earning, you can never achieve financial freedom if you keep on getting yourself in debts. For instance, I have a client who are earning over RM 100K monthly, but guess what, 60% of his income will go to his debtors account, from various types of loans and other personal debts. Just remember that being overspent even a few hundreds Ringgit a month can have a cumulative impact over the course of your daily life.

2. Set a Monthly Savings Goal

A banker once told me that the reason why 90% of the people fail to achieve the financial success because they didn't bother save money for their future. Some of these people are too naive to believe that they could build their financial empire overnight, while others are simple didn't know a proper savings method. Always put aside at least 20% of your paycheck for savings before you finished them up, this is a often a perimeter that will determine your to have either an enjoyable or miserable life in the future.

3. Pay Off Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially. Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it's so easy to forget that it's real money we're dealing with when we whip them out to pay for a purchase, large or small. Despite our good resolves to pay the balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don't, and end up paying far more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash. Contact us for advice if you have problems with paying your credit card debts.


5. Secure Your Earning Power

Too many people are talked into making more money for a decent life, whether it is by investment or laboring work. However, it's also important that you have enough insurance to protect your dependents and your income in the case of death or disability. Guess who will pay for the bills when we are lying on bed?


6. Update Your Will

80% of Malaysians don't have a will, or, in other words, don't bother to have one. This explains why over RM 40 billions of private assets in Malaysia are leave to no one after the owners had passed away. So, If you have dependents, no matter how little or how much you own, you need a will. If your situation isn't too complicated, you can also contact us for will writing services.

Protect your loved ones. Write a will.