Assets and Liability

Assets and Liabilities

I love assets and I hate liabilities! How to define these two terms. Robert Kiyosaki has pretty easy definition- assets put money into your pocket and liabilities take money out of your pocket!

There is no item in this world which falls definitely into asset or liability category- why do I say that? Because it all depends!

Long time again, I used to believe that car is the biggest liability in our life until recently I met a young gentleman who turns car into an asset!

He buys cars not because he loves car but he is involved in car-renting out bussiness!

I also notice that Singapore has a few companies that involved in luxury-cars-renting bussiness. The business model is simple, since Singaporeans really concern most about their faces, they have to own a luxury car if possible,this company offers membership to its members- either platinum,gold and silver depending how much you pay every year.

Then depending on your membership status, you are given certain points per year. This huge company has various luxury cars in the world- you can spend points if you want to drive the car. One hour renting of Ferrari may require 10 points etc. So if you are the member, you not only can drive one type of luxury car but various typrs at various times! Sound impressive, right?

And certainly you can impress your girlfriend and co-workers to the roof!

Property Investment Made Easy

Property Investment Made Easy?

I am a strong believer in property investment. People may say 110 bad things about property, I only say 2 good things about property- they seldom depreciate and you feel proud owning a property.

However, tenants are always a big problem for landlords. Therefore, before starting to become a successful property investor, you must learn how to pick a good tenant!

A few principles apply to choose a good tenant,

1) They must have a steady pay job. And will be better if they are a government servant. No believe how much they can earn blogging or doing online bussinesses, only trust pay cheque to pay cheque faithful workers!

2) They are young and newly married. This will be the best. If you find the spouse is also working, take them quickly even though they want a discount!

3) They do not cook. I would prefer someone seldom cool to stay in my property because cooking makes you to spend more money to renovate again when the tenant moves out!

Market Plunge? Can we escape?

Market Plunge? Can we escape?

Past few weeks was an interesting weeks for everyone. I always hope that the market will do badly because you can get cheaper property only if there is market plunge.

I still remember the last time you can get a cheap Singapore property was the time of Asian crisis in 1997-1998.

Everyone is still euphoric that after AIG being taken over by US Fed, the money and subprime crisis is over. I am rather sceptical about that. Last friday KLCI rebounded almost 3.5% because everyone is hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I must warn you that the worst market plunge is still ahead of us.

No one can escape from US market slow down and we are expecting recession at the end of the year!!

Don't burn your hands if you plan to jump into the market today or next week!

Why are we poor??

Why are we poor??

During the last general election in Malaysia, I think a lot of you must have heard that we are far behind in term of income as compared to Singapore, Taiwan and Korea. In fact, about 30 years ago, Malaysians are getting more than their counterparts in Taiwan and Korea, so what actually happens that makes us lack behind our neighbours in Asia? I think all of you have your own answers and I must leave these to be answered by economists and politicians.
However, I notice a few important observations and I think you may want to know,

1) The easiest money you can make in Earth is ?????

The easiest money you can make is not from your parent, your grandy or your boy or girlfriend, you can get the easiest money from tourists! If Malaysians want to make more money, we have to attract more tourists to come and of course foreigners to live in this country. Look at Singapore and Hong Kong, there are so many exparts working in their countries and paying income tax for the government. Take a look at Malaysia, we are the World number one ( Malaysia Boleh!) country to have so many unskilled workers. So what do we get? We get nothing, no income tax, no nation-building but only more crimes, infectious diseases and flooding of workers in our public health facilities!

2) Our mentality has to change

There is no short cut in this world, you want more money, you have to make it. Malaysians like short cut, we give ‘duit kopi’ to settle our traffic offenses, we pay ‘under table money’ to get licences. Wake up, Malaysians, think of a way or a system to make your own money, you will lose the first few years but you will learn slowly and become an adult to survive at your own feet without subsidy!

3) ‘ Know how’ and not ‘ know who’

I always impressed with how the system works in this country. Almost everything in this country is politics-related. We always believe that money making is ‘knowing who’ rather than ‘ knowing how’, therefore, we spend more time making friends rather than improving our business strategy. You will never succeed if you are a giant in this ‘kampung’ and never expand your business overseas. I always believe that a great business is a business earning other people money and not your own people money!

4) Be prepared to pay more before you get more

Malaysians are stingy, we want the cheapest workers in the world even though they know nothing. We want labour intensive business and we are never prepared to pay people more. People around the world are progressing even the Chinese in China, but we are holding back our steps to go further. We do not have minimum wage for workers simply because we want to hire more cheap foreign workers!

5) ‘Middle man’ culture
Malaysia is full of middle man. Our people are not getting the money they are supposed to get because of middle man. We should get the middle man out of our business model especially middle man that does not contribute!

How to save extra Two Hundred a month??

How to save extra Two Hundred a month??


" I can't save any extra cent a month!!" a lot of youngsters nowaday have the same feeling. We are being bombared everyday by politicians that our economy is booming," Our country economy is growing and our unemployment rate is the lowest for the past 50 years!". As a normal working adult in Malaysia or Singapore, we seem to be lost. We have the same question in mind, " Are our lives getting better and are we making more money??"






Inflation is killing us, the petrol price is at its historical high. We are seeing every daily household item price's creeping up. We can't breath and we have to say" ENOUGH is ENOUGH! SUDAH TAK BOLEH TAHAN LAGI!!"


In the era of high inflation, I think we have to cut cost, no matter what it takes, we HAVE to change our lifestyles!!


1) Cancel your subscription of anything! You mention it- newspaper, magazine, your extra TV channels..... etc. OR at least cut down your subscription. I pay for almost 70 channels in ASTRO but I never watched more than 10 channels. So cut, cut cut down your extra channels. You can save RM20-30 per month!!



2) If you like to frequent Coffee bean, Starbuck etc.It is time for you to think twice today. You only can find the most expensive coffee in the World in these outlets. Make your own coffee and you can save up to RM40 per month if you just spend 3 minutes every morning to make your own coffee/MILO!!



3) Petrol, Petrol , Petrol- Take public transport if you can! Although it is rather to recommned you this if you are from Malaysia because I must say that Public transport is a nightmare for many Malaysians. However, try car-pool or if you are living in Singapore, never drive your own car unless you have a S500k-car that you want to show off to your girlfriend just before proposing to her!



4) Entertainment- Youngters like to spend money. They want to buy game CD, DVD, Playstation, the latest NOKIA model etc. Just relax, no matter how latest your NOKIA phone is, it will be outdated in 2 months. Unless your father is the NOKIA CEO, it is a waste of money if you keep on changing your handphoen model!!


5) Credit card- Keep your credit card in your safe not becuase you are worried it will be stolen but it brings your more disaster if you put it in your wallet!!


Hope these tips help!!

Your Home- your asset??

Your Home- your asset?



People always think that their homes is their assets. I asked them what makes them think so. A lot of you will reply:" Of courselah, can appreciate in value ma!"





I strongly disagree that. If you are living inside your house now and still paying your home loan/mortage, I am so sorry to tell you that your home becomes the asset for the banks and a liability for yourself!



Therefore, if you are not making any money out of your house and need to pay money to stay inside, it is your liability and not your asset. You only can consider it as an asset once you settle your housing loan!



'How to settle the housing loan? Are you kidding? I am taking a RM 500k or S 300k housing loan?' some people may argue! I think one commonest mistake people make after they get their fisrt job is buying cars and houses too soon!!



Second mistake we make is buying too big car and house that we can't afford. Actually, you are recommended to buy a house that is only 3-4x your annual income. And I can tell you a truth, getting a house with that price will most probably end you up in one on the lousy flat in KL/Penang. And if you are lucky/unlucky to live in Singapore, you most probably can't even find any HDB flat that falls within your budget.


What I suggest you to do,


1) Work 2-3 years first and save up at least 20-30k before hunting your first house.

2) If your head is not so big, never try to show off to buy expensive house ( or show people how big your hat is!)

3) Settle your loan fast, pay extra every month until you settle your loan.

4) Get second cheap property and rent it out, then you only can consider it as your asset ( positive cash flow)!

The Oasis-Cheapest Condominium in Penang

The Oasis

Nowaday, it is hard to find a nice condominium in Penang below RM300k. Rececntly found out this condominium and suprisingly it is below RM300k.

The Oasis is situated on a parcel with land area of approximately 6.5 acres.

LOCATION

The subject property is located off Jalan Yeap Chor Ee and sited next to the west of Minden Heights and lies in between Jalan Kaki Bukit/Lorong Bunga Raya. Adjacent to the subject land is the Custom Village and an undeveloped site which belongs to the RTM (Kementerian Penerangan Malaysia). It is located approximately 18 km due south of Georgetown and 5 km due west of Penang Bridge. It is easily accessible from Georgetown via Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Jalan Scott, Jalan Yeap Chor Ee and Jalan Valley.

SURROUNDING LOCALITY

Surrounding developments within the vicinity are mainly residential and commercial developments. Located opposite the subject property and due west are rows of government quarters and due east are rows of bungalows, double storey semi-detached houses and single storey terrace; and the custom village which is under construction. Bukit Jambul Complex is located nearby and within 15 minutes drives due south of the subject property. Commercial and retailing activities are concentrated mainly within the Bukit Jambul Complex and Bandar Gelugor area. Housing neighborhoods nearby include Minden Heights, Taman Gelugor, Taman Brown, Kampung Kastam, Taman Tun Sardon, Taman Pekaka, University Place and Taman Bukit Jambul. The wet market of Taman Tun Sardon is located nearby and within walking distance due south of the subject property. University Science of Malaysia is located at Jalan Yeap Chor Ee and within walking distance due south of the subject property. Located opposite the subject property at Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah is RECSAM.

Since it is so strategically located but why it is still so afforadable?? The catch is it is a not freehold land!

Property in KL- Rosvilla

Property in KL- Rosvilla


Mount Kiara is always considered as the prime addresses in Kuala Lumpur. You can find a lot of facilities near by such as shopping complexes, international schools etc. My friends told me that if you want to get a unit of condominium nearby Mount Kiara, you better have a five-figure salary every month.


Anyway, I think the developement over there is a bit over-heating and even if you have a unit there, you will see mainly fly-overs if you open your windows and no more greenery.


But I think a lot of people especially foreigners like to live there. Recently, found a newly launched project which is affordable for most people.


The Rosvilla Condominium at Bulit Prima Pelangi is launching now. Designed with exquisite taste and endowed with luxurious facilities and features to cater to your exciting lifestyle, Rosvilla Condominium has even more to offer.


Pegged from only RM238,000. Rosvilla Condominium is the oyster of prime investment with Garden International School, Plaza Mont Kiara and Solaris at your doorstep. Rosvilla Condominium is sure to be a buyer’s delight





You may want to find out this project!!

Happy New Year 2008!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So... what you have achieved so far in 2007? Have you got everything you want in 2007?? Make a resolution today and write down your plan today!!

You can achieve what you want if you focus all your efforts!!

Happy New Year 2008!!

KL Hilton and KL sentral







I recently attended a conference in KL Hilton. I was surprised that although we are performing about 50-60 kidney transplantation in Malaysia, even one Chinese hospital in Beijing is performing more than 1 hundred kidney transplantations a year.

Anyway, I hope I won’t talk much about medicine in this blog, there is another thing that surprised me most when I was in KL sentral, yes you are right, the development at KL sentral.

I still remember that when I was a medical student 10 years ago, if I am not wrong, there was only a small piece of land at the location where KL sentral stands tall now.

Certainly, a lot of investors are getting good return now if they have bought a unit of condominium many years ago. I was shock to find that a condominium at KL sentral is selling at RM700K. I am not sure about the launching price of that condominium about 10 years ago but I was told it was only RM200-300K.

Why KL sentral attracts so many buyers?? If there is a transport hub in Penang similar to that of KL sentral, do you think it is a good buy??

I heard that MRCB is going to build a similar transport hub in Butterworth, maybe we should get a small piece of cake if possible!!

Penang Cyber City

Penang Cyber City

I always think that property investment is the best among all investment vehicles. OK, just found out a good project which will be launched in Penang Island.



If you look at the property price in Penang, nowaday, you can hardly find a landed property priced below RM500k. However, if you have money to invest, why don't you try to put your money in landed commercials rather than residential property.

Penang Cyber City is offering you to own a piece of commercial property below RM700k!!

Check out this project!!

Google Adsense Tutorial 2

Google Adsense Tutorial 2- Draw Traffic





Google adsense pays most generously. So far, after trying so many PPC ( Pay Per Click) campaign, I still think Google adsense is the best. Although some publishers may think that PPC era is over, as a beginner, make full use of Google Adsense and you will receive your first cheque soon, trust me!!



In my previous post, I told you about how to write a blog. After applying a Google adsense account, you can then put your advertisement in your blog to start to earn your first US dollar. Anyway, try everything, some advertisement formats may attract more clicks than others, I think you should explore all possibilities.


Anyway, I think the most difficult part is how to attract visitors to view your blog?? There are a few FREE ways here,



1) Include your blog in major search engines

Go to Yahoo, Google or MSN and there is a section for you to suggest a new URL/site, click and include your blog URL. If you are writing a Mandarin blog, you may want to include it in Baidu.com.



2) Link exchange

There are thousands of sites proivides link exchange with other websites, you can try the following,


Linkmarket



3) Write articles

Write as many articles as possible and put these articles in article directory but do not forget to put your blog URL at the end of your article.



4) Participate in forum

Try to participate in many forums as possible and give your opinions and include your site URL.



5) Give comments in other people blog

Include useful comments in other people blog and of course include your site URL as well.



6) Pay for traffic

This is a more advanced technique, you can use Google adwords but I think we should skip this and discuss it in future.



7) SEO

Make your site ranks high in search engines, this needs time ,energy and money. Anyway, I will talk about this in more depth in future.



8) Include Tell a friend script in your blog

If you look at the right column of this blog, you would see Tell a Friend script and this is for visitors to introduce this site to others ( viral marketting)



9) Use Classified advertisement

If you are in Malaysia, CARI.dom is a useful tool. However, you can find a lot of Free advertising sites in the net.



10) Advertise in local papers

Anyway, try this only after you get your first check!

Platino Condominium- Penang Best Location?

Platino Condominium- Penang Best Location??



After Bayswater Condominium, IJM recently launched another luxury condominium in Penang island- Platino Condominium. Most of the units were grabed within hours after the launch.



If you can remember, when Bayswater condominium was launched years ago, the price of a unit was around RM200-RM300k but I heard that Bayswater is selling at RM450k currently.



I still think that Platino condominium is overpriced, however, in property market, it is same as stock market, there are crazy sellers and there are crazy buyers! Anyway, based on current property market, I am confident that Platino Condominium price will appreciate in short term before it becomes static later.



For a working adult like you and me, I think RM700k certainly is out of reach. Anyway, if you are interested in the project, here are the details,







Land Area:3.48 acre
No. of Units:229 (Tower A - 117 units, Tower B - 112 units)
Built-up Area:1850sf (171.8 sq.m) - 2850sf (264.7 sq.m) - typical3850sf (357.6 sq.m) - 5300sf (492.3 sq.m) - duplex & penthouse (1 penthouse and 2 duplexes per Tower)
No. of Carpark:Penthouse/duplex (3)
Proposed Price:From RM550,000 to RM2,000,000
Facilities
Swimming pool, wading pool, Jacuzzi, Sauna, Gym, Tennis court, Pavilion, Landscape garden, Water fall / water features, Security, Function room.
All units with minimum 2 carparks lots (basement carpark)

Penang City Centre

Penang City Centre Project


As compared to an over-heating Singapore property market,I would say that Malaysian property market is far lacking behind. If you would to compare the price of a condominium in Kuala Lumpur to a 3-room HDB flat in any part of Singapore, you will be shocked to find out even a 5-star condominium in KL city is cheaper!!



The property scene is Penang is even more pathetic. A lot of people believe that property price in Penang is escalating, however, if you want to rent out your apartment for a good price is almost impossible here.







Hopefully, Penang City Centre Project will change Penang faith in future. Still remember what is happening to condominiums around KLCC? I think the presence KLCC helps a lot to boost the property values around the Golden triangle area in Kuala Lumpur.



The RM18bil Penang City Centre (PCC) project by Abad Naluri sdn Bhd, an associate company of Equine Capital Bhd, will take 15 years to complete. Equine holds a 25% stake in Abad Naluri, which is developing PCC on the 260-acre site where the Penang Turf Club is presently located. The PCC is one of the projects highlighted in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) blueprint.


I also heard that apartments and condominiums around Penang Turf Club have appreciated tremendously for the past few months.


Hopefully, PCC will bring wind of change to this island property scene and we all in Penang will get good rental income from our apartments in 10 years time!

FOREX- Learn you lessons TODAY!!

FOREX- Can you make a living from it??

Recently found a website that offers lessons for beginers to learn about FOREX. You may want to have a look at this website and spend about RM100 to learn about FOREX.

As I told you before, there are many ways to get some side incomes. I am interested to learn everything and I have attended many seminars listening to people their secrets about making money.

FOREX is certainly a good way to make money but you have to know the way!

Learn today!!

Sell Online??

Sell Online- Try Zlio!!

A lot of people want to sell online to get some extra money. Although Amazon provides a good platform for you to get some money selling their products, you may want to find out this site- ZLIO!!

Yes, you can create your own online shop and I find that ZLIO provides rather easy way for you to add products to your own site.

Try it out today and visit my ZLIO SHOP!!

Options Trading- Make money??

Options Trading- New Trend to make money??

I am seeing a lot of advertisements about option trading recently in local and Singapore Newspaper. Can option trading really help you to achieve your financial goal??

As I told you earlier, if you ask 10 people on the street about ‘ stock market’, 8 out of 10 will tell you, ‘ You are going to burn your money if you invest in stock market!!’ However, I think you must look at stock market in a different perspective. Warren Buffet makes his fortune through stock investment and he will tell you if you want to get rich, invest in stock but remember two rules,



Rule 1: Never lose your money in stock!!
Rule 2: Never forget rule 1!

If you ask me to swim across Johore strait to Singapore, I will tell you I will be 100% drown and it is crazy to do so!! Anyway, if you ask any national swimmer to do so, he will say ‘ It’s kacang!!’

So my advice to you, open your eyes and acquire new information and knowledge, you will be suprised how much your hidden potential!!

Stock to watch!

Stock to watch!-MUIIND

I bought 20k of MUIIND 1 year ago at the price of RM0.18 per share, noticed that the price has rocketed up to 0.55 today. This translates to a profit of more than 300%!!

Anyway, I have sold the shares 1 month agao when the price was RM0.34.

The problem that I am having in stock trading is " When is the best time to sell?" I think most of you are having the same problem!!

Recently I read a book about stock trading and I will share with you the tips soon!

Malaysia Property-Setia Walk

Setia Walk- Another Bintang Walk??


SETIA Walk, which is SP Setia Bhd's first showcase project to mark the company’s entry into the commercial retail sector, will transform Puchong through its revolutionary lifestyle experience and refreshing retail concept.

Positioned as a one-stop boutique lifestyle centre that appeals to the trend-conscious younger clientele, the integrated residential and commercial development comprises retail blocks, offices, an entertainment complex, service apartments and residential apartments.

Setia Walk may turn into another popular 'Bintang Walk' in future which might transform Puchong to another international city!

Google Adsense Tutorial 1

Google Adsense Tutorial 1

As I said in my previous post, Google adsense is a good and easy way to make money online. There are a few things to consider if you are serious about making money online,

1) What is your niche market??

If you look around, what interests you most in life? You must find a topic that you know a lot and you can write a lot. I am a medical doctor, but besides medicine, I like investment and property, therefore, I decided to write about medical stuffs and money.

2) Who would be your viewers?

If you put up a website, who will view your site/blog. This is important because you want to target your viewers and write something that they are interested in. If you like car and you think your viewers are mostly from Singapore or Malaysia, it is pointless for you to talk about new car models in US, or Japan!

3) What is your platform?

OK, now you are ready to start your engine, but there is one important question to ask" Where do you want to put your thought/writing?" Many people would like to apply a domain name and start his/her first internet bussiness. I would certainly advise you to join blogspot first because it is FREE and you can put up your Google Adsense advertisement.

OK, I would talk more about SEO and how to attract visitors to your blog next time.

Cheers!!