Investing Basics – What Are Your Investment Goals

When it comes to investing, many first time investors want to jump right in with both feet. Unfortunately, very few of those investors are successful. Investing in anything requires some degree of skill. It is important to remember that few investments are a sure thing – there is the risk of losing your money!

Before you jump right in, it is better to not only find out more about investing and how it all works, but also to determine what your goals are. What do you hope to achieve with your investments? Will you be funding a college education? Buying a home? Retiring? Before you invest a single penny, really think about what you hope to achieve with that investment. Knowing what your goal is will help you make smarter investment decisions along the way!

Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight. This is possible – but it is also rare. It is usually a very bad idea to start investing with hopes of becoming rich overnight. It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a child’s education. However, if your investment goal is to get rich quick, you should learn as much about high-yield, short term investing as you possibly can before you invest.

Avoiding Impulse Spending

Impulse buying is a common behavior today.  If you’re reading this thinking that you aren’t susceptible to impulse buying, it’s possible you’re correct. Our culture of consumption enables us to succumb to temptation and purchase something without considering the consequences of the buy.

Impulse buying is related to anxiety and unhappiness, and controlling it could help improve your psychological well-being. To control something though, it’s important to first understand it. To understand impulse buying from a psychological perspective, we should ask the question “What motivates us to impulsively buy products?” There are in fact a number of answers to this question, and knowing them will help you make smarter, more rational decisions the next time you’re shopping or the next time you just catch yourself wanting to buy something.

To avoid impulse buying and to make unplanned purchases a thing of the past, follow these tips from a top financial expert and Certified Financial Planner, Datuk Dr. Elamaran Sabapathy.

How to get a Mortgage After Bankruptcy

Declaring bankruptcy can be a great tool if you find yourself drowning in debt. Bankruptcy is meant to help people who just cannot find another way out. It allows you to use all of your assets to pay back as much as possible over a set number of years are all at once and then start anew. When you declare bankruptcy, you free yourself from creditor and collection agency phone calls and have the chance to start over again with a fresh slate.

Well, almost. When you declare bankruptcy, it appears on your credit history that you took this action. Bankruptcy means that your lenders probably did not get back all of the money you owed them. Therefore, if future lenders see that you have declared bankruptcy in the past, you are considered to be a very high-risk candidate, because you might not have changed. Getting a mortgage after bankruptcy can be especially difficult, but there are ways to go about doing it.

Datuk Dr. Elamaran, one of Malaysia’s most sought after and successful management consultant and entrepreneur suggests the following steps:-

First, building up credit—good or bad—takes time. If you declare bankruptcy, you effectively wipe out your credit history. However, that includes any good credit you may have had as well. Therefore, you have to start from scratch. Just like a mortgage lender would consider a young adult a high-risk candidate because he or she has little credit history, you too will be considered a high-risk candidate. You can explain to your lender about how you’re going to change until you are blue in your face, but a more effective way to do that is to prove it. Build up your good credit again, and wait about two years before even considering approaching a lender regarding a mortgage.

You can also use special government programs to help you get a mortgage. Some will work with you to put less money down on your new home and to convince a lender that you should qualify, even if you have declared bankruptcy in the past. If you have a solid income now and are working to pay off debts, you can probably qualify for some of these government programs.

You can also use your current home as equity to convince a lender that you should qualify. The less money your want to borrow, the less risk you are to a lender. Therefore, if you can pay for the majority of your new home by selling your current home, your lender will be more likely to overlook the fact that you’ve declared bankruptcy in the past.

The real lesson here is that bankruptcy should not be declared lightly. You need to make absolutely sure it is the best option for you. Bankruptcy should be your last resort financially, because it will make it difficult to do things like get a mortgage in the future.

How to Retire Comfortably - 5 keys to smart financial planning for retirement

With the year coming to a close, there couldn't be a better time than now to start thinking about your personal finance. If you are planning to retire in the next few years, now is the best time for you to start getting your finances on order.

Here's what we have in our special report on retirement.

1. Five things to look at close to your retirement

The fundamental behind retiring rich is the ability to plan everything in advance and not leaving anything to chance. You will also need to review your plans every now and then to make sure that it is still relevant towards achieving your goal.If you don't have a plan, now is a good time as any to start one.

2. It's not too late to start thinking about investing

We spoke to a top financial expert Datuk Elamaran Sabapathy who offered his insights on investments strategies for retirees. According to Datuk Elamaran, an investor should have a healthy appetite for risk but at the same time not to take too high a risk with their hard-earned savings. Datuk Elamaran also added that when building a conservative investment portfolio, it's important to take a look at your overall investment plan and your risk profile. "It's all about creating a plan, balancing risk with the need for security,"

3.Calculate your expenses

Some of the common issues usually faced by retirees is that they are worried about not having enough money to cover their monthly expenses; others are worried that their retirement savings could be depleted by health care costs or inflation. In other words, many are worried about their retirement futures.

4. Figuring out where to live in retirement

Start talking with your spouse or partner about what life might look like in retirement. Do you want to stay in your house, or move to a place where it's warmer?

5. Clear your debt

The settlement of any existing debt should be first and foremost before you retire. This is crucial as we achieve a clean slate and spend our retirement in complete peace of mind. So before you retire, you should aim to settle all your outstanding debts.​

Monetary Finances between the Poor and the Rich

Money, money, money… This is the cause of all that is material but the reason why man struggles so hard. The value of money is so unstoppable now. It is so important though people always try to claim that it is not that so much important. The fact is so clear that money matters… a lot.
 

Around the world, money determines the status of a country in the international scene. The rich ones are of course- powerful. Those which are poor are usually the subject of oppression and discrimination. Even within a country, there is a big deal between rich families and the masses. Sad to say, the gap is so big. We could claim that equality exists but there are so many obvious reasons telling us that it does not. How come many stay on the street begging for alms when many just spend to waste their financial resources?

Money is the cause of imbalance. The world has in it a promise of equality but it seems strange. Third world countries have difficult times to finance all their affairs especially education and health aspects are neglected. For other rich countries, people live with comfort and the value of their piece of coin is as much as the value of the third world’s 12 hours.

This uneven distribution of wealth and finances greatly affect all. Some countries could finance big and expensive events for a night. It may include welcoming so many guests and showing off the riches of a place. For the poorest, their government could barely prioritize their basic needs over military equipment. According to statistics, there are an overwhelming number of hungry people most especially children. This is not overwhelming but a kick on our hearts.

Countries are creating a community of amity. They share what they have while others seek the help they needed. Why some countries’ finance not suffices their people’s mere existence? This is the saddest question to answer. Why? It is because the answer is still unknown. On the other hand, poor countries do not seem to find means to escape the pity of big countries. They just live with donations. Low financial capacity is often coupled with blaming the society for all the misfortune. The point we want to stress out is, let us not let personal inadequacies to vanish into thin air. Does a poor country strive for its personal wealth? Let us say not necessarily finances.

There is a lot of wealth around us. They come in beautiful forms but we just think money conquers all.

Dealing with others

In all application of magnetism to persons, you are urged to remember that your very first goal, always and preeminently, is an agreeable feeling within their minds. You should never try to induce a person to act your way until you have thoroughly established in him a good feeling toward yourself. 

This is the prime initial step. When such a condition has been secured, you are then ready for the magnetic assault and then only.

When you are dealing with other people, endeavoring magnetically to win them to your wish, you should summon the general magnetic feeling within yourself, will them to do as you desire, and at the same time think of them as already consenting and acting. 

Your inner condition should be perfectly calm, buoyant, hopeful, whatever the external means employed, your mind should be concentrated upon the thing desired, and its accomplishment should be thought of as now secured. The response of the person may be delayed, but this should not discourage you, for some minds do not take suggestions (those of your unspoken will are referred to) quickly, and they do not act instantly upon their own thought. 

It is invariably best to induce people to believe that they are acting on their personal impulse or judgment; they should be made to feel perfectly free, not at all coerced, and that they are doing their own will rather than yours simply because they wish so to do.

We may summarize all these suggestions in the words of a distinguished scientific writer:

"Life is not a bully who swaggers out into the open universe, upsetting the laws of energy in all directions, but rather a consummate strategist, who, sitting in his secret chamber over his wires, directs the movements of a great army." This is a good description of magnetism.

The success-magnetism assumption: We are now ready for the great assumption-principle of magnetism in applied life.

Think of every goal as already reached, of every undertaking as already achieved.