News

First.....it was Tunisia....

Riots in Tunisia

And now....Egypt!!

Riots in Egypt

Next.....Yemen perhaps!!!

Yemen Protest

Talking about the domino effects eh??

Question remains.....Why?

The answer is......................I ain't got the clue...perhaps, it's because of the money....

Connection

What's all this thingy between Syiah and Sunni?

I ain't get a clue...

But it'll be a good thing if these two 'sects' can unite....

The same thing goes to the people of this magnificent country...

Anyways, closer to home, for the past few days, I've been reading some blogs posted by the pro-govt bloggers as well as the oppositions. My....my....there's so much hatred from each side eh? To make it worse, it's from the people of the same race....

Chill out la wei......somebody else might get all the benefits as these arguing and quarelling will never end......

Another article from Yahoo!.........

Read a nice article from Yahoo this morning....Maybe we could learn a thing or two from this old man......

Retirement at 107

Eight years ago, at age 99, Leonard McCracken failed the eye test for renewing his driver's license. He put his Lincoln Continental up for sale and got $1,600. "I sold it in three days -- I got a good price. I love to haggle," he says.

McCracken, who lives in Florida, has been living in retirement since about 1969, when he left a position as a salesman with a now-defunct steel company in Ohio. Since then, he's been living on savings, Social Security and a lifetime annuity that he purchased before he retired. He has never had a pension. At 107, after living in retirement for 41 years, he's still paying the bills and getting by on his own resources.

"Dad never made more than $10,000 a year in his life," says his son Bob, a 73-year-old retired GE aircraft engineer.

How does a guy with modest income manage such a retirement planning feat? McCracken points to a half-dozen basic principles that have gotten him through life and continue to serve him well.

Thrift

In his whole life, McCracken says, he has only owned two new cars. The rest of the time he bought used. He still shops at the thrift store. And he remembers vividly the time that his wife was holding a garage sale and left him in charge. When she returned, he had sold the living room sofa for $100. "I had a very understanding, frugal wife (Dorothy, who died in 2002 at 95 after 75 years of marriage). We gave up a lot of things that other people were buying in order to break even."

Real Estate Investments

McCracken bought and sold 35 houses in his life, including five that he built himself. His son, Bob McCracken, says his parents "always invested in a nice house and that has helped my dad. He is living off the equity in the last home he and my mother owned."

The elder McCracken agreed that buying and selling real estate was a smart move for him. "We didn't make a lot of money in every case," he says. "But we made something and that helped."

What is his advice for current owners of real estate? "It's bad now, but it will come back," he says. "And people who buy now, they'll make a lot of money," he says.

Use Debt Well

During the Great Depression, McCracken worked for a bank. He watched people lose their shirts and learned from it. Throughout his life, he borrowed when he had to, but he borrowed as little as possible, he says, and he paid it back as quickly as he could.

Work Even When Jobs Are Hard to Find

McCracken was unemployed about 45 years ago after his previous employer went bankrupt. He had to take a job driving a truck that paid $5 per day. It was a low point in his life, but between that and a commission sales job that he took at night, he and his family muddled through until he got back on his feet.

Save and Invest Conservatively

All of McCracken's money is in CDs and bonds. He's always avoided the stock market, even when people who purported to know more than he advised him differently. "When the economy tanked, he made a lot of us look real silly," Bob McCracken says.

Stay Healthy

McCracken has hung onto his health and his wits and has had no major medical bills at all throughout his entire life. It has only been in the last year that he's needed a little assistance. And even then, he doesn't need much, his son says.

by Jennie L. Phipps
Monday, January 17, 2011

Rumah...Flat

As I said a couple of weeks back, for 2011, I hope to purchase another middle-cost apartment for investment.

Wifey and I had already discussed the location and we both agree that it's gonna be another good investment for us.

However, due to its location, it's gonna sell like hot cakes. We are pretty sure that most, if not, all the units will be taken up really soon.

The opening for registration is in Febuary and we've been made to understand that we will require to put RM13k for deposit. Quite a lot eh....

Anyways...since I no longer qualify to get the 90% loan, it'll be wifey's turn now. Hehehe. We've also discussed that if this 'project' materialises, she won't be using her government loan but will use the conventional banking loan instead.

Since she is the government, we'll try to purchase our dream home using her facilities. But that can wait lah for this moment....

Anyways, the other day, I received a letter from CIMB stating that CIMB's BLR has been revised 3 times during 2010. Hence, due to these revisions, my monthly installments now needs to be adjusted to RM530.

My thoughts, this is bloody -bullshit!! Hahahaha.

I've spoken to the officer in-charge and have written a letter reinstating that I can only pay RM500 a month. Hehehehehehe. Let's see lah how it goes.....

Have a nice day....

Perbualan Singkat....

Saya: Hallo bro....apa cerrrrr???

Rakan: Hallo...bila mau hantam (golf)??



Saya: Weekend aaarr.....weekday susah aaaa...



Rakan: Apasal? Anak sekolah ka



Saya: A'ah...



Rakan: Wei...kau ada simpan duit kat tabung haji x?



Saya: Simpan duit kat tabung haji tu tak lagi...tapi simpan duit nak gi haji dah mula aaa...



Rakan: Apsal tak bukak account kat tabung haji lagi?



Saya: Urrmm.....blom sampai seru kot....hehehe...



Rakan: Nko ni....abis tuh...ko simpan kat ner.....??



Saya: Few places aaaa. ASB ada, baru start AHB, Insurance-Education policies....Unit Trust..



Rakan: Itu semua haram bro....Aku tak caya semua tuh.....



Saya: huh........?



Rakan: AKu simpan kat tabung haji jer....



Saya: Urmm....kau punya planning utk anak2 kau camana?



Rakan: Alaaaahh.....ada lah tu nanti....



Saya: Ohh.....boleh ek gitu? Dah lama ka kau save kat tabung haji?



Rakan: Baru nak save je.......hahahahaha......



Saya: Hampeeees...........So bila mau hantam (golf)??



Rakan: Mariiiiiiiiiiii............

A short and simple conversation indeed eh?


I have to admit that I've yet to open up a tabung haji account for myself....Maybe it's time lah...Well, to be honest, I've started saving for the trip months ago!!

But, I do wonder about the 'haram' part that my friend mentioned during the short conversation....

I know....religion plays an important role in our daily lives....but it seems, there are 'so many restrictions' that has been set upon muslims in doing certain things in life....

I read somewhere where a fellow bloggger wrote about ASB and its return and there were some comments stating that it's Haram.

I wished not to go into the details of it, but I really think, if we do things correctly, and for the benefit for ourselves, and the people around us, Allah will grant us happines.

''Truly, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves'' (Quran 13:11)

D' Gift Shoppe

My aunt, recently open up a shop in Bangi.

Barely a month ago if I'm not mistaken....

It's called D' Gift Shoppe.

What does it sells u may ask.....Well...they sell all those collection of english-style decorative arts.

It's interesting in my opinion.

Never crossed my mind that someone could open up a shop selling those kind of stuff.

Wifey likes it so much. And from what I gather from my aunt, the response and sales has been good.

It's reasonably price for such lovely items.

We bought some stuff and will be goin there again later....hehehe

Enjoy the pics (sorry about the quality of the pics, these were taken by my ever unreliable Blackberry)
















The add and contact person for the shop is

D Gift Shoppe
16-G-01, Jalan Medan PB2A,
Medan PB2
Pusat Bandar Bangi Seksyen 9
43650, Bangi

(it's very near to JM Beriyani House, Bangi)

Amir Ariss (0122120906)
Normah Hamdan (0193523959)

10% Profit.....

Yeap....That was the profit that I received for my unit trust.

Not bad eh?

I made almost RM4k during the first 'cycle' about 6 months ago. The fund (PIDF) was introduced to me way back in 2007 or 2008.

I invested about RM10k for the 2nd cycle. So, to get a return of about 10% for the Public Islamic Sector Select & Public Islamic Equity funds in 5 months is good lah. Hehehehe.

Of course, I don't received that money in cold, hard cash. When the time comes, I'll 'sell' it off and put it back in my EPF funds.

I'm a happy man!!

Wooohoooooooo

Normal

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it''

Sad but true.....eh?

Roy's gone!!!

Yes!!!

Finally the idiot that destroyed has gone and left the club

Thanks but no thanks Roy!!

Enjoy your 'retirement'............

Hodgson Leaves Liverpool

5th Day of 2011

It's the new year...

New resolutions.....eh??

Well...my 2011 resolution is basically to continue what I did for 2010.

Perhaps, this year, I will try to help my wife to boost her 'net' worth....

We will also try to purchase one or two properties under her name....(I would love to purchase more but since the recent rule announced by BNM, we have to alter our plans a wee bit)

We will also try increase our OD facilities to RM100k, so that we can use the money to invest somewhere else.....

Since the last few weeks, I've started to contribute about RM110 to PRU BSN and another RM100 to Public Mutual Education Fund....

In all, I'm now saving about RM2k per month for our insurance & education funds...

Btw, 2010 also has taught me to manage my finances a wee bit better than before....Hopefully, in 2011, I can further boost my financial standing a bit....

I'm also hoping that I can save a wee bit more for my Haj. No doubt it's a 15-year plan but it has to start somewhere la kan.....

Anyways....i've yet to update my ASB book. Maybe tomorrow lah.....eheheh

Have a nice day....

Makan @ Sekinchan........

Went for a nice dinner at Sekinchan Ikan Bakar somewhere in Kota Damansara the other day..

My sister actually went to this place earlier and said that the ikan bakar was good...

Hence, since we were too lazy to cook, off we went to the place, together with my mom....

I thought, the food was delicious. The menu was pretty simple..

Nice interior



The 'sauces'







My favorite!!! Pari Bakar weiiiiiiiiii


Lala..............


The aftermath.......

Damage: RM94 . Not bad lah.....