A visit to PNB

Earlier today, I went to PNB with wifey. She lost her ASB book for some strange reason. I think, it has been a year since I last went there. Maybe more....Hehehehe.



So we were at PNB about 9am and the place was practically empty except us. .... I would've thought that the place will be full of people. Nevertheless, we proceeded to the counter and she got replacement book after paying RM20.

Since I was there, I spoke briefly to one of the staff about ASW & ASD. Since I can't open up an ASB account for kecik as she is only 4 years old, I decided to open up ASW account for her. Infact, the staff told me that I have 2 options for kecik. Either open up Amanah Saham Didik or Amanah Saham Wawasan. She suggested that I go for ASW as it is 'easier' to get and the dividend given for both funds is more or less the same i.e. 6% (for the last 3 years, the average div was 6.55%).

So, as a start, I invested Rm200 in ASW for kecik. I've yet to decide on how much I would like to save every month in her ASW but as I always said, a little bit of everything can be good in the long run. Maybe, just maybe when she turns 12 in a couple of years time, I might change her funds to ASB.

As I was on my way back to the office, I was thinking that we are very lucky to have such facilities & opportunities to save and get reasonable returns in the long run. I would think that it's a waste if we don't use the opportunity to improve our wealth a bit or at least, to have something for the future especially when we are talking about retirement plans as well as the well being of our children.

Of course, we can't guarantee what will happen to us in the future but what we can do is to be well prepared and keep on improving.

Have a good 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)

ASB..........FD

Since it's already known to many that we can no longer use ASB to pledge for overdraft purposes, I was thinking of using Fixed Deposit instead....

I was at the bank the other day signing some document for my ASB loan, and I took the opportunity to enquire about pledging the FD for O/D purposes.

First and foremost, we all know that the FD return is low. Seriously low. About 3% if I'm not mistaken.

Secondly, the bank will give you 1:1 for the overdraft. So if you have RM30k in your FD, you can pledge the amount for your od.

Third, why would anyone wanna do that? Well...for some and for me, OD has helped me a lot in 'enhancing' my financial being. It has helped me in diversifying my investment. So, I was just thinking, if I have some cash to 'spare', I'll put it in FD and then pledge it for OD.

To be honest, my OD account is not ''big'' but it is enough for me to use to spread my investments and my risk in different baskets.....

Hence, I believe, by 'expanding' my OD, I could have some 'ready' cash with me at any one time.

I've yet to determine whether to go ahead with this small 'project' of mine or not.....

Let's see how it goes lah....

Hari bersejarah.........Part Duex

After several nights of thinking...and some calculating....

I finally decided (after my visit to Maybank earlier today) that I wanna maximise my ASB account to RM200k.

I took up the ASB loan of RM100k for 25 years. Monthly payment is slightly less then RM600.

Since ASB is 'closing' tomorrow, the money (if all goes well) will only be disbursed next year.

Let's see how it goes....

I read somewhere about this ASB loan thingy. Lots of comments about it to be frank. Some said that it's good...and some said it's not wise...

For me though....it's another 'vehicle' that I can use to enhance my 'wealth' and boost my financial planning....Who knows, when the time comes, I might sell the loan amount back to Maybank....hehehe

I think...i've mentioned somewhere in my previous entries that I've yet to make any savings to my ASB account since the start of the year. So I guess, with this...I'm somewhat 'forced' to make the monthly payments...

After all....that RM600 is taken from the income from my rental properties. It's a good start for 2011 eh?

Alright then...one by one things are start to look clearer to me....

Next one is setting up the trust fund in Public Mutual (I know...I mentioned this earlier) and of course...my Haji Trip fund....hehehehe

Have a good day....

Another new investment 'vehicle'-AHB

Amanah Hartanah Berhad

Initial Entry to invest: RM500

Monthly Contributions: RM100 p.m

Bumiputeras will have the opportunity to own equities in properties

It's another 'form' of unit trust(REIT)-Real Estate Investment Trusts (correct me if I'm wrong yaa)

Targeted Dividend: N/A (I would assume between 6%-8%...:p)

My thoughts: I think it's great that we have another opportunity to invest. A plus point would be the low capital entry of RM500....With a contribution of RM100 a month, I would think that everyone is able to do it.

I might consider this myself for next year and for kecik's education fund.

I thought the timing of the launch of AHB is very good and perhaps, our financial plan for 2011 can include this as well...Maybe I would go to Maybank's office tomorrow and ask more about this. You know, I'm always on the look out for something that can give good returns in the future....

Oh by the way....it's the last month of 2010. I'm excited to see my ASB bonus. Hehehehehe...

I'm also starting an education fund with Public Bank this month. Actually, I'm doing it to save for my haj...hopefully in 15 years time. Hehehehe....

Have a good day

Looking at life thru a tire hub.....

Yeah....finally...managed to go to PNB and get certified!! This will be my 3rd time doing it. So tomorrow...another short visit the Bank to top-up my current OD facilities. Very nice!!! More things can be done if you have enough dough!!....

I think, I'm gonna pop down to cyberjaya during the weekends to do some 'soul-searching'. Hehehe....thnx for your tips ya Rohaniah!!!

Oh ya...the audit is almost complete. And yes, they did ask me the same lame and stupid questions all over again. The auditors seems so fresh and whenever I raise my voice a little bit, they looked like they wanna cry. Ck ck ck ck ck...very bad of me!!

Btw, the condo in Desa Melawati has yet to be rented out, so if any of you know anyone who's looking for a place to rent, tolong war-warkan yaaa......Tq in advance..
(the sooner the place is rented the better so that more plans can be executed). As Azizi Ali stated somewhere in his books, property investments is not a race. As long as you know where you wanna go and you know how to get there, that's enough. Heheheh. I know I said earlier in my previous blogs that I'm aiming to purchase another 2 this year. I think it's achievable but of course, a lot of other considerations that I need to think of...

Hrmm...over the weekend, i managed to read a couple of blogs with regards to properties, gold, ASB, investments, etc...I thought it was good and certainly I learnt new things and tips from people that I don't know. I think it's a very good way of sharing information and hope that those writers/bloggers keep on sharing ideas with the masses. Like them, I also hope to share my knowledge and stuff that I think that is useful and have some kind of impact to everyone!!

Have a good week...

ASB Certificate...and OD'd

Perhaps, some of us don't have any clue as to how and why we want to transfer or replace our ASB book to a ASB certificate. One of the reasons might be for you to be able to pledge the certificate to the bank and with that certificate, entitles you to receive at least 90% OD facilities of the amount that you pledge. For example, you transfer RM10k from your ASB book to the ASB cert, you will get around RM9k worth of OD facilities. Why do you need OD facilities anyway? Well, again, there a lot of reasons, for capital investments, to pay up your credit cards, to make downpayment for the purchase of a new vehicle, etc..etc...

How do I transfer from my book to the certificate?
It's a very simple process actually, go to menara PNB at Jln Tun Razak (Tips: Go early in the morning where the will be little crowd)-don't forget to bring along your blue ASB book. Go to the counter on your left once you enter and ask the receptionist that you wanna make a certificate. He or she will give you a red form for you to fill in and then, take your number (press A) and wait for your turn. Make sure you fill in the amount that you want to transfer to the certificate. Once your number is up, go to the counter, and pass your book to the officer and he or she will ask you to pay RM10 for the cert. Wallaaaa....there's that. Simple process isn't it? With that certificate, take your time to look around the banks that offers the lowest OD rate available. It might be RHB, Maybank, Public Bank, etc..etc....

Cont....

Ok, now we've got our certificate. What do we do? For me, I'm a bit lucky cause I know someone in Maybank that could help me in going through the OD application process. What I did was, I prepared 3 months of my salary slips together with the photocopy of the ASB certificate, I forwarded to my contact in Maybank and she will do the processing for me. I do not know as to how long the process will take but I do hope it can be settled before the 16th of January. As the next day, 17th of January is kinda of a big day for me as I'm going to bid for two properties that are up for auction. Let's just hope everything can be ready before that day.....