Don't fall in money trap

See the ads below? Sounds like the bank is willing to help you at raining day. Yes?
NO! Don't fall in money/debt trap. No money then don't spend anymore! Read the money tips:
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/2010/04/5-money-mistakes-you-might-be-making.html

5 Money Mistakes You Might Be Making (and How to Avoid Them)

If you could have more money in your checking account, you'd definitely take it, right? It probably comes as no shocker to you that it's really easy to let your funds slip away. But what you might find surprising is how simple it can be to turn things around for the better. Here are 5 common money mistakes with doable solutions.


Money Mistake #1: My Money Is Disappearing

No one starts the month planning to fritter away a small fortune, but that’s what can happen when minor expenses spiral out of control. It’s not just shopping at Saks that gets you into trouble. Seemingly innocent purchases — $15 jeans at Target, a few things for the kids at a two-for-one sale, the occasional Frappuccino — can do real damage to your bottom line.

What does it take to waste $10,000 a year? Just $27.40 a day. “You can undermine some of your most important goals with purchases you’ll never remember,” says Suzanna de Baca, president of Private Capital Solutions Group, a Des Moines, IA, investment advisory firm.

The fix: Know thyself financially. First step: Take five minutes and read through your latest bank statement. If the transactions seem unrecognizable and you have no idea why you went to the ATM a dozen times, spend a week tracking your spending (longer, if possible).

You can use a notebook, keep receipts in an envelope, try software like Quicken, or check out an online budgeting tool. Whichever you choose, find a money-tracking method that lets you see your purchasing patterns with fresh eyes.


Money Mistake #2: I Throw Away Cash

Who would pass up free money? Maybe you, if you make only the minimum contribution to your employer’s 401(k) savings plan — or opt out of the plan on the grounds that money is tight. According to the 2008 Wachovia Retirement Survey, only about a quarter of women with 401(k)s contribute the maximum allowed. Puny 401(k) contributions mean you aren’t taking full advantage of any free matching funds your company offers. Says De Baca: “If your boss offered to add $25 to your weekly paycheck, would you turn it down? Of course not.” Most employers match all or part of the first 3 to 6 percent of pay employees contribute.

That might not sound like much, but take a look at the math: Assume your company will kick in 50 cents for every dollar you put in, up to 5 percent of your salary. If you’re 40 and making $40,000 but decide not to fund your 401(k), you could be giving up almost $230,000 over 25 years.

The fix: If money is so tight you can’t imagine saving two bucks, start small. You don’t have to put in the maximum $15,500 annual contribution ($20,500 if you’re 50 or older). Instead, increase your contribution by 1 percent of pay a year, until you get the full match. One painless way to save: When you get your next raise, use all or part of it to bump up your 401(k) contribution.

If your employer doesn’t offer a match, that doesn’t mean you should skip making contributions. Remember, a 401(k) lets you put away money tax-deferred. This doesn’t just lower your current tax rate; your earnings can really grow, because Uncle Sam isn’t taking a bite out of them.


Money Mistake #3: My Kid’s Budget Runneth Over

Many parents find themselves wrestling with financial discipline when it comes to their children, says Galia Gichon, creator of “My Money Matters” Kit, a box of financial tips and workbooks. Whether it’s snacks for the little ones at the market or new skate shoes for your tween, “it’s amazing how quickly saying yes can add up,” says Gichon, a New York City financial planner and mother of two.

The fix: Rather than simply saying no to your kids’ endless wish lists — which can lead to wrenching battles — protect your budget and sanity by teaching your children Money Management 101. “Distract and delay” tactics work especially well for children age 6 and under. If your young daughter is jumping up and down for something she wants at the store, says Gichon, “try focusing her attention on something else, or acknowledge what she wants and say that you can talk more about it later when you’re home.” You may have to endure a little complaining, but your child gets an important message about not buying things on a whim.


Money Mistake #4: I Never Saw a Windfall I Couldn’t Spend

Whether you receive a raise, a tax refund, or a generous birthday check from Aunt Dotty, it’s hard not to view a windfall as an excuse to go shopping. Splurging can be fun, but that’s rarely the best use of your extra cash. “Few Americans are saving enough to cover day-to-day crises, never mind the future,” says Jonathan Pond, author of Grow Your Money!

The fix: To make sure you don’t feel deprived, earmark some of the newfound money for a modest treat (Aunt Dotty would want it that way). Gichon suggests using 5 or 10 percent for something fun: “That way you do something for yourself — while deciding what to do with the rest.”

Put the remainder of the money where you won’t be as tempted to touch it. Consider an FDIC-insured, high-yield online savings account such as the one offered by ING Direct. It has no minimum balance requirement or fees, and this account typically pays higher-than-average interest rates.

Next, consider where the money would do you the most good. Tackle any small, urgent problems first — a sore tooth, the clunking sound your car makes, leaky windows. This will help avert the hardship of paying for a string of bigger expenses later on as little problems snowball into debt.
Set aside some of your windfall for expenses that you can’t predict precisely but you know will be coming sometime. “You may not know when your cell phone will quit or the water heater will break, but they will,” Pond advises.


Money Mistake #5: I Forget What I’m Worth

If you’re a stay-at-home mom or you work part-time, you may not have enough life insurance. Many women are under­insured because they’ve under­estimated their income or the value of their contributions to the household. De Baca recalls one client whose wife died in her 30s and had only a $100,000 life insurance policy, which didn’t cover the need for child care for the couple’s young children or the housekeeping chores the client then required.

The fix: A rule of thumb to determine the amount of insurance coverage that you need — multiply your annual expenses by the number of years until your youngest child will turn 18. (Some parents may also want to factor in the future cost of their kids’ college.) Life insurance premiums actually have plummeted in recent years. So if you’re a healthy nonsmoker in your 30s or 40s, you can now buy a $500,000 term insurance policy for about $40 a month.

You and your partner should revisit your insurance coverage annually — or at least after a major event, like the birth of a child. “It takes a lot to run a household, and you want to be covered,” says De Baca.

Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/financiallyfit/5-money-mistakes-you-might-be-making-and-how-to-avoid-them-1308080/

30 Most Commonly Used Tricks by MLM & Investment Scams

It is normal nowadays to have a "long time no see" or "long time never show up" friend or relative call and ask are you free or not. Then the next thing happen is he/she sitting at hawker centre/coffee shop/*buck/your house and he/she start to share 1001 success stories of the people that they work with (They are not there yet la...... so still working on it......). All of these are supposedly bring you more income/money lo...... but where got free lunch in this world one.

Some nice people at Low Yat forum put up a list of trick used by MLM and Investment scam. Refer to the original posting at Low Yat forum. Please forward this post to everyone so that less people kena con.
http://ahsiangboringdiary.blogspot.com/2010/01/30-most-commonly-used-tricks-by-mlm.html

Here is the list:

1) "Denial" trick - They will claim "we are not mlm". Knowing that many people don't support a mlm or direct sales products. Some companies will keep denying they are MLM and used other terms like "franchisee" business, eg. Lampe Berger, STG, IRC; or "investment schemes" eg. Sunshine Empire, GRI, etc;

2) "Get-A-Job" trick - Example Easypha-max.

3) "Future Plan" trick - This has been most common in the past. They will tell you a lot of rosy future plans like setting up factory in Malaysia; or going public listed soon and you will be given free shares or priority to buy cheaper chares; or whatever you purchase now be worth much more in the future.

4) "Secret Formula" trick - on both plan and product. When they cannot explain how the product or their marketing plan works(obviously not if it is a scam) they will tell you "this is Company secret, tell all will means allowing competitors to follow us". Fixed return on investments(ROI) scams that take monies from the new victims to pay the old ones always use this statement.

5) "Other Industry" trick" - This trick started by Sunshine Empire is most commonly used by those investment scams that promised fixed return. This is the most common trick now. After the failure of investment scams like Sunshine, Mobilwallet, STG, etc many people already know that it's impossible for products selling or food business to gain such profits margin for unlimited members. So they use other industries like a certain plant or tree cultivation, seaweed, fish, fuel, IT-related development and the latest is "turning waste oil into crude oil" with office at Mont Kiara. Others out soon(being planned now) are church-related, shipping industry, space industry, etc

6) "Long History" trick - You probably heard many times on this. Those MLM Companies that have longer history will use this trick to "bully" the newer companies but what has that got to do with their products or whether it is a good business ? They will tell you their Company is stable because of a longer history (don't they have their beginning too ?) or used products supplier's history which do not belong to them.

7) "Testimonials" tricks on both products(esp healthcare products) and on the business opportunity. Nearly every healthcare products MLM used it. Sunrider, Morinda, SNE, BioYoung and many others, where have they all gone now if their products are so good ? Most of the time, the effects are placebo(see no. 13 below) or exaggerated. Testimonials are commonly used for the income opportunity too. They will always tell you so and so in their company earned a lot but NEVER caution you that over 99% of those who joined earlier have left or lost some money.

8) "Moneyback gurantee" trick - Is this a trick too ? Certainly ! This trick works well because people fill safe in paying for it BUT when you try to claim your money back; here are the common senario: your introducer or seller is hard to locate now, there is a 10% "certain fee" not brought to your attention earlier, certain offer items are not returnable; or your upline will beg you not to return because commissions they and you earned need to be refunded.

9) "International" trick - They will tell you their organisation has reached many countries, so what ? What has that got to do with you and your money which you are going to pay ? In some cases, foreign based MLM Companies are actually Malaysian-created with a virtual office addressed overseas. Some US claimed companies don't even do much business in US. Past examples are Enrich, Xango, etc

10) "Professionals" trick - most commonly used are doctors and lawyers. Doctors and Lawyers who speak for any business have poor code of ethics and comnpanies who used such tricks are worse.

11) "Doctors Endorsement" trick - Can we trust doctors who breach their own code of ethics ?

12) "Legal Agreement" trick - This one is most common now in investment scams. You think legal documents will protect you? They are used to earn your confidence or take away your rights, more later. In most of their agreements, they have a clause included that the Company can change any conditions in future leaving the members no rights to take actions against them. Past examples of this trick are MobilWallet and STG. Their bosses, offices and restaurants are still around but members cannot do anything legally.

13) "Placebo-effect" trick - Used widely by Fusion Exel and those energy pendant sellers. Placebo effects are more significant and effective from "energy" products like those made from magnets, ceramic or lava soils. When the users(normally MLM members) believe and have greater faith in them, a certain inner energy can be produced that may be good enough to cure some illness or symtoms. After the enthusiasm is over, you will find the product no longer effective. This is one of the reason why MOST of those MLMs selling health products are gone. I am sure we have all experience with doctors too. If you lack confidence with a certain doctor or medicine, it may not work for you because your inner energy from your own placebo effect is working against it.

14) "Chemical Reaction" trick - Remember the footpatch that cheated so many people ?

15) "Give you downlines" trick - This is a fishing trick used most commonly in those called binary plan. Some Management can even create new accounts for you to be placed somewhere on top; or they will tell you "I will give you a very strong line from Indonesia or Thailand, all you need is just build one leg"

16) "Free Body Checkup" trick - They will use a gadget or some machines to do for you a free check and later recommend you to buy their product and claim it will work for your problem. Some of them do not even tell you their purpose when they invite you for the "free" checkup. After you entered their office and did the check-up, you are trapped !!

17) "Only-we-have-products" trick - Mostly OEM products that no one knows or trusts. This is traditional in every MLM business. Everyone will claim that ONLY their Company has the product. Of course, because they simply contract a manufacturer to manuafcture for them. In most cases, the products are much more overpriced compared to similar products of another brand available over the counter. Such products are usually not value-for-money and only in the beginning because they are bought up by the distributors or the members of the company. Past examples are Forever Living, Sunrider, Bio-young, XKL, Morinda(Noni juice), Nu-skin, For-Life, Reliv, Xango, SNE etc. They all started with a hype and great volume during the 1st one or 2 years and quiet down later when even their hig-ranking members will no longer buy them.

18) "Brainwashing" trick - wow, this is going to be long.......

19) "Training" tricks - They only tell you "not to quit" but not why and how you will fail. While training is good for one's personal development, it can be harmful if you are trained in a misleading way by any particular Company. Take Amway for example, I am sure everyone of you has a friend or 2 who swear that they will NEVER leave or quit the Company 5 or 10 yeras ago(all due to their great trainings, brainwashings and motivations) but disappeared now due to embarrassment. My advice is "since 99%(statistics don't lie) of all MLMs or pyramid schemes business members will not be successful or make it to richness, NEVER close your back door by swearing you will never quit." Another such example is QuestNEt that started with that no-value gold-plated coin that ask for over RM1000 each. Their members(mostly youngsters) are all trained to approach at least 100 prospects before they should quit. It will only lead to more victims and when they eventually quit, they will be so disillusioned that they will never want to get back into any form of business.

Remember this example if you are ever trained or brainwashed not to quit a business:

A fly inside a closed room saw a big heap of delicious rubbish outside through the closed window. The fly has the motivation, aim, goal, an action plan(everything ever needed and trained for achievement) to knock down the window and get out for the rubbish. With a "Never Quit" attitude, the fly will knock the window until it gets killed. So much on trainings and brainwashings.

20) "Tee Up" trick

21) "Good People" trick - announcing they are of a certain religion or vegetarians

22) "Chicken & Duck Talk & Physcology" trick - This is also very common now and used by nearly every MLM or scam with a good training department eg: When you question them on the business module and suspect a scam or when you have cornered them, they will give you answers like:

"In any business, you need to work for your income, there is no guaranteed income",

" I am afraid you have been misled by others or heard too much negative things from those who are not even how members, so how could they know better than us ?",

"Failures always find excuses not to work, successful people always find ways to succeed"

"Birds of the same feathers always flock together - Only failures listen to failures(we listen and learn from our successful leader in our company"

"Those who failed or left are jealous, so they condemn us"

"No one force them or point a gun on their head to make them join"

I am sure you have heard much more, maybe help to contribute ?

23) "All are Pyramids" trick

24) "Confusing" Plan trick

25) "Company Background" trick - They are big in China or U.S. - What has that got to do with the products?

26) "Treat You" trick - Let's come out for yum cha and there is a free makan !! Greedy people will get this one.

27) "Gadgets-Testing" trick

28) "High Repeat Sales" trick

29) "Impressive" trick - Normally on their office or website

30) "Figures" trick

How rich you are?

Usually normal people like me complaint once in a while that money not enough. But since you are looking at your laptop/computer, you should be once of the richest people in this world! Check out this web!

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

p/s: if you don't find your currency, try to covert your currency to US$ or the listed currency in the globalrichlist website. http://www.xe.com/ucc

Forex trading leh......

People beware Forex scam.

Bank Negara Malaysia issued a statement regarding Forex trading in Malaysia:
http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=8&pg=14&ac=1976

The article:

Ref No: 01/10/01

Embargo: For immediate release

Beware of Illegal Foreign Currency Trading Schemes

Bank Negara Malaysia would like to caution members of the public not to participate in any illegal investment or training programme on foreign currency trading offered by individuals or companies both domestic and foreign.

Members of the public are usually enticed to attend such investment or training programmes with promises of quick and good returns. The modus operandi of such programmes have included:

• Offering free training, seminars or workshops to lure investors, prior to inviting investors to set-up an online foreign currency trading account with a principal company (purported to have valid licence to trade foreign currency overseas);
• Providing convenient access to the principal company's website and trading facilities to facilitate online foreign currency trading by investors;
• Recruitment of fresh graduates as marketing executives and encouraging them to get their family and friends to trade foreign currency; and
• Requiring investors to deposit an amount of money into a bank account to begin trading foreign currency, and subsequently, requesting for a top up on their initial investment ("margin call") to avoid losing their capital.

Under the Exchange Control Act 1953 (ECA), it is an offence for a person in Malaysia to buy or sell foreign currency or do any act which involves, is in association with, or is preparatory to, buying or selling of foreign currency with any person, other than an authorised dealer. It is also an offence for a person to aid or abet another person to buy or sell foreign currency with any person, unless the person is an authorised dealer.

The list of authorised dealers and financial institutions permitted by the Controller of Foreign Exchange to buy or sell foreign currency can be obtained from Bank Negara Malaysia's website (http://www.bnm.gov.my).

For further enquiries, members of the public can contact Bank Negara Malaysia at:

BNMTELELINK (Customer Service Call Centre)
1-300-88-5465 or
E-mail: bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my

Bank Negara Malaysia
4 January 2010


The list of authorised dealers in Malaysia:
http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=17&pg=697&ac=606

1. Affin Bank Berhad


2. Affin Investment Bank Berhad


3. Affin Islamic Bank Berhad


4. Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation (Malaysia) Berhad


5. Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad


6. Alliance Investment Bank Berhad


7. Alliance Islamic Bank Berhad


8. AmBank (M) Berhad


9. AmInvestment Bank Berhad


10. AmIslamic Bank Berhad


11. Asian Finance Bank Berhad


12. Bangkok Bank Berhad


13. Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad


14. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad


15. Bank of America Malaysia Berhad


16. Bank of China (Malaysia) Berhad


17. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia) Berhad


18. CIMB Bank Berhad


19. CIMB Investment Bank Berhad


20. CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad


21. Citibank Berhad


22. Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad


23. ECM Libra Investment Bank


24. EON Bank Berhad


25. EONCAP Islamic Bank Berhad


26. Hong Leong Bank Berhad


27. Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad


28. Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad


29. HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad


30. HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad


31. Hwang-DBS Investment Bank Berhad


32. J.P. Morgan Chase Bank Berhad


33. KAF Investment Bank Berhad


34. Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad


35. Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad


36. Malayan Banking Berhad


37. Maybank Investment Bank Berhad


38. Maybank Islamic Berhad


39. MIMB Investment Bank Berhad


40. OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad


41. OSK Investment Bank Berhad


42. Public Bank Berhad


43. Public Investment Bank Berhad


44. Public Islamic Bank Berhad


45. RHB Bank Berhad


46. RHB Investment Bank Berhad


47. RHB Islamic Bank Berhad


48. Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad


49. Standard Chartered Saadiq Berhad


50. The Bank of Nova Scotia Berhad


51. The Royal Bank of Scotland Berhad


52. United Overseas Bank (Malaysia)

So the Forex you doing right now might be skim cepat kaya for the people that setting it up, beware, hehehehehehe.

I just chui sui only la.

How to find great deals on eBay (and some other bidding sites)

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/08/02/how-to-get-great-deals-on-ebay

Tips to sell goods in eBay

http://cribnotes.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-to-sell-on-ebay.html
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/10/07/how-to-list-an-ebay-auction-for-maximum-profit/
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/05/15/my-ebay-method-thirteen-steps-to-more-profitable-auctions/