Warren Buffet's advice for 2009

1. Hard work: All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

2. Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.

3. Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. [At least make your Investments get you second earning]

4. Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.

5. Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.

6. Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.

7. Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.

8. Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.

9. Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. [Have an alternate plan ready]

10. Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Warren Buffet - Interesting aspects of his life

When I read Dorcas' blog on "Warren Buffet's advice for 2009", i thought of just doing a search about him and I then came across another blogspot with this title (as above)... I think Warren Buffet earns everyone's respect for him being 2nd most richest man in the world! He's so cool! :)

Warren Buffet - Second Richest Man in the World
(p/s- oops! I mean He became THE world's richest man in 2008! WOW!)

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second richest man who has donated $31 billion (85% of his fortune) to charity.Here are some very interesting aspects of his life:

1) He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

2) He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

3) He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha, that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

4) He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

5) He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

6) His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.

7) He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

8) He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch television.

9) Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

10) Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.

11) His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself.

For those who's like to read a little bit more about Warren Buffet, check out wikipedia.

How To Change Our Ways???

Read this from my bro's blog and i find this hilarious but so true...

An average income of each family is RM3,000.00. That depends on whether one is working and the other is not OR a combine salary of all both husband and wife of RM3,000.00.

"Okay, let's start rolling with a family which has
Papa, Mama, 1 daughter and 1 son. Ngam-ngam ....

Calculation starts...

Electricity and water bill: RM100 (not forgetting that electricity tariff will be up soon)
(No air-con, No home theatre, No water heater ... ok?)

Phone bill (Telekom): RM50

Meals for a happy family: RM775 (maybe got to be lesser)
(3 meals on RM25/day, RM25 for 4 persons...?)

Car repayment: RM400 (that is because it is a Proton)
(A proton saga aeroback, 7 years repayment)

Petrol (living in city, traffic-jam): RM300 (that is because it is a Proton)
(go to work, bring son to school, only can afford one car running)

Insurance: RM650
(kids, wife and myself)

House repayment: RM750
(low cost housing repayment for 30 yrs,retired still have to work to pay!)

Tuition: RM80
(got that cheap meh? i don't think so)

Older children pocket money @ school: RM20
(RM1/day, eat bread?)

School fees: RM30
(enough ah?)

School books and etc: RM100
(always got extra to pay in school)

Younger children milk powder: RM50
(cannot have the DHA, BHA, PHA one, expensive)

Miscellaneous: RM100
(shampoo, rice, sauce, toilet paper)

Oh wait!!! I have to stop here, so...
No Astro, no movie @ cinema,
no DVD, no CD,
no broadband,
cannot KFC, cannot McDonald,
cannot go Park walk during weekend (petrol expensive),
no chit chat on phone with grandparents, and etc...

Let's use a calculator to total up... WALAO EH! Shit! RM3,405 already...
EPF belum potong, income tax lagi........

How to survive lah tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian ???
Our Deputy Prime Minister asked us to change lifestyle?
How to change? Don't eat? Don't work? Don't send children to school and study?

Besides that, I believe in Malaysia population, there are millions of rakyat Malaysia which still don't earn RM3,000/month! !!

What is this? Inilah Malaysia Boleh... sorry .... it should be Malaysians Boleh because we're still alive and kicking!!

Our politicians must be mad!!!! "
Please forward and comment boleh or tak boleh. No wonder so many Ah Loong around lah....

[Article] Debt Busters - Contingency Fund

Taken from a newsletter from Crosswalk.com

5 Reasons You Need a Contingency Fund
by Mary Hunt

No matter your situation--even if you are up to your eyeballs in credit-card debt--you must have a Contingency Fund. Every household needs one. It is as essential to you getting out of debt as water is to your health. Without it you won't go far.

A Contingency Fund (CF) is an emergency fund that you can get your hands on at a moment's notice. Even though you can begin building your CF with the change you have in your pocket right now, when you follow the rules of debt-proof living, it will begin to grow--slowly, steadily until you have accumulated at least $10,000 or the amount of money you would need to pay your bills for three months without any income.

When you're in debt and committed to getting out, it makes no sense to keep any money for yourself. Common sense says you should be sending your creditors every nickel you can scrape together. That's the same "common sense" that said it's okay to use credit cards to buy stuff and pay for it later; the same "common sense" that says if you are severely overweight you should not eat again until you have achieved your goal weight.

How it grows?

Under the debt-proof living plan, ten percent of your net paycheck goes straight into your CF before you pay any bills.

Five reasons

Face it. Getting out of debt is no simple feat. It takes commitment, knowledge and most of all endurance. You didn't get into this much debt overnight, so it's going to take longer than a few days to get out. This will not be a sprint, but rather a marathon. Your CF will be the assurance you need to see it to the finish line.

1. It is the antidote for your credit card habit. Just knowing you have money in the bank quiets that thing inside of you that demands to have stuff right now, even when you have no money to pay for it.

2. It counteracts that pathetic feeling of being broke. One of the reasons you are in debt is that you can't stand that feeling of being poor. No one likes being broke, but some of us like it a lot less than others. Curiously, a pocket of credit cards makes us feel rich in a really false way. Knowing you have money in the bank is the authentic way to not feel broke--even when you are determined to not touch the money you have stashed away.

3. It gives you an alternative to hitting the panic button. When you're broke, you live on the edge of panic. And when even the smallest thing happens, even if it is not a true emergency, it feels like one because you press the panic button. Having money in the bank allows you to calm down so you can think reasonably.

4. It's the lifesaver that keeps you afloat while going through deep waters. If you can make it all the way from right now to paying off your last debt without facing some unexpected expense (tires, water heater, medical expense, car repair, and so on), you will be fortunate indeed. And you'll arrive with an intact CF. The chances are far greater, however, that while on your journey to becoming debt-free something unexpected will happen. It's your CF that will allow you to keep going without having to run back to your credit cards for a bailout.

5. It's your guarantee that you'll make it to the finish line. I say this on the basis of my own experience and that of countless readers who are now debt-free--having a CF, whether fully funded or in process, is the secret to your debt-free success. It's that second wind we all depend on when we've come to the end of our endurance, but there's still more journey ahead.

Your CF will keep you going and going. And going some more until you pay off that last dollar of debt.