Comprehensive financial management

I would recommend you to get a comprehensive type of investment system, such as http://www.citigold.com.my/global_docs/citigold_demo/citigold_demo.htm to manage your finance more efficiently and more effectively. You can either use the available system developed by professionals or create your own application.

Example of unsecured investments

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/7/nation/21485938&sec=nation

Well, we should invest our money into secured agency. Not solely based on "personal trust". Result of investing in "personal trust" business could end up with this result.

Avoid this kind of investment whenever possible. Learn how to invest professionally.

Food not enough? Money not enough?

Refering to this news (http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Monday/BizFocus/AGFA.xml/Article/), you might be one of the "victims" mentioned in this article. In fact, we are and everyone is the victim. As long as you are living in this world, you are a victim. The difference lies between if you dare to challenge this and move yourself away not becoming victim anymore.

Every year, price of goods will increase. Every year, inflation will be there. Every year, your salary increment will not be as good as the increment of price of goods, inflation etc.

Do you know why? This is because our living expenses increase every year. We want better house to live in, we want better car to drive with, we want better life to enjoy with etc. In order to do so, we need multiple streams of income also.

Check out the spreadsheet that I've created for you to trace your income vs expenses between two years here (http://www.scribd.com/doc/962777/Personal-Income-Statement-and-Balance-Sheet).

If currently you only have single source of income, you might be surprised to learn that how low is your salary increment. Although your salary is consider "high", but probably it is still not as "high" as it is needed to combat with inflation and increased lifestyle.

Post your comment here so that we can share with others.

Why bother about investment? I got enough money for retirement?

Look at this article and you will find out why you need to achieve financial freedom early:
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_features.php?id=320996

You want to depend on your next generation when you retire or you want to travel around the world using your own money?

Personally I just found out that for the first generation in your family that would like to achieve financial freedom, it is double of the normal efforts for second generation to achieve the same purpose. Why?

The reason is pretty simple, your previous generation still rely on you for their retirement plan and you need to prepare for your own retirement plan. So, you will need double of the amount stated in the link above. Scary huh?

Investment is a guy's thing?

Nope. Everyone should be investing, including our fellow females. Regardless which society you are coming from, growing more trees is better than not having any tree to provide shade for you when you are old. For female, you can depend less on your male spouse, male partner, father etc. Isn't it always good to have your own money for you to spend?

Invest = Gamble?

No, investment is different from gamble. You can say that they have something in common, but nope, they have different approarch.

Investment need to have proper strategy and perform analysis before you can succeed. The activities of buy and sell is controlled by you.

You can get rich if you have good investment in your hands. You can get broke if you gamble too much.

Investment is not about gambling, but it is about how do you grow your money as time passes.

If you have one thousand dollar, can you make another thousand dollar out of it? That's the challenge that I mentioned to people around me.

Buy low sell high

Always buy low and sell high. Even a kid could understand this theory. Get something while it is cheap and sell it at higher price later.

If you look into detail, you will find out there are four instances in the buy low and sell high scenario:
1. An investment object for sale.
2. You to buy that investment object.
3. Someone to buy your investment object.
4. Time lapsed.

Out of all four instances above, from the point of investor's view, the one that in our control is really item #2, if we think deeply. Therefore, try not to worry too much about sell high because that's should be relatively easy.

My personal suggestion is to pay serious attention regarding buying low. It is pretty easy to buy low in supermarket whenever there is a sale. How do you know about the sale? From advertisements from the supermarket, from the people around you, from your regular visit to the supermarket etc. To the bottom line, "someone" inform you about it.

The difference between the "sale" of investment object and supermarket sale is that, there could be no one inform you regarding the sale. That's why you are not aware of when to buy.

Good investors are pretty good in noting the "investment sale" around them, similarly through the "advertisements", "people around them" and also regular visit to their favourite "investment store".

Overall market indices, news, broker's tips, government's announcement to rescue the investment market, internal people are buying a lot etc. could be potentially good inputs for you to buy low. Pay a little bit more attention to all of these information and you could buy low easily. Be proactive all the time.

Remember to filter out the deceiving news while you are reading the news.