Desmond Ng

The very important or initial stage of financial planning is actually being in control.

Many people fail in this stage as they tend to overspend or basically have no idea where their money disappeared to.

There is two kinds of budgeting system that has been used and proven to be effective. It is the 60% solution & the 50/30/20 plan.

Which one is more suitable for you?

If you:

• Typically get through the month without running out of cash
• Only occasionally get surprised by a big bill
• Usually don’t carry credit card debt
• Feel like you’re doing okay financially but would like to do better

… then you should adopt the 60% solution!

However, if you:

• Live paycheck to paycheck
• Often run out of money before you run out of month
• Constantly get surprised by big bills
• Have credit card or other high-rate debt
• Have no idea where your money goes

… then you need the 50/30/20 plan!

Basically, what this plans can give you are a systematic allocation of your income so that you are aware of your spendings, efficiently using them, ready for tight situations and lastly let you be in control of your money.

It will take quite awhile to write out the plans, so I will write about each plan in my next 2 posts. Stay tuned for it!

Saying Happy Birthday to myself today! Sounds Sad doesn’t it?

But it’s not that sad if you realize that I have to go back for NS on my birthday for a FULL DAY…

I was just wondering have my birthdays been:

2003 - SARS case and everyone was quarantined during that 2 week.

2005 - Army On Course

2006 - Army in Thailand

But I do have extremely memorable ones like my 21st Birthday of course!

And this year, I really want to thank Soo Chin & Ivan for making my day~ they gave me such lovely and thoughtful presents. One of my closest friends ever since I knew them.

They gave me 3 weapons to excel in my career:

1) Mont Blanc perfume to attract more people and my clients

2) A bottle of Honey to keep my voice sweet and pleasing to the ear

3) Breath Freshener so that I do not have to worry about what I ate for lunch when I meet my clients.

I had such a GREAT LAUGH from what they wrote in the card.

Thank you again for being such wonderful friends. It is my blessing to know you guys, and I hope I have made you guys live better too! May everyone’s wish come true!

Many people spend their money without control.

Most of them think:

“Why start saving now? I’m still young.”

“Life is short. I should enjoy while I can.”

“It’s not I don’t want to save… but I’m not earning enough”

It is true. I mean your reasons are valid. But is there really nothing that can be done about it?

Why start saving now? I can share this with you because many people have asked me this before. This is also the reason why I’m working so hard now. The reason is simple: Compounded Savings. Think about it, if you were to get married 10 years from now, is it easier to start saving 10 years before or 5 years before? An in case you are not aware of compounding interest… the $10k you earn you earn earlier can grow to a very substantial amount if you invest it correctly… compared to someone that invest $20k 8 years later, may still not have a higher value then you.

It is true that life is sudden. You never know what can happen the next day. I always tell my clients to live life to their fullest but not to the extent of overspending. Setting aside money for rainy days is a responsibility, your responsibility. What if nothing happens to you and you spent everything when your child needs an education and you can’t provide for him/her? What if something happens and you do not have the money to pay away your liabilities, causing an extra burden to your loved ones?

Are you earning enough? If you aren’t, it is very simple. Find another source of income.  Or relook into your cash flow… what are the things that you can save on? Are there areas where you can cut down on expenses? Things that aren’t such a NEED but a WANT? For example, smoking less, buying lesser branded goods etc.

You may think that $100 per month is nothing. $1200/year is insignificant.

Think again. Compounded over 10 years, you will be amaze what it can become 30 years down the road. Every little bit counts. Rome was not built in a day either. Better late then never…

This is the most interesting thing ever.

Have you ever wondered whether you use more of your left brain or right brain?

Click here to find out!

To thank all of you clients for being so wonderful and loyal, our organisation has invested a total of $50,000 in a Client Appreciation Carnival to reward you!

There will be buffet lunch & dinner with unlimited candy floss and popcorn provided. On top of that, there are games and talks hosted all day round.

Entertainment for your children?

Of course we have! There are cup-cake making sessions and badge designing etc programmes just for your children! To add to that, there will be organisers and clowns around to take care of your children!

It is a place where you can have fun and relax at the same time!

If you are not my client, but interested to find out more/meet me/finding a place to go out with your family, you can still register for the event through me. WHILE SEATS LAST!

*did i forgot to mention about the free spa vouchers and lucky spin that we have too?*

Visit here for the exact details!

I am sure everyone is familiar with the term MDRT aka Million Dollar Round Table.

MDRT is actually a recognition of insurance salespeople and financial advisers who are hard-working and did well. The requirements increases every year and after qualifying for 10 years, you will be given the Lifetime membership to MDRT.

For example, the requirement was a commission earning of S$75,700 in 2006. *There is quite a misconception that MDRT means achieving a million dollar, which is not true, the “Million” is just a term”

This year it is around USD$81,8000.

Court of the Table is the level 2 of this prestigious awards. In 2008, the requirement is USD$245,000

Top of the Table is the HIGHEST recognition. In 2008, the requirement is USD$490,800.

You must be thinking:  “WOW!” Both CoT and ToT is quite an income to get!

Initially, I also felt quite amazed by the income. Most people are happy with a $10k/mth income and getting $30-50k/mth would be delightful.

Of course, in exception of CEOs and Business Owners etc.

However, my friend showed me a website that seriously made my jaws dropped.

That is s.eriously.com

These people are Internet Marketers. They work from home, in their casual wear, flexible timing and they earn $300k/mth. After all the speeches by MDRT, CoT, ToT touching stories, there are normal people out there that are earning their annual income Monthly.

I have a number of friends that have already started Internet Marketing and after a series of hardwork, they are achieving quite a comfortable income! Calvin Woon, who started 2-3 years ago, drew a 5-figure paycheck last month! Ivan Ong, who started only for a year, is also drawing a 4-digit income now…

This passive income generator which hardly requires any start up capital is great for many retirees and young entrepreneurs. Online Businesses are now getting more popular and the internet allows penetrating a global market!

If you think that earning an income online is a myth, think again…

*turns off the Alarm Clock*

“7.00am already? So fast… I’ll just snooze for 5 more minutes while I think about what I wanna do later. What should I complete later? It feels so good to be under the blanket… Actually, I think I can wake up 15 minutes later. I’ll just rush through my morning routine later… I didn’t had enough sleep yesterday anyway. My body still don’t feel rested enough, I should just let my body wake me up…”

Later…

“Shit… I’m late!”

Have this ever happened to you before?

Do you wanna find out the secret to waking up early?

Take a look at steve pavlina’s site  as he teaches you strategies to wake up early as a habit! I read it, tried it and really found it very useful!

Just got back from our AXA Annual Awards Night.

It was a blast, a totally grand event with great host, prizes, food and beautiful faces.

Due to the fact that I’m really very tired right now, I will be posting more information and pictures here VERY soon! So stay tuned!

Enjoy your weekend!

Ever since the declaration of the Critical Year Option from AIA in 2003, many singaporeans lost confidence in both guaranteed products and AIA company itself.

Among all the insurers, you may consider it unlucky for AIA.

However, here comes more bad news: *source from Bloomberg.com

American International Group Inc., the largest insurer by assets, said Joseph Cassano will step down from running the financial products unit after $11.1 billion in losses on guarantees sold to fixed-income investors.

American International Group Inc., the world’s largest insurer, fell in New York trading after reporting the biggest quarterly loss in its 89-year history. AIG dropped $3.29, or 6.6 percent, to $46.86 at 4:03 p.m. in composite trading. The New York-based insurer late yesterday posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $5.29 billion, or $2.08 a share, after an $11.1 billion writedown of derivatives linked in part to subprime mortgages.

Note: AIG is the parent company of AIA

“My adviser said that a term insurance policy expires at the end of the term and after that, I will not have any more life insurance coverage. She said it is better to take a whole life policy as it provides coverage for your whole life…”

This question was posted to the ex-CEO of NTUC income, Mr Tan Kin Lian. You can read more about insurance at his blog at http://www.tankinlian.blogspot.com/.

This was his reply:

REPLY
Most people need life insurance to cover the loss of earnings in the event of premature death. They need the life insurance policy coverage only during their working life. The policy pays a benefit to replace the lost income and take care of the family needs when the children are still young.

When a person retires from work, there is no need for life insurance, as there is no lost earnings to be covered.

If you take up a term insurance policy, you pay a premium of about one-tenth of a whole life policy. This allows you to take a larger sum assured and protect your family more adequately. You need life insurance up to age 65 only.

You will find that a decreasing term insurance to be suitable for your needs. The sum assured starts at a high amount and decreases each year over the term. The premium is less than half of a level term insurance policy. You only need to pay about 5% of the premium for a comparable whole life policy.

Although the sum assured decreases each year, it is adequate for the family as the children have grown one year older, and need to be financially supported for a shorter period. The family would have accumulated one more year of savings with each passing year.

For example, a male at age 30 who takes a whole life policy to cover $300,000 has to pay a monthly premium of $500. This person can take a 20 year term insurance policy covering the same amount for a monthly premim of only $50. For a decreasing term insurance policy, the premium is about $25 a month.

If he takes a 30 year term insurance policy, the premium will be about $100 (for level term) and $50 (for decreasing term). They are much lower than the premium for a whole life policy.

There is another policy, called the family income policy, that pays the benefit as a monthly sum (say $3,000 a month) for the remainder of the term.

Reply by a Reader to this post:

One reason why the agent wants you to buy a whole life, high commission for her. Having an insurance for whole life is not a good reason. Likelihood of you not requiring at 65 is great.
AGENTS WHO SELL WHOLE LIFE HAVE ONE THING IN MIND, THAT IS HIGH COMMISSION AND THEY NEVER HAVE YOU IN MIND or THEY ARE JUST NOT QUALIFIED TO CONDUCT INSURANCE PLANNING.

Desmond says:

If you are still unsure about whether Whole Life or Term, read a more balanced opinion from me here.