Personal Finance

Confucius said that real knowledge is knowing the extent of one’s ignorance. Aristotle and Socrates said the same thing. Is it a skill that can be taught or learned? It probably can, if you have enough of a stake riding on the outcome. Some people are extraordinarily good at knowing the limits of their knowledge, because they have to be. Think of somebody who’s been a professional tightrope walker for 20 years—and has survived. He couldn’t survive as a tightrope walker for 20

Author John Huo in the Malaysian number one book bestseller, Malaysian Multibaggers, gives a blueprint for finding companies that delivered 10x-100x Returns on Bursa. He writes about the "genetic code" of a 100-bagger, and states that if you can find a company that has all four of these genes, you have found your "durian tree sapling". Indeed, it is a content heavy book that is rife with potential about succeeding on Bursa Malaysia, and particularly in the growth stocks (and

Entry level financial education books frequently even if not always highlight Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad series of books. Yet the Rich Dad series by Robert Kiyosaki are widely described as brash, unconventional, and even confrontational. Its confrontational posture, often striking a stark contrast between the author's two fathers (the rich dad and poor dad) lead to allegations and insinuations that the author was being unfair in his description of the poor dad. The original

Come war, oil supply shocks or a change in hegemony in the global economy, the belief is the Government is capable of and will take care of you. Inflation, interest rate, money supply, credit supply and even food on the table will all be taken care off to perfection by the Government of the day? Indeed, there are people who may even believe that water finds its level - that wealth will be redistributed from the rich to the poor! More taxes will be paid by the rich, and that

Again, die With Zero came highly recommended to me, perhaps for its insistence of shocking the average person (in this part of the world) into considering their 'autopilot' and deciding what to live their life for. If, according to the book, you are of a certain decent amount of income and assets, then you could spend your money on a designer latte or cappucino, or you could spend your wealth in a faraway beach somewhere, as long as it is a conscious decision. After all, mem

Die With Zero came highly recommended to me, perhaps for its insistence of shocking the average person (in this part of the world) into considering their 'autopilot' and deciding what to live their life for. If, according to the book, you are of a certain decent amount of income and assets, then you could spend your money on a designer latte or cappucino, or you could spend your wealth in a faraway beach somewhere, as long as it is a conscious decision. After all, memories,

This blog post is admittedly pre-reading thoughts on the book Die with Zero, which this blogger will read soon. The book is a subject of great local word of mouth, and, it is understood, indirectly only, suggests a certain budgetting for fun and leisure based on an individual’s age - an individual’s idea of fun in their twenties is different from an individual’s idea of fun in their seventies. An individual shouldn’t have to wait till retirement before experiencing fun and

It's still holiday season for some people, I know. Hari Raya, for some people, is pretty much now. Its an occasion for some to go on an excursion. An outing. Or spend some time away from home. Attention goes towards the loved ones. Or friends and family. Who wants to read a book? In other words, we're a quarter of the way into the year and some feel they already need a deserved break. There is no time to read about new literature. The Education of a Value Investor Of all t

Many people find investing difficult. Just the very idea of it is a put-off. It's always hard to get the ball rolling. Between a day-job, house chores and family commitments, it is hard to imagine finding the time to fix your financial situation, immediately. Everybody's situation is different and there is no one-size-fits-all for getting out of or improving your financial situation. Nobody can really give you straight answers for your predicament. Re-Read The Book One way o

You would be forgiven, understood even, if you said you believed in long time employment service and therefore job security. Job security encourages a better performance at work, it is argued, and employees enjoy financial security that comes in return. Nothing beats the feeling of being wanted in your job, and contributing to the financial success of a successful enterprise. Conversely, you fear the lack of job security. How will you pay your bills and mortgages if you did

You would be forgiven, understood even if you were to say that your home is an asset. The roof over your head gives you a sense of shelter, security and safety that cannot be replaced. Indeed, can you imagine, touch wood, what life would be like if you were homeless? Nothing can replace the emotional bonds that are built out with loved ones in the privacy of one’s home as well. The home is a safe space from which partnerships are formed and children find the ability to expr

There is a general tendency amongst some to exaggerate problems or otherwise to exaggerate the potential of certain investments to turn out badly. Yours truly can also be guilty in certain circumstances of being overly pessimistic. It is a habitual, factual tendency amongst some. Pessimism bias, skepticism or a tendency to see the downside in any transaction, with less or no consideration of the upside or the returns , can be a good defence mechanism in terms of everyday out

There is a general tendency amongst some to exaggerate returns or otherwise to exaggerate the potential of certain expectations to turn out well. Yours truly is also guilty of being overly optimistic. It is a habitual, factual tendency amongst some. Optimism bias, or a tendency to see the upside in any transaction, with less or no consideration of the downside or the risks, can be a boon in terms of everyday outlook in life. It can also be detrimental when trying to anticipa

All you need to know from a personal finance perspective is that you need to compound your wealth. Over a prolonged period of time, $2 becomes $4 becomes $8 becomes $16 becomes $32 becomes $64. Conversely, owing to inflation, $2 becomes $1 becomes $0.50 becomes $0.25 becomes $.125. Might as well be zero really. Yet the question from the more practically minded persons amongst us remains, how do you go about achieving this noble aim of compounding your wealth? It is all and

You're not a doctor. Much less so a geriatrician, specialising in old age. In your youth particularly, you are or otherwise may have been in the pink of health - able bodied, young, immune from illness or disease, and therefore perhaps even feeling invincible in your young age. Nothing can stop you from flying high. Yet things could possibly happen even in your youth or later years that you would never have guessed you needed to prepare for. What if you or an elder loved one

Not many people appreciate how much is wasted in, for example: high interest rate premium payments extended interest rate payment periods accepting unfavourable covenants in your loan obligations. Do you accept whatever loan obligations are provided to you by the bank? Do you find yourself unable to negotiate the terms of the loan because you do not know what to discuss about? Do you find the whole loan negotiation process one of trial and error? Debt obligations are negotiat

Weights and cardiovascular exercise are doable to some. You work certain muscle groups or pump the heart, and over time, with consistent effort and showing up, you are certain to see a certain noticeable result for your efforts. To others, even repeated physical exercise is a pain and a difficulty. You need a certain willpower it seems to get yourself off your behind, to show up at the workout facilities, that may or may not be nearby. But, as they say, if you drag yourself

At pre-twenties age group, for example, you're probably more interested about girls and guys at the bar. You're just discovering your own identity and fashion particularly is another area where you want to explore, decking yourself out in the latest trends. More improtantly, life has only just begun for you and studies are your priority at the moment anyway. You've just discovered freedom from the secondary school teachers, you may or may not already have a car to get around

You never guess right. In 2025 you thought the world markets would have a bad year, perhaps still due to covid19. In 2026 you may think the markets remain overheated and is due for a correction if not a crash. You are left in doubt. And you ne ver get the guesses right anyway? How could you? You're relying on the advice of a financial advisor, and ultimately your own gut instinct is based on the stories you hear during the course of your work and daily career. You're r

Whilst there may or may not be a general appreciation for this blog, the question that comes out at the turn of the year is whether this writer will disclose his results. After all, we are judged by the extent of weight we can attribute to the writer and the authority by which he writes. That weight and authority gives us comfort that we are listening to the right voices. And that we are chasing the right information and sources towards the right goal. Summarily, please assu