Think & Create

Looking for a solution to your Credit card debt problem?

First of all, you can take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one fighting the credit card debt problem. There are hordes of people who might have an even worse credit card debt problem compared to you; all of them seeking to eliminate the credit card debt problem. So what is the solution to credit card debt problem?

Well, the solution really is to smash the credit card debt problem with full force and eliminate it completely. Now how do you do that?

There are many ways in which you can tackle credit card debt problem. Different people suggest different ways of tackling credit card debt problem. However, here is a simple step by step account of what you can do to get rid of credit card debt problem.

1.    Take stock of the situation i.e. draw up a table with the following fields – Credit card name, balance, payment due day (the day of the month by which you are required to make payment of your credit card bill), APR, reward points earned, redemption offers applicable for your reward points balance, remarks.

2.    Fill the table up with data from your various credit cards.

3.    Figure out which credit card is contributing the most to the credit card debt problem i.e. highest APR and highest balance.

4.    Check if reward points can be used to make partial payments or cover any kind of fees or if the points can be bartered for something you need (spending less means preventing the credit card debt problem from getting worse).

5.    Draw a comparison table of offers available for eliminating credit card debt problem (i.e. consolidating credit card debt).

6.    First eliminate debt on the credit card that is contributing the most to the credit card debt problem.

7.    Practice controlled and healthy spending habits (after all you are looking to get rid of credit card debt problem and not aggravate the credit card debt problem).

8.    Look for alternative means of adding to your income (more money means earlier termination of credit card debt problem)

9.    See your debt reduce with time and celebrate the day when you finally put an end to your credit card debt problem.

Remember this is just one of the ways of tackling credit card debt problem; you might devise your approach for doing away with credit card debt problem. Any and every approach is good if it fulfils the objective i.e. eliminates credit card debt problem.

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By Brian Tracy

Know the Right People

One of the greatest forms of financial leverage is contacts. Knowing the right people and being known by them can open doors for you that can save you years of hard work. The quality and quantity of your contacts and your relationships will have more to do with your success than perhaps any other factor.

Here are three things you can do to expand your list of contacts. First, make a list of the 25 people you feel it would be most useful for you to get to know. Develop a strategy to get to meet everyone of them over the next 12 months. Then make a list of 25 more.

List the people in charge of the major corporations that would be useful for you to know. List the mayor, list the congressmen, list the senator. List the important people that it would be helpful for you to know and then make a plan to meet them.

Network at Every Opportunity

Second is for you to network at every opportunity. Join business and trade associations. Attend meetings. Get involved. Volunteer for service on a key committee. This action alone can cut years off your career.

Once, when I was working with the Chamber of Commerce, I came to the attention of a senior executive who hired me away from the company I was working for a year later at triple the salary. Meeting people is very important. Network at every opportunity.

Get Involved in the Community

The third way is to get involved in community service organizations. The best people in every community, the people you should know and who should know you, are usually involved in public service in some way. Start with the United Way in your own city, or get involved in any charity that you care about or that you’re interested in. You’ll be amazed at the quality of people that you’ll meet doing voluntary service.

Unlock Your Creativity

Another form of leverage is creativity. Remember, one new idea is all you need to start a fortune. Everyone has the ability to come up with creative ideas and solutions if they look for them. All great fortunes begin with an idea.

Create Good Work Habits

A powerful form of leverage that can help you is good work habits. Good work habits make an extraordinary difference. In a recent study, 104 chief executive officers all agreed that the ability to set priorities and then to get the job done fast were the two qualities that most readily led to promotion and increases in pay. Good work habits will bring you to the attention of the important people in your life as fast or faster than anything else you can do. In the final analysis, you always get paid for your results. If you develop a reputation for being the person who gets the job done fast, that alone can put you onto the fast track in your career.

Your Action Assignment

Now, here are two things you can do to leverage your financial potential:

First, get involved in the business, trade, civic and social organizations in your community. Once you become a member, off er to help and serve on committees. This will bring you to the attention of people who can help you faster than any other way.

Second, develop excellent work habits. Be punctual. Plan your work and work your plan. Always concentrate your conscious energies on high priority tasks and make sure that you are doing things that are important to your boss and to your company.

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Step 1: Research the property. Get its size, amenities, how much is owned against it and what it is the opening bid.

Step 2: Compare the sales prices of similar properties in the area so that you have a good idea of what the property is worth. Compare sales of properties with the same number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage.

Step 3: Get financing. Typically, homes at auctions require a 5-10% deposit or one thousand down and the balance of the deposit within a week or your lose your one thousand. Check on the financing terms and conditions.

Step 4: Know your price limit. Auctions work on creating an atmosphere of agitation and excitedness. Don’t get swept up in the moment. Know how much you are willing to spend and stick to it.

Step 5: Be prepared to walk away. Don’t feel as if you have to buy something. if the deal isnt right for you, then its not a deal.

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Looking for a solution to your Credit card debt problem?

First of all, you can take comfort in the fact that you are not the only one fighting the credit card debt problem. There are hordes of people who might have an even worse credit card debt problem compared to you; all of them seeking to eliminate the credit card debt problem. So what is the solution to credit card debt problem?

Well, the solution really is to smash the credit card debt problem with full force and eliminate it completely. Now how do you do that?

There are many ways in which you can tackle credit card debt problem. Different people suggest different ways of tackling credit card debt problem. However, here is a simple step by step account of what you can do to get rid of credit card debt problem.

1.    Take stock of the situation i.e. draw up a table with the following fields – Credit card name, balance, payment due day (the day of the month by which you are required to make payment of your credit card bill), APR, reward points earned, redemption offers applicable for your reward points balance, remarks.

2.    Fill the table up with data from your various credit cards.

3.    Figure out which credit card is contributing the most to the credit card debt problem i.e. highest APR and highest balance.

4.    Check if reward points can be used to make partial payments or cover any kind of fees or if the points can be bartered for something you need (spending less means preventing the credit card debt problem from getting worse).

5.    Draw a comparison table of offers available for eliminating credit card debt problem (i.e. consolidating credit card debt).

6.    First eliminate debt on the credit card that is contributing the most to the credit card debt problem.

7.    Practice controlled and healthy spending habits (after all you are looking to get rid of credit card debt problem and not aggravate the credit card debt problem).

8.    Look for alternative means of adding to your income (more money means earlier termination of credit card debt problem)

9.    See your debt reduce with time and celebrate the day when you finally put an end to your credit card debt problem.

Remember this is just one of the ways of tackling credit card debt problem; you might devise your approach for doing away with credit card debt problem. Any and every approach is good if it fulfils the objective i.e. eliminates credit card debt problem.

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To buy or sell shares on Bursa Malaysia, you need to use a registered broker who is a member of Bursa Malaysia. You cannot deal directly with Bursa Malaysia as only brokers have direct access to the market.
A broker acts as your agent – much like a real estate agent that sells your house.
He/she earns a commission on the value of shares you trade – just like a real estate agent earns commission on buying and selling houses for people.
A broker can also be involved in the listing of a new company by underwriting the float and marketing the float to their group of clients.

There are many brokers to choose from – click here for a list of all brokers.

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The stock market is where the shares in companies are bought and sold, providing companies options to access capital, and investors opportunities to own a share of the company and enjoy potential gains from the company’s future performance.

The stock market offers people the ability to generate a separate income stream apart from their daily jobs, or income streams which are superior to those from traditional savings deposits. But before you even think about buying and selling shares, you must know the fundamentals of the stock market and of trading.

First time investors can become confused because of the terminology that is used to describe various market functions. These don’t take long to learn. Click here for your basic share trading terms. Incidentally, one common confusion is over the terms ‘ stocks’ and ‘shares’. Actually, they both mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

The Role of Bursa Malaysia

You can only invest in stocks through a stock exchange, an organized marketplace where stocks are bought and sold under strict rules, regulations and guidelines. The Malaysian stock exchange is called Bursa Malaysia. Bursa Malaysia has over 1,000 listed companies offering a wide range of investment choices to local and global investors. Companies are either listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Main Board for larger capitalised companies, the Second Board for medium sized companies or the MESDAQ Market for high growth and technology companies.

Raising Capital on the Stock Market

The Stock Market was created by companies wishing to raise capital for their business. When someone says they have a listed company they mean listed on Bursa Malaysia. All companies need cash to take advantage of growth opportunities. Many start-up companies however find themselves short of capital to fund expansion. One way to acquire this cash is to publicly float the company. This involves selling part of the company to private individual and institutional investors who are then able to freely exchange these stocks on an open market. Purchasing stocks in a company that is listed on the stock market is done through an Initial Public Offering or IPO.

Once an IPO has been issued, you can contact the company (phone, fax or email) for a copy of the Prospectus and complete the application to apply for an allocation of shares. Or you can wait until the company is floated and buy shares on the open market. Besides Bursa Malaysia, stock brokers will also have information regarding Initial Public Offerings.

Companies that are already listed can also raise additional money on the stock market by offering existing stockholders the opportunity to buy more stocks in the company. For example, a listed company wanting to raise additional capital might issue one new share at 5sen each for every three shares an existing investor owns.

When you buy shares, you are buying a share in that company and so you own a percentage of that company. When the company makes a profit, you share in that profit in the form of a dividend. Typically, the number of shares that have been issued multiplied by the share price gives us how much a company is worth.

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Is consolidating credit card debt a good option?

Well, the answer will more often be yes than no. Consolidating credit card debt is often regarded as the first step towards credit card debt elimination. However, even before you move to take first step towards consolidating credit card debt, you must understand that consolidating credit card debt (or balance transfer) is an action that you are taking to eliminate credit card debt. Consolidating credit card debt is not a means of deferring the problem for later.

Consolidating credit card debt is indeed a good option in more than one sense. Not only do you get relief from the rapid increase in your credit card debt, but also get other benefits too. Offers for consolidating credit card debt are in abundance and are very attractive indeed. Almost all the offers for consolidating credit card debt have an initial low APR period during which the APR is generally 0% (or some low figure). In fact, this is one of the main things which make consolidating credit card debt a very attractive option.

Besides this low APR, the offers for consolidating credit card debt also include things like no interest rate on the purchases made during first 5 months (or some other initial period) of balance transfer. This is another thing that lowers the speed at which your credit card debt gallops. So these are the two most important benefits that credit card suppliers deploy to attract people into consolidating credit card debt with them.

Then there are other benefits which include things like additional reward points on the member’s reward program of the credit card you are consolidating credit card debt to. These reward points can be redeemed for other attractive goods/rebates/rewards etc. Sometimes, the new credit card (i.e. the one you are consolidating credit card debt to) might be a credit card that caters more to your current spending needs both in terms of the credit limits and the way you spend your money. For example, the new credit card might be a co-branded one offered by an airline that you have started travelling with very frequently in the recent times and consolidating credit card debt on such a card may open up much more benefits as compared to your current credit card which was based on your needs at the time of you applying for your current credit card. The credit card you are consolidating credit card debt to might open up discount offers to you.

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Investing is making your money work for you by getting your money to generate more money.  Investing in stocks has consistently proven to be one of the most profitable forms of investment available.

The benefits include:

• Immediate Buy/Sell so you can sell part of your investment any time.
• Very low transaction cost.
• The freedom to work at your own place, at your pace in your own time.
• Easy monitoring — log in to the market from anywhere in the world.
• Being able to maximise returns whilst spreading your risk.
• A predictable form of investment if you know what you’re doing.
• Putting you in control and freeing you of fund management fees.
• Considerable tax advantages.

Things to watch out for:

• The market can be a volatile place.
• You must acquire knowledge of what you are doing.
• You must monitor your investments.
• You must learn the discipline to enter and exit the market on entry and exit signals.

Can Ordinary People Profit from the Stock Market?

Many people say things like “I’d love to get into the stock market” or “If I had more money, I’d invest in stocks”. Many people also believe that to make a profit from the stock market you either need to be rich already, be a full-time investment trader or be a financial whiz.

Not necessarily so.

Let’s take a look at three different scenarios of ordinary people in the stock market to see how they fared. This will let us view how the process works, the different approaches, and how returns are generated.

Scenario 1:
John works in a manufacturing plant earning RM33,000 a year. After rent, living and personal expenses, John has managed to save RM1,500 over the past 6 months that he wants to invest in the stock market. John buys 1,600 shares in ABC Mining at RM0.90 per share (RM1,440). He also pays RM32.95 brokerage fees for buying the shares. In total, John has invested RM1,472.95.

Six months later John decides to sell his shares. He has kept an eye on the performance of ABC Mining and they have risen to RM1.19 a share.  John sells his shares for RM1,904. He also pays RM32.95 brokerage fees for selling his shares, leaving him with RM1,871.05. That is a profit of RM398.10.

RM398.10 may not sound a lot, but remember John only invested RM1,472.95 for 6 months, so he won’t make a huge return. Nevertheless, John made a 27% profit which is far better than he would have made by putting the money into his savings account.

Scenario 2:
May and Chong both work full-time in professional jobs. Together, they earn RM120,000 per year. After mortgage repayments, living and personal expenses May and Chong have managed to put away RM5,000 that they want to now invest in the stock market.  They buy 1,500 shares in AAA Steel at RM1.48 a share (RM2,220) and 1,500 shares in XY Manufacturing at RM1.33 a share (RM1,995). They also pay RM65.90 brokerage fees for the two transactions. Their total outlay is RM4,280.90.

Over the next 12 months AAA Steel shares have risen to RM2.60 a share and XY Manufacturing shares have moved to only RM1.38 a share. May and Chong sell their shares for a total of RM5970. They pay their broker RM65.90 and are left with RM5904.10. Their initial investment was RM4,280.90. So, they make a profit of RM1,623.20.

Scenario 3:
Aminah is retired, owns her own home and earns a comfortable income from several long term investments. Aminah would like to invest RM15,000 that she has set aside for buying shares.

Aminah selects a portfolio of 5 companies and aims to invest around RM3,000 in each. Aminah buys 3,333 shares in ABC Mining at RM0.90 a share (an investment of RM2,999.70). She also buys 2,027 shares in AAA Steel at RM1.48 a share (RM2,999.96) and 2,255 shares in XY Manufacturing at RM1.33 a share (RM2,999.15). To complete her portfolio, Aminah buys a further 2,912 shares in MM Multimedia at RM1.03 a share (RM2,999.36) and 3,000 shares in BB Furniture at RM1.00 a share (RM3,000). Aminah also pays RM164.75 brokerage fees for buying the shares. In total, Aminah has invested RM1,5162.92.

12 months later Aminah sells her shares. Four of the shares have increased in value but BB Furniture has dropped to RM0.95 a share.   ABC Mining rose to RM1.19 a share returning RM3,966.27.   AAA Steel rose to RM2.60 a share returning RM5,270.20.  XY Manufacturing rose to RM1.38 a share returning RM3,111.90.   MM Multimedia rose to RM1.09 a share returning RM3,174.08.   BB Furniture dropped to RM0.95 a share returning RM2,850. In total, Aminah’s shares returned RM18,372.45 less RM164.75 for brokerage.  This gives a total of RM18207.70, earning a profit of RM3,044.78.

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Recently, I led a round-table discussion with people whose net worth ranged from “comfortable” to approaching a billion dollars. All of them have achieved significant financial wealth, and all of them have done it on their own. There was no inherited money in this group! I asked them what they did to accumulate money, and for advice to pass along in TIPS. Here are the results:

1. Save 10% of everything you make, no matter what. The percentage varied slightly, but they were unanimous on the key point: Live within your means and save money every month.

2. Invest for the long haul. They pointed to Warren Buffet and noted that he buys and holds a stock for 20 years or longer. Invest in good stocks or properties that you understand, and hold on!

3. Avoid debt. They talked about raising capital for their businesses (sometimes borrowing from investors), but insisted that personal debt be eliminated. One woman said, “consumer debt is devastating. If you want to achieve financial wealth, kill your credit cards.” Another added, “no car or boat or anything else is worth the cost (financial and emotional) of borrowing money.”

4. Crunch the numbers. They talked about doing their financial statements “every month, no matter what.” Another added, “Only the numbers tell you how you’re really doing; you’ve got to watch them like a hawk and use the information every day.”

5. Have a plan. They expect their investments to grow steadily over the years (not over-night), and they plan accordingly. They emphasized setting 20, 30, even 50-year financial goals.

6. Know that money is one way of keeping score, but it’s not the game itself. Money comes from investing or creating or doing something other people value and will pay for. They emphasized that “it’s fun to have nice things” but noted that the money was secondary to doing “interesting things.”

All of them had stories of starting out with school loans, small children, a “stuffy little apartment,” working for minimum wage or eating “lots of macaroni and cheese,” and yet knowing that they could “achieve some measure of success.” Now, they’ve done it, and so can you. We can learn from the experts!

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I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

This is one of the best books you will ever buy if you want to improve your finances in these troubled times. Ramit shows you every day practical tips on how to save and build your finance.

This book is suitable for those of us who have a lot of credit card debt and loans. Ramit offers tips which we can implement immediately.

Do yourself or a loved one a favour. Get this book.

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