Savings during Hard Time?

Under the current high inflation and global economy recession, do you find it is extremely difficult to have savings?

Over the past 7 to 8 years, inflation has eroded the value of the country's currency, including currency exchange with USD, booming of property prices, introduction of GST from the Government, removal of Government subsidies such as petrol, cooking oil, sugar, etc. 

Basically a plate of kolomee in my hometown has shot up from RM4.00 in 2008 to RM7.50 today. That means whatever cash I have in hand and bank account has drastically drop almost 50% in value during these 7-8 years, about 6-7% inflation per year. The inflation seems like started to slow down since last year, but it is just temporary from my point of view.

So in such situation, does it means it is still worth to do savings? In my opinion, I think savings is indispensable. Why? Everything need money. Yes, money is inflated and drop drastically in value, might as well use them now instead of 5-7 years later, right? But what's the point of spending money on unnecessary stuffs? The money is hard earn from our monthly pay check, this is why we need more savings. But is it by tighten our belts further? Or how?

The world is changing, including the way to make more money and savings. We need to be creative and innovative with the fast pace of everyone is trying to move forward. I myself is very stingy in person, but I feel the pain of saving very less nowadays, due to inflation and lower income comparing to the good times. I have done my best to save as much as I can during the good day. Now are the bad days where I have very less income and I can tell you I have no savings over the past 1.5 years! So I chose to be generous since a couple of months ago. 

Due to the high cost living nowadays, my savings are depleted quite fast. The only resolution I thought is to look for more income. That is why I started my own business early last year. I failed 2 times miserably but I still wake up and tried the 3rd time early this year. 

What I'm trying to share is, savings is not enough. To leverage on your money is the only way to go, either through investment, doing business, part time, get commission via sales, etc. Many people would like to stay in comfortable zone by just want to try something easy. Imagine this easy ways you and I can try easily, how much do you think the return is? Another example is ponzy scheme. If the investment return is so high and good, why is your turn? All they need is just your money. Think twice. 

There's no free lunch in this world. If you want to achieve something extraordinary, you really need to work extra hard and solve a lot of problems to get through it. 

Have a nice weekend, folks.

Facing and Solving Problems

Everyone has problems and everyone has to face problems. If you take more responsibilities as a person, be it in your career, family or association, you will face even more problems. Expect problems? I don't think most of us like it.

Due to I'm running a new business, I'm facing problems almost everyday. Those problems can be ranging from small to big, easy to challenging, less headache to very headache. Most of the times, the problems are not able to resolve within couple of days or weeks, it takes months! Imagine how can I sleep peacefully with these problems in mind. Sometimes, I just have one thought, give up.

Anyway, no matter what, I have chose my own career path. I want to be successful in my career and to be the few % out of 100. I have no choice, but to continue to run it alone for now. I have always tried my very best to solve every problem comes. Sometimes I solved it with very lazy and stupid way, sometimes luck is with me and solve it eventually.

Along the way, facing and solving problems really provided me a lot of invaluable experience. Imagine you are trying to solve a problem for more than 6 months, and you finally solve it one day! How do you feel? Joy, excited, want to tell yourself, 'finally!'. Yes, I have this feeling. It's a pain process.

From my recent experience, there are few ways that can help relieving the pain of solving problems. When facing problems, we may:
1) Ask for help from the right candidate. For example, if you face technical issue, talk to your technical friends or ask for the right contacts from whoever know about it. This is the best way I've encountered, but somehow people tend to forget.
2) Google / Internet sourcing. Yes, it helps a lot sometimes!
3) Get a mentor or join the relevant association / forum.
4) Think and practice. Right practice makes perfect. Once you always solves relevant problems, you will definitely become better.
5) Follow your guts. When you have no choice, you may just follow your guts after listened to few comments. Remember the word AFTER, not simply follow your guy first. It works most of the time.
6) Pray. It may not completely helps, but it injects more confidence into our decision. God is with us. :)

Happy facing and solving problems.

Back from Hometown Lesson

I was back to my hometown for about 6 days 5 nights last weekend.

Well, this trip is quite busy as this time there's a ex-cell group friend also back from Singapore for vacation. I have almost 10 years did not meet her already.

I managed to catch up with some old friends for a coffee session, and one of them wedding invitation card to us. Most of them are climbing the corporate ladders, except one doing small F&B business. Compare to them, perhaps I look a little bit more successful as an entrepreneur. But unfortunately, I'm the worst among all of us as I have 7 months did not get my salary due to the company has not sufficient income.

The following night we were gathering with some of our ex-cell group members. All of them still look quite young, and not marry yet even though we are approaching 40 soon. The only married person is the lady friend who back from Singapore, who married 8 years back with 2 kids.

The following day's evening I had badminton session with ex-church fellows. A good play but it seems they are short of players.

The night before I flew back to working place, I had a coffee session with some ex-church young adult fellows. They look happy go lucky. Perhaps that's one of the ways to release stress. Similarly, most of them also not married yet.

In conclusion, what happen to the young adult in my hometown now, including myself?!

After I broke up with my girl friend last month, she let me realized my problems. I better correct them as soon as possible and I hope I'm the next one deliver the invitation card!

Practice Makes Perfect?

I read an Internet article recently about the current top NBA player, Stephen Curry on how he fight all the way up in his career.

Well, the old always tell us that nothing is easy when it comes to making money, every success has a huge price behind. If we want to success continuously, the continuous huge effort is inevitably.  Else it will not last long.

Back to Curry's daily practice, there is one particular part impressed me a lot. Needless to say he is always the first person arrives in the court for training. When their daily training session is over, he volunteer to stay back and shoot 5 consecutive shots from the penalty line, without touching the ring before he allows to go home. Once the ball touches the ring or not in, he has to reset until the mission is completed.

Imagine this is a very challenging job. We make me lucky to get 1 or 2 shots without touching the ring. But 5 consecutive shots, you do not need lucky but you needs high accuracy and skill. And that is why he is so flexible and accurate in his shot today. I make me immediate think of 'practice makes perfect'.

The old also says, practice doesn't makes perfect, but only 'right' practice makes perfect. Do the right thing relentlessly with right coaching, you can see the improvement faster. Once you see the improvement, this is where it motivates you to move up further.

I'm thinking, can this be applicable to entrepreneurship and business as well? May be or partly, but from different aspects, and even more challenging. The only chance you can practice is before you start your business, when you are working with others and leverage on your free time to study and learn.

But for coaching, who the hell want to coach you when comes to making money? Aren't the mentors are self-benefit oriented? Either you pay, you contribute or they simply give lazy advice to you. Will your mentor responsible if you lose money? Think again.