Peter The Planner

He Helps You Plan For Your Family’s Future

Recap of personal performance in 2009

Finally we are approaching the end of 2009 and a brand new year is just round the corner =) This year, i actually spent my Xmas eve at home with my mother enjoying her home-cooked food and tomorrow i am going to treat her dinner just before she flys off to Korea for holidays!

Well previously i have never thought of spending time with family but don’t know why this year i felt that i must at least have abit of quality time with my mother. It’s been a super busy year for me and as a result most of the time i’m always outside. I only go home to sleep and bath. Well that was my life for past 1 year but i truly enjoyed every bits of it tho tiring =)

As i am home resting, i’m also doing some reflection of what had happened this year and what i can do better next year. Early on this year, i remembered i set some goals and declared it in my blog here. At that point of time, i was very excited about it and was very optimistic about my future. However life is like that. When you expect something good to happen, there will always be something from somewhere happened that try to lure you away from your goals. Life is like a rollar coaster! To me, i do have my fair share of not being able to clear some of my goals this year.

Let me just do a short recap on what happened to me in 2009:

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Wishing You A Happy Merry Xmas!

xmA

Here by i like to wish all my loyal reader a Merry Xmas and May you take each day as a blessing and stay happy always! Being happy is the most important in life! =)

Cheers! Enjoy the Alvin & ChipMunks Christmas Song!!!

Do You Have The Passion To Save Money!

take-your-passion

Talking about passion makes me quite excited and i guess it’s because i am a more passionate person in nature so i tend to get quite hyped up upon hearing it =) But to many people out there, what is really passion to them? In fact, what is considered a passion to one person may not means the other person is the same.

Being passionate in general is good as it gives the person extra energy in doing the work. Have you met someone who keeps telling you how boring is the job or keep thinking how exciting and challenging their job can be on a daily basis? What is the difference between these two person? The answer is ‘ Passion’

Right now i have this sudden inspiration to share with you how to be passionate about saving money! This is very important and interesting because there are many people out there that i have met are not at ALL keen in saving money. They believe that money is made to spend and not save. I almost fainted each time i heard such statement. Hence i think these tips will be useful to motivate us to save money. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Do you have a 2-faced boss?

Whenever we worked outside, the only thing that we feared was to work under a boss that is 2-faced. It means that he/she say one thing to you but on the other hand will backstab you. Such boss is the worse boss ever!  What can be worse is that in every words that he/she said, it actually carries a different motive behind. Eg: when she asked you how’s your week is not to show concern about you but to find out if you are working or slacking.

Sometime there is a fine line between a geniune concern boss and a boss that show fake concern. How can you tell? In my personal opinion, a genuine concern boss will be someone that is flexible and treat each individual differently. He/she will tailor made a career plan for your sake and guide you accordingly. You know it when they spend more time with you to teach you the way of life. A fake boss is someone who will do similar things but actually the end result is to also benefit itself. Eg: when he/she ask you to do something for yourselves, you must say appreciation things about them at the same time. So when you face such a thing, the feeling is totally different. We may feel that we are being used. If a boss is really nice, he/she don’t even need to ask us to say about him/her. I believe as a person, the worker will be talking good about the boss.

In the real working world, a boss is someone that commanded our respect by leadership by example and not someone who only knows how to talk and manipulate others. He/she who thinks that by getting our attention through authoritative matter is right, he/she is totally wrong. The moment the door opens, words spread! Many others will know what the boss is doing behind. The more he/she wants to hide, the more people will know. I totally hate people that do things based on motive. As a result of this, there is no trust established. Bosses that follow law by law is also not popular amoung employees because there are no room for negotiation with them. Normally this kind of bosses will also not be able to command respect because people under them will find them inflexible.

Sometimes in life, a boss can’t also always expect win-win situation. As a big boss, there will be times that it’s only a lose-win situation. By giving abit, they can actually get back more than they thought. What i mean is that there will be times that the boss can be more generous such as treating the staffs for a good meal automatically because this way, esp in singapore context, it can win people’s heart more easily. To be honest, i believed all my readers here will work hard for a boss who is willing to part abit their pay check for the sake of everyone hardwork. Although it is not a must but it is a way of winning people’s support and trust. No doubt there are ways to reward employee but to be honest, i believed many of us here prefer the more realistic approach.  No point giving recognition but no monetary behind to support it. It doesn’t make sense right? =)

Therefore in my opinion, if there is a chance to be self-employed then it is the best. Although there are many things to do as own boss but at least you are in control. Personally i’m someone that i don’t like to work in a regulated environment because if i were to work there, i think i will be bored to death. The reason why i am here is because i want to be in control of my business and own time. At least for sure, i will have minimal problem as mentioned above.

Anyone care to share what other 2-faced bosses are you facing right now?

What does running a marathon means to me this time?

Today i just completed my very first full marathon organised by Standard Chartered Bank and what i can say is that it was really a very good experience. I felt that each of us needs to go through one of such events to understand your own personal limits.

During my first 25km, i ran as per normal and things seem quite ok but however when it comes to 26km onwards, my legs are really giving me headache. My leg muscles are literally bursting and can’t take any more jogging. I had to stop every 1km to do stretching and make sure i walk instead of jog. Time were passing really slow if i walked and most of all, i felt that i have a whole lot of distance to cover. I still remember vividly that i wanted to just give up and sit there to rest but each time i looked up the crowds, i saw many ladies and also old people still running. From there, i told myself that no matter what, i die die will have to complete the race. The mind will have to be very strong so that it can overcome the  fatigue level.

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Super Funny Ad for a boring Sat!

Funny Ad: Bank Robbery

Link between marathon running and saving

Lately when I was doing up research on motivation and I was cracking my head to think of what is the thing that can relates to people in a most easy and understandable manner. All of the sudden, the event Marathon came to my mind and I went ahead to search on videos relating to it. There are many good videos on motivation related to running. But what strikes me is the fact that in financial term, Saving and investing is just like running a marathon.

During the initial starting stage of training, people will feel the tiredness and not so motivated. But as time goes by, they became accustom to the regine and became expert on that. Eventually it reaches a point when its a matter of mind over body and the feeling of accomplishment that keeps the person moving. Usually during the last 5km of the 42km, people seldom can see the end point. They visualized it!

Its almost the same as saving or investing for long term. When people are introduced the idea of saving, they get excited. In fact, they may even want to start saving big amount per mth.

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SCB Race Entry Pack Collection!

scsm_logov7_09
Details of the Race Entry Pack Collection:

 Date: 3, 4 and 5 Dec 2009
Time: 10am to 8pm (3 – 4 Dec 2009)
        10am to 6pm (5 Dec 2009)
Venue: Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre Hall 5

 Registered runners are reminded to bring their Identity Card/Photo ID to collect their race packs.

 Runners may appoint a representative to collect their race packs on their behalf. The authorized representative must present the following at the collection:

  • Letter of Authorization signed by runner
  • Representative’s Identity Card/Photo ID
  • Photocopy of runner’s Identity Card/Photo ID

6 more days to my first Full Marathon and so far i have only ran 14km and my legs are aching for two days. Can’t really imagine after 42km, what will happen to me? =) Planning for a two days off after that. Hopefully i can recover faster =)

To all runners out there, jia you! Remember to drink lots of water this week and please sleep early! Banana is good for breakfast in the morning hence do buy some the night before. See you guys there! Good luck!

My Contribution To IM$avvy

Good morning! It had been quite long since i blogged and this morning i specially wake up early to study for my last paper of General Insurance. Then i thought it might be a good idea to blog first then study =)

Anyway i realised that many of my clients and friends are not aware that CPF website actually has a new financial section known as: IM$avvy financial portal. Hence i thought of using this opportunity to create more awareness for them.

Have you heard of MoneySENSE? It is a national financial education programme launched by Mr Lee Hsien Loong, then Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the MAS on 16 Oct 2003.  MoneySENSE brings together industry and public sector initiatives to enhance the basic financial literacy of consumers.

The MoneySENSE programme covers 3 tiers of financial literacy:

  • Tier I - Basic Money Management - which covers skills in budgeting and saving, and provides tips on the responsible use of credit;
  • Tier II - Financial Planning - to equip Singaporeans with the skills and knowledge to plan for their long-term financial needs; and
  • Tier III - Investment Know-How - which imparts knowledge about the different investment products and skills for investing

The IM$avvy financial portal is managed by Central Provident Fund Board supported by MoneySense.  This website aims to promote and educate members of public in financial literary. IM$avvy contains many interactive things such as forum, videos etc. One of the latest update is the addition of $avvy Blog Corner.

As a financial consultant, I have been asked to contribute my articles on the CPF Board’s IM$avvy website. Ever since i met up with CPF Board committee, i have started to contribute on their website: www.imsavvy.sg

So if you have not visited their website, do it now! It only takes you one minute to click and you realise there are so many things that you can gain from there =)

Happy reading!

Cheers =)