Rogue One: How to Know If You Are Improving?
Conceptually, many people know that making mistakes is part of the learning journey.
In practice, most people try to avoid it in any way possible:
You may be avoiding a leadership role because you do not want to be blamed when shit happens.
You may be looking for a high win-rate strategy in the market because you are sick of being wrong.
You may be staying away from a lifetime opportunity because you fear that it may be a wrong move.
Theoretically, we thought that improving means making fewer mistakes.
In reality, how would you know if you are actually improving?
First, you make bad mistakes.
Then, you make better mistakes.
It’s not the number of mistakes that determine the progress of our improvement. It’s the quality of mistakes that we make that decide the magnitude of our leap.
Rogue One is a new weekly 1-min article series where I share my random thoughts and ideas.
How to Build Your Emergency Fund?
An emergency fund is one of the least discussed topics in personal finance. Yet, it is the most crucial aspect of our financial life that will save us in times of unexpected crisis, if prepared well.
In spite of Covid-19, if you are still earning an income, you should really consider to start building the foundation of your financials via an emergency fund.
Typically, most people would opt for Fixed Deposit (FD) to build their emergency fund. That said, if there is a better alternative in town, would you be interested to learn more?
What is an Emergency Fund?
An emergency fund is essentially the money that you allocate on the side in case of unexpected financial emergencies like unemployment or a loss of income.
As a minimum, one should aim to build a 3 to 6 months’ worth of emergency fund (ie. 3 - 6x Your Monthly Expenses).
Now, it is crucial for us to understand the mechanism around an emergency fund:
It is not about growing the fund like what we do with investing. Rather, with an emergency fund, we are trying to preserve the value of your emergency fund so it doesn't lose its value with time.
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Where to Place Your Emergency Fund: Money Market Fund
Money Market Funds are funds that invest in low-risk assets such as government securities, treasury bills, commercial bonds, and other highly liquid securities.
This means that unlike stock market investments that are generally volatile, the low-risk assets in a Money Market Fund is relatively stable & consistent.
Reason being, most assets under a Money Market Fund have a maturity date where it almost always ensures a return.
Normally, most assets under a Money Market Fund matures in 1 year or less. This ensures the liquidity of funds that allow you to buy and sell relatively easily.
Money Market Fund vs Fixed Deposit (FD)
(1) Competitive Return
Money Market Funds generally pays a return of 3.0 – 3.5% annually. On the other hand, FD rates have been hovering in an average of 2%.
(2) Better Liquidity
Money Market Fund is generally more liquid than FD. This means that there is no lock-in period and you can deposit and withdraw whenever you want.
(3) Lower Barrier of Entry
Not only that, a Money Market Fund also has a relatively low barrier of entry compared to FD. This means that you can start investing in Money Market Funds from as low as RM10 and still enjoy the returns.
In comparison, there is a relatively high cap for FD deposits that ranges from RM10,000 to RM100,000.
What are the Risks of Investing in Money Market Funds?
Investing in a Money Market Fund is not without its risks, although it is quite minimal relative to the stock market.
(a) Interest Rate Risk
Interest rate risk refers to the impact of interest rate changes on the valuation of fixed income securities.
Essentially, when interest rates rise, fixed income asset prices generally decline. This may lower the market value of the Fund’s investment in fixed income securities, which will affect the net asset value (NAV) of the Fund.
The opposite may apply when interest rates fall.
(b) Credit/Default Risk
Credit/Default risk refers to the ability of issuers of fixed income assets (eg. a company’s bond) to make timely payment of interest or profit.
This means that if the issuer faces any challenges to make payment, it may impact the value as well as the liquidity of the fixed income assets of a Fund.
To manage the risks involved, a Money Market Fund will normally opt for high graded bonds and securities. This means that the chance of default will be relatively low and hence ensure peace of mind.
All in all, Money Market Fund’s investment in low-risk assets ensured it’s stability, making it a great FD alternative to build your emergency fund.
That said, please be reminded that it is NOT a capital and return guaranteed vehicle as there are still some risks involved in it.
3 Money Market Funds Options
There are many money market options out there, varying in fees and deposit amount. For the options below, I am going to share with you 3 options out there which is suitable for most people.
The first money market fund that I think is a great option for most people is the BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim (Money Market Fund) via BEST Investment App.
Its low barrier of entry of just RM10 is the reason why I would recommend this to most people that are looking to build their emergency fund via money market.
To start, just go ahead and install the BEST Investment app on your phone (select Do It Yourself --> BIMB Dana Al-Fakhim), and start contributing to your emergency fund.
Install BEST Investment app HERE.
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The reason why I feature Opus Money Plus Fund is due to its overall fee structure that is lower than other money market options out there.
Typically, most money market funds have a management fee of up to 0.5%/annum. In contrast, Opus Money Plus Fund features a maximum management fee of 0.35%/annum.
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The final option that I am featuring here is Phillip Capital Money Market Fund.
The reason for this feature is because I am personally having my emergency fund parked with them.
That said, when it comes to ease of access, Phillip Capital is the least friendly one as it requires applicants to still fill up physical forms to open an account.
4. StashAway Simple (Updated 15/6/2020)
Newly launched in June 2020, StashAway Simple comes into the scene as a reliable alternative to Fixed Deposit (FD).
For an in-depth review of StashAway Simple, click HERE.
Money Market Funds Comparison
No Money Lah's Verdict
Hopefully this article gave you a good idea on how to get started to build your emergency fund!
Do you have any other suggestions on where to place your money for an emergency? Share with me below! :)
p.s. Already have an emergency fund in place? Wanna kickstart your investing journey for a new (& consistent) income stream?
Scroll below for more info!
Confession: I Experience Social Media Anxiety Attacks At Least Once Everyday Since MCO Started
Hey everyone! First of all, so sorry that I have not been able to come out with new articles/content for the past month during MCO.
Ever since MCO started, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram have become the only place where people can get connected with each other.
As a result, there has been an influx of content on social media for the past few months.
Whenever I log on to social media, I felt like I am served with a buffet of marketing, financial and investment-related FB Lives, ads, YouTube videos, and content.
While it was exciting at the start, it eventually became very overwhelming to me.
Simply put, just like how most of us would overeat and become too full in a real-life buffet, I realized that I have been suffocating from the ‘content buffet’ on social media as well.
A Blogger with Social Media Anxiety
Aside from being stuffed with content as a social media user, I also experienced major anxiety swings when it comes to content creation:
I am losing out! I should come out with more content every week! (FOMO)
I should start making Youtube Videos! (FOMO)
I need to go Live because everyone is doing so! (FOMO)
I am afraid that people would not like to read about this topic. (Self-doubt)
I am worried that people would judge me for posting about a certain topic. (Fear over criticism/judgements)
Without me realizing, social media has become my main source of stress and anxiety during MCO.
Be it a content consumer or a creator, I am overwhelmed with the urge to consume more and create more.
Soon, I started to experience social media anxiety attacks whenever I log on to social media. Any form of new content from a fellow creator friend can become a trigger of breathing suffocation: HOW are they able to come out with content so fast! The Watch Party notification that I cannot make it becomes a daily dose of self-judgement and mental abuse.
Despite already being a Work From Home person for 2 years, it is crazy how my routine and mental clarity can be demolished by a change in social media lifestyle.
Creation Paralysis
Throughout the whole MCO period, there were many times where I attempted to write something, which ended up as drafts that went into the recycle bin due to fear of judgement and self-doubt.
I do not lack ideas, but I have slowly lost confidence in my own capability to create and share.
Honestly, I think I have done a bad job adjusting to the new norm and the pace of the social media lifestyle.
Short-Term Escape
If the internet is the escape from the real world 10 years ago, now it seems like the real world is the escape from the internet.
For the past weeks, I tried to stay away from my phone whenever I felt overwhelmed by the virtual space of social media. Disconnecting from the internet helped me find peace and give me space to breathe.
That said, this only worked as a short-term escape as anxieties tend to strike again when I am back on social media.
Long-Term Solution: Re-evaluating My Relationship with Social Media & Creation
As I took a break from creation and minimize my time from social media, I got the opportunity to reflect upon my relationship with social media & creation:
(1) You do not need to consume everything on social media
Just like many, I experienced the urgency and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) to participate in as many FB Live and consume as much content as possible at the start of MCO. As a result, I ended up overwhelming myself with those contents.
Moving forward, it is important for us to understand that it is impossible to learn and consume everything by ourselves in a short time.
By all means, go pick up new knowledge or skills, BUT stay focused and have realistic expectations.
Do not expect yourself to master investing AND digital marketing together by binge-watching all the FB Lives and content out there during MCO.
If any, skills take time & practices to develop and it is definitely not within a few weeks of MCO.
Most importantly, be selective on the content you consume and learn to allow yourself to miss out on certain FB Live or content that is not of priority to you.
(2) Focus on value, quality & consistency, not a sudden burst in quantity
In hindsight, I realized that I have likely drawn into the urge to compete when it comes to content creation during the past month.
In other words, I judged my ‘performance’ by comparing myself to the speed of content output by other creators – which really drove me nuts.
Moving forward, I want to focus my energy to produce consistent quality content that I either genuinely enjoy sharing, or find great value to learn and share with my friends and community of readers.
It’s not about competing, it’s about creating the most value to the people that matter: me and my community of friends and readers.
(3) Be in peace & creative around my limit and boundaries
Ultimately, I am working on my own when it comes to content creation.
I love writing and sharing, but I can only produce and write so much content by myself.
This is a reality that I was not accepting the fact myself during MCO, which gave me a huge load of stress and anxiety.
As I take my time to reflect, I started to find peace with this fact. If I have all these boundaries, why not be creative around them?
(4) Specify Specific Time to Go On Social Media Daily
On a daily basis, set a consistent time for you to go on social media and participate in the virtual world.
I find this method extremely effective as it forces me to only engage what’s important to me in the virtual world, and filter out unimportant interaction and content on social media.
With that, I can spend more time in the work that truly matters to myself and my readers, while not overwhelming myself.
No Money Lah’s Verdict
Covid-19 has changed the way of living for many of us. If any, our relationship with social media in 2020 has definitely experienced a huge shift.
In one way or another, Covid-19 and an MCO lifestyle turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it forced me to re-evaluate my behavior with social media. As a creator, it also helped me recalibrate my purpose and mindset when it comes to writing and creation.
On the other hand, as social media takes up more of our attention & time in our life, I am very sure that health issues caused by social media are going to get more widespread and intense.
Like myself, I believe that more and more people are going to get overwhelmed with social media anxieties, which could lead to more problems if not handled properly.
Perhaps, another good question that we can think about is this:
Are you weak if you are experiencing anxiety issues due to social media?
No. You are not, and let no one tell you otherwise, including yourself.
What you need to do, is really to take your time, reflect, and re-evaluate your relationship with social media and online content.
The Hard Truth: Why You Shouldn’t Care About What Stock Investment ‘Influencers’ are Buying on Social Media (Especially at Times Like This)
So, the inevitable has happened.
With the fear and pressure from Covid-19 pandemic and drop in oil price, the market has gone real bad.
As an example, Dow Jones has just dropped by 20% from its previous peak and entered a technical bear market earlier today.
At the same time, for the first time since 2008/09, the VIX (Market Volatility) Index had a daily close above $53. Also known as the Fear Index, this means that the market is generally in fear and expects huge volatility moving forward.
In short, just like the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, the wolf has, in fact, arrived at our doorsteps.
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At times like this, it is not rare to see (more and more) social media stock investment gurus/influencers posting about the stocks that they are accumulating at low for ‘long-term investment’.
However, I am of the opinion that these posts, if not conveyed properly (as discussed below) are deeply irresponsible and you SHOULD NOT be taking 99% of these posts seriously.
If you have been consuming the content from these stock investment gurus/influencers for tips to get over times like this, this is the cold, hard truth that you need to hear:
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99% of These Posts DO NOT Tell You the Whole Picture
Yup, I know that this stock investment guru has posted about accumulating Tesla at low. Perhaps, this guru even shared about why and how he entered the trade.
But this post only covered 1/3 of the whole investment plan.
Do you know their exit plan? Do you know the If/Then statement that the guru has in mind should certain changes in fundamentals happen? And more…
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Do You Know How Long is this ‘Long-Term Investment’ Going to Be?
“I am holding this long-term.”
But how long is ‘long-term’ for this guru? Did he/she mention the timeframe at all? How long is this guru going to hold this investment?
Weeks? Months? Years?
Even so, without knowing the basis of the investment plan, do you have the courage to hold these investments if the price keeps tumbling after you follow this guru’s entry?
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YES, You are Going to have a Different Risk Tolerance Compared to this Guru
This guru/influencer that posted this stock that he/she just got in may have the patience and risk tolerance to hold through a 20 – 30% further drop in price.
But can you do so? Can you handle the mental pressure of price going against your favor for even, say, 10%?
Know your investment plan: Do Your Homework and Due Diligence.
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Heck, Some of These People May Not Even Know What They are Doing
The irony is, it is much easier to write and spread bullshit investing ideas and concepts nowadays via social media platforms.
Spot for Facebook and IG pages that ONLY show off about how much they’ve earned – this is the biggest red flag that you should stay away from these pages or individuals.
Instead, What Should You Do?
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Formulate Your Own Investment Plan
If you have any prior (proper) experience in the market, learn to be independent and formulate your own investing plan.
What’s your entry plan? What’s your exit strategy? What’s your If/Then statements if X or Y happens?
Having all of these processes done properly will give you the confidence on when (and when not) to take action and stick through your investments at tough times.
Shameless Plug: For those who are not familiar, I share about how to formulate your own investment plan and processes in my upcoming REIT Investing Workshop. Details HERE.
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Focus on Reliable Passive Investing Solutions
If you are not familiar with how to manage your investment actively, definitely check out reliable passive investing platforms like StashAway and Wahed.
These platforms use financial algorithms to invest on your behalf and rebalance your investments according to the market situation.
(p.s. I highly recommend StashAway for the general public, and Wahed for those who are looking specifically for Shariah-compliant passive investment.)
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Focus on Wealth Preservation
Of all, make sure you have enough cash flow while not simply pouring them into the market based on tips!
Once you learned how to formulate your investment plan, this cash will act like bullets for you to take advantage of when the time is right.
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No Money Lah’s Verdict
Stay calm, stay rational, and be healthy.
Would we ever be ready in the pursuit of life?
It has almost been 2 years since I left my first job in a startup which paid me handsomely as a fresh-grad to explore my own path in trading and writing.
To be honest, it is one of the scariest decisions I’ve made in my life so far.
I knew nothing about trading at all when I first started.
I had no clue on how I could build a website at all, other than my neglectable experience with free website builders back in university times.
So, I did whatever I could – take a deep breath, leap, make tones of (noob) mistakes, and keep learning.
Fast Forward to Present Day
2019 has been a challenging year – and an amazing one as well.
This year, I had the opportunity to embark on many great adventures.
For one, after months of effort and painstaking mistakes, I finally made some significant breakthroughs in the skills & mindset in my trading journey (read: strategy with edge, disciplined routine & risk management, strong desire to succeed).
As someone with the goal to pursue a professional career in proprietary trading firms, this massively boosted my confidence to keep going.
Not only that, No Money Lah also opened me up to various great experiences.
First radio station interview? Done. First podcast interview? Done. First REIT investing knowledge-sharing workshop (and another 2 more after that)? Done.
Even better, I got to know and meet many like-minded readers and equally, if not even more enthusiastic folks of the personal finance & investing scene.
The best of all?
I learned a ton and enjoyed most moments in this adventure.
Outcast of the Norms
Whatever I am doing, I guess that made me an outcast of the societal norms with ever reliance on certainties.
I have a clear goal, but I can’t be 100% certain where exactly I will be by the end of 2020.
For sure, I can’t be 100% certain that I will have a fixed amount of income by the end of every month (Do you really think that No money lah is just my website’s name?).
When it comes to trading, it is even more obvious that I can’t be 100% certain of the outcome of my trade results every month.
In short, the only thing that is certain in this journey is risks and uncertainties.
Lessons Learned in 2019
With that in mind, I have to take aggressive actions and mindsets to keep me going on this journey.
It is easy for one to slack off when you have no one to be accountable to. Hence, to progress in my journey, I have to:
- Follow a very disciplined routine to optimize my productivity (more contents about routine in 2020).
- Create a systematic workflow around my trading and content creation work.
- Be mindful of my personal expenses & financial decisions.
- Develop a very strong purpose and desire to succeed to keep myself motivated, and whenever needed, pull myself out of challenging times.
Most importantly, I have to embrace the fact that uncertainties are the only certainty in my journey, and make this to my advantage.
What are your goals in life?
To be more specific, what is the ideal life that you visualize yourself in whenever you close your eyes?
For me, I want to give my parents a retirement life where they do not have to worry about money at all. I also want to have flexibility in time where I can explore the world of experiences.
Even more so, I want to be in peace and happy in my very own way of living.
Are we ever truly ready in this pursuit of ‘life’?
Why do I ask and share with you this, you might guess?
The reason is simple.
This is because I’ve seen and talked to people that want to wait for the ‘moment’ when they are ready to take the necessary actions to pursue their goals or ideal life.
But would we ever be ready for life?
If there is one key takeaway that I got in my nearly-2 years’ journey pursuing my goals, I am almost certain that most people are never truly ready for the adventure.
The fact is, you will always find hundreds, if not thousands of excuses on why you are not ready to start.
For me, it was the fear of not being enough. Not enough of a writer, not enough in knowledge, not enough in relevant experiences.
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
Truth is, you only need one of these reasons to make you feel overwhelmed to start. But since we are creatures with imagination, we flood ourselves with even more reasons for why we will not succeed.
You Don’t Have to Know Everything, and You Only Need One Reason to Start
Give this a thought:
Our parents never really asked if we are ready for school – we just adapt and learn along the way.
Our university never really asked if we are ready for that damn tough paper – we (most of us) just grit our teeth and went through it anyway.
Isn’t it obvious that for the most part of our lives, we have never really been fully prepared for anything at all?
Yet, we still make it through and conquered life like a pro – until now.
Now’s the time to decide if you really want to be ‘truly ready’ or ‘fully prepared’ to pursue that goal or ideal life in this new decade.
You will find strong mental resistance and excuses as it would be deeply uncomfortable.
But you only need one, and only one strong ‘WHY’ to go take the leap.
I wish you the very, very best – and I would love to hear your journey someday. 😊
2019 has been a great year, and it would not be possible without my supportive parents, 2 of my lifelong friends (Victor & Eddie), and of course – you.
Thank you for being such a great supporter and motivation to me – be it if you are a reader and/or attendee of my REIT Investing Workshop in 2019.
This journey is much more meaningful and fulfilling with all of you, and please accept my gratitude from the bottom of my heart.
Wishing you a great year, and the decade ahead!
Yi Xuan
Always Remember: Live Your Own Life, Walk Your Own Pace (No Money Lah’s 1st Anniversary)
Always remember: Live your own life, Walk your own pace.
The past 1 year or so has been like a roller-coaster ride for me. As a start, No Money Lah’s growth as a passion project has been amazing. I have always like to write and share my learnings and thoughts with people, and No Money Lah allows me to do just that in my new stage of life – adulthood.
As an added bonus, No Money Lah has opened me up to various opportunities and the chance to meet many fantastic people behind the entrepreneurial and personal finance scenes.
Furthermore, my little goal to share what I know about investing also comes true. The tremendous support from the friends and readers to my Breakthrough Your Wealth – REIT Investing workshop have made all 3 workshops, so far, a fully-occupied (and fun) one.
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That said, there are times where I just got overwhelmed with fear, doubt, and uncertainties.
The overwhelming fear that people would dislike what I write. The miserable self-doubt where I couldn’t even convey my feelings in words. The struggle against uncertainties towards, well, everything – from my career, my future, time and basically stuffs that could choke one out of breath.
Remember the Times Where You Kinda Messed Up Everything?
Can you relate?
Looking at your peers rising to the ranks in their jobs while you kept on hitting bricks. Or maybe, when you start to receive (more) wedding invitations while you are still getting your own life sorted out. How about those friends who seem like they got everything under control when you are literally losing them?
If you do not feel any of these, good for you. But I feel right about all these emotions playing in my head every now and then.
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At times, they come and go just in a blink. But there are times when it hits, it breaks down even the strongest mental barrier within myself. It is suffocating. Suffocating, knowing that all these efforts could be going nowhere.
But despite all circumstances, these are the times where I felt more alive than ever. Alive, knowing that I hit bricks, yet I am progressing whenever I overcome them. Alive, knowing that I feel these emotions, yet I am not running away from them. Alive, knowing that I am vulnerable, yet I do everything to pursue my beliefs regardless.
Here's the thing:
We'll never be perfect in the face of norms. Any attempt to do otherwise is never a smooth journey - filled with uncertainties, fear, and self-doubt.
You are 'lagging behind' if you take a one-year gap year in between college.
You are 'too slow' if you haven't become a senior manager by 25.
You are 'too late' if you haven't get married by 30.
You are 'too old' if you decided to start your own business by 45.
Everyone is different. But norms expect us to walk the same pace in life.
It's Never About People Outrunning You (or Otherwise), It's About Discovering Your Own Pace in Life
I used to run half-marathons (21km) quite frequently (until I have some knee issues). And unless you are the top Kenyan runners, chances are you will be outpaced and outrun by people along the journey.
At first, it sucks whenever someone outpaced you. The feeling is especially real when the person is someone you know, and I experienced that first-hand when my best friends just outpaced me during the journey.
Then, I’ve come to a realization that being emotional when someone outpaced you is not just physically tiring, but even more so, mentally exhausting at the same time.
Slowly, I started to run at my own pace, being totally okay with people getting ahead of me. When I do so, I enjoyed my journey a little bit more. I made some new friends along the way. I challenged myself to outpace not anyone else but myself. Most importantly, I appreciate the fact that for each step I take, I am still moving forward towards the finishing line.
Not all paths are smooth - you just got to believe that you will eventually get to where you want to be.
Your Life, Your Path, Your Pace
If that’s not clear enough: Yes, I Do.
Whenever I am not mindful, I will still get overwhelmed with emotions. I will still get anxious about uncertainties. And at times, I could even mess things up.
But it is at these times that, I get to learn to acknowledge my vulnerabilities, strengthen my self-belief and intuition, outgrow myself – all at my very own pace.
And I hope you do, too.
No Money Lah is now 1 Year Old!
If you haven't realized it already, No Money Lah turned 1 last month!
If you are reading this, I would like to extend my full gratitude to each of you. Your tremendous support has been one of my main motivations to keep writing throughout this year. Regardless of how you got to know No Money Lah, I am hopeful that my articles will keep bringing new insights and values to you, just like how your support kept me going in this amazing year.
Here are my 3 Books Recommendation to Massively Transform Your Life:
Before leaving this article, I thought of sharing with you 3 books that have transformed my life in one way or another throughout this year. If you are looking to a massive breakthrough in life, I cannot recommend these books enough for you:
From left:
(1) The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, (2) Atomic Habits by James Clear, (3) Grit by Angela Duckworth
Knowing WHEN to Pat Yourself on The Back is the Key to Personal Breakthrough
As a table tennis enthusiast, I have been coaching on and off since my time at university. Now, as a certified coach by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), my focus is mainly on coaching children during the weekends.
Having interacted with children for more than a year now, I have come to realize that acknowledgment, when done properly, could be one’s key to lasting breakthroughs.
Melvin is one of my youngest students during my weekend session. At 6 years old, Melvin has been with me since early this year.
As a relatively new coach, I have been facing one major challenge when it comes to interacting with kids:
Being pretty new with children, my initial assumption was that the more you acknowledge them, the faster they’ll improve. In turn, I have been using words like “Well done” and “Good job” too frequently during my coaching session.
As a result, I actually ‘Well-Done-d’ and ‘Good Job-ed’ Melvin way too much, even when he was only hitting 3 rallies in a row while he could already do more than 10.
In short, what followed was a series of stagnation in progress and improvement.
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Frustrated with my initial approach, I started to give fewer to none praises. I thought by being more critical, Melvin would eventually improve.
Well, as it turned out, Melvin did not achieve much progress. Even worse, he started to show less interest during the practice.
Luckily for me, I eventually found a crucial balance between when to acknowledge and provide critical feedback for Melvin.
So, knowing that Melvin could hit at least 10 rallies in a row, I set goals that are a little over Melvin’s comfort zone (eg. 11 rallies).
Then, I proceed to acknowledge him whenever he managed to achieve his goals. On the flip side, at times when he is unable to hit his goals, I will provide more constructive feedbacks rather than overpouring him with unconstructive praises.
When that happened, Melvin (along with the other kids) have been able to show steady breakthroughs and interest during the practice.
Alright, so what does that mean for us all?
You see, very much like the story of me coaching Melvin above, we tend to face similar ironies in our daily life:
As a human, we tend to be over-critical with ourselves when it comes to our goals. It could’ve been the failure to achieve your yearly goal of losing 5kg in weight, or missing an important career mark for the year.
Regardless, we tend to self-talk ourselves into thinking that we are ‘not good enough’ when we make some mistakes or fail in our attempt to achieve our goals – a.k.a. demotivating ourselves.
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On the other hand, on a daily basis, many of us are also prone to making it too easy for ourselves when it comes to the effort of pursuing our goals.
Remember the days when you tried to convince yourself that you have ‘done a good job’ for swimming 3 laps instead of the pre-planned 10? Or the times where you call it a day when you just made 1 presentation rehearsal instead of a decent 3?
In return, so many of us are denied our full potential – not by anyone else, but ourselves.
Now, let's face it: In life, we don't always get what we want, but we are most likely going to get what we tolerate. On the flip side, being overly critical to ourselves could also lead to demoralizing self-talks.
Essentially, everyone's tolerance towards mediocrity and desire towards breakthrough is different. As such, we got to find a balance and the right timing on when to acknowledge our own effort – and pat ourselves on the back.
The problem is, it is easy for us to know when to acknowledge and be constructively critical to someone else. However, it is definitely not the case when it comes to ourselves – YET it is not impossible to do so:
Pat Yourself on the Back to Personal Breakthrough
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Set realistic goals that are a little over your comfort zone
Firstly, whenever you set to start something – be very realistic with your current capability and dedication.
If you are new to running and you can only practice once a week, you cannot expect yourself to complete your first full-marathon below 4 hours, right?
That said, you could always test your capability by starting with a 5km run, followed by 10km and then 21km before really pursuing a full marathon.
Setting mini targets in line with your final goal is a great way to achieve breakthrough in stages without being overwhelmed.
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Strive to do your best – every single day
I consider this a mindset and attitude in living our lives. Imagine the satisfaction if you end your day knowing that you have given it everything you got – at least it feels much better than the opposite.
Regardless of the outcome of our effort throughout the day – we could have the best day ever, or we could screw up here and there, yet no one could deny us from giving our best.
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Keep a journal on your progress
Very important. Keep your goals in writing and your action plan towards achieving them.
On a daily basis, write down what you are on to do before starting your day, and check them out throughout the day – it is very satisfying!
Keeping a written journal will ensure your focus with your own progress – and appreciate your own effort along the way.
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Once you have done your best, give yourself a pat on the back!
Last but not least, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back!
Repeat this daily, I am confident that you will achieve some form of breakthrough in terms of progress, skill or mindset real soon.
Hey Wait…
Here’s the thing:
You do not always have to be making huge progress every day. In fact, you should not expect yourself to do so.
At times, there are circumstances where things are simply against our favor regardless of our effort.
That said, doing our best is a mindset. Doing our best is our attitude towards life. Doing our best is a promise that we made to ourselves that, no matter how things turn out to be, we make it a point to not disappoint ourselves by giving everything we got.
Live up with that attitude, and you deserve a huge pat on your back – including the personal breakthrough that follows.
5 Money Mistakes to Avoid in Your 20s
I have spent the last 2 decades in formal education. Now that I think about it, there are so many things that schools should have taught us, but they didn’t do so.
Of all, how to manage money is one of the most crucial life tools that is unfortunately left out in our education system. As such, it is not without explanation that many of us tend to make irrational money mistakes in our 20s.
Being a 20s myself, and having observed my peers of the same age group and talking to people of older age, here are 5 money mistakes that I think should be avoided in our 20s:
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(1) Never bother to invest your money (AND learn how to do it properly)
One thing that I find particularly ironic about our generation is that we do not mind the hassle and time wasted lining up for milk tea, yet we never bother to spend time to improve our future lifestyle.
We love instant gratification, yet many do not really care about planning ahead for the future.
As a result, so many are either (i) finding excuses to NOT learn how to invest properly and/or (ii) becoming a victim of ‘Get-Rich-Quick’ money games and illegal MLMs.
In this case, investing is the total opposite of instant gratification. It is where an individual delays his or her current spending impulse and put that hard-earned money into an investment that will grow exponentially in the future – if done properly.
In other words, time is of the essence in determining your investment returns – the earlier you do it properly, the better. As shown in the example below, investing RM1,000 compounded at 6% yearly at 20 years old will make up to 80% MORE in total return when you reach 50 years old compared to investing the same amount at 30 years old.
In short, not learning how to invest your money properly at an earlier age is a costly money mistake that many tend to make in their 20s.
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(2) Being ignorant about financial protection
Let’s be fair: regardless of your opinion towards the insurance industry, all of us need to be protected financially from unexpected life accidents and events.
Another personal observation is that my peers that are in their 20s have extremely little understanding and awareness of financial protection – even when it is one of the most important aspects of their life.
Being protected financially is like a financial defense line that all of us tend to pay the least attention in, and let’s be honest:
Most of us do not know how well-covered we are financially. You will know what I mean when you are trying to reject an insurance agent, yet you cannot answer their simplest question of:
What is your coverage right now?
That aside, you do know that insurance premiums get more expensive the older you get, right?
Hence, stop being ignorant. Be mindful of how well-protected you are by reassessing your coverages constantly with your financial planners.
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(3) Acquiring assets (especially depreciating ones like cars) that you cannot afford
Having stayed in the Klang Valley for all my life, I know first-hand that not having a mode of transport like a car pose a huge inconvenience. As such, it is of no surprise when the first huge purchase by a lot of young adults is in fact, a car.
That said, many tend to overspend on the model of cars that they simply could not afford. In other words, instead of getting a car that they can financially afford, many young adults in their 20s tend to get a car that matches their IDEAL lifestyle.
As an example, with a starting salary of RM3,000, a second-hand Perodua Viva may be a practical and financially rational car to own since the loan payment is still within a controllable range of less than 10% of your salary. Yet, if you go for a whole new Toyota Vios, you would be paying nearly 30% of your salary just for your car loan payment!
Do I have to mention that you got to pay for your petrol, road tax and maintenance (which, without doubt, become more expensive with the size of your car) aside from your loan payment?
No one really cares about the car that you drive, really.
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(4) Obsessive spending on alcohol, drinks, and entertainment
Just scroll through your IG stories on Friday nights (or even other weekday evenings), you will always see the friend that will never miss his or her drinking or clubbing night.
You do know these stuffs are not cheap, right?
Being obsessive with drinking or any form of similar entertainment is one of the easiest ways for you to flush away your hard-earned money. While you are not mindful of it, these expenses could compile up to a huge amount – which could be used to buy yourself a better protection plan, to learn how to invest, and heck, even to pay a few months off your loans!
Look, I have no problem at all with young adults in their 20s having some form of entertainment or drinking once in a while. However, if those are the only things that you are looking forward to every week – to the point of being obsessed, perhaps you got to stand back and start reflecting on your life purpose.
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(5) Poor money management and habits
Let’s go right into the point:
Not tracking your expenses, have no idea of where your money is being spent, weak control towards buying impulses – do any of these sound familiar to you?
Having a poor money habit and management is, without doubt, the most common money mistake that people tend to make in their 20s. That’s why, among the 100,000 people that were declared bankrupt from 2013 to 2017, 60% of them are aged between 18 to 44.
If you are in your 20s, it is still not too late to change your financial habit right now. Start with baby steps, at least by tracking your expenses on a daily basis (I recommend MoneyLover).
Stop looking for lame excuses for not taking your financial life in control just because you do not have time or have no background in finance or accounting – it is a matter of priority after all.
Remember, as Tun M said:
No Money Lah’s verdict:
If there is anything about adulting, managing money is definitely one of the biggest challenges in this process. However, it is a responsibility that we have to take on eventually regardless of how much we dislike the topic.
As such, I strongly urge you to stop making the money mistakes above and start taking action to reach your financial goals by managing your money habits, learning how to invest (and start young) and taking proactive steps to build the defense line of your financial protection.
Learn how I build PASSIVE INCOME in the stock market with MINIMAL RISK! More details HERE.
How I got into the verge of breakdown & self-rescued myself out of it.
Last month (March 2019) was a really challenging period for me. I was in the midst of preparing for my very first Breakthrough Your Wealth (BYW) – REIT Investing Workshop for 20 of my close friends and readers, and it was not easy by any means.
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Let me explain why:
First of all, since the workshop was (and still is) a one-man show, I got to handle everything from syllabus design, agenda planning, communication, marketing, logistics (food & venue) and printing on my own. Besides that, I also had to spend time to practice what I got to say during the full-day (9am – 6pm) workshop.
To add on to the challenges, the progress in designing the workshop syllabus was also slower than my initial expectation, and they were for obvious reasons: Instead of pouring everything that I know out into the PowerPoint slides (like any classic university tutorial presentation), I have to approach this process from the participants’ point of view:
“If I say X, would they understand?” “Would they be confused if I use Y jargon during the workshop?”.
As a result, the initial workflow of getting my syllabus design done during the Chinese New Year week became a month-long project (obviously, I underestimated the process).
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Stress Piled Up as Time Went By
As March came by, the need to get everything perfectly prepared for the day (the workshop was going to happen on the 30th of March) was overwhelming. Every day, I can literally feel the urge to fulfill every participant’s expectation piling up on my shoulder, and it almost drove me to the verge of breaking down.*
In short, I was way out of my comfort zone and was pretty damn stressed up.
(*Everything happened while I was also juggling between my full-time trading activities and producing content on No Money Lah)
Luckily for me, with some personal hacks and methods, I managed to brace through the stressful month and the workshop ended up pretty good – according to the participants. In this article, I want to share the 5 practices that I used to keep myself from screwing up while I was on the verge of breaking down:
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(1) Whenever you feel overwhelmed, take 3 long, deep breaths.
The earliest symptom that you are experiencing a panic attack or about to breakdown is the feeling of being overwhelmed with the work in hand. Hence, whenever I felt overwhelmed (or the tension on my shoulders), I will go for 3 long, deep breaths.
As common as this hack is, taking long, deep breaths are extremely useful. As such, taking mindful, deep breaths help in activating part of the brain to release neurohormones that inhibit stress-producing hormones, thus triggering a relaxation response throughout the body.
In other words, long, deep breaths help to calm your nerves.
(2) Whenever you feel stuck, plan & write things down.
In my work with syllabus design for the workshop, I was often met with times where I got clueless and stuck on how to proceed with some sections.
Whenever I felt like hitting a wall and not sure what to do, I will take out a piece of paper and start writing. I will always start with my end goal and start working backward.
eg. In my case, my end goal always starts with the question of “What do I want my participants to learn from a particular section?”. Then, I will derive an approach to achieve my end goal on paper.
Identifying your end goals and planning them recalibrate your mind back to the mission/project, while writing things down on paper gives your mind a clearer picture of what you should do.
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(3) Whenever you feel as if your mind is messy & overloaded, focus on one thing at a time.
There will be times when you may feel like there are too many things to be done. In this case, try method (2) by listing down the tasks that you have to do.
In addition, use the Eisengrade Box to grade those tasks with 4 different priorities:
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Then, focus on doing the one thing that is the most urgent and important to you, then only proceed to other tasks after you are done with them.
Another tip is to stay away from social media while you are overloaded – you will only distract yourself and wasting your time while not getting productive in your work.
(4) Whenever you feel unorganized, commit to at least one health-related routine.
When you are overstressed and overworked, chances are your life will start to go upside down. If this happens, you will start breaking down sooner than you expect.
For me, no matter how stressful the day or month might be, I will always organize my life around a set of morning and night routine – so regardless of how chaos my day is, I will always start and end my day in a positive note.
So if you are feeling unorganized in your life, try to pick up and commit to ONE health-related routine (eg. Exercising, meditation, yoga)
Surprisingly, my daily meditation practice (morning & night) has kept my life from falling apart many times, especially during the workshop preparation.
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(5) Whenever you feel that you cannot do this alone, get help.
I remembered fondly at the night before the workshop, I had to get all the printed notes hole-punched and filed properly. At the same time, I have to rehearse what I am going to say the next day during the workshop.
At that moment, I got really tight in time and resources. Hence, I got 2 of my best buddy – Eddie and Victor to help me out with the files.
No matter how good you think you are, there will be instances where you cannot get everything done on your own. So, put down that stupid ego (or ‘Asian Paiseh-ness’) of yours and go get help!
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BONUS: At any moment of time, always remind yourself on your purpose and goals
In the toughness of time, always remind yourself of your purpose and goal.
Why do you do what you do?
Keeping your purpose and goal intact will help you endure even the most challenging moments in your work and life. Just like how petrol fuels our cars, having a solid vision and purpose fuel our actions and keep us going at the lowest point and the steepest hill in life.
If these practices saved me at the verge of a breakdown, I am pretty sure it will help you too! All the best!
What Steve Jobs taught me about Life & Death
If there is one defining individual that has a heavy influence towards some of my biggest life decisions, it would be Steve Jobs.
If there is a trigger point, it was Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address and his last words that have helped me made up my mind to pursue the realm of uncertainties as a learn to trade full-time and start No Money Lah.
With that, here are some key pearls of wisdom that I’ve picked up from the legendary Steve Jobs:
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(1) Death is a destination shared by everyone.
If you know that you are going to die tomorrow, what would you spend your last remaining day doing?
As hypothetical this question might be, this may be the hardest question that you’ve ever have to answer in life.
And if you have this question answered without a second doubt, chances are you have found the most important purpose in your life – the answer to your miseries and doubts all this while, may be just right within you.
The moment when we truly acknowledge and embrace the fact that we are going to die, our priorities in life will change drastically:
All of a sudden, the morning jam to work isn’t so frustrating anymore.
All of a sudden, getting a new luxury car may not be so important anymore.
All of a sudden, expressing your feelings towards the important someone (with the chance of getting rejected) may not be as intimidating anymore.
All of a sudden, having to have dinner with your family members every day become a precious moment in your daily life.
Once you embrace death as a part of life, things that you used to think were important aren’t as big anymore. In contrary, things and people that you have taken for granted all these while become the most important thing in life.
If knowing that death is a destination that we all share together, what would you do differently compared to what you are doing right now?
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No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there.
And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life.
Steve Jobs
(2) When in doubt, follow your heart and intuition.
The irony of all misery is, deep down, we already have a decision or answer within, yet we still do the exact opposite in reality:
When you do something that you truly have no faith in, you will suffer within.
When you sell a product or services that you do not believe in, you will not find fulfillment within.
When you go for a career or degree that does not connect with you, you will not be happy within.
If you are struggling between your inner voice and what you are doing in real life, always follow your heart and intuition. They somewhat already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
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For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?"
And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
Steve Jobs
(3) Embrace love.
At the final moments of death, the only thing that we can bring with us are the memories precipitated by love, not all our physical riches and wealth gained throughout our lifetime.
Hence, be generous with love.
Love the people that are important to you. Spend time with them. Talk to them. Listen to what they say. Never take the people that you love for granted.
Even more important, love yourself. Be genuinely happy inside and out. Take care of your health. Fill your heart with purpose and fulfillment. Make self-love your biggest priority in life.
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Nonstop pursuing of wealth will only turn a person into a twisted being, just like me. God gave us the senses to let us feel the love in everyone’s heart, not the illusions brought about by wealth.
The wealth I have won in my life I cannot bring with me. What I can bring is only the memories precipitated by love. That’s the true riches which will follow you, accompany you, giving you strength and light to go on. Love can travel a thousand miles. Life has no limit. Go where you want to go. Reach the height you want to reach. It is all in your heart and in your hands.
Steve Jobs
Side note...
This week’s article is truly a hard piece to produce. Seeing the tragedies happening around the world (Shootings, Plane Crashes, Earthquakes) saddened me, and I can genuinely feel the fragility of life in the moments of death and crises.
If you are reading this, I hope that this article could ease some of the pain and misery that you are going through in life. If you feel any better, even by a little, it would be the happiest thing in my life.
By any chance, do SHARE this article with your friends and family members if you find that they could benefit from it!