DISCOVER the Road to Financial FREEDOM!

http://www.mmail.com.my/Explosion_rocks_Cheras.aspx

Everybody is feeling the pain now with recent price increase of RM0.78 sen a litre for Petrol and RM1 for diesel. It is NOT surprise everyone is looking to save petrol money by installing Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) kit.

NGV is among the cleanest burning fuels in the world. Test have shown that vehicles running on NGV produce average 70% less carbon monoxide and other harmful compound compared with Petrol powered vehicles. It is also result Environmental friendly and Lower of car maintenance charges as Engine parts like spark plugs, engine oil, oil filter and exhaust system stay cleaner.

Safety measure like not smoking, avoid using mobile phone and turn off the engine while filling NGV should be adhere all the times.

I have been wondering whether NGV usage is safe? I have been reading a lot about NGV at paper lately and thinking installing the NGV kit for my car and this question popped up.

If you are a NGV user, what your views on this? Please do share your comments.

From next month, mobile phone users in Kuala Lumpur will benefit from the "Mobile Number Portability”(MNP) system which allows them to switch Service Providers while retaining their numbers. These facilities will be available throughout the country from October 2008.

Countries like Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe, Australia, South Korea and Taiwan have benefited and implemented this system. The Malaysia Government thru Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission(MCMC), wants to enhance the mobile phone coverage from the present 92 percent to 97 percent by the end of 2010 through a programme called Time 3.

By using MNP system, you can take your Mobile Number from one Service Providers Network to another. It enables you to retain your existing mobile phone numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another mobile network operator.

I  am using MAXIS Operator Number (017-345 XXXX) and can switch my mobile network service to other competitor either CELCOM or DIGI without surrender my existing number(017-345 XXXX) to CELCOM or DIGI. How Cool? J

This is useful when some Network Service is stronger in certain area compare to other operator especially when driving in hilly road. Whenever I want to call, No more "No Network" problem! I notice when in certain areas like building, the mobile reception vary among the service provider.

Before this if we Not Happy with our existing operator and want to change Network service, we got to get a new number. Changing phone numbers would be a big inconvenience for me, as I did not want to spend time updating my friends and family members of the new numbers.

It definitely will improve mobile phone Connectivity and Domestic Roaming nationwide. Consumer now have Greater choices and can select service providers based on the Price, Quality And Type Of Service.

I expect competition to intensify once MNP is launched, as Service Providers could reduce call rates or offer better packages to attract rivals’ customers. DIGI has launched four new postpaid plans-DG250, DG150, DG50 and DG20. The DG250 gives customers free local voice call and SMS to any Network at anytime for rm250 a month. This is the best package in town if you are a Heavy user! .

Look like Consumer is the BIGGEST Winner here.

I expect More goodies to come…………

The first half year was a tough one for stock market investors and the bad news is that most people believe it won’t get easier any time soon.

The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Index-probably the most watched stock index in Malaysia- has dropped 22% this year. A 20% decline is widely considered by analyst as the start of a so-called Bear Market!

Malaysia’s financial markets were in Full Uncertainty with the following below events to be unfold(which is Good for Swing Trader)

·        26 August - Permatang Pauh by-Election

·        29 August - Badawi’s Budget

·        16 September -The deadline for Pakatan Rakyat(PR) to take over the Federal Government.

·        20 September - Anwar-Sodomy Court case

Despite uncertainty outlook for Wall Street, troubling political developments and global equities, companies are still making money. People still smoke, drink and eat. Maybe even more during this period!

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Best advice: I would rather Keep Cash!

October is one of the Worst Months to Play the Stock Market. Other Bad Months are: July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August And February

-Mark Twain

If you use credit cards wisely, it is a very POWERFUL wealth-building tool! Try to use credit cards for every single possible purchase.

By using credit cards you gain…

• Interest free loan

When you buy a product using your credit card, you will only be billed for it at the end of the month. You got to use or take your purchase back without paying cash until your bank statement arrived. It allow you to postpone the payment of your bills free from any interest if payment is made before the due date. All retail transactions will enjoyed an Interest-Free Period of at least 20 days from posting date of such transactions. This is maybe why T.Harv Eker, author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, use this as a business start up capital!

• Bonus Reward(One  dollars for every points)

For every purchase you make on your credit cards, it will earn you bonus reward points which you can use to redeem for free products and services like camera, hand phone, bags, retail, shopping and dining vouchers, saving you Even More MONEY.

• A monthly statement that Consolidates all your Spending

Every month, the credit card company will tabulate for you the total spending for the month, making it easy for you to track your total expenditure. So it CAN become a FREE Money Management Tool. I use one card for petrol expenses and the other card for utility and daily spending. You save time and money as it not necessary to learn or buy Expensive Money Management software.

However, you MUST ALWAYS PAY THE OUTSTANDING BALANCE in full balance Every month. By this way. the bank does not earn a cent off you, but you get the Three Great benefits mentioned above. This is what I do and that is why my bankers CANNOT promote their Balance Transfer programme to me.

Research showed an average Only one-third of cardholders settle their outstanding amount in full every month.

SO USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS WISE & DO NOT  FALL INTO CREDIT CARDS DEBT. Don’t forget to pay your credit cards’ bills before the due date.

Effective 1st Sept 2008, the retail price of petrol will be streamlined and based on the average monthly market price with the government maintaining the subsidy rate at 30 sen per litre,  The retail price of petrol will be fixed on the first day of each month. The Government also gives an assurance that the retail price of petrol WILL NOT EXCEED RM2.70 a litre this year. 

In this CRITICAL TIMES, everyone is looking for method to get more value on what money can buy. A lot of  banks are jumping on the bandwagon to provide their customers with fuel rebates to cope with the high petrol prices increase. This competition only will benefit US as a CONSUMER! 

This current promotion of up to 5% cash rebates for fuel. This is the BEST DEAL that we can get in the market NOW. I never pay any fee applying the card including annual fee as it’s free for first year. Apply the card NOW before the promotion is over.

The competition between Malaysia’s mobile player has become to so intensify. Mobile operators have repackaged and unveiled new packages to attract more customers. With the implementation of  mobile number portability (MNP), this is definitely is NOT a surprise move.

This much-anticipated move could shake up the whole mobile industry, shrinking customers’ monthly bills and add pressure to the profit margins of the mobile operators.  With  the increased competitive,  CONSUMER is the biggest WINNER!

Current prepaid services in Malaysia offer a validity period of 10 to 60 days. After that validity period, customers have to top up their accounts to make calls, even if they still have balance money in the account. This is definitely a GOOD news for those who seldom use their hand phones or just use to received call or SMS.

Maxis Communications Bhd, which has been leading the very competitive industry with over 41% market share has also repackaged its prepaid service  and introduced  Hotlink 365 facility for prepaid Hotlink last month. For just RM33 subscription, deducted from the unspent balance on their card, Hotlink users can extend the validity of that balance by one year. To take advantage of the Hotlink 365 facility, the user needs a valid account with a balance of at least RM33. The remaining balance will then be valid for the next 365 days, provided he or she tops up the account by at least RM30 in the next six months.

DiGi Prepaid subscribers now can reload RM100 on your DiGi Prepaid and stay active for 1 year (equivalent to 365 days’ validity). The Good news is  there will  No subscription fee required and no further top up is required to enjoy 1 year validity after reload RM100.

Look like Maxis need to improve the Hotlink 365 facility in order to win more customer.

The Hotlink 365 facility is on going promotion and the Digi promotion is valid from  23rd July to 31st August 2008.  Celcom Bhd, Happy Prepaid and  U Mobile Sdn Bhd  has not announce any plan on yearly reload promotion up to now.

By extending the validity of the prepaid balance to one year, customers can also avoid having to reload their accounts frequently or having to locate a shop selling top-up cards at inconvenient places and times, such as at night or on public holidays

On a different development, Maxis is said to be bidding the first right from Apple Inc to bring the iPhone into the local market. I am Looking forward more interesting news from Malaysia’s mobile player very soon.

I went to attend  iProperty.com Expo talk  called ”Banks vs Mortgage Brokers-A Better customer value proposition” on 26 July 2008 at KLCC Convention Centre, KL.

Here is a couple of tips shared by the Mr.Adrian Un, Sales Director of Mortgage Broker Sdn Bhd:

• It not uncommon to read “We have the Best Home Loan in Town!” Is this  Reality or Myth? Always read the fine print and hidden cost of the advertisement offer. If the rates is  low then maybe you have to fork out more on other things like  legal, stamp duty fee etc. No matter how good the deal look like remember that Bank is a profit making business entity.  

• Do not just take Verbal promises and always ask for written confirmation to avoid misinterpretation or mis-sell by sales officer. They may just highlight the good points and do not reveal the minus point about the package. If you work in Sales line before you will known what I am talking about.

• Read each and every word of the Loan letter offer and if not sure always check with your lawyer. If you just simply signed then you may sign YOUR LIFE AWAY! It will easily effect your financial health for another 10 years or more.

• The bank rates is always negotiable especially when your loan amount is high. Whatever advertise in paper is public rate. Ask the sales officer if you think you deserve a better rate. What is the cost of ASKING?

• Check the Penalty Clause which is normally located on the 3rd or 4th page of the offer letter. Penalty Clause means the bank will charges some fee if the loan is fully pay before the contracted period.. Most bank loan have 5 years penalty clause upon disbursement which mean if fully settle before 5 years then penalty would be applied. The rational is majority of your loan installment will be offset more on interest compare to the loan principal in the first 5 years. Make sure get a loan that the penalty clause start when the loan first disburse and NOT on full disbursement. Imagine if you home is under construction for 2 years and the penalty clause stated it will start after FULL disbursement then technically the Penalty Clause period is longer than 5 Years!

• Choosing a housing loan by its nature is difficult enough. Face it, how many of us can calculate your repayments given the loan amount, the tenure of the loan and the interest rates? How many of you can tell the advantage of one loan over the other based on the different applicable interest rates? Use Mortgage Brokers services if you wanna save time and not familiar with the process of obtaining loan. A mortgage broker is a match maker between a borrower who is interested in seeking loan and a lender, ie, bank or financial institution. The broker draws from a pool of various lenders to find the right match for the borrower.

The use of Mortgage Brokers services is FREE! Brokers are paid by their panel banks and financial institutions. The fee payable to the brokers does not increase the interest rates and fees payable by you to the bank or financial institution. You pay the same interest rate and fee, regardless whether you obtain the loan package concerned through a broker or direct from the bank or financial institution