MoneyDigest - Personal Finance, Lifestyle, Money Saving Tips

How To Create And Follow Your Financial Goals

Reaching for something you really want to have takes hard work, determination, realistic expectations, and savings. All these are vital to achieving your financial goals. The first step that you must take is to organize not just your financial documents but also your time. Commit at least 30 to 60 minutes per week to financial planning including your goals.

Planning for your goals start by making them specific. Identify what you really want and how much will it cost. Do you want a flat at an expensive condominium or at an affordable HDB? The more transparent your financial goal is, the more realistically you can save.

When making a financial plan as a married couple, it is paramount that you share the same financial goals. Discuss it together and make sure that you each contribute to achieving them.

Once your financial goals are all set, categorize each one in terms of the length of time you will spend to accomplish them. The categorization includes short-term, mid-term, and long-term financial goals. Short-term financial goals (SFG), such as purchasing a microwave, are achievable in less than a year. Mid-term financial goals (MFG), such as an expensive family vacation to Europe, can take up to 5 years. Lastly, long-term financial goals (LFG) are achievable in more than 5 years. This includes your retirement plan.

After you categorized your financial goals in terms of time, it is time to prioritize each one of them so you can concentrate better. For instance, if you prioritize on saving for your children’s tertiary education (LFG) and a new microwave (SFG) rather than spending for a new car (LFG) and a new phone (SFG) then, save for it first.

The last step you must take is to figure out how much you will need to achieve each one. Do not be discouraged if the total amount seems overwhelming. What is important is the fact that you have realistic and tangible financial goals to work toward to. Revisit these goals every month and continue to refine your financial plan. If there is a difficulty in keeping your goals, analyze your budget and see if there are any areas that you can reduce or eliminate. This will increase your savings.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

Standout In Your Next Job Interview Like A Pro

1. MAKE IT MEMORABLE

Some job aspirants have this idea that sitting quietly and answering all the interviewer’s questions correctly will land them the job. They are wrong! Interviewers can easily forget you if you do not stimulate their intellect.

To make your interview memorable you must take the conversation off script and ask sensible questions about the company. Make your interviewer think beyond the standardized script by giving substantial answers (about important topics including position challenges and solutions) to his open-ended questions. Towards the end of the interview ask how you can potentially improve the company upon receiving the position.

2. SPEAK IN THEIR LANGUAGE

I am not saying to have the conversation all in your mother tongue but a few phrases will not hurt! In fact, beginning in the language that the interviewer understands help build rapport. If you know that your interviewer is Japanese, greet him with the phrase: “O Genki desu ka?” Use “Nǐ hǎo ma?” if your interviewer speaks Mandarin and “Kamusta ka?” if he speaks Filipino.

As for the awkward pauses, refrain from saying “Ummm” or “Ahhh” in face-to-face or phone interviews. Instead you must smile and speak clearly.

Note: The foreign languages underwent Romanization for your understanding.

3. PRACTICE YOUR RESPONSES

Most likely, questions like “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” or “Why should we hire you?” will come up. So look up the common job interview questions online and have some ready-made answers for each. Brainstorm your ideas with a trusted friend or partner to ensure that your answers cover every aspect of the job description. Rehearse these responses days before the interview.

4. ACE A PHONE INTERVIEW

Just because the interview is made through the phone, does not mean that you can talk informally. Treat it the same way as you would treat a face-to-face interview. Ensure that you have a copy of your C.V. and the original job description at all times. Also, you must equip yourself with writing materials for note taking and sensible questions for the interviewer.

5. BUILD A NEW RELATIONSHIP

Aside from making the interview memorable through your intellect and logic, you can also add a dash of humanity. Humanity in a sense of social interactions and building rapport. Once you built rapport and the conversation is going smoothly, the interviewer can associate you with positive feelings such as warmth and friendliness.

Everyone else is just an image on a piece of paper but you will standout because you built a new (humanistic) relationship with the interviewer.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

How To Avoid Online Dating Scams And Losing Money

People you meet online are not always who they say they are.

In 2007, a Singaporean woman was jailed for an online dating scam amounting to about $45,000. A married woman named Maliha Ramu used a false profile to begin an exploitative relationship with Bharani Indran who lives in United States. After Ramu promised to marry Indran, he began to send her money for her “mother’s funeral expenses” and “friend’s wedding expenses”.

Protect yourself from getting conned like so by using these tips to recognize when you are being scammed:

1. BACKGROUND SEARCH

Upon meeting someone you like online, do a profile search through Google and an image search through TinEye. TinEye allows you to upload a photo and retrace where it came from. I suggest you save the person’s profile picture or ask for some photos yourself. As for the profile, he or she will be virtually searchable on Google unless this person lived under a rock for the longest time.

If the person sent you a photo that looks like something from a magazine, be a little more suspicious. And if the person’s own online profile does not match the pictures you researched then keep your warning signals up.

2. PERSONAL EMAIL

Some online dating scammers are not interested with starting an long-term deceitful relationship with you, they merely want to send you with marketing mails and other spams. These scammers ask for your personal email address and never get back to you after that.

Aside from providing your personal email to people whom you are certain of, avoid these people by creating a separate email for your online dating activities. This way, you can easily delete or cancel your supplementary email if you start getting loads of spam mails.

3. INSTANT SOULMATES

If a person says that he or she loves you and wants to marry you after 20 minutes of chatting then, it is clearly a scam or you may just be messaging with an infatuated teen! You should know from your experiences or that of others that love is more than just a feeling. It is something that develops through time after several dates and conversation exchanges. It is built on mutual respect and trust.

If a person declared his affection for you without even seeing you in person or through video-chat, then it is probably a lie. Their underlying agenda will show soon after.

4. PIGGY BANK

A person is scamming you if he or she repeatedly asks you for money through an online dating site. These con artists can come up with various reasons such as family funeral, medical emergency, and mugging to make you send cash. It does not stop there! He or she may also ask you to send some gifts to help alleviate a financial hardship or to help prove your love.

So be wary of sending money to strangers especially using wire transfer or other electronic currencies because money transferred via these channels are hard to recover.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

Effective Ways To Teach Teens About Investing

Money gives people, of all ages, the decision-making opportunities they need. Educating your teens to make wise money decisions earlier on will affect their finances in the long run. One of the most important things you must do is to expose your daughter or son to the basics of investing. In hindsight, I wished my parents did so.

1. ENLIGHTEN THEM ABOUT YOUR FINANCES

Embedded in our Asian culture, most Singaporean parents keep their financial issues away from their children. However, the teenage years is the perfect time for you to enlighten them about the “real world” and its problems. Keeping your teens in the dark will make them think that managing money is easy and life is perfect.

Help your teenage child to transition from being a clueless kid to an informed young adult by teaching how important it is to set up future goals and a working budget. Take the effort to share your financial experiences including the ones that are related to investing. Be ready to answer countless amount of questions too!

2. PUT VALUE TO THE CURRENCY

Explaining the importance of money is easier said than done. With the idealistic minds of most teens, you must level it down to reality by giving relatable examples. Put worth or value to the currency by telling them that the money they saved and invested can be used to buy concert tickets of their favorite bands. It can also be used to buy the latest gadget that they have been eyeing on.

Make them realize that when money is invested in the right place and in the right way, they can purchase not just one but probably a couple of the things that they need and want.

3. START WITH THE BASICS

Similar to learning how to ride a bicycle, begin by attaching the training wheels. In this case the training wheels are your investing fundamentals. Explain your own investment philosophy and the way you invest. Then talk about the basics of how the stock market operates as well as the different investment options available (e.g., mutual funds and REITs). Differentiate each option by describing its rewards and risks.

Start with these simple concepts first before jumping on the other concepts such as P/E ratios and diversification. This way, you can keep your child’s interest as everything seems understandable.

4. USE TECHNOLOGY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Shake things up and make learning fun by introducing free investment and trading apps such as Kapitall and CASHFLOW. Kapitall allows you to assemble a portfolio worth $100,000 and track its progress easily. While CASHFLOW, patterned to a popular board-game, allows you to work at a variety of professions until you implement a successful investment strategy to become the next business mogul. These games help teens to grasp the investment concepts that they need later in life.

Image Credits: pixabay.com (CC0 Public Domain)

As teens can become careless, continue to guide them throughout the process and never leave them “investing” on their own.

Sources: 1 & 2

3 Brain Traps That Make You Spend More

Our brains are hugely interesting yet highly complex. Although it may seem like you have everything under your conscious control, your unconscious mind can play some tricks on you. It may trap your judgment with errors called cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are flaws caused by memory, statistical, and attribution errors.

Understanding and recognizing these biases in yourself is useful when managing or spending money. Awareness of these biases is the first step!

1. STATUS QUO BIAS

As I was looking for a new laptop online, my choice leaned towards the brand that I have been using for more than 4 years – the MacBook. Its competitor had touch screen, 360 bendable monitor, and is running on the new Windows software that enables you to download countless of Apps. For its specifications, the latter was the best choice but I still preferred the Macintosh.

This cognitive bias is called the Status Quo Bias. It occurs when you prefer a product that you know and had been using for a long while even if there is clearly a better option available. It maintains the status quo and avoids change.

2. FAMILIARITY BIAS

Similar to the Status Quo Bias, Familiarity Bias exists when you prefer the products and services that you are exposed more of. Are you only buying something for this reason? I hope not. Often smaller companies that are not able to afford costly advertising provide cheaper and more innovative products.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

3. ANCHORING BIAS

Anchoring bias occurs when you rely and focus heavily on the first piece of information you receive. This can potentially dictate your spending habits.

For instance, the first “Moroccan Argan Oil 200ml bottle” you saw online was worth S$100. Without knowing that retailers spend money on ads for their premium products, you quickly established a high benchmark. You are more likely to spend more than you would have if the very first product you saw in the search engine was worth S$20 (a real bargain)!

Instead of getting sucked into the effects of these biases, use your brain to your advantage by employing tricks to spend less and save more.

Sources: Time.com and Psychology of Love, Money, & Life (eBook)

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