Making money is a game.
Making money is a game. And it is one that I enjoy very much.
If you learn the rules of this game, money will flow into your hands. If you do not understand the rules, you will struggle financially, all your life, despite working long and very hard.
Have you ever asked yourself why some people earn five times, ten times or even twenty times more than others? Is it because they are twenty times smarter? Is it because they work twenty times harder?
Or did Lady Luck smile favourably upon them? The answer to all these questions is a resounding ‘NO’! I am sure you know of people who seemed to be much lazier than you in school and had poorer grades but now they are so much more successful financially.
Although their school report card was very colourful or was presented with a fine string of ‘F’s; their financial report card is a totally different picture. It carries straight ‘A’s.
Why Making Money and learning how the Money Game is played is important?
Why is this so? The one and only reason is that they have learnt how to play the game of making money whereas most people have not taken the trouble to learn how the game is played. You see…none of us are ever taught how to make money, how to invest money or how to manage the wealth we have accumulated. And yet money is the most important subject in our adult lives.
Did you realize that one of the most touted reason for couples fighting is because of money? Or more precisely a lack thereof. Although many people say that ‘money isn’t everything’, that’s only a half -truth. The truth is that ‘everything is money’! Read the rest of this entry »
Cashflow – The Cornerstone of Wealth – Part 2
Why Cashflow is the Cornerstone of Wealth ?
To continue from where we left off last week…..
Cash Is King
Ask yourself this question – who is most important? You? Or the banks? IRB? The hypermarts? The shops? Some of us may not realize this; but we pay everybody else first and ourselves last. Why? Are we not important? Do we not deserve to be paid first? To quote ‘The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason’ – ‘a tenth of all I earn is mine to keep’. When we have consistently saved 10% over the months; we have unknowingly formed the habit of savings. We learn to manage our expenses and budget and make choices between what must be satisfied and what must be delayed. The best part is, we are none the worse from it. This is the opportunity cost that we pay for a better future. We must make the savings plan an automatic one; so that we do it as easily as we breathe. Difficult? Not really. The choice, my friends, is yours to make.
Second most common reaction will now be to use part of our savings to make ends meet. This is another very crucial point that we must heed. We must not eat the children and grand children and great grandchildren of our $$$ soldiers. If we break the chain of compound interest; how do we expect money to serve us in our future years?
I think Benjamin Franklin said it best ‘Money is a prolific generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more’. Have you truly appreciated the value of compound interest? Albert Einstein called it the eighth wonder of the world. Is compound interest a secret? Why do we not understand this? Simply because compound interest is not the result; it is the process. And we can’t have an end result; if we do not go through the process. Read the rest of this entry »
Cashflow – the Cornerstone of Wealth – Part 1
Why Cashflow is Important?
Ever heard ‘Cash is King’?
Do you agree with this? I think majority of us would agree; especially so in times like these.
Cashflow
With cost of living sky-rocketing and standard of living taking a dip just so that we can make ends meet; I am sure the average lay-man on the street is having a hard time juggling between needs and wants.
The first casualty of this ‘cash-war’ is not needs and wants; but our savings. Think about it; the first reaction of us mere mortals is use the portion meant for savings, on the increase caused by our cost of living and the balance (if any) will be put aside for the proverbial rainy day.
Stop a second and think this through; that we respond to this inflationary pressure and not react unthinkingly. By responding, we put on our thinking caps and find ways and means to manage this cost increase. There is really no shortage of ideas on how to cut costs; from transportation to preparing the menus to shopping for clothing etc. The human mind is a wonderful thing and when need be; it can come up with the most wonderful and interesting ideas. Necessity is the mother of all inventions.
The Land of Milk and Honey
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The Promised Land
As we crossed over the King Hussein’s bridge from Jordan into the Land of Milk and Honey; the difference in scenery, in the azure blue sky, the green of the fields and in the clean fresh air, WERE all so breath-takingly beautiful.
Even nature has succumbed to the imagination of men.
Across the border in Jordan, as we drive through the villages and backroads, we see destitute and poverty. The air is filled with sand and dust particles and even breathing feels laboriously uncomfortable; to the point of suffocation.
More disconcerting is to see the youths hanging out on the road-shoulders . Most of them come across as aggressive and rowdy. Perhaps it is not right to prejudge but first impressions are truly very strong. And as we drive through the streets, we see more and more of them just killing time with some very aggressive and rowdy antics. It is rude to stare, but it is even more difficult not to. To see behavior that is so different from home and quite contrary to civil society, BEGETS THE QUESTION OF ‘ARE WE ALL THAT DIFFERENT?’. Even the young children run around in such an unruly manner; in what we would call a ‘cowboy’ town, back home.
But the smiles on the children’s faces are truly heartwarming – from ear to ear. When did the smiles fade? When we look at the children and the youths; what happened to them along the way of adolescence? Read the rest of this entry »
Saving Money Habits
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How my mum taught me to save money…
I was in primary one when my mother first taught me about money. I had twenty cents a day from Mondays to Fridays. Back in the ‘70s; twenty cents could buy a lot!. I could get a bowl of noodle soup and still have a lot left over for my tong-kong (coin box / money box).
Savings Habits
My mother had a savvy way of teaching me a few core values with just this little idea.
For every ninety cents I brought to her on a Friday afternoon after school, she would give me a dollar for my money box.
And if I did not spend anything and actually brought her a dollar in coins, I would get a bonus of two pieces of fifty cent coins. These were usually very new and shiny.
And I really looked forward to Friday afternoons when I would usually get the special bonus AND the dollar bill.
But it took sheer determination and will power of steel to not spend any money during the week. I really had to focus and keep my eye on the two shiny fifty cents. To help me overcome the temptation to spend, my mum would put the two shiny coins on my desk so that every time I do my homework, it is there to remind me. But more importantly when I left for school in the mornings, the coins would remind me not to spend my pocket money but enjoy whatever snacks my mum packed for my recess break. Read the rest of this entry »
A Lesson in Negotiation
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A lesson in negotiation from my eight-year old daughter
I had always pride myself for being calm and collected during negotiations. And I would say that I’m relatively good since I have started at ground zero, actually with negative cashflow, and now am financially independent. That I guess would have taken a lot of negotiations.
But on that fateful hot afternoon, an eight-year-old gave me a lesson in negotiation that I will not forget.
We were planning a family holiday to Melbourne during the term break in December. And I had always preferred to travel light and with four kids, I gave strict instructions to pack only the necessary as each one was to be responsible for their own stuff.
Their ages were 15, 12, 8 and 5. They love their soft toys and have a closet full of them. And each night, they respectively go to bed with a few favourite ones.
A lesson in Negotiations.
So of course, they started negotiating on what was ‘necessary’. Apart from outfits and shoes, books and toiletries, obviously they had a string of soft toys that were not only necessary but downright indispensable if they were to sleep at night and for me to get to bed.
Their argument rested on borderline threat and their exact words were ‘Mum, we need our soft toys to go to sleep. Without them, we just can’t go to bed. And we will come bug you and daddy, if we can’t sleep. So what shall it be?’
First round, mummy lost and consented. I said, ‘Alright then, each is allowed one soft toy. Got it? Only One! No more negotiations. Take it or leave it.’
‘OK, thank you mummy.’ All four said in unison.
‘Ha!’ I thought to myself. ‘I’ll show them who’s boss.’ Thinking that the issue was settled and I would hear no more of it. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to Belinda’s Blog
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Welcome! I am Belinda Ong. A businesswoman, wife, mother, published author, public speaker and an ardent advocate to bring forth social awareness.
Over the years, people asked what is it that I do. I have always had a hard time explaining in a nutshell exactly what I do. That is because I run my own businesses, am a life and business partner to an amazing man, a mother to four great children, a filial daughter (I would like to think I am) to very down-to-earth parents, a kind, generous sister to my siblings and I serve the community in church, schools and associations.
These are diverse and time-consuming roles. How I manage it all is a surprise to me too. But by God’s grace and with a cheerful heart and a cheerful mind, one day at a time, all things are possible. That’s the motto I live by.
