Sunday, April 6, 2014

Great Money Saving Tips for Those Just Getting Started

The first step on the road to savings is the toughest. It takes baby steps and a lot of determination to build a reserve for a rainy day.

Once the money starts accumulating, the confidence grows and a person can start making bigger and better plans. Some steps are very simple and just need some determination; others are a little complicated and need more meticulous planning.

Image URL: http://blog.washingtonfederal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/url-1.jpeg

On the whole, saving is a habit that should be inculcated in children from a young age, to help them lead a stress-free and quality adult life.

Take a look at some great tips for saving money for those just getting started:

1. Choose a smart bank

When selecting a bank to keep your savings, make it a point to compare interest rates and also the maintenance fees before taking a decision. If you find out that your bank is charging you more, feel free to switch loyalties anytime.

2. The thirty day rule

Whenever you are tempted to shop impulsively, stop and ask yourself to wait for thirty days. If after that period you are still tempted go ahead, in most cases the desire is over by then. You will save a lot of money and become a disciplined shopper too.


3. Make a shopping list

It always helps to go out armed with a shopping list to avoid buying unplanned items. Do not buy anything that is not on the list and pat yourself when you get out of a shopping mall safely without buying any extras.

4. Entertain at home

When calculated till the last penny, most activities when held at home are cheaper than going out. Calling friends over and entertaining at home will result in savings and also lend you an opportunity to spend quality spend time with each other.

5. Avoid spoiling the kids

Children are very adaptive if you look for ideas to entertain them at home. The money spent on junk foods and countless other activities can easily be saved. Use stuff lying idle at home to organize activities to keep young kids blissfully occupied.

6. Credit Cards

Similar to banks, choose a credit card company that charges you the minimum rate. Customers with a good credit card history can also put in a request for reduction in the rate being charged. All these small savings add up to a substantial amount at the end of the year.

7. Shopping

The next time you see a flier for an ongoing promotion, go home and settle your closet first. Take a fresh look at the stuff you already have and then decide if you need more. It will give you the double satisfaction of a clean cupboard and money well saved.

Guest post contributed by:
Author Bio: Lim Chuwei is a Teacher in Singapore at ChampionTutor and highly advocates the use of cloud based application for teaching and learning.

Free McDonald for breakfast

This morning i got a surprise from McDonald. All thanks to the McDonald's surprise alarm app.

Got a free apple pie and my brother got a free sausage McGriddles. The apple pie was only available after 12pm though.


Just set an alarm everyday and you get different offers from McDonalds every single day. It that simple. Some offers require purchase while some offers does not require any purchases. It depends on your luck. Nevertheless, its 100% sure to get something. I was lucky to get 2 free offers without any purchases. Try it to see how lucky you are. 


*This is not an advertisement and i do not receive any fees from McDonald for sharing this.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The tale of 2 brothers starting a business

Venturing into Business

Once there were 2 brothers who were very poor. They and their family of 9 lived in a small apartment. They had to fight for toilets, walking space and even bedroom space. Desperate for a breakthrough out of poverty, the 2 brothers decided to venture into business. The older brother was working as a renovation contractor and he's paid for every work completed. There was a rich man who said to this older brother: " How much money can you earn by being an employee? The most you can take is 2 renovation projects per day being an employee. But if you start your own company and employ people to work for you, you can do many projects a day. Then you will be rich".


The rich man words left a deep impression in the older brother's heart. He gave it much thought and decided to start a business to get out of poverty. As he was sharing his decision with his parents one night, coincidently his younger brother also said he wanted to start a business. Their parents were happy to hear that and thought maybe they would get out of poverty soon with 2 businessman in the family.

The younger brother got to know an acquaintance who sells specially made crystallised products. He remembered his friend telling him a reputable European company was looking to buy this crystallised chips. He immediately signed a contract with the acquaintance to purchase $400k worth of chips from him. After that, he signed another contract with the European company to sell the chips to them for $520k. That is a $120k profit in just a few days, the younger brother thought. He was amazed at his luck even though he did not have any experience in business nor any experience in handling crystallised chips. When it was time to deliver the goods, his acquaintance did not send him the goods as promised and he could not contact him either. This was when he realised that he had been cheated. Because of failing to deliver the goods, he was also sued by the European company for breach of contract. He was demanded to pay $600k in damages or risk going to jail. A 120k profit became a $600k debt within just a few days for the younger brother.

On the other hand, the older brother successfully started his renovation business and got a steady stream of clients from a reputable property developer. The boss of the property developer was non other then the rich man who said the words that left him the deep impression. The older brother had many years of experience in the renovation industry and was known for his integrity and good workmanship. That was what attracted the rich property tycoon to work with him. The older brother's business was a success while the younger brother's business failed miserably. Both took advantage of an opportunity which came knocking on their doors but the results was completely different.


3 lessons we can learn from this story

1) When doing business, experience is important. Do not trust the wrong person or venture into something which is completely foreign to you. Yes you need to take risk to do business but learn to take calculated risk.

2) Do your best even in the little things. When you are an employee, having a good attitude and delivering good results will attract opportunities to you in the future.

3) When you have been doing your job for a period of time, you acquire the necessary skills and would have built the network of contacts. Starting a business at this stage will be less risky and easier as compared to starting out from scratch.


What other lessons have you learnt? What are your experiences of starting a business?


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