Is Money Evil?

"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:24



The verse quoted above from the bible refers to a simple truth. That NOBODY can serve two masters. You can only be a servant to God or a servant to Money. It is impossible to be a servant to both God and Money. Noone has done it and noone can do it. This verse never meant to say that money was evil. Rather, it states that the allegiance one has to God needs to be total and absolute.

The reason for this was given in the earlier verses when it says "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Our hearts ought to focus on the treasures in heaven and not the treasures on earth.


Money is neither good nor evil. It is the man who pursues it that makes all the difference.

Save Electricity Save Money

Electricity tariffs are going up again in Singapore.

From Oct 09 onwards, electricity charges will go up by 12.5 per cent due to higher fuel prices. Prices will be driven up to 21.69 cents per KW hour instead of the current 19.28 cents. This is slightly below the previous high of 22.93 cents for January to March this year.

Out of 1.2 million households, 17131 households had problems paying their bills last month. So what can we do to save electricity and thus save money?

Here are a few tips from the experts:

1. Set the temperature of your airconditioner to 25 degrees Celsius or higher.

2. Do not leave electrical appliances on standby mode. Switch off power sockets at the main.

3. Use a fan instead of the airconditioner on cool days.

4. Choose energy efficient light bulbs and applicances (energy labels with 4 ticks).

More energy saving tips for just these two appliances below could save you a substantial amount of money each month. Check out this link for other tips.

Air-conditioner

1. Close curtains and blinds during the day. Especially for windows that face the west.

2. Run the aircon about an hour before bedtime and switch to the fan.

3. Set the timer by turning off your aircon an hour earlier before you wake.

4. Clean the aircon filter to improve efficiency.

5. Service you aircon regularly to improve overall efficiency.

Computer

1. Switch off the computer if not in use for more than 30 minutes

2. Enable your computer's energy saving mode.

3. Switch off the TV. You only have 1 pair of eyes so do one thing at a time.


So start saving electricity. You will not only save yourself money in terms of electricity bills, but you can also help save the earth.


Read Related Postings:
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Top 10 Money Saving Tips
My Saving and Spending List
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CFD - Certificate For Death

I read this article from IMSavvy's website. I am pretty adverse to using leveraging to buy shares. Contracts For Difference might only work for some people. For others, it might just become a Certificate For Death (CFD).

Pasting the article written by Goh Eng Yeow (with what i think some newbie investor might be thinking about when they read this article in RED):

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GAINING exposure to a blue-chip company need not mean buying its pricey shares listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Really? You mean there is another method? I am a beginner in investing...let me know..anyway this IMSavvy website is designed to increase our financial knowledge right?

Investors are making a beeline for an increasingly popular financial derivative product known as Contracts for Difference (CFDs), which enable them to 'own' these blue chips without having to stump up the full price of the stock. Wow. So you mean i can buy shares like DBS. Cool!

Brokerages jostling for a slice of the action include local houses such as Phillip Securities, CIMB-GK Securities and Kim Eng Securities and foreign outfits like IG Markets, Saxo Capital and CMC Markets. Good..think maybe i should open an account with one of these brokerages..

A CFD works like a share margin trading account. When an investor buys a CFD on a blue chip like DBS Group Holdings, he need put up just 10 per cent of the cost of owning the stock. Wah! DBS 13.00 means i only need 1.30. Shiok!!

The CFD tracks the share movements. If the price goes up 10 per cent, he would have doubled his initial outlay. But if the price drops, he will have to top up the account with more cash, or risk having his contract sold by his broker to settle the loss. Wah Double My MONEY!!!

CFDs are not traded on the SGX. Unlike warrants, for instance, they have no maturity date and an investor can cash out at any time. So good ah? Like that buy shares for what. I going to buy CFD liao

They are popular because investors can immediately track their gains or losses by glancing at the prices of the shares whose CFDs they have bought.

This is unlike covered warrants whose prices are determined by a complicated formula relating to factors like 'time-decay' - the remaining months left in the contract - and market volatility.

The range of assets linked to CFDs also goes far beyond the Singapore market.

Besides trading local blue chips, an investor can trade foreign currencies like the US dollar, commodities like crude oil, as well as widely watched indexes like the Straits Times Index and the Hang Seng.

For some CFD players, business growth has been phenomenal. 'Since 2007, the number of accounts opened has doubled every year. Currently, we have about 11,000 accounts,' said IG Markets managing director Peter McDermott.

His typical customer is a working professional aged between 25 and 55. About 40 per cent use CFDs to trade foreign currencies; another 35 per cent trade shares.

Given the market volatility in the past two years, trading in widely watched indexes such as the Straits Times Index and the Hang Seng has also become popular.

Drawing a parallel with London, where CFDs form about 35 per cent of all trades, Mr McDermott believes the local CFD market can grow further.

But this will not necessarily result in a loss of business for the SGX, as CFD players would have to 'hedge' their risks by buying the underlying shares of the CFD on the SGX.

Still, CFDs pose a big threat to the 'extended settlement' (ES) contracts which have been offered by the SGX since February and work on a similar principle.

A stockbroking director said remisiers prefer to sell CFDs, rather than ES contracts, as there are fewer administrative hassles, saying: 'With ES, you have onerous account opening requirements and the margin requirements are stringent.'

Some traders complain that only a few hundred thousand ES contracts are traded daily and investors are put off by the lack of liquidity. 'With a CFD, the spread between a buy and sell quote may be as small as one cent. But with an ES, it can be as wide as two or three cents. That increases the trading costs sharply,' a dealer said.

Okay.. Tomorrow i go open account ...buy CFD for DBS..lalalala HUAT HUAT loh!

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Good luck to all who get into this financial instrument. Certainly not for the faint hearted and not for the newbie investor.

Read Related Articles:

The Road to Financial Freedom
#1 - The Greatest Mistake
#2 - Protect What You Cannot Afford to Lose
#3 - Spend Less Than You Earn
#4 - Spend Less Or Earn More
#5 - Buy Assets Not Liabilities
#6 - Read and Learn More
#7 - The Magic of Part Time
#8 - Health Equals Wealth
#9 - It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
#10 - Congrats! You have Achieved it!

Ris Low's Bipolar Disorder

So after so much controversy, Ris Low has surrendered her crown. She first made the headlines when she won the Miss Singapore World. After being slammed by netizens over her poor command of English, she was later found to have committed credit card fraud when she was 18.

The reason for her stealing offences was apparently bipolar disorder.

So enough of slamming her already. Let's look into bipolar disorder instead and see how it can affect one's behavior.

Bipolar disorder basically causes shifts in one's mood, energy, thinking and behaviour. It can lead a person to be in a state of mania and then swinging back to depression. These are not your ordinary mood swings and can alternate between the two extremes.

During a manic episode, a person might impulsively quit their job, charge up huge amounts on credit card and feel rested after sleeping for just two hours. During a depression episode, the same person is too tired to get out of bed, self-loathing and may be even suicidal.


The author is a perfectly normal human being who feels that he might be displaying some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

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Singapore - Russia Ties

Okay. This is a picture of a McDonalds in Russia.

Remember the saying than no 2 countries with McDonalds have ever fought a war with each other? It looks like the saying is true indeed as Singapore is going to work even more closely with Russia in the future.

Singapore and Russia are apparently going to partner together to tap opportunities in the world. This was outlined in the 4th Russia-Singapore Business Forum.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said: "Russia is strong in innovation and technology, while Singapore has good networks and experience in Asia. Russian technology companies can partner Singapore companies to penetrate markets in Southeast Asia, China and India," he said, adding that these partnerships will enable both parties to take on business opportunities and better manage commercial risks in international markets

Seems like my wish has come true. As Singapore's population is rapidly growing, we should expect more Russians to come and make their homes in Singapore. With that should come more Russian cuisine.


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Super Rich Lose US$300B

Wow! Apparently the super-rich in the U.S. have lost a combined US$300 billion of their networth over the past twelve months. This was according to Forbes annual rankings that were just released. Topping the list in terms of losses is Warren Buffet who lost a whopping US$10billion. (Now that could last me several lifetimes)

Compared to Singapore's 40 Top Richest who managed to increase their networth as a collective whole, I must say that perhaps the U.S. have been hit harder by this economic crisis than the rest of the world.

Out of the Forbes list of 400, only 28 of them managed to add to their overall networth.

But I guess we must still applaud the super rich for getting there in the first place. How do the super rich do it? I guess the best way we can find out is to read their books. Some pointers that we can all learn from their books are summarised here:

1. Always do what you love. When you are passionate about what you do, money will follow.

2. Follow sound financial advice. Try to resist the temptation to make a quick buck.

3. Consult experts when making financial decisions.

4. Buy assets not liabilities. Invest in real estate, stocks and shares.

5. Don't leave too much money sitting around in banks.

6. Have a positive mindset. .

7. Write books (or get others to write books for you if you are too busy) =)


Learn from the super rich here:
1. Donald Trump Lessons
2. Key Lessons From Rich Dad Poor Dad
3. David Bach Automatic Millionaire

Financial Freedom and Your Subconscious Mind

In this article which I found on the internet, it reaffirms the point that I was trying to make in my ten part mini-series about how important it was to have the correct mindset when determining your financial goals. The power of the sub-conscious mind is indeed very powerful and should not be underestimated. Do read the article below to find out more:

You might also like to read these other articles once you are done:
3 Key Lessons From Rich Dad Poor Dad
David Bach Automatic Millionaire
Income Investing - Rental Property

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The Medium for Influencing the Subconscious Mind

Until I started reading, actually absorbing Napoleon Hills book, Think and Grow Rich, I had forgotten that this is a skill my mother taught me for years, without me actually realising it was 'auto-suggestion', as described in Napoleon's book.

Napoleon Hill's book, Think and Grow Rich, Chapter Two, he insists that you write down your Desire's, I believe the beginning of 'one's personal freedom' is the process of writing it all down, it actually anchors your thoughts, it makes them a physical 'being' because these, your thoughts, are now 'written'.

Where does the auto-suggestion come from then?

Napoleon's steps in Chapter Two, Desire, are concise;

1. Decide what the exact amount of money you want!

2. What are you going to give in return for this desired amount of money?

3. Decide a definite date by which this amount of money you desire will be acquired!

4. Create your plan - whether you are ready not, put this plan of desire into action now!

5. Write down a clear and concise statement of the amount of money you desire, how you plan to achieve this and by when and what you plan to give in exchange for this (remember give and thine shall receive or give nothing receive nothing!)

6. Read this statement to yourself morning and night out loud not in your head.

To show you how easy this can be, a plan could look something like this;
"In my first year of business I desire to earn $100,000. To achieve this desired sum, I will coach, mentor, and teach frustrated network marketers to become successful leaders: regardless of their company affiliation and I will do it for free. I intend to reach my desired goal by 31 March 2010 by working daily in my business, helping people to the best of my ability and working through the processes I have set in place to achieve this desire."

All Napoleon Hills requirements are covered in the above, but acquiring this thought process, auto-suggestion, is not easy; it takes repetition, belief in you, commitment and hard work.

Napoleon Hill also recommends belonging to a group that 'Masterminds' his chapters weekly, this can assist learning from others, helps yourself and other 'materminders' to achieve and work through the same process, it can help the belief in yourself and can help them to believe in themselves.

As Napoleon says "thoughts are things, powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches or other material objects" this can come about.

I'm not here to sell a company or product. I coach, mentor, and teach frustrated network marketers to become successful leaders and I do it for free: Regardless of MLM company affiliation

You can join me, would love to have you come on board


I Appreciate You
Julie McClelland
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