Making Saving Fun

So fun theory believes that something that is fun is able to change people's behaviour for the better. And I guess they might be right. So maybe the same idea applies. If we can make savings fun for people, perhaps it will encourage more people to save up for their retirement. Time to think out of the box.

Here are some videos from fun theory:

Alternative Investments - Own the Sun

Apparently from a news report, somebody now owns the sun. This is really innovative as people exploit loopholes in the law to register themselves as the lawful owners for planets, the moon and now even the sun. She apparently wants to charge people for using the sun. How ridiculous can this be? Since she is the rightful owner, can I sue her if it gets too hot? The news report is below:

MADRID - AFTER billions of years the Sun finally has an owner - a woman from Spain's soggy region of Galicia said on Friday she had registered the star at a local notary public as being her property.

Ms Angeles Duran, 49, told the online edition of daily El Mundo she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our Solar System.

There is an international agreement which states that no country may claim ownership of a planet or star, but it says nothing about individuals, she added.
'There was no snag, I backed my claim legally, I am not stupid, I know the law. I did it but anyone else could have done it, it simply occurred to me first.'

The document issued by the notary public declares Ms Duran to be the 'owner of the Sun, a star of spectral type G2, located in the centre of the solar system, located at an average distance from Earth of about 149,600,000km'.

Ms Duran, who lives in the town of Salvaterra do Mino, said she now wants to slap a fee on everyone who uses the sun and give half of the proceeds to the Spanish government and 20 per cent to the nation's pension fund. She would dedicate another 10 per cent to research, another 10 per cent to ending world hunger - and would keep the remaining 10 per cent herself. -- AFP

Profitable Plots - Another Land Investment Firm Gone Wrong?

I wrote sometime back warning readers about land banking.

I was just generally uncomfortable with some of the ideas that were being surfaced in the market and after talking to a few friends who had invested in land banking products, realised that the deals might not be as good as they are marketed to be. Of course, I could be wrong and there might be some good land banking deals out there. But for me, I will stay clear of this kind of investment.

Of course, I was not surprised to read in the papers about another troubled investment firm - Profitable Plots which is currently under probe by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). I remember their glitzy advertisements during EPL half time match breaks and also saw some of their booths at Great World City before. So I am not surprised that some investors have lost their money. Who can resist such sales tactics?

It seems that 106 investors have lost a combined $9.5 million. Profitable Plots has some 1,000 clients here so I am not certain why only 106 people went to the CAD. Shouldn't all the clients be clamoring for the $60,000 that is left in Profitable Plots coffers? If that is so, each one of them will only be entitled to less than $60. And I hope that they don't need to pay any legal fees for that!

My guess is that some of these clients probably do not even know that Profitable Plots is in trouble. They are probably not monitoring their investments and the news. After all, I also did not know that Profitable Plots was in trouble. I just found out like today when reading the newspapers.

I have said it once, and I will say it again: Beware of any deal that sounds too good to be true.

Median Monthly Income Goes Up

A survey by the Ministry of Manpower finds that the median monthly income of full time resident workers have risen by 4.2% to $2,710 this year. This is compared to $2,600 for the previous year.

The data for median gross monthly income for the full-time employed (less full-time national servicemen) are as follows:

2006: $2,170

2007: $2,330

2008: $2,590

2009: $2,600

2010: $2,710

CIMB-GK regional economist Song Seng Wun noted that real wage growth was "just barely keeping pace with inflation".

Top 5 Internet Sites I Visit

I thought that after sharing what investment books we read, it might also be interesting to know what are the top 5 internet sites one frequents.

Here are my top 5 sites which I visit (not in any order of preference):

1. Facebook

Needless to say, facebook is one of the top sites I use. I don't really play the games but I just use it to keep updated on what people around me have been up to. Sometimes, when I don't really know what to surf on the net, I just go on facebook as people tend to put interesting links there.

2. STOMP

Yes, Singapore's very own STOMP. It is just tabloidy kind of stuff and I read it more for entertainment purposes.

3. DBS Internet Banking

To carry out my banking.

4. ESPN Soccernet

To catch up with my soccer news.

5. Youtube

I have loaded my favorite music videos on it. So I just go there for my daily dose of music.

So here are my top 5 sites, what's yours?

Everyone has a Story to Tell

Stories are powerful. And the beauty of it is that each of us has a different story to tell. Even the same events witnessed by different people are told differently.

What stories do I have to tell?

Many. But are they interesting enough? And what should I tell since there are so many?

It is kindergarten. I am catching a ride from my neighbour's Mum. We attend the same kindergarten and it is quite often that I catch a ride from them. On this day, I get into the car first. Thinking that he would go in from the other side, I proceed to close the door.

Unfortunately, he doesn't go in from the other side. He uses his hand to stop the door but the door slams on his fingers. He screams in pain and starts crying out. His mum inspects his fingers and says it is alright. But that doesn't stop him from being angry with me. And I am too afraid to say sorry. He ignores me for the rest of the day.

Why do I even remember an event like this?

Investment Books to Recommend

Every now and then, I get queries from readers on what books do I recommend that they read.

It is really hard to recommend books to read. After all, there are tons of investment books out there and they all cover a wide range of topics. Some teach you how to invest in stocks, some commodities, some real estate, some forex, etc, etc.

Basically, whoever has made money in a certain trade is sure to start writing a book and recommending to everyone to follow in his footsteps. And that is why Warren Buffet writes about stocks and Jim Rogers writes about commodities. I am sure some other real estate tycoon has made his money from real estate and will write about investing in real estate.

Are these good books? Some are, some are not. You have to discern for yourself whether the rules apply and whether you need to contextualise it to suit our environment.

Nonetheless, here are some of the books that I have read:

1. Capital Ideas

2. Random Walk Down Wall Street

3. Millionaire Next Door

4. Rich Dad Poor Dad

5. Retire Young, Retire Rich

6. Hot Commodities

Of course the books written by Warren Buffet and other investment greats are also worth reading.

But reading is one thing...............applying it in real life is a whole different playing field.