An article by http://www.GenXGenYGenZ.com
INTRODUCTION
Many of you have thanked me for my articles which have provided insights as to how you can save/earn some pocket money. In my all my articles there are coded messages for you to decipher; and in one of them, I indicated that all of you (except maybe a minority few of you who are currently students) fall into the category of the 50% richest human beings on earth since you are all educated. Actually, I have even showed that many of you are already (or will be by the time you retire if you do not stupidly burn your money on gambling/gaming and drugs) in the category of the top 10% wealthiest human beings on earth. And if you own a bungalow in Klang Valley or Penang Island, most likely you you can be classified as among the top 1% wealthiest person on earth!
Sad to say, whatever pocket money you earn/save from reading my articles relating to credit cards will be insignificant in due time as they will not contribute to your long term happiness.
Having said the above, those of you who have been brainwashed by me to spend your children future inheritance on holidays with your loved ones and/or get to fly Business Class for FREE from you credit cards usages will be most grateful to me when you are old and lonely.
I have decided to compile all my posting relating to Life published in my A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit Of That series in a single post; as such this post was created.
Before you proceed to read the contents below, I must warn you not to waste your time; and those of you without any sense of humor may find it to be offensive, too. Only proceed if you are really kiasu, freaking free, got nothing better to do and have an equally sick imagination like me……….. Contents Rated XXXXXXXXX – not for general public consumption, only for penyibuks (busybodies) and people who has an equally sick imagination like me………. And, yes, feel free to click on the links 🙂
The contents below were first published on 15th Dec 2013 at my article titled AGAIN – A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit Of That – Volume I, Chapter II.
LIFE (oh boy, here I go again) AND AFTER LIFE – HEAVEN OR HELL
Sometime ago, I mentioned that I have been thinking about what is life again. Previously I said Life is all about Eating, Shitting and Sleeping. Anything else we do is just to seek temporary happiness.
Many do not find happiness on planet earth and die unhappy. Some seek meditation to find peace. In my case, I can enter into my sick imaginary realm anytime of the day.
However, I need to be out of my sick imaginary realm most of the time to eat and shit and to satisfy my desire for unlimited real taste of temporary happiness (a.k.a. “shiok sendiri”).
Those of you who have been following my blog(s) will know that I am a Taoist and that I have repeated many times that I am so lucky to be blessed by my gods (well, I call them gods and if you disagree I respect your opinion). Being a Taoist, I do “pray” to many “gods” (in one of the many temples I go to, there are more than 5 idols for me to pay respect and pray to) and some of them do look scary I must say.
I am truly blessed in all sense. My children are smart (so far) and have yet to give me any major headaches; my wife is intelligent, beautiful, slim for a mother of four and doesn’t look her age, (while in Melbourne waiting in line to check in for our return flight to KL, an elderly lady thought my wife was my eldest daughter!!! I guess those thousands of dollars burned by my wife on SK-II products does make a difference in camouflaging her age); I get to retire early in life; I don’t need to be stuck in the daily traffic jams anymore, I don’t have work related stress anymore; I am debt free and most importantly I am surrounded by supportive, kind and generous relatives and friends.
And I have previously mentioned I believe the reason as to why I have been rewarded with so much blessings is because I do no wrong to others and I do not envy people who have much much more than me. I am actually happy for my friends and relatives who have attained wealth beyond my reach or are successful in their lives. As such I guess no karma points are being deducted from me. And more importantly, I guess the previous karma points earned in my previous life has been carried forward and it is still way above, in positive territory. (This paragraph regarding karma points may seem to be nonsense to some of you, and maybe it is.)
Now, I mentioned above I have generous and kind relatives and friends. What is generosity? It is when one performs a good deed without expecting anything in return. As for my friends, many of them would buy me dinner and they will insist that they pay because I have retired. My wife’s and my relatives would often invite us for dinner either in KL or Melbourne during the weekends. Now, I do reciprocate their generosity by buying them dinner or gifts, or else I would be a bloody selfish greedy self centered person.
In addition to dinner and gifts from my wife’s relatives (the other day, out of the blue, my wife’s sister-in-law gave me a gift for no apparent reason), many of them pray for me and my family! You see, many of my wife’s relatives are pastors and staunch Christians. They have prayed for us many times on many different occasions including calling me on the phone and praying that I have a safe journey or get well when they hear I am sick. With their prayers and me having so many gods on my side, no wonder I am blessed all the time. I am not joking but that is how I truly feel.
What the heck I mean when I said that’s how I truly feel? I guess being used to praying to so many different gods, and being exposed to the Bible and even attended Sunday classes while I was really young as I was enrolled in a Methodist kindergarten, I guess I have no qualms with whichever gods or God.
However, there is a big difference in believes between Taoists and Christians. Christians believe the existence of Heaven whereas Taoist is all about going to Hell. I have given specific instructions to my wife that after I die, she is to burn stacks and stacks of Hell money with no less than 9 zeroes after the 1st digit as offering to me. Sometime back, my wife’s relatives had a gathering, one of her pastor relative mentioned something about heaven and hell in general; and I said – “I already told my wife to make sure the hell notes have lots of zeroes”! Boy, I guess my wife’s relative did not expect that kind of response and must be wondering what devil/demon has got into me.
In my article Life – Pay Now with Credit Cards Earn Later or Save Now for Retirement, in the conclusion I jokingly mentioned “wonder after I die, besides the helluva hot happening underworld where all the fun people go to, will I be assigned to another galaxy?” Well, you know what, in my subconscious and conscious mind, because I am a Taoist, there is no heaven and I kind of believe in reincarnation.
BELIEVE
When you believe in something so strongly, miracles do happen. However, believe is just the start as miracle do not fall onto your lap without any hard work (or prayers) and most importantly, you need patience. Patience is the test of your believe.
If you are a Christian, I am sure that you have heard or witnessed miracles through prayers of kind people that ask for no compensation but willingly pray for other believers to be healed from terminal diseases and sufferings. The magic word is believe – the person who experienced the miracle must believe that he/she will be cured. A non-believer will never experience a miracle nor be rewarded even if zillions of people were to pray day or night for him/her.
Now, relating to the above, if you have to pay someone to cure you, it is not a miracle nor is it God’s work. One thing for sure, those who do God’s work will never ask money from you. You wanting to donate freely is a different story.
Coming back to the matter of believe. I have also read articles where people who were terminally ill with cancer also miraculously healed themselves with POSITIVE thinking, i.e. mentally instructing that their good cells attack and eliminate the cancerous cells. It was their believe that they have the power to cure themselves somehow turned into a supernatural occurrence. No black magic or sacrifice of animals or praying to any god or demon was involved.
Then there is the story of my mother who experienced great pain in her legs and could hardly walk (sciatica) because one of her vertebrae was pressing against her nerves and was told she needed an operation by an orthopedic specialist in a private hospital. But my mother was afraid to go for the operation as she has diabetes. She believed she could be cured without any western medical procedures and went to seek treatments from several Chinese Traditional Doctors and tried numerous types of massage, and guess what, with determination, patience and endurance, she was cured. My dad said it was a visiting doctor from China whose prescription, which can be bought at any Chinese medicine shops, cured her. That was years ago, now she can walk for hours and I am embarrassed to say she is healthier than me!
And I myself do believe miracles do happen when one believes. It has happened to me, not once, but four times in the last 3 years. Like I said, patience is the test of one’s believe. I had to plan, execute (work) and wait and when I hit a wall, I would still believe I would achieve my goal and not give up and would re-plan, re-execute and wait without giving up. And I have published these miracles of mine in my articles relating to me wanting the Maybank Visa Infinite, UOB Privilege Banking Visa Infinite, Alliance Bank Visa Infinite and recently my new Citibank Australia Platinum credit card. In all four cases, I wanted the said credit cards so badly and believed that I will get it and eventually I did. As some of you may be aware, I stopped being a salaryman effective 1st January 2011; as such, based on the minimum income requirement, there is no way I can qualify for these credit cards.
Now, as I mentioned before I have glaucoma and have been told that whatever part of my vision that has been lost can never be restored. My mother’s friend has even emailed me some chants that apparently has helped others who have glaucoma. However, I did not bother trying it out. And my wife’s relatives even invited me to attend their prayer sessions so that my vision can be improved but I told them I don’t want to be cured; because, then I have no reason not to go back to work, hahaha. And I guess many of my wife’s relatives must think I am a useless good for nothing bum; but they are too nice to point it out. Actually, the reason why I did not bother with the chants and rejected the prayer offer was simply because I did not believe my glaucoma can be cured. I guess I will never know…..
I thank you for reading this freaking long article and sacrificing your time reaching to this point. But I am not done yet, hahaha. Many people would copy my ideas and post them in their websites as if it is their own comments without giving me credit. But that is to be expected since most human are selfish and self-centered, including me.
I would like to believe those who have taken the time to read my articles will benefit from them. And maybe because of my willingness to die faster by sacrificing my life span because I chain smoke like hell while I write my articles for the benefit of all for FREE, like my wife’s Christians relatives who are more than willing to do God’s work by helping and praying for the betterment of others without expecting anything in return, I guess my good deeds have been earning me more good karma points to offset the bad without me knowing it; as such, I have been rewarded by being blessed continuously 🙂
And when I was pissed of big time with google for deleting my previous blog http://www.genxgenygenz.blogspot, I was considering stopping blogging altogether. But, it was some of you who encouraged me to continue writing because I guess you guys believed that I have much to share with you. And thanks to many of you, I continued to write and was subsequently rewarded with more Facebook Likes that really gives me the sensation of “shiok sendiri”, hahaha.
Coming back to the subject of having dinner with my wife’s relatives. Do you know what it feels like having dinner with 5 pastors and being surrounded by staunch Christians for hours at the dinner table where the only non-Christians are my children, my wife and I? Well, it was really nice…. the table was nicely prepared, the sitting arrangement was well organized where each guest had their name personalized on the cup/glass, food was fantastically delicious and abundant, and most importantly, we were with caring and loving people where the conversations were joyful and lively.
And during the dinner, one of my wife’s aunties asked what I do; and I kind of replied – nothing, except smoke, eat, shit and sleep and for entertainment I do go to the casino and jokingly said that I was an alcoholic. Boy, that must have raised some eyebrows and caused some concerns. Anyone would be worried if their niece/cousin was married to a smoker, gambler and alcoholic. So after dinner one of the many pastors came over to me and offered to pray for me; and, of course I could not refuse such a wonderful and genuine gesture… but I also knew what was coming. So when the pastor was praying to the Lord to bless me and that I STOP SMOKING, GAMBLING and DRINKING, I was like going in my head OMG No, OMG No. Seriously, I thank and appreciate my wife’s relative(s) for their concern, and if I had a useless son/daughter-in-law, I would also pray hard to my gods! But I am not ready to give up the only few joys I have in life, i.e. smoking, playing baccarat and drinking.
And coming back to the subject of heaven and hell, Being a Taoist, I have long accepted the fact that I am going to hell as heaven is only reserved for my gods (idols and to some demons). But I also believe that I will be reincarnated over and over again….., maybe I do have an option to stop this cycle of being reincarnated over and over again and experience the endless pain and sufferings. And even have my glaucoma cured for FREE (that will save me lots of money from the treatment I get in Singapore). But for now, heaven can wait…. as I don’t believe my glaucoma can be cured; and, more importantly, I am not willing yet to give up smoking, gambling and drinking………… And the lesson of the day is never tell your wife’s relatives that you smoke, gamble, drink or whatever that may make them believe you are a sinner.
The contents below were first published on 25th Feb 2014 at my article titled MORE – A Little Bit Of This and ALittle Bit Of That – Volume I, Chapter III.
INVESTING IN APARTMENTS IN MELBOURNE CBD
Previously in my article Melbourne Victoria Australia where I introduced another blog of mine with the same name, I briefly mentioned that one may experience negative annual yield when investing in apartments in Melbourne CBD today, especially if one is taking a loan to pay for it (if you can get 0% interest YEN housing loan, that may be a different story). You see, the developer may market the apartment as giving you 5% annual yield based on rental income BUT after taking into consideration the property agent fees, body corporate fees, council fees, maintenance fee on top of the interest from the loan, one can be considered lucky should the rental income break even with the annual out flow of owning the apartment. One only make money when he/she disposes of the property at a higher price than what he/she paid and be taxed too.
And Melbourne property price peaked in 2010 and since then have been maintaining at the same level until the last quarter of 2013. And if one had bought an apartment during the last peak and sold it sometime is 2012 and 2013, he/she may actually be losing money. For example, both my cousins bought apartments (St. Kilda Road and Docklands) in between Q1 and Q3 of 2013 and both the previous owners sold it to them at a lost.
Last year (2013) I leased a freaking small 2 bedroom apartment in Melbourne CBD with a car park for about AUD2200/month or AUD26.4K/year. A similar size/design apartment in the same building was selling for no less than AUD580K. Therefore, based on market price, the apartment was getting a yield of 4.5%. But, it actual fact it’s less. The body corporate fee plus council rate was close to AUD7K for the apartment, therefore after deducting these said fees, the yield is around 3.3%. And if you were to deduct the agent fee and the loan interest and worst you need to carry out some repair works, you will earn nothing.
Today, the price for new apartments development in Melbourne CBD is going for around AUD10K/m2 (and even more) and that does not include car park space!!!
Having said the above, if one had bought a property in Melbourne before 2008, he/she would be making a very handsome profit when he/she sells the property today.
DE FACTO FACTOR – Take note of this if you own property in Australia.
Melbourne property prices hit record levels in 2010 and then it softened a bit and prices stabilized for a few years until the end of last year. Suddenly in November and December 2013, property prices across Australia’s major cities started shooting up. I guess the reason for this is because of two main reasons. First, the Australia dollar has weakened about 10% compared to 2012 and as such attracted foreign investors. Second and more importantly is that interest rates (for housing loans and deposits) were at record lows; thus, it makes sense for the Australians with money to invest in real estate. FYI, Melbourne property experienced a gain of about 7% in 2013. However, there are some who are predicting that prices of properties are expected to be heading South soon.
Anyway, I was one of those who rushed to get a property back in November 2013. Actually, I had been looking around for an apartment for close to a year and finally managed to get one in Melbourne CBD that comes with tandem car park bays (i.e. 2 car park spaces). The main reason why I bought the apartment back in November 2013 was because the Aussie Dollar had weakened by more than 10% compared to 2012 and it’s like I was getting a 10% discount. However, if the Aussie Dollar continues to weaken, I’ll be losing money big time! Talking about car park, back in May 2012 when I first visited Melbourne to check it out before deciding to send my eldest daughter here for her undergraduate degree, ADOBE, a new development then, along Russell Street was selling a car park space for AUD80K. But now, a car park space for a new apartment project in Melbourne CBD is going for AUD100K and AUD160K for single and tandem car park, respectively!!! Well, cars may be cheap in Australia compared to Malaysia but parking your car in Melbourne CBD will burn a deep hole in your pocket. It can cost as much as AUD5.50 per hour to park in Melbourne CBD and my cousin told me it cost even more in Perth!
Anyway, coming back to the sub-subject of De Facto, here’s my story. Initially I wanted to buy the apartment under my two sons’ names. Reason for this is because eventually they will inherit it anyway and to save them from paying stamp duty cost (got to pay this again when I transfer the property from my name to theirs). My eldest son is 21 years old and my second son is 16 years old. YES, a child aged 16 years old can own a property in Australia but it comes with certain constraints like he cannot sell or mortgage his property until he turns 18. But my lawyer in Melbourne, who happens to be a Malaysian and also coincidentally attended the same law school in Singapore with one of my lawyer friends in KL advised me against it when I met him for the very first time.
Why did my lawyer advise me against having my children’s name on the property you may ask? You see, in Australia if my son’s girlfriend was to move into the apartment and stay for a certain period (something like 6 months), and she can proof that she’s my son’s partner, she has rights to ownership of his property!!! When I heard that, I was like WTF, don’t need to get married and my son’s girl friend would have legal rights to his properties!!! I guess it would be the same if your daughter’s boyfriend was to stay with her. So, I guess you better prepare a legal document (similar to a pre-nuptial agreement) where you list in black and white what each party already own, coming into the partnership, and what each partner is entitled to in the event of a break up. That way you can protect yourself financially if the relationship turns sour. You have been warned!
APARTMENT VERSUS BUNGALOW
Many of my friends think I am a fool for buying a freaking small apartment in Melbourne CBD when I can get a Bungalow in the Eastern suburbs for the same price (I can get 2 Bungalows in the newer Western suburbs). Well, I will not disagree that buying a landed property is always a better investment (monetary wise). But those of you who have been reading my articles will know that I always reiterate that we can’t take our money with us to the grave; and therefore my priority was convenience.
The reasons why I got an apartment in Melbourne CBD instead of getting a house in the eastern suburb or even Point Cook (for much much less) are:
a. I don’t have to mow the lawn or trim the trees and sweep the leafs. I tell you, I know many millionaires in Malaysia who have gardeners to maintain their homes in Klang Valley but will fly to Australia periodically to maintain their garden because their children (who are working or studying) could not be bothered.
b. A smaller place means my wife got less house work (e.g. vacuuming, mopping, wiping). Eventually, most people will downsize when they get older as one got to be freaking rich to have a maid in Australia. And with a smaller place, my electricity bill (lights, air-conditioning and heating) is less. Gas for cooking is kind of FREE since it is included in my apartment body corporate fee.
c. My eldest daughter attends University near Melbourne CBD and that saves her at least 2 hours a day of her life on traveling to school (if I had bought a house in the suburbs). And in a couple of years time, I also expect my second son to attend Uni near Melbourne CBD. And eventually the probability of them working in the city is much higher than anywhere else if they decide to stay back and work in Melbourne.
d. Variety of restaurants and shopping outlets and supermarkets (Aldi, Coles and Woolworths) are all a stone’s throw away from my apartment and Crown Casino is a 20 minutes walk.
e. It only take about 20 minutes drive to/from my apartment in CBD to Tullamarine Melbourne Airport.
f. More importantly, I don’t have to worry about security since my apartment has 24 hours CCTV security and need access card for entry and elevator. And best of all, when my family returns to KL during the school break (up to 2 months from December to January), we only have to lock the main door and that’s it. No need to worry about break ins or getting someone to keep an eye on my property (and my car is parked in a secured car park).
The contents below were first published on 12th Nov 2014 at my article titled A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit Of That – Volume I, Chapter VI.
WARNING: The following contents are strictly for those who have attained the level of “Chiak Bui Liow” in Hokkien dialect (direct translation to English – Eat Cannot Finish, i.e. more than enough wealth for your survival). If you are working and finding it hard to get by with your current salary or have yet to accumulate enough wealth for your retirement, you should stop reading now as the contents below may make you go into depression, in which case I shall not be held responsible for it.
Once again, what follows are for the eyes of people who are able to retire right at this moment and willing to tell others that all he/she does is “Chiak Pa Tan Si” (translated into English – All That Is Left To Do is Eat Only while Waiting to Die) and become a useless bum like me.
MAKING OTHER PEOPLE RICHER
I have been indirectly or directly (as a salaryman) making other people richer ever since I graduated from University.
My first job was with an Engineering Consultant Firm in KL. It was a small-middle size firm where all the Engineers knew each other and we had teh tarik every working day at the mamak stall next to our office before and after work.
Some of my ex-colleagues at that time would complain that they were bringing RMx amount of jobs to the company and yet they were not compensated accordingly but were paid a fixed salary. To me then, as a fresh graduate who knew nuts, I was extremely grateful to my big boss for paying me to learn! And I loved my job, I worked 5 days a week and I got to play computer games the entire weekend. Back then, my wife was working for a bank and had to work on Saturdays and sometimes I would drive her to work and go to the office on a Saturday and work for FREE.
Whatever project my bosses assigned to me, I would happily accept it. And since it was a small firm, I had the opportunity to learn a lot of stuff and get to travel outstation with my bosses. My department head had full confidence in me and often sent me out for meetings. Once I represented my company to a Public Listed company’s meetings chaired by the MD. After a few meetings, the MD called my big boss to complain about why he sent a young “ciku” Engineer to his meetings? I guess to the eyes of the Public Listed Company’s MD, my boss was sending an inexperienced newbie whose salary was freaking low (my starting pay was only RM1.5K a month!!!) to make my ex-boss tons of money, hahaha. Anyway, my department head assured the MD that I was capable of handling any matters related to their projects and that I had a Master Degree in my field. After that, the MD never complained to my boss anymore and I continued to handle his projects throughout Malaysia for a few years (even after I resigned and returned to the company).
After a couple of years with the Consulting firm, I wanted to get site experience which was a requirement in order for me to be registered as a Professional Engineer. So I took up a position as a Resident Engineer which was freaking boring and not challenging because I had 2 technicians under me. But at that time the stock market was hot, and therefore, I was on the phone most of the time playing the market (at that time there was no smartphone or wireless internet yet), hahaha.
After a few months I quit the boring job and went to work for a contractor building high-rise condos in KL. I loved this job. I was responsible for the entire site operations and every day there would be a new challenge. Unlike my Consultancy work where I worked 5 days a week 9pm-5pm, I had to be at the site at 8am in the morning and only reached home way after 9pm. I only took 2 Sundays off a month and even then would drop by the site if I was in the vicinity and my wife and child would wait for me in the car. I had a supervisor under me but he would go back earlier than me. See, my boss did not need many staff to handle the RM50 million job, and my pay then was still freaking low as I had less than 3 years work experience; thus saving my ex-boss tons of money, hahaha. And neither did I get any allowance for overtime nor petrol. But the stock market was hot, so I was making more from the stock market then what I was being paid as a salaryman. So I had more than enough money to burn away and moreover, I liked the satisfaction of solving the never ending site problems.
Luckily for me, my wife was and still is very supportive of whatever I choose to do and never complained. But one day, as usual I reached home after 9pm and went to see my eldest son who was about 3 years old then. And to my horror, he said – “Papa get out!”. The next day itself I submitted my resignation effective 24 hours.
After 2 months of being unemployed (I was still making money from the stock market), I went back to the Consultancy Firm where I started my working career and the bosses there welcomed me with open arms. This time I was given a room with windows all to myself where I could smoke all I wanted, hehehe. I was assigned more responsibilities where I would need to prepare tender documents and reports, evaluate work by contractors and prepare work certificates and best of all I was the SO for several projects where I chaired meetings and got to go overseas on assignments (including Uzbekistan a few times). I stayed with the company for another 2 years.
But, ever since I was young, my ambition was to be a developer and after I graduated I set myself a goal which is to be a Project Manager with a developer within 5 years. So, with the knowledge and skill I gained from the last 5 years, I joined a developer as a Project Manager. Instantly I had more than RM100 million worth of projects in my hand. You see, other than the MD, Project Director and a runner, there was no one else in the project team. So, once again I handled everything by myself (well, I did request for a secretary and was allowed to employ one) and thus got to learn a lot of stuff in a short period of time. I stayed with this company for more than a decade and got to expand my horizon into F&B, Hospitality Industry, Oil Palm Plantation and Fruit Farming too. The working hours were long and I was on call 24/7. I would stay back in the office till late preparing reports, travel outstation often and entertained people till early in the morning. I can be in my office in the morning rushing to finish up some never ending work and then rush to Melaka by noon for a meeting and be back in KL by 4pm to attend another meeting. Once it only took me 45 minutes to get from Melaka Alor Gajah town center to JKR HQ in KL. And I would only have time on Sundays to spend with my family for only a few hours as I would drop by the work sites. But like I said, I had a very supportive wife who never complained about my work.
My bosses were also very good to me and would compensate me accordingly. One day back in 1998, I attended a meeting with my MD and after that his driver sent me home. On the way home, I experienced muscle spasms and my entire body literally stiffened up! I was then sent to the hospital and put on drips. After that incident, my ex-boss assigned a driver to me (he had previously a year before assigned 2 company cars to me! A Pajero V6 to go to site and a MB E230 so that I can drive the people who I was entertaining in style to night clubs, hahaha. Then in year 2000 he asked me to get a new MB E Class but I chose a BMW 523i and after a few years I changed to a Volvo XC90 when the Pajero V12 was sold off).
But then out of the blue in 2010, I was diagnosed with Glaucoma where one of my eyes was already 70% damaged and incurable. I was told I had to go for an operation by a so called Glaucoma specialist in a well-known KL eye centre. That was when I decided I should quit my job.
So what is the point of this story? For about 20 years, I sacrificed a lot of my time being a salaryman working to make other people richer instead of accumulating happy memories with my children.
People who are drive to excel have this unconscious propensity to underinvest in their families and overinvest in their careers, even though intimate and loving family relationships are the most powerful and enduring source of happiness.
With me quitting my job, it was actually a blessing in disguise. After I quit my job, I had the opportunity to spend more time with my 3 younger children (my eldest was already in USA) and I had the chance to talk to them every day while driving them to school. And in a blink of an eye, 4 years have passed and my children are all grown up and now no longer wish to spend time with me (so sad). And if I was still working, I would not have the luxury to fly to Melbourne every month for a few weeks and force them to spend time with me, hahaha.
I am getting to the part that is going to make you working people who stubbornly refuse to stop reading this go into depression….. last warning, stop reading.
Since I have a lot of time nowadays, I get to dig deeper into my brains and explore zones which I would not have done so if I was still working for other people.
Question – why people work?
Answer – basically to provide shelter and to put food on the table for the family. People work to ensure that their family have a comfortable life, money for their children education, money for medical related expenses and hopefully have enough savings for their retirement years.
That’s was simple enough and it’s a fact.
Now next question – why people who are already rich still working?
Answer – it’s not that they don’t have money to buy whatever they want; but more of a game to them, they get a thrill in seeing their net-worth grow and grow.
Okay, all of us need some thrills or else our lives would be boring.
Next question, why some people who already have enough money to retire but still work to make other people richer?
What’s that again? You may be asking. Some of you may be wondering what the hell I am talking about. How is it that by working you are making other people richer? Shouldn’t it be that you are making yourself richer?
Get ready to be depressed….
Fact No.1 – when you die, you can’t take your money to the grave, as such you are a poor man when you go into your grave. Don’t believe? Guess what? The moment you die and a Death Certificate is issued, all your assets will then be transferred to someone else either by your instructions given while you were alive or whatever is stipulated under the law.
So, whatever money you make while you were alive will eventually go to someone else. You may argue that it will go to your blood line. Well, I’ve got bad news for you. You see, your child only has half your blood and your grandchildren will only have a quarter of your blood. So, the majority of the blood in your grandchild it not yours but someone elses. And it gets further diluted along the way. So whatever wealth you leave behind will eventually go to other people’s blood line where they make up the majority and your blood becomes the minority.
Here is another example – say two brothers started a company and one of them has no children. The two brothers build an empire over time. And when they die, the son of the other brother takes over the company. And with time his grandchildren. Guess what? The son and his wife including the grandchildren and their spouses get to burn the money earned (company assets) by their uncle/grand uncle whom they will never ever visit his grave to say thank you. In conclusion, the childless brother worked his butt off for others.
Above also applies to those who have no children but build an empire over time. One of my best friends is a bachelor and a few years back started his own company after working for others and making his ex-boss very rich. In just a matter of 5 years, he has made himself a fortune and is now worth millions. But the sad part is when he dies, all his fortune would go to others who don’t even have a drop of his blood since he’s not married and is childless. I keep pestering him to get married and not to work so hard (he is the boss but is the last to leave the office which also means he is working for FREE for his other 2 partners) for other people (who will eventually get all his assets) but I guess he does not see my point of view.
Fact No.2 – When you are an employee and have no shares in a company, you are working to make other people richer. If you are not, then the guy who is employing you is a fool.
You see, companies employ workers to make a profit so that their share holders become richer without needing to lift a finger.
Here is a story that applies to most working people.
A guy named Ah Beng works with a company for more than a decade and he is very grateful to his boss for giving him the job which then allows him to feed his family. The boss also appreciates Ah Beng’s loyalty, sacrifices and hard work which contribute towards building up the company and rewards him with a yearly pay rise and maybe even free holidays.
Overtime, boss becomes old and son takes over the company and drives a fancy sports car bought under the company’s funds (which Ah Beng had contributed for years from his sacrifices). Boss’ young son then makes a few changes here and there and thinks Ah Beng is “outdated” and doesn’t fit into his expansion plans. He then assigns Ah Beng to some unproductive work. Worst is when boss’ young son’s bitchy wife who is not an employee of the company also commands Ah Beng to do this and that and doesn’t even give him any respect. Then after some time, the boss’ young son will sack Ah Beng in a nice way by forcing him to retire and pretends to be grateful by offering him a cheap gold colour (not even gold plated) watch. In a way, Ah Beng worked his entire life to make the boss’ young son and his bitchy wife richer.
Fact No.3 – even if you have shares in a company, you are working to make others richer.
Once again, say 3 brothers (or you can say friends) start a company. After 3 years one of them stop contributing to the company (for whatever reasons) and resigns as a director (stopped receiving any salary but still remain a shareholder). After ten years, the company has build up a fortune and one of them realizes that they are working for the other non-contributing party who still owns shares in the company. So they buy up the other party’s shares (maybe now the shares have been transferred to the son/daughter/wife) and thus making the selling party who has never contributed to the company richer (now loaded with cash).
Or the 3 brothers worked freaking hard and the company is loaded with cash/assets. Then the brothers’ sons take over the company and only one of them is hard working whereas the other two brothers’ sons are bums where they just step into the office once a month to pick up their salary. Boy, all the 3 founding brothers would be pissed off big time and would eventually conclude that they worked all their lives to make their younger generation richer only.
Fact No.4 – Setting Up a Trust Fund to ensure that future generations will not go hungry and have more than enough to spend – is also making others richer. Prior to setting up the trust fund, one would have to worked his butt off and eventually the money will go to others (above examples for Facts 1 to 3 apply). And you’ll be trying to dig yourself out of your grave if you have a daughter or grand-daughter like Paris Hilton, hahaha.
You guys still blur?
Here’s a final example, and it’s my case.
I have decided that I would no longer work to make other people richer. Besides not being able to take my money to the grave, I have come to realize that my previous hard work and sacrifices that I contributed to my ex-employers (as a salaryman) makes his future generations richer and none of them will ever be grateful or appreciate what I have sacrificed for them. And not only his family, my great grandchildren would also not appreciate what I have done for my children and will never visit my grave too. Sad but true.
Like I said, many rich people work because they get thrills from seeing their assets grow and grow. And you know what drives them? It is the most powerful energy on planet earth and is it called greed. But the sad part is, these people can’t accept the fact that they will go to their graves empty handed and can’t comprehend that they are working to make others richer.
But sooner or later, especially when they realize they are about to enter the gates of heaven (or hell and then suddenly will transform into a so called angel and do charity work to earn positive karma points), they will eventually come to the same conclusion as what I have been saying all along – life is like what we Hokkien people always say – “Lan Pa Pa Lan” (translated to English – Bang Balls).
Having said the above, there are also many people out there who have reached the level of “chiak bui liow” who are still working; but not to make their future generations or others richer. These kind people do charity work (donating money cannot be considered as charity work) to assists others who are less fortunate. And, I am humbled to inform you that I am one of these unselfish souls who do charity work sacrificing my life by chain smoking to churn out FREE articles for the benefit of others, hahaha.
Many have thanked me for my FREE articles (on credit cards and Fixed Deposit) which actually assist them to earn some extra pocket money to cope with the freaking high cost of living nowadays. And a few also have been brainwashed by me to spend away their children’s inheritance such as by taking their family on holidays (and some burned their money on entertainment or relaxation activities) to accumulate fond memories for their golden years 🙂
The contents below were first published on 25th March 2015 at my article titled A Little Bit Of This and A Little BitOf That – Volume I, Chapter VIII.
ARE YOU RANKED IN THE TOP 1% OR 10% OR 50% RICHEST PERSON ON EARTH?
Today I am going to tell you why you are so lucky if you are a Malaysian.
First of all, if you are reading this, it means that you are an educated person. As such, I believe that you do not have to worry if you can afford your next meal. And most probably you will be rich before you die, unless you are addicted to gambling or are a drug addict or continuously wasting your income on material stuff.
Recently, while watching a live TV program on current matters in Australia (I really have nothing to do in Melbourne but watch the news and play games only), someone asked the guest panelists – “is it fair that 1% of the world’s population control 48% of global wealth?” I was surprised when I heard this. And I can’t remember what the guest panelists’ replies were but I guess their answers were not of importance as I can’t remember what they said, hahaha.
So I went googling and it is true that 1% of the world’s population control 48% of the world’s entire wealth. Did you know that the population of the world is 7 billion human beings? 1% of 7 billion equates to 70,000,000 people. Well, 70 million IS A LOT of people. BUT the 80 wealthiest billionaires in this world has combined wealth of more than 50% of the world’s population!!!
And in order to be in the world’s top 10% wealthiest, you only need to have assets (positive net-worth) of USD77,000 (about RM280K)! Nowadays one can hardly find a double storey terrace house in Klang Valley for less than RM280K (some single storey terrace houses cost more than RM500K!). So, you can safely say that every owner of a double storey terrace house in Klang Valley is amongst the top 10% richest person on earth!
And to be in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest, you don’t even need to be a millionaire (minimum USD1M, if you have RM1M then you are a Ringgit-aire), one only needs USD798,000 (about RM2.9M) in positive net-worth. Nowadays, a new bungalow within a gated community in Klang Valley would most probably cost more than RM2.9M. So every person who owns a bungalow in 1U, Bandar Utama, KL, PJ, Cheras, Shah Alam, TDDI, and etc can be considered to be among the wealthiest 1% on earth! I guess the same can be applied to those who have a bungalow in Penang Island.
So for you young people who just graduated and are paying for your smart phone with instalment plans (which is a debt) and paying for your MYVI with 9 years loan (besides getting poorer instantly on the day you sign on the dotted lines agreeing to the car loan approval where you will be imposed interest upfront, you are losing money yearly due to depreciation), you guys better start saving for your house down payment and purchase a place of your own (if you have not) so that you too can be among the top 10% richest people on earth in due time.
And I also read that if one has just USD3,650 in assets (about RM13K at today’s conversion rate), he/she will be among the wealthiest 50% of the world’s population. Millions of Malaysians have more than RM13K in their EPF account that’s for sure.
From the above, I can safely say that if you are an educated person, most probably you will have RM13K in positive net-worth (or soon will once you pay off your house loan and the property is discharged from the bank). And if you are about to retire soon, I am pretty sure you have much more than RM13K in your EPF. Thus most Malaysians (who are currently working or have retired with EPF) are already among the top 50% (above average) wealthiest human beings on earth!
And we Malaysians, especially the younger generations, are damn freaking lucky because we do not need to pay a single sen in income tax if we are earning less than RM4K (USD1.1K) per month! When I started work more than two decades ago, my salary was RM1.5K/month and I had to pay income tax!
Below are some articles I have published previously related to wealth.
I AM STILL BLESSED BY MY GODS
If you are a reader of mine, you will know I have mentioned several times that I am a Taoist and pray to many Gods (devils according to some staunch Christians, but I don’t care about other people’s opinions, hahaha) and I will eventually go to hell since there is no such thing as heaven for those who practice Taoism (we burn Hell Notes as offerings to the dead where each Bank of Hell note has no less than 10 figures because inflation is freaking high in Hell).
Couple days ago, out of the blue at noon, I received a call from my regular watch dealer in KL informing me that they can sell me a Rolex GMT Master Blue Black Batman at RETAIL PRICE! According to the Manager, one of his customers who ordered previously failed to show up over the weekend and pay for it. And if I want the watch I have to go get it that very same day. So, I said hold the watch for me and I will be in his shop before 5pm (so that I won’t be stuck in our normal KL rush hour traffic jam). And the best part is I can pay for it with my Maybank 2 Cards Premier AMEX Reserve and earn 5X Treats Points without any surcharge and to top that, I can get 0% Instalment Plan with it!
After I collected the watch, I was so overjoyed and couldn’t wait to inform my uncle who collects luxury watches. He was surprised that I managed to secure the GMT Master II Blue Black. FYI, my uncle asked me to check with my watch dealer if they can get him the Rolex DeepSea (dark blue). So I called my watch dealer and he told me this model is much much harder to come by.
Then in the evening, one of my cousins and her husband (let’s call him Bruce) came over to my place. We were discussing about the 6% GST and I told them I just bought a Rolex for my son and the conversation went like this:
Me: I just bought a Rolex watch for my son and thus saved 6% GST.
Bruce: Don’t tell me it’s the Blue Black GMT.
Me: How you know?
Bruce: What!? You really bought the blue black? How you managed to get it? (He knows I was away for a month and just returned to KL recently).
My Cousin: “Si loh” (Hokkien dialect- translated to English – die loh), tonight Bruce sure cannot sleep.
Bruce: I have been trying to get one for months and every dealer got no stock. How you managed to get one?
Me: I called my watch dealer many times and he said no way he can get me one before 1st April 2015. Suddenly today, he told me his customer who booked the watch failed to pay for it and offered it to me on condition I go pay for it today.
Bruce: How much you paid for it?
Me: At retail price of RM28,630 and with 0% instalment plan.
Bruce: You are really lucky. Second hand dealers are selling it for RM33K. (I guess he did the same where both of us went googling searching for the GMT Master Blue Black and came across the same websites).
Me: Yah loh.
Bruce: You want to let go and make a profit of RM1K?
Me: No way Bro.
Now, my cousin’s husband is an Accountant, and we all know that Accountants are very frugal people, hahaha. And if an Accountant wants a Rolex GMT Master Batman, it means that this watch is indeed a very good investment.
And here is another example where I am continuously blessed by my Gods. When I sent my son to a Top 10 Engineering Uni USA in 2009 as a Freshman, USD/MYR exchange rate was 3.6 but then thanks to my lucky stars, Ringgit started to strengthen against USD and eventually even settled around exchange rate of 3.10. Then 3 years back I decided to send my daughter to Australia for her undergraduate degree even though she was accepted into a Top 10 Pharmacy Uni in USA for a PharmD degree (PhD equivalent) before her SPM results were even out! And two years back when my daughter actually started Uni in Melbourne, AUD started to weaken against all currencies including our Ringgit. And my son completed his Masters in USA last year (before USD started to sky rocket against MYR) and he is now in Australia pursuing a post-graduate Doctor of Medicine degree and the exchange rate AUD/MYR has gone below 3.0; and the last TT I made to Australia in January 2015, I even managed to get exchange rate below AUD/MYR 2.8!
You tell me, am I not blessed? I guess I have (or had) lots of remaining positive karma points earned from my previous lifetime (as I am sure I did not earn any this lifetime) to be continuously blessed by my Gods 🙂
The contents below were first published on 8th July 2015 at my article titled A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit Of That – Volume I, Chapter IX – the last of my A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit Of That series.
I THOUGHT I HAD A STROKE
A few weeks ago, suddenly, I felt my entire left hand getting numb. I was at the mall looking at GIA certified diamonds at that time because our Ringgit was depreciating and I thought I’d better buy some jewellery for my girls while our Ringgit still has some purchasing power. Anyway, the salesgirl asked what was wrong with my hand as I kept rubbing it. So I told her it felt numb. She then told me that I better go for a check up as her mum also complained that her hand was numb but they thought maybe she was working too hard and did not take her to the hospital and only later found out she had a stroke.
When I got home later in the evening, my hand was still numb. Being ultra “kiasu”, I immediately decided to go for a medical check up the next day. So I started fasting. I told my wife (she was in Melbourne with the kids) and mum about the numbness in my hand. Next thing I knew, my mum had called my cousin who is in the medical field and she called me to tell me that she had made an appointment for me the next morning with a Heart Specialist at Sunway Medical Centre. You see, my cousin said for numbness in the left hand, most likely it’s not stroke but due to the heart.
So, the next morning I went to Sunway Medical Centre early in the morning to avoid the traffic jam. I was at the hospital before 7.30am which was fine with me as I had my iPad to play games and even watch a show (episode 5 of the No.1 current TV English speaking series in the world – can’t tell you the name, all I will say is everyone dies or suffers in one way or another in this freaking unbelievable full of action series).
Anyway, since I was early, I got to register first and to my surprise the doctor actually came in about 9am and immediately asked the nurse to arrange for my blood test. After my blood was taken, the nurse asked me to return to the Doctor’s office in an hour. I headed to the ground floor to get a cup of coffee and then walked out of the hospital compound to smoke. And while I was smoking, I could feel my left hand getting numb again!!! That got me worried again!
To my freaking pleasant surprise, really after an hour or so, the Cardiologist asked me to enter the room to do a physical examination on me. As it was the first time I was meeting the doctor, it was routine that I gave a briefing of my medical condition/history. Told the doctor my dad and mum both are diabetics and I was a borderline case when I last had a medical check up 5 years back. Well, the doctor told me I am not a diabetic yet based on my blood test results – parts of my blood test results were showing in the Doctor’s computer screen! Freaking efficient I must say. The doctor then did a physical examination and said it didn’t look like I had any symptoms of heart related health issues but asked me to do an ECG anyway. So, I had the ECG done and checked back with the doctor and was told all was good.
By this time all my blood test results were in and the Doctor printed it out for me on the spot. Sad to say my cholesterol level was not good. The doctor told me that I will have to start taking some medicine for the cholesterol. I asked if I can skip the medicine and change my diet/lifestyle instead. Well, the doctor said that many people have said the same thing but eventually most could not change their diet. I thought for like 2 seconds and concluded – yeah, I’m only kidding myself that I can change my diet; so, I agreed to the medicine. Since then, for the first time in my life I have to take the pill everyday, which is a hassle, so far I have forgotten to take it several times.
Anyway, I told the Doctor about the numbness in my hand where I experienced it again after the blood test. And since there was nothing wrong with my heart, the Cardio asked if I would like to be referred to a Neurologist and I replied, I might as well since I’m in the hospital.
I did not need to wait long before I saw the Neurologist, I explained to him my condition and what I experienced the day before and in the morning, i.e. my hand getting numb. The doctor asked me to perform several actions and told me he doesn’t think I experienced a stroke. But because the numbness in my hand occurred twice in a relatively short period, he suggested that I go for an MRI. And since I was in the hospital I said I might as well. Now, MRI is not cheap, it cost about RM2K. And if I wanted to use my medical insurance policy to pay for the MRI scan, I have to be admitted over night which I refused. So I was willing to pay for it and find out the results immediately. It was near noon time then.
The Neurologist’s assistant then called the MRI department and was told that there is an opening at around 5pm. WTF! Anyway, I headed to the MRI department and guess what? I could do the MRI scan immediately as there was an opening. After the MRI scan, I went for lunch and then got the results and headed back to the Neurologist’s office. The doctor explained to me the MRI scan results and everything looked good. He then told me that if the numbness persist, then I may have to go for more test.
Well, I spent close to RM3K that day… but I am not complaining because my heart is in good condition and I did not have a stroke. As for my left hand, the numbness did not return after than day. And I was very pleased with the service provided at Sunway Medical Centre that day where I find them to be pretty efficient.
SPENDING MY CHILDREN’S FUTURE INHERITANCE ONCE AGAIN
Now, what if I did experience a stroke?
In A Little Bit Of This and A Little Bit of That – Volume 1, Chapter VII – where I stated the Pros and Cons of Statement Based Fixed Deposit versus Certificate Type Fixed Deposit. I mentioned that all my FDs are join accounts with my wife or eldest son or both (3 names) and I told my son the following:
If anything happens to me, fly back immediately to KL. First thing upon landing is go to UOB and OCBC and not go see my lifeless body. Upon reaching the bank(s), you just have to present your NRIC and withdraw all monies that are in accounts that have my name. So that you can then pay for the cost where my ‘vegetated’ body lay in the intensive care unit or for my funeral expenses, hahaha.
Well, in the event I die, my wife and sons would be cash rich overnight as that part is taken care off. As for my other non-liquid assets, that one I have yet to prepare – can’t decide if I should prepare a will or prepare pre-transferred forms.
And if I had to be admitted, no problems because I’ve got medical insurance. But, that is if the hospital bills at a private hospital does not exceed RM100K. Below is what I posted at my Facebook Page:
I do have Medical/Hospitalization Insurance with a total limit amount of about RM1M. BUT, my annual limit is only RM100K. RM100K is nothing if I have to undergo a major surgery. AND, if I were to be admitted into Intensive Care Unit (ICU), within 10 days the hospital bills would reach RM100K in a Private Hospital. Well, I could use my credit cards (total CL close to RM1M) to extend my stay in the Intensive Care Unit. So, you see, there is a benefit of having many credit cards from different banks, hahahahaha.
Seriously, those of you who only want to be admitted into Private Hospitals should get Medical Insurance if you have yet to get one (the premiums are tax deductible in addition to Life Insurance premiums). However, there are so many types of Medical Insurance and it is best you study and UNDERSTAND the policy before signing up for one.
Anyway, the so called false alarm earlier got me thinking again – I think I will go prepare a will very soon. I spoke to a lawyer friend months ago about a will but I can’t remember what he advised me about preparing a will and/or pre-sign transfer forms for my non-liquid assets and the consequences (more like tax planning) that comes with it. And I was telling him that once my children inherit my money, I won’t know how they will spend it. And my lawyer friend’s reply was – why worry so much about how your money will be spent by your children when you are dead! He is right, hahaha.
That’s why nowadays I kind of spend my children’s future inheritance in advance while I still have some control; however, not only on myself or my wife but also on them (my children).
Back in December 2014 I bought another Prada handbag for my daughter and a gaming notebook for my son. And I bought a Rolex GMT Batman watch a before 1st April 2015 for my eldest son. The last time I checked in October 2015, my dealer was selling the Rolex GMT Batman for RM38K and I bought it for about RM29K back in March 2015!
I have also been buying GIA certified diamonds for my wife and daughters. Now, if you were to tell me that the diamonds that we buy at our local jewellers are useless investments, I will tend to agree. But I tell you, the joy that diamonds (ring, bracelet, pendant, etc) bring to our loved ones every time they see “stars” is priceless. Some of you may say that buying gold is a better method to preserve wealth, I tend to agree but what’s the point of me buying more gold and store it in the safe deposit box. Of course, I will agree with you that the best method to preserve wealth is to invest in landed (freehold) properties and the moment we die our children who inherit them would automatically fall into the category of the 10% richest people in the world.
Well, actually the reason why I bought the Rolex watch for my son and diamonds for the girls is because our Ringgit has been depreciating and if the trend continues (it may reverse too), Rolex watches and loose diamonds will cost much much more (faster than inflation rate) in Ringgit terms in the future. And recently, I once again spent away my children’s future inheritance and bought another watch, this time for myself because I wanted an all black automatic GMT (a Bell & Ross Limited Edition where only 50 pieces were produced and I then decided to give it to my second son for his 18th Birthday).
LIFE IS SHORT AND IT ENDS WHEN WE CAN NO LONGER EAT, SHIT AND SLEEP
We are all born to Eat, Shit and Sleep. In between these 3 actions, we would either be working, studying or entertaining ourselves. When I say entertaining ourselves – it means the stuff we do to keep ourselves occupied to pass time, for example the boss scolding his staff, you complaining to another person (or posting in social media), etc, etc.
Basically what we do while we are alive is polluting mother earth and sooner or later the time will come where we all have to die. Whatever you and I have achieved (or whatever actions that benefit our future generations) will never be appreciated in centuries to come. I like to give an example where I would ask – when was the last time you visited your great great grandfather’s grave? Well, I did visit my great grandfather’s grave in April during “Cheng Ming” but I have never bothered to visit my great great grandpa’s grave and I don’t even know where it is!
When we are young, we think we are invincible and work freaking hard to accumulate wealth without thinking of the consequences. Many sacrifices have to be made along the way, more so if we have a family to feed. I want to revisit one of my articles titled Bosses Family Friends published at my Ringgit Wise Fool blog where I touched on an article by Mr. Adi Ignatius in Reader’s Digest and once again here are some of the statements from his articles and my comments:
Two of the 32 people in my Rhodes Scholar class spent time in Prison – we are talking about well educated people here that attended one of the world’s best university.
Your decision about allocating your personal time, energy and talent shape your life’s strategy – yes, we make the choices in life and the choice we choose will determine the outcome. No one is to be blamed for our failures but I can tell you also that no one is successful without receiving a helping hand from others. Always be grateful to those who have assisted you in life.
People who are driven to excel have this unconscious propensity to underinvest in their families and overinvest in their careers, even though intimate and loving family relationships are the most powerful and enduring source of happiness – I fully agree with this statement. I would like to add that our memories of our happy time together with our family is what we treasure most at end of the day. Not only must we invest time with our children, we should also invest time with our parents and never ever disrespect your elders or else your children may do the same to you.
Children build self-esteem by doing things that are hard and learning what works – I have mentioned several times that Gen Ys nowadays are spoon fed and this is certainly what we should avoid.
Avoid “just this once” …. Had I crossed the line that one time, I would have done it over and over….. The lesson I learned is that it’s easier to hold to your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold to them 98% of the time – this is so true. I will add that one should never be greedy. This statement by Mr. Ignatius should be remembered by all to avoid ending up in jail or be in the shit hole of debt.
People allocating fewer and fewer resources to the things they would have once said it mattered most – this is so true too. Do take some time to think about this statement and see how you are currently spending your resources and imagine if the consequences of your present actions will yield your future desired vision of happiness. Do you want to die rich and lonely? You may have a lot of relatives hanging around you but their reasons are not for your happiness but wanting to help you spend away your wealth or looking forward to their inheritance. Or would you prefer a loving family that will be by your side when you are dying and your children having more wealth than you from their own hard work from the education you provided them and you knowing deep inside your heart that you have no regrets. And when you die, hopefully you’ve got a grave to come out from when your children happen to argue about who should be paying for the burial plot by comparing how much they have gained from you, not joking once again.
Once time have past, we cannot turn back the clock and undo the things which we may regret later on.
Many of us are only concerned of or consumed by what is happening around us at this very moment, and complain about this and that. If you really take a good look at what is happening in the world, I tell you, you and I are very fortunate compared to at least 50% of the world’s population (7 billion) – i.e. you are better off than 3.5 billion other human beings!!! Click here to Volume I, Chapter VIII where I will show you that you need very little to be among the top 50% wealthiest on earth and every Malaysian who owns a terrace house in Klang Valley or Penang Island is (or will be) amongst the top 10% richest person in the world.
But what is the point of being amongst the richest in the world and having properties all over the world if one does not get to live forever? The moment you and I die and the Death Certificate is issued, our names will be automatically erased from our assets. The assets we own while we are alive will then be distributed as stipulated under the law or as per our instructions in our will. So much so, you and I and everyone else go to the grave broke and penniless. And you know what is the worst part of all when you die? When you are still alive in the hospital, the doctors and nurses and everyone else will address you by your name, e.g. Mr. XYZ; but the moment you die, you are referred to as “the body”!!! I am not joking.
Eventually all of us die. Some of us will have the time to prepare for our departure from the living but some will leave in a sudden. Worst death is we have to suffer before we die. Best is we get to have a last meal with our loved ones and then take a last breath. We are born into this world crying and hopefully we get to depart this world with a smile.
CONCLUSION
During our lifetime, we will experience many sad, painful, depressing, joyful and wonderful moments which makes us humans. Nowadays, most of us are engrossed with accumulating wealth and thinks that materialistic stuff give us happiness. We are all given choices, and the path we take today will determine our future. Always practice never do wrong to others as it will come back to haunt you – what goes around comes around. And the most important thing to remember is NEVER underinvest in your family and overinvest in your careers because ultimately the most powerful and enduring source of happiness is from loving family relationships.
The most important thing about Life is that we must die happy! At the end of the day (maybe the right words should be “Towards the end of our life”), wealth alone will not guarantee that we will have happiness when we are old and lonely. BUT, having fond memories of time spend together with our loved ones is what we cherish most. That is why we need to take a lot of photos with our loved ones (spouse, parents, children and friends that have made our life meaningful and there in our time of need) now and print them out on hard-copies! And when we are about to die, the best is with our last breath we leave this world with a smile so that we can attain happiness for eternity 🙂
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