Quick updates

1. My netbook is having a problem. It started with the virus attacked and everytime my hubby tries to install and run anti virus, it ended up I cannot enter windows after on the power and the worst is, not even entering the MS Mode. Currently, Am is tyring to repair it and it almost 50 percent completed.

2. I booked a flight tickets for Easter holidays at the end of April. This time we are heading to Milan and Venice, Italy for five days.

3. I am thinking of enrolling gym. There is a new gym opened just five minutes walk from my flat. The best thing is, the monthly fees is only Euro14.95 and the contract is for a year, how I wish it could be three or six months instead. It is not the fee that I am worrying about, but the commitment is the problem. I just can see me self keep skipping and giving reasons from going to Gym. If this happened, what a shame and such a waste!

4. Will update soon after my netbook is ok.

Reminiscing

Reminiscing the first time Am made a confession about he was falling in Love with me was the thing that I did tonight. How sweet those old memories were. I miss the moment when I always could not stop thinking of him. Sms-ing and calling were the thing that we kept doing as the day passed by.

Where do I begin?To tell the story of how great the love can be. Who does not know this evergreen song? The very famous song in the Love story movie and this love song could not stop from reverberating in my mind and I better get the story started..

Our love story begins when he texted me and asked either I was free or not that evening. If I said yes, he said he wanted to tell me something important. Straightaway, I replied the text and said 'meet me after work.'

The first time I did after working on that day was went straightaway to my rented house so that I could get a really nice bath and be ready on time. He came on time and we drove to Marina bay at Kuala Kedah to enjoy the evening breeze and watch the seagulls. Trust me the scenery was really beautiful indeed especially when you have your loved one by your side and I was mesmerized with the surroundings.

Being a closed friends for about four months dragged us to talk about everything to get to know each other and we kept talking until the sun disappeared before we went off to the nearest mosque to perform Maghrib's prayer and then headed to the town and had dinner by the lake. My heart kept thudding and pounding hard and at that time I just knew that I am in love with the guy, before me.

After a few moment, we ordered our meals and kept talking until I asked what was the thing that he wanted to say to me in his sms earlier.

The answered he gave me was,'nothing, I just wanna meet up.' Hmm, how on earth I wanted to believe it was just 'nothing'. Naughty me kept pushing him to tell the truth because I could hardly wait to know what the matter was about. After taking a deep breath, finally he said in his low down voiced 'I like you very very much.' He kept saying thing in his distance and mumbling voiced but I just could not feel my self in the real life. I was so over the moon. Seriously, I barely remember what was the next thing he said when he made the confession because I was too embarrassed to look at him. hehhhee.

We kept talking until the clock was 1 am in the morning. The restaurant owner was gonna close his restaurant and then we knew it was about the time we moved our butts from the chairs.

When I was at home after the romantic dating, I could not think straight and I was thousand miles away for every single seconds. I was definitely mad I guess, until I forgot to shut the pipe in the toilet after using it. My house mate teased me by saying how careless I was and she kept laughing at me. I precisely remembered when she said, I was totally blur and my face was radiant, and I guess the happiness from the heart reflected to my face.

From that night onwards, we kept contacting each other. To be frank, there was ups and downs in our relationship, but our destiny has written in the 'book', thus nobody could against it and we have decided to tie a knot in 2006. So, here we are until today, and do pray for us so that this marriage will last forever...Amin.

Oh I just remembered, he once gave me a story about the first time he met me. It was a hard copy but I never knew the ending of the story because his hard disc was crashed. What A shame! Though I had a chance to read the first chapter in our relationship which is from the first time we met until the confession he made. It was like a 'cerpen' he wrote just for me. I hope one day I can ask him to write again the 'sambungan' of the 'cerpen' before the death do us apart. maybe the story of how we grow older together etc. How sweet is that?

Enough said, I just knew that I love this man too much!

Call it a gift or a burden debt.

or

A gift? a present ? la cadeau, hadiah etc.

All those words above are representing the similar meaning which is 'Something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.' What is the purpose of giving a present to the selected or chosen people in our life? For me, one of the motif is to appreciate or celebrate any special days in that person life without burden ourselves by monthly payment. It does not matter the price is cheap since we spend within our well means.

Let's say I bought a gift for my husband by swiping my credit card because I have not got enough cash in my account , and the consequence is I have to pay my plastic debt for a few months ( if I am lucky it only takes a month to pay up my debt, but what if I just pay the minimum payment and it takes me a year or more to finish up paying my debt? One debt is acceptable , but what happen if I have a previous outstanding debt? ), I shall not call it a gift anymore because it has burden my monthly paycheck to settle my outstanding debt.

I do not understand of some people who spend thousands ringgit let say for the extra gadget, designer handbags, etc. I can comprehend your passion about buying more than one designer handbags at one time if you pay cash, because you have a debt no more and you really can afford them, but, if you paid by credit card, you can show off how many designer handbags that you bought, but what is the point? You are not paying them yet and you still have to pay to your bank thousands ringgit for the next month onwards for your debt.

Giving a house as a gift, and the giver has to pay the monthly mortgage is acceptable. House is something cliche to pay monthly for a long period of time. Some people maybe think how about the car? Car is acceptable as well to give as a gift but in the condition of, the giver pays a decent amount of the down payment so that the monthly payment is smaller and the period is shorter. Five year is better, seven year is acceptable but nine year is no-no. What is the point of buying a luxury car as a gift but then you have to pay thousand or more for the monthly payment. It such a waste unless you really can afford it, perhaps thousand is like hundred or maybe less to your ratio income.

Besides , I do not see the logic of giving and owning the luxury car, an advance gadget etc just to add up our debts, seriously they are not really yours until you pay up all your debt.

You are lucky to get to pay the debt if you have a decent job, but just pause and think, what is gonna happen if the economic downturn and you lost your job and your income? Who is gonna pay your debt? Trust me when this is really happening you will realise this life is not as lovey dovey and exquisite anymore. 'Ibarat, abang ada duit ayang sayang, abang takde duit dan kena kejar bank sebab hutang ayang melayang' , or otherwise!

I met 'luxury living' family once in the past years and sometimes I did not understand where on earth they get the money to cater their will until one day, the husband was caught of misusing the office money. That is the first case. The next one is, the wife has to sell their inheritance, here is 'the land' just to pay her husband credit cards debt that reached almost RM 100K ( see 's' at the end of the word card? Yes, you get me right. The husband owned more than one credit cards and he kept making debt to pay another debt. His situation was like 'gali lubang, tutup lubang' and at the end the 'lubang' was not able to 'tutup' anymore.

I do have my personal experience about credit card debt. When the first time I had my job, I spent my money crazily. Credit card was one of the extra 'money' in my pocket when I did not have cash in hands. After a few years of paying a mimimum payment, the debt was 'sustainable'and the interest was increasing. One day, I lost my job just like in the blink of an eye and I struggled to pay my debt for four months without my fix income. I was lucky to have to pay for the car and the plastic only and they were worth around RM 700 per month. What if I had to pay up to thousand and more and at the same time unemployed? Who shall I ask the money?From my parents? They are not rich enough and they have their own commitment. The siblings? They have their own family and debt. The situation was extremly tensed and difficult. Four months were like forever. Fortunately, at last I got a new job and the problem was half solved. Nevertheless, today I am happy because I am living in a debt free.

I am no expert far of being one of the financial strategy on spending money. I do have time when I crazily bought my desired items up to hundred Euro or more at once but I only bought them when I do not need to swipe the credit card.

Enough say, I rather choose travelling by public transport instead of buying a car in here just to show off I can afford it but at the same time, I have zero saving in my bank account.

Anyway, at the end we are what we choose! So it all up to us. Though, for me I am hoping not to be a person who is struggling with a large debt. I opt for spending within my means. InsyaAllah..

How to double your saving by the end of 2011

The good article that worth to share with..

1) Create a personal net worth statement. You don't have to be a millionaire to calculate your "net worth," says Tami Peter of Bottomless Closet NYC, which helps disadvantaged women with their money and careers. Simply make a list of everything you own, including bank accounts, investments, cars and real estate. Then, subtract any debt, including a mortgage and credit card debt. The number you come up with is your personal net worth. Knowing what it is can help motivate you to slowly increase it and give you insight into your overall financial health.

2) Print out your monthly checking account and credit card statements. Peter says that there's something about seeing spending in black and white that opens our eyes to our habits. "It's easy to see the money spent on frivolous items and things we don't use," she says. Many banks now offer free software through customers' online accounts that can automatically track spending and categorize where money is going.

3) Make a plan to change your habits. Justin Sinnott, a financial consultant in Charles Schwab's Seattle branch, says that after reviewing your finances, it's time to decide what you want to shift. For example, if you don't already have enough money saved to fund a three to six month emergency fund, that's a top priority. The Schwab website offers a free monthly budgeting tool that helps classify spending into necessities such as loans and housing and luxuries such as entertainment and restaurant meals.

4) Live well below your means. This simple concept is really the key to saving significant amounts of money. It might mean living in a smaller home, waiting to upgrade your cell phone, and cooking at home every day of the week, but as long as you live a lifestyle that's cheaper than the one you can actually afford, you can build financial security.

5) Write down how much you want to save by the end of the year. The simple act of writing down your savings goal helps keep it at the forefront of your mind. You can write it on a kitchen calendar, a daily planner pad, or on a website such as MyLifeList.org or 43things.com. You can even share it on Facebook and Twitter. The more people know about it, the more they can cheer you on.

6) Ramp up your savings into tax-advantaged accounts. Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s allow you not only to save more money that grows in a tax-advantaged account, but also to take advantage of any matching benefits offered by your employer. The website PaycheckCity.com, run by Symmetry Software, allows users to calculate their net pay after making changes to their pre-tax retirement savings.

7) Review your long-term investments and consider rebalancing. Long-term investments usually do best in low-fee, diversified portfolios that match your age and desired risk level. If you don't know what fees you are currently paying on your retirement accounts, ask your human resources office to help you find out. Since advisors recommend shifting into more conservative investments as we get closer to retirement, now is a good time to check in to see if it's time to rebalance your investments.

[For more money-saving tips, visit the U.S. News Alpha Consumer blog.]

8) Stick with your investing plan, despite day-to-day market dips. Sinnott says that after you come up with a plan for your long-term savings and investments, it's important to avoid changing up those plans because of breaking news and other events. "Don't be de-railed by recent news without revisiting the big picture," he says.

9) Reduce your debt payments. Given the current low-interest rates, some people might benefit from refinancing, says Sinnott. You can also reduce your monthly bills by using some of your savings to pay off any high-interest rate debt, including credit card debt, auto loans, and student loans. Evaluate how much you are paying each month in interest payments to decide whether you should pay off loans early.

10) Pay less for medical expenses. The Real Cost of Living author Carmen Wong Ulrich points out that you can deduct medical expenses from your taxes if they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. That means you might be able to save more money if you group medical expenses in a single year rather than spreading them out over several years. (Of course, you want to consider your health insurance coverage, as well, since you can also save money by staying below any spending limits.) In addition, be sure to take advantage of flexible spending accounts by keeping receipts and filing them before the due date.

Kimberly Palmer is the author of the new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional's Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back.

New year 2011

Welcome year 2011. I hope this year will bring us luck, prosperity, happiness and etc.Happy New year all!!