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Your Money Is Being Robbed, People!

I learned my first money lesson from my parents. Did you?

My parents are thrifty folks. They are always on the lookout for a bargain, down to the smallest item even when grocery shopping. The first thing they taught me about money is to always spend less than I make.

It is the first rule in personal finance – never spend more than you earn.

The Jews are one of the best wealth creators on earth. As part of their culture, Jewish parents teach their children about wise money management as soon as they can talk. One of the critical lessons is to have a “savings” jar. Children are required to put money in the jar, and they can only open it on special occasions like a medical emergency.

Now we can agree that saving is essential. But the problem is that saving money is hard. It is a money habit that is hard to practice due to the human nature of desiring instant gratification. If everybody can help themselves, there will be no need for charity. Kudos to you if you can regularly save a portion of your income.

During the old days, some determined families save their cash in Milo tins. It took a long time for them to trust the banks and deposit their money with financial institutions.

Back then those who did not bank in their money were losers because let’s face it, you don’t gain any interest return by having your cash sitting idly under your pillows, do you? Moreover, what if you got robbed?

After decades of changes, people are more comfortable depositing their money in banks nowadays. Most people perceive Fixed Deposit as the safest investment that gets guaranteed interest income, and capital protected. In Malaysia, we also have PIDM to safeguard your bank deposits with insurance. However, the same situation still persists – savers are still losers. You might be robbed too.

Now you must be wondering why I say saving money could get you robbed later. I am referring to the effect of inflation. Imagine your FD interest being 3.5%, and the inflation rate is 4%. The phenomenon depletes your buying power day by day, year by year…until it might be too late for you to do something about it.

Banks run a leveraged business. Your money in a bank’s savings account allows the bank to lend a higher amount to someone else, who is more capable of making good use of it. Borrowers fund their business ventures and real estate investments with the money you put in the bank.

In other words, think of the bank as the middleman. On one side, the poor and the middle class try to save as much as they can with the banks. On the other side, business owners and investors borrow more money through bank loans to leverage up their business expansions and investments.

Savings is for losers. Inflation and also the government that prints more money are probably “robbing” the savers. Going to the other side, when you take a loan from a bank, they become your business partners because they have confidence in you to make better use of the funds.

When you face problems while trying to pay back, they will share your fear as well. Therefore, if you want to beat inflation and do not want to see your savings depreciate over time, you will need to be the player on the other side.

In fact, saving money is just halfway to financial success. If you do nothing with the money to generate a higher return, you will always be on the losing side. Investing your savings and also borrowing more from the bank to invest will make you a player on the other side.

Treat the bank as your financier to fund your business and your investment. Don’t treat them as a safekeeper of your money. If you do, just wait to be robbed.

About the Author

This article is written by KC Lau. KCLau is a financial educator, having published seven books including the current bestseller Money Smart, and co-created a dozen online financial courses. He gives away his popular Money Tips e-book volumes free at his website: https://KCLau.com

June 22, 2022
Managing Mental Health in the Workplace

An average Malaysian typically spends one-third of his time a day at work notwithstanding the additional time spent on commuting to and fro from work, additional meetings, and overtime to complete projects.

As the work environment plays a big role in shaping our experiences throughout the day, it is indeed time to start thinking about mental health initiatives in the workplace.

As a developing country, the more organisations strive for development, the more that employees are pushed to perform, often times at the risk of their quality of life. Mental health-related issues are estimated to be experienced by at least 40% of the Malaysian population in their lifespan.

The statistics mean that employers are now hard-pressed to acknowledge the burden of cost that mental illness can bring to their organisation and actively work to curb it.

To do that, organisations first need to understand the difference between mental health and mental illness. Simply put, mental health is a state of well-being where an individual is able to cope with common stressors in life, work productively and realize his or her potential and contribute back to the community.

It is not just an absence of mental illness such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or so on and forth. Mental health occurs in a spectrum where wellbeing and disability are two opposing ends. The goal is then to increase practices that promote mental health and reduce those that hinder it.

The relationship between work and mental health can’t be studied in isolation and has to be seen in the larger context of one’s life. For example, staying back late may be a norm that is perceived as a commitment to the organisation, which then influences promotion, perks and benefits.

However, routinely staying back to complete work may be a sign of a lack of time management and an over-prioritisation of work. This then causes other aspects of one’s life, such as health, family, spiritual needs, and social life, to take a back seat and to be ignored or given less priority.

The cumulative effect of constantly neglecting these other aspects then creeps back into a person’s life in the form of health issues, relationship troubles, unhappy marriages, the feeling of leading a meaningless life and more, which then gnaws on the ability of one to be completely productive at work.

Read : Buying A Car? Here’s Some Tips On How Best To Finance A Car

Workplaces can help prevent this by changing their work cultures to be more balanced. Organisations are predominantly made of people and people have the potential to shape workplace cultures. This starts with cultivating the awareness that every aspect of life is important and needs to be paid attention to; for top management rights to the interns.

Firstly, it is important to realize that everyone has only 24 hours a day, though we often wish we had more. As such, a conscious prioritisation of activities that enables one to fulfil their different needs is important.

Workplaces can help by creating a healthy work-life balance by ensuring proper break times; reducing work-related communication during the weekend and after-work hours, avoiding lengthy meetings and ensure that time at work is efficiently used to achieve goals.

Human resource policies can also reflect the priority of the organisation with regard to employees’ mental health. The rise of millennials in the workforce, for instance, creates a highly tech-savvy cohort at work that may prefer flexi-working hours that prioritizes output instead of physical presence in the office.

Organisations can maximize productivity by constantly studying new trends and catering to them. Gamification (the application of concept, skills and design of games and implementation in the workplace) efforts that can maximize output in a fun, engaging and mutually reinforcing way is one example of such trends.

Open, honest and most importantly respectful communication within an organisation sets the tone for the relationships at work as well. The general workplace impression is that “everyone is replaceable.”

However, when organisations create an idea that everyone is included in the team for their unique skillset and is valuable to the team, it changes the tone of the work environment.

Another thing to consider while discussing wellness at work is that there could be many external stressors that are unrelated to work that could affect a person’s commitment. Caring for elderly parents, sick children, school meetings, accidents, chronic illnesses to name a few, are some of the stressors that employees may face over the course of their employment.

When employers are sensitive to these needs that may crop up, sometimes unplanned and uncalled for, the way they respond to the employee can be a gauge of how much they care about the employee as a person.

Finally, it is imperative to note that mental health at the workplace does not only apply to the wage earners but every stakeholder in the workplace. When top management understands the need to care for their own mental health, it brings about change in policies, formal and informal practices, and the overall work culture, which influences the employees as well.

About the Author

Puveshini Rao (M. Clin Psych) is a Clinical Psychologist and Employee Assistance Program specialist currently practicing in Rekindle Sdn. Bhd. She is a HRDF certified trainer and currently conducts trainings and provides EAP services for organisations while also seeing clients with mental health related issues. Previously she has experience providing counselling services in the university and hospital settings. She is also on the committee of Women’s Aid Organisation and volunteers her time to the cause.

June 22, 2022
How Can You Save Money Without Even Realising It?
Life can throw us curveballs unexpectedly. Some of the events can be devastating and when we get hit, it could make life hard for many. To some, it may not be a significant event but to others, it may be a huge blow.

Whether or not it is a huge blow, it boils down to whether or not we are in a good or healthy position to deal with the consequences and many a time, it involves spending or using money to solve or put off the fire.

When these surprises happen, we have to deal with it and make adjustments. Generally, we have these three choices:
- Extend our timeline;
- Forgo our goal;
- Live with regret.
Of Critical Importance

That is what makes having emergency funds or savings a critically important item.

I have seen many people in “thin” situations financially. In fact, not too long ago, it was reported in news that many young people (75% as a matter of fact) admitted that they would not be able to fork out RM1,000 to deal with unexpected emergencies. This shows how fragile we are.

If you think that this news is unfounded, please know that the source of the alarming data is the central bank of Malaysia, so, this is certainly no fake news. In another news, we were told that working Malaysians could not survive six months if they were to lose their income.

How to Put Money Away Easily

Is there a good way for people to save money and ensure the money gets saved? The easiest way − and I have seen it working countless times − is to save the money you bring home without you being aware of it, or having to remind yourself to do it.

Automatically Move It

The first way is pretty simple. You just have to login to your internet banking and look for the transfer of fund button, make it automatically repeat on a monthly basis on a date you are certain your salary will be credited to the account (don’t pick a date that is too far away from this date but try to be within a three-day range).

This mean you will have successfully “outsourced” this job to your online banking system in that it moves your money from your salary-receiving account to another account without you having to worry about forgetting to do it.

However, it is important to note that you nominate an account you will not have easy access to, like an account without an ATM card, or an account that has very few branches or that each MEPs withdrawal will cost more than RM1.06. The trick is to move the money where it will not be easy to make unplanned withdrawal or spending.

Park at Flexi Mortgage Account

If you have a flexi mortgage account, you can also “park” your money there. It will benefit you and help you to retain the money as a rainy day fund.

Liquid Cache

Alternatively, you may set up a standing instruction to move this saving into a money market fund or cash management fund. It is important for our rainy day fund to be liquid-like cash and money in a savings account, as these two options provide this feature.

Big No-No

If you are trying to force yourself to save money by signing up for an insurance endowment or savings plan, this may not be the best thing to do because when you signed on the dotted line, you are in fact agreeing or committing to pay the fixed amount of premium over a long term period which could be five to 20 years or even longer. This means you will not be able to withdraw the amount you may need in an emergency, unless you are in the late stages of the policy life or have past the guaranteed premium paying years.

It is important to note that the instrument or place we choose to park our emergency or rainy day fund has the right criteria and characteristic, and is safe, liquid, and cost-free.

About the author

Kevin Neoh is a NextGen Money Coach who works with people to help them transform their relationship with money to improve their lives with the money they have. Kevin can be contacted at kevin@nextgenadvisors.my and www.kevinneoh.my.
June 22, 2022
Secrets To A Long Life

The search for “the fountain of youth” has had a long history, from tracking down sacred, life-giving water sources in the days of antiquity, to the invention of “miracle pills” and stem cell research in the modern age.

You are born with approximately 20,000 blood stem cells, which your body uses to replenish your blood. Over time, and depending on the “abuse” you put your body through, these cells become damaged and die. As your blood stem cells dwindle, your body becomes less efficient at repairing and regenerating itself.

In essence, your blood stem cells may be the proverbial “clock” that eventually runs out, no matter how well you take care of yourself. In the meantime, however, you have a great deal of control over how quickly those cells perish.

Is your personality geared for longevity?

Personality for Long Life

According to results from The Longevity Project, a Stanford study spanning 80 years, your level of conscientiousness may have a great deal to do with how long you end up living. Having a personality that strives to do things well; being thorough and vigilant − this is a trait that most of the people who live the longest share.

Sense of Purpose

The Longevity Project also dismisses the idea that hard work will kill you early. On the contrary, those who stayed productive and worked hard all their lives tended to be happier, healthier, and more social compared to those who didn’t work as hard. That’s not to dismiss work stress as a factor that needs to be addressed and kept in check.

Social Connection

But being productive can also lend a sense of purpose, which is very important for longevity. And working—especially in your later years—tends to keep you socially connected, which has repeatedly been shown to be an important factor for longevity.

You Are What You Eat

No discussion about longevity would be complete without addressing diet. A processed, high-sugar diet is undoubtedly the quickest route to an early death, barring a lethal accident. This is because consuming sugar and grains increases your insulin and leptin levels, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your ageing accelerator. Besides that, research by Professor Cynthia Kenyon shows that carbohydrates have a direct and detrimental effect on two key genes that govern longevity and youthfulness.

Ideally, you’ll want to replace all forms of processed and refined sugars and grains with healthy fats such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, grass-fed meats, and raw nuts. Many would benefit from getting as much as 50-85 percent of their daily calories from fats.

Mindfulness and Perpetual Motion

There’s compelling evidence suggesting that having a calm mind and active body are two important ingredients for longevity. The meditative technique known as “mindfulness” has even been shown to have a beneficial effect on genetic expression. Meditation has also been found to affect the enzyme telomerase, which some researchers believe is actively involved with the process of ageing. As for keeping your body active, avoiding sitting is perhaps of even greater importance than having a regular workout regimen.

The science is very clear on this point: sitting too much is a surefire way to take years off your life! And that applies even if you exercise vigorously a few times a week. Basically, what the research is telling us is that getting too hung up on a once-a-day exercise routine is to put the cart before the horse. First, you need to make sure you’re engaging in more or less perpetual non-exercise movement, as this is an independent risk factor for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

Life Long Learning

Education is also strongly correlated with a longer life. If you think you know it all just because you went to high school or college, you might as well pack it up. It’s all downhill from there. My perspective is to be a lifelong student. If I lived for several hundred years, I don’t think there is enough time to learn all the topics I would like to. That said, merely getting an education can have a great impact, and perhaps it’s because it teaches you to be a student.

Lifestyle Choices Today Impact Tomorrows

The takeaway message here is that you have a great deal of control over your life expectancy, based on the personal choices you make − from how you think to how you move, and what you choose to eat − and when.

In the end, there is no quick fix when it comes to longevity. There is no magic pill and no fountain of youth. Although some people seem to be blessed with longevity in spite of their lifestyle choices, this is the exception and not the rule. For most of us, becoming healthy Centenarians will require effort and attention to the factors discussed above.

This article was brought to you by Dr Mercola, a New York Times bestselling author. For more helpful articles, please visit Mercola.com

June 22, 2022
What Will Happen if You Don’t Pay Your Maintenance Bills?

With prices of landed properties being way beyond what an average home buyer can afford in city areas like Kuala Lumpur and Penang, living in apartments or strata homes will be the norm for the future generation of urban homeowners.

‘Pay thy maintenance bills’. This is mentioned in one of the ‘sacred text’ better known as “Strata Management Act”, where it decrees that all strata home owners have to pay their maintenance fee.

So, what’s a maintenance fee, you ask? It is the fee that would be collected from the owners within the strata development to be used for repair, maintenances, security and upkeep work of the common property.

Consider this scenario: You have not paid your maintenance fees for the past six months and the management has been calling you day and night but they have not taken any action against you. You would think that you are invincible since all they can do is to annoy you with phone calls or email reminders.

You thought that the Joint Management Body (JMB) or Management Corporation (MC) (collectively known as the Management) is toothless and unable to do anything to you or your property.

Think again! Let me shed some lights on what can happen to you if you continue to ignore the payment of your maintenance bills.

1. Block Your Access to Shared Facilities

The Management is legally able to restrict your rights to using the shared facilities such as gyms, swimming pools and clubhouses. Not only that, they are also allowed to evict you from said facilities if you’re ever caught using them.

But for some, this may not be a problem as you don’t use these facilities anyway. So what else can they do to you?

2. Send You Legal Letter of Demand

There is no minimum amount of outstanding fees needed to send a lawyer’s letter of demand. As long as the legal notice remains unpaid after 14 days, the Management can proceed to bring the matter to court which may cost you even more money or may even land you in jail.

3. Disable Your Access Pass Card

While they may not be able to chase you out of your dwelling in the interim of any court order, they do however have the right to disable your access pass. This may compel you to enter the compound as a visitor and the inconvenience of registering as a visitor each time you come home.

4. Blacklist Your Name on the CCRIS and CTOS

Although you can bear some of the inconveniences, it may hurt you financially when your name appeared as a defaulter in your CCRIS and CTOS credit reports.

Both CCRIS and CTOS show your credit payment ability and all of your financial commitments, which are used by financial institutions to determine your credit worthiness. This would affect your opportunity of getting better financial deals in terms of the quantum and interest rates when applying for a loan or a credit card.

5. Having Guards Following You to Your Doorstep

Still not convinced? If you still have not paid for your maintenance fee, the Management has the right to have a security guard follow you around, that is, to your doorstep when you arrive and to your designated car park when you leave the place. This is to prevent you from using any of the shared facilities when you are in the compound.

6. Auction Your Personal Belongings

I bet you weren’t expecting this. You haven’t paid your maintenance fee in the past 10 months, and they cannot force you out of your house, and despite making matters difficult for you, you were able to live with the hassle.

Now what if I tell you that by law, they are able to get a warrant to go into your house to take your personal belongings such as your laptop, computer, furniture and even clothes to be auctioned off to pay off your maintenance debt!

In a bid to get defaulters to pay their maintenance fees, the Management can get a warrant to raid and seize the moveable items from their properties with the help from the Commissioner of Building (COB) and the government.

The message is clear – pay your maintenance bills. While some JMB/MC may be quite forgiving and take a more passive approach on delinquent tenants, there are the more aggressive ones who would not hesitate to take such actions.

Living in a community requires each one to play their role to ensure that the whole community benefits. Remember, maintenance fee will always be part of the deal when buying into a stratified development to take care of the development’s common property and services.

Delays in paying your maintenance bills in timely manner will cost you more with interest charges and late payment fee. Therefore, as part of your financial plan, take into consideration this monthly obligation once you have committed to purchasing a strata title home.

About the Author

Chan Ai Cheng is the General Manager of S.K Brothers Realty (M) Sdn. Bhd.

June 22, 2022
3 Important Steps For Your Mortgage Application

Food for thought: If one day your friend wants to borrow RM1mil to replace mortgage from you to purchase a house and promises to pay you back via monthly instalments for the next 35 years, how would you react? Personally, my top priority would be to take stringent steps to ensure that I would be able to get my money back.

This applies to the banks too when one applies for a loan especially your mortgage. Here’s a quick summary of the process in three simple, sure-fire steps:

Step 1: Your Profile Matters

Ever wonder why the application forms have so many fields to fill, none of which are related to the property you want financing for? This is because each and every field in the forms give a score towards your eligibility. This scoring is called an “application score”.

The place you live, your marriage status, your occupation and so on will give you points. The higher the points, the better your score and the higher your chance of getting your loan approved. So, remember: do not ask someone to fill your forms for you or leave them blank because this will affect your score.

Step 2: Get your Income Recognized for Credit Rating

How much you earn matters to the bank. You need to make sure all your income can be recognised by the bank with proper documentation. On top of that, how much you earn and your income sources are important too.

Some banks will only recognise a certain percentage of your income especially when that income source is not fixed like commissions and incentives. For example, some banks will recognise only 80% of a commission and some banks will recognise only 50%. You will need to ask the banker how much will be recognised because each and every bank will have a different method of recognising income.

This income will be used to compute your debt service ratio (DSR). This is to check whether or not you can afford the loan. DSR is your existing commitment plus new commitment over your net income after deductions from EPF, PCB, SOSCO and EIS. Most banks will reject your loan if your DSR percentage is more than 70% of your net income and every bank will have a different cut-off for DSR. Do ask the banks what their cut-off rates are to ensure they approve your loan.

Read : Housing Loan In Malaysia: What Is Debt Service Ratio (DSR) And How To Calculate DSR?

We need to be disciplined in keeping good records with the banks. When you borrow, you need to pay your loans on time. Bad records will be recorded in CCRIS and CTOS which banks will review. Once it has been deemed that you have a bad record, your application will be rejected.

Step 3: The Right One Will Get the Job Done

Bankers, lawyers, agents and sales representative are all key players in your property purchase journey. It is advisable that you engage the person who is committed and can guide you. A simple rule is that if they can explain to you all the terms and conditions about your property purchase agreements, then he is experienced and can help you make better decisions.

That being said, it is very important for you to equip yourself with the right knowledge by asking all the crucial questions about the loan.

About the Author

Gary Chua is the Chief Executive Officer of Smart Financing Co.

June 21, 2022
No Such Thing As A Standard Contract

As a lawyer who has had the opportunity to represent and defend different types of clientele; from medium to large scale businesses, corporations and high net worth individuals, I am occasionally confronted with the odd client who would retort, “This is a pretty standard contract, right? So why do we need to review it? Just sign!” or “Why do we need to take so long to look into this joint venture agreement? Isn’t this pretty much a standard contract?” or worst still “Can you give me a discount since it’s a standard contract!”

In my 15 years of legal experience, I have never come across two contracts that are exactly the same. I have never given any of my clients “standard” contracts because no such thing exists in my books.

Contracts should be crafted according to the particular and specific requirements, needs and requests of the parties involved.

It is always good to remember that contracts once entered into and signed are binding on the signatories. You can’t plead ignorance nor can you say that you did not understand the terms of the contract or that you did not foresee the consequences of breach or non-compliance.

Unless of course you were coerced, forced or unduly influenced into signing the said contract. However, do take note that the threshold of proof for coercion and undue influence is one that is high and onerous.

Oftentimes clients, in a bid to save on legal cost, use “standard” contract templates that they obtain from the Internet. You are forewarned here that doing so and not reviewing the specific terms can lead to devastating legal repercussions.

Let me give you some examples of matters that are not covered in these template contracts that you find on the Internet.

“Jurisdiction” Clauses

The laws applicable in any other country will not be applicable here in Malaysia. This clause is extremely important if you are contracting with a foreign party.

For example, if you are entering into a contract with a party from Singapore but the subject matter of the contract, for example the sale of a factory in Malaysia and the governing laws are Singapore, you will be faced with difficulty in the event litigation arises.

If you have an incompatible or inconsistent clause in your agreement, it will make the litigation process rather cumbersome and costly for you. The issue of jurisdiction will have to be dealt with before the substantive issues of fact and law can be addressed.

This is an unduly protracted and costly affair.

The Appropriate “Governing Laws”

Oftentimes when you use a standard contract, no one looks at the ‘Governing Laws’ clause.

There is a huge difference between the arbitration process and laws as compared to the Court process. Arbitration is an excellent alternative to litigation but if the value of your contract is small and the subject matter of the dispute is straightforward, then the cost of the arbitration process may exceed the value of your claim in itself.

Do not attempt to deal with governing laws and jurisdiction in the same wording. The two concepts are different and the contract should address them separately.

Conflicting Clauses

Let’s assume two people enter into a contract which contains Clause (1) and Clause (2). Further let’s suppose that the two clauses do not contradict one another yet come into conflict with each other. For example:

This contract shall only be terminated upon mutual agreement by both parties
Clause (1)

This contract may be terminated at any time upon written notice to the other party
Clause (2)

Clearly both these clauses can be in conflict with one another. Conflicting clauses are one of the most commonly litigated contractual disputes in Malaysia.

Once there are conflicting clauses, the Courts will then have to resolve the conflict by interpreting and “making sense” of the contract by reading all of the contractual documents in context and also consider parties’ commercial intentions by way of oral evidence in Court.

It is worthy to remember that not all standard contracts are advantageous. A standard contract may not capture the specific needs and circumstances of your business, and therefore not protect you from risks. On the contrary a badly drafted standard contract that you glean off the internet can cause more damage than benefit to you.

Always remember that there is no such thing as a standard contract. You are entitled to negotiate the terms of a contract you wish to enter into based on your own circumstances and facts. Investing in good legal and professional advice will reduce risk and save you a lot of legal cost in the long run.

Lawyer’s fees may seem expensive when you voluntarily decide to hire them initially but it is wise to remember that lawyers become more expensive when you have no choice but to hire them just because you decided not to in the first place.

This article was written by Sharmila Ravindran

June 21, 2022
Should I Take Out My EPF To Settle My Housing Loan?

I saw a news today regarding housing loan, and there are many netizens comment that they took their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) money to settle their housing loan earlier.

Is it a wise decision to take out EPF money to settle housing loan earlier?

Here is an example:

Housing loan amount: RM199,000
Interest rate: 3.15%p.a.
Loan tenure: 25 years
Outstanding balance at the end of 15^th year: RM98,635.60

Based on the information above, if I would like to do early settlement, I have to take out RM98,635.60 from EPF to settle off my housing loan at the end of 15^th year (180^th month).

According to the calculation shown below, I can save a total of RM16,477.72 interest for early settlement.

However, I could have made a potential of RM62,031.40 dividend if I leave the RM98,635.60 at EPF with expected 5% annual return (expected return based on past performance) for 10 years.

I might be earning additional RM45,553.68 (RM62,031.40 – RM16,477.72) dividend if I do not take out my EPF to settle off my housing loan earlier.

Hope that this simple calculation can solve the doubt of everyone who is planning to take out the EPF to do early settlement.

Yet, I received some queries regarding the high housing loan interest rate of about 4%-5% in 20 to 35 years back, is it worth to take out the EPF to settle their housing loan when the rate increases back to 5%?

Based on EPF historical performance, the time where the housing loan interest rate is at about 5%, the EPF dividend is about 7%-8%. Despite the historical performance does not guarantee future performance, but it can always serve as a guide for us before making our financial decision.

About the Author

Angel Chan is a Licensed Financial Planner attached to UOB Kay Hian Wealth Advisors Sdn Bhd. Besides providing comprehensive financial advisory to her clients, she is also committed to educate the public about the correct financial management mindset and methodology through article, YouTube video and Financial Management Workshop conducted by her and the team. Do reach out to her for more information.

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/angelchan.financialplanner

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/profinance.my

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf5f7O3vuOhnwy_wflDuuKA

Smart Finance: https://smartfinance.my/planners/chan-aun-kei-rfp

To book a free 1-hour consultation with Angel Chan: https://forms.gle/8Ur46Dox9T6g3yKS8

June 21, 2022
Is It Possible To Earn A Living With Play-to-Earn Games?

Most of us like to play games in our spare time. But did you know that there are also those who earn a living just by playing games? With the rise of digital games, we now have Play-to-Earn games that rewards its users well enough for those who stay invested in it.

Smart Investor spoke to Mr. Lucaz Lee, Founder and CEO, Affyn to gain more insights on this interesting new concept. Affyn is a newly launched play-to-earn metaverse, that aims to bring people and communities together and allow them to play a mobile geolocation-based game (similar to that of Pokemon Go), and earn Fyn tokens to be used for transactions at the same time.

Let’s find out more from him on this interesting topic.

How Did You Started With Crypto Investment?

I first heard of Bitcoin in 2016, which was worth around USD400. Many people in my immediate circle warned me not to get involved, claiming that it was a sham with no foundation. In my experience, I have learnt to recognise that the best kind of opportunities are those that most people do not understand, are uncertain about and are sceptical of; yet, it is obviously working and growing at a progressive rate.

Unlike today, buying cryptocurrency was a highly complex process back then. My friend and I would spend the whole day figuring out how to buy it. Even though it was complicated and we didn’t understand it, we decided to go for it anyway. Nonetheless, we took the leap of faith first and learned about it later.

How Does Play-to-Earn Works?

The gaming industry has thrived for years, with gaming companies reaping the benefits. While a large amount of money has been flowing into the industry, the players have largely been left out. I believe that the concept of Play-to-Earn will be able to rebalance things so that players can earn while playing games.

Play-to-Earn is a concept where players can earn financial rewards such as cryptocurrencies or NFTs, which can be traded or sold to other players in their games. Most Play-to-Earn games are still largely unsustainable because this is a relatively new concept that many Web 3.0 companies are still figuring out. However, I believe that Play-to-Earn games will eventually transform the gaming industry.

What Do We Need To Get Started?

Typically, an initial capital layout is required in most Play-to-Earn games. To get started, players must learn how to buy crypto and then use the token to buy the NFT. The barrier of entry is too complex for Play-to-Earn games to breakthrough into mainstream adoption.

I think the future of Play-to-Earn is Free-to-Play games where players can download an app, sign up for an account as easily as signing up for a Tik Tok account, play for free, and earn without realising that the whole app is powered by blockchain or crypto.

Can A Player Really Make Money And Turn It Into A Full-Time Job?

Just like in any other industry, what you put into it is what you get out of it. You get part-time results if you put in the part-time effort. There are definitely opportunities for players to make gaming a full-time income, depending on how much effort and time they are willing to put into it.

With The Recent Crash Of The Crypto Market, Is Play-to-Earn Affected?

As someone who has been through the bull market of 2017 and the crash and bear market of 2018, I can say that no cryptocurrency is immune to a crash. The Play-to-Earn ecosystem will undoubtedly be impacted. When there is a crash or a bear market, it usually means that speculative money is leaving the ecosystem. Products with utility will thrive because, while speculative money is leaving, money will flow into games with utility and demand.

Play-to-Earn games have the potential to thrive in bear markets because people are looking for financial vehicles to generate income when the economy is bad. Despite the fact that it has yet to be proven, I believe Play-to-Earn games can thrive during bear markets.

What Are Your Plans For The Future?

We intend to become the largest and most successful platform that creates fascinating experiences for our users through gaming and lifestyle, where they can earn virtual rewards and spend them in the real world within our lifestyle ecosystem. It’s also free to play.

June 17, 2022
Why Digital Transformation Is Important For Companies?

The impact of the pandemic on organisations has been uneven, both in Malaysia and elsewhere. While some adapted well and thrived, others were less fortunate, often at no fault of their own, and had to restructure or shut down their business.

Regarding the trend of digitisation, it is not new given the well known benefits of cost savings and increased customer engagement. However due to lockdowns and business disruptions, this trend became less of an option and more a matter of survival.

We recently got in touch with Inter-City MPC (M) Sdn. Bhd, a homegrown company with over 30 years of experience that focuses on clients’ digital transformation. This includes data document processing, record management services, and many more that can help us embrace the changes caused by the pandemic.

How Has The Pandemic Affected Organisations All Over Malaysia?

“As a service provider of physical and digital end consumers statements, Intercity recognized the opportunity and expanded into digital transformation – that being we work with clients to solve the challenging task of transitioning statements and end consumers from print to digital, including data transition, process improvement across all modes (paper or digital), and omnichannel sending (mail or emails)”, said Nick Liew, Chief Executive Officer of Intercity.

What It Requires To Go Digital?

As a business owner, you will need help to go digital because the transition itself is challenging. There are three things that you need to look at:

Data transition: Going from print to digital requires high-quality data. You need to run a series of campaigns to collect end consumers’ data on behalf of clients, from web links to on-ground surveys.

Record transition: From physical records to digital records. You can do this by scanning, digital archiving and secure destruction of physical records for data privacy.

Process transition: From physical forms to online registration. You will need to run processes such as data entry and call centers to further support end consumers who are not fully digital.

Are The Organisations Now More Open To Go Digital?

According to Brandon Smith, Chief Commercial Officer of Intercity, “Organisations continue to identify specific business processes or operating segments that can shift towards adopting digital methods, especially where there is potential for revenue gains, cost savings, or efficiency improvements.”

Intercity understands these business objectives and tailors our offerings to ensure our digitisation offerings are impactful and deliver real value.

How Does Organizations Transform Themselves?

For example with Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam, they managed to increase the collection rates of quit rent (cukai pintu) by 30% in 2021. The increased revenue to the local council was crucial to support ongoing frontline services like waste collection and local infrastructure maintenance, especially at a time when many were working from home.

In the case of Majlis Perbandaran Klang, they are able to optimise their mailing of local resident statements and bills, resulting in a 25% cost reduction in 2021, in preparation for further digitisation efforts. These cost savings were then quickly allocated to other crucial services during the pandemic.

“Besides cost savings, digitisation supports the broader goals of environmental sustainability. Given our clients’ focus on impactful ESG actions, from 2020 to 2021 Intercity worked with their clients to save approximately 140,000kg of paper which is the equivalent of saving 3,400 trees,” said Nick Liew.

With The Rise Of Inflation And Interest Rates, How Does Intercity Help Its Clients To Weather The Storm?

As organisations review their operations to adjust to rising costs from inflation and interest rate changes, there is a trend to focus on their core businesses while delegating non-core processes to specialist external service providers to save costs.

In an inflationary environment, Intercity is not immune to supply chain disruptions and rising raw material costs. However as a specialist service provider, Intercity has sufficient scale and ability to manage input costs thus ensuring minimal cost increases for our clients.

To take it one step further and exploit cost savings from digitisation, clients work with Intercity to transform their end consumers’ communication from physical to digital.

Brandon Smith says, “To do this, Intercity runs a digital BPO service on behalf of clients to ensure full communication via print and/or digital channels. The BPO service includes multi-stage data collection, a step-by-step physical-to-digital shift by customer segments, and hands-on technical development & support.”

June 17, 2022