Credit Cards Easy-Payment Plan

Generally, a credit card’s easy payment plan enables the cardholder to spend first and pay in installments. Nowadays, credit cards offer easy-payment or flexi payment plans, charging interest rate that is lower than personal loans. The caveat is that you must settle the loan within the specified time period or end up paying a late-payment charge.

Tables below show a summary of selected banks for Easy-Payment Plans.

A gentle reminder, your ability to meet the monthly repayments is really important to prevent you incur a credit cards debt and it is good practice to pay off your debt as soon as possible.

BLR Malaysia Increased from 6.30% to 6.60% Effective From 11 May 2011

Base Lending Rates (BLR) in Malaysia increased 0.30% from 6.30% to 6.60%, effective from 11 May 2011.

• March 2010 = 5.55% to 5.8%
• May 2010 = 5.80% to 6.05%
• July 2010 = 6.05% to 6.30%
• May 2011 = 6.30% to 6.60%

NEW BANK BLR RATE

• Affin Bank = 6.60% (effective 12 May 2011)
• Alliance Bank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• AmBank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• Bangkok Bank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• Affin Bank = 6.60% (effective 12 May 2011)
• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ = 6.25% (effective 11 May 2011)
• CIMB Bank = 6.60% (effective 11 May 2011)
• Citibank = 6.60% (effective 16 May 2011)
• Deutsche Bank = 6.50% (effective 13 May 2011)
• EON Bank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• Hong Leong Bank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• HSBC Bank = 6.60% (effective 12 May 2011)
• Maybank = 6.60% (effective 11 May 2011)
• OCBC Bank = 6.60% (effective 12 May 2011)
• Public Bank = 6.60% (effective 11 May 2011)
• RHB Bank = 6.60% (effective 11 May 2011)
• Standard Chartered Bank = 6.60% (effective 13 May 2011)
• The bank of Nova Scotia = 6.60% (effective 16 May 2011)
• United Overseas Bank = 6.60% (effective 12 May 2011)

For more comparison, visit Banking Info

Blue Chip Stocks in Malaysia

What are the blue chip stocks in Malaysia? You may refer to the 30 component stocks as listed in FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI. Here is the blue chip list:
1. AMMB (1015) – AMMB Holdings Berhad
2. AXIATA (6888) – Axiata Group Berhad (formerly known as TM International Berhad)
3. BAT (4162) – British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Berhad
4. CIMB (1023) – CIMB Group Holdings Berhad
5. DIGI (6947) – DiGi.Com Berhad
6. GAMUDA (5398) – Gamuda Berhad
7. GENM (4715) – Genting Malaysia Berhad
8. GENTING (3182) – Genting Berhad
9. HLBANK (5819) – Hong Leong Bank Berhad
10. HLFG (1082) – Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad
11. IOICORP (1961) – IOI Corporation Berhad
12. KLK (2445) – Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad
13. MAS (3786) – Malaysian Airline System Berhad
14. MAXIS (6012) – Maxis Berhad
15. MAYBANK (1155) – Malayan Banking Berhad
16. MISC (3816) – MISC Berhad
17. MMCCORP (2194) – MMC Corporation Berhad
18. PBBANK (1295) – Public Bank Berhad
19. PCHEM (5183) – Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad
20. PETDAG (5681) – Petronas Dagangan Berhad
21. PETGAS (6033) – Petronas Gas Berhad
22. PLUS (5052) – PLUS Expressways Berhad
23. PPB (4065) – PPB Group Berhad
24. RHBCAP (1066) – RHB Capital Berhad
25. SIME (4197) – Sime Darby Berhad
26. TENAGA (5347) – Tenaga Nasional Berhad
27. TM (4863) – Telekom Malaysia Berhad
28. UMW (4588) – UMW Holdings Berhad
29. YTL (4677) – YTL Corporation Berhad
30. YTLPOWR (6742) – YTL Power International Berhad

Senior Savings Accounts

A savings account is one of the most basic banking products. For senior citizens who have to take on less risk with their funds, there are accounts that are specially targeted at preserving their nest egg.

Table shown below is a number of banks offer such accounts to those senior citizens.




The most higher interest rate offer is from Affin bank with starting rate of 2.8% per annum for minimum deposit of RM 5,000. The rate is almost like most banks' 12-month Fixed Deposit rates of 2.85%.

However, we all know the interest rates offer couldn't beat the market inflation!!  Inflation can REDUCE Purchasing Power with the advancing of time...So, it's better to have a better knowledge on financial planning at younger age to learn not just to know how to preserve your wealth but MAXIMIZE your wealth!

Remember! Small effort to put in if you are start at young age!

How Do You Trim Down Your Expenses ??

Few guidance that you can trim down your expenses:-
1) Go for cheaper alternatives. Anything from furnitures to food stuff to toiletries will have their upmarket brands with upmarket prices and the ordinary brands with more down-to-earth prices.

2) Watch out for the sale periods. As far as possible, hold your purchases of non-regular items like camera, golf equipment or electrical appliances until the sale comes. You will surprised at how much you can save. You can also get good bargains at numerous exhibitions fairs for computer, home decorations, tours and travel and so on.

3) Delay your purchases of your "want" items for as long as possible. You may realized that you no longer "want" it after a while. Or if you are fortunate, your close friend or relative may want to give it away and you would have gotten it free!

 

Financial Planning And You

A net cash flow situation is important because it helps you to build up assets that can be used for the future, for instance, at retirement. Financial planning is about meeting future goals and objectives either for children education planning, retirement planning, optimize your investment portfolio etc.. Such goals can only be met by net cash inflows that are accumulated year after year until it is needed.

Prudent cash flow management means to keep our expenses well below our income levels, and have some amount of savings set aside for the future. As a rule of thumb, you should always have  at least 3-6 months of your household expenses kept as emergency funds in your Savings Account or Fixed Deposit to meet unexpected events like a retrenchment, a sickness in the family, major car breakdown, house maintenance and so on.

Individual should attempt to do the following to increase his net cash inflow.

1. Set up a budget to keep expenses within limits. Track all expenses to ensure they do not exceed what has been allocated.
2. Look for ways to restructure your debts to reduce borrowing cost / monthly repayments.
3. Look for opportunities to reduce taxes.
4. See if the net cash inflow is sufficient to meet the future goals and objectives.
5. If it is insufficient, go back to your budget to see if there are areas where you can trim down your budget.
6. Repeat these steps until you are satisfied that you have channeled the maximum portion of your income into your future goals.

You should start immediately to create the Family Budget, as it is important part that you cannot miss.

  

New Rules & Requirements For Credit Card Application In Malaysia

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has set the new rules for credit card application. The credit card rules were tighten. Below are the major announcements:-

IMMEDIATE EFFECT NEW CREDIT CARD RULES TO BE IMPLEMENTED

Minimum Income Requirement
Previously: RM18,000 per annum
Currently: RM24,000 per annum

Maximum Credit Limit
Previously: Credit limit was set based on bank’s discretion, respectively.
Currently: For those who earn less than RM36,000 per year, credit limit shall be capped at two times their monthly income per issuer.

Maximum Credit Card Issuer
Previously: No restriction on holding credit cards from multiple credit card companies (issuers).
Currently: For those who earn less than RM36,000 per year, they shall be restricted to hold credit cards from not more than two issuers.

ADDITIONAL NEW CREDIT CARD RULES TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN FUTURE

Effective December 2011,
Cardholders’ annual statements issued by issuers shall include the details of time frame needed to fully pay off the outstanding balance and the total interest costs to be charged if only minimum repayment is made.

Effective 1 January 2012,
Issuers shall send a transaction alert via SMS for cardholder after each transaction is performed.

Effective 1 January 2015,
Personal Identification Number (PIN) verification shall be performed for all credit card transactions.

This is good for us and we should spend our money wisely and avoid becoming a credit card slave! Plan before spend and spend within our means.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Invest In Unit Trust

Below are some few common mistakes made by some investors:-

1. Ignorant of specifics of fund are acquiring.

2. Treating unit trust investment like a stock investment. Unit trust need at least 3 years to average down the lost years.

3. Lack of monitoring causes investors to make another mistake. They should take profit when a fund is rate of return is hitting the targeted rate of return.

4. Cut the loss as soon as possible if the fund is not well perform after your pre-set time horizon.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Investing In Stocks Markets

1. Consider only company fundamentals and ignore market risks (Political risk, Natural disasters, and government conflicts).

2. Pick a “CHEAP” price share (below RM 1 Share) not its value and without looking P/E (Price to Earning) ratio or whether stocks Over valued or Undervalued.

3. A bullish stock market is breeding ground for mistake. Let’s say, the banking sector P/E ratio historically trades at 14 to 15 times. In bull market, can shoot up and hit 20 times P/E ratio. If you are emotional, you will lose track of fundamental (value) and buy at high price.

4. Investing base on “Rumors” which can be partly true or false and “Speculation” without research on company fundamentals are very dangerous.

5. Lack of monitoring and strategies are also a very common mistake. Malaysia stock market is unlike US stock market. If you buy a stock and would keep for few years later and expected the stock rising without consistent monitoring may exposure to even higher risk. 

How To Ensure You Have Sufficient Fund For Your Children’s Higher Education Fund?

Few steps for you to ensure you have adequate funds:-

1) Determine time horizon that each your children has before they go for their tertiary education.

2) Determine their main area of interest and decide if they want to admit in local or oversea university.

3) Determine the course fee and cost of living. (Financial Adviser may assist you for info).

4) Work out total amount needed with projected rate of education inflation. ( A )

5)  Determine the projected amount of savings you might have from: Unit Trust Portfolios, FD, Maturities Policies, Property Portfolios..etc. ( B )

6) Compute the difference ( A – B ) and work out new or supplementary savings programmed. (May work with financial adviser to determine the amount to be set aside)

7) The sooner you realize the need to have adequate funds, the better chances of having compounding interest to work for you.

You have the power in your hands to Make Sacrifice Now so that you have a more Comfortable Future!

How Do I Determine How Much Insurance I need?

"Too much insurance is a Waste; too little is a Disaster."

Since you will neither want to waste nor put your family in a disaster situation, it is important to determine your insurance needs accurately. This is where you need the service of a professional financial planner or a well-trained insurance intermediary, who have a variety of methods to help calculate your needs.

There are both General and Life Insurance needs. Protecting your house against fire and your car against accidents are but two common instances of general insurance needs. In the case of life insurance, probably one of the most common uses is for income replacement purpose and family cash need protection when breadwinner dies.

Families need survival income and funds for immediate uses when death, disability or critical illness occurs to the breadwinner. Apart from the need to replace the breadwinner's income, the following are some expenditures that increases the cash needs of a family:

1) Final expenses - Medical treatment and consultation prior to death, funeral expenses,

2) Estate settlement expenses - Legal fees and related disbursement (to obtain Grant of Probate / Letter of Administration), final income taxes, stamp duty for transfer of properties, general expenses incurred by Executor when administering your estate etc.

3) Outstanding financial commitments on mortgage loans, motor hire purchase, credit cards,etc.

4) Family household expenses - Calculated up to the time the youngest child complete higher education.

5) Spouse survival income- Calculated up to the average mortality

6) Children's higher education needs - Timing of the funding is important, as is who to hold the funds in trust to ensure that is properly utilized.

Do You NEED Financial Planning??

Checklist below will help you determine if you Need in Financial Planning. If your answer is "YES" to any of the situation below, you probably Need Financial Planning:

• You are earning a decent monthly income but you lose control of where your money goes every month.
• You have not examined your tax affairs thoroughly and would like to know if you can minimize your tax payable.
• You have numerous bank loans and /or outstanding credit cards' balances and your finances are in a mess.
• You are concerned of your family's financial needs if you are unexpectedly disable or die.
• You are concerned about the high cost of medical treatment.
• You are too busy to handle your own investments and want to entrust your savings to a professional.
• You are planning for your children's higher education of your choice.
• You want a comfortable retirement but do not know how much you need or how to save and invest to meet the need.
• You want to leave a legacy of good family values by distributing your wealth in a responsible manner to your loved ones.

Base Lending Rate (BLR) Unchange

The Base Lending Rate has finalized remain at 6.30% (OPR 2.75%), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) left borrowing cost unchanged yesterday as expected but warned it have to manage the rising amount building up in the domestic financial system.


The central bank said the level is consistent with its assessment of economic growth and inflation prospects. It was a market-anticipated move, which is expecting hiking cycle to start in its next March 11 meeting. 


Source: Business Time

Understand Types Of Risk!

Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity (including the choice of inaction) will lead to a loss (an undesirable outcome). The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists (or existed). Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks". Almost any human endeavour carries some risk, but some are much more risky then others.


1) General Market Risks
    - These are daily market fluctuations caused by the demand and supply situation, which in turn are caused by factors such as : economic conditions, unstable political situations, investor sentiments.


2) Inflation Risks
    - This risk will directly affect funds that are placed into those asset classes that are not inflation-hedged, like Fixed  Deposits and Bonds.


3) Liquidity Risks
    - This type of risks occurs in asset classes where there are not many buyers and sellers that are readily available , like Real Properties.
     
4) Default Risks
    - This risk is where the borrowers are not able to repay the principal amount or the interest. Bonds are particularly vulnerable to this risk.


5) Foreign Currency Risks
   - This risk occurs when we invest in overseas or offshore investment, where the currency that we invest in weakens against the currency that we originally invested.


6) Estate Shrinkage Risks
    - There is always the risk that a person dies suddenly whilst in the midst of "playing the investment game". There may be a severe market downturn that can adversely affect the value of the investment at time of death.
   


 

Planning Your Estate

According to Wikipedia, Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate. Estate planning typically attempts to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses. Guardians are often designated for minor children and beneficiaries in incapacity. 


There are many tools in estate planning. Some of them are:-
1) Wills
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy.


2) Trusts
This is an arrangement where a trustee is appointed to hold property for loved ones (Beneficiary) or other purposes. The person who set up the trust is known as the "Settlor" and the terms he can spell out for the trustee to management the trust is called "Trust Deed". There are many forms of trusts, Testamentary Trust, Living Trust, Implied Trust, Express Trust, Constructive Trust, etc..which can be formed to meet various need of people.


3) Life Insurance
Life Insurance is an excellent tool for providing liquidity to one's estate, for the replacement of income and for those who wish to create a sizable estate with a small outlay. By nominating the spouse and/or children (if the testator is married), or the parent (if testator is unmarried), a trust is created in favor of the nominees. The death proceeds is a separate estate and is out of reach of his creditors in the case of bankruptcy.