I caught up with an old friend today. We talked about alot of things but since this is a personal finance blog, I’ll just highlight the financial issues of interest.

My friend, she works part-time giving tuition. She earns about RM8,000 during normal season, and easily double this amount during peak season. She does not declare her income, hence her income is tax free. Simple calculation will show that her annual take-home-pay easily exceeds RM100,000. Bear in mind that she earns this on a part-time basis.

This got me into thinking, maybe I should have gone the academic route instead of going the corporate route. When I first graduated, I got a telephone call from college inquiring if I have an interest in becoming a tutor. I guess they made that call because I scored the highest in one of the subjects. At that time I didn’t know that private college tutors could earn so much money by giving private tuition.

So, people will pay good money to acquire knowledge and tuition. What skills do I have that I can teach others? I need to really give a thought to this issue because this is a good money making opportunity.

And for all others out there reading, it might not be a bad idea to think about giving tuition to earn some supplemental income.

A reader asked me how am I earning a good side income?

Back in early 2009, I listed out my “Goals” for the year 2009. And sitting at number 6 is “Side income of RM10,000/mth by Oct 2009.”

My side income comes from Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising on expired domains and also selling of text links. After the Chinese New Year …. starting in February 2009, I could see a drop in my PPC income. Advertisers were cutting budgets. Advertisers were also reluctant to renew their buying of text links on most of my websites. As a result, my side income took a plunge. Currently, my side income average about RM1,000 a month.

Looking back, there were a few months between July 2008 to September 2008 whereby I was earning more than RM3,000 from my side income. And at that time I was so tempted to quit my job and go full time building on my side income. Luckily for me I was patient enough to adopt a wait and see approach. And now I am glad I did not quit my job back then.

I have now turned to offering Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services to add another income stream for myself. Currently I am optimizing the keyword “Top MBA Malaysia” for a local education institute. This niche industry is competitive as well. However, I do see an opportunity for me to build a business out of SEO and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).

My goals are clear and I just have to find ways to overcome these obstacles to reach my goals.

I work at the offices near just next to Mid Valley. Last week, I went over to the Maybank branch over at Mid Valley to buy a banker’s cheque. Upon arriving, I was told that the system was offline and there was nothing they could do.

Have you ever experienced waiting at the Maybank branch for a long time, and finally when your queue number arrives you were told that the system is offline and to come back the next day?

I can’t believe that Maybank doesn’t have a backup plan. With Malaysian broadband known for its instability, I am sure Maybank experiences many times systems offline in a month. And this causes inconvenience to its customers.

Maybank should have a secondary broadband line. My company has 2 lines. One leased line from Streamyx broadband and another wireless broadband from Airzed. When the Streamyx line drops, we will switch to the wireless broadband. I’m simple amzed that a multi-billion company cannot even think of this simple solution.

I have been a Hotlink user for more than 6 years now. And this latest dirty tactic by Hotlink has pushed me over the edge. Hotlink now has two prepaid plans for mobile users. The Basic Plan and the Extra Plan.

When my previous plan became obsolete, I was automatically converted to the Extra Plan. I wasn’t informed about the conversion at all. And here’s the catch. The Extra Plan charges by 60 second blocks. Meaning if I were to talk for 4 seconds, I would be charged for the entrire 60 seconds. Previously my old plan was on 12 seconds block. If I talk for 4 seconds, I would be charged for 12 seconds only.

Take a look at the screenshot below. I called a Digi network number and talked for 5 seconds or less, and I have been charged for the whole 60 seconds.

My Hotlink E-Statement

Verify the statement against this plan below. You can clearly I have been charged the whols 60 seconds for talking only 4 or 5 seconds.

Hotlink Basic and Extra Plan

So I called up Hotlink’s customer service and demanded to know why I was charged the whole 60 seconds. Only did I realize that this plan goes by every 60 seconds block. I immediately switched to the Basic Plan (30 seconds block).

Without informing its subscribers and automatically put them into the Extra Plan, Hotlink has resorted to using dirty tricks to boost its profits. When I related what I found out to my father, who is also a Hotlink user, he commented that his mobile expense has increased about a month or two back. He just assumed that his usage has increased. He never realized that he has been charged 60 seconds even when talking for a few seconds only.

So, if you are a Hotlink subscriber, check which plan you are on. And if you want to change plan then dial *100#, then select (8) for My Account and follow the instructions for changing plans.

I am going to switch to a new mobile network. I can’t be always keeping a lookout if my mobile network is overcharging me. With the Mobile Number Portability in place, I am don’t need to worry about changing my mobile number when switching to a different network.

I’ve done a bit of SEO (aka Search Engine Optimization) work on some of my domains before. Knowing I have some knowledge in SEO, my brother has contracted a simple SEO job for me. This is my first SEO job.

I am tasked with getting this food service company to rank for certain keywords like “food service Malaysia“. More and more businesses realize the importance of ranking well in search engines. In the old days, only e-commerce websites would seek to rank well. Nowadays, websites from food stuff to farm equipment all want to rank well.

This SEO industry is a booming industry. And depending on how things develop in the next one year, I might switch career from accounting to SEO specialist.