The Budget 2010 that was unveiled last Friday impacts me more than previous years Budgets. Here’s a summary of proposals that will impact me

The Good:

1. Increase personal tax relief from RM8,000 to RM9,000.
2. Increase EPF relief from RM6,000 to RM7,000.
3. Broadband relief of RM500.

I am in the 19% tax bracket. These additional reliefs will save me RM475 in taxes.

The Bad:

1. Service fee imposed on credit cards and charge cards. RM50 for principal cards and RM25 for supplementary cards.

I have 6 principal credit cards. I’m going to keep only 2 cards and terminate the rest. This means I still have to pay RM100 service fee.

Potentially Good:

1. The reintroduction of RPGT 5% beginning Jan 1st, 2010 irrespective of holding period. This will create an urgency for the sellers to sell their properties by end of this year. And since I am in the market looking for a property, I might come across a bargain.

Potentially Bad:

1. The Government proposed to use MyKad for petrol transactions to ensure that only the poor gets to buy subsidised petrol. Nobody knows yet how this will be implemented. I may have to buy unsubsidised petrol next year.

Last month, I achieved my first hundred thousand net worth. I also pledged to accumulate my next hundred thousand by the end of 2010, which is about 16 months from now. I’ve listed out my sources of income as a starting guide to see where and how my next hundred thousand will come in.

For the next 16 months, I estimate my income to be as follow:

1. I’d be able to save about RM3,000 a month from my salary (after deducting normal expenses eg. internet, mobile, petrol). In 16 months, I would be able to save RM48,000.
2. Business is bad this year. I don’t expect my bonus to be as high as last year. I’m estimating about RM6,000 bonus, after EPF, taxes etc.
3. I have some side income. Thank God it has started to pick up again. I earn about RM1,400 a month. In 16 months, I would be able to save RM22,400.
4. The dividends from my investments, is estimated to be about RM6,000.
5. I have some uncollected payments from some jobs, valued at RM2,600.

1 to 5 totals to RM85,000. This means a shortfall of RM15,000. What are the opportunities available that could help me narrow the gap and achieve my target?

1. I’m 100% invested in stocks now. My current portfolio value is about RM100,000. Can my portfolio appreciate 15% in the next 16 months? If yes, then the capital appreciation of 15% or RM15,000 will help me achieve my target. However, given that consensus views are that the stock market is already overvalued, I cannot count on further upside in my investment portfolio to cover my shortfall.
2. I have loaned a friend about RM5,000. I have already written this amount off after many unsuccessful attempts to collect the loan. I think now I have to be more persistent to collect this loan and if I am successful, I will be able to cover 33% of my shortfall.
3. Cutting back on my spending. Hmmm, I don’t think I can cut back anymore. I’m already spending very little.
4. Perhaps it’s time to setup a website to advertise my SEO services. If I can get a job every two months, this would add about RM5,000 in 16 months.
5. Join multiple contests and sell off the prizes? You’d be surprise to know that my brother has a friend who is doing this for a living.

Looking at the list above, accumulating my next hundred thousand in the next 16 months is certainly an achievable target. I’m looking forward to this challenge. It’s a nice feeling to watch my net worth grow month by month.

Today, I have reached my first hundred thousand networth. This is of course excluding my retirement fund EPF which I have no control over.

My stock portfolio grew to RM90,890 and I have another RM10,900 in my futures trading account. I’ve invested a total of RM97,000. I have reinvested all my dividends. My investment portfolio value of RM101,790 represents a gain of 4.9% since November 2008 when I first started investing in stocks.

It took me about 3 years for me to reach where I am today. I can still remember the times when I had to tighten my belt to pay off my credit card debt. Then I had set my goals to achieve a networth of RM100,000 by 2010. I have achieved this goal in August 2009, four months before 2010. I have achieved a significant milestone in my life.

Words cannot describe how I feel. It’s a mix of feelings, happiness, relief, some sadness, and lots of hope. I feel happy because I’m on track towards my goal. I feel relief that some expectations I have put on myself have been lifted. I feel some sadness, when I reminisce about my past 3 years and the sacrifices I had to make. But it’s all worth it.  My hope is overflowing because I have proven to myself that my goals are achievable. And my dreams are one step closer to becoming reality.

People say the first hundred thousand is the hardest. The next hundred thousand is much easier. And so will the many hundreds of thousands to come. And I can feel it in my bones that I can achieve the next hundred thousand before end of 2010, even if my take-home-pay plus bonuses for the next 17 months is only RM90,000. Still, I have no doubt that I can achieve my goal. My burning desire and the conviction to achieve my goal will guide and show me new opportunities to financial freedom.

I look forward to my next one hundred thousand.

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 bought a pair of new running shoes after my old pair has given way to wear and tear. Here’s a photo of the model that I bought, Reebok Hexride Smoothfit.

My new pair of running shoes, Reebok Hexride Smoothfit

I was given a rebate of RM10 for every RM100 I spend. No other discounts, no free gifts. This time I had better make good use of this pair of running shoes. I didn’t utilize fully my previous pair of running shoes.

About 6 years ago, I had moved to stay in a new housing area near to my then office. There was a jogging trail. I bought the running shoes, jogged for less than about 10 times and then stopped jogging. I stored away the shoes.

I took out that pair of running shoes some time last year and started jogging again. By that time, some parts of the soles have become unstuck to the body of the shoes because the glue that stick them together has degraded. I glued them back many times. Until this last time when the damage was so severe I couldn’t glue them back together anymore.

So, sometimes it’s good to wait a few days before making a purchase. Instead of buying in the heat and excitement of the moment, wait out a few days, or even a few weeks. By that time maybe you’ll realize that making the purchase wouldn’t be a good idea after all.

In my case, if 6 years ago I had tried jogging, I wouldn’t have bought the pair of shoes. I would only buy last year when I was really ready to take up jogging seriously. This would have saved me some money.