What Should You Do: Save or Invest ?!

Hello dear readers!

Time for Saving and Investment!!

Well, logically, whether it is to save or it is to invest, we kind of need to have some unused money.

Alrighty then..... so,,, how much can you.. "save"? 

    You can buy two fast food meals or one movie ticket or save seven dollars or ninety thousand rupiahs this week. You can buy two small cheese pizzas or one large pepperoni pizza, delivered or one new CD or save fourteen dollars or one hundred eighty thousand rupiahs this week. You can do shopping or you can save your money. It is up to you. But if only you choose to save your money each week at 5% interest rate in 10 years, you’ll have Rp.61.360.000,00 (sixty-one million three hundred sixty thousand rupiahs), if you save ninety thousand rupiahs this week, and double the number if you save one hundred eighty thousand rupiahs this week. 

The question is what can you give up to save for your financial goals? For every goal, there will be things to be sacrificed.



      Assuming you now have a lot of money saved. You might automatically think about opening an account. It is better if you open a checking account if you regularly take money from it. But it is better if you open a saving account if you don't regularly take money you save in the bank because the interest of saving account is higher than of checking account. Yet, if you open a saving account and then you regularly take money from it, your account will automatically turn into checking account (noted :) ).

    Now, there are Major Types of Savings Accounts: first, Regular Savings Account, second, Money-Market Account, third, Transactional Account (Deposit), and fourth, Time Deposit (Bonds).

    Firstly, we are going to talk about regular saving account. If you open a regular savings account, you can receive information about your transaction thru: Passbook Account in which you receives a booklet in which deposits, withdrawals, and interest are recorded, you have average interest rate that is lower at banks and savings and loans than at credit unions, and the funds are easily accessible. You also can choose to have Statement Account, which basically the same as a passbook account, except depositor receives monthly statements instead of a passbook, the accounts are usually accessible through 24-hour automated teller machines (ATM), the interest rates are the same as passbook account, and the funds are easily accessible.

   Basically, a regular savings account are an Interest-earning Checking Account, which combines benefits of checking and savings, and you can earn interest on any unused money in your account.

    Secondly, about Money-Market Account. Money-Market Account is a Checking or savings account. Its interest rate paid built on a complex structure that varies with size of balance and current level of market interest rates. You can access your money from an ATM, a teller, or by writing up to three checks a month. The Benefits of having a Money-Market Account is an immediate access to your money. To have a Money-Market Account, you need to fulfil some conditions called the trade-offs. The bank will usually requires a minimum balance of $1,000 (One thousand dollars or around thirteen million rupiahs to $2,500 (two thousand five hundred dollars or around thirty two million five hundred thousand rupiahs), you can only write limited number of checks each month, and your average yield (rate of return) will be higher than regular savings accounts.

    Thirdly, about certificates of deposit (CDs). Having certificates of deposit (CDs) means you’ll get the bank pays a fixed amount of interest for a fixed amount of money you saved during a fixed amount of time. Benefits of certificates of deposit (CDs) are no risk of losing your money, the way it works is pretty simple, there is no additional fees, and it offers higher interest rates than savings accounts. Its trade-offs are it is a Restricted access to your money, and if you withdraw money before expiration date, you’ll get penalty (penalty might be higher than the interest earned). There are types of Certificates Of Deposit, first, Rising-rate CDs with higher rates at various intervals, such as every six months. Second, Stock-indexed CDs with earnings based on the stock market. Third, Callable CDs with higher rates and long-term maturities, as high as 10–15 years. However, the bank may “call” the account after a stipulated period, such as one or two years, if interest rates drop. Fourth, Global CDs that combine higher interest with a hedge on future changes in the dollar compared to other currencies. Fifth, Promotional CDs that attempt to attract savers with gifts or special rates.

    Fourthly, Time deposit or bonds. A bond is an “IOU,” certifying that you loaned money to a government or corporation and outlining the terms of repayment. Buyer may purchase bond at a discount. The bond has a fixed interest rate for a fixed period of time. When the time is up, the bond is said to have “matured” and the buyer may redeem the bond for the full face value. There are Types of bonds, first, Corporate bond. It is sold by private companies to raise money and if company goes bankrupt, bondholders have first claim to the assets, before stockholders. Second, Municipal bond. It is issued by any non-federal government and its interest paid comes from taxes or from revenues from special projects. Earned interest is exempt from federal income tax. Third, Federal government bond, it is the safest investment you can make, because even if U.S. government goes bankrupt, it is obligated for them to repay bonds.

 Investment!

Look at that pyramid! It describes how investment works.

    But,,, we are talking about several kinds of investment here. We know that investing means allocating money (or sometimes another resource, such as TIME) in the expectation of some benefit in the future. There are ways to invest that we are going to talk here: first, Mutual funds, second, Stocks, third, Real Estate, and fourth, Retirement Plans.

    
     Firstly, mutual funds. It is a professionally managed portfolios made up of stocks, bonds, and other investments. The way mutual funds work is that individuals have to buy shares, and fund uses money to purchase stocks, bonds, and other investments and then profits will returned to shareholders monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually in the form of dividends. The advantage of having mutual funds is that it allows small investors to take advantage of professional account management and diversification normally only available to large investors. There are Types of Mutual Funds: First, Balanced Fund that includes a variety of stocks and bonds. Second, Global Bond Fund that has corporate bonds of companies from around the world. Third, Global Stock Fund that has stocks from companies in many parts of the world. Fourth, Growth Fund that emphasizes companies that are expected to increase in value; also has higher risk. Fifth, Income Fund that features stocks and bonds with high dividends and interest. Sixth, Industry Fund that invests in stocks of companies in a single industry (such as technology, health care, banking). Seventh, Municipal Bond Fund that features debt instruments of state and local governments. Eighth, Regional Stock Fund that involves stocks of companies from one geographic region of the world (such as Asia or Latin America).

     Secondly, Stocks. Stock represents ownership of a corporation. Stockholders own a share of the company and are entitled to a share of the profits as well as a vote in how the company is run. Earnings are made from: company profits. It is divided among shareholders in the form of dividends. Dividends are usually paid quarterly and larger profits can be made through an increase in the value of the stock on the open market. The Advantages are if the market value goes up, the gain can be considerable and money from stock is easily accessible. The disadvantages are that if market value goes down, the loss can be considerable, and selecting and managing stock often requires study and the help of a good brokerage firm.

    Thirdly, real estate. The ways to invest are to: Buy a house, live in it, and sell it later at a profit; Buy income property (such as an apartment house or a commercial building) and rent it; or Buy land and hold it until it rises in value. Advantage of real estate is an excellent protection against inflation. The disadvantages are that it can be difficult to convert into cash and it needs a specialized type of investment requiring study and knowledge of business. If you do invest, you can have capital gains: that is the profits from the sale of a capital asset such as stocks, bonds, or real estate. 

      These profits are tax-deferred; you do not have to pay the tax on these profits until the asset is sold. Long-term capital gains occur on investments held more than 12 months. Short-term capital gains occur on investments held less than 12 months.

    Fourthly, retirement plans. It is the Plans that help individuals set aside money to be used after they retire. Its federal income tax will not immediately due on money put into a retirement account, or on the interest it makes. There will be income tax paid when money is withdrawn and penalty charges apply if money is withdrawn before retirement age, except under certain circumstances. Because income after retirement is usually lower, so tax rate is lower. 

    These are types of retirement plans: first, Individual Retirement Account (IRA). It allows a person to contribute up to $5,000 (five thousand rupiahs or sixty five million rupiahs) of pre-tax earnings per year. Contributions can be made in installments or in a lump sum. Second, Roth IRA (also called the IRA Plus). While the $5,000 annual contribution to this plan is not tax-deductible, the earnings on the account are tax-free after five years. The funds from the Roth IRA may be withdrawn after age 59, if the account owner is disabled, for educational expenses, or for the purchase of a first home. Third, 401(k) (four hundred and one) that allows a person to contribute to a savings plan from his or her pre-tax earnings, reducing the amount of tax that must be paid. Employer matches contributions up to a certain level, and fourth, Keogh plan that allows a self-employed person to set aside up to 15% of income (but not more than $35,000 per year).

Hopefully that table above is understandable and can be a help for you to choose between saving or investing,, or maybe both?

So, what should you choose? Maybe this is the answer (?):

Here is a simple quote: "You should just think about work first, collect much money, and if there is money left after you use it for regular needs and so on, try to invest it. hahaha." – Anonymous

Thank you for reading!

See ya in a longggg time dear readers!#WriterTakeABreak

Best of Luck.

Telemarketing Fraud

Hi readers!

This week’s topic is about telemarketing fraud.

Have you ever heard telemarketing fraud happen to someone you know?

Or have you yourself happened to experience telemarketing fraud?

Or YOU yourself ever done the fraud to someone? (hahaha.com)

Well, at its core, Telemarketing Fraud is a pretty simple crime: someone calls the victim, makes a false statement, and the misrepresentation causes the victim to give money to the caller. This definition can cover a large variety of scams. Here is the graphic:

To make it short,,,,, the writer will just write the tips to avoid for this kind of fraud to happen to readers, so,,, first of all, we’ll need to know what kind of signs to be watched out: High-pressure sales techniques that is used by the person who persuades us; Insistence on an immediate action from him/her; She/he offers product/stuff/something that sounds too good to be true; She/he requests for your credit card number for any purpose other than to make a purchase (It’s kind of obvious by then); It is an offer to get your money quickly; 

 It is a statement that product or service is free, followed by a request that gets you to pay for something; It is claimed as an investment that is “without risk” or “risk-free” (well, there is no investment without a risk except the benefit is very small and takes a lot of years); If there is inability or refusal to provide written information or references about the company, product, service, or investment; and if the suggestions that you should make purchase or investment based on “trust”.

Now, what can we do to avoid being a victim? First of all, we can practice ourselves not to be quick when we make an important decision. Second, we can request written information about organization and product or investment. Third, we have to remind ourselves not to buy anything on terms if we don’t fully understand it yet. Fourth, we can request the name of the federal agency by/with whom the firm is regulated or registered. Fifth, we investigate the company or organization. Sixth, we can ask and find out about refund, return, and cancellation policies. Seventh, we must not believe testimonials which we can’t verify yet. Eighth, we shouldn’t provide any personal financial information at first, and if we must, hang up the phone. So, in conclusion, we need to practice to be cynical sometimes. We kind of need to know that it’s time to leave naivety world alone, if we want to live and do things efficiently and effectively, really (oh, sorry for being so philosophical.)

As always, 

best of luck, readers!

See you on next week's post “Saving and Investment”!!

That Unforgettable Advertisement

Hi dear readers. 
How in the world do you feel this week?

Well, you can answer that question on the comment or send it to my email dindacs04@gmail.com (Hi!).

      Well well well, this week’s topic is about advertisement. There are quite many so called “technics” for advertising products. The advertisement can be seen as information, status, peer approval, physical attraction to others, hero endorsement, entertainment, intelligence, independent, and unfinished comparison. Beside that Commonly Used Technic, there is also Sales Techniques that advertisement can be seen as guarantees, scarcity, perceptual, contrast, scientific or numerical claims, and negative option. After that, there comes Unethical Technics. They are called “bait and switch”, supermarket specials, exploitation of fears and misgivings, and out-of-context quotations.

      Now, I want to analyze one advertisement that have been living in my head quite long because of its particular characteristic. It is so funny that it gets me remember the advertisement for 5 years. Here are the videos:

Version 1

Version 2

       In that video, there was a vase of someone fell down near a canal. There were 3 guys standing and the first guy tried to reach for the vase, but it was somehow difficult because of the distance from ground they stood; to ground near the canal. Unfortunately, second guy saw a big weaver ant on the hand of first guy, then he tried to slap the ant. Out of surprise, first guy lost his balance and tried to hold on second guy’s long hair. Second guy, who was also about to lose his own balance, tried to hold on third guy’s short pant. LOL. At that very moment, those guys laughed hard at each other and there come a meaningful yet funny words at the end of that ad. It said “Friend can always be the grasp.”

       The technique used in that ad is definitely entertainment. However, no matter how much do I like the ad, I can never buy the product advertised. Why? Because the product is cigarette. I don’t consume those stuff (No offense, I just don’t like the smoke from burning cigarettes, it makes me coughing.) So, yeah, that advertisement, not only that it was pretty funny, but it was also an impressive idea about how to make potential buyers attracted. Oh, how I miss the ad now that it does not there anymore on the TV, long time gone, I guess. Hm, so, how about you readers? Do you also have an advertisement that caught your attention for a long time? Share here for sharing!

Best of Luck!

Cars and Loans

Readers, have you ever thought of a dream car?

I myself have one.

One day, I'd love to have a lamborghini. It's pretty much a dream because it costs around $200.000. Based on what I believe, dream will disappoint everyone who don't make effort. I'd love to have a lomborghini. But then, I don't want to make that effort to make lamborghini mine. so, in conclusion, it's pretty much a dream that maybe will disappoint me (?). Who is with me? (Ha!).

Here are some pictures of lamborghini:

Look at that hot car in a hot place at a hot day! wow.

Hi daddy. Um, can I be your daughter?

That wings-like lamborghini's door.

 As if it can transform into robot like in Transformer movie!

How can we have that dream car of ours?

If we are rich enough, we can just go to wherever car dealership, and sign random papers to buy one, with cash. But if we aren't rich enough (or if we are not that reckless), we can choose to buy the dream car by loans.

Loans by itself divided into 2, secured loan and unsecured loan. Secured loan, on one hand, has lower rates, higher borrowing limits, and longer repayment terms than unsecured loan, however you will need to pledge some of your assets to be a collateral. From there, if you are unable to repay the loan after specified time according to agreement, the lender has the right to sell the collateral you have pledged. Examples of secured loans: mortgage, auto loan, boat loan, etc. Unsecured loan, on the other hand, is more risky for the lender because there is no property or asset to recover by default which is why the rate is higher than secured loan. Examples of unsecured loan is credit card, personal loan, student loan, etc.

We can surf the internet to find loan that is the most suitable for us with the lowest APR. Check out this website (http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/loans/personal-loans/calculator#tab:Loans calculator). On that website, we check the APR and the monthly repayment for the secured loan.

What we need to note, is that we should never spend more than 40% of our total income per year for loans. Nothing really, it's just, it is our safe area for loan. Back to the web I mention, it is so convenient, right? The thing is, I need to borrow $200.000 to buy lamborghini. The web can't show the monthly repayment because it is too big and I'll need to sign up for the web and give more detailed information. So, I'll just do it manually. 

To find my total cost of a loan= Amount of loan + (Amount of loan x APR x Number of years)

=$200,000 + ($200,000 x 10% x 10 years) = $240,000 = Rp. 3.120.000.000,00

To estimate my payment per month = Total loan / Number of months

=$240,000/120=$2000 = Rp. 26.000.000,00

OMG. Okay, anyhow, that's how it works to manually do it. I know lamborghini is expensive. But, the number still shocks me. Alright, see you in the next post!

Best of Luck Readers!

What to Do to Your Credit Card Debt

Credit card is a magic card which is made by plastic token (ha!). Just kidding, the writer really wants credit card to be a magic card which can buy anything, though. But unfortunately, it is limited based on a variety of factors ranging from an individual's ability to make interest payments, or an organization's cash-flow and/or ability to repay the credit card debt¹. It simply means the limit of the credit card will be based on our ability to pay back the debt after we use the credit card.

In spite of how convenient it is to use credit card when we go for shopping, there is risk we need to consider. The risk of falling into debt, when there are unexpected expenses that makes it impossible for us to pay credit card bills, is the worst case we need to avoid. The trick to avoid that kind of situation to happen, is to keep our credit card expense below 20% of our monthly income! Whew. (It always feels relieving after spitting out the most important stuff of a writing.) But really, that simple trick is important to remember, dear readers.

“But writerrrr.… what about when it’s inevitable situation, it’s really happening, or when it’s already been done?” The writer imagines a reader asked. “Well, poor you.” Hahaha. Just kidding. Alright, first thing first, you don’t want to dig yourself out of a hole by running away from the debt then think like you can put the problem in a pigeon hole. No, you absolutely don’t want that. Why? Because it will ruin your credit report! Next is your whole history of life! (OK, that last one is too much.) What the writer means, it’s that you shouldn’t do it because you will be charged by late payment fees month by month.

What’s worse than being charged when you pay your CC bills late are the creditors will give a bad mark on your credit report after second time you’re late to pay, and the most annoying thing, the interest rate will go up. After you realized running away is bad, the next thing to do is to call the creditor’s company. Let them know why you pay late. “Is there any possibility of being reported if I pay late?” Well, maybe yes maybe no. The writer means, what’s more of practical knowledge the normal first-year college student – whose money solely given by her parents – know about credit card? Ha. But don’t that question gets to you, dear readers. This blog is quite reliable since even though the writer’s still an amateur in financial matters, the writer is quite a passionate learner, not to say an above-average teacher (what?). 

Anyways, you can check complete information about What-If-I-Don’t-Pay-My-Credit-Card-Bills stuff at http://lifehacker.com/what-happens-over-time-if-you-dont-pay-your-credit-car-1424115120. Hope that will help you. Want to check more about APR, Grace Period, Annual Fee, and Transaction Fee of Credit Card? Check out:

http://yaplinapau97.blogspot.co.id/2016/04/lets-say-hi-to-credit-card.html

Best of Luck!

Source:

¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_limit

http://lifehacker.com/what-happens-over-time-if-you-dont-pay-your-credit-car-1424115120.

5 Reasons Why You Want to Have Credit

   Credit is the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future. There are reasons why you want this stuff. First, able to buy items immediately. Are you looking at a new branded satchel from outside glass window of a bag shop? Then thinking to buy it long after your next payday? No way! Good news is, we don’t have to wait too long just to buy things we want or need. Having a credit will make us able to buy items, right at the moment we see them.

   Second, don’t have to carry cash. Carrying around full-content purse or maybe a bag of cash will do you no good. Instead of giving a relaxing feeling of having much money in your hand, it gives you the feeling of anxiety – because you carry around a large amount of cash you need to keep safely. By having a credit, you will not have to overwhelm yourself with much money in your hand, and just go buy anything you like with merely a single credit card. Third, creates a record of purchases. While buying day-today items, we usually tend to forget how much we have bought. Having a credit card will help us to know our detailed record of purchases within certain period of time.

   Fourth, more convenient than writing checks. We all know these days, using checks are underrated. In another word, it is just too old-fashioned! Having a credit card, you can have more satisfying shopping experience because your credit will be accepted by almost every shops and at any time in a day! Fifth, consolidates bills into one payment. This is simple yet very convenient benefit from having a credit. It can consolidate all the bills into one payment in papers. Which means all of credit holder can take conveniently check out their bills that written in papers because they do not have to collect all bills or payments every time they buy things.

Business Banking in 2016

Hi readers!

Today,

Just like always,

Time goes by…,

But,    suddenly,

I realized it’s already April 2016.  (  -3-)(-3-  ) (‘o’)(~_~)?!

Anyway, we talk about banking (not baking) today in 2016.

    There are several types of bank divided based on its activity: The bank that deals mainly with individuals is generally called a retail banking, while a bank that deals with capital market is known as an investment banking, and a bank that only deals with businesses is known as commercial bank or business banking. Our main focus is the business banking. For furthermore information, business banking is a company's financial dealings with an institution that provides business loans, credit, savings and checking accounts specifically for companies and not for individuals.

    Right now, business banking face three critical battles: restoring customer trust, defending their payments business from new entrants and avoiding commoditization. Banks can only improve efficiency, customer relevance and profitability by reinforcing core business operations. The core business operations that needed to be achieved are optimized and differentiated branch network, sales force effectiveness, basic multichannel integration, and digital distribution.

Those cores will make space for growth for the bank, so that the bank can focus on the next path it needs to take.

    The next path it needs to take is to be one of three business banking models: The Intelligent Multi Channel Bank, The Socially Engaging Bank, and The Digital Ecosystem Bank. The first model uses analytical methods from the customers’ data to find customers’ financial needs, the second model uses social media to get closer to the customers, and the third one uses mobile to become the center of an ecosystem. The three models can be the resolution for improving bank’s performance and then effectively and successfully competing through 2016.

A short reflection from the writer about banking:

    Honestly, I don’t even know what I’m writing about there. But hey, I learned that there are many types of banking and banks. Business banking or commercial bank is only one of a kind that deals only with business companies, not individuals. At first, when I watched the video in the class last week (yes, this post was written based on a video provided by my English lecturer, Ms. Paskalina.), I didn’t know what the word “bank” in the video refered to. Like, I was totally ignorant that there are types of banks. That made me confused when I heard from the video, something like “bank is now turned into 3 models”, when what it actually meant was the future bank “should” be one of three models (it is also meant that someone/something suggests the idea of the three models). 

    I was also confused about the three models itself. The Intelligent Multichannel Bank? The Socially Engaging Bank?? The Digital Ecosystem Bank??? And their functions. I mean, it sounded a lot like ant man in the group of marvel movies, I was just not at all know there are stuffs like that (I admitted I am a bit old-updated here). So that were the time in the class I was just unconsciously blank-minded, then wondered around, and drown in my own thoughts. Until I searched again in the internet and I noticed what “the three models” refered to were the commercial bank, the one which deals with business companies, and not another type of bank.. *hmm.. that's why it talked about sales force effectiveness, optimized branch network, etc....*I thought. And... The three models are the models the “commercial bank” suggested to be, for its customers' sake. J J J

Here, check it out : à https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QggYdq5LBNU

And the official website: à https://www.accenture.com/id-en/insight-banking-2016-next-generation-banking-summary.aspx and https://www.accenture.com/id-en/~/media/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/DotCom/Documents/Global/PDF/Industries_13/Accenture-Banking-2016-Infographic.pdf

Thanks for reading!

Best of Luck J

Buy A Home

Hi, readers.

If you want to buy a home, you’ll need to consider several items you want to own from home you choose to buy. First of all, you can start with considering the exterior facilities. For example, you want a fountain filled with fishes. It must be wonderful to sit on the fountain, looking at the fishes, and hearing the sound of flowing water from the fountain after hard and busy days. Second, consider exterior construction. For me, I want good-quality green weeds, pine trees, and some colorful roses in the garden, surrounded by small white wooden fence. Wow! The home will look like a heaven with such exterior!

Third, consider interior construction. For example if you want to have a kitchen like me, because I love cooking and trying new receipts. Of course, you can make a list of rooms which you want-it-to-be-there in your new home.  Fourth, consider the interior design. For me, a green-painted wall, good lighting, and one thing that is the most important thing I want to be in my kitchen, is a wide window. Oh My God, I’d love to have window in the kitchen since I’d probably spend most of my time cooking in the future (chuckles) and I need a window since I love looking at outdoor stuffs. Like when it is a shiny day and I can see the sun shine brightly. When it is cloudy day, then there’ll be clouds all over the sky. When it is a rainy day, there’ll be huge clouds darkening the sky while it’s raining, and maybe, a rainbow to be gazed at after the heavy rain. Whew. I am sure I will mostly stay at home for the rest of my life!

Now, after all the considerations, here are the questions you need to answer. When to buy home? For me, I‘d like to buy a home after I am financially independent and I have a stable payment or job(s). Where is the location of the home? Again, for me, I’ll likely find location by contacting people related on real-estate or a trusted buyer’s agent. Will you buy the home by cash or mortgage? If it is me, I will go along with my condition in the future. If I can pay in cash, then I’ll gladly pay in cash rather than paying monthly. That is because I don’t like the interest when I have to pay monthly. But if the condition is that I don’t have the cash on the moment, then obviously I will just pay monthly even though I don’t like to pay for the interest (haha).

Thanks for reading!

Best of luck readers J

Living on Our Own

Hi readers!

This week’s topic is about “Living on Your Own”.

What do you think about the topic, readers? For me, I think it’s a very interesting topic. Why? Because I want to start living on my own as soon as I graduate from college. The problem is that I need not only to be emotionally ready, but also to be financially independent. Well, I need that because I don’t want to find myself moving back home – or worse, falling into debt when things don’t work out for me because my plan to move out is premature. This makes me even more realize that preparing to live on one’s own before moving out is essential.

In my English class, I am reminded about types of living expenses or we can call it as moving-in costs. Moving-in costs can include more than rent/mortgage payment. Cleaning deposit, security deposit, utilities deposit, and telephone deposit are also moving-in expenses we may not immediately think of. But that is all theory.

Here is the real thing we need to plan:

If you want to live on your own like me after graduating from college, we can start it by setting up a budget that would allow us to rent an unfurnished apartment (oh yes, an unfurnished apartment). So basically, we need to calculate our future income, our fixed expenses, and our flexible expenses. Future income includes our future job, side job(s) (optional), and other (optional). Fixed expenses can include rent/mortgage, car insurance, and car payment. Flexible expenses are savings, food, utilities (gas, electric, water), transportation, bus fare, gas and oil, parking and tolls, repairs, clothing, entertainment, household items, and personal items.

After that, the formula goes like this: Future income – (Fixed expenses + Flexible expenses)

Note:
*All variables are per each month (future income each month, fixed expenses each month, and flexible expense each month.)
*The result of the formula determines whether it is possible for us to live on our own or it is not.
**If the result is plus, it means there are still some money left per month. Congrats-!
**If the result is minus, it could mean that our future income is not enough, our living expenses are too  much, and so on. Anyway, we need to do something about it by any means, so that living on our own becomes more realistic and attainable (y).

Well, a little motivation for readers who may experience the feeling of biting off more than you can chew while setting up the budget for living expenses:

Learning how to make a budget isn't the most exciting thing I do too when I first thinking about living on my own, but I am taught that it can make the difference between just getting by and making the most of my money so I can enjoy my independence to the fullest.

Best of Luck for Us!

Learn How To Create Your Own Art of Budgeting

Hi readers!

This second post is talking about The Art of Budgeting.

Before that the writer wants to say…:

I am sorry for disappointing you with the last post. To be honest, I barely make the posting 2 minutes before the deadline (Actually I am writing for my English assignment.)! And so my writing is bad and unorganized at all (sigh). But now that I’ve got everything under control, I am a bit confident that my writing is better than the late post. So, please forgive me? Tehehehehehee….. (OK, this feels awkward). Last but not least, please enjoy your reading. Thank you!

WHAT is the art of budgeting?

The art of budgeting, by my definition, is the way you estimate your future expense(s) over a specified period of time. Art of budgeting is related to one’s life goals. To find your own art of budgeting means that you have to know your own goals. Your goals are the determining factor in defining your art of budgeting.

First of all, you need to know your educational, social, financial, family, health/physical, and recreational goals. Second, you need to work with your goals by asking yourself, “What goals are the most important to me?” Write it and identify each goal as short term (1-4 weeks), medium term (2-12 months), and long term (1 year or longer). Finally, you need to list and prioritize six of your most important goals. After each goal, identify what you could be doing now to work toward the goal, and what resources (if any) you need to achieve each goal.

Here is the example: My educational goal is I want to finish my undergraduate program. My social goal is I want to join Accountant Student Community as a main member. My financial goal is to open up a course for elementary student. My family goal are to pay for remaking my family’s kitchen and to take care my aging parents. My health/physical goal is to keep training my shaolin kung fu. My recreational goal is to go to Maldives Island.

The most important goals to me are to finish my undergraduate (long-term), pay my monthly health insurance’s fee (short-term), pay for taking a kung fu shaolin test (medium-term), save money for caring my aging parents (long-term), and to open a course for elementary students (long-term). Now, what I can be doing now to work toward each important goal: study regularly, avoid buying unimportant things, keep working as private elementary part-time teacher, save my pocket money and just buy things I really need, and exercise my kung fu at home. The resources I need to achieve my goals are money (obviously), books, knowledge about how-to-achieve-things, strong willingness, self-control, patience, and definitely, actions. That’s it. Thanks for reading. 

Best of luck readers!

How To Make Money

There are many ways to make money.

One of it, is to work for a company.

To work for a company, you need to prepare a lot of things first in order to increase the possibility that you're going to be accepted. And here are some practical things to do before you apply for employment position!

First, you need to find a job that is suited to your educational background. It is important to know in which field you are most skilled at because you already have some experiences or training in that field.

Second, let people know what you looking for. "If you’re only looking for jobs online, you’re missing out. Forty-one percent of people surveyed by staffing company Manpower reported that networking was the key to landing their latest job, as reported in Forbes. Many open positions are never posted online."

Third, clean up your social media.There’s a good chance your potential employer is checking out your social media profiles. So before that happens, you need to do some clean-ups and leaving only proper things to be looked at. 

After that, you can confidently apply to a company.

Eitts, don’t forget, if you are invited to be interviewed, try to think about question that might appear on the interview. You don’t want to be looked stupid when you are asked about what you know about the company you applied, right?

Best of luck.