Change for the better :)

Higher food prices pushed December’s inflation rate up 1.8% from a year ago, revealed the Statistics Department, adding that the increase was slightly lower than a Bloomberg survey of a 1.9% rise. It said on Wednesday that the overall index for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 1.8% to 116.9 in December 2016 from 114.8 a year ago. The higher CPI, according to the department, was due to the increase in the indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages (+3.7%) and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (+2.1%). In November, Bank Negara Malaysia said inflation would probably average at the lower end of the 2% to 2.5% forecast range for 2016 and  expected to remain relatively stable  in 2017. Malaysians have been straddled with high household debt and the rising cost of living ever since oil prices dropped, sending the ringgit crashing to an all-time low. Many will also crimp expenditure as the Chinese New Year draws near with  prices of...

There have been many discussions about the rapid increase in cost for wedding these days. Yet, not many people  talk about, or are even aware of, how much a divorce would cost them. Of course, one does not get married thinking about a divorce, but did you know that, as of 2014, it was  reported that  one divorce takes place every 10 minutes in Malaysia  and the number of divorces have more than  doubled in just eight years from 2004? As the divorce rate in Malaysia is increasing year on year, it is important  to equip yourself with important details to protect yourself financially, should it ever happen to you. Ironically, the  number 1 cause of divorce in Malaysia is financial problems , the second most common reason  cited as being infidelity while the third reason fighting over key differences of raising children. How much will the divorce proceedings cost? Whe...

Face it: Bukit Bintang is designed to make your wallets bleed. Home to many of the city’s biggest and glitziest retail malls – including Berjaya Times Square, Sungei Wang Plaza, Low Yat Plaza, Starhill Gallery, Lot 10, Fahrenheit 88 and Pavilion Shopping Mall – there is no wonder that merely inhaling the air of this popular shopping hub is enough to make your net worth founder. While you can easily spend your life’s savings at these malls, don’t expect to be able to get away without paying an arm and a leg for parking too. Take Pavilion Shopping Mall for example. It is undeniably a top destination for shoppers, but its parking rates is also one of the most brutal. It charges RM3 per hour (from 7am to 5pm), for all seven days of the week and has no maximum cap, making it one of the most expensive parking malls to park your car in within the Klang Valley! How much will a typical outing cost you then, if you park at Pavilion? Well, if your trip to the mall comprises ty...

There’s an art to living in the present while putting your head down, pumping out some results, and moving with some sense of urgency to accomplish what needs to be done to succeed. But then again, what’s success without happiness? And what are those most important parts of our happiness? The people that matter to us. If those parts of our happiness are neglected, then the accomplishment just doesn’t mean as much. For example, being with your kids is of Level 10 importance as is having a wonderful relationship with your significant other, but so is staying healthy and fit, that new project you’re trying to launch, and, of course, making money, yes? But just because they’re all equally important doesn’t mean we’re obligated to give them all equal time. You’re not going to be with your kids 24/7 unless you’re a stay-at-home parent or they’re a bit younger. It might be just 30 minutes of quality time you get with them during the week, or whatever. It doesn’t take 30 hours....

When I was young, I was pretty decent at golf. I lived right across the street from a driving range and got my first set of clubs when I was 13 years old. I got to play golf literally all the time when I wasn’t in school. But when I turned about 17-years old, I developed something called a slice where the ball really curves to the right, and I couldn’t correct it, so I started getting less involved in golf. Once I got out of school life took over, and I didn’t play for years and years. I got back into it about 20 years ago, but I haven’t been nearly as good as when I was 13. So no, not everything is like “riding a bike”. I’ve taken lessons, I’ve gotten better, more expensive clubs, but I still end up slicing every time. Why am I bringing this up? Well, I just came from hitting some golf balls on the range, and I started slicing again. It was not very pretty, and in retrospect, I couldn’t believe how down on myself I was getting about it. Me! Mr. Perso...