Yahoo Finance
You may find some key information below in Yahoo Finance:

• View by Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Africa/Middle East
• Review last trade, change, components, chart and more
• Relevant headlines for attention

If you like a very straight forward, clean and clear listing, Yahoo Finance is the best choice. In addition, it provides us news & opinion and more.

World Market Index
If you like to do more research about world market indices, this site provides historical data by daily, very handy. The historical data is available from year 2007. Also, you may like to find out the interest rates, world GDP (gross domestic product) and market return. I find it very easy to understand to view the key information such as:

• View index change by 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and YTD (year to date)
• View market by Asian, European and American.
• Also available special sector indices, commodity, currency exchange rates and MCSI Index.

Learn more about finance with these recommendations:

• Guide to Financial Markets (The Economist)
• The handbook of financial market indexes, averages, and indicators
• The Random Walk Guide To Investing
• Entrepreneur Magazine: Guide to Raising Money
• Financial Times
• SmartMoney (1-year)
• Wall Street & Technology Magazine
• Financial Management : the Magazine from Cima

Related posts:

1. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 October 2009
2. Malaysia’s Real Rate of Savings/Return
3. Stock Market Freeware

Some books about investing in stock market to recommend:

Technorati Tags: Almanac, Books, Calamities, Delusion, Investing For Dummies, Investing In Stock, Investing In Stock Market, Investor, Klci Chart, logic, Myth, Neatest Little Guide, Risk Reward, Stock Investing For Dummies, Stock Trader, Wall Street, Wall Street Stock

Related posts:

1. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 October 2009
2. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 December 2008
3. Warehouse Sales (Fund & Share Market)

Download FTSE Bursa Malaysia Index Rules to find out more.

It’s been quite a while I did not post the updated KLCI Chart. Now, let’s review the chart to have a better understanding the performance and events about FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI chart from December 1990 till 31st October 2009. This chart is a must-have for financial planning and understand the dollar cost averaging concept of unit trust investment (or mutual fund investment).

How charts can help you in the stock market? Do you understand chart patterns and technical analysis? How to track market prices? Any idea about good investment practice?

Amazon.com always has best buy books and DVD about investment chart, share chart and market chart, just check it out, or buy the Candlestick Charting For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance)):

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Related posts:

1. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 December 2008
2. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 December 2009
3. Introduction to Index Fund

NO! Do not let your money stand still because currency loses value with time and thus, the same amount that would let your purchase a yacht today will not serve the same purpose in the future. Inflation may not be that high but if you let the money stand still it can lose half of its value in as little as ten years due to inflation.

Recommended Magazine: SmartMoney


YES! Always balance enjoying the present and saving for the future. Saving 20% of your available income each year will help you live a more stress-free life when you get old and retire. But you should also enjoy your money today buying the things you want and spending a reasonable amount on entertainment.

NO! Do not sacrifice your present in the altar of the future or your future in the altar of the present. You can enjoy yourself while still saving for what may come and you should not sacrifice your present because you never know what future holds and what may happen to you. If you do not enjoy your youth you may later regret it.

Recommended book: The Total Money Makeover (Dave Ramsey)

YES! Save as much money as possible and as long as you have money available, you should go against the market, buying when everybody is selling and selling when everybody is buying. If you have sufficient time ahead you will be able to enjoy high revenues this way.

NO! Do not go with the flow buying what everybody is buying or selling when everybody is selling. You should better invest on long term products and only when you have funds available. If you have debt, you should pay it off first because the interest rates on unsecured debts are usually higher than those paid by common investments.

Recommended best buy: Put More Cash In Your Pocket (Loral Langemeier)

YES! Real estate is a good field for investments and you should start with your own home. If you cannot save the money needed for the purchase and you will need a loan, make sure to find one with good terms. If you need to improve your credit score before applying do so. It may take some effort and sacrifices but it will surely pay out.

NO! Do not rent unless you are not sure whether you will be staying on one place. If you plan to settle and stay on a specific town or city, you should try to become an owner rather than renting. A property is an asset that you can always resort to when you need finance or eventually sell it while a rented property is nothing but an expense.

Recommended book: Getting Back To Even (Jim Cramer)

YES! Follow this advice but do not take it as strict rules. Your money is yours and you should spend it the way you want. Just make sure that you enjoy it and still leave enough for emergencies and for your future. Life holds many unexpected circumstances both positive and negative and you should be prepared for both types.

Recommended software: Personal-Finance with Financial Planning, Quicken Deluxe 2010, You Need A Budget Pro, and Crown Money Map Financial Software

Technorati Tags: Best Buy, Currency, Dave Ramsey, Entertainment, inflation, Interest Rates, Invest Money, Invest Your Money, Investments, Loral, Money Makeover, Money Work, Much Money, Personal Finance, Products Stocks, Real Estate, Saving For The Future, Smart Money Magazine, Smartmoney, Stocks Bonds, Unsecured Debts, Yacht

Related posts:

1. Personal Investment Method
2. Financial Management During Economy Downturn
3. Malaysia’s Real Rate of Savings/Return

Retirement Fund

Retirement Planning

In simple words, retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after retiring from work. Retirement should be the best period of your life, when you can literally sit back and relax or enjoy your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make prudent investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future.

Retirement-Pension

Although the compulsory savings in provident fund through both employee and employer contributions should offer some cushion, it may not be enough to support you throughout your retirement. That is why retirement planning is extremely important for every one. More over with mutual funds the investors can actually plan for themselves and also achieve their planned objectives. As compared to direct equities this option of mutual fund is much safer for planning your retirement corpus.

There are many reasons for the working individuals to secure their future emergence of separate families and its attendant insecurity, increasing uncertainties in personal and professional life, the growing trends of seeking early retirement and rising health risks are among few important risks. Besides falling interest rates, also the sustained increase in the cost of living make it a compelling case for individuals to plan their finances to fund their retired life.

Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career and marriage. We need to take conscious and careful decisions to prepare for our retirement. Life takes its own course and from the poorest to the wealthiest, every one gets older with time. We get older every day, without realizing. With our coming old age we tend to become more understanding to the facts of life and realize the importance and impact of retirement. The future depends to a great extent on the choices you make today. Right decisions with the help of proper planning, taken at the right time will assure smile and success at the time of retirement.

In my words, retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after leaving your work. Retirement should be that period of your life, when you can sit back and relax. Retirement should bring more of enjoyment in your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. Most of the people live their worst life during retirement. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make right investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future. If you are not very aware of the investment that you need to undertake then you can easily take help of online advisers to help you with your retirement plan through mutual funds. The earlier you start the better it is for you.

Retirement

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1. Introduction to Mutual Fund or Unit Trust Fund
2. Personal Investment Method
3. Rule of 72 for Money Management And Financial Planning

Cut Credit Cards

* Online use

The most important rule to follow is to only use your card online at trusted, secure sites. You can recognize a secure site by looking for a yellow padlock symbol appearing in your browser, and also by the address starting with ‘https’ rather than ‘http’. Sites secured like this encrypt all the information sent back and forth to your browser, meaning that it’s very dificult indeed for someone to spy out your credit card details.

Also make sure you’re confident of the identity of the site asking for your details. Avoid any sites that send you an email asking for your card details – they might not be who they claim to be. It’s better to phone the company direct to make sure their request is genuine.

You should never give out your card details in an email, as there is no encryption involved and there’s always the danger that a fraudster could intercept your message and gain your details.

Finally in this section, make sure that your virus protection is up to date and that your computer is clean of any ’spyware’.

* Offline use

If at all possible, don’t let the card out of your sight when paying, to reduce the opportunity for a fraudster to make a copy of your card. This is easier nowadays with the arrival of the handheld chip and pin input devices that are brought, for example, to your table in a restaurant.

It’s advisable not to send card details by fax, as you’ve no control over how long the fax will be left unattended at the receiving end. A faxed copy of your card number, expiry date, security code and signature makes it altogether to easy for a scammer!

Only give your credit card number over the telephone if it was you who made the call, and you’re certain that you’re speaking to a genuine person. If someone calls you claiming to be from a company you deal with, and asks for your details, ask for a phone number to call them back on – via a switchboard operator if possible – and verify that the number is correct.

* General

There are several other measures you can take to reduce the chances of becoming a victim of credit card fraud, and most them are pretty much common sense. You should sign any new or replacement cards as soon as you receive them, and cut up the expired cards making sure to cut through the magnetic band on the back.

Never keep your pin numbers written down in your wallet or purse, as if you lose it or it’s stolen a fraudster will have both your cards and their pins. Also, report any stolen or lost cards to the issuer immediately, so that they can be cancelled before falling into the wrong hands.

Open your statements and bills as soon as you receive them, and check them carefully for anything you don’t recognise. If you spot something you’re unsure of, call your card company straight away and ask them for more details. After checking your statements, either file them away somewhere safe, or shred or burn them. Never simply throw them away – they contain far too much valuable information that can be used for fraud purposes.

All this might seem like a lot of work, but remember that with most credit card accounts you won’t be held liable for any fraudulent use so long as the fraud hasn’t happened through your own negligence. Following the steps above is very powerful evidence to the card issuer that you’ve done everything possible to protect your account’s security, so if you’re unfortunate to become a fraud victim then the financial damage to you will be kept as small as possible.

——–
The author, Michael D. Strauss, writes for Card Sense UK where you can compare credit cards and their features including balance transfers and rewards schemes. — Courtesy of Niche Article Directory.

Technorati Tags: Card Number Expiry, Chip And Pin, Credit Card Details, Credit Card Fraud, Credit Cards, Credit Fraud, Email, Encrypt, Fraudster, Input Devices, Padlock Symbol, Scammer, Secure Site, Secure Sites, Security Code, Simple Steps, Spyware, Victim Of Fraud, Virus Protection, Yellow Padlock

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1. Controlling Your Credit Card Debt
2. When Not To Use A Credit Card
3. Simple Tweak to Increase Broadband Speed

Say No To Credit Card

This is obviously a situation that’s best avoided, and knowing when it’s a bad idea to use your card can help you avoid getting into difficulty.

* Withdrawing cash at ATMs

Most cash machines these days will let you draw out cash using your credit card. This might seem an attractive option if you’re short of cash towards the end of the month, but it’s a bad idea for two reasons. Firstly, cash withdrawals will attract a fee of a small percentage of the amount you withdraw. This in itself makes it an expensive way of getting your hands on cash, but advances are also usually charged at a much higher rate of interest than purchases.

What’s more, under a system known as ‘allocation of payments’, the repayments you make to your account are applied first to the parts of your debt which attract the lowest rate of interest. This means that so long as you are carrying some debt from purchases, your cash withdrawals will sit in the background, being charged a high rate of interest, and never getting any smaller.

* Credit card checks

These allow you to use your credit cards in situations where you normally can’t, such as paying a bill by post. However, the interest rate charged on them can be as high or even higher than with cash withdrawals. This means you should avoid them for the same reasons, as given above.

* Covering the cost of everyday bills

Paying your energy bills, for example, using your card is convenient and easy, but is only a good idea if you repay the debt in your next payment. If you’re using your card because you can’t afford to pay the bill, this is a clear sign that you need to take a harder look at your personal budget.

* Expensive impulse purchases

Of course, we all like to treat ourselves from time to time, and no one would begrudge that. However, before handing over your card, bear in mind that the interest you’ll pay over the months it takes to repay the debt will make your impulse buy much more expensive than it appears. Is it still worth it?

* To make repayments on other debt

Credit cards aren’t usually the cheapest kind of borrowing available, so you should never use your card to service another, cheaper debt. The only exception to this is if you make use of a balance transfer facility, either to get a 0% rate for a limited number of months, or to lock in a permanently low rate.

As we can see, most of the above advice is simply common sense, but following these rules will give you the best chance of staying in control of your credit card, and avoiding running up unnecessary or excessive debts.

——–
The author, Michael D. Strauss, has been writing Credit Card Sense UK, where you can read reviews of credit cards including balance transfer cards and low rate cards. — Courtesy of Niche Article Directory.

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1. Controlling Your Credit Card Debt
2. Simple Steps to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
3. Rule of 72 for Money Management And Financial Planning

Credit Card & Debit Card

However, spending with plastic can sometimes be a little too easy, as it doesn’t always feel like you’re actually parting with any cash. This means the temptation is to spend without thinking about the consequences too carefully, until you hear the ominous thud of a huge credit card bill hitting the doormat.

If you’ve been caught out like this, the size of your card debt may seem overwhelming, but don’t panic – there are a few simple steps you can take to start getting your debt back under control.

Try and make a little more than the minimum payments:

With repayments as small as minimum 5% of your balance every month in proportion to your debt, a large chunk of each payment gets swallowed up in interest charges. Depending on the APR rate of your card, up to 75% of each payment could be ‘lost’ in this way, meaning that it takes a very long time for your balance to reduce to any great extent.

By trying to repay more than the minimum, even if only by a little, you can speed this process up, and in the long term you’ll end up paying much less in interest charges.

Prioritize your card debts:

If you have more than one card with different rates of interest, it makes sense concentrate on the one with the highest interest charges. This means not just the one with the highest interest rate, but the one which actually charges you most each month, which could have a lower rate but a higher balance.

Check your statements to see which card is costing you most in interest each month, and try to focus on repaying this card first by putting any spare cash you have into extra payments while keeping to the minimums on your other cards.

Change your card:

The credit card market is very competitive, and rates have fallen over the last few years. You may be stuck with an old card charging an old rate that is much higher than newer cards. If you can get a new card with a lower rate and transfer your account balance on to it, you could save a lot in interest charges, helping you to bring down your debt. If you can get a card with an introductory rate on balance transfers then all the better – you’ll get a few months of interest free credit which you can use to really drive down your balance as 100% of each repayment will be helping to clear your debt.

Debt consolidation:

If getting a cheaper card isn’t an option or isn’t something you feel happy about, then maybe a consolidation loan would be worth considering. If you take out a loan and use the money to pay off all your card debts, you could benefit from a lower rate as loans are normally quite a bit cheaper than credit cards.

The downside to these loans is that the repayment period might be quite long, and so even though your monthly repayments will hopefully be lower, you’ll stay in debt for longer and so end up paying more in interest. Done carefully, however, consolidation can be a sound move if there’s little chance of clearing your debt in any other way.

Watch your spending!

All the above strategies for getting your debt under control will only work if you stop getting deeper into debt – and this means stopping spending on your cards. Ideally, you’d cut them up so that you can’t use them again, but this might not be realistic as you may need to keep them as a credit option in an emergency. In any case, cutting your spending to an absolute minimum will keeping your repayments as high as possible is the only sure strategy to clearing your debt in the long term.

——–
The author, Michael D. Strauss, has been writing on financial topics for several years and is currently a contributor to Card Sense UK where visitors can compare credit cards. — Courtesy of Niche Article Directory.

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2. Simple Steps to Prevent Credit Card Fraud
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(BestBuyIdea.com) Malaysia's FD versus Inflation Rate

Chart is really useful, in terms of comparison and presentation of numbers. From the chart of Malaysia’s fixed deposit rates (for 1-month and 12-month) versus inflation rate (or CPI, i.e. consumer price index), there are some critical findings to be shared below:

(1).

2008 was the historical worst year in the past 30 years, that we actually lost all our savings, as the inflation rate is higher than our fixed deposits. The loss is 1.7% when the 12-month FD rate was 3.7% and the inflation rate was 5.4%.

(2).

In year 1998, the FD rates of 1-month & 12-month and inflation rate were quite close, we still had a return of 0.4% when we compared 12-month FD rate with inflation rate.

(3).

We still had good return in year 1988, when the 12-month FD rate was 4.3% and the inflation rate was only 2.5%.

Therefore, what are the expectations from general public and all Malaysians? Of course, survival comes first, and get ready for the next boom in economy. Do you agree that now is still the best time to invest in mutual funds or unit trust funds? To think more positively, read on my previous post about Warehouse Sales (Fund & Share Market) and Financial Management During Economy Downturn, while you study my chart of Fixed Deposit Rate versus Inflation Rate.

If you have more opinions or require further information, feel free to email to me. All comments are welcomed.

I also offer a good deal for you if you comment or click on my bookmark icon at the end of this post, I shall be more than pleased to send to you an e-book of your choice from the list below:

1. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
2. The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
3. As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
4. Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell
5. The Power of Thought

Thank you in advance for sending me your email of your choice of e-book while I am looking forward to your comments and bookmark this post.

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2. Rule of 72 for Money Management And Financial Planning
3. Enjoy Discounts with Coupons in Malaysia and Online

(BestBuyIdea.com) KLCI Chart 1990-dec2008

This is the latest KLCI (Kuala Lumpur Composite Index) chart from 1990 till December 2008.

Reviewing the trend, it is very obvious that the index is now traded in 2-year low. Based on the dollar-cost-averaging concept, this is perhaps the best time to invest in unit trust fund or mutual fund, or re-invest to existing fund. Over a period of time, the cost of investment in this fund will be lowered, provided regular re-investment is observed. Along the ongoing process, more regular re-investment will lower the cost of investment, and at the same time, more units will be accumulated.

When the market recovers, the total number of units could be redeemed at higher price. The profit taking will be the difference between the redemption price and the cost price. Another alternative is to do switching, and the profit will be captured but the amount redeemed will be invested in another fund, which could be at a lower cost at that moment. The same process applies, i.e. to re-invest regularly.

Hope the above tips could give potential investors some basic in investing in mutual fund or unit trust fund. Any enquiries or comments are welcomed. Please click here to email to me and I shall reply to you as soon as possible.

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1. Warehouse Sales (Fund & Share Market)
2. Latest KLCI Chart as at 31 October 2009
3. Introduction to Mutual Fund or Unit Trust Fund