Dear God, what’s your new plan for the AKPK debt management program blogger? I am still waiting for Your plan, and perhaps some miracles …

It’s the end of the 4th week and my paid review earnings so far has been less than RM600. As for my Google AdSense earnings, it’s still hovering between $1 and $3 a day. All in all, less than RM1,000 a month!

This week I summed up my courage, stepped into a few gift stores and boutiques nearby my rented flat and inquired about the vacant jobs available.

What a small town in Perak! You know how much a promoter’s pay here? Very low. I almost fainted when I heard the amount of the salary.

1. Promoter at a Gift Store. I like the first gift store I went to very much because it seems to be a good place for me to get contacts of suppliers and learn gift wrapping and decoration. However, its pay is only RM2/hour, that is only RM400 a month! Working hours are from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.

You know, if I hadn’t been in need of money, I would have said yes to the gift store.

2. Promoter at a Boutique. I quite like one of the boutiques I went to because of the boutique manager. She seems to be a frank lady. However, the pay there is only RM500 a month. Working hours are from 10 am to 7 pm.

3. Promoter at a Pharmacy. I frequent this pharmacy a lot because of its courteous staff and greetings. You know, they greet every customer that walks in and out of the outlet. This makes customers feel close to the staff.

The pay is much higher, at RM3.50/hour. As it’s a part time post, there is only 5 working hours per day. I submitted my application form last week, but there has been no call from the person-in-charge. I guess my qualifications make them feel that I am not cut out for a promoter post.

4. Clerk at a School. Now I am waiting for a job interview for a clerk post. It pays higher, that is between RM800 and RM1,000, depending on working experience. Working hours are from 8 am to 4pm or 5 pm.

The only plus point for the above mentioned stores and companies is that they are all within 5 minutes’ walking distance.

Wow, what an exciting roller coaster ride I have had these past few weeks! From making $1,000 (RM3,200) to less than $300 (RM1,000).

Exciting? Actually I am worried … worried not being able to find the right job in time to stop my personal savings from running dry. Wow, wow, wait, leave it to God! He will take care of it. Have faith in Him.

Finished attending your briefing/taklimat and ready to meet an AKPK counselor? Good. You have completed your very first step.

Now you are ready to finish your second step/phase. Have you gotten ready with all the documents required by AKPK?

Not sure what documents to bring when meeting an AKPK counselor? Watch the video below made by me and you’ll know.

If I left out mentioning any important document/statement, please drop me a comment so that I can update my video. Thanks.

What’s God’s New Plan For AKPK Debt Management Programme Blogger?

God has to be kidding with me. Just as I was so blessed with my personal savings, rental income and increasing online income (AKPK DMP Blogger is Back to Financial Track Slowly and Steadily) , boom, my Google AdSense and paid review earnings dropped tremendously.

Yes, a sharp decline in my online income! From making around $1,000 a month to less than $300 now! Boo hoo hoo. This is totally unacceptable as it came out of no where and caught me off guard.

All of a sudden, the online assignments given by an advertising network dropped by 70% starting 3 weeks ago. And then my Google AdSense earnings began to see a decline from more than $10/day to $5 a day to, oh my God, less than $1 today!

If there still aren’t many online assignments this week, it’s for sure that I must look for a full time job to supplement my online income that falls to less than $300 or RM1,000 a month.

This RM1,000, plus hubby’s RM2,000 ++ income, is simply not enough to pay our AKPK debt repayments (RM680), auto loan (RM820), home loan installment and bank overdraft charge (RM525), flat rental (RM270), internet connection fee (RM110), utility and cell phone bills. Besides, there are still meal expenses and groceries.

A cut of 70% on my online income! Is it temporary because of the 2010 FIFA World Cup fever? I don’t know.

If the advertising network I am working for still gives out very few online assignments this week, I think I will have to start making appointments for job interviews.

God, are you showing me your new plan? If so, it has got to be a better plan than the one I am having now, okay? Have faith in You.

AKPK DMP Blogger is Back to Financial Track Slowly and Steadily.

How much has been spent on fixing the vacant house in Ipoh before it can be occupied by the tenants? Phew, RM590!

May 13th – Water and electricity departments – RM231
May 20th – Kitchen faucets and water pipes – RM70
May 27th – Fluorescent light replacements – RM119
May 28th – Leaking water tank and water pipes – RM170

Wait, RM590 is not the total yet! There are still leaking toilets and air-conditioner installation that will be done this coming Saturday or/and Sunday.

We estimate the leaking toilets (3 toilets now!) to cost between RM250 and RM400 and the air-conditioner installation between RM1,400 and RM1,550.

Since the air-conditioner can be paid in two installments, I don’t have to dig out all of my personal savings. Boohoo, there will be a dent in my personal savings!

Anyway, I think it’s worth paying for all the fixes and repairs since:

a) The house will not be left vacant to rot again;

b) There will be monthly rental of RM400 to cover some of the home loan installment or to be saved as emergency fund;

c) It’s easier to sell the house in future, either to the tenants or neighbors whose family members or relatives are interested.

As a matter of fact, a neighbor who lives two houses away came to have a look of the inside of our house when hubby and I were in the house last Saturday. He said his brother was also thinking of buying one nearby his.

Thanks to new developments around my housing area that the price for my 22 x 75 double-storey house has gone up to nearly RM150,000 these few years.

A friend who is a pro construction worker said we can sell our house in Ipoh easily if we are willing to sell it at RM135,000. Wow, it’s for sure hubby and I will sell the house and be mortgage free if there is a buyer now!

At this point of my life, I am so grateful to God for leading me and hubby back on financial track slowly and steadily.

First, being approved of the AKPK debt management program applications. Next, steady online income from me and full time teaching income from hubby. Then, having extra money to be saved as emergency fund. Later, renting out the house in Ipoh.

All this came one by one. This made me realize that, “When I am ready to make a change financially, God will help.“

Perfect Timing For AKPK Debt Management Program Blogger To Re-Read Finance Books?

During home cleaning in Ipoh on Thursday, I found some personal finance books which I bought many years ago! I think they were bought years before I was loaded with credit card debt or when my credit card debt was not that staggering.

Multiple Streams of Income by Robert G.Allen, The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Millionaire Women Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley, Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing by Robert T. Kiyosaki, The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason, …

You know how much the book of Millionaire Women Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley? Phew, RM108 in year 2004! Year 2004? Ya, my finance was okay at that time. Gosh, I must have been mad to have bought such an expensive book!

It’s apparent that I didn’t apply any of the financial tips from any of these bestsellers. If I had learned and applied the tips in the book, I wouldn’t have been in such a deep debt trouble and had to enroll in AKPK debt management program.

After struggling so much financially, I think re-reading these financial books now may bring me more insights and results than 5 years ago.

Compared to 5 years ago, I am now more responsible for my finances and willing to apply what I have learned to pay off credit card debt fast, cut down spending,  save more money and increase income.

Being in AKPK Debt Management Plan Makes Saving Possible and Thus Paying Out-of-Pocket Expenses Easier.

So far, we have spent RM301.05 on the vacant house in Ipoh! RM187 on water meter re-installation, RM44.05 on fuse and electricity re-installation, RM48 on a kitchen faucet and RM22 on water pipes.

Guess what? There will be more spending on leaking pipes (RM200) and installing a unit of air-conditioner plus cleaning an old air-conditioner (RM1,400).

Since the air-cond technician is hubby’s kampung fellow, it’s possible that we can split the amount into 2 or 3 installment payments with 0% interest charge.

So it’s going to be about RM2,000 out of the pocket before we start seeing the RM400 monthly rental appear in our joint saving account in July.

June is a free-rental month for the tenants because they clean up the super dirty and messy vacant house for us.

As they are hubby’s party member fellows, hubby spares them the 2 months’ deposit. They just have to pay RM300 for water and electricity deposit.

Deducting the RM300 received as water and electricity deposit, the amount we have to fork out is roughly RM1,700. Phew, luckily we have some savings to help out a bit!

Thank God too because hubby and I are in AKPK debt management plans with low monthly debt repayments that make saving extra money possible.

This is a series of posts about ‘AKPK DMP Blogger’s Book Review: Tip-Tip Kewangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia by K.C Lau’ – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

Are you familiar with financial terms like cash flow, assets, liabilities, good debts, bad debts and compound interests? No? Then, it’s time for you to start getting familiar with them if you would like to manage your debt, control your spending, pay down debt and accumulate wealth.

Bahagian 1 – Tip Kewangan Bijak (Tip #1 – #7)

Tip #1 – Jadilah Seorang Pakar Kewangan
Tip #2 – Ketahui Nilai Masa Anda
Tip #3 – Focus Kepada Meningkatkan Pendapatan
Tip #4 – Jadi Kaya Melalui Hutang Berlebihan
Tip #5 – Miliki Rancangan Peruntukan Belanja Jutawan
Tip #6 – Eksploitasi Faedah Kompaun Untuk Bekerja Untuk Anda
Tip #7 – Nilaikan Sesebuah Pelaburan Dengan Pantas Menggunakan Peraturan 72

There are 50 tips of cutting down your expenses at Tip #3. Try them and see whether they help you reduce your spending.

If increasing your income is currently not possible for you, then cutting down your spending/expenses is a good option. However, if there is a way for you to increase your income, by all means, do so. K.C. Lau has listed 25 ways of increasing your income.

Tip #5 is about budgeting. I have failed many times when it comes to doing a budget. But I don’t give up. Recently, I challenged myself by setting up a 30-Day Challenge of Tracking Every Dollar and Cent Project to record where my money goes to.

By knowing what I spend my money on and how much I pay, it’s easier for me to control my future spending/expenses. Eh, sound familiar? I have told myself my times leh. Wuahaha!

You know, K.C. has listed more than 20 websites where you can download free budget spreadsheets and budgeting tools. You can try out a variety of spreadsheets, from the most simple one to the most complicated one, before you decide which suits your style.

Wow, I am very, very long winded! There are 5 parts for this book review – Tip-Tip Kewangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia by K.C.Lau!

What to do? People have shorter and shorter attention span now. They read the first paragraph, scan through the rest and read a bit of the conclusion of an article. Me too.

In brief, this book is suitable for those of you who would like to learn how to save money, cut down on expenses, increase income, protect your money and build wealth.

Just like the description on the book cover says, Panduan Mudah and Praktikal Untuk Menguruskan Kewangan Peribadi Anda, the tips are easy to understand and follow.

This book is available at all major bookstores at RM29.90. You can also order online here.

Thanks, Adino, I copied the online store link from your post about ‘Tip-Tip Kewangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia.

This is a series of posts about ‘AKPK DMP Blogger’s Book Review: Tip-Tip Kewangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia by K.C Lau’ – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

Do you read a book from page 1 till the last page or from the most appealing chapter to the least interesting one? I am definitely the later.

I started reading K.C. Lau’s Tip-Tip Keawangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia from the chapter that appealed to me most (Bahagian 3 – Menjimat Wang & Bahagian 2 – Menjana Wang) to the least appealing one.

Oh, don’t get me wrong! The contents and tips in the book are comprehensive and useful. It’s only me who doesn’t like certain topics, okay?

Bahagian 4 is all about INSURANCE that I hate, abhor, despise, … However, as much as I hate it, I still tried to finish reading the whole chapter.

If you know nothing/too little about insurance, yes, you have to read extensively about various types of insurance policies and terms and buy enough insurance coverage.

Being surrounded by my brother-in-law, sister and cousin sister (Great Eastern Life Insurance Malaysia), aunt’s sister (Prudential Assurance Malaysia) and friends (Allianz General Insurance Malaysia) who are all insurance agents/managers, it’s for sure that I have enough coverage lor.

Ya, enough insurance coverage and that’s it.

Bahagian 4 – Tip Melindungi Wang (Tip #18 – #24)

Tip #18 -  Lima Faedah Insurans Asas Yang Anda Patut Miliki
Tip #19 -  Insurans Tradisional Lawan Insurans Berkait Pelaburan
Tip #20 – Memahami “Pertukaran Insurans”
Tip #21 -  Ciri Penggantian Pelaburan
Tip #22 – Berhati-Hati Dengan Nasihat Paling Teruk Daripada Ejen Insurans
Tip #23 – Bulanan, Setipa Suku Tahun, Setiap Setengah Tahun Atau Tahunan
Tip #24 – Usaha Minima Untuk Mengekalkan Polisi Berkait Pelaburan Anda

Go to ‘AKPK DMP Blogger’s Book Review: Tip-Tip Kewangan Untuk Rakyat Malaysia by K.C Lau’ – Part 5.

This is a 2-part series of posts about ‘AKPK DMP Blogger’s Two Cents On Wedding Dinners & Funerals‘ – Part 1 and Part 2.

Due to tight budget, it’s either I attend wedding dinners or funerals. Between attending wedding dinners and funerals, I am more willing to attend the later. Why? Why? Why?

You see, wedding is a happy occasion. No matter if you show up or not, the bride and bridegroom are still happy on that day. Worse still, they are not even aware you are there!

On the contrary, funeral is a sad occasion. People tend to feel grateful when you show up. As an example, my second aunt. She sent me her sons’ wedding invitations these past few years, 3 sons I think. I didn’t attend any of them because I was not close to them at all. Of course, wedding money gift must not be left out lah.

Recently, this aunt’s husband passed on very suddenly due to a fall at home. I attended the funeral wake although it meant taking a 2-hour bus journey to KL. My aunt was really surprised when she saw me. She said she didn’t expect I would show up there.

I think my dislike towards attending wedding dinners has also got to do with a few minor incidents that happened during my elder sister and uncle’s wedding dinners.

During the wedding dinner, I helped checking out/chit-chatting with the guests. Guess what I heard when I passed by a table? Some relatives were complaining about the not-so-tasty dishes and the non air-conditioning restaurant.

See, so-called relatives! Argh, I was both mad and sad! Imagine if my sister had heard it, how sad she would have been?

Ya, it’s this incident that I told myself that I would’t want my wedding to be attended by such relatives/friends/family members and also, I wouldn’t want to show up at theirs.

Who wants to mingle with lots of relatives/friends/family members when some/most of them are not loving and sincere? I would rather have a few relatives/friends/family members who are caring, considerate and genuine.

This is a 2-part series of posts about ‘AKPK DMP Blogger’s Two Cents On Wedding Dinners & Funerals’ – Part 1 and Part 2.

Having read Adino’s 50 Great Outdoor Wedding Ideas and Themes a few days ago, I feel like writing something about wedding and funeral today.

It’s quite similar to the comment I left at Adino’s blog, just that this is a looooooonger version.

You see, I am a person who is very against wedding ceremonies, wedding dinners and wedding parties. If you have been reading my blog, you may have come across blog posts mentioning how much I abhor attending wedding receptions and dinners.

There are a few whys I hate attending wedding dinners. First off, it’s very time-consuming. I had had a few bad experiences when I was still living in KL that made me decide that it’s enough.

There was once that a wedding dinner started at 9.30 p.m. I arrived before 7 p.m. and I had to wait until 9.30 p.m. for the dinner to start. At that time, I was pissed off, thinking why I would let people waste ‘my precious time’? You know, it’s like ‘using your own time to do the stuff you don’t like‘.

Ya, now I am at the stage of ’spending my time doing the stuff I like’. Are you ‘using your own time to do the stuff you don’t like’ or are you ‘letting others use your time to do the stuff you dislike’?

Coming back to the wedding I mentioned just now, it’s only a not-close-at-all colleague’s wedding dinner. I don’t even remember his name now!

So, I would only attend wedding dinners of those whom I am very, very close to.

Secondly, it’s money-consuming. A wedding money gift costs between RM60 and RM200, depending how close you are to the bride/bridegroom or the parents of both and also how much ‘face’ you want to give.

It’s fine if there is only a wedding dinner to attend once a month or every few months. But it’s not okay when there are 5 or 6 dinners in a month during peak season! Well, you do the calculations.

To me, a credit-card-debt woman who is now in AKPK debt management program, it’s a financial burden.