Journey To Understanding Finance The Islamic Way: 2015

Sound Financial Advice and Not Traps

company 12/28/2015 11:33:00 pm

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Part 5:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

financial plan 12/21/2015 11:44:00 am

Bismillah...

Assalammualaikum everyone! Here is the final summary of the forum. Thank you for patiently waiting for the complete set of my summary of the forum. I hope all of you have gained some knowledge through my experiences and enjoyed reading them.

So here goes to the final summary which will be the Conclusion (Overview).

In Conclusion, as a human, we have to lead a simple life, learn to help one another, stay happy with your family by your side and live according to religious and country laws. This creates a harmonious life, so that in times when you need help, people will willingly help you.

Sorry but I have been repeating this, but because I care for my blogreaders, I shall repeat my mantra: Save 10% of your Salary for your Emergency Savings, which is 6 months worth of monthly expenses.

Be smart when spending for your expenses, plan out your monthly expenses at the beginning of the month, track your daily expenditure and then review your monthly expenses at the end of the month and ensure that you cut down on the unnecessary expenses. Yes, I know that most of you would be groaning because of the tedious steps you have to do. Always remember, something good for you, doesn't come easy. One has to be discipline and put in efforts in order to be successful. Make sure you are being consistent.

Once you have the basics such as Emergency Savings, proceed on to do Investments. When you receive profits, don't forget to pay your Zakat of 2.5% and donate some money to the needy.

Ensure that you have also start planning for your Wealth Distribution. Keep in mind that one day when you are not around, make it a clear cut kind of wealth distribution so as to provide miscommunication. This is where you should have instilled good life values in your spouse and children at the very start when the family is young. Ensure that they are taught to be grateful with what have been given to them and not be greedy.

Last but not least, I have been harping about the importance of your financial planning, as this is important especially when you are feeling unwell, a sick person spends more money as compared to a healthy individual.

Would you want to worry when you are having lack of funds when you are sick? No?

Then why wait? When you can actually take actions and start planning now before its too late.

It's your responsibility to ensure that your life are in order. Not others. Other people around you, who really cares, have limited capability to help you. The only one who can help you is yourself.

With this, I seek forgiveness for my lacking in writing, the mistakes I made, is from myself, and the good and knowledge is from Allah. Till we meet in the next blogpost, if God permits. Aamiin.

Wassalam.

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Part 4:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

financial plan 12/19/2015 04:31:00 pm

Bismillah...

Assalammualaikum everyone. This is the 4th of 5 summary of the Forum. In my last blogpost, I touched on "Managing Expenses and Creating Emergency Funds". This blogpost shall be about "Investments and Wealth Distribution".

There are two types of investments. Namely Conventional Investments and Afterlife Investments.

Before I continue to share with you about Investments, first we need to know how much do we need to have in order to retire comfortably.

The above projection of funds required in order to retire comfortably are based on Future Value calculation using a financial calculation. For further explanation, you can check out my previous blogpost here.

So, now you already know how much you need in order to retire comfortably right?

You must be wondering which source of funds you should use for investment.

Use the balance funds that is left after you have done the following:

Save 10% of your salary, first.
Pay for your expenses
Made donation

Salary-Emergency Funds-Expenses-Donation=Balance funds of the Salary

Now you are ready to know about Conventional Investments and Afterlife Investments.

Conventional Investments are investment vehicles meant to grow your money in order to achieve your financial goals.

Some of us will know what does it mean by growing your money. Growing your money simply means making your money work for you or finding ways to obtain more money. This can be done by putting a particular amount into financial products or having your own business or help a business by providing monetary support.

Why do people want to grow money?

= So that the money that they grow, will be their passive income, apart from depending on their monthly salary from their employment. Some people who are smart enough will use their passive income for their retirement planning.

Beware that growing your money is not about getting into Quick-Rich-Schemes which are detrimental to an individual and their financial portfolio. I will write in depth about how to identify dubious investments or Quick-Rich Schemes in future blogposts.

So how to start and how long does it takes to grow your money?

As per my previous blogpost, I have mentioned that you need to ensure that you have built up your Emergency Savings which is 6 months worth of expenses that is being saved, before pursuing your intention to grow your money.

In the previous blogpost, there is also surplus money, after setting aside funds for emergency savings, donations and pay for expenses. This surplus money, you can actually use it to engage with a certified financial planner or banker to get them to recommend you the available financial products in the market. I will write in depth about how to identify a trusted and good financial planner or banker in my future blogposts.

If you are in urgent need to get a trusted financial planner or banker, feel free to drop me an email at nur.farhanah.jasni@gmail.com or you can drop me a Facebook message on my I-Finance Journey page and I will refer you to the respective financial planner or banker.

Keep in mind that in order to see impressive amount of profits, an individual requires to have a time horizon of between 5 to 10 years or more. This is due to the factors that you have to consider where all investments comes with risk and with higher risk comes higher profits, and low risk comes lower profits. Check with your respective financial planner or banker on your risk appetite, so that they can recommend you the right financial products for you.

What happens if you exit your investments too early?

You will face great loss of funds and also a possibility that you exit too early where the price of the market is declining or you have pumped in alot of money in your insurance and you are given not even half of what you have put in. Ensure that you make inform decisions before exiting.

Think carefully before exploring into growing your money with financial products.

I have cases whereby my ex-client came to me and complain that she got approached by another financial planner, who did not do a proper fact finding on her financial capability. Hence this affects her due to the fact that she pays her monthly insurance using her monthly groceries funds.

I also have a close relative whom engages with a banker to buy investment products, and after investing for long periods of time, he actually made a loss instead of profit. Thus affecting his confidence in doing future investments. Do your homework on the types of investments you are engaging in, before you sign on the dotted line on the document.

Afterlife Investments are investments that enable us to contribute on faith-based investments.

So, what’s next after growing your money or when you are actually growing your money? Of course you have to start thinking about Wealth Distribution.

Wealth Distribution is important especially after we have accumulated assets during our lifetime. In Singapore context, Interstate law is being applied on non-Muslims’ legacy. Another option is through writing a will. However for Muslims, Faraidh Law is being applied on one’s legacy. Another option is through writing a Will, Hibah and other methods of wealth distribution.

These methods of wealth distribution is a means to prevent miscommunications and to ensure fair dealing. However, I have observed in the community that there are various cases of families squandering on the new pot of wealth. One has to remember that with these newly acquired wealth, it actually comes with a responsibility. One should not be overwhelmed with greed as it may destroy you and your relation with your other family members. Always remember to help your family members who are not well to do.

With this, I shall continue on to my next blogpost which will be the final summary of the talk.

Wassalam.

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Part 3:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

expenses 12/10/2015 01:13:00 am

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum to my dear blogreaders.

This summary blogpost is the 3rd of 5 for the Menjana Masa Depan Yang Cerah Forum. Keep on looking out for the upcoming blogpost.

Last blogpost I wrote about "Understanding Needs and Wants" and "Financial & Life Plan for different stages of life". In this blogpost, I will be covering about what I shared during my session, "Managing Expenses and Creating Emergency Funds".

Here's the action plan:

1) List down your Life Plan for the next 5years, 10years, 20years etc.

2) Include your Financial Plan into your Life Plan. This Financial Plan is to plan how much you should have by that age. Not only that, include the type of financial instrument that will be used to help achieve your financial goals.

Now you already have your Life Plan and Financial Plan, it's time to go down to the core, which is how you manage your Income, Expenses and Emergency Savings.

Before sharing how you manage your Income, Expenses and Emergency Savings, I would like to put this across:

Are you in denial? Yes? No?

You should save first, and then spend the balance.

Proceed on reading tips on managing your Income, Expenses and Emergency Funds.

First ensure that you have set aside at least 10% of your salary for Emergency Savings.

Then list down your Fixed Expenses:
1) Mobile Bill
2) Transport

Next shall be your Variable Expenses:
1) Utilities
2) Groceries
3) Food (Eating out/Lunch out)
4) Medical Expenses
5) Children allowances
6) Handphone bills/Telco bills

Tips: Try to cut down on unnecessary spending.

Here are some of the things you can cut down on:

Handphone Bill:You can try to minimize usage of watching videos on the go, so as to not over exceed your internet data usage.
Groceries: Try to find cheaper options for the goods you are purchasing. Healthy food does not need to be expensive. List down the food items you plan to buy and plan ahead of your daily meals menu.
Food & Beverage: Cut down on the frequency of eating out or lunching out. Try to cook dinner at home and pack your lunches. This sure saves alot of money.
Transportation: Cut down on using taxi to go to your destination.
Utilities: Switch off lights and fans if you are not in that particular room. Opt for fans instead of air-condition as air conditioner uses more electricity.

Don't forget to give some donations. :)

So, as per the scenario in the figure above, the total Expenditures is $2,690. Mr Ahmad has a surplus of $460.

Emergency Funds are funds where you only use it in case of emergency where you really need money to bail yourself out from financial difficulty. These funds are the ones that you set aside 10% of your income/salary before you spend on expenses.

Emergency Funds (6 months worth of expenses) = $2,690 x 6 = $16,140

Kindly ensure that you have enough Emergency Funds before proceeding on Investments or other kinds of activities which requires funds.

Lookout for my next blogpost where I'll be covering more on "Investments and Estate Planning". Au revoir (Till we meet again.).

Wassalam.

Taken during the Forum.

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Part 2:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang Cerah Forum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

12/04/2015 11:59:00 pm

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Part 1:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang Cerah Forum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

11/30/2015 11:57:00 pm

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Entrepreneurial Journey Part 2

business 9/26/2015 05:47:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone.

I would like to wish all my Muslim blogreaders Salam Eid Adha Mubarak. In this blogpost I will be touching on the financial aspects of business. What is business without a capital to start off with? Some may argue with the previous statement that they can start a business without a starting capital. That depends on the type of business you are working on.

Capital: Financial assets or the financial value of assets, such as cash. The factories, machinery and equipment owned by a business and used in production. (Investopedia.com)

For new entrepreneurs, you may be finding it hard to fund your business for a start, if you do not have hard cash for a start. Just a word of advise from me, it is best not to start your business with a bank loan. Keep in mind that bank loan requires you to make repayment with a high amount of interest. If you are planning to make your business riba-free from the start, you may want to:
1) Save money first, from your salary.
2) Start your business, small first. Start from online business. You do not really need to spend too much on advertisements or rental or employees. Word of mouth via FB is sure the most effective way.
3) You can try loan from your family members, and remember to pay them back.
4) Do up a good business proposal and present it to Angel Investors (Club Ethis/Kapital Boost and others). They run on a profit sharing model.
5) Look out for government grants that are available in the market. Make sure you qualify for them before applying.

For mature entrepreneurs who would like to expand their businesses but lack of funds, you can also try to:
1) Approach Angel Investors to invest in your company.
2) Look out for government grants that are available in the market.
3) I am sure you have a good rapport with your business network, get your business buddies to be your partners, so that you can expand your business further.

Ultimately, I still recommend entrepreneurs to remember to give back to the community at any point of your business progression. Insyaallah there is always barakah in giving back to the community. Wishing all entrepreneurs all the best in their businesses. If you need any recommendations or networks, feel free to contact me at nur.farhanah.jasni@gmail.com .

Wassalam.

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Entrepreneurial Journey Part 1...

business 9/21/2015 09:16:00 pm

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Starting an Entrepreneurial Journey...

business 9/18/2015 05:58:00 pm

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Recovery From Financial Downfall

credit card 9/14/2015 11:08:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone.

In this final blogpost before I move on to the next topic on business, I'll be writing about how to recover from a financial downfall. I have always heard of clients and friends who have shared with me that they have lost money in their investments or they got unemployed or are tied to debts.

I always have this mentality in mind that, we have our highs and lows in life. No matter where you are in life, always remember to donate money, big or small amount, as long as you donate. You never know that Allah will reward you with even more rezeki in future, in times when you really need and you are at your lowest.

Financial downfall happens when your financial portfolio does not fit your current situation or you lack understanding on your own financial portfolio. Talk to your financial adviser on the solutions that they can provide, such as shifting some investments into other investment classes such as equity, bonds, commodities etc. It is important to get your financial adviser to advise you the best solutions as it will affect your financial plans.

I have a handful of friends who are unemployed despite them holding a diploma or degree certifications. They may have some experiences before this. I advise those who plan to leave their job, to keep in mind that they should have at least 6 months worth of emergency savings for their future monthly expenses. Try to continue find jobs on various job portals, try applying/doing freelance job (choose something that is your passion, because it will be easier for you) and maybe you can also think of being an entrepreneur. Make full use of your time and think through what do you like to do.

I understand that it is quite tempting to have lots of credit cards and use them. Try to only use them when you really need to. When going out to buy the things you need, pay using cash, instead of credit card, so that you are aware of your spending. If you are financial savvy, you may put the large purchases into credit card payment and make sure you pay your credit card bill on time, to avoid paying the interest.

With this, this is the end to my Individuals blogpost. If you have any enquiry and would like me to share topics of your concern, feel free to email me at nur.farhanah.jasni@gmail.com .

Wassalam.

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Leaving a legacy of wealth

charity 9/12/2015 02:50:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone.

This will be my second last blogpost on individuals before I move on to business aspects. At any point in our life, I am sure that majority of us already had in mind and already implemented the plans of leaving our wealth, before we pass on. Some of us may be penniless and some with large amount of wealth. But we have to always keep in mind that the right way of distributing wealth is in accordance to Faraidh.

Here are the different methods of leaving your wealth to your beneficiaries/family/relatives:

Faraidh: This is rules that are used to determine which of the relatives of the deceased are entitled to inherit and the portion each is to receive. Of the two-thirds (if one-third is already used for Will), or all of his assets may be distributed. This is to break up the concentration of wealth onto a few individuals and to share with the society. It also encourages people to respect one another of their right of ownership of property through honest means. It also acts as a reminder to individuals that they are not master of wealth but rather trustees to the wealth obtained. Not only that, it consolidates the family system and give incentive to work and encourage economic activity as per required in Islam.
Will (Wasiat): Ability to dispose upon death up to one-third of their property through a will. A will is a legal document which documents instructions on the distribution of your property and the care of any minor children. Assets are referred to upon at the date of death, not at the date of writing the will.The will is being made by a person during his lifetime accompanied with two witnesses.
Gift (Hibah): This is done in a voluntary manner, without receiving or expecting any consideration in return.This aids the means of purifying one's wealth and to lessen the poverty and suffering.
Trust (Waqf): This is like an endowment plan or trust and is being set up during a person's lifetime to fulfil charitable purposes.
Voluntary Charity (Sadaqah): The person giving charity confirms his true devotion and service towards Allah.

Wassalam.

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It's All About The Money.

commodities 9/07/2015 11:52:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone. I have recently posted an article on I-Finance Journey FB page:

As promised in my FB page I will translate what was written in this article for the benefit of my readers who are not malay readers.

As we all know, money is very important in order to purchase goods and services, unless were are in the period where barter trade still exist.

Money aka paper money gets affected by Macro-economic and Micro-economic factors such as:

1) Inflation

= Inflation is the rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising and, consequently, the purchasing power of currency if falling. Central banks attempt to limit inflation,a and avoid deflation, in order to keep the economy running smoothly. (Investopedia)

2) Political Issues

= Political unstability affects the currency due to uncertainty of the country's economies as some foreign companies are either afraid to enter the country's market or they pull themselves out from the market, in order to cut loss.

3) Natural Disasters/Man-made Disasters

= This affects the import and export of the country.

4) Foreign Exchange

= With all the above points, the currency tends to weakens, thus causing a domino effect. Which will be explain below..

As per the article, 10 Factors that Happens When A Country's Currency drops in value:

1) Prevention of using the country's currency by diverting to other country's currency.

2) Hyper-inflation happens, resulting in the paper money being worthless.

3) Failure of the country making payment to industrial areas.

4) Different methods of currency exchanges happens.

5) Citizens rush to purchase their basic necessities.

6) Banks tend to close to minimize large amount of withdrawals of money.

7) High unemployment and poverty rates due to companies not being able to pay their employees.

8) Restriction on currency exchange outside the country.

9) Barter trade replaces paper money.

10) Others: High net worth people tends to park their money in other countries in the form of savings or investment, in hopes that their money will grow in another country. Money laundering happens during this time.

How to solve this problem is to have some physical assets/commodities that can be used in times where money is worthless. It all goes back to the sunnah money, dinar (gold) and dirham (silver).

Wassalam.

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I would like to retire... How much do I need?

finance 9/05/2015 12:31:00 am

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How do I go about doing investment?

bonds 9/01/2015 12:02:00 am

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Investments? What's that?

finance 8/28/2015 11:20:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone.

In this blogpost, I will uncover about Investments. For those of us who are not financial savvy, I may use some technical jargon, but will explain what it means, just in case when you meet your advisers, you will understand what they are actually explaining and providing you.

Long Term Investments:

Long investment horizon of more than one year.

Short Term Investments:

Short investment horizon of less than 12 months.

High Risk Investments:

Usually expose with high level of risk but it comes with high profits.
This type of investment are usually being recommended to medium to high risk tolerant type of investor.

Low Risk Investments:

Commonly expose to low level of risk and comes with lesser profits.
This type of investment are usually recommended to low risk to medium risk tolerant type of investor or an investor who plans to keep aside their money for a short period of time.

Glossary:

Investment Horizon: Duration of investment.
Risk: Investment risk factors can be due to economical, socio-political, natural disaster, market and other types of factors.
High Risk Tolerant Investor: An individual who are willing to lose a large amount of money for a certain period of time before the market recovers, and willing to hold on during the period of time the market is not doing well.
Medium Risk Tolerant Investor: An individual who are willing to lose a minimal amount of money for a certain period of time before the market recovers, and either willing to change to another fund or type of investments during the period of time the market is not doing well.
Low Risk Tolerant Investor: An individual who is not willing to lose their money at all.

I have shared the basics of what are investments and the technical jargons. So here is the real thing...

I have some friends who FB message me: "I would like to invest... How do I go about it?" or "What is the best investment plan can you suggest to me?". Want to know what I answer them? Stay tuned for the next blogpost on Monday, 31 August 2015. Till then.

Wassalam.

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Will You Marry Me?

bride 8/24/2015 11:28:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalamu'alaikum everyone! As promised in my previous post, I will be writing about Getting Married. May Allah bless us with a righteous spouse and marry them because of Allah. This post is based on various interviews that I have done with my parents, cousins, close friends and a handful of my young clients. Not only that, I did some research by reading up online and also visit the wedding booths at Singapore Expo to get the market prices of all the Wedding expenses. This blogpost is solely for reference for soon-to-be brides/grooms and for singles out there who wish to prepare themselves in terms of financial.

I am sure that getting married is a huge step in everyone's life. I may not have experience it now, but from doing my own dream wedding plans and going through research on my own and doing interviews, I felt that before saying "I do", each one of us have to be mentally prepared that planning a wedding is fun, yet serious (especially when money goes out of your pocket). Not only that, an individual have to be committed and believe that their partner is the One. Because I have seen some couples broke apart just afew months before their Big Day.

So lets start with the Wedding Expenses.

1. Wedding Venue ($2k+):
The question is, are you both doing Combine Wedding or Separate?

2. Bridal ($5k+):
I strongly feel that you don't really need so many outfits right? One for Solemnisation (I suggest that if you can go tailor made your outfit, will be cheaper or buy your own outfit, outside your wedding outfit package), One for afternoon wear and One before the end of the whole Wedding ceremony. This depends on your Wedding itinerary.

3. Photographer ($2.5k+):

Try cut cost by not opting for Pre-Wedding Shoot. Opt for wedding shoot and post-wedding shoot only. Or best get your family members to take for you.

4. Videographer ($3k+):

You only marry once in a lifetime, find a trusted videographer and affordable price. Or you actually do not need one, because ask yourself, how many times will you be watching your Wedding video?

5. Wedding Guest List (Invitation Cards) ($1k+):

This is one tricky issue here. I suggest you stick to inviting those who you are close with, those who keep in touch with you, people who have seen you through thick or thin, most importantly your relatives. Remember to limit yourself to how many pax you wish to invite as this may affect your Wedding Venue and also Catering. You can actually design your own card and then send it for printing, it is way cheaper (This for those who are artistic).

6. Entertainment ($1.5k+):

Kompang Procession/DJs? I have seen some weddings only have music playing throughout in the background.

7. Catering ($20k+)

8. Henna Art ($250):

Get your friend or your family members to do it for you. Cheaper. :)

9. Marital Gift Exchange ($2.5k+):

You do not need to get branded goods. Keep in mind that you need lots of money after your wedding.

10. Wedding Cake ($400)

11. Bridal Bouquet ($100)

12. Bridemaids/Groomsmen ($500):

Seriously people? Why do you need alot people to assist you? I remember when I was still young, there is only one best man and one bridesmaid helping the bride and groom.

13. Door Gift ($1.5k+):

Try finding cheaper options for Door Gifts. A Door Gift should either be something edible (chocolates,wafer,egg,sweets) or something that is functional (eg.nail clipper, towel).

14. Wedding Band ($3k+):

You will be wearing this for the rest of your life.

15. Decoration ($3.5k+)

16. Dowry ($10k+):

This depends on the bride/groom. This is a gift from the groom to the bride. (Exclude from wedding expenses.)

17. Bus Rental ($120)

Total Expenses: $42k+

Prophet Muhammad pbuh said: "The most blessed nikah is the one with the least expenses." (Bayhaqi)

May Allah ease all soon-to-be brides and grooms in their process of planning for their wedding. Aamiin. For those single people out there (especially myself), time to do some research and save up before you find your Mr Right/Ms Right. It is never too early to save up, because you will feel less stress when you already have money in hand.

Look out for my next blogpost on Friday, 28 Aug 2015. In syaa Allah till we meet again. Aamiin.

Wassalam.

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Introduction To Financial Planning and Life Planning (Part 2)

estate plan 8/21/2015 07:55:00 pm

Bismillah.

Assalammualaikum everyone! Salam Jum'ah Mubarak! I am sure some of you are waiting for my blogposts. Thank you for your patience in waiting.

I ended my last Monday's blogpost on the first Life Cycle Phase-Young (1-25 yrs old). I will cover the rest of the Life Cycle Phases in this blogpost. Here goes...

Family Formation (26-35 yrs old):

I am sure, majority of us around this age are financially stable and are looking forward to build our very own family or already have a young family with young kids. Want some tips?

Getting married (FDB: Future Detailed Blogpost):

1) Plan your wedding with your partner, compromise and keep it at low cost but of quality.

2) Shop around for good wedding package, venues, invitation cards (if you can design your own card, it will be cheaper), catering etc.

3) Honeymoon destinations? Check out Tripzilla or Agoda or other well-known sites. Make sure you do your homework.

4) Saving for wedding? It is a matter of sacrifice and discipline. It is either you choose to have:

Set up a small online business
Sign up for investment schemes eg.

2.1: CPF Investment Schemes (you may start investing your CPF if you are at not an undischarged bankrupt, have more than $20k in your OA, and or have more than $40k in your SA) ,or

2.2: Endownment schemes (I would advise those who wants to take this, to start as early as 5 years before marriage age, as some endowment plans can withdraw partial amount after 5 years or 10years, depends on the contract - check with your financial advisor.

3. Cut down on your unnecessary expenses, bring home-cooked lunch, or cycle from home to work (if only your workplace is nearby home) or cut down on taking taxi.

Young Family With Young Kids:

Dont feel that your kids are a burden as they are actually blessings from Allah. Keep this in mind whenever you feel financially pressured. Fret not. Here are some tips that I gathered from the people around me who are young and have their own kids.

1) Buy your kids milk formula at Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Halls as they are much cheaper.

2) New mummies out there, breastfeeding is good for both mother and child as it helps create a special bond between both. Not only that, your child actually obtain lots of nutrients from your breastmilk. Plus, this is a cheaper alternative.

3) Diapers: Need not get the most expensive ones (find quality but cheaper cost), because your baby only use them once and then throw them away. I suggest for home daytime use, you can make your own home-made diaper (cheaper, but you need to keep washing the cloth).

4) Baby clothes: Baby grows very fast especially when from newborn. Get for your baby clothes that can last until he/she is 2mths old or more (its going to be abit baggy). Cheapest options are hand-me-down clothes from your relatives or friends whose kids have outgrown them.

5) Saving for your kids:

Open a bank account for your child and save monthly.
Start an endowment plan of 10 years or more (keep in mind this saving is for your child's college/university fees or their wedding)
Don't forget to apply for insurance (get Takaful Insurance, if you have this option) for your kids). Have a mindset that this is for emergency days in case your kids got sick and hospitalised and you are lack slightly in terms of financial.
Get your kids to start saving money on their own with their pocket money. Encourage them to save at least 50 cents a week or more (depends on individual parents). Point is, educate them about managing their finances.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Family Development (36-45 yrs old)

At this point in time, majority of you would be having kids who are already in their primary school or secondary school stage. It is time to start thinking further about your investment plans and retirement plans.

Keep in mind:

- That you have to save at least 10% of your paycheck before spending on your expenses.

- Ensure that before you start investing, you should have at least 6mths worth of savings which enable you to pay for your expenses.
- Get yourself covered with insurance protection too.

- Ask yourself, how long do you plan to do this investment? The following ones are long-term investment strategies (FDB: Future Detailed Blogpost):

CPF Investment Schemes (you may start investing your CPF if you are at not an undischarged bankrupt, have more than $20k in your OA, and or have more than $40k in your SA) ,or
Endownment schemes (upon maturity, you will get a big sum of money which you can withdraw wholly. Don't forget to pay Zakat on Insurance of 2.5%)
Buy physical Gold bars at a low price. Sell them when you are out of money and no other options (make sure you sell them at a high price), or keep them for future inheritance for your kids when you passed on. Don't forget to pay Zakat on Gold if your Gold bar investments are above the Zakat Nisab value.
Invest in some Crowdfunding efforts.

- Short-Term investment strategies are as follows:

Fixed Deposit.
Savings account with the highest hibah.

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Family Maturity (46-55 yrs old)

This is the time when your kids are all-grown up, either in university or getting married.

Tips from Family Development Phase, also applies for this phase. Kindly refer to above.

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Retirement (55-? yrs old)
Congratulations upon reaching your Golden Age. It is time to relax and reap the benefits of your hardwork. By this age, your CPF can be withdrawn in large amounts. Remember to use them wisely, because it is your hard-earned money.

Tips from Family Development Phase is still applicable for this stage.

At this current age, it is time for you to think further ahead for your future generations. It is advisable to start estate planning for your love ones that you will leave to meet the Creator. Keep in mind on issues such as Faraidh and also Will (Wasiat)(FDB: Future Detailed Blogpost), and how it will affect in future, as in how will your kids react after you passed on. Try to minimize misunderstandings as I am sure all of us would want to leave the dunya in peace.
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Yaum Al-Akhirah (Infinity)
You are never too old or too young to start investing for your akhirah. Here are the things that you can do:

Sadaqah (Donation)/Infaq/Waqaf: These are the various forms of donations that we can channel to the various avenues such as the mosques, the less fortunate, orphans, set-up of a new islamic building, education for the students who are from low-income background and other examples.

Zakat: Zakat is a means whereby all Muslims who are wealthy enough, must purify their wealth through the act of giving charity. You have to pay zakat on your insurance, investments and savings, upon maturity or upon withdrawal or have been in possession for one whole year(savings/physical gold bars), as long as it is above the Zakat Nisab, and it is 2.5% of the value of your insurance/investments or savings.

Haji (Pilgrimage)/Umrah: Haji is part of the 5 pillars of Islam. When you have the means to go for Haji, save money with the intention that it is for you to embark on your journey to the Holy Land of Mekah. May Allah ease our affairs and enable us to visit the Holy Land of Mekah, at least once in a lifetime. Aamiin. For those of us who are unable to perform Haji due to lack of financials and would still want to visit the Holy Land of Mekah, you can start by performing Umrah first. Ultimately, it depends on individual's financial capability.
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Alhamdulillah. I have managed to cover all the different phases of life planning and financial planning. I hope it helps all of us to have a clearer picture and some ideas on managing our life. Always keep in mind that Allah does not burden His creations. Live life minimally, remain grounded in life and always remember to help people who are in need. Insyaallah, there are barakah in helping people who are in need. With that, I shall continue to an in-depth topic next Monday for some of those parts in this blogpost that I indicated as "(FDB: Future Detailed Blogpost)". All the knowledge that I have shared here is from Allah, and any flaws in this blogpost is from myself.

Wassalam.

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Part 5:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

Part 4:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

Part 3:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang CerahForum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

Part 2:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang Cerah Forum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

Part 1:Public Speaking Experience @ Menjana Masa Depan Yang Cerah Forum @ NKF Kim Keat Road, 15 November 2015.

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