Paying 85% Interest Rate on your Personal Loan?

Luckily that is not happening in Singapore. 

I do not think loan sharks even charge that much!

As read on The Sunday Times May 30, 2010 – NBA Player told to pay 85% interest (Left)

85 per cent interest charged on a personal loan from Allstar Capital is perfectly legal in Nevada.

The article carried a report on a National Basketball Association (NBA) player Eddy Curry. He has a US$60million (S$84.3million) contract that includes a US$11million option for next season. If you (like me) have not heard of this basketball player who earns this fabulous amount of money, it is totally understandable. Why? His total playing time in the last two seasons: 10 games (That’s an amazing pay for a highly paid cheerleader?)

A judge in New York ordered Curry to pay US$75,000 a month plus interest on his personal loan and had a lender seize 3 of Curry’s car as he was late in his loan repayments.

Lessons to be learnt from this article, clichés as they may be?

It is not how much you earn; it is how much you save!

Despite his salary, this player took a personal loan of US$570,000 from Allstar Capital in 2008. He also owes a fellow NBA player Juwan Howard US$350,000.

The reasons which may go toward explaining his situation?  He has 12 cars including a Rolls-Royce (1 for each month of the year?), a personal chef that is paid US$6,000 a month, spends US$1,000 on television and satellite television and gives US$16,000 a month to his relatives (I need a relative like that!).

As the article rightly sums it up, he makes a lot, spends a lot and owes a lot.

Financial Education

Despite me jokingly saying Eddy Curry is a highly paid cheerleader by the courtside, he must be a really good basketball player to get to where he is. You may also be a really good or highly paid engineer/doctor/lawyer/singer/actor/employee (anything in the world) but your efforts may count for nothing if you do know how to manage your money.

Get educated financially (reading this is a good sign!).  I am not even talking about going through Financial Reports of companies, reading Prospectuses and all the financial jargons of Finance and Investments (*yawn*).

Start with basic Personal Finance of insurance, savings and investments. It is not that hard. Learn to budget and keep track of your expenses to know how you are utilizing your money and whether you have positive or negative cashflow. Learn simple asset allocation so you do not have all your money in one basket where a scam or financial meltdown means starting from zero. Learn to avoid falling victim to scams or unscrupulous investment/financial advisers by understanding simple finance and investment principles.

It’s about knowing that when a loan offered to you comes with a interest rate of 85%, you hold on to your wallet and dash out of the door immediately!

A-B=?

It is simple mathematics, really! Simple mathematical formula of: A-B

If “A” = Income and “B” = Expenses

Over time,

If A is greater than B              A-B = Positive = Financial Security

If A is lesser than B                A-B = Negative = Financial Worry

And it doesn’t matter if your “A” is $20,000 per annum or $20million per annum.

Keep these in mind. Keep learning. Keep growing. Wishing you every success on your Financial Journey!

If you have any feedback or enquiries, feel free to leave a comment. Alternatively, you can email me at mywealthmodel (@) gmail.com

Revealed! - The proven system for filling your inbox with fat cheques from little known internet companies that desperately need your help! by Jaz Lai

• Topics: Online Business, Internet Marketing, Email list
• Speaker: Jaz Lai
• Time: 730pm to 10pm
• Location: Suntec City Convention Level 2
• Register
• Online: www.clickevents.com
• Organized by: Click Events
• Website: www.clickevents.com

(Click for the complete list of advertised previews)

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**Please note: This is for the purpose of sharing information only. It is not an endorsement for or against the trainers, seminars or courses. Information stated is what happened on the day I attended, details may defer for different batches. Do your own research, make your own judgement. **

Review

The location was accessible and easy to find. Suntec City Convention Center, most of us would have been there before. There were many people waiting around for the seminar and they have a banner and registration table which makes it easy to locate when you are around the area. 

The timing of the seminar was given as 730pm to 10pm. The registration started at 7pm and the actual preview lasted from 730pm to 945pm. There were 60 to 70 attendees. It was a mixture of young and old, white collar and blue collar workers. There were students and retirees as well. Some of the attendees seem to know about internet marketing and experienced in online businesses. 

  

730pm It started with showing of testimonials from successful ex-students of his course. Had an “emcee” who shared his own testimony and did the introduction for Jaz Lai. Super cheesy move of getting everyone to stand up and clap to welcome the arrival of Jaz Lai.

745pm Jaz begins his preview. Explained basic concepts of driving traffic to freebies and earning money and touched on affiliate marketing.

Gave his background on hows he got started on internet marketing and described it as a “magic button”.

Explained the 3 step money system that Gurus use which has NEVER failed before.

1.  Lead Capture Mechanism – Building a squeeze page where there’s a headline, free product, its benefits in bullet form and a registration form for people to sign up with name and email address to get the free product.
2. Build a database of subscribe – More traffic = Bigger list
•    How to direct traffic to your site? – Written article, Audio, Video, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Email your lis
  
  
3. Send them a targeted offer

My takeaways from the preview? He gives more information than what you can usually and easily find online. Found the session useful and there's more value-add to some readily available information online.

9pm His course? Create your own money making magic button: 3-day training 10am to 6pm
What you will learn (as advertised)? 
Sell to a market with tons of buyers.
Build a mega list in 90 days.

Own squeeze page.
System with multiple income and ZERO maintenance.
Your own list of subscribers.
Exact email templates.


After training follow-up
Attached success coach to guide you along.
24 hour support system.
Office hour Live support over phone or sms
1 refresher training a month after workshop
Bonus: 7 Days quick cash formula, which is a mini launch sequence, potentially making $5,000 to $25,000
Activity Schedule.

Price?
Advertised as $2,497.
If sign up $1,997


Ends with more testimonials.

They have a great follow-up system. Received a call the next day to ask about how I felt about the preview? The price and the course? etc.. And whether I would like to sign up! (Which I didn't)

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Something must be right if 430,891 sites link to this blog as recorded by alexa!!


If you like this blog, you can subscribe by entering your email address on the top left hand corner for updates or special freebies, or subscribe via RSS on the top right hand corner. 


Top 3 readers' Favorite right now, Read them if you missed it and see for yourself maybe that's why 430,891 sites link in :


1) 0% Interest Rate for your Savings Account! 
- Understanding the interest rates given for your savings account by the banks and what it means in terms of interest earned on your capital.




2) The Crisis of Credit Visualized 
- Video explaining the Crisis of Credit in a simple to understand explanation on matters such as sub-prime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps.




3) Conmen pose as landlords in Online Scams 
- Take note of property rental online scam that has been reported in the papers and what to watch out for if you are sourcing to rent.


Check back for more useful information...

$6million lost in Land Banking!

200 lose $6m in British Land Deals - The Straits Times Friday, May 14 2010


Close to 200 investors lost an estimated $6 million in total.
They had purchased plots of land from $15,000 through Singapore company Land International (Far East) after promises of "high returns with regular payouts for three years". A retired Singapore permanent resident lost $120,000!


Following an insolvency probe, the parent company, Land International, was shut down by the British government in 2008.


Please note that, land plots continued to be sold to investors here through Land International (Far East)!


The issues highlighted:

1. Investors were told that the company would seek planning permission to develop these land though the land plots have been zoned as "greenbelt" or protected land on which no development is allowed.
2. Promised payouts to investors stopped late last year.
3. Investors are unlikely to get their money back as they had been issued title deeds for their plots.
4. Differing claims: Director of Land International (Far East) suggested investors appoint their own consultant to get planning permission, an investor claims they had been told upon signing up that a planning consultant would be hired on their behalf.
5. Directors of parent company distanced themselves from the Singapore business

Lessons to learn on Land Banking

Mr Seah Seng Choon's (Executive Director of Consumers Association of Singapore) advice on Land Banking

1. It's a high-risk investment
2. Due diligence - Information on the land being offered such as the condition of the land, its leasehold and restrictions on its use

**Important**

Investors here will not be protected by the law for this kind of investment.

"Land-banking investments involve investors acquiring direct interests in real estate rather than in securities related to real estate and, as such, fall outside the scope of the Securities & Futures Act (SFA) and Financial Advisers Act (FAA)"

- spokesman for the Monetary Authority of Singapore

Con men pose as Landlords in Online Scams

As reported in The Straits Times Friday, May 14 2010


Statistics showed that for the last 2 years, one person fell victim to a property rental scam nearly every day!


Please be aware and beware of such happenings, right in Singapore!
Growing up in a safe and sheltered environment, perhaps we are bringing our complacency online. It could also be why foreigners are more trusting dealing with "Singaporeans" online?


This property rental online scam is targeted at expatriates or foreigners (it can be anybody!) looking to rent properties here. 


How the scam works?
(1) These con men place advertisements advertising properties for rent, respond to notices posted on property websites and trough the online forums.


(2) They will claim that they are not in Singapore and hence, viewing of the property is impossible.


(3) They will send pictures and addresses of the property to be rented out. (Some addresses that were traced by the journalist had properties that were not even built yet or were retail shops)


So please take note before you send or wire any money.


How to avoid falling victim to rental scams?
(1) If you are a foreigner, check with your companies' human resources departments in Singapore for help in finding apartments.
(2) Request all parties - including landlords and agents - to be present when signing documents or making payments in cash
(3) Avoid making payments in cash
(4) To check if the landlords are the genuine homeowners, an online check can be done on the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore's website

Caution

Do not fall victim to the scams!

0% Interest Rate for your Savings Account!

Could that be a headline we will be reading in the newspapers anytime soon?
Luckily, economists are saying that is unlikely to happen in Singapore.


Read this article in the papers today
Could interest rates hit zero? - The Straits Times May 13 2010


Apparently it has happened in Japan.


Singapore Interbank Offer Rate (Sibor), which is the rate at which banks lend to each other, has fell to a new low. Because of this fall, banks has reacted by cutting the the savings rates they offer to consumers.


Do you know the savings interest rates that the banks are offering right now? 
It is about 0.1%!!! (Click here to check the savings rates online for DBS) 
What this means is, for a $10,000 balance in your savings account that pays only 0.1%, the grand total of your interest at the end of 1 year is $10!
Even fixed deposit rates are hovering around 0.1% to 0.7% (Click here to check the Fixed Deposit Rates online for DBS) depending on the amounts and tenure you set aside.


With the what is happening with the economies of US and Europe, the rates are expected to remain this low for the foreseeable future.


Perhaps it's time to look for possible alternatives to make your money work harder for you?

Send request or inquiries to: MyWealthModel(@)gmail . com

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business 2nd Edition - Barbara Weltman

On the cover page it is listed with the following points:

• Quick and easy guidance for starting a profitable home-based business
• Idiot-proof steps for advertising and marketing your business to bring in the bucks
• Down-to-earth advice on budgeting, loans, handling bills, taxes and more!

My review?

They are NOT kidding on the "idiot" part. It really is a idiot's guide.

Read this only if you have no to minimal knowledge on business matters. It covers topics such as creating a Business Plan, investing in Franchise, Marketing strategies and buying a computer to name a few.

The pointers are not of much value-add.

Inventory: be careful not to order too much stocks to prevent and avoid the costs of over-stocking but at the same time, be mindful not to under-order stocks to avoid unfulfilled orders which may upset customers 

Pricing: do not over price your product. If the price is high, there must be justifications on why that is so for your clients to fork out the money.

Actionable after reading?

Unlikely.

So read this only if you are looking for basic knowledge and really a complete idiot's guide.

My rating: 1 out of 5

Wealth Academy Expo 2010 Organized by Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group

What: Wealth Academy Expo 2010
Date: 22nd and 23rd May 2010 (Saturday and Sunday)
Time: 9am to 8pm
Venue: Singapore EXPO Hall 3
Prices: $199 (VIP Class), $69 (Gold Class - Sold Out), $29 (General Class)
Organized by Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group
Click on the above link to place your orders.
Contact No: 6881 8881
Email: wealthacademy(@)akltg.com


$29 for a 2 full-day expo,there's more to gain than lose. This is definitely worth checking out. (Unfortunately I will be overseas over that weekend.)


Speakers at the event are all Asians and stated as self-made millionaires. 
Here is the list of the speakers and what they will be speaking about:


Adam Khoo 
Executive Chairman, AKLTG
Peak Performance Expert
 - Does value investing work in the Singapore market?


Conrad Alvin Lim
Professional Online Trader
Wealth Coach
 - Find out how to position your portfolio for the next 10 years.


Yeo Keong Hee, CFA
Forex Strategist
 - Profit from the Revaluation of the Chinese Yuan.


Jason Wee, CFA
Former Head of Research, CLSA
 - How to invest in under-valued, high growth China stocks.


Patrick Liew
CEO of HSR Property Group
 - Singapore property market outlook, How much higher can it go?


Merry Riana
Self-Made Millionaire at age 26
Founder, MRO Consultancy
 - Planning to be Financially Free.


Joey Yap
Top Fengshui Consultant and Trainer
 - Maximizing your luck and avoiding misfortunes in the year of Tiger


Fabian Lim
Top Internet Marketing Specialist
 - How to create a six-figure income online.. Even without experience!


GM Teoh
Technical Analyst
 - Harvesting profits from crude oil palm futures.


Looks like the speakers are from diverse backgrounds which makes it even more worthwhile to attend. From investing to financial planning and even Fengshui! The quick snapshot about the different areas of expertise from the speakers should be very informative.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

Have difficulty understanding what caused the crisis of credit?
What do all these terms mean and what roles do they play in the financial crisis?
Sub-prime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations, frozen credit markets and credit default swaps.

It may be a year or two ago but if you had not known what exactly it was and how it happened, this video is great at explaining that.

We could all learn from it.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.
The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.

Crisisofcredit.com

The goal of giving form to a complex situation like the credit crisis is to quickly supply the essence of the situation to those unfamiliar and uninitiated. This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

For more on my broader thesis work exploring the use of new media to make sense of a increasingly complex world, visit jonathanjarvis.com.

Support the project and buy a T-Shirt! cafepress.com/crisisofcredit

© Copyright 2009 Jonathan Jarvis