Major Landslide!

For those who have been wondering why I haven't posted for about a week, this is the reason that I have- I was caught in a landslide! A reason good enough, I hope.

All power and telecommunication to my housing area was cut off. The main road was inaccessible due to the debris from the landslide and the houses that collapsed from the impact of it. Finally we had to come out through a jungle, which was cleared by the army personnels who arrived at the location for the search and rescue operation.


We could see young and old alike trying to vacate the disaster stricken area as soon as possible. In total, 14 beautiful bungalows was destroyed and 4 persons were killed and 1 body still not found in the tragedy. Luckily the number of death was low as it occurred during a long weekend break and most of the occupants were away.

Please bear with me until I get things sorted out.

Petrol vs Soda

The current petrol price is at RM1.90 per litre.It is displayed clearly at the station.And I do see it each time I fueled my car. And all this while I've been complaining about it.

However, yesterday as I went to the ATM to withdraw some cash before going to the counter, I picked my favourite soda drink - actually any iced soda drink can be voted as my favourite. I just can't let this addiction go. I paid the amount and walked to the car. As I was walking I noticed the price of this drink - RM 2.10 for a 500ml bottle. It's more than double the price of the petrol!

Let's face it. Petrol for the car becomes a basic need now, I have to pay for it whether I like it or not. Its the means of transportation for me and also it enables me to go to work and make a living.And yet I've been complaining.

On the other hand, I've been spending willingly and unconsciously at the same time for the sodas.And I've been very happy about it.What good does it do? Increase my chances of suffering from diabetes later.Weaken my set of teeth and strengthen the wallet of my dentist. Hmmm... looks like there are no benefits at all on my side.

Something is seriously wrong here. The priorities programmed in my brains is not right at all! All this while I was prepared to fork out money for my wants more than I'm willing to pay for my needs. After this, I should put in some additional effort to control my tastebuds. At the same time save some extra money.

What other things that can fall into this category? Do you have any experience to share? Please share your experience in the comments section.

Some Financial Mistakes You should Avoid As A Parent

It is easy to blame on other people's mistake. But this post is not about that. I love my parents and appreciate whatever sacrifices they have made to bring me up. And without any doubt, they love me too. Just that they loved me and my siblings too much that they unintentionally made some mistakes along the way.

For instance, they never allowed any one of us to work during the school holidays. Even until I was 17! The reason they had was if we earned our own income, we will be too comfortable with it that we would not concentrate on our studies anymore. The problem: we failed to understand the challenges of working life until very much later stages of our lives.

Another issue that I can clearly remember is that they never allowed us to spend our 'gift money' that we received during celebrations or birthdays from friends, relatives and even parents themselves as we like. We were told to put it into our savings. However, if we needed anything, we should ask our parents and if they were okay with it, they would get it for us. The problem: we failed to make our own choices and differentiate between the needs and wants.

They pampered us too much. They tried to provide us with all the comfort that they could. When my youngest brother got a job,my parents insisted that they should send and fetch him. Many times I've insisted that he should stand on his own feet and make use of public transport available, especially when he is 25!

Apart from that, my brother uses the car during the weekends just to go and meet friends and hang-out. I can see the problems arising:

• he doesn't learn budgeting, because he still gets free rides

• his time management skills are nil because he gets to tell parents when he is ready to leave and not the other way around

• once he is very comfortable with driving (parents-sponsored), it is difficult to use public transport.

How is he going to get by when he can't afford all these comforts with his small salary later on?