How much is enough?

Salam.

Hari ini sudah 14 hari kita berpuasa. Aku doakan semoga kita berterusan di dalam rahmat dan lindungan ALLAH s.w.t. Amin.

Early this morning I heard in the news that one of the sports celebrities is finally divorced and the wife walk away with more than USD100mil. Wow...that is much! Then I have second thot, is that really really enough for her considering her ex worth more than billions?

I remembered the time when I quit my job 3 years ago in order to be a home maker and doing some small business with my own savings (3 years eh...). I was subjected to the envy of all the ladies in the office. One of the colleagues made a remark that she will feel comfortable if she has RM10K in her account. RM10K is considered enough for her. They wished they were me (it has been almost every lady dreams to quit their jobs and spend their life at home you know...pity us). What they did not know was, I still did not have enough during that time. Still short here and there but I quit my job anyway.

How much I wish I have RM100K the least in my account, then I considered it as enough. But then...what would I do if I hit that amount, OMG that is not enough! What can you do with RM100K nowadays? The answer is...not much. Home renovation could take you RM10~20K or more, your child's university education takes another RM30K~40K, performing Hajj /Umrah or holidays with the family may take you another RM30K, emergency fund at least another RM10K. What is left...then you are poor again! Let alone a down payment for the BMW!!!! Then you have to work for it again and again and ...again.

Then I started to realise, enough doesn't mean that you have a lot of money or have a lot of material things. Enough is what you feel inside your heart. Enough is when you feel blessed with what you have but not with what you don't.

Let's go back to the celebrity's ex-wife, I believe that it may not be enough to her considering her current lifestyle that she is having at the moment, she must be craving for more. Then it must be true that; It's not your salary that makes you rich, it's your spending habits ~Charles A. Jaffe.

May ALLAH gives us enough.

Make Money, Not Excuses

Salam,

Ada satu buku yang agak menarik tajuk nya. Make Money, Not Excuses by Jean Chatzky. Belum jumpa lagi free e-book download, tapi dah jumpa blog writer tersebut. The intro goes something like this;

A few years ago - after reporting on money for fifteen years - I finally cracked the code. If you want to get rich, you need only do four things:

1. Make a decent living
2. Spend less than you make
3. Invest the money you don’t spend
4. Protect the financial world you build so that a disaster doesn’t take it all away from you

Sounds easy, I know. So why, then, is it so hard, particularly for women? - Jean Chatzky.

I would agree on certain points. I have one question, do we have to do all that? Why should we sacrifice now, so that we can enjoy later? Will we arrive at LATER? Shouldn't we live our lives to the fullest? For me, life is too short. Even Micheal Jackson died at 51!

Is it necessary to be rich? I think it is good to have some savings but not to the extend of not enjoying your life. Why bother to be rich if you have enough on everything. Thank you to Allah for giving me enough when I need it most. I know that I'm not rich but what is important, I'm really feeling rich and happy!

Last but not least, sabda Rasullullah (s.a.w), " Adalah lebih baik kamu tinggalkan waris kamu sedikit harta daripada tidak berharta". Maaf, tak ingat siapa periwayat hadis ni. Jadi, tak perlu lah jadi orang yang kedekut untuk hidup ini. Bukan kita boleh bawa mati duit yang kita simpan banyak-banyak tu. So, spend some, save some!

Suze Orman's Financial Plan

I watched Oprah's Best Life this morning as usual..my routine (Thank you Allah, what a good life I have!) Something to share ;

Be honest and stay honest with your financial stand. Be truthful to your partner about your expenses. Spending is related to emotion, the more you hide from your partner, the more you spend.

Spending Action Plan
1- Sit down and discuss with your partner on your expenses. Separates "wants" from "needs".
2- Circle all expenses that are "wants".
3- If you have debts and no savings, eliminate "wants".

Saving Action Plan
1-Save enough to cover 8 months expenses.
2-Decide how much you can save each months and add 20%.
3-Search around for a saving account with highest interest rate (not applicable for Muslim)

Spending Pledge
1-Do not spend money for 1 day
2-Don't use your credit card for 1 week
3-Don't eat at restaurant for 1 month.

Credit cards payment
1- Line up your credit cards from the highest to the lowest
2- Pay the minimum on each card.
3- Pay any extra money to the card with highest interest rate.
4- Once the first card paid off, roll that money over to the another card.
5- Pay bills on time
6- Never go further than credit limit.
7- Stop using credit cards further.

I think one of the reasons why American financial collapsed was due to the overspending. They seriously have extravagant lifestyle. If we don't take any precaution, Malaysians will suffer the same especially credit cards spending. As a Muslim we should take Rasulullah (SAW) advice, be moderate in everything. Ironically, that is the hardest thing to do!