Link Roundup #41: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
13 Things Rich People Never Waste Their Money On

– Family Handyman

The 13 things are (prepare to feel defensive):

Impulse buys

Extreme inheritances

TV channels and video games (do NOT take my Netflix and Steam away from me!!!)

Luxury brands

An over-priced home

Buying instead of renting

Pricey grooming

Multiple credit cards

Late fees

Things that don’t last

Stuff over experiences

Retirement (basically, the rich don’t plan on quit working, so you better like what you do)

Gambling

Click on the article link to read the justification for each.

2.
We Can Help Poor People by Treating Them With Respect

– Time

Once, I sat on a panel to give feedback on startup ideas designed by youths.

One of them came up all confidently, presenting their idea – a sleeping bag for the homeless. The padding makes it comfortable and will give them a good night sleep right there on the sidewalks of KL, they said.

Don’t get me wrong. The intention is good.

It’s so condescending though.

Sometimes – and here I’m speaking of myself, too – our privilege makes us blind to challenges that other people face. The poor want and need help, yes, but
with their consultation and feedback
. What we might *think* is useful is often… not.

It’s also like how some people argue against giving children of well-to-do parents free food in schools. They say that only poor kids deserve that kind of help.

Again, I get their intention. Maximising the use of the money to those who need them the most.

But did you know in some countries where they earmark the food for poor kids, the kids themselves chose to starve themselves because they didn’t want the humiliation of being identified as poor among their peers?

Think of this when you do charity work. Your version of good may not be your recipient’s version of good.

3.
4 Ways To Earn Passive Income By Working Smarter

– Forbes

I usually balk at all of these ‘passive income’ tips – mostly because they’re never really passive, so it’s incredibly misleading – but these tips by Nicole Walters are really good. She’s the person behind the
$1K1Day Academy
, the course designed for entrepreneurs.

I also like that Nicole is a woman and a POC, so her experiences and tips have better nuance than the ones usually given by white men (who typically face much less challenges).

4.
Entrepreneurs Use Vision Boards. The Results Are Backed by Neuroscience
– Inc

!!! A fun yet practical project – creating a vision board!

This is actually very challenging for me because I’m not a particularly visual person – I like words (this explains why I make my living as a writer). Forcing myself to do the vision board with just images and without text will be a new experience 🙂

5.
How the German concept of ‘Sitzfleisch’ can help you achieve greater efficiency
–
The Ladders

Sitzfleisch
 translates literally as “sit-flesh,” but the German word has a strong connotation to productivity.

In German, if someone ‘has a lot of
Sitzfleisch’
, it figuratively means
they can endure lengthy or boring tasks until they’re done
.

Sitzfleisch is
the antidote to procrastination — getting through hard periods of uninterrupted work.

Sometimes, that’s all there is to it, eh? There’s really no way to make it more ‘fun’.  You just have to soldier on regardless how lengthy or boring it is.

6.
Story archetypes and their use in digital marketing strategies
–
The Drum

Want to know why you like the branding of one particular brand over another? It’s not coincidental, you know. Companies carefully craft their messaging in order to attract you (or rather, your money).

You fit into one (or a few) of the archetypes.

For example, if you identify within the archetype The Lover, you are: ‘Appreciative, passionate and committed, the lover’s purpose in life is to make people feel special. Brands tap into this feel-good attitude by creating compelling digital marketing strategies that pleasure the senses. A great fit for aesthetically beautiful brands, especially very exclusive ones, such as Hermes.’

Recommendation: take the
 ‘which is your archetype’ quiz
, then click on the article to read how messages are crafted to be appealing to yours archetypes. Note: It’s possible to get a combination of archetypes.

7.
When You Should Quit Your Job Without Having Another One Lined Up

– Harvard Business Review

Because some things are not worth the money. Quit your job:

When you believe something illegal or
unethical is going on at work
 and you are concerned it will reflect badly on you

When your current job is negatively affecting your health and your life outside of work

Make sure to plan it to the best of your ability though. Do what you need to do to have enough emergency savings. Let your contacts know you’re looking for other opportunities. Minimise your expenses and commitments. All that.

8.
List of Fintech Startups and Fintech Companies in Malaysia (2019)
–
 FintechNews Malaysia

I *know* this image took a lot of effort to compile and create, so kudos to the FintechNews MY team! Nice snapshot of the Malaysian fintech space.

9.
How To Respond When Asked: What Salary Were You Expecting?
– Inc

Somewhat related – apparently its fairly common practice in Malaysia that companies interviewing you for a role would ask you to list down salaries you made in your
previous
 employment. It’s happened to me too.

I just want to say… You can treat those as optional. I’ve left those sections blank before AND gotten job offers.

If they insist, say the role offered is unique and you are open for negotiation after the interview. If they insist again, walk away.

Don’t worry about it too much. It’s not a lost opportunity – you just skipped out a bad employer. (Good) employers know that if they base it solely on price, they will lose the best talents.

10. Why Anti-Aging Products Are So Expensive – Business Insider

I. Hate. Products. That. Capitalise. On. Women’s. Insecurities.

Especially if they can cost this freaking much, due to just freaking marketing and branding.

So it is my great pleasure to share with you, dear friends, that ‘
according to skin experts, the lavish ingredients inside aren’t guaranteed or necessarily proven to be more effective than standard moisturizing ingredients
.’

So if you need skincare products, just buy the drugstore ones, and save your money for what you’re meant to do – world domination.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #42: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
One Habit That Holds You Back from the Life and Career You Want
– Maybusch.com

That habit is the habit of seeking permission, something that most, if not all of us were taught since young.

If you have not unlearned this habit, 2020 is the time to do it.

To be clear, a lot of things do require permission. This article refers to the decision-making processes that don’t, or can be achieved even if someone said ‘no’.

2. This Twitter thread about self-representing your own fraud case in civil court

Kalau member hutang korang dalam RM5,000.00 ke bawah, (contoh main kutu tak bayar, pinjam duit buat modal business, pre order iphone etc),

tak payah pakai peguam. Boleh bawak kes sendiri. Pergi terus kaunter Mahkamah – Tuntutan Kecil.
pic.twitter.com/j1uAzBp03Q

— Syafiq Bahtiar (@syafiqbahtiar)
December 23, 2019

Click the tweet and read the replies because there are lots of super useful information!

3.
Before You Get Engaged, Ask Your Partner These Tough Questions

– Washington Post

Specifically related to work and money,

How devoted are you each to your careers, and what are your professional goals?

Whose work life might need to be prioritized at times, and how?

Are you open to geographical moves?

Are you looking to make changes in your career, position or education?

Will the burden of being the main source of income or health insurance fall to one of you, be shared or alternate over time?

How might this change if and when you have kids?

How do your spending habits match up?

If there’s debt, who is primarily responsible for it?

What are your expectations around joint accounts vs. your own money?

If there are inheritances or job losses someday, how would those be handled?

Tough, yes, but easier to go through than divorces I’m sure.

There are also tough questions surrounding the topics of health, family, living together, and communication and social interaction (styles). Click the link to find them.

4.
Resolutions Suck; Make A List of Things to Be Excited About Instead
 –
 Vice

I love this approach! Like you, I too have a list of goals that I want to achieve. But what if we frame the year as an exciting one (instead of a stressful one), so we look forward to experiencing it?

It’s also completely fine to add things that might look trivial to others – the list is yours and yours only, after all!

As I grow older and take on more responsibilities and be more ‘adult’, I’ll take any and all opportunities to appease my inner child 🙂

Look at the author’s list, written when she was just 15. It’s so innocent and made me smile 🙂

5.
Say Goodbye to Banking as We Know It

–
Bloomberg

China is launching the first national digital currency, utilising blockchain technology. The implication:

A cumbersome and expensive network of correspondent banks becomes redundant, especially when it comes to the
$124 trillion
 businesses move across borders annually. Imagine the productivity boost; picture the threat to lenders.

The banking industry in Malaysia is shifting as well. Soon you will see advertisements from digital banks, trying to get you as customers. Heck I predict the competition between the first 5 digital bank that hits the market will be intense. We may even get sign-up bonuses, similar to how e-wallet companies attract users now!

@BNM_official
 issues draft framework for virtual banking in Malaysia. Up to 5 licenses to be granted
https://t.co/yfFyBf21JC
#fintech

#virtualbank

pic.twitter.com/KXU0CtMsge

— FintechNews Malaysia (@FintechNewsMy)
December 27, 2019

6.
The Marxist Hack to Spice Up Any Relationship

– The Cut

What an interesting experiment – she (the gf) felt she does more housework and taken advantage of, while he (the higher-earning bf) agreed that housework is work but is not able to contribute more to it.

So they decided that he should pay her for the time and effort that goes into housework in order to keep their relationship going, because fact is aside from this issue, they *are* happy together.

I spent some time calculating how much work I was actually doing: shopping, cooking, putting away groceries, shopping again because I forgot one stupid thing, cleaning up, battling with our shitty oven racks, and doing specialty jobs, like extricating a few ants from a container of maple syrup or scrubbing dried mustard and ketchup out of the refrigerator door.

I was astonished to discover that I was spending at least 15 hours a week on housework. Tor and I decided that for this work, he’d start paying me an hourly wage.

Super cool read if you’re into Marxism theory. Click the article to read the full story and thought process. The history behind The Wages for Housework Movement is fascinating.

7.
The Top 10 Food Trends of The Entire Decade
–
The Kitchn

Aka where your money went in the last 10 years, in one single image.

8.
19 Weird Goal-Setting Tips That Actually Work
–
 Bustle

How can I *not* add this article in this week’s link roundup, if Tip #15 is to procastinate
more
?

Love the science-backed compilation. Give it a read – there’s bound to be a goal-setting tip you haven’t heard/experimented with yet!

9.
Infographic: How Good Are Your Problem Solving Skills?

– Leaderonomics

Great infographics! Find out if you are a systematic problem solver, inconsistent problem solver or intuitive problem solver, then click the link to get tips to be a better problem solver based on your type.

10. How We Plan Our ENTIRE YEAR In Advance – FunCheaporFree.com

It started with a random tweet

I really want to attend a plan-my-whole-year workshop. Does something like this exist?

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
December 29, 2019

Then a kind-hearted soul (she locked her account so I assume she wants the privacy) shared me this amazing video. It’s really good, lots of actionable tips!

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #43: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
Here’s an example of the perfect answer to ‘Tell me about yourself,’ according to Yale career experts
 – CNBC Make It

It’s not a bad idea to learn the art of humblebragging without making it look like humblebragging. No shade, its true, I do it too.

2.
How to Find A Great Career in Golden Years
 – CNBC

This article is for everyone who is retired (by force or by choice) with not enough retirement savings and seriously considering to re-enter the job market.

…and everyone who would like to know what to do if you ever got in that situation.

3.
Highly Likable People Avoid These 12 Behaviors

– Inc

*Me going through the list of behaviours trying to think if I do them because I care about being likable*

4.
Here’s why being likable may make you a less effective leader

–
 Fast Company

But… apparently being
too
 likable isn’t a good thing either.

Why is life so complex.

5.
How to Have a True Hobby, Not A Side Hustle

– Vox

All of my favourite hobbies – reading, surfing the web, watching Youtube, journaling, gaming – are either (1) practical hobbies that helps my business, and (2) involves the screen.

I don’t agree that those are not ‘true hobbies’, since I really do enjoy doing them, but I acknowledge I need to explore other activities, especially those that involve crafts and music. It’s been a while, I miss those.

6.

The grooming gap: What “looking the part” costs women

– Salon

This excerpt though:

We’ve all heard the common advice to “look the part” at work. For men, that can often just mean business casual clothing and a short haircut. For women, it can mean hours spent each week on makeup, hair styling and curating an outfit that’s both attractive and professional.

The rules are usually unspoken; even when employers do not explicitly require workers to wear makeup, for example, women workers often feel required to wear it anyway.

They’re not wrong: Sociologists Jaclyn Wong and Andrew Penner
found that
 physically attractive workers have higher incomes than average-looking workers, but that this relationship is eliminated when controlling for grooming in women.

In other words, if you purchase the right clothes, makeup and haircut, higher wages are more within reach.

It’s true that men need to abide by certain grooming rules, too, but they are less complex, less expensive and less time consuming. Men’s haircuts, for example,
often cost much less
 than women’s haircuts — regardless of hair length.

The grooming gap essentially constitutes a pay cut catch-22: If women don’t conform, they are paid less; if they do conform, they’re expected to use those higher wages on beauty products and grooming regimens.

7.
I’ll Share My Salary Information if You Share Yours

–
The New York Times

Your employers don’t want you to share salary information. It may expose their hidden biases. It could be gender, race or other factors.

So do it. If you’re underemployed, think of how much money you’re losing each day because you didn’t know your worth.

How to bring it up in a conversations with colleagues? Use their template:

“I was talking to another friend about how they share their salary figures, and I am trying to understand if other people do this. So I was wondering, do you do this? Would you feel O.K. telling me what your salary is? I’ll tell you mine.”

Happy sharing.

8.
Centre.my’s Kalkulator Perbandingan Kemampuan

Centre.my devised a calculator that tells you how long it takes to save up for certain purchases, using your salary and savings rate. It’s quite fun to toggle around: see the difference in time it takes based on 10% vs 25% savings rate from RM2000 salary.

In the same page you will also find another calculator, but this time it’s a cheeky one! You can compare how much a waiter (monthly salary = RM1040) will need to save up to afford all the things, and compare that to the highest job option, Executive Director AirAsia (monthly salary = RM472,782).

Note: No shade to Dato Tony Fernandes. His salary is high but its not the highest one. Other Malaysian CEOs make more than that.

9.
“A lifestyle with less expenses, less work, and more time”: the benefits of vanlife
–
Lonely Planet

It’s easy to fantasise about the #vanlife, but it’s probably not the lifestyle I want for myself.

Even so, this couple’s van is COOL so I can’t help sharing this link! This is what happens when two engineers decide to remodel their van:

What can I say. I love a pratical layout that optimises small spaces.

10.
27 Chrome Extentions to Boost Your Productivity
 – Ladders

And last but not least, some useful Chrome extentions because let’s face it, we’re already hooked to Google for life so why not make it work for us.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #44: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
How to Build a Great Relationship with a Mentor
– Harvard Business Review

According to the article:

The
research
 on the power of mentorship is pretty clear: People with mentors perform better, advance in their careers faster, and even experience more work-life satisfaction. And
mentors benefit
, too. After all, “to teach is to learn twice.”

But somehow, our culture kind of promotes animosity between different age groups? The whole #OKBoomer thing made it worse (I understand why it trended; its just, does it do more good or does it do more harm? That’s the question).

In 2020, I do want to unlearn negative stereotypes I had of older folks. We Millennials and Gen Z talk big of being inclusive, so let’s walk the talk. Ageism is a form of discrimination as well.

2.
Make This The Year You Stop Wasting Food (And Money)

– HuffPost

Of all the tips in there, I think this one is the most helpful: store foods to last. Knowing how to store produce properly makes them last longer.

If you’re too lazy to do that (like me), then do what I do: buy mostly long-lasting produce, not the ones that go bad in a couple of days. Either hearty ones like cabbages and carrots, or frozen ones like frozen spinach and blueberries.

Related:
5 Things I Did To Reduce My Damn High Groceries Bill

3.
When a Promotion Leads to a Divorce
– The Atlantic

One major contributing factor to great life satisfaction AND financial stability is long-lasting marriages, which is why I will keep sharing research-backed articles discussing the intersections of marriage life and careers.

This particular one invites a lot of self-reflection. The article said:

“Divorce was especially likely when the recently promoted wife was at least four years younger than the husband and when she had taken the great majority of parental leave time.”

“In select interviews, the researchers heard from some men that their newly successful wives “didn’t care about him or the household anymore,” as they put it in an email to me. “The man did not take pride in her promotion but rather thought that she didn’t care about him as much as she used to.”

The solution, as it turns out, isn’t hard. Simply a change in perspective – above all, its about being happy for the people you love.

After women get promoted to CEO, they’re 2x as likely as men to get divorced.

Apparently one of the reasons is male ego.

Hey men: when the women you love succeed, it’s not a threat to your status. It’s a cause for celebration.
#SundayThoughts

#wef20

https://t.co/uYBhhMVnOA

— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant)
January 19, 2020

4.
‘The Best Thing You Can Do Is Not Buy More Stuff,’ Says ‘Secondhand’ Expert

–
 NPR

“Your average thrift store in the United States only sells about one-third of the stuff that ends up on its shelves,” he says. “The rest of the stuff ends up somewhere else.”

Okay guilty as charged. I’ve certainly justified buying more stuff with the intention of donating old stuff away.

Turns out, I’ve overestimated the value of my donations. They’re not being used, they just become waste. All that feel good feeling, for nothing. A great example of causing harm even with the best of intentions.

Quick, how can I feel better about myself?

5.
Wonder What to do with Old T-Shirts? Here are 15 Things Beyond Turning Them into Rags
 – WellandGood

So many amazing ideas to reuse and repurpose all those t-shirts!

Turning them into totebags is such a great money-saving idea hack too??! (Or a business idea??)

View this post on Instagram

Repurpose it. Let the experts at @denversewingcollective show you how to turn your old tees into tote bags, that can be easily folded up for trips to the farmers market or grocery store! #redefinefabric #tshirttotebag #denversewingcollective BYOT or use one provided at ReDefine: FABRIC this Friday, 3/22 6:30-10pm, bit.ly/redefinefabric 📷 @etsy

A post shared by
 ReCreative Denver
 (@recreativedenver) on
Mar 20, 2019 at 8:54am PDT

6.
These 3D-printed homes can be built for less than $4,000 in just 24 hours

– Business Insider

It’s so COOL to see 3D printing technology progressing right before my very eyes. The fact that you can make houses with it. Houses. Wow.

And they look so nice, too. I’d live there!

Can you imagine printing out a bunch of these and creating your own BnB business? Or a nature retreat of sorts? Or even your own isolated home-away-from-home?

7.
20 Influencers Share Their Best Money Tips for 2020
 – Mr Stingy

Find my contribution at #12!

(Mr Stingy called RoR ‘the best personal finance blog in Malaysia today’ *squeeee*)

8.
4 Topics Finance Experts Always Disagree On, & What That Means For You
 –
The Financial Diet

Because all of us HATE ‘it depends’-type answers.

Which should you do first: Paying off debt or grow emergency funds, insurance and retirement savings

Which should you do first: Cutting expenses or growing income

9.
An Adult’s Guide to Social Skills, for Those Who Were Never Taught
 –
The New York Times

As you learn more hard skills to get ahead in work, don’t forget about them soft skills. Remember, they don’t know how to automate the 4Cs in the workplace just yet.

10.
6 Different Wealth Levels and How They Affect Your Decisions

– Budgets Are $exy

Which wealth level are you at now?

Level 1: Paycheck-to-paycheck
 — where you’re conscious of every dollar you spend, especially when holding crippling debt

Level 2: Grocery freedom
— when specific grocery item costs don’t impact your finances as much anymore

Level 3: Restaurant freedom
— when you can eat what you want at restaurants without caring about the costs!

Level 4: Travel freedom
— when you can travel how, when, and where you want

Level 5: House freedom
— when you can afford your dream home

Level 6: Philanthropic freedom
— when you can give away money that has a profound impact on others

If you’re at Level 1, do check out my
Explaining Snowball Method, The Best Way to Pay Off Debt
 article. All the best, you can do this.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #45: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
What Happens To Your Brain And Body When You’re Stressed About Money

–
 Huffington Post

When you’re stressed about money,

you start making bad decisions even when you know better,

you may get anxiety, depression and other mental health issues

you may get physical ailments like heart disease, diebetes, chronic sleep problems too

This is one of those ‘pick your hard’ moments. It’s hard – damn freaking hard – to force yourself to earn more money so you don’t get stressed about it anymore. But you can argue that the alternative – STAYING in the current situation without doing anything about it – is also just as hard, perhaps even harder.

The article suggests credit counselling, attending theraphy and seeking healthy coping mechanisms to reduce stress. Do that, you owe that to yourself, don’t give up. I’m rooting for you.

2.
Does Money Really Ruin Friendships?

– Refinery29

When you hit late 20s and above, you’ll really start to see income disparity between yourself and your friends. Some will do better, some worse than you.

And unfortunately, this quote is true:

‘Income or wealth disparity, much as we may hate to admit it, can make it hard to make friends and cause conflict within existing relationships.’

I have to admit this is a hard topic to talk about. I’m still navigating it, with my own friendships, and I’m not even ‘rich’ rich.

However, I love how the author ended it:

Money is not worth. Income is not value. People are not and will never be what they have or how much they earn. To only have friends within your own economic or earning circle would make your life narrower and, dare I say it, poorer.

But in order to get along with people across the mountain range of income, class, inheritance and wealth we need to talk more openly, honestly and often about money. Good friends will listen. Good friends will understand.

And if they don’t? Well, perhaps they aren’t the sort of people you want in your life anyway.

Love that. So true.

3.
How to Stop Getting Fired

– Forbes

Yeah, it could be them, it could be your exceptionally bad luck… and it could also be
you.

Suggestions on getting hired after getting fired in the article. Go at it.

4.
A woman’s greatest enemy? A lack of time to herself
 – The Guardian

Recommended reading for women and men alike. Without time for herself, women can’t be their best self. This is obvious, but still needs to be spelled out: women need time to read, to learn, to think, so they can
create
.

I’m forever grateful that I’m born at a time where I can buy time-saving household appliances, outsource domestic chores and
choose supportive partners
 (who knows how to do housework and actually does it!) so I can focus on my true joy and life fulfilment: writing.

5.
These 12 Financial Podcasts Are Right On The Money

– Refinery29

Who was it who asked me about personal finance podcast recommendations the other day? Here’s a list with twelve podcast recommendations, knock yourself out buddy.

6.
Behavioral Job Interviews: What They Are, How They Work, and How to Ask Behavioral Interview Questions That Identify the Perfect Candidate
– Inc

I’d like to dedicate this article to every employer who
wants
 to hire Malaysians despite how annoying and frustrating the process can be. Yeah, I’ve seen your complaints on social media. Yeah, I know some of our graduates can work on their soft skills more.

Still, you went the extra mile anyway, because your goal is to help your fellow countrypeople. You’re a good person. We need more like you. I hope you find the perfect fit soon.

7. HOW I MAKE THAT BREAD 💸 (literally and figuratively) – Ashley of @best.dressed

Nowadays I definitely see Youtube lifestyle influencers being more open and transparent about their finances than ever before. Did you notice it as well?

Obviously, I freaking love this trend! Its not just ‘what I bought’ or ‘haul videos’ anymore. It’s legit moving towards personal accountability, responsibility and self-awareness, and many are advocating
against
 consumerism. On YouTube. To their millions of followers. *screams excitedly*

I’ll share one example. Ashley of
@best.dressed
 shared this super cool video about how she makes money, her money background and her finance approach. I aleaady love her anyway, now I love her even more!

8.
The 8 Best Instagram Tools for Massive Instagram Growth in 2020

–
Jeff Bullas

If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. A great list of martech tools for social media marketers to know about.

Related:
Guide: How to Make Money with Social Media Skills

9.
What Is A Virtual Assistant Job Really Like? Arianne Young Explains.

– The Huffington Post

People who LOVE admin work, did you know make good income from being a virtual assistant?!

Yes! No more being stuck at RM2-3k salary range for a full-time position! With the power of the internet, you can work from home for people with deeper pockets!

10.
Work at home if you can, but don’t expect it to be paradise
–
The Financial Times

Lest you think its all fun and games though. Work is still work.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #46: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
Eligible Malaysians Can Begin Registering For The Malaysians@Work Initiative In April

–
 RinggitPlus

“The initiative, which aims to provide better job opportunities for unemployed Malaysians and to reduce dependency on foreign labour, is a stimulus package conceived to help create up to 350,000 jobs over the next five years.

“Don’t be mistaken that we will only create 350,000 jobs. This is only for the Malaysians@Work programme. It will be in addition to the one million jobs to be created by the private sector,” Guan Eng further clarified.”

The programme has four components to it:

Apprentice@Work

Graduates@Work

Women@Work

Locals@Work

I hope this initiative helps you, I really do.

2.
Research Says You Can Earn Way More Money by Boosting Your Emotional Intelligence. Here Are 4 Ways to Do It

– Inc

Jobseekers, combine whatever help you can get with self-initiatives. Its not a bad idea to focus on your EQ (emotional intelligence) to make you stand out against other jobseekers. “
According to research
, people with high levels of emotional intelligence earn an average of $29,000

more annually than those with less emotional intelligence.”

Even people with comfortable jobs should explore this. The job market is so uncertain nowadays. Malaysia Employers Federation’s Executive Director also said that
if COVID-19 continues, 100,000 people could be laid off this year
.  I’m not trying to freak you out, I’m trying to help you prepare.

3.
50 Cognitive Biases of the Modern World

– The Visual Capitalist

You know how sometimes I said that companies use decades worth of behaviourial and psychology research in order to subtlely guide you into purchasing their products and services?

Well here you go, some cognitive biases to know and be aware of, in a nice infographic. All of them are good, but pay particular attention to the one with the ‘Money’ label.

4.
Poverty is All About Personal Stress, Not Laziness
 – Bloomberg

“Economists are starting to accumulate evidence that instead of being indolent layabouts, poor people are harried and frantic. To deal with a world of precarity, where any misstep or piece of bad luck can lead to disastrous consequences, requires a massive amount of cognitive effort.

And it’s the stress of that constant effort, rather than bad morals or welfare-inspired laziness, that drives many poor people to make subpar decisions.”

Knowing this – and I know you have the
best
 of intentions with helping the needy – perhaps its not a bad idea to help make the act of
receiving
 help easy and unconditional. Asking poor people to
prove
 that they are poor before they can access help is one example.

‘But what if well-off people take advantage of the help’, you say, ‘that’s a waste of the money!’. You’re right, some people probably will. But will the actions of a few bad apples justify punishing everyone else?

 5.
I quit my job because of burnout, and here’s what I learned
 – Glamour

I could no longer ignore that my health was in shambles, I lacked any semblance of a personal life, and I was incapable of being a good friend or daughter because I was so burned out by the demands of my job.

It’s rare to read a personal, intimate account of someone breaking down like this. I mean, I frequently see social media postings about burnout, and while its sad (because some of them are my friends), they don’t share too much about it. Just the surface level.

6.
Business Cost of Mental Health Conditions in Your Organisation
– Relate Malaysia

That brings us here. To say that A LOT of employees feel burned out is an understatement. And I hate to be the person who brings the business cost into the picture, but sometimes the fear of losing money could be the only thing that prompts employers to take action.

We just published a report on the business costs on mental health. Adds up to staggering RM 14.46 billion! And that’s just a conservative estimate. We need to invest more into mental health!
pic.twitter.com/KTu4KeIAdU

— relate (@relatemalaysia)
February 17, 2020

Employers, go on and calculate the costs to
your
 organisation
at this page
. Relate Malaysia made a calculator for you.

Comment here if you want to hire services that help you improve your employees’ mental health. I’ll email you privately.

7.
How to Have a Five-Star Paris Experience Without Staying in a Luxury Hotel
 – Dmarge

We may not be able to travel and satisfy our wanderlust due to COVID-19 fears, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop daydreaming. *happy sigh*

8.
Stanford scientist: 12 tiny habits that will instantly make you more productive
 –
CNBC

I love this ‘if this, then that’ list! How many of them are you currently doing, and want to do? No #7 is such a good idea!

After I sit down at my desk, I will put my phone on do not disturb mode.

After I close my office door, I will organize one item that’s lying around.

After I finish reading e-mail, I will close the e-mail browser tab.

After I launch a new Word doc, I will hide all other programs running on my computer.

After I find myself mindlessly browsing social media, I will log out.

After I sit down at a meeting, I will write the title, the date, and the attendees at the top of my notes.

After I notice a call going on for longer than expected, I’ll say this: “It’s been great to talk, but I need to wrap up. What haven’t we covered yet that’s important?”

After I read an important e-mail, I will file it in a folder for the designated project.

After I read an e-mail I can’t deal with immediately, I will mark it as unread.

After I read an e-mail that’s time-sensitive, I will reply with this script: “Got it. I will review it in detail and get back in touch soon.”

After I leave the office, I will think about one success from the day.

After I walk in the door at home, I will hang my keys on the hook.

9.
Here’s What Happens When Public Transit Is Free

– The Huffington Post

Realistically, I know that most public transportation in Malaysia won’t be provided for free, but it’s nice to dream. I’m just planting that seed, that possibility in there.

10.
How I’m Setting My Goals for 2020
–
I’m Funemployed

Look at Nicole’s systematic goal-setting table, look! So clear, so clean, so practical. Highly copy-able and makes a great template to your (and my) own goal-setting exercise. Click the link above to read her full thought process.

P/s – yes, the zombie apocalypse. Must be prepared for that.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #47: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
12 Low-Cost Business Ideas for Introverts
–
 Ladders

I am an ambivert leaning towards the introvert side of the spectrum, and currently
thriving
 as a work-from-home writer and blogger. I love that I don’t have to expose myself to social interactions on a daily basis. My head is messy enough without external stimulations.

Seriously, thank you technology for enabling this line of work. I am so thankful.

2.
The Number 1 Rule I Have at Home to Reduce My Mental Load
– Working Mother

We all know how a working mothers usually looks like: frazzled. Completely exchausted. Tired not just from the demands of her work, but also from fielding questions from the spouse and the kids.

Which is why I thought this rule is brilliant:

We have a rule in our house that reduces my mental load by half and my anxiety by even more. This No. 1 rule is if you have a request, a need, or want to discuss participating in a new activity, “bring it to Family Meeting.”

Click the link to find out more about how it works in practice.

3.
A 32-year-old who was ‘not the best with money’ now makes six figures from an Etsy side hustle

– Grow

Designers (and other side hustlers), have a look at
Miss Design Berry’s website
. It’s so good, no wonder she makes six figures – she definitely knows how to sell her skills!

Pay attention to the niche, the copywriting, the layout, the strategies she used to increase sales (testimonials, discount code pop-ups, etc). Her niche is weddings but you can apply it to anything!

4. Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value – IWRAW Asia Pacific

My former workplace made this awesome video explaining the concept of equal pay for work of equal value! The caption:

Work which is typically performed by women is often undervalued and undercompensated. But how can we compare different jobs, especially where the division of labour tends to be gendered? Our video explains the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, with examples of how it has been applied around the world.

 5.
6 Government Initiatives for Women You Didn’t Know About
 – Loanstreet

Sharing to promote, among others, the existance of
MySMELady
, a financing option for women entrepreneurs. It is offered by SME Bank, which is wholly owned by the Malaysian Ministry of Finance and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The financing amount is RM100,000 up to RM1 mil.

6.
A More Sustainable Supply Chain
 – Harvard Business Review

Whenever a big company blows up on social media due to its support-by-default of unethically, unsustainable practices, we are so quick to play the blame game, not knowing that there are no easy solutions to this problem. Consumers still demand cheap and fast, businesses cater to that demand, and the cycle continues.

Yet I know and you know that
no one
 most people is not intrinsically bad. We do want to be good. Just overwhelmed and lack clarity, due to the complexity of supply chain systems operating on a global scale.

This article is an eye-opener – read all about flaws that exist within supply chains, and what could be done to help – in a small part – to reduce the problem.

This is obvious, but… hurry. We only have one Earth.

7.
6 Financial Personality Types – Which One Are You?
– The Financial Times

Take the quiz and find out your financial personality type and your flaw(s), whether its overconfidence (The Anxious Investor) or control issues (The Fitbit Financier)

(I got both The Anxious Investor and The Fitbit Financier as my financial personality types)  (Yeah I guess it’s possible to get more than one) (I’m still processing this information)

8.
EPF 7% contribution rate starts in April 2020, here’s how to keep it at 11%
  –
SoyaCincau

By now, you’ve probably heard that Malaysians will see their EPF contribution rates cut from 11% to 7%. This will unlock RM10 billion in extra money in circulation, a much-needed boost for our economy. The reduction is automatic and you can maintain it at 11% only by opting out.

I won’t tell you which is better, to spend the money, to invest it yourself on your own, or to opt out. You big already, you can make your own retirement decisions. If you do want to maintain it at 11%, then click in the document to find out the steps and download the form.

9.
How to Recruit More Women to Your Company
– Harvard Business Review

Because inclusive and diversified workplaces earn more money. If your job ads have been attracting only men, perhaps the tips in this article can help you improve on your existing recruitment process.

10. HelloGold’s #EmaszingWomen Campaign – Suraya (me!!)

And last but not least, I want to share my involvement in HelloGold’s #EmaszingWomen campaign, along with four other brilliant ladies. Do watch our individual videos in
HelloGold’s YouTube page
.

My ode to gold: I will forever have a soft spot for gold as an investment. I first bought it in my early 20s and have learned so much through the experience. It was the first investment I made with fluctuating value – the price changes every day.

Getting used to the price increases and especially sudden price drops helped me become a better investor, no joke. That part is important. I’m not saying you *will* make money from gold investment (although historically, the odds should be in your favour, but it’s no guarantee), but what you will learn from it is key.

For example: I found out how I behave under stress, and how I *should* behave (ie chill and wait it out). And due to this experience, I’m less likely to panic sell all my other investments at a loss.

In short, owning gold helped me shift my short-term, trader mindset (risky!) to long-term, investor mindset (slow and steady wins the race) 🙂

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #48: 10 Things to Know This Week (COVID-19 Edition)

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
10 Practical Tips to Help Avoid Coronavirus When You Leave The House
 –
 CNET.com

Definitely worth a read. We may be staying home most of the time, but not all the time. One tip in particular was especially practical: when outside, as much as possible use knees, feet, elbows and knuckles instead of fingertips.

2.
COVID-19: Tips for Mindfulness & Coping with Anxiety

–
 MayoClinic

I don’t know about you but my anxiety shot up, went through the roof. I find myself anxious and distracted all the time.

This article introduces me to Kristin Lothman, a mind-body counselor with Mayo Clinic’s Department of Integrative Medicine and Health. I don’t know what that means but she used the term ‘healthy anxiety’ and I find her voice soothing, and I hope you will too.

3.
25+ Fitness Studios and Gyms Offering Live-Stream Workouts During the Coronavirus Outbreak

– GoodHousekeeping

I just… didn’t know live-stream workouts is a thing. I knew of workshout videos on Youtube, sure, but not the ones streamed live on Facebook, Instagram and other places. How interesting.

4.
How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic
 – ForeignPolicy.com

The sub-headline: ‘The pandemic will change the world forever. We asked 12 leading global thinkers for their predictions.’

Note: ONLY read this after you meditate, pray, journal, exercise, or as long as you’re not stressed. Because all of the experts pretty much said, say goodbye to the way things were, everything will change now.

5.
The Economic Devastation Is Going to Be Worse Than You Think
 – The Atlantic

If you can’t handle the previous article, you can’t handle this one. Go back to Link No 2 and No 3 in this list.

6.
How the coronavirus is changing the influencer business, according to marketers and top Instagram and YouTube creators
– Business Insider

Naturally, I want to know how the industries I’m in (digital marketing with focus on content marketing) will change in response to coronavirus outbreak.

Out of everyone, I feel sorry for the travel content creators the most. Not only they can’t post new content, they also have to quickly find a new niche if they want to continue in the industry. And all of their previous content won’t be consumed by readers for at least a while more, too.

7.
‘All I do is teach MBAs.’ Coronavirus brings a new twist to an old argument between working parents — whose job is more important?
 – MarketWatch

A must-read for parents of small children who are both working from home. You can’t both work at the same time, so whose work takes more priority? The one with the higher take-home salary or the one who  is serving the nation in a more direct way?

(Aka online entrepreneur vs public school teacher)

There’s no right answer.

8.
People Sick Of Seeing Glamorous Workspace Setups Share Their Reality Of Working From Home (30 Pics)

– BoredPanda

Speaking of working from home, how’s your setup like? Some of these pictures are hilarious! Someone used their ironing board as standing desk hahahaah (but actually genius??)

This is my own work from home setup. Simple.

View this post on Instagram

This is my #workfromhome setup and where I get most of my #writing and #blogging done. Just a laptop (#surfacepro4), sofa and small table (both from #IKEA) . Someone asked if my cats scratch the furniture. Yes, yes they do. That’s what the gold cover-up thing is for. I gave up trying to save the sofa a long time ago 😂😅 . #writersofinstagram #writinglife #minimalistsetup #homeoffice #workspace #clutterfree #clutterfreeliving #livingwithcats

A post shared by
 Suraya Zainudin
 (@surayaror) on
Nov 14, 2018 at 8:40pm PST

9.
100 Things to do While Stuck Inside Due to a Pandemic
 –
USAToday

Of course, work isn’t everything. When its time to stop and relax (and please do stop and relax – it’s harder to know when to stop working but you can do it), you can refer to this long list of activity suggestions, to kill time.

You can also go through my list:
13 Things to Do During Restricted Movement Order in Malaysia

10. Please follow public health advice from Malaysian Health Coalition

Who else feels that the Malaysian government is so freaking undependable? DID THE HEALTH MINISTER REALLY SAID YOU CAN AVOID COVID-19 TRANSMISSION BY DRINKING WARM WATER ON TV??? Omg…

The Malaysian Health Coalition aims to provide you direct access to public health advice from DOCTORS. Please follow them across all social media platforms.

I’ve volunteered to lead the social media marketing team, to carry their messages across.

Enlisted myself the Covid-19 Voluntary Crisis Comms Team, taking charge of Twitter marketing. My role is increase the reach of public health messages by the Malaysian Health Coalition

Do you have >5k followers and willing to help? All languages. Please DM me

Pls RT or tag 🙏

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
March 21, 2020

(Yes please contact me if you can help out!)

Because I’m genuinely worried about the future, and I do want all this to end, I need you to PLEASE take all public health advice seriously, and follow them diligently. For example, please please please know the correct way of washing your hands.

View this post on Instagram

Covid-19 prevention – Remember to not just wash your hands, but to wash them correctly. Take at least 20 seconds and follow all these steps . Let’s slow the infection rate and flatten the curve. Share this to your followers! Follow us for more public health information . #mhc #messagefromdoctors #kitajagakita #dudukrumah #dudukrumahdiamdiam #dudukrumahchallenge #basuhtangan . Reposted from @leylayelmerfarmasi @uzm.ozgeselcukbozkurt

A post shared by
 Malaysian Health Coalition
 (@myhealthcoalition) on
Mar 21, 2020 at 7:50pm PDT

Let’s do this.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #49: 10 Things to Know This Week (Covid-19 Edition)

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
COVID-19 and MCO Resources for Malaysians
 –
 I’m Funemployed

Nicole compiled a pretty good resource page for Covid-19 and MCO. Find:

Financial assistance and personal finance resources

Jobs and employment opportunities

Food and groceries

Discounts and deals

Charity and donations

Mental health resources

Education resources

Health and fitness resources

And more in the article above. You can also contribute to the resource hub by
filling out this Google Fo
rm.

2.
Malaysia Bank Moratorium: Why You Should Opt For The 6-Month Deferment For ALL Loans

–
 RinggitPlus

Which option is the best?

Option 1: Pay the accrued interest in one lump sum

Option 2 (A) & (B): Pay the same monthly repayment, and extend loan tenure

Option 3: Pay a higher monthly repayment, but keep the loan tenure unchanged

The author argues that Option 3 is the best. Click the article to find out the reasoning why, with numbers and calculations

3. Covid-19: how bad will it be for the economy?

– The Economist

TL;DR: really bad.

4.
How the greedy ruling elite failed us, by putting profit before pandemic preparedness

– South China Morning Post

I thought this is yet another opinion piece, before I read the credentials of the contributor:

Dr Andy Xie is a Shanghai-based independent economist specialising in China and Asia, and writes, speaks and consults on global economics and financial markets. He joined Morgan Stanley in 1997 and was managing director and head of the firm’s Asia-Pacific economics team until 2006.

Prior to that he spent two years with Macquarie Bank in Singapore, where he was an associate director in corporate finance. He also spent five years as an economist with the World Bank.

He was voted one of the 50 most influential persons in finance by Bloomberg magazine in 2013.

Suffice to say he has the credentials to talk about the subject matter, and yes the article is as damning as the title.

While the virus is a natural phenomenon, the ensuing tragedy should have been preventable. Infectious disease experts have been predicting a pandemic like this as a certainty. Yet, the global ruling elites
ignored it.

Instead, they gather at
Davos
 every year to talk about power, money and technology – mostly about its potential for making money. They have not focused on the No 1 responsibility of any ruling class – the safety of the people. If health care systems had been prepared for a pandemic like this, there would be 100 times fewer casualties.

5.
How Emergencies Like Coronavirus Expose Nonsense Business Practices
– GoBankingRates

The only consolation from this whole Covid-19 crisis is some business practices will (hopefully) change for the better. It has to, otherwise society will stop functioning, either through a revolution or through massive deathcount that wipes out significant portions of the population.

This is such a fascinating article. It compiles disasters caused by greed, like the fire that broke out which caused 150 seamstresses to burn or jump to their deaths in 1911, and the resulting changes in labour laws as the direct result of this incident.

Lots of other examples. Recommended read. I have no doubt that Covid-19 pandemic will impact future laws too.

6.
These DIY Face Mask Materials Are Best, According To Scientists
 – Refinery29

So, to mask or not to mask? In the beginning, the recommendations were no masks unless sick/showing visible symptoms – probably to stop non-frontliners from hoarding precious medical supplies.

But… if you want to err on the side of caution, or the costs are too prohibitive, or you just want to keep the supplies for frontliners and the most vulnerable, you can make DIY face masks.

The article states:

bandanas, when layered with layers of a filtration system such as a few coffee filters, were significantly more effective (than bandana alone)

one of the most common — and surprisingly effective — materials were 600-thread count pillowcases or fabric similar to flannel pajamas when doubled up

TO BE CLEAR, these options are not as effective as surgical masks. However… better than nothing.

7. Ergonomics Expert Explains How to Set Up Your Desk – Wall Street Journal

Anyone else battling stiff shoulders and lower back pain while working from home?

8.
How 7 self-made millionaires, who retired in their 30s, are preparing for the worst: economic mayhem caused by the coronavirus

– SCMP

At times like these, a small subset of the population is worried, but not too worried – the high-earning, frugal people. These are the people who will/have withdrawn from the rat race in favour of simpler lives, after spending considerable effort (helped with a dash of luck) to build up a healthy cash cushion.

Can you imagine having years’ worth of living expenses? That’s the ultimate dream, the ultimate flex. The trick is, I think, to not desire much.

This lifestyle also requires you to selectively tune out calls for donations. I’m not sure how (if?) they’re battling the inner turmoil of donating it all away vs keeping the money for themselves.

9. Marcus’s Stock Portfolio Update in March 2020 – MarcusKeong.com

Sharing for the honesty and transparency. Marcus is a DIY stock investor, and his paper loss in one month is -26.8%, a huge reduction.

Deciding to stay invested vs deciding to cut loss is a hard, personal conversation. There’s really no right answer, because no one has a crystal ball.

(btw, my own personal approach is to not touch my investments, just focus on earning. If I need to, I’ll dip into those, but not until I have to)

10. [Product feature]
How to Say No: Templates to Help You Say No to Any Situation

Speaking of earning money. You know what generates income?

Time.

You know what sucks time?

Saying yes to every small request, because it’s hard for you to say no.

This information is common sense for some of you, but a revelation to others, especially if you are the agreeable, ‘but its not nice to say no’-type of person.

Click
here
 to find templates to help you say no to requests to ‘pick your brain’, unnecessary meetings and other activities that stop you from focusing on you.

I especially love this template:

How to say no
 to someone that won’t take no for an answer. (by
Emmy McCarthy
) : salespeople

Hey {{ first_name }},

I love your persistence! The answer is still no. I’m simply not able to fit your request into my schedule right now. Believe me, I am not the only way that you will make this project work / achieve your goal but my role is going to be the one who is cheering you on from the sidelines.

I hope the resources/references in our previous email exchange were helpful.

Now go smash those goals, you’ve got this!

Best,

Emmy

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #5: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
‘Quit your job and travel the world!’: A travel blogger confesses the grim financial reality behind the Instagram dream

– Business Insider

Hands up if you follow Instagram influencers and bloggers who travel all the time. One day they’re in Paris, the next they’re in Greece, eating olives or whatever. So jelly, no?

Yeah, that lifestyle does look great. But what they don’t share as often is the cost and stress of maintaining that lifestyle. If you have a steady remote-working job, great, but you’ll spend lots of time in your room – you still need to finish your work. If you have irregular income, you’re going to stress about money and won’t be able to fully enjoy your travel.

I still think the best way to travel is to save up enough money for it
beforehand
. And have multiple passive income streams so working becomes a choice rather than a necessity.

2.
How this 34-year-old dad made $1 million off a simple Fiverr side hustle
 – CNBC

He offers voice-over services, a side gig I didn’t know you can do remotely with just a microphone and a laptop (and a quiet room, I guess). Maybe something some of you can consider for side income?

I’ve used Fiverr before. In fact, my Ringgit Oh Ringgit blog header design is from there. Unlike the name, expect to pay more than five dollars (around twenty ringgit) for tasks completed by top-rated freelancers there.

Fiverr is also a good place to browse for freelance job ideas. You can see what other people offer and whether that skill is in demand or not. You can create an account
here
 (note: referral link). If you have a Fiverr profile, leave it in the comments so we can check it out!

3.
I’m 28 and I’ve saved over $240,000 — here’s what I’ve learned about money from tracking my net worth for the past 2 years
 – Business Insider

‘Sean’ aka
The Money Wizard
 gives absolutely brilliant personal finance insights. Trust me on this, give this one a read.

For one, he said he doesn’t ‘budget’, he tracks his expenses instead and makes adjustments from there. Yes x 1000! I always feel kinda bad for not following a strict budget – I don’t like feeling constrained – so it’s good to know what I’m doing now (tracking expenses) is enough to achieve my financial goals.

Then there’s the ‘compounding spending’ idea, which is like, whoa, never thought of it that way. He said that some purchases
encourage
 more purchases. You’re like, eh, already bought x, might as well as buy y and z too. The key is to stop yourself from buying x.

Now, all we have to do is identify our ‘x’, ey?

4.

Prisoners Talk About How They Make and Waste Money on the Inside
 – Vice

Biggest takeaway: just because prisoners are *in* prison, doesn’t mean they’re not doing crime *still*.

What and how they choose to spend their money is kinda fascinating. They can’t go out, so things of value are things like hearing your buddy have sex with a sex worker over the phone, according to your instructions. Alright.

5.
“Find your passion” is bad advice, say Yale and Stanford psychologists
 – Quartz

“Based on the latest findings, people who have a fixed mindset—the almost mystical belief that passions are revealed to us magically—seem to be less curious and motivated than those with a growth mindset, who understand interests unfold as a process.”

Ah. Nothing beats effort and hard work after all.

Have you heard about the whole fixed mindset vs growth mindset thing? They say you’re either one or the other (and growth mindset is better). Here’s an infographic showing you the difference between both mindsets.

The fact that you’re reading this article means you have at least a little bit of growth mindset in you. Add in the work and you’ll be fine.

https://twitter.com/believephq/status/950094853689499648

6.
Research: Women Ask for Raises as Often as Men, but Are Less Likely to Get Them
 – Harvard Business Review

“Gaining access to a more recent, and more detailed, dataset allowed us to investigate this question anew.
What we found contradicts previous research
. The bottom line of our study is that
women do “ask” just as often as men. They just don’t “get
.”

Even we were surprised by the results. We had expected to find less asking by the females. Instead, we found that, holding background factors constant, women ask for a raise just as often as men, but men are more likely to be successful.”

As a
woman
 somewhat decent human being, the findings of this research makes me really sad. If you’re an employer, or in a position to give promotions and raises, please keep this in mind. Give raises to women who deserve it. Please.

7.
These 22 sketches make complicated financial concepts simple enough to fit on a napkin
 – Business Insider

Received this as a comment and loved it (thanks Kech!). Tina of
NapkinFinance
 makes visuals for stocks, crowdfunding, budget, bitcoin, and so many other terms.

Good for beginners. Nice refresher for experts.

8.
Nocturnal website

Nocturnal is a home-grown site for people to write and showcase photos easily. I’m sharing this not just to support a fellow Malaysian, but to also present this as a solution to a major annoyance when I first started my blog – looking for web designs and tweaking it. Nocturnal’s site design is already beautiful – all you have to do is add text and/or pictures.
Seriously, it’s gorgeous
.

Your website will be [name].nocturnal.site. It’s free. Later on, in the paid plan, you can get your own domain name for just $30 per year. That’s fairly cheap compared to other self-hosting options.

Freelancers of the creative sort, consider using Nocturnal to show your work portfolio. You can register for free
here.

9.
The Ultimate Guide to 11 DIY Investment Options in Malaysia
 – Mr Stingy

If you’re a Malaysian – and my Google Analytics say 88.65% of you are – you’ll want to read this guide to DIY investment options by Mr Stingy. It’s clear and concise.

10.
Your Goal Is To Find A New Job, But You Need To Implement A System To Make It Happen
 – Forbes

If you’re looking for a new job (hopefully a better-paying one), this article shows things you can do to make it happen. All the best.

That’s it for this week, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #50: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
COVID-19: My Money Plan
 –
 Figuringgitout.com

LOVED this article by personal finance blogger Figuringgitout (DOPE NAME), covering her 10 (ten!) strategies she’ll take, factoring in the pandemic situation. It’s so thoughtful and self-reflective and focused on taking action. Highly recommend you to read.

After you read that, go
follow her on Facebook
. More followers = more motivation for her to write = more stuff for
me
 us to read muahahaha

2.
I bought everything I saw in Instagram ads for a month

–
 Wired

… This is my dream article to write. I love the ‘Buy everything that was advertised to me’ angle. It’s so fun – almost voyeuristic – to find out about the ads targeted to an individual. The writer tried out
18
 products that were advertised on Instagram.

(and in the conclusion section, he admitted to liking some of the stuff but needing exactly zero of them)

3.
9 Well-Intentioned Efforts That Actually Aren’t Environmentally Friendly
 – Discover Magazine

‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions’, indeed.

Sharing for these lines:

As it turns out, it takes exponentially more resources to make a tote bag compared with the cheap polyethylene… Paper bags and plastic-based reusable totes required between 35 and 84 re-uses. A cotton tote, though, had to be used 7,100 times. Organic cotton? 20,000 times. If you used your organic cotton bag twice a week for the rest of your life, it’d be worth it after 192 years.

Buying new, more sustainable versions of what you already have. Even cars…. Instead of buying new mason jars, reuse the glass jars that your pickles and jam came in. And if you already have 10 water bottles, maybe don’t get an 11th, even if it’s labeled “eco-friendly.

4.
Twitch streamer faces backlash for ‘shaming’ broke viewers while asking for money: ‘If you don’t have $10, you probably don’t have time to watch Twitch, because you should be working’
– Insider

With those kinds of headlines, obviously this particular media outlet did NOT like her opinion. But the thing is, I kind of… agree with her? She has free content, the sub(scription) is access to PREMIUM materials. That is completely acceptable.

I liked what she said to people who ask for premium content but didn’t want to pay for it – “(If you say you can’t afford $5,) What you mean to say is, ‘I’m so irresponsible with my money, I can’t support the entertainment that I enjoy.'”

Watch and decide for yourself.

5.
Post-coronavirus, ‘normal’ travel may not resume until 2023

– Executive Traveleer

What is the estimated recovery timeline for the travel industry, assuming that coronavirus pandemic is under control by the end of 2020? Read on to find out. If you’re an avid budget traveler (I am), this article might be a bit depressing.

I hope I can outlive all of this so I can add on more travels in my lifetime 🙁 It’s one of the few splurges I make amid my fairly frugal lifestyle.

6.
Putting A Gender Lens On COVID-19: Thought Leaders Weigh In
 – Forbes

Yeah, the pandemic is hard, but it is harder for some. Women, especially, ‘comprise about 70% of the global health care workforce and carry out at least two-and-a-half times more unpaid household and care work than men. That means they are caring for sick patients at health care facilities during the day and then caring for their parents, spouses, and children at home at night.’

This part of the article is TRUTH

Carework is relentless—it does not let up, and all other work depends on it, as we are learning from this crisis. Essential workers are not billionaire CEOs—they are janitors, nurses, home health care aides, domestic workers, teachers, teacher aides, childcare workers, nannies, maids and others.

Without them, nothing else can happen.
The
world needs care,
 and women and girls provide it, often for free, but even when it is paid, it is paid poorly and inadequately.

7.
Faded Desire for Fashion Leaves Global Garment Workers Destitute
 – Bloomberg

As if that’s not enough, let’s think of the fate of the thousands of garment workers – majority of which are women. I read a statistic saying that in Malaysia alone, we have cut our spending on clothes by 95%.

(It is UNDERSTANDABLE why we cut that expense category much. But the outcome is still sad.)

Quickly promoting my sisters’ online boutiques,
Marquise.my
 (regular size) and
Plus Size Malaysia
 (plus size). They told me sales are slow, and I’m trying to be a good older sister and promote where I can.

8.
Job Seeking During COVID-19: 5 Tips to Writing an Effective Cover Letter

– Syafiqah Othman

More and more people are losing their jobs amid this pandemic, how can I not share resources that’ll help in the new job application process?

If this is you (or soon to be you), I’m truly sorry of your predicament. It sucks, and I can’t imagine the stress. Keep going. Praying for your success.

9.
Cartels are scrambling’: Virus snarls global drug trade

– AP News

What are the effects of the pandemic to the global drug trade? How are the drug cartels pivoting*? Fascinating reporting by AP News.

*Too good to not share: “Cartels are increasingly shifting away from drugs that require planting and growing seasons, like heroin and marijuana, in favor of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which can be cooked 24/7 throughout the year, are up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and produce a greater profit margin.”

10. Signature Market Review & Unboxing –
Ringgit Oh Ringgit YouTube Channel

And last but not least, sharing with you a video that I recorded and edited all on my own*! Without exaggeration, I’ve been wanting to explore YouTube monetisation for
years
already, but never had the guts to do it. Until now, that is!

Now that I’ve uploaded one video, I’m keep to do more! Quite excited to improve on my video-editing skills, too. What kind of videos do you want to watch? Collecting ideas.

(*minus the intro/outro – that one I hired someone from Fiverr)

Please do subscribe 🙂

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #51: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
My First Investment Portfolio for 2020 (Dividend 2030 portfolio)

–
 Sivasathish.com

Everyone says welcome to a new personal finance blogger, Sivasathish! He’s a senior lecturer, a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and a self-confessed conservative, low-risk, long-term stock investor.

This is is current investment portfolio, which he plans to track and share until 2030. Amazing detail and super clear writing style. Whoever interested in the stocks market can follow.

I like how (1) he repeats again and again that he’s NOT a professional (no stocks guru feel, which I like), and (2) how his students say nothing but good things about him! See the comments section – so full of notes from his students. This type of student-teacher interaction is super endearing 🙂

2.
These 30 simple financial tasks will help you save money, quell anxiety and take your mind off the news

–
  CNBC
Make It

The thing I like most about this article is how it shows how practical money management can help with anxiety.

Obviously, there are a lot of things we can’t control nowadays. Taking back *some* control through performing simple financial tasks is a great idea.

Some tasks include:

Make a list of financial habits you’d like to form

Finally finish the financial task you’ve been avoiding

Create an essentials-only budget

Check your credit score

(Btw, on that last point. CTOS is still giving away free credit score checks with code ‘FREEMCO20’)

View this post on Instagram

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 We know that you are concerned about how the current economic conditions might affect your financial situation. Therefore, we will continue to support you with FREE score until 31st May 2020 so you can better understand your financial position and learn to manage it in order to get through this tough period. 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 Promo code: 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗠𝗖𝗢𝟮𝟬 More info at www.ctoscredit.com.my/ctos-cares/ Watch these videos to learn more: • 𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗦 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 – 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIPO9NB9drs • 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗦 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fS32f22uDg • 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗦 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LK1w0LwXPU #CTOS #CTOSCares #CCRIS #CreditScore #CTOSScore #COVID19 #FREECTOSSCORE

A post shared by
 CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd
 (@ctoscredit) on
Apr 28, 2020 at 12:27am PDT

3.
A Week Living In A Converted Van On A $12,000 Salary

– Refinery29

How different people live their lives, and the expenses that come with that lifestyle
fascinates the hell out of me.
That’s why I’m a big fan of Refinery29’s Money Diaries.

In this particular writeup, the writer is a van dweller. Someone who lives full-time in a van (as the name suggests). This lifestyle is one of my ‘oh that sounds romantic but I’ll never be able to do it myself’ lifestyle.

How she tackles food storage, hygiene (she gets a gym membership so she can use their showers! how clever!), relationships – everything is so different from my reality. It’s a fun read.

After that, you can binge-read all the other entries in the
Money Diaries series
. This is my version of escapism, I suppose 🙂

4.
How to Buy Bitcoin | A Beginners Guide for Malaysians [2020 Update]
– Bitcoin Malaysia community

Bitcoin Halvening event – the once-every-four-year-event – came and went. As of May 2020, only 6.25 bitcoins enter the circulation every 10 minutes.

This is considered a major event, and major events invite speculations, which in turn invite lots of interest from newcomers.

If you’re just starting out, and hella curious about this crypto thing, the first place to start is the Bitcoin Malaysia community. Personally I’ve been involved with them since 2016 or so, and their commitment towards education and efforts towards helping members avoid scam/ponzi won me many times over.

5.
[True Owner Cost]: Under-Con Property Investing Journey in Malaysia

– Balkoni Hijau

Balkoni Hijau by Helmi Hasan is one of my favourite local personal finance blog nowadays – superb quality of writing and analysis.

In this article, he shares the true cost of buying under-con property for the purpose of renting it out. Helmi covered from the process of purchasing said under-con property, to inspecting it, to renovating it, to furnishing it, to advertising it to find tenants.

Anyone who’ve ever wanted to earn passive income by becoming a landlady/lord should read it.

6.
 MDEC’s Let’s Learn Digital Campaign

Unemployed folks, apply for the campaign. You get access to Coursera’s many courses. This is your chance to learn a new, high-demand skill then making good living from it.

Honestly right. If you’re relatively privileged (live in urban area, can understand English,  have access to internet, have roof on your head, family takes care of your immediate needs etc) but still complain about being poor… then it’s not about lack of opportunities. It’s just you.

7.
What It’s Like to Inherit Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Your 20s

– Vice

I don’t know how I feel about this article. On one hand, blegh rich people complaining about the negative effects of being rich. On another, okay fair enough, there are parts where these rich people are aware enough of society’s perception of them that they lay low and avoid displaying their wealth.

I guess the reason why I’m sharing this here so that the trust fund babies among you (and in general whoever rich reading this) know enough that flaunting wealth in this day and age is considered extremely, extremely tacky.

8.
How I Made $40,000 Off A Book…Before I Even Published It.

– Compiled; Blog

The world is moving towards digital creators and influencer-teachers. That is undeniable. People who have a good online reputation can make lots of money sharing their knowledge to eager fans.

A lot of people think that the creation and making money process is easy. All you have to do is get lots of fans and you’re set. It doesn’t work like that.

Some people are lucky enough to be doing it ‘right’ by instinct and amassed their following being who they are, but lack the technical skills to create a business out of it (so basically they’re just famous for the sake of being famous).

Some people know the business side of it, but struggles with conveying their message in a simple way to their audience.

I like how this article breaks down the effort that is put behind the creating and selling of a digital product. Such a good, inspirational read.

9.
The economy is in free fall. So why isn’t the stock market?

– Vox

*Note: the ‘stock market’ here refers to the US stock market, not Malaysia. Thought I should clarify that.

Takeaway no 1: The stock market = the economy

Takeaway no 2: nothing makes sense, so the average investor should just forget about timing the entry/exit and just continue dollar-cost averaging and investing for the long term

10.
(Stereo)types of Malaysian Investors: Who You Are Based on What You Invest In
 –
Ringgit Oh Ringgit YouTube Channel

And last but not least, the latest addition to my YouTube channel. Investors, can you tell me (1) if I described you right, and (2) if there are other stereotypes you associated with different types of investors? Let me know 😀

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #52: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
How to Track Your Income and Expenses [With FREE Template]

–
 I’m Funemployed

“Once you’ve developed the habit of expense tracking, the rest will fall in place later.”

So true. You won’t know if you’re doing good or bad if there’s no measurement.

2.
Are Flat Fines and Jail Time Fair MCO Punishment?: A Call for Means-Based Sentencing

– The Centre

The
BINTIAHMADZAHID promo code incident
 raised an interesting topic for discussion: means-based sentencing. It ‘considers a person’s economic capacity in setting penalties, particularly fines. The idea is to scale fines according to income so that the punishment is felt equally heavy by those with higher incomes and those who earn daily wages.’

The illustration below shows how a couple models of means-based sentencing would look like, if implemented in Malaysia.

Will it ever happen though. I don’t think so, not in current Malaysia.

Depressing thought of the day: we already know solutions to most problems. They just remain problems due to lack of political will

— Suraya Zainudin (@surayaror)
May 25, 2020

3.
The Mystery of the $2,000 Ikea Shopping Bag

– Harvard Business Review

TL;DR – *truly* wealthy people don’t care about wearing fashion items perceived as ‘working class’, because people already know they’re rich. The difference is they get their ‘cheap’ items from premium labels (or pair the cheap item with expensive items). Therefore the $2000 IKEA shopping bags (worn with thousand-dollar watches).

On the other hand, middle-class folks care more about labels because they want to signal their status through the appearance of having wealth. Even if its fake and all the high-end items are purchased through debt.

Commerce is so strange because people are so strange lol.

4.
Facebook Shops turn business pages into online stores

– Engadget

Facebook domination continues. Facebook Marketplace, and now Facebook Shops. Setting up shop in Facebook = foot traffic in a busy mall. Good for the seller, more temptation for the audience.

How it looks like for Facebook

How it looks like for Instagram

Right now, purchases can’t happen *in* the app – you need need to pay via manual bank transfer or direct people to your website or whatever – but I think that feature will come in due time. I remember reading that Facebook was experimenting with that Libra cryptocurrency ecosystem and all.

5.
How do people become wealthy? 2 case studies

– Ladders

I like this article because (1) it doesn’t reference some billionaire and promote the idea that everyone can be ultra-wealthy only if they work just as hard (super unrealistic),

and (2) the two case studies tell of two very different approaches, in an ‘all roads lead to Rome’ kind of way. Person One is from someone who enjoys life, while Person Two is from a super competitive person. Pick a wealth approach that works with your style, or if both of them don’t particularly speak to you, find others who do.

6.
How to Respond to “Take It or Leave It”

– Harvard Business Review

What a fascinating article. I’ve always thought that “take it or leave it” offers are the final offers, but it seems like you can still negotiate on by adopting the ‘choice mindset’.

This has just expanded my ‘refuse to be refused’ line of thinking.

7.

EQ Matters More Than IQ for Group Success, New Harvard Study Says
– Inc

Teammates who can get along with each other > individually smart teammates who can’t work together.

You know who tends to be better at emotional intelligence?
Women
. Grow your business better by having women in your organisation, across all management levels.

8.
You Need A Schedule

–
  The Cut

I don’t know about you, but MCO really messed up my sense of time. Days just flow by, in a wake up-work-sleep pattern. Sometimes I don’t even know how I get things done.

Thank goodness, I suppose, for loose schedules and routines that I follow out of habit. But I know I can be better at it.

This article introduced an important aspect of time management that I’ve never really implemented, or even thought about: create an end-of-day schedule. No wonder I feel like I’m working all the time. I don’t have any routines or habits that mark the end of a working day.

This is why my brain is still in working mode almost all the time, and why I feel guilty doing non-productive things. I don’t know how to switch off yet. Related:
How My Work From Home Schedule *Actually* Looks Like

Thinking seriously about what I action I can use as my end-of-day ritual. Suggestions?

9.
There’s One Key to Not Wasting A Day Off During Quarantine
 – Apartment Therapy

Continuing on that line of thought, how does one create a balanced schedule? This is something I’m struggling with as well.

Something I’ve been experimenting in lately is to not just add work items in my to-do list, but also other noteworthy things I’ve done during the day.

It sort of helped. Sometimes I feel like I did ‘nothing’ but actually, I did a bunch of soul-nourishing activities. That counts, because rest and leisure is part of productivity culture, too.

10. How I Became An Adult – Wong Fu Productions

Last but not least, I want to show this video, which a commenter shared to me (shoutout to Alvin Choo! Thanks bro for sharing).

It’s about the process of taking responsibility for your own life.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #53: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
How to Cope with Being Broke, Angry and Ashamed

–
 The Cut

Been broke, angry and ashamed before? Have a read. You’ll relate with many of the points. The article is an interview with Amanda Clayman, a financial therapist who partnered with the wildly popular Death, Sex and Money Podcast, to create a series of Financial Therapy series.

But beyond that, let’s talk about anxiety caused by financial situation. In case you didn’t know, that type of anxiety is really,
really
common. We feel bad when we are not making enough. We feel bad when we make too much.

(How? – you might ask. Think of people who feel bad over their work taking time away from family time).

Have a look at other types of money anxiety at the
Death, Sex and Money podcast page
. Chances are you’ll find someone you can relate with.

2.
7 Finance Bloggers’ Personal Tips To Save Money Now, So You Can Survive The Recession In M’sia
 – Vulcanpost

Hey look, it’s me and my fellow personal finance bloggers! We give money tips!

Next time, I hope to see more women in personal finance-related articles 🙂 I’m not the only one you know. Discover more of us further down this article and in the
What’s In My Bag: Malaysia Personal Finance Content Creators Edition!
 roundup.

3.
The Great Diamond Glut: Miners Stuck With Gems Worth Billions

– Bloomberg

The diamond industry: how do we maintain the (high) diamond prices when people are not buying and the diamond stock keeps increasing? No we refuse to slash the price.

Good luck solving the problem lol. Much respect if they can maintain current prices. Not easy.

4.
How to Run a Website for Only $8 a Year

– BeanMusing.com

Cindy aka
MoneyMonies on IG
 shared how she figured out how to maintain a self-hosted website for cheap, at only $8 or RM32(ish) per year!

Personally I pay about RM1000(ish) for 3 years, so that’s quite a big difference in price.

(But no regrets. I use and love Wordpress dot org – can see more info at
The Exact Steps I Use to Earn Money from Blogging
 article).

5.

Why It’s Time to Do Zero-Based Budgeting
– Siti Sabidi

Siti Sabidi is a Malaysia-based debt-free blogger (yes! I know! got!) In this article, she explains what is zero-based budgeting, a method of budgeting that I personally haven’t done before – assign every dollar (ringgit) a purpose.

I’ve minded my personal finance for a while, and my method now is honestly just ‘make sure I earn more than I spend, invest the difference’, that’s it. Can definitely improve on this system, make my budgeting more intentional.

P/s – I recommend following Siti Sabidi on FB and IG

View this post on Instagram

Happy 1st of June everyone. Sekejap sangat dah half year 2020. Pagi is my best time to reflect how I did, what I did to get me closer to debt free. The feeling to be able to strike off the Debt section on my budget worksheet is such a pleasent feeling from practising frugal living, sacrifice the desire for fancy fancy things, being a little more micro manage with my money. Alhamdulillah. Dah nampak sunshine disitu 🌼 Don’t give up, girl. Be consistent with tracking your budget. When you have clarity in your goals and having a system working around your personal finance like how this workbook and cash envelopes does for me, no matter how much money you bring in, you won’t stray of wondering where your money has gone or what have you done with your money. What is your goal for this month? #cashenvelopemalaysia #bebashutang #matlamatkewangan

A post shared by
 Siti Sabidi
 (@sitisabidi) on
May 31, 2020 at 8:51pm PDT

6.
Productivity Culture Has an Empathy Problem

– Kristin Wong (editor @ The Financial Diet)

“..so much popular productivity advice… is accessible only to people who have the option to use it in the first place.”

Going to file this under: articles that genuinely made me think.

7.
 Syaza Nazura’s Newsletter #40 –
Impostor syndrome & career coaching

Syaza Nazura is a career coach who publishes awesome newsletters and talks about things like how impostor syndrome affects
her,
a career coach.

In a world where everyone fakes their confidence, and have that ‘fake-it-til-you-make-it’ mindset (not wrong!), it’s nice to know that deep down, we’re all insecure about our performance. Everyone – except narcissists – feels inadequate at least half the time, and that’s normal.

P/s- I’m reading a book written by an ex-Google employee. Apparently all the programmers push themselves to be ahead because they don’t want to appear they’re behind everyone else. We’re all faking it.

8.
5 Economists Redefining… Everything. Oh Yes, And They’re Women
 –
  Forbes

My head spins from the redefinition of economic concepts, all brilliantly explained by these amazing women. Notably, their approach promotes new concerns like climate change, and intentionally excludes exploitation. Teasers from the article:

Mariana Mazzucato
 asks fundamental questions about how ‘value’ has been defined, who decides what that means, and who gets to measure it. Watch her
TED talk

Stephanie Kelton
 takes on our approach to debt and spoofs the simplistic metaphors, like comparing national income and expenditure to ‘family budgets’ in an attempt to prove how dangerous debt is.

Kate Raworth
, a Senior Research Associate at Oxford University’s
Environmental Change Institute
, is the author of
Doughnut Economics
. She challenges our obsession with growth, and its outdated measures.

Carlota Perez
 doesn’t want to stop or slow growth, she wants to dematerialize it. Her push is towards a redefinition of the ‘good life’ and the need for “smart green growth” to be fuelled by a desire for new, attractive and aspirational lifestyles. Lives will be built on a circular economy that multiplies services and intangibles which offer limitless (and less environmentally harmful) growth.

Esther Duflo
, Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at MIT, is the major proponent of bringing what is accepted practice in medicine to the field of economics: field trials with randomised control groups.

9.
How I get months of free groceries (pantry items) in Malaysia
 – The Purple Cotton

NOT a clickbait. The Purple Cotton really did found a way to get hundreds of ringgit worth of pantry items for free, by buying store credits at a cheaper price. The promo she’s referring to has (unfortunately) expired, but I love the resourcefulness!

10. How to Stop Promoting Incompetent Men – Harvard Business Review

And finally. CAN WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE WORLD IS WORSE OF DUE TO THE LEADERSHIP OF INCOMPETENT MEN????

Can we PLEASE stop glorifying them now???

All over the world, men tend to think that they that are much smarter than women. Yet arrogance and overconfidence are inversely related to leadership talent.
https://t.co/1U07uKHwwG

— Harvard Business Review (@HarvardBiz)
June 11, 2020

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
FB
 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.


Link Roundup #54: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂

1.
How to Grow Your Money Made Really Easy for Enterprising Artists

–
 Eksentrika

I love the intersection between personal finance and the arts in this article!

It covered a few sections:

The 4 (financial) types of artists (fun read!)

5 personal finance terms

8 steps to become financially stable, and

Types of investments

Recommended read, for both creatives and non-creatives 🙂

2.
Covid-19 lockdown: Malaysians with pay cuts struggled more than jobless to pay bills, survey found
 – MalayMail

The ‘You OK Or Not During MCO’ survey organised by ThinkCity drew over 2000 respondents. Interestingly, those who suffered pay cuts struggled
more
 than those who are unemployed. That’s because they still have to pay financial obligations, whereas the unemployed didn’t have (or have much less) obligations.

It’s an interesting, if depressing, outcome. In conclusion:
 the lesser your financial obligations, the better you’ll fare during economic downturns
.

3.
In an Experiment, 255 People Changed Their Own Personalities in Just 2 Weeks

– Inc

The fact that you can change your personality doesn’t surprise me, but the speed and methodology does. They simply used ‘a smartphone app that sent them twice-daily reminders’. How it works:

the subjects received two automatic text messages each day via a mobile coaching app.

The first message, in the morning, reminded them of intentions they themselves had set for the day, which might include things like going to the gym or trying out a new recipe. Morning messages also offered encouragement and reminded participants of what they’d accomplished so far.

The second message, in the evening, asked them to fill out a short questionnaire on whether they’d fulfilled their intentions for the day.

Doesn’t that sound cool? Which part of your personality would you change?

(Unfortunately, the article didn’t mention what app was used for the study. If that twice-a-day feature sounds familiar, tell us the name in the comments section!)

4.
We Need to Talk About Privilege in Personal Finance
– HalfBanked

We absolutely do. We can’t ignore the fact that success is harder – not impossible! – for some people, and it is the moral obligation of those with privilege to help level the playing field.

I’ll start:

BLM movement is making me think of my own privileges

As a Malay-Muslim in Malaysia

As someone living in urban area

As someone who received tiertary education

As someone who grew up with two working parents in economically stable household

I can and must do more

— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com (@surayaror)
June 3, 2020

5.
5 Side Hustles I Did To Earn Some Serious Money
 – I’m Funemployed

Nicole didn’t just list out the side hustles, but also how much she earned and how she got the gigs in the first place. Truly encompass the personal side of personal finance, love it 🙂

6.
There’s a Thriving Market for Human Body Parts on Instagram

– Vice

I’m sorry lol but there’s a WHAT on WHERE??

7.
Men Have No Friends and Women Bear the Burden

– Harpers Bazaar

Sharing for the term ’emotional gold digging’.

Unlike women, who are encouraged to foster deep platonic intimacy from a young age, American men—with their puffed up chests, fist bumps, and awkward side hugs—grow up believing that they should not only behave like stoic robots in front of other men, but that women are the only people they are allowed to turn to for emotional support—if anyone at all.

And as modern relationships continue to put pressure on “the one” to be
The Only One
 (where men cast their wives and girlfriends to play best friend, lover, career advisor, stylist, social secretary, emotional cheerleader, mom—to him, their future kids, or both—and eventually, on-call therapist minus the $200/hour fee), this form of emotional gold digging is not only detrimental to men,
it’s exhausting
 an entire generation of women.

FYI there are resources like
 Remaking Manhood
 and
The Good Men Project
, plus manuals for men’s support group out there in the interwebs. Men can organise sessions to develop healthy, platonic relationships with fellow men.

8.
The Best New Groceries That Hit Grocery Store Shelves Over the Past 3 Months
 –
  The Kitchn

Oh my, a new genre of product reviews – the best new groceries. Kind of like the food version of fashion’s ‘must-wear this season’.

…I hate that I love it >__< Grocery shopping is my weak spot. I LOVE shopping and window shopping for things I can eat.

Is there a Malaysian equivalent, I wonder…

9.
‘I Was Forced to Close My Business, and I Don’t Miss It at All
 – The Cut

The raw emotions in this piece tore me apart. The author’s financial state is a mess, but she mentioned a sense of calm, over getting back off days (even though not by choice) and no longer having the responsibility of managing employees.

This is exactly what I fear. I’m at this crossroad now where I can take the Ringgit Oh Ringgit brand to the next level: hire employees and produce more content. Yet I love that the only person I’m responsible for is myself, no one else.

I guess I’ll remain a solopreneur for now.

10.
The Best Book on Success and Decision-Making You’ll Read This Year
 – Inc

Interestingly, the book in question – The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself and Win by Maria Konnikova, a Harvard graduate with a PhD from Columbia – is about poker. The card game where you win by outmanoeuvring your opponents.

I am very well aware that my natural state of self is non-confrontational. It’s partly a gender thing (women are conditioned to be more submissive), and partly an internal trait. What this means is sometimes, I don’t always get the best deals when negotiating for myself.

Definitely intrigued by poker strategies I can use to improve my negotiation skills. So, I’m looking out for this book, holla if you happen to sell a secondhand copy.

—

That’s it for this round, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on
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 or
Twitter
.

To read past link roundups, please click
here
.