Petronas have some of the best and heart warming commercials.
This one I like a lot.
Don't you just love the Malaysian accents?
That's how you tell a Singaporean from a Malaysian overseas. From the moment we said, "Hello!"
Success, when denominated in $ can easily be benchmarked, do an one-upmanship over others; but when it's measured by how well you have brought up your children...
Children learn from parents.
Financial freedom is just an enabler. It's not supposed to be a "religion".
Do you worship Money?
Or do you let money work for you?
Same same but different!
SMOL,
ReplyDeleteI saw the video last year and I thought I understand it. I only feel and more able to "放下” money only recently...
Say because we believe ... Do because we convinced. We keep quiet when we do...
Because "action" speaks louder than words, isn't it ?
Sillyinvestor,
DeleteYour shoulders feel lighter right?
Money is our servant.
If we work for money, how can we ever be financially free?
We would be forever chasing the extra zero; and there will always be another person who has more than us.
Yup, we can always say one day we whould do this and that... Action counts more.
Hungry eat; tired rest.
i like what you say, but its not totally correct!
Deletethe role of money in our lives should be both a servant and a master and should be interchangable.
most people are mostly one sided, they either a servant or the master of money.
being a trader for so long i come to realise that i must be both a servant and a master of money depends on the circumstances.
"money is not important however, without money, we can't even put down our bets"
kong xi fa chai!
oh, being one sided is easy, just believe what you believe and stay with it.
Deletewhats makes life and trading so difficult is the inability to be both side at the same time. the only way to compensade this to be as flaxible as one can be.
coconut,
DeleteLOL!
That's why we have to make a stand.
Sorry hor.
I've no wish to be a servant to money.
Of course when starting out climbing the mountain, we may have to eat humble pie and "work" for money.
One thing I've learnt from my Taiwan and Hong Kong friends is that for money to work for us, we have to be landowners.
Never mind even if its just a pushcart or street stall.
Is it just me? I do find the young in Singapore nowadays are bit more entrepreneurial? Many have blog shops or doing the internet marketing thingy ;)
Money is our servant; the more servants we have the merrier!
You and I are nano landowners too!
We have employee of 1 ;)
Simplicity and back to the basics of life - spending time together beats everything we have materialistic wise.
ReplyDelete猴年大吉，身体安康，万事如意，新年快乐!!!
Rolf,
Delete新年快乐！
temperament,
Delete"Money is to use and not to show.
In this sense is money a servant or master?"
What do you think?
It's when we have money yet we still behave like servants to money that's sad.
That's why CPIB will every few years haul shepherds and stewards into the dock - be it leaders of big daddy's organisations, religious leaders, and recently, leaders of academia...
And I'm sure you have encountered people with more humble background than us with backbones that are so straight and firm they put us to "shame"...
At the end, like the short commercial above, its not about whether we have money or not - its about how we were brought up; and what direction our moral compass is pointing to.
He should take a look who is Dr Richard Teo who drive Ferrari n yet die with regrets!
DeleteAnyway I agree with u that there r so many examples of the richer and meaner type. But I believe what goes around comes around.
My aunties who were all poor and work as cleaners spend every weekend together and their kids are all v filial. they r always v happy. When my daugthers bday, ang pow always $200. So this is nothing to do with how rich u r in the pocket, but in the brain.. I ll always visit my aunties n push money for them on n off... n my Ang pow is all in few hundreds for them during cny
Those stingy n mean on others eventually one day, their kids or whoever they love, ll be mean back to them...
temperament and Rolf,
DeleteWe can choose our friends; we can't choose our relatives...
There was a time in secondary school where I was embarrassed to be seen in public with my parents.
I can empathise why some are reluctant to be associated with their "poorer" relatives...
Thankfully I outgrew that teenage inferiority complex phase. You know, when we realise other classmates' parents dress better, speak better, have more powderful titles, etc...
I don't spend too much time thinking about others; I have myself to worry about.
I spend a lot more time with mom today because she was always around when I'm back from school, back from work.
Dad was never around. OK, he worked overseas for some years, but even when working in Singapore, he was hardly around even on weekends. Leave early, come back late in the wee hours...
Mom is a full time housewife so I know dad provided for us financially.
But if mom and dad fell into the river, I have no hesitation who I would jump in to rescue first.
There are 2 sides of the same coin. I read in the papers some parents have regrets spending too much of their retirement monies on their children, leaving themselves very little in retirement when the relationships with their children are strained...
Of course the press won't share how much time these parents spend on their children growing up...
Emotional bonds are not bought with money.
temperament,
DeleteIf we only meet once a year out of "obligation", that's crystal enough ;)
Relationships are interesting and complicated.
It's the same for friends and colleagues. Haven't we felt let down when long lost friends/ex-colleagues called to meet up only to "sell" us something...
That's why we professional snake oils don't like to do business with close friends and relatives.
Amateurs and newbies do the opposite.
Hi uncle temperament and Smol
DeleteI always like to be the black horse, somehow.
OK.
DeleteHence forth, you shall be known as:
The Black Small Time Investor
;)
The Dark side is seductive.
Uncle Temperament,
ReplyDeleteTotally agreed that when we need money, we became man whore.
It's the poor that became a servant to money and became so rich that they became landlord by X times yet still live live like a servant until
One fine day, they saw and live like a king
I am
Just a worker, happy worker. Not landlord mentality no servant mentality
Hi SMOL
ReplyDeleteSometime, I do wonder am I being selfish to give my loved ones and myself more time by aiming for early retirement, which in exchange they could have a much better lifestyle if I work towards being a successful working class. Though I think our current lifestyles are comfortable enough for us. So hard to balance given resources are tight. haha.
Frugal Daddy,
DeleteAs a snake oil, I understand the power and significance of words.
Instead of "selfish", reframe the question to being true to oneself and you'll have your answer ;)
We have seen around us how some parents are quite bitter with life, and they never shy from putting their children on a guilt trip by constantly reminding the sacrifices they have made for their children...
Do your love ones prefer you to be happy or grouchy all the time?
If you children want an overseas education, would you rather be there for them to help them explore their options: study hard for scholarships; work part-time/vacations to save for their own Uni-fund; work first, save, then go overseas when they are sure what they want to do in life!
You don't decide for your children, but act as coach and mentor to them. Your children learn about ownership, responsibility, and empowerment early :)
And not relying on parents and entitlements! Pay their own way? What a novel idea! (Yup, its sarcasm)
Or maybe your children would prefer you pay everything for them (you pay; you decide), never mind you were never home most of the time because of work.
Even at home, you often lock yourself in the study analyzing your stocks and investments...
Don't worry. Young buy them an iPad. Big buy them a car. Don't disturb me! I busy!
Who are your children mixing with? Are you children adjusting well at school? What are their hopes and aspirations?
Don't ask; don't tell.
Just assume they like to be lawyers and doctors. Can't go wrong one.
I know I am doing the "right" thing for what I want. However, I hope my child will appreciate it rather than say, you see x and y parents pay for this and that and everything else. They have the latest I-watch superstar limited version in year 2030, where most kids have.
DeleteI am just doing devil advocate using your post on myself. You are the Moderator. haha.
Frugal Daddy,
DeleteNow you know why I prefer to be single or live-in-sin ;)
I would be the worst dad ever! I have zero paternal instincts :(
We can only control our own behaviours.
Children, they look at what we do; not what we say ;)
If they see mom and daddy happily and lovingly married, imagine what will they write if there's an essay on what they want to be when you grow up?
Will they say they want to be rich and famous?
Or will they prefer to be successful and powerful?
How will you react if your children wrote:
"I want to be just like mom and dad - happy."
You will be a great father
DeleteAll human complain I guess. I actually have very little interest in commercial and materials. That why I am a weirdo in my daily life. Lol
DeleteThis watering hole is getting interesting.
ReplyDeleteGot insects, got weirdos, got animals of different strips and colours, got faithfuls, got pagans, got heathens, got agnostics, got atheists, got astronomists and astro physicists!!!
Some see in black and white; some see in shades of grey.
Some are more left-brained; some right-brained.
Some have more affinity to words; some to numbers.
Some are artists; some are craftsmen.
Some are goal setters; some are dreamers.
What diversity!
in the eyes of the other animal, we all looks and behave the same! they can't differentiat between you and me or the prime minister.
Deletei had done my selling and hedging, i'm now a little bit short.
Deletemy guess is that we are in a prolong down turn in both our economy and something something i rather not say. the central banks medicine had no effect anymore, the market will continue on its downward path.
ofcos one can still invest but you better open your eye big big cos many company will going to disappear. catching the wrong knife and its going to hit right at the heart.
Deletethought i love to catech falling knife but not this time, this time i don't want to be the hero, not yet.
That makes 3 of us ;)
DeleteThings must be really bad for a prime minister to come out and reassure everything is fine.
Anyone wants to believe Deutsche Bank CEO's "rock solid" comment?
BOJ must be frustrated they wasted one bullet for nothing. Now the USD/JPY is even lower than before they went to negative rates...
Aunty Yellen was not dovish last night yet the USD fell.
Now left to Draghi in March.
If the markets don't believe in Central Bankers anymore, we are in for an interesting ride!
forget about Deutsche Bank, nobody cares anymore, now the market will start looking into their books! they means the central banks and its country!
Deletecoconut,
DeleteLast night's USD/JPY power move man!
Markets are readjusting and repositioning. The most crowded trade is unwinding (for the moment)...
Sure glad I closed my 1.5 years trend following short EUR/USD core position last December!
When Draghi hinted on more negative rates last month, I jump back in for a speculative swing trade. Got profit stopped :(
Sometimes luck is luck!
I must still complain about Simsci. See! Today market open up again. !@@#%%$*^$!!@
Forcing me to be intraday trader - cannot have overnight positions :(
I don't play already. Maybe switch to another vehicle to hedge my equity positions? Hmm...
i don't advise you to hedge, how are you going to hedge? futures? are they corelated?
Deleterather its best to repositioning/diversification will be better, no need to have 100% cover. for example can buy gold which run up quite a bit, buy singapore dollar may be is another one. buy something that is currently runs the opposite of the stock market to have some kind of protection.
hedge your head!
temperament, people who think that their dogs are their friend are simple misunderstood them!
Deleteyou think dogs are very stupid?
coconut,
DeleteMy portfolio is quite hedged since early 2015. Thank you very much ;)
You don't hedge after the horses have bolted from our barn doors...
When I say "hedge" above, its a nicer way than to say profit from the current market weakness ;)
Dear SMOL,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite TV commercial.
The late Yasmin Ahmad was such a great story teller. The kids were all successful, according to worldly standards, but really, which life would you rather live?
The ending brought me to tears.
A Petronas employee
Hello and welcome to our cousin from Malaysia!
DeleteYes, encik Yasmin Ahmad is a great story teller.
I see you have a front row seat to the Oil and Gas industry ;)
Of the many things we've learnt from ang moh society, having nursing homes where we can "dump" our parents is something we should not have "imported"....