Recently met up with Jim, an ex-high-ranking executive in a reputable Oil and Gas company (I Shell not mention) who has dedicated his life to be a patriot to his beloved company.
His loyalty is beyond questionable that he only allows his family to pump gas from this one and only one petrol station (You Shell not buy gas from other brands or you’d be disowned).
Life was all good and the company had been rewarding him with enormously huge monthly pay cheque not to mention the bonus year after year.
So one fine day, he decided that he should “invest” in a 3.8Mil Bungalow in Setia Alam for his own stay, retired his wife, and sent his daughter to Medical School because it somewhat seemed affordable and comfortable with what he was doing.
An extra 100k last bit of his savings was parked under a newly set up Forex account that his remisier promised him a fortune if he just entrusted all his savings to him.
He is the perfect example of a man, a father, and a husband that most men can only dream of.
One day, when his daughter was just about to begin her second year in medical school, he received a letter with a token of appreciation from his beloved company saying that his services is no longer required and that he’s relieved from his position and duty.
And yes, it happened overnight just like that. From a company that he’s always been loyal to for over 30 years, that has paid him very well.
The monthly repayment of his Bungalow, his ability to retire his wife and the expenses of his daughter’s medical school don’t seem to be affordable anymore.
With all that financial stress kicking in, he had no choice but to turn to his last pot of savings parked under a Forex account that he later found out that he couldn’t withdraw even a single cent from it. It was all a sham.
Moral of the story:
1) Invest in cash flow appreciating properties regardless of your age and income. If you take care of your investments, they will take care of you. The key is consistency. I’ve seen many investors who initially started off with their 1st property and conveniently drifted from their financial goals because “life got busy”.
2) If you don’t know where to start, invest in yourself first to acquire the knowledge and expertise. Resources are abundant in our world today, from free Youtube videos to books, audiobooks to paid courses depending on your capability and capacity to learn. Getting access to those resources has never been easier today with the Internet.
3) There is no such thing as perfect timing. It’s kinda like waiting for all the traffic lights aligned to give a green light before making a move.
4) There are 74 days left this year. Do whatever it takes and finish strong!
