In my most recent post, I shared a personal finance model template for financial planning and projection of your future net worth, income and expenses. I also mentioned that I have my own model suited to my personal needs. I've been modelling my future net worth for over 9 years (and tracking finances without projections for almost 20 years). Every year, my model evolves as assumptions are refined or updated. I've also overhauled the structure several times as my needs…

“I don’t let people do projections for me because I don’t like throwing up on the desk.” Charlie Munger This post is a continuation of my Developing your Financial Plan Series, so do read the previous posts if you want to learn more about designing your financial goals and creating a financial plan. Last year I developed TheWealthMeta Personal Financial Model to educate and inspire others to develop proper financial plans and incorporate the plan goals into a simple financial model.…

How do you save hundreds and thousands of dollars, as well as time, sweat, stress and heartache, when buying property?   First, don't buy investment properties. The past ~10 years' subpar performance in Malaysia will likely continue for the next 10-20 years.  Second, don't buy. Rent. It's "cheaper". Even after the mortgage is paid off.  Third (and the point of this post), if you are going to buy a place to call home, the better option is to purchase a subsale…

Yes, that's right. Everyone in the ecosystem, from patients to medical suppliers to doctors, contributes to the medical inflation problem in Malaysia. Everyone is talking about medical premiums significantly rising and much of the blame is on insurance companies. Unfortunately, they're an easy target. They're only part of the problem. Let's look at the facts issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Ministry of Health (MOH), presented to the Malaysian Parliament1. The table below shows the premium increases across…

In my previous post about building your own financial model, you would have seen that for some of the input data, the numbers that you would use can be quite subjective. For example, what rate of return should you use for investing in stocks, or what inflation rate should you use for regular expenses? This post will look into the art of using assumptions figures that suits your circumstances (note I didn't say the right or accurate numbers, as there…