Have You Planned?

Financial Planning Tip #7: Know Your Needs Versus Wants

When it comes to Financial Planning, have you asked yourself what is more important – Your Needs or Your Wants?

Not too sure what is the difference between the two?

– Your Needs In General

In a general sense, your Needs can be anything from Goods to Services that are necessary for living, e.g. Food, Clothing and Shelter

– Your Needs In Financial Planning

In a Financial Planning sense, your Needs can be setting up an Emergency Fund to providing an Income Replacement in the event of Death, Permanent Disability, Critical Illnesses and even have enough coverage for Hospital & Outpatient Expenses.

– Your Wants In General

In a general sense, your Wants can be anything from Goods to Services that may not be necessary for living, e.g. Toys, Cars, Games and Entertainment.

– Your Wants In Financial Planning

This can be saving enough for a Expensive Car, for a Private Property when you already have a Shelter, and even for a Luxurious Retirement.

Even though the meaning behind a Need and a Want can be quite straightforward like what’s mentioned above, but do you know that when it comes to differentiating and prioritizing one’s needs and wants, many people are still having difficulties?

The Example Of How People View Their Needs And Wants

Understanding Your MediShield (Medical Insurance) Plans

by FinancialDex
July 26, 2010
Insurance

Over the last few months, I had met up with a few clients and they shared with me that they see no reasons for them to upgrade their MediShield plans and they are adequately covered.

And I took the initiative to go through with them what they are being covered and conclusion is that most of them do not really know what they are covered.

So instead of promoting why they should upgrade their current coverage, I would rather let them know what they are being covered and let them decide whether to upgrade. If you are one of those who know that you have a MediShield Plan but do not what you are being covered, this post will give you a clearer picture!

Direct Links To Some Of The Common Questions Asked About MediShield

1. What Is MediShield?

2. What Are The Benefits Under MediShield?

3. How Much Is My MediShield Premium?

4. How Do I Know If I Have Already Covered Myself / My Dependents(s) Under MediShield?

Understanding The Benefits Under MediShield In Parts

So what are these Figures? Basically they are the daily limits. Medishield do not really limit you to any hospital type and ward (but in reality, it’s around Ward B2 and C), so if there’s any hospitalization involved, you have to check out with the Hospital the Daily Inpatient and Miscellaneous Charges for your Ward.

If it’s normal ward and $450 per day and below, this amount will be added up with the rest of the charges and summed up against the Deductible.

If it’s more than $450 per day, e.g. $500 per day, you have to take to account that you need to pay the difference of ($500 – $450 = $50 per day) whereas the rest of the $450 fall against the Deductible.

And if there’s a Surgery Involved…

The Financial Planning Process And Its Importance To You

Do you know the importance of going through a Financial Planning Process with your Financial Planner?

And this process is not just plainly buying insurance plans through your Financial Planner but rather more of understanding of your personal and financial situations, current/future needs and objectives.

If you have not really done so or do not know what is this all about, I will be sharing what are the benefits that you can actually get out from going through one.

First – What Is This Financial Planning Process And Its Benefits

To Financial Planners, this is the process known as “Knowing Our Clients” and every insurance companies do have their own means in the form of either a software or booklet, ranging from between 10 to even 20 pages and in which a lot of your personal information and particulars will be recorded.

Certain Important Particulars Like:

1. Occupation (to assess the risks) and Family Dependents

2. Total Savings, Investments and Loans/Debts

3. Current Total Income and Expenditure

4. Your Available Budget

And to your benefits of this, there will also be calculations done and these numbers will be of great importance to you! These numbers, if properly calculated based on your full and truthful declaration, will let you know whether you are:

– Protected Against Any Financial Risks Or Long Term Care

There’s enough means for you carry on your lifestyle in situations like a sudden short-term illness/injury or for your family to continue living in any case of premature death.

What about conditions that are long term or permanent? Knowing your numbers will help you to take care of this situation and also lessen any burdens on your family.

– Protected Against Living Too Long

You have enough money to last through your retirement based on the lifestyle that you want. You will also be able to “really” retire by then and not having to continue to work just to keep the income coming in.

– Able To Pay For The Costs Of Raising Your Children And Their Education

Learn The Basics To Stock Trading With These Two Books

by FinancialDex
June 6, 2010June 6, 2010
1 Comment
Money Matters

As you know, part of a good Financial Plan, would include having instruments that help you to

1. Make your money work harder (not you working hard to make the extra dollar) so that you can achieve your goals faster and having adequate savings for your retirement

2. Beating the inflation (when the price of a certain good increases by a X%, the interest rate on your savings/investment account is more than X%, that’s beating inflation)

There are common methods to help you achieve the above like Investment-Link Plans (through Insurance Companies), Investing into Unit Trusts (through Financial Institutions or Brokerage Firms) or through Stock Trading (On your own and Trading like Warren Buffett).

And for the purpose of this post, I would like to recommend the method of Stock Trading with the introduction of two books, that I have personally read, that would help you to learn the Basics of Stock Trading.

These two books are :

Ho Kok Mun’s How To Make Money From Your Stock Investment Even In A Falling Market
Adam Khoo & Conrad Alvin Lim’s Secrets of Millionaire Investors

What You Can Expect To Learn From These Two Books

1. Ho Kok Mun’s How To Make Money From Your Stock Investment Even In A Falling Market (187 Pages)

Are People Around You Living Longer Or Shorter?

Have you asked yourself this question before – Are people around you living longer or shorter?

If you do not have an answer or do not wish to answer this, my suggestion is that you flip through the Straits Time and just have a glimpse at the Obituary Page. You do not have to understand in details but just have a rough feel at the age of people passing on…

My personal opinion is that the answers to the above are both a yes! And the point that I want to bring across is – Have You Planned for both situations?

What Happened When You Live Too Long…

My Heart-Felt Sympathies…

by FinancialDex
March 5, 2010
Insurance

I would like to express my heart-felt sympathies to the two families (one of the family I do know personally) for the loss of their precious child (one is at the 30s and the other is just 22)

The Family That I Know Personally…

I know the child (younger than me by 7 years) and the child is one of those who is very quiet and also happened to be the only child of the family. I used to be one of the bouncing-around kid in the neighborhood and this child captured my attention was that it was hard to get the child to play and mingle with us…

As usual, we all grew up and went on with our personal life. Those were the times. And it’s only upon reading the newspaper that I got to know the news. This child has grew up to be independent, smart, diligent and has gotten a place in a local university and in a good course.

As a parent, which I place myself in their position, will definitely be proud and one fine day would depend on the child to take care of them upon graduation. I believe this is how my mum would have felt when I graduated with a degree – though she is no longer around to see that. Rest in peace Mum! You deserve it!

To continue… How would it have felt when suddenly the world turns against you. With all the hopes pinned on the child, a sudden collapse meant the end of everything. A bright future. Gone. A world to see and explore. Gone. The dependence… it’s gone as well.

How would you have felt… if the same should happen and I do not wish for the same to happen to anybody…

At this moment, I would like to share that time is precious. Any moment is precious. If you have somebody that’s close to you, start to pay more attention to them. If you have been busy with work, learn to take a break and spend quality time with your closed ones. Show your love. Show that you care. Do not wait too long to do that!

Okay. At this point of your reading, I would also like to share the importance of life insurance as well. If you are not ready, I would welcome you to return next time for my other posts. Else, I welcome you to explore how life insurance can help.