Achieving your Halal financial goals in Singapore is like driving a car. After driving for some time, Alhamdulillah… finally you reach your destination safely.
There are 7 simple yet IMPORTANT things that you need to have to ensure that you reach your destination safely.
I have created the infographic below to sum up this blog post. 🙂
1) You need to know where you are
. If you call me today. And you ask me…
“Helmi. How do I get to Masjid Al-Islah at Punggol?“
The first thing that I will ask you immediately is, “Where are you now?” 🙂
Similarly, in finance, you got to first know where you stand exactly in terms of your personal finance.
Your Final cashflow is Your Total Inflow minus your Your Total Outflow.
What is your PERSONAL NETWORTH (excluding the house you are staying) now? How about your cashflow? Do you have a positive cashflow or negative cashflow every month?
Start looking at these numbers closely. Because only when performance is measured, it can be improved.
. My overall goal as a financial consultant is to help you
– INCREASE your shariah compliant investible assets in your networth statement -SHORTCUT and accelerate your process to increase your personal networth in a Halal manner -Reduce and eliminate your riba based loans once and for all
And at the same time, help you achieve your short term and your long term financial goals.
These short term and long term financial goals are what I term as “your destination”.
Are you saving for your retirement? Saving for your child’s education? WHERE IS YOUR DESTINATION? 🙂
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3) You need a vehicle
. In order for you to reach a certain destination, you need to have a mode of transport. Are you travelling by bus? By car? By motorcycle? By train? By plane? Or by ship? 🙂
(My first time boarding Royal Albatross without the need to have a passport) ………………………………. …………………. …………
WHAT IS YOUR MODE OF TRANSPORTATION? 🙂
For me, I drive my Hyudai Elantra everyday to work. And if I travel, I like to travel to my favourite destinations with AirAsia. Of course!! I will savour their delicious serving of Nasi Lemak Pak Nasserwhile on board. Nasi Lemak Pak Nasser is my favourite! 🙂
If I am overseas, I have my Grab app and Gojek by my side. It is super duper convenient! 🙂
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Similarly when you are saving money for your financial objectives, you need to have a RELIABLE FINANCIAL VEHICLE.
For short term financial objectives like your 3-6 months emergency funds, you can leave your money in the Al Wadiah savings account. It is shariah compliant because Al Wadiah savings account gives Hibah. Hibah, Gift = Halal Riba = Haram
For your long term financial objectives, you want to make sure that your money works harder for you. Al Wadiah Hibah of 0.6-0.8%/annum is not enough. You want more. You need more…. You deserve more! That is where you will look into shariah compliant stocks/funds/Halal REITS etc2 as part of your portfolio.
. Some people told me, they want to be a millionaire in 15 years time, by investing $150/mth Let me do the maths for you. $150/mth X 12 months X 15 years = $27,000
I told them… Hello… If today you want to drive to Penang from Singapore. And you only fill up $10 worth of petrol. Will you reach Penang?
Confirm, you won’t reach. In fact, you CAN’T even reach Malacca with $10 worth of petrol.
But some of them argued… ‘Alah… Helmi… I can only afford $150/mth now…”
Then I told them, its okay to start with $150/mth. Along the way, you have to top up.
Its like driving your car. When you don’t have enough petrol,you need to top up the petrol.🙂 ………………………….. ………… …….
5) You need someone to show directions: Google Map. Waze.
. That someone is called a mentor, coach or advisor.
There are 20,000 financial consultants in Singapore.
Some people asked me. What is the difference between MEand the rest of the 19,999 financial consultants in Singapore?
The difference is simple.
I specialise in helping Muslim families plan their finance, the shariah compliant wayin Singapore. So that they can lead a blessful life in this dunya. And also the akhira..
Amin. Allahumma Amin…. 🙂
(Catch me in Mediacorp Suria shows, “Wahhnita” and “Alah Abang, Amboi Kakak” to be aired in February 2019) …………………….. ………… ………..
6) You need to check your blindspot. You might need additional mirrors. Definitely, you need insurance.
. You need to have Plan A. Plan B. And Plan C.
Especially if you intend to drive long distance, it is good to have additional mirrors. Additional precautionary measures in place. Definitely you need insurance. ……………………………….. ……………… ……….. I remembered many years back then, while was still a student. Back then when I was in Ngee Ann Poly Business Incubator program. My partner and I were required to present our business plan to a group of investors. I was in charge of the pro forma financial statements.
I had to forecast the trading, profit & loss statement for the next 3 years. 5 years. And 10 years. I had to project my forecast into 3. Pessimistic. Neutral. And optimistic sales figure. We clinched the deal.
To my mind, that was a super good training ground, because entrepreneurs are usually optimistic. We always think that everything will fall in place nicely. Yes. Sometimes it does, with the help of Allah S.W.T. Yet, sometimes it doesn’t. That it where you need contingency plan.
You need Plan A. Plan B. Plan C. And Plan D.
In Malay, we call it, “Sediakan payung sebelum hujan.”! 🙂 ……………………. ………………………… ………………..
In today’s investment environment, there are so many variables to account for. Weakening and strengthening of the USD$. Interest rate hikes (there were 3 rate hikes from the Fed in year 2018) Donald Trump Trade war (market follows closely to whatever he tweets) So many things to read on Bloomberg. On MorningStar. On Business Times.
Financial products keep evolving too.
Yesterday, I met one couple. They mentioned that they want a financial vehicle that covers EVERYTHING.. Covers hospitalisation. Covers personal accident. Covers their income replacement needs, death, total & permanent disability, critical illness. Covers retirement. Covers child’s education. Wealth accumulation. Basically, a SUPER COMBO plan consolidate into 1.
I shared with them, that there is no such plan. If there is, I also want! 🙂 We have to segregate Plan A. Plan B. Plan C. Plan D. Plan E…. And Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, Plan E are within my purview as a financial planner.
Others from other industries such as real estate can share Plan F. Plan G and Plan H. Basically diversify. Don’t put your eggs in 1 basket. Have contingency plans in place! ……………………. ……… …….
7) You as the driver need to be focused. Drink coffee. Stay alert.
. You as the driver need to be focused. Especially if you drive long distances. Drink coffee. Stay alert!!
By being focused, you should also know where you want to go and not be swayed by other people’s opinions.
Some drivers, they drive so far and almost…..reach their destination. Suddenly one of their passengers distract them. The passenger said, “Hello!!!! You are going the wrong way!”
Instead of moving forward towards their destination, the driver did a U-Turn.
Imagine…. You are so close to your destination and suddenly you U-Turn. You U-Turn because your friend gives you wrong advice. You are so hospitable, so caring, so accommodating to offer your friend a ride on your car.
Instead of thanking you, he “sabo” you by leading you to the wrong direction. Alamak!!!
….. Similarly, there are many people in life. At first, they were doing good.
To me the unqualified opinions are like passengers in the car who are clueless. Yet think they know the direction, and show you the wrong way. Or if you board a ship, the unqualified opinions are like storms in the sea. …………………………………….. ……………………………… ………………….
What I did is that I installed “anchors”. I install “anchors” in all my financial planning presentations. In a good way. If you are my client, confirm + chop , you will recognise these anchors. And you will thank me for that! 🙂
I will share with you one of my “anchors”.
“The Apple Concept”.
This “Apple Concept” is suitable to apply when there is a market downturn. Market Pandemonium. Everybody kan cheong spider, you relax. 🙂
Example you buy apple (the fruit you can eat) today at $1. It goes down to 90 cents. Up 91 cents.Down 90.122345.
What do you do? Dont bother. Ignore! We are not speculators. We are not traders. We are investors! However, when price of Apple goes down to 50 cents. Half price. GREAT SINGAPORE SALE! What do you do? Buy more.
Similarly, when market goes up or down a bit, dont bother. However, when the fund price selling at cheap price, buy more. So that can make more money when the price goes up in the future. (A lot of pple get scared and they sell and they lose money)
There are one of the many anchors that I shared during my financial planning presentation to manage my clients’ expectation and ensure that they remained focus, instead of listening to the “noises” in the market.
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The 2nd thing that I share my clients or reiterate to them to ensure that they remain focus is to remind them of their Niat and their “Big Why”.
You need to know why you do what you do.If you save for your child’s education. Your child is your BIG WHY. You save money because you love your child. Because you want to see your child grow up as a good human being. Because you want your child to have a good job. Or have a business. Or even perhaps continue your legacy in this dunya.
When your Big Why is strong, you would not lapse a plan. What is your Big Why when you get a certain plan or you embark on a certain endeavour? Your reason or your Big Why must be strong! 🙂
My Big Why is my family. My niat is to establish Islamic Finance in Singapore is because I see that as one of my pathway for me to go to heaven. Every time, I feel down. I feel like giving up (giving up is easy by the way).
I remind myself of this Hadith. “From Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar -may Allah be pleased with him- that Allah’s messenger -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said, “The trustworthy, honest Muslim merchant will be with the Prophets, the honest men, and martyrs on the Day of Resurrection. ’’
I want to go to Jannah. I want to join the syuhadas. That is why when I conduct my business, I do my level best to be as transparent as possible. I left no stone unturn!
In fact, now I treat every single action I take as accumulating saham akhirat. Come, partner with me. We can kumpul saham akhirat together! Amin. Amin. Insya’Allah! 🙂 ……………………………………. ………………….. …………
Now… I hope you have benefited from my sharing on 7 Things That Makes It Easier To Achieve Your Halal Financial Goals in Singapore…
If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical aspects on how you can protect your wealth using Halal Insurance in Singapore OR save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, I am always ready to help you.
One of my favourite topics is on retirement planning.
Recently, a lot of people came to me asking for tips, strategies on how they can save money for their retirement.
In this blog post, I will share with you, 5 Most Important Rules To Halal Savings For Your Retirement In Singapore…
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Rule #1. Start Early
This is my story.
During my early years as a financial consultant, I always advise my clients of the importance and advantages of saving money EARLY for their retirement.
Yet at times, I myself faced challenges when I wanted to save money. I came out with lots of “EXCUSES”!
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“Alah… Wait lah… Im still young. YOLO!!!!
Enjoy first. Later, when I am in my thirties, then I will start saving for my retirement.”
“Alah…. My pay is so little now. Wait when my income increases to a substantial amount, then I will start saving for my retirement.”
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Yet deep down in my heart, I know that the best time for me to start saving money for my retirement is when I step into the workforce.
This is because, at that point of time,we DO NOT have high money commitments.
We don’t have a wife to give nafkah.
We don’t have children to provide for their daily living expenses.
We don’t have a house to pay for monthly mortgages.
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The facts and figures are as clear as daylight.
If you want to retire comfortably in the future.
No shortcuts! Start saving money for your retirement as EARLY AS POSSIBLE!🙂
(The hill gets steeper if you choose to procrastinate and delay your savings for your retirement)
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Rule #2. Follow A Proven System and Personalize It
As you know, I struggled to save money during my early 20s.
Yes. I had my savings account. (I opened one at that point of time because I knew the importance of saving money for rainy days. In Malay, we call it, ‘Sediakan payung sebelum hujan’)
Yet. My SAVINGS account is more like a TRANSIT account.
The money rarely stayed at one place.
It moved around.
And it seldom remained in the account.
How many of you are like that?
Man… The feeling was bitter.
Every 13th of the month, at 12am, my salary would be credited.
By 11pm, the same day, 3/4 of my salary was gone to pay bills.
I told myself back then.
“I want to be a MONEY MAGNET!
Not a MONEY REPELLENT!”
So what did I do?
I read books.
I found mentors. (Paid lots of $$$ to learn from them)
I followed proven systems that many successful people had followed.
You know some of those concepts.
Concepts like,
‘Save First and then Spend’,
‘Forced Savings’
‘Identify and Differentiate Between Your Needs and Your Wants’,
‘Invest in Equities, Bonds, Commodities, REITS, Properties, ETFs’
‘Robert Kiyosaki ESBI’ model
”
Coupled with my 3 year knowledge Diploma In Accountancy from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I began to develop the right mix.
The right recipe. The right formulas.
It’s a bit like cooking Sambal Udang.
(picture from resepinannie.blogspot.com)
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You need to find the right balance.
The right amount of cili kering (dried chillies).
Tamarind.
Salt. Sugar. Prawns.
Everything in the right proportion.
And….
My small, little advice.
If you have found a recipe and a system that works well for you…
Don’t have ‘itchy fingers’.
Stick with it. Follow the system closely.
Repeat the process again. Again. And all over again.
Till you reach your retirement objective.
It is that simple.
Simple yet sometimes, difficult to follow.
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Yes. If you have been trying to save money, and failed numerous times.
Let me tell you 1 thing.
It is not your fault.
We are human beings. We have our own DNA.
We have our strengths. And we have our limitations.
So the key here is for you to personalise your plan.
This is HOW I PERSONALISED my retirement plan.
As a Muslim, I know that Allah S.W.T. determines my rezeki.
Everything that I do, can only happen with Allah’s will.
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Say: “Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us. He is our Mawla (protector).” And in Allah let the believers put their trust.)
Quran (Surah Tawba, Verse 51)
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Thus I made a decision, that whatever financial strategy that I am going to do.
I am going to do it the shariah compliant way. The Halal way in Singapore.
Because at the end of the day, its not all about strategies. Its about baraqah.
Its about seeking redha from Allah S.W.T.
I made up my mind.
I made a commitment.
I set myself to pursue knowledge to COMBINE the best financial planning practices in the conventional world and the Islamic Finance world.
I remember the story of “Rabbit and Tortoise”, that my teacher shared with me when I was in primary school.
You know the OVERCONFIDENT rabbit that lost the race to the tortoise.
The overconfident rabbit slept halfway, thinking he was fast.
He was quick. He was agile.
The slow tortoise will lose to him.
But lo and behold, the slow tortoise won the race because the slow tortoise was CONSISTENT.
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What I learnt from this story is that you can be the best financial wizard in the world.
You can have the best retirement strategies in place.
Yet, if you are not CONSISTENT in applying them.
Having enough money for your retirement will remain a far-fetched dream.
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I realise that a lot of people, treat money-saving habits like “hangat hangat tahi ayam.”
At first they get excited with the idea of retirement planning. But when they realize that it requires work, they feel let down.
Every other day, I have strangers asking my opinions on the latest get rich quick schemes.
Some asked for my opinion. Some asked for my endorsement.
(Something like this)
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I disappointed them by telling them in the face that there is no elevator to success.
You have to climb up the stairs.
I am a firm believer of ” Man jadda wajada, wa man zara’a hasada, wa man yajtahid yanjah ” Man jadda wajada, Siapa berusaha, dia dapat.
Man zara’a hasada means “sesiapa yang bercucuk tanam (Inshallah) akan menuai hasilnya.”
Man yajtahid yanjah means “sesiapa yang berusaha (Inshallah) akan beroleh kejayaan.”
and when it comes to savings for retirement. You have to CONSISTENTLY set aside a monthly amount for your retirement. Don’t touch that money. Don’t stop.
Because once you stop, you lose your momentum. And it will be difficult for you to start again.
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Rule #4. Be Flexible. Adjust
Along the way, we may face challenges.
Things don’t go as planned.
I always share with my clients. You draw a straight line on a piece of paper.
It may look straight in your eyes.
But how confident are you that, the straight line that you draw is really straight?
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In life, you need to be flexible.
I love this quote by Confucius.
Adjust the action steps.
Work with practitioners.
People who hustle and make things happen on the ground.
They devote their entire life perfecting their craft.
Be humble. Seek help from these people.
These people know the tricks of the trade.
And most importantly, they do it the legal way.
In short, we call them street smart.
If someone is doing better than you, its because they know something you don’t.
Be flexible. Model a proven winner. Copy someone who is making a mint right now.
If things don’t work for you, don’t shift your goals. Adjust.
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Rule #5. Don’t Give Up
We are lucky to be Muslims.
Because as Muslims, we believe in Allah S.W.T.
Whenever we face problems and challenges. Don’t place everything on our shoulders.
Remember what Allah S.W.T says
Innamalyusriyurah…
Setiap kesusahan, pasti ada kesenangan.
(Behind every difficulty is a blessing.)
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As Muslims, our 6th pillars of Iman is Qada and Qadar.
My mentor always reminds me of Qada and Qadar.
Qada is ketentuan from Allah S.W.T.
Sunatullah that Allah S.W.T. has set.
Example, for rainy days, one of the signs is that the sky turns dark. Cloudy.
And rain falls from the sky. Not from the surface of the earth.
If rain falls, we cannot stop that.
However, we can AVOID ourselves from GETTING WET. HOW?
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By opening an umbrella. Open and walk under that umbrella!
That Umbrella is Qadar. Which is our effort.
We cannot stop the rain (Qada) yet we can avoid getting wet by using an umbrella (Qadar).
Don’ be disheartened when you stumble and fall down while working towards your financial objectives.
Dust yourself up, stand and continue working towards your goals.
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Now… I hope you have benefited from my sharing on 5 Most Important Rules To Halal Savings For Your Retirement in Singapore.
If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical aspects on how you can protect your wealth using Halal Insurance in Singapore
OR
save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, I am always ready to help you.
Recently, a number of newly weds came to me asking my professional perspective on coverage against death, total & permanent disability and critical illness.
They feel a sense of responsibility. They are concerned for their loved ones should anything happen to them.
To me, this is GOOD news.
Because it reflects ONE THING.
It shows that the level of awareness on the needs for wealth protection in our Muslim community in Singapore has INCREASED significantly over the years.
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As we all know, all of us work to earn an income.
Income to feed our family.
To pay for our food.
Our housing mortgage installments.
Nafkah for our wife.
Allowance for our parents.
Basically to pay for our expenses.
We use our INCOME to pay for our living EXPENSES.
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What if one day we are no longer around ?
What if one day, we are totally crippled?
Totally paralyzed.
Not able to move at all?
What if critical illnesses were to strike?
Our Living Expenses will CONTINUE.
But Our Income will most likely STOP!
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Thus, today, I am going to share with you aspects on wealth protection.
I want to share with you…
. 5 Ways On How You Can Protect Your Wealth, The Shariah Compliant Way in Singapore.
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1) Be Healthy By Watching Your Diet
The Arabs of old said: The stomach is the home of diseaseand restraint is the basis of the remedy.
To me.
Fasting is the Answer.
I personally love the month of Ramadan.
After our stomach that has been working hard for the 11 months, Ramadan presents an opportunity for our stomachs to rest.
Other than the month of Ramadhan where we not only fulfill our religious obligation and get to rest our stomach,
I do my best to fast on the recommended (sunat) days in Islam.
I have created an infographic below that I personally use to take note of the recommended (sunat) days to fast.
Other than exercising restraint in my tendency to overindulge, it gives me an opportunity to accumulate good deeds (pahala) for the akhira in the future.
Other than fasting, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Please And Blessings Be Upon Him) has taught us the formula for moderation when we eat our food. We should fill our stomachs with 1/3 of food, 1/3 of drink
And leave 1/3 for breath.
Prophet Muhammad (Please And Blessings Be Upon Him) said:
“No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.”
Our body is an amanah from Allah S.W.T. on this earth.
We have to take great care of it by exercising regularly.
All of us know exercising is important.
It keeps us in shape. Makes us look better.
Makes us look younger.
Boosts our energy.
Help us lose weight and of course, lower risk of some diseases.
Most importantly, it keeps us alive.
A lot of people are rich. But what is the meaning of wealthwhen you can’t enjoy that plate of nasi minyak with rendang and ayam masak merah?
Or that slice of durian D24?
Because you are sick.
What is wealth when you don’t have the energy, the stamina to play “police and thief” with your children?
Panting.
Gasping for air just by chasing them around your house?
Safeguard your health by making time to exercise while you enjoy your wealth.
3) Be Healthy By Quitting Smoking
When I draft up the cashflow statement for my prospects.
Especially those heavily in debt, I like to narrow down to how much they can SAVE if they quit smoking.
Smoking is a very expensive habit in Singapore.
1 package of Marlboro cigarettes in Singapore is SGD$14 (I Google-d for the info)
$14 X 30 days = $420/mth
$420/mth X 12 months = $5040
That $5040, you can use to enjoy going on holiday to Europe with your loved ones.
(Pictures of me conducting Quit Smoking Campaign organised by Health Promotion Board)
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Besides that, smoking is bad for your health.
Smoking can cause fatal diseases such as pneumonia, emphysema and lung cancer.
Yes. Think about your love ones.
Seek help. Protect your wealth by being healthy.
Take the first step to quit smoking today.
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4) Hijama Cupping (Bekam)
This is something I personally do twice a year to remove toxic blood from my body.
(You can get a qualified Hijama specialist to assist you with this)
Hijama Cupping Therapy is a Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him)
Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) said:
“Cupping is the most helpful procedure for human beings to cure themselves.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari 5357)
The importance of hijama in the divine guidance can further be stressed by the following words which were related to the Prophet SAW on the night of Israa (ascension to the heaven) by angels:
“O Mohammed, encourage your ummah (people) to do hijama (cupping)”. – Saheeh, Sunan Tirmidhi.
Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah’s peace be upon him) said: “I did not pass by an angel from the angels on the night journey except that they all said to me: Upon you is cupping (hijama), O Muhammad.” [Saheeh, Sunan ibn Majah]
“The best medicine with which you treat yourselves is cupping, or it is one of the best of your medicines.” Or “The treatment for you is cupping.” [Bukhari: 5371]
5) Have a shariah compliant critical illness plan in place
A Malay proverb says, “Kita merancang, tuhan menentukan.”
We can plan on protecting our wealth by being healthy. By being fit.
Plan whatever we want.
Yet as Muslims, we believe in the 6th Pillars of Iman, Qada and Qadar.
If things are to happen, they will happen.
By the will of Allah S.W.T.
That is why after making Doa to Allah S.W.T.
and taking appropriate actions to maintain our health, we need to have contingencies in place.
Our family is an amanah from Allah S.W.T.
We need to take care of them. We need to have Plan B, in case Plan A doesnt work.
We need Halal insurance in Singapore, as part of our contingency plans if things happen.
Halal insurance in Singapore provides you with 2 pillars.
Firstly is Income Protection.
We earn Income to pay for our mortgage loan, our car and support our family.
Should death, total & permanent disability or critical illness were to strike, your income will STOP.
Yet, most of your expenses will continue.
Family needs to eat.
Utility bills still need to be paid for.
Who is going to fund that if you no longer earn an INCOME?
Halal insurance in Singapore will help you and your family.
Proceeds from Halal Insurance will help to pay for your living expenses, should death, tpd and critical illness were to occur.
And.
Alhamdulillah. If nothing happens.
If you are perfectly healthy. Perfectly OKAY during your retirement age.
Good News for you.
The plan has cash value.
You can choose to liquidate the money from Halal Takaful funds and use it as part of your retirement.
In short, Halal Insurance provides you with 2 pillars.
Protection and Cash Value.
My mentor used to tell me, “The difference between a poor old man and elderly gentleman is INCOME.”
You don’t want to depend on your children to fund your retirement goals.
You want to be proactive. You want to take charge of your life. Halal Insurance in Singapore is the solution! 🙂
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Now… I hope you have benefited from my sharing.
If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical aspects on howyou can protect your wealth using Halal Insurance in Singapore
OR
save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, I am always ready to help you.
Alhamdulillah… I was invited to Google Dance Singapore 2018recently.
It was an awesome event.
I was very excited to learn from the panel of experts on how to promote Islamic Finance in Singapore using the internet.
At the same time, I was eager to explore the Google HQ office at Pasir Panjang.
I heard many good stuff about Google’s work culture and their creative office.
And feel very privileged to also be invited for a tour! 🙂
I snapped too many pictures. If you would like to see how Google Singapore office looks like, click here to view them on my facebook page!
In this post I want to share with you 3 Things I Learnt From Google Dance 2018…..
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1) Technology Saves Business Cost
During the session, I learnt about lots of cool gadgets, apps, software and hardware that can drive up profitsand help save business cost.
I learnt how Google Bot works.
(Cute little Google Bot, a memento I received from the Google Search Team)
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I learnt about Google Search Console (if you are a web developer, this tool is relevant for you)…..
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However, most importantly, the one that caught my attention and AMAZED me the most is
Tilt Brush by Google.
This technology blew me away.
Tilt Brush by Google allows you to express your creativity by drawing in 3D. very atas
View this video to understand how it works. 🙂
I usually use the Illustrator app on my Ipad to draw and also to take notes.
But now.. to be able to enter another world….
virtually.
And draw on 3D is simply SPECTACULAR! 🙂
Never in my mind, I thought of entering another visual world and having FUN. Painting rainbows with virtual brushes.Expressing my creativity. Building a safe refuge.Creating a world of my own. How wonderful is that?🙂
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Then I started to think about practicality. About pragmatics.
Okay. This gadget is cool.
But how exactly this technology can be USEFUL in our REAL world?
I do understand that this technology may be helpful for developers, developing virtual 3D games.
But how is exactly useful for common people like us?
Basically, how can this be a practical business application? ………………………………… ………………… …….
I spoke with one of the participants.
He mentioned that there is a cleaning company in Singapore that leverages on this technology.
All of us know that the employment turnover rate in the cleaning industry is HIGH at 30-40%.
Before the cleaners were deployed, they need to be trained. That is $$$.
They need to be trained by in-house qualified trainers. That is $$$.
The in-house qualified trainers also have to be trained. That is $$$.
When the cleaners leave the job, another new one comes in, also need to be trained. $$$again.
Trainers also leave and when new trainers come in, they need to be trained. $$$ and more $$$ needed again!
So what the cleaning company did is they created a SYSTEM leveraging on such technology.
New cleaners will wear such gadgets as above, and be trained to clean in the virtual world.
At the end of the session, they will have to take a test in the virtual world and PASS the minimum scores.
To my mind, this is brilliant way for the cleaning company to save business cost! 🙂
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2. Robots cannot replace humans completely
Someone asked the panel of experts about Google Robots.
He asked some technical questions that appear gibberish for me.
I’m not a technical person.
Html, C++, Javascript codes.
I know nothing of it. Serious.
He asked how to befriend the robots through coding of websites.
What the panel of experts shared was simple yet profound.
The panel of experts told us to focus more on users’ experience.
When you write a blog post (like mine), don’t write like you are communicating with a robot. Write as if you are communicating with your friend.
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If your friend or your target market read your blog post, and they feel OKAY. Google Bot will also feel OKAY.
If your friend or your target market read your blog post, and theyDON’T FEEL OKAY.
Google Bot will also feel NOT OKAY.
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The panel of experts also mentioned about chatbots.
Chatbots are basically like virtual human beings, programmed to ask and answer questions from prospects or clients.
How some developers designed their chatbots is that they just take ALL the questions from survey forms and program it as automated questions to ask potential clients at the chatbots.
Questions like..
-what is your name?
-what is your age?
-what is your gender?
-what is your house address?
-do you smoke?
-what is your highest qualification level?
You know what? It is super duper boring.
The panel of experts suggested us to add human elements. Personalise our message.
Make the robot as human as possible.
Again. Make the robot as human as possible.
To me, this is cool.
Because it only means 1 thing.
It only means that human beings are still needed on this earth.
If you are in the service industry, this is GOOD NEWS for you.
Human beings still want to deal with other human beings. Robots are just good for simple, repetitive and mundane tasks.
ROBOTS CANNOT REPLACE HUMAN BEINGS COMPLETELY! 🙂
They can help us make our jobs easy.
But never, ever replace us completely.
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3. Your network is Super important
During the event, I gauged that almost 60-70% of the audiences came from overseas.
Vietnam… Malaysia, Thailand… Indonesia… Japan..
I made friends with a number of them.
And still maintain contact.
I have a quote that I think hold relevant in today’s competitive business environment.
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. “Excellence of yesterday is a commodity today and will become obsolete tomorrow.”
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Which means: Something that is so unique, so enterprising,
so powerful yesterday, has become normal or baseline standards in today’s context.
And my favorite solution to prevent our business from being a commodity.
Or worst… Obsolete.
Is to reinvent ourselves by networking and continuously learning from people from other countries.
From other fields. From other industries.
Because.
They know something what we don’t. And we know something that they don’t.
If I find something that works super well in other countries.
I always think, if that same stuff can be apply in my business in Singapore.
Boyyyyy….. Google Dance provided me the platform to network with other brilliant IT/marketing practitioners.
I learnt from them lots of cool apps, gadgets that I can’t wait to implement for my business.
Super awesome stuff that can help my clients achieve the financial goals that they want to achieve.
Using tools that never come across my mind before.
…And yes, that is why your network is super duper important.
There is a saying, “Your network = Networth”.
I embrace that idea completely.
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I hope you learn something valuable from my sharing.
In my capacity as a financial consultant, I devote time, energy and a lot of resources to perfect my craft.
If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical, UP TO DATE, and modern ways on how you can save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, let me do the heavy lifting for you.
Congratulations! France emerged as the CHAMPION for 2018 Fifa World Cup finals.
They won 4-2 against Croatia! 🙂
(My wife and I in front of Eiffel Tower in Paris)
France won the World Cup for the 2nd time after 20 years. They first won the World Cup in year 1998.
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In every competitive game, I like to extract lessons that we can learn from the winners.
To be a champion is not easy. To be a WORLD CHAMPION is way, way tougher.
Success leaves clues. I want to uncover proven tactics employed by the world’s best athletes and sports performers.
And then apply them in our lives.
Let us learn from these top 2 teams, France and Croatia! 🙂
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1. Mind Power To Visualise Success
To be a world class Fifa soccer player, you not only have to be physically fit.
These players are also really strong in their minds.
They really dominate their opponents from a physiological standpoint.
It sounds cheesy, but world-class athletes visualise winning a match the night before the match actually happens.
They visualise kicking the ball.
Feeling the sensation of the ball at their feet.
The smell of the grass.
And the sight of people standing and cheering them when they score a goal.
Sports psychologists say that visualisation is most effective when we include sound, sight and smell into the visualisation.
It programs the brain and primes the the muscles for top performance the next day.
The more specific the visualisation, the better.
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When I coach my clients on how they can achieve their financial goals the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
I do my best to ensure my presentation encompasses visual aspects. Auditory aspects. And kinesthetic aspects.
(Some examples of my colorful presentation materials)
(and awesome videos. I have plenty of them on my facebook page.)
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This is because human beings have different ways of learning.
Some people are visual. They must see, then understand.
Some people are auditory… They must listen to understand.
Some people are kinaesthetic...They must see movements and feel movements to understand.
I educate and share with my clients using their 5 senses.
Because…
The bigger, the clearer, the sharper and the more vividly they can see themselves achieving their goals in their minds, the BETTER.
Other than showing policy illustrations which show a lot of numbers (engaging their left brain).
I indulge them with pictures. (engaging their right brain)
Stories they can relate to. Colours. Sounds.
You can also do visualisation techniques everyday to remind yourself.
And to reinforce your focus to achieve the goals you desire.
Use the “Be. Do. Have.” model.
This is my favourite model.
Both Stephen Covey and Anthony Robbins use this model.
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Example:
–BE: Step into the identity of the person you desire. “Who Do I Need To Be?” Have a clear picture on the results you desire.
Act “as if” your goal has already been achieved! Be the person you would be if you have already achieved your goal
Example:
I am lean and fit.
I am energetic. I am focused. I am committed.
I am determined.
I am self aware.
– DO: “What is my experience?” Do the things that a successful person would do.
Example:
I watch what I eat everyday.
Dinner by 6pm. Sleep by 9pm.
After Subuh, I jog for 10km. 3X/week. Consistently.
Jogging is a weekly routine for me.
I love sports. I enjoy my life!
– HAVE:What is the outcome? You have or get exactly what you want.
Example: I weigh 70kg.
I achieve gold for IPPT every year.
I look 10 years younger my actual age.
I have more energy. More stamina.
More power. More endurance to perform at peak performance in
my role as a financial consultant. Insya’Allah! 🙂
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2) Focus on factors you can control
Sports psychology.
When Croatia lost 3-1 to France, they were despaired.
Especially when the second goal by France was scored because of a penalty kick.
France gained momentum, puncturing Croatia players morale further by scoring a 3rd goal.
Yet Croatia never gave up. They kept attacking.
Maintaining top performance.
I was amazed with their tenacity to handling defeat… and coming back stronger.
What you focus on expands. When you face a problem, focus 80% of your energy on the solution.
Croatia focused on attacking. Focused on trying to score goals.
And at last, scored their second goal when France’s goalkeeper was distracted for a split second.
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Similarly in our lives, all of us face challenges when it comes to managing our personal finances.
CPF’s Retirement Sum will be $171,000 for those turning 55 this year. GST to increase from 7% to 9% from 2021 to 2025. Electricity tariffs increased by 6.3% this year. ABSD for 2nd property has just increased to 12%.
There might be an economic downturn in 12-16 months now. (based on my discussion with fellow professional fund managers)
We can’t control all these changes. Thus like I mentioned earlier, when you face a problem, focus 80% of your energy on the solution.
FOCUS on Controlling your expenses.
FOCUS on Parking your savings.
FOCUS onUpgrading your skills.
CONTROLLING your expenses
Keeping your expenses in check is important.
When I meet prospects with huge credit card loans, I realised that they fail in 1 thing.
They fail in managing their personal finance.
Easy to swipe their cards. Difficult to pay back.
And then, saddled and drowned with this riba-based loans for the rest of their life.
Control your expenses like an eagle eyeing its prey.
PARKING Your Savings
I advise my clients to park at least 20% of their monthly salary every month in a shariah compliant savings account.
If you don’t have knowledge on how to grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, the first step is to just park your money at Al-Wadiah yad Dhamanah savings account.
Instead of giving interest, that account gives you Hibah. Hibah is Halal.
Hibah is allowed under Islamic Finance perspective.
UPGRADING Your Skills
I believe in the mantra: “Once you stop learning, you stop earning.”
If you want to make more money (and have more money to save), you have to start learning a new profitable skill.
You can start a side-hustle with this new skill in future.
You can start by using your $500 Skillsfuture credits to attend practical courses which can
i) help you advance in your career, or
ii) start a side business.
Don’t underestimate the power of learning – once you are a few steps ahead of other people, you can teach our skills to others and potentially earn money from that.
3. Persistence And Always Move Towards Your Goals No Matter What
When you are confronted with challenges in life. Or being put down by others. Don’t admit defeat.
Baffle your detractors. Keep shifting your target.
Don’t just stand there and soak up the punches.
When I saw how Croatia played the game, it reminds me of Japanese quality known as “Fukutsu no Seishin”
Persevering Spirit
Never give up. Never Quit. Never say die.
I really admire their ability to continue through adversity of every kind.
In fact, Croatia was so determined that they possessed ball 61% of time in the game.
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We will face money challenges in some months which will push our saving goals.
Personally, I target to be debt free by April 2019.
I track my goal every month.
Then came a letter, mentioning that I have to contribute $5760 to my Medisave account! Alamak Self-employed individuals like myself have to contribute to our own Medisave account manually every year.
And then came another letter, I have to pay $1112.54 for my motor insurance. And then came one more letter, that I have to pay $738 my road tax.
Every single letter that came to me requested me to pay for something.
Do these expenses affect my cashflow?
Of course! It dents my confidence.
It casts a tinge of doubt within me if I really can achieve my goal to be 100% debt-free by April 2019.
Then, I am reminded of Croatia team.
It reminds me of Japanese quality known as “Fukutsu no Seishin” Persevering Spirit
Never give up. Never Quit. Never say die.
I shall just continue to hustle and work hard.
And I seek you doa that may we clear our riba based loans in Singapore.
Amin. Amin. Insya’Allah…
4. Work with coaches to help you grow your money
Recently, I met a Pakcik and he told me that he invested $50,000 one lump sum in a shariah compliant equity fund 20 years ago.
Today, he checked his cash value, and he told me, “How come my cash value is $49,997? It barely broke even?”
I asked him, “Who is your financial planner?”
He told me that he doesn’t have a planner.
He does things himself. At that time, he thought it was better for him to do himself.
Easier.
I shared with him.
Growing money is something which needs expert guidance.
A trained and experienced financial planner can help you reach your financial goals painlessly.
If he had a financial planner.
The financial planner would have educated him when to buy. When to sell.How to buy.How to sell. When to top up.And when to cut losses.
For his situation, this Malay proverb applies: “Nasi sudah jadi bubur.”
Now, he has no choice but to learn an expensive lesson.
It is a 20 year old lesson that all of us can learn from.
When we are doing our best to work towards our goals.
It is best to have a coach. Mentor. Planner.
Even World Cup athletes work with coaches and even sports psychologists to help them perform at peak levels.
Their coaches help to guide them.
Show them their blind spots. Pinpoint any mistakes they made along the way.
And remind them why they made a goal in the first place.
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5. Start early and stay committed
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Let’s look at Brazil player, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior.
Neymar signed his first contract when he was at a young tender age of 12 years old.
That means he has committed to the sport for 15 years – considering that he started training formally when he was 11.
Neymar knew what he wants and start developing his craft early in life.
Commitment also comes in the form of changes to his lifestyle.
He has to give up junk food and eats strictly-planned meals 6 times a day.
His diet routine alone requires massive commitment which most people are not willing to do.
If he was not committed to hours of rigorous training everyday, the strict meal plans, his habit of getting 8 hours of sleep every single night, he will not be the superstar he is today.
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When managing your personal finance, I also share with my clients that you have to start early.
Sometimes they asked me. “Helmi. When is it a good time for me to invest?”
I answered them, “10 years ago. When is the next best time? Now!!!”
You got to start early and commit yourself for long term.
Rome was not build on a single day. Neymar did not transform into a world class soccer superstar overnight.
You have to hustle to earn your income. Discipline to save some of it.
Commitment and knowledge to grow it over the long term period.
No magic bullets. No short cuts! 🙂
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I hope you can relate to what I share.
And learn something from it.
Who knows? You will be the next world class super star in your field of choice.
Amin. Amin. Insya’Allah. 🙂
Now… If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical aspects on how you can save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way in Singapore, I am always ready to help you.
A certified financial consultant, Helmi Hakim has won praise for his patience, perseverance and practicality when solving his clients’ financial concerns. For more information on how you can manage your finances better, contact Helmi Hakim at 96520134.
