by Helmi Hakim | Apr 24, 2013 | Insurance, Investment, Miscellaneous, Motivation
Alhamdulillah Wa Shukrillah…. I have finally graduated with Bachelor Of Science (Hons) in Banking and Wealth Management, University Of Wales, UK, with first class honours. 🙂
It has been an uphill task thus far, juggling appointments with clients and school, but a rewarding and satisfying one.
I have made great friends along the way and learnt what it takes to be an empathic, professional and competent financial planner. Now, I have the time and resources to share what I learnt, and apply it fully onto my 600+ clients. Till then, I shall wait patiently, for our convocation in November 2013. Insya’Allah… 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | Oct 8, 2012 | Insurance, Investment, Miscellaneous
My friend always tell me, “You all Malay, very lucky one….. We, Chinese ar, our wedding can cost $50,000 – $60,000…… Our life savings all gone….”
I used to agree with them, until I plan for my own one…. but now, I have a come back line, ” Ya lah….But you all can cover back your costs wat….”
lolz….. I have been procrastinating to post my rough calculation on the cost of Malay wedding in Singapore. But for the benefit of all, below is the extract from my own financial plan, just for my side of the wedding held under my HDB blk, not inclusive my future wife’s side……. 🙂
If you are planning to get married in a few years time, going to get married, just gotten married, already few years in marriage, do call me for a FREE financial planning advice. I will be very happy to assist you! 🙂
****UPDATES on 8th August 2013****: The post that I created was a year ago, on 8th October 2012. Alhamdulillah, most of the costs, remained intact, as I have made my downpayment, reservation fees at that point of time. However, certain expenses can only be confirmed closer to my wedding date, thus I update them in the costs allocation table above using the red fonts.
As most of you are aware, there is this thing called inflation. Which means, costs of wedding rise year by year. I will advice you to go down to the wedding expo, and confirm with the pertinent vendors, on the specific prices involved. The wedding costs, that I computed above is the exact costs, that I incurred for my wedding. You have the autonomy and flexibility to adjust accordingly. Enjoy the process, like the way, I do. 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | May 11, 2012 | Miscellaneous, Motivation
How many of you have watched this latest movie, “The Avengers”?
For every 10 of you reading this blog post, I can guarantee at least 5-6 of you have watched this movie, because it is soooo popular… 🙂
My facebook feeds are flooded with people “checking in” the cinema to watch the movie or filled with snippets of reviews, line of thoughts about the movie. Overall, the movie was awesome, though I feel, some part of it should be trimmed away. i love fast action movie
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So, what does Avengers got to do with financial planners in Singapore?
When I first watched the movie with my girlfriend, the first thing that struck me about the movie other than the explosive stuffs, was the importance of taking responsibility and teamwork.
As a financial planner, clients entrust us with their money. We need to take responsibility to manage their money well, recommending them plans, consistent with their risk profile.
We need to take responsibility to provide them with a trusted counsel, by placing instead of our company
We need to take responsibility to be open, honest and transparent with all our clients, at all times in our professional dealings. Do not suppress information, omit, delete or adjust, just to induce a sale..
If we can take responsibility, take ownership to help our client meet their financial goals while advocating such principles…….. This is what I call, the champion mindset with a loving heart! 🙂
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Second lesson that I get from the movie is the power of teamwork.
Recently, NTUC Income Muslim financial consultants did a roadshow at the Halal Food Expo 2012. To get our company to subside the rental fee + set up cost, we need to hit a certain target, a multiplier of the total roadshow costs.
As this is one of the roadshows that involved high costs, naturally the target is high. A few of our top producers contributed, but we still plagued with an irritating shortfall. Alhamdulillah, when all gives their share, we hit the target set, and get our roadshow subsidised.
This can only happen with the power of teamwork. Instead of relying on the producing consultants in the team, all put in effort and give their bit. That is where, goals are achieved and barriers are lifted. Hope you learn something from this post. Insya’Allah. 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | Dec 9, 2011 | Investment, Miscellaneous, Motivation
Few days back, I received a whatsapp message from my girlfriend.
She was talking about buying a beautiful eyeshadow, which was on sale at Tampines Point.
As she knew that I am a prudent and careful buyer, also a voracious saver, she asked me for help……. She asked me to motivate her, not to succumb to the temptation of forking out HUGE dollars from her wallet, to buy the beautiful eyeshadow……..shehasmanyofit
Did I succeed to convince her? The answer is a miserable, NO! 🙁
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Today, I am going to share with you, simple yet pragmatic strategies on how, I curb myself from squandering and spending all my money on things that, I may not need.
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Strategy No 1: Stop before you buy
The first strategy to curb yourself from spending is to procrastinate in buying…
Keep telling yourself, that you are going to buy the stuffs that you are looking at, the next following day.
I assure you that you will soon forget about it. 🙂
Tell yourself, “Do I really need this?”
How many hours, must I work to get back this money? How much is it worth, if i invest it @10%/annum in 10 years, 20 years, 30 years?
Strategy No 2: Pay yourself first
When you get your income, pay your personal savings plan first. You can instruct bank to do an automatic deduction to your personal savings plan. You can get endowment plans, or invest in funds, stocks or commodities like gold…
By setting aside that money for savings seperately, you will reduce the tendency to spend all that you have at once… 🙂
Strategy No 3: Destroy all credit cards except one. and pay full balance on time
Have you ever wonder, why the banks keep offering you attractive freebies, reward points and rebates if you sign up for their credit cards?
It is because, they know, when you have a credit card, you will tend to spend MORE when you have access to this easy credit…. They want you, to owe them money and pay interest…
My recommendation for you, is that, only keep one credit card for use, and pay the full balance on time….
That’s it!!! I hope, the 3 strategies, that I share with you, will be of much help for you to curb yourselves from spending over your limits…. 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | May 18, 2011 | Insurance, Investment, Miscellaneous, Motivation
Alhamdulillah….I completed my 2 exams, Advanced Quantitative Analysis and Corporate Finance, last week… 🙂
It is definitely challenging for me, to juggle both work and study at the same time, but I guess, I will soon, get used to it. I am thankful, that my job, as a financial consultant, is pretty FLEXIBLE. 🙂
We can make appointments as and when we want. We can postpone appointments, when the exams are drawing near….all in all, while still maintaining our steady paycheck. Isnt that cool?
All right…. As I undertake my studies, I will share with you, stuffs, that I learn in school, which I believe, can be applied in the business world. Let us start, with MAKING DECISIONS… 🙂
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In life, we are bound to make DECISIONS.
It may be a big decision or a small one to make.
It may be a simple one, or a life threatening one.
It may be a routine one, or a ONE TIME decision.
Today, I am going to share with a you, a very good decision making model, that I have personally learnt in class and then apply, in the real business world. 🙂 Just browse through the slides below to get an idea… 🙂
(Note: Some details were omitted due to confidentiality)
Lastly, after computing and tabulating the scores, a final decision is made!!! 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | Feb 14, 2011 | Insurance, Investment, Miscellaneous, Motivation
Is there at times in your life, where you were overwhelmed with questions?
Questions about life….Questions about relationship…..Questions about business….
Questions that it seems difficult in finding the answers, especially one, that in conjunction with the Quran and Hadith.
As a financial consultant, I would consider myself as a voracious reader and collector of books on personal finance, sales, motivational, inspirational, business and politics etc2….. (I have a huge library in my personal office and at home)
When imbued with questions, I will seek the answers from these books. While browsing through all those books in my collection, I soon realize that almost 90% of them were written by Western authors.
Motivational books, I will find the likes of Anthony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Stephen Covey, Wayne Dyer
Book on sales, I will find Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins, Jeff Gitomer
Books on business, I will find Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Branson, Donald Trump
Books on motivation, sales and business, in relevance with Quran and Hadith, and in English???
I could not find any, of quality…. 🙁
So, when my friend, Bro Hafihz, starts with the revolutionary idea of IslamicBusiness.SG, I was happy. This is because, if I have any queries, I can always type in the website and answers will be provided by a panel of experts, and it will be substantiated with the Quran and Hadith.
The point system is also helpful, for me to determine, amongst all the answers to the question, which is the best. 🙂
I will urge you, to browse through the questions that I have posted, and participate. Share your thoughts, and post questions if you have any……Visit www.islamicbusiness.sg today… 🙂
