I was watching the trending Netflix series on Marie Kondo, who is famously known as the tidiest woman in the world. Marie Kondo, from Japan is an expert in tidying things up.
It amazes me on how she has 6 months wait list for potential clients.
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I mean there are people in this world who want to learn her “life changing habits of tidying up”?
They want to learn seemingly simple tasks like…
How to fold your clothes. How to arrange your books.
How to get rid of clutter.
Or in her words… “getting rid of items that don’t spark joy.”
All in all using the KonMari method…
I was like, WOW!
I got intrigued and researched more about it.
And today, I will like to share with you my own version as an Islamic Finance Practitioner in Singapore.
Presenting….
“5 Ways To Marie Kondo Your Finances, The Shariah Compliant Way In Singapore...”
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1) Marie Kondo your haram financial instruments away
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First thing first, as an investor, we want to make money.
We want to make lots of them. The more, the BETTER!
Yet you and I know that we CANNOT set our qiblat on money alone.
We have to be aware on what is Halal.
And what is Haram.
Why?
Because we will be questioned during yaumul qiayamah.
For me once I learnt about shariah compliant screening methodologies, I Marie Kondo-ed away my non shariah compliant investments that have broken even.
And FOCUS my effort 100% on shariah compliant financial instruments.
When I know all the money that I make is Halal, it brings peace to me.
Or in Marie Kondo’s words, “It sparks joy for me!” 🙂
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2) Marie Kondo your past achievements away. What is important is now and the future.
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Some people say… Last time, there was an Islamic Bank in Singapore. Last time, there were MORE shariah compliant financial instruments in Singapore. Last time…..this and that.
I told them:
“If you want to talk about last time, I would say last time, my grandmother was also beautiful!!”
She is 90 years old now, so praising her for her physical beauty is not relevant now. 🙂
What we should be focusing now is the present. What can we do today as an ummah to uplift Islamic Finance in Singapore?
Focus.
Marie Kondo away your past glory. And focus on what we can do now.
And for our future.
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3) Marie Kondo your ego away
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You know. Sometimes, when I meet people.
They yayapapaya assume they know everything about Islamic Finance.
They think they know EVERYTHING!
When fact is, they barely know a thing.
To me Knowledge is power. Yet in order to receive it, one must first, be humble and ‘Marie Kondo’ one’s ego away.
Imam Syafi’i RA said,
“If you want happiness in this world,you need knowledge.
If you want happiness in the hereafter, you need knowledge.
If you want happiness in this world and hereafter, you need knowledge.”
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….and only when you are humble, open to learning new things, and when you are ready.
Your teacher will appear. 🙂
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4) Be thankful and Marie Kondo your negative thoughts away
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If you have watched the first episode, the “process” begins with you greeting your house first.
Communicate with your house. By thanking your house for always protecting you.
Appreciate what you have.
When you throw your clothes away, you must thank the clothes for letting you wear them. Thank your clothing item 1 by 1.
When you fold your clothes, take the opportunity to thank them.
I like Marie Kondo’s approach because I believe everything in this world is a creation of Allah S.W.T.
Be it our clothes.
Our house. Our money. The air that we breathe.
Everything is a creation of Allah S.W.T.
We have to be thankful for them.
I shared with my clients plenty of money saving tips.
And one thing, I told them is the importance of GRATITUDE.
You must feel thankful even if you manage to save $50.
$20. Or even $10.
Because Allah S.W.T. said in the Quran: “If you are grateful, I would certainly give you more”
I’ve always believed that every big success stems from us being grateful for our small success.
Small successes will attract big successes as time passes.
Allah will bless us with more wealth if we are thankful. We have to be thankful even for small successes. Celebrate all our wins! 🙂
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5) Marie Kondo your negative friends away and build deeper relationship with Allah S.W.T.
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Your circle is important.
Who you mix with everyday is going to determine who you become in the future.
Marie Kondo away your negative friends.
I am not asking you to cut silaturahim.
Just spend lesser time with them.
In addition to that, build a deeper relationship with Allah S.W.T.
Our financial planning partner in our life is not our wife.
Not our mum. Not our dad. Our financial planning partner is Allah S.W.T.
Build deeper relationship with Allah S.W.T. through our tahajjud prayers.
Through our taubat prayers. Through our hajat prayers.
Always Istighfar. Selawat.
Recite Al Fatihah. Ayatul Kursi.
Surah Al Ikhlas. Surah An Nas. Surah Al Falaq.
Surah Yasin. Surah Kahfi.
Everything we want to do…
Remember this…
” Allah first. Allah again. Allah always...
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Allah says Allah is nearer to us than our jugular vein. (Surah Qaf, Verse 16) Allah knows best! 🙂
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Now… I hope you have benefited from my sharing on 5 Ways To Marie Kondo Your Finance, The Shariah Compliant Way In Singapore…
If you are seeking a mentor, coach, consultant to share with you practical aspects on how you can plan your finance, 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.
And Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim is now freed from prison.
I have mixed feelings about the new political landscape in Malaysia. And I am not going to comment much.
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Today, I would like to share more on POSITIVE change that you can do to bring YOUR FINANCESto a whole new level! 🙂
As some of you might have known, I have a mini ‘library’ in my house.
And I just finished reading the book, “The Rules of Wealth by Richard Templar”.
As I flipped through it, I saw many gems of info which can bring CHANGE.
Can transform your finances for the better.
And Alhamdulillah, I’ve decided to put a shariah compliant swing to some of the tips in here. 🙂
Sometimes, when I meet my prospects, they tell me that they want to be rich.
They want to be wealthy. They want to be happy.
Yet, when I probe in further, I realise that quite a number of them have a negative money mindset.
Negative beliefs about money.
Some examples.
Money is the root of all evil.
Money is dirty.
I don’t deserve to be rich.
Money is only made by the greedy and dishonest.
It is somehow better to be poor.
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In my mind, if you have negative beliefs about money on a subconscious level, it is difficult for you to be rich.
You are self sabotaging yourself from not achieving financial success.
You cannot be the things you don’t like.
In fact, if you read about “Law Of Attraction”, you know if you think negatively about something, you will attract more negative things in your life.
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If you think Money is the root of all evil. You think money is dirty.
You think you don’t deserve to be rich.
You think money is made by the greedy and dishonest.
Or you think it is somehow better to be poor.
That is going to happen to YOU!!
So what I want you to do is to CHANGE your negative money mindset to positive money mindset.
CHANGE to
Money is OK.
Wanting money is OK.
I am prepared to put in the work.
I am going to be wealthy and generous Muslim/Muslimah.
Every step I take in my work is an ibadah.
9 out 10 doors of rezeki comes from business.
“The upper hand is better than the lower hand, the upper hand being the one that gives and the lower hand being the one that receives.”
Source: Sahih Muslim 1033, Grade: Sahih
The first step to achieving wealth is to change your money beliefs.
But if you have negative money mindset, it becomes difficult for me to help you.
Change your money beliefs now! 🙂
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2) Change by understanding wealth is a consequence and not a reward
In The Rules of Wealth, Richard Templar mentioned for us to Understand that Wealth is a Consequence, not a Reward.
It means as a consequence of you working hard at making money, you stand a better chance of becoming rich.
I agree with this statement.
‘Man Jadda, Wa Jadda’ whoever strives shall succeed.
After you make doa to Allah S.W.T.
Devise strategies to achieve your goal. YOU HAVE TO TAKE MASSIVE ACTION and innovate yourself to success.
There is no shortcut to financial success.
You don’t get the money by a committee who examine whether you deserve it or not, whether you have been good enough or not. As Richard Templar said that we are paid for our ‘clever thinking’ and ‘hard work’.
Clever thinking.
And hard work.
The harder and smarter you work, the more you will earn.
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There is a car cleaner in England who charges £5000 per car wash.
His name is Paul Dalton.
His niche is in cleaning supercars.
He is dubbed the BEST CAR CLEANER IN THE WORLD! 🙂
He did not get to charge £5000 per car wash by fluke.
He is rewarded for his meticulousness.
His savviness for selling his services.
Years of experience and his courage for approaching high net worth individuals to offer his services.
And not to forget, his clever marketing skills.
As a consequence to his hard work, thinking and marketing skills, he gets to charge £5000 per car wash.
So remember.
Doa + Hard Work + Clever Thinking = Positive Wealth Consequence
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3. Change Your Loans and Debts Into Cash
Richard Templar suggests that “The very first thing you need to do on your wealth quest is to get loans/debts paid off as soon as possible and do nothing else until that’s done.”
I agree with him. 🙂
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Some people asked me, “Helmi. Some debts can be Good Debts. Some debts can be Bad Debts.
Why do you want to be DEBT FREE?”
My answer is simple.
This is because currently, there is NO shariah compliant financing facility in Singapore.
To buy a house. To acquire working capital to run your day to day business operations.
There is none.
No Shariah compliant financing facility in Singapore.
There is why I CHOOSE to buy in cash.
And as a Muslim, I DO NOT WANT to associate myself with debts that includes riba (interest).
In the Quran, chapter 2, verse 275,
“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden riba”.
That is why if I have a loan with interest, I target to clear it asap.
Bi’iznillah…
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Richard Templar also said: “Debt bogs us down and holds us back.”
I see Riba as chains to my leg that prevent me from realising my fullest potential.
Reason being, when I make money, I want the baraqah that comes along with it.
That is why, every single step in my financial planning process, I took great care to ensure that it is shariah compliant.
Because we want to get baraqah. Blessings from Allah S.W.T.
Let me share with you a little secret. If you always feel insecure. Always worry about something.
Come back to Allah S.W.T.
And especially when it comes to problems with your personal finance.
Understand this.
Baraqah will save you! 🙂
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4. “Don’t envy what others have.”
Richard Templar says that we shouldn’t envy others, but LEARN from them.
When he meets someone incredibly successful, he will do his best to find out how the person did it , and whether the method will suit him.
This is an empowering attitude to have.
Most of the time, if we know the level of hard work.
Rejections.
Failures.
Mistakes.
Criticisms. All the sacrifices that these super successful people go through. We might not envy them much!
In Islam, every one of us is BLESSED differently.
Thus, there is no point envying someone else who is richer.
Smarter.
More popular.
Or better looking.
When we envy others, we are counting other people’s blessings instead of our own.
Malay says, “Rezeki masing masing.” 🙂
Allah S.W.T. said in the holy Quran, Surah An-Nisa, Chapter 4, Verses 32.
“And wish not for the things in which Allah has made some of you to excel others.
For men there is reward for what they have earned, (and likewise) for women there is reward for what they have earned, and ask Allah of His bounty. Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knower of everything.”
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You must do the best that you can, using all your abilities and resources which Allah S.W.T. has given you.
It is an amanah for you on this earth.
After you do your best and if some people are still doing better than you in life.
then you must make doa to Allah S.W.T.
BUT never, ever feel envious of others who are doing better than you.
You must have full belief in Allah that whatever you do.
You will have reward of it from Allah S.W.T.
The reward may be in some other way if it is not the way that you expect it to be.
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5) Get some money mentors
Richard Templar advocate having money mentors.
I strongly agree with him.
Above is a drawing that I always present to my clients and friends.
There are 2 ways for you to achieve your goals.
First without a mentor.
Second WITH a mentor.
Your journey from Point A to Point B.
With a mentor, he/she can guide you and will make the difficult journey EASIER for you.
Which do you choose? With or without a mentor? 🙂
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I hope you learn something from my sharing.
My mantra in life is simple.
“When you stop learning, you stop earning.”
“You have money. You don’t have money. The feeling…is different.
Take charge of your personal finances today!”
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.
Every year, I rely on my mother to cook for us these tantalising, traditional home-cooked dishes.
But I do know these dishes are the magical results of combining several ingredients.
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Lodeh
Lodeh is a simple but filling dish.
It’s got tons of veggies in it – cabbage, carrot, long beans etc – and also tempe, tauhu and chillies.
This dish requires the use of coconut milk to give it that ‘lemak’ taste, and frankly, lodeh wouldn’t be lodeh without it.
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Rendang
(My mother’s home cooked Rendang)
Rendang is the quintessential Raya dish – it seems like it wouldn’t be Raya without this rich and aromatic spicy meat dish.
You can either use beef or chicken for rendang. This is quite a difficult dish to make, because the flavors need to balanced owing to the use of numerous spices and herbs.
Some of the ingredients used include lemongrass, garlic, turmeric, ginger and galangal. And not forgetting coconut milk!
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Ayam Masak Merah
Ayam masak merah is a delight on our tongues – spicy, sweet and sour all at the same time!
Once again, this a recipe that needs to have the flavors balanced nicely.
Two main star ingredients include chillies (dried and paste) and tomato ketchup – without either one, your dish will fall flat.
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Ketupat
Ketupat is perhaps the easiest dish to make – you just need rice, a bit of salt and water.
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Serunding
As for serunding, though there is the beef version, usually the kind that is served as condiment along with ketupat and other dishes is the spiced coconut one (serunding kelapa).
Serunding kelapa requires a mix of various spices and then cooked over low heat for a period of time until the coconut dries up and absorbs the flavors.
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Cooking is an art, really.
You take different ingredients but in the precise quantity and when done right, you’ll get a delicious dish guaranteed to satisfy the tummy.
And you mixed all the dishes together,
the ketupat,
the lodeh,
the rendang,
the ayam masak merah
and serunding. You feel like you are in heaven!!! 🙂
Similarly, think of making money the shariah compliant way in Singapore as putting together a great dish.
In order to successfully plan for your financial future, you cannot just rely on ONE ingredient or strategy.
Sure you can put all your money in shariah compliant Al Wadiah savings account.
But with a Hibah of only 0.6-0.7%/annum, its difficult for you to be rich.
Or achieve the financial goals that you set for yourself.
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The best way to achieve your financial goal is to combine a FEW powerful strategies into one.
You can invest your money in shariah compliant shares or Halal REITS
(My personal watchlist of shariah compliant shares that I share with my clients)
Buy in shariah compliant funds
Invest in commodities
Earn rental income from investment properties
Or perhaps run your own profit making business.
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When cooking rendang, you need to do step A, B, C, D and E, if not your rendang tak menjadi.
Similarly when you select a particular stock, you have to ensure it is shariah compliant by going through a few steps
called shariah compliant screening methodology.
Which shariah compliant screening methodology do you adopt?
S&P?
Dow Jones?
MSCI?
AAOIFI?
or perhaps Malaysia’s Shariah screening methodology for stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia established by the Shariah Advisory Council of the Securities Commission Malaysia?
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You want to calculate the intrinsic value of the stock. Which model are you using? Discounting Cashflow Model? Gordon Growth Model? Dividend Discount Model? Residual Income Model?
All these steps that you take before investing your hard earned money into stocks is just like cooking.
You need to know the ingredients, the quantity required and a bit of love to ensure that your dish tastes delicious!
There are clearly steps you need to take when investing in stocks, the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
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After you invest in shares, that is not enough.
You diversify your portfolio. You look at diferent types of shariah compliant vehicles to achieve your financial goals.
Ketupat alone doesnt taste nice. Ketupat with lodeh, with sambal, with serunding, with rendang….OMG!!! It tastes awesome!!! 🙂
You do similar due dilligence when investing in commodities, investment funds, properties or even running your own business.
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Example, when you will like to set up a business, you wont haphazardly just invest your money blindly to rent a shop and start your brick and motar business.
If you dont understand Malay, these are the 6 Steps.
1) Check whether the business or product/service you gonna sell, got Demand or not
2) Unique Selling Proposition (You got to differentiate yourself, dont be a commodity)
3) Market Can See You All The Time (Ensure your target market always see your brand)
4) Add Massive Value To Your Customers
5) Cross Sell, Upsell, Downsell
6) Referral
The point here, these 6 steps is like you cooking your rendang.
When cooking rendang, you need to do step A, B, C, D and E, if not your rendang tak menjadi.
And when you add your rendang together with other dishes, it tastes AWESOME!
Similarly, when you combine making money through profit making business + shariah compliant investment, it becomes a SUPER COMBO POWER!!!
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So my friends.
If you are looking for a shariah compliant financial expert to help you save, accumulate and grow your money the shariah compliant way,
you can always whatsapp/sms me at 96520134to schedule a FREE consultation.
Or perhaps click here to schedule an appointment.
You will want to schedule it asap because I can only accomodate 5 slots per week.
And next week, I need to go for my compulsory army reservist.
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Last but not least, I will like to wish all my Muslim friends, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri Minal ‘Aidin Wal Faizin Kullu ‘Amin wa antum bi khair.
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.