You have attended my signature program, the “Unlock Your Money” session, where I share practical strategies on managing your cashflow, allowing you to have more money in your pocket every month.
Right now, I would love your help. I am developing an educational platform to share more on Islamic Finance in Singapore, in a form of video format. I need your feedback and suggestions. View the video below to hear me out on my plans that will benefit anyone who is interested to know more about Islamic Finance.
After that, I appreciate it if you can drop a comment below on the topics you would like to personally benefit from my sharing sessions in the future. Insya’Allah…. 🙂
My wife and I went to a baking class last week, to learn how to bake macarons.
Some of my colleagues, were telling me,
“Aiyah… Why go for class? Just go to youtube and see how to make it!”
On that very day, when my instructor demonstrated to us in class, the procedures, step by step, I was telling myself… “Not bad… Mix here. Mix there, and its done! It looks pretty easy! :)”
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However, when it comes to our turn to do it on our own, I began to face difficulties. I started beating the egg white using the handheld mixer, while gradually adding the sugar, bit by bit .
I didn’t know when to stop beating the egg whites. When to add the colouring? When to add the almond mixture? Fortunately, the trainers were there to guide and show me how to test the texture of our batter, step by step, before adding the rest of the ingredients, one by one.
Even to stir the batter using a spatula has a technique to it! 🙂
From a stressful situation, it became a joyful experience for a novice baker like me, who has never operated a mixer before in my life. The experts were there to guide me and my wife. 🙂
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and finally the final product! 😛
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While learning to bake macarons, I listened to the experiences of my classmates on how they tried to learn to bake macarons on their own and failed.
The trainers shared useful tips with us. Example, the egg whites have to be refrigerated for 3 days, the particular type of food colourings to use and many other tips that I won’t be able to discover unless I learn it from a professional baker.
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When I returned home and consolidated my thoughts, I can relate this to my profession as a financial planner. Many times, our prospects out there thought they can manage their money and their portfolio on their own. They think they don’t need help.
When they face financial problems, they try to troubleshoot on their own. When they want to buy insurance, they try to do it on their own, without seeking advice from us, the financial professionals.
At last, what happens? Many were faced with helpless situations when in need. They don’t understand what they bought. Things that insurance doesn’t allow them to claim, they try to claim. Things that insurance allows them to claim, they don’t claim.
Worse – some lost their money in get-rich-quick schemes that promise them attractive returns in a very short period of time.
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After advising thousands of Singaporeans out there on personal finance since year 2007, I genuinely feel that everyone should seek professional help when it comes to managing their own money.
Qualified financial advisors like us, harness our skillset to troubleshoot, save and bail individuals from disastrous financial situations. I personally have created proven systems on how anyone can instantly have more money inside their pockets every month, how you can accumulate money fast and how you can grow your money in a shariah compliant way in Singapore..
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My friends… If you want to make superb macarons, you look for a professional baker. If you want to learn how to speak Arabic, you look for an Arabic Language teacher. If you want to learn more about Islamic Finance, you look for a financial planner who is trained in Islamic Finance.
Isn’t that simple to understand? 🙂
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And oh yes, talking about macarons – next week, I will be heading to Paris with some of my colleagues for our incentive trip award. I will sample the authentic French macarons there and test them out! Yes. Time to sample authentic macarons made by professionals!
Enjoy your day! 🙂
Alhamdulillah, my name is featured in Straits Times for being one of the top financial consultants in Income and belonging to the prestigious Income Summit Club. 🙂
I would like to thank my clients who have supported me in my journey as a financial consultant to promote cooperative insurance and shariah compliant fund in Singapore. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for believing in me! 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then please click here…
Latest, hot and spicy news!!! 1st Singapore Idol winner, Taufik Batisah is getting married!!! 🙂
I was humming, Singapore Idol’s Taufik Batisah, latest song, “Awak kat mana”
which means “Where are you?” in Malay….
The song is so catchy and the dance moves are so slick, cool and contemporary…. Nevertheless, sometimes, it can be annoying, when people keep repeating, “Awak kat mana? Awak kat mana? Awak kat mana?” :p
And as a financial consultant, everytime I hear this song, it reminds me to ask myself,
“Where Am I FINANCIALLY?” 🙂
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I used a few financial indicators and ratios to determine my financial bearings.
After doing my cashflow statement and my networth statement, I used these financial ratios to determine, if I am financially okay or not. I encourage you to use it too.
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1) Basic Liquidity Ratio
Basic Liquidity Ratio indicates your ability to meet your monthly expenses and other emergency needs.
Basic Liquidity Ratio= Cash/monthly expenses
Like a Malay proverb which says, “Sediakan payung sebelum hujan”, which literally means ‘Prepare your umbrella before it rains”.
In my own words, you need to prepare some liquid cash in your bank, that you can take out anytime you need, without any hassle.
As a rule of thumb, if you are an employee, I encourage you to have at least 6 months of your monthly expenses in your bank, ready for use during emergency.
If you are self employed, where your income can fluctuate up and down, have at least 12 months of your monthly expenses in your bank.
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2) Liquid Assets to Net Worth Ratio
Liquid Assets To Net Worth Ratio calculates the amount of net worth you have in terms of cash.
This is important because in an emergency situation, it may not be easy to convert your assets into cash, without any hassle.
You wont caught up in a situation, as my mum always say, “nak terberak, baru nak siapkan jamban” which literally means “wanna shit, then you want to dig a hole.”
Therefore, it is necessary to maintain some assets in cash.
Liquid Assets to Net Worth = Cash / Net Worth
I recommend you to have at least 15% cash in proportion to your networth.
(measure the proportion of ‘take home’ income, net of CPF contributions, used to make regular repayments of debt)
Debt Service Ratio = Total monthly debt repayments / Monthly take home income
I recommend youto have a debt service ratio of 35% and below. It means you have enough take home pay to service your monthly debt repayment.
Anything above than that is unhealthy and will put a financial strain in your life.
You will not want to live life, waking up every morning, only to work and slog hard like a slave just to earn enough to pay your debt. Have some financial buffer and live life comfortably! 🙂
(calculates the proportion of income the one sets aside as savings for the future)
Savings Ratio = Savings / Gross Income
Personally for me, if you are still single, don’t have much financial commitments, I highly recommend you to save as much money as possible. The higher your savings ratio, the better it is!!! 🙂
If you are married, have kids, and aged parents to support, target to save at least 20% of your gross income.
((This Year Income – Last Year Income)/ Last Year Income) X 100
As you know, I am self employed and I make money by earning commissions when I provide my clients with financial planning advice. I have an excel spreadsheet where I monitor my commissions earned every month, cumulatively every year.
I expect my change in income ratio to increase steadily by at least 20%/year. This is imperatively important to me and also my clients, because they know, that my financial planning practice does well, and I can stay in the business for long, to service them, as long as they live! Alhamdulillah, my production improved by 32% last year and for the first time in my career, I become the top 85 financial consultants in my insurance cooperative in the whole of Singapore. 🙂
If you are self employed or running your own business, I encourage you to calculate your own Change In Income Ratio too! 🙂
and by the way, if you are still wondering, what’s the Taufik Batisah’s song that I have been talking about earlier, tune in below! Enjoy! 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then please click here…
Alhamdulillah…. A lot of you, have contacted me. I have 5 mentees taking exams now, to join me as a financial consultant and many more visitors from my blog who express their interest to support Islamic Finance in Singapore by subscribing our shariah compliant financial instrument.
I will love to interact with more of you out there, readers of my blog, thus I will like to throw a short quiz. This quiz will test you on your understanding of fundamentals of Islamic Finance in the most practical sense. You can email me your answers at helmihakim@hotmail.com and I will revert you with your results.
(Don’t worry if you are unsure of the answers. Just give it a try!) Insya’Allah… 🙂
1) Ahmad changes $SGD 100 to RM$250 on the spot with a money changer at Raffles Place shopping centre. Is the transaction
Halal or Haram?
2) Salim buys 5 gram of gold online at $150, paying immediately via bank transfer and collect it from the seller, 1 week later. Is the transaction
Halal or Haram?
3) Ramli went to his friend, Muthusamy Mamashop to buy 2kg of dates for break fast in the month of Ramadan. He promises to pay $20 on the 1st day of Shawal. Is the transaction
Halal or Haram?
4) Yusof went to the car dealer at Commonwealth and test drive some second hand cars. He got interested with Honda Civic Hybrid and immediately paid $20,000 cash. Nevertheless, he collects the car 7 days later, after settling season parking application with HDB. Is the transaction
Halal or Haram?
5) Idris owns a Samsung handphone. His brother owns an Iphone 5. They decided to exchange phone as Idris is an Apple fan whereas his brother is a Samsung fan. Is the transaction
Email me your answers at helmihakim@hotmail.com or whatsapp me your answers to 96520134 (if you are lazy…hahahah)and I will revert you with your results! Look forward to hear from you soon! 🙂
p.s. By the way, if you wish to discover a simple & halal way to create a positive monthly cashflow and calculate your net worth for FREE, then please click here…
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.
