In my profession as a financial consultant, I always experiment with different techniques.
Different concepts.
And different strategies to help my clients solve their financial objectives/problems.
One of them is using Edward De Bono 6 Thinking Hats.
As humans, sometimes, when we face a problem, we tend to find ways to solve our problem, looking at it from only ONE perspective. ONE angle.
AND because of that, sometimes the decisions that we made may not be the best.
Simply because we don’t have a clear process.
That is why Edward Debono 6 Thinking Hats can help us understand and solve problems more efficiently.
………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………
………………………………………….
Let’s apply this to a financial objective.
“Clearing your housing loan debt.”
Each hat represents a specific thinking role/perspective.
……………………………………………………………..
…………………………….
1. The White Hat (Facts and Figures)
First, put on this thinking hat.
The White Hat deals strictly with facts and figures. No emotions or idea generation should happen here. So for our problem, the facts will look something like this:
My housing loan is $300,000, payable for 30 years.
My monthly instalment is $1201.02/mth.
Out of $1201.02, $650 goes to pay for interest, and $551.02 goes to pay outstanding balance.
Ceteris Paribus, after paying for 10 years, my outstanding balance will be $224,579.
If I can save up, accumulate and grow my money the shariah compliant way… having $224,579, on hand, at the end of 10 years, I will have cleared my housing loan debt.
Fact and figures. Pretty straightforward.
2. The Green Hat (Creativity)
Now that you’ve got all the facts, it’s time to come up with solutions.
Save $224,579 by the end of 10 years?
Easier said than done! 🙂
The Green Hat symbolizes creativity.
It’s about generating ideas and exploring possibilities.
So list all the ways you can think of to save money or get money.
E.g: – Open a separate shariah compliant savings account, BUT don’t have ATM card. Every month, get my pay, I do a FAST transfer to my separate savings account. It’s called FORCED SAVINGS.
-Clean my house, and set aside all my junk stuffs. Take picture and sell them at Carousell!
– Have a coin box. Everyday, just use notes to spend. All the coins, save it up in your coin box….
The list, continues…. Go on and on… Let your ideas flow. Like streams of water in the river…
3. The Yellow Hat
Awesome! Now you’ve got your ideas, it’s time to play pros and cons.
The Yellow Hat symbolizes optimism (because it’s such a bright, happy color).
It focuses on the positive aspects and benefits of your ideas.
In this thinking role, you have to pretend that everything will work out fine.
E.g.
Idea #1: Open a separate shariah compliant savings account, BUT don’t have ATM card. Every month, get my pay, I do a FAST transfer to my separate savings account. It’s called FORCED SAVINGS.
Positive Aspects: Awesome!!! It is a super quick way to save up and accumulate money.
.
Idea #2: Clean my house, and set aside all my junk stuffs. Take picture and sell them at Carousell!
Positive Aspects: Awesome!!! Its like killing 2 birds with one stone, or the Malay saying, “Sambil menyelam minum air.”
I have a clean house, clearing all the clutters away AND I make some money.
Idea #3: Have a coin box. Everyday, just use notes to spend. All the coins, save it up in your coin box….
Positive Aspects: Awesome!!! My wallet wont be bulging out with coins. And I save more money.
……………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………..
………………………………………….
4. The Black Hat
You’ve got the positive benefits of your list of ideas. Now do the opposite.
The Black Hat deals with negativity. You’re going to play the devil and come up with all sorts of excuses why your ideas won’t work.
Idea #1: Open a separate shariah compliant savings account, BUT don’t have ATM card. Every month, get my pay, I do a FAST transfer to my separate savings account. It’s called FORCED SAVINGS.
Negative Aspects: Alright. Though I can force myself to save my money quickly, how much are the returns/hibah that I am getting?
Can it beats inflation? I doubt so.
Idea #2: Clean my house, and set aside all my junk stuffs. Take picture and sell them at Carousell!
Negative Aspects: Alright. Will anybody really buy my junk stuffs? Why would they buy when it is all JUNK?
Right?
Idea #3: Have a coin box. Everyday, just use notes to spend. All the coins, save it up in your coin box….
Negative Aspects: Can I really save much money, just by saving my coins everyday?
Substantial enough to pay off my housing loan in 10 years?
5. The Red Hat
Ok, so far you’ve used your mind to do all the work. Now use your heart.
The Red Hat represents emotions/feelings.
Go through your ideas, looking at both their pros and cons.
Ask yourself, am I comfortable with this idea?
Do I feel strongly for it?
Is the sacrifice worth it?
………………………………………………….
……………………………
………………………..
6. The Blue Hat
This is the final hat. Your objective here is to make sure that you’ve done all the previous steps correctly.
Then summarize your results and you should have a clear overview of what your final decision(s) is.
………………………………..
E.g.: Alright.
Perhaps all the methods above can work.
Opening up a separate shariah compliant savings account with out ATM card.
Selling unused stuffs in Carousell.
Having a coin box can help.
Alhamdulillah…. It can help me accumulate my money fast.
It can help me accumulate a sizeable capital amount.
But to accumulate $ $224,579 in 10 years, is no easy feat!!!
So what I can do, to make it looks more realistic is perhaps to extend my time-line to 15 years.
Instead of 10 years.
AND find ways on how to grow my money, the shariah compliant way in Singapore.
Beating inflation, and accelerate the returns so that I have enough to clear off my housing loans in the future.
…………………………………………………………………….
………………………………….
…………………………………
7. Conclusion
This thinking tool is really useful, especially for problems that require serious consideration.
You can apply this to any area of your life, such as career choice, insurance choice etc.
I personally went through this, when I designed “Your Financial M.A.P. Model”
– A Standard Step By Step Guide to Grow Your Money And Wipe Off All Your Loans With Riba, using Shariah Compliant Financial Strategies.
If you are interested to learn more, go to Takaful.sg, for a FREE “Your Financial M.A.P.” session!
In “Your Financial M.A.P.” session, you will also learn on how you can calculate your net worth in less than 10 mins, which allows you to fully understand your financial situation and create a master plan to get started on your journey to achieve the financial freedom you desire.
You will discover bulletproof strategies on how you can increase your savings by 20%, even if you have not saved a single dollar before (It’s like having money growing from your pocket out of nowhere)
I will share with you 8 financial ratios that acts as a financial compass, giving you the direction to the oasis of financial promise land.
I will also share with you a Quick way to save up money for emergencies. This will give you a peace of mind, rather than panicking and trying to scramble up money from nowhere. You know, you have a safety net to protect you 100%.
………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………..
………………………………..
The first 100 who register will receive a Special Bonus. You will get an exclusive, personalised housing loan riba spreadsheet for FREE. (previously only available for paying customers and not available elsewhere).
You will be able to know how much of your monthly loan instalment goes to riba, and how much exactly goes to pay off your outstanding balance.
You can also find out how much riba you can save every year by paying your principal amount quickly.
Go ahead! Register for FREE “Your Financial M.A.P.” session at Takaful.sg!
See you soon! Insya’Allah! 🙂
- My Quitting Story – Why I Left My Old Agency For The “Greater Good” - May 27, 2024
- Islamic Financial Consultant, Helmi Hakim is back…. - February 7, 2023
- 5 Secret Ways To Make You Feel Better When Handling Challenges In Your Life - May 22, 2021
This post was written by:
- My Quitting Story – Why I Left My Old Agency For The “Greater Good” – May 27, 2024
- Islamic Financial Consultant, Helmi Hakim is back…. – February 7, 2023
- 5 Secret Ways To Make You Feel Better When Handling Challenges In Your Life – May 22, 2021