I read a very clear ‘Facts of Debt’ pictograph for Gen-Y in The Edge recently. Actually, The Edge is a very good weekly magazine and if you would only read one newspaper, make it The Edge. Back to this article. The pictograph showed that over 70% of Gen-Y cannot endure a personal economic emergency of three months. I think this means if they are out of job they would run out of money within 3 months. Wait, it also stated that 37% lived BEYOND their means. Now, you know why. The way they live their lives are just not sustainable.
Actually, no matter whether you are Gen-Y, Gen-X or whatever Gen, before you start any investment, my personal belief if you must have the safest investment first; Fixed Deposit. Save enough for 6 months emergency, then only you start to save for other investments. Whatever it may be, buying property, buying a house, buying unit trusts, buying stocks, buying REITs and buying a bigger car. Oops, buying a car is not an investment. The reason that you must keep for 6 months is easy. You do not want to be caught off guard and face the possibility of being declared bankrupt. In terms of employment, within 6 months, any average guy can find a job. He may not get the job that he wants, the salary that he wants or the working location that he wants but he can definitely get a job.
The report also stated that 43% of the Gen-Y has very poor personal finance knowledge. Don’t worry, I think this is true for every Gen-Y in every other countries besides just Malaysia. If the ‘investors’ in United States have sound personal finance knowledge, they would have know that prices of houses cannot continue to rise as if there’s no tomorrow. In today’s competitive world, everyone must have sound personal finance knowledge. It is not about becoming a millionaire but without this knowledge, if you are lucky, you would do well but if you do not invest in making sure your money works for you it is just your mistake.
All it takes is just for YOU to make an effort to learn. Starting to read and learn about personal finance is very tough, at least for first few months. However, once you start to get a grasp, then your learning would be smoother and you may learnt that besides just the FD, there are also other forms of investments. Oh yeah, if anyone promised you minimum return of 20% per year every year, I think it’s most probably a trap. Stay grounded. Invest wisely DON’T GAMBLE please and if you earn more than 20% every year continuously, great job. Otherwise if you earn just 7% per year, you are doubling your money every 10 years which is actually not too bad. 🙂
written on 14th dec 2013.
Next suggested article: First Home – Buy leasehold
Leave a Reply