Mothering Corner

I’m yet to replace my kids’ piggy bank which broke last week. They keep their coins in the piggy bank in hope that they can save up enough money and pay for the birds to be released at the temples. They enjoy seeing the birds fly away from the cages, but I told them that they can only do so if they have saved up enough money.

Frankly, they don’t know the value of money yet. As long as they see any coins, they will keep them away. Maybe they will put away some rare coin too, if they are lucky to find any! LOL!

Everything seems to be more expensive since the price of petrol increased. My mum complained to me that it’s not easy to stretch the money as it used to be. I can’t see the difference here in Bangkok since I’m only here for days. However, we have used a lot of money for relocation, so it’s best to use our money wisely.

Too bad that I don’t have much money for investment, if not I would like to invest in rare coin and options when the market is bad. Maybe I will make some money when the market goes better?

Anyway, maybe I should start jotting down our expenses. It would be easier to keep track of our money.

I don’t think I can live without credit cards anymore. I don’t rely too much on them, but they are truly convenient. I have a card which I use for household and the kids stuffs when I go shopping without hubby. He will settle the purchases later, since it’s more for household use and it’s part of his financial responsibility.

I don’t think I will apply for another card here anymore, but if possible, I might get another one in Bangkok next time. It will be easier to pay for the month payment if it’s issued by the local bank. But if you are interested to apply for a credit card online, you can check out those instant approval credit cards from Credit Room. Even if you have a poor credit history, there are poor credit visa card available for you too.

Anyway, we will fly over there on Monday and we need to shop a lot for the house. I think the credit card debt will be a shocking one when the statement arrives by the end of next month. Thank god hubby is paying for everything, so I’m safe from paying debts. LOL!

I don’t think I can do much on my blogs for the next two weeks until I want to stay up late at night. Besides that, it’s not that easy blogging for money unless you have blogs with good traffic and putting your effort into building more sites. I don’t have plan for this anymore because my priority changed. I might not be making a lot of money lately, but I will still do my best working from home. Maybe I should try stock options trading huh? But it’s too risky to someone who’s inexperienced like me.

Let’s see what else can I venture into if I want to make money from home. But I will think about this once we settle down in Bangkok later, I’m too busy right now!

I may be a shopaholic but all the while I seldom owe a lot of credit card debts. I try my best to make full payments every month and hubby used to tease me that the banks can’t make money from my interest. I don’t feel easy spending more than I can afford, that’s why I use my credit cards as if they are invincible cash.

If you have a lot of credit card debt, it’s best to reduce your spending and try to repay all of it. You can also think about applying for Balance Transfer Cards if the banks are offering you with better rates. Paying 18% per annual as interest is quite a lot of money, so why don’t you manage the debt wisely?

I will be busy tonight as I only got the new notes exchanged from the bank this afternoon. I have to start preparing the red packets later since the guests will arrive early in the morning.

I have prepared my kids’ new clothes, but I’m not letting them wear any gold jewelry even as simple as a necklace. Some mothers will allow their children to put on some gold jewelry during Chinese New Year, but not me. I prefer to keep the gold in the safe deposit box at the bank, or just invest more in gold bullion for my kids. They can decide if they would like to sell it off when they are older, but for the time being, I will keep the gold well for them. The price of gold has been increasing over the past years, and hopefully it will continue to do so.

I better start preparing the money and red packets, it’s getting late.

My friend had just got her coverage for insurance since she was diagnosed with initial state of cancer. She has gone through radiation and she’s taking her medication now. Thank god she bought some family insurance plans so most of the medical expenses are under insured. She had to pay for the bills first, but she will get back her claims once the documentation is done. If it’s not because of her insurance coverage, I doubt she has the ability to pay her medical bills.

That’s why I always make sure that all my insurance premiums are paid online. If you are not insured, make sure you get some insurance quote from respective insurance companies. It’s best to compare the prices and coverage before you decide on which to buy.

The bank called me again yesterday asking if I’m interested to get one of their Best Reward Credit Cards. I turned down their offers because I didn’t feel like getting more cards. I have a card with a lot of reward points now and I will only concentrate on accumulating the points by shopping with that card. If you are a shopaholic like me, it’s best to have a credit card with great reward programs.

As long as you are controlling your spending well, it’s always nice to own one or two credit cards. But if you are using the card to get those things which you can’t afford, you better forget about getting more credit cards. It’s going to drag you further into debt before you know it!

I was quite shocked with the statistic of how many young Malaysians are in debt with credit cards. Most of them will only look for cash advance or balance transfer to settle their debts, but without controlling their spending, it’s going to bring them deeper into this financial disaster than coming out from it.

A cash advance is only meant for those who need  money urgently and it provides a temporary relief if you can’t get the amount of cash in a short period of time. But don’t just get the money and splurge on the luxury you are craving for as it won’t work this way. You will still have to repay the loan!

Just control the spending, and forget about using the cards.

I bought investment plans for both of my kids which are added into their insurance premium. I would like them to have some fund for tertiary education, and even if they want to study abroad, they won’t have to worry much about the money later. But I think we will get other investment plans such as investing in gold when our financial condition has got better. If the money invested has potential to grow, I don’t mind putting it into investment rather than spending it off on shopping.

But I will have to see what does hubby think about this. He needs lots of money for his business plans, so I will let him decide on when is the right time to invest more. Anyway, there is no hurry as we already have plans for the kids.