Financial Literacy

Welcome back to PickMyBrain!

This week, we're gonna take a look at financial literacy. Recently, I've come to the realisation that I have little to no knowledge in how to manage my personal finance! Like, even if I have some extra money, I wouldn't know where or how to invest it to gain a higher return.

So, I started asking around. Most friends are either equally clueless, or never even thought about it. A few had some sort of idea. But the general picture is that, no one really knows how to earn more money! We're all on the fast track to be the middle class - most hardworking and least paid! In Robert Kiyosaki's terms, that would be the Rat Race!

If that's the case, how do we get out? The answer is obvious! Financial education of course. The public education system has literally zero emphasis on financial education. All they tell you is work hard, get a good job and retire at 55.

No one ever explained stocks, bonds, securities, etc. to me even up till now. Heck, i didn't even know how the banks work. I do now, fortunately. So, why aren't we teaching our kids what the Rich Dad teaches? Or at least basic financial measures? Why is it that our kids feel ashamed to say that they want to learn how to make more money? Does that makes us greedy?

Not necessarily. In this era, our purchasing power has become so small, that young adults are having trouble financing a car, a home, etc. But consumerism still teaches us to own this things, which are often times, way beyond our means. So, my personal motivation is to learn as much as I can about finance and investment to be financially independent ASAP.

In retrospect, the education system really have to do something about this. I figured someone must have seen this huge loophole besides me way before now. Therefore, the only explanation left is that we(the gov/big companies/banks) DO NOT want to teach our kids to be financially independent. A conspiracy? I think so.

What do you think? Drop a comment below!

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3 Reasons Why You Should Learn To Cook

Hey there!

How's it going? This week on PickMyBrain, I'd like to share one of my part time endeavors - cooking!
Eating has evolved from being a necessity to becoming a form of enjoyment, even pleasure. The expectations of the food we eat are only going higher by the day - taste, quantity, service, etc.

One of the main reasons why people in Malaysia eat out regularly is because we can still afford it! Imagine having a plate of fried rice for RM5 outside. 10-15 minutes, and you're already tucking in. But imagine if you have to prepare the same dish..at home. From cleaning to chopping to frying to cleaning again - it's all a chore!

But today, I'd like to challenge that mindset and give you 3 reasons to learn how to cook!

1. Save Cost
Imagine that same plate of friend rice 5-10 years from now. It's no longer RM5, but RM10, maybe more! And suddenly, cooking seems like the only way to go, cause well, let's face it, salaries aren't going up that fast!

You enter the kitchen, all pumped up to cook the best fried rice in the world, and then you realise that you have absolutely no idea how to peel a garlic or ginger. No matter, Mum to the rescue! You start the fire, and throw the garlic in and *babam!* *babam!* *babam!* Using the wok's cover as a shield, you try to turn the heat down, but your garlic is already smelling like charcoal. Now, don't you wish you'd have started cooking 5 years ago?

2. Knowing What Goes Into Your Food

Challenge! Can you name at least 3 of these culinary herbs?

I'll have to admit, that just half a year ago, I wouldn't have been able to name even ONE! But thanks Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution series which inspired my family to start growing some of these, I can now recognise 8! Dill, Sweet basil, Thyme, Pearsley, Coriander, Rosemary and Mint :)

If you think knowing what goes into your food isn't as important to how good it taste? Think about China's fake eggs, fake beef, fake bread, etc. And what about the horse meat scandal? How about some crunchy Pisang Goreng Plastic? Scared yet?


3. Controlling What Goes Into Your Food
Alright, so now that you're a worried about what goes into that plate of fried rice, what can you do about it? Do a kitchen check before eating? Watching the chef prepare right before your eyes? It's all not very practical suggestions.

The best answer? Cook Your Own Meals! It doesn't have to be as complicated as you think! Start small. Maybe 2 meals a week? Each meal with 4 ingredients or less? There's tonnes of resources out there like Jamie's 15-minute meals and there's also a 4-ingredient meals website here.

As with anything new, change is resisted. But persist anyway, and good luck! :)

Next week, we'll take a look at $$$ - personal budgeting! Till then, have a great weekend ahead!

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Last Final Goodbye

A friend once asked me, "Would you regret doing something, or not doing something?". It kinda caught me off guard at first, but it really got me thinking, even after 2 years.

You see, this is the last semester of my undergraduate course. And I really hate goodbyes. I suck at them! But final being final means I should make the most out of it. I've been prioritizing relationships from the start if the sem. Relationships with friends, with lecturers, random strangers.

It's like that feeling that if I don't do this now, the moment's gonna past, and I'm gonna regret this. So I guess, the answer to my friend's question would be regretting not doing it. Mark Twain said:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

So, I guess, yeap, I'm taking every opportunity to savour my last semester in uni. I'm thinking Toastmasters for one. I've always wanted to try rock climbing, but something about it being so public kinda scares me inside. And dancing! It seems like such a fundamental part of being human, and yet I've never tried it. I've also tried sitting in classes outside of my own, just for the fun of it :)

What about you? Would you regret doing something, or not doing something?

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PickMyBrain Header!

Hi there!

You might have noticed the spanking new header up above ^^ Everything is done from scratch, well, except for the brain ;)

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Would You Do It All Over Again?

Looking back, it's been some time since I actually wrote. And I read here that only 1% of Netizens are creators, and I quote " for every person who posts on a forum, generally about 99 other people are viewing that forum but not posting."

So, in an effort to enter that 1% or perhaps increase it, I'm committing every Saturday to PickMyBrain - a new label I just coined :) Basically, it'll feature my opinion on a particular topic, and then, I'd like to hear YOURS! Here's the first:

5 years ago, I started my Engineering foundation, pretty sure that it's the least wrong choice I could make. 'Least wrong choice'?! Yeap. Basically I didn't know what I wanted or what I was good at. But judging by my academic records, everyone seemed to be sure that engineering will grow on me sooner or later.

Well, in a way it has, and hasn't. I'll tell you why it has first. Engineering, though, not particularly my forte, is something I can do. Back in my first and second years, I told myself that if I fail one subject this sem, I'm gonna change course or something. Thank goodness I didn't have to, right till my final year!

I am blessed, I truly am. The friends I meet in my course are one wacky bunch! And I think it's not just me, but it's and engineering thing! Engineering students will definitely know what I mean. I think  all those late nights and lame jokes definitely played a part.

Jokes aside, I personally believe that engineering trains the mind. Trains the mind to see things objectively, to investigate the root cause systematically and so much more! Through the thickest sh*t, I think I've actually learned to 'never, ever ever give up!'

Now, doesn't this seems like a perfect resume essay? It probably is. But that's just it. All this ends with your university life! Recently, I got the chance to peek inside an engineer's life through the compulsory industrial training. And I think it suffice to say that 3 months is more than enough.

So, what happens now? When suddenly you realise that the last 5 years of your life was spent on a hunch? Would you do it all over again? or what would you change/do differently? Remember, produce more than you consume. Hit me a comment below! :)

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