十大经济预测-2008

随着圣诞假期的来临，2007年也将逼近尾声。回顾今年，美国次贷之灾波及欧、美等多个经济强国，油价及原物料价格飙升形成通膨隐忧，已使经济景气开始向下探；展望来年，中国在奥运后的经济减缓甚或瓦解，将成为全球经济的不定时炸弹。

美商环球透视机构(Global Insight)对2008年的经济提出了十大预测，并预估2008年全球经济成长率将从2007年的3.7%下降至3.3%。

美经济景气2002年以来最差

环球透视的首席经济学家贝赫韦甚预估，房市风暴持续漫延下，美国本季的国内生产总值可能零成长，2008前半年成长仅0.8%，明年度经济成长或许会低于1.9%。消费将从2007年的2.8%降到2008年的1.7%；资本支出增加2.6%；净出口成长0.9%。

世界经济增长将减缓

除了商品出口国或地区，世界性的经济将成长缓慢，虽然加拿大、墨西哥、美国能以高油价支撑经济成长。不过，欧洲将受打击，包括全球经济成长缓慢、强势货币、相继而来的信贷紧缩、某些国家房市问题与高油价问题。日本也会有相类似的苦恼，到目前为止，由于美国次级房贷等房市问题，股市的走势将取决于中国与亚洲等其它国家的经济情势。

亚洲国家经济在下半年才会降温

为抑制严重的通胀，北京当局多次施行紧缩政策，所以2008的上半年利率很可能再上扬，人民币亦将升值。预计到明年8月，中共官方可能会更加紧缩信贷条件，中国经济成长或许会减缓，但这却会伤及亚洲的其它地区。不过，印度的经济成长主要靠内需经济带动，所以其经济成长率仍可支撑在8.5%左右。

油价高档盘旋

全球经济不景气将使油价回到每桶75至80美元之间，但供需仍然吃紧，所以，预计西德萨斯州油价平均每桶由2007年的72.13美元上升至明年的75.67美元，亦有临时攀升的可能。由于近期原物料巿场投机色彩重，一些人士已指出商品价格特别是油价是“下一个泡沫”。

核心通胀稍缓

美国经济衰退将逐渐推升失业率，预计个人消费支出平减指数将从今年的2.0%下降至1.8%，核心消费者物价指数将从今年的2.0%下降到2008年的1.8%。迄今高油价格对其它商品价格与工资的影响很小，而且乐观情势至少还能持续到明年底。

美联储续降利率

由于通胀的威胁相对较小，所以，美国联储局应会采压低利率政策，以刺激成长。环球透视预测联储局在明年1月底以及3月中的会议中将分别降息0.5%及0.25%。但若信贷危机再恶化，联准会只能注入更多资金维持巿场流动性，并支持布什内阁提出的次贷救济或冻结计划。

美房市在2008年中跌至谷底

明年上半年房巿将持续下滑，故预计新屋供应会少于100万户，低于2005年的半数，预计下半年房产市场的供应可逐渐回稳。

美贸易赤字持续改善

美国经济成长趋缓可能比世界其它区域来得显著，但不管经济是否衰退，美国经常帐赤字都将从2007年的7千550亿美元下（2万5千292亿令吉）降至2008年的6千590亿美元(2万2千零76亿令吉)。

美元汇率将触底

2002年起，因贸易赤字扩大，美元一直呈现跌势，近来经济疲软，市场预期美国将比其他国家降息幅度更大，美元将持续走跌。但在2008下半年以及2009年初经济复苏后，情势将转为乐观。预测欧元兑美元的汇率将在明年夏天达到高点1.55欧元；加币汇率则已经过了高点。若油价持续下跌，日圆和人民币将因贸易顺差持续升值。

2008年中前美国经济最脆弱

环球透视曾两年前曾指出，美国会遭逢两个以上的冲击，导致经济萧条，目前次级房贷与高油价的冲击正应验了这个论点。除非到2008年初油价能维持在每桶75至80美元之间，美国才有可能脱离不景气；因此环球透视将美国经济走向萧条的可能性提高至35%至40%之间。

Boosting High Savings

The following is a guide to the kinds of accounts that will help you squeeze more out of your savings, plus some tips on how to use them.

Unless you're expecting a big inheritance sometime in your future, the only way to accumulate a net worth worthy of the label is to make a habit of spending less money than you're taking in.

Budgeting is a good way to practice this particular fiscal religion. On a modest income, the difference between halfhearted money management and smart money management can be hundreds of dollars a year, which can be cash in your pocket or cash down the drain. As the years go by, the difference can amount to thousands and thousands of dollars added to your net worth.

How to reach this blessed state? Start with four simple, common sense principles of smart money management.

1. Don't surround yourself with cash. Do you keep large amounts of cash around the house instead of putting it in the bank, where it will earn interest, or in an investment plan, where it can grow? This will deprive you of chances to let your money make more money.

2. Don't pay your bills early. Paying bills before they are due won't improve your credit standing. Prepaying reduces the time your money can be earning interest for you and gains you absolutely nothing in return. (But be sure not to cut it so close that you trigger late penalties that can wipe out the extra interest you earn!)

3. Don't have more taxes withheld than you owe. Many people deliberately have too much taken out of their salaries to avoid a large tax bill in April or to accumulate a refund. Those excess withholdings could be put to work earning interest, leaving you with even more left over after your taxes are paid.

4. Get the max from your savings. For most people, the difference between depositing a check today and depositing it next week amounts to nickels and dimes in lost interest, and nickels and dimes aren't going to make you rich. The real aim here is to establish good money-management habits. As your income grows, the payoff will grow along with it.

Any plan to maximize your future savings must begin with an up-to-date record of the savings you have now. There are lots of opportunities for squeezing more out of your savings.

Kids and Money Management Plan

Here's how to teach your children the value of money, establish an allowance system and get them to save.

A family money-management plan with any hope of success will have to include the kids -- which is easier said than done. You can teach your 4-year-old to close the front door, but you can't expect him to understand that you don't want to pay for air-conditioning the whole neighborhood. A teenager, on the other hand, should understand that and more.

Lessons in financial responsibility must take into account a child's age and level of maturity, but there are general guidelines you can follow.

• Teach Kids the Value of Money
  Here's how to encourage financial responsibility and what you can expect of your children.

• Allowance: When and How Much?
  Start at an appropriate age so kids can start learning how to handle money.

• Using Money to Reward or Punish
  Cash as an incentive should only be used in small amounts in select circumstances.

• Ways to Give Money to Children
  Custodial accounts and trusts are ways to transfer cash to your kids.

Retirement Plans

Here's a rundown of the four plans for the self-employed and small-business owner.

By Cameron Huddleston

When you work for a company with a retirement plan, setting aside money for retirement is easy. You do a little paperwork and decide how much of your salary you can afford to defer each pay period. But when you're on your own, setting up a plan can be daunting. Besides having to choose among a growing menu of options for self-employed workers, you have to educate yourself about the rules and deal with all the administrative hassles.

To help you pick the right plan, here's a rundown of four retirement plans designed for the self-employed or owners of small firms and a table that compares contribution limits. Contributions for all the plans are tax-deductible and earnings are tax-deferred. You'll pay taxes and, usually, a 10% penalty on early withdrawals.

Individual 401(k)

Best for: A sole proprietor who wants to maximize contributions to a tax-deferred retirement plan. Limited to owner-only businesses, so it's not the best plan for small businesses with expansion plans.

Before changes to the tax law took effect in January 2002, the costs and paperwork associated with a 401(k) made it unwieldy for an owner-only business, and you could contribute only up to 15% of your compensation.

With the "individual(k)," the newest option in the do-it-yourself line of retirement plans, a sole proprietor can contribute up to 25% of compensation plus $15,500 in salary deferrals -- for a maximum contribution of $45,000. There's also a $5,000 catch-up contribution for those age 50 and older. Contributions are tax-deferred and tax-deductible. And you can take loans from your account just as you can with a traditional 401(k).

"It's a 401(k) that has been stripped of its complexities," says David Bergmann, a financial planner in Marina del Rey, Cal.

The 401khelpcenter.com has a list of financial firms now providing 401(k)s for sole proprietors.

You must establish your plan by December 31 and fund it by April 15. For a general idea of how much of a contribution you could make based on your compensation, use this calculator for a more precise amount.

SEP IRA

Best for: High-income business owners who want to maximize contributions through an uncomplicated plan with low fees. SEPs also work well for small-business owners with mostly low-paid, high-turnover employees, because there's no vesting structure and less incentive for employees to stay long-term.

With a simplified employee pension, or SEP, you can contribute 20% of compensation if you're unincorporated and 25% if you're incorporated, up to $45,000 annually. There's no additional salary deferral, so if your business is unincorporated, for example, your income must be at least $225,000 before you reach the $45,000 contribution level.

You can open and fund a SEP up until your tax filing deadline through a bank, brokerage or mutual fund company. It's easy to set up, and fees are relatively low (less than $100). With the exception of the higher contribution limits, SEPs are subject to the same rules as a regular IRA.

If you have employees, too, you make all the contributions. You must pony up the same percentage of compensation for your employees as for yourself, If you have lower paid employees, you can maximize contributions for yourself and minimize the cost of contributions for employees.

Keogh

Best for: Small-business owners who want to provide an incentive for key employees to stay with the firm. Because Keogh profit-sharing plans often have a vesting structure, the longer employees stay with a company, the more money they'll get.

There are two types of this defined-contribution plan: a profit-sharing plan and a money-purchase plan. Before changes in the tax law, the combination of these two plans offered the highest contribution limit. But now the contribution limit is the same as it is for SEPs and individual 401(k)s -- 25% of compensation, up to a $45,000 maximum.

The profit-sharing plan is flexible, allowing you set aside varying percentages of compensation from year to year. The money-sharing plan requires you to contribute the same percentage of income every year.

Contributions are deductible and tax-deferred, but the paperwork can be complicated. Some sponsors hit you with a 10-page (or longer) application. Then you must file a Form 5500 with IRS each year if the plan covers anyone besides you and your spouse. You must open your account by December 31, but you have until April 15 to fund it.

SIMPLE IRA

Best for: Someone with self-employment income -- particularly from consulting or freelance work -- of $30,000 or less. There's no percentage-of-income limit, but actual dollar limits are much lower than for other plans.

A savings incentive match plan, or SIMPLE, allows you to defer up to $10,500 (or 100% of income, whichever is less) a year from your paycheck, plus 2% or 3% of income. For those age 50 and older, there is a $2,500 catch-up contribution.

If you earn $30,000, for example, you can contribute up to $11,400 a year if you take advantage of the 3% matching contribution. At that salary, the most you could set aside with a SEP or Keogh would be $7,500.

Firms with fewer than 100 employees can also use a SIMPLE. If you have employees, you must include them in your plan and match their contributions dollar for dollar up to 3% of compensation or contribute 2% of every employees' salary -- even for those who don't kick in money themselves.

You can have a SIMPLE even if you have a job that offers a pension plan, but you may not have both a SIMPLE and a Keogh. There are no special tax forms to file. You must open a SIMPLE by October 1 the year you make the contribution to get the deduction. Plans are offered by banks, brokerage firms and mutual funds.

Many Ways to Save Big Money

Think you don't have enough money to start saving? Even little deposits add up to big bucks -- especially when you start young.

ByJessica Anderson, Staff Writer, Kiplinger's Personal Finance

You've heard of the savings crisis. You've probably even thought, 'yeah, I should probably save more.' But eking out an existence is tough on a starting salary and sometimes comfort takes precedence over cutting corners. Besides, if you can only save $50 or $100 a month, is it really worth it? The answer: absolutely.

By starting to save now, you're giving your money -- however little it is -- time to grow on its own. The magic of compound interest means that you can contribute less money for fewer years if you start when you're young and still end up with more cash than someone who waits.

For example, if Natasha starts saving or investing when she's 25 and saves $100 a month for ten years then lets the money sit, her stash will grow to $174,928 by the time she turns 65 (assuming an 8% annual return). If Anna waits to until age 35 to start saving, and socks away the same $100 a month for the next 30 years, she'll have only $135,940 by 65. Anna will have contributed three times as much as Natasha, but will end up with nearly $39,000 less.

This week is America Saves Week, and it makes as good a time as any to get started. Think you don't have enough money to save? We've compiled a list of our best tips to find extra money in your budget to sock away. These strategies won't require you to take a vow of poverty -- we know money's tight already. Rather, they're small and simple cost-cutters that'll help you get started saving as soon as possible.

1. Give yourself a raise and bank it. Boost your take-home pay by adjusting your tax-withholding and have the difference in pay automatically transferred to an online savings account. Kiplinger's tax-withholding calculator can help you revise your W-4.

2. Enroll in a 401(k). If your employer offers a 50-cent match for every dollar you contribute, even adding $60 a month will net you over a grand a year. Plus, you defer paying taxes on your contributions, giving you a bigger paycheck now. See how even small amounts can add up.

3. Raise your car insurance deductible. Upping your out-of-pocket outlay from $250 to $1,000 can save you 15% or more off your premium. Learn more about how to save money on your car insurance.

4. Pay off your credit card. Carrying a $1,000 balance at 18% blows $180 every year on interest that you could put to better use elsewhere. See climb out of debt faster for help.

5. Go green. Control energy costs with a programmable thermostat. Prices start around $50, but you'll cut your heating-and-cooling bill by 10-20%.

6. Bundle up. Getting a package of phone, Internet and cable from one provider can save you about $50 a month.

7. Use your employer's FSA. Flexible spending accounts let you pay healthcare costs with pre-tax dollars. If your company offers them, take advantage and save 33% or more.

8. Get a credit card with rewards. Spending $80 a week on gas and groceries? Putting it on a card with 5% cash rebates will earn you nearly $200 a year.

9. Kick the habit. Smoking is hard on your health and the wallet. Three packs a week averages $50 a month. Learn more about how getting in shape can fatten your wallet.

10. Brown bag it. Instead of spending $8 on takeout every day at work, bring a bagged lunch for $5. You'll save $60 a month and $720 a year. Do your own calculation at FeedThePig.com

11. Negotiate your rate. Instead of paying an APR of 18% on your credit card, call your issuer and ask for a lower rate. If you have good credit, your lender might consider it and if you can provide examples of offers you've gotten from other companies, it'll strengthen your case.

12. Travel on the cheap. Bypass the old trifecta of travel search engines (Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz) and head straight for Sidestep.com, which will search them all -- saving you money and time. For last minute deals, try Site59.com. And see our list of the 25 best Travel Sites for more cost-cutting resources.

13. Insure yourself. Even if your company has a health plan, you may be able to do better for yourself. Pairing a high-deductible medical policy with a health saving account -- which lets you put away pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses -- can save money on premiums. Shop around at www.ehealthinsurance.com.

14. Make media free. Dust off your library card and enjoy DVDs and books for free. If you'd normally rent a movie a week and buy a book a month, you can cut costs by $30.

15. Change your calling plan. The average wireless-phone user spends about $60 a month, including taxes and fees. If you talk for 200 or fewer minutes per month, switching to a prepaid plan where minutes cost 25 cents a minute could save you $10 a month. Compare plans at www.myrateplan.com.

16. Park your car. Why pay $25 a week in gas when you could pay half that to use public transit? Or check out carpooling at www.erideshare.com and www.carpoolconnect.com.

17. Ditch your gym. Forget the $40/month gym membership that'll cost you almost $500 a year and check out community centers in your area. Some may be free or charge a minimal fee such as $100 a year. Or buy a good pair of running shoes and work out the old-fashioned way.

18. Reshop your auto insurance. Using a comparison site like Ins Web can help you determine if you've got the best deal.

19. Learn to cook. Cooking at home saves on your food budget and it could even improve your dating prospects -- who isn't impressed by someone who can prepare a great meal?

20. Keep track of your money. The best way to save is to know what you spend. It might not be pretty, but detail every expense for a month to get an idea of where you can cut back. Nearly everyone has some fat they can trim from their spending to put toward a savings goal.

How to Retire a Millionaire

Find out how much you need to save each month to reach $500,000, $1 million of $2 million by age 65.

The road to $1 million starts early, but if you're a late bloomer, help is at hand. The information below shows how much you need to save each month to accumulate $500,000, $1 million or $2 million by age 65, along with strategies for achieving that goal. At age 25, you're starting from scratch. At ages 35, 45 and 55, we assume you already have money in savings, on which you're earning 8% annually.

Age 25

You've saved: $0
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $143
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $286
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $573

Get help from Uncle Sam: You may qualify for a retirement-savings tax credit of 10% to 50% of the amount you contribute to an IRA, 401(k) or other retirement account. The credit can reduce your tax bill by up to $1,000. To qualify, your income must be $25,000 or less if you're single, $37,500 or less if you're a head of household or $50,000 or less if you're married.

Age 35

You've saved: $0
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $335
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $671
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $1,342

You've saved: $25,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $152
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $488
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $1,159

Get help from your boss: If your employer offers a matching contribution, contribute at least enough to your 401(k) to capture the full match. Otherwise, you're walking away from free money. Try to save 15% of your gross income for retirement, including your employer match.

Age 45

You've saved: $0
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $849
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $1,698
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $3,395

You've saved: $25,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $640
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $1,489
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $3,186

You've saved: $50,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $431
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $1,280
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $2,977

You've saved: $100,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $12
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $861
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $2,559

Play catch-up: Aim to contribute the maximum $15,500 to your 401(k) this year or $4,000 to your traditional or Roth IRA. Once you turn 50, you can contribute an additional $5,000 in catch-up contributions to your 401(k) and an extra $1,000 to your IRA.

Age 55

You've saved: $0
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $2,733
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $5,466
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $10,932

You've saved: $25,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $2,430
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $5,163
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $10,629

You've saved: $50,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $2,126
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $4,859
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $10,326

You've saved: $100,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $1,520
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $4,253
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $9,719

You've saved: $200,000
To reach $500,000, what you need to save per month: $306
To reach $1 million, what you need to save per month: $3,040
To reach $2 million, what you need to save per month: $8,506

Stay on the job: Working a few years longer can boost your savings.

Money Rules


1. Be humble
When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge.

--Confucius
Investing is a big bet on an unknowable future. The mark of wisdom is accepting just how unknowable it is. Granted, that's not easy. Our brains are built to think the future will be like the near past. And we're too ready to act on the predictions of pundits, who are no more clued in than we are about what lies ahead.

Being humble in the face of uncertainty keeps you from costly mistakes. You won't jump on yesterday's bandwagon. And before you invest, you'll be more likely to ask a key question: "What if I'm wrong?"

2. Take calculated risks

He that is overcautious will accomplish little.
--Friedrich von Schiller
The returns you get are proportionate to the risk you take. This is a fundamental law of the markets. It's why five-year CDs typically pay more than six-month ones and why you're disappointed if your emerging markets fund does no better than its stodgy blue-chip stablemate. History unequivocally supports this "no free lunch" principle. Going back to 1926, stocks (high risk) have paid more than government bonds (medium risk), which in turn have beaten low-risk Treasury bills.
Among many, many other things, this law suggests:

• To earn returns high enough to build true wealth, you have to put some of your money in risky assets like stocks--the only investment to handily beat inflation over time.
• If a financial salesperson tries to tell you his product offers a high return with no risk, get that claim in writing. Then send it and his business card to the SEC.

3. Have an emergency fund

For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day.
--Benjamin Franklin
The first step in constructing any serious financial plan is to create an emergency cash fund--ideally, three to six months' living expenses--stashed in a low-cost ultrasafe bank account or money-market fund. Without this financial cushion, any unexpected expense can derail your long-term plans.

These days, happily, that emergency stash won't just sit idle. Top bank accounts like the one at UFB Direct (888-580-0049) and perennially competitive money funds like Vanguard Prime (800-851-4999) now pay more than 5%.

4. Mix it up

It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket.
--Miguel de Cervantes
Nothing can break the law of risk and reward, but a diversified portfolio can bend it. When you spread your money properly among different asset types, a rise in some will offset a fall in others, muting your overall risk without a commensurate drop in return. It's the closest thing to a free lunch there is in investing. To make the alchemy work, you must load up on assets whose up and down cycles don't run in sync: stocks (both U.S. and foreign, as well as large-company and small), bonds (of varying maturities), cash, real estate and commodities.

5. It's the portfolio, stupid

Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.
--Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower
Most investors concentrate on trying to choose the best stock and pick the perfect moment to buy or sell. It's a waste. What really matters to your long-term returns is asset allocation--that is, how you split up your portfolio.

Since researchers dropped this bombshell 20 years ago, experts have debated the size of the asset-allocation factor. Some say it accounts for 40% of the variation in investors' returns; others (like the original researchers) say 90%. But no one refutes that it's major.

6. Average is the new best

The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.
--Warren Buffett
Here's the logic behind index funds, which aim simply to match the return of a market index: The average fund in any market will always earn that market's return (because in aggregate investors are the market) minus expenses. Since index funds match the market but have much smaller expenses than other funds, they will always beat the average fund in the long run. It's hard to argue with the math, and history bears it out (see the performance stat at right). Besides, if the Greatest Investor of Our Time believes that index funds are superior for most investors, shouldn't you?

7. Practice patience

It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
--Edwin Lefevre
This blunt warning was issued in Lefevre's 1923 fictional memoir, reportedly based on legendary trader Jesse Livermore and treated by many financial advisers like the Bible. Some 77 years later, behavioral finance professors Terrance Odean and Brad Barber's research into transactions by some 66,000 households between 1991 and 1996 found that those who traded least earned seven percentage points a year more than the most frequent traders. Moral: Once you arrange your assets into your ideal allocation, don't tinker. Rebalance once a year to keep your mix on track, but otherwise, listen to Livermore and sit tight.

8. Don't time the market

The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.
--Peter Lynch
It would be so nice, wouldn't it, to sell before every market downdraft and then get back in just as the good times roll again. But it's too hard to pull off. Nobody knows when markets will turn (see Rule No. 1). And when they do, they tend to move in quick bursts. By the time you realize an advance has begun, most of it's over. Miss that initial stretch and you'll miss out on most of the gains. The lesson: The surest way to investing success is to buy, then stick to your guns.

9. Be a cheapskate

Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever.
--Jack Bogle
If you choose a fund that eats up 1.5% a year in expenses over one that costs 1% (let alone the 0.2% that index funds may charge), your fund's return will have to beat the other's by half a point a year just for you to come out even. Past returns are no guarantee of the future, but today's low-cost funds are likely to stay low cost. Buying them is the only sure way of giving yourself a leg up.

10. Don't follow the crowd

Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
--Coco Chanel
Or, as the legendary financier Sir James Goldsmith has said, "If you see a bandwagon, it's too late."

In the late 1990s, there was no more fashionable bandwagon for investors than Firsthand Technology Value fund. It returned 23.7% in 1998, but investors really piled into it after it rocketed an incredible 190.4% in 1999. But by then, the bust of 2000 was about to unfold, and Firsthand was soon to become as passé as plaid trousers. The result was a chilling example of the perils of following the herd: While the fund posted a respectable 16% annualized gain over the four years through 2001, the average shareholder in the fund actually lost more than 31.6% a year.

11. Buy low

If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me.
--Warren Buffett
The best Dow stocks of the past 10 years don't include Microsoft or Intel. But Caterpillar (Cat) makes the cut with a 212% return. In 1997, in the midst of tech madness, the market was so bored by the company's industrial-machinery business that investors paid just $11.50 for each dollar of earnings. If the stock's current value of 16.1 times earnings is right, that's nearly a 30% discount. Smart investors didn't need to foresee the coming construction boom. They only needed to call a bargain a bargain and trust the market to eventually wise up.

12. Invest abroad

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
--St. Augustine
Over the 10 years through 2006, a portfolio split 80%-20% between U.S. and international large-cap stocks would have returned an average 8.4% a year, roughly the same as a portfolio invested 100% in domestic stocks. But because U.S. and foreign markets partially offset one another's ups and downs, the global portfolio was 4% less risky than the all-American (see Rule No. 4). Most Americans have less money in foreign funds than the 15% to 25% experts recommend. But you don't have to be like most Americans.

13. Keep perspective

There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.
--Harry Truman
When the Dow sheds 300 points in a day, it's natural to feel doomed. And when the market surges, it's easy to be convinced that stocks have entered "a new paradigm," to echo a bubble-era phrase. Don't delude yourself. As Sir John Templeton notes, "The four most expensive words in the English language are, `This time it's different.' "

To keep your perspective, remember:

• In every bull market since 1970, stocks have dropped by 10% or more at least once. Average time to get back to even: 107 days.
• Over time, markets tend to stick close to their long-term trends, called "regression to the mean." Manias and panics never last.

14. Just do it

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt
Financial planning is an unnatural act. The brain is wired to make us undervalue long-term goals and exaggerate the cost of short-term sacrifice. Yet studies show that people who do even a little retirement planning had twice the savings of those who did almost none. Heed the words attributed to Mrs. Roosevelt by doing the following:

• Set concrete, attainable goals. "I'll pay an extra $100 a month on my credit card" is more likely to succeed than "I'm going to get my act together."
• Then commit. Tell someone your plan and agree to a penalty--you'll do your spouse's chores for a month if you haven't saved $10,000 extra by June.

15. Borrow responsibly

As life closes in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes.
--John Kenneth Galbraith
Face this truth: If you let them, lenders are only too willing to advance you more than is good for your family. Mortgage banks and credit-card issuers don't care if your monthly payment makes it impossible for you to sock away money in your 401(k) or fund your kid's 529 plan. You need to set your own rules, including:

• No credit-card debt. Period. It's never okay to pay 15% to borrow for consumption.
• Borrow only to buy assets that appreciate. A home, yes. Education, sure. A vacation, a fancy dinner or even a 50-inch flat-screen TV? No way.

16. Talk to your spouse

"In every house of marriage there's room for an interpreter."
--Stanley Kunitz
Your most important financial partner isn't your broker. It's your spouse--you know, the one who probably owns half of all you do and whose fate is inextricably linked with yours. But research shows that spouses often don't agree on even such basic info as their income and savings. Wake-up call: To make smart decisions, you need to talk, and if you're like most couples, to do a better job at it.

• Men: Don't assume she doesn't care about this stuff. She does. But you need to lay off the jargon and speak English.
• Women: Don't just leave it all to him. At a minimum, know where the key papers are and how your money is invested. ˙
• Both: Focus on goals, not on being right. It's not a contest.

17. Exit gracefully

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
--Pablo Picasso
Despite the words he reportedly uttered, Picasso was willing to die without planning his estate. It took years for his heirs to reach a settlement with French authorities. Although you may not have masterpieces to bequeath, you have no excuse not to take elementary steps to make life easier on those you'd leave behind. Covering the basics shouldn't cost more than $1,500.

To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (aaepa.com). For tips on dividing emotion-laden personal belongings--more often the flash point for family tension than money or big-ticket items--check out the website Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? (yellowpieplate.umn.edu).

18. Pay only your share

The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.
--John Maynard Keynes
It's all well and good to put time into choosing the right investments. But being conscious of taxes puts money in your pocket too (at least it keeps it from being taken from your pocket, which amounts to the same thing), and the payoff is swift, certain and there for the taking. So take full advantage of tax-deferred benefits at work, like 401(k)s and flexible spending accounts. Stick with tax-efficient investments like index funds. And claim every deduction you're entitled to. According to the Government Accountability Office, taxpayers who could itemize but chose not to ended up overpaying by $450. Don't be one of them.

19. Give wisely

The time is always right to do the right thing.
--Martin Luther King Jr.
Granted, Dr. King did not have money on his mind when he spoke these words. But they also ring true in your financial life, since giving back is always the right thing. Still, there are more right and less right ways to do it.

• Look beyond the headlines. It's fine to give money to disasters like the tsunami, but don't forget about smaller charities that go wanting.
• Don't give over the phone. Telemarketers often take a cut of 50% or more.
• Focus. Identify a cause that really speaks to you. Then devote most of your energy and charitable dollars to the organizations that best support it.

20. Keep money in its place

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
--Jonathan Swift
People who say they value money highly report that they are less happy in life than those who care more about love and friends. Enough said.

Money Rules


1. Be humble
When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge.

--Confucius

Investing is a big bet on an unknowable future. The mark of wisdom is accepting just how unknowable it is. Granted, that's not easy. Our brains are built to think the future will be like the near past. And we're too ready to act on the predictions of pundits, who are no more clued in than we are about what lies ahead.

Being humble in the face of uncertainty keeps you from costly mistakes. You won't jump on yesterday's bandwagon. And before you invest, you'll be more likely to ask a key question: "What if I'm wrong?"

2. Take calculated risks

He that is overcautious will accomplish little.
--Friedrich von Schiller

The returns you get are proportionate to the risk you take. This is a fundamental law of the markets. It's why five-year CDs typically pay more than six-month ones and why you're disappointed if your emerging markets fund does no better than its stodgy blue-chip stablemate. History unequivocally supports this "no free lunch" principle. Going back to 1926, stocks (high risk) have paid more than government bonds (medium risk), which in turn have beaten low-risk Treasury bills.
Among many, many other things, this law suggests:

• To earn returns high enough to build true wealth, you have to put some of your money in risky assets like stocks--the only investment to handily beat inflation over time.
• If a financial salesperson tries to tell you his product offers a high return with no risk, get that claim in writing. Then send it and his business card to the SEC.

3. Have an emergency fund

For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day.
--Benjamin Franklin

The first step in constructing any serious financial plan is to create an emergency cash fund--ideally, three to six months' living expenses--stashed in a low-cost ultrasafe bank account or money-market fund. Without this financial cushion, any unexpected expense can derail your long-term plans.

These days, happily, that emergency stash won't just sit idle. Top bank accounts like the one at UFB Direct (888-580-0049) and perennially competitive money funds like Vanguard Prime (800-851-4999) now pay more than 5%.

4. Mix it up

It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket.
--Miguel de Cervantes

Nothing can break the law of risk and reward, but a diversified portfolio can bend it. When you spread your money properly among different asset types, a rise in some will offset a fall in others, muting your overall risk without a commensurate drop in return. It's the closest thing to a free lunch there is in investing. To make the alchemy work, you must load up on assets whose up and down cycles don't run in sync: stocks (both U.S. and foreign, as well as large-company and small), bonds (of varying maturities), cash, real estate and commodities.

5. It's the portfolio, stupid

Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.
--Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower

Most investors concentrate on trying to choose the best stock and pick the perfect moment to buy or sell. It's a waste. What really matters to your long-term returns is asset allocation--that is, how you split up your portfolio.

Since researchers dropped this bombshell 20 years ago, experts have debated the size of the asset-allocation factor. Some say it accounts for 40% of the variation in investors' returns; others (like the original researchers) say 90%. But no one refutes that it's major.

6. Average is the new best

The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.
--Warren Buffett

Here's the logic behind index funds, which aim simply to match the return of a market index: The average fund in any market will always earn that market's return (because in aggregate investors are the market) minus expenses. Since index funds match the market but have much smaller expenses than other funds, they will always beat the average fund in the long run. It's hard to argue with the math, and history bears it out (see the performance stat at right). Besides, if the Greatest Investor of Our Time believes that index funds are superior for most investors, shouldn't you?

7. Practice patience

It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
--Edwin Lefevre

This blunt warning was issued in Lefevre's 1923 fictional memoir, reportedly based on legendary trader Jesse Livermore and treated by many financial advisers like the Bible. Some 77 years later, behavioral finance professors Terrance Odean and Brad Barber's research into transactions by some 66,000 households between 1991 and 1996 found that those who traded least earned seven percentage points a year more than the most frequent traders. Moral: Once you arrange your assets into your ideal allocation, don't tinker. Rebalance once a year to keep your mix on track, but otherwise, listen to Livermore and sit tight.

8. Don't time the market

The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.
--Peter Lynch

It would be so nice, wouldn't it, to sell before every market downdraft and then get back in just as the good times roll again. But it's too hard to pull off. Nobody knows when markets will turn (see Rule No. 1). And when they do, they tend to move in quick bursts. By the time you realize an advance has begun, most of it's over. Miss that initial stretch and you'll miss out on most of the gains. The lesson: The surest way to investing success is to buy, then stick to your guns.

9. Be a cheapskate

Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever.
--Jack Bogle

If you choose a fund that eats up 1.5% a year in expenses over one that costs 1% (let alone the 0.2% that index funds may charge), your fund's return will have to beat the other's by half a point a year just for you to come out even. Past returns are no guarantee of the future, but today's low-cost funds are likely to stay low cost. Buying them is the only sure way of giving yourself a leg up.

10. Don't follow the crowd

Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
--Coco Chanel

Or, as the legendary financier Sir James Goldsmith has said, "If you see a bandwagon, it's too late."

In the late 1990s, there was no more fashionable bandwagon for investors than Firsthand Technology Value fund. It returned 23.7% in 1998, but investors really piled into it after it rocketed an incredible 190.4% in 1999. But by then, the bust of 2000 was about to unfold, and Firsthand was soon to become as passé as plaid trousers. The result was a chilling example of the perils of following the herd: While the fund posted a respectable 16% annualized gain over the four years through 2001, the average shareholder in the fund actually lost more than 31.6% a year.

11. Buy low

If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me.
--Warren Buffett

The best Dow stocks of the past 10 years don't include Microsoft or Intel. But Caterpillar (Cat) makes the cut with a 212% return. In 1997, in the midst of tech madness, the market was so bored by the company's industrial-machinery business that investors paid just $11.50 for each dollar of earnings. If the stock's current value of 16.1 times earnings is right, that's nearly a 30% discount. Smart investors didn't need to foresee the coming construction boom. They only needed to call a bargain a bargain and trust the market to eventually wise up.

12. Invest abroad

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
--St. Augustine

Over the 10 years through 2006, a portfolio split 80%-20% between U.S. and international large-cap stocks would have returned an average 8.4% a year, roughly the same as a portfolio invested 100% in domestic stocks. But because U.S. and foreign markets partially offset one another's ups and downs, the global portfolio was 4% less risky than the all-American (see Rule No. 4). Most Americans have less money in foreign funds than the 15% to 25% experts recommend. But you don't have to be like most Americans.

13. Keep perspective

There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.
--Harry Truman

When the Dow sheds 300 points in a day, it's natural to feel doomed. And when the market surges, it's easy to be convinced that stocks have entered "a new paradigm," to echo a bubble-era phrase. Don't delude yourself. As Sir John Templeton notes, "The four most expensive words in the English language are, `This time it's different.' "

To keep your perspective, remember:

• In every bull market since 1970, stocks have dropped by 10% or more at least once. Average time to get back to even: 107 days.
• Over time, markets tend to stick close to their long-term trends, called "regression to the mean." Manias and panics never last.

14. Just do it

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

Financial planning is an unnatural act. The brain is wired to make us undervalue long-term goals and exaggerate the cost of short-term sacrifice. Yet studies show that people who do even a little retirement planning had twice the savings of those who did almost none. Heed the words attributed to Mrs. Roosevelt by doing the following:

• Set concrete, attainable goals. "I'll pay an extra $100 a month on my credit card" is more likely to succeed than "I'm going to get my act together."
• Then commit. Tell someone your plan and agree to a penalty--you'll do your spouse's chores for a month if you haven't saved $10,000 extra by June.

15. Borrow responsibly

As life closes in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes.
--John Kenneth Galbraith

Face this truth: If you let them, lenders are only too willing to advance you more than is good for your family. Mortgage banks and credit-card issuers don't care if your monthly payment makes it impossible for you to sock away money in your 401(k) or fund your kid's 529 plan. You need to set your own rules, including:

• No credit-card debt. Period. It's never okay to pay 15% to borrow for consumption.
• Borrow only to buy assets that appreciate. A home, yes. Education, sure. A vacation, a fancy dinner or even a 50-inch flat-screen TV? No way.

16. Talk to your spouse

"In every house of marriage there's room for an interpreter."
--Stanley Kunitz

Your most important financial partner isn't your broker. It's your spouse--you know, the one who probably owns half of all you do and whose fate is inextricably linked with yours. But research shows that spouses often don't agree on even such basic info as their income and savings. Wake-up call: To make smart decisions, you need to talk, and if you're like most couples, to do a better job at it.

• Men: Don't assume she doesn't care about this stuff. She does. But you need to lay off the jargon and speak English.
• Women: Don't just leave it all to him. At a minimum, know where the key papers are and how your money is invested. ˙
• Both: Focus on goals, not on being right. It's not a contest.

17. Exit gracefully

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
--Pablo Picasso

Despite the words he reportedly uttered, Picasso was willing to die without planning his estate. It took years for his heirs to reach a settlement with French authorities. Although you may not have masterpieces to bequeath, you have no excuse not to take elementary steps to make life easier on those you'd leave behind. Covering the basics shouldn't cost more than $1,500.

To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (aaepa.com). For tips on dividing emotion-laden personal belongings--more often the flash point for family tension than money or big-ticket items--check out the website Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? (yellowpieplate.umn.edu).

18. Pay only your share

The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.
--John Maynard Keynes

It's all well and good to put time into choosing the right investments. But being conscious of taxes puts money in your pocket too (at least it keeps it from being taken from your pocket, which amounts to the same thing), and the payoff is swift, certain and there for the taking. So take full advantage of tax-deferred benefits at work, like 401(k)s and flexible spending accounts. Stick with tax-efficient investments like index funds. And claim every deduction you're entitled to. According to the Government Accountability Office, taxpayers who could itemize but chose not to ended up overpaying by $450. Don't be one of them.

19. Give wisely

The time is always right to do the right thing.
--Martin Luther King Jr.

Granted, Dr. King did not have money on his mind when he spoke these words. But they also ring true in your financial life, since giving back is always the right thing. Still, there are more right and less right ways to do it.

• Look beyond the headlines. It's fine to give money to disasters like the tsunami, but don't forget about smaller charities that go wanting.
• Don't give over the phone. Telemarketers often take a cut of 50% or more.
• Focus. Identify a cause that really speaks to you. Then devote most of your energy and charitable dollars to the organizations that best support it.

20. Keep money in its place

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
--Jonathan Swift

People who say they value money highly report that they are less happy in life than those who care more about love and friends. Enough said.

Money Rules


1. Be humble
When you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it--this is knowledge.

--Confucius

Investing is a big bet on an unknowable future. The mark of wisdom is accepting just how unknowable it is. Granted, that's not easy. Our brains are built to think the future will be like the near past. And we're too ready to act on the predictions of pundits, who are no more clued in than we are about what lies ahead.

Being humble in the face of uncertainty keeps you from costly mistakes. You won't jump on yesterday's bandwagon. And before you invest, you'll be more likely to ask a key question: "What if I'm wrong?"

2. Take calculated risks

He that is overcautious will accomplish little.
--Friedrich von Schiller

The returns you get are proportionate to the risk you take. This is a fundamental law of the markets. It's why five-year CDs typically pay more than six-month ones and why you're disappointed if your emerging markets fund does no better than its stodgy blue-chip stablemate. History unequivocally supports this "no free lunch" principle. Going back to 1926, stocks (high risk) have paid more than government bonds (medium risk), which in turn have beaten low-risk Treasury bills.
Among many, many other things, this law suggests:

• To earn returns high enough to build true wealth, you have to put some of your money in risky assets like stocks--the only investment to handily beat inflation over time.
• If a financial salesperson tries to tell you his product offers a high return with no risk, get that claim in writing. Then send it and his business card to the SEC.

3. Have an emergency fund

For age and want, save while you may; no morning sun lasts a whole day.
--Benjamin Franklin

The first step in constructing any serious financial plan is to create an emergency cash fund--ideally, three to six months' living expenses--stashed in a low-cost ultrasafe bank account or money-market fund. Without this financial cushion, any unexpected expense can derail your long-term plans.

These days, happily, that emergency stash won't just sit idle. Top bank accounts like the one at UFB Direct (888-580-0049) and perennially competitive money funds like Vanguard Prime (800-851-4999) now pay more than 5%.

4. Mix it up

It is the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow and not to venture all his eggs in one basket.
--Miguel de Cervantes

Nothing can break the law of risk and reward, but a diversified portfolio can bend it. When you spread your money properly among different asset types, a rise in some will offset a fall in others, muting your overall risk without a commensurate drop in return. It's the closest thing to a free lunch there is in investing. To make the alchemy work, you must load up on assets whose up and down cycles don't run in sync: stocks (both U.S. and foreign, as well as large-company and small), bonds (of varying maturities), cash, real estate and commodities.

5. It's the portfolio, stupid

Asset allocation...is the overwhelmingly dominant contributor to total return.
--Gary Brinson, Brian Singer and Gilbert Beebower

Most investors concentrate on trying to choose the best stock and pick the perfect moment to buy or sell. It's a waste. What really matters to your long-term returns is asset allocation--that is, how you split up your portfolio.

Since researchers dropped this bombshell 20 years ago, experts have debated the size of the asset-allocation factor. Some say it accounts for 40% of the variation in investors' returns; others (like the original researchers) say 90%. But no one refutes that it's major.

6. Average is the new best

The best way to own common stocks is through an index fund.
--Warren Buffett

Here's the logic behind index funds, which aim simply to match the return of a market index: The average fund in any market will always earn that market's return (because in aggregate investors are the market) minus expenses. Since index funds match the market but have much smaller expenses than other funds, they will always beat the average fund in the long run. It's hard to argue with the math, and history bears it out (see the performance stat at right). Besides, if the Greatest Investor of Our Time believes that index funds are superior for most investors, shouldn't you?

7. Practice patience

It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
--Edwin Lefevre

This blunt warning was issued in Lefevre's 1923 fictional memoir, reportedly based on legendary trader Jesse Livermore and treated by many financial advisers like the Bible. Some 77 years later, behavioral finance professors Terrance Odean and Brad Barber's research into transactions by some 66,000 households between 1991 and 1996 found that those who traded least earned seven percentage points a year more than the most frequent traders. Moral: Once you arrange your assets into your ideal allocation, don't tinker. Rebalance once a year to keep your mix on track, but otherwise, listen to Livermore and sit tight.

8. Don't time the market

The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.
--Peter Lynch

It would be so nice, wouldn't it, to sell before every market downdraft and then get back in just as the good times roll again. But it's too hard to pull off. Nobody knows when markets will turn (see Rule No. 1). And when they do, they tend to move in quick bursts. By the time you realize an advance has begun, most of it's over. Miss that initial stretch and you'll miss out on most of the gains. The lesson: The surest way to investing success is to buy, then stick to your guns.

9. Be a cheapskate

Performance comes and goes, but costs roll on forever.
--Jack Bogle

If you choose a fund that eats up 1.5% a year in expenses over one that costs 1% (let alone the 0.2% that index funds may charge), your fund's return will have to beat the other's by half a point a year just for you to come out even. Past returns are no guarantee of the future, but today's low-cost funds are likely to stay low cost. Buying them is the only sure way of giving yourself a leg up.

10. Don't follow the crowd

Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
--Coco Chanel

Or, as the legendary financier Sir James Goldsmith has said, "If you see a bandwagon, it's too late."

In the late 1990s, there was no more fashionable bandwagon for investors than Firsthand Technology Value fund. It returned 23.7% in 1998, but investors really piled into it after it rocketed an incredible 190.4% in 1999. But by then, the bust of 2000 was about to unfold, and Firsthand was soon to become as passé as plaid trousers. The result was a chilling example of the perils of following the herd: While the fund posted a respectable 16% annualized gain over the four years through 2001, the average shareholder in the fund actually lost more than 31.6% a year.

11. Buy low

If a business is worth a dollar and I can buy it for 40 cents, something good may happen to me.
--Warren Buffett

The best Dow stocks of the past 10 years don't include Microsoft or Intel. But Caterpillar (Cat) makes the cut with a 212% return. In 1997, in the midst of tech madness, the market was so bored by the company's industrial-machinery business that investors paid just $11.50 for each dollar of earnings. If the stock's current value of 16.1 times earnings is right, that's nearly a 30% discount. Smart investors didn't need to foresee the coming construction boom. They only needed to call a bargain a bargain and trust the market to eventually wise up.

12. Invest abroad

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.
--St. Augustine

Over the 10 years through 2006, a portfolio split 80%-20% between U.S. and international large-cap stocks would have returned an average 8.4% a year, roughly the same as a portfolio invested 100% in domestic stocks. But because U.S. and foreign markets partially offset one another's ups and downs, the global portfolio was 4% less risky than the all-American (see Rule No. 4). Most Americans have less money in foreign funds than the 15% to 25% experts recommend. But you don't have to be like most Americans.

13. Keep perspective

There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.
--Harry Truman

When the Dow sheds 300 points in a day, it's natural to feel doomed. And when the market surges, it's easy to be convinced that stocks have entered "a new paradigm," to echo a bubble-era phrase. Don't delude yourself. As Sir John Templeton notes, "The four most expensive words in the English language are, `This time it's different.' "

To keep your perspective, remember:

• In every bull market since 1970, stocks have dropped by 10% or more at least once. Average time to get back to even: 107 days.
• Over time, markets tend to stick close to their long-term trends, called "regression to the mean." Manias and panics never last.

14. Just do it

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

Financial planning is an unnatural act. The brain is wired to make us undervalue long-term goals and exaggerate the cost of short-term sacrifice. Yet studies show that people who do even a little retirement planning had twice the savings of those who did almost none. Heed the words attributed to Mrs. Roosevelt by doing the following:

• Set concrete, attainable goals. "I'll pay an extra $100 a month on my credit card" is more likely to succeed than "I'm going to get my act together."
• Then commit. Tell someone your plan and agree to a penalty--you'll do your spouse's chores for a month if you haven't saved $10,000 extra by June.

15. Borrow responsibly

As life closes in on someone who has borrowed far too much money on the strength of far too little income, there are no fire escapes.
--John Kenneth Galbraith

Face this truth: If you let them, lenders are only too willing to advance you more than is good for your family. Mortgage banks and credit-card issuers don't care if your monthly payment makes it impossible for you to sock away money in your 401(k) or fund your kid's 529 plan. You need to set your own rules, including:

• No credit-card debt. Period. It's never okay to pay 15% to borrow for consumption.
• Borrow only to buy assets that appreciate. A home, yes. Education, sure. A vacation, a fancy dinner or even a 50-inch flat-screen TV? No way.

16. Talk to your spouse

"In every house of marriage there's room for an interpreter."
--Stanley Kunitz

Your most important financial partner isn't your broker. It's your spouse--you know, the one who probably owns half of all you do and whose fate is inextricably linked with yours. But research shows that spouses often don't agree on even such basic info as their income and savings. Wake-up call: To make smart decisions, you need to talk, and if you're like most couples, to do a better job at it.

• Men: Don't assume she doesn't care about this stuff. She does. But you need to lay off the jargon and speak English.
• Women: Don't just leave it all to him. At a minimum, know where the key papers are and how your money is invested. ˙
• Both: Focus on goals, not on being right. It's not a contest.

17. Exit gracefully

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.
--Pablo Picasso

Despite the words he reportedly uttered, Picasso was willing to die without planning his estate. It took years for his heirs to reach a settlement with French authorities. Although you may not have masterpieces to bequeath, you have no excuse not to take elementary steps to make life easier on those you'd leave behind. Covering the basics shouldn't cost more than $1,500.

To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (aaepa.com). For tips on dividing emotion-laden personal belongings--more often the flash point for family tension than money or big-ticket items--check out the website Who Gets Grandma's Yellow Pie Plate? (yellowpieplate.umn.edu).

18. Pay only your share

The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward.
--John Maynard Keynes

It's all well and good to put time into choosing the right investments. But being conscious of taxes puts money in your pocket too (at least it keeps it from being taken from your pocket, which amounts to the same thing), and the payoff is swift, certain and there for the taking. So take full advantage of tax-deferred benefits at work, like 401(k)s and flexible spending accounts. Stick with tax-efficient investments like index funds. And claim every deduction you're entitled to. According to the Government Accountability Office, taxpayers who could itemize but chose not to ended up overpaying by $450. Don't be one of them.

19. Give wisely

The time is always right to do the right thing.
--Martin Luther King Jr.

Granted, Dr. King did not have money on his mind when he spoke these words. But they also ring true in your financial life, since giving back is always the right thing. Still, there are more right and less right ways to do it.

• Look beyond the headlines. It's fine to give money to disasters like the tsunami, but don't forget about smaller charities that go wanting.
• Don't give over the phone. Telemarketers often take a cut of 50% or more.
• Focus. Identify a cause that really speaks to you. Then devote most of your energy and charitable dollars to the organizations that best support it.

20. Keep money in its place

A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.
--Jonathan Swift

People who say they value money highly report that they are less happy in life than those who care more about love and friends. Enough said.

焦點:千萬講師授致富秘訣



成功者大會（National Achievers Congress）是一年一度的國際人力資源和營銷高峰會，這個盛會自1992年起在世界8個國家和地區用4種不同語言舉辦。

大馬2007年成功者大會落幕，《財富廣場》結合其中4位千萬身價講師的授招，包括個人和生意成長秘訣，讓讀者無須自掏腰包幾千令吉出席座談會，即可免費上課。

賺錢巔峰期全力以赴

鄭文元博士（Clemen Chiang）
來頭：新加坡有名的期權投資導師，創立Freely商業學院。目前是多個協會會員，包括美國金融管理協會、亞洲行銷協會等。他將在吉隆坡和檳城展開預展。

鄭文元問：“你上週賺了多少錢？”

若回答不知道的有兩個可能性，一是錢少，二是錢多得數不清。回答知道則是清楚財務狀況的人。

年紀輕輕靠投資致富的鄭文元，分享讓搖錢樹成長的心得。

◆Take control Now（控制）
擁有可投資資產超過100萬美元的，可稱為高淨值財富個人（High net worth individual，簡稱HNWI），只有5%的人可歸納為該階層，95%的人沒有能力。

25歲轉折點，賺錢能力高峰可維持7年，隨後將停滯，40歲後將另創高峰，60歲後走下坡。掌控7年的黃金時期，作出投資才能逃脫財富下滑窘境。當然，35歲也可以是一個轉折點，惟還是要趁早。

能創造一筆現金，得以過自己的生活。和身邊的人有別的是，你看見自己的將來，並控制。

◆Research（研究）
投資選擇有賴於金錢、時間和知識。他指出，萬事起頭難，可使用研究和分析作參考。

他建議，投資要選擇最強的經濟體。選擇經濟體裡最強的公司、採用最強的分析和採用最強的方法。

他主張短期內獲得高回酬，提倡自由生活、工作和玩樂。

◆Economic Cycle（經濟週期）
美國經濟強霸地位不能動搖，嬰兒潮每40年出現一次，歷史上包括1881、1921和1961年。

按40年週期計算，首27年消費蓬勃，接下來14年滑下坡。主因是19至22歲消費能力處在巔峰，47歲下滑。

1881年首個嬰兒潮為例，人口至19至22歲，即約1901年消費能力巔峰維持27年至1928年，接下來14年則下滑（1928至1941年），以此類推。

從中可分析美國消費能力走勢，找出適當時機賺錢。他認為，在2009年始的消費趨勢走低前，仍有兩年投資良機。利好包括2008年北京奧運會、美國總統選舉和2009年初發表國情咨文。

◆Execute a proven method（採用證明有效的方法）
最後則是採用方法。鄭文元指出，虧損是學習過程，不意味失去所有。以其學員為例，以可承受的64美元投資風險，看準一次機會取得72.75倍的回酬。

他提倡缺口分析（Gapping Analysis），通過圖表形勢和市場指標，在短時間內預測市場價格的巨大波動，從中獲利。

訂明確目標賺錢有動力

東德森（Tung Desem Waringin）
來頭：婆羅浮屠中亞細亞銀行的區域經理、印尼管理協會主席

操著一口鄉音英語的東德森有一股牽動全場情緒的魅力，推出的首本著作首日打破印尼銷量紀錄，名列印尼健力士大全。

在印尼，一年3000本才能擠進國家最佳銷售，他卻在首日賣出1萬本。以本身經歷為例，與其他人分享如何在各個領域都能創造新紀錄。

東德森指出，首部曲是設定明確目標，白紙黑字寫下，且必須正面。

“人腦88%由潛意識控制，若目標設定不明確，最終混淆潛意識，目標也無法達到。”

第二則是為自己找尋一個強而有力、非達到目標不可的原因。他舉了一個詭異例子，一個人被幾千大軍逼得走投無路，除非靠自己用手觸摸12呎高的天花板，否則酷刑折磨致死。

他反問：“你會怎樣做？”答案是：壯士斷“手”拋向天花板，丟了手，卻留下性命。

東德森表示，當年父親患病，從印尼往新加坡求醫。家境欠佳難以承擔昂貴醫藥費，調換病房的記憶歷歷在目，促使他發奮以為家人提供更好生活的決心。父親最終離開人世，他則成功發跡。

“找到最強大動力，人才會竭盡所能達到所設目標。最後必須僅記：學習最好，並做到最好。”

他表示，金錢就是交換附加價值，創造越多價值，就帶來越多金錢。他以生意人為例，成功買賣就取決於能為客戶提供甚麼附加價值。

無論是推銷生意或自己，先問問自己賣點是甚麼？買家能獲得甚麼好處？為甚麼買家要相信你？為甚麼買家非趁現在向你購買不可？

向同特質富豪取經

羅傑漢彌頓（ROGER HAMILTON）
來頭：亞洲頂尖理財諮詢顧問，不到30歲的年紀，已經是一位億萬富翁，現在他擁有5個不同行業的企業體系。

羅傑漢彌頓出現拋出兩個問題：“5年前的你和現在的你有甚麼不同？5年後的你，又會變成怎樣？”

正當每個人腦中回憶和未來的畫面交叉重疊無法對焦之際，羅傑開腔說：“我們越專注目標，達致的目標也越多。”

他表示，2006年先進國家和發展中國家貿易失衡達1.3兆美元，全球正進行一項史上最大的財富轉移。在這洪流裡，個人應採取行動讓自己受惠。

他舉出8種個性，每個人都可發掘個本身性和天賦並善加利用。參考相同特質的成功人士，找出最適合自己的致富路線。

◆創造者（CREATOR）
財富創造：產品
典範：微軟創辦人比爾蓋茨、甲骨文公司總裁賴瑞艾利森

創造者是擁有宏觀觀圖的思想家，擁有令人敬畏推動事情開始的能力，但他們整理東西能力卻可能讓人驚嚇萬分。

他們的幹勁可能讓周圍的人筋疲力盡，且本身很少察覺如何使用他們的幹勁和直覺帶來最大效益。他們常在一個又一個計劃或機會穿梭，卻甚少堅持到最後享受努力成果。

◆明星（STAR）
財富創造：個人品牌
典範：球星麥可佐頓、歌星麥可傑遜

明星知道個人性格的強項，不理會身旁負面影響，並發揮自己的優點。越大的成功意味越大壓力，處理不當斷送演藝生涯。

◆支持者（SUPPORTER）
財富創造：領導才能
典範：美國市長”朱利亞尼、微軟首席執行員史帝夫

擁有強勁人際技巧，善於打造關係，不過通常不懂善加利用創造永續財富。

◆商人（DEAL MAKER）
財富創造：買賣
典範：川普、梅鐸、李嘉誠

商人是天生的通訊家、影響家和商議家，對時機掌握十分敏感。許多人可能不瞭解或如何利用此獨特能力，甚至不相信交易可創造財富。

◆交易商（TRADER）
財富創造：交易
典範：索羅斯

許多人認為自己是交易商，實際上不是，因為大部份嘗試交易者蒙受虧損。他們擁有“近距離瞄準 ”運作的強項，因為他們很少作長遠打算。

索羅斯成功創造自己的財富，因為他很少失手。

◆累積者（ACCUMULATOR）
財富創造：增值
典範：股神巴菲特

累積者是最安全，依靠系統讓財富成長。許多人採用這種方法，卻因財富累積緩慢，往往在未見到成效前便離場。累積者常遭視為優柔寡斷和踟躕，且常遭忽視。

◆統治者（LORD）
財富創造：現金流量
典範：美國實業家洛克斐勒、美國石油巨富約翰保羅格蒂

具備企業家和明星特質，並做自己想做的事情。這類型的人罕見，卻能滾存現金，並掌控自然資源和人造架構。

他們行動緩慢卻篤定，有時讓週遭的人感覺挫敗。這種個性卻可能在創造財富時引起許多挑戰。

◆技工（MECHANIC）
財富創造：系統
典範：沃爾瑪創始人山姆威頓、麥當勞創始人雷克羅克

雖然沒有領導人的個性，卻擁有控制和管理人的能力。通過不斷複製或重複創造財富，並喜歡挑戰現狀。

羅傑指出，許多人仍認為賺多錢就能致富，孰不知當你失去所有金錢後，留在身邊的才是真正的財富。

如果比爾蓋茨投資股市，可能不會成為世界首富。瞭解自己的個性尋找自己發揮的天空，堅持或許就能像擁有同樣特質的富豪般成功。

行銷管理決定生意成敗

傑亞伯拉罕（Jay Abraham）
來頭：他被譽為行銷之神，也被譽為營銷鬼才。過去30年累計為企業創造額外淨利超過70億美元，微軟、花旗銀行、豐田和NIKE等國際企業都是成功案例。他本身更成為收費最高的營銷顧問，一天8小時的費用為4萬至7.5萬美元。

亞伯拉罕曾說過，“我可以幫助沒有錢和沒有名的人變得有錢又有名，有錢又有名的人找我，我可以把他們變得更加有錢！”

現有生意為何停滯不前？他指出，身邊有許多資源與機會，可以讓收入、權力、影響力與日俱增，只不過許多人視若無睹。以下授招，一些讓業務收入卻源源不絕的招數。

1. 現有生意找尋新收入

採用雙向系統，除了新客戶來源，也要重新啟動舊客戶。舊客戶群，其中50%可再活躍，向余下50%推介相關產品和服務。

2. 為現有業務模式開創新盈利

重新利用現有客戶群，向他們兜售其他產品和服務。

3. 使用現有資產、資源的新方法

可尋求知名企業顧問建議，或通過聯營開創新商機。

4. 為業務、產品和服務開創新領域

最普遍的便是提供免費會員資格，使用設計或特許開創新契機。

5. 善加利用表現欠佳機能

發掘用處並善加利用，例如建築物基層不起眼之處，卻是櫥窗廣告的最佳地方，賺取廣告收益。

6. 尋找其他推動銷售的資源

設立管理處、搜尋家和拍賣產品。

7. 將現在進行的事情發揮極限

採取風險逆轉（risk reversal），儘量消除為客戶進行交易時的風險；提供附加利益等。

8. 三大鑰匙

現有業務發揮最大極限、增加做生意手法和轉化已做過的事情。

生意成敗很多時候取決於管理和行銷手段。對阿伯拉罕而言，同在一個行業競爭，很多時候商機來自獨道眼光和創新改革。

結語

成功者大會由成功資源（Success Resources,http://www.srpl.net）私人有限公司主辦，過去十多年投入上千萬美元，力邀全球世界級導師傾囊傳授成功之道。

這些“達人”、百萬富翁或千萬富翁所說的並非一些難以明白的大道理，關鍵在於是否真正洞悉箇中道理，並採取實際行動。

許多演講家關係亦師亦友，在同個圈子裡互相學習，卻在各自領域創出名堂。學以致用，就能為人生帶來大改變。

財源滾滾老板必讀的賺錢8大戒律



1. 老是想追求與眾不同或創新，往往用戶接受不了而拒絕購買，市場培育也花時間花成本，還會給競爭對手落下空子，所以寧做老二不做領跑者，不知名就不知名吧，反正利潤高風險小。

2. 不要口無遮攔，讓好好的企業被謠言所殺。

3. 做事一會風一會雨，常常不了了之，只說不做，往往事情就這樣失敗了。

4. 記住利潤，做事之前一定要記住利潤，算計一下投入產出比，看看該不該做。

5. 一定要形成產業鏈，把錢分給其他人賺。雖說憑自己的能力可以形成事實上的壟斷市場，切記也不要形成壟斷。

6. 一味追求市場份額、銷量、名氣、產量、第一等，往往忘記了我們要的其實是利潤。

7. 別信甚麼點子大王，收集客戶反饋和行業報告是最有作用的。

8. 一定要保證團隊老中青三代，這樣才有穩健的、又持續活力的發展力。

動腦財富 9種手段成就大事



每個人做人辦事的手段都是不一樣的，可以說一個人就有一種手段，一個人就有一種靠自己手段獲得成功的途徑。

無數事實表明，有些人就是太過於自信，想念自己確認的手段能夠解決任何問題，但不知道這種往往是起不到任何作用。因此，他們總覺得離成功的目標不是越來越近，而實際上越來越遠。

人生的計劃和行動，是需要靠章法來完成的，而不是靠一些怪招去謀劃的。這就好比在拳擊台比賽一樣︰兩個拳手相互較量，激戰正酣，進退躲閃、撲讓攻守，都有相當靈活的步伐和拳路，他們的一招一式都是為成功而做準備的，這一招一式就叫手段。可惜的是，有很多人並不能看到這一招一式的寓意。

手段是成功的保證，沒有手段的行動和計劃一定是事倍功半的，孫悟空與牛魔王一比高低，靠的是甚麼？靠的是他七十二變的手段；“飛人”喬丹叱　NBA賽場靠甚麼？靠的是他靈活自如、左右盤帶，飛身灌藍的手段。一名話，沒有手段，你永遠吃不到成功的甜果。

手段從何而來？對於那些成大事者來說，他們善於總結自己、反思自己、比較自己，從而避實就虛，找到自己人生的強項——自己究竟能幹甚麼和不能幹甚麼，並付出實際的行動。這個過程就是確立自己成大事手段的過程。不明白這一點，一個人永遠就會在錯誤的方向走下去。

成大事的9種手段︰

1. 敢於決斷—克服猶豫不定的習性

很多人之所以一事無成，最大的毛病就是缺乏敢於決斷的手段，總是左顧右盼、思前想後，從而錯失成功的最佳時機。成大事者在看到事情的成功可能性到來時，敢於做出重大決斷，因此取得先機。

2. 挑戰弱點—徹底改變自己的缺陷

人人都有弱點，不能成大事者總是固守自己的弱點，一生都不會發生重大轉變；能成大事者總是善於從自己的弱點上開刀，去把自己變成一個能力超強的人。一個連自己的缺陷都不能糾正的人，只能是失敗者！

3. 突破困境—從失敗中撮成功的資本

人生總要面臨各種困境的挑戰，甚至可以說困境就是“鬼門關”。一般人會在困境面前渾身發抖，而成大事者則能把困境變為成功的有力跳板。

4. 抓住機遇—善於選擇、善於創造

機遇就是人生最大的財富。有些人浪費機遇輕而易舉，所以一個個有巨大潛力的機遇都悄然溜跑，成大事都是絕對不允許溜走，並且能縱身撲向機遇。

5. 發揮強項—做自己最擅長的事情

一個能力極弱的人肯定難以打開人生局面，他必定是人生舞台上重量級選手的犧牲品；成大事者關於在自己要做的事情上，充份施展才智，一步一步地拓寬成功之路。

6. 調整心態—切忌讓情緒傷害自己

心態消極的人，無論如何都挑不起生活和重擔，因為他們無法直面一個個人生挫折，成大事者則關於高速心態，即使在毫無希望時，也能看到一線成功的亮光。

7. 立即行動—只說不做，徒勞無益

一次行動勝過百遍心想。有些人是“語言的巨人，行動的矮子”，所以看不到更為實際現實的事情在他身上發生；成大事者是每天都靠行動來落實自己的人生計劃的。

8. 善於交往—巧妙利用人力資源

一個人不懂得交往，必然會推動人際關係的力量。成大事者的特點之一是︰善於靠借力、借熱去營造成功的局勢，從而能把一件件難以辦成的事辦成，實現自己人生的規劃。

9. 重新規劃—站到更高的起點上

人生是一個過程，成功也是一個過程。你如果滿足於小成功，就會推動大成功。成大事者懂得從小到大的艱辛過程，所以在實現了一個個小成功之後，能繼續拆開下一個人生的“密封袋”。

可以講任何一種手段，都可以導致一種結果，但這個結果是不是最佳的結果，恐怕就很難說了。成大事者總是關於選擇最佳的手段，達到最完善的結果，這就是非一般人所能做到的。因此在成功之路上，你要想成大事，首先要解決的問題就是︰你的手段對你推動成功的計劃是否立竿見影。

網站創商機-財源滾滾堵塞惡作劇


互聯網為我們日常生活帶來無限方便，但亦有不少好事之徒在網上惡意造謠生事，令受害者不勝苦惱，美國威斯康星州的珍妮爾可謂深受其害。自從她與男朋友分手後，真正的痛苦更開始了。

珍妮爾發現愈來愈多人錯撥她的手機號碼，嚴重時一天收到20多次來電，有的更在凌晨3時才打來。

後來她發現，原來前男友在Yahoo Answer上故意洩露她的手機號碼。例如網民要求饒舌巨星50 Cent的號碼，前男友便以打下她的號碼作答案：“結果有人在我的留言信箱中播放饒舌音樂，但我只喜愛爵士樂……這簡直是活罪。”

珍妮爾曾就此向雅虎投訴，但還是無法把資料拿下。最後，她的救星出現了。她申請成為Reputation Defender網站的會員後，該公司便代為與雅虎接洽，經過3個月的努力，她的資料終被刪除。

Reputation Defender月費10美元（約345令吉），每項成功刪除的資料另收30美元。

負責人表示，他們雖然不是律師，但卻很會和網站公司和不良網民打交道，大部份任務均能順利完成。

賺死薪，白領最貧窮？



甲：“何謂白領階級？”

乙：“光拿薪水不做事的，就是白領！”

這是網上流傳的一則笑話，也是在“挖苦”白領階級的一席話。

先撇開藍領不談，白領一族也被稱為嬌生慣養的一群，也被認為是高消費群。然而，這班人究竟有怎樣的消費方式與金錢觀，本週《財富廣場》透過問卷調查為你一一道來。

財富小辭典：白領階級

西方國家工業化後，社會出現了較明顯的分工。當時美國經濟學家羅伯特耐克在《國家的作用》中，將現代勞動力劃分為3種類型：從事大規模生產的勞動力、個人服務業勞動力以及解決問題的勞動力。

從事解決問題的勞動力、純粹用腦力勞動及上班時千篇一律穿深色西服與白襯衫加領帶的，成為“白領”。

藍領階級則是以金錢為酬賞，工作的重要性皆是第二，也最不講究環境舒適感。

藍領一般指向從事體力和技術勞動的工作者，特別指工作時間需要穿上工作服的階層。他們一般拿“週薪”或“小時薪水”。主要職業包括工廠技術人員、醫院護理人員、維修人員和客服人員等。

儲蓄習慣
中階白領錢最不夠用

根據《財富廣場》針對大馬白領一族進行的調查顯示，整體上擁有儲蓄習慣的白領依然高達74.3%。

如果再將每月收入達3001令吉以上稱為高階白領，3000令吉或以下收入稱為中階白領，前者的儲蓄率高達75.6%，後者則為72.5%。

由於收入較低，46.7%中階白領認為自己“常常”錢不夠用，當中以21歲至30歲的白領居多，佔了56.7%。另外38.3%覺得自己“偶爾”錢不夠花，只有15%的人滿足目前的開銷。

反觀高階白領只有35.2%覺得自己“常常”錢不夠用，“偶爾”遇上該問題的高階白領有34.8%，滿足於現狀的有30%。

永佳財務規劃有限公司陳建業指出，習慣儲蓄的白領有兩種心態，其一為從小被灌輸儲蓄的好處及根本不瞭解投資是甚麼的人。這般人認定儲蓄是理財的最佳方法。

第二種人則對投資的研究，但因為所能承擔的風險程度不高，因此把儲蓄當作最安全的理財方式，因為將錢存進銀行實際上並不用擔心。

他補充，這項調查也顯示，面對金錢問題的白領一族有逐漸年輕化的危機。這主要因為現代的年輕白領比較不自律或自制能力不高。這班人一貫抱持“今朝有酒今朝醉”的態度，沒有衡量開銷必要性。

他說，這與有沒有理財能力無關，因為白領一族都是知識份子，對理財有一定的認識，只是關乎本身的意願而已，但大多抵抗不了外在誘惑。

他也點出，以現代人力市場的供過於求現象來看，薪水調整幅度偏慢也導致部份白領無法負擔家庭開銷，而中階白領在這方面特別明顯。

日常花費
年輕白領吃喝玩樂最大方

整體來看，“繳付貸款”及“家庭開銷”為大多數白領的生活負擔，當中分別有63.3%及68.9%白領擁有上述負擔，負債群年齡大多介於21至40歲之間。

然而，卻有47.1%公眾將收入用於“吃喝玩樂”，中階白領更佔當中的63.8%，30歲以下年輕一代更高達75.3%，嚴重程度可想而知。

全方位理財顧問有限公司理財師黃基明認為，這與相關人士的“習慣”與“教育”脫不了關係，因為現代年輕白領都事事有人代勞，除了工作以外，就只選擇吃喝玩樂。

他說，由於忙碌於工作，現代父母選擇以“金錢”來補償子女，家務事也有女傭代勞，因此促成子女養成了揮霍的習慣，一般也沒“苦”過。

他透露，儘管目前大馬已出現許多理財課程，但改變態度才是關鍵要點，只怕社會又需要另外幾個年代來改變現有的觀念。

陳建業提及，獎勵自己是無可厚非的事，但必須量力而為，至少將20%至30%收入儲蓄起來，其它的再作規劃。

他說，理財並沒有將娛樂排外，而生活壓力也不一定要透過高消費來減輕，譬如看書、看電視及聽歌等，都不是高消費的減壓方式。

值得關心的是，只有28.3%人選擇把金錢進行投資，這顯示大部份人仍對“投資”興趣缺缺或缺乏相關知識。

慶幸的是將金錢用來購買名牌、手機及科技產品等的白領只有11.1%，揮霍程度還未步入嚴重界線。

LBC財務規劃公司首席顧問李文暢認為，由於從小到大都被灌輸儲蓄的好處，也養成了相關習慣，因此很多白領對“投資”興趣不大，也有的認為風險高，不值得一試。

他說，很多白領都是因為未嘗試過所以害怕，但應該先用自己所能承擔的費用進行投資，踏出第一步。往往很多人在獲得第一比盈利後，興趣就增加了。

財務負擔
所有白領揹負車貸及卡債

在繳付貸款方面，車貸、房貸及信用卡債務為最普遍債務，有46.6%、39.7%及45%白領擁有上述負擔，有的還同時擁有多項不同債務。相比之下，需要支付教育貸款的白領只有21.9%。

資料顯示，年齡介於21歲至40歲的白領的車貸及信用卡債務最高，比例分別高達95.5%及97.8%。

陳建業指出，由於現代信用卡發卡尺度降低，因此年輕白領很容易就能獲得信用卡，而這種“無形消費”讓很多年輕人未察覺負擔所在，因此造成相關債務之高。

車貸方面，如果能以公共交通代勞，就不要增加車貸負擔，汽車貶值幅度也較大，所以購買汽車必須視本身能力而定。如果想著以車炫燿財富，則不能被原諒。

另外，他認為目前的車貸償還年數拉長，一些汽車也不需繳付首期，導致一些白領認為開銷沒有顯著增加，但忘了高利息的存在。

然而黃基明說，由於交通設施不完善，汽車為現代生活的必備工具，因此擁有汽車貸款屬正常。但如果可以以交通工具來回住家與工作地點，那就沒必要承擔車貸。

他說，信用卡很方便沒錯，但有沒有被濫用或導致呆帳問題出現，就得視當事人的能耐有多高。白領必須學會去控制信用卡，並不是由信用卡控制自己的消費慾望。

兼職開源
少數白領邊賺外快邊學習

儘管接近一半的白領認為目前的薪金無法支撐現有生活開銷，但僅有27.3%白領選擇靠兼職來補貼生活開銷，而21至30歲白領佔59.2%。另外高達72.7%白領維持一份工作，當中以收入低於3000令吉者優先，佔了67.5%比率。

在兼職方面，85.4%人擁有1項兼職，另外14.6%人的兼職為2至3項，而只有5.1%白領的兼職收入介於1001至2000令吉之間，63.7%的兼職收入則低於500令吉。

兼職原因則以“增加財富”為大部份白領選擇，另有23.8%人認為由於入不敷出才需要兼職，8.9%希望可以透過兼職提升工作經驗，19%人希望尋找轉職或創業機會，只有6%人是為了還債。

陳建業指出，選擇以兼職來增加財富沒有不對，但必須視各自的企圖而定，而大馬目前的薪水幅度不符合市場通貨膨脹所帶來的物價水平，同樣導致白領必須以兼職解決生活負擔。

“只要兼職工作正當，沒有所謂的好與不好之分，但每家公司都有本身的員工法則，只要不影響主要工作，可以在公司允許下考慮兼職。”

黃基明則不鼓勵白領進行兼職。他說，如果在公司表現出色，一樣會得到老闆的賞識，因為兼職是對原本公司不公平的，那樣的工作方式不健康。

“如果認為兼職行業的出路較廣，乾脆直接往該方面發展，因為一時要兼顧兩份工作很困難，表現也會受影響。”

他補充，想要增加財富不如從開銷著手來得更直接且健全。

李文暢則認為，兼職是一項好的選擇，因為有了收入就不怕失業，也提供了創業的機會。這可以讓白領多與外界接觸，開拓自己的視野及挖掘自己的興趣所在。

由於必須兼顧日常工作及考慮體能狀況，工作天數為1至2天者達59.2%，3至4天的為34.4%，選擇5天或以上兼職天數的白領則更低，其中原因不難理解。

直銷及自行在外接案為一般白領所兼職行業，保險及快餐業則分別佔了3.7%及3.2%。

陳建業說，直銷會受歡迎因為一般可以從身邊的人著手，但執行直銷業務必須要有一定的勇氣，因為不是每個人都會“賣人情”。

至於接案則因為時間較自由，也是最受SOHO一族歡迎的事項。

理財6項重要元素

（一）投資：先具備投資知識、瞭解本身的投資風險承受水平、投資款項及投資期限。

（二）稅務：瞭解政府的稅務政策及所提供的稅務優惠，然後規劃如何從中減低稅務，以減少額外負擔。

（三）教育：為孩子的教育進行規劃，當中包括考量受教育地點及所需費用，然後策劃如何進行投資或儲蓄來取得相關數額。

（四）遺產規劃：制定遺產分配，以避免未來的不必要的糾紛，同時為家人留一條後路。

（五）退休規劃：規劃退休生活、所需開銷及如何善用退休金，以防在退休時面對財務問題。

（六）財務分析：瞭解本身的財務狀況、負債項目及資產，同時改進或避免不必要的開銷，策劃如何花費及增加財富。（陳建業提供）

“愛錢”小趣事

原來一項被認為經商頭腦發達的猶太人，有個“愛錢的方法”。

據說，猶太人會將塗上“蜜糖”的金錢讓還幼小的孩子舔，因為他們相信那樣會讓孩子從小就對金錢產生好感，長大後就會愛惜錢財。

孩子長大後就會因為對錢的好感，而加於管理，這對理財有一定的作用。至於這到底管不管用，就無法應證了。（李文暢提供）

白領儲蓄習慣

有：74.3%
無：25.7%

日常花費

吃喝玩樂：47.1%
買奢侈品：11.1%
繳付貸款：63.3%
進行投資：28.3%
家庭開銷：68.9%

繳付貸款

車貸：46.6%
房貸：39.7%
信用卡債務：45%
教育貸款：21.9%
無：14.6%

兼職行業

直銷：17%
保險：3.7%
快餐：3.2%
接案：16%

兼職收入

RM500或以下：63.7%
RM501-RM1000：29.3%
RM1001-RM2000：5.1%
RM2001以上：0.6%
沒回答：1.3%

兼職天數

1-2天：59.2%
3-4天：34.4%
5或以上：6.4%

兼職原因

增加財富：42.3%
還債：6%
入不敷出：23.8%
提升工作經驗：8.9%
尋找轉職或創業機會：19%