3.15 pm : Market went up higher again in the morning ... but coming down now ... and back to 1650. Well, we had an e-meeting with our tratles group last night, where we mentioned to all that KLCI is reaching resistance 1652 and expecting a retracement. Last also saw EK, the young tratle of mine, taken 'over' to do the analysis of KLCI ... well, giving him the chance to learn to analyse charts!! He might be nervous and done few errors ... but with me(and many seniors) there, he should be doing fine... in future.




TM : Sold all my TM this morning when it touched 5.90, dropped to 5.85 ... and sold during that short rebound at 5.86-5.87. Thanks as many in our group bought into TM.

MAS : At 0.75 as it broken 0.80 level yesterday. This will be hard-landing for our National Pride. MAS is Mana Ada Sistem for years ... since my schooling years.

Personal Financial Changes



6 years ago : I was broke

Well, it is end of year ... reflecting on my personal financial situation ... I have married for almost 8 years now ... marriage changed my whole perpective about MONEY. It was lack of money that I was so stressed, being looked down when I was in KK ... staying in a room with my parents-in-law, couldnt afford anything at all ... and new pregnant wife was very stressed ... when it comes to money. I was heavily in debts ... due to marriage. And when my first son was born ... I was broke. I read RDPD, trying to understand why I was such an idiot, why I do not have the money to ... support my family. I was ashamed of myself ... knowing that I was a grad from a pretigous(used to be, not anymore) local UM. Being a lecturer, with salary about RM3k+ is certainly far from enough to pay for a Kancil, a small apartment, daily expenses ... and more. I have to borrow money to do sopme keropok-biz ... and failed in that. It was so painful ... being broke.

I always remember that I ran to the beach ... lied down there, at night ... raining ... and cried. I cried my heart out ... as my new-baby-boy and wife aslept. It was 2am then ... if I do not do anything about my personal finances, I will be in debts(credit cards and personal loans) ... I do not even dare to tell any of my family members in KL. I know they will help me and ask me to come back to KL ... I was there, being at the lowest point of my financial mess. It is still very clear ... it was 6 years ago.



Gear 1 : Taking charge

Who said money is not important? I was brought up in poor family ... where my dad was a gambler, my mom has to support herself by being a hawker. We were brought up by our aunties, as our moms. My aunty will always tell us 'money is the root of all evil' ... and it was planted in my idiot-brain. I do not want to do anything much regarding money. I never want to face reality about money. It is evil.

How am I going to get out of my debts ... how should I start?

As I was staying in the small back room of my parents-in-law house, my mom is law was kind enough to accomodate us. I was using her back portion to 'goreng keropok', doing small biz and earn peanuts. I was very determined to do somthing about my personal finances. No one could understand how a lecturer has to work till 5pm, rushed home in his bike ... kissed his wife-boy, and start working on the keropok-biz till mid-night ... everyday, including weekends. Incredible amount of energy ... when you are being pushed into the end hole of no where. It is like a 'technical rebound' ... being pressed so long, so low ... it has to rebound strongly(or die-off, de-listed). That is the beginning of many things to come ...



Gear 2 : Changes needed

I made TWO changes ... I quitted Inti and went to Sinaran. That is slight increase in the salary ... and I shifted out of that small room, to rent a place nearby the school ... in order to be able to walk to school and students could come for tuition. I was charging RM50 per hour and very glad that many students coming to know me, and taken tuition from me. Well, the rental was RM800 ... and we rented out the other rooms to others!! I was still continuing the failing keropok-biz by my own ... and finally, gave-up after 2.5years. I was focusing in tuition ... and started to be in KLSE. That was DEC 2007 ... I borrowed RM5k and saved RM5k ... to start with RM10k. I told my wife ... I will not give-up in stock-market ... and nothing is impossible. Many people around me discouraged me to take such a risky gamble. They have lost lots of money or heard of someone lost money into stock-markets. I started to buy some books(anything RM50 or more was expensive to me) ...

For the first time, after married for 2years plus, I allowed my family to have a lunch/dinner in a restaurant ... once a month. Yeah ... we are doing ok now ... with no of tuition classes increased. I was still in debts but at least I am able to breathe ... but we still could not afford anything much.

In 2008, due to election in Mac and sub-prime crisis ... I lost a lot of my RM10k capital to market ... not knowing what to do. In Nov-Dec, market was recovering well ... and I started to gain back some of my losses ... and that was when Dr JL came to me in Mac 2009 to learn trading ... I have written few times about him ... and the pain of losing a friend(still owed me RM8k ... and it was very huge to me, back then). Well ... my baby girl was born.



Gear 3 : Drastic changes needed

Somehow ... I knew I need to go back to KL to learn more about trading-investing and also to earn more. Sinaran shifted to Menggatal and it is no longer a walking distance. My tuition classes affected. It is not a choice ... I took the courage and moved out of KK, a very nice place to stay.

Leaving few of my items in my apartment, left empty ... and came to KL. Got a new job with increased of 25% of the salary(KK) ... I do still fly back to KK during weekends to finish my tuition-classes who will be sitting for their exams in May.

With my new teaching job secured, I looked for tuition classes in KL ... have to travel to KLCC-area and Sri Hartamas, in my small kap-chai. That was my first year back to KL. Year-1 was a real struggle ... especially first few months where we do not have anything at all, in a rented apartment.

As my tuition classes picking up, with the rate doubled whats in KK, I started to buy a car(current Proton ... sold my Kancil in KK) ... a sofa and some basic household items. First year in KL ... a group of my colleagues interested to learn about stock-market. I called them cohort-0 now.

I saved some money to attend a trading course, tho I m well-verse in the technical analysis, actually. I spent RM4k+ for the 2.5 days course ... and realised tha NO ONE could actually learn trading in days. All those trading courses out there advertised and market well their packages, to attract many ... I wrote in my blog back then ... as I was experiencing something that many learners went through ... over-paying for a trading course ... and learning nothing much in days!! How could anyone brilliant enough to learn trading in days. It is not possible ... I should know better. I am in the thick of market-trading for hours daily for past years ... all those advertisements are so mis-leading! Then .. I paused and think ... think about an e-mail a reader wrote to me ... "how about teaching us some basic trading for small fees?".

That was how I started last year ... in Sept ... when market was crashing down, I have my cohort-1. I was charging RM50 per session of 3hours back then. Yeah ... to learn RSI, MACD and such ... one could read from websites(investopedia.com is good) and books. But to trade using those indicators ... it certainly required more that just readings!! I made the class to be forth-nightly, Friday nights. I was thinking ... there is NO WAY anyone could learn a module in 3 hours ... so, a space of two weeks would be good. If these learners are illogical(get rich quick mentality), they will drop ... and won't like my 'no lose money' course. That is fine with me as ... afterall, 80% are losing in KLSE, right?

I bought an apartment(RM160k) ... and my kids able to go to kinder, have toys of their choice ... going to restaurant without thinking of debts. I have worked very hard, and stock-markets giving me good profits to ... withdraw some cash and clear off my debts. I do not have credit-card debts anymore ... I could afford to treat my family lunches/dinners ... and making my aunties very proud of me. Yes, I even bought BJToto(RM4.20 two years back, div yield 6%) and TopGlove(RM5.50) for them and profit well(better than putting into FD, ok?). Yes ... financially without debts ...

I do have good responses in my trading classes, teaching with passion, as always ... and most of my tratles appreciate the whole group.

We gave RM3k plus for the recent tratles-charity fund and now, we are reaching RM2k+ at the moment and I still have a week time to reach RM3k+ too. Thanks.



Gear 4 : A notch up

AFter 3 years in KL, I am moving ahead ... looking for a better next year. Our group is excited about next year ... and we will prove to all that we are the minority 20% that do not lose money and now, we want many in our tratles group to profit well ...

I still have long way to go ... to achieve my financial freedom goal. But, remember ... I was from another extreme end(broke) just years back ... I m going to open my own tuition centers ... perhaps, trading centers in future ... and making few millionaires in our young tratles. I might write a book next year ... I don't know. I do know that it will be another exciting year for me, in my works and markets. I do have many plans ... and need to focus in what could bring values ... my net-worth.

Yes, invest in our brain ... ourselves and work hard on it. Not many could do what I m doing ... because it takes a lot of sacrifices(no entertainment ... nothing!!) with averagely 6 hours of classes per day and another 4-6 hours per day analysing markets, learning the finer points.

Next year ... I will move a notch up ... I will be extremely busy and being busy is good. Being a leader, I also need to lead my groups, to be profitable ones. It is not easy but I have done well ... our whole group is doing well.

Next year ... 2013 ... my son will be in Std One. I will move ahead ... after struggling all these years. I know there will be many more obstacles to face .... but it is the challenges that make us stronger. Well ... my financial mindset has changed

new site : www.tratles.net



I am not a financial 'guru' ... I read a lot of financial books to change my whole mindset. I was a typical financial-idiot teachers who love teaching his/her subjects but never learn to manage his/her financial situation. I m writing it here ... to inspire many more who think it is not possible to be out of debts.

Today, I am not rich(financially) ... but I am rich in values, knowing that I have helped so many and also many of those grateful ones. So, I will want to stick with those supportive ones ... those positive ones.

Those young ones ... new in markets, it will be good if you could join our group as there are many kind seniors sharing their experiences, and you will certainly benefit a lot ... and that investment(to increase your knowledge) will do you very well in the future.

Make a new-year resolution : To learn how to manage personal finances.

It is 6.20pm now ... time to rest, read a book ... and think on how to increase my income, stay frugal and humble ... and one day, be financially free.


TEH