Hi Mr.Tan,
When doing any investments, look before you leap!
Good example to try this Frog Leap Test....Educational too!
http://funstufftosee.com/frogleaptest.html
LN
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Lend money to a friend
Dear Mr Tan,
One of my very close friend has seek to me on lending him $5000. I have agreed to help him on this. but i have not pass him the money yet. even though he is a very close friend of mine, i still do have a concern on if i can get back my money as i have experience lending someone money and unable to collect it back.
Is IOU a proper documentation to ensure if i can get back my money if anything goes wrong ? If IOU can be used, what kind of format would I have to draft out ? Is there any other proper documentation that I can use to ensure i can take back my money ?
REPLY
Here are my views:
1. If possible, avoid lending money to a friend.
2. If you have to lend money, be prepared that it will not be returned
3. Have a document (e.g. IOU) to acknowledge that the money has been passed. Write down details of the repayment.
4. Ask for monthly payment of interets or interest plus principal. This ensures the discipline of repaying back the money.
5. Here is another alternative. Ask your friend to borrow the money from a cooperative society, with you acting as guarantor. If the borrower does not pay, you will have to pay as guarantor. But the lender will try to collect from the borrower first. This is still risky to you, but you do not have the hassle of chasing for repayment.
One of my very close friend has seek to me on lending him $5000. I have agreed to help him on this. but i have not pass him the money yet. even though he is a very close friend of mine, i still do have a concern on if i can get back my money as i have experience lending someone money and unable to collect it back.
Is IOU a proper documentation to ensure if i can get back my money if anything goes wrong ? If IOU can be used, what kind of format would I have to draft out ? Is there any other proper documentation that I can use to ensure i can take back my money ?
REPLY
Here are my views:
1. If possible, avoid lending money to a friend.
2. If you have to lend money, be prepared that it will not be returned
3. Have a document (e.g. IOU) to acknowledge that the money has been passed. Write down details of the repayment.
4. Ask for monthly payment of interets or interest plus principal. This ensures the discipline of repaying back the money.
5. Here is another alternative. Ask your friend to borrow the money from a cooperative society, with you acting as guarantor. If the borrower does not pay, you will have to pay as guarantor. But the lender will try to collect from the borrower first. This is still risky to you, but you do not have the hassle of chasing for repayment.
SingTel Website
I was given a mobile number in Malaysia with the number 60 107 xxx xxxx. I could not get through. I checked the Singtel website to find a number that I could call for assistance.
The "Contact Us" page in the website was not helpful. I searched the home page and clicked on a few other pages but got lost. Finally, I decided to call 100. The staff told me that I had to called 104 for assistance on International Call.
I had to pay $0.60 to get help. Singtel seemed to be keen to charge customers and earn revenue, rather than to help their customer. The staff told me how to call the number by dialing 02 and dropping the 0. Wow!!
I told her that I spent 15 minutes browsing the website, but could not get this type of information. She said that I had to go the website (http://www.singtel.com.sg/) and clicked on "large enterprise", "business", "voice and telephony", and so on. It seemed to require at least 6 page access. I gave up.
It would have been easier if the Singtel website provides their help pages that can be accessed by searching for the title, such as "Telephone call to Malaysia" or "International Telephone Call". This search is similar to the Google search, except that it is restricted to inforamtion from the corporate website. All the relevant information can be placed in one or a few pages in PDF.
The complicated website (or what someone called the "spiderweb") is not unique to Singtel. It is common with most large organisations, including government agencies. They must be designed by consultants, who make it their business to give complicated, rather than simple solutoins. This makes life stressful and a hassle for the public.
Please share your experience on using the website of large corporations here.
Tan Kin Lian
The "Contact Us" page in the website was not helpful. I searched the home page and clicked on a few other pages but got lost. Finally, I decided to call 100. The staff told me that I had to called 104 for assistance on International Call.
I had to pay $0.60 to get help. Singtel seemed to be keen to charge customers and earn revenue, rather than to help their customer. The staff told me how to call the number by dialing 02 and dropping the 0. Wow!!
I told her that I spent 15 minutes browsing the website, but could not get this type of information. She said that I had to go the website (http://www.singtel.com.sg/) and clicked on "large enterprise", "business", "voice and telephony", and so on. It seemed to require at least 6 page access. I gave up.
It would have been easier if the Singtel website provides their help pages that can be accessed by searching for the title, such as "Telephone call to Malaysia" or "International Telephone Call". This search is similar to the Google search, except that it is restricted to inforamtion from the corporate website. All the relevant information can be placed in one or a few pages in PDF.
The complicated website (or what someone called the "spiderweb") is not unique to Singtel. It is common with most large organisations, including government agencies. They must be designed by consultants, who make it their business to give complicated, rather than simple solutoins. This makes life stressful and a hassle for the public.
Please share your experience on using the website of large corporations here.
Tan Kin Lian
Promotion on my books
Nine titles of my book are available on promotion now. For a limited period only. Visit www.easysearch.sg/ishop.
A different view
I have given my views on insurance and investments in a series of FAQs. You can assess them by clicking the FAQ label on the right frame of this blog.
The FAQs reflect my view. If you disagree with my view and wish to present an alternative view, you can send an e-mail to me. You have to state your name, contact e-mail and your view. I will put your your view, if it is balanced, fair and does not contain insult or personal attack.
If you wish to point out any mistakes in my FAQ or to suggest points to be clarified or to contribute additional points, you can also send an e-mail to me.
Tan Kin Lian
Email: kinlian@gmail.com
The FAQs reflect my view. If you disagree with my view and wish to present an alternative view, you can send an e-mail to me. You have to state your name, contact e-mail and your view. I will put your your view, if it is balanced, fair and does not contain insult or personal attack.
If you wish to point out any mistakes in my FAQ or to suggest points to be clarified or to contribute additional points, you can also send an e-mail to me.
Tan Kin Lian
Email: kinlian@gmail.com
Decentralising of risks
The massive 7 hour failure of the ATM system of DBS on 5 July 2010 highlight the danger of concentration of risk and "too big to fail".
Is there an alternative approach? Do we need to have fewer and larger banks to compete internationally? Is it beneficial for banks to get bigger?
Here are the negative impacts of the consolidation of banks in recent years:
Is there an alternative? America had a system of community banks that are connected by national banks. Perhaps, this is the answer. We should encourage a large number of community banks to serve the retail customers on basic banking services. They can be linked a few national banks who handle the commercial banking, foreign exchange, international trade and other services.
If there is a serious computer hiccup in a community bank, it will only affect their customers, and not a large segment of the population. This is an example of decentralising the risks.
Tan Kin Lian
Is there an alternative approach? Do we need to have fewer and larger banks to compete internationally? Is it beneficial for banks to get bigger?
Here are the negative impacts of the consolidation of banks in recent years:
- concentration of risks
- overcharging of fees for banking services, i.e abuse of pricing power
- selling of bad structured products to earn commission
- impact of massive IT failure on cash withdrawals, i.e. the DBS event
Is there an alternative? America had a system of community banks that are connected by national banks. Perhaps, this is the answer. We should encourage a large number of community banks to serve the retail customers on basic banking services. They can be linked a few national banks who handle the commercial banking, foreign exchange, international trade and other services.
If there is a serious computer hiccup in a community bank, it will only affect their customers, and not a large segment of the population. This is an example of decentralising the risks.
Tan Kin Lian
FAQ - Financial planning for a retiree
I wish to give some tips on financial planning and insurance for a retiree, or a person approaching retirement. Read this article.
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