By Kimberly Palmer
Posted: October 22, 2010 (Yahoo.com)
If you have adult children in their 20s and 30s, you probably know your job isn’t over yet. Whether you’re providing financial support or just giving advice from a distance, there are ways you can help them become more financially secure so they don’t depend on the bank of mom and dad forever.
These tips, adapted from the new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, will help you teach your grown children how to be smarter with their money.
Encourage them to save like crazy. If you’re like most Americans, you might not have set the best example in the savings department. But the recession convinced a lot of people that putting money in the bank is more important than upgrading their lifestyle. Plus, your 20- and 30-something children probably anticipate funding more of their own retirements, since the Social Security trust fund will start taking in less than it pays out around 2016. Just-released numbers from Charles Schwab reveal that almost half of the general population say they do not plan on counting on Social Security as a source of income in retirement.
If your adult children can get in the habit of saving one-third of their income, they’ll be on their path toward a comfortable retirement and financial security. If that’s too ambitious, suggest that they start slowly, beginning with two percent a year. They can raise that percentage over time.
But tell them to invest in their careers. Now—in their 20s and 30s—is the time for them to spend money on services that could help them get ahead. It might mean hiring a career consultant, life coach, or even a personal shopper to help them look the part of a young professional. For some, a return to school pays off—but make sure they’re not just running up debt. As the recession took hold in 2008 and 2009, many recent grads were wishing they weren’t looking for work while carrying around $200,000 of debt from getting advanced degrees, even allegedly lucrative ones, such as MBAs. It’s always a good idea to talk to recent graduates about career prospects before making the decision.
Offer to brainstorm with them about their goals. Chances are their first job out of school isn’t going to be their last. On average, young people hold ten different jobs before age 36. While a lot of this flux is a result of trial-and-error, you can give them a step up by offering to brainstorm with them about all of the possibilities. What are their passions? Their skills? Their favorite hobbies? Offering to spend an hour with them brainstorming over coffee can help them shake loose latent ideas—and as long as you do it without judgment, it can provide some enjoyable parent-child bonding.
Help demystify the world of investing. Index funds, the Dow, target-date funds… the world of investing can be confusing and intimidating. If you’re not familiar with it yourself, read up on the markets through financial news websites and then chat about it with your kids. Maybe you can educate each other. The sooner you can get your adult children to start investing, the better, because then they’ll have the power of compound interest on their side.
Consider providing limited financial support. Before even entertaining the notion of giving your grown children money, check that you're on solid financial footing yourself. If you are financially stable and you want to give some cash to your adult children, make sure you’re not setting up a cycle of dependence. If your money ends up going towards frivolous purchases like vacations and cars, you should probably freeze those payments. But if you’re helping a hardworking son or daughter afford an internship in an expensive city, there's little reason to hold back, other than your own budget. If you can’t afford financial help, consider giving in other ways, by offering the occasional home-cooked meal, babysitting services for grandchildren, or even just a listening ear.
Invite them to move in, but only if it helps you, too. A 2010 study from the Pew Research Center found that multi-generational living in the United States is at a fifty-year high, partly because of the down economy. Some 49 million Americans—16 percent of the population—now live in homes containing two or more adult generations. The arrangement can benefit both parents and adult children, as long as it’s done right: Each generation has to contribute something, whether it’s bill payments, chores, or some other kind of help around the house. Otherwise, free-riding leads to resentment and tense relationships.
This article is adapted with permission from Kimberly Palmer’s new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back (Ten Speed Press
Monday, October 25, 2010
5 Best Career Tips for Young People
By Kimberly Palmer
Posted: October 12, 2010 (Yahoo.com)
Even in the most prestigious and well-paying professions, job security is hard to find. Instead, financial stability now comes from treating yourself like your most important employee. That means investing in yourself, paying yourself well, and otherwise making sure you’re operating at full speed. These tips, based on the book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, will help you take your career to the next level.
Invest in yourself.
Professional coaching can turn you into the star podcaster you’ve dreamed of becoming, or it can teach you how to be a better leader. Sometimes, a career coach or development course can help you get “unstuck” from a career rut. Talk about your goals for the session ahead of time to make sure you get what you want out of it. (The price of one-on-one coaching typically starts at around $200 an hour.) Less formal advice can come from meeting with more experienced colleagues and mentors over lunch or coffee; they will often be happy to talk with you.
Raise your rates.
Chances are you’re not getting paid as much as you’re worth. Do some research on salary comparison websites, such as salary.com or payscale.com. If the estimates seem way off base—which they can, especially if you have an unusual job or one with a difficult-to-understand title—then dig deeper.
If you’re close to a coworker, then ask that person what he or she thinks the pay range should be for a variety of jobs at your workplace to get a sense of how you stack up. If more than a year has passed since your last pay increase—or if you discover that you are underpaid compared to your peers—then it’s time to make your case.
Write a memo that outlines why you deserve a raise, including the contributions you’ve made over the last year. Run the request and your reasons by a trusted friend or family member and rehearse how you plan to bring it up.
Get a second (or third) job.
Diversifying your income is the best way to create job stability. Could you start selling your crafty inventions on etsy.com? Do you enjoy organizing other people’s desks, or designing T-shirts? Or do you have an unusual skill, such as woodworking, that you could advertise on Craigslist.org? Make a list of all of the ways that you could earn money outside of your current job. Then, pick an item on your list and get started, perhaps with a small step such as purchasing a domain name.
Fly solo.
When Tim Bradley, twenty-nine, and his wife, Anne Morrison Bradley, twenty-seven, started brainstorming about the kind of business they could start, they thought about what they love. They settled on two things: their dogs, and design. The couple decided that there was a need for upscale, modern design products for people with pets that they could fill. While Tim was finishing law school and Anne was working in corporate development in Ferndale, Michigan, they hired a graphic designer, formed a company, and built their website, for a total start-up cost of around $5,000
By the end of the first month, The Premium Pet had already made its first $1,000 of sales revenue. While both Tim, a lawyer, and Anne, who works in corporate development, are holding onto their day jobs for now, they know have a backup plan—and a dream for one day making it their full-time job.
Free up your time and energy by outsourcing chores.
Think of money spent on a cleaning service or getting your groceries delivered as investments in your career, because they free up more time (and energy) for you to focus on your day (or night) job. Instead of vacuuming the living room, consider scheduling a creativity session: Block out an hour on the weekend or evening to dedicate to exposing your mind to new ideas. Bring a couple magazines that you would never normally read—a software engineer might want to pick up a copy of Vogue, for example – and a pen and notebook, and see what ideas strike you.
This article is adapted with permission from Kimberly Palmer’s new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back (Ten Speed Press).
Posted: October 12, 2010 (Yahoo.com)
Even in the most prestigious and well-paying professions, job security is hard to find. Instead, financial stability now comes from treating yourself like your most important employee. That means investing in yourself, paying yourself well, and otherwise making sure you’re operating at full speed. These tips, based on the book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back, will help you take your career to the next level.
Invest in yourself.
Professional coaching can turn you into the star podcaster you’ve dreamed of becoming, or it can teach you how to be a better leader. Sometimes, a career coach or development course can help you get “unstuck” from a career rut. Talk about your goals for the session ahead of time to make sure you get what you want out of it. (The price of one-on-one coaching typically starts at around $200 an hour.) Less formal advice can come from meeting with more experienced colleagues and mentors over lunch or coffee; they will often be happy to talk with you.
Raise your rates.
Chances are you’re not getting paid as much as you’re worth. Do some research on salary comparison websites, such as salary.com or payscale.com. If the estimates seem way off base—which they can, especially if you have an unusual job or one with a difficult-to-understand title—then dig deeper.
If you’re close to a coworker, then ask that person what he or she thinks the pay range should be for a variety of jobs at your workplace to get a sense of how you stack up. If more than a year has passed since your last pay increase—or if you discover that you are underpaid compared to your peers—then it’s time to make your case.
Write a memo that outlines why you deserve a raise, including the contributions you’ve made over the last year. Run the request and your reasons by a trusted friend or family member and rehearse how you plan to bring it up.
Get a second (or third) job.
Diversifying your income is the best way to create job stability. Could you start selling your crafty inventions on etsy.com? Do you enjoy organizing other people’s desks, or designing T-shirts? Or do you have an unusual skill, such as woodworking, that you could advertise on Craigslist.org? Make a list of all of the ways that you could earn money outside of your current job. Then, pick an item on your list and get started, perhaps with a small step such as purchasing a domain name.
Fly solo.
When Tim Bradley, twenty-nine, and his wife, Anne Morrison Bradley, twenty-seven, started brainstorming about the kind of business they could start, they thought about what they love. They settled on two things: their dogs, and design. The couple decided that there was a need for upscale, modern design products for people with pets that they could fill. While Tim was finishing law school and Anne was working in corporate development in Ferndale, Michigan, they hired a graphic designer, formed a company, and built their website, for a total start-up cost of around $5,000
By the end of the first month, The Premium Pet had already made its first $1,000 of sales revenue. While both Tim, a lawyer, and Anne, who works in corporate development, are holding onto their day jobs for now, they know have a backup plan—and a dream for one day making it their full-time job.
Free up your time and energy by outsourcing chores.
Think of money spent on a cleaning service or getting your groceries delivered as investments in your career, because they free up more time (and energy) for you to focus on your day (or night) job. Instead of vacuuming the living room, consider scheduling a creativity session: Block out an hour on the weekend or evening to dedicate to exposing your mind to new ideas. Bring a couple magazines that you would never normally read—a software engineer might want to pick up a copy of Vogue, for example – and a pen and notebook, and see what ideas strike you.
This article is adapted with permission from Kimberly Palmer’s new book Generation Earn: The Young Professional’s Guide to Spending, Investing, and Giving Back (Ten Speed Press).
Thursday, July 15, 2010
PUDU JAIL - PENJARA PUDU 1895-2010. THE END OF HISTORICAL BUILDING.
Atas alasan pembangunan, Penjara Pudu dibina pada 1895 kira - kira 115 tahun yang lalu. Sebahagian dari temboknya telah diruntuhkan. Tidak lama lagi, Penjara Pudu hanya tinggal kenangan disebabkan UDA Holdings Bhd telah diberikan kebenaran untuk "membangunkan" penjara tersebut menjadi kawasan komersil iaitu Bukit Bintang City Centre. Projek yang berharga RM5 Billion. Projek tersebut yang akan meliputi kawasan seluas 7.76 hektar itu akan dibangunkan ruang perniagaan, menara pejabat, apartmen servis, hotel, pusat komersial dan rekreasi serta hab pengangkutan awam mini. Lebih detail lagi, dibangunkan dengan dua menara kondominium setinggi 36 tingkat mengandungi 700 unit, podium runcit setinggi dua tingkat dengan 24 unit ruang niaga serta pusat beli belah lima tingkat.
Agak malang buat warga Malaysia, penjara tersebut diruntuhkan semata-mata kerana pembangunan yang hanya menguntungkan sesetengah golongan sahaja. Tambah malang lagi, seorang menteri yang sepatutnya menjaga warisan negara mengatakan Penjara Pudu bukannya dan tidak layak dijadikan warisan negara. Beliau berkata, sesuatu yang dianggap warisan mestilah mempunyai ciri-ciri kebangsaan yang besar nilainya, ciri-ciri sejarah yang membentuk masyarakat serta nilai estetika dan nilai seni bina.
"Penjara semata-mata bukanlah satu warisan yang boleh melonjakkan nilai nasional atau nilai estetika. Namun demikian bagi mereka yang mempunyai kerinduan di zaman lampau, kita boleh menggunakan pintu gerbang sebagai satu preservasi". Tambah kelakar lagi bila beliau menghalang pintu gerbang penjara dirobohkan. Ia dirizabkan dan diletakkan ditempat sesuai. Kalau beliau mengatakan bahawa Penjara Pudu bukannya warisan, kenapa pula pintu gerbang dirizabkan. Robohkan saja.
Mungkin beliau lupa lukisan morul di pagar penjara tersebut dimasukkan di dalam Guinness World Records. Mungkin juga dia lupa penjara itu dibina pada tahun 1895. Seperti kata bekas Perdana Menteri kita, "Melayu Mudah Lupa".
Selepas Penjara Pudu, apa lagi yang akan dipindah dan dirobohkan atas alasan pembanguan yang hanya menguntungkan pihak - pihak tertentu. Malah ada ura - ura mengatakan bahawa Lapangan terbang Sungai Besi dan Universiti Malaya akan dipindahkan.
Source
http://www.prison.gov.my/pride/index.php?view=article&catid=37%3Awarta-sejarah&id=318%3Apenjara-pudu-dalam-kenangan&option=com_content&Itemid=75
http://www.hmetro.com.my/myMetro/articles/PenjaraPudutiadaciriwarisanyangbernilai_Rais/Article/index_html
http://www.bharian.com.my/bharian/articles/RM5bmajutapakPenjaraPudu/Article
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Dasyatnya Doa Seorang Ibu
Ini saya dapat dari email yang diforward kepada saya. Saya copy and paste je.
Tajuk ceramah - Dasyatnya Doa Seorang Ibu oleh Ustaz Abdullah Mahmud. Dia ustaz untuk angkatan tentera malaysia last time. So kat sini nak share laa info yang menarik kot2 kawan2, kakak2, makcik2,adik2 boleh guna. Agak panjang kalau malas nak baca, baca laa yang nasha tanda ****
Ibu Kita dan Kita Sebagai Ibu
- Lapangnya masa kita ada kaitan dengan keberkatan hidup kita. Kita adalah di bawah siksa Allah bilamasa ada masa untuk buat benda tak baik tapi takdak masa nak buat yang baik
- Jika kita tak pernah kecukupan duit maksudnya kita disiksa Allah
- Setitik air mata ibu jatuh, 10 kebajikan anak hilang so ibu2 jangan jatuh air mata ye and anak jangan bagi ibu jatuh air mata. Menangis kerana anak berjaya dan bukan sedih kerana angkara anak
- Kalau balik tengah malam, buka lampu tengok dan tatap muka ibu, sebab wajah orang tidur akan menampakkan segalanya
Ada 3 mata yang tak dijilat api neraka
- Melihat kaabah sehingga menitis air mata
- Membaca quran sehingga menitis air mata
- Memandang wajah ibu yg sedar tidur / sedar hingga berlinang air mata
3 orang yg kita kena tengok dan selalu pandang dalam hidup, tengok masa tidor!
- Anak
- Ibu
- Suami
Selingan: kata ustaz kalau kita ada perselisih faham dgn suami sampai nak bercerai, tgk laa muka bila dia tidor kalau masih terbit perasan kasih, saying, cinta, rindu atau simpati, janganlah bercerai tapi jika tiada rasa tu semua maksudnya jodoh dah memang takde, boleh proceed pi mahkamah J
- Orang yang selalu menatap and memandang ibunya takkan menangis di hari kematian ibunya… kira tak menangis teruk laa..Bagi siapa yg masih ada ibu, pandang laa selalu
- Adalah menjadi satu dosa jika kita mengguna jari telunjuk untuk menujukkan sesuatu pada ibu
- Kalau ada niat yang baik teruskan laa..Allah akan bersama, jangan takut
- Kalau tak mampu lakukan sesuatu, pasang niat pun mencukupi e.g. tak mampu tolong org, niat nak tolong pun dah memadai
*** Kalau kita tak mampu letakkan diri kita di tempat yang terbaik, Allah akan letakkan kita di tempat terbaik dengan syarat letakan ibu kita di tempat yang terbaik
- Ada kaedah yang mana kita boleh minta pada Allah, “ungkit” kebaikan yang menimpa dengan tujuan untuk makbulkan doa kita. Kaedah tu dipanggil “wasilah amal”. “Ya Allah semalam aku sudah bersedekah sebanyak RM1, kalau itu satu kebaikan jadikanlah ia penyebab makbulnya doaku ini”
*** Paling banyak buat baik dengan ibu kita, lagi mustajab. Makna dia wasilah amal ni sangat berkesan kalau yg dituntut tadi adalah hal hal yang berkaitan kebaikan yang dibuat kepada ibu kita
- Tapi geng kalau sedekah RM1 takkan nak tuntutkan J
- Antara lain yang boleh dituntut adalah apabila kita ditimpa sakit/musibah
- Kalau ditimpa sakit, baca laa Innalillahiwainnaillaihirojjiun,,, then cakap dengan Allah
“Ya Allah, berilah pahala besar untuk sakit yang aku tanggung ini”
“Ya Allah, bagilah aku keampunan dosa atas sakit ku ini”
***Even suapkan anak pun kita boleh tuntut, apatah lagi sedekah kepada ibu dan orang yang memerlukkan.
*** Barang siapa yang tidak mendoakan ibu selepas sembahyang buat ibu yang sudah meninggal maka dikira dia anak derhaka walaupun pada waktu ibunya hidup dia tak pernah menderhaka. Maksudnya jika ibu masih hidup atau telah tiada, selepas setiap solat kita mesti doakannya!
- Doa orang yang masih hidup makbul untuk orang yang hidup dan mati. Jadi doakan ibu kita telah tiada!
*** Doa orang yang mati makbul untuk orang yang masih hidup
Masa ni ustaz tu bagi contoh sadis sket..sedeh gak laa.. pi ke pusara mak kita cakap..“Mak, esok anak saya nak kawin, kalau mak ada tentu mak bahagia engok cucu mak kawinkan” atau “bapa saya nak kawin esok, kalau bapa ada, pasti bapa akan gembira tengok sayakan..” Ustaz kata luahkan kepada ibu/bapa yang telah tiada kerana mereka mendengar dan mereka boleh mendoakan kita dari sana.
Bila lalu kubur, perlahankan dan beri salam! Mereka akan doakan kita “berkatilah si A ini” dan jika tak bagi salam, mereka akan kata “celakahlah orang ini” Jadi, jangan lupa bagi salam next time
Tanda tanda siksa Allah atas muka bumi ni antara lain simpan harta sampai mati tak pernah keluarkan
- Sesiapa yang bersedekah selalu, takkan miskin orang itu selamanya..
- Bila nak berbelanja @ shopping always spare duit untuk sedekah kerana dalam duit kita tu ada hak org susah. Jadi bila orang buta datang masa makan, bagi laa duit sebab kita nak cari org susah untuk sedekah dah amat susah masa sekrg and takde masa jadi Allah hantarkan org2 susah ini untuk kita dapatkan pahala!
*** Jika mak kita sudah meninggal dan semasa hayatnya kita ada peruntukkan wang untuk dia, bila mak kita dah takde teruskan memberi peruntukkan tu sebagai sedekah. Jangan kurangkan peruntukkan!! “Ya Allah, aku sedekahkan bagi pihak ibuku, semoga pahala sedekah ni sampai kepada ibuku”. Itu yang yang buat ibu kita bahagia di sana.
- Kalau kita susah nak bersedekah, bayangkan wajah ibu kita baru kita ringan tangan nak bersedekah
*** Allah panjangkan usia ibu dan bapa supaya dia sakit dan nyanyuk untuk beri syurga pada anak anaknya. Jagalah mereka dengan baik insyallah, syurga balasanya. Jadi kalau tahu ibu/bapa sakit, berebutlah menjaga ibu/bapa kita. Besar sangat pahalanya.
- Allah kalau boleh taknak kita masuk neraka jadi Allah takkan matikan seseorang dalam keadaan kotor dan berdosa jadi dia bagi kita sakit/malu/miskin untuk membersihkan kita sebelum dia mengambil kita
Selalu Bergaduh Dengan Ibu
- Jika ada antara kita yang selalu bergaduh dengan ibu, ada kemungkinan kita diganggu saka
- Antara ganguan saka, selalu mimpi bayi/budak. Dukung bayi, susu bayi or selalu mimpi jatuh dari tempat tinggi/ selalu sakit tulang belakang/ tulang belakang bengkok/ rasa mengantuk selepas asar
- Saka dipindahkan melalui Kasih saying/ Harta pusaka, walaupun sebiji pinggan / Amalan / Sentuhan
Symptom dah terkena saka
- Tak boleh tidor lena tapi bila dekat azan subuh, senang lena
- Bila dah peringakat teruk, di usia tua kita, tgh malam selalu lapar
- Susah nak dapat anak, senang gugur
- Ada rasa kelibat orang lalu
- Yang lagi parah, saka bersetubuh dgn kita, mengandung tapi anak hilang dalam kandungan jadi bila nak beintim, bercakap laa sedikit kerana saka menyerupai suami kita dan dia datang dalam keadaan diam
- Cara hilangkan saka, Zikir “Laillahaillalah” 700,000 sampai habis, insyallah saka akan cair dan keluar dari badan
Antara penyakit saka adalah breast cancer, cancer rahim and cancer tulang. - 3 penyakit yang tiada ubat yang penyakitnya adalah datang dari syaitan adalah cancer, aids and leukemia. Kalau dapat ni pi laa perawatan cara islam jugak.
- Kalau ibu kita sakit cancer dan dia tak mampu berzikir, kita tolong zikirkan
- Kalau ada penyakit was was, bacalah surah al-ikhlas.. “Qulhuwallahuahad…” 1000x sehari
Anak Lari Dari Rumah
- Kalau anak lari dari rumah, gantungkan bajunya dihanger dan anginkan dan hadiahkan surah al-ikhlas setiap hari
- Masa lauangan azan yang pertama, panggilah nama anak kita, insyallah akan sampai panggilan kita kepadanya
Anak Degil
- *** Bila anak dah tidor, duduk di hujung kepala pangil ROH ANAK
- Ni seram sket masa nak buat hehehe..mula2 je lepas tu ok..e.g. Wahai roh anakku "nama anak", jadilah kamu roh yang baik, roh yang bertimbang rasa pada ibu dan bapa, roh yang taat pada Allah, roh yang sayang sesama manusia
Tajuk ceramah - Dasyatnya Doa Seorang Ibu oleh Ustaz Abdullah Mahmud. Dia ustaz untuk angkatan tentera malaysia last time. So kat sini nak share laa info yang menarik kot2 kawan2, kakak2, makcik2,adik2 boleh guna. Agak panjang kalau malas nak baca, baca laa yang nasha tanda ****
Ibu Kita dan Kita Sebagai Ibu
- Lapangnya masa kita ada kaitan dengan keberkatan hidup kita. Kita adalah di bawah siksa Allah bilamasa ada masa untuk buat benda tak baik tapi takdak masa nak buat yang baik
- Jika kita tak pernah kecukupan duit maksudnya kita disiksa Allah
- Setitik air mata ibu jatuh, 10 kebajikan anak hilang so ibu2 jangan jatuh air mata ye and anak jangan bagi ibu jatuh air mata. Menangis kerana anak berjaya dan bukan sedih kerana angkara anak
- Kalau balik tengah malam, buka lampu tengok dan tatap muka ibu, sebab wajah orang tidur akan menampakkan segalanya
Ada 3 mata yang tak dijilat api neraka
- Melihat kaabah sehingga menitis air mata
- Membaca quran sehingga menitis air mata
- Memandang wajah ibu yg sedar tidur / sedar hingga berlinang air mata
3 orang yg kita kena tengok dan selalu pandang dalam hidup, tengok masa tidor!
- Anak
- Ibu
- Suami
Selingan: kata ustaz kalau kita ada perselisih faham dgn suami sampai nak bercerai, tgk laa muka bila dia tidor kalau masih terbit perasan kasih, saying, cinta, rindu atau simpati, janganlah bercerai tapi jika tiada rasa tu semua maksudnya jodoh dah memang takde, boleh proceed pi mahkamah J
- Orang yang selalu menatap and memandang ibunya takkan menangis di hari kematian ibunya… kira tak menangis teruk laa..Bagi siapa yg masih ada ibu, pandang laa selalu
- Adalah menjadi satu dosa jika kita mengguna jari telunjuk untuk menujukkan sesuatu pada ibu
- Kalau ada niat yang baik teruskan laa..Allah akan bersama, jangan takut
- Kalau tak mampu lakukan sesuatu, pasang niat pun mencukupi e.g. tak mampu tolong org, niat nak tolong pun dah memadai
*** Kalau kita tak mampu letakkan diri kita di tempat yang terbaik, Allah akan letakkan kita di tempat terbaik dengan syarat letakan ibu kita di tempat yang terbaik
- Ada kaedah yang mana kita boleh minta pada Allah, “ungkit” kebaikan yang menimpa dengan tujuan untuk makbulkan doa kita. Kaedah tu dipanggil “wasilah amal”. “Ya Allah semalam aku sudah bersedekah sebanyak RM1, kalau itu satu kebaikan jadikanlah ia penyebab makbulnya doaku ini”
*** Paling banyak buat baik dengan ibu kita, lagi mustajab. Makna dia wasilah amal ni sangat berkesan kalau yg dituntut tadi adalah hal hal yang berkaitan kebaikan yang dibuat kepada ibu kita
- Tapi geng kalau sedekah RM1 takkan nak tuntutkan J
- Antara lain yang boleh dituntut adalah apabila kita ditimpa sakit/musibah
- Kalau ditimpa sakit, baca laa Innalillahiwainnaillaihirojjiun,,, then cakap dengan Allah
“Ya Allah, berilah pahala besar untuk sakit yang aku tanggung ini”
“Ya Allah, bagilah aku keampunan dosa atas sakit ku ini”
***Even suapkan anak pun kita boleh tuntut, apatah lagi sedekah kepada ibu dan orang yang memerlukkan.
*** Barang siapa yang tidak mendoakan ibu selepas sembahyang buat ibu yang sudah meninggal maka dikira dia anak derhaka walaupun pada waktu ibunya hidup dia tak pernah menderhaka. Maksudnya jika ibu masih hidup atau telah tiada, selepas setiap solat kita mesti doakannya!
- Doa orang yang masih hidup makbul untuk orang yang hidup dan mati. Jadi doakan ibu kita telah tiada!
*** Doa orang yang mati makbul untuk orang yang masih hidup
Masa ni ustaz tu bagi contoh sadis sket..sedeh gak laa.. pi ke pusara mak kita cakap..“Mak, esok anak saya nak kawin, kalau mak ada tentu mak bahagia engok cucu mak kawinkan” atau “bapa saya nak kawin esok, kalau bapa ada, pasti bapa akan gembira tengok sayakan..” Ustaz kata luahkan kepada ibu/bapa yang telah tiada kerana mereka mendengar dan mereka boleh mendoakan kita dari sana.
Bila lalu kubur, perlahankan dan beri salam! Mereka akan doakan kita “berkatilah si A ini” dan jika tak bagi salam, mereka akan kata “celakahlah orang ini” Jadi, jangan lupa bagi salam next time
Tanda tanda siksa Allah atas muka bumi ni antara lain simpan harta sampai mati tak pernah keluarkan
- Sesiapa yang bersedekah selalu, takkan miskin orang itu selamanya..
- Bila nak berbelanja @ shopping always spare duit untuk sedekah kerana dalam duit kita tu ada hak org susah. Jadi bila orang buta datang masa makan, bagi laa duit sebab kita nak cari org susah untuk sedekah dah amat susah masa sekrg and takde masa jadi Allah hantarkan org2 susah ini untuk kita dapatkan pahala!
*** Jika mak kita sudah meninggal dan semasa hayatnya kita ada peruntukkan wang untuk dia, bila mak kita dah takde teruskan memberi peruntukkan tu sebagai sedekah. Jangan kurangkan peruntukkan!! “Ya Allah, aku sedekahkan bagi pihak ibuku, semoga pahala sedekah ni sampai kepada ibuku”. Itu yang yang buat ibu kita bahagia di sana.
- Kalau kita susah nak bersedekah, bayangkan wajah ibu kita baru kita ringan tangan nak bersedekah
*** Allah panjangkan usia ibu dan bapa supaya dia sakit dan nyanyuk untuk beri syurga pada anak anaknya. Jagalah mereka dengan baik insyallah, syurga balasanya. Jadi kalau tahu ibu/bapa sakit, berebutlah menjaga ibu/bapa kita. Besar sangat pahalanya.
- Allah kalau boleh taknak kita masuk neraka jadi Allah takkan matikan seseorang dalam keadaan kotor dan berdosa jadi dia bagi kita sakit/malu/miskin untuk membersihkan kita sebelum dia mengambil kita
Selalu Bergaduh Dengan Ibu
- Jika ada antara kita yang selalu bergaduh dengan ibu, ada kemungkinan kita diganggu saka
- Antara ganguan saka, selalu mimpi bayi/budak. Dukung bayi, susu bayi or selalu mimpi jatuh dari tempat tinggi/ selalu sakit tulang belakang/ tulang belakang bengkok/ rasa mengantuk selepas asar
- Saka dipindahkan melalui Kasih saying/ Harta pusaka, walaupun sebiji pinggan / Amalan / Sentuhan
Symptom dah terkena saka
- Tak boleh tidor lena tapi bila dekat azan subuh, senang lena
- Bila dah peringakat teruk, di usia tua kita, tgh malam selalu lapar
- Susah nak dapat anak, senang gugur
- Ada rasa kelibat orang lalu
- Yang lagi parah, saka bersetubuh dgn kita, mengandung tapi anak hilang dalam kandungan jadi bila nak beintim, bercakap laa sedikit kerana saka menyerupai suami kita dan dia datang dalam keadaan diam
- Cara hilangkan saka, Zikir “Laillahaillalah” 700,000 sampai habis, insyallah saka akan cair dan keluar dari badan
Antara penyakit saka adalah breast cancer, cancer rahim and cancer tulang. - 3 penyakit yang tiada ubat yang penyakitnya adalah datang dari syaitan adalah cancer, aids and leukemia. Kalau dapat ni pi laa perawatan cara islam jugak.
- Kalau ibu kita sakit cancer dan dia tak mampu berzikir, kita tolong zikirkan
- Kalau ada penyakit was was, bacalah surah al-ikhlas.. “Qulhuwallahuahad…” 1000x sehari
Anak Lari Dari Rumah
- Kalau anak lari dari rumah, gantungkan bajunya dihanger dan anginkan dan hadiahkan surah al-ikhlas setiap hari
- Masa lauangan azan yang pertama, panggilah nama anak kita, insyallah akan sampai panggilan kita kepadanya
Anak Degil
- *** Bila anak dah tidor, duduk di hujung kepala pangil ROH ANAK
- Ni seram sket masa nak buat hehehe..mula2 je lepas tu ok..e.g. Wahai roh anakku "nama anak", jadilah kamu roh yang baik, roh yang bertimbang rasa pada ibu dan bapa, roh yang taat pada Allah, roh yang sayang sesama manusia
Balik Kampung
Pening kepala ni.. semalam hubby beritahu company dia offer dia balik kampung...wawawa....yahoooo...... hihihi... seribu macam rasa. Perasaan aku berbelah bagi nak balik kampung ke tak
a) Kalau balik kg
- Pendidikan anak2 - perancangan aku untuk anak2.. disamping mereka mendapat pendidikan formal, mereka juga mendapat pendidikan agama.. Harapan aku, mereka menjadi macam Dr Danial (pengamal perubatan bebas), Dr Wan (pakar bedah jantung di PPUM). Walaupun mereka mempunyai kerjaya doktor, accountant, banker dll tetapi mereka berpengetahuan dalam agama. Disebabkan itu, aku memilih sekolah agama integrasi... Bila ke sekolah menengah, aku akan hantar ke Maahad Sains.(itupun kalau anak aku dapat 5A). Aku telah memilih sekolah antara yang terbaik dan termampu bagi aku untuk mereka.. Walaupun terpaksa bayar lebih sikit daripada sekolah kerajaan... sikit je. Kalau balik kampung... entah le.. kena survey dulu le..
- aku suka window shopping, office aku sekarang betul2 dekat klcc.. so memanjang ke sana.. panjang je langkah bila ade sale.. kalau balik kg... nmpknya kena pendek langkah sikit..
- persekitaran di kampung, aku tidak hina orang kampung walaupun akupun dibesarkan di bandar kecil. Tapi di kampung suami ke aku, persekitaran mereka tidak menyenangkan aku..Mereka agak malas bersekolah.. hanya suka bermain...kurang mementingkan pelajaran..Walaupun mereka dalama keadaan rukun damai, suka tolong menolong.
- Aku baru je beli rumah teres... sayang le nak tinggalkan rumah tu..nampaknya kena sewa le.. minta2 penyewa tu jaga sebaik mungkin.
- Terpaksa le cari keje kat hometown.. mana nak cari ni..rasa sayang lak nak tinggalkan officemate dah 7 tahun kat sini.. lagipun gaji kat sini agak lumayan
b) Kalau tidak balik kampung
- Nanti dikatakan derhaka kepada suami
a) Kalau balik kg
- Pendidikan anak2 - perancangan aku untuk anak2.. disamping mereka mendapat pendidikan formal, mereka juga mendapat pendidikan agama.. Harapan aku, mereka menjadi macam Dr Danial (pengamal perubatan bebas), Dr Wan (pakar bedah jantung di PPUM). Walaupun mereka mempunyai kerjaya doktor, accountant, banker dll tetapi mereka berpengetahuan dalam agama. Disebabkan itu, aku memilih sekolah agama integrasi... Bila ke sekolah menengah, aku akan hantar ke Maahad Sains.(itupun kalau anak aku dapat 5A). Aku telah memilih sekolah antara yang terbaik dan termampu bagi aku untuk mereka.. Walaupun terpaksa bayar lebih sikit daripada sekolah kerajaan... sikit je. Kalau balik kampung... entah le.. kena survey dulu le..
- aku suka window shopping, office aku sekarang betul2 dekat klcc.. so memanjang ke sana.. panjang je langkah bila ade sale.. kalau balik kg... nmpknya kena pendek langkah sikit..
- persekitaran di kampung, aku tidak hina orang kampung walaupun akupun dibesarkan di bandar kecil. Tapi di kampung suami ke aku, persekitaran mereka tidak menyenangkan aku..Mereka agak malas bersekolah.. hanya suka bermain...kurang mementingkan pelajaran..Walaupun mereka dalama keadaan rukun damai, suka tolong menolong.
- Aku baru je beli rumah teres... sayang le nak tinggalkan rumah tu..nampaknya kena sewa le.. minta2 penyewa tu jaga sebaik mungkin.
- Terpaksa le cari keje kat hometown.. mana nak cari ni..rasa sayang lak nak tinggalkan officemate dah 7 tahun kat sini.. lagipun gaji kat sini agak lumayan
b) Kalau tidak balik kampung
- Nanti dikatakan derhaka kepada suami
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Aksi akrobatik latih otak
Oleh JAGATHESWARY NARAYANAN (Kosmo)
NASREEN MA, 32, memegang erat kedua-dua tangan anaknya, Alicia, dengan kedudukan si comel itu bersandar pada tubuhnya sementara kepalanya pula ke bawah. Hujung kedua-dua kaki Alicia terpaut kemas pada bahu ibunya itu. Dalam satu pergerakan pantas, kaki Alicia dilepaskan lalu badan anak kesayangannya itu kembali dalam kedudukan tegak.
Bagaikan baru saja selesai melakukan aksi jungkir balik, Alicia kini membuat lagak 'ngeri' yang seterusnya. Hujung kedua-dua kaki dan tangannya dipegang dengan bantuan seorang ahli terapi. Dalam keadaan tergantung melintang itu, Alicia dihayun dari kiri ke kanan selama dua minit.
Melihat aksi-aksi yang menyerupai latihan gimnastik itu memang cukup menyeramkan. Namun begitu, kanak-kanak yang baru berusia dua tahun itu pula langsung tidak takut atau menangis. Dia sebaliknya gembira dengan aktiviti itu sambil tersenyum dan sesekali ketawa terkekeh-kekeh.
Itu bukan pertama kali dia diajar melakukan pergerakan mencabar seumpama itu. Sejak berusia lapan bulan, Alicia sudah pun diajar oleh Nasreen untuk berbuat demikian.
Menurut Nasreen, semasa berusia lapan bulan Alicia seperti bayi lain yang menunjukkan respons asas seperti menggerak tangan, kaki dan kepala serta peka terhadap bunyi dan warna.
"Ketika berada dalam fasa meniarap, Alicia semakin menunjukkan tanda-tanda untuk berdiri dan mengatur langkah pertama. Perbuatannya itu amat membimbangkan saya kerana dia langsung tidak cuba untuk merangkak sebelum berjalan."
"Sungguhpun ada ibu bapa yang teruja melihat anak mereka cepat berjalan, tetapi bagi saya ia sesuatu yang luar biasa," ujar Nasreen.
Baginya, lumrah seseorang bayi ialah mereka perlu merangkak sebelum tahu berjalan. Nasreen percaya, jika bukan begitu turutannya perkembangan otak bayi boleh terjejas. Fasa merangkak kata Nasreen, amat penting kerana integrasi asas untuk perkembangan daya penglihatan kedua-dua belah mata sedang berlaku.
Integrasi visual itulah yang akan membantu proses pembacaan, kosentrasi dan tumpuan di dalam bilik darjah.
Menyedari kepentingan proses merangkak itu, ibu muda itu lantas mendapatkan nasihat dan panduan daripada pakar terapi Neuro Network, Daya Bhagwandas, 52.
Pengasas pusat pengajaran pendidikan saraf yang kini berpangkalan di Burwood, Australia itu menyediakan perkhidmatan patologi pertuturan, audiologi dan terapi bunyi. Berpengalaman lebih dua dekad dalam bidang perkembangan otak dan neuron, Daya banyak mengadakan program untuk menyedarkan para ibu bapa tentang potensi kepintaran anak-anak mereka.
Nasreen memberitahu, anak sulungnya itu telah menjalani beberapa sesi latihan pergerakan di bawah penyeliaan Daya. Alicia dibaringkan di atas meja sambil menggerak tangan, kaki serta kepala secara serentak.
Sesi latihan
Terapi yang dikenali sebagai cross pattern itu lama-kelamaan membuatkan Alicia merangkak dengan sendiri. Difahamkan, Alicia telah merangkak selama enam bulan sebelum berjalan.
Tambah Nasreen, kebanyakan ibu bapa terutama yang baru berkahwin kurang peka pergerakan asas seseorang kanak-kanak. Pergerakan asas yang betul amat penting demi mencetuskan kecerdasan anak-anak. Anak-anak sebenarnya pantas memahami dan mempelajari setiap yang diajar oleh ibu bapa mereka.
Penjelasan wanita itu memang benar. Selain membuat aksi pergerakan mencabar pada usia yang terlalu muda, kebolehan anak kecil itu membaca nombor melalui kepingan kad dengan cetakan berbentuk bulat amat mengagumkan.
Menurut Nasreen, berbanding bentuk numerikal, permainan kad dengan cetakan geometri berwarna lebih efektif untuk mengajar anak-anak tentang pengiraan. Ia merangsang visual kanak-kanak dan perkembangan minda terutamanya pada otak bahagian kanan.
Menjelaskan tentang perkembangan otak dan pembelajaran otak kanan, Daya berkata, otak manusia bagaikan satu sistem komputer rumit yang dikawal oleh dua bahagian.
Kedua-dua bahagian itu mempunyai kemahiran dan cara berfikir yang berbeza. Bahagian kanan otak memproses maklumat dengan cepat, melewati ruang dimensi fizikal dan membuat tanggapan tepat. Otak kiri pula memproses dengan cara yang berbeza tetapi dalam bentuk lisan yang lebih kompleks atau berbentuk analisa.
Dominasi otak
"Pada asasnya, manusia berfikir menggunakan keseluruhan otak. Bagaimanapun, satu bahagian daripadanya lebih menguasai atau mendominasi. Semasa berfikir misalnya, otak seumpama bercakap sendiri," katanya.
Jelas Daya, satu bahagian akan lebih mendominasi untuk mengeluarkan kata-kata atau memberi arahan. Bahagian yang mendominasi akan merancang personaliti hidup seseorang manakala bahagian yang sebelah lagi memberi respons terhadap tekanan atau krisis.
"Amat menguntungkan jika seseorang berusaha untuk mengembangkan kedua-dua bahagian otak kerana ini akan menambahkan lagi maklumat dalam menyelesaikan masalah.
"Jika anda dapat menguasai proses dominasi otak kiri dan memperkembangkan otak kanan pasti boleh menjadi seorang yang lebih kreatif dan bijak," kata wanita yang telah memperkenalkan Neuro Network sejak enam tahun yang lalu di beberapa buah negara luar termasuk Malaysia, Australia, Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan United Kingdom (UK).
Ujar Daya, ketika kecil seseorang amat bergantung kepada fungsi otak kanan yang merangsang imaginasi dan visual. Sebab itu, kanak-kanak cenderung mengaju soalan-soalan yang di luar imaginasi ibu bapa. Mereka juga mampu bercakap seberapa banyak bahasa hanya melalui mendengar percakapan seseorang.
Kesemua itu boleh dilakukan disebabkan fungsi otak kanan. Antaranya memori fotografi, mendengar dan baca dengan pantas, kreativiti, muzik, seni dan kemampuan mempelajari banyak bahasa.
Bagaimanapun, dari alam sekolah sehingga dunia kerjaya, ramai yang hanya menekankan pada kemampuan otak kiri.
"Program pendidikan di Neuro Network menekankan tentang kepentingan melatih otak kanan. Bagaimanapun, perkembangan otak itu perlu diberi perhatian dari peringkat bayi sehingga ia berusia enam tahun.
Apabila proses koordinasi gagal berlaku secara sempurna maka seseorang akan mengalami masalah apabila dewasa. Di sini pergerakan merangkak memainkan peranan penting.
Daya memberi penekanan tentang fasa merangkak: "Jikalau seseorang anak tidak melalui proses merangkak dengan sempurna maka proses koordinasi akan menjadi lemah hingga boleh menimbulkan masalah penglihatan, sentuhan, tumpuan, keseimbangan badan dan pernafasan.
Dalam pada itu, programnya juga turut menekankan tentang proses visual ataupun imaginasi yang terdapat pada otak kanan. Kebolehan visual membantu kanak-kanak mempelajari sesuatu dengan lebih cepat dan gembira. Kemahiran visual yang baik amat penting untuk mempelajari mata pelajaran seperti Matematik, Sastera dan bahasa.
NASREEN MA, 32, memegang erat kedua-dua tangan anaknya, Alicia, dengan kedudukan si comel itu bersandar pada tubuhnya sementara kepalanya pula ke bawah. Hujung kedua-dua kaki Alicia terpaut kemas pada bahu ibunya itu. Dalam satu pergerakan pantas, kaki Alicia dilepaskan lalu badan anak kesayangannya itu kembali dalam kedudukan tegak.
Bagaikan baru saja selesai melakukan aksi jungkir balik, Alicia kini membuat lagak 'ngeri' yang seterusnya. Hujung kedua-dua kaki dan tangannya dipegang dengan bantuan seorang ahli terapi. Dalam keadaan tergantung melintang itu, Alicia dihayun dari kiri ke kanan selama dua minit.
Melihat aksi-aksi yang menyerupai latihan gimnastik itu memang cukup menyeramkan. Namun begitu, kanak-kanak yang baru berusia dua tahun itu pula langsung tidak takut atau menangis. Dia sebaliknya gembira dengan aktiviti itu sambil tersenyum dan sesekali ketawa terkekeh-kekeh.
Itu bukan pertama kali dia diajar melakukan pergerakan mencabar seumpama itu. Sejak berusia lapan bulan, Alicia sudah pun diajar oleh Nasreen untuk berbuat demikian.
Menurut Nasreen, semasa berusia lapan bulan Alicia seperti bayi lain yang menunjukkan respons asas seperti menggerak tangan, kaki dan kepala serta peka terhadap bunyi dan warna.
"Ketika berada dalam fasa meniarap, Alicia semakin menunjukkan tanda-tanda untuk berdiri dan mengatur langkah pertama. Perbuatannya itu amat membimbangkan saya kerana dia langsung tidak cuba untuk merangkak sebelum berjalan."
"Sungguhpun ada ibu bapa yang teruja melihat anak mereka cepat berjalan, tetapi bagi saya ia sesuatu yang luar biasa," ujar Nasreen.
Baginya, lumrah seseorang bayi ialah mereka perlu merangkak sebelum tahu berjalan. Nasreen percaya, jika bukan begitu turutannya perkembangan otak bayi boleh terjejas. Fasa merangkak kata Nasreen, amat penting kerana integrasi asas untuk perkembangan daya penglihatan kedua-dua belah mata sedang berlaku.
Integrasi visual itulah yang akan membantu proses pembacaan, kosentrasi dan tumpuan di dalam bilik darjah.
Menyedari kepentingan proses merangkak itu, ibu muda itu lantas mendapatkan nasihat dan panduan daripada pakar terapi Neuro Network, Daya Bhagwandas, 52.
Pengasas pusat pengajaran pendidikan saraf yang kini berpangkalan di Burwood, Australia itu menyediakan perkhidmatan patologi pertuturan, audiologi dan terapi bunyi. Berpengalaman lebih dua dekad dalam bidang perkembangan otak dan neuron, Daya banyak mengadakan program untuk menyedarkan para ibu bapa tentang potensi kepintaran anak-anak mereka.
Nasreen memberitahu, anak sulungnya itu telah menjalani beberapa sesi latihan pergerakan di bawah penyeliaan Daya. Alicia dibaringkan di atas meja sambil menggerak tangan, kaki serta kepala secara serentak.
Sesi latihan
Terapi yang dikenali sebagai cross pattern itu lama-kelamaan membuatkan Alicia merangkak dengan sendiri. Difahamkan, Alicia telah merangkak selama enam bulan sebelum berjalan.
Tambah Nasreen, kebanyakan ibu bapa terutama yang baru berkahwin kurang peka pergerakan asas seseorang kanak-kanak. Pergerakan asas yang betul amat penting demi mencetuskan kecerdasan anak-anak. Anak-anak sebenarnya pantas memahami dan mempelajari setiap yang diajar oleh ibu bapa mereka.
Penjelasan wanita itu memang benar. Selain membuat aksi pergerakan mencabar pada usia yang terlalu muda, kebolehan anak kecil itu membaca nombor melalui kepingan kad dengan cetakan berbentuk bulat amat mengagumkan.
Menurut Nasreen, berbanding bentuk numerikal, permainan kad dengan cetakan geometri berwarna lebih efektif untuk mengajar anak-anak tentang pengiraan. Ia merangsang visual kanak-kanak dan perkembangan minda terutamanya pada otak bahagian kanan.
Menjelaskan tentang perkembangan otak dan pembelajaran otak kanan, Daya berkata, otak manusia bagaikan satu sistem komputer rumit yang dikawal oleh dua bahagian.
Kedua-dua bahagian itu mempunyai kemahiran dan cara berfikir yang berbeza. Bahagian kanan otak memproses maklumat dengan cepat, melewati ruang dimensi fizikal dan membuat tanggapan tepat. Otak kiri pula memproses dengan cara yang berbeza tetapi dalam bentuk lisan yang lebih kompleks atau berbentuk analisa.
Dominasi otak
"Pada asasnya, manusia berfikir menggunakan keseluruhan otak. Bagaimanapun, satu bahagian daripadanya lebih menguasai atau mendominasi. Semasa berfikir misalnya, otak seumpama bercakap sendiri," katanya.
Jelas Daya, satu bahagian akan lebih mendominasi untuk mengeluarkan kata-kata atau memberi arahan. Bahagian yang mendominasi akan merancang personaliti hidup seseorang manakala bahagian yang sebelah lagi memberi respons terhadap tekanan atau krisis.
"Amat menguntungkan jika seseorang berusaha untuk mengembangkan kedua-dua bahagian otak kerana ini akan menambahkan lagi maklumat dalam menyelesaikan masalah.
"Jika anda dapat menguasai proses dominasi otak kiri dan memperkembangkan otak kanan pasti boleh menjadi seorang yang lebih kreatif dan bijak," kata wanita yang telah memperkenalkan Neuro Network sejak enam tahun yang lalu di beberapa buah negara luar termasuk Malaysia, Australia, Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan United Kingdom (UK).
Ujar Daya, ketika kecil seseorang amat bergantung kepada fungsi otak kanan yang merangsang imaginasi dan visual. Sebab itu, kanak-kanak cenderung mengaju soalan-soalan yang di luar imaginasi ibu bapa. Mereka juga mampu bercakap seberapa banyak bahasa hanya melalui mendengar percakapan seseorang.
Kesemua itu boleh dilakukan disebabkan fungsi otak kanan. Antaranya memori fotografi, mendengar dan baca dengan pantas, kreativiti, muzik, seni dan kemampuan mempelajari banyak bahasa.
Bagaimanapun, dari alam sekolah sehingga dunia kerjaya, ramai yang hanya menekankan pada kemampuan otak kiri.
"Program pendidikan di Neuro Network menekankan tentang kepentingan melatih otak kanan. Bagaimanapun, perkembangan otak itu perlu diberi perhatian dari peringkat bayi sehingga ia berusia enam tahun.
Apabila proses koordinasi gagal berlaku secara sempurna maka seseorang akan mengalami masalah apabila dewasa. Di sini pergerakan merangkak memainkan peranan penting.
Daya memberi penekanan tentang fasa merangkak: "Jikalau seseorang anak tidak melalui proses merangkak dengan sempurna maka proses koordinasi akan menjadi lemah hingga boleh menimbulkan masalah penglihatan, sentuhan, tumpuan, keseimbangan badan dan pernafasan.
Dalam pada itu, programnya juga turut menekankan tentang proses visual ataupun imaginasi yang terdapat pada otak kanan. Kebolehan visual membantu kanak-kanak mempelajari sesuatu dengan lebih cepat dan gembira. Kemahiran visual yang baik amat penting untuk mempelajari mata pelajaran seperti Matematik, Sastera dan bahasa.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money
by Kathy Kristof (Moneywatch.com)
Brad Klontz knows all about the dumb things that smart people do with their money: He's a smart guy (with a doctorate in psychology) who lost half of his assets in the technology stock bubble.
A financial psychologist, Klontz says that when it comes to money smarts, size matters: The logical part of your brain is so much smaller than the emotional side that it's like "a circus performer riding an elephant." To make smart decisions about your finances, you need the logical side to dominate. But once you get tweaked by greed or fear, that elephantine emotional brain is likely to run amok.
That's why otherwise intelligent people chase get-rich fantasies. Or cling to stocks that are long past their expiration dates. Or find other ways to let fear and superstition keep them from smarter financial moves. Here are nine of these common, emotionally driven money mistakes — plus some tricks from experts for getting that elephant in line.
1. Falling in Love ... With Your Investments
It can be great to fall in love with a person, but stocks can get you into deep trouble. Newport Beach, Calif., financial planner Laura Tarbox says she sees this all the time: Some clients keep concentrated stock holdings because they inherited them and "Mom just loved IBM," or because they work for the company and feel that selling would be disloyal.
Then there's the couple who came to her asking for help investing $12 million. "That sounded really great until we found out that this couple used to have more than $1 billion," Tarbox says. "All their money had been invested in a company that the husband helped launch — and he couldn't convince himself to diversify when he walked away."
Sorry, but that relationship just won't work, says Tarbox. No one should have more than 10 percent of his or her wealth locked in one stock. Just ask the former employees of Enron, who lost both their jobs and their retirement savings when the company filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago.
2. Chasing a Fantasy
You've read it 100 times: "Past performance is not an indication of future returns." But no one appears to believe it. Purveyors of investment data can trot out tons of statistics showing that when a mutual fund or asset class (such as gold, emerging markets stocks, or junk bonds) gets singled out for great quarterly or annual returns, investors start to pour money into that investment like it was going out of style.
And, of course, it is. One extensive study that looked at 19 years of market data found that investors consistently poured money into "hot" investments just as they were about to turn cold. That left the average investor with returns that fell way below the market as a whole and didn't even keep up with inflation. (For more on this, see our recent story "The Biggest Mistake Investors Make.")
Klontz admits that this is why he lost his shirt in technology stocks. It's a natural inclination to "run with the herd," he says with a shrug. Maybe so, but if you don't want to get trampled, you have to devise an investment strategy that suits your goals and then stick to it, even as your neighbor gets (temporarily) rich on the investment du jour.
3. Equating "On Sale" With "Good Deal"
Consider two television sets: Both are $500, but one is marked down from $800. Which one do you buy? If you're being reasonable, you buy the one that got the better rating in Consumer Reports. But most people buy the one that's on sale, says Matt Wallaert, a consultant for LendingTree, which owns the money management Web site Thrive. In fact, even people who would never have spent $500 on a television often will when it's discounted — simply because it's so cheap!
In reality, $500 is $500. If you wouldn't normally spend that much on a television (or any product, for that matter), you shouldn't do it now. We've been fooled by "anchoring": the illogical, but nearly inescapable, tendency to base our estimates of value on the nearest number we see, rather than an independent assessment. Just because the tag has $800 crossed out and replaced by $500, that doesn't mean $800 was a meaningful price. Indeed, an MIT experiment revealed that students who wrote down the last two digits of their Social Security numbers based their estimates of a wine bottle's worth on those two random numbers. The higher their numbers, the more the students were willing to bid for the wine.
Before you pull out your checkbook to splurge at a sale, evaluate whether the product, be it a television or a bread machine, is worth that price in enjoyment. Consider how often you'll use it, for instance, and whether you can get something of similar quality for less.
4. Retaliatory Spending
You don't need it. You don't want it. But, dang it, no one is going to tell you that you can't have it. New York psychologist Bonnie Eaker Weil calls it "POP" spending — for "pissed-off purchases." She did a survey before publishing her latest book, Financial Infidelity, and estimated from the results that POP spending accounts for about $424 billion in purchases each year.
One of Weil's Brooklyn-based clients, for example, went on a retaliatory $500 shopping spree when her husband gave one of her beat-up old jackets to charity without asking her first. When she got home, she informed him that since he didn't like her old jacket, she had gotten a new one from Saks Fifth Avenue. Such purchases can also result from a fight with your boss, mother, or best friend, according to Weil.
But as good as retaliatory spending may feel, it can do real damage to your financial health. Tarbox says a better approach is to talk out the anger, hurt, or disappointment — or just your bad day — with a friend, or even a professional counselor. If you have to spend money on a psychologist, it's probably still cheaper than the golf clubs or designer shoes you put on your credit card after that last argument with the boss.
5. Hanging On to Debt
The number of people who have money in savings accounts, earning less than 2 percent, while carrying debt on credit cards that charge more than 14 percent is "shocking," Wallaert says. Of Thrive's customers who have more than $500 in credit card debt, almost 40 percent have more than enough in savings to pay it off, he says.
Wallaert connects this mistake to "mental accounting" that separates our money into different stacks that we think ought to stay separate. But illogical separations can create mathematical mayhem.
Consider a person with $5,000 in credit card debt and $10,000 in savings. The debt costs him 14 percent per year, or $700, but the $10,000 in savings earns just 2 percent annually, or $200. He could pay off the debt, saving the $700, and still earn $100 annually on the remaining $5,000 in savings. Net result: He's immediately $600 richer and can start saving faster.
You might argue that you need those savings for emergencies. And you do need some emergency savings, allows Frank C. Presson III, a financial planner in Tucson, Ariz. But if you've got considerably more savings than debt, there's no excuse. Keep one month's worth of living expenses in the bank, even at those sorry returns, Presson advises. Use the rest to pay off the high-cost debt. Then rebuild the emergency savings, not the debt. Worst-case scenario: You still have the credit cards (now with zero balances), and you can tap them in an emergency.
6. Parental Martyrdom
An emerging problem involves parents who spend themselves to the edge of insolvency bailing out their children. "It starts from a good place, basically from wanting to be a good parent," Klontz says. "They'll say that Johnny is going through a rough patch and needs some help. But it becomes financial enabling."
Worse, it often causes the parents to suffer money woes that keep them from retiring or living comfortably because they're constantly paying Johnny's bills.
Any time you help an adult child, you should have a clear idea of how much help is necessary, how long it will be required, how it will help the child get back on his or her feet, and when (or whether) the child will have to pay you back. When there's no plan — just an open checkbook or couch — you turn the child into a dependent who becomes increasingly incapable of taking care of himself, Klontz says.
"I talk to the parents about how their attempts to help are like giving a drink to an alcoholic because his hand is shaking. This kind of helping is hurting," he says. "Then we talk about what kind of help would really help." (Hint: That kind generally doesn't involve cash.)
7. Cyber Insecurity
Roughly half the world has signed on for free online banking, which makes money management easier and saves the typical consumer about $50 annually in postage stamps. Among the people who don't use online banking, 41 percent say they've held back because of security concerns, according to a recent survey by Gartner Research.
What do banks typically do to secure online customer accounts? They put up multiple firewalls, which are the equivalent of brick enclosures around your house, and they have techno-security teams attempting to find the weak spots and shore them up. They also patrol the firewalls 24/7, looking for climbers.
Now, let's look at your mailbox. It's probably unlocked and unguarded — just what a thief needs to steal your credit cards. In reality, the chance of becoming a victim of identity theft or financial fraud as the result of low-tech crime — whether it's somebody stealing cards or "spoofing" you into providing private information via e-mail — is a lot greater than the chance that somebody will breach your bank's online vault.
So sign up already and save the stamps. And if you're worried about security, check your account regularly to make sure there's no suspicious activity.
8. State of Denial
Remember when you were 2 years old and you thought you could hide by closing your eyes? When the stock market plunged last winter and spring, that's just what investors did, leaving their quarterly statements sitting unopened on the counter.
If watching too closely would make you abandon a reasoned investment strategy, go ahead and ignore a statement or two. But losses don't go away just because you don't look at them, Tarbox points out. At some point, particularly if you're nearing retirement or need the dough for some other reason, you need to take a look, assess where you are, and figure out what to do about it.
9. Hoarding Money
Children of the Depression did a lot of this — stuffing $20 bills in their bibles or balling up tinfoil and rubber bands so they wouldn't have to buy more. But planners say that this is often a problem with wealthy and responsible older folks today: They're so afraid of running out of money that they don't enjoy the money that they have.
"When people deny themselves things that they could clearly afford, you have to ask them what they're saving that money for," Tarbox says. "We have to tell them that they're not spending enough."
If you're worried about running out of money, sit down with a financial planner and work out the math. Make sure you consider worst-case investment scenarios, not just the averages. That will make you more comfortable about weathering a bad patch like the one we just muddled through. Then, if you still have more than enough, make a plan that will allow you to enjoy your wealth by either spending the excess or giving it away.
Money, after all, is a means to an end — not the end itself. You save it to make you, and the people you love, calm and comfortable. And it's a lot more fun to take the kids and grandkids on vacation — or provide them with college money or other gifts while you're around to get the hugs and kisses — than to know that they'll inherit a fortune after you die.
Brad Klontz knows all about the dumb things that smart people do with their money: He's a smart guy (with a doctorate in psychology) who lost half of his assets in the technology stock bubble.
A financial psychologist, Klontz says that when it comes to money smarts, size matters: The logical part of your brain is so much smaller than the emotional side that it's like "a circus performer riding an elephant." To make smart decisions about your finances, you need the logical side to dominate. But once you get tweaked by greed or fear, that elephantine emotional brain is likely to run amok.
That's why otherwise intelligent people chase get-rich fantasies. Or cling to stocks that are long past their expiration dates. Or find other ways to let fear and superstition keep them from smarter financial moves. Here are nine of these common, emotionally driven money mistakes — plus some tricks from experts for getting that elephant in line.
1. Falling in Love ... With Your Investments
It can be great to fall in love with a person, but stocks can get you into deep trouble. Newport Beach, Calif., financial planner Laura Tarbox says she sees this all the time: Some clients keep concentrated stock holdings because they inherited them and "Mom just loved IBM," or because they work for the company and feel that selling would be disloyal.
Then there's the couple who came to her asking for help investing $12 million. "That sounded really great until we found out that this couple used to have more than $1 billion," Tarbox says. "All their money had been invested in a company that the husband helped launch — and he couldn't convince himself to diversify when he walked away."
Sorry, but that relationship just won't work, says Tarbox. No one should have more than 10 percent of his or her wealth locked in one stock. Just ask the former employees of Enron, who lost both their jobs and their retirement savings when the company filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago.
2. Chasing a Fantasy
You've read it 100 times: "Past performance is not an indication of future returns." But no one appears to believe it. Purveyors of investment data can trot out tons of statistics showing that when a mutual fund or asset class (such as gold, emerging markets stocks, or junk bonds) gets singled out for great quarterly or annual returns, investors start to pour money into that investment like it was going out of style.
And, of course, it is. One extensive study that looked at 19 years of market data found that investors consistently poured money into "hot" investments just as they were about to turn cold. That left the average investor with returns that fell way below the market as a whole and didn't even keep up with inflation. (For more on this, see our recent story "The Biggest Mistake Investors Make.")
Klontz admits that this is why he lost his shirt in technology stocks. It's a natural inclination to "run with the herd," he says with a shrug. Maybe so, but if you don't want to get trampled, you have to devise an investment strategy that suits your goals and then stick to it, even as your neighbor gets (temporarily) rich on the investment du jour.
3. Equating "On Sale" With "Good Deal"
Consider two television sets: Both are $500, but one is marked down from $800. Which one do you buy? If you're being reasonable, you buy the one that got the better rating in Consumer Reports. But most people buy the one that's on sale, says Matt Wallaert, a consultant for LendingTree, which owns the money management Web site Thrive. In fact, even people who would never have spent $500 on a television often will when it's discounted — simply because it's so cheap!
In reality, $500 is $500. If you wouldn't normally spend that much on a television (or any product, for that matter), you shouldn't do it now. We've been fooled by "anchoring": the illogical, but nearly inescapable, tendency to base our estimates of value on the nearest number we see, rather than an independent assessment. Just because the tag has $800 crossed out and replaced by $500, that doesn't mean $800 was a meaningful price. Indeed, an MIT experiment revealed that students who wrote down the last two digits of their Social Security numbers based their estimates of a wine bottle's worth on those two random numbers. The higher their numbers, the more the students were willing to bid for the wine.
Before you pull out your checkbook to splurge at a sale, evaluate whether the product, be it a television or a bread machine, is worth that price in enjoyment. Consider how often you'll use it, for instance, and whether you can get something of similar quality for less.
4. Retaliatory Spending
You don't need it. You don't want it. But, dang it, no one is going to tell you that you can't have it. New York psychologist Bonnie Eaker Weil calls it "POP" spending — for "pissed-off purchases." She did a survey before publishing her latest book, Financial Infidelity, and estimated from the results that POP spending accounts for about $424 billion in purchases each year.
One of Weil's Brooklyn-based clients, for example, went on a retaliatory $500 shopping spree when her husband gave one of her beat-up old jackets to charity without asking her first. When she got home, she informed him that since he didn't like her old jacket, she had gotten a new one from Saks Fifth Avenue. Such purchases can also result from a fight with your boss, mother, or best friend, according to Weil.
But as good as retaliatory spending may feel, it can do real damage to your financial health. Tarbox says a better approach is to talk out the anger, hurt, or disappointment — or just your bad day — with a friend, or even a professional counselor. If you have to spend money on a psychologist, it's probably still cheaper than the golf clubs or designer shoes you put on your credit card after that last argument with the boss.
5. Hanging On to Debt
The number of people who have money in savings accounts, earning less than 2 percent, while carrying debt on credit cards that charge more than 14 percent is "shocking," Wallaert says. Of Thrive's customers who have more than $500 in credit card debt, almost 40 percent have more than enough in savings to pay it off, he says.
Wallaert connects this mistake to "mental accounting" that separates our money into different stacks that we think ought to stay separate. But illogical separations can create mathematical mayhem.
Consider a person with $5,000 in credit card debt and $10,000 in savings. The debt costs him 14 percent per year, or $700, but the $10,000 in savings earns just 2 percent annually, or $200. He could pay off the debt, saving the $700, and still earn $100 annually on the remaining $5,000 in savings. Net result: He's immediately $600 richer and can start saving faster.
You might argue that you need those savings for emergencies. And you do need some emergency savings, allows Frank C. Presson III, a financial planner in Tucson, Ariz. But if you've got considerably more savings than debt, there's no excuse. Keep one month's worth of living expenses in the bank, even at those sorry returns, Presson advises. Use the rest to pay off the high-cost debt. Then rebuild the emergency savings, not the debt. Worst-case scenario: You still have the credit cards (now with zero balances), and you can tap them in an emergency.
6. Parental Martyrdom
An emerging problem involves parents who spend themselves to the edge of insolvency bailing out their children. "It starts from a good place, basically from wanting to be a good parent," Klontz says. "They'll say that Johnny is going through a rough patch and needs some help. But it becomes financial enabling."
Worse, it often causes the parents to suffer money woes that keep them from retiring or living comfortably because they're constantly paying Johnny's bills.
Any time you help an adult child, you should have a clear idea of how much help is necessary, how long it will be required, how it will help the child get back on his or her feet, and when (or whether) the child will have to pay you back. When there's no plan — just an open checkbook or couch — you turn the child into a dependent who becomes increasingly incapable of taking care of himself, Klontz says.
"I talk to the parents about how their attempts to help are like giving a drink to an alcoholic because his hand is shaking. This kind of helping is hurting," he says. "Then we talk about what kind of help would really help." (Hint: That kind generally doesn't involve cash.)
7. Cyber Insecurity
Roughly half the world has signed on for free online banking, which makes money management easier and saves the typical consumer about $50 annually in postage stamps. Among the people who don't use online banking, 41 percent say they've held back because of security concerns, according to a recent survey by Gartner Research.
What do banks typically do to secure online customer accounts? They put up multiple firewalls, which are the equivalent of brick enclosures around your house, and they have techno-security teams attempting to find the weak spots and shore them up. They also patrol the firewalls 24/7, looking for climbers.
Now, let's look at your mailbox. It's probably unlocked and unguarded — just what a thief needs to steal your credit cards. In reality, the chance of becoming a victim of identity theft or financial fraud as the result of low-tech crime — whether it's somebody stealing cards or "spoofing" you into providing private information via e-mail — is a lot greater than the chance that somebody will breach your bank's online vault.
So sign up already and save the stamps. And if you're worried about security, check your account regularly to make sure there's no suspicious activity.
8. State of Denial
Remember when you were 2 years old and you thought you could hide by closing your eyes? When the stock market plunged last winter and spring, that's just what investors did, leaving their quarterly statements sitting unopened on the counter.
If watching too closely would make you abandon a reasoned investment strategy, go ahead and ignore a statement or two. But losses don't go away just because you don't look at them, Tarbox points out. At some point, particularly if you're nearing retirement or need the dough for some other reason, you need to take a look, assess where you are, and figure out what to do about it.
9. Hoarding Money
Children of the Depression did a lot of this — stuffing $20 bills in their bibles or balling up tinfoil and rubber bands so they wouldn't have to buy more. But planners say that this is often a problem with wealthy and responsible older folks today: They're so afraid of running out of money that they don't enjoy the money that they have.
"When people deny themselves things that they could clearly afford, you have to ask them what they're saving that money for," Tarbox says. "We have to tell them that they're not spending enough."
If you're worried about running out of money, sit down with a financial planner and work out the math. Make sure you consider worst-case investment scenarios, not just the averages. That will make you more comfortable about weathering a bad patch like the one we just muddled through. Then, if you still have more than enough, make a plan that will allow you to enjoy your wealth by either spending the excess or giving it away.
Money, after all, is a means to an end — not the end itself. You save it to make you, and the people you love, calm and comfortable. And it's a lot more fun to take the kids and grandkids on vacation — or provide them with college money or other gifts while you're around to get the hugs and kisses — than to know that they'll inherit a fortune after you die.
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