The Golden Rule

I'd say just about everyone thinks about money - from the poorest soul, to the world's richest person. It allows you to live comfortably, and it's one of the best motivators. How else do you explain you being willing to go through myriads of inconveniences (to put it mildly) just to get to that place called an office?

We're usually consumed by thoughts of how we can get more of it (either by doing more work, or by investing in something that offers good returns). But, how many of us think about how we can safely store it for use in times of need? I've been told that one of the best ways of doing so is by buying gold. Buying gold is often seen as a hedge against any sort of crises. The often given reason why buying gold is a good choice is that gold retains its value even when the usual monetary forms do not. After all, it's been used for ages!

And if you're like me, you would probably already have started a bit of that investment in gold - there's that gold ring that you may have as your marriage band, or that gold necklace that you wear round your neck, or those gold earrings. But, apparently you can also buy gold coins, actual coins made of gold, as a form of investment. These coins are sometimes referred to as bullion, but I think they refer to the same thing.

But, as usual, there's always the usual caveat: make sure you understand what your investment is all about and see whether it fits with your whole portfolio. Whether it be gold bullion or stocks, let your hard earned money do the working instead.

Riddle me this

What goes up but never comes down? The usual answer to that riddle is age. But, nowadays, we can add more than a few answers to that question. Petrol prices for one. Food prices is another. This is probably old news by now, but have you noticed how the prices of food have gone by so much but the portion either remains the same or has even become smaller? A plate of my favourite watan ho now costs RM5 (up from RM4.00); a mug of teh tarik from my favourite local coffee shop now costs RM1.50 (previously RM1); even the so-called 'economy rice' isn't very economical anymore, what with prices now hovering at RM4.50 for white rice with two vegetable dishes and one meat dish (previously RM3.50). And these are prices of food at local coffee shops! Such prices were unheard of just 2 years ago! You'd think you'd be dining at some upmarket restaurant or something for that kind of money.

But, such is the situation now and apart from eating in more often to avoid spending the money, there's nothing much we can do about it. There's supposed to be an interesting debate going on tonight between Anwar Ibrahim and Information Minister, Ahmad Shabery concerning the fuel price hike, but without access to terrestrial tv broadcast (is there such a thing as extra-terrestrial broadcasts I wonder?), someone will have to tell me what it was all about. Either that or I just wait for tomorrow's papers. But, come to think of it, what's the use of the debate anyway? The reality is the current fuel prices won't drop, so it's all just a purely academic but totally fruitless exercise.

I prefer a reasonably-priced plate of watan ho over brain-busting, verbal gymnastics anytime.

Please?

Rolling in money!

Well, not quite. It’s not in the millions; neither is it in the thousands. It’s only a few hundred, but hey, how often do you get a substantial amount of money just by getting in a queue and waiting for 20 minutes without even having to lift a finger (okay, so you have to fill in a form, but that’s hardly work!)?

Six-hundred twenty-five, six-two-five, 625…that’s the amount I got at the post office today. I’m sure you all know what I’m referring to by now, and maybe some of you have even collected your surprise ‘bonus’ by now. It’s the rebate-subsidy-donation-whateveryouwanttocallit money the government is giving out to car owners.

I actually went to the Damai post office yesterday with my wife at about 4.40 pm thinking that we’d beat the queue. But, the post office was already closed! They close at 4.30 pm so we’d only been late by 10 minutes. Aren’t they supposed to be open till five or something? So, yesterday’s Mission: Get-the-money was aborted and we went to a friend’s house instead.

But, today…nothing would have kept me away. After hearing reports of conmen cashing in on the situation through false documents, Fen advised me to quickly get the money before these people had a chance. Better safe than sorry.

So went to the post office today at about 3.30 pm and the queue was not too bad. I was the last person but soon another man came up behind me holding on to a piece of paper. I asked him if there was a form to fill in, and he said yes, and to get it from the counter by telling the staff my registration number. The man even offered to save my place in the line so that I didn’t have to go right to the back again. How kind!

So I filled in the form, got back in line (saying my thank you to the kind man, of course), waited for a bit, then gave my form and IC to the staff manning the counter, signed the form, thumb-printed the form, and voila! The lady hands me the moolah! New, crisp RM100 bills – all six of them, and two RM10 notes and a single RM5 one. Nothing like the feel of virgin, untouched money.

Mission accomplished.

p.s. Too bad the money is not going to stay with me very long. My tires need replacing. Botak already…such short-lived happiness. *sigh*