Pre-retirees in Malaysia now expect to save for four years longer than their predecessors for their retirement, according to new research from HSBC! With the temptation of using credit cards and other loans that are available for us now, would you be able to resist it and live your life debt-free eventually? A Job Thing will share how to start investing in your life and how to manage it.

1. Balanced budget

Sometimes we all have the urge to splurge on things that you've been keeping your eye on for quite some time. However, we also need to save some of the money because of our future concerns (i.e lost job, big medical bills and a market crash). What is the best way to do it? Budgeting. So how much you should keep as your "back-up" cash? Budgeters are considerably more likely to set aside emergency funds: 52% of them have backup savings, compared to 41% of non-budgeters. Set aside a little extra each month until you build up a cushion to cover 3 months’ expenses!

2. Thinking of getting financial advisor?

Managing multiple accounts of money and investments could be stressful and confusing. If you're thinking of getting a financial advisor, here are 4 things you should look into:

Clarifies fees from the start:

Ask them if your needs come first. How are they compensated?

Personalize your plan:

The advisor should get to know you personally and try to plan a strategy that fits your goal.

Clear communication:

Miscommunication would be the last thing you would want to happen when it comes to managing your accounts. Ask for jargon-free language investment summaries and ASK if you don't understand anything from the figures.

Documents and discloses:

You should have full access on the record and the information involves your accounts. It also include any decisions and products that you have review with your advisor.

Be patience

Thers's no such thing as quick success. Promises of fast profits should be a warning for a fraud.

3. Starting a start-up

Thinking of quiting your job and launch a start-up to follow your vision? Andrew Weinreich, a start-up advisor also a Forbes contributor, he recommends the following check-list:

Is it possible to pursue the idea for 10 years?

If you don’t have the passion to last a decade, you may not be able to withstand initial challenges.

Enough staying power to last one year

Validate that you have enough runway to make the business self-sustaining or that you can achieve metrics to win you external financing.

Business plan

Ensure that you’ve asked all of the key questions about your startup, from pricing to marketing to sales to competitive framework.

Cash flow projections

This will help you gauge how much runway, mentioned in step 2, your prospective business has.

Source: Forbes