When you’re working in the Food and Beverage industry, what are the money sappers? As the marketing manager for a well-known group of restaurants in Singapore, Dee’s bubbly personality fits her job to a T. But her weaknesses such as impulse shopping and not counting the little things sometimes land her with big bills to pay. Find out what she has learned about herself in the Money Makeover programme.

By: Lianne Ong

Daryl Dee Teo, 31, is a marketing manager of a well-known food and beverage group that runs several successful eateries.  Having had money management problems before, she enrolled in the Money Makeover Programme conducted by Bernard Lim, founder of the Wealth College, in a bid to get down to the gritty business of managing money.

In the first of two interviews, she shares about her money “personality” and what impacted her in the first two lessons.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. How do your job, marital status and family obligations affect your financial needs or position?
In my line of work I meet a lot of people on a daily basis, and they come from all sorts of industries like banking, entertainment, fashion etc. So personal grooming and looking good is key.  In addition, for the events and parties that we create or attend, it means money is spent on grooming or a new outfit.

Being single means that I only have to plan for my parents and myself. As they are still working, I do not have to worry too much about supporting them fully for now. However, that also means that I have to start planning for my own retirement, and for the possibility that I may not have kids to support me in the future.

2.  Why did you want to attend the Money Makeover Programme? Do you have any specific financial concerns or struggles?
Yes, I have struggled with debt for a long time. My ignorance or lack of money management know-how has put me in that predicament.

3. What have you picked up from the Lessons so far?  Did any tip or Lesson stand out for you?
It’s the little things that count! When we were told to do Project 555, which involved detailing every single cent spent, it was quite an eye-opener. Little things that we think of as loose change can accumulate to quite a big sum. For example, a manicure treats cost $40 a week, which seems like “nothing”. But when you sum it up, it could amount to $2,080 a year, just for painting your nails! Luxury or a need? You decide!

4. Did you learn anything about yourself from the course?
I realised that I’m reckless with the small stuff; the $9.99, $19.99, or $49.99 never seemed to bother me before. After jotting down all these little items, the amount was quite huge even though I didn’t buy any big-ticket items. If I added up all these little purchases, I could have bought a Birkin bag! These small items are silent killers!

I’m also an impulse buyer, and resort to retail therapy whenever I’m stressed. This often means I end up buying things that I don’t need. I have many things of the same kind, like tops in two colours, rings in a few colours, dresses in two colours – just because! I do not buy big-ticket items, so I use that to justify buying a pair of shoes in two colours!

Catch up with Dee again in a few weeks at the conclusion of the Money Makeover Programme to see whether she’s made progress!’

About Money Makeover and LiFE
The Money Makeover Program was designed by Mr Bernard Lim, the founder of Wealth College, and is based on the Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program.

LiFE (Living in Financial Excellence) has been internationally recognized by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation in the US. Wealth College has been ranked among the list of ‘International Best Provider’ for financial education in the workplace by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation US for the quality of LiFE program. To date, about 1000 participants from different countries have experienced the LiFE program and have given rave reviews. For more information, email enquiry@wealthcollege.com.sg

Karen Goi, 38, juggles a full plate as a mom of three and an agent with both Great Eastern Life and ERA. With her children between the ages of 8 and 18, Karen knows that managing her finances is crucial to ensuring that her children are well provided for. She shares with Nanzinc.Com why the Money Makeover programme is helping.

By: Audra Lim

What prompted you to sign up for the Money Makeover programme?
I felt this course would be good in refreshing my financial planning knowledge so that I can better handle both my personal financial planning, and financial planning for my clients. I took on selling property seven years after becoming an insurance agent in order to supplement my income, but I’m finding it tough to straddle both industries.

What did you have to commit to when you joined the programme?
To be punctual for all seven lessons, and to diligently complete all homework assigned.

Describe your financial habits before Money Makeover.
I am the one who pays for all the family expenses, and am always finding that there is simply not enough money. Whenever I receive my commission, the money goes immediately to paying the bills. It seems as if my money disappears – I do not know where it goes and what I have spent on.

What are some financial challenges you need to overcome?
I hope I would be able to continue providing for all of my family’s needs, and to also save enough to buy and fully pay for an HDB 4 or 5-room flat of my own. My family and I currently live in my mother’s 4-room flat in Tampines.

Have there been any breakthroughs in your financial habits so far?
Project 555. It is using a little booklet to record all my daily expenses. I love it and now not only do I do it, my children and maid also do it. I know where exactly my cash goes to now, and whether I am spending on wants or needs.

What are the key lessons learnt so far?
Project 555 is one. I have also learnt how to do up a timetable for my daily activities, so that I ensure I do the important things I need to do first before filling up my days with other things that I want to do.

About Money Makeover and LiFE
The Money Makeover Program was designed by Bernard Lim, the founder of Wealth College, and is based on the Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program.

LiFE (Living in Financial Excellence) has been internationally recognized by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation in the US. Wealth College has been ranked among the list of ‘International Best Provider’ for financial education in the workplace by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation US for the quality of LiFE program. To date, about 1000 participants from different countries have experienced the LiFE program and have given rave reviews. For more information, email enquiry@wealthcollege.com.sg

Joselina Chia, 44, a senior sales manager and mother of three, is currently participating in the 7-week Money program organized by Bernard Lim from Wealth College. We asked her to share with Nanzinc.Com some good money habits and useful advice she has picked up so far from the sessions.

By: Dorothea Chow

1. Why did you decide to join the Money Makeover Programme?
I wanted to understand the right attitude towards money and how to plan for my three children (aged 8, 5 and 2) financially, for my retirement and to learn how to grow my investments.

2. What are some financial challenges/struggles you hope to overcome through this course?
I hope to learn how to discern the line between being thrifty and being stingy with my children. I suppose it will be challenging to overcome my general resistance to understanding financial matters, and my lack of knowledge in investments and insurance issues.

3. What are some financial strengths/good habits do you think you already have when it comes to managing your money?

We live within our limits. We are almost debt-free except for our flat, which we can afford to pay off too. I feel that we manage our expenses quite well, except when it comes to our children – that’s an expense that seems to be limitless at the moment! We keep records of our cash flow and all expenses.

4. What insights/knowledge have you gained so far through the course?
I’ve learnt the value of maximizing our time by disciplining ourselves to focus on things that are important. This was a great insight to me as I tend to have too many things going on simultaneously, and typically prioritize their execution based on their urgency, and not based on their importance. Through structuring my time around what is most important to us, I can now spend a lot more time with my children.

Moneywise, I learned that I have to be more detailed, conscientious and disciplined in tracking my expenses.

5. What financial breakthroughs have you seen in yourself so far as a result of the course?
I now want to set financial goals for all three of my children, and come up with a retirement target plan with my husband. I believe that these changes and plans will make my work more purposeful.

About Money Makeover and LiFE
The Money Makeover Program was designed by Bernard Lim, the founder of Wealth College, and is based on the Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program.

LiFE (Living in Financial Excellence) has been internationally recognized by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation in the US. Wealth College has been ranked among the list of ‘International Best Provider’ for financial education in the workplace by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation US for the quality of LiFE program. To date, about 1000 participants from different countries have experienced the LiFE program and have given rave reviews. For more information, email enquiry@wealthcollege.com.sg

With dreams to create an animated short film about morals and start a Christian programme about living life with fulfillment, 47-year-old Edna Teo bucks the trend of the ‘me’ culture in society. Her energy to create a better life for herself led her to join the Money Makeover programme, and she shares more about her experience with Nanzinc.Com.

By: Audra Lim
What prompted you to sign up for the Money Makeover programme?
Firstly, I want to have financial freedom. I want to work because I enjoy the work, not because I have to. I also want to be a part of a group that helps people in vivid and practical ways to achieve this same financial freedom.

What did you have to commit to when you joined the programme?
I committed to finding and confirming what my potential is, and to put it to good use, especially in a way that brings glory to the God of my religion.

Describe your financial habits before the programme.
I have always been rather thrifty with myself. I save a lot and only spend a little. Yet I began to feel discouraged that the money was sitting in the bank and not doing much, and I wondered what else I could do to increase its value.

What are some financial challenges you need to overcome?
In terms of covering my needs and expenses, I have just enough, except for health coverage, where I just trust in God to provide. I am also looking for a job, although it has been hard to get a job offer.

Have there been any breakthroughs in your financial habits so far?
There are no breakthroughs per se as I was not in any financial difficulties before, but I do know that I want to become very wealthy. The key thing to find out now is how I can become wealthy, and develop a habit of thinking about how to turn my skills and talents into generating an income.

What are the key lessons learnt from this program so far?
To discover more about myself, the way I view money, and to learn (in the Biblical way) how to exercise my potential in order to create more wealth. I want to be able to not just have enough, but also to have an abundance in order to contribute in terms of jobs and money to others.

Edna is one of the seven ladies participating in Nanzinc.Com’s Money Makeover with Bernard Lim from Wealth College. This program is adapted from his Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program.

About Money Makeover and LiFE
The Money Makeover Program was designed by Mr Bernard Lim, the founder of Wealth College, and is based on the Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program.

LiFE (Living in Financial Excellence) has been internationally recognized by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation in the US. Wealth College has been ranked among the list of ‘International Best Provider’ for financial education in the workplace by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation US for the quality of LiFE program. To date, about 1000 participants from different countries have experienced the LiFE program and have given rave reviews. For more information, email enquiry@wealthcollege.com.sg

The Money Makeover Program was designed by Mr Bernard Lim,  the founder of Wealth College, and is based on the Living in Financial Excellence (LiFE) Program. LiFE* was officially launched in early 2009, and has been extremely well-received. It is typically a classroom-based program run over one to two days.

In early 2010, the company decided to partner with Nanzinc.Com to intensify the LiFE program into a small group-facilitated course that would run over seven weeks. Seven women were invited to be in the inaugural ‘batch’ of the Money Makeover program with hope that their financial habits would be revolutionized. Here’s Bernard to tell you more.

By: Dorothea Chow

What initially inspired you to design the LiFE program?

I realized that many people do not have a reasonably good grasp of financial concepts and how money generally works. Through my research, I found that financial ‘wellness’ does affect the well being of an individual, a family and even a company.

For an individual, it can affect your health, relationships and effectiveness at work. For a family, it can spell the success or failure of a marriage (Gallup Poll surveys show that about 57% of divorces cite money woes as the fundamental reason for marital breakdown). For companies, a study by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation (www.pfeef.org) found that financial wellness programs can improve a company’s bottom line significantly. Conversely, financially unwell employees can aversely affect company profits.

If there are no positive steps taken towards leading others in financial intelligence, the future can be very challenging for a nation, especially with extraneous factors like the global financial crisis

As I looked around in the market, I could not find a program that could make financial education holistic, practical and yet affordable. Therefore, I felt challenged to create a highly accessible program that could produce tangible results in a fairly short space of time, available to the masses.

Why is such a course important for women in Singapore?

There is a lot of emphasis today on women’s health and physical wellness. While this is important, what is equally (if not more important) is financial wellness. Many women today have the ability to earn a good income but without sound knowledge and practical skills on financial principles, the hard-earned money can easily be mishandled, leaving them in challenging financial situations in their later years.

The Money Makeover program was designed with this need in mind. The highly interactive environment offers opportunities for learning, sharing, activity, accountability and most of all, tangible results. We focus on laying foundations and ensuring that lessons are put to practical use.

In your opinion, out of the 7 key sessions conducted in the Money Makeover program, is there one aspect, in particular, that Singaporean women would find most challenging?

I think many women (and men too) do find it a challenge to exercise discipline in managing their finances. The media constantly bombards the public with endless ‘bargains’ and ‘sales’ on every imaginable product or service that promises to enhance a person’s quality of life. The resistance to making purchasing decisions can become low especially after a hard day’s work. I would say that one of the greatest challenges is to strike a delicate balance between needs and wants, to take a longer term view of lifestyle choices against a shorter term gratification.

What are some of the challenges you think you might face in working with these 7 women over the next 7 weeks? How do you plan to overcome these challenges?

I believe the greatest challenges would be two-fold: Firstly, the constant buy-in by the women to the process that they will be going through and secondly, the discipline and determination to carry out the action items week after week.

The challenge for the buy-in can be overcome by hearing others’ testimonies of breakthrough and results. For example, one of the exercises requires a close monitoring of a person’s weekly spending. The following week, the excited student becomes an advocate of such an activity and shares this with the group. This would further motivate the rest who want to see similar results.

The challenge of the discipline and determination to complete ‘homework’ can be overcome by making the classes fun, interactive and non-threatening. When participants share about their own discoveries, experiences and victories, the overall enthusiasm of the group will go up.

*LiFE (Living in Financial Excellence) has been internationally recognized by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation in the US. Wealth College has been ranked among the list of ‘International Best Provider’ for financial education in the workplace by the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation (www.pfeef.org) US for the quality of LiFE program. To date, about 1000 participants from different countries have experienced the LiFE program and have given rave reviews. For more information, email enquiry@wealthcollege.com.sg

We’ll be  giving regular updates on how our 7 Money Makeover participants are doing over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Pay day’s far from sight but you’re in need of a little indulging. The good news is, you don’t have to blow a wad of cash to enjoy your favourite luxuries, you just need to get creative!

By: Sharlene Tan

Maybe you’re saving for your dream house or attempting to follow through on your resolution to be more budget conscious this year; whatever the reason, the finer things in life can still be had, for less with these money-smart ideas from Nanzinc.Com.

Ladies who lunch
A three-course set lunch at Gunther’s, for example, is $38++ (ordered a la carte, their angel hair pasta alone costs $38). Lunching at Iggy’s, S.Pellegrino World’s No. 28 restaurant, will set you back $65++ for 4 courses and $80++ for 5 courses. Sounds pretty steep, but not when you compare it to their dinner tasting menu at $195++. Of course, the lunch and dinner menus are different, but set lunches offer us frugalistas the opportunity to dine in style a little more affordably.

They call it happy for a reason
Happy hour – if you can make it in time – is a cheaper way to imbibe. Martini drinkers know to hit Morton’s for James Bonds’ favourite drink and the delectable free steak sandwiches. Draft beers usually get $2-$3 knocked off during happy hour at many places, such as The Pump Room and Brussel Sprouts.

Travel off-peak
If you can schedule your vacation away from the hordes of other travellers, there are plenty of offers that will make it a more affordable one. Not only is airfare cheaper, but many luxury hotels will also offer lower rates and special deals during the low season. Another bonus, fewer tourists mean shorter lines at attractions, more attentive service at hotels and restaurants, and you won’t need to get up early to ‘chope’ the best lounging spot by the pool. However, do check your destinations carefully, as some attractions and dining establishments may close or reduce their hours during off-peak seasons.

DIY!
Love your coffee but hate the hole that your daily Starbucks’ latte is burning in your pocket? Consider investing in your very own espresso machine for your home, or consider pooling your colleagues to purchase one for the office. That initial investment will be worth it in the long run, and you’ll have your coffee just the way you like it, without the long lines.

Spa treatments can get pricey, but these DIY beauty product recipes from Nanzinc.Com use everyday items such as green tea and honey to create spa-worthy treatments you can treat yourself to at home. This is luxury for less!

Travelling and spending copious amounts of money seem to go hand-in hand – after all, the lure of just letting go off your spending budget is just so tempting when you’re having a good time in an exotic destination. Nanzinc.Com shares with you how you can have a great vacation while still watching your dollars and cents.

By: Audra Lim

Seduced by the beautiful shop displays and promises of having a Laura Ashley-lookalike home, you throw caution to the wind and buy that charming, but not quite useful and rather pricey wooden doorstopper in the shape of a duck. When you finally reach home and total up your vacation expenditure, you realize you have, once again, spent unnecessarily and more than you intended to.

You ask yourself: is it even possible to watch your wallet when on a holiday? We say yes through these simple pointers:

Plan Well In Advance

If you have the luxury of time, planning in advance can save you a tidy sum of money. Booking your flights and accommodation early can snag you cheaper rates as operators are always keen to fill their spaces in advance. If you are booking accommodation for three nights or more, and especially if it is at a B&B or a family-run resort, you can try asking for a better price.

Pack Well

Serial travelers say pack light since you can often buy things like toiletries and clothes at the countries you are visiting. While this takes weight off your load, it means extra expenditure that could have been easily avoided at the packing stage. Make a list, and meticulously ensure that every item is packed. Items such as batteries and film cost more in touristy spots, but if you had packed them in, you can avoid being ripped off.

Draw Up A Budget For The Big 5

It is common sense, but common sense often gets thrown out the window in the midst of the freedom that travelling brings. Still, it is an age-old and fool-proof method of making sure you do not spend on a whim and regret later. Based on your previous trips’ expenditure and research on other travellers’ budgets, draw up a budget for each of the Big 5 of any trip: food, accommodation, transport, entertainment and shopping/souvenirs. Be prudent, but also realistic in the amounts you allocate to each area. You can either have a macro budget for the entire family, or have a budget for each member of the family according to the guidelines above.

Grab Last Minute Offers

Right before you leave for your trip, or even while on your trip, log on to sites such as Lastminute.com and eBay to look for good deals on the cheap. For example, musicals at London’s West End can go for as cheap as half price and even more as the date gets closer to performance night. People who book activities, tours and entertainment but cannot make it also try to sell their tickets online in a bid to get some cash back – you stand to gain if you can get your hands on these gems.

Cut Yourself Some Slack

Like any good dieter knows, crash diets backfire in the end. Similarly, too tight a control on the purse strings while on holiday can result in binge spending. So go on, allow room for some indulgences – you are on vacation after all. The trick is to choose wisely. Go with a few cheap on-the-go meals and sandwiches if it means you can enjoy that once-in-a-lifetime meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Sacrifice the extras of a 5-star hotel by staying at a 2-star hotel, and using the extra cash to sightsee. Or you can alternate your accommodation choices between the basic inns and upscale resorts throughout the trip. The permutations are endless!

If you are fretting about how you would ever be able to afford that dream home, or have enough to see your children through university, or even save enough for retirement, here’s help. As a prelude to our Money Makeover “reality” series on how to gain control over your finances, Nanzinc.Com interviews Ng Hui Quen, 30, an assistant architect, who attended the LiFE programme run by Wealth College, upon which Money Makeover is based.

By: Audra LIm

What prompted you to sign up for LiFE?
Although I save regularly, I realized that even after working for more than two years that I still do not know how to manage my finances. My fiancé and I plan to get married in 2011, and are still not financially stable. We wanted to do something to improve our situation yet do not know how to go about it. This prompted me to sign up for LiFE.

What did you have to commit to when you joined the programme?
I had to attend classes on time and follow the tutor’s instructions, such as recording every single daily expense in order to see my financial pattern, and deposit coins into a piggy bank every day.

LiFE to me is…
… achieving a balance between money, family and friends, career, health and my inner world. The focus cannot be on career at the expense of family and friends, resulting in negative vibes in my inner being, and creating obstacles in my life’s journey.

Describe your financial habits before, and after LiFE.
Previously, I used to not bother about the difference of 10 or 20 cents in my purchases, but after LiFE, I realized that these little things do come up to a sizeable amount in the long term. I am now more conscious about my daily expenditure and where each cent I earn goes to. For example, I used to eat at a foodcourt near my office, but now, I would go to a foodcourt further away where I can have the same meal, but at a cheaper price.

What were the key life-changing lessons you learned?
1. That I know when I should spend, what I should save on and which area I should take care of.

2. That there should be balance in life – money, while good, is just one part of life. LiFE taught me how to manage both my finances and my life.

3. That I should just do it, and not wait. I like to do handicraft, but when I have ideas on what to create, I usually either take a long time to get round to it or never get it done. So for example, I went ahead to design a poster capturing the energy of one of our LiFE coursemates, and ended up selling it to a Taiwanese friend while on a recent trip to Taiwan. I actually made money while on holiday!

Women are increasingly successful these days, but sometimes in a fix when it comes to their finances. If you could offer 5 specific tips on what woman can do to gain control over their finances, what would they be?
1. Manage your money – know your wealth model (how much to save, how much to spend, how much to invest, how much to spend for protection schemes etc). Women should know where their money goes.
2. Do not spend future money, especially if you do not know how to count the interest of repayment.
3. Do not put all your eggs in one basket, such as investing in just one area.
4. When you know how to earn money, you should also know how to spend it! Work hard but also play hard. Being rich does not mean we cannot spend money or go on holidays. We should love ourselves first before we love others.
5. Have two bank accounts. One is for depositing regular savings in, while the other is purely for expenses. Set a limit on how much should go into the expenses account. By separating the two, it will protect against overspending while ensuring that our savings grow.

The LiFE program is a comprehensive, highly practical and effective financial wellness program that has won rave reviews from participants all over the world. You can get more information at www.wealthcollege.com.sg.

If you are interested, LiFE program for the public are being planned over two whole-day sessions on Saturdays, 10 and 17 July 2010 at $450* per person (with lunch and refreshments provided) and a complimentary Money Personality Profile Report.

* This is to be consistent with the pricing of the Singapore National Employers’ Federation who run this program monthly for their members and non-members.

Nanzinc.Com’s Money Makeover Series will begin soon! Watch this space!

Are you always getting a rude shock from your utility bill? If you can’t understand how your tiny household chalks up such a hefty electricity bill, Nanzinc.Com has some suggestions on what you can do to cut your power bill while saving the planet’s resources too.

By: Lianne Ong

You’re hardly at home and you haven’t been throwing all-night parties – so why is your monthly electricity bill skyrocketing? By following a few prudent steps from this article, you would be better able to track where your electricity goes and how you can use it more efficiently. After a few months, you should be able to see trends and patterns.

1. Do a home electricity audit

Is your home energy efficient? If you don’t know, you may have to do a witchhunt and find out which of your appliances are major electricity guzzlers. Try doing a home electricity audit – it’s the first step to identifying inefficient appliances, or identifying new ways to be more energy efficient. The Energy Efficiency Programme Office has a consumption calculator to help you. Take action once you’ve found the culprits: It may mean that you get rid of the convenient kettle, and just store hot water in a regular vacuum flask instead.

2. Change your habits

When it comes down to it, it’s really about changing your habits and using common sense. Every little bit counts.

Examples (Source: Energy Efficient Programme Office)
· Switch off the computer completely when not in use for more than 30 minutes. Leaving a desktop on for 8 hours a day could cost $15 a month.
· Switch off appliances at the power socket, instead of leaving them on standby. Having that little greenlight on throughout the day could cost you an extra $45 a year.

3. Explore new technologies and energy-efficient designs

New technologies are being developed all the time to help households be more energy efficient. It doesn’t always mean sacrificing design aesthetics either.

Lighting: There are new lighting options that use light-emitting diode (LED) lights. They are more costly, but they last several times more than even energy efficient, and use significantly less energy. For specific lighting requirements, such as desk lamps, LEDs are a great option as they do not flicker or emit much heat.

Air-conditioning: A non-electrical energy saving tip is to coat your glass windows with solar window film, which will reduce the greenhouse effect. You’ll need a shorter time to cool the room with the air-conditioner, thereby saving you electricity.

If you’re renovating, you have the advantage of starting from scratch. Consider energy efficient designs and appliances. Choose energy efficient bulbs and lamp designs that allow their use. For example, a chandelier is lovely, but you can’t use an energy efficient bulb. A vanity table lighting is important to make sure your make up is applied properly but as glamourous as they are, broadway-style incandescent bulbs are not the most efficient, and emanate lots of heat – your makeup will melt before you’re done! And think twice about creating a higher ceiling – it will require more time and energy to cool the entire room.

4. Start with small ways

If the above is just too much commitment for you, here are some small steps you can put in place to start saving electricity today.
· Use Blackle instead of Google. The search engine, which is powered by Google, uses a predominantly black screen, and thus saves energy (in a small way).
· Turn up the temperature on your air-conditioning thermostat by just one degree. It’ll save you $20 a year.

Events manager Malati Singh, 25, recently participated in the LiFE (Life in Financial Excellence) program organized by certified financial coach Matt Wegner. According to Wegner, personal finance is 80% behaviour and 20% knowledge.

We asked Malati to share with Nanzinc.Com some good money habits and useful advice she learnt through the program.

By: Dorothea Chow

Why did you sign up for LiFE?
At the time, I was looking for something new and different to do. I wasn’t having any financial issues, but decided to join the course anyway because I was interested in what was being taught.

In your opinion, why do many women have issues with money management?
I think that a lot of woman, especially the older generation, see money matters as a man’s job to handle, and so are not savvy in managing their money.

In your own words, what is the LiFE program all about?
Bridging the gap from where you are now to where you want to be, not just financially but also in other aspects of life. It gets you thinking about what you really want from life, what you would like to achieve and how to get there.

What were some of the interesting take-aways from the course?
Well, firstly I learnt that you are never too young to plan for your retirement! I’d never even thought about how I want my life to be like when I retire, and when I would like to stop working for money and have my money work for me…but this course definitely got me thinking!

I was also inspired by the “Wheel of Life” technique. Nothing is impossible to achieve, you just need to be motivated to work towards it! The Wheel of Life is depicted by a circle split into eight parts, which represent the different aspects of your life – money, family/friends, health/fitness, leisure/recreation, home/environment, community/social, learning/knowledge and career/business.

The wheel is held together in the centre by an axle which represents your inner world – your spirit, self, mind/thoughts, actions, will, emotion, consciousness and spiritual life. The stronger the axle, the more stable the wheel. In other words the stronger your inner world, the more stable your life.

What inspired you most from the course and how has that changed your life?
Two methods helped me a lot. The first was keeping track of my schedule on an hourly timetable. This helped to motivate me towards finding the time for the driving and dance lessons that I’d always wanted to take!

The other method was recording my daily monetary inflow and outflow. I realised just how much money I was spending on taxis, which was an unnecessary expense. By taking the MRT (and only leaving my home 10 minutes earlier!) I am now able to save $200 a month!

The LiFE program was created by Bernard Lim of Wealth College. The course runs weekly for 7-10 weeks and offers practical knowledge of money matters as well as an understanding of one’s personal money patterns.

This month, Nanzinc.Com will be running a “reality program” with Money Makeover. Watch how 7 women turn their financial lives around through LiFE. Stay tuned!