Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by jack2008

Is there anything better than $$

jack2008 — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:43:29 +0800

In this world is there anything better than $$? eg high tech stuff,h/p,cars,girls etc

No right.

With $$ is better than anything. with $$ it can buy anything at a price in fact.

Anything a person do/work is related to $$. More or less $$ will change a person conception.

Everything also $$. work,invest,shopping,food etc

do u agree with it

Digi - Asus EE PC Promotion

jack2008 — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:05:51 +0800

Digi - Asus EE PC Promotion. is it worth getting it?

SImple plan RM123 per month

Smart plan RM193 per month

did anymore subscribe the promotion?

http://www.digi.com.my/whatshot/promotions/asus/pack.do

Star fruit can be poisonous for kidney patients

jack2008 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:57:49 +0800

Star fruit can be poisonous for kidney patients

KUALA LUMPUR: All it takes is one fruit or 100ml of its juice and the ordinarily harmless star fruit becomes poison in a matter of hours for kidney patients.

University Malaya Medical Centre consultant nephrologist Prof Dr Tan Si-Yen said this was what had happened to Tang Gon Seang in China.

The 66-year-old, who has been suffering from a kidney ailment, was in Shenzhen visiting his son when fell into a coma on March 29 after eating star fruits.

"Star fruits contain a neurotoxin which is not present in other fruits. It affects the brain and nerves. In healthy persons, the kidneys filter it out.

"In kidney patients, it cannot be removed and worsens their condition," he said.

More than 10 other patients in the hospital suffered the same condition after consuming star fruits. Two of them died.

After discovering the star fruit connection, Tang has been undergoing dialysis.

His brother-in-law Teoh Thian Lye, 55, confirmed that Tang had been on medication for kidney problems for three years.

The family sought the help of MCA Public Complaints and Services Department head Datuk Michael Chong to transfer Tang back to Malaysia as the family could not afford the hospital bill of RM1,000-RM2,000 a day in intensive care.

According to Dr Tan, there was little awareness of this relatively new discovery and no local cases yet.

"The public must be alert to reactions to star fruit. Look out for initial symptoms including hiccups, numbness and weakness, and neurological symptoms including confusion, agitation and epileptic fits," he said.

"The risk of death is high," he added.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...7893&sec=nation

Smart ways of managing debts

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:29:13 +0800

n today's society, being in debt seems almost inevitable.
Not many of us are able to buy a house or a car outright with cash.

Instead, we apply the 90/10 formula - that is, 90 per cent loan with 10 per cent down payment for these purchases.

Some people even go as far as 100 per cent financing with no money down.

In fact, we can apply the very same formula in almost every consumer items, from home furnishings to electrical appliances to even vacations.

This is mainly attributed to the increasingly consumer-driven society we live in, coupled with all those "Easy-Payment Instalment Schemes"that are widely offered. Before we realise it, we find ourselves going deeper and deeper into debt.

Let us identify some of the sources of our debts.

When it rains, it pours

Although overspending seems like an obvious culprit, there are many other factors that can contribute to financial debt. For example, unexpected life circumstances such as a divorce, major illness, unemployment or accidental injury compounding the problem.

Suddenly,wemay find it challenging to keep up with our monthly payments, and incur even more debt from late fees and interest payments.

We are plunged into helpless and stressful situation that affects critical areas of our life. Our relationship with our families and friends would be strained.

Our work may suffer and we may eventually lose our job.

Bills keep piling up and reminders keep pouring into our mailbox. We have no one to turn to except our "everfriendly" Mr Ah Long.

This would be the start of a sad and sob story, end of our financial freedom and the beginning of a never-ending financial bondage. As the saying goes: "It doesn't rain but pours." In order to start on the right track to reducing your debt load and managing that debt effectively, you have to be honest with yourself about howyou are currently handling your finances. Ask yourself these three questions:

.Am I ever late on paying the rent/mortgage payments?

.Am I constantly dipping into my savings account to cover some bills?

.Am I starting to use credit cards for purchases I used to make using cash?

If you have answered "Yes" to any of these questions, you may need to reassess howyou are managing your debt, and educate yourself on ways to improve it.

Let's take a look at how we can manage our debts wisely.

Effective strategies for debt management

Determining a solid strategy to reduce your debt will help you to stay on track and reach your financial goals. Stay on target with these suggestions:

. Make a commitment to go no further into debt

This means that all your future purchases must be made in cash and if you don't trust yourself with all those plastic cards, cut them up immediately.

. Create an emergency buffer

Normally, financial planners will recommend putting aside sufficient funds to tide over three to six months' expenses. In this way, you'll be able to hold to your commitment when other "surprises" pop up.

. Develop a realistic budget

This should include the monthly amount dedicated to debt repayment (which should be the first item on the list of expenses). Here, you'd need to cut-off all those "nice-to-have" items and focus on eliminating your debts first

. Create a realistic repayment schedule

In creating this schedule, we'd first need to prioritise our debts, beginning with the ones with the highest interest charges, while ensuring the required minimum repayment is made to the rest.

After settling the first one, move on to the next until all debts are eliminated. Some people may prefer to start with the smallest loan and work their way to the bigger ones later.

Use the strategy that works best for you but do remember to give yourself a small treat after repaying each debt and a bigger treat at the end of it all.

You truly deserve it.

. Be accountable to someone special

Nothing drives you more than doing something for your loved ones. They will be able to give you the required moral and emotional support to help you stay on track.

. Set up a visual system to show your progress

This can be in the form of a chart or graph that shows your declining debt balances each month. Paste it right in front of the television, on the refrigerator or even in the toilet! It will not only serve as a reminder but more importantly as a motivating factor to spur you on till you eliminate all your debts What a big relief! Finally, you 're debt free and can feel a heavy load off your back. This may take from one to five years but make a vow to yourself to never ever get trapped into this situation again.

Continue on with that discipline and use the amount that you'd allocated toward your debt for other productive purposes like saving for your retirement or perhaps paying your mortgage off early.

If you are currently in debt, educating yourself on ways to become debt-free and sticking to those methods is the key to living a healthy financial life.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Your family suffers when there's no will

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:27:19 +0800

MANY years ago, I met a businessman from Tanjung Malim. He and his brother ran a very successful rubber products manufacturing factory. After reading my first book, You Can't Manage Your Money ... Especially When You're Rich, he came to my office. He shared with me the origin and history of Will and Trust in Britain.
According to him -- his wife was British -- h had a lot of opportunity to learn and understand the subject from his friends and relatives in Britain.

Frankly, I was impressed by his knowledge. He even had knowledge of things that I was not aware of.

However, as the conversation went further, I asked him whether he has written his will. Guess what was his answer? "No, not yet. Haven't got around to it yet."

I must say that this is not an exceptional case among Malaysian business owners. Throughout my practice, I have had many public-listed company owners who confessed to me that they have not done their will yet.
For example, Nina Wang from Hong Kong and Dhirubhai Ambani from India (the founder of Reliance Group, the largest private sector company in India).

Therefore, not having a will is definitely another common problem in wealth maximisation. Without addressing this problem, your wealth maximisation success is always limited because you don't have legal plan to manage your wealth when you leave this world.

Case study

In year 2006, I was invited by a public-listed company in Penang to train its directors and senior management on wealth maximisation.

After completing the training, the daughter of the company's founder approached me to clarify some points on writing a will.

In our discussion, she shared with me that her father passed away two years earlier without leaving a will. Her father had four wives and 12 children. Until today, the family members cannot agree on an administrator for the estate. Many children would like to be the administrator to protect their own interest in the estate. They have gone through many rounds of discussion but still could not reach any agreement.

Without an administrator, a lot of the assets under the estate were left unattended incurring unnecessary cost and losses because nobody had the power to deal with the assets during this period.

She was not sure how long it was going to take for the estate to be distributed to the beneficiaries.

The problem of not having a will

You may wonder why things become so complicated when one passes away without leaving a will. Actually the complication is caused by a combination of the following problems:

- Appointment of estate administrator. To administer the estate of the deceased, the court needs to appoint an administrator from the lawful beneficiaries.

If all the lawful beneficiaries are 18 years old and above, one administrator will be appointed. If there are minor beneficiaries (below 18 years old), two administrators will be appointed.

All lawful beneficiaries under Distribution Act 1958 (as amended in 1997) must give written consent to appoint the administrator.

In the above example, the family in Penang was not able to get all the beneficiaries to consent to appoint the same administrator because some beneficiaries were afraid that they would end up giving up his/her share in the inheritance. There was no one that all the beneficiaries could trust to act fairly and competently as the administrator.

- Requirement of surety. According to Malaysian law, two sureties are required by the High Court. The surety will provide the security bond for the due administration of the estate. The security is normally is the prescribed form in the amount equivalent to the gross estate value.

In the above example, the estate value is estimated to be about RM50 million. Therefore, the family also faced problem finding someone who was willing to become the surety for the estate.

- Distribution formula. Without leaving a will, one's estate (non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia) will be distributed according to the Distribution Act 1958 (as amended in 1997).

Under the act, an estate will be distributed to mainly three parties, namely the parents, spouse and the issues (children and children's descendants).

In the above case study, only the first wife was legally married. Therefore, only the children of the first wife are the legitimate children. The children of the other three wives are all illegitimate children.

According to the Distribution Act, illegitimate children are not entitled to inherit the estate. You can imagine the tension among the illegitimate children when they found out that they were not entitled to even a single cent of the estate.

Solution

- Get your will written. When you have a valid will, you can decide on the way and portion you wish to give to your loved ones rather than letting the law, that is the Distribution Act, to decide.

First, you list down all the assets you have currently. Then, you list down the people that you want to benefit from your estate. Finally, you decide who will benefit what in your will.

- Appoint the executor that you can really trust. I have come across people who appointed their friend, business partner or even their clerk as the executor due to misunderstanding of the executor's role.

The executor of your will is your legal representative in court in the event of your death. He or she would have all the power to deal with your financial assets. Therefore, you have to make sure that you appoint someone you can really trust to execute your will.

If you appoint the wrong person, your heirs may end up facing bigger problems in your estate administration. If you have difficulty in getting a suitable candidate to be your executor, you might want to consider professional trustees that are licensed by the government.

- Appoint a guardian for your minor children. If you have children under the age of 21, they need a guardian to take care of them in the event of your death.

Normally, your spouse, who is the natural mother or father of your children, would be their guardian. Therefore, the guardian you appoint in your will would only act in the event that your spouse doesn't survive you.

- Keep your will in proper custody. Your job of preparing a will doesn't end after signing it. You need to make sure your will can be found when needed. Therefore, you can't keep it at a place nobody knows at all. Otherwise, no one will know where to find your will in the event of your death.

At the same time, you also need to ensure there is controlled access and confidentiality of your will to prevent tampering of the will.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Danger of excessive spending

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:25:53 +0800

THE founder of one of the largest investment fund in the world, Sir John M. Templeton, once said: "Those who are thrifty will grow wealthy, and
those who are spendthrifts will become poor. During my first 15 years after college, I made a game of adhering to a budget that included saving 50 cents out of every earnings."
In fact, the discipline of being able to control our spending and save consistently would make or break our wealth maximisation success.

Case study

Many years ago, I met Joshua in a business seminar. He was then the managing director of a multinational corporation. He was in his late 40s. Over a conversation, he shared with me that he was earning RM600,000 per year. I must admit that I was impressed. I was still new to the industry then.

RM600,000 annual income was really big.

I expected him to have accumulated a substantial amount of wealth over the years. However, when I added up all his assets, I found that his total asset was less than RM2 million. His net worth was less than RM1 million. More than 70 per cent of his net worth was from his EPF saving.

Iwas really shocked.I asked him where all his income has gone to.

He told me that he didn't know.

Every month, his family and he spent the income to maintain their life style. At the end of the month, there was nothing much left to accumulate and invest. Every time there was an income increment, he just increased his spending accordingly. This is a classic example of excessive spending.

The problem Joshua is definitely the classic victim of Parkinson's Law. The law states that your expenditures rise to meet your income.

Remember the time when we started working, we earned about RM1,500 per month. Then, we barely had enough money to sustain our monthly expenses.

However, we were not worried.

We knew that when our income increased later, we would have some saving. After a few years, our income rose to RM3,000 per month. Did you really end up having a lot of saving? The answer, of course, is no. You discovered that your expenditures actually went up to meet your income. As a result, you didn't have much to save. To most people, the same thing happens when their income increases to RM5,000, RM10,000 or RM15,000. In the case of my friend, Joshua, his expenditures rose to meet his income of RM50,000 per month.

When you suffer from excessive spending disease, it will cause the following problems to your wealth maximisation:

.The more we spend, the less we save
The first problem is simple and obvious. The more we spend, the less we can save. As a result, we would have less resource to invest.

.The more we spend, the more we need to sustain during retirement
When you spend the majority of your income to maintain your current life style, you create a huge challenge to maintain your life style in the event that your active income stops.

We can see the picture better by using Joshua as an example. He spent almost all of his income almost every month to maintain his RM30,000 life style. Should he retire, he would have to maintain a retirement life style of RM30,000 per month without his active income.

This would present a very huge challenge. However, if he were to control his living expenses to RM20,000 per month, not only would he have extra RM10,000 to save, also he would need only maintain a life style of RM20,000 per month during his retirement.

.The more we spend, the higher rate of investment return we need The more we spend and the less we save, the more risk we will need to take in wealth accumulation planning.

Lets take an example of RM5 million accumulation goal in Table 1. Assume that your are 45 and plan to retire at 60. If you can save RM180,000 per annum, you need to achieve only 8.3 per cent of return on investment (ROI). If you can save less at RM120,000 per annum, you need to achieve a higher ROI at 13.4 per cent. If you can only save RM50,000 per annum, you need to achieve 23.9 per cent of ROI for RM5 million goal.

Therefore, the lesser you save, the higher ROI is required to achieve your accumulation target.

As a result, you will need to take higher investment risk to achieve the same goal. When we do not need to achieve a high ROI, we do not need to take too much risk and volatility. The less risk we take, the more peaceful our life will be.

Alternative solutions

.Acknowledge the danger of Parkinson 's Law
To avoid the problem of excessive spending, you must be aware of the impact of Parkinson's Law. You need to know that saving would not come naturally unless you make it an effort to control your spending. Unless you acknowledge the danger of Parkinson 's Law, it is very difficult for you to tackle excessive spending
.Spend after you save
The most effective practice to avoid excessive spending is to spend after you have provided for saving (Income -Savings = Expenses. NOT Income -Expenses = Savings). By forcing yourself to save more, you would definitely have less to spend. As a result, you are able to control your living expenses and live within your means.

. Conduct a life-long cash-flow plan
In order for you to know your optimum life style (living expenses) and savings required to support that life style without active income, it is important that you conduct a life-long cash-flow plan.

This cash-flow plan will project your annual income and expenses until the last day of your life.

By doing this exercise, you can find out what living standards yo u can afford and determine the savings needed during your active income years.

As a result, you can appreciate how challenging it is to sustain high living expenses without active income.

Hopefully, you can also recognise the urgency and importance to start saving now.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Planning for a 'happily ever after' ending

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:24:04 +0800

SOME married people would joke that there are three "rings" in marriage -- the engagement ring, the wedding ring and the suffer-ring!

Ouch! How did that "ring" ever get onto our finger? Statistics have shown that one of the root causes of marital problems revolves around money. Just imagine if one individual can't manage his finances well, what more when you put two together and later along with a few more juniors.)

Let's talk

Are you a saver while your spouse is a spender? Coming together from two separate worlds, we may have our own ideas and feelings about money. We should sit down with our spouse to discuss how we regard and use money -- be it how many pairs of shoes you "need" to buy to how many packs of cigarettes you smoke per month.
Be honest about all debts and loans, especially if you have any outstanding credit card loans or the number of Ah Long "friends". Being opened with your finances, it can be difficult but it's better to share that information now than face surprises later. Talking about money early in your marriage may save you a lot of heartaches.

Tying the financial knot

When we tie the knot, we have to ensure that our own financial knot is not entangled. It would be wise to be clear on each other's roles and responsibilities pertaining to household finances. For example, who is going to pay the bills, save for children's education and pay those monthly loan installments?

It is also very important to decide on the issue of parental allowance as both parties have to agree on giving an acceptable amount to parents on both sides.

Ideally, if both the husband and wife are working, they should maintain at least three accounts -- "My Account", "Your Account" and "Our Account". This would allow each party to maintain some independence over their personal purchases while contributing their fair share towards joint expenses. Having a combined cash flow statement showing "His", "Her" and "Our" income and expenses, may be a good idea.

Another area is on the treatment of each other's assets and liabilities. If a marriage starts on a clean sheet of paper, then both of you could still decide later on -- either in joint names or in either party's name.

However, if the union comes with "excess baggage", then the couple would need to be clear on how to deal with their existing personal assets and liabilities. Are they going to combine them or treat them separately as their own responsibilities?

Very often, couples tend to carry over their liabilities into their marriage and that may be the bone of contention later on in their married life. Having a combined net worth statement showing "His", "Her" and "Our" assets and liabilities, may prevent any arguments.

Peace of mind

Another very important area that should be looked into is Life Insurance. It would almost be a necessity to have sufficient coverage when we get married and start a family. This is because we are no longer living for ourselves anymore but also for our loved ones. Are we to leave our spouse and children in dire financial distress should something unfortunate happen to us?

Life Insurance ensures that our dependents can pick up the pieces and carry on living with some measure of financial comfort. They need not worry about where the money would come from or whether they would still have a roof over their heads.

For those who already have some life insurances, it is advisable to review your benefits. You may need to drop some coverage if your spouse's plan covers the family or perhaps enhance them to include your family.

It is also advisable to update your beneficiaries if necessary. Ultimately, we want to optimise our benefits to be able to walk down the aisle with peace of mind.

Plan your financialfuture together

After reviewing what you have and expressing your feelings about money, you can now start planning your financial future together, which in essence is planning your life together as husband and wife.

The other area may be your love nest. Where is it going to be? When is it going to be? Will it be landed or a "space in the air"? If landed, will it be single or double-storey or perhaps a semi-D, or your very own bungalow?

Property cost may be the single largest family expense and both of you have to manage your expectations.

The second thing may be children. Those bundles of joy may need bundles of cash too. It's not too far-fetched to say that we may need as much as one million ringgit to raise a child in the future as a big chunk of it goes towards their education. Therefore, if the both of you decide to have a football team, then you'll really need to sit down and start planning!

Lastly, one of you may decide to quit job after marriage to concentrate on building a family. That's not a bad idea but this topic should be discussed as early as possible to better prepare yourselves. Both of you have to agree on who's going to be the "Finance Minister" and who's going to be the "Home Minister". It may be gradual (like going from full-time to part-time) or it may be immediate but the decision should not give raise to financial predicament.

Living happily ever after

Marriage is just not a word; it's a sentence -- a life sentence. As you enter into this new stage of life, remember to review your finances together regularly as both of you will be taking a long journey together as man and wife.

While love is important, money is a necessary ingredient towards a blissful marriage. So, start planning for a financially secure marriage so that you too, may one day have a fairytale ending: "... and they lived happily ever after."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Teaching children the value of money

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:20:20 +0800

One of the most challenging areas of personal finance is teaching our children about the value of money.
It is more than just teaching them to be cautious about their spending habits and to save some of the money they earn. It includes helping them to understand the positive and negative aspects of money.

For example, children need to learn that while it is nice to show someone love by buying a gift, it is just as important to show love through actions and words.

Children and parents should talk about their feelings, values, attitudes and beliefs about money.

This helps children understand that conflicts about money occurs and needs to be discussed in the family and that compromise is often necessary.
Does money grow on trees?

In reality, children have very different concepts about money as compared with adults. This is partly because they need not work for it and have the perception that it's something that is always there - just like the leaves on the trees. Therefore, when we teach our children about money, we have to put ourselves in their shoes (and not just put money in their pockets).

For instance, a young child may ask parents how much money they make, but what they really want to know is not how much the parents earn, but why they can't have a certain toy or why they can't throw the same kind of party like some of their friends.

It is important for parents to use examples or activities that match the child's stage of development, not necessarily the child's actual age in years. It is also important for parents to communicate with children about money matters in very concrete terms.

Children want to know how to operate in the adult world. Any time money is earned, moved, spent, donated, shared, borrowed or saved provides an opportunity for parents to teach children how the money world works and what thoughts and feelings go into making money decisions.

Where to begin?

The way to train children is actually very simple. Whatever money management principles we learn as parents should be passed along to our children. The difficulty comes in deciding which principles to teach at what age and how to get children to understand.

However, here are three principles that are applicable to both parents and children.

- Teach by example

As parents, how often have we used the phrase "Do as I say, not as I do"? Children learn mainly through indirect teaching; by observation and example. Therefore, it's rather confusing for the child to see their parents say one thing and do something else.

Parents need to demonstrate that they're willing to put aside personal indulgences to meet the needs of the family and others. In that way, the same consistent message gets across to the child that financial prudence is part of their family lives. Through observation, children learn a great deal more than parents realise.

Parents can add to this observational learning through intentionally planned learning activities. As you teach children about money they can learn about responsibility, family values and attitudes, decision-making, comparison-shopping, setting goals and priorities, and managing money outside the home.

- Exercise self-control

There's no way parents can establish financial discipline in their children if they themselves are not disciplined.

As mentioned above, parents should be a role models for their children and walk their talk. We can't just tell our children that they can't have that toy because we are saving up for their education, but the very next day we buy the latest handphone in the market (on credit).

Parents should share their budgets with their children and discuss with them what the family's priorities are and show them how to save money towards those set priorities. Parents must not only teach but also practice moderation, regardless of their ability to generate income.

- Live on a budget

We have discussed a great deal about this topic but it's worth emphasising here again.

Living on a budget does not necessarily mean living like a pauper. A budget is a plan for you to spend your money wisely without having to feel guilty about it later.

Every family needs to have a budget, no matter what the family income is. Teach children at an early age how to develop a budget.

Create a master family budget and then have a personal budget for each and every family member. Tell them how their personal budgets would affect the family budget and ultimately affect where your next family vacation is going to be.

Shape their spending habit

One of the best things parents can do for their children to instil financial discipline is to mould their spending habits. Determine and tell them in advance how much money they will receive and set some ground rules as to how they are allowed to spend it.

Nevertheless, these rules cannot be too restrictive. Parents should allow their children to experience the freedom of spending their money on what they want. This will give them room to make occasional mistakes in their purchases - mistakes from which they learn.

As parents, we want our children to think hard about their spending choices, but their mistakes should never be over-emphasised. Rather, when we see them making wise buying decisions, it is time for plenty of praise.

Conclusion

Like a tree, it takes a lot of time and nurturing for it to grow well.

Likewise, with regard to financial management, parents' goals should be slowly to develop financial discipline and wisdom in their children. It doesn't happen overnight, but with consistency, the seeds of responsibility that parents sow will eventually take root in the lives of their children.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

[addedon]March 30, 2008, 1:22 pm[/addedon]To spend or not to spend
Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency (AKPK)

How many times have we thought of whether we should buy something or not? Almost every time when we take money out of pockets? Have a day passed by without us having spent a single cent? The question is not whether to spend or not but rather, how do we control our spending habits. Below are some smart spending habits to adopt in order to be financially healthy
There is a Malay proverb that says ukur baju di badan sendiri that we should measure our clothes on our own shoulders. This is the equivalent of saying that we should spend according to our budget.

We have already covered the topic on budgeting in our previous article and to reiterate it, budgeting is really a plan for us to spend without feeling guilty about it later.

What is important is having a "spending plan" in the first place. Without it, you would most likely be spending on impulse. You can't avoid impulse buying totally and it's not wrong. There would be times when you just can't resist that aroma flowing from that cup of Cappuccino or that pair of shoes or handbag which is on sale. However, when it becomes the norm rather than the exception, you have to be wary of your spending habit.

In preparing your spending plan, you should also learn to anticipate your needs.
For example, if you are going to get yourselves new clothes for the coming festive season, get it earlier during the Mega Sale or whenever a good bargain comes your way (for example, during a warehouse sale or closing down sale).

If you were to buy an umbrella each time it starts raining, you not only end up with too many umbrellas but may have to pay a premium for it.

It is also advisable to budget for unexpected expenses like wedding angpows, car repairs, home repairs and so on. These items, if not provided for, may throw us off-budget.
Compare prices

Do you make it a habit to shop around before buying something or do you just buy it?

Some of us might argue that the time and cost of shopping around before buying a bottle of cooking oil or a tube of toothpaste may not be worth it.

True. That is why you have to be a smart consumer. You should plan your purchases and have a record of the prices of essential items. You could devise your very own "price book" to record down the prices of the items that you buy regularly and know exactly where and when you can get the best deal.

For example, if Store A has the lowest prices for most of the items in your shopping list during weekdays, then you should plan your grocery shopping during the weekday there. However, if Store B has the best bargains during the weekends and you are only free during the weekends, you should go there instead.

The point is, have a shopping list and a price book and stick to them. In fact, you can make this entire process a fun family activity by getting your children's help in doing a "price survey" each time they go shopping.
Each family member can then compare notes to see who can find the best bargain in town. This would not only help us in comparing prices but also teach our children the value of money.

Branded Stuff

What's in a name? Everything. It may be worth more than the product itself, and as consumers, we tend to buy the brands that we trust the most. This is well and fine but when we end up buying things that we don't need or can't afford, it becomes a problem.

Some of us buy branded stuff because we are influenced by the images conjured and emotional appeal created by the advertisement itself and not because we need it.
As a smart consumer, we have to sometimes look beyond the brand and ask ourselves: "Do I really need it?", "Is it really worth that much?" and "Can I really afford it?"

Don't make purchases based on images or even what your friends have but rather on your needs and the merits of the product itself.
Buying Second-Hand Items

The thought of buying second-hand items might put some people off but this is a great way to stretch your ringgit. The greatest benefit of doing so is to allow the first buyer to take the initial depreciation of the goods, which is normally the largest.
For example, buying a new car. Most of the time, the new car owner would suffer between 10 and 20 per cent depreciation of the value of his new car the moment he drives it out of the showroom. If he sells it after 3 years, he may get two-thirds of the initial purchase price, if he is lucky. Imagine if you'd bought it from him... it's like getting a "discount".
Yes, you may not get that "new smell" of a car but does it really matter? It may be worth the sacrifice as long as the car is well-maintained, accident-free and heavily discounted.

Another good example of products that we may not want to buy new is baby products, especially clothing and toys.

Some of us might cringe at that idea but it is not uncommon. Baby clothing is not cheap and your baby will most likely wear for a short period of time as he/she will outgrow the clothing very fast. Ideally,you could get hand-me-downs for free by dropping a hint here and there. Otherwise, you could either borrow or buy them second-hand from parents who no longer need them.

Buying second-hand items can also include new items sold at a fraction of their original price because of product defects, factory overruns and clearance of old stocks.

Unless you are a celebrity or some very important public figure, you do not need to be spotted with the latest fashion or newest model of mobile phones, watches etc. If you do not mind the slight defects or it being a slightly older model, there are plenty of opportunities to grab a good bargain.

There are numerous places to consider when buying these items, including warehouse sales, factory outlets, garage sales, junk stores and the flea markets.
The process of bargaining can be quite fun and you will certainly sharpen your bargaining skills over time.

The Sleep Test

Shopping can be an addiction and is not easy to resist. We all know the symptoms when the buying bug bites. We feel the adrenalin rush that makes our hearts desire for it; then it goes right up to our head and we start rationalising about it. We tell ourselves that since we worked so hard, we truly deserve it and want to reward ourselves just this once. Finally, it triggers our hands to dig into our pockets and out comes the plastic card - Charge it.

Our will may be strong but our flesh is weak. However, one effective way to counter this is by "sleeping over it".
This is especially useful when buying a new car, changing the old furniture set, renovating our home, buying a plasma/ LCD TV or a home-theatre system.
Before committing yourselves to these expensive items, sleep over it and take a closer look at your budget to see if the purchase fits into your current plan.
Discuss it over with your spouse or family members and take all the time you need to think it through because once the money is gone, it's gone.

When making your next purchase, ask yourself these questions: "Do I really need it?", "Is it within my budget?" "Is it the best deal?" "Can I find a cheaper brand with the same value?" "Can I find a second-hand item instead?"

Agensi Kaunseling Dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) is an agency set up by Bank Negara Malaysia to provide financial education, credit counseling and debt restructuring services to individuals. All services offered by AKPK are free of charge. For further information, please visit us at our website www.akpk.org.my or call us at our toll free number 1-800-88-2575.

AKPK is established to proactively ensure that the household sector continues to be resilient by providing an avenue for individual borrowers and potential borrowers to seek advice and assistance in managing their finances and debts while at the same time promoting a sound and robust banking system.

AKPK's mission is to Make Prudent Financial Management a Way of Life for all Malaysians. Financial and credit education is the answer to many of the problems consumers face today. AKPK has made it its goal to provide a variety of educational services designed to help individuals to take control of their financial situation and gain a peace of mind that comes from the wise use of credit.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Spend wisely to stretch your ringgit

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:17:48 +0800

WE have been discussing saving and controlling our spending the past few weeks. Since we're still in a festive mood and having to spend is inevitable in times like these, let's learn how to spend wisely instead.
Make a list

Generally, there are two kinds of spenders -- the Impulsive Spender and the Decisive Spender.

An impulsive spender is a person who spends under the influence of his/her emotions while a decisive spender would have thought through carefully on what he/she would need to spend on.

All of us have these two traits in us but one would normally be more dominant than the other. To spend wisely, we'll need to bring up the decisive spender in us and one of the ways is to simply make a list.
How many of us have a shopping list whenever we go shopping, either for our weekly groceries or once-a-year festival shopping?

From pure observation, we don't find many people holding on to that little piece of paper while pushing their cart. They must either have very good memory or they just buy whatever catches their eyes and moves their hearts.

We're not saying that you should be putting on the spending brakes most of the time, but spend responsibly and wisely.

The next time you intend to head towards the hypermarket or shopping centres, sit down with your family members and pass the list round the table. Ask each one to list down what they intend to buy and the one who's forking out the money would have the last say. Use your judgment on what to approve and what to disallow but bear in mind that children (adults, too) need a little treat once in a while.

Check prices

After making the list, check your Price Book (remember we talked about this some weeks back) for the items listed therein.

Write the price down by the side of each item and the place offering it and finally, tally the total amount. Compare it with your monthly/weekly shopping budget to see if it is within your budget.

If it is, let's get going. If not, you'll just have to prioritise your needs and somebody will not be too happy as his/her items may have to be struck off.

If you still don't have a Price Book, perhaps it's time you started compiling one. As we all know, inflation is on the rise and prices of goods and services will only go up.

Develop your own Price Book so that you will be able to know where to get the best deals for all those essential items that you buy regularly.

We're not suggesting that you go to Hypermarket A to get a tube of toothpaste and hop over to Supermarket B to get your fresh vegetables. Look at your pre-planned shopping list, check the prices and see where you can get most of the items at the best prices.

Time your purchase

Plan your shopping trips in advance so that you don't have to drive down to the supermarket just to buy a tray of eggs and later, to the hypermarket to get a pack of toilet rolls. Our cars don't run on air.

The whole point is to optimise the use of our resources, including our precious time and try not to waste anything, if possible.

In addition, try not to shop during festive periods unless the bargain is too good to be missed.

Normally, prices of essential items would escalate due to the surge in demand and over-profiteering from unscrupulous traders.

Shop and store such essential items in advance wherever possible so that we will not be caught in the last minute shopping frenzy.

Buy in bulk

Nope, we're not suggesting that you open a retail shop yourself by buying in bulk but for your personal consumption.

There are two distinct advantages of buying in bulk. Firstly, the prices of such goods should be relatively cheaper as there is what economist would call "economies of scale."

Secondly, by buying in bulk, your bargaining power should be greater and thus, you may be able to bargain for a better price.

We understand that not all things can be bought in such a way (can you imagine buying cars in bulk?) but generally, toiletries and other non-perishable items are ideal.

There may be few places which sell in bulk too and sometimes, you'd have to trace the source, that is, go direct to the wholesalers.

It may be a good idea to ask your friends and neighbours to pool your purchases together. If that's too cumbersome, then you'll just have to wait for warehouse or stock clearance sales, but watch out for the expiry date on the items.

You may also want to start shopping for your Christmas or birthday gifts during these warehouse sales. It's really never too early to stock-up.

In conclusion, try as far as possible to inculcate the habit of shopping with a list and stick to it.

Develop your very own Price Book so that you may check and compare prices before you purchase anything.

When you shop and how you shop will also determine how far you can stretch your ringgit.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Business: Secrets to achieving a loan-free life

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:15:12 +0800

We looked at the burden of having too much debt and suggested some smart ways of managing them last week.
This week, we will learn how to manage loans, especially home mortgage and car loans, which probably form the bulk of our loans. Ultimately, we want to be able to live in peace and to be truly free from debt stress.

Should you take a loan?

Now, most of you may think the question is absurd and may be saying to yourselves: "What, you expect me to buy my house and my car with cash?"

But before you flip the page, let's try to understand some basic principles about taking on a loan.
First of all, we have to be aware that "the borrower is the slave of the lender". Wow, are you aware of this?

When we borrow, we are at the mercy of the lender and we would have to work very hard throughout our lives just to settle our debts. We would have to sacrifice precious time with our loved ones and forego pursuing our own hobbies because we have to put in longer hours at work.

Why? Because we have loan commitments. In essence, most of us, irrespective of our professions, are working for the banks.

Secondly, we should "never go into debt for anything that you don't expect to appreciate in value". This is a good principle to follow the next time you intend to take a loan.

Take, for example, your car. There are so many young people who can't wait to get behind the wheel, and not just any wheel. Their cars must be trendy, stylish and sporty.

It's truly amazing how a fresh graduate could afford a brand new car, but wait... you don't even need to put a down payment these days! Just vroom the car out of the showroom and pay later, goes the marketing pitch.

Do you know that the value of the car drops by 10-20 per cent the moment it leaves the showroom?

If you really "need" to get a car, buy it with cash. Otherwise, there's always the LRT, buses or car-pooling (This can help reduce traffic jams, as well.)

Having said that, there may be times when taking a hire-purchase to finance your much needed car is warranted.

There are manufacturers who may want to clear their existing stock and offer very attractive financing schemes.

You would have to compare the cost of borrowing with what you can earn from your savings/investments.

However, hire-purchase rates are never the same as bank interest rates. A good rule of thumb would be to double-up what you're offered as your financing charge.

So, remember this: for hire-purchase rates, what you see is not what you pay!

Do you own your home?

Now, let's take a look at our dream home. It's probably the single largest loan for most of us. We have to consider carefully before committing to one.

As mentioned last week, not many of us are able to buy a house outright with cash.

Instead, we apply the 90/10 formula - 90 per cent loan, with 10 per cent down payment for the purchase of our home.

Unless you've bought your home outright with cash, you can't really say that you own your home. You may have a home but not own it, at least not yet.

Technically, the bank owns your home until you've fully settled all your loan obligations. Only then, the legal ownership of the house reverts back to you.

To purchase a house, it's seldom feasible to buy it outright with cash and it's quite all right to take a loan.

This is because a house will, in most cases, appreciate in value over time and is generally a good hedge against inflation.

However, you would have to ensure that your monthly instalments are not too burdensome to the point that it affects more important areas of your life.

It would be meaningless to be living in your dream home but having to constantly worry about how you're going to make the next monthly instalment.

Remember, our ultimate goal is to be able to live in peace and be free from debt-stress.

The sooner the better...

The sooner we are able to pay off our mortgage, the faster we will be able to live in peace and be free from debt-stress.

In the process, we will be able to save thousands of ringgit in interest charges (which you can use to buy your car!)

So, how can we pay off our loans faster and own our homes earlier? Let's reveal the secret...

Until recently, there were only term loans, and if you were committed to a 30-year loan, you'll take exactly 30 years to pay it off.

By that time, your house would have probably doubled in value (as would your age).

You would be proud that you made a wise investment decision 30 years ago, but upon further analysis, you would realise that you have paid as much interest, if not more, than your original loan amount.

In short, the value of your house must appreciate that much to make up for all those interest charges.

So, don't go popping the champagne just yet, unless you bought your property for RM50,000 at that time, and it is worth half a million today.

The trick to a debt-free life is to pay off your loans as soon as possible to save on interest charges.

Nowadays, banks offer various loan packages with various features and flexibilities.

You should carefully pick one which suits your requirement and pay close attention to other terms and conditions, like penalties and so on.

A good package may be one that allows you to pay any amount at any time and at the most competitive rates, with the least restrictions.

Set a goal of a desired time-frame by which you want to fully settle your mortgage, and commit yourself to that goal.

Dump your bonus into it along with all your "angpows" or pay more than the required amount every month.

In no time at all, you can say to yourself, "I own my home." What a great feeling that'd be!

Debt Free, Stress Free!

In summary, if we can lead a debt-free life, there's a strong possibility that we would have a stress-free life too, at least financially. So to attain this goal, remember to put into practice the basic principles discussed above.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Taxable income for individuals, businesses

jack2008 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:11:06 +0800

Taxable income for individuals, businesses

By LEE VOON SIONG

This is the second article in a series of four weekly articles to assist taxpayers in complying with their tax obligations.

ALL revenue income derived from a source within Malaysia are subject to tax unless specifically exempted. Foreign source income remitted into Malaysia are exempted from tax.

Employment income which must be reported in the employee's tax return include salary, wages, commission, bonus, gratuity, perquisite or allowances.
The classes of income that are subject to tax for an individual include the following:

Employment income

Employment income which must be reported in the employee's tax return includes the following:

# Salary, wages, commission, bonus, gratuity, perquisite or allowances (perquisite would include the following payments made by the employer on behalf of the employee: utility bills, income tax, children's education expenses, individual club membership, employee share option scheme and loan interest);

# Benefits-in-kind such as car, driver, corporate club membership, mobile phone, household furniture and appliances; and

# Value of living accommodation, servant and gardener.

Certain expenses are allowable against the employment income such as professional membership fees, and travelling and entertainment expenses. The onus is on the employee to prove to the Internal Revenue Board that the expenses were incurred for business purposes.

Employment income which is exempted from tax and need not be reported includes:

# Leave passages provided to the employee, his spouse and children up to a maximum of RM3,000 for one overseas trip and up to a maximum of three local trips per year;

# Retirement gratuities (on meeting certain conditions);

# Employees Provident Fund withdrawals; and

# Dental or medical treatment or child care benefit.

Dividend income

The tax treatment will be as follows:

Normal dividends: Dividends are received net of tax by individual shareholders. The gross amount of the dividend is declared in the tax return.

A Section 110 tax credit (27%) can be claimed against the income tax suffered on the dividend income. If a resident individual's marginal tax rate is lower than 27%, the excess tax credit can either be refunded or used to set off against the tax payable on other sources of income.

Tax exempt and foreign dividends: These dividends are exempted from income tax and need not be declared in the tax return.

Expenses which are deductible against the dividend income are:

# Commission or brokerage fee;

# Stamp duty on transfer of shares; and

# Interest on loan obtained to purchase the shares.

Interest income

Interest income received is subject to income tax and is required to be reported in the tax return. However, interest paid by a financial institution in Malaysia to a resident individual is not required to be reported in the individual's tax return as the withholding tax of 5% is treated as a final tax.

Rental income

Rental income is required to be reported in the tax return and is normally treated as an investment income.

Expenses which are allowable against the rental income are:

# Quit rent and assessment;

# Insurance premium on the property;

# Replacement costs on assets used in the property;

# Repairs and maintenance;

# Interest on loan obtained to purchase the property;

# Commission and agency fee;

# Advertisement for letting out of property.

Expenses incurred on advertisement, commission and legal fees for the first tenancy agreement are not allowed as these expenses are capital in nature.

Rental losses are not allowed to be utilised to set-off against other sources of income.

Business income

The taxable income of a business is determined after deduction of the following:

# All expenses and outgoings incurred wholly and exclusively in the production of the business income;

# Capital allowances; and

# Any unabsorbed business losses brought forward.

Expenses which are wholly and exclusively incurred in the production of the business income would include:

# Interest on loan used in the business;

# Rental in respect of any land or building occupied;

# Employee costs;

# Specific provision for doubtful debts/bad debts; and

# Repairs and maintenance.

Depreciation on fixed assets is not deductible.

However, capital allowances can be claimed provided the fixed assets are owned by the taxpayer and are in use for the business at the end of the basis period.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...88&sec=business

Preparing personal income tax returns

Preparing personal income tax returns

By LEE VOON SIONG

WHO is required to submit a tax return? A person who is chargeable to tax is required to submit an income tax return to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

Chargeability to tax would depend on the amount of income reported and the reliefs and deductions claimed. For example, an employee who is single and earning RM27,000 annually would be chargeable to tax if his claim for relief is limited to self relief and Employees Provident Fund.

An individual who is filing his tax return for the first time will have to register a tax file with the IRB. He can do this by going to the nearest IRB office and bringing along his identity card/passport, Form EA and marriage certificate, if married.

How will you be taxed?

An individual is taxed on his chargeable income after deduction of personal reliefs. He will be taxed at scale rates starting from 0% (on the first RM2,500) to a maximum of 28% (on chargeable income exceeding RM250,000).

A non-resident individual will be taxed at a flat rate of 28% on his gross income without any relief.

Types of tax returns

Any taxpayer who has not been issued a tax return by March 31 must request for one from the IRB by April 14.

The income tax form must be completed and submitted to the IRB's Processing Unit in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur. The types of income tax forms issued by the IRB are shown in the table.

Taxpayers who have previously submitted their tax returns via e-filing will no longer be issued tax returns.

Taxpayers who have received their tax returns but wish to submit their tax returns via e-filing can do so by logging in to the IRB's website (https://e.hasil.org.my) using the pin number printed on their income tax returns. An acknowledgment will be issued online automatically upon submission of the return.

For taxpayers who are filing their tax returns for the first time and wish to use the e-filing system, they can obtain their pin number as follows:

# Visit the nearest IRB office, or

# Call the IRB office and fax over a copy of their IC with their handphone number. The pin number will be sent via SMS.

Any person who fails to submit a return or notify the director general of his chargeability to tax will, on conviction, be liable to a fine of between RM200 and RM2,000 or imprisonment of up to six months or both.

How to settle tax liability?

Employees are subject to schedular tax deduction (STD) on their monthly remuneration based on an STD table. The STD will have to be remitted by the employer to the IRB by the 10th of the following month.

For taxpayers who received income other than employment income, the tax liability on that income will have to be settled by six bimonthly instalment payments starting from March the following year.

The IRB will issue a Notice of Instalment Payment (CP 500) stating the amount, due date and number of instalments.

Each instalment must be remitted to the IRB within 30 days from the due date. If the taxpayer is not agreeable to the instalment scheme, he can request for a variation by June 30.

Any balance of tax payable (i.e, total tax payable less STD and instalment payments) must be remitted to the IRB by April 30 (non-business cases) or June 30 (business cases).

Tax payments can be made:

# At the IRB payment counter in Jalan Duta, KL;

# By attaching the cheque to the tax return submitted; or

# Via selected commercial banks appointed by the IRB (the bank in slip must be retained as evidence of payment).

Penalties of up to 15% will be imposed for late payment.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...26&sec=business

Your Health: Paying the price of a desk job

jack2008 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 17:39:19 +0800

Feeling weighed down by the heavy workload at your office? That's the
least of your worries, writes PANG WAI LING.
REMEMBER the time when you used to be more active in various activities and sports? How nimble you were as you passed the football around without batting an eyelid?

But look at how things have changed lately in your life. You now look in the mirror and what greets you is a reflection of a person struggling with the battle of the bulge.

A walk up two flights of stairs will turn you blue and send you gasping for air. Football now means sitting in front of the television watching other people doing the running around.

Realising how extra weight will put a dent on self esteem, performance and health, we should start taking responsibility to battle the bulge.

Avoid blaming factors like:

. Age is catching up on me;

. No time;

. Will start to exercise and be more active next month; and

. Looking for someone to exercise with.

Take a long hard look at yourself. Are you unwittingly falling into potential pitfalls that are turning you into a desk-potato at work?

MISTAKING THIRST FOR HUNGER

A lot of people tend to reach for a snack when they are bored or stressed. Instead of taking an extra bite which you don't need, try to reach for a sip instead. Keep a bottle of water at your desk and set a target of finishing it by the time you go home. Drinking adequate water throughout the day will provide you with the hydration you need and also make you feel fuller.

EATING TOO MANY MEALS OUTSIDE

A lot of research points to associations between frequency of eating out and levels of body fat and body mass index. Food portions generally tend to be huge when eating out, but low in important fibre and contains a high levels of sodium and fat. You may not have the option but to eat out for lunch on your working days, but how about starting to have breakfast more often in your house? Breakfast need not be an elaborate affair. It can just be some toast with light spreading, some cereal with low fat milk or some beverage with cereals in it.

Once you have achieved the desired change, then target to change other meals of the day.

Making small steps assures that you do not feel too overwhelmed by too many changes that you need to cope with.

EATING IN FRONT OF THE TV OR COMPUTER

When you focus your attention on another activity, you will be missing out on the taste and texture of the food.

A simple solution is to allocate a proper time for your sit-down meal where there's minimal distraction between you and your food -in other words, it means to pay attention to what you put into your mouth.

RUSHING THROUGH YOUR MEALS

Eating in a hurry may help you make that next meeting, but it can come with a number of negative effects. Apart from indigestion and heartburn, eating hastily also leads to overeating. It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to recognise the signal from stomach that it is actually full. It is important that you know how much time you need to finish your meal.

GIVING IN TO OFFICE TEMPTATIONS

Office can be a place where eating is frequent and snacking prevalent throughout the office hours. These snacks can range from the pieces of kuih muih served during meetings or the keropok handed to you by your colleague. You may also inadvertently store some peanuts or emergency biscuits in the drawer of your desk.

All this unneeded snacks can add up calories without us realising it -a curry puff during the morning meeting will cost you about 120 calories, two pieces of keropok passed around by your colleague may be another 200 calories and a handful of peanuts that you reach out for may add another 160 calories.

If this trend continues, it will be enough to make you grow sideways by the end of the year.

A study by Cornell University found a correlation between office eating and proximity to the freebies.

It states that those who sit closer to an office candy dish tend to both eat more candy and underestimate their consumption.

If you are those who can't resist the temptation of tidbits, just make sure to keep them out of your sight.

Pang Wai Ling, a dietitian at National Heart Institute, is also a member of Malaysian Dietitians' Association. This article is courtesy of Malaysian Dietitians' Association.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Business: Protecting your business interest

jack2008 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:23:12 +0800

WHEN we advise our clients on wealth maximisation, we always find that business interest forms a very major part of the overall wealth value. Therefore, a wealth maximisation plan must ensure your interest in business are properly protected and smoothly transferred to the heirs in its highest value.
From wealth maximisation point of view, your business interest is similar to your investment in stock market. The difference is that in stock market you invest into other people's companies, whereby in your business you invest in your own companies.

Proper planning for business interest is important. A smooth transition and succession of business interest would minimise unnecessary interruptions to business continuation and instill confidence into employees, suppliers, customers, banks and others.

With proper planning, one can be sure that one's life time effort and success continue to prosper in one's absence.

Protecting and distributing the business is not as simple as protecting assets like fixed deposits, shares accounts or unit trusts.
For such assets, you can just nominate the beneficiaries in the will and they can enjoy the benefits quite easily.

However, for an ongoing business interest, the full value is not so easily or fully realised. Getting the fair value out of the business is never easy even when there is time to plan the exit.

In the case of sudden death, it removes the most critical element from the planning process: time.

As such, successful transfer of business interest after death requires planning and consideration compared to other assets in the estate.

Types of business interest

There are three types of business ownership, namely: sole proprietorship, partnership and the corporation. These three types of business interest have different legal implications when the owner dies.

Sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is a business owned and operated by one person. A sole proprietorship is a business entity whose existence is not separated from the owner.

As such, the death of the business owner also means the termination of the business. The business interest is not passed immediately to the heirs. It has to go through a long and tedious process of administration or probate.

- Case study: Chong is in his early 40s and owns a successful accounting practice in Puchong with ten non-professional staff.

Even though the business monthly overhead runs are as high as RM50,000 per month, he can easily draw RM30,000 per month from the practice.

Chong is a sole proprietor. His wife stopped working so that she could spend more time with the children.

One day, a lorry knocked into Chong and he died. His death brought on tremendous financial crisis for his family.

His clients, who need accounting and taxation services within the due date, switched to the other accountants.

With less and less clients, the business income shrunk and there were difficulties paying the rentals, salaries and other business expenses.

His wife, not being an accountant, is not qualified to continue the business. She tried to sell the business to the other accountants but there was no takers.

There was no family income and his personal savings could only last the family for 10 months.

What could Chong have done to avoid this unfortunate mess?

Alternatives for a sole proprietorship business

When the sole proprietor dies, the heirs have one of the following alternatives to dispose off the business interest:

(a) The estate administrator or executor liquidates the business
Unless authorised by the will or court order, the administrator or executor must wind up and liquidate the business as soon as possible. Forced liquidation usually results in severe loss of business value.

(b) The executor continues the business until it can be sold as going concern

The proprietor's will gives the power to executor to continue the business and exempt him from personal liabilities for actions taken during this period.

However, the executor may be liable for any losses caused by his negligence or imprudence.

A few difficulties are foreseeable during this period. Firstly, the executor may not be experienced to run the business.

Secondly, after settling the outstanding estate liabilities, administration expense and taxes, the executor may not have sufficient working capital to continue the business.

To successfully sell off the business as going concern, the executor has to overcome the above two major challenges.

© The heirs inherit the business through the sole proprietor's will

In the proprietor's will, the business can be transferred to the heirs as a gift. However, the heirs may not have sufficient knowledge or ability to run the business profitably.

If they are not successful in running the business, they may dissipate their other estate inheritance in order to save the business.

As such, the business gift may turn out to be a liability rather than a asset for the heirs.

(d) Sale of the business by a agreement prior to the death of the sole proprietor

Before his death, the proprietor can offer the sale of his business to his employee or an interested outsider. Under this alternative, the potential buyer enters into a contractual agreement with the proprietor to buy the business at an agreed price.

Solutions

. Proper assessment of business value in comprehensive estate planning.

Among the three business forms, sole proprietorship is the most difficult to sell. It is a challenge to put a proper value on sole proprietorship business.

As such, it is important to have a comprehensive estate planner to help assess your business value. He would be able to highlight the probable shrinkage in its value under different circumstances.

. Update your will to give your executor the power to continue or sell the business. This extra flexibility would give more alternative for the heirs.

Without the power or instruction, the executor will wind up the business as soon as possible. This is due to the fact that the executor is bound by law to protect the assets in the estate.

If the heirs are interested to continue the business, you must instruct the executor to transfer the business to them.

. Look for a successor-owner in key employees.

For alternative (d), it is important for the proprietor to identify the potential successor and prepare him to take over the business one day.

You can enter into a contractual agreement with him to buy over your business upon your death.

. Look for potential buyer among professional friends.

For some professional practices like land surveyors, architects, consulting engineers and others, a sole proprietor can actually look for another professional to enter into a buy-sell agreement in alternative (d).

. Protect your family with life insurance.

This solution helps to cushion the financial impact of all the above-mentioned alternatives.

Alternative (a). Unlike the partnership or corporation that have other partners or shareholders in interest, a sole proprietorship's heir may not realise much value from the liquidation of the business. Under the forced liquidation, a loss of 40 to 90 per cent is not uncommon.

Life insurance helps to compensate the estate for the losses in the value of business. It guarantees your family adequate income irrespective of the success or failure of liquidation or transfer of the business.

Alternative (b). Besides settling outstanding estate liabilities, life insurance provides sufficient working capital during the transition period to buy time for the executor to look for a buyer of going concern.

Alternative ©. Life insurance provides the working capital for the heirs to learn up the trade and compensate for the mistakes during the transition period. It gives a better chance of proper succession of sole proprietorship business.

Alternatives (d). Even if there is a contractual agreement binding the buyer to purchase the business, the buyer may not have the necessary fund to settle the purchase price when the business owner dies.

As such, the interested buyer can purchase life insurance on the life of the sole proprietor, which will provide the fund needed for the purchase of the business when the time comes.

With proper life insurance planning, your family members are better off with any one of the four alternatives.

Speak to a licensed wealth advisor to identify the pros and cons of each alternative.

Yap Ming Hui is the managing director of Whitman Independent Advisors Sdn Bhd, the first Wealth Office in Malaysia.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Boric acid found in noodles

jack2008 — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:56:34 +0800

YELLOW noodles made by two renowned factories have been found to contain dangerous chemicals which can cause cancer and impotence, reported Harian Metro.

According to the front-page report, despite repeated warnings from the Health Ministry, manufacturers were still churning out noodles with high levels of boric acid and benzoic acid.

It said tests found that when these yellow noodles were mixed with turmeric powder, they turned blood-red in less than 10 seconds.

This was found at two different noodle factories in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh.

The newspaper said that if the noodles did not contain boric acid, they would remain yellow when mixed with turmeric.

The use of boric acid and benzoic acid in food is prohibited because it can cause cancer and impotence, as well as other health problems such as kidney failure, diarrhoea, nausea and even death.

It is often used as a preservative for insect control and in the manufacture of furniture and glass. However, noodle manufacturers have opted to use it in their food despite the known health risks, because the noodles stay "fresh" longer.

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which raided the two manufacturers, has withdrawn the halal certification for the noodles.

The authorities also found boxes containing white benzoic acid powder hidden away in one of the factories.

The newspaper also reported that one of the factories had been caught in 2006 also for use of boric and benzoic acid.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...7798&sec=nation

CAP: Soft drinks linked to serious diseases

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:17:45 +0800

CAP: Soft drinks linked to serious diseases
By : Audrey Dermawan

GEORGE TOWN: The millions of Malaysians who enjoy soft drinks are at risk of various health problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's disease and premature aging.
According to the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP), the global carbonated drinks industry uses the preservative sodium benzoate E211 to prevent mould in soft drinks.

It can also cause cancer when mixed with vitamin C in soft drinks.

CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris told a news conference yesterday that according to a research paper by Peter Piper, a professor of molecular biology and biotechnology at Sheffield University in the United Kingdom, the preservative can cause severe damage to an important area of the human DNA known as the mitochondria.

The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give a person energy and if damaged, the cells start to seriously malfunction.
"There is a whole array of diseases that are now being tied to this DNA, like Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases but above all the whole process of aging."

Mohamed Idris said despite the risks, the use of sodium benzoate was allowed here under Schedule Six of the Food Regulations 1985.

CAP has called on the government to review the use of sodium benzoate and to eliminate it in stages.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sat...icle/index_html

SO WHAT'S SAFE TO EAT NOW?: Eat at your own risk

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:14:45 +0800

SO WHAT'S SAFE TO EAT NOW?: Eat at your own risk
P. SELVARANI and TAN CHOE CHOE
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How safe is the food on our shelves? Experts tell P. SELVARANI and TAN CHOE CHOE some alarming facts about what we have been eating
SOME 3,400 food items were deemed a health risk in Malaysia last year.

They included bread, milk, meat, fish, egg and egg products, confection, beverages, oil, sauces, salt and spices, vegetables and even fruits.

Most were found to contain microbiological contaminants or pathogens -- organisms that cause illnesses such as Salmonella typi, which can cause typhoid, and Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin, which is the culprit in most cases of food poisoning.

Others had preservatives and dyes that were banned or above the permissible limits, pesticide residues and metal contaminants.
Cereal products and bread topped the list, followed by fish and fish products, fruits, and beverages such as tea and coffee.

This was found after the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) sent out an alert that 82 per cent of the bread in the market had excessive sorbic acid.

"In the process, we also found contraventions like other excessive use of preservatives," said director of the Food Safety and Quality Division in the Health Ministry Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamad.

They were out of some 55,600 products sampled by the Health Ministry throughout the country.

Of these, 24,676 items valued at over RM2.3 million were seized; and 650 food manufacturers and importers were fined a total of RM858,000 for contravening food regulations.

"The number of contraventions has been more or less the same over the last few years. It has neither increased nor decreased drastically," said Rahim .

The number of food contraventions for the last three years total 11,659, averaging about 4,000 per year.

In the same period, 2,007 food manufacturers and importers had been taken to task by the ministry.

But the authorities don't find the figures worrying because, as Dr Rahim said, "the situation is under control".

However, some non-governmental groups like CAP think otherwise.

CAP, which has been carrying out independent random sampling of various food products since the 1970s, has been very vocal in criticising the authorities' lack of focus on food safety.

In August, it said in a statement that the use of boric acid -- a poisonous substance that can lead to gastrointestinal illness, kidney damage, dermatitis and loss of appetite -- was still rampantly used in the market.

Citing the results of its own sampling of several bak chang (steamed glutinous rice dumplings) bought from across the country, 20 out of 40 were found to contain the poisonous chemical.

Boric acid is prohibited under the Food Act 1983 and an offender can be fined up to RM5,000 or jailed up to two years.

The chemical is commonly used as a cleaning agent, flame retardant and antiseptic but unscrupulous traders have been using it to preserve the shelf life of fresh foods.

"The use of boric acid was first brought up to the ministry by CAP in February 1984," said CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris.

"We called on the ministry then to pass a law prohibiting the sale of boric acid, restrict its sale by classifying it as a poison and impose a heavy penalty on anyone found to have violated it.

"The situation hasn't changed. After 23 years, we still find boric acid in food products."

He claimed that CAP conducted checks on foodstuff two to three times a year and "on every occasion, the presence of boric acid was detected".

The checks found the substance not only in bak chang but also in yellow noodles, fish balls, fish cake, koay teow, and some nyonya kuih.

"We had been informed previously that the sale of boric acid to the food industry was prohibited, yet food handlers still managed to get hold of this substance."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

There are dyes in our food that 'can make us sick'

jack2008 — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:13:24 +0800

There are dyes in our food that 'can make us sick'

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FOOD dyes and other additives that have been banned in many countries, are being used here.
CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris said these included colourings such as Amaranth, Allura Red, Sunset Yellow, Brilliant Blue and Tartrazine, which are widely used in the manufacture of confections such as sweets, yoghurt, ice cream, soft drinks and chewing gum.

These dyes are believed to cause certain cancers, allergies, chromosomal damage, migraines and foetal deformities.

Idris said CAP had been battling the issue of dyes in food with the Health Ministry for decades.

"We have been alerting the authorities since our tests first found the banned dye, Rhodamine B, in various foods such as belacan (shrimp paste) in 1973.
"Our latest test this May found this banned dye in our food. Malaysians have been exposed to this cancer-causing dye for 34 years and the authorities do not seem to be able to enforce the law to protect consumers."

Idris said Rhodamine B was disallowed in food under the Food and Drug Ordinance of 1952.

"This means that this dye has been banned for use in food for more than 50 years!"

And instead of restricting the number of dyes used in the production of food, Idris claimed the authorities had amended the present food laws "to allow more dyes in food such as previously banned dyes like Amaranth, which wasn't approved for use some 10 years ago".

Worldwide, there is increasing concern over the multitude of additives and artificial flavourings that are being used in the production of food. In May, there were concerns that soft drinks could cause serious cell damage.

Research from a British university suggested sodium benzoate, a preservative commonly used by the RM491 billion global carbonated drinks industry, could damage and switch off vital parts of the human DNA.

The substance is derived from benzoic acid, which is found naturally in berries, but is used in large quantities to prevent mould in soft drinks as well as pickles and sauces.

It was reported that the problem, which was more commonly associated with ageing and alcohol abuse, could eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's and "a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases".

British MPs called for an investigation into the substance, also known as E211.

However, director of the Food Safety and Quality Division in the Health Ministry Dr Abdul Rahim Mohamad told the public in a statement on Dec 21 that there was no need to worry about consuming the preservative.

He quoted the results of a risk-assessment exercise carried out with the aid of the Food and Agriculture Organisation last May, where it was found that "the current usage (of sodium benzoate) in our population is below the accepted allowable daily intake".

He wrote that the preservative was approved for use in many countries, including the European Union, the United States and Japan and "had been used safely as a preservative for more than 100 years".

With so many additives used in food production, and many of them relatively new and their long-term impact uncertain, experts and authorities caution consumers to read the labels before eating processed food.

"Always read the labels: they should only be in English or Malay. If they're in other languages, it (the food) probably has not passed through Customs."

But Idris said food labelling was another problem because the labels are not consumer-friendly.

"Most people don't know what they are consuming because additives can be labelled simply as 'approved colouring', 'approved flavouring' and 'approved food conditioners' here."

Also, some labels use numerical codes or alphabets to refer to the additives.

So what should consumers look out for when grocery shopping?

Idris' advice: Stay away from processed foods as much as possible

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sun...icle/index_html

Fruit juice doubles risk of obesity

jack2008 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:53:01 +0800

Fruit juice doubles risk of obesity
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/...4152970864.html

Chantal Rumble
March 20, 2007

PRIMARY schoolchildren who regularly consume juice and other fruit drinks are about twice as likely to be overweight or obese.

And the more juice children drink, the more likely they will be too fat, a Victorian study shows.

Conducted by researchers at Deakin University, the study shows that juice and other fruit drinks, including cordial, are a bigger problem than soft drink in childhood obesity.

A one-day snapshot showed that about 75 per cent of children drink at least one glass of juice and 25 per cent drink more than three glasses, while only 16 per cent consume soft drink.

"Soft drinks aren't really the issue in primary school children - it's fruit juice and drinks," study author Andrea Sanigorski said. "For kids up to about 12 years of age, parents may limit soft drinks but they may not be aware that fruit juice and drinks can be bad for their health as well."

The results are based on a survey of the diets of almost 2200 Victorian children.

Parents were asked what their children usually ate and drank, and what they had consumed the previous day.

The study found no link between weight and consumption of fast foods and packaged snacks. However, the link to fruit drinks, which contain some nutrients and vitamins, but are high in sugars, was stark.

Compared to the children who had not had any juice or fruit drinks the previous day, those who had two or three serves were 1.7 times more likely to be overweight or obese. Those who had more than four glasses were 2.1 times more likely to be too fat.

"It doesn't fill you up, you drink it often between meals and it just adds sugar to your diet. You have to question why children need it," Dr Sanigorski said. "But they are marketed as drinks for kids - I don't blame the parents."

Dr Suzy Honisett, manager of the Victorian Government's child health program, Kids Go For Your Life, said many parents and carers wrongly believed juice and fruit drinks were a healthy alternative to soft drinks.

"We are certainly aware of the issues around soft drinks and their role in childhood overweight and obesity, but fruit juice has slipped under the radar," she said.

"It is easy to believe that fruit juice is natural, healthy and full of vitamins (but) it contains concentrated sugars."

Concern is also growing over the impact of sugary drinks on children's teeth.

Fiona Preston, the health promotion manager at Dental Health Services Victoria, said reports were increasing of preschool children having their baby teeth removed because of decay, caused largely by sweet drinks including fruit juice.

"Fruit juice, fruit drinks and cordials are all as bad as each other because they all have high concentrations of sugar in them - whether it's natural or artificial it's still sugar. Particularly with young children, we suggest they should only be drinking water or milk," she said.

Signs of a stroke

jack2008 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:49:11 +0800

I think this is important to know you can suffer a stroke at any age
including children.

Remember you can perform this alone in front of a mirror as well.

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T.R.

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and
spread the word. I agree.. If everyone can remember something this
simple, we could save some folks. Seriously.. Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she
assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics)
and
just tripped over a brick because of her new s hoes. They got her
cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit
shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.
Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been
taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm , Ingrid passed away.) She had
suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs
of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die.
They
end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead. It only takes a
minute
to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within
3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He
said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then
getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNISING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read
and Learn! Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim
may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the
symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking
three simple questions:

S * Ask the individual to SMILE .
T * Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today).
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS .

NOTE : Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to
'stick' out their tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one
side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she
has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, go to the hospital
immediately!! and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

CANCER UPDATE from John Hopkins

jack2008 — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 19:31:11 +0800

CANCER UPDATE from John Hopkins

.
AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE
ONLY WAY TO TRY (TRY THE KEY WORD) AND ELIMINATE
CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL
YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY ..

Cancer Update from John Hopkins

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body.
These cancer cells do not show up in the standard
tests until they have multiplied to a few billion.
When doctors tell cancer patients that there are
no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to
detect the cancer cells because they have not
reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10
times in a person's lifetime

3. When the person's immune system is strong the
cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from
multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the
person has multiple nutritional deficiencies.
These could be due to genetic, environmental, food
and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional
deficiencies, changing diet and including
supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the
rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys
rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,
gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ
damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also
burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues
and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and
radiation will often reduce tumor size. However
prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not
result in more tumor destruction.

9 When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is
either compromised or destroyed, hence the person
can succumb to various kinds of infections and
complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer
cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult
to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to
spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve
the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods
it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar
it cuts off one important food supply to the
cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet,
Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it
is harmful. A better natural substitute would be
Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make
it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's
aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus,
especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer
feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and
substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer
cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A
meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat
fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or
pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics,
growth hormones and parasites, which are all
harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice,
whole grains,seeds, nuts and a little fruits help
put the body into an alkaline environment. About
20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh
vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are
easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels
within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of
healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice
(most vegetables including bean sprouts)and eat
some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes
are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have
high caffeine.Green tea is a better alternative
and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to
drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known
toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled
water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and
requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested
meat remaining in the intestines become putrified
and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein
covering. By refraining from or eating less meat
it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls
of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells
to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants,
vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the
body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells.
Other supplements like vitamin E are known to
cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the
body's normal method of disposing of damaged,
unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and
spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help
the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger,
unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a
stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a
loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and
enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing
help to get more oxygen down to the cellular
level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to
destroy cancer cells.

(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT)

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S -
PLEASE READ

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its
newsletters. This information is being circulated
at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.
Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast
cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our
bodies.
Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in
them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.
Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program
Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program
to explain this health hazard. He talked about
dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that
we should not be heating our food in the microwave
using plastic containers.
This especially applies to foods that contain fat.
He said that the combination of fat, high heat,
and plastics releases dioxin into the food and
ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he
recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware,
Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You
get the same results, only without the dioxin. So
such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and
soups, etc., should be removed from the container
and heated in something else.
Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the
paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass,
Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago
some of the fast food restaurants moved away from
the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem
is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as
Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods
to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is
nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to
actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip
into the food. Cover food with a paper towel
instead.