Watch all 5. Ok I confess I made it through 1 and 2 only but I got the idea. The world economy is a pack of dominoes, leveraging on money that doesn’t exist. The dominoes have begun to fall.

Basically, a serious recession is imminent. So keep cash, sit tight and wait for everything to crash. Then buy blue chip stocks and/or well-located properties.

If you have money in funds or worse, structured products, cash out. Those products may go bankrupt like Lehman Bros (et tu Lehman!) and you get nothing, plus don’t forget these guys charge you 2-7% a year service fee for investing your money badly.

5 years of badly managed funds can cost you an average of a 25% loss and that is not compounded, just my guestimate. So the alleged 8% yield (non-guaranteed of course) – in reality, more like 2.5% – is a joke.

2.5% – 5% = -2.5%

No wonder most funds lose their clients’ money. And that is during good times!

So cash out. At least now you get back your 50% (the other 50% lost now), which held and invested in blue chips or property, in 5-10 years, depending on recovery, you’ll make easily 80-90% (that’s a bet 30-40% gain anyhow).

Stocks and property are one-fee transactions (note: properties have annual taxes, and some have maintenance fees but that is worth the rental income plus capital appreciation). Charge when you buy and charge when you sell. No silly annual fees for doing nothing. And the beauty of being able to hold it till you’re ready to sell without worrying about compounding costs of simply holding it.

The market has fallen some 30-60% since last year and there’s still a good way to go. So spend less, save some money, and wait. Patience favours the wise investor.

Humans, social animals by nature, are sequestered from the better world by crazy work hours, social obligations (not usually for pleasure, or so it seems), and an idle inquiry in the unimportant (aka TV).

People are turning to counsellors to their problems. Few have time to listen and few feel compelled to open up to their friends, especially if they haven’t spent enough time nurturing their friendships with work hours getting ridiculously longer. And those are the lucky ones. Many turn to drink or worse vices. Heck if you need to find someone to talk to in person, check out a Counseling Services List or a Counseling Services Directory.

A friend of mine once said, if you want a happy life, move to Australia where people finish work at 4 or 5, have time for outdoor activities, their families, have barbecues with friends and overall, lead a more peaceful life. You can actually have a family life.

And it is true. Friends of mine there are happily taking at least a year off to nurture their children. Fathers have time to spend with their children. They live in a nice house with a garden (with actual grass). No one feels hurried or caught in a rat race to compete.

Here, we’re in the thick of it. But it is possible to live in the rat race but not compete. What is a rat race but an unending loop which no one ever wins. Heck even Bill Gates got toppled with Warren Buffett (my idol) this year. It is possible to exist in the system but live out of it. And believe me, we are much happier than when we were both working and getting home at 9-10pm every night.

We don’t go to fancy restaurants, drive a fancy car, buy that spanking new condo, or buy any branded stuff. Everything’s made in China nowadays anyway – what’s the difference but the tag? My $3 Old Navy tee feels more comfortable than the $50 (see I can’t even remember the brand) top I bought years ago on sale. Plus, having modelled before, I am used to people paying me to wear their label, not me pay for their label and wear it for them all the time!

Good quality food and books are what we spend our money on, as well as paying off our home and car. The rest, we spend with family and good friends. Bear changed it for us. We want a better world for him. A better life. A happy life. Children do that I think. He has changed us for the better.

I try to cook more, to create a sweet family environment for Bear to grow up in. To remember his Mom in the kitchen cooking for him, Dad coming home to hug and kiss him. Us having dinner and talking together. Mom and Dad reading to him, sharing a cuddle before bedtime. Those are the things I want him to remember. A loving happy home.

Before we go into Toys R Us, I’d tell him whether it is a looking trip or a buying trip. He’d nod okay and proceed to thrill himself looking at all the cars. It is roughly one buying trip per 10 looking trips and usually he can choose something small for himself that costs under $10.

Initially he’d buy something cos he can but more recently he would choose something that he really likes. If he doesn’t like anything, he wouldn’t buy anything since I tell him he can carry a buying trip forward to the next trip.

Of course there are the sums too. He’s been more fascinated about bigger cars because the doors can open and close and sometimes he asks if he can buy those. I’d point to the price and say, that costs $49 and it is way more than $10.

My friend Sarah tells of a trip she, her boyfriend, dear hubby, and Bear had at Toys R Us. Someone asked if Bear wanted to buy anything and he proclaimed, “no need”. His Dad was so proud, he said, “that’s my boy!” I was so proud too!

On a separate note, I started reading Chinese books to him and he seems to be learning the Chinese characters faster than English words, although he can read most of the alphabets by now. His memory is amazing! He can cite some of the moons in the Solar System, some galaxies, and many nebulas! It is so thrilling to watch.

Here are some tips on how to invest that extra bit of savings you have:

1. Look at the labels of the things you buy regularly. Note which is the manufacturing company.

2. Do a little research online and check that the company is:

a. Not in debt.
b. Ideally spends little of its budget on research and development and new equipment.
c. Has good management – any scandals, obscenely high salaries and bonuses for directors?

3. Check the share prices of the company. Remember the numbers.

4. Open an online trading account. Shop around for a reliable no-frills account and sign up. Ensure they don’t charge custodian fees.

5. Save 90% of your money in a fixed deposit account that charges no penalty for early withdrawal.

6. Keep an eye out on the indices (health of the country’s economy) and share price of the companies you are watching.

6. When they plunge, buy the shares when everyone is selling. If you’re lazy to research for companies, buy the indices as an ETF (exchange-traded fund) such as the S&P500.

7. Keep for 2-5 years. When the economy recovers, sell.

8. Go back to 5-7.

For further reading, pick up any book on Warren Buffet.