Money Wisdom from Li Ka Shing
Many Singaporeans want to be rich and retire early in Singapore. But not many of them are keen to invest the time and energy to gain the knowledge required to be a millionaire. I came across a recent article by well-known Hong Kong billionaire, Li Ka Shing who shared some tips on how to become rich. Li Ka Shing’s story is one of rag-to-riches, so his success is particularly inspiring.
Like many of you, I share the same aspiration to achieve financial freedom. While I have not achieved Li Ka Shing’s wealth status, his strategy resonates with my philosophy of having a growth mindset. This means that one should put in the extra effort to develop new skills and knowledge. Take note that none of his pointers below encourages you to hoard money like a scrooge.
In that article, he outlined a unique plan that can help to improve one’s financial destiny. His approach is refreshing to me because so far I have not come across anyone with a similar approach. Basically, the gist is to split your income into five portions.
1st portion (Expenditure)
The first set of fund is to cover your living expenses. He elaborated that one should take hardship when young and eat simple. But of course, being able to pay your bills and fill your stomach on a daily basis will not make you rich. You need to enhance your income because mindlessly cutting and tracking your expenses will not be sustainable.
The key is having the discipline to define what are the “needs” and “wants” in your life. In doing so, you are less likely to over-spend or spend carelessly. If one cannot manage his personal finances, what make you think that he can handle bigger tasks in his job? Learn to manage money or else it will manage you one day.
2nd portion (Network)
The next set of fund is to expand your social circle. Treat friends who are wiser, richer or have helped you in your career. Networking can be useful to your career. Many people tend to focus too much on “what you know” and forget that sometimes “who you know” may carry more weight.
At the end of the day, your qualifications and work experiences may be excellent. But if another candidate happens to know the hiring manager or have referrals, you may stand a lower chances of getting that job. In the society, the principle of “you scratch my back, and I scratch yours” applies.
Do not underestimate the power of network because human relationship is often perceived as more important than technical knowledge. Why so? This is because most people prefer to work with someone who have better interpersonal skill and can work well with others. For those who may lack the technical knowledge, they can always be trained on the job.
For entrepreneurs, networking is also important because of the business opportunities. You can never be good in everything and don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can grow your business without support from outsiders. A good network would enable you to find valuable support that could bring your business to another level.
In this blog, I hope to establish a network whereby members can build relationships. Basically, this blog is not about me, but about you. Together, we can become better wealth builders.
3rd portion (Improve your knowledge)
The third portion is to invest in yourself and improve your knowledge through books and courses. Put what you learn to use and share your thoughts with others so as to gain credibility. On this point, I fully agreed with Li Ka Shing. It is always important to constantly upgrade your knowledge but one of my greatest challenges is finding the time due to family and career commitments. Going forward, this is one area I need to improve.
In a highly competitive society like Singapore, we are all busy people. If you are not a serious wealth builder, you are likely to give yourself excuses such as “lack of time” when it comes to learning how to become a better wealth builder. In this regard, I have established this blog to document what I have learned in my wealth building journey and have shared many money wisdom with readers. I hope readers can show support to this project by signing up as members of SG Wealth Builder.
The other aspect is to acquire the art of selling as successful businessmen are good sellers who can sell their “dream and visions”. I certainly don’t think I can be a good salesperson, but nevertheless, I think it is important for me to improve my presentation skill in order to enhance my career progression.
4th portion (Holiday)
The fourth portion is to go for holidays to recharge yourself and experience life. All work and no play is no good for the soul. Well, most Singaporeans love to travel so I don’t have to elaborate on this point. But essentially, holiday helps to reduce stress and enable us to take on challenges in the long run.
5th portion (Save and invest)
For the last portion, Li Ka Shing advocated building up your savings and used it to set up a small business or invest the monies. I find this piece of advice useful because when you take a calculated risk to start up a business or invest in shares, even if it failed, the risk would be limited.
The aim is not to make big money but rather to boost your confidence level and validate your thoughts.
These are money wisdom from a highly respected person who went through so much hardships in life and managed to become one of the richest men in the world. I particularly like his philosophy on “When you are poor, don’t be calculative. When you are rich, let others pamper you”. This is the profound way of life which you cannot find in the books.
I am grateful that Li Ka Shing shared his money wisdom for free to everyone. This was exactly my aim when I started this blog. My social mission is to level up Singaporeans’ knowledge on personal finances and share wisdom.
In school, we are not taught on how to build wealth and the soft skills required to achieve financial freedom. Yet these are the basic fundamental tools needed for us to survive in this society. Hope you will accompany me on this learning journey.
Magically yours,
SG Wealth Builder
