Link Roundup #2: 10 Things to Know This Week

Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this new regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 articles informational 🙂

1. Consumer Reports Tested 73 Sunscreens, and This Formula Got a Perfect Score – Byrdie

You already know how important it is to wear sunscreen, but not all of them are created equal. Some formulas give next-to-nothing protection even if applied – a big money waster, if you ask me. The honour for the perfect sunscreen formula apparently goes to a product called Anthelios Clear Skin Dry Touch Sunscreen, produced by the company La Roche Posay. It costs $20 for 50ml, so I don’t think I’ll get it (even if it’s available in Malaysia).

BUT there are near-perfect formulas that are a lot more affordable! Anyone know where I can get these in Malaysia? Share in the comments section!

• Sport Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 by Equate ($5 for 237ml);
• Quik Gel Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 by Bull Frog ($9 for 147ml);
• Water Babies and Ultra Guard by Coppertone ($7 for 237ml);
• Pure & Free Baby Mineral Sunscreen by Neutrogena ($11 for 88ml).

2. 6 Entrepreneurs Share the Brilliant, Crazy Ways They Took Their Companies From Pennies to Profit – Entrepreneur

Laughed out loud to some of the ways these resourceful individuals did for the sake of their companies, especially the woman who lied to her parents and pretended she was still working a stable job for 18 months to not disappoint her Asian parents (I can relate!). There are a lot of think-outside-the-box-type tips here, love it.

3. What to Do Right Away After Inheriting Money – Vice

While you certainly shouldn’t expect to come into a sudden windfall, it could happen, and you should know what to do IF it does. Here it is: nothing. Don’t tell anyone, and don’t touch the money for at least a few months so you have time to digest it.

4. The Next Time You Want to Complain At Work, Do This Instead – Harvard Business Review

Fascinating article exploring how useless and unproductive complaining is. Title is a bit of a clickbait, since what the author suggests is complaining still, but directly to the person who is pissing you off, instead of complaining to your colleagues, which does absolutely nothing to the problem. In a respectful way, of course.

5. The 4 Words Every Hiring Manager Wants to Hear, According to a Headhunter – Money

‘I want this job’. The longer version in the article is very nicely drafted, too. Go on and use it the next time you have a job interview, to make yourself stand out.

6. Body Wash is a Scam and You Fell For It – Lifehacker

After my current body wash stash runs out, I’ll go back to body soap. It’s true – soap is much cheaper. I have no idea why I switched in the first place. Every little bit helps! #frugalism

7.  Most successful entrepreneurs are older than you think – The Ladders

The average age for successful entrepreneurs is actually… 45. Not young 20-something college dropouts that we constantly read about – those are the exception, not the norm.

I find this article oddly assuring. We compare ourselves to our peers a lot, and we always see our friends doing great things. It’s important to remember that people only tend to share good things on social media, not the bad ones.

8. Meet America’s Highest-Paid CEO, a 66-Year-Old Immigrant From Malaysia Who Calls Himself a ‘Frugal Guy’ – Money

I didn’t know about Hock Tan before this, either!

9. I Want to Be Rich And I’m Not Sorry – The New York Times

Written by a woman who is absolutely unapologetic about wanting money for the power it brings. This particular paragraph hit me hard: ‘This trickles down to the way we socialize kids — girls are expected to be caretakers, boys the ones who will deliver a return. If you want to create your own wealth, the confidence to take calculated risks is a necessary skill. Placing the needs of others above your own is not.’

Yes, women do tend to spend more time caring for others, and in doing that, we reduce our income potential. I’m not saying here to stop caring for your loved ones (it’s not freaking binary), but I do want to say to women reading this: are you happy with your income level now? Can you cut/outsource any of your unpaid care work (house chores, children, elderly care) to your spouse while you focus on improving your income?

10. Survey shows Malaysians prefer to buy a home than rent – Free Malaysia Today

A whopping 92% of you would prefer to own a home than rent if you can afford it, finds the survey results. Family and peer pressure are strong, ay? Can’t blame ya, I find home ownership appealing too, if only to get my perfect Pinterest dream home. But that dream will have to wait, because I know perfection is expensive. A home with a great location in Kuala Lumpur that comes with all the amenities and designs I want will cost me about a million ringgit, realistically speaking.

That’s it for this week, catch you next time! Want to submit a link you thought was great? Reach out to me on FB or Twitter.

To read past link roundups, please click here.