Link Roundup #47: 10 Things to Know This Week
Accelerate your personal finance knowledge with this regular feature on Ringgit Oh Ringgit – the Link Roundup! I promise you’ll find these 10 links informational 🙂
1. 12 Low-Cost Business Ideas for Introverts – Ladders
I am an ambivert leaning towards the introvert side of the spectrum, and currently thriving as a work-from-home writer and blogger. I love that I don’t have to expose myself to social interactions on a daily basis. My head is messy enough without external stimulations.
Seriously, thank you technology for enabling this line of work. I am so thankful.
2. The Number 1 Rule I Have at Home to Reduce My Mental Load – Working Mother
We all know how a working mothers usually looks like: frazzled. Completely exchausted. Tired not just from the demands of her work, but also from fielding questions from the spouse and the kids.
Which is why I thought this rule is brilliant:
We have a rule in our house that reduces my mental load by half and my anxiety by even more. This No. 1 rule is if you have a request, a need, or want to discuss participating in a new activity, “bring it to Family Meeting.”
Click the link to find out more about how it works in practice.
3. A 32-year-old who was ‘not the best with money’ now makes six figures from an Etsy side hustle – Grow
Designers (and other side hustlers), have a look at Miss Design Berry’s website. It’s so good, no wonder she makes six figures – she definitely knows how to sell her skills!
Pay attention to the niche, the copywriting, the layout, the strategies she used to increase sales (testimonials, discount code pop-ups, etc). Her niche is weddings but you can apply it to anything!
4. Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value – IWRAW Asia Pacific
My former workplace made this awesome video explaining the concept of equal pay for work of equal value! The caption:
Work which is typically performed by women is often undervalued and undercompensated. But how can we compare different jobs, especially where the division of labour tends to be gendered? Our video explains the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, with examples of how it has been applied around the world.
5. 6 Government Initiatives for Women You Didn’t Know About – Loanstreet
Sharing to promote, among others, the existance of MySMELady, a financing option for women entrepreneurs. It is offered by SME Bank, which is wholly owned by the Malaysian Ministry of Finance and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The financing amount is RM100,000 up to RM1 mil.
6. A More Sustainable Supply Chain – Harvard Business Review
Whenever a big company blows up on social media due to its support-by-default of unethically, unsustainable practices, we are so quick to play the blame game, not knowing that there are no easy solutions to this problem. Consumers still demand cheap and fast, businesses cater to that demand, and the cycle continues.
Yet I know and you know that no one most people is not intrinsically bad. We do want to be good. Just overwhelmed and lack clarity, due to the complexity of supply chain systems operating on a global scale.
This article is an eye-opener – read all about flaws that exist within supply chains, and what could be done to help – in a small part – to reduce the problem.
This is obvious, but… hurry. We only have one Earth.
7. 6 Financial Personality Types – Which One Are You? – The Financial Times
Take the quiz and find out your financial personality type and your flaw(s), whether its overconfidence (The Anxious Investor) or control issues (The Fitbit Financier)
(I got both The Anxious Investor and The Fitbit Financier as my financial personality types) (Yeah I guess it’s possible to get more than one) (I’m still processing this information)
8. EPF 7% contribution rate starts in April 2020, here’s how to keep it at 11% – SoyaCincau
By now, you’ve probably heard that Malaysians will see their EPF contribution rates cut from 11% to 7%. This will unlock RM10 billion in extra money in circulation, a much-needed boost for our economy. The reduction is automatic and you can maintain it at 11% only by opting out.
I won’t tell you which is better, to spend the money, to invest it yourself on your own, or to opt out. You big already, you can make your own retirement decisions. If you do want to maintain it at 11%, then click in the document to find out the steps and download the form.
9. How to Recruit More Women to Your Company – Harvard Business Review
Because inclusive and diversified workplaces earn more money. If your job ads have been attracting only men, perhaps the tips in this article can help you improve on your existing recruitment process.
10. HelloGold’s #EmaszingWomen Campaign – Suraya (me!!)
And last but not least, I want to share my involvement in HelloGold’s #EmaszingWomen campaign, along with four other brilliant ladies. Do watch our individual videos in HelloGold’s YouTube page.
My ode to gold: I will forever have a soft spot for gold as an investment. I first bought it in my early 20s and have learned so much through the experience. It was the first investment I made with fluctuating value – the price changes every day.
Getting used to the price increases and especially sudden price drops helped me become a better investor, no joke. That part is important. I’m not saying you *will* make money from gold investment (although historically, the odds should be in your favour, but it’s no guarantee), but what you will learn from it is key.
For example: I found out how I behave under stress, and how I *should* behave (ie chill and wait it out). And due to this experience, I’m less likely to panic sell all my other investments at a loss.
In short, owning gold helped me shift my short-term, trader mindset (risky!) to long-term, investor mindset (slow and steady wins the race) 🙂
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That’s it for this round, 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.
