Starting Fresh in Washington State

Thanks to guest blogger Lydia Kalman for the post.

A few months ago my boss approached me about taking a sales job in Washington. It meant moving halfway across the country, but it was also a chance to start fresh. She offered me a couple of days to think about it, but the truth was I knew the moment she made the offer that it was the right move for me. I've been living in St. Louis for several years and since my family is in California, there was nothing keeping me there. The truth is that when I graduated with my B.S.B.A. from the John Cook School of Business at SLU, I landed a job near the campus and I stayed because it was comfortable.

After 5 years, however, I was ready for a change. The fact that my work was willing to pay for my relocation costs was just a bonus. So my dog Haleigh, a shelter dog whom I adopted after Katrina, and I got in my car and drove to Washington. While waiting for my belongings to arrive, I did a lot of painting and I signed up for home security service. Being the new girl in town, I felt safer knowing Haleigh and the security company have my back. Well, tomorrow is my first day at the new position and I'm both nervous and excited. Wish me luck.

Going to KL in a short while

I will be going to KL in a short while this afternoon. Hence I have to quickly finish this post before I scoot off, take a bath and pack my bags to KL. I also need to bring the laptop along to continue working there and to check enquiries. Most likely, I will be staying there for a few days in the rented apartment that is barely furnished. But I am used to travelling at last minute's notice for the past several years. Initially I used to take a coach down to KL and then hitch a cab to the hotel. Now, as we are more established, my colleague will drive us down to the rented apartment in Subang Jaya. Wish me journey mercies.

Got more than RM1k from interests of my Government Bonds

Government bonds are also known as Treasury bills. The interests that you earn from government bonds are known as coupons. Yesterday, I received more than RM1k that was banked into my Public Bank account for the coupons that I received from my 3 government bonds, namely Sukuk, 1 Malaysia and another government bond of which I have forgotten the name. The coupon rate is 5% and paid either monthly or quarterly. Treasury bills pay more than the standard Fixed Deposits in banks. Hence, it is a wise move to buy some government bonds to get better returns for your income. Make your money work for you and not the other way around.

Gold Investment for Retirement

I am thinking of investing in shares but with a full time job, I just don’t have the time to keep track of the share market movements or check out blogs and news daily on events that might affect the prices. Professional stock investors analyse the volume spread, technical analysis, fundamental analysis, Elliot Wave, etc. To have a good peace of mind, I decided to buy government bonds and investing in gold by opening a Gold Investment Account (GIA) through Public Bank. I may earn less, but at least I don’t have the headache to keep track of the stock movements every moment of my life.

My wealthy uncle in Singapore also buy gold coins and give out to us during festive occasions like Chinese New Year. Now I have a small collection of gold jewellery and a gold coin - all collected since I was small. Gold is a good hedge against inflation which is about 4% per year. And for the last 10 years, the price of gold has been increasing steadily from only RM20 a gram in 1970s to over RM120 a gram now. So for those who have invested in gold, would have made a handsome profit now.

Working from Home

I thank God every day for my blessings to work at home while getting an income every month. I don't have to commute to work, dress up or get stuck in nasty traffic jams. Hence I work in my pajamas. It has been like this for the last 6 years where I wake up to have breakfast and then off to switch on the computer and log into the internet to check emails on a daily basis. Whenever I need a break from work, I just go upstairs to take a short nap and then continue to work again. My job responsibilities include calculating prices for sports quotations, entering financial data to MS Excel worksheet, emailing brochures to potential clients and printing out enquiries for my boss to reply.

2 Opportunities to Make Money

This morning, I got 2 opportunities to make money via my blogs. I took them up immediately and the payment will be accummulated until they hit a certain threshold to withdraw. Yesterday was Father's Day and we will be treating my dad to a new Thai Restaurant in New World Park today since my youngest sister was not available for dinner yesterday. My dad also drove 23 old people from the Little Sisters of the Poor to PISA for dinner together with my mum. Though the opportunities to make money online are getting rarer, but it is nice to get them once in a while.

Second Payment on the 15th of the Month

Today is Sunday and is the 13th of the month. In 2 days' time, I will receive my second payment of my income. Yay! It has been like this for several years now and I am currently saving up for my retirement down the road. This evening, I will follow my colleague down to KL to meet up with a potential client tomorrow at 12:00 noon. I have already emailed him the quotation and together with his boss, he will meet up with us to discuss further. I hope we will be successful to get this project if it is genuine and this means more work for our workers who are paid daily wages all year round. We have been blessed with diligent, honest hardworking staff who don't mind travelling all over Malaysia to complete the sports courts.