Finally, I saw my books on the shelf at Popular Bookstore and also Borders Bookstore in Queensbay Mall, Penang. There were 6 copies at Borders when I saw it on last Tuesday. But when I went there again on Friday, only two copies left. There must be someone buying the book, and it is definitely you! Thanks again for your support!
Zul from Skorcareer notified me that the book made it to the top 10 best seller ending last week. I am not sure which MPH bookstore he is referring to. I can’t access the top list anywhere. If you found out something, please share with me in the comment section below.
Here are three more reviews from other personal finance bloggers:
Father Sez » Archive » Book Review – Top Money Tips for Malaysians
The very first thing I read made me like the book very much. He reiterated the story of compound interest and the tremendous impact on savings and investment when we start early. This is a lesson that I dearly want to instill in my children.
MichaelTsen.Com: Best Gift in My Internet World
OMG, when I started blogging I just wanted to share some of my personal view points that I haven’t seen else where. Who knows I would be getting a book from my mentor’s mentor !!
Its like Mahathir calling me by my first name and Bill Gate wanting to hire me as his consultant …
Personal Finance – Know a bit more !: Book : Get Your FIRST car FREE !!
This books shows you HOW you can get your FIRST car FOR FREE !!!
It is totally mind blowing !
BURSA MALAYSIA: KL LAU – TOP MONEYTIPS FOR MALAYSIAN
Spartans I am not asking you to buy the book this weekend, but I am ordering you to wake up tomorrow morning and after going to toilet and pee, with or without your pyjamas go and line up at the bookstore to grab this book like a hawk preying for a mouse, or like a old hamsap uncle preying for a 16 years old virgin.
BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WILL NOT REGRET, THE ONLY THING YOU WILL REGRET IS NOT BUYING THIS BOOK.
It is time for me to order more books from my publisher. There is none left with me now, except a copy that has the wrong cover.
32 replies to "More Review of Top Money Tips for Malaysians"
I can’t agree more with KC Lau.
The “Get the 1st Car for FREE” is really, at least, it show me something that I wouldn’t or never will think about, doing investment / business, creativity play a great role too!
Everything is about own perspective, doesn’t mean you don’t like the tips then the author should omit it due to the small group?
I consider reading KC Lau’s book as a guidance, improvement in my own investment skills, analytical mind, not 100% following all that mentioned in a book like a maniac / zealot.
Some of the chapter might not suit me, if so, I will just skip it, isn’t it? Or you are going to find 1 book that you 100% agreed what written in it, then please introduce to me or most of the reader here, I think they also urging to find out what’s the book is about.
Some like Durian, and some don’t.
Regards,
Henry
Interesting….. I don’t see it as a fight. Just difference in interpretation.
[…] Today KC Lau posted an elegant reply here. […]
Another useless fight. Damn stupid!
Hello KC,
How are you?
I bought your book a few days back. I have to admit that during the very first time I read your suggestion on how to get a first car for free, I was totally blown away!
However, after reading marxy’s comments (so long …) I check that chapter again and I start to agree with his opinion that the saving in NCD should not be treated as an offset to what has been paid for the first car.
I really appreciate marxy’s request to ask us to be practical and realistic when thinking about things, eventhough I don’t think he/she has taken the right approach to channel his/her thinkings to the author. This could have lead to confrontation eventually.
Anyway it’s just my humble opinion.
Regards,
Ivan
@Ivan,
Thanks for your feedback. I totally agree that the saving in NCD should not be treated as an offset to what has been paid for the first car.
I just couldn’t agree that I should omit that chapter, as suggested by Marxy that the chapter is not a tip. In fact, it is one of the most favourite tips in my book.
@Marxy
I named it “Get your first car free” just for the marketing sake. It helps to sell the book. It helps to get more people reading the tips. It helps people save money.
I don’t see anything wrong with that. And Marxy, please don’t get hostile when I couldn’t agree with your suggestion (to omit that chapter).
I can always rename the chapter.. but that’s just a request from a reader. I won’t do that unless there are a lot of readers giving feedback that the chapter should be renamed.
For example, Robert Kiyosaki’s famous book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” was a great title. If he hasn’t titled the book such way, and write it in such an attractive story about his two dads, many would have missed the book.
I just want to make the idea “sticks”. If I rename it, I doubt that it will be any stickier than “Get your first car free”.
Everyone has his own perception. Some people do think that it is “free”. Some don’t. You can disagree with an idea, but you can’t force people to agree to your disagreement.
It is like walking into a restaurant. You ordered the best selling dish. After you tasted it, you think it sucks. So you asked the owner of the restaurant to remove that “dish” from the menu. But the owner told you that the dish is in fact the best selling dish, although there is a small group of people who can’t accept the taste. But you keep insisting.
If you are reasonable, you will do the following:
1. Suggest the owner to rename the dish politely. (He doesn’t have to follow your suggestion. He does what make sense for his business)
2. If you really hate the dish and the restaurant, or even the owner, you can choose not to visit there again in the future. You can tell your friends, your relative not to visit the restaurant or not to order that dish. It is your choice and you have the freedom to do that.
If you are not a reasonable person, you may do the following;
1. Insult the owner (saying his dish sucks, he shouldn’t open this restaurant, he cheated you to order this dish)
2. You insult other diners who think the dish is good!
3. You keep coming back to the restaurant, order nothing, making noise, insulting other diners.
4. You try to disguise as other diners (thinking the owner doesn’t recognise you), and doing all the thing in item 3.
Try to be diplomatic. You need respect, you got to give respect first.
@Ivan,
I haven’t thank you for being such a supportive reader.
You have participated actively in this blog and I am really grateful for that.
Your contribution has made this blog more engaging and content rich.
Thank you very much!
And hopefully KC should “upgrade” himself by targeting at audience of higher intelligence and dignity.
I pity you Relax. When you fail to defend your arguments with supported facts and data, you say other’s opinion/effort is meaningless, and thus try to escape by hoping other dies.
I really pity you.
Hi. thanks for the new year wish and calling me stupid in a diplomatic way.
What I know is that many people and I who follow KCLau’s tips become richer and happier while you are analysing deeply about dying on road and useless statistics. 🙂
Maybe one day when you die, you will say it’s the fault of KC Lau’s tips.
Hi Relax,
First of all Happy New Year 2009 to you!
Anyway, I feel sorry for you and pity you for not being able to develop an analytical and objective mind/thinking, which without one a person can only be a follower who always believe and uphold whatever theories, formulae, sayings, tips, etc told by others without justifying the truthfulness and applicability upon realistic scenarios.
When you say (or actually only echo other’s opinion) that “money saved is money earnedâ€, it’s only partially correct, depending on situations. For example, if you manage to buy an auctioned property at a discounted price RM10,000.00 below market price, you can claim that you have saved RM10,000 and this amount of money is what you are going to earn when you manage to sell this property at the normal market price. If you fail to bid for the same auctioned property but instead go and buy another property which is priced at RM10,000.00 lower than that auctioned property, you cannot claim that you have also saved RM10,000.00 and you have earned RM10,000.00 then. Where on earth is this RM10,000.00 coming from then? So in other words, it is NOT always true to say “money saved is money earnedâ€. The reverse might be true: The money you earned is the (maximum) money you could possibly save!
It is not always “correct†to say that when the left part of the equation looks alike the right part, they are the same then. You yourself already mentioned that “The money saved is more than the money needed to buy the first carâ€, so read your own sentence carefully once more! You use the money you saved from the NCD to “buy†the first car, it’s NOT FREE then!
Give you another example of what we should regard to as “FREEâ€:
If my respected financial expert like KC LAU send me a copy of his latest book, all by his own cost, then I am getting the book “FREEâ€. If I need to cut down my budget on my meals (of say RM1.00 each meal, so almost 30 meals needed) to save around RM30.00 to buy his book, am I getting the book “FREEâ€???
When you argue that “accident is your own luck & life, it has nothing to do with financeâ€, do you realize that you are trying to deny the necessity of the entire insurance industry? Is insurance nothing to do with finance? And is insurance not an approach to compensate against accidents? Ironically, that amount of money you manage to “save†in order to “buy†that first car (and by all means go into the illusion to consider it’s FREE!) actually comes from your insurance premium (Don’t forget that the NCD indeed is part of the premium you will actually have to pay to get that level of protection).
How is that possible for you to say “nothing to do with KC Lau� Isn’t he the one (and only one) to “claim†there is a way to get a first car FREE by exploiting the NCD? Being a renowned financial figure and now author by his own right, has he not committed to present only the best and the correct ones to his readers who BUY his book (and NOT getting it FREE)? Has he not having a sense of responsibility to correct a weak approach or tip that he is asking (or expecting) his readers to follow/duplicate?
Finally, if you meet an accident and die on the road, you are NOT “pork gaiâ€, you are called “wang sei gai tao†(die wrongfully with no purpose on street). Driving carefully doesn’t safeguard you from this since you are not the only driver on the street, only your luck (chances of probability) can save you, and be reminded to take calculated risk whenever you are driving.
There is a saying
money saved is money earned.
It applies to this case as well.
The money saved is more than the money needed to buy the first car. Equation fulfilled. Period.
Regarding accident. If you are unlucky and get one and die on the road (pork gai)
then that’s your life. It’s nothing to do with finance, nothing to do with KC Lau. You yourself are unlucky, you have yourself to blame. So drive carefully. Don’t be a pork gai chicken.
Happy new year 2009
Well KC, the phrase “Get your first car free†is “misleading” only with the “techniques” or “procedures” that you have suggested (get a cheap old car->transfer 55% NCD to new & more expensive car). Anyway, I do not wish to eliminate the “possibility” that you (or other talented financial experts) could come out with a TRUE way to “Get your first car free†eventually, we shall wait and see.
When Azizi Ali said “Millionaires are from a different planetâ€, the statement is indeed “misleading” technically. Being a wise and experienced author NEVER means he WILL NEVER make any mistakes, he could have lack of scientific background to get rid of this “mistake”.
So, when can I expect another books from you entitled “Get Your Free Road Tax for xx Yearsâ€, “Get Your Free Petrol for xx Monthsâ€, “Get Your Free Meals for xx Days”, etc ? I have to take some time to check which aspects in my daily expenses could “save” me a penny or two, accumulated them and then get those books for “FREE” (even in real world I have to “physically” take my money out of my wallet).
You know I (also) like to joke.
Hi Marxy,
Oh .. yes. You did mention about the transfer for NCD. It is my bad.
So can I conclude that you think that I shouldn’t phrase “Get your first car free” because it is misleading?
If this is the case, it is also misleading to say that “Millionaires are from a different planet”. I know every millionaires are born on Earth. They are from the same planet just like us.
You know I like to joke.
Nope KC, I’m 100% know that NCD can be transferred between cars under the same owner name. I even know how to transfer NCD for cars between different owners (but it is not that “legal” to discuss that).
Pleas take time to re-read my post up there. I already mentioned about the tansfer of NCD ownership.
Please take negative comment positively, and not accusing people “mindlessly”.
Hi Marxy,
One of the reader here said that maybe you didn’t catch my idea. I think it might be the case. Do you realize that the NCD you get for the old car (first car) can be transferred to the new car as long as both cars are registered on your name?
I suddenly realize that maybe you didn’t “catch” or understand the idea. That’s why you keep arguing about this issue mindlessly.
Hahahahahaha …
KC, I take your “latest” “tip” lightly, just regard it as a joke. I guess you meant it as a joke, too! Right ?
That’s what we called “TOP MONEY TIPS FOR MALAYSIANS†– “A Simple and Practical Guide To Managing Your Personal Finance†?
Hi Marxy,
“The fact is with the saved amount of RM5000 by NCD, you can claim that you “Get Your Free Road Tax for xx Yearsâ€, “Get Your Free Petrol for xx Monthsâ€, “Get Your Free Meals for xx Days —
Quoted from your comment, I think that you get the point already.
This is getting more interesting.
Another scenario is that you can think like that:
Let’s say you want to buy a Honda at age 25. In order to make use of the full discount of 55% when you buy the Honda at age 25, you buy a very cheap car (say RM1000 only) at age 20.
You don’t have to drive the car. You just need to pay the insurance and renew the road tax for five years (probably RM200/year). I guarantee that you don’t need to claim insurance for a car that you don’t drive.
Then at age 25. You can sell that cheap old car as used scrapped metal (probably get back RM50). Now you have reached the age that you are going to get a Honda. So instead of paying RM3000 for insurance on the first year, you pay only RM1350. The saving can be reaped for 5 years as long as you don’t claim insurance on your Honda.
I guess this works too.
It is definitely a money-saving tip; but it’s never a “tip†for an ordinary Malaysian to follow in order to “Get Your First Car Freeâ€.
First, it’s impractical. The entire idea is only built upon the assumption that you NEVER encounter any accidents (or/and hence never claim your insurance) for the entire period of says, 8 years, based on your example. What is the probability for not getting into a road accident in 8 years, day-after-day (that is, 8 x 365 = 2920 days!!) consecutively? Or in other words, you only need 1 out of 2920 days to be in “bad luck†(that is a tiny probability of 0.034%!!!), your entire planning to “Get Your First Car Free†simply “collapse†and you will need to start it all over again (unless you insist not to claim your insurance but you still need to fork out money for the repairs, then where does this sum goto?). And (Oops … touch wood!) what if you meet another accident just one month later (the fact is for every driving day, everyone has an “opportunity†of 50% to meet with an accident, irrespective of how cautious this driver is)? Being a veteran financial advisor, I don’t think you allow yourself not taking “risk†into practical and realistic considerations in any of your calculation or planning to formulate your tip.
Second, it’s misleading. It’s “technically†incorrect to have a perception that money save in one item is “considered†being used to pay for another item, and hence the latter is considered “freeâ€!?! In fact, this is a very “dangerous†idea (gimmick) often used (misused) by shops to lure customers into spending more: You buy a first item for RM50, you are “advised†to buy a second item (often of unnecessary but of complement nature) for RM500 and will be given a discount of RM50 (WOW! 10% discount!?) then, and now your first item is becoming “freeâ€!!? Being a veteran financial advisor, I don’t think you should (“accidentallyâ€) promote this wrong thinking (either directly or indirectly). You pay RM5000 to get your first car, and you save RM5000 in term of NCD (after 3 years or so) later after transferring the NCD ownership to the new car, but this NEVER means someone has paid for your first car for you and by all sudden your first car becomes “freeâ€!?! If you think this is a correct way of thinking why not you suggest to buy a Mercedes (instead of a Honda) of much higher price, and therefore with higher insurance premium, and therefore bigger amount of that 55% NCD discount and thus “enjoy†the mood of acquiring the first Proton Saga car F.O.C. almost immediately (instead of after 3 years)? The fact is with the saved amount of RM5000 by NCD, you can claim that you “Get Your Free Road Tax for xx Yearsâ€, “Get Your Free Petrol for xx Monthsâ€, “Get Your Free Meals for xx Days â€, etc… so long it is within the limit of RM5000! Even the sky can’t be the limit! It’s only your own “imagination†could put an end to the list. In short, this is what I mean by “a totally self-created Illusionâ€.
And since you wish to play with numbers (by showing the example above), let’s play numbers then. Well, you entire “tip†or “idea†is to save around RM5000 (with NCD) to be considered acquiring your first car (of purchase price RM5000) “freeâ€, and by the end of say, 8 years, you have two cars in your hand. Let me suggest a much better way to achieve the same outcomes: get a “cheap†car “free†and have two cars at the end of the day.
Don’t buy the (first) cheap used car; instead, directly buy the more expensive car.
With the “expensive†car, and with the best bless of GOD (that you WILL NEVER meet accidents), you save RM750 (RM3000 – RM2250) in the second year; RM900 (RM3000-RM2100) in the third year; RM1149.90 (RM3000-RM1850.10) in the fourth year, RM1350(RM3000-RM1650) in the fifth year and RM1650(RM3000-RM1350) in the sixth year. With that you already save around RM5799.90 to “pay†for the “cheap†car. Now you have two cars in your hand and one of them is “FREE†(as you wish to think like that)! But with my “approachâ€, you enjoy the followings:
1) You get to drive a brand new and more powerful car from the very beginning, no need to “sacrifice†and wait for 5 years later!
2) You spend less on the maintenance as new car is normally given warranty period and less error-prone (we are talking about new Honda here, not new Proton)!!
3) You spend less to buy the “cheap†car, as you only purchase it 6 years later, and you know cars keep depreciating!!!
4) You own two cars in a shorter period of just 6 years instead of 8 years!!!!
So, KC, after my elaboration above you still think what you have suggested as “tip†to “Get Your First Car Free†in your book entitled “TOP MONEY TIPS FOR MALAYSIANS†– “A Simple and Practical Guide To Managing Your Personal Finance†?
I am just saying that instead of 1st year 3000.00
2nd year 2250.00
3rd year 2100.00
4th year 1850.10
5th year 1650.00
6th year 1350.00
7th year 1350.00
8th year 1350.00
9th year 1350.00
10th year 1350.00
Total 17600.10
You can opt to sacrifice a bit, and pay
1st year 300.00
2nd year 225.00
3rd year 210.00
4th year 185.01
5th year 165.00
6th year 1350.00
7th year 1350.00
8th year 1350.00
9th year 1350.00
10th year 1350.00
Total 7835.01
It is about 10k in difference. That is way more than what you pay for an old car.
The main difference is you can pay with 55% discount of the total insurance premium for your new car, starting from the first year you own it. You can straightaway “jump” to pay RM1350 instead of RM3000!
I don’t understand why this can’t be treated as a money-saving tip.
I’m glad that being a responsible author, you “admit” that “The title “Get Your First Car Free†is somehow exaggerate the matter.”
However, you also argued that “Undeniably, it still save you thousands of ringgit if you follow the method.”
Without following the mathod, that is, without buying the first very cheap used car, the NCD on the second car (now becomes the first and only car) still save you thousands of ringgit. It is just a matter of time. So what does it got to do with “Get Your First Car Free†?
Hi KC, while I have to agree that you have written a good book on personal finance matters;
Sorry KC, I’ve to said the so-called TIP to “Get Your FIRST car FREE” is impractical, misleading and a totally self-created “illusion”.
You HAVE NOT & NEVER “Get Your FIRST car FREE” by doing what you have suggested. You have only created a (SS: Syok Sendiri) “feeling” that as if you get the first car free.
Please re-think this so-called tip carefully before I “reveal” why I said so.
The title “Get Your First Car Free” is somehow exaggerate the matter. Undeniably, it still save you thousands of ringgit if you follow the method.
Hi KC, I bought your book and managed to finish it all within 2 hours. The last time I did that was with Rich Dad Poor Dad. Great book and learned many things, started revising my Excel spreadsheet and about to start a blog too.
Thanks
Thanks for the kind words. I am glad this book has provided value to you.
Hi KC, I have one of your book too. I think the price I pay for all the info in the books is peanuts. Hope everyone who is interested in their financial would read.Most financial books are not written by Malaysian.Glad this one is.Keep it up.
The other article that caught my interest is investing in gold by Carson Ding. Thanks!
@ Caryn, thanks for commenting. I am planning to update the book with more tips for the next edition.
Thanks Zul, I saw that it is there!
You can view it from MPH online:
http://www.mph.com.my/books/bestseller1.cfm
The list changes every week but early this morning it looks that it is still there.
Next, the press will look for you and you might be invited to a TV show or something.
Hey KC! Long time no see! one of the copy from Borders Queensbay Mall is now with me! Mind if I ask for autograph?
http://www.mph.com.my/books/bestseller1.cfm
Hi there, your book is indeed in the top 10 MPH bestseller
list. Found it in the link above.
CONGRATS!!!