SO COOL! Get rid of mosquitoes Easy way LOVE this!

Words can be Weapons

BE CONSCIOUS... Whatever you say or do (to your kids) have consequences.

An Ex-CPF Employee Exposes the 3 Biggest Complaints Singaporeans Have About Their CPF Accounts

Few questions divide Singaporeans as much as this one – What is CPF used for? As you process your own answer to that question, chances are the words “retirement,” “housing,” healthcare” and maybe “Ponzi scheme” are running through your head.

But no matter what function(s) you think CPF serves, everyone faces the reality of having to pay their “dues” to keep the system going. That means contributing 20% of your salary (up to age 50) every month to a scheme that only benefits those who vastly surpass the current minimum balance of $148K. Sadly, more Singaporeans who have money in CPF and need it can’t even touch it.

An ex-CPF employee named “Brian” (who wishes to remain anonymous for very obvious reasons), who deals with the valid concerns of Singaporeans daily, was kind enough to help us shed some light on what Singaporeans complain about most when it comes to their CPF accounts.

Here are Singaporeans’ 3 biggest complaints about their CPF accounts:

1. It’s Nearly Impossible to Access Your Retirement Account (RA) Funds 

The biggest limiting factor people have when it comes to their CPF accounts is the fact that their Retirement Account (RA) funds are about as inaccessible as Area 51 until you reach the draw down, which varies from 62 to 65 depending on your year of birth.

The problem with having an inaccessible RA account is that it leaves Singaporeans still servicing their home loan with their CPF in a helpless situation because:

1. Retrenchment: No income means they can no longer make contributions into their Ordinary Accounts (OA).
2. Contribution level: The contribution level decreases significantly after 55, making it harder to meet the minimum cash component in RA.

“It’s sad, there were several occasions when we had to direct Singaporeans to HDB or the banks because our hands were tied – we couldn’t release their funds to them even though they may have thousands in their RA to help with their home loan repayments,” says Brian.

Ironically, the only exceptions for using your RA funds involve purchasing property under the following conditions:

1. You can only use the excess in your RA AFTER setting aside the minimum cash component, which is currently $148K.
2. Of that $148K, you’ll need to maintain $74K in your RA, with the excess (excluding annual interests) being available for the purchase of property.

*Note on property purchases: According to Brian, there is a way for you to use your OA towards purchasing property. If you have booked a BTO flat before turning 55, you can write in to CPF to have funds from your OA reserved for the purchase. In fact, Singaporeans have been successful in having these requests approved.

2. You Can’t Withdraw As Much from CPF at Age 55 

Just a few years ago, if you turned 55 before 2009, you could have withdrawn 50% of your combined OA and Special Account (SA) funds! So if you had today’s current minimum sum of $148K, you could withdraw $74,000.

Then in 2009, the limit dropped to 40%. And then… well, I think you know where this is going right? Let’s just say that CPF reduced the withdrawal limit faster than an Indonesian palm plantation owner reduces forestland.

Today, if you don’t have the full minimum sum of $148K – you ONLY get $5K. The rest gets sent over to your RA, which you probably won’t see for another 7 to 10 years.

The biggest complaints Brian received about the inability of some Singaporeans to get more than $5K were:

• Couldn’t pay off debts: Singaporeans who were financially troubled and had debts to pay off could not pay them even though they had thousands of dollars in their RA.
• In danger of home repossession: Singaporeans who were having trouble keeping up with their home loan repayments due to retrenchment or financial difficulty couldn’t access the money they needed to maintain their repayments even though they might have had $50K in their RA.
• Couldn’t go on pilgrimage: Many elderly Muslims who were waiting till age 55 to use their funds to go on pilgrimage (Hajj) were left disappointed when the amount they could withdraw wasn’t enough.

*Note on pledging your property: Brian points out that if you’ve used your CPF to purchase a home, you can opt to pledge or increase the pledge of your property. So if you just turn 55 this year and you’ve got the full minimum sum of $148K, you can pledge your property up to $74K, freeing up the “excess” $74K in your CPF for withdrawal.

3. There Are Times When You CAN’T Use CPF for Housing 

When you buy a home, there’s a limit to how much CPF you can use to purchase a home, called the Valuation Limit (VL). The VL is determined by the lower value of either the market price or the valuation price of a home, and you cannot withdraw more than 120% of the VL, which is called the Withdrawal Limit (WL).

So what happens when you reach the VL of your home?

If you’re below 55, you’ll need to maintain either half the prevailing minimum sum cash component (Your OA+SA+SA investments) or the minimum sum cash component in your RA if you’re over 55 (and you can only use your RA excess to service your home loan). If you don’t follow these conditions, you CAN’T use your CPF to service your home loan.

Not knowing when you can’t use your CPF to service your home loan is a huge reason why people contact CPF, especially when Singaporeans:

• Reach their VL before age 55 and haven’t maintained half of their prevailing minimum sum cash component (OA+SA+SA investments).
• Reach their VL after age 55 and haven’t maintained their minimum sum cash component in their RA (only RA excess can be used!).
• Surpass their WL.

CPF Staff Are There to Help, But They Don’t Make Policy 

“We understand that CPF needs to be more flexible in allowing Singaporeans to use their funds. What’s the point of having thousands of ‘untouchable’ dollars set aside for retirement when Singaporeans are dealing with financial difficulty now? But we do our best to help people out as much as possible,” says Brian.

Brian also stated that the complaints above made up about 70% of their total communications. That’s A LOT of daily gripes to deal with.

Most Singaporeans have their reasons to complain about CPF. If you’ve read Dear CPF: Give Me Back My Money, you know just a few of the many grievances people have with the scheme. But before you call up or email CPF to give them a piece of your mind, please remember that the hard working employees don’t set policy – they’re there to help you as best as they can.

Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma: The “Dos and Don’ts”of Being an Entrepreneur

If you don’t know who Jack Ma is, you should. Regarded as one of the first Chinese internet entrepreneurs, Jack Ma started in 1995 with China Yellowpages before founding what is now Alibaba Group, a highly successful internet-based holding company that earned Ma a spot on the world’s billionaires list. Most recently, Ma was the first mainland Chinese entrepreneur to ever appear on the cover of Forbes in 2011 and was named the Financial Times’ 2013 Person of the Year where he was referred to as the “godfather of China’s scrappy entrepreneurial spirit.”

In a post that was originally published and translated from Chinese, Jack Ma shared some business and life wisdom that we could all learn from including the biggest issues younger generations have to face in business and the “dos and don’ts” of entrepreneurship. We can all learn a thing or two from a successful billionaire entrepreneur.

Jack Ma talks about the mistake he regrets the most.
“In 2001, I made a mistake. I told 18 of my fellow comrades whom embarked on the entrepreneurship journey with me that the highest positions they could go was a managerial role. To fill all our Vice President and Senior Executive positions, we would have to hire from external parties. Years later, those I hired were gone, but those whom I doubted their abilities became Vice Presidents or Directors. I believe in two principles: Your attitude is more important than your capabilities. Similarly, your decision is more important than your capabilities!”

Jack Ma on how to bring your company’s employees together.

“You cannot unify everyone’s thoughts, but you can unify everyone through a common goal.

1. Don’t even trust that you are able to unify what everyone is thinking; it is impossible.

2. 30% of all people will never believe you. Do not allow your colleagues and employees to work for you. Instead, let them work for a common goal.

3. It is a lot easier to unite the company under a common goal rather than uniting the company around a particular person.”

Jack Ma’s answer for “What does a leader have that an employee doesn’t?”

“A leader should never compare his technical skills with his employee’s. Your employee should have superior technical skills than you. If he doesn’t, it means you have hired the wrong person. What, then, makes the leader stands out?

1. A leader should be a visionary and have more foresight than an employee.

2. A leader should have higher grit and tenacity, and be able to endure what the employees can’t.

3. A leader should have higher endurance and ability to accept and embrace failure.

The quality of a good leader therefore is his vision, tenacity, and his capability.”

Jack Ma on why you should never mix politics with business.

“Don’t be involved in politics.

1. One should always understand that money and political power can never go hand in hand. Once you are in politics, don’t ever think about money anymore. Once you are running a business, don’t ever think of being involved in politics.

2. When money meets political power, it is similar to a match meeting an explosive- waiting to go off.”

Jack Ma on the four main questions the younger generations have to ask themselves.

“What is failure? Giving up is the greatest failure.

1. What is resilience: Once you have been through hardships, grievances and disappointments, only then will you understand what is resilience.

2.What your duties are: To be more diligent, hardworking, and ambitious than others.

3. Only fools use their mouth to speak. A smart man uses his brain, and a wise man uses his heart.”

Jack Ma: “We are born to live and experience life.”

“I always tell myself that we are born here not to work, but to enjoy life. We are here to make things better for one another, and not to work. If you are spending your whole life working, you will certainly regret it.

No matter how successful you are in your career, you must always remember that we are here to live. If you keep yourself busy working, you will surely regret it.”

Jack Ma on competing and competition.

“1. Those that compete aggressively with one another are the foolish ones.

2. If you view everyone as your enemies, everyone around you will be your enemies.

3. When you are competing with one another, don’t bring hatred along. Hatred will take you down.

4. Competition is similar to playing a board of chess. If you lose, we can always have another round. Both players should never fight.

5. A real businessman or entrepreneur has no enemies. Once he understand this, the sky’s the limit.”

Jack Ma: “Don’t make complaining and whining a habit.”

“If you complain or whine once in a while, it is not a big deal. However, if it becomes habitual, it will be similar to drinking: the more you drink, the stronger the thirst. On the path to success, you will notice that the successful ones are not whiners, nor do they complain often.

The world will not remember what you say, but it will certainly not forget what you have done.”

Jack Ma’s seven points of wisdom for entrepreneurs.

The opportunities that everyone cannot see are the real opportunities.
Always let your employees come to work with a smile.
Customers should be number 1, Employees number 2, and then only your Shareholders come at number 3.
Adopt and change before any major trends or changes.
Forget the money; Forget about earning money.
Rather than having small smart tricks to get by, focus on holding on and persevering.
Your attitude determines your altitude.
Jack Ma on advice you should remember for life.

“1. A great opportunity is often hard to be explained clearly; things that can be explained clearly are often not the best opportunities.

2.You should find someone who has complementary skills to start a company with. You shouldn’t necessarily look for someone successful. Find the right people, not the best people.

3. The most unreliable thing in this world is human relationships.

4. “Free” is the most expensive word.

5. Today is cruel, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be beautiful.”

Jack Ma on the three “don’ts” of entrepreneurship.

“1. The scariest things about starting up is the inability to see, to be snobbish, to be unable to understand what is going on, as well as to be unable to keep up with pace.

2. If you do not know where your competitor is, or overconfident and snobbish about your competitor, or are unable to comprehend how your competitor became a real threat, you will surely fall behind him. Don’t be the “they” in this idiom: First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

3. Even if your competitor is still small in size or weak, you should take him seriously and treat him as a giant. Likewise, even if your competitor is massive in size, you shouldn’t regard yourself as a weakling.”

Jack Ma on starting your own company.

“What starting your company means: you will lose your stable income, your right to apply for a leave of absence, and your right to get a bonus.

However, it also means your income will no longer be limited, you will use your time more effectively, and you will no longer need to beg for favours from people anymore.

If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then be different from your peers.”

Jack Ma on when you should take opportunities.

“If there are over 90% of the crowd saying “Yes” to approving a proposal, I will surely dispose the proposal into the bin. The reason is simple: if there are so many people who thinks that the proposal is good, surely there will be many people who would have been working on it, and the opportunity no longer belongs to us.”

"A letter from Mom and Dad"

Very touching video...Everyone should watch it...

Good advice from AK71

ASSI is a blog I follow faithfully. The owner is a unselfish, genuine, knowledgable guy who
shared his opinion on Insurance, Investing (mainly), etc Below is an extract from his blog
which I think should shared out more...

Graduating soon? Take steps towards financial security.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Received an email from a reader who is about to graduate and join the workforce:

Hi AK,
I am C and this is actually my first time writing to a blogger.
I've recently found your blog and you've been such an inspiration to me and my "future
financial life".

Would like to sincerely thank you for setting up this blog to benefit us youngsters in
Singapore. :)

I am about to graduate soon in a couple of months and I'm just wondering if you can provide
some advice to me...

Upon graduation and receiving my first pay check, would you recommend me to first set up my
emergency fund or invest in FDs or buy insurance or voluntarily top up my CPF or invest in
a SRS account or a combination of some?
There just seem to be many things I should do but I'm not sure which one I should focus on to
get my priority right. Thank you for your kind advice, AK.

Warmest regards
C

My reply:

Hi C,
I am not allowed to give advice but I am happy to share with you what I would do if I were in your shoes. :)

1. Buy a term policy. Very important if we have parents or other dependents to care for. 
    How much should the coverage be? It is up to you but I feel that $500K is probably 
    more than adequate for most.

2. Buy a good H&S policy. Personally, I have NTUC Incomeshield with Assist Rider. 
    We don't want to be sunk by hospital bills. How much you would spend here depends 
    on whether you are comfortable with Class C, B or A wards or if you want to stay in private  
    hospitals.

3. Buy a Critical Illness policy. We need this money to help pay for long term treatments if 
    we should be diagnosed with one of these illnesses and not die. I am covered for $300K 
    but, for a start, I think $100K should be comfortable.

4. Set up an emergency fund. Slowly build this up so that it is enough to cover at least 
    12 months of regular expenses (including insurance expenses). My preference is for 
    24 months. In case we lose our jobs or are unable to work for some reason, this is the 
    fund we would draw upon.

Once we have done all these, we can start thinking about investing for a second stream of income.
Of course, if we can pay less taxes, we should. In planning for retirement, you want to consider topping up your CPF-SA to a maximum of $7K a year. Of course, you could also start an SRS account.

The tools are out there to help us achieve financial security. You will do quite well if you make good use of them. :)

Best wishes,
AK

Roger Bannister Breaks the 4 Minute Mile (1954)

History in the making...

Li Ka-Shing teaches you how to buy a car & house in 5 years

Suppose your monthly income is only RMB 2,000, you can live well. I can help you put money into five sets of funds. The first $600, second $400, third $300, fourth $200, fifth $500.

The first set of funds is used for living expenses. It’s a simple way of living and you can only be assigned to less than twenty dollars a day. A daily breakfast of vermicelli, an egg and a cup of milk. For lunch just have a simple set lunch, a snack and a fruit. For dinner go to your kitchen and cook your own meals that consist of two vegetables dishes and a glass of milk before bedtime. For one month the food cost is probably $500-$600. When you are young, the body will not have too many problems for a few years with this way of living.

Second set of funds: To make friends, expand your interpersonal circle. This will make you well off. Your phone bills can be budgeted at RMB 100. You can buy your friends 2 lunches a month, each at $150. Who should you buy lunch for? Always remember to buy lunch for people who are more knowledgeable than you, richer than you or people who have helped you in your career. Make sure you do that every month. After one year, your circle of friends should have generated tremendous value for you. Your reputation, influence, added value will be clearly recognized. You’ll also enhance your image of being good and generous.

Third set of funds: To learn. Monthly spend about RMB 50 to RMB 100 to buy books. Because you don’t have a lot of money, you should pay attention to learning. When you buy the books, read them carefully and learn the lessons and strategies that is being taught in the book. Each book, after reading them, put them into your own language to tell the stories. Sharing with others can improve your credibility and enhance the affinity. Also save up $200 per month to attend a training course. When you have higher income or additional savings, try to participate in more advanced training. When you participate in good training, not only do you learn good knowledge, you also get to meet like-minded friends who are not easy to come by.

Fourth set of funds: Use it for holidays overseas. Reward yourself by traveling at least once a year. Continue to grow from the experience of life. Stay in youth hostels to save cost. In a few years you would have travelled to many countries and have different experiences. Use that experience to recharge yourself so that you’ll continually have passion in your work.

Fifth set of funds: Invest. Save the $500 in your bank and grow it as your initial startup capital. The capital can then be used to do a small business. Small business is safe. Go to wholesalers and look for products to sell. Even if you lose money, you will not lose too much money. However, when you start earning money, it will boost your confidence and courage and have a whole new learning experience of running a small business. Earn more and you can then begin to buy long-term investment plans and get long-term security on your financial wealth being of yourself and your families. So that no matter what happens, there will be adequate funds and the quality of life will not decline.

Well, after struggling for a year and if your second year salary is still RMB 2,000, then that means you have not grown as a person. You should be really ashamed of yourself. Do yourself a favour and go to the supermarket and buy the hardest tofu. Take it and smash it on your head because you deserve that.

If your monthly income is at RMB 3,000, you must still work very hard. You must try to find a part time job. It will be great to find part time sales jobs. Doing sales is challenging, but it is the fastest way for you to acquire the art of selling and this is a very deep skill that you will be able to carry it for the rest of your career. All successful entrepreneurs are good sales people. They have the ability to sell their dream and visions. You’ll also meet many people that will be of value to you in the later part of your career. Once you’re in sales, you will also learn what sells and what not. Use the sensitivity of detecting market sentiments as a platform for running your business and in the identification of product winners in the future.

Try to buy minimal clothes and shoes. You can buy them all you want when you’re rich. Save your money and buy some gift for your loved ones and tell them your plans and your financial goals. Tell them why you are so thrifty. Tell them your efforts, direction and your dreams.

Businessmen everywhere need help. Offer yourself to do part time for any kind of opportunities. This will help to hone your will and improve your skills. You will start to develop eloquence and soon, you’ll be closer to your financial goals. By the second year, your income should be increased to at least RMB 5,000. Minimum it should be RMB 3,000, otherwise you would not be able to keep up with inflation.

No matter how much you earn, always remember to divide it into five parts proportionately. Always make yourself useful. Increase your investment in networking. When you increase your social investment, expand your network of contacts, your income also grows proportionately. Increase your investment in learning, strengthen your self confidence, increase investment in holidays, expand your horizons and increase investment in the future, and that will ultimately increase your income.

Maintain this balance and gradually you will begin to have a lot of surplus. This is a virtuous circle of life plans. Your body will start to get better and better as you get more nutrition and care. Friends will be aplenty and you will start to make more valuable connections at the same time. You will then have the conditions to participate in very high-end training and eventually you’ll be exposed to bigger projects, bigger opportunities. Soon, you will be able to gradually realize your various dreams, the need to buy your own house, car, and to prepare an adequate education fund for your child’s future.

Life can be designed. Career can be planned. Happiness can be prepared. You should start planning now. When you are poor, spend less time at home and more time outside. When you are rich, stay at home more and less outside. This is the art of living. When you are poor, spend money on others. When you’re rich, spend money on yourself. Many people are doing the opposite.

When you are poor, be good to others. Don’t be calculative. When you are rich, you must learn to let others be good to you. You have to learn to be good to yourself better. When you are poor, you have to throw yourself out in the open and let people make good use of you. When you are rich, you have to conserve yourself well and don’t let people easily make use of you. These are the intricate ways of life that many people don’t understand.

When you are poor, spend money so that people can see it. When you are rich, do not show off. Just silently spend the money on yourself. When you are poor, you must be generous. When you are rich, you must not be seen as a spendthrift. Your life would have come full circle and reach its basics. There will be tranquility at this stage.

There is nothing wrong with being young. You do not need to be afraid of being poor. You need to know how to invest in yourself and increase your wisdom and stature. You need to know what is important in life and what is worth investing in. You also need to know what you should avoid and not spend your money on. This is the essence of discipline. Try to avoid spending money on clothing, but buy a selective number of items that have class. Try to eat less outside. If you were to eat outside, do make sure you buy lunches or dinners and foot the bill. When buying people dinner, make sure you buy dinners for people who have bigger dreams than you, and work harder than you.

Once your livelihood is no longer an issue, use the remainder of your money to pursue your dreams. Spread your wings and dare to dream! Make sure you live an extraordinary life!

Famous theory from Harvard: The difference of a person’s fate is decided from what a person spends in his free time between 20:00 to 22:00 . Use these two hours to learn, think and participate in meaningful lectures or discussion. If you persist for several years, success will come knocking on your doors.

No matter how much you earn, remember to split your salary into five parts. Take care of your body so that it will still be in good shape. Invest in your social circle so that you will constantly meet new people where you can learn new knowledge from. Expanding your network will also have an important impact in how much you earn eventually. Travel every year and expand your horizons. Also keep abreast with the latest developments in the industry. If you follow this plan diligently, you will soon see big surplus in your funds.

Whatever happened in the past is over. Do not dwell on past mistakes. There’s no point crying over spilt milk. Everybody makes mistakes. It’s what you learn from the mistakes, and promising yourself not to repeat those mistakes that matters. When you miss opportunities, don’t dwell on it, as there are always new opportunities on the horizon.

Being able to smile when being slightly misunderstood is good upbringing. When you’re wronged and you smile with calmness, it is generosity. When you’re being taken advantage of and you can smile, you’re being open-minded. When you are helpless and you can do a philosophical smile, you’re in a calm state. When you’re in distress and you can laugh out loud, you’re being generous. When you’re looked down and you can calmly smile, you’re being confident. When you’re being jilted in relationships and you can smile it off, you’re being suave.

There are many people who are struggling to make ends meet. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. There are lessons for all to learn from Li Ka Shing.

The Thompson family photo - How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves

My wife and I had 12 children over the course of 15 1/2 years. Today, our oldest is 37 and our youngest is 22. I have always had a very prosperous job and enough money to give my kids almost anything. But my wife and I decided not to.

I will share with you the things that we did, but first let me tell you the results: All 12 of my children have college degrees (or are in school), and we as parents did not pay for it. Most have graduate degrees. Those who are married have wonderful spouses with the same ethics and college degrees, too. We have 18 grandchildren who are learning the same things that our kids learned—self respect, gratitude, and a desire to give back to society.

We raised our family in Utah, Florida, and California; my wife and I now live in Colorado. In March, we will have been married 40 years. I attribute the love between us as a part of our success with the children. They see a stable home life with a commitment that does not have compromises.

Here’s what we did right (we got plenty wrong, too, but that’s another list):

Chores
Kids had to perform chores from age 3. A 3-year-old does not clean toilets very well but by the time he is 4, it’s a reasonably good job.
They got allowances based on how they did the chores for the week.
We had the children wash their own clothes by the time they turned 8. We assigned them a wash day.
When they started reading, they had to make dinner by reading a recipe. They also had to learn to double a recipe.
The boys and girls had to learn to sew.

Study time
Education was very important in our family.
We had study time from 6 to 8pm every week day. No television, computer, games, or other activities until the two hours were up. If they had no homework, then they read books. For those too young to be in school, we had someone read books to them. After the two hours, they could do whatever they wanted as long as they were in by curfew.
All the kids were required to take every Advanced Placement class there was. We did not let entrance scores be an impediment. We went to the school and demanded our kids be let in. Then we, as parents, spent the time to ensure they had the understanding to pass the class. After the first child, the school learned that we kept our promise that the kids could handle the AP classes.
If children would come home and say that a teacher hated them or was not fair, our response was that you need to find a way to get along. You need find a way to learn the material because in real life, you may have a boss that does not like you. We would not enable children to “blame” the teacher for not learning, but place the responsibility for learning the material back on the child. Of course, we were alongside them for two hours of study a day, for them to ask for help anytime.

Picky eaters not allowed
We all ate dinner and breakfast together. Breakfast was at 5:15am and then the children had to do chores before school. Dinner was at 5:30pm.
More broadly, food was interesting. We wanted a balanced diet, but hated it when we were young and parents made us eat all our food. Sometimes we were full and just did not want to eat anymore. Our rule was to give the kids the food they hated most first (usually vegetables) and then they got the next type of food. They did not have to eat it and could leave the table. If later they complained they were hungry, we would get out that food they did not want to eat, warm it up in the microwave, and provide it to them. Again, they did not have to eat it. But they got no other food until the next meal unless they ate it.
We did not have snacks between meals. We always had the four food groups (meat, dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables) and nearly always had dessert of some kind. To this day, our kids are not afraid to try different foods, and have no allergies to foods. They try all kinds of new foods and eat only until they are full. Not one of our kids is even a little bit heavy. They are thin, athletic, and very healthy. With 12 kids, you would think that at least one would have some food allergies or food special needs. (I am not a doctor.)

Extracurriculars
All kids had to play some kind of sport. They got to choose, but choosing none was not an option. We started them in grade school. We did not care if it was swimming, football, baseball, fencing, tennis, etc. and did not care if they chose to change sports. But they had to play something.
All kids had to be in some kind of club: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, history, drama, etc.
They were required to provide community service. We would volunteer within our community and at church. For Eagle Scout projects, we would have the entire family help. Once we collected old clothes and took them to Mexico and passed them out. The kids saw what life was like for many families and how their collections made them so happy and made a difference.

Independence
When the kids turned 16, we bought each a car. The first one learned what that meant. As the tow truck pulled a once “new” car into the driveway, my oldest proclaimed: “Dad, it is a wreck!” I said, “Yes, but a 1965 Mustang fastback wreck. Here are the repair manuals. Tools are in the garage. I will pay for every part, but will not pay for LABOR.” Eleven months later, the car had a rebuilt engine, rebuilt transmission, newly upholstered interior, a new suspension system, and a new coat of paint. My daughter (yes, it was my daughter) had one of the hottest cars at high school. And her pride that she built it was beyond imaginable. (As a side note, none of my kids ever got a ticket for speeding, even though no car had less than 450 horsepower.)
We as parents allowed kids to make mistakes. Five years before the 16th birthday and their “new” car gift, they had to help out with our family cars. Once I asked my son, Samuel, to change the oil and asked if he needed help or instruction. “No, Dad, I can do it.” An hour later, he came in and said, “Dad, does it take 18 quarts of oil to change the oil?” I asked where did he put 18 quarts of oil when normally only five were needed. His response: “That big screw on top at the front of the engine.” I said “You mean the radiator?” Well, he did not get into trouble for filling the radiator with oil. He had to drain it, we bought a radiator flush, put in new radiator fluid, and then he had to change the real oil. We did not ground him or give him any punishment for doing it “wrong.” We let the lesson be the teaching tool. Our children are not afraid to try something new. They were trained that if they do something wrong they will get not get punished. It often cost us more money, but we were raising kids, not saving money.
The kids each got their own computer, but had to build it. I bought the processor, memory, power supply, case, keyboard, hard drive, motherboard, and mouse. They had to put it together and load the software on. This started when they were 12.
We let the children make their own choices, but limited. For example, do you want to go to bed now or clean your room? Rarely, did we give directives that were one way, unless it dealt with living the agreed-upon family rules. This let the child feel that she had some control over life.

In it together
We required the children to help each other. When a fifth grader is required to read 30 minutes a day, and a first grader is required to be read to 30 minutes a day, have one sit next to the other and read. Those in high school calculus tutored those in algebra or grade-school math.
We assigned an older child to a younger child to teach them and help them accomplish their weekly chores.
We let the children be a part of making the family rules. For example, the kids wanted the rule that no toys were allowed in the family room. The toys had to stay either in the bedroom or playroom. In addition to their chores, they had to all clean their bedroom every day (or just keep it clean in the first place). These were rules that the children wanted. We gave them a chance each month to amend or create new rules. Mom and Dad had veto power of course.
We tried to be always consistent. If they had to study two hours every night, we did not make an exception to it. Curfew was 10pm during school nights and midnight on non-school nights. There were no exceptions to the rules.

Vacation policy
We would take family vacations every summer for two or three weeks. We could afford a hotel, or cruise, but did not choose those options. We went camping and backpacking. If it rained, then we would figure out how to backpack in the rain and survive. We would set up a base camp at a site with five or six tents, and I would take all kids age 6 or older on a three- to five-day backpack trip. My wife would stay with the little ones. Remember, for 15 years, she was either pregnant or just had a baby. My kids and I hiked across the Grand Canyon, to the top of Mount Whitney, across the Continental Divide, across Yosemite.
We would send kids via airplane to relatives in Europe or across the US for two or three weeks at a time. We started this when they were in kindergarten. It would take special treatment for the airlines to take a 5-year-old alone on the plane and required people on the other end to have special documentation. We only sent the kids if they wanted to go. However, with the younger ones seeing the older ones travel, they wanted to go. The kids learned from an early age that we, as parents, were always there for them, but would let them grow their own wings and fly.

Money and materialism
Even though we have sufficient money, we have not helped the children buy homes, pay for education, pay for weddings (yes, we do not pay for weddings either). We have provided extensive information on how to do it or how to buy rental units and use equity to grow wealth. We do not “give” things to our children but we give them information and teach them “how” to do things. We have helped them with contacts in corporations, but they have to do the interviews and “earn” the jobs.
We give birthday and Christmas presents to the kids. We would play Santa Claus but as they got older, and would ask about it, we would not lie. We would say it is a game we play and it is fun. We did and do have lists for items that each child would like for presents. Then everyone can see what they want. With the internet, it is easy to send such lists around to the children and grandchildren. Still, homemade gifts are often the favorite of all.

The real world
We loved the children regardless of what they did. But would not prevent consequences of any of their actions. We let them suffer consequences and would not try to mitigate the consequences because we saw them suffering. We would cry and be sad, but would not do anything to reduce the consequences of their actions.
We were and are not our kids’ best friends. We were their parents.

(Francis L. Thompson is an engineer at Northrop Grumman Corp. He led the teams that designed the first Direct TV satellites and missile defense satellites, as well as ground control for these systems.)

This 11 minute video shows us everything we need to know about Fukushima

A video on Fukushima giving the full depth of the situation!

To buy or not to buy Critical Illness Insurance

1. Medishield covers most of the medical expenses

Let us examine what is covered in a basic Medishield plan:

• Daily ward and treatment charges
• Surgical operations
• Implants/approved medical consumables
• Radiosurgery
• Chemotherapy
• Stereotactic Radiotherapy for Cancer
• Radiotherapy for Cancer
• Kidney Dialysis
• Immunosuppressant drugs for organ transplant
• Erythropoietin drug for chronic kidney failure

Click on the title to read more in detail.