I attended the Smart Money Management Skills workshop conducted by Patrick Cheo, CEO of ALKTG yesterday evening.
This is the first time I met Patrick and through his presentation, I found that he is a down to earth person who seems pretty good at managing (or should I say, tracking) his money.
Anyway, the talk focused on how to keep track of your spending as well as how to project your income so that you can plan your finances ahead and at the same time, save and invest wisely in order to see your money grow.
One topic that I particularly liked is how Patrick highlighted that what might be stopping us from managing money well are very simple reasons that include:
1. How our Values & Attitudes are attached to Money
2. Our Personal Habits on Handling Money
3. How we Live our Current Lifestyle
Remember my post Money – Friend or Foe? I highlighted that different people perceive money differently. If we tell ourselves money is no good, there is a high chance that when presented with money, we will not manage it effectively.
My personal habits on handling money are currently not resourceful. I sometimes spend without analyzing if my purchases benefit me and I know there is a need for me to change this habit.
Another topic that left an impression on me was that Patrick asked a question during his presentation ‘How much money is enough?’ A lady replied ‘Never enough!’ There is no argument if this is a right or wrong answer. Personally, I agree with the lady, at least at this stage of my life. And I believe that human beings are greedy. The more you give, the more they will ask. So at this stage of my life, I agree it is never enough.
Patrick had a different opinion. He said life is not all about money. There are many things to fulfill in life and to live in a world where you only see money, it is not healthy. At least that is not the type of person that he wants to be. I see his point, but I can only say that is a different stage of life where I can only aspire to be for now.
Overall, the workshop gives an overview of how we should go about planning to manage our money. It is not as detailed as I thought it would be but it does start you thinking. One final point, Patrick also highlighted that the world of knowledge can be yours but if no action is taken, it is just knowledge. If we attend his workshop and not take action, it is as good as not attending.
