Created an Invoice on Paypal

I just successfully created an invoice on Paypal to request for payment. This is my first time and it was straight forward and easy peasy. Nothing complicated and the Paypal platform was user-friendly. I created an invoice for USD 50.00 payment on a monthly basis for commented on a high traffic blog in the U.S.

By the way, I just came back from Kuala Lumpur last night by car, having traveled in the late evening and reach home by 9:00pm. Gave my parents October's allowance and then headed back to my condo for a good break. I was too tired to do anything else and promptly rested in bed. Well, my life now consists of work and lots or traveling as part of my job. Not having kids gives me the freedom to travel often for the job, but I shudder to think of my future when I am retired and alone again.

Now in Kuala Lumpur

Someone claimed that I have the 'best job' in the region. I beg to differ. The best job is when you call the shots all the time and are your own boss. I am just a business partner who still have to take instructions and carry out those tasks. The only consolation is that I work in a home office either in Penang or Kuala Lumpur. Right now I am in KL and will return to Penang tomorrow. Yesterday, visited 3 places using the GPS to guide us; otherwise we will not be able to visit 3 different places that are far away from each other. Samsung S4 also comes with a voice navigated GPS which we just discovered by accident. Technology certainly makes our lives so much easier.

I Love My Job

For most people a JOB is 'Just Over Broke'. But for me, well, I can say that I enjoy my dream job very much because I get to work from a home office. It is true. They pay you just enough that you won't leave and Not more! If they can get away with paying the least and have you do the most work, they will certainly do it. This is how companies cut costs - by having you perform the most work at the minimum pay to keep you there. Well, if you are enterprising, then it might be time to start considering working for yourself in a home office just like me.

To Get Money out of CPF

I have long written to Singapore's CPF to request for my funds to be released earlier, due to my condition. I have to depend on myself and the help of a friend to see lawyers and get the letters certified by a notary public before sending them to Singapore. As of today, I only have exactly 13 days to get this done. Deadline on 1st October. Luckily I have the help of a close friend to run errands for matters such as this. Now I know who I can count on for help. This person is a God-sent.

Got Paid 50.00 Euros

I emailed my invoice to a client and promptly got paid as 50% deposit down payment for 100 rows of short description of retailers in Europe of about 40 words each description. The total contract sum is 100.00 Euros, with 1 Euro for each row of description. This is for a German client and his English is not impeccable either. Hence, he needs some help from people like yours truly. I finished the work yesterday and emailed for the balance payment. I guess they need time to vet through the work submitted via Google docs as there are around 5-6 other writers just like me. I guess Germans are quite creative and enterprising as compared to their neighbouring countries.

Working Hard

I have to work hard for my money. Just cannot afford to laze around doing nothing as it is not my nature to be idle. I am always on the lookout for more work online since I work in a home office as of February 2004. Oh yes, I just received a call from Astro for special channel viewing of WWE Night of Champions live on Monday at 8:00am, repeats 3:30pm, 8:00pm on Monday and 7:00pm on Tuesday. It will cost additional $19.95 for this special seasonal viewing. I am a true blue Chinese and all Chinese are very hardworking, motivated and diligent. If you live in Hong Kong, it is common to find people working at 2 jobs: one in the day time and another one at night.

Working at Home Alone is Good But...

Working alone at home is good but can be boring at times. There is no interaction with other people or colleagues other than my boss. It is ideal for many people as they don't like dealing with colleagues that stab you in the back or badmouth you to superiors. It is very good for me, but just that at times, I miss the human interaction and drama; which could be a source of unnecessary stress. Therefore, here I am working all alone on my laptop in a room with a bed and air-con with nice satin curtains to shield off the sunlight and everything is squeaky quiet except for the tapping on the keyboard by my fingers.

Well, I guess, this is the most ideal situation for me as I can be more productive without all the disruptions that you get in an office. If you work too fast, your colleagues hate you for it as they cannot keep up the pace and wouldn't want to spoil the market. But as a partner in this company, I give my best and work conscientiously every day from the time I wake up till I log off for dinner.

Blogging can be Fun

I am having lots of fun blogging and writing my thoughts on the world wide web where I can have world's attention at my fingertips. It started out as a hobby initially, which has progressed into monetization of my blogs where I get to earn some revenue out of my activities. I can blog about anything - food that I take, places that I visit, my personal thoughts and rants, sponsored posts, etc. Because it is fun, I managed to maintain all my blogs since August 2006 - yes, that is a good 7 years long and still going strong.

But blogging has it limitations. Don't go overboard by criticizing your employer, the government, or people in authority as it does not pay to be put into jail or get a hefty fine for doing so. Just blog on safe topics such as what you have eaten, and the like in order to play safe, and not to be sorry. That is because, whatever you have typed, it will be found online by authorities who scour the internet for seditious comments or posts.

Finally, My Housing Loan is Approved

Finally, my housing loan is approve by not one bank but 2 banks. For the first bank, Hong Leong, it took me 1+ months to get it approved with repeat emails to send in documents and personal information, offering BLR-2.25%. For the second bank RHB, it only took exactly 2 weeks before it was approved with BLR-2.35%. Of course, RHB's offer is very attractive, since I pay 0.1% less as compared to Hong Leong Bank.

Moreover, RHB has already prepared the offer letter for me to sign since Friday and I will go with this bank as they are more lenient and easy going with their loan offer. Hong Leong bank is too calculative and more expensive if I were to take up the loan from them. Finally, I can buy my second property with some help from the banks for investment purposes. Just after I signed the S&P, the price of property went up another 10% due to the hike in petrol prices and all other things.

I Love to Read and Write

Writing is my hobby. The more I write, the better I become at writing. I also buy newspapers every day and monthly magazines to read and improve my knowledge and widen my experience. Reading is the best activity one can do during one's free time and an ideal escapade in a secluded bedroom, all curled up under my silk comforter with a book or magazine in hand. You will miss out a lot on life if you don't read and write. It keeps me mentally alert and knowledge is power. I believe in lifelong learning and will pursue this activity for a very long time to come. It has helped to widen my vocabulary, improved my style of writing and of course my not-so-perfect grammar.

Bought The Edge Magazine

My sister's friend plays the share market by buying The Edge and Personal Money Magazines to track the financial data weekly. The Edge costs $5 each and is published on a weekly basis. Sometimes she makes $50 to $100 or more by playing shares online during her retirement years. This will surely keep her mentally active and helps prevent Alzheimer's Disease during the twilight years. The Edge is well written and information, hence the higher cost as compared to the daily newspapers costing only $1.20 each. I read both the Star and The Straits Times as much as possible to keep track on what's happening on a daily basis locally.

I Love to Blog

I love to blog and make money out of it. That is the benefit of keeping an active blog that you can monetize. This is a win-win basis for both bloggers and sponsors. I have done paid posts in the past and earned some good income from it. The revenue adds up to my total income for the year every December. I keep a financial record on Excel to trace my income and expenditure for an overall net income every month if possible. And I get to do all this in a home office that is equipped with an internet broadband connectivity, digital camera, multi-functional printer that can scan, copy and print in colours, etc. I love what I am doing right now and hope to continue on this activity for a long time to come.

Making Money is Possible if You are Diligent

Making money is possible if you diligently look around the internet for opportunities instead of sitting idly by or napping most of the time. You need to work with your hands, and lift a finger, so that you will not come to poverty and become hungry. The Bible has already taught us that those people who refuse to lift a finger, will go hungry. Worse that hungry is to be in poverty with no roof over your head or nice clothes to wear. An extreme example is the vagabond you see walking in the streets and survive by eating the leftover food of clients at food cafes or hawker centres. You also need to have some skill and a sound mind to be able to work on the computer and earn an income now and then.