The person behind the web site . . .

I love reading personal finance topics on line and there are so many GREAT sites out there . . . if you were like me, have you ever wondered who the person is behind the site ?

So I started trying to know more a bit out the person behind the web site - I asked for their permission for me to conduct an email interview with them.

First I sent out an interview request like this.  Not everyone replied of course, but I manage to get a few reply from the sites I love most ....



( click on the paragraph title to view original interview scripts )

Champdog
He is most probably one of the person whom I know the longest in real life.  A young guy who shared his true belief and through out his blog sharing, you can see he is making an excellent progress toward finance independence if not already is.  Although I know him the longest among all other bloggers or web site owners, until today I don't remember his web site URL.  I just google search "Champdog Finance" and usually his come up at the top.  May be its time he re-brand his blog !? :)

financialindependent.blogspot.com

CP Teh
CP is in education line.  With his intuitive interest and strength in Math, he shines out an interesting charisma on Technical Analysis in stock market.

cpteh.blogspot.com

KC Lau
I am sure KC Lau needs no further introduction.  It was KC who gets Meshio to blog whom I asked advice from the very first time I started out sharing my stories.  My years of calling KC the pioneer and the guru of the gurus in Malaysia Personal Finance blogsphere has never been challenged.

Although I am nowhere near his success, but I always thought my life path share quite some similarities with his.  Frugality is within our bones but we treat ourselves quite well from time to time :D

kclau.com

Chong
I always think accountant who also pursue personal finance is a best match of skills.  After he help you fix you yourself, he can help you build an empire too. :)

askchong.com

Gabe
Through out years and years of constantly reviewing personal finance web sites, Gabe's always stands out to be the easiest and most browser friendly site.  Simplicity says it all.

maysfinancial.com

Alan Tan
Alan is another blogger who needs no further introduction.  Not just personal finance, he shares pretty much everything interesting that he came about; and carefully shape his marketing so that people always find his articles first.  I always ask my lover to read my blog but she always end up reading Alan Tan's blog even without realizing it. :D

alantanblog.com

Kris
Its hard to find a lady in personal finance blogsphere ?  So she claims but I didn't even realize any gender differences in internet until this was brought up.  She likes Sabah so I like her :)

knowthymoney.com

Fathersez
Although this is no longer an active site but its one of those things in life.

What have you done ?
What are you doing now ?
What do you wish to leave behind ?
What have we actually left for others ?

Eventually we all will join Fathersez . . . and how would the world remember us by ?

fathersez.com

There were quite a handful objectives I was planning initially when I thought of this interviewing project.  But unfortunately most of my thoughts did not materialize well.  Mostly that is due to my in-experience to conduct email interview - my questions were not well formed and many were answered from a different perspective than initially intended.  For example, how would you answer this question ?  Please do leave your answer in the comment section.

"You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences."

However, I did manage to realize 2 interesting findings through this exercise.

1. Most of us blog or create a web site just for the sake of sharing.  Seldom do we realize how precious it has become and we never thought of keeping our blog/site to live forever, even beyond us.  And to achieve that is nothing harder than setting up a trust ourselves.  Which can be easily done once you have the know how.  Check out kclau's interview respond and search for "set up a trust".
2. Most of us here who are giving out truthful sharing here share some similar background

• We came from a middle income family, not so poor, not so rich ... ok may be a bit poor.
• We learn to be frugal from our parent
• We "save" quite well, thanks to parental influence
• But we learn to "invest" after we have gone through our lives ourselves
• Now our saving part is saving us from our investment swing
• About there - financially independent !?
• We do ok now and we start to pamper ourselves from time to time :D
• Opps, drop back to rat race !?

Alright, thank you very much for reading so patiently up until here.  I know its another boring wordy post.  But I have decided to keep this boring wordy style.  After all, everyone will have a cup of his own tea :)

And I haven't found any other ways to embed a message where a reader hates to hear now but would realize and appreciate it years later.

Next article : scheme vs scam

Interview : FatherSez - fathersez.com

FatherSez is one of the pioneers in Malaysia Personal Finance blogsphere.  He started his first blog post on 8 September 2007, one year earlier than this blog.  He has always been one of the great minds I wanted to meet in person one day.  But little did I know back then, opportunity fade away sooner than I thought.  FatherSez passed away on 4 August 2009.

Although we never met and now lost the chance to ever meet again, we never feel far apart.  During earlier years even after 100 posts, I was still a skeptic about blogging.  It was actually FatherSez who found my sharing useful and kept me going.

Even years after his departure, I never forget every single word we transact online; through our virtual identities.  But he was busy with his venture and I was busy with my entrepreneurship back then as well.  We never met in person although both of us wanted to.  Well, at least I wanted to ( Fathersez received too many requests to meet that he couldn't accommodate to all . . . )

FatherSez is unique in his own way because it was clearly a message from parent to kids.  It was written with a legacy in mind, for the kids and the future.  I haven't read a personal finance blog that is as parental, as philosophical, as practical and most truthfully show his love toward his kids without reservation.

I was very scare and afraid after confirming the fact that he did pass away 7 months after his departure.  I worry his web site will be shut down very soon.  But 2 years down the road, I managed to contact one of his legacy, Azah.  And words cannot describe how grateful I am when I know FatherSez is still alive today.  This simply means whatever message FatherSez wanted to deliver has been well received.

What else can be more grateful 

than after you are gone, 

your messages are still 

being hold tight by someone ?

I have conducted email interviews to some of the personal finance web sites or blogs recently.  Fathersez is one of them.  Since I couldn't reach Fathersez anymore, I made a request to his legacy.  To my surprise, she accepted the interview request ...




At young age, Fathersze was one of those where today's basic necessity was not readily given by nature.  He had to walk 12km to school.  Luckily his uncle had supported him mostly not from any monetary form but most critically important - the existence of love and family tie.  Also thanks to his uncle?  Fathersez was exposed to accounting at early age, as early as his primary school time working in a cloth selling shop.  This was one of the key differentiation why he was able to contribute so much to our personal finance blogsphere today.  For other luckier kid like me, I was only worrying what lunch I can have with my 50 cents pocket money for that day.

. . . here is the original interview scripts . . . with minor censorship for privacy reason.

If you were also a FatherSez follower before you read this, you would most probably agree with me that a FatherSez 2.0 is in the making.  The way Azah write and feel for herself and also on behalf of Fathersez, clearly show how great a legacy FatherSez had left behind.  And how similar she is to her father.  And yet with a touch of 21st century of her own.

Lastly, a word for my dear friend Fathersez, for science or for faith, I hope one day you can read this . . . one way or another, I want you to know without a single doubt, a stranger like me . . .  miss you very much too.

Interview : Self

Questions

1. Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?
   There was once I was slapped real hard until my whole body fly toward the wall, so till now one of my ears is half deaf.  I learned that not everything can be undone.  We have to be careful not to let our emotion/feeling drive us over the edge.  Which turns out to be a very valuable blue print in my stock investment.
   Since teenage I was influenced to save in mutual fund.  That has helped me survive through my varies business cycles 20+ years later.  DCA does work especially when we just get started.
   During the first year of my high school, a classmate helped save a fire.  Then a broken electric cable fell upon his body and he died.  I learned that sometimes life is bigger than ourselves.  So I knew since young personal finance is never about the money, its about what we want in life.
   His father was an illegal immigrant but we never felt any indifference.  I also learn that all being in universe always share some similarities while each one of us is unique.  Same goes to PF, you can think and do whatever you want but at the end, we are most probably going through a similar path.
2. Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?
   Rat Aquarius.
3. What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?
   I like to find those impossible to solve challenges and then think, strategies and plan around them during my silent time.  I used to jog, basketball and badminton a lot.  But now I just walk wherever less than 5km and cycle wherever within 25km.
   I don't like myself when I think I am prefect - there is nothing else to live for !?
4. What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?
   red, black, white.  I like 7.  I like dull color less, like my 10 years old over worn shirts.
5. What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?
   tomyam, laksa, curry, salmon shashimi, beef noodle, lamb shank ... OMG !  Why did you get me started ?
   I don't like monkey brain may be !?  Never try before . . .
6. If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?
   Mahathir : Deep down inside, do you really think current corruption status has absolutely nothing to do with what you have done or not done in the past ?
7. What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?
   I feel excellent when the person I love most trust me fully without any doubt, appreciate my existence and companion.
   I am in hell when she felt the other way.
8. What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?
   I structure an unsolved question of the day to my mind and let my dream solve it.
9. What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?
   What do I have to do today ?
10. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?
    Build a portfolio according to malpf.com and then assign the right person to manage it.
11. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.
    I turn your money from 1 to 2 in a way that you can accept it, personally or business wise.
12. If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?
    A philosopher, a monk, robin hood, a cruel or loving king . . . all seems possible.
13. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?
    Averagely a couple hours a week I suppose except recently less active.
14. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?
    My objective is to share a side of personal finance story that I haven't found else where within the same blogsphere.  It is still NOT profit oriented.  I target to those who has the time to read through the whole article which is tough because most internet browsers just spend minutes on one article.  I don't know any other more suitable venue or medium yet.
15. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?
    I left it for 2 years and it is still running ?  That is a big wow to me despite the low readership.  I guess at the end, content decides how far to drive a site !?
16. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_finance
17. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?
    malpf.com may die when I forget to renew the domain.
    malaysiaPersonalFinance.blogspot.com should live as long as Google lives which should be at least another 10 years ?  :)
    A trust deed (self growing fund) has been setup to keep it running but the mechanism of how to keep it running forever has not be exactly determined yet.  Eventually I also need to change the trustee to someone who really care about the topics I wrote about.
18. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?
    Sit down and listen to what his view point is.  Understand the true cause and motive behind it.  Then acknowledge him and assure him there are other people who think and feel like him too despite most of my readers are on the other side of the fence.  At last ask him how he would improve the situation if he were me.
    There is always something we can learn from, even the worst enemy ever or an ass hole.
19. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?
    Nothing can replace a face to face interview.
20. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? If yes

• Do you smoke ?  No
• Do you drink liquor socially ? Yes
• Are you a coffee lover ? Yes
• Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.)  Malaysia KL

Interview : Kris - knowthymoney.com

1.    Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

I lead a moderate lifestyle during my childhood. My family is quite frugal and we don’t splurge on branded goods.(nowadays a lot of young people fell into this consumerism trap) Come to think of it, I guess I am fortunate that I did not suffer from any peer pressure during my school days as most of my classmates are quite moderate also even though some of them come from very wealthy families. Until now I don’t really get all the hype of wearing or using highly expensive branded goods just to feel “confident”. Confidence comes from within.

On personal finance perspective, I managed to save quite a high percentage of my salary over my working years. But one thing that my parents never thought me about is the importance of investing to make your money work for you. They are quite conservative investors. Nevertheless, they stressed the importance of education and hard-work to ensure an easy life in the future when I was growing up. One thing to note is that like most old traditional Chinese thinking, they discourages debt taking ,borrowing money to take advantage of the leverage when doing investments or even buying property. Of course too much leverage is hazardous but a good ratio of leverage really does wonders to your total net worth.

2.    Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

Aries the so-called fiery ram. LOL..Although I don’t believe in astrological signs.

3.    What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

I like to read a lot during my spare time and listening to music while doing so. I dislike cutting my hair as I need to wait there doing nothing.

4.    What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

Favorite color is blue.

5.    What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

I like to eat noodles more than rice dishes.

6.    If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?

I would like to meet my paternal grandfather which I never had the chance to do so. My grandfather who came from China on a boat, without any family members, a few dollars in the pocket and no education manage to become one of the richest businessmen in a small town.(The first family to own a black & white television which is really a luxury item at that time in a small town) He started as an ordinary hawker selling goods on a floating boat to owning a grocery store business, a few shop-lots and plantations. But alas, the wealth preservation did not happen as he sold all the properties and business (no one wanted to continue the family business) when he reached old age and moved to a bigger town; leaving no wealth preservation plan & investments for the next generation. And with no investment, time erodes the family wealth. But luckily, all his children manage to receive good education because our family was one of the few that can afford it.

So if I were able to “go back to the future”, I want to hear his rags to riches story from his own mouth.

7.    What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?

Best feeling is to get good academic results in public examination after years of study. Worst feeling is getting diarrhea and food poisoning.

8.    What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

Read one of my books.

9.    What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

Brush my teeth, refresh and get ready for work.

10. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

Generate more passive income while you are still young and have mixed income portfolio consisting of property investments, dividend stocks and mutual funds. And have sufficient insurance and medical coverage to ensure your wealth will be preserved if anything happens. While young, a person must be brave enough to take a lot of calculated risks. (high risk high return kind of game, because you can afford to make mistakes. It is still okay to stumbled on small mistakes, just make sure you learn from it to avoid the big and grave personal finance mistakes) While in old age, one must be concerned on wealth preservation and guaranteed returns.  

At lastly the most important one is to invest oneself in terms of knowledge. Knowledge is power!!!

11. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

Just say hi and see where we go from there.

12. If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

I will probably become an academician. A professor perhaps?

13. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

I read a lot of financial articles online and will blog on related topics that comes into my mind.

14. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

The objective of my blog is to encourage more people to share their experiences and knowledge in the personal finance field. There is a lot of more “niche” information that is only available to a small selected group of people. I wish to exposed and share these “niches” to empower the average people through knowledge sharing. There is a lot of hidden pro & cons on certain investment instruments that non-finance related industry people might not know off. (I am from an engineering background myself) . Hence the name of my blog, KnowThyMoney. Know = Knowledge is Power , Thy = Empower yourself through knowledge, Money = Earning more moolah to achieve financial freedom :P

Hence, I always encourage readers to comment on my blog to spur more discussions. Not really sure how to spur this , as I noticed that in general Malaysian readers are only interested to comment on stock pick related posts. (Whether it is a good time to buy stock xyz or not, what is the target price, etc)

Although my blog has Google ads, I don’t make much from it unlike some Malaysian bloggers. I consider it as pocket money if I earn any.

15. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

When I started blogging around 2006, I never expected that I have so much stuff & ideas to blog about on personal finance. (Somehow, I managed to reach around 580 posts as of today.)  

16. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

http://whereiszemoola.blogspot.com/à Sometimes, I really wonder where he finds the time to do some much research and follow-ups to expose the shenanigans in the stock market. I am curious on his background.

17. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

I planned to continue as long as I can. Maybe the number of posts will reduced in the future if I no longer have much time to do so.

18. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

I just shrug them off. In this world, there are always people that try to find fault with you regardless of circumstances. So why bother to care their negative opinions.

19. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?

I think it is good enough for a starter.

Interview request

Hi,

My name is Michael Tsen. I am a fanatic on personal finance topics. I have been learning and reading personal finance stories since young. In recent years I feel very excited that quite a handful of Personal Finance blog writers are promoting rather interesting and unique point of view that I feel more people should know about. So I thought of an idea to interview the person behind the site. As I like your site a lot, I hope you are kind enough to accept my request to conduct an interview with you.

The interview questions will be slightly uncommon than those 'hello how are you' type of questions. At some instance, some questions may make some people feel uneasy but all questions are strictly professional to bring out the objective - ' to know the person behind the blog '. No personal identification will be sourced other than the blog URL we are interviewing you about. You may choose to 'skip' any question that you do not want to answer and your decision to skip will not be made known.

We will share the joint ownership of this interview script so both parties can publish the content in our respective venues. If you do accept this invitation, please let us know WHEN to send you the list of questionnaires ( 20 questions, free form writing ). We also track the time of the scripts to come back to us as to simulate the actual interview session although it usually take days or weeks.

Thanks and look forward to your favor reply,

Regards,
Michael Tsen
MalPF.com

Interview : Alan Tan

Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

I would say the my personal finance practice is mostly influence by after reading these 2 book i,e  Rich Dad Poor Dad  by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter and Millionaires are from a different Planet by Azizi Ali. It’s a must read book for those who want to take control of their financial life. Ever since, I continue my education via attend investment seminars

Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

Pisces & Ox

What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

Reading & hiking

What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

I don’t any much preference on this

What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

I do love Spicy foods 

If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?

Abraham Lincoln. What’s your secret of not giving up and to be a great person?

What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?

Best feeling-Seeing my CPA Book at MPH Book stores and library. All these while I’ve been buying so many books until have a mini library at home, now others can read and learn what I shared. 

What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

Nothing in specify

What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

Drink a glass of Apple cider juice

If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

First invest in yourself by reading books, attending seminar & networking. Seek out for a mentor or role model. Ask help if need to. Always remember that what works for others may not suit you. Even there’s a saying “One man's meat is another man's poison.”. Therefore  you must be able to adapt it in order to apply what you have learned. 

You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

I’m Helping business to close more deals

If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

Working for others

How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

Average 6 hours a week

What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

I like to learn about Investing, Making money and personal finance. In another words it’s my passion as well. Every time when I visit a book stores, the first section to be visited is on Finance/Investment. 
The main objective of my blog is to share about what I have learned, share and educate other about importance of  personal finance. All this thing is sadly not taught at school even it’s very important in life. 
My targeted blog readers are those who share similar interest like me and who is new in personal finance

What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

I’m the first Malaysian best selling author that wrote a Wordpress blogging book that teaches people how to blog and make money online in Malaysia. This book expected to hit the bookstores early 2012 . 
Instead of just making friends on Facebook or watching videos on YouTube, wouldn't it be better to spend that  time generating online income for yourself, your love ones and your family?

Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

http://kclau.com/ It has a lot of useful information about  personal finance and investment. It also has an interest guest post

How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

As long as my passion don’t die off. 
Even I don’t have to update my blog so often, it still get constant SEO traffic(from search engine esp Google) daily. Average about 1,000 unique blog visitors daily

The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ? 

We can’t control what other want to say. I don’t think can do much. 

What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ? 

fine

Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? 

yes

If yes
Do you smoke ? - no
Do you drink liquor socially ? -yes
Are you a coffee lover ? - no
Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.)- Kuala Lumpur

Interview : Gabe maysfinancial.com

1. Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance?

My family wasn’t quite poor, but money was tight growing up.  Through those struggles I’ve learned to save and manage money well.  I’ve learned that while money may not necessarily bring happiness, it is important to be able to afford the basics and opportunities for children to help enrich their lives.

2. Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

I’m not really into that stuff, but I think I’m a Libra.

3. What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about?

I enjoy programming, writing, weight lifting, running and hanging out with my wife.

4. What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

My favorite food is pizza…definitely pizza.

5. What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

Kiss my wife.

6. What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

Brush my teeth.

7. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

For a young guy I’d recommend index funds in a Roth IRA.  Easy to manage, but still has control over fund choice and allocation.

8. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

I’d talk to them, ask them what they do, tell a few jokes…the usual.

9. If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

I’m doing exactly what I want to do, I love my career.

10. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

It really depends, anywhere from 5-30hrs per week depending on my schedule and what I’m working on for the site.

11. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

It is not profit oriented, I have no ads on the site and I do not sell anything.  The purpose is to provide useful, unbiased information to readers and help them improve their financial decision making.  Eventually I’d like to at least offset the operational costs of running the site, but I haven’t looked into it much yet and would not want to compromise the value the site provides to readers.

12. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

I think it’s well designed, intuitive and very easy to use.  Usability is huge.

13. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

Ted.com is a great site.  It’s not personal finance related, but it’s about people doing big things to make our world a better place.

14. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all?

I plan on keeping the site going indefinitely.  I currently fund the site myself since I do not sell anything or have any ads up.  I assume I’d keep doing that, though I wouldn’t mind turning it into a career after I retire from my current line of work.

15. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

Things like that don’t bother me much, I’d keep doing whatever I was doing.  You can never make everyone happy.

16. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ?

Possibly, it depends on my schedule, though I don’t consider my personal finance site much of a blog in the typical sense.

• Do you smoke ? I don’t smoke.
• Do you drink liquor socially ? I don’t drink alcohol..
• Are you a coffee lover ? I don’t drink coffee.
• Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.) United States, California, San Diego

Interview : Chong - askchong.com

1.  Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

Nothing special and I don't remember most of my childhood time, like lost of memory.

1. Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

No need to check with anything or anyone. Born in year of Dragon and my star is Sagittarius.

1. What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

Computer related, now extended to smart phones and iPad or surf the web for information regarding latest technology and investment in share.

I don't have anything specifically "dislike" but if any... would be "in a pub full of second hand smoke" and disturbing noise. I also don't like to waste money.

1. What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

 Blue. I have no favorite "Numbers"... Emm... dislike? No.

1. What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

Nothing in particular. I can eat bread from morning to night. Nothing specifically favorite but if I don't know what to eat in a restaurant, perhaps I will just order "Nasi Lemak" if they do serve. As income improve over last few years, the quality matters instead of what type of food.

I hate nothing but I will say North India food is considered an acquired-taste.

1. If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?

Never come across my mind, yet.

1. What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?

 Best feeling is not about spending money but watching it grows. Beside money, best feeling is watching my children grow, enjoy their laugh and naughtiness.

Worst feeling... ha ha... quarrel with wife. On monetary side, losing money on share investment.

1. What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

Normally.... not watching movie, not music but work. I have few side income jobs so most of the time I will do my work. That is the good thing about freelance. I can work at home at the best time available for me, including before go to sleep.

1. What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

 Now, probably read email and some news, not local news but business news.

1. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

Building a portfolio means how to spend the money earned or acquired. First thing is to buy insurance and next is to invest and reinvest.

What to invest is entirely depends on the knowledge and risk appetite.

1. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

The problem I am facing now is the multi-hats I am wearing now. For certain people, I will say "Hi, my name is Chong Kong Hui, I am Chartered Accountant by profession now working in a listed company".

For my own career, "Hi, my name is Chong Kong Hui, I am Accoutant by profession and now providing financial service and solution for individual and SME"

1. If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

Wow, I just can't imagine that.

1. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

Not much time. Probably few hours within a month only.

1. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

Even I put in some advertisement but the initial purpose of this blog is to share the information and to support my own career in financial service as well as to improve my knowledge.

Nothing great about income from the blog and not worth to mention.

I don't have specific marketing or target group of readers but I believe anyone who have an interest in personal finance may "find" my blog from the search engine.

1. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

Huh hah... i do not regard having any sort of achievement so far but gladful the monthly hit stay above 1,000 for past few months.

1. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

There are more than one I would recommend but it depends on the reader's specific interest at that time of reading. The few I like already linked within my blog.

1. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

I noticed some blog almost ceased to be active after a while..... as my blog is intertwine with my career and my personal interest.... i believe it will exist for a long time and the best thing for me is if anyone would like to be the co-author or to do some guest-post.

My blog cost me almost nothing beside the USD10 for the domain name and my free time. Therefore, I do not foresee any requirement to get paid for dong it. Advertisement revenue, if anything better than RM10 a month will be a BIG BIG bonus.

1. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

If it ever happens... things get changed along the time. I do believe it last year doesn't mean I will continue to believe it now. Life goes on....

1. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?

I am not an expert in designing questions other than those lead to a close (closing sale). Question is, what is your objective or data to be collected? May be the book "the Millionaire next door"  can give you hints.

1. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? If yes

• Do you smoke ? NO
• Do you drink liquor socially ? NO, beer is ok.
• Are you a coffee lover ? YES
• Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.) Sg Buloh... I am ok with KL/PJ 

Interview : KC Lau

1.  Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

My parents are frugal. So I think I learnt a lot about saving money from them. Since money is scarce during that time, I learn to make money since primary school.

The first time I made money is through selling rubber tree seed to some seniors. That time, I was only standard 3 and some standard 4-5 seniors bought some special rubber tree seed that I found near my place.

The seed has really hard and solid shell which is advantageous at some games we used to play. The seeds cost them RM0.20 a piece. The smaller ones cost even more.

I also start teaching piano at the age of 16 and this part time job pays through my exam fees and also university degree program.   

 

1. Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

Don't know 

1. What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

watching movie, making music, traveling and playing basketball and volleyball 

1. What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

green and 9. Nothing to be hated. 

1. What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

Laksa. Hate nothing though. Insect maybe.

1. What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

Read 

1. What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

Toilet.

1. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

I would say to spend the money on getting education that will let him make money on his passion. 

1. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

Smile. Introduce myself and ask what the person does. 

1. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

One hour a week, maybe less. I used to work on it everyday. 

1. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

It is for educational purpose at the beginning. But now it has become profitable that I have to strike a balance between the "gives" and "takes".  

1. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

> 10,000 subsribers 

1. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

www.google.com 

1. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

My blog will exist as long as I live because it is my name on it. I may draw up a plan for the continuation since you asked. You trigger my mind to think about this matter.

I need to set up a trust that is funded to pay the maintenance fee to keep the website online when I pass on in the future. That is not hard actually.  

1. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

I just ignore them. I used to react but now I become smarter. Those people just doesn't worth a single minute to even bother about them. I realize that I can't please everybody. Those paying customers deserve more of my time. 

1. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?

You always do the unexpected things, which is kind of fun to be a part of. 

1. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? If yes

• Do you smoke ? No
• Do you drink liquor socially ? Social drinker
• Are you a coffee lover ? Love coffee in the morning
• Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.) Penang and now in the USA.

Interview : CP Teh - cpteh.blogspot.com

Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

CP : Will write this in length in my blog next weekend and copy that to send it to you.

Answer this question without checking or asking for references: If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

CP : Gemini. Goat.

What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

CP : Like : Listening to songs/music. Playing with my kids(I have 2). Dislike : Gossiping? Day-dreaming? Haha

What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

CP : Like : Yellow and light blue. Dislike : None

What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

CP : Carrot cake(Chinese) Dislike : Anything related to vege.

If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?

CP : Gandhi. How confident he was using non-violence ways against oppression?

What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?

CP : Best feeling … hmm … seeing my kids coming out in hospital(birth). Worst feeling … my dad passed away this year. Anything relating to death such as 9-11 and such. I simply feel sad for those who will miss their loved ones.

What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

CP : Silent prayers.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

CP : Checking on market-news. Haha


If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

CP : To enlighten him about what it takes to be successful financially by actively motivate his financial-aspect of his brain. No one gave me the guidance when I was young or till 30+, so to make a person REALISE the importance of ‘personal financial control’ is very important.

You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

CP : I seldom to go to party in my whole life(I dislike crowds and many hypocrites there!!). I don’t attend wedding dinners and such except for my siblings. I think if I REALLY attend a party(birthday, house-warming …), I might introduce myself and strike a conversation about stock-market!! Haha

If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

CP : Well, many of things I do plan … I planned to teach Math in colleges since I was form 4. I planned to teach trading(just started!!) way before I even know anything about trading. But, if I m not doing what I am doing now, I might go to AUZ to study marine-biology for interests!!

How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

CP : Averagely 1 to 2 hours per day. At times, more when I want to share something interesting I just read, for example : Is TA rubbish which I just read from your blog!!

What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

CP : To record my trades, initially. To get some readers with knowledge and kind enough to share a pointer or two so that I could learn from them. So, initially, the blog is my personal diary(as I was a blogger since 10 years ago, relating to my thoughts and personal opinions – I m only writing about stocks in DEC 2007) regarding my LEARNING progress. It still is. The initial target readers are only those few who want to help me. I could not help others back then. It was 2008-2009 and it was bearish!
Nope, my blog NEVER meant to be profit oriented. In fact, only recently … 2 months ago, I placed the advertisements(google, nuffnang) with a help of a blogger friend! Currently, my blog is more of leaning-teaching platform of trading ideas.

What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

CP : Huh? I m not sure if it is considered as achievement … but the satisfaction derived from teaching is great. I am in education line for 20+ years. Perhaps this interview is seen as a recognition of ME as a financial-klse-blogger. That could be an achievement for me after 3 years of consistent blogging? Hmm ..

Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

CP : A blog or a site? If it is a blog, then I have recommended a FEW … Dali’s, Alex Lu’s, Alpha Chart’s, CWYeoh’s, TGLee’s. These are much better than my blog. In fact, I have recommended 10 blogs ANYONE should read FIRST … and if they really have nothing to do, they can read my blah-blah stories for pleasure past time purposes!! Haha.

How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

CP : As long as I still have the desire to share my opinions and learning-teaching, my blog should be there and it should be free. It is sharing of opinions only, anyway. Why should we be financing our blog? Unless blogspot starting to charge me, then I will take my blog private.

The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

CP : Yes, I do have such readers … I might get upset initially, but I will choose to ignore. Unless the statements used against me have some educational pointers to share with others, it is viewed as distractions and negative noises. Ignore.

What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?

CP : Hmm … could nt think of any suggestions to improve now. It is also depending on your motives and such.

Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ?

CP : Yes … Dali, Alex, Remnant, CWYeoh, TGLee, Alpha, Stocktube ... Micheal Tsen? Haha

If yes
Do you smoke ? NO
Do you drink liquor socially ? NO, not even beer. No to alcohol OH.
Are you a coffee lover ? Yes.
Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.)
I am staying in USJ and working in Subang Jaya. Selangor.

Interview : Champdog - financialindependent.blogspot.com

1. Tell us a bit about your childhood and how it affects your today's practice on personal finance ?

[ChampDog]: I learned 2 things about money from my parents. The first is my dad rewarded me with RM2 every time I helped him to wash his car where else my mum didn’t give me a single cent when I helped her to wash plates. Thus, I was very motivated to help my dad instead of my mum. From there, I learned that money can motivate people.
Second thing is my mum created a log book for me and force me to track every single of my expenses. Unfortunately, I failed to track that that after 3 months. From there, I know micro-manage my expenses just doesn’t work for me.

1. Answer this question without checking or asking for references : If you can remember, what is your Zodiac and Astrology signs ?

[ChampDog]: Snake and Libra.

1. What are the things you like to do during your free time, ie. your hobbies ? And what do you most dislike about ?

[ChampDog]: Blogging and Travelling. I most dislike about is when I get sick.

1. What is your favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?

[ChampDog]: Purple and 7. None, I like all numbers.

1. What is your favorite food ? What do you hate most ?

[ChampDog] Seafood. I hate most is seafood too because it gives me a lot of bad cholesterols.

1. If you can meet a person dead or alive, who would that be ? What would you ask him ?

[ChampDog] My past life of me if that exists. I will ask him, do you have anything to ask me?

1. What is the best and worst feeling you have ever had ?

[ChampDog] Best is when you’re having fun with your love one. Worst is when you’re not having fun with your love one.

1. What is the last thing you do before go to sleep ?

[ChampDog] I try to empty my mind and do not thing anything else.

1. What is the first thing you do when you wake up ?

[ChampDog] I turn off my clock alarm.

1. If you were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as yours, what will it be ?

[ChampDog] I will tell him to define his own personal finance portfolio and don’t just blindly follow what other people says including my words.

1. You met someone in a social party, describe what you do in 2 to 3 sentences.

[ChampDog] I will just say hi and smile to her/him. If the person is attractive I will try to find a common topic to chat on.

1. If you are not doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing ?

[ChampDog] I will be doing what I”m not doing now.

1. How much time do you spend on your personal finance blog ?

[ChampDog] 2 out of 7 days in a week.

1. What is the main objective of your blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are your targeted blog readers ?

[ChampDog] There are few objectives but the main objective is to learn personal finance by myself and share it to others. Making profit out of my blog is the second priority. Targeted blog readers could be anyone.

1. What is the biggest achievement your blog so far ?

[ChampDog]: Get an interview from you. :)

1. Tell us one URL other than your own that your readers should read about ?

[ChampDog]: http://malaysiapersonalfinance.blogspot.com/

1. How many more years do you think your blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance your blog forever if planned to at all ?

[ChampDog] Forever. I do not need to finance my blog because it is free hosting unless Google dies off one day or Google starts charging me.

1. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If you met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because you yourself didn't do what you preach, how would you handle them ?

[ChampDog]: I will say, "I”m sorry and you have a point too".

1. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ?

[ChampDog]: That is pretty awesome. I can’t think of anything can be improved at this point.

1. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? If yes

[ChampDog]: Yes when I feel comfortable. :)

• Do you smoke ? [ChampDog] No.
• Do you drink liquor socially ? [ChampDog] Yes.
• Are you a coffee lover ? [ChampDog] Not really.
• Where do you stay and work ? ( Country, State, Region etc.) [ChampDog]: Penang, Malaysia.

Original Interview : FatherSez

1. Tell us a bit about his childhood and how it affects his practice on personal finance ?My father was not born rich. He told me he had to walk to and back from school for more than 12km everyday. He had started working after school at a very young age. There was one time when his school pants was too short (as it was expensive to buy a new one), that he vowed this will never happen to any of his children if his children needed anything. My uncle supported my father's schooling and my father had always remind us that this type of love is very important in family. My father would tell us that if not for my uncle, my father wouldn't be at where he was when he was still alive. My father had started working at a shop which sells cloth. He did the basic accounting record at the shop. I am not sure how old he was at that time. But I am sure he was still in primary school at that time.My father wasvery very hardworking. This habit was instilled in himself at a very young age. Therefore, my father cant sit and relax. He always needs to do any productive things. Doing accounting basics at a young age had affected my father's decision to be an accountant and he had learn to save at a very young age, buying things with his own money at a very young age-thus appreciating things more (compare d to those who gets things in life easily, like myself).

2. If you can remember, what is his Zodiac and Astrology signs ? Sagittarus
3. What are the things he likes to do during his free time, ie. his hobbies ? And what does he most dislike about ?My father loves to read. He likes to go for an evening and morning walk whenever he is free. He loves to meet up with old friends and make new friends and catch up with them. He also likes gardening (but he doesnt seem to have much time for that). Free time is very subjective question to be applied to my late father actually, because while driving he can "zikir" and calculate the plate numbers-e.g 4123 . My father would plus 4+1+2+3=11 , then 1+ 1= 2. Until he gets an individual number. He does this to every plate numbers which he can see at the road. He had told me this is how he exersice the brain. We play family games whenever everyone is free-like monopoly, saidina, chess, scrabbles-as winning is not important in our family, but playing is. Outing and eating out used to be in our family diary. He loves nature.

4. What is his favorite colors and numbers ? Any most dislikes ?My father seems to like all colours, especially those which are bright and shiny like metallic cream/silver/white. He dislike black.

5. What is his favorite food ? What does he hate most ? My father likes indian food. He does not eat crab and lobster/prawn. 

6. Has he ever mentioned whom he would like to meet most ? What would he ask him ?Nope. I think its people who would want to meet him. :) I feel my father would want to meet singers-ABBA and Michael Jackson. He had told me once that people like him wouldnt mind paying to meet legendary singers.

7. What is the best and worst feeling he has ever had ?The best feeling would be when he sees all of his children /loved ones are happy. Worst is when we are sad and he could not do anything to help us. We meant the world to him, as you can feel from his blog.

8. What is the last thing he does before go to sleep ?Wish us goodnight and kiss us on the forehead.

9. What is the first thing he does when you wake up ?He would say "MashaAllah. It is already (fill in the time).... a.m. Then wish us goodmorning and kiss us on the forehead or head. And sometimes he would sing, Early to bed, early to rise, makes jack healty, wealthy and wise. This is actually a humor song. Which holds a very important reminder.

10. If he were to build a personal finance portfolio for a young man who has similar life path as his, what would that be ? I am not sure, but one thing for sure, he would tell the young man to save 10% of his income and invest it somewhere.And learn about the power of compounding interest. As the income grows, the percentage of saving should also be increased.  A close friend of mine (now fiance) had once asked my father where can he invest the RM1000 which he had save, my father had advise him to start with something like ASB account, as it is not risky for newbies.

11. Before he passes on, if he bumps into an old friend he hasn't met in years, friend asked what he does for a living, how would he answer in 2 to 3 sentences ? He would not answer the question, basically he would say he is busy "taking care of his kerepots" (which is us). My father was an accountant by profession and financial consultant by the way. If he did answer  the question, he would say , he is just a "kuli". He was always very humble.

12. If he was not doing what he was doing then, what would he be doing ?He would be a scientist. My father graduated with Dinstinction, physics degree from University Malaya. My father was very bright, positive, honest and hardworking. I felt he would excel in anything he plan to do.

13. How much time does he spend on your personal finance blog ? The longest I think would be the whole day. This was when he was still very new with the blogging world. And then he starts to organize topics and blog maximum 1 or 2 hours per day. My father had a schedule which states what he would write about for weeks to come.

14. What is the main objective of his blog, is it initially profit oriented and who are his targeted blog readers ?As you can see from the blog, I feel my father intention was he wanted to share personal finance knowledge with parents (so that both sides can become a better parent -the reader and writer) as we are not taught about personal finance management at school, we are definetely not taught to save and invest at school. We learn about it wayyy after school was over and working life comes. I also feel that my father wrote the blog for us, to learn and read what he had encountered in his and our mother's life.  He would't want us to go through the same hardship, pitfalls etc. So, if he could also help others regarding this matter, I feel his objective was definitely met. No it was not initially profit oriented. It was initially set up to share knowledge. His targeted blog readers are meant for parents. But he writes in simple language where everybody can understand-even my youngest sister could.

15. What is the biggest achievement his blog so far ? Having his children and extended family members reading it. Achievement is when someone finds your blog useful and meaningful just by reading one post. Achievement is when people keep coming to read your past post(s) and apply the knowledge.

16. Tell us one URL other than he own that his readers should read about ?Mighty bargain hunter & Cleverdude to name some. You can check it out from the blogroll  from fathersez website. You can try interviewing all of them :)

17. How many more years do you think his blog will exist for and how do you plan to finance his blog forever if planned to at all ? As long the internet exist, his blog will be there. with our hard earned money, one of the thing we as children will contribute to let the world know of his legacy.  

18. The world is big, many people have different point of views and emotions. If he met someone who called you geek, liar, cheaters because he himself didn't do what you preach, how would he handle them? He will listen to both side of the story first. Jumping into conclusion in not in his vocab. If he's on the wrong side, he will apologize and improve himself and his family.

19. What do you think about these interview questions and how this interview session can be improved ? I think it is cool, and I prefer it this way. Only that I would be happier if I have a deadline. Instead of me setting my own deadline.

20. Would you be interested to meet other finance bloggers in person ? If yes. Sure, on one fine day.

21. How are you related to Fathersez ?

Fathersez was our beloved late father, mentor, and bestfriend. Our daddy cool...

22. What is the biggest legacy Fathersez has left you ?

His endless love,  knowledge, kindness and antics.

Biggest legacy was his book which he wrote for us siblings. Anyone can take everything you have, but they can't take away the knowledge which you have. Learning and growing is one of the very important message in the book.

23. What is Fathersez's influence on your own personal finance concepts ? My father had influenced us to be independent and better each day, in terms of personal finance. We are still growing and learning how to cope. Our  father had influenced us to start investing early. We do not have much investment portfolio yet, but hopefully in the near future we would. My father had influence us to share and read more about PF.

My father had told me if any of us get married to the wrong guy (abusive, controlling, who are not wanting us to grow)-he would be the saddest person. He had told us to work, learn  whenever we can and have our own money. So that If anything happen to me or my siblings, we can cry for 5 minutes-and move on with our life. Tragedies happen when you lost the people you love, and worst ever, when you do not have anything for you to cope with this life (income, shelter etc).

My father had told us that siblings are just like the fingers in one hand. One injured, it would affect the whole hand. Therefore, if one of us are better off in life, we should always help each other. Helping others are also important, whereby helping them to fish instead of giving them the fish.

My father always like singing "work while you work, play while you play, that is the way, to be happy and gay!". This influences me a lot (at the moment) ,  as I seriously need to learn how to be efficent at work and use my free time for family and friends.

24. How would you be sharing personal finance with your friends and future legacy ?

Probably by writing in a Blog, through real-life conversation and publishing a book.

25. What is the one statement to sum up the site Fathersez.com in your opinion ?

Priceless. You better read it as much as you can as you are getting free advice from a financial consultant and a loving and kind father/person.