Malaysia and The Club of Doom - The Collapse of The Islamic Countries

1. The book elaborates on why Muslims currently around the world (Malaysia included) are such in disarray. The author argues that this is because Muslims does not understand the Al-Quran and there are too much religion in their daily lives. Islam is indeed a way of life and not a religion.

2. The book also describes the characteristics of Failed States among others oppression by those in power, dictatorship and suppression to freedom of voice. These characteristics seem to best describe the condition at the so called 'Islamic Countries', Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Malaysia, you name it.

3. In his arguments, the author only quotes verses of Quran and nothing with regards to Hadith. If you truly believe in Islam, then you shall only read Quran and practice As-Sunnah as directed by our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. And rightly so, the author describe at length why Hadith shall not be the source of reference for they only create confusions and unnecessary time wasting arguments normally about silly petty things which somehow many Muslims tend to prioritize. Besides, Hadith are only stories. So why shall we pay attention to them and go to great lengths just to determine the authenticity of the stories and always, the narrator of the Hadiths will come into scrutiny with regards to their moral standing. Isn't this a waste of time? For definition of Hadith, look up 12:111 and 51:24.

4. The author hit a lot of nails in the coffin with regards to the typical religious believes of many Muslims. Among those I find interesting are the hatred of dogs and house lizards, the issue of hijab, Hudud laws, wearing of turbans and killing of apostates. Many of this common believes by Muslims are according to the author not found in Quran but found in the Bible. In other words, they are actually following the Bible instead of Quran. You have to read to believe it.

5. Read this book if you want fresh ideas and perspectives on how Muslims should think. We need to break away from the common conventional way of thinking in order to move forward and rise again. More importantly, read the Quran.

To digest further, I would like to share why I pick this book up to read instead of the normal personal finance books:

1. I really like the way the author thinks. I think he gives different perspective on many things. I've been following his blog for quite some time now. You can find a link to his blog, 'Outsyed The Box' under 'Interesting Read' at the right side panel of this blog.

2. Generally, I think many Muslims must be wondering why are Muslims are in their current predicament. We think we have done the right thing but yet we are in such a disarray, not moving forward and constantly linked with negative things around the world such as illiterate, poverty, terrorism and non stop fighting. Going back to Quran is the way forward. This book certainly helps me to have a better understanding of the Quran.

The Science of Getting Rich

1. I felt this is a book with some strong statements. Strong statements are of course required when change in mindset is required.

2. This book gave me some different perspective in acquiring wealth and in changing mindset. The concept preached is easy to understand but hard to practice. You really need to master the concept to get where you want to be.

3. But some part of this book is quite hard to understand. I need to reread 2-3 times some of the sentences and paragraphs to really get the point.

Think Lazy Grow Rich

1. This is a pretty interesting book to read. It's simple and full of ideas. It's based on the authors previous experience and observations of how businesses are run.

2. Many of the ideas are common sense. Maybe some will ask, why do we need a book based on common sense? Well to me, common sense is the most neglected fact. Some people just don't know why they are doing something. Having a book based on common sense will enlighten the 'why' things are done. Some just follow blindly.

How You Can Get Rich from the Property and Stock Markets

1. This is rather an easy to understand book about money and wealth management. Investment in properties and stock markets are the ways proposed in building wealth in this book.

2. I like the part about crisis investing at the end of the book. It shows how easy money can be made during crisis but you'll need to be prepared for the opportunity.

3. As any other property investment books, this book also describes the advantages of property investment besides describing what's possible from stock market investment. As a person who is not familiar with the stock market, of course I'm impressed with the possibilities and easy method.

4. The first part of this book describes about the author and his background. He seems to stress a lot on taking advice from independent and the right persons. Independent means not unit trust consultants, insurance agents etc. Right person means those who have made their money through stock market and property investments. That way you can be sure of getting advice to the best interest of your financial needs.

5. If you are exploring on new ways and idea to make money then read this book.

How You Can Become A Multi Millionaire Real Estate Investor!

1. I have to admit that this is the best book I've read so far. Even though I took some time to finish it off, it's really worth the effort.

2. The book is comprehensive and it covers almost everything you need to know about property investing. It claims to shorten your learning curve, that's exactly what it did to me.

3. Among the topics that I find very useful and interesting are The Buying Process, Tax Issues in Property Investments and Property Holding Companies. These are topics that are almost non-existent in previous books that I've read. The author even listed down the costs of buying properties such as stamp duty on SPA and tenancy agreement.

4. The book also includes tips on various things including how to read classified in newspapers, how property loans are approved and how to find good property agents.

5. The book really shares lots of topics that can be shared in public. Of course certain things will only be revealed in seminars.

6. All in all, I'm really satisfied with the book and will be looking to attend a property seminar some where next month.

Inspired to Change - 0 to 13 Properties in Only Four & Half Years

1. I guess this is the hardest book to come by. I only managed to find it at Midvalley's MPH. Even that was the last copy on the shelf.

2. I came to know about this book through a forum. Somebody recommended it as a good read. Since then, I went searching until I finally got it.

3. If you are expecting this book to be about the technicality of owning properties, then you would be disappointed. This book is more like a motivational book for you to succeed in property investment.

4. Nevertheless, do read between the lines for tips from them such as refinancing their parent's property in order to get cash to start their property investment and buying properties with little or no money down. Although they did not elaborate on these methods, at least it gives an idea on what's the tricks to be used to be successful.

5. In this book, the author repeatedly mentioned about the need to attend property seminars. Since I'm convinced with the reasoning, I would like to attend a seminar within this year to enhance my knowledge.

Your Tenants, Your Jewels

1. This book covers a whole lots of topics relating to property investment. From the moment of selecting properties, finding tenants, setting the rental, renting them out and the things need to be done after that.

2. This book also includes stories and ideas on how to become creative landlords under different circumstances. Perhaps this could be a good guide for landlords to be creative.

3. In the appendix, it also includes Property Inspection Checklist and sample of Tenancy Agreement. This could be a guide of developing your own system.

4. It lays down the method or system used by the author in property investment. This is really a good guide for beginners like me.

5. Overall, it's just a good buy.

Refinancing Now

1. This is considered quite a short book for its price of RM29.90. I bet you can finish reading it within 2 hours. Its presentation is quite straight forward.

2. This book is full of examples. It analyzes almost every aspects there are about refinancing a property. Various examples and conditions are given so that a normal person can quickly grab the concept.

3. The books also considers the situation a person is in and what are the benefits that he/she could possibly get from refinancing.

4. The basics and must ask questions before refinancing are also included in this book.

5. It also compares the various property loan structure there are in the market and how readers could benefit from them.

6. At the end of this book, it outlines a concept on how to pay off your home loan in half the time and get a property for free. The concept is for real actually in case you are wondering. It's the matter of selecting the right home loan and manipulating the financial instruments that are available around you.

7. Besides that, the book comes with a free 2 hour property investment workshop by W.T.Kam. I yet to attend the workshop because of logistic constraint but I really think this book is a really good buy.

You Can Become Rich in Property

1. I have to say that I'm not really impressed with the content of this book.

2. Most of the points elaborated in this book barely touches on its surface only. There are not exactly any of his detailed method mentioned in this book. I was expecting some techniques that I could use for certain purposes such as scouting for a property effectively etc.

3. I think lots of his writing in this book oversimplified things in perspective. It makes the readers think that property investment is really a simple stuff. Even the examples are too simple.

4. Nonetheless, there are still something to learn from this book. In the book, he mentioned about flipping strategy which is a new term to me. At least now I know the general idea of flipping strategy.

5. In this book, he stated the fact that its hard to finance a leasehold property with tenure less than 30 years. Maybe any of you who has properties approaching the 30 years benchmark would want to consider selling the property.

6. The interesting part of this book is that he actually analyzed the property market cycle. He even tabulated the previous years of bull and bear run in property market cycle. He then predicted when will be the next bull and bear run. This is probably the best info in this book.

7. His preferred term used in this book is "in the direction of growth of a town" when choosing property location. He has probably came up with a term that most of property investors are subconsciously doing. This criteria can certainly be included when evaluating a property in the future.

8. The plus point of this book is that you will get two free tickets worth RM 400 to his property seminar with the purchase of this book. The book is only priced at RM 36.90. I do think that for a RM 400 worth of property seminar, it should be a full day event. This free ticket is only for a 2 hours seminar. Nevertheless, it's still a good bargain, you buy a book and get a seminar for free. I'm sure there will be something to learn from the seminar as well.

Top Money Tips for Malaysians

1. This book is divided into 4 parts namely Smart Money Tips, Money Making Tips, Money Saving Tips and Money Protection Tips.

2. What's interesting about reading this book is that sometimes it feels like you are actually surfing the net. The author actually included lots of useful links for different purposes such as sites to create additional income, sites for financial tools etc.

3. Among his tips that I find interesting are "get your first car FREE" and "minimize upfront service charges in unit trust investment". These are not fictions. These are doable tips which can be put into place.

4. The author did go to a great length in explaining about insurance. There are lots of information regarding insurance in the last part, Money Protection Tips. Look out for "Investment Replacement Feature" which I find very interesting. But when I consult my insurance agent about this, she told me that its already included in my investment linked policy. Its a great benefit to know what it is all about though.

5. It is not a too technical book. It suits a normal person looking for information on various aspects of financial planning. It's an easy read too.

6. If you are uncertain about the 8th wonder of the world which is compound interest, there is a chapter about this in the book. Learn how compound interest works in order to help you in your journey towards financial freedom.

Property Jewels

1. I like this book because some of the points mentioned are not known to the general public. Its kind off a bit technical, but technical stuffs that you need to know for property investments.

2. The book lists 263 so called "diamond studded strategies to help you become a property multi-millionaire". Some are common sense. Some are general knowledge but some are new, at least to me.

3. In terms of managing your rental property, I prefer Azizi Ali's book. This book does not help too much on this subject because she did not present her system used.

4. In terms of choosing a property, I prefer this book. It does outline her method of scouting for properties. She also outlines what type of properties to look for and those to avoid. She gave good reasons for all of these.

5. When buying the book, make sure you check pages 164, 165, 168, 169, 172, 173, 176 and 177. These are the missing pages from the book that I bought.

6. This is a book with good information. Read it to learn more.

Retire Rich

1. I think Azizi Ali did a great job explaining about retiring in this book. It gave me a better insight on how retiring life will be.

2. In one of its chapters, he explained how to come up with the amount of money to fund your own retirement based on financial planning concept. The only problem for a layman is to come up with the numbers. Unless you have a financial calculator and know how to use it, this chapter can be some how tricky for a normal person. Come and see me if you want. I'll calculate the numbers for you.

3. I think its a must read especially for ladies. Normally, guys are the one concerned with having enough money for retirement. One of its chapters emphasize on why women should be more concerned rather than living this stuff to the guys/husband. If you still think so, you are just inviting disaster to happen.

4. After reading this book, it changed my view about retirement and it makes me wonder whether should I work while I'm still capable to do so rather than retire when I reach certain age. Of course I need to love what I'm doing then.

5. This book give a good sight on what you should be doing if you are not well prepared for retirement regardless of whether you are still young or nearing the retirement age.

6. It lays some basic concept in managing your finance in order to meet the required amount of retirement fund. Of course the key word here will be DISCIPLINE!

7. I do recommend this book to all because we will eventually retire one day. How well we prepare for it will determine what kind of lifestyle we will live during our old days. Does not matter if you are a government servant and opted for pension scheme. It's best if you too start planning for retirement. Your pension will not be enough.

8. The 8th wonders of the world is COMPOUNDING EFFECT. In order to maximize the effect of compounding on your investment, you should start investing at early stage. As time will be on your side, you will not have to save like crazy in order to meet your objectives. So start today, but educate yourself first!

How to Become A Property Millionaire

1. This book is basically a continuation from his previous book, "How to Become A Millionaire Landlord".

2. To me, a let down with this book is that few of the chapters are repeated from his previous book. Just that they are summarized. He argue the importance of the facts for him to repeat them again in this book. But for me, I pay for a book for new facts. Not facts that are repeated. When I said A FEW, I mean A FEW. Not 1 or 2 chapters.

3. The chapter regarding Real Estate Profit Gain Tax (RPGT) is beneficial if you are not 1 that's familiar with taxes. It helps individual who plan to invest in properties to see what are the tax advantages of owning a few properties.

4. Comparison between individual and company ownership is also a good in sight of the 2 types of ownership. He briefly described the advantages and disadvantages of the two.

5. If you are looking for info on technicality of handling and owning properties, his previous book is a better one. Info in this book are mostly common knowledge. Only a few are rare knowledge.

The Millionaire in Me

This is another book by Azizi Ali that I've finished reading. My opinions:

1. Another yet simple and fun to read book.

2. It basically outlines what you can do as an employee to still achieve a millionaire status.

3. His idea of ways to become millionaire are quite common such as becoming agents, writing and consulting. But it helps to get a clearer picture of what these kind of part-time jobs can offer.

4. Of course it does include his all time favorite of investing in property, his preferred past time investment tool I reckon.

5. It also has chapters on how to invest your money. But what's frustrating to me is it does not specifically defines what are the good investments are. The normal advice are included such as pay yourself first, learn about the investment before you start investing, etc. I was hoping for a more definite answer on this.

6. For those who wants some guidance on tracking your income and spending habits, there are a few sheets included. It's good to do these. I'm trying to improve the method that I've been using since 2005. I'll try to include it for download once it's completed (still figuring out how to include download files in a blog though).

7. What's more important is his highlight on the need to generate recurring incomes. Learn and master this. It will surely be beneficial.

Yup, I would recommend this book for those who plans to stay as an employee and to those who don't have the guts to be in business like me. The ideas are aplenty. Master it and see which suits you the best. Happy Reading!

A must read for property investor

I've just finished reading a book by Azizi Ali titled "How to Become a Millionaire Landlord - Maximize Your Income and Minimize Your Problems". I do encourage whoever wants to be a property investor to have a read on this book. Priced reasonably at RM39.90 at MPH bookstores.

Why I recommend this book:

1. Simple English used.

2. Very relaxed and fun to read.

3. The content includes things that you don't even thought of before.

4. Give an insight on how to vet thru potential tenants.

5. Have a look at his Super Tenancy Agreement and you might think this is what I've been looking for all this while.

6. Things that you should and should not do as a landlord.

7. Things to do when selecting tenants, when they move in, when they move out and getting new tenants.

8. It emphasize more on how to handle your rental property rather than how to get a good rental property.

9. It answers common problem that most of the landlords face during their landlording days.

10. His rewards programme that can benefit both the landlords and tenants.