Jerome Tan's Personal Finance

Divide your income into 6 different jars

Jar 1 - 10% for Financial Freedom Account (for investments to create residual income)
Jar 2 - 10% for Play Jar (pamper yourself with movies, fine food, spa, massage etc)
Jar 3 - 10% for Education (learn how to make more money, invest your money etc)
Jar 4 - 10% for Charity
Jar 5 - 10% for Long term savings (for long-term plans such as long distance trips, deposit for car, down payment for house etc)
Jar 6 - 45-50% for daily expenses

ALWAYS remember to save the first 10% of your income into your Financial Freedom Account! This is the top priority because you need to pay yourself first. Many people pay their expenses first and end up having no savings. By saving first, you make sure you are growing your money. If you save first and end up not having enough money to pay your expenses, think of ways to make more money.

Divide your Financial Freedom Account Jar into 3 Buckets

Bucket 1 -  6 months living expenses (serves as an emergency fund)

This money can cover your living costs for at least 6 months in case something unfortunate happens. If your monthly living cost is $5,000, you need $30,000 in this account.

Put this money in a bank account that generates a higher interest rate (e.g. Australia).

Bucket 2 - Buy and Hold

After the first bucket is full, put 80-90% of extra money in this account. This money will be put in properties that give good cash flow or blue chip stocks with good dividends.

Bucket 3 - Momentum Investment

After 2nd bucket is full, the remaining 10-20% will be used for high-risk high-return investments such as speculative stocks.

Other Advice

Don't dabble in options.

Use credit cards to get discounts, accumulate points for free gifts but always settle the bills by the end of the month.

Understand that there is good debt vs bad debt. Good debt is when your returns are higher (for eg you use the money to invest for 10-15% returns) than the interest rate (e.g. 3-5%). Bad debts are when you spend your borrowed money on luxury items like holidays, bigger cars, bigger houses, things you don't need etc. Taking on good debt by borrowing money to generate higher returns is an important way to get rich by employing leverage.