JackNeo’s “Money No Enough 2″ (钱不够用 II) is out in the cinemas and I managed to catch it during one of the days. I had watched the original “Money No Enough” which was Jack Neo’s debut film back in 1998 but can’t recall much the plot even though Wikipedia has an entry on it.

“Money No Enough 2″ is not a sequel to the original film as the storyline is totally diffferent. I will be sharing some of the personal finance lessons the film conveys and there will be some plot spoilers. Stop here if you have not watched the film.

SPOILERS AHEAD. STOP READING IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE FILM.

Personal Finance Lessons from Money No Enough 2

1. High Risks vs High Returns

The way the 2nd and third brothers are portrayed as sharp businessmen making their money through multi-level marketing (MLM) while the other is doing enbloc deals had a statement to make, i.e. you can be financially free from taking high risks but get potentially high returns. Of course, when the fates of the brothers go south because the MLM Pollen product of the third brother causes some health problems for its consumers while the failure of the enbloc deal coupled with loss of property transaction monies by the 2nd brother causes them to go near bankruptcy.

“Money Not Enough 2″ Nugget

Money can be made but it can be lost just as easily through high risk ventures. Be careful when investing and especially when borrowing money from loan sharks to fund investment ventures.

2. Private Medical Costs are Going Up

In the film, the brothers find that they have to ward their mother after she collapses after discovering that she was being sent to a old folks’ home. They baulk at the $8,000 per day ICU ward costs at a private hospital and even burn some incense paper to hasten their mother’s departure to the next world.

“Money Not Enough 2″ Nugget

We know health care costs are increasing at the scene where the sons break down when burning the incense paper was a touching moment. It connected with me because this is a real scenario for us in that if we faced an aged parent who was lingering on life support in ICU. Would our medisave and money run out before the aged parent passes away?

3. Buying 4D Helps Solve Some Financial Problems

The brothers are shown in the end to strike lottery on their mother’s funeral hearse vehicle number 8888. This helps them recoup some of the costs of their mother’s medical costs which ballooned to $250,000.

“Money Not Enough 2″ Nugget

Where all things fail, there is still the lottery!

4. Relationships and Not money is True Wealth

The brothers finally realise that when the chips are down, the eldest brother with his family, while poor are the happiest and the previously more successful brothers. In addition, the brother go through their riches-to-rags-to-riches tale within the 126 minutes of the film showing that at the end of the day, caring for each other and pulling through together as a family is what is true happiness and wealth.

“Money Not Enough 2″ Nugget

Put family first before money.

Panzer’s Overall Comments about the film

The film starts awkwardly and its direction is not clear initially. Does it set up to be a anti-establishment rant about the efficacy of government taxation and collection of fees and charges or is it about sharing the stories of 3 families linked to each other in financial fortunates through the declining health and sanity of their mother?

Money Not Enough 2 starts slowly but ends on an emotionally strong note. I would think if the front part had been snipped off for the first 10 minutes, the film’s cohesive story line relating to the three families would still be a powerful message about family, money and life. Jack Neo’s obvious use of product placement of banks and air-conditioners makes one cringe because they are far from subtle and very “in your face”. That is the price of making a film more commercially viable?

All said, the story is still enjoyable and given the lack of films where you can hear hokkien dialogue, it is worth your money to consider watching it for all the local references that we Singaporean residents can identify with.

Be well and prosper.

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Image by MaestroBen via Flickr

I posted this article a year ago on National Day last year, 9 August 2007 relating to fear, uncertainty and doubt in stock markets.

Given the current lacklustre stock market conditions due to Singapore’s slowing economy, there is some level of fear because the STI has not gained much in 2008. In addition, the subprime situation that reared its ugly head is still affecting banks globally as they continue to announce write-downs and losses from their investment banking operations.

My portfolio is about 22% in cash and cash equivalents with 78% invested in stocks listed on SGX. While my portfolio is not performing as most are blue-chips that are correlated to STI, it still generates some dividends that give a better return than 1% Fairprice plus savings account. What will I do now amid this fear, uncertainty and doubt in the markets. Continue to watch but avoid commiting new monies to the market as my self-imposed limits on portfolio allocation is not more than 80% in equities. Basically, now is to hold and try to get rid of the laggards that I bought at toppish prices just before sub-prime last year. May end up attending the AGMs of such companies if I become a long-term holder.

How do you handle the fear, uncertainty and doubt that afflicts markets from time to time?

Let’s hear from you in the comments section.

Be well and prosper.

Image by weebsie via Flickr

Dear friends

I have a ticket to give away for Investfair 2008 that is organised by Shareinvestor.com.

Please leave a comment with your email address and I will conduct a draw by 9 am on 12 August 2008 (Tuesday) and notify the winner via my blog and email.

Wishing you all the best.

Be well and prosper.