The worst reason in the world to buy anything is just because someone else did

How many times you can find yourself buying something as a result of just following the crowd or because someone else did?

It could be a hand phone, a gadget, a book, a music album, a drink, a food, a car, a property, or even an investment instrument (stock counter, futures, forex, mutual fund, etc.).

Why is it being the worst reason in the world to just follow someone else to buy something? Well, the keyword in the sentence is "just".

It is really a bad idea to blindly follow other people, particularly in buying, without your own reason(s) to do so.

Always remember the saying: one man's food is someone else's poison.

So, do not simply buy a stock just because Warren Buffett bought it. You need to find several other reasons to convince yourself before making the order.

Do not simply buy a property just because people around you have bought theirs. You need to assess your own financial situation, your gut feeling about the property, your planning, your willingness to manage it, etc.

Do not simply buy certain brand of smartphone just because people around you are using that phone. Have you find out the pros and cons of the phone? Have you find out the features and map them to your own need? Have you compare it with some other alternatives?

A lot of time, if we chose that worst reason in the world to buy something, we might end up buying the wrong thing, or buying the unnecessary, or even buying a nightmare. This is particularly true in the investment world.

EPF i-Account Android app launched

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF, a.k.a. Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP) has recently launched their Android mobile app called EPF i-Account, which is now freely available in Google Play Store.

You can click here to download the EPF i-Account app from Google Play Store.

It is an HTML5 based mobile app, which you can login your EPF i-Account with the same username and password which you've setup in the web-based EPF i-Account at https://secure.kwsp.gov.my/secured/member/login/

The EPF i-Account Android app enables us to view our EPF account status and the monthly contributions detail. The EPF statements for current year and previous year are also available.

We can also see our personal profile info stored with EPF.

Other features are listed as in the screenshot below.

Currently, the EPF i-Account Android app can only be used to view information. It doesn't have function to make withdrawal request or make change request.

This app is currently having Malay language user interface only.

So far, more than 10,000 people have already installed the app. Have you?