The Right Mindset

When I was in my first trimester pregnancy with my first born, on the initial check up at the government clinic, I was asked by a nurse: 'Do you plan to breastfeed? If yes, niatkan (say you wish - not necessarily to voice it). Through my experience, those who did niat during their first few months are very likely to succeed compared to those who are not or those who do so at later stage.'

Creating a mindset that I could do it.

One of my favourite reality shows are the battle faced to loose weight. The participants will be guided to lead a healthier lifestyle to ensure their success even after the show is over. There are also show to revisit the participant few years after the program.

Another reality shows are home make over or clean house make over. The participant house will be redesigned or cleaned. Similar to the weight loose program, the sequel program will visit the participant house few years later to see the latest development.

In those reality programs, the battle to loose weight was won but to maintain it is another battle that plenty of the participants did not achieve. The home make over or clean home show also captured living areas which was not as what it was after the success to turn it to the pleasing condition.

These shows that you could lead the horse to the water but you can't make it to drink the water. Even with the right guidance from those with great influence, it is not the ultimate condition for one to excel. 

A person has to be in the mindset to want to change and to want to succeed.

Being able to have a right financial mind is still a battle to me. I am still praying I would eventually make a right decision with my hard earn money and the right decision becomes second nature. I could do it with minimal advertisement influence, without any distraction from my young ones and make it a habit as something di bawah minda sedar (unconsciously making the decision as it has become a habit).

Brewing the right mindset is part of a journey toward a better financial shape. I still need those financial books to act as motivators.

PTPTN summary

It has been approximately a year since I managed to paid off my student loan debt through the 20% rebate program with full settlement. Upon the final payment, I was told that the finalized amount will be issued within six months after that date.

I would check the online statement from time to time to remind myself that it is possible to finally be able to settle the debt. It act as a form of motivation for me in black and white.

Unfortunately, the statement shows there is amount due to me amounting to RM 76.55. It is a small amount, not an issue. However it is disappointing when they go all out to chase outstanding payment due to them but keep silence when they are doing it. A friend of mine faced the same issue and now its my turn to faced the music.

I finally went to the OSC to inquire on this in August, long after the six months period of finalization. I filled in a form and provided my bank account number to have the balance transferred to my bank account. A very straight forward and simple process. They must have encountered this issue numerous times. The lady at the counter handle my questions with breeze. 

Me: What will happened to the balance if I do not request for it? 

The lady: It will remain there. 

Well, thankfully they do not have any grace period for refund. Probably it is not so bad after all. They are quiet lenient compared to financing institution when dealing with those in default. Unless you want to count the days lost when you could have used the balance to finance other debt.

I was told that the amount will be transferred to my account within 21 days. However, it took less than that duration for them. It was merely about 2 weeks. Kudos.

Alhamdulillah.