Good thing is a coin always come with two faces. While many might see this period as crisis, there are still many out there seeing this as a once in a life time GOLDEN opportunity. I belong to the second group. In fact, I’m starting to get real excited to see most of the counters, as well as Unit Trust funds, being “offered” at such a great extent of discount. 

The smaller the base, the greater would be the return. 

I leave you with these two great articles for your reading pleasure. One from my respected Guru - Warren Buffett, while the other from the young millionaire from Singapore - Adam Khoo. Both of them sharing a similar view. 

Buy American. I am - Warren Buffett

Adam Khoo’s

I have another well written article from him, regarding the current market situation. I will have it posted soon. Stay tuned.

By Adam Khoo In Money |

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China).  I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked.
He asked, ‘How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?’  My reply was, ‘That’s why I am a millionaire.’  He still looked pretty confused.  This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book ‘Secrets of Self Made Millionaires’).  Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the
moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value.  That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.  Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I
have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support).  Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).
I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money.  However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’s Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me.  Many of them with net worths well over $5m, travelled
economy class and some even drove Toyota’s and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers’ and tycoons’ sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow.  Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money.  This is precisely the reason why a family’s wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.  Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, ‘What is the point in making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?’  The thing is that I don’t really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class.  Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.
Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix.  After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy.  I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what make ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see by companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.  What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone’s life.  What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this
BLOG is inspiring you.  This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life’s work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product.
If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaningless.

I was reading a very interesting article. Was attracted by it’s title ~ “Millionaires-in-the-Making” 

The article was about a young couple of 27 years old, John and Gina, whom are different from their fellow friends of their age group with similar earning power. While the latter indulge their life with fancy dinners, luxury vacations and designers wardrobes, this couple is planning how to make their millions and retire by the age of 40.  To achieve their goals, they: -

1.     Rent a house which only cost $650 per month

2.     Rarely travel or eat out

3.     Saved a big portion (50%) of their earned income (USD 174,000 per year) and invest this portion

4.     With the saved income, they built a formidable portfolio of USD 380,000 in stocks, mutual funds and cash.

It was said that during their process of saving, they have of course lost some of the fun that the others of the same age group enjoy. They even lost some friends along the way for they refused to join them in any social activities that might cost them more than what they had budgeted.  All these were due to the fact that both of them are driven by a fierce determination to control their own fate ~ John yearns to quit his job to indulge his passion for the outdoors, and Gina plans to cut back her hours at the boutique they own, in order to work with animals.

According to one of the money expert whom studied their case and current asset portfolio, assuming that they can maintain their current rate of saving and investment pattern, they’ll build an impressive nest egg over the next 13 years. Assuming they get raises of 4% annually and their portfolio averages gains of 6% a year, the expert estimates they’ll have USD 2.9 million at age 40. Combined with the passive income they might earn from any investment (i.e. properties rental income) that might be enough to last them the following 50 to 60 years. Wow!

I enjoyed reading the article (a fairly long article though) and feel inspired by the wisdom of these two young couples. Well, I don’t think I can give up my social indulgences as much as they can J, but surely having financial goals and working towards them is on my agenda.

It is worth to see what makes John and Gina able to stay so focused and disciplined on their financial planning? That’s is all because they have their dreams and they have set a clear target. Without setting a clear target, for e.g.: - 

1.     How much I need to buy my dream house

2.     How much I need for my retirement

3.     How much I need for my child’s education, and etc 

It is hard for one to stay focused and stay disciplined.  I am sure often we can tend to let go and over spend on something we want, although it might not be needful. And if such “situation” happened too often, our financial plan will surely be disturbed.

We know we can’t delay saving and investment because of compound interest. So, if we don’t set our targets and stay focused, it is highly likely that we will delay our saving while feeding our current luxury lifestyle, and hence jeopardize our long-term financial goals.  

I did a financial planning for myself, for both retirement as well as children education planning. According to the data input and my choice of life style required after retirement, I now have a clear idea how much I need to put aside and placed in an investment vehicles that require generating average annual return of 6%.  I know if I take the recommended figures seriously, save and invest accordingly; I should be able to achieve my financial goals. Of course, at the end of the day, it also depends on whether I am able to keep up my savings rate, and be able to invest wisely.  At least, I have fixed a monthly-required saving figure to help me to stay focused on achieving my long-term financial goals.

So, if someone asks you, what is your dream lifestyle after retirement, and you have a clear answer for it. That’s great! If someone ask you, do you know how much you need to put aside or what plans do you have to help you to achieve that goals, and if you have no answer to it, I strongly recommend you to find someone capable to work out a financial plan for you. Financial planning is indeed an easy task with the help of financial planning software.  I did mine within a night.

“..if you never failed, you never live”  

“life = risk”

Upon reading my last article on effective interest rate , a close friend of mine asks me a question: -

If Mr. A has RM 100,000 cash, should he: -

a)    Pay off his car loan of RM 100,000, with interest rate of 2% p.a. for 5 years; or

b)   Continue with his car loan, and save the RM100,000 in Fixed Deposit (FD), with interest of 3.75% p.a.,

This is a common question when one reaches a stage in which they have some money left over and wondering whether they should use the money now earmarked for savings to pay off their debt faster. 

In most instances, the answer is almost crystal clear by purely comparing the saving and loan respective interest rate. In the scenario that my friend gave me, almost without a doubt, Mr. A should place his money in FD (3.75%) while continuing to serve the car loan (2%). Let’s take this as his option 1: -

So, Mr. A will make a gain by saving the money in FD since FD is offering a higher interest rate than a car loan.

Let’s pause a little here and look from the other angle.  How about the monthly instalments that Mr. A would have to pay for the next 5 years to serve the car loan? What if, Mr. A paid off the RM 100,000 car loan, so that he is freed from paying the monthly instalment and hence have the extra same sum to save per month in FD. Would it be better off in term of net cash in flow?

Let’s see what can Mr. A make from this new arrangement: -

Hey, seems like the second option gives higher net cash inflow than the first’s – RM 11,159.00 vs. RM 10,209.98!

This just prove that sometime we can’t just look at interest rate at its face value, especially when it comes to car loan, which is a flat-rate loan, as I explained in my last article.  

If we were to look from effective interest rate point of view, car loan of 2% bear an effective interest rate of roughly 4% p.a. Hence it is indeed more costly as compare to the FD offered rate. Thus, it makes more financial sense to pay off the expensive car loan, and save the same instalment amount into FD monthly instead.

If you were to change the car loan interest to 1.5% instead of 2%, you will see that it will generate higher net cash in flow for Mr. A to opt for option 1 instead of option 2. Because 1.5% car loan will bear an effective interest rate of roughly 3% per year, which is lower than that offered FD rate of 3.75%. Hence, it will benefit Mr. A to continue with the car loan and have the RM100k saved in the FD. (for those who are interest to have the calculation spreadsheet, please feel free to contact me!)

Of course needless to day, it will only work as shown if Mr. A has the discipline to stick to his saving plan and invest or save his money wisely which likely yield higher than the loan interest. I too am under the assumption that Mr. A can pay off his car loan of RM 100k while still maintaining an adequate cushion of savings for any emergency needs.

What I am trying to say here is we might need to work out our financial plan from different angle rather than purely based on interest rate shown on the paper.

A friend of mine received a call from a banker last week, offering him a low interest personal loan of RM 34,000 at 5.99% per year, with 5 years repayment terms.  The idea put forth to him was that he could use this RM 34,000 to repay part of his current RM 200,000 home loan, which had a 20 year tenure, which ultimately should help in saving his home loan interest. The reasoning was that the RM 34k if settled with the personal loan, would save substantial interests if it were continued to be paid over 20 years. 

With his current home loan interest of 6.5% p.a., he was quite moved by the offer, as from the initial sound of it, the personal loan of 5.99% might very well help to reduce the interest expenses by 0.59% p.a. for the next 5 years. 

Is that so?  

He came to me for an advice and I told him that he would not be saving any interest, but in fact would be paying much higher interest than he thought!!!

First of all, it is vital to understand the two major distinctions, in term of interest rate calculation, between a home loan and a personal loan.

Home loan interest is calculated based on monthly reducing balance basis, which means you are charged only on the outstanding amount. 

Personal loan in Malaysia, however, is based on a flat interest rate.   This means you are charged interest on the original principal amount, no matter how much you have paid off.  Consequently the effective interest rate is considerably higher than the normal flat rate initially quoted. Hire Purchase loan is one of the common flat rate loans in the market.

So, in terms of effective interest rate we are paying, in simple terms: - 

1.     An interest rate quoted based on a monthly reducing balance basis, has an effective interest rate which is equal to the interest rate quoted itself, (since it is based on reducing amount of the principal). 

2.     Flat rate interest, though often appearing cheaper, has in fact a much higher effective interest rate than it appears. The general rough rule of thumb in calculating the effective interest rate for a flat rate interest would be to multiply the interest rate of a flat rate loan by 2!!

Hence, a 5.99% personal loan would roughly equal to a monthly reducing balance interest rate of 12%, which is about double the home loan interest he is currently paying.  

To begin with, we have to dispel the notion that paying off RM34k portion of the term loan now using the personal loan would save the interest of paying it over 20 years. This would be true if not for the fact that if he took the personal loan, he would be paying a higher monthly instalment amount during the 5 year personal loan period – hence to compare apple to apple, he should then re-compute the interest costs under the term loan by assuming he now starts paying the same higher monthly instalment amount as under the 5-yr personal loan, to settle the term loan instead. 

I have done a simple calculation to illustrate to him the total interest that he would have to pay on this RM 34k based on flat rate loan  (5.99%). Subsequently, we did a model assuming he paid the same monthly instalment amount that he would under this flat rate loan and applied this to the reducing balance term loan, what would be the amount of interest rate he would have paid under a monthly reducing balance home loan (6.5%):

1.     Flat rate loan 

Principal = RM 34,000

Interest rate: 5.99%

Tenure: 5 years

Total interest payable for 5 years: RM 10,183 (RM34k X 5.99% X 5 years)

Total repayment per month: RM 736. 38

2.     Monthly reducing balance loan 

Principal: RM 34,000

Interest rate: 6.5%

Total repayment per month:  RM 736.38  (above flat loan mthly instalment)

Tenure: 4.5 years  (*)

Total interest he will pay:  RM 4,989.74 

(*) - i.e. if paying the same mthly instalment amount under the personal loan will result in a shorter repayment period under a reducing basis loan.

From the above example, we can see that he needs to pay extra RM 5,193.26 interest if he opts to take up the personal loan (double what he would have paid under the monthly reducing balance loan).  Ultimately, this has a huge impact on the cost of the loan.  Also, the repayment period under the reducing basis would be 4.5 yrs instead of 5 yrs under the personal loan. 

So, don’t get too excited when a banker offers you a personal loan with interest rate which appears cheaper than you current home loan.  It will make no financial sense if the offer interest rate is not more than half the interest rate that you are currently paying. As for my friend case, unless the banker is offering him a personal loan with interest of less than 3.25% p.a. (6.5%/2), he should not take up the offer.  

In fact, I just met up with a potential Public Mutual Gold investor whom is well pleased with his existing consultant mainly because the consultant offers the service of advising him on which fund to invest in based on the dividend distributing timing. I must mention that this investor’s investment objective is to withdraw the dividend as his pocket money.

So, is this a good idea?  

Well, it surely is a good selling line - “Hey, you put in RM 10k today, you will make RM1k from dividend distribution (assuming a 10% distribution declared) by month end. “ Sound great!

But the point is, is it financially beneficial to the investors by advising them to invest into a fund just days before the distribution declared? 

If an investor invests just days before the distribution, not only it might cost him more, but he will end up with lesser units at the end of the day by investing for the sake of the distribution? Don’t believe? Let’s look at the following simple calculation.

Let’s assume that Mr. A would like to invest RM50K under 2-difference scenarios :-

1. Invest a day/days before the distribution declared
2. Invest right after the distribution, i.e., after the price adjustment

Before you go through the illustration, let’s recall the basic idea of dividend distribution and the effect it has on the fund price :-

i. 10 cents div distribution will reduce the unit price by 10 cents immediately day after the distribution.
ii. If you do not re-invest your distribution, your unit price will fall, with your units remaining the same. In       short, NAV will be reduced by the same amount that was distributed.

Scenario 1 - Mr. A invest RM 50k a day before div distribution, and he received RM 4739.34 as dividend a day after.

Scenario 2 - since he is aiming to have RM 4739.34 in his pocket, what if instead of investing RM 50k, he help himself by taking out the RM4739.34 and put in his pocket and only invest the difference a day after the div distribution? So, the new investment amount is RM45,262.66 (RM50k - RM 4739.34)

From the above simple illustration, you can see that Mr A could have save RM 247.08 (ie RM 2,606.64 - 2,359.56) in service charge, and at the same time entitle 274.53 (47,667.89 - 47,393.36) units more if he opt to invest based on scenario 2 instead of scenario 1 because of the savings from service charge paid.

Ok…let’s put in simpler term. Unit Trust companies WILL NEVER pay you more than you deserve. When a fund declares distribution, it is distributing to all investors at once. Hence, if your investment has made profit, likely you are drawing the deserved profit, however, if your investment has not made profit (due to freshly invested just like Mr. A), then you are actually drawing your own principal amount.  So, if you have yet been making profit from your fund, and drawing out your principal, how about the service charge that you have paid and yet to recover? Answer is - that translate to loss! If he would have opted to re-invest his distribution, then it is indifferent to him whether he invest prior or post distribution

Conclusion, dividend won’t increase your net asset value. Hence, DO NOT rush to to buy a fund for the sake of a coming dividend distribution.

Often we hear investors favoring one fund over the other simply because of its cheaper price. They think that a cheaper fund has a greater potential for capital appreciation.

Unfortunately, this is a misconception.

One should not confuse its actual value based only on the price of shares and unit trust.  For shares investment, the price of a particular share may reflect it value, especially when considering certain other factors like its PE ratio, etc. For e.g., for Genting shares, investing at RM 5 is of better value than at RM 8.  However, for unit trust investment, the price of a unit trust at a particular time does not indicate relative value in the same way as stocks.

Perhaps we should start off with looking at how the price of a unit trust is derived. The price of a unit trust is normally known as NAV (Net Asset Value). Technically speaking, it is defined as the market value of the unit trust’s total assets, minus liability/expenses, and divided by the number of units issued. We can see how NAV is calculated using a simple example: -

From the formula above, we can say that the higher the value of the total asset of the fund, the higher the price per unit would be.  So, the next question - what determines the value of the total asset of the fund then?

The valuation of total assets of the fund strictly depends on the valuation of its underlying stocks or bond within its portfolio.

To give an illustration, let’s assume a scenario with two Far East equity funds, with one priced at RM 0.25 per unit and the other at RM 0.50 per unit. We further assume that both fund are invested into the same underlying stocks. Let’s say on a good day, all the stocks held under these portfolios increased by 5% in total for the day and hence the total value of the assets of both of the funds increased by 5%. So, what would we see the price changes for both funds, given the same number of units issued? Both of the funds, be it RM 0.25 or RM 0.50 per unit, will increase by 5% respectively!   If you have invested RM 10,000, your profit of the day would be RM500 (5% X RM10,000), regardless whether which of these two funds you are investing in. Thus, we can see that the price or NAV of the fund is not meaningful. The underlying stocks or bond within its portfolio is!

It is important for the investors to understand that a fund manager who is worth his salt is constantly changing his portfolio, retaining only those stocks with potential price appreciation with objective of enhancing the value of the total assets of the fund.  A good fund manager never allows the stocks portfolio to be “overvalued”, so there should be no worry even when the price reaches some arbitrary value of, says RM 1.50 per unit. 

Instead of judging whether a fund is cheap or expensive based on its fund price, investors may find it more helpful if they are aware of the valuation (or estimated price-earning ratios) of the underlying equity market, which the fund invests in. It is also useful to observe how a fund has performed over a period of time rather than just for a short period of time.

So, next time, if your friends advise you to sell off your fund only because of its high unit price, or invest in a fund purely based on its’  “cheap” price, you should never be “fooled” again. Always remember that the performance of a fund depends on how its underlying stocks or bonds perform, instead of its unit price. With sound fundamentals and strong economic outlook, it still makes good sense to invest in a fund even though its unit price is high.

I can understand how disappointed he would have felt.

Last year, while the market was vibrant and at her all time high, was a great year for investments. Due to most bourses hitting all time highs, unit trust companies delivered very good results which boosted the excitement levels of investors. Many investors may have made quick money from unit trust investments last year. The side effect? - a great level of optimism brings forth a greater level of disappointment.

More so, such optimism and excitement has caused many investors to lose sight on the underlying principal of unit trust investments.

So, why not stay calm and re-look the objective of us choosing unit trust investment in the first place: -

1. I need the fund managers to manage my investment. I can’t do it myself!

Fund managers spend their working lives researching and managing investments. Sitting in front of computer screens monitoring world market information and reading report after report are their full time job! It would be very difficult for an individual to have that level of in-depth knowledge of markets around the world. That’s why we choose to invest in unit trust; their expertise being put to work for us. So, why lose faith in them now?

2. Consultant A: Sir, is this your spare money that can remain invested for at least 3 years and above? 
     Investor B    : Yes, of course!

Do the above lines ring a bell? I am sure many of your consultants have asked the same question. We are trained to do so. So, why panic now if our investment has not reached the anticipated time frame?  If you scrutinize the records of successful funds which have given high returns, some in excess of 100%, since being launched, you will note periods in which they have given negative returns but presently after a reasonable period, have grown to what has been award-achieving levels of returns. So, avoid being short term sighted, keep the investment horizon objectives in mind.

When deciding to invest in unit trusts, it is important to remember that growth is not immediate and we should regard it as a medium to long-term investment. Most unit trust companies recommend an investment period of at least five years. The purpose is to enable the investment to overcome stock market fluctuations and minimize the risk of the investors.

Because of their proven track record, unit trusts have become an ideal way of providing for medium to long-term needs. Investing in unit trusts can meet our needs for a deposit on a home, retirement plan, or an education for our child. It really should never be treated as an investment that could bring us quick money return.

3. The bear has beaten the bull. That is the bad news!  

While equity markets are heading south, unit trust funds will not be spared. However, the fluctuations in unit trust are often less severe because of the wide spread of asset allocations. Shares that show a stable or better performance helps cushion the drop in price of other shares. This is even more so for funds that gain exposure to multi sectors.

Ok, the bear has beaten the bull. This is bad news. But the point is bad news never last! As far as unit trust investment is concerned, bad news could become good news if we understand the underlying principle of unit trust investment. This is of course unless a fund is exposed to a troubled sector, a typical example would be funds that were exposed to the US sub prime market.  Unit trusts are however seldom invested in risky financial instruments and you should check the fund’s purpose or targeted sectors when choosing a fund.

Unit trusts utilize bad news to create good opportunities for investors. In simple terms, the drop in share prices means that more units can be purchased on behalf of the investor for the same amount of capital.

When the downturn cycles (bear markets) are over, the share prices will be lower. The fund managers will be able to purchase more units with the the alloted amount of investors’ money. The larger number of units purchased then offers a bigger opportunity for growth in an upturn of the market.

This is also why unit trusts are not usually a short-term investment. They are able take advantage of both the downturns and the upturns. Therefore the reasoning is that, the longer the period of investment, the lower the risk.

4. Have we seen the worst yet?

I wish I know the answer.

In such volatile and yet unpredictable market, we can change our investment style to mitigate the risk. Investors are strongly recommended to apply dollar cost averaging (DCA) method by opting for monthly investment installments instead of a lump sum investment.

Well, it can get quite mind-numbing listening to your consultant reiterate again and again on how you should be keeping your investment long term and how you should take advantage of such market by doing your DCA..blah blah blah. But if these are time-proven strategies, what else can they share with you? Words are never good enough, hence, my suggestion would be to talk to your consultant, ask he/she to share with you the track record* on how funds that were launched way back in 1997/1998 (worst timing), despite the severe crash in world markets, has helped many investors to achieve their financial objectives today. I sincerely hope that the figures can calm you down, if the words can’t….When most people are running from investments when things look bleak, this can often be a great opportunity to invest. Just look at the records of successful investors including Warren Buffett who often do not follow the crowd but look for opportune times to invest and wait it out - after the storms, the sun always shines!

p/s: * I am referring to Public Mutual’s track records. I can’t speak for other unit trust companies since I have not study any of them. 

“ Malaysia’s inflation is expected to rise to 10- year high of 4.7 percent in 2008, after the government sharply raised fuel prices. 

Economists expect Malaysia’s central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate to 4 percent from 3.5 percent currently, by end of the year.

Central bank Governor, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, said on Thursday that energy price rises meant inflation would average 4.2% in 2008 and Prime Minister Abdullar Ahmad Badawi had estimated inflation in a range of 4 and 5 percent this year. An inflation rate of between 4 and 5 percent would be the highest since 5.3 registered in 1998.

Bank of America expects the central bank to start its tightening campaign in July, when it is likely to raise rates by 25 basis points, follow by more rate rises later this year. “

(Further reading can be obtained from http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKSP16227220080605)

Seems like we are likely not spared from an increase of BLR in months to come. 

If we foresee this to take place and we do not welcome any surprise of seeing a sudden upward increase of our monthly loan installment (especially for home loan), we might want to re-look into possibility of restructuring our mortgage finances. (I had my share of surprise back in 1998)

While we are having a low interest rate all this while, it seems like a good idea for us to accept a floating or variable rate of interest then, according to our BLR rate. However, seeing the potential of rates hiking, I would prefer to go for fixed interest loans, which will offer me a degree of  “comfort” that the monthly repayment will not change during the fixed period.  

Meanwhile, critical to the success of mortgage refinance is being aware of all the cost associated with getting out the current mortgage arrangement. Cost incurred normally include, early discharge penalty fees from your existing banker, legal fees, stamp duty, valuation fees, and etc.  It is vital that we have a firm understanding of the cost involves, then we can be sure that the whole refinancing solution do make financial sense.

Based on my experience, when come to shop for the best loan offered that suits our financial needs, we do have to be patient and need not have to grab the first refinance offer that is put to us, without checking around. A wrong choice could mean the difference in extra payments over several years. Also the cost of further refinancing in future could be significant. 

To start of, we need to know what the banks in town are offering. After much searching, i-property website; seems to provide the most updated info on all the banks loan that are being offered in town.  Do share if you have a better source.