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Happy Chinese New Year and may the Year of the Ox be a properous and happy one for all of you!

Chinese New Year can be a financially painful time, especially for married people who are expected to give out ang pows or red packets to people younger than them. These represent luck and are often handed out freely to any young children who might come visiting or younger relatives.

Apparently, this Chinese New Year, the economic recession and fears of bad times to come have even affected the ang pow haul for many! Ang pow givers have been said to be less generous in their angpows and many have complained of receiving less in their ang pow haul this year!

So, was your Chinese New Year ang pow collection reduced?

Or if you were an ang pow giver, did you reduce your normal amounts?

My Smart Money Tips would like to wish all readers a very Happy & Properous Chinese Ni-uuu Year!

May the Ox bring you lots of good fortune and wealth!

If you are interested to read what the feng shui masters have predicted for the Year of The Ox, where you can have your Chinese New Year reunion dinner or how you can save some money with pretty DIY Chinese New Year decorations, do check out these links below:

Feng Shui Tips For 2009, Year Of The Earth Ox
Special 2009 Feng Shui Tips for Those Born in Year of Ox and Sheep
Promotional List of Chinese New Year Reunion Dinners
Chinese New Year Saving Tips – DIY Chinese New Year Paper Lantern
Chinese New Year Saving Tips – DIY Decorations

Don’t forget to check back again after Chinese New Year for the grand Valentine’s giveaway right here at My Smart Money Tips!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Here’s more 2009 Feng Shui tips by Feng Shui Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai ahead for the Year of the Ox and how you can best handle your money.

Is it a good year ahead?

Grand Master Yap has predicted a tough year ahead and just like the namesake of the Ox, everyone will need to start working harder and “toiling their respective fields” to see this year through successfully.

Read on for some practical tips he has shared.

• Work hard and not be lazy.
• Be thrifty.
• Keep cash.
• Avoid dubious get rich quick schemes.

And specially for those born in the Year of the Ox and the Year of the Sheep, he warns for them to be very careful as it is not a good year ahead for them and they should avoid unnecessary risks.

“For those born under the Sheep sign, do not do any digging, repairs or renovation, especially the south-west area,” he said, adding that they should keep quiet and assume a low profile.

Yap said the third and fifth days of the Chinese New Year would be best time to start work and they should go in before 9am and not after 9.30am. (source)

Grand Master Yap has shared some very practical tips which we should all be able to adhere to. With thrift, savings and smart money tips shared here, we can survive this Ox year and look forward to a recovery in the next Tiger year!

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Will the recent economic downturn and fears of a global recession to come affect the coming Chinese New Year celebrations? Surprisingly not…especially in the area of food and the coming Chinese New Year reunion dinner on Sunday!

Chinese have always loved food and convenience and eating out during the reunion dinner has become a bit of a practice over the years. So much so that restaurants who were preparing to tighten their belts this coming Chinese New Year were very pleasantly surprised by the influx of bookings that have been flooding their outlets for the reunion dinne!

If you are celebrating your reunion dinner in a restaurant, read below for ranges of prices to see how best you can stretch your dollar while having a prosperous and festive celebration!

Some Chinese restaurants are offering sets from as low as RM399 a table for a 9-course set with all the delicacies such as yee sang (raw fish salad), shark’s fin soup, prawn and waxed meat thrown in. However, if you are feeling generous and money isn’t an object, you can splurge at the Pandan Lake Seafood Village with a majestic 10-course package costing RM2,338! (source)

So, those who wish to enjoy some indulgence this reunion dinner but do not want to spend a tremendous amount of money, a list of Chinese New Year promotions and attractions by the restaurants are available here for you to choose. Just don’t leave your booking till too late as restaurants are filling up fast as this probably sums it up best!

While it probably is still too early to gauge whether the country is in for hard times, the encouraging response received so far by eateries is testament to the fact that the urban Chinese are not yet ready to settle for anything less than a feast respectable enough for such a big annual do. (source)

Have a very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year filled with good food and prosperity!

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Do you find it hard to get into the Chinese New Year mood? Or do you find yourself put off by the high prices of things out there as you head out to do your Chinese New Year shopping?

Well, to get everyone into the Chinese New Year mood this year whilst doing something enjoyable, instead of spring cleaning, why not gather the family to make your own Chinese New Year cookies? It is a fun and delicious way to save some money this Chinese New Year! Read how you can instill some Chinese New Year family tradition below.

Home Made Cookie Recipes

There are lots of recipes for delicious home-made cookies online but it will be even more fun if you dig through your mom’s or grandmother’s treasured cookie recipes for that superb melt in the mouth kueh bangkit or that buttery sweet pineapple tart. 

Chinese New Year Family Traditions

Start making this into a little family tradition. It’s a great way to get everyone involved and a fun way to inject the Chinese New Year mood. The family will have a wonderful time chatting as they fill the house with delicious smells of baking and reliving a tiny part of their family history. 

Healthy Cookies

Home made cookies are definitely healthier than those you purchase as you will not compromise on quality ingredients. Even store-bought cookies that claim to be “home made” may not be what they seem as they often need to be stored for a certain period of time on the shelves and hence may contain preservatives and chemicals. So, bake some love into your cookies this Chinese New Year. Your family will love them!

So, let’s save a little bit of money this Chinese New Year and set aside some baking time this weekend. Anyone who would like to share some delicious cookie recipes here are welcome to do so!

The countdown to Chinese New Year and the Year of The Earth Ox begins with exactly two more weeks to go! With the recent gloom of 2008, feng shui experts have cautioned careful spending for the Chinese New Year as the Year of The Ox ahead does not seem to be a positive one for investors and the economy in general.

So let’s roll up our crafting sleeves and save some money this Chinese New Year with more DIY Chinese New Year craft tips – A pretty decorated paper lantern!

Good feng shui for the Chinese New Year recommends welcoming in the new year with bright lights and brightly lit lanterns to auspiciously herald in the coming of spring.

This Chinese New Year, make your own pretty paper latern to welcome in spring!

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You need:

• A paper lantern which can be bought cheaply from Ikea or a craft store.
• Paint and glitter
• Creativity and enthusiasm

1. Mix your paints to a watery consistency. Pink and reds are preferable to create pretty plum blossoms on your lantern. Do be careful not to make it too watery or it might seep through your paper lantern.
2. Alternatively you can create other designs with red paint and glitter. Why not write some auspicious Chinese characters such as “fook” for prosperity this coming year?
3. Once dry, you can hang it up as a pretty decorative item or place a bulb and connect it to the electricity to light it up!

Tip: It makes a great lampshade after Chinese New Year and a creative conversation piece!

We have exactly two weeks to go to Chinese New Year and lots of people must be waiting with bated breath to see what this coming Year of The Earth Ox holds, especially after the doom and gloom of 2008.

Will the Ox bring with it a good year?

Read on for a feng shui summary of the 2009 Year of The Ox ahead by the renowned Feng Shui master, Joey Yap.

“2009 will see the year of the Earth Ox in an earth cycle. As it is earth, what we see is stagnation, and the image is one of a pile of mud,” says Yap.

“It will be a daunting year. We haven’t really reached the peak of the problems yet. We are probably one third through this difficult cycle. It will get worse, but it won’t be bad for everyone. It’s not good for things which have metal elements – financials being the main theme. Metal is seen to be covered by earth, with a lot of dirt piling on it. Therefore, the financial industry won’t prosper this year.”

What will this then mean for financial investors? Read below for Joey Yap’s advice on financial investing in the Year of The Ox.

For investments, Yap advocates going long term. “Look three to four years ahead. In times like these, you cannot make quick gains. My advice is to hold on to cash.

Yap cautions that there will be a little spring appearing in mid-2009, which is in actual fact, a false image. “People will think this spring marks the start of a rally, but no. Things will in fact go down after that. My advice is for investors to ride on the wave of this little spring when it happens. Use this opportunity to sell,” says Yap.

Sectors that are seen able to preserve cash are the wood-related sectors such as academic related, printing, self-help, teaching. The health industry will also do well. As plantation is wood related, crude palm oil may see a chance of going up again.

It won’t be great for oil, however. Oil is of the fire element. Earth dampens fire. So Yap says its difficult for crude oil to appreciate. Construction prices will also go down. Currencies, which are defined by the water element is seen to be contaminated by dirty earth.

It is a tough year ahead in general for investors. Hence, it will be wise to save cash, invest carefully, hold on tight to your jobs and look forward to a recovery in 2010, Year of the Tiger!

The 2009 Year Of The Ox is almost upon us! Have you started your spring-cleaning? Feng Shui tips suggest that you welcome in the Chinese New Year with a clean house and lots of red decorations to make it a prosperous start to the year!

Prosperous does not have to mean expensive and you can start your Chinese New Year preparation right with some little savings – DIY your Chinese New Year decorations! It is a great way to get the whole family involved, especially the children, and to get everyone in the right Chinese New Year mood. Plus it’s a great way to utilise those stacks of free ang pow packets you have been collecting!

Read below for your first Chinese New Year DIY project.

Firecrackers are synonymous with Chinese New Year where some believe that the loud noise of the crackers will scare away any evil spirits. They also make great decorations around the home. Learn how to make your very own Chinese New Year firecrackers!

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You will need:

• Ang pow packets – the more packets you use, the longer the crackers will be!
• Thick thread
• Staplers
• Needle

1. Start by rolling each ang pow packet (design side out) into a cylindrical shape. Staple both ends shut.
2. Continue for the next 20 or so and decorate with some gold glitter if you wish.
3. Once completed, thread your needle with thick red thread and start to join 2 rolls together.
4. Thread together the pairs of ang pow rolls into a long firecracker shape and voila, your own homemade firecracker!
5. Alternatively, you can glue yarn on the insides of of the packets and string them up together.

Happy crafting and look out for more Chinese New Year saving tips to come!