Tips and Tricks from Cambodia

December 3, 2015

About a year ago, in August 2014, I blogged that I had bought my own solo property in Kampong Speu province. It wasn't a brag. My only sole purpose is to inspire others and to share tactics to accumulate more wealth as I had been inspired by other successful people.

Today I blog about how I've bought a house (Just booked by now). So, this blog is more about my imagination and steps that I am going to take to accumulate this house.
Actually, I went to make the first deposit yesterday on December 02, 2015. The first deposit was $10,000, and I will still have to pay another $130,000 because the former owner agreed to sell for $140,000. It was reduced to this price after 2 weeks negotiation.

This post will explain to you what this house is and how I am going to get it, with the help of others.

Cost of the house:
It costs $140,000. It is not possible for me to buy this alone. So, it's me and my mum together we pay for this. It's $70,000 for me and $70,000 for her. I am not going to mention in the blog how she gets her part, but mine alone. So, basically, I will need to have $70,000. And this is how I am going to get it. (Not successful yet!)

My wealth by now:
- $23,000 (I expect to get this amount if I happen to sell the land I bought earlier in August 2014)
Link to article about the land
- $2,200 (Cost of half a hectare rice farm I bought last year, I do not know how much it costs now)
- $20,000 (I have this in my bank account as I got this from wedding gifts by guests on my wedding day)
- $8,000 (If I happen to get this from tong tin)
- $1,724 (Salary per month)
- $5,000 (Loan from Grandma from USA)

From the amount shown here, it clearly shows that it is impossible for me to rush to sell my property and get the $70,000 because by now I only have $20,000 in my bank account.

So, I approach a bank for the other $50,000. I have collateral for this loan. I got a special interest rate at Mega International Bank. I got this rate $58/month per $10,000. Thus, I'll have to pay $290 interest per month. The rate will decrease as time goes by and as borrowed capital decreases. I am going to repay this capital and interest in installment.

At the same time, I will start selling my properties but no rush. By the time I sell my land plot, I will have $23,000 extra. I will probably lend this $23,000 to someone who is in need for an interest of $100/month per $10,000. So, it will help me pay off the bank too. The reason that I won't use this $23,000 to pay back to the bank directly is that I could get an interest rate at $100 or $150 if I happen to lend it to others.

Also, since the house is in good location. And former house owner used to rent it for $350 per month. I expect to rent this for $400 per month. Thus, it may also help my repayment with the bank. But if I get $400 per month, I will share with my mum. So, I'll get $200 per month from rent.

If everything goes on well, I'll have the house (half of the house). And if the price of the house increases a lot, I might sell it and share half with my mum to find somewhere I can afford to buy alone later.

Phewww!! It's going to be an interesting financial journey for me! Invest!

House location:


The house size 7m*12.5m


Update, November 17, 2016:
It has been a year since I bought the house. I rented it to a tenant for $400 per month 8 months but she already moved out (I got $3200). So, it helped my loan repayment which is $1800 per month, that means I had to pay $1400 per month after deducting monthly $400. Since $1400 is for me and my mum. I alone had to pay $700 per month for my part.

Let's talk about the money I had prior to purchasing the house
+approx $25,000 I have not sold the land in Kampong Speu. Link to article about the land
+$2,200 land. This land is still there.
+$13,000 (Not yet get from tong tin)
+$1,760 (Salary per month)
+$5,000 (Loan from Grandma from USA) - Grandma said she gave us. So, no need to return, but I used it to pay for the house also.
-$20,000 (I have this in my bank account as I got this from wedding gifts by guests on my wedding day) - This money has gone for purchasing the house. So, no more to consider.

Since we have had this bank loan, we have repaid about $10,000 in one year. 6 more years to go.
Whether I can sell this house or find a new tenant, I do have a plan to buy another house which cost around $40,000 in 2017.

December 1, 2015


Normally if we go to buy the ticket directly at the Underwater World Pattaya, it will cost 1 visitor 500 baht, and 300 baht for children with height below 130cm.

However, before going to the Underwater World, I was suggested by a taxi driver to contact Mrs. Pim. She opens a travel agency. The price I got to visit the Underwater World was 450 Baht per person. Together, I went with 8 people, thus I saved 400 Baht. I am quite sure that the taxi driver gets some commission. However, I didn't care as the tickets worked well and I got a discounted price.

If you contact the agent directly, I guess you could get even lower than 450 Baht per person. Give it a try!

Her address is in 336/6 M.9  Central Pattaya Road. Tel: 081 782 7676, 093 111 4407

October 28, 2015

Jeremy Lepine (BE) together with Dance World Cambodia is exclusively hosting 3 days (November 5-7th) of Contemporary and Modern Dance workshops at the Dance World Cambodia studio 1.
Together they will facilitate a group of local dancers to workshop and tour parts of Europe in 2016.
Workshops are free for Cambodian nationals who have some prior formal dance training and are interested in modern dance and contemporary.

Please join the event group bellow for all information and to learn more about Jeremy
call 012634008 (Laura- English only) or email dance@danceworldcambodia.com for enquires
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Disclaimer: This article was written by a third party and falls into Guest Post category. 

July 5, 2015












The Bayon School is a non-profit organization which headquarters are located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Among other activities, the NGO has set up a professional training project: the pastry school. Their objective is to provide underprivileged girls a free vocational training leading to a stable job.

The selection of students is based on motivation, school results and familial environment. Following this step, around twenty girls are offered a free training lasting 11 months, including 4 months of internship. They are also sheltered at school and receive pocket money to support their family.

The project is implemented in partnership with Alain Cojean, French restaurateur, and Fabien Rouillard, Fauchon’s pastry chef.


In order to finance the project and allow the students to put their skills into practice, the NGO opened a coffee shop inside the garden of the pastry school, located in the heart of Siem Reap, where one can enjoy a peaceful atmosphere.

At the coffee shop, you can taste delicious French pastries such as financiers, madeleines or chocolate cake. These pastries will go well with one of the drinks proposed by the students, iced or old (Americano coffee, café latté, green tea, smoothie…).

The products can be taken away if you are in a hurry. You can also order a breakfast or break box that can be personalized depending on your needs.
By enjoying the products of the Bayon Pastry School Coffee Shop, you support the whole NGO and give the opportunity to young women to come out of poverty.

Apart from the coffee shop itself, the pastry school proposes another activity: pastry classes. You will be able to learn how to make French and Khmer pastries with Sokhoeum, the pastry chef.

Keep learning about the project on their websites:


https://www.facebook.com/bayonpastryschool

Disclaimer: This article was written by a third party and falls into Guest Post category. 

April 19, 2015

How safe is a Solex lock? I guess not only Solex, but other brands also. I lost keys of this lock and I had a chance to observe a lock repairer. It did not take him much time to make a new key for me. It took him about 2 minutes to observe what's specific inside the lock.


Then, he started numbering on side of the lock so that he knows what to do with a new key without any mark on it yet.  


Later, he started highlighting on a brand new key and scraped it. He scraped as he looked at the numbers on the lock. Simply, without even further modification. After he finished scraping, the key simply worked well with the lock. 


In total, it took him about 10 minutes to make a new key of the lock. Simple as that. Think Solex is safe? Think again. 

He only looked and numbered on the lock and made a new key for me. This is pretty dangerous if later he decides to change his job :D

What is a safer way to protect our house? Please kindly suggest.