Malaysia's Weekly Personal Finance Summary - March 24 2019

Intro

I've been traveling around New Zealand the last 5 weeks so it's been pretty hard to keep a weekly summary happening. I'm actually writing this at the New Zealand airport, finally on my way back to Malaysia. That said, you can expect a more regular update going forward.

Without further ado, let's get started!

Question of the week

What is your money goal for this year?

Let us know in the Facebook group

From More Money Malaysia

During this 5 week trip in New Zealand, I was constantly using BigPay. From making daily purchases with the tap of a card, to actually going to ATMs and withdrawing New Zealand dollars. I'm estimating that I would've saved about RM480 in hidden fees compared to going to my local bank and exchanging.

It was so awesome that I updated the BigPay review with all the ways I've used it to save (I've saved close to RM 1000 in the last 6 months).

Money in Daily Life

Feeling Good About Yourself (the Frugal Way): Find Your Flow

How do you handle those days when you just feel bad about yourself and just need a perk or a treat? Like your boss yells at you a bunch and you feel stressed out and burned out and you just go do something that makes you feel good for a little bit? I usually go get something to eat (not the best) or go buy makeup.

Running into ruts is part of human nature. Trying to fix the rut with money, when you know you shouldn't doesn't help. Instead, find something that can bring you to 'flow state' - a feeling where time just goes by without you noticing.

Of course getting to flow state could cost money (say a vacation somewhere), but it could also be really cheap, if not free. The blogger mentions how he likes playing a computer game he owns, or go for a hike, or to read.

How to Create Your First Financial Plan

Structure is the key to growth. Without a solid foundation - and a road map for the future - it's easy to spin your wheels and float through life without making any headway. Planning allows you to prioritize your time, plot your future and measure the progress you've made.

The basic steps to creating a financial plan (as per this blog) is:

• Evaluate Where You Stand - calculate your net worth
• Track Your Spending - do you know your approximate cash flow?
• Create Goals - what is money going to do for your life?
• Create a SMART Plan - SMART stands for specific, measureable, actionable, relevant, time-bound

There have been a few older newsletters that have also covered this. Although this blogger covered the main steps, each one can get quite complicated so if you are looking to create your own, make sure to read up more.

Or if you just want to have one created for you, and you're willing to pay for a professional to help you with it, check out our partners IPP.

8 Actually-Easy Ways to Save More Money
This blogger has broken each idea to 2 different parts: the first part is the amount of effort required to make it happen and the second one is the impact on your finances.

That said, here are the ways listed:

• Earn extra cash back (effort: 1, impact: 3)
• Limit your fun spending automatically (effort: 1, impact: 5)
• Save money automatically (effort: 2, impact: 7)
• Move your savings to a high-interest account (effort: 2, impact: 4)
• Name your savings accounts (effort: 1, impact: 3)
• Plan your meals (effort: 3, impact: 4)
• Find a more rewarding credit card (effort: 2, impact: 3)
• Review your recurring bills (effort: 2, impact: 5)

If any this seems interesting to you, make sure you check out the blog!

Want To Have Your Money Accelerate Your Goals?

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Grow Your Wealth

I have RM 100,000 to Invest. Where should I Invest?

Hi, I'm Shane. I have accumulated RM 100,000 in excess cash where I intend to have them invested. My question is: 'What should I invest into? How do I start?

Instead of a flat our generic answer, here's what this blogger had to say (or in this case, ask):

• Question 1: Do You Have an Existing Plan?
• Question 2: How Much Money are You Making every Month? This determines the amount of leverage and your ability to commit to your plan
• Question 3: What is Your Current Age and Family Background? Can you invest with a group?
• Question 4: How do You Intend to Gain from Your Investments? Cash flow or capital gains?
• Question 5: What is Your Set of Investment Skills? Stick to your strong suits

FYI

Definition of 36 Critical Illnesses or Dread Diseases in Insurance Policy

Most policy holder who bought the common 36 critical illnesses coverage (also known as 36 dread diseases), will have the definition clearly stated in their life insurance policy.

This blogger updated an old post. I won't list them all here as it'll just get really long.

Cool Opportunities

BigPay - The Best Travel Credit Card for Malaysians?
If you ever travel out of Malaysia and use your credit card, then this is BIG (pun intended). AirAsia has released BigPay, a prepaid mastercard that you can easily top up through the BigPay app and be able to use instantly.

But more importantly, BigPay charges you at the real exchange rate (which means they charge no fees). This is something you won't get if you were to go to your bank or some exchange counter.

In fact, I've already saved over RM 10,000 using this card (you can read about it in our BigPay Review)

Anyway, if you don't have one yet, you can sign up for free and get RM10 free when you use referral code B7D3YNZPGO.

Talking to an Independent Financial Adviser
A big issue when you work with someone who calls themself a financial advisor is you do not know if they really have your best interest at heart. That's one of the main reasons why I never work with any (the other one is that most of them get trained to say what the company wants and thus, do not know of all the other cool opportunities out there).

However, I've been talking to an independent financial adviser the last few months and I do believe that not only is she knowledgeable, but also super open to sharing her knowledge.

If you're interested in talking to her, join our facebook group and ask your questions. She will definitely find time to pop by and answer them.

Ready to get the highest quality information so that you can make the right choices? Check us out on moremoney.my