6 Best Savings Accounts in Malaysia to Put Your Emergency Funds

Let’s assume you earn a good salary and/or have low expenses, and you need a place to put 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses (
Step 3 in the road to financial freedom
). The question now is, which are the best savings accounts in Malaysia, that you can use to keep your emergency funds safe?

Here are 6 savings accounts in Malaysia that you can consider.

Note: This article is about the best savings accounts in Malaysia to keep your emergency funds.
Emphasis on emergency
. Therefore, all the options on this list MUST either be cash or can be
quickly
 converted/sold into cash
without losing much value
. In investing-speak, we call this ‘liquid’.

With that clarified, let’s go ahead and rank the best places to save money in Malaysia. The ranking order is decided by myself, but let me know if you have opinions – open to compelling arguments.

#1 – ASB / Tabung Haji

Personally, I use my
ASB (Amanah Saham Bumiputera
) as my primary out-of-reach savings account. Whenever I get extra money, I keep it there instead of leave it in my bank account so I ‘forget’ about it.

Unfortunately, ASB is not available for non-Bumi. The next best alternative for non-Bumi is ASM (but it’s
really hard to get
).

Another option is
Tabung Haji,
which is usually used by Muslims to save money for hajj, but is open to Muslims from any background.

ASB and Tabung Haji are examples of mutual fund/unit trust (technically considered different things, but used interchangeably in Malaysia).

Is unit trust a good place to save money in Malaysia?

I’d say other mutual funds/unit trusts are not as great for short-term savings purposes, because they:

Lock up your money until retirement – case in point, EPF and PRS (Private Retirement Scheme, kinda like secondary, optional EPF)

Charge you a lot of fees.
Many unit trusts and mutual funds will impose a combination of these 9 types of fees
.

You’re better off saving your money in #2-6 in this list.

How to withdraw ASB online

Withdrawing money from ASB is easy. You can go to the bank or to post office and make a request at the counter.

The more convenient method is to submit the request to withdraw ASB online from myASNB portal or app. It’s a simple enough process yet mafan enough to do that (hopefully) you’ll only take your savings out only when you really want/need to.

#2 – High-interest savings account (HISA)

 Another option to keep your emergency funds is HISA – that’s short for high-interest savings account.

Which high-interest savings account in Malaysia is the best depends on bank promos at the time. Check out the
HISA comparison article by RinggitPlus
.

The thing about HISA is that the money in there is not really locked away – a blessing and a curse tbh. If you find yourself ‘dipping’ into your own savings account too often, then may I suggest you to:

Open an account with another bank and hide the debit card, or

Use other methods in this list

But otherwise, many people find high-interest savings accounts a good financial tool for saving money. Some people open separate savings accounts for:

Marriage fund

Car fund

Travel fund

Fun fund

And more

#3 – Fixed deposit

The third place to save money in Malaysia is fixed deposits or FDs.

It’s funny because here, ‘locking up’ your money and not being able to access it for a time period is
not a bug, it’s a feature.
If you need a financial tool that will PENALISE you for taking out your own money before the contract ends, then FDs is for you.

Selecting one is super easy. You can find options at your bank, or use financial comparison platforms. Ideally you want the one that offers the highest interest rates, but keep in mind how long you’re locking your money for, and the minimum deposit you need.

RinggitPlus makes it easy to find Islamic FDs too – select the ‘Islamic’ tab and your options will show up.

#4 – Cash Management Platforms

Cash management platforms are like fixed deposits, except WITHOUT the lock-in clause.
Therefore, this makes them arguably better than fixed deposits.

As of the time of writing, there are 4 options for cash management platform:

Stashaway Simple

Versa Asia
 (Shariah-compliant option) (Get RM10 when you deposit RM100)

Touch N Go E-wallet’s Go+ (Shariah-compliant option)

KDI Save

All four are good options. Pick the one that gives the highest rates and/or have sign-up bonus for new users.

#5 – Gold Savings Accounts

To be honest, Gold as savings is… optional. Despite what the agents say, it’s ok to not have gold at all, and just do #1-4.

But if you do want gold, and are aware that (1) gold price fluctuates (so you only put 5-15% of your assets in gold, not ALL of it) and (2) there are costs to buy/sell/keep the gold, then you can consider it.

Some gold savings accounts in Malaysia include:

Maybank Gold Investment Account
 (shariah-compliant)

Wahed Invest
 Gold Account (shariah-compliant)

The options above are
digital
 gold.
 Physical
 gold can also act as emergency savings. More options, including Gold ETFs are available in the
The Beginner’s Guide to Buying Gold in Malaysia
 article.

There are unique benefits to keeping physical gold. I’ll explained by Sam, in the
4 Things You Can Do If You Need Money URGENTLY in Malaysia
 article.

Sams
 – (I would) take my gold bar – purposely bought for emergency situation like this – to Ar-Rahnu. With them, I’m able to get a loan worth 60%~70% from the the current market gold price. They charge 0.07% per month in fees (note: fees may vary).

I’ve done this a lot when I need to renew car insurance, repair car breakdown, cover medical bills and more. By using Ar-Rahnu or pawnshop service, always try to redeem your gold as fast as possible, to avoid more charge (‘upah simpan’).

The good thing about this method, you are able to get your gold back once you redeem it thus maintaining your asset.

Example calculation: 10g gold bar 10g x RM190 x 60% = RM1140 | Fees – RM1140 x 0.7% = RM7.98 per month

Personally, I love the experience of owning gold. Like many people, I bought some gold with the ‘trader’ mentality – heard that gold prices went up from the news and just wanted to make a quick buck. Over time, it prepared me for price fluctuations and taught me how demand/supply works in the world market.

If it weren’t for gold, I wouldn’t be brave enough to dip my toes in higher-risk, higher-rewards investments like stocks and even crypto. But that’s just me.

#6 – Keeping foreign currencies

And last but not least, you can also keep your extra money in other country’s notes. Especially ‘valuable’ ones like the US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen and British Pounds. These are not ‘savings account’ in the literal sense, but rather if you feel keeping all your money in RM is risky.

How it works is simple: convert your excess RM into foreign currencies. If you need the cash, you can simply convert them back to RM. If
you’re good at macroeconomics
 luck is in your favour, the foreign currencies you kept may have strengthened against the RM.

(The reverse is true. It’s absolutely possible that the currencies may weakened against the RM. In this case, you would get less RM than what you started with)

The best place to keep foreign currencies, in my opinion, is via the
Wise multi-currency account
. You can hold 53 different currencies, and it even comes with a debit card so you can spend it easily.

#7 – Keep your money in cash

People steal.

Once, I witnessed a young woman breaking down at an LRT station after she was informed her room was broken into and all her savings were gone. You probably have experienced this yourself, or know someone who had their money stolen this way.

I did, too, when I was younger. Hid some money in my room. It was stolen by my own family member.

(I’m embarrassed to admit I used to steal my mom’s money as well. Mak, Aya minta maaf!)

Please be careful when you save money with methods #5 (Gold), #6 (Foreign currencies) and in cash (RM). Please keep them safe, or avoid them totally, especially if you live in a high-crime area. Use the other methods in this list.

Now that you know
where
 are the best savings accounts in Malaysia, we also have to cover the obvious fact that…

You can only save for rainy days if you earn enough

How to save money if you are making less than a living wage and/or your commitments are high, and everything you earn goes to necessities? You can’t.

This article is for those of you who are earning more than your core expenses, your financial commitments. If you are not, I’m sorry to say but you have no choice but to earn more, either from
earning side income
 or from
jobs with higher salaries
.

You may also try to increase your savings rate by radically
save money on accommodation
 and
food
.

Forget all the ‘how to save more money’ advice – first of all, you probably are already good at budgeting, because you NEED to. Secondly, you can’t frugal your way out of low-income lifestyle. If unexpected emergency situations don’t kill you, rising cost of living will.

I realise this is easier said than done for some folks. Unfortunately, the system is not fair and unlikely to change. I can only wish you luck and hope you have the perseverance to make it.

Where would YOU save your money?

Are there any other best savings accounts in Malaysia that’s not in this list? Which methods do YOU personally use to save your money? Do you have bad experience with any of these methods? Do you agree or disagree with the ranking?

Let me know in the comments section, I’d love to hear from you!


COMPLETE Guide to Birth Control in Malaysia, Emergency Contraception and Abortion

Hello women and men who live alongside women. Today, let’s learn about the options and costs of birth control in Malaysia.

This guide is divided into the following sections:

Section 1:
 Preventative and family planning – how to avoid getting pregnant

Section 2:
 Access to emergency contraception – where to get contraceptive pill/ morning-after pill
in Malaysia

Section 3:
 How and where to get an abortion in Malaysia (I don’t want you to get to this stage but I’d rather you not die with DIY methods, so)

Section 4:
Adoption in Malaysia – how to give your baby up for adoption in Malaysia and who to contact

Some notes:

Cost figures from government-run clinics
 are taken from
LPPKN website
. Their prices are the cheapest, but
limited to only married couples
. To access their services, you have to register yourself and your spouse at the
Portal Reproductive Health System page

Cost figures from private sector are estimates
, based on multiple sources, including Reddit threads (like
 this one
 and
this one
). It varies depending on the type of institution you go to – pharmacies, public/private hospitals or local/specialist clinics.

Access to birth control from the private sector is legal in Malaysia.
 There are no official laws stipulating certain marital status is required. Any doctor that denies you simply because you’re unmarried has no right to do so. If they refuse to provide services, simply go to another doctor who is unbiased

Birth control IS NOT the same thing as STD (sexually-transmitted disease) or STI (sexually-transmitted infection) prevention.
 Only abstinence and condoms help prevent STDs and STIs.

Without further ado, scroll down to the sections you need.

Section 1: Preventative birth control and family planning in Malaysia

The methods are sorted from least to most costly. Data on effectiveness were taken from the
Planned Parenthood website
.

#0 – Abstinence, the rhythm method or the withdrawal method

What is it:

Abstinence method
:
Much like its name, this is when an individual completely abstains from having sexual intercourse.

Rhythm method
: This is when an individual tracks their reproductive cycle to see when their fertile window is. The “fertile window” is when a female is most vulnerable to pregnancy due because those days are near when ovulation would occur. “Ovulation” is when the egg is released from the ovary. Those who use the rhythm method would engage in sexual intercourse during the days which are not part of their fertile window.

The withdrawal method
: Also known as the “pull-out method”, this is when the male would ejaculate outside of the vagina to avoid a pregnancy from occuring.

Cost:
 None, but taking a test to find out ovulation period for the rhythm method can cost you RM12 to RM20 per test

Effectiveness:

Abstinence: 100% if there’s no sexual activity. But the reality is ‘
intentions to abstain from sexual activity often fail
’

The rhythm method: 76-88% effective

The withdrawal or pull-out method: 78% effective

The theory behind these methods make sense, but don’t rely on them. If you’re sexually active, add on another birth control method. See #1-7 below.

#1 – Condoms

What is it:
 The male condom is used over the man’s erect penis. It may be made of latex, polyurethane or polyisoprene. For those allergic to latex, there are specialised condoms made of lambskin available. It is the most common contraceptive used by couples worldwide.

The condom is the only form of birth control method that not only prevents pregnancy but also the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STI) like HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

Note: Female condoms exist, but not available/sold in Malaysia as far as I could tell.

Effectiveness:
 85% and even LOWER if you don’t know how to put it on correctly

Where to get it:
 Pharmacies, convenience stores or online stores like Lazada or Shoppee. Always buy well-known and trusted brands.
You can also get from government-run clinics.

Cost of condoms in Malaysia:

From pharmacies: Ranges from RM6 for a 3-pack, RM20 per 12-pack and onwards.

From government-run clinics: RM1 for a 3-pack or RM4 per a 12-pack

#2 – Birth control pills in Malaysia (Oral Contraception)

What is it:

Birth control pills are a kind of medicine with hormones to stop ovulation. No ovulation means there’s no egg hanging around for sperm to fertilise, so pregnancy can’t happen.

Birth control pills come in one pack (either for 21 days or 28 days) and need to be taken daily and exactly at the same time for it to be fully effective. It is usually taken for the next 21 days after your period has ended.

There are many types of birth control pills in Malaysia. Here are some of the popular options: Mercilon, Marvelon, Noriday, Nordette, Loette and Yasmin. Many people adviced to start from the lowest-cost options, and pick another one in case that brand is not suitable for your body (the side effects varies).

Each birth control pill comes in a pack.
When a pack is finished, you take a break for 7 days (to allow the period to happen) before starting a new pack/box. Some brands have 28 pills in them, with 7 pills being placebo pills – pills with no hormones, taken only by those who have problems keeping track of when they need to take the new box.

Effectiveness:
 91%

Where to get it:
 Pharmacies and government-run clinics.  EDIT: See the comments section for feedback from readers

Cost of birth control pills in Malaysia:

From pharmacies: RM10-55 per month (depends on brand)

At government clinics:
RM5-52 per month
(depends on brand)
. Aside from the 6 below, please refer to
LPPKN website
 for the full list of birth control pills and their pricing.

#3 – Contraceptive injection
 in Malaysia

What is it:
The birth control shot, Depo-Provera, is a hormonal injection that prevents unplanned pregnancy for three months at a time. The hormone in this shot is progestin.
 There is also the Depocon shot.

The birth control shot works similarly to the birth control pill. It prevents ovulation and increases the mucus buildup around the opening of the cervix.

Effectiveness:
 94%

Where to get it:
Private clinics, OBGYN or government clinics.

Cost of contraceptive injection in Malaysia:

From private clinics and OBGYNs:
RM18-RM36 per shot (effective for up to 3 months per shot)

From government clinics:
RM18-RM36

#4 – IUD
 in Malaysia

What is it:
 “IUD” stands for “intrauterine device”. It’s shaped like a “T”, a bit bigger than a 5 cents coin and fits inside your uterus. Pregnancy is prevented by stopping the sperm from reaching and fertilising the eggs. Once inserted, it can last from 3 to 10 years depending on what kind of IUD you have gotten.

Effectiveness:
 99%

Cost of IUD in Malaysia:

Where to get it:
 Private clinics, OBGYN or government-run clinics.

Hormonal IUD from private clinics and OBGYNs: RM80-RM110 (effective for up to 3-6 years, depending on the brand). Removing it will cost approx RM20

Copper IUD
from private clinics and OBGYNs
: RM600 at a specialist centre (effective for up to 10-12 years)

From government-run clinics:
RM80-RM110. Removal is RM20

#5 – Hormonal implants
 in Malaysia

What is it:
 Hormonal implant or contraceptive implant is a
 tiny tube which is placed (‘implanted) under the skin of the upper arm. It releases hormones that significantly reduce the chance of pregnancy

Effectiveness:
 99%

Where to get it:
Private clinics, OBGYNs or government-run clinics.

Cost of hormonal implants in Malaysia:

From
private clinics and OBGYN
s:
RM500 (effective for up to 3 years). Removing it will cost approx RM100.

From
government-run clinics
:
RM500 (effective for up to 3 years). Removing it will cost RM100.

One of the most popular hormonal implant options is Implanon. Here’s the Implanon price in Malaysia, if taken from government-run clinics.

#6 – Vasectomy

What is it:
 Sterilisation method for men; minor surgery which blocks sperm from leaving the testis

Effectiveness:
 99%

Where to get it:
Private or government medical centres

Cost of vasectomy is Malaysia:

From private medical centres:
RM2k-6k  (according to RoR readers)

From government-run centres:
RM300-RM550
(according to
LPPKN website
)

#7 – Tubal Ligation

What is it:
 Sterilisation method for women; surgery which blocks or removes part of the Fallopian tubes

Effectiveness:
 99%

Where to get it:
Private medical centres

Cost of tubal ligation is Malaysia:

Unknown – please comment if you have the figures

Section two: Access to emergency contraception
– how to get contraceptive pill/ morning-after pill in Malaysia

#1 – Morning-after pill (sometimes called Plan B or Emergency Contraception)

What is it:
 This contraceptive pill is taken by the woman after exposure of semen in vagina, such as condom breakage. You have to take it up to 5 days after the incident. It is not recommended to take it too often as there may be side effects.

Effectiveness:
 It is estimated that Postinor-2 will prevent 85% of expected pregnancies. 95% of expected pregnancies will be prevented if taken within the first 24 hours, declining to 58% if taken between 48 hours and 72 hours after unprotected intercourse.

Where to get it:
 Pharmacies. Ask for Postinor-2, Escapella or Ella.

Cost of contraceptive/ morning-after pill in Malaysia:
 RM5-RM53

Section 3: how and where to get an abortion in Malaysia

Please visit the
Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia page
 and
this informative Reddit thread
 for medical and surgical abortion options.

Cost of abortion in Malaysia:

Abortion pills for termination of pregnancies under 9 weeks: RM350
-RM580

Surgical abortion in Malaysia: RM800-RM4000. EDIT: Also see the comments section

Section 4: Adoption in Malaysia

If its too late for abortion but you/your partner don’t want to keep the baby,
please call
Talian Kasih at 15999
so you can give them up for adoption. If anonymity is important, ask for locations of baby hatches to leave the baby behind in safe conditions.

If you and your partner do want to keep the baby, you might want to get your
financial management as a couple
 in order. You don’t need me to tell you that babies are expensive.

Are you on any birth control?

Are you on birth control? Which one(s)? Why did you pick that option? Was it easy to get? How much was it? How did you discuss it with your partner (if you discuss at all).

Did you go with private sector or did you utilise government-run clinics? (If you want this option, go register at
Portal Reproductive Health System page
). If you have tried government options, how was the experience like? Would you recommend it?

Tbh I have so many questions still.
 Information on birth control in Malaysia is not the easiest to get – I need your help to make this article more comprehensive.

Share your experience in the comments section.

Stay safe kids.


3 Ways to Save Money on Your Prescription Glasses in Malaysia

The cost of prescription glasses in Malaysia can be expensive, but they’re still more economical than contact lenses in the long run, so it’s worth investing in a pair (or two) so you get to save money in the long run.

However, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to reduce the cost. In this article, I’ve compiled three methods to save money on your prescription glasses in Malaysia, both offline (aka at shops) and where to buy glasses online, if you’re really on a budget.

Disclaimers:

This guide works best for low-to-medium-strength prescription glasses. For complicated cases*, it might be harder – but not impossible! – to get glasses at this price.
It’s understandable to prioritise price if you’re on a tight budget, but if you have more to spare, it’s ok to not look for the best possible deal. Prioritise your eye health and invest in a high-quality pair and reputable service – there’s a
difference between being frugal and cheap
Don’t expect branded frames. Who cares for branded frames anyway, look for quality not necessarily brand.

*Complicated cases: suffer from both short and far-sightedness, have astigmatism, very high power, etc

With those in mind, here we go.

Method #1: Buy them from optical shops during promo

You’ve seen this, so this tip is hardly a surprise. Many optical shops around Malaysia offer basic prescription glasses for RMxx (usually ending with RM8 for some reason). This is also a great way to get a professional eye exam – it’s typically included in the package.

If you don’t know where to go to get these glasses packages deals, shoplots nearby student areas are a good bet. Otherwise, you can also go to
Facebook Ads Library
, type in ‘cermin mata’ or other related keywords and find optical shops currently running offers.

Note: If you’re taking these glasses package, more often than not the shop attendant will try and upsell add-ons, AirAsia-style. In my case, one time I was attracted to the RM58 price tag but ended up paying RM178 in total for:

Sturdier frames (additional RM70)
Non-scratch lens coating (additional RM50)
They also have options for UV coating lens (additional RM180) and tinted glasses (not sure of price) but I didn’t take

EDIT: I overpaid. See the comments section for places to get better glasses package deals.

Method #2: Buy cheap frames, then ask optical shops to fit them with your prescription lens

My dad does this method. He likes to buy vintage glasses from second-hand shops, then he brings them to optical shops for custom lens fitting.

In this case,
you’ll save money on the frames
. Once, my dad bought these kickass vintage frames costing just RM5 – an absolutely good buy for the quality. RM10 ‘fashion glasses’ can also work for this method.

Next, it’s a matter of finding optical shops that are willing to do it for you. Some common difficulties:

“We don’t replace lenses” – just go and find another optical shop
“We don’t have lenses for this kind of frames” – try another shop, or try another pair of frames
*gives you above-average price for lenses* – shop around and compare quotes

My dad says this method is cheap, but he can’t remember the prices exactly. I’d be grateful for anecdotes on this – if you’ve tried this method, do share your costs in the comments section. EDIT: See Madhav’s comment on this!

Method #3: Buy glasses online

THIS IS THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE METHOD

In 2016, I bought 3 prescription glasses and 1 sunglasses from SelectSpecs – an online optical shop. It costs me USD77.31 including the USD11.25 shipping fee.

Minus the shipping fee, the average price for ONE eyewear is a mere USD16.52. Or just
RM64.34
 per glasses, with the exchange rate at the time (30 Jan 2018).

Seriously, so good value for money, even if you factor in fluctuating exchange rates.
The prescription glasses also comes with free UV coating, anti-reflection and scratch-resistant lens.

The caveat is:

You have to know your eye prescription.
 Get your latest eye prescription via eye tests at optical shops (it’s kinda rude to do the test with them without buying, so make sure to get at least one pair with them), from private hospitals offering eye health packages, or by making an appointment with
Klinik Optometri UKM
 (RM5 only)
You have to wait for a bit.
 It might take weeks to arrive.
You can’t try the frames on in person before you buy.
 Obviously.

But other than that, the prices can’t be beaten. I’m the kind of person who prefers to have a few glasses at any one time in case I lose/break them, and the most cost-effective method for me is to buy glasses online, no contest.

Some websites for cheap glasses include:

WondersSpecs
 (based in Malaysia! Buy glasses online from them for fastest delivery)
SelectSpecs
 (based overseas but cheap)
BudgetSpex
Googles4u
Check others listed in
Money Saving Expert’s Cheap Glasses page

TIP! If you buy glasses online from overseas, then use Bigpay card to get the best exchange rate and more savings. Obligatory referral code: Get extra RM10 credit if you use my BigPay referral code – download the app
here
.

Do you know any other ways to save money on prescription glasses in Malaysia?

Please share in the comments section! If this guide is helpful, please share it with your friends 🙂


5 FREE or Cheap Housing in Malaysia (Read #3 & #4 Before You Rent a Room)

You don’t need me to tell you that cost of living in Malaysia, including housing cost, is high. It is extremely hard for someone making RM2xxx a month to save money if they are paying a third or more than that on rent or mortgage.

‘But what choice do I have?’, some of you said. ‘I can’t just move and rent a room somewhere, I can’t/don’t want to live somewhere small, inconvenient and lacks security and amenities.’

Okay, I hear you. Here are 5 strategies you can try – each of them can significantly help you cut down housing expenses, so you can channel the money towards paying off debt, building savings and investing instead.

#1 – Live with your family

Let’s just get the most obvious one out of the way – yes, living with family members, especially with parents who have paid off their house, is a great way to save money on rent and housing cost.

Different families have different expectations, but worth mentioning – sure, you can live for free, but please don’t be a freeloader. Take the initiative to contribute to household bills and groceries. Many parents spend money meant for their retirement on their children, so don’t take advantage of their love.

(Also, even if they die die decline the offer, the act of you making the offer would make them very happy!)

Pro
: Common in Asian culture

Con
: Experience living at home depends on the relationship with family members

#2 – Get housing cost subsidised by your employer

If you are skilled and/or lucky enough to get job offers, particularly the ones that need you to relocate, they might throw in subsidised or free accommodation.

I know this type of
employee benefit
 exists because my parents had it. When my dad was thrown into projects in rural areas (back in his youth), his employer prepared a house for them. My mom is a retired high school principal – one of the perks she received was a house within the school compound, which the whole family could live in.

Pro
: If you’re offered this, you’re probably a valued employee. Your company really wants you to stay

Con
: Not all jobs offer this perk. Seniority also may play a role.

#3 – Rent/Buy a whole place, then find housemates

I personally did this method and enjoyed the experience 🙂

Back in the early 2010s, I rented a whole unit in Bistari Condo in KL (the one next to PWTC are – prime area!), stayed in the master bedroom and rented out the medium and small bedrooms. After deducting rental income, effectively my rent was just RM150* per month.

*In case anyone is planning to criticise me – I priced the rooms below market rate. I also forked out the 2+1 deposit and paid for the tenancy agreement cost, and paid for bills and WiFi, ranging around RM300-500 per month. In addition, I was the primary caretaker and responsible for miscellaneous household repairs. All my housemates had to do was rent a room

If I were SUPER frugal, I could’ve stayed in the small room and rented out the master and medium bedrooms and made my housing rental cost free via this method.

Note: If you choose to do this method on rental property, please check first and get approval from your landlady/lord.

Pro
: Life is so fun if you get awesome and responsible housemates

Con
: You need a lot of capital (if buying) and buffer (if renting- someone has to pay for the 2+1 deposits). Less privacy

#4 – Rent/Buy a whole place, then AirBnB out some rooms

Kind of similar to #3. You can buy or rent a studio apartment, but the difference is you’ll have (1) temporary housemates instead of long-term housemates, and (2) you’ll be managing the room booking and cleaning (unless you outsource this out, but that’ll incur fees).

I’d imagine this method will work extremely well for housing type with
dual-key condo units
 – your spaces are completely separated and everyone maintains own privacy.

Note: If you choose to do this method on rental property, please check first and get approval from your landlady/lord.

Pro
: This is considered a business – you can deduct some costs as business expenses

Con
: Have to allocate hours to list the room on AirBnB and overall management

#5 – Live an alternative lifestyle

Not into #1-4 and still looking for other options for free or cheap housing? Well, if you are flexible with your living arrangement, you could consider any of these living arrangements:

House sitting gigs – get paid to take care of a house while the owners are away
Pet sitting gigs – similar to house sitting but you also take care of pets
Be an au pair – basically, get hired to be a nanny and live with the family
Van living – you’ll want to check out
r/vandwellers
 if you’re interested in this lifestyle
Move out from cities – you can’t deny housing rental is way cheaper outside of city areas (you can still make money by
working online
!)

There may be more types of lifestyles 🙂 Like I mentioned in my
Thought Experiment: Can We Live Without Money In Malaysia?
, life isn’t expensive; modern life is.

Pro
: Gain a lot of interesting life experiences!

Con
: Less ‘rooted’ and less ‘like other people’. This can be a good or bad thing depending on your personality

What’s your housing situation like? How do you save money on rent or mortgage?

So those are the 5 options to significantly save money on accommodation – which one are you inclined to do, if you have to?

Important: if you don’t like any of these options, consider (1) just doing it anyway and accept the short-term pain for long-term gain, or (2) save money on
food
 and
transportation
 instead.

Let me know what you think in the comments section!


Cheap Meal Prep in Malaysia – How I Cook for RM4.47 per Meal

The average cost of a meal in my household is RM4.47 per meal. I don’t know about you, but I consider that a successful and CHEAP meal prep in Malaysia, considering I (mostly) use healthy ingredients.

Here’s how I got the RM4.47 figure:

In 2021, my Groceries cost totaled RM10,724.53 for 2 people in my household
Assuming 200 meals a month (2 people x 100 meals per person (4 meals a day including 1 snack x 30 days in a month, minus 20 meals dined out or skipped)
That means RM10,724.53 divided by 12 months divided by 200 meals = RM4.47 per meal
*all data taken from my expense tracking app

Again, that is the average cost. Some meals are more expensive (when we buy meat), others are damn cheap (when I score vegetables on sale). Regardless, I think RM4.47 is a pretty good amount, considering we eat well.

Here are the 3 steps I use to prepare my cheap meal prep in Malaysia:

Step 1: Find value for money groceries

Value for money groceries could be items on sale, and it could also be locally-produced items (instead of groceries flown in from other countries), which tend to be cheaper.

Here’s a short, but handy list of cheap and local ingredients you can look out for:

Category: Vegetables

Price estimate: RM0.50-RM1 per serving

*Fried, Boiled, Soup, Steamed, Raw, etc

Tauge
Kangkung
Bayam
Cabbage
Sawi
Carrot
Long Beans
Bitter gourd
Cucumber
Eggplant

Category: Protein

Price estimate: RM1-RM2 per serving

Egg (Boiled! Mata kerbau! Dadar! Bistik-style!)
Serunding
Hard tofu
Soft tofu
Egg tofu
Braised peanut
Tempe
Catfish aka ikan keli (small)
Ikan kembung (small)
Ikan cencaru (small)
Ikan tongkol (small)
A single portion of chicken

Category: Pure flavour

Price estimate: RM0.10-RM0.50 per serving; add to vegetables and/or protein

Sambal (Belacan, Ikan bilis, Petai, Tempoyak, Mangga, etc)
Kicap
Kuah (Kari, Gulai, Asam Pedas, Dhal, etc)

A short note on appreciating local ingredients as healthy ingredients

We should contribute to the growing movement of re-appreciating local food. Is it possible that the only reason why we think salmon, blueberries and the like is healthIER is because of Western influence, when in fact our local ingredients are not only cheaper but BETTER, nutritionally speaking?

As an example, see the below Ikan Kembung vs Ikan Salmon comparison

Going to leave you with that FOOD for thought (geddit? geddit? hehe)

Step 2: I avoid wasting food.

Wasting food = wasting money, so I made a
system to eliminate food waste
. This system helps me to keep track of what ingredients I have left.

Whenever I have a particular produce just sitting there in my fridge, in danger of rotting, I also use
Supercook
 to suggest what I should make.

The idea is that you can search for recipes based on ingredients you
already have
. I absolutely LOVE that I can find new things to cook based on what I already have, or need to finish using up.

The recipes are taken from legit, established websites for foodies. Think allrecipes.com, and food.com.

For example, you can see here that I can make 7,756 recipes with the 58 ingredients I have on hand!

I really do love Supercook to do cheap meal prep in Malaysia. From it, I get to try random cuisines, based on what I already have. They can be a hit or miss, but no one can blame the adventurous cook.

I also love that I get to try new recipes this way. This was how I learned how to make lentil soup, and banana cake baked with yogurt, and eggplant lasagna.

Step #3: I find recipes that saves time

If time = money, then priotising recipes that saves me time have saved me a shit load of money. These recipes usually involve:

batch-cooking, and/or
one-pot dishes, and/or
cook-and-forget system

For example, when I buy a whole chicken, I will do the marinade + soup combo because its so easy. Just prep and leave them to cook in the over and rice cooker, and it’ll come out delicious. Just cook rice and prepare veges and that’s meals for the next 1 week, sorted.

I wanna share how I stretch my groceries budget:
Buy whole chicken because it's cheaper per kg ⏩ marinade thighs, wings & breasts for Meal 1 (6-8 servings) ⏩ turn chicken bones into soup for Meal 2 (4-6 servings)
Pictured is Coriander Lime Chicken and Sup Bunjut 😋
pic.twitter.com/ARLmarLJoS
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
September 22, 2022

How do you do your cheap meal prep in Malaysia?

My meals cost RM4.47 on average, but as mentioned, yours will be different. Your schedule are different from mine. We live in different areas. We frequent different shops. We get different produces and sales.

Also, food preference is a very personalised thing, so your grocery costs could be much cheaper or much more expensive than mine. Also, you might follow a special doctor-prescribed diet. So I won’t impose a ‘do this, not that’ on you.

Regardless, the three things I shared above could help you start somewhere. Let me know in the comments what other tips you use in your own life to make your own cheap meal prep in Malaysia


My Sister’s Malay Wedding – The Complete Cost

My youngest sister beat all four of her elder siblings and got married first, that over-achiever 🙂

From my request, she agreed to let me share the complete cost of her wedding. If you are planning a wedding, this can be a guide of sorts.

(if you are unfamiliar with Malay weddings, this is a TL;DR version: akad nikah is the marriage solemnisation ceremony, usually only family members and extra close family friends are invited. The wedding ceremony if for inviting everyone else)

Some background information about my sister’s akad nikah and wedding ceremony:

The akad nikah ceremony was held at parents’ house in Shah Alam, Selangor. We invited approximately 100 guests.

The wedding was held at an events hall in Shah Alam. It was a joint wedding ceremony for both bride and groom (as opposed to one wedding ceremony each for each side… I didn’t make the rules). Each side invited approximated 1000 guests.

This is based on 2015/2016 pricing.

The wedding, all things considered, looked very expensive but was done on a budget. My sister is REALLY good at fashion and branding. She’s an entrepreneur and owns her own Instagram shop  called
Marquise.my
.

I mean, srsly. If you see her instagram, you’ll know what I mean.

 Malay Wedding Cost – The Akad Nikah

 The dais

 My parents sitting in between the newlyweds

Canopy
:
RM880
 – rented 1 x canopy, 10 x tables, and 3 x buffet tables

Catering
:
 FREE
 RECEIVED HELP
– provided by family members

Pelamin
 (aka Dais):
RM2000
 – 1 x pelamin, 7 x dulang hantaran, floral bouquet

Photographer
:
RM900
 – 1 x event + free outdoor photoshoot

Door gifts
:
RM400
 – 100 x cupcakes, VIPs get extra water and a book, 100+ paper bags

Sound system
:
FREE
 – borrowed

Bridesmaids outfits
:
RM350
 – for 7 people

Makeup services
:
RM500
 – Mak Andam came to house

Bride’s outfit
:
RM900
 – custom made

Malam berinai
: RM200 – Inai lady came to house

Spa for bride
: RM300 – package set

TOTAL: RM6430

The amount above DID NOT include: wedding rings, gifts for the groom, house cleaning and renovation (culprit: Mom), new bedroom set, random stuff that we needed (like sound system cable we had to get super last minute), money given to the Tok Kadi,  fabric+tailoring costs for family members’ matching outfits, and other bits and pieces

Malay Wedding Cost – The Wedding Itself

 The arch

 The dais

 Theme was purple and gold

Venue
:
RM5000
 – originally RM10,000, but since it was a joint wedding, each side paid 50%

Catering
:
RM30,000
 – THE BIGGEST EXPENSE RIGHT HERE. It was the venue’s in-house catering service. RM30 per pax for 1000 guests.

Pelamin + Decoration
:
RM4000
 – originally RM8000, but since it was a joint wedding, each side paid 50%

Wedding Cards
:
RM900
 – Package set. This includes: 450 x wedding cards, 4 x buntings, 1 canvas, 50 x VIP box, 4 x arrow signs, 53 x button badges, 1 x guestbook, 1000 x name stickers, 1000 x thank you tags, and 2 x welcome boards.

Photobooth
:
RM750
 – Originally RM1500, but since it was a joint wedding, each side paid 50%

Photographer
:
RM900

Door gifts
:
RM3000
 ESTIMATION – This includes 300 x fans, 600 x prayer mats, ? x big boxes of assorted sweets, and boxes/casing for each of them.

Sound system + DJ + MC + Entertainment
:
RM2500
 – originally RM5,000, but since it was a joint wedding, each side paid 50%

Bridesmaid + Flowergirl attire
: Minimal – covered under akad budget

Makeup
:
RM700
 – Mak Andam

Bride’s outfit
:
RM1800
 – custom made

Bunga Pahar
 (or bunga telur):
RM80
 – cost price; family member helped made

TOTAL: RM49,630

The amount above DID NOT include: hotel room for my sister, fabric+tailoring costs for family members’ matching outfits, and other bits and pieces

Grand total for both events: RM56,060

Expensive? Ugh, yes. But this is in line with the average cost of Malay weddings, which according to
this news articles
, is between RM50,000 to RM80,000.

As much as I don’t like the price tag, I have to admit that the wedding was very tasteful and classy. If they told me it costs 5 times the amount, I would have believed them.

What she did right:

No kompang (much to my mom’s horror)

No tiara (also much to my mom’s horror)

Wedding music selection done in-house (my other sister’s job)

Family members helped with akad nikah catering and other stuff

Borrowed sound system

Helpful friends

Getting a lot of quotations

Splitting cost with the groom’s family

What could have been better:

The biggest expense, hands down, was the catering for the wedding. RM30k! This could have been lowered if we reduced menu items (too much leftovers!) and/or reduced the number of guests.

All in all, I think that the wedding was extremely value for money. My sister is mad talented when it comes to this – subscribe to her
Instagram account
 for source of fashion, ideas, and inspiration.

Getting married soon? How much is your budget and what do you plan to do with it? I hope this guide helped you somewhat. Share if it helped!


[VIDEO] 3 Google Chrome Extensions Malaysian Should Know to Save Money! (You MUST Install #1! WAJIB!)

In this video, I’d like to share with you the 3 Google Chrome extensions that will save you money. I won’t just introduce you to them, but also give you demos and show you exactly how they work. They are such great tools in my browsing and financial life and I hope they will help you, too.

Watch it below:

What other extensions do you use to improve your finances? Any other online tools you think Malaysians should know? Tell me in the comments section!

P/s – I just got myself a new mic and learned how to do the video in video thingy! Long way to go but so, so proud of myself!


5 Things I Did To Reduce My Damn High Groceries Bill

Cook at home, they say. Then you’ll save money, they say.

Then why is the groceries bill still too damn high?

I personally got myself into this predicament – in
April 2019
 I found myself spending RM767.95 for groceries?!? For one person?!

Because it *was* abnormally high, I told myself to get my shit together. It kind of worked – in May 2019, the amount went down to RM480.20. Guestimating 100 homemade meals a month, that’s RM4.80 per meal.

And – not to brag or anything – I eat well. My meals tend to be healthy, I try my best not to sacrifice nutrition. I think I’m doing well, because I haven’t been sick in years actually.

Here are some changes I made to lower my high groceries bill. As the numbers show you, they worked!

#1 – Eat everything I bought challenge

Sometimes, I don’t get around to cooking or eating the ingredients or food I bought, and that’s like throwing money away, so my first priority was tackling that problem.

And I don’t know about you, but I grew up in a household that’s completely okay (and guilt-free) with throwing out excess food. It’s a habit I had to unlearn.

To be fair, I *know* it’s not just us. Many other Malaysians waste food. A lot of food too – in fact, the DPM said that we waste
1kg of food per person per day
.

That’s a LOT of money being thrown away.

For the most part, the challenge is easy, but I also had to learn to…

#2 – Be okay with eating the same things in a row

I remember eating my homemade gulai for 7 straight meals last month. Look, I like my gulai, and I thought it turned out decent taste-wise, but I did get sick of it.

This tip goes really well with another well-known grocery-bill-slashing-tip, cooking in bulk.

While it *is* a great tip, you can’t escape the fact that (1) you’d get bored of the same taste pretty soon, and (2) you might also eat more portions and over-eat (which is something I do alarmingly regularly).

But you know, I did enjoy (1) the time saving (a lot less cooking time overall!) and (2) training myself to get used to food-as-fuel.

It’s also interesting to note that eating out became a treat that I really, really enjoy. Instead of being used to it, getting to taste different flavours became a special occasion. So that’s a nice side effect I didn’t expect.

#3 – Prioritising grocery items that last longer

Kind of tied to #1. Part of reducing food wastage is reducing grocery items that spoil easily and fast.

That means now I buy a lot more of:

Cabbages instead of bok choy

Carrots instead of broccoli

Apples instead of grapes

Frozen spinach instead of fresh ones

Canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones

Buying frozen especially helped me to reduce a lot of wastage!

This must be my 5th or 6th order already. Happy so far! Everything I ordered has been good 👍😋

Get at:
https://t.co/A22glpxG9A

pic.twitter.com/oIWUAehELX

— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
July 21, 2022

#4 – Have a system to track groceries list

At any given point, I know exactly what ingredients I have. So I almost never buy ‘just in case don’t have’ ingredients.

This deserves a whole article on its own: see
I Figured Out The Perfect System to Stop Food Waste

#5 – Substituting my protein sources

Usually, the most expensive parts of my groceries bill is the proteins – the meats, seafood and dairy products.

It doesn’t help that I like being on a low-carb diet, so I had to maintain my high protein intake.

But being on a budget is being on a budget, no excuses. I’ve switched it up and been experimenting more with alternative, cheaper proteins. That basically means I’m eating more eggs, tofu, beans and lentils.

The experimenting process has been quite fun actually. I made this awesome bean stew the other day.

What do you do to reduce your high groceries bill?

What does your household do to reduce high groceries bill? Have you tried any of the methods above, and how was it like for you? What habits did you pick up?

Share your thoughts in the comments section!


How to Save Money As A Student in Malaysia, from Former Students

So you want to learn how to save money as a student in Malaysia.

Maybe you’re doing it because you heard it’s part of ‘adulting’. Maybe your parents can only afford to give you a modest allowance. Or maybe you don’t have a choice – you have to save money to survive (no allowance from parents and have to depend on PTPTN money for the whole semester, for example).

Either way, you want to know student-friendly strategies to save money. What I’ve done is I’ve reached out to Malaysians and asked them what THEY did to save money as a student, and compiled their answers in one post.

However, don’t see this as just a compilation of advice –
these are actual lived experiences.
 These Malaysians have survived their student days using these money-saving strategies, and hopefully so can you.

Much gratitude to everyone who shared their tips here. All comments have been edited for clarity.

How students can save money on food

These grocery tips are always helpful, whether you’re a student or otherwise:

Ling Mien Yeo
– For groceries, I tracked prices, bought when they are on sale, and also buy near to market closing time.

Some repeated cheap yet substantial meals to get by:

Rick (@r1ckkkkkkk)
–   Almost every morning I will eat oats. Oats save a lot of money and is healthy too. The big pack is about RM10-13, and it can last around a month.

Many mentioned how they welcomed opportunities for free food. Aside from joining free programmes and activities that provide food, some also appreciated Ramadan month for the easy availability of free food:

Rick (@r1ckkkkkkk)
– The best time is during Ramadan – I can get free sahur and dinner for a month.

This is surprising, but quite a few people credited the kakak nasi campur for allowing them to take extra rice at no extra charge:

Samefame (Anon by request)
 – Since rice costs the same whether you take a little or take a lot, I would take a whole mountain (i.e a food container full) of rice and 2 or 3 different lauk to split between lunch and dinner.
Adhura (@adhfwn)
–  As a student (foundation and degree), I eat once/twice a day, with plain water in between to beat the hunger. Budget meals were the best – we had this akak catering with diff dishes per day at RM4 for nasi + ulam + lauk sent at lunch and/or dinner. If I can’t get those, I eat at 4PM once a day.
RM5 covers both lunch and dinner. It was only after I started working in between classes and got a scholarship that it got better, (and I can afford to) eat twice a day.

All I can say is, bless all the kakak nasi campur for feeding students this way :’) If you don’t know one, go find one near you.

How students can save money on accommodation

I didn’t get many respondents specifically sharing how they saved money on accommodation. Perhaps it’s a given that students usually live at student accommodation, which is usually affordable.

However, people who live off-campus can use the effective roommates strategy to save money:

Mark Perkins
 – Another thing that helped me save money was by having roommates – three of us lived in a one-bedroom flat.

Related:
5 FREE or Cheap Housing in Malaysia (Read #3 & #4 Before You Rent a Room)

How students can save money on transportation

In Malaysia, car ownership among students is somewhat high, perhaps due to factors like location (no choice but to have a car to go to class) combined with car loans products targeting students.

Having said that, there are Malaysians who survived without cars, even though they admitted it was hard:

Ling Mien Yeo
–  I used public transportation or walked, even though it took more time.
Hwa Shi-Hsia
– I biked. (To avoid it being stolen,) don’t be stingy on the bike lock. The cable kind is not reliable, it needs to be something solid like a U-lock or solid chain. Otherwise, bye-bye bike. I learned the hard way.

How students earned the money to save

Obviously, to be able to save money as a student, you have to have
some
 money to save in the first place.

The source of income among respondents varied. Some saved some money from their allowance and/or PTPTN:

Cheah Zinnirah –
During university, I saved RM300 from PTPTN to put towards emergency savings.

Quite a few respondents reported working to earn side income, to either survive on or supplement their allowance.

In case any of you think that students are supposed to focus on studying not working, I’d like to share this HSBC-led research, which said that ‘
the academic performance of students who work 10-19 hours per week is superior to their peers
‘.

Neutrals Fong
– I worked part-time jobs like promoters, agents, as well as joined contests/competitions that pays money.
Tararumpum (@flabibiii)
– I had a side business doing printing service in my room. I was living on campus and all the printer shops were located in the faculties all in the middle of campus and closed on evenings. It was quite troublesome if one needed to print documents/assignments at night for the next day submission.
That’s how I started this side hustle from my room. I initially bought the printer for my own use and thought of the demand of this service. I used to print little posters and pin them on every noticeboard. Demand also increased if this was towards the semester end.

A way for students to get food AND money

And last but not least, this genius ‘two birds, one stone’ solution which both help students to save AND earn money at the same time – take jobs that provide food:

Muhammad Amar Hasshim –
 I worked at the student center while studying. You have no idea how much food they threw away that is still good. So as someone whose main job was to throw away that food, I did throw them away…. inside my fridge.
Mark Perkins
 – I worked as much as I could and ate whatever leftovers or food they gave me. I worked in the catering department in the school. In the summer, I did janitorial work at the school. This gave me access to free food most of the time.

Hope this article will give students out there ideas to save money on food, accommodation and transportation, as well as ideas to generate income at the same time. If you have any other student-friendly tips to save money, please share them in the comments!

Next read: Find out what jobs are great options for students, and where to find them at
4 Best Jobs for Students in Malaysia Looking for Fast, Quick Money
 article.


Keto Diet in Malaysia: 5 Budget Tips that WORKS

The first time I did keto diet in Malaysia, I lost about 12kg. It works! It’s the only diet that worked for me so far. Who knew that a high fat low carb diet can be this efficient?

I have since regained some of that weight so I’m doing keto again. This time around, I notice there are more people doing keto in Malaysia. And many of them complain about the same thing: all those good fat you have to eat to get into ketosis are so expensive!

So here are some budget tips that personally worked for me.

#1 – Know the cheap good fats, and know them
well

Cheap and good sources of fat are 1) eggs and 2) santan. I will always have them in my pantry, and they’re super versatile.

My favourite egg-based meal is just plain omelette (plus whatever I have available) while my favourite santan-based meal is gulai #nogoripride

Combine with one or two oil/butter-heavy veggie side dishes of your choice and done.

Be okay with eating a lot of these, especially if your budget is really, really tight. Keto meals costing RM2 or less per meal is completely doable with these two ingredients.

#2 – Get a hand blender set

Image credit: Lazada.com.my

I have this exact type of hand blender and I love it so much! One of my ‘worth-it’ purchases for sure!

Related:
Going Through All My Lazada Purchases, Since 2014

It has three detachable components – one for hand blender, one for whisk and another for food processor.

Meals I made with the hand blender

Cream-based soups – just add everything in the rice cooker then blend it right there

Protein shakes – I mix coconut oil or cream in my protein shakes for a super quick keto meal

Meals I made with the whisk

Mayonnaise – tried it, it works. I like kewpie better though so I stopped doing this

Whipped cream – Add a bit of matcha powder or cocoa powder + sweetener and mmm it’s the best thing to counter that sugar withdrawal

Cloud bread – whisk egg whites until it peaks, then bake it. You get ‘bread’

Meals I made with the food processor

Cauliflower rice – Lightly steam cauliflowers then whizz it up here. Way faster than chopping it up. I make mock nasi goreng with this

Almond flour – Not technically a meal, I know. But almond flour is very versatile for many keto recipes and doing it this way is cheaper. The result is not as fine as usual almond flour but my almond bread always turn out well, so

Chicken/Tuna mayo – Pick a protein (ie boiled chicken breast), add mayo, add half an onion, add salt and pepper and anything else you want. Whizz it. Scoop and eat with salad. Yum

This particular gadget has saved me so much money and more importantly, frustration. It made keto in Malaysia easier for me. I bought mine from Lazada.

Do you have any other recipes to share, that use the above gadget? Please comment!

#3 – You DON’T have to buy every single keto-friendly ingredient!

I made this mistake. I went to the supermarket and went crazy – bought hundreds of ringgit worth of ingredients at one shot. Everything from oils to cheeses to butters to low-carb fruits to avocados. I swear I heard my wallet went ‘ouch’.

Now, I kinda know which ingredients are expensive BUT have a
lower cost per serving
. These are:

Butter: RM8ish for a stick of pure butter; I use like 50 cents’ worth per meal

Coconut oil: one RM38 bottle lasts me months

Almonds: 1kg is enough to make me around 7 loaves of almond bread. Each loaf cost about RM8 or so in almond cost price, and I go through about 1 loaf per week.

Cream: 1-liter pack is enough for many, many coffees and many, many protein shakes, with spare for cocoa whipped cream too

Mayo: They tend to last a while

Peanut butter: For quick snacking

Antibiotic-free chicken: I make roast chicken, chicken mayo, then use the bones to make chicken broth

Canned tuna: Tuna mayo is always delicious with salad and almond bread

If you stick to the above, RM10 or less in food cost per day is completely doable. Bulk up your meals with veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, salad, eggplant, zucchini and other low-carb veggies.

Next section is ingredients that I know are expensive and only buy when there’s a special occasion, a good sale or BOGOF deal (that’s ‘buy one get one free’). These have
HIGH cost per serving
 (at least in my experience):

Good cheese

Cream cheese

Sour cream

Fancy dips

Avocados

Red meats

Fatty fish like salmon

There are more not included in this list, but the point is –
prioritise expensive ingredients that have lower cost per meal.
 What else would you add to the lists above?

#4 – Please invest in fibre

Get chia seeds – one tablespoon every morning. That’ll do. Just chug it down with water. You can also combine with santan (Tip #1) and make chia seed pudding. See next section on where I buy my chia seed. Do this, your bowels will thank me.

#5 – Make notes of places that sell expensive ingredients at lower costs

For example, I buy
raw almonds
 from Lazada for RM50-57 per kilo; they can easily cost 20-50% more in the supermarkets.
Bagus Baking
 also sells almond (ground, sliced, whole) for RM41.90 per kilo. I used to have a bad experience with Bagus products so I don’t buy there, but go ahead, that was years back.

I also buy
chia seed
 from Lazada, it’s way cheaper there!

1kg of chia seeds from #Lazada = RM32. At supermarket = RM60+ for 400-500g. I know a bargain when I see one! Bought this to make #keto #chiaseeds pudding ? Just add diluted santan + flavour (optional) and keep overnight. Yummy with whipped cream on top Cat for scale ? #ketomalaysia

A post shared by
 Suraya
 (@surayaror) on
Mar 5, 2018 at 8:33pm PST

A mutual friend of mine said she and her friends buy their
butter from SupplyBunny in bulk
 (I haven’t tried this).

The
shirataki noodles
 pack below is RM3-4, the cheapest I know in this category. But tbh I prefer zoodles if I crave pasta or mee goreng – just get a RM3.50
Julienne peeler from Mr DIY
 and a zucchini and you’re good to go.

If you live in Klang Valley, it’s worth
browsing in
HappyFresh
 – the grocery delivery service (note: referral link; you get free perks). I’ve used them enough times to truthfully report back that on the whole, it’s a good service. Most of the time I order from Tesco – I like their canned tuna and buy them in bulk to make tuna mayo.

Hmm I have no other additions. Need help with this section – please share deals you know!

Do you know any other budget keto tips that work in Malaysia?

The thing is, keto diet may look expensive but it WILL save you money. The reason? You’ll cut out so. many. thing.

I used to spend ~RM30-50 per month on fruits. Saved that money.

I used to treat myself to waffles, rotiboy, egg tarts, sweet buns, Chatime while going out. Saved that money.

I used to put random snacks in my grocery basket (cookies…). Saved that money.

I used to eat out just because I’m lazy to cook. Found out it’s kinda hard to eat keto in Malaysian restaurants, so now I prefer eating in. Saved that money.

I used to eat 3 meals a day + snacks. Because high-fat diet is super satiating, I usually eat 2 meals + snacks instead. Saved one meal cost/day.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that you can save money on keto diet.
Indirectly
.

Do you have any other budget keto tips that works for Malaysians? If yes, please share in the comments section!

Special thanks to Jules of
KetoJules
 (Malaysian keto website) for inspiration, as well as
MalaysianOnKeto
 Instagram for meal ideas.


Malaysians Share Their Ultimate Money Saving Hacks (What’s Yours?)

Are you looking for money saving hacks to get you through a temporary setback? You’ve come to the right place. Sometime back, I asked Malaysians for their money saving hacks and they did not disappoint.

In this article, I have compiled various money-saving hacks, including some truly original and creative ones. Thank you to those who gave consent to have your answers published here!

#1 – Save first, spend the rest

First are the ones that fall under the category of
‘save first, spend the rest’
.

This sounds obvious, but many people save money the other way around – they ‘spend first, save the rest’.

You could either immediately transfer a percentage of your salary to another account, like what
@alimfrm
 does:

(I) put aside 40% from salary to bank account for savings. Then automatically I’m broke, I spend what I have only.
For me this method really works. It let me spend less on unnecessary things. I still can enjoy and (give myself) self reward, but in a moderate way, like once a month I buy things that I admire, or go for sushi (my fav!).
If I don’t follow this method, I might be spending vigorously without hesitation, and in the end I’m the one will regret for having no or less savings.

Or you can set up automatic deduction via financial apps, like so:

Maybank2u's Goal Saving. Auto credited every month, and you can't see that saving bucket on MAE/M2U app. Setiap kali log in M2U browser je, mesti terkejut tengok savings. It's like a mini surprise from myself 😂 Then I just pushed it out for investment on quarter basis etc.
— Cee 🏴 (@Cee_eu)
June 23, 2022

#2 – Save coins or bank notes

Another money-saving hack is to save physical cash. I know, I know, how original, but I love seeing how creative people can get!

For example, some of you might already be familiar with the #KumpulHijau method – save all of your green RM5 notes. (Obv you can switch this to any colour you want – blue, red, yellow, purple, whatever)

One of the more creative ideas must be this one – use your idol obsession as motivation to save money!
@sabrynaryyna
 shared:

I’m a huge fan of rm from BTS so everytime he posted a picture, I will keep rm2 in tabung or in TH account at the end of the month.
Btw the amount doesn’t have to be RM2. You can put any amount that you want because the concept is “savings”. The higher the better, but please consider your budget too!

#3 – Maximise points and cashback collections (and stack with vouchers)

The next money-saving hack is subsidise part of your lifestyle via points collections and cashback. You could collect points and cashback from many places, including:

Ewallets
Credit cards
Cashback platforms
F&B (Nando’s, Boost, etc)
And more

It is quite common nowadays for people to utilise multiple platforms to maximise savings and points.
@adlisyahril
 shared:

(I) always use ShopBack or MilkADeal to earn some money back from my spending. For ePayment, I use Boost a lot and redeem stars to pay bills. Most of the time, I transfer credit card rewards to Miles so I can fly for free!

Aside from points and cashback, you can make the cost of your purchase even lower by using vouchers. Find voucher codes on the merchant’s social media, or you could step up your voucher-hunting game by using the advanced-level tips below:

1. Register on website, add to cart, initiate checkout, and then wait for a day. Usually shops send voucher code.
2. Search the brand ads on FB ad library. Sometimes they provide promo code for remarketing ads.
— Alimuddin Zafrullah (@TheAleem)
June 24, 2022

Did you know you can also turn your points into gold? Yes, you can!

*Note: Grab have since revised their points system and gold price changes all the time, so numbers may vary

How I made RM790 from using GrabPay extensively:
1. Get Maybank Grab Mastercard
2. Topup only what you need at the point of payment
3. If can, pay for everything with GrabPay
4. Collect points
5. Buy gold with points, sell
6. Repeat
pic.twitter.com/JRuIsVovI6
— Dr. Ian Bong (@fiholicMD)
January 6, 2022

Reminder: Be careful of points collection and cashback

I think it’s fine to take advantage of all these points and cashback but be careful not to be carried away. You should know that users of cashback platforms spend more AND make more orders.

When you *think* you're saving money by using Shopback but actually spending more 🙃
pic.twitter.com/CqVnBSciow
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
April 17, 2021

#4 – Shop the Clearance section

This is one of my favourite money-saving hacks because I LOVE grocery shopping, especially as boujie grocery places like Jaya Grocer, Village Grocer and Ben’s Grocer which can get a little expensive.

So, I make use of their clearance section. Success is not guaranteed, but sometimes you can score some pretty good stuff on steep discounts.

How I make boujie meals on a budget
pic.twitter.com/xT3jTxh9a3
— Suraya | suraya.eth (@surayaror)
July 20, 2022

@withlovehanis
 pointed out the most important thing about shopping at the clearance section –
you must check the best before/expiry date
.

Bila beli groceries, tengok dekat clearance section especially barang segar if we’re going to cook them very soon. Cheaper and tak rosak lagi teruk sebab kita tak simpan lama. Also if wanna buy juices for example, note when the expiry date would be and when the supermarket will tag for clearance. We could get RM30 fresh orange juice for just RM9.
Same goes to Family Mart. They have a discount on items that nearly expired. Just check the tags and the promo banner. If you want to eat immediately, then it should be fine.

Don’t forget to compare weight and price

On the subject of grocery shopping, it’s also a good idea to be mindful of product pricing. You’d think the bigger package is always cheaper but sometimes, it is more expensive.

I like to compare price per weight because I notice that buying 2 x 250gm products/food is cheaper than 1 x 500gm of the same brand (if I want to buy that specific amount)
— 🇲🇾 Huda Mahmud (@HudaMahmud79)
June 23, 2022

Related article: Learn more ways to
save money on healthy food in Malaysia
.

#5 – Reduce eating out cost

However, not everyone can buy groceries – either lack time, space and/or cooking equipment – and must depend on outside food.

In this case, one of the best ways to reduce eating out costs is to simply
order plain water
with your meal.

Jadikan habit minum air kosong. Bila pergi kedai makan akan auto order nak air kosong je jugak. Jimat RM2-RM10 each time pergi kedai makan.
— Nije (@amadnije)
June 23, 2022

Don’t knock this tip. Assuming you eat out twice a day, and RM2 saved per meal, that is at least RM120 saved per month. And not to mention health-related savings from not drinking sugary beverages.

I would add here my own money-saving hack:
be familiar with shops that give big portions
. Then, you can either have a big meal and skip the next meal, or tapao half of the meal for later.

#6 – Lead a group purchase

The next time your friends and family want to make a big purchase,
offer to pay first and collect payment later
. This way, you can collect even more points and cashback.

When there's hotel booking, buying food, movie tickets in my line of work, I volunteered to manage them. Usually they already have the budget. I got so much points from whatever platform I'm using that which lead to discount and such. Many people called them petty work, not me.
— Saroarrr (@sara_nikka)
June 23, 2022

Even more awesome is if you can negotiate for cheaper price for your friends and family, and manage to get discounted or even free item for yourself. Win-win!

Used to work those days. Offer to buy things in bulk for friends & neighbours. So we can get like free unit, buy bulk at discounted price (good for them), then i take free unit (deal for me)
— Abdul Kareem AKE (@KareemEndut)
June 23, 2022

Thanks again to everyone who shared your money-saving hacks in Malaysia. How about you? What money-saving hacks do you use? Share your best hacks in the comments section below, so everyone can learn 🙂

You can find more money-saving hacks I’ve tried in the
49 Ways I’ve Tried to Save Money in Malaysia, From Easy to Impossible
 article.


Netflix Price Malaysia 2023 & Cheapest Way to Get Netflix Premium

This is a short and sweet article on Netflix price in Malaysia, the 4 types of Netflix plans in Malaysia, and how to subscribe to Netflix Premium for cheaper.

Pre-article disclaimer: I am not accountable for whatever happens to your Netflix accounts should you use any of these tips, including but not limited to suspended accounts and extra charges. That said, the chances of that happening is very small.

Netflix Plan Malaysia: Mobile, Basic, Standard & Premium

There are 4 types of Netflix plans in Malaysia: Mobile, Basic, Standard & Premium. The latest pricing is as below:

Netflix individual plans:

Netflix Mobile plan
:
RM17 per month
; watch on 1 device at the same time; no HD

Netflix Basic plan
:
RM28 per month
; watch on 1 device at the same time; HD (note: price dropped from RM35 to RM28 in Feb 2023)

Netflix family plans:

Netflix Standard plan
:
RM45 per month
; watch on up to 2 devices at the same time (must be from same household); Full HD; add 1 extra member for additional RM13 per month (or RM58 per month for max 3 members)

Netflix Premium plan
:
RM55 per month
; watch on up to 4 devices at the same time (must be from same household); Ultra HD; add 2 extra members for additional RM13 per month per member (or RM81 for max 6 members)

Note: If your TV doesn’t come with Netflix app,
buy a Mi Stick or Mi Box
. You can now watch Netflix there without buying a new TV 🙂

How much do Netflix cost per month in Malaysia?

As mentioned above, Netflix Premium costs between RM17 to RM55 per month in Malaysia, which is
one of the lowest Netflix Premium pricing worldwide
,
but there are ways to subscribe to it for cheaper.

Getting the best deal on Netflix plan in Malaysia in 2023 require a little cooperation, but absolutely worth it. This way,
you can enjoy Netflix Premium from just RM13.5 per month per person
.

Why Netflix Premium? Because it is the best plan as it comes with the best video quality (Ultra HD) and can be watched on any device.

The cheapest way to get Netflix in Malaysia

The trick is simple:
Share the maximum 6 accounts given under Netflix Premium between 6 people
. The calculation is:

[RM55 + RM13 + RM13]/6

RM81/6

RM13.50

How to share Netflix Premium in Malaysia (and how much per person)

To do this ‘hack’, one person must act as the main account holder and ‘recruit’ the other five people, of which:

1 of you are the main account holder, and

3 other people, who MUST from the same household as the main account holder, and

2 other people, who can be from different households

How it works:
The main account holder will subscribe to Netflix Premium, assign accounts to the other five and make the monthly payment to Netflix
.

Tip for the main account holder:
don’t waste time chasing everyone for monthly payments
. Instead, collect the money upfront. Therefore, I would pay the main account holder RM81 every 6 months, or RM13.50 per month.

The obvious downside is it may be hard to get this household configuration (4 people from the same household + 2 from different households). So here’s the Netflix Malaysia price if shared with different household configurations, from cheapest to most expensive:

RM13.50
 per person per month if shared between 6 people, of which 4 is in one household and 2 is from different households (calculation: [RM55 + RM13 + RM13]/ 6)

RM13.60
 per person per month if shared between 5 people, of which 4 is in one household and 1 is from different household (calculation: [RM55 + RM13]/ 5)

RM13.75
 per person per month if shared between 4 people in the same household – (calculation: RM55/4)

RM16.20
 per person per month if shared between 5 people, of which 3 is in one household and 2 is from different households – (calculation: RM55 + RM13 + RM13 /5)

RM20.25
 per person per month if shared between 4 people, of which 2 are from same household and 2 are from different households (calculation: [RM55 + RM13 + RM13]/4)

RM27
per person per month if shared between 3 people, of which all 3 are from different households (calculation: [RM55 + RM13 + RM13]/3)

You can also apply the same method to Netflix Standard plan and share accounts between 2-3 people. It will cost RM19.33-RM29 per month per person.

Is Netflix Mobile Plan worth it?

At
RM17 per month
, my opinion is Netflix Mobile plan is NOT worth it. Might as well share Netflix Premium plan.

However, if you prefer or don’t mind watching all your Netflix shows on mobile without HD, and you don’t want to share accounts, then Netflix Mobile plan is alright.

One consideration is mobile data. Unless you get your data for free (or use home wifi –
Time Internet
 is very affordable), it is worth looking around for the best deals for mobile data for video streaming.

Deals change all the time – so check your telco providers. For Yoodo users, you can purchase 20GB of data for RM7 under Boost Add-ons – super cheap! If you want to switch,
use my Yoodo referral code
 to get bonus data.

Is Netflix Basic Good?

In my honest opinion, Netflix Basic is worth it ONLY IF you are lazy to coordinate with other people and don’t mind paying RM28 per month (RM11 more than Netflix Mobile plan, which is RM17 per month).

It is also worth it as previously the Netflix Basic plan did not come with HD but as of November 2022, subscribers of Netflix Basic plan can enjoy watching in HD.

Note:

Netflix Mobile plan = no HD

Netflix Basic plan = watch in HD

Netflix Standard plan = watch in Full HD

Netflix Premium plan = watch in Ultra HD

How to subscribe to Netflix in Malaysia

Here’s how to subscribe to Netflix Premium, or change your plan:

If you are subscribing to Netflix Premium for the first time
– open a Netflix account at
https://www.netflix.com
 and follow the registration processes

If you are an existing user and want to change plans
– go to Account > Plan Details > Change Plan. Go to
https://www.netflix.com/
ChangePlan
.

Related keywords

Is it a good idea to buy Netflix account in Malaysia?

Short answer: No

Long answer: The practice of ‘buying’ Netflix accounts in Malaysia are offered by people who sell other people’s Netflix accounts, usually by obtaining the user details and passwords illegally. It is unethical at best and theft at worse.

Furthermore, you are not guaranteed to be able to use the illegally obtained accounts forever. When that happens, you will be blocked from accessing the account, the original seller is unlikely to refund your money, and you have to pay again to another seller.

Plus I heard the service isn’t that good anyway – in some cases, people couldn’t log in to watch the shows, because too many other people are in the same account at the same time and exceeded the max no of users (sellers don’t care). Why get it if you can’t watch it?

Conclusion:
Skip the dodgy sellers who say you can buy Netflix account in Malaysia from them
. Too much trouble for its worth. Might as well subscribe to Netflix the proper way from just RM13.xx a month (see the Cheapest Way to Subscribe to Netflix Premium section above).

Enjoy your Netflix package!

Well, that’s pretty much it on Netflix prices and plans in Malaysia. I’ve been a subscriber for years and have enjoyed it – such an amazing way to be entertained on a budget!

Please comment any other ways you know to enjoy Netflix subscription for cheaper (legal ways only, please!). Lastly, please share with me your favourite shows Netflix – I’m looking for recommendations 🙂

P/s – Might as well subscribe to Spotify Premium too 😀 Here are some ways to get
Spotify Premium for cheaper in Malaysia


Earning RMx500? Here’s the places you can afford in Kuala Lumpur

For many people, rental costs will take a significant chunk out of your disposable income.

How much should you spend on rental, though? A good rule of thumb is no more than
30% of your income
. This percentage should preferably also
include your bill costs
 (electric, water, Indah Water, etc).

I was reading articles like ‘This is what $1500 in rent will get you in cities around the world’, and I thought,
why not do one for Kuala Lumpur
? 😀

 Like these

Without further ado, here are the places you can afford to rent in Kuala Lumpur on your salary bracket.

Assumptions

You want to rent a room, not a whole place

You are looking for one person (not couple)

You search through websites like
ibilik.my

You look for the following utilities: Near KTM/LRT, Washing machine, cooking, internet, (and maybe) air conditioning

So what kind of places you can get? Let’s see!

If you make around RM500 a month,

Your rental shouldn’t cost more than
RM150
.

Here are the types of places you can get for that price:

You probably will have to either share the room with other people, or live in the fringes of Kuala Lumpur. Realistically speaking, you need to either increase your income or stay with your family.

You may be able to get a small-sized rooms at: Setiawangsa, Kepong IF YOU’RE LUCKY

If you bump up a bit more until RM250 a month, you can get small-sized rooms at: Taman Melati, Setapak, Bukit Jalil, Cheras, Wangsa Maju, Taman Connaught, Danau Kota, Sentul, Jalan Genting Klang, Kepong

Other notes: You
might
 will not get all the utilities you want at this price range

If you make around RM1500 a month,

Your rental shouldn’t cost more than
RM450
.

Here are the types of places you can get for that price:

You can only get a shared room at places near city center (ie KLCC)

You can get a small-to-medium-sized rooms at: Taman Melati, Setapak, Bukit Jalil, Cheras, Wangsa Maju, Taman Connaught, Danau Kota, Sentul, Jalan Genting Klang, Kepong

Other notes: You probably can’t get attached bathroom or parking space with this budget.

If you make around RM2500 a month,

Your rental shouldn’t cost more than
RM750
.

Here are the types of places you can get for that price:

You can get a master bedroom at: Bukit Jalil, Sungai Besi, Setapak, Wangsa Maju, Jalan Genting Klang, Taman Melati

You can get a small-to-medium-sized rooms at: Bangsar, KL city center, Mont Kiara Bandar Sri Permaisuri

Other notes: This is the middle ground – choose between a nice but far place (from city centre), or average but near place (from city centre)

If you make around RM3500 a month,

Your rental shouldn’t cost more than
RM1050
.

Here are the types of places you can get for that price:

You can get a (swanky) master bedroom, and even whole places at: Taman Melati, Setapak, Bukit Jalil, Cheras, Wangsa Maju, Taman Connaught, Danau Kota, Sentul, Jalan Genting Klang, Kepong

You can get at least medium-sized rooms at: KL centre, Brickfields, Bangsar, Titiwangsa, Mont Kiara

Other notes: You can expect a lot of utilities at this price range – security, shops, gym, pool, etc.  Interestingly, rentals from this price range (and onwards) always exclude utility costs in their rental prices

If you make around RM4500 a month,

Your rental shouldn’t cost more than
RM1350
.

Here are the types of places you can get for that price:

You can get whole places at: Taman Melati, Setapak, Bukit Jalil, Cheras, Wangsa Maju, Taman Connaught, Danau Kota, Sentul, Jalan Genting Klang, Kepong

You can get a NICE medium-to-master-sized rooms at: KL centre, Brickfields, Bangsar, Titiwangsa, Mont Kiara

Other notes: Damn nice place

What if you can afford more in rental?

If you can afford more in rental (more than RM1500 a month), your choices extend to expat-type accommodations and/or studio suites with a lot of amenities. You can probably live in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. They have funky-ass (and sometimes silly) names like Tamarind, Saffron, Palladium, Regalia, Pearl, stuff like that.

What do you think of this guide? Accurate? Not accurate? Share your views in comments!


Skimp or Splurge? 10 Rules I Use to Decide

Most of you probably tried a variety of methods to save money, with varying results – some of them worked, some didn’t. But what you may not realise is, while every little bit counts,
a big splurge can easily offset those savings
.

This happens to me way more times than I care to admit. My brain justifies it like, “I’m already saving money via X, Y and Z. I can afford to make this more-expensive-than-average purchase”.

So I made a few rules of thumb when it comes to where to splurge and where to skimp.  It’s a very individual decision, everyone values different things but here are some of my ‘rules’.

Rule #1 – Splurge on what keeps you OFF the ground

These are things like:

A mattress.
 You spend a quarter of your life sleeping. Might as well get a good one.
Comfortable shoes.
 Get pairs that won’t hurt your feet. I wish I invested in comfortable shoes sooner – been wearing cheap flats for years and the constant impact to my heels makes walking painful. The specialised Scholl sandals I bought for everyday walking was expensive but worth it, immediate improvement.
A car that runs well, with well-fuctioning safety features.
 Ensure tires are still good, make regular check-ups especially before long drives.

This is the first rule for a reason. It’s solid advice, you should follow it before splurging on anything else.

Rule #2 – Splurge on things you use every day

These are things like:

Phone
. Yes, it’s OK to get expensive phones – just use them for as long as possible before replacing. It’s better to use a RM5k iPhone for 5 years than replacing a RM2k smartphone every year.
Computer
. Once, I stupidly bought a RM1000 laptop. It was useless for work purposes, so I sold it at a loss and bought a RM2000 one – not the best, but it works. Later, when I could afford it, I
bought a RM8k laptop
.
Clothes
. Note: I didn’t say fashion. Clothes. Like basic jeans and good-quality top that will last you years instead of two washes in the washing machine. Related:
Save Money on Fashion: 5 Steps I Use to Optimise My Clothing Budget

Actually, I don’t like this rule so much because there are so many things that you technically use every day, it’s hard to draw the line. I
drink coffee
 almost every day, and I still buy cheap coffee. I don’t have fancy water dispensers. I have
cheapo glasses
.

Rule #3 – Introverts – splurge on home comfort. Extroverts – splurge on social activities

mussellistefano
 / Pixabay

I’m an introvert; I like to be alone in my head, it recharges me. Extroverts get their energy from socialising, so ‘stay at home/go out less’ advice don’t work so well. (It’s not black and white though. Most of us are actually ambiverts – intro/extroversion is a spectrum, not a binary state.)

Therefore, assuming one’s budget is limited and they have to pick one, introverts should prioritise making their home a sanctuary and extroverts should add socialising costs in their budget.

Which is better? I think in the end both advantages cancel out. Introverts may find it easier to save money (since going out can be expensive and all), but extroverts tend to do more networking, which helps them in the workplace.

Rule #4 – Splurge on experiences, not things

The two biggest purchases people tend to make in their life is (1) a house, and (2) car. However, as covered in
How to Buy Happiness: 5 Science-Backed Principles to Know TODAY
 article, they don’t actually bring that much happiness. You’ll experience a spike right after the purchase, then it goes back to normal.

This is a very common phenomenon, called hedonic theadmill. It also happens when you buy those clothes or shoes or whatever, then desire new ones.

Experiences, however. Those stick around. We even remember the sucky ones – the trip where it rained all day, the trip where you missed your flight, the trip where you had food poisoning – with fondness.

So get more of those instead of stuff.

Rule #5 – Splurge on quality advice and services

Yes, you can probably save hundreds of ringgit by doing your own home repairs, but if you don’t know the know-how, that can easily turn into thousands of ringgit on future repairs.

DIY projects are worth doing because only then you realise how shit you are at the skill and realise why professionals charge the amount they do 👍
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
August 12, 2020

This advice applies to:

Home and furniture repairs
Car repairs
Accounting services – especially for businesses, you don’t want to get into trouble when it comes to taxes
And more

Surprisingly, I found the lessons during Kemahiran Hidup very helpful. I’ve successfully fixed leaking taps with the white tape thing. YouTube is awesome as well – I managed to replace a flat tire instead of spending on tow truck services.

So I guess,
check first if you can DIY
, but if you can’t, shell out the expense.

Rule #6 – SKIMP on trinkets

I like the idea of trinkets – things that remind you of positive memories.

What I don’t like though are things that try to capitalise on those memories.

These are things like Pandora bracelets. Why the hell does one need 100000000 charms for? And those forceful pictures that theme parks like to take that costs RM20+ with paper frames *insert angry emoji*

Trinkets should be free or cost minimally. Pictures. A funny-looking stone from the spot you met your significant other. Your mum’s ring that she gave you before you leave to study overseas. A framed picture of you as a baby making your dad laugh. Stickers from a child as her sign of approval. These are the best trinkets.

Rule #7 – Don’t turn splurges into a collection

CFDirect
 / Pixabay

It started innocently, with one purchase. Before you know it, you have a collection that you constantly feel the need to add to…

I consider these as splurges: accessories (including tudung/hijabs), perfumes, expensive watches, designer handbags, designer shoes, designer shades and the likes.

They have their functions and can be useful,  and I understand the appeal of having a collection, but you have to know – there are too many items in the world that collecting is a never-ending quest.
So you must know when to stop, or at least pause
.

If you must have a collection, use Rule #8

Rule #8 – Splurge at small businesses, skimp at big businesses

Many big businesses have large profit margins. They invest it in marketing and advertising and in turn get more popular and get more profit. For example, it is common for clothing shops to
mark up their items 3x or more
.

Small businesses, on the other hand, have much smaller profit margins even if the items are similarly priced. They don’t get big bulk discounts on raw materials they purchase. They also spend more, percentage-wise on overheads. Therefore, if you must splurge, pick smaller businesses.

Rule #9 – SKIMP if the marketing is manipulative

If you have not read my article on
manipulative marketing
, please do so. This is considered self-defence, against the many, many advertising attacks you see as a consumer.

Let me just share with you one type of manipulative marketing. The scarcity tactic. The one I hate the most. It comes in many forms:
Limited edition. Countdown timers. ‘Today only’. Only 1 left. ‘Get it fast before it’s gone’. Only 300 in the world.

All these are designed to
encourage you to spend without thinking about it

#10 – SKIMP if it exceeds my budget

This might be the most important rule of all. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, if the purchase will exceed my budget, then I will be skimping or doing without it, no excuses.

And why not. Sales will happen again, it’s not like it’s a once-a-year event. Nothing is worth getting into credit card debt. I like Future Me too much to burden her with
buy now pay later
 option.

This is common sense, but worth repeating: It’s ok to not get what you want, when you want. It’s ok to wait.

In fact, I encourage you to wait before doing any purchase. You can also turn this into a game:

Things I tell myself when I play the delayed gratification game:
'oh good, you made it to a week! How about waiting for a month?'
'you'd regret getting this now. A sale is just around the corner'
'the company will release their latest model soon & slash this model's price'
— Suraya ringgitohringgit.com 🏴 (@surayaror)
October 8, 2019

What do YOU Skimp and Splurge on?

Well, those are my ‘rules’. I don’t mind splurging on things that matter to me, but for everything else, I skimp.

Do you agree with the rules above? Any additional rules you go by? What do you personally splurge on? Please share with me in comments 🙂


Malaysians Share How They Save Money on Coffee

Every week, I do a little mini-forum in the
Ringgit Oh Ringgit FB page
. Recently, I asked what people do to save money on coffee.

The answers
 blew me away – you people really love your coffee huh? Some of the answers were so creative and informative, I had to compile them here! Here’s what Malaysians do to save money on that cup of joe, divided into two sections, free and reduced-cost.

Free Coffee

Enjoy free-flow coffee from work

Quite a few respondents are lucky enough to have free flow coffee at their workplace. It ranges from instant coffee, to those Nescafe machines, to nice espressos.

Genius tip: One person brings a thermos to work to bring home free coffee!

Get coffee as gifts

This answer from Suyin cracks me up lol

Suyin:
 Tell as many contacts as possible that you love coffee, and get them as gifts when people come in for visits, meetings, and programmes. Recently my colleague from Washington DC came (to Malaysia) and guess who got a nice bag of Ethiopian coffee from California!

Swipe from hotels

You already paid for those coffee packets in the hotel rooms you booked, so why not?

Get friend to belanja

(I do not endorse this method lol)

Reuse ground coffee from cafes

EDIT: Please consume at own risk!

 Mohd Yusri Sanusi:
Go to Starbucks and ask for used ground coffee. They will hand it out to you for free. Brew it again over and over – it will save you some money.

Reduced-cost coffee

Content with cheaper options

Many of you save money on coffee by:

Drinking instant coffee and 2-in-1 / 3-in-1 coffee mixes

Diluting/stretching it out with water/milk/Milo/tea/etc

Buying from fast food and convenience store options like McDonald’s and Family Mart

Buying from the mamak (see one of the creative replies below!)

Vincent Muthu:
 Buy one kopi o kao kosong (about RM2 for one takeaway bungkus) from the mamak, split it to 3 cups, keep it in the fridge and ration it through the day. I would dilute it with water then add sugar and / or creamer. If I want it hot, I’d microwave it. If I don’t finish these 3 cups in one day, I drink them the next day as kopi ais.

Make use of deals

Some deals you are using:

Bank card-related deals

Seasonal or promotional buy-one-free-one offers

E-wallet discounts (I know Boost and GrabRewards got –
See reviews of ewallets here
)

Regularly look out for coffee deals? What did I miss? Let us know in the comments!

Investing in a home coffee setup

Alright, time to take it up a notch. This is for those of you who take your coffee a bit more… seriously.

Love the responses here – coffee enthusiasts really can be quite technical with the beans and the filter and the grinding style, and have invested in equipment and tools to make nicer coffees at home.

Here are some of the replies:

Hwa Shi-Hsia:
 The freshly roasted beans from local coffee shops are quite reasonably priced. I just use the cup thingy from a normal blender to grind my beans.

Coffee aficionados say you must use a burr grinder but they’re so expensive and I think for 99.9% of us, we can’t tell the difference between different grinders. But there is a noticeable difference between recently-roasted and freshly-ground coffee versus old ground coffee, so for me that’s as canggih as I want to get.

To extract the coffee, I use my old Aeropress which looks ugly but have lasted for so many years already. I bought it in Singapore some years ago for a quite ridiculous price. Tip: Ask people to bring back from the US – only $25.

Khor Hui Min:
 I have a simple coffee machine at home (got it as a present) and a French press. I buy coffee beans and grind them – the dark roast from Ikea is nice (about RM16/pack). I also buy ground coffee from Kluang Station (around RM8 for 200g).

Peachcaffeine:
 I have an Aeropress, bought for AUD45 while travelling in Melbourne. I get roasted beans and hand grind it whenever I want to drink coffee. This way, the coffee bean can be kept longer (than ground coffee), and it’s a good arm workout lol.

I buy a bag of roasted beans for RM50/250g and it costs me around RM2.50 per cup (using the Aeropress’ scoop), which would normally cost >RM10 at a cafe. I also use a metal filter instead of paper filters. It’s more sustainable and cost-effective too.

Navin Anand:
For proper coffee, brew it yourself. Starbucks and other brands are grossly overpriced. My initial coffee setup cost is about RM500 for the grinder, dripper and filters, plus an hour a day on coffee education. My equipment:

Grinder: Delonghi KG89

Dripper: Hario V60

Filter: Unbleached Hario filters

I got the Delonghi grinder during a sale at Harvey Norman. Cost me about RM290 instead of RM400. I get the rest of the supplies including the beans from Bean Shipper. The KG89 or any burr type grinder is preferable. Delonghi has two types of grinders: one is a blade and the other is a burr type.

Burr is preferred as it gives a more consistent ground size which affects the brew quality. Burrs grind the beans while blades simply chop them up. There is one inherent flaw in the KG89. The plastic materials used are not static resistant. Finer coffee particles tend to get charged and stick to the container but it’s not a big issue.

For consistency of brew, you’ll need a scale and a gooseneck kettle as well but it’s not absolutely necessary.

For kopitiam-style coffee, I particularly love Kopi 434 from Muar. It is quite steep but worth every cent if you love coffee. It’s a whole new world to explore.

Chinita Linda:
 I got a basic Phillips compact coffee maker from the used goods group on Facebook for only RM50 (it was new and unused as it was a lucky draw prize). The unbleached coffee filters come from Daiso – RM5.57 for a pack of around 80.

For ground coffee, I get them from Tesco premium, IKEA, Muar 434 or even local shops in kampung that roast and grind their own blend for kopitiams. There are a few in Malacca’s Old Quarters.

David Wang:
 Buy a drip coffee machine. These cost about RM100 at the electrical department in Aeon or Parkson, are super simple to operate and brew a great pot every time, no barista skills required. Put in a coffee filter, the ground coffee, fill up the water and turn the machine. You’ll have a delicious pot of coffee in 5 minutes.

For ground coffee, you could buy Lavazza, Illy or even Starbucks coffee beans, but I’ve found that the RM15 ground coffee from Tesco and IKEA are really tasty too.

Tip: coffee is usually sold in half pound bags (227 g). Don’t buy more than you can consume – larger batches might go stale before you can finish it.

Dhurkesh:
I usually buy my coffee beans from BeanShipper. You can request them to grind the beans to your preferred choice (french press, espresso, etc). If you’re buying whole beans, there’s a free coffee grinder service in IKEA.

I like BeanShipper’s coffee subscription service – they send you small amounts of different blends every month. Pricing is also cheaper than buying it from a cafe.

Samuel Jin:
 I buy roasted beans, hand grind and use pour over a filter to get best-value fresh coffee. I usually ask my friends who go abroad to buy for me. I have tried beans from Bangkok, Hanoi, Bali and even East Malaysia. I prefer medium roast beans for the flavour, and it goes well with hand-pour brewing method. For the equipment, I got Hario ones.

Katherine D’Cruz:
 I am a coffee addict. This is my coffee machine, the model is called Breville BES870 Barista Express Espresso Coffee Machine Coffee Maker. We bought it for RM2999 in 2016.

It has saved me so much money! I would spend RM40 per day on average for 3-4 cups of coffee outside, or RM150-200 per week, but since making coffee and working from home, my average spending is about RM142 per month, including the cost of milk. Much cheaper than RM600-800 per month previously!

I buy my coffee beans online from Lazada for RM90/kg.

What else do you do to save money on coffee?

My personal coffee approach is simple – instant coffee at home, fancy coffee only as a treat (with or without discount).

What else do you do to save money on coffee? If you’re a coffee enthusiast, what’s your setup like, and how much did you pay for it? Where can we get affordably-priced coffee beans/grounds, tools and equipment? Share with us in the comments!

P/s – don’t be that joker who says things like, ‘save money, don’t drink coffee’ please